by Pat Tucker
“I love you, Sweetness,” Malone said.
“I love you more,” Leela replied.
• • •
Back in Houston, Natasha had prepared a special day for her man and herself. She knew Leela’s wedding day would be a challenge for Riley, but she planned to keep him busy and keep his mind off any thoughts of that woman.
Who jumps right into another marriage before the ink dries on the divorce papers? It was shameful to her, but she was glad Leela was stupid. That meant Natasha wouldn’t have to worry about the ditz trying to get back with her man.
It had taken lots of work and patience on her part, but she knew she was right when she found the right man for Leela. It took some time for Riley to realize it, but Natasha knew he would eventually, and she waited patiently.
“Your breakfast is ready, Baby,” she cooed.
She waited on Riley like an obedient servant, and she was happy to do it. Due to smart investments from a small inheritance she’d received when her great-aunt died, Natasha only worked a part-time job, so the bulk of her time was devoted to taking care of Riley’s needs.
The night they left Samantha’s house nearly two years ago, Riley seemed determined to hold on to his wife and that pathetic marriage.
“Listen, I can drop you wherever you need to go,” Riley had said.
“I wanna go with you. Don’t you get it? I’m your ride-or-die. I don’t want you to be alone tonight. You’ve been through so much already.”
Riley had looked over at her. For a long time, he didn’t say anything.
“Why did you go through all of this? What is it about me?”
“I told you. Men like you really don’t exist anymore. I don’t see you as a threat. I love your Alpha-male characteristics. I think if more men took control, the way you do, this world would be a better place.”
“It ain’t easy to deal with me,” Riley had warned. “Some people would even call me an asshole. I told you before, Natasha, you don’t want this work.”
“I’m not looking for anything easy. I think I have shown you that I’m prepared to work hard for everything I want. I don’t shy away from hard work. I wanted you, and I put everything on the line to get you. I took a gamble. For all I knew, Bill could’ve ignored Kelly’s advances and this whole thing would’ve blown up in my face,” she said.
“How’d you know it would work?”
“Like I said before, you’re not like most men. Bill is weak. Nothing against him, but if he was half the man you are, there was no way I would’ve been able to make it work. But because he’s weak, I knew he’d be no match for Kelly. She was glad to help. We met and she told me all of her business; that’s when I knew she’d be perfect. It was nothing but a game for her.”
“But what have you been doing all this time? It took a minute for it to all work out,” Riley said.
“I’ve been taking care of myself, keeping my body tight, working my business, and focusing on the ultimate prize.”
He simply nodded and drove the rest of the way to his house. Once they arrived, Natasha got out and followed him inside. She’d been by his side ever since.
“You’re a good woman, Natasha,” Riley said.
In their time together, he still hadn’t said he loved her, but she knew he did. If he didn’t, she felt like he could grow to love her, eventually. It didn’t matter. She had enough love for them both and as long as he respected her and was honest, she felt they had a real chance.
“I feel like doing something later, but I’m not sure what,” Riley said as he finished the food she had prepared.
Before he could move from the table, Natasha was up and clearing the dirty dishes. She rinsed everything and loaