"We'd take them with us Crystal! Our home would be the world, wherever we danced."
"Ben ... I can't ... I can't. But, we'll always have tonight, right? I mean, nothing, no one can take this night away from us."
He calmed down, realizing that he was getting carried away. "Yeah, we do - we have this night."
"And ... you know what else?"
"What?" He asked.
"I'm starving, I'm positively starving."
He laughed, "You poor thing, how about I go back in there and rustle us up a plate or two? There's still plenty out."
"Oh please, that would be fantastic. Let's eat down there, see that bench there by the entrance of the maze? Hardly no one around there, let's eat there."
"Your wish is my command. I'll be back in a flash." He promised taking off to get them a plate of food each.
Stepping towards the opening of the huge concrete patio, Crystal lifted her gown and made her way down the steps into the incredible gardens, walking on the perfectly manicured grass towards the bench under the garden light, leading into to maze. She sat, spreading her skirts about her, feeling nothing but gladness for the night and how it had turned out when she heard a faint cry. She stopped, listening, trying to figure where it was coming from. The longer she listened, the more distinctive it became. It sounded like a cat, or more so, a kitten. Crying out very loud in distress.
She sprung to her feet walking into the maze, listening for it, "Here kitty kitty kitty, here kitty kitty kitty, where are you? Huh, where are you?" Hearing her, the kitten called out even louder, more rapid in it's cries as if afraid she would not come to it. Crystal moved onward, listening to where it sounded like it was coming from, moving faster, thinking it was in serious trouble. "Here I come, where are you, huh ... where are you? Here kitty kitty kitty, where are you?" She lifted her skirt and moved further and further into the maze, her mind on finding the kitten. Not thinking of anything else, she turned at one bend of the path, then at another, three more times within, following the sound of it. Rushing to it, the sound so close to that of hearing the cries of a child, touching that natural instinct of being a mother in her. It didn't help that parts of the maze were bathed in darkness so that she could hardly see. But finally, she glimpsed a touch of white on the ground, underneath the hedge. She rushed to it, dropped to her knees. It was a tiny tabby and white kitten, wearing a flea collar that had gotten caught on one of the limbs of the hedges. It had twisted and turned in vain to free itself only to tangle in all the more.
"You poor thing, come on now, be still - how'd you get yourself tangled in this way?" She spoke to it, having to break the branches and little twigs holding it prisoner. "I tell yah, you tangled yourself in and good." She mildly scolded as it meowed.
"Need any help?"
A voice from behind her, startled her so she squealed turning, she fell against the hedge.
Crystal looked up to see Oscar T. Wherrington standing over her, barely discernible because of the darkness of where they were. "Mr. Wherrington, you scared me!"
Oscar stared down at the young beauty before him, burning with desire for her. All evening, he'd been following her about the hall. She was so graceful, so stunning, with a smile that went right through a man. Dancing with her, feeling the firmness of her young body, the feel of her moving with him, he would have loved to spend the evening with her. Unfortunately, the moment the music ended, so had their brief time together. He had wanted more time with her. Simply put, he wanted her, period. Then to see her move in that dance, as she had, firing his blood in a way that hadn't been in a long time, was more than he could bear
Not helping, was his partaking of one drink after another.
Oscar was drunk with alcohol and lust.
"Ohhh, scare you ... don' wanna do that, nooo, don' wanna scare you. What you got there?"
Crystal stood from the ground, holding the kitten to her breasts as if a shield. "I found this kitten, it was crying for help."
"Ooohhh, poor little pussy, such a pretty, young, soft - little pussy."
Crystal was immediately frightened and wary. She knew the implications of the double-entendre and was instantly offended. "Ah, if you will excuse me." She went to step around him. "Aaah don't go, don't go yet... stay, come on... stay with me. Saw you dancin' - emmm the way you move - ssssssss - nice. Real nice, leave this place with me, let me take you -..."
"Excuse me Mr. Wherrington, I want to get by."
The kitten was making little mewing sounds. Oscar reached over, stroking it's head, it began to purr, "Hear that sound, it's all in the way, you stroke the pussy-..."
