Torn Apart (African American Romance)

by Cristina Grenier

  “Among other things,” Ken responded looking Rhonda right back into her eyes with a seductive smirk. Although they were both trying to play as if they were in control and at ease, they were also both quite nervous because they were very much attracted to one another.

  “Well why are you now just coming over to speak? I have been here all night.”

  “True, but please know that it isn’t because I’m scared and like to play high school games,” Ken responded obviously in reference to Rhonda’s comment to LaVerne. “I didn’t want to come on too strong and make you feel uncomfortable by being all up in your space.”

  “Well I am glad that you did decide to come speak but I am getting ready to head upstairs.”

  The hotel had offered special holiday rates for their suites that evening for employees of the agency, and Rhonda had taken advantage of the offer months ago when she had a boyfriend to bring with her. Although she was single again, Rhonda was considering how it would be nice if Ken might join her if he responded in the way that she hoped he would to the comment she had just made; he took the bait.

  “Upstairs?” Ken asked quizzically catching a glimpse of Rhonda’s backside in her fitted red cocktail dress as she turned her back to him to drink the last few sips of her wine.

  “Yes, I made a reservation for one of the rooms. I thought it would be nice to dance, eat and drink all night and just go upstairs to bed when I’m ready without having to worry about driving home,” Rhonda answered as she handed her empty glass back to him and smirked back at him.

  “Man, I wish I would have done the same. If you don’t mind me asking, do you have someone joining you?” Ken was hoping she would invite him up to the room. As bad as he wanted her this moment, he was still too much of a gentleman to just force himself on her.

  “I’m not sure.” Rhonda responded as she started digging into her purse.

  Ken’s heart dropped a bit as he thought that she must have been digging for her cell phone waiting to see if her booty call was on the way. He briefly looked away to hide any possible disappointment that may have been on his face but when Ken looked back at Rhonda she had her hand held out with a room key card.

  “It all depends on if you come and join me in 15 minutes—room 625,” she added with a seductive glance.

  Rhonda was getting a kick out of his expressions; she had seen the look of displeasure on Ken’s face for that brief moment before she offered her room key card, and she definitely noticed the sexy smile that lit up his face after she completed her sentence inviting him upstairs as well.

  “So is that a yes?” Rhonda waited for an answer.

  “Hell yes!” Ken said as he reached for the key and also grasped her soft hand lightly caressing it. It damn near made her shudder.

  “Good, I’ll see you in 15 minutes.”

  Rhonda blew him a kiss before turning around feeling his eyes burn into her as she sashayed out of the ballroom heading toward the elevator. When she turned around for a quick glance once she made it to the elevator, Ken was still in the same spot watching her as if he was undressing her with his eyes.

  Rhonda had changed into her short red nightie that she had brought along for the night. She was not really planning on having an overnight guest when she had packed it but the thought had crossed her mind that she may get drunk then horny enough to want to possibly invite someone up with her, so it didn’t hurt to come prepared. It never occurred to her that Ken would actually be the one she would spend the evening with but she figured hanging out in the hotel’s lounge or bar would mean possibly running into some old acquaintances since this had been one of her frequent happy hour hangouts. She checked herself in the mirror to make sure the gown fell just right over her hips, she freshened her makeup and then fixed her long flowing hair so that it swooped to one side. As she prepared to dim the hotel room light her phone rang. In a haste to answer the call and get it over with before Ken came upstairs, she failed to screen the call as she would typically do; this was one phone call she wishes she would have screened.

  “Hello?” she answered.

  “Hi Rhonda, how are you?”

  She could not believe she was hearing the voice from her past that would once made her heart melt. Now all Rhonda wanted to do was curse him out but she knew that would not be the classy thing to do to a preacher, even if he did still deserve it.

  “Who is this?” Rhonda decided to respond in a clueless manner as opposed to the offensive manner she felt trying to make its way out of her.

  “Oh, so you’ve forgotten about me already huh?” David asked with a light chuckle.

  “David, is this you?” What do you want?” she asked struggling to keep a calm tone. She needed him to get to the point of this phone call. He has some nerve calling me after all this time, she thought.

  “Am I catching you at a bad time?”

  “Yes, you are actually. I only have a minute to talk. What’s up?”

  “Well Rhonda, what I need to say will take more than a minute so I’ll just wait but what I will say now is that this call is long overdue. The way we ended things…”

  “You mean the way you ended things?” Rhonda interrupted with a slight attitude.

  “Yea, I guess you’re right—the way I ended things was wrong and I can understand if you do not want to talk to me ever again but I was wondering if you will be coming to town for Christmas. I would really like to take you out just to talk and clear the air. There are some things I just need to share with you and make right.”

  Rhonda was becoming angrier by the minute, but not just at David but also at herself. There was a part of her that really wanted to take David up on his offer and see what it was that he wanted to discuss. Rhonda’s curiosity about this was weighing on her hard and she could not understand why she cared so much.

  “I will be home David but I have a lot of things planned already that will take up the few days I will be there,” which was the truth. Rhonda only came to town ever so often so she squeezed quite a bit of family time into her visits when she did come to town.

