“Does that mean they know you well enough to not take any woman you bring with you seriously?” Calida asked glancing down at their hands and she gasped as he tightened his hold for a second before he relaxed it although he didn’t let go of her hand.
“Watch it, Calida, because my punishment can be harsh,” he told her glancing at her quickly seeing her eyes widen before he returned his attention to the road. He had to admit he was enjoying teasing her just as much as he enjoyed seeing her in that dress.
“Just so you know, I think you look gorgeous,” he told her as he pulled up to a nice two story house letting go of her hand and sliding out of the car.
Calida shook her head a warm feeling going through her as Edric opened her door and reached out to grab the boxes from her so she could slide out. As soon as she was out, she reached for the boxes but Edric closed the door with his elbow and smiled nodding her ahead of him.
“What’s gotten into you?” Calida said giving him a confused look before she did as he indicated and started for the front door feeling his eyes on her as they reached it.
Giving him a look, she rang the doorbell as Edric leaned over and whispered, “Nothing has gotten in to me.”
“Yeah, right,” she muttered a second before the door was pulled open by a good-looking man who was smiling.
“Hi Ric, we were wondering if you were going to show up this time and believe me, I was hoping you would because I didn’t want Maria to get upset especially now,” he said giving Calida a look-over which caused Edric to move slightly in front of her.
“I had to work late before I picked Calida up,” he told the man as he shifted slightly. “Calida, this is Justin Steins a buddy from college.”
“Nice to meet you,” Calida said with a polite smile and a nod of her head. “I made a strawberry and chocolate cake for the party if that is all right.”
Justin smiled with relief that confused Calida as he called out, “Honey, Ric’s date made a strawberry cake.”
“What?” They heard a woman call back and a few minutes later, a young pretty woman stood in the doorway her blue eyes sparkling.
“Did someone mention strawberry cake?” She said with anticipation. “I’ve been craving something with strawberries.”
Calida stared at her for a moment until her eyes widened and she opened her mouth, but Edric spoke first before she could say anything.
“Hi, Maria,” Edric said leaning forward to brush his lips across her cheek and Calida noted the look of jealousy that flashed through Justin’s eyes, and she lightly grabbed Edric’s arm pulling him back to her.
“You know, Edric, if Justin giving me a look over made you uncomfortable, what do you think giving his wife a kiss on the cheek is doing to him?” Calida said without a second thought, and they all looked at her in astonishment before they started laughing. “Besides, I think you should be a little more careful around her.”
Edric looked at her in astonishment as Justin laughed seeing the look of bewilderment that flickered through his friend’s eyes.
“I like her,” Maria said to Edric before holding out a hand to Calida. “Maria Steins.”
“Calida Reseda,” Calida said noting the look of surprise that crossed both Justin and Maria’s face as Edric said giving her a narrowed look, “I thought it was Lindley.”
“It is, I had it legally changed over a year ago,” Calida told him. “But I think it’s better if your friends know exactly who I’m related to so that no one can use it against me later.”
Edric eyes widened as he turned to Justin but he asked Maria to confirm it, “Sophia arrived almost an hour ago and she was looking for you.”
Edric sighed and Maria turned to Calida with a smile. “Come on in, Calida,” Maria said grabbing Calida by the arm and glancing at Edric. “I’m stealing her so take the cakes to the kitchen for us.”
Edric watched as Calida walked away with Maria sending him a smile over her shoulder, and Justin laughed seeing the disgruntled look on Edric’s face.
“You should know by now what happens when Maria likes one of your girlfriends although I have to admit I think this is the first time that it’s actually happen,” Justin said thoughtfully as Edric walked in the house still carrying the boxes.
Edric shook his head laughter in his eyes as he and Justin headed for the kitchen. “So do we really have a chocolate cake?” Justin asked his own eyes brightening and Edric laughed knowing that he was addicted to chocolate.
“I don’t know,” Edric admitted as he set the boxes down and opened them up, and Justin whistled as the cakes were revealed.
“Damn,” Justin said looking at the cakes before turning his gaze to Edric who had a similar look on his face. “She did this in the few hours that you invited her to come with you?”
Edric smiled and said with pride, “She is damn good too.”
Justin laughed and patted him on the back as they put the cakes in the refrigerator before they went outside to join the party.
For the next few hours, Edric kept an eye on Calida as Maria introduced her to some others and as she smiled Edric was glad that he asked her to come with him.
“Ric, you seem to be a little distracted,” Justin told him as the others laughed and Edric refocused his attention on the group.
“So what if I am? Do you think I shouldn’t be?” Edric responded back getting laughter from the others around him.
“She is pretty, and this cake is to die for,” one of his friends said lifting up the plate of chocolate cake that Maria had bought out not too long ago.
Edric didn’t comment as he drink from his glass but his eyes drifted to Calida again before he shook his head and turned his back so he couldn’t look at her again.
“Why the sudden party, Justin?” He asked drinking from his glass, and he watched as Justin’s eyes blazed with male satisfaction.
“Because I’m about to be a father,” he stated with pride and Edric’s eyes widened before everyone started to congratulate him.
