Gina knew he meant it too. Henry Osgood was a prime example of that. And she couldn’t even begin to imagine what he did to Robert Rand, another enemy of theirs. But then she forgot about Henry Osgood and Robert Rand and Marcus and Jade and focused on Dutch. And what Dutch’s expert fingers were doing to her.
When he lifted slightly to pull down his boxers, and his cock flung out like a soldier at attention, big, thick, and rock-hard aroused, she wrapped her hand around it and began to stroke. His cock was now between her legs, jutting out fully aroused as if it was an attachment to her own vagina, and she stroked it hard.
“That’s the way, baby,” Dutch said as he leaned his head back and enjoyed Gina’s massage. And when she leaned down beneath the blanket that covered them, and put her mouth on his rod, he began to shutter.
“Yes,” he said breathlessly as he felt the full force of her expertise. “Yes. Gina, yes. Give it to me. Give it to me.”
And Gina gave it to him. She knew how to give it to Dutch. And he continued, with his expert fingers, to give it to her.
Until he was too aroused, too full, to cooperate.
He lifted her onto his engorged penis, and slowly slid her down his long rod. He could feel her wetness began to coalesce around his cock as he entered her womanhood like a deep dive. And he kept sliding that baby in. He moaned it felt so good. It felt like sliding into home base, and he slid all the way home. This was exactly what he needed after yet another crazy-ass day, and he was going to enjoy this ride.
He placed his arms beneath Gina’s thighs, lifting her up and down on his rod, so that she could enjoy the ride, too. And she rode him hard, the feeling of his fullness inside of her giving her that quivering sensation. And those slushing sounds of her wetness as his dick slid in and out, those sounds they knew so well, made both of them moan.
For a long time they relaxed and rode and moaned. She could feel every inch of his thickness, like a sensual thickness stuck deep inside of her, and the sweetness of that fullness gave her a fierce elation. They kept feeling as if they were on the edge of completion, but it kept on teasing them, over and over, until the tease became a thrill in and of itself.
The friction alone had them aching in pleasure. The unyielding slushing sounds of their lovemaking had them both grunting and groaning for more, louder sounds. And more kept pouring out of them.
They made love for the longest time. Until one simple movement, where Dutch’s dick shoved into the deepest point of penetration inside of Gina’s pussy, giving it an angle that made every muscle in his body quiver, and broke it loose for both of them.
“Oh, Gi,” Dutch said in an almost grunting voice as he leaned against Gina’s back and trembled with the impact of his release. Gina leaned back, against Dutch’s chest, to absorb the impact of her own release.
And they came. In a fierce one-two surge of pleasure that left them both arching up and then pulsating down. It was so intense that it caused Dutch to grab his wife around her waist and hold her tightly against him, his heart pounding in near-hyperventilation. He knew what he had. Crader might not have realized what he had. But Dutch knew exactly the worth of this woman he had on his hands.
Later, after they had showered together, they decided to go up to the third floor Game Room and play some cards. There were large card tables throughout the room, some seating as many as eight to a table, but they opted, instead, for the more intimate two-person, fold-out table against the back wall. Gina had on one of Dutch’s big shirts that dropped down to her knees, and Dutch had on a pair of jeans and a sweat shirt. He was drinking a can of beer, Gina was sipping pineapple juice, and both had already won a game apiece. This third game, Gin Rummy, belonged to Gina.
But the intercom on their card table buzzed just as she was about to proclaim her victory. To avoid having to endure that ridiculous crip-walking victory dance of hers, Dutch gladly pressed the button.
“Yes, Rogers?”
“Excuse me, Mr. President,” the male voice on the other end said, “but Mrs. McKenzie requests permission to come up to the Residence. Is permission granted, sir?”
“Yes, of course it is,” Dutch said.
Before he could even give that permission, however, Gina was already up and heading for the stairs that led to the second floor Residence, in total disregard of the fact that the only thing covering her was Dutch’s big dress shirt.
He hurried after her.