  “I promise, I won’t take up too much of your time—I know I have no reason to ask anything of you but I’m only asking for an hour. I hope it’ll go past that but if that’s all the time I can get from you I will take it.” David practically begged. He had never stopped thinking about Rhonda even when he ended things with her. At that time and for the first year as the pastor at the church he was enjoying the attention of all the women and the power that came with his new position. Then it became the usual for him—women throwing themselves at him and he becoming bored. By this point, though, David Jr. was much like his father David Sr.; although he was not married like his father had been at his age, he was still carrying on different relationships with various women. David was misleading them and having them think he was being faithful; then there were the ones who did not care if he was taken or not. He was already missing Rhonda during this time in his life, but he began missing her more when Tina brought up her name and put it in his mind that Rhonda had moved on and was living life without him in it. It had taken David some time to get here to where he had the nerve to call her but he figured the holidays would be the perfect time. People are usually more sentimental during this time of the year, he thought, plus David knew that she would most likely be coming home for Christmas.

  “David, I have your number. If I have time when I get to town I will give you a call and let you know about getting together.”

  “You promise? When will you be arriving to town anyway?” David questioned.

  As Rhonda began to respond she heard a knock at her door.

  “Sorry David, I have to go. I will be arriving Thursday. I’ll try to give you a call during my visit. Good night.” Rhonda hung up the phone before giving David time to even respond. Although she did not mean to end the call so abruptly, the more Rhonda thought about it she was glad she did end it the way she did; she did not owe him any explanations about anything. Now she was more re
ady than ever to let Ken inside and in more ways than one. She needed to get David off of her mind.

  “What took you so long?” Rhonda said as soon as she opened the door, pulling Ken in by his necktie.

  As soon as the door was closed and Ken stepped inside, Rhonda put her arms around his neck and pulled him in toward her for a deep, tongue kiss. He kissed way better than she had imagined that he would. As they kissed more deeply, Ken instantly became aroused and began to back Rhonda up against the wall.

  “Damn girl, I could kiss you all day. I love your lips.”

  “Do you really?” Rhonda asked as she helped him loosen his necktie and his shirt. Man, he smells so good, she thought to herself as she admired his cologne.

  “Yea, I do. I’m sure that I could love both sets. Can I show you?” Ken stopped kissing her and lifted her gown to find that she was already panty-less. He began to finger her while looking deep into her eyes for a response.

  “Mmhhm,” she moaned.

  Exactly the answer Ken wanted before he kissed her again on the lips, then along her neck teasing her before he finally knelt down pulling one of her thighs over his shoulder before he let his long tongue guide him to the pair of lips he had been fantasizing about tasting for the past few months.

  Rhonda grabbed his head to maintain her balance because Ken was taking her to a point of ecstasy that no one had ever taken her with his oral skills. It was not like she had many lovers or experiences to compare it to, but within the past couple or so years she had matured in her lovemaking skills tremendously and had certain expectations from her suitors.

  “Oh Ken, damn,” she struggled to get out as her grip on Ken’s head got tighter.

  Ken felt her whole body tremble with every suck and tongue penetration. He stopped for a brief moment to pull her gown over her head and to take in her beautiful, voluptuous body in the dim light.

  “You are so damn sexy,” Ken said before he pulled her in for a kiss and picked her up to take her over to the bed.

  Rhonda was turned on by Ken’s compliments and his aggressiveness as he carried her but she still had the telephone conversation with David on her mind. Enough of the talking, she thought.

  “Am I? Well so are you baby,” Rhonda responded as she reached for his zipper and slipped her hand through the opening and inside his briefs to grab his penis and started massaging it as he stood over her. “I’m ready to get acquainted with my friend here.”

  Rhonda turned over on her stomach and got in her favorite doggy-style position letting him know she was ready for Ken to enter her. Ken reached for the condom he had in his pants pocket and finished taking off his pants. He had been waiting for this to happen for so long with Rhonda that he began to believe that he would never have this chance. Here it was and Ken had to show her he was up for the job; what he did not realize was that he had already won Rhonda over from the moment he entered the room.

  Rhonda was ready for Ken and he did not disappoint as he entered her, first slowly and gently grinding while running one hand up and down her smooth back while placing his other hand on her shoulder bringing her back closer into him. Rhonda began trembling again, which got Ken excited and made him speed up the motion, which just drove her more wild.

  “You like the way this feels?” Ken asked as he now grabbed her hair. This move turned Rhonda on even more.

  “Yes, baby—don’t stop.”

  Ken then slowed down again teasing Rhonda and making her back up into him even more practically begging for more with her body. Then he sped up again, grabbing at her ass and grasping her hips to make sure that she was taking all of him in. This went on for the next 15 minutes or so until Ken climaxed falling on top of Rhonda on the bed and lying in that position for a few minutes holding her and running his fingers through her long hair and kissing the back of her neck. She turned around to face Ken who stared into her eyes with a gentle smile on his face.

  “Rhonda, you know I’ve been wanting to touch you like this for a long time now, you know that right?”

  “Yea, I kind of thought that,” she responded with a smile.