“Ric keeps looking over here,” Maria whispered to Calida as stood on the other side of the patio.
Calida glanced at her in confusion before she shifted her eyes to Edric whose back was turned to her and she laughed looking at Maria. “Probably making sure that I’m not embarrassing him,” she said offhandedly.
Maria stared at her before she began to chuckle asking, “So how did you know?”
Calida stared down in her drink as she countered, “About what?”
Maria gave her a narrowed look but there was no heat in it as she told her, “That I was pregnant although I’m only eight weeks along.”
Calida smiled and shrugged her shoulders as she responded honestly, “It was merely an assumption which could’ve been wrong based on what your husband said, and then your comment about craving strawberries.”
“So it was only a guess,” Maria asked thoughtfully.
“Bingo,” Calida said humor flashing in her eyes. “So what do I win?”
Maria stared at her in confusion until she grasped what Calida was referring to and started to laugh as she shook her head. “I don’t know let me think about it,” she told her with a wink catching Calida off guard before she shook her head.
“Fair enough,” Calida told her with a smile which froze when their conversation was interrupted.
“Doesn’t it bother you, Maria, that someone crashed your party?” Another voice said, and Maria felt Calida stiffen next to her although she turned calm eyes to the two women who approached.
If Calida was surprised to see Lida and Sophia together, she didn’t show it as she said, “Good evening, Sophia, Lida.”
“Are you enjoying the party?” Maria said trying to ease some of the tension that had invaded the area.
“It’s so-so,” Lida said tossing her hair over her shoulder. “I can’t wait for the dancing though,” she remarked running her tongue over bright red lips.
Sophia’s brown eyes were still narrowed on Calida who smil
ed politely as Maria said, “I’m sure you are, Lida.”
Maria looked over and caught someone’s eye, and a few minutes later music filled the backyard. Calida hummed along as one of her favorite songs began to play and Maria smiled at her hearing it.
“Do you have anything else?” Lida pouted looking around as if she was looking for someone.
“We do, and it will play as the night progresses,” Maria told her with a smile although Calida heard a touch of annoyance in her voice.
Sophia smiled and called out giving Calida a smirk, “Ric, come and dance with me.”
Calida watched as Edric turned around and looked at her before he smiled and nodded his head turning to the men he had been talking with as they laughed.
Calida turned on her heels and walked away unhurriedly, and Maria watched her leave with thoughtful blue eyes.
“Did you call me, Sophia?” Edric asked as he walked over to them after leaving his friends.
“Yes,” Sophia said with a seductive smile. “Dance with me.”
Edric nodded his head and led Sophia to where the others were dancing, but Maria saw him glance over to Calida who had been stopped by a young man. He was talking to her and reaching out for her arm, and Maria watched as Calida stepped away from his hand giving him a polite response.
Maria saw the man’s eyes narrow and she hurried over as the man lunged and grabbed Calida’s arm tightly.
“Adam,” Maria called out as others around them stopped and stared, and Edric who was still watching left Sophia on the dance floor heading in their direction.
“Please let me go,” Calida said politely looking down at his hand before she looked up in his eyes.
Adam smiled and let his fingers lightly caress her arm as he told her, “You came alone and I hate to see a young woman being alone at a party.”
“Thank you,” Calida said nodding her head, “but I didn’t come alone and even if I did, I would be fine with that so let me go please.”
In response, he tightened his hold on her arm once more and Calida sighed in frustration before she said quietly, “I’m sorry, Maria.”
“Huh,” she remarked in confusion, but Calida had already reacted before she could explain.
“Please, let go of my arm,” Calida said one last time, and the man smiled his eyes filled with smugness that changed when Calida grabbed his wrist and using her nail, she dug it into his skin and as his hand loosened, she twisted his arm behind his back. She kicked him in the knees knocking him to the ground before she said shortly, “I asked you three times, and politely I might add, to release me. I’ve learned over the last ten years that after three, if the man hasn’t done as you requested then you take action. Touch me again, and I will personally make sure that this hand doesn’t touch anything for a while. Do you understand me, Adam?”
He nodded his head in shock as she put a little more pressure on his wrist before she let go and stepped back only to bump into someone.
Adam was already climbing to his feet and he swung around rage on his face only to stop as he stared at the man standing behind her.
“Adam have you met my date for this evening,” Edric said resting his hands on Calida’s hips pulling her back against him and everyone saw Adam’s face turn white at his words. “This is Calida, and Calida, this is Adam.”
Calida nodded her head at him her hazel eyes direct and to the point even though she was standing in front of Edric who stood a few inches taller than her.
Adam swallowed noticing that even though Edric stood behind the young woman his hands resting casually on her hips, her eyes never left his and he knew in that moment, even without Edric there she would still meet his eyes in the same fashion.
“I’m sorry,” he said lowly. “I only wanted…”
Calida leaned forward as much as she could with Edric’s hands on her waist and he tightened his hold when she moved. “Remember, Adam, some women like aggressiveness in the men they date, or want, and some don’t,” Calida advised him, and he glanced up in surprise. “To continue, even if the woman’s ‘no’ may be a ‘yes’, it is wrong to force her so in that situation let the woman make the next move.”
