by Pat Tucker
For the longest, Samantha and Kent stood back and watched in silence. She turned to him and asked, “So, the only reason you’re with me is because you were helping her out?”
“Nah. She did approach us, but she made it seem like we were all going to hook up. All she did was put us in the same place at the same time, like a blind date. I don’t know this chick like that,” Kent quickly said. “That night we sent the drinks over, she was there and told us some story about how you two were her friends. She had to leave, but was concerned about you guys having a good time. That was it. She pointed you and Leela out, and Malone and I took it from there. This is no conspiracy. If she did anything more than that, she did that shit all on her own.”
Samantha looked at Bill. “So you sold your friend out for what? Some ass? You’re a real piece of work.”
“I didn’t sell anybody out for nothing. Natasha has a way of appealing to what people want most. She’s right. I wanted my friend to remember the good ol’ days. That’s all I’m guilty of. I might have helped her a little more than I should have, but don’t try to make this out to be nothing more than what it was,” Bill warned.
Samantha was disgusted. She rushed to Leela’s side. “What do you want to do? You don’t have to go with him if you don’t want to. I can make everyone leave, and we can try to figure this thing out. Just tell me what you want to do.”
Riley stepped up. “What the hell do you mean what does she want to do? Last I checked, I still had papers on her! That’s my damn wife. She’s gonna do what the hell I tell her to do,” he stated.
Natasha stepped into Riley’s personal space. She spoke to him calmly, as if no one else was in the room.
“See, Baby. That’s what I’m trying to tell you. This type of woman will never appreciate you. Women no longer want a real man like you. They don’t want a man who is going to take control of a situation and tell them what to do. They’re too busy trying to compete with men. But me, I’m different. If you were my husband, you would never have to raise your voice. You say it’s time to go, and, Baby, I’m going. You’re too good of a man to have to repeat yourself the way you do. Don’t you get that? Let me treat you like the king you are.” Natasha moved close to Riley.
When he didn’t back away, Leela wondered if what she’d heard was correct. There was nothing appealing to her about Riley’s demanding ways and condescending tone. The fact that Natasha found it attractive made her feel like the disturbed woman might have had a point.
CHAPTER
37
Leela struggled to steady her breathing. She was so enraged she felt like she could kill. She motioned for Samantha to come close, and when her friend came, she reached in and whispered, “Make them go, all of them.”
“You got it!”
Samantha walked into the center of the small crowd that had formed in her living room. She clapped her hands a few times to get everyone’s attention.
“Okay, listen here, everyone. It’s time to go. This entire mess is over. We’re tired of it and we need you all to leave.”
Riley frowned and looked at Leela with such disgust and disdain she knew his mind probably raced with the many ways he could kill her. “Leela, c’mon. Let’s go!”
Silence fell on the room once again. All eyes focused on Leela, including Riley’s.
“Look, I’ve had enough of this circus. Let’s get outta here and go home,” he repeated. “We can straighten this out in private.”
“I’m not going,” Leela said. At first her voice wasn’t that loud. The tension in the room was similar to a foggy day with zero visibility.
Riley moved closer. When Leela flinched, Malone quickly jumped between them.
“Man, she says she ain’t going,” Malone said. “And I don’t think anybody in here is about to let you force her to go.”
“Dude, who the hell do you think you talking to? This is my wife! I don’t care what you think you got with her; she belongs to me!” Riley growled.
“Riley, that’s where you’re wrong. I don’t belong to you! At this point, I don’t even know that I wanna still be married to you! I’m not leaving and that’s that!”
“You’re making a huge mistake,” Riley said. His voice was laced with anger.
“I’ll take my chances, but I’m staying right here.”
Natasha moved in and gently took Riley by the arm. “You don’t have to take this. Let her stay if that’s what she wants to do, Daddy. I’ll come with you, and you never gotta worry about begging me.”
“Begging?” Riley gawked. “I ain’t begging nobody for shit!”
“I know. I know. That’s what I’m trying to say. Let’s get out of here. Let’s leave them all here to figure this out. She wants to stay; let her. You’re too much of a man to have to persuade any woman to go with you.”
Natasha turned her head and allowed her eyes to stare at Leela’s feet. The frosty, defiant stare slowly rolled up to her head, stopped at her eyes, where they lingered for a second, then plummeted back down, again. “You’re too good for her anyway,” Natasha snarled.
Riley stared at his wife too. He didn’t say anything, but he was sure she understood, despite his silence.
“Babe.” Natasha stepped up to Riley and moved into his personal space. She rubbed his arm. “You don’t need this. I’m embarrassed for you. I don’t understand how you’re allowing things to go down like this. Baby, let’s go!”
Riley’s icy glare connected with Natasha’s eager eyes. She pleaded with him silently again, then slowly shook her head. Riley gently removed her hand and nodded.
“You’re right,” he said. His voice was so low, Natasha was probably the only person who heard it.
Kent was visibly upset too.
Before he left, Kent turned to Samantha. “Baby, I’m leaving now, but I won’t stay away. I’m gonna respect your wishes, but I’m gonna call and check on you guys later.” Kent turned to Malone. “Let’s roll, Man.”