Gina was already on the second floor and waiting in front of the elevators by the time he made it to her side. The doors clanged open and LaLa, with baby Nicole in her arms, stepped off. Her eyes were puffy, Dutch immediately noticed. From non-stop crying, he would venture to guess.
He removed baby Nicole from her arms as she all but fell into Gina’s arms. Dutch held and bounced the pretty brown-skinned girl against his chest as Gina escorted the baby’s mother to the West Sitting Hall.
Dutch carried the baby to the Nursery to be with Little Walt. It was no surprise to him that LaLa would come to them. He would have been disappointed if she hadn’t. But he still couldn’t help but wonder about his friend, and how that man had to be feeling right about now.
But he made the choice to screw that girl, Dutch thought angrily as the nannies on duty took control of Nicole. Now he had to live with the consequences of that screw up. But that still didn’t stop him from worrying about his friend. And Loretta looked so distraught, he thought as he lingered in the Nursery watching his young son sleep. All because Crader had to have him a piece of ass. He used to be as reckless sexually as Crader. But eventually you have to get some balls and grow the hell up. They have children now, and wives. They can’t keep do that old shit as if they were still in those relationships of convenience.
But what was done was done, Dutch thought as he made his way back into the sitting room. There was nothing even Crader could do to change it now.
An usher was handing LaLa a glass of wine as Dutch arrived in the sitting room. Both she and Gina were seated, side by side, on the sofa.
“Will there be anything else, ma’am?” the usher asked Gina.
“That’ll be all, thank-you.”
The usher bowed slightly, said goodnight also to the president, and left. Gina looked almost as distraught as LaLa, Dutch noticed as he walked over to the sofa and also sat beside LaLa, placing her squarely in the middle. He put his arm around her waist, and she leaned against him. The tears she’d been fighting unsuccessfully ever since Crader laid it on her, began to reappear once again.
“We’ll get through this, sweetheart,” Dutch reassured her as he held her. Gina, who already had tears staining her eyes, rubbed LaLa’s arm.
After a few moments of silence, LaLa sat erect again and wiped her nose with the tissue Gina had already provided to her.
“I hate bothering you guys like this,” she said.
“There’s no bother at all, young lady,” Dutch said. “You’re as much a part of us as our own children.”
“Sometimes I feel like a child.”
“Oh, LaLa,” Gina said.
“I do. Since I had Nicole I’ve been feeling so emotional about everything. And now this,” she shook her head. She didn’t want to deal with anything like this right now.
“I just hate. . . I just .. .”
“You’re welcome here anything, Loretta,” Dutch made clear. “We love your company. We love you.”
LaLa looked at the president and smiled. “Thank-you so much, Dutch. You’ve always been so kind to me. But I still hate bothering people over something so . . .” She frowned at just the thought of what Crader had said to her. Of what he had done to her. And more tears escaped.
“Oh, La,” Gina said, tears falling from her eyes too. “You’re like a sister to me. You could never be a bother to us.”
“It’s just that it hurts so much,” LaLa finally decided to open up. “I thought we were beyond this. I knew Crader was still looking, and yes, I was worried about that, too. I was worried that those pret
ty girls with those perfect bodies would be too much for him to pass up. You know how Crader is, Dutch. He’s always seemed to be attracted to the most beautiful, super model kind of women. Like Liz Sinclair. He seems to need those kind of women in his life.”
“Don’t make excuses for him, La,” Gina warned. “I’m sorry but don’t do it.”
“I’m just being real, Gina. Those are the kind of women he liked.”
“And? Dutch liked them too. But he didn’t go out fucking every one he could get his hands on! Talking about he needs them in his life. Crader ought to have his ass kicked, that’s what Crader needs. Because if he was my husband and he pulled that shit on me, he wouldn’t have to worry about sticking it into any other female. There wouldn’t be anything for him to stick. Bet that.”
LaLa looked at Gina in horror. Dutch’s hand automatically touched his penis. They both knew that Gina’s bark was worse than her bite, but when she did bite, watch out.
“I’m overstating it,” Gina admitted, “but he just makes me so angry. He didn’t have to do that to you.”
