by Cydney Rax
Her eyes burned with disappointment, but she tried to hide it.
“Rashad. We’ve got to move. It would be a big mistake to stay there.”
“Why is that?”
“Because, babe, to be honest, I still think of that house as ‘my’ place. I’ve read on the Internet that when a man lives in a home that was originally owned by the female, she could throw her weight around and act very bossy and territorial.”
“Easy solution. Don’t throw your weight around. Think of the place that we live in now as yours and mine. Can you do that for me please?”
“Rashad, I could pretend like that house is ours but the bottom line is we’re just leasing. What if old boy wants us out of there just because?”
“He can’t do that legally. That’s what leases are for and we aren’t doing anything criminal to make him want to evict us.”
“Well, maybe we ought to do something criminal so he can evict us,” she told him sarcastically.
“You ain’t no criminal, Nicky, don’t even try it.”
Feeling frustrated, Nicole lowered her voice. “Regardless of all that, I’m ready to move out, and I just think we’d feel much happier once we find something that we can call ‘our’ place.”
“Look, Nicky, too many wives out here act like they have a penis. But I’m the one who was born with a dick, not you. That means I am the head. I will lead our household the way I think it should be done.”
* * *
Before Nicole could make a rebuttal, her new husband quietly reclined against the wall, closed his eyes, and was unmovable for a good twenty minutes afterward. Nicole felt embarrassed as people kept coming by and asking if everything was okay. The photographer they’d hired even took a few photos of Rashad thinking they’d make a great gag. She shooed him away and asked him to have respect.
“Is Rashad all right?” Shyla pressed her as she came by looking for Nicole.
“Everything’s great. He had a little too much to drink and is trying to come down. I learned that my husband is terrible at handling his liquor, so we’re getting sobered up now. We’re going to be just fine.”
As Nicole prepared to go and open a few wedding gifts, she resumed feeling excited. Her last conversation with Rashad had bothered her. But right then it really didn’t matter. Nicole had finally captured her man.
The next day, the Easons began honeymooning in Harbor Island, Bahamas, where the beaches consisted of pink sand and the Atlantic Ocean was a pretty aqua color when the sunlight hit it.
They enjoyed a cab ride that transported them to a water taxi, and after paying the fare they checked in at their hotel.
Nicole entered the Ocean View Club arrayed in a pretty off-white dress and wearing loads of bangles and dangling earrings, a surprise gift from Shyla.
“Oh, wow. Everything is just so beautiful,” she cooed as they walked through the lobby. “I feel like I’m in that movie Why Did I Get Married Too? Remember that scene when Janet Jackson’s character and Jill Scott and the gang arrived at that hotel?”
“Nah, not really.”
“Aw, boo, then we need to stream that movie while we’re here, okay?” She swung her hips and Rashad could not help but feel proud that they were finally taking a real vacation together.
He beamed at her and laughed. “You’re a little too excited.”
“You damn straight I am. I got the right to turn up. And you do, too.”
“Oh, really?” That lopsided grin of his looked too damn sexy.
Nicole suddenly turned around and planted an unexpected wet, sloppy kiss on him. Then she reached down and grabbed his package, rubbing his dick through his shorts.
“You are getting me hot, Rashad.” She nibbled on his ear right there in the lobby.
“Whoa, whoa.” Rashad laughed and tried to duck.
“Whoa? Really? On our honeymoon?”
“I’m just saying, time and place for that. Remember the baby?”
“Oops. Oh yeah.”
Nicole turned around and continued pushing Emmy’s stroller. Nicole never thought in a million years that she’d be spending her first honeymoon with both her husband and their only child. But in reality, no one else was available to care for Emmy. So Rashad insisted that Emmy join them. At first Nicole was horrified. It was supposed to be just the two of them getting the chance to be alone in the right way since they’d met each other. Then, when she really thought about it, she grew ashamed and realistic.