Malone refused to leave. “I’m not going until he leaves, without her.” He motioned toward Riley.
Once again, Riley’s face filled with rage. He was still reluctant to leave, but Samantha and Natasha were both pushing him to go.
At the front door, Natasha gave his arm another tug, before they finally walked out of the door. Once they were gone, Malone followed behind Kent and finally, Leela and Samantha were left alone.
“What the fuck just happened here?” Samantha asked. “What the hell?”
• • •
Nearly two hours after the drama unfolded, Leela and Samantha got comfy on the couch, sipped cocktails, and talked about the details of the crazy evening.
It was so hard to fathom all that had gone down.
“Can you believe Natasha was behind all of this? She wanted him that bad?”
Leela turned to Samantha. “Does it matter to you that she basically set Bill up? I mean, the whole thing with Kelly.”
“Bill is just as dumb as a box of rocks! It doesn’t matter because as crazy as she is, she had a great point. If things were stable with Bill and me, Kelly wouldn’t have had a chance. He’s weak-minded. Think about it: how you gonna let this crazy chick talk you into getting your boy to do something like that in the first damn place?” Samantha asked. “Then the whole GPS thing? What the hell? So Free Fridays was a ploy from the gate!”
“Well, it’s like ol’ girl said; he wanted his friend to be single, just like him.” Leela sighed.
“When a woman is desperate, um, I mean, determined, I guess there’s no telling what she will do,” Samantha said. She shook her head.
“So, that trick was probably following us all along,” Leela said. “Think about it. How did she know we would be at that bar? And did she just pick two random guys when she found Kent and Malone? She was serious about hers, huh?”
“Well, we’ve known she was crazy from way back in the day. Obviously, she never took her meds or wherever she went, things didn’t work there, so she came back to get
her man!”
Leela held up her cocktail glass. “Let’s toast to desperate, um, I mean, determined women who get exactly what they want!”
“Hell, I’ll drink to that.” Samantha raised her glass too. After they touched glasses, and took healthy sips, they laughed at the madness of it all.
“Malone was right about everything he said. There’s no reason why I need to stay with Riley. I’ve put up with his shit for far too long. And besides, I’m not about to be stalked by that crazy bitch. Desperate or determined, if she went through all of this, you know good and well, she’s not gonna stop until she gets his ass!”
“You gotta love ’em, those determined women,” Samantha joked.
Her cell phone rang.
“Oooh. That’s Kent, I’m not sure what to make of him. How do we know he’s not more connected to Natasha than they’re saying? I don’t know.”
Samantha picked up the phone and slid her finger across the screen to decline the call. A few seconds later, the phone chirped and an indicator popped up to say she had a voicemail message.
“Umph. He left a message.” She punched the necessary keys and listened.
“Baby, I hope you two are okay over there. I know there’s a lot of confusion going on, but you gotta believe me when I tell you—that girl, Natasha, she don’t mean shit to me. I swear I just met her that night. I wouldn’t lie to you. Real talk, Baby, what we got going right now is real cool and I don’t wanna see it messed up over some meaningless woman. I’m not gonna press, but I ain’t backing down, either. That’s it for now.”
“Yeah, we need to talk about this,” Samantha said after she listened to the message. “I ain’t trying to be nobody’s fool, but honestly, I kinda believe him.”
Leela didn’t miss the twinkle in Samantha’s eyes. There was a part of her that wanted to believe what the guys were saying. The way Malone touched her, she didn’t want to believe he was in cahoots with anyone. There was something so sincere and trustworthy about him, his kiss.
“If Natasha knew them…” Samantha said.
Leela finally interrupted. “I hope you don’t mind, but right now, I don’t know who or what to believe. My heart is telling me that Malone is the real thing, but after being with Riley and seeing how he operates, I’m so confused.”
Samantha got up and moved to be near Leela.
“Will we ever get past this?” Leela asked. “I’m so tired of being caught between two men. I want stability back in my life again. I want to be able to have faith in the man I’m with.” Leela sighed. “I know how you feel about marriage and men now, but I know you’re not trying to be alone, are you?”
“No, not at all. I just want to clear this mess up.”
CHAPTER
38
A few days later, still at Samantha’s house, Leela stared deeply into the dark eyes that had completely held her captive. She felt so at ease despite the turmoil that had suddenly become her life. There was something so calming and reassuring about him.
“I’m sorry for all of this, Sweetness; the last thing I ever wanted to do was hurt you. If we had the slightest inkling that ol’ girl was trying to target you and Samantha, there was no way in hell we would’ve played along. You know me well enough to know that’s not my style. I’m sorry for all of it.”
“This is a mess, isn’t it?”
“It doesn’t have to be. I mean, I get it. I know he’s still your husband and you will have to go back there, but I can make sure you’re safe. I won’t let anything happen to you.” He put up his two fingers. “Scout’s honor, Sweetness.”
Leela shook her head. “That’s not a concern. Riley isn’t violent; he’s way too proud to go out like that. Besides, if he’s with Natasha, there’s no way in the world he wants to make himself look weak. That’s just how he is.”