Crystal went to charge past him, he grabbed her pulling her back against him, "Let go of me!"
"Not yet, noooo not yet. Come on, how much huh? How much to stroke you, like that... huh?"
"Get your hands off me!"
"I'm worth millions ... you know that? Millions ... come on, name your price ... ever'bodies got their price." He dropped his drink to get a tighter hold of her.
"Let go of me!" Crystal yelled at him gruffly.
"You know who I am? Huh? Do you?" He pulled her against him, his face going towards hers, "Come on dance with me, tango with me..."
"NO! I mean it, let - me - go!"
Oscar's eyes glared at her. The kitten in her hands, feeling the tension between them started struggling, it's claws dug into her hand, "Ow!" She cried out.
Oscar reached up, grabbed it by it's tiny head and twisted it, snapping it's neck, killing it, "Bad little pussy!"
Shock and horror shot through Crystal making her scream out, dropping the dead kitten, she snatched herself away from him, screaming in terror she spun running further into the maze.
"Stop that screaming! Stop it!! Come back here you!" Oscar called out, rushing after her.
Ben was coming down the steps looking for Crystal when he heard her screaming. He dropped the plates and ran towards the maze and into it, "CRYSTA-A-A-AL! CRYSTA-A-A-L!!" Panic assailed all of his senses as he rushed through the maze. He could hear her sobbing and crying out. "CRYSTA-A-AL!!" He yelled over and over, trying to find her. Running fast and in his haste, it took him a moment to realize that he was in a maze and could be moving away from her instead of her closer. He looked up, heard her scream out again and began leaping onto the hedge's themselves to cross them in his desperation to get to her. Ripping and tearing at his jacket, he tossed it off and kept leaping on top of one hedge after another, his strong, young, lithe body ruining the top portions of the hedges to get over them to her. Rolling off the top to land onto his feet every time. He didn't have a moment to fall, as he landed and launched himself over the next, getting closer to her. "CRYSTAL! WHERE ARE YOU!"
Sobbing she cried out, "HE-E-E-RE!!"
Ben rolled off of another landing right into someone. Oscar - he had Crystal's scarf in his hand.
Immediately rage shot through Ben, he rolled, springing to his feet a lot faster than the older, intoxicated man. Helping him to his feet, Ben snatched him up into his face as he roared, "WHERE IS SHE!! WHAT THE FUCK HAVE YOU DONE TO HER!?"
"Get your hands off o'me! You know who I am!? You don' touch me! You worthless piece of shit!"
"Where - is - Crystal!?" Ben demanded with a growl.
"I'in do nothin' - to - to her! Nothin', you hear?! Get your hands off o'me!" Oscar struggled to get loose from Ben.
"If you've hurt her, in any way, I will fuck you up so bad it'll take every million you have to fix you! WHERE IS SHE!?"
"BEN! BE-E-EN!"
Ben dropped him about to go after her, when Oscar stopped him. "Boy, you listen t'me! You keep this to yourself boy, y'hear me? You say a word, I'll tell the world, 'bout your daddy! You hear me boy!?"
Ben stood glaring at him, "What?! What are you talking about?!"
"Porn boy ... your daddy and porn ... say a word 'bout this ... I'ah tell the world. He'll be ruined, you hear, ruined. Chocolate and Vanilla swirl - check and see. You jus' - jus' check and see."
Ben stared at him as if he were crazy.
"BEN!" She screamed out again, lost, crying out of control.
Ben lit out to find her as the garden maze was suddenly flooded with light from above. Obviously, someone had been alerted to her screams.
"Crystal! Where are you baby! Stay where you are!"
"B-B-Ben!"
He stopped, looked up at the hedge and did another leap on top, rolling to drop to his feet on the other side, breathing hard he looked around him, she was in the corner of that row, looking as if she wanted to drop to her knees. She saw him and broke into deep sobs. Ben was there in an instant. "I wanna go h-h-home - I wanna go h-h-home." She bawled.
"What did he do to you, tell me what did he do to you."
"I wanna go h-h-home."