“You’re right,” she’d told Rashad. “Emmy’s part of the package. If it was Jay-Z and Beyoncé, they’d definitely take Blue Ivy with them. We will bring Emmy with us and still have a damn good time.”
After finding their room, they settled into their suite, then dressed down to swimsuits. They took turns, one of them would watch the baby and rest on the beach while the other swam and enjoyed having fun in the ocean. And when they both had enough of the crystal blue water, they sat next to each other in chairs on top of the sand and gazed in awe at the beautiful sky.
Nicole surveyed her surroundings. “Can you believe we’re here?”
“No, not really.”
“Your ass does look like you’re still in a daze. You’ve had that look ever since yesterday. And that was fine for then, but babe, you gotta snap out of it. Soon.”
“Yeah,” Rashad agreed. He was silent for a minute, watching the gulls soaring above them.
The sound of the waves splashing felt relaxing.
“I kind of predicted all this, though, didn’t I Rashad?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Remember, not long after we met, you drove me to Galveston Island. We went to the Bolivar Ferry and we spent time together. I remember feeling like it was a prelude to a honeymoon. Don’t ask me why I did, but I did.”
“Oh, did you, now?” His familiar lopsided grin stretched across his face.
“Yes, I did. It’s okay to dream, isn’t it?”
“Sure, Nicky. Nothing wrong with dreaming.”
“Dreams are great. They help me forget the past I’ve left behind and make me feel hopeful about the future.”
Rashad squeezed her hand. “That is true, but sometimes you wake up from something that you’ve enjoyed dreaming about,” he said in a careful tone, “and then you have to sit up, get up, take a piss, brush your teeth, and wash your crusty ass.”
“All that? Really, Rashad?”
“I’m just saying. Dream over!”
Nicole yelped with laughter. “Oh, alright, thanks for letting me know what I have to look forward to every day for the rest of my life. I think I should be able to face the realities of this marriage. I know it won’t be totally perfect, but it’ll be damn near perfect. You’ve got the experience already from you-know-who,” she said, referring to Kiara. “And I’m going to believe you’ve learned any lessons from any mistakes made with her.”
Rashad calmly listened to Nicole, but he couldn’t believe her audacity. She’d helped him to deceive his wife. How soon side chicks forget.
Nicole joyfully gazed at her paradise surroundings. “And even though it’s my first time getting married—and my last time—I feel like I can deal with your realities. That’s why I’m somewhat glad that we lived together before we made things official. I like to ‘test-drive’ the car I plan to drive.” She winked at him.
“I hear you, and I know, Nicky.” He closed his eyes and felt like he wanted to fall asleep. Plunge fast into a deep sleep that never ended. It felt surreal to be there with Nicole. With their darling daughter resting in her portable crib next to the both of them, on a beautiful beach in the Bahamas.
The white sand drifted in between Rashad’s toes as he dug his feet deep into the fine grains. He felt a world away from his normal reality.
Finally he uttered, “What are we doing? Nicky, what the hell are we doing?”
“We’re starting over again. The both of us. We’re taking this journey together, as husband and wife, and we are going to stay on
this road and see where it leads us.”
“There’s nothing else that we can do,” he told her.
Once they were done swimming, they retreated to their room and fed Emmy. They enjoyed a room-service meal, then Nicole told Rashad she wanted to snuggle in bed and watch movies.
“We’ll start off with that Tyler Perry movie I was telling you about, and then we gotta also watch one of my favorites called Jumping the Broom.”
“Another wedding flick?”
“Yes, but this movie has special significance. I first saw it when I was twenty-one. And I remember how much it inspired me and planted a dream inside of me.”
Rashad smiled at his new wife, happy to see her so excited.
“How did it inspire you?”
“I loved how Paula Patton’s character wanted to be with her man, but she had to go through so much hell before she got what she wanted. And in the end, despite family drama, she had the wedding of her dreams. She made me want to have that, too. A wonderful man, a beautiful ceremony, and a great life. And look at me now.”