  She was not giving up much information to let Ken know what she was feeling for him, but she assumed that Ken got what he really wanted and that she may never hear from him again. Ken, on the other hand, did not want to assume that this one night meant the start of many more nights to come although he was very interested in having Rhonda in his life and for more than just sex.

  “So will I get to see you again? And maybe next time I can take you out on a real date first? You know, do it the right way?”

  Rhonda thought for a minute, as she was not expecting this. She did like Ken very much and after tonight she knew that she wanted to have him any way that she could again; the bonus was that he wanted to take her out on a real date and get to know her.

  “I would like that, Ken. I’m going to be leaving to visit family for the holidays but maybe when I return right before New Year’s maybe?” she suggested.

  “Perfect.” Ken responded as he gave her another deep kiss and cuddled up with her for another few minutes. Ken did not want to overstay his welcome so he pulled himself away from Rhonda and went to the restroom to freshen up. When he came back out she noticed he had put his pants back on and was starting to finish dressing.

  “Where are you going?” Rhonda asked as she sat up in the bed.

  “I know you got this room for yourself—I don’t want to overstay my welcome,” Ken politely said as he continued dressing and giving her that sexy smile that she had grown accustomed to seeing from him some time ago.

  “Do you have somewhere else to be? Or wait, you have another booty call to get to?” Rhonda asked hoping he’d respond correctly.

  “No, I do not have anywhere else to be or anyone else to be with. And what do you mean ANOTHER booty call? I hope this between us turns out to be more than just booty.”

  “Well good—stop dressing and get your ass back over here,” Rhonda ordered as her anxiety dropped when she got the response she wanted from Ken.

  Ken smiled and began undressing again before he joined Rhonda back on the bed and they passionately kissed. They made love for the majority of the night while talking and cuddling the rest of the night, with the exception of getting in about a couple hours of sleep before ordering up room service for breakfast. It was an evening and morning that neither of them would ever forget, and the start of a relationship that they both had been longing for. Rhonda had to go home and get some closure on some things though before she could fully open herself up to Ken.

  Rhonda knew that she did not owe David anything, she could not get her mind off of what David wanted to meet with her about. She replayed their previous conversation in her head over and over trying to figure out his intentions. It crossed Rhonda’s mind that he wanted another shot at trying to make things work between them as a couple, and she was trying to prepare herself for how she would respond to that. Rhonda played over and over in her head shooting David down with the news that she was seeing someone, which it was safe to say that she was in the beginning of something with Ken. From that morning after leaving the hotel, she and Ken spoke on the phone every day and night, and even squeezed in a lunch before she left for the holidays. From what Rhonda was learning about Ken, he had been interested in her for quite some time, much longer than what she thought. He never let on about it because of the fact that she had been seeing someone else. The more Rhonda learned about Ken, the more she was beginning to fall in love with him. Ken was born and raised in the city, so that’s all he knew. He even attended college here and had made a name for himself working in human resources and recruiting. When Ken came to the agency, Rhonda noticed him right off and she noticed how he looked at her too. Now six months later they finally had the chance to get closer, but now she seemed to be letting her past come back into the picture and interfere. Was she going to let it?

  Christmas with her family had been wonderful. Her parents were so happy to have
Rhonda home even if it was just for a few days. Some of Rhonda’s cousins who lived in town also came by the house during those few days to see her and catch up. It was really nice to see everyone, and she had promised them that she would make an effort to make more visits the following New Year. Christmas Day had come and it was then that Rhonda remembered that she never got around to contacting David. Am I really ready to talk to him, Rhonda asked herself? Before she lost her nerve, she grabbed her cell phone, went to her old room for some privacy, and told David as soon as he picked up that she could meet him at their old spot in a couple of hours.

  After telling her parents that she was going to go for an afternoon walk, Rhonda rushed out the door before her parents could get a good look at her and comment on how well dressed she was for exercise. She did not want anyone to know about her date in the park with David, at least not until she had an idea of what it meant. The only person she had shared this recent turn of events with was Sherry, who she hoped would be able to shed some light on why her cousin was suddenly interested in connecting with Rhonda again. Sherry had not communicated with David in months, so she was just as clueless as Rhonda, and even tried to convince Rhonda not to even meet with him.

  “You don’t owe him anything Rhonda. Don’t give in so easy to his request—if its that important let him keep chasing you and show him you could care less about what he wants to discuss.”

  Sherry did have a point, but also like Sherry mentioned, Rhonda was very curious to see what David possibly had to say to her now after the way that they ended things. It was that curiosity that kept eating away at Rhonda and making her somewhat anxious to get this meeting over with and perhaps get final closure to their relationship. Although Rhonda had physically moved on after things ended with David, there was still a part of her that looked back during those early college years trying to figure out what happened that changed the direction of their relationship. She knew in her heart, back then, that she was going to be Mrs. David Barnes, Jr. She knew people probably considered that juvenile considering he was her first love, but the way they connected and the manner their relationship grew as they became adults growing with one another had made Rhonda feel as if she experienced something with him that no one else had; she felt that David could easily say the same in regards to her.