Malone took her hands into his. He stroked her softly. “Well, regardless of what happens, I meant it when I said I got you.” He took her chin and turned her face to his. Malone’s mouth covered hers. Their kiss was intense, just the way Leela liked it. Everything with him, and about him, felt so right to Leela.
She wanted desperately to stay right there in Samantha’s spare bedroom and in Malone’s arms. She knew for sure she’d be safe if she could.
The knock on the door interrupted their tender moment.
“I’ll get it this time,” Leela said. “The last time you answered a door, I was not prepared for everything that flooded inside.”
He laughed. “Good point.”
Leela pulled the bedroom door open.
“Hey, I just wanted to let you know Kent brought food. You guys should get something to eat. It’s good too, barbecue.”
“You hungry?” Leela looked over her shoulder at Malone.
“Yeah, but not just for food.”
“Behave!” Leela warned.
“What? I’m only being honest.”
• • •
Sixteen months later…
Two years ago, if someone would’ve told Leela that she and Riley would be living separate lives and acting as if they barely knew each other, she would’ve called the person deranged.
But there she sat, hundreds of miles away from him and the life they once shared, marveling at just how much her life had changed over the course of two short years. She knew the change was for the best, because during that time, she had been the happiest in her life.
“It’s so peaceful here,” Samantha said.
The comment pulled Leela back from her thoughts. She sat gazing out of the patio door into the azure Caribbean Sea.
From her room that overlooked the sandy white beach, she focused on two palm trees that were decorated with white ribbons, colorful flowers and streamers that seemed to dance in the wind. With the bright blue skies as a backdrop, the image was near perfect.
“I love it here,” Samantha said.
“Talk about paradise,” Leela said.
They were inside a deluxe suite at Robert’s Grove Beach Resort in Placencia, Belize.
“It’s peaceful and beautiful here, isn’t it?” Leela asked.
“It is. Can you believe it? Everything is perfect. Almost too perfect if you ask me,” Samantha said.
Leela turned to look at her friend. “We deserve a little perfection, my friend. Don’t you think? But now that it’s all over, everything worked out the way it should’ve for us all.”
Samantha walked closer to Leela. They both looked out at the scene that seemed to sprawl out before them.
“I’m so happy for you. The past few days here have been the closest I’ve ever been to paradise,” Samantha said. “You made yet another great choice.”
“How do I look? You know I didn’t know how I’d feel in this color, but I’m glad I didn’t go with white. That’s not the kind of marriage I want, not again.” Leela fussed with the dress a little.
“You look perfect. Here, wait, let me get one last thing; then I think we need to get going.”
Samantha left Leela’s side and rushed to the nightstand. She grabbed a small plastic container, removed the colorful flower and approached Leela.
“Here, turn your head to the left,” Samantha said. Carefully, she pinned the flower to the side of her best friend’s hair and stepped back to survey her work. “There, that’s perfect. You look great.”
“You look great, too.”
“Thanks, girl. Now, let’s go. We don’t wanna keep our guests waiting, do we?”
Samantha moved around the room and picked up a few items.
“We can go, but before we go down, let’s stop next door. I need to check something,” Leela said.
“Oh, girl, I told you, you look great!” Samantha assured her. “Hell, you were ready before me. What did you forget?”
“No, it’s not that. I just need to make sure they put something in our room for later.”
They left Samantha’s room and walked a few feet down the hall. Leela pulled the key from the small satin wristlet she wore,
and opened the door. She stuck her head inside and glanced around the spacious room.
“Yup, it’s there,” she said.
Once she eyed the standing silver bucket that held a bottle of champagne and saw the platter covered with strawberries, she pulled the door shut and grabbed Samantha by the arm. Leela was excited and couldn’t wait for them to return to the room later.
“Can you believe this?” Leela asked as she walked next to Samantha. “I am really about to do this, huh?”
“You bet your ass you are!” Samantha exclaimed.
As they walked through the halls and along the grounds of the resort, employees and guests stopped to gaze at them. The women were both all smiles and beamed as they moved past the bar on the wooden deck and beyond the pool.
Moments later, Leela and Samantha arrived at the area that was cordoned off, and everyone rose. The women smiled as oohs and ahhs rose from the people arranged in chairs on the beach front.
When the soft music started, they each took the stroll down the aisle and toward the groom and his best man who waited at the makeshift altar.
The destination wedding was intimate and small, with twenty guests; it was exactly what the bride and groom wanted. After the ceremony wrapped up, guests at the resort and nearby resorts were treated to a reception party in the open restaurant.
Leela was finally happy. She and her husband held hands throughout the entire evening. After they partied with their guests, Malone leaned to whisper in his wife’s ear. “Sweetness, let’s go back to our room.”
Leela smiled and they slipped away from the party. At the door, Leela dug into the satin wristlet for the key, and pulled it out, but Malone stopped her. He took the key, unlocked the door, then scooped her up into his arms and carried her over the threshold.
Leela giggled the entire time. She felt incredible. She was in love and was married to a man who was good to her. Leela wanted to remember the way she felt on her wedding day so she could mentally revisit their time in Placencia whenever she needed. Inside the suite, they fed each other sweet strawberries that they washed down with ice-cold champagne.