“Yeah, look at you. You’re shining so bright ain’t nothing I can do to dim it.”
“You got that right.”
She removed her clothes and crawled in bed along with her husband and they started watching the film. Around halfway through, Nicole announced, “Okay, that’s enough.” She flicked off the power and she and Rashad quickly got cozy, wrapping their arms around each other.
Unexpectedly, Nicole bounced back up. “Rashad, hold up a sec.”
She went to her suitcase, unzipped it, and pulled out a small mattress cover.
“Get out the bed. I need to do something.” He quickly obliged.
Nicole unstripped the bed and laid the mattress cover on top.
“What’s up with that?” asked Rashad.
“This is a nice hotel, but they may have had some nasty guests in here before we checked in.”
“Oh. Is there anything in your past that makes you know about those kinds of things?”
Her face turned red. “Um, let’s say I have had some experience checking in and out of motels.”
Rashad gave her a curious look. “Are you talking about your boy Ajalon?”
“Babe, please. This has nothing to do with my ex. He is the past. You are right now.”
“As in ‘Mister Right Now’?”
“Jesus. No! As in you, Rashad Eason, will be my husband until death us do part, okay? I am not thinking about any other man except you.”
“Are you positive?”
“Are you kidding me? We’re on freaking Harbor Island. Do you understand how surreal this is? I never in my life thought I’d get to this point. So yes, I’m positive that you’re the only man I’m thinking about. If you were the man who got me here, no way in hell I’m about to fuck it up with another man.”
“Okay, just checking. Lighten up, Mrs. Eason.”
Nicole calmed down.
Although Rashad seemed like he wanted to continue talking, Nicole took one look at him and shook her head. “We are on our honeymoon. Let’s act like newlyweds.”
She crawled back on the bed with her ass pointed high. Looking back at him, she smiled and began to make her way toward the headboard. Rashad followed suit. She let him kiss and lick her from behind until she felt nice and wet. He built up a nice rhythm and made her squirm and moan in pleasure.
When she felt Rashad press his dick against her vagina, she imagined he was like a race car driver, revving up and wanting to break loose. He poked against her several times, and when he felt hot and hard, like he was ready to plunge recklessly inside of her, she asked him to hold up. She made him strap up with a condom. Then she told him to lie on his back. He instantly obeyed. With her breasts bouncing, Nicole straddled Rashad and pulled him against her chest so that they were face-to-face.
“I’m yours—you believe me?”
His eyes glazed over. “I believe you.”
They held each other and gazed upward through a skylight; it looked like millions of stars were sprinkled across the midnight sky.
Nicole was hot and couldn’t stand it anymore. She jammed his penis deep inside of her.
“It’s the first time we’re doing it the right way, as husband and wife,” she sighed. They rocked together, holding each other tightly as if they were addicted to each other. She couldn’t feel him like she wished she could, due to the condom, but still, he felt great inside of her. She hopped up and down on him. The more it hurt, the better it felt. He seemed to be into it, too. She watched him close his eyes, grunt, groan, and jerk and move his hips in sync with hers.
“I love you, Rashad.”
“I love you, too.”
“And, babe?”
“Yes.”
“If you ever even think about looking at another woman, I will cut your motherfucking dick off.”
Rashad instantly stopped moving. He opened his eyes. His penis grew soft.
“I hope you’re just joking.” His voice sounded cold and unloving. “You’d better pray you were just joking, or I will—”
Nicole froze. Maybe she’d gone too far. She never would want him to cheat on her, even though that was the way she got him.
Nicole leaned over and tried to kiss Rashad on his lips. He turned his head away. Her lips ended up on his neck. She fell into her husband’s neck, aware of the hurt she’d caused. She wished she could snatch back the words that had carelessly flown out of her mouth.
When Rashad did not respond to the kisses she gave to his neck, she rolled off of him and lay on her back next to him. She stared at the ceiling.
“Okay,” she said in a tiny voice that was barely audible. “Maybe I went too far with that joke. I-I was in a weird type of mood just then. It will never happen again. I shouldn’t have threatened you.”