“That’s why it hurts so bad,” LaLa said. “We were engaged, planning our wedding, and he was tipping out. He claims she was the only one, but I don’t even know if I can believe anything he says anymore. Because for him to have gone out, after asking me to marry him, and have unprotected sex with another woman, impregnate that woman, and then expect me to get over it?” She shook her head. “That’s asking too much of me. I don’t know if I can accept that.”
Gina was alarmed that she would have even considered accepting it. “Of course you can’t accept it, La! What self-respecting woman could? And I know, sometimes it’s not a matter of self-respect. It’s the heart of the matter, I get that. But even if his ass was so in heat and he just had to screw that woman, he could have at least covered up. Come on now. That woman could have had AIDS or something like that, and he could have passed it on to you, and to his own child! I’m sorry, La, and I know what Crader means to you, Dutch, but I refuse to let y’all minimize this. Crader fucked up and he fucked up royally this time. This ain’t no Liz Sinclair, oral sex in the bathroom deal here. This could have been a matter of life and death.”
LaLa knew Gina spoke the truth. She was tested throughout the course of her pregnancy and the baby was tested after birth, but Gina was telling the truth. She understood every word she was saying. And not long ago, if it was somebody else’s man, she would have agreed with what Gina was saying. But it was no longer just some random man they were complaining about. This was her husband. The father of her child. It wasn’t easy like that anymore.
Gina knew her friend was hurt. Beyond hurt. Devastated, even. But the worse thing she could do, Gina felt, was to pretend this wasn’t as bad as it was. Because this was bad. Crader didn’t just want that woman, he wanted her raw. He wanted her raw when he knew he was having unprotected sex with LaLa and was about to marry LaLa. That was disturbing on every level. He didn’t think enough of her to cover up? This was messed up. Gina wasn’t going to allow her best friend, a woman she loved like family, to minimize this.
She pulled LaLa into her arms. And LaLa cried in those arms.
Dutch leaned back, crossed his legs, and allowed the two friends to comfort each other. He knew that his wife didn’t fully appreciate how tough it was for a man to remain faithful, and how it was a daily struggle. But every word she spoke to her friend was nothing but the truth. Crader’s behavior was not only morally bankrupt, but he could have endangered the lives of his family. And that, in Dutch’s view, was inexcusable.
LaLa eventually sat erect again, and wiped her nose again. She was getting a headache from crying so much.
“But you know what’s even worse about this whole thing?” she asked after blowing her nose, her eyes still puffy and red.
“What could possibly be even worse?” Gina asked her.
“It’s this feeling of inadequacy that I can’t shake. It’s this feeling of inevitability. Like, why wouldn’t he cheat on me? Every man I’ve ever known has cheated on me. Each and every one of them. Why wouldn’t Crader do it, too? That’s how I honestly feel right now. I’ve never been that one special lady in any man’s eyes, not really. I mean, I look at you, Dutch, and the way you look at Gina, and I’ve never had that.”
Dutch’s heart broke for LaLa. “What Crader did was deplorable, Loretta,” he said to her. “But I know he loves you.”
LaLa began shaking her head. “No,” she said pointblank, refusing to ever again play those games. “Not the way you love Gina he doesn’t. Because you can’t love somebody the way they deserve to be loved and sleep with somebody else. I just refuse to believe that can happen. The idea that I would be in love with my husband but go and let some other man put his thang up in me? No way. I could never do that. Not ever!”
Tears began to reappear. “But Crader did it to me twice, Dutch. He cheated on me at least twice that I know of. Just like Dempsey cheated more than once and Jason and Michael and Patrick and every man I’ve ever been with. Every relationship I’ve ever had ended because the man cheated. Every one. That has to be some kind of record.”
She attempted to smile, they all did, but not one of them could pull it off.
“But it makes me wonder too,” LaLa continued, her face puzzled, confused. “It makes me wonder how many more times do I have to be dumped on before I realize these men see me as trash?”
“Don’t say that,” Gina said painfully.