Adam nodded his head as Maria said, “Adam, why don’t you go inside and relax some. You’ve had a busy day and I think the alcohol you’ve consumed went to your head.”
He nodded his head again before he mumbled a few words and then walked inside the house.
“Thank you,” Maria said watching him walk away. “My brother can be a pain sometimes.”
Calida’s eyes widened briefly before she shook her head unaware that it was rubbing against Edric chest causing his green eyes to flare with emotion. “I went to school with boys like him when I left here ten years ago, and some of them didn’t know when to stop at all. At least, he knows what he did wrong although he wanted to make a good impression and the alcohol made him act a little more reckless than I think he normally is.”
She shrugged her shoulders as Edric asked above her head, “Did you have to fight off those guys like you did Adam?”
“Only one,” Calida admitted her hazel eyes briefly shadowed before she shielded them. She smiled and said, “I would like to dance. Do you think anyone would like to partner with me?”
“I will,” Edric said swinging her around in the span of his hands and she glanced up at him in astonishment.
“I thought you were dancing with Sophia,” she asked as he walked her over to the makeshift dance floor.
“I was, but I wanted to dance with the woman I brought to this party more,” he told her holding her a little closer than she was accustomed as a slow song came on.
Sophia watched them with narrowed brown eyes until one of the other men came over and asked her to dance, and she smiled accepting politely as he escorted her to the makeshift floor.
Tension flared and vibrated more through her as she watched Calida and Edric talk laughing lightly while they danced. Once the song was over, Sophia headed for the nearest table and drowned a glass a wicked look on her face as she grabbed another glass draining just as quickly turning to watch the couple on the dance floor who hadn’t left.
Chapter 8
The party lasted well until after midnight and by that time Sophia was drunk enough that Edric was worried about her.
“Take her home, Edric,” Calida muttered as Sophia stumbled to the front door.
“Calida,” Edric said turning his green eyes to her while Calida put a hand on his arm.
“I will find a way home, but she needs you,” she told him giving him a smile and he saw the understanding in her hazel eyes.
Edric leaned forward and kissed her lightly on the cheek before he whispered, “Thank you.”
Calida nodded her head not going to comment that she had no say on whom he spent his time with and she watched as he hurried over to Sophia catching her when she slid on the hardwood floor.
“She’s not as drunk as you think,” Maria remarked quietly to her only to be stunned when Calida muttered, “I know” her eyes watching them.
As Edric walked outside holding Sophia up, Calida turned to Maria and said, “Thank you for tolerating me tonight.”
“To be honest,” Maria said putting an arm through Calida’s as they walked out of the house together, “you are the first woman since we’ve known Ric in college that I actually like.”
Calida looked at her with wide eyes before she said with a smile, “Thank you, Maria.”
Maria laughed and they watched as Edric pulled away with Sophia in the front seat, and Maria literally drew in a breath when Sophia gave Calida a smug smile.
“Why that bitch,” Maria muttered only to stop when Calida chuckled next to her, and Maria glanced at her.
“I don’t have no control over what he does, Maria,” Calida admitted quietly her hazel eyes still following Edric’s car. “Edric and I are not dating and I can’t even say we are friends, but…”
Maria looked at her and said quietly, “But y
ou are starting to have feelings for him.”
Calida gave her a shrewd look but she didn’t tell her that she was wrong as she sighed before asking, “Can I use the phone so I can call a cab?”
“Don’t worry about it, Calida,” Maria said as her husband walked over to them. “Justin, do you think Mr. Jim can take Calida home?”
Justin nodded his head and after giving Maria a kiss walked in the house to get Mr. Jim, and Calida said, “You don’t have to…”
“Knowing Ric, he will call us later to see how you got home,” Maria told her with a wink as Justin came back out with an older man who smiled as he passed them heading for the car.
“Thanks for a nice evening,” Calida said giving Maria and Justin smiles, and Maria gave her a hug.
“I hope we can stay in contact,” Mara said hopefully as Justin put an arm around her waist.
Calida nodded her head as Mr. Jim started the car and backed out letting the car idle as they said ‘goodbye’ before she slid in the car.
“Bye,” Calida called out as she put down the window. “Thank you again.”
She waved as he pulled away and after telling him the address, she settled back in her seat watching the scenery her mind replaying the evening. Her body burned remembering the feel of his arms around her and his breath against her cheek.
“Are you okay, ma'am?” Mr. Jim asked, and Calida looked at him in shock before she realized that they were parked in front of her house.
“Sorry, sir, thank you for the ride,” Calida told him smiling as she got out.
Calida waved and headed inside as he waited for her to close the door before he pulled away from the curb heading home.
Wilma met her as she went inside and asked sleepily, “Did you have a good time?”
“Yes,” Calida said quietly locking the door and walking over to her. “Go to bed, Wilma. I will see you in the morning.”
Wilma nodded her head yawning as she turned and headed to her room, and Calida watched Wilma before she went to her own room.
Past Sins Revisited Page 10