“You shouldn’t have.”
“But you couldn’t have taken me seriously, right?”
“I took it how you said it, Nicole.” He sounded furious. That made her scared. She tried to hold his hand, but he snatched it back.
Her heart pounded wildly inside her chest. The abrupt disconnect felt frightening. It was much too soon for her dreams to end. How could she fix this?
“Babe, I’m so sorry. I apologize. I know that I should think before I speak. I know that if you said something like that to me, it would hurt my feelings.” A tiny cry escaped from her mouth. “I do not want to hurt you, babe. I never, ever want to hurt you, Rashad. Shit, I love you. I love you.”
She begged Rashad to believe her, but stiffness emanated from his body. She began to imagine the worst. What if he didn’t forgive her? What if the rest of their honeymoon was filled with tension?
“Rashad, we all say things we don’t mean.”
“I don’t.”
“I’m sure you have at some point in your life. Maybe you’ve done it and forgot about it.”
“I don’t say stupid shit like that, though. That wasn’t cool.”
“I know. But as my husband, you’ve got to forgive me. I’ll admit I messed up. I will probably mess up again. But I didn’t mean it, I swear. I hate knives anyway, so can you imagine me trying to slice off a dick—especially one as big as yours?”
It took Rashad a long while before he spoke again.
“It’s cool, Nicole. My guess is that you were trying to say, in a really awkward and bad way, that you don’t want me hooking up with any Nicole Greenes.”
“Oh, Rashad, c’mon.” His words hurt her so much that she could barely think. She never wanted him to continue thinking of her as a woman he’d cheated with.
“If Nicole Greene was that bad, why would you marry her?”
“Don’t ask me that.”
“But it’s an honest question. Answer it.”
“I ain’t doing that. And don’t be demanding with me. You started this shit by threatening me. I’ve never taken threats well. So, before you get on my case, think about what you did to get us to this place.”
Nicole knew that if she wanted him to forgive her, then she’d have to forgive him, too. His biting words hurt like hell, but she had to start somewhere.
“Alright. Fine. All I was trying to say is that I want us to have a really strong relationship in which no cheating ever happens, because I don’t want that for us. It’s just you and me in this relationship.”
“I get that.”
“And?”
“I get it.”
“Rashad, I-I do expect you to be faithful to me and not do anything shady with another . . . Nicole Greene.”
“I do not plan on doing anything shady with anybody.”
“Alright. Good. It’s settled. Discussion is over.”
“It’s definitely over.”
His choice of words made Nicole feel uneasy. She gnawed on her fingernails until she realized what she was doing.
A hit dog will always howl, but she didn’t want him to think of her as that type of animal.
“Look, I’m ready to move past this, but hear me out one more time. I’ll admit I shouldn’t have let my insecurities or your past ways make me think anything negative about you. Rashad, from the bottom of my heart, I hope you eventually forgive me. We are supposed to be enjoying ourselves.”
“And we will. Just relax a bit. Things will be alright. So far you have gotten everything you’ve wanted.”
“Except a new house.”
“I’m sure you will figure out a way to get that, too.”
And he turned around so he could get some sleep. Lots and lots of much-needed pleasurable rest.
Chapter 3
On the Sunday afternoon when the Easons were vacationing, Kiara, Eddison, Alexis, and Varnell were in southwest Houston at a crowded buffet.
“This is freaking unbelievable,” Kiara said aloud. Alexis, who was standing behind Kiara, nudged her boss from behind.
“I’m with you on that one, Kiara.”
“I feel like it’s Emancipation Day. The ‘massa’ has gotten the message that the slaves are free to go. And they are grabbing everything they own and getting the hell off the plantation.”
“Damn, Kiara, was being with Rashad that bad?”
Alexis felt a little embarrassed asking her boss such a personal question. She wanted to think that their awful past was behind them, that they could now function as grown women who’d had kids by the same man.