"Okay, okay ... we'll go home, we'll go home. Oh baby, oh Crystal, please tell me, did he hurt you, did he - touch you - did he..."
She shook her head against his chest, holding tightly onto him.
He started walking with her to get them out of there, "We have to stick to the left side, okay? Just stick to the left wall, and we'll be out in no time, okay?"
She nodded, keeping her arms around him, stumbling a few times on her skirt. Impatient to get her out of there, Ben bent and swept her high into his arms. Crystal wrapped her arms around him, turning into him, her face tucked into his neck as he started walking fast to get them out of the maze when they were met by a few of the guest, security and the police.
"She okay? Is she injured?" They asked immediately, leading them out of the maze.
"She's upset, we need to get out of here!" Ben returned holding her tightly to him as they rushed through the maze. It took them five minutes to get out. Their limo driver was there at the exit of the maze.
"You need help with her, need me to carry her?!" He asked.
"No, I've got her, I've got her."
"Come this way, I have the car waiting." He directed him.
"Wait, we need to know what took place here, we need to file a report." The police alerted them, following them.
"No Ben, I wanna gooo, I wanna goooo!" She cried.
Ben felt his eyes fill with tears, "We're out of here! It'll have to wait."
Within fifteen minutes of it all, they were in the limo and away from there. Ben held Crystal in his arms, "Talk to me please, what happened in there?"
"He k-k-killed it - he killed the k-k-kitten - he killed it."
"What kitten?"
"I went in to s-s-save it. It was caught in the hedge. He followed me in there, he said - he's horrible - a horrible man ... oh god, the things he said to me."
"What did he say to you? Tell me, what did he say?"
Crystal shook her head, sniffing, blowing into the Kleenex he'd given her.
"You can tell me baby, you can talk to me about anything, remember? We don't keep anything from each other."
"It's so - so ugly, I don't wanna - I don't wanna repeat it. I can't believe he just - broke it's neck, like it was nothing. What kind of person hurts something so - so tiny, it was just a baby kitten." She couldn't stop thinking about it, crying about it.
Ben held her, wiped at her tears. "Shhh, shhh - I think, we need to wait on going home. If they see you like this-..."
"Oh shit, oh ... you're right. I gotta calm down, I have to calm down." She sat up, moving from his lap.
Ben wanted to keep her there forever. He turned to her, wiping her face. "The police are going to want to talk to you, Crystal."
"I don't wanna talk to the police."
Ben sighed, blowing out. "When I - found Mr. Wherrington, he ah, threatened something - if we reported him."
She looked up with red tortured eyes, "What?"
"He said to me - that - well - he said that - Shawn was in some kind of - porn."
"Huh? Shawn? My papah-Shawn? Your dad? I don't believe it!"
"He said if we told on him, he'd tell the world about it. That he would ruin him."
"You don't believe him do you?"
"Crystal, why would he threaten with something that isn't true?"
They both stared at one another.
"No, not my papah-Shawn - he's not like that!"
"Crystal ... I've learned the hard way - not to assume anything anymore. He's not the man I thought he was, it could be, he's not the man you think he is either."
"No! I know my papah-Shawn! No!"
"If we go to the police, whatever it is he knows, he's gonna tell the world Crystal. So now, is the time to decide, what are we gonna do?"
She gazed into his eyes, thinking about it. "I don't know what's going on, but - we can't do anything to hurt Shawn."
"Crystal, we need to report to the police what happened in that maze."
Crystal looked down and shaking her head. "We have to find out the truth first. And besides, he's Oscar T. Wherrington - think anything we report is going to make a difference in what happened? And we end up putting Shawn through hell, and for what? For nothing to happen but he be ruined, if - if what he says is ... true?"
"He should pay for what he's done to you! He should pay!" Ben spat through clenched teeth. "God, I should have broken his fuckin' neck for what he did to you. I'd never let anyone hurt you, no one!" He grabbed her face pulling her close to him, "I love you, I love you with every beat of my heart, Crystal Bella - I do!" He swore breathing hard. Suddenly he pulled her to him and covered her mouth with his own. Crystal shook and trembled as he pulled her against him, kissing her with all the madness filling him. His tongue went into her mouth, laying her back against the seat, ravaging her mouth. Crystal wrapped her arms around him, returning the moment of heated passion in crazy abandon. They were both breathing deep and hard, devouring and sucking each breath they took from the other. Finally Crystal turned her head, breaking the kiss.