“But it’s the truth, G! It’s the truth! For once in my life I’m facing the truth! I’m not pretty enough. I’m not smart enough. I’m not sophisticated enough. There’s something that’s not enough about me!”
Dutch quickly leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, his heart about to pound out of his chest. “Loretta, look at me,” he said to her.
“Please don’t tell me I’m over-exaggerating because I’m not. Please don’t tell me that I’m this exotic beauty that any man would want because that’s not true either. There’s something about me that’s lacking and these men see it in me and exploit it in me and then dump me!”
“Look at me,” Dutch said again, his voice calm, measured.
LaLa, who respected Dutch above all others, looked at him. It was obvious that she was ready to dismiss anything even he had to say, but she looked at him.
“There is an inadequacy,” he admitted, which caused Gina to look at him, too. “But it’s Crader’s inadequacy,” he added. “Not yours. You didn’t do anything but be an excellent fiancé, and then an excellent wife and mother to that man. You have nothing to hang your head down about. And you’re right: men can be superficial pricks. I hear you. But don’t you dare think it’s because of you. Look at all of those beauty queen movie stars. Their men cheated on them too. Had babies by other women, too. The whole nine. I’m talking beauty queens like Halle Berry here. And these men didn’t always cheat on them with other beauty queens, either. Some of those women they cheated with looked like pure hags! I mean they looked horrid. Because it’s not about the woman, Loretta. It’s never about the woman. It’s about the man, and his own self-esteem.”
LaLa, however, still wasn’t convinced. “But you know Crader. He’s full of confidence. He doesn’t have self-esteem issues.”
“Yes, he does,” Dutch made clear. “Every man does. I do.”
LaLa stared at Dutch. Was he saying this just to make her feel better? Or was he speaking the truth? “You?”
“Yes, me. I used to spread it around too. Crader has nothing on me.”
“But then you met Gina and stopped thinking about doing anything like that.”
“That’s not true, either,” Dutch admitted.
Gina looked at her husband.
“So what you’re saying,” LaLa asked, “is that you’ve cheated on Gina since y’all been together?”
“What I’m saying,” Dutch said, “is that the fault doesn’t lie with you. There are no easy answers here. It’s complicated. It’s al
most mind-boggling how complicated this man/woman thing can be. It’s not even about sex half the time. It’s all about feeling of value to more than one person so that you can value yourself. Men are supposed to be the stronger sex, but when it comes to love and emotions and dealing with both, we couldn’t be any weaker.”
“You’re Crader’s best friend. You love him.”
“I love him dearly,” Dutch said. “That’s why I’m so upset with him.”
LaLa continued to stare at Dutch. “Should I divorce him, Dutch?” she asked with a plea in her voice. “Will he ever change?”
Dutch shook his head, a distressed look piercing his stark green eyes. “I can’t answer that for you, my darling. You know I can’t answer that. But I’ll say this: Crader is a grown-ass man. He’s my age for crying out loud. The idea that he still has to change, at his age, should answer that question for you, Loretta. Because you said it best. You have got to face the truth.”
Dutch’s words hit LaLa like a sledgehammer. And they just sat there, the three of them, realizing, by different degrees, the implications of those words.
Until knocks were heard on the door, and the usher stepped inside.
“Excuse me, Mr. President, but the vice president is downstairs and asks permission to come up to the Residence to see his wife.”
LaLa looked crestfallen. She was already shaking her head. “No,” she said to Dutch. “I can’t.”
Dutch nodded. Looked at his usher. “I’ll handle it, thank-you,” he said, and the usher left.
Crader stood impatiently in the empty waiting room. Although he had carte blanche throughout the White House, nobody was allowed to go up to the Residence without First Family permission. And apparently, he realized after he was left waiting, Dutch wasn’t giving his permission.
He knew it for a fact when Dutch entered the lobby looking oddly casual in his jeans and sweat shirt. Crader hurried to his best friend. He looked horrible, Dutch thought.
DUTCH AND GINA: THE SINS OF THE FATHERS Page 11