"Stop ... I can't Ben ... I can't."
He held her, trying to bring himself under control, refusing to let her go.
"Please Ben."
"I need you to know, that I love you. I know you don't love me, that you love him. But he will never, not ever do you hear me, love you the way that I love you. Not ever!" He sniffed, his own eyes tortured as they stared into hers. He let her go, and moved to the opposite side of the Limo. They sat for endless moments, neither speaking. Looking out at the night around them, so many thoughts of his time with her, and that night going through his mind, his heart, his soul, Ben murmured low. "My love ... this hell ... our tango - where next, in this dance? How - and - where - will it go?"
Crystal turned her head away, her heart breaking.
Wisconsin...
"Oh Yeah! Shit yeah - yeah, oh yeah! I knew it! Damn, hell yeah, get all in that shit! Oh Yeah!" Omiyah snarled and grunted as they went at it like there was no tomorrow, in the bedroom of the home he'd gotten back to share with his wife; whom he had every intention of getting back, as soon as she got back. For the moment, for the night, for the next few hours, he had a few things to get off of his chest. They'd go at it for a while, rest a bit, doze off, wake up and then back at it again. After Jeanine pulled on him what she did, Victor was careful, using a condom each of the three times they did it.
Close to four in the morning, he woke, rolled out of bed walking naked to the bathroom, washed his face, cleaned up the rest of his body, dressed and went back to the room, leaning on the bed, he slapped the sleeping Omiyah on the rear, laying naked as she was under the sheet.
"Hey, wake up - I need to take you home."
She only groaned, exhausted, so sleepy she felt drugged.
"Miyah - wake up! Come on man, wake up!" He shoved her a little bit rougher the second time.
"Hm? What?"
"I need to take you home!"
"Home?" She mumbled.
"Wake - the fuck - up!"
"Why?"
"You can't stay here, come on, get moving."
"Why? Why can't I stay here?"
"Because you can't!" He answered as if it made
all the sense in the world.
"Because I can't why? It's like, four in the morning, what difference will a few more hours make?"
"I don't want you staying here all night."
"It's all ready - all night." Her voice was irritated while pleading from being so tired.
"Look - I appreciate everything - really I do, but you have to go."
She stared up at him in disbelief and finally sat up, gathering the covers to herself, over her breasts. "I cannot believe you! What the hell! After a night like that, you want me to go?"
"Yes! Don't take it personal okay, its just that - well - that's it. Parties over, now get up."
"Just like that?!"
"Oh come on Omiyah! What else did you expect?! There's nothing going on between us, hell - we don't even like each other half the time." He argued getting irritated with her.
"Then why did you bring me home with you?!"
"To fuck you! Why the hell do you think?! You asked me, if we did so would make me feel better and uh yeah, I do, now let's go!" He finished impatiently.
"Is this about Crystal? Is that why?"
"Holy shit! Come on man, it's about you not thinking this is going anywhere else! I'm still married to Crystal you know!"
"You weren't worried about that when I made you the offer! You don't fuckin' love her! Or else I wouldn't be here!"
"Bullshit, I do too love her, that's why you have to go!"
Omiyah scooted to the end of the bed, holding the sheet around her, she stood facing him, the expression on her face changing into one that made Victor groan.
"You can screw the hell out of me like that and still have the nerve to say you love her?" She asked incredulous.
"Yes, one thing has nothing to do with the other." He answered simply.
"Well we'll see if she sees it that way when I tell her."
"Don't play games, you're not gonna tell her shit."
"What makes you think I won't?"
"Because you're supposed to be friends with her, and because of that, she'd stomp your ass deep into a concrete crack! I know how you love your face, so you wouldn't want her beating the living hell out of you, and you know she would!"
"You think I'm scared of Crystal?!"
BOMAW 10-12 Page 60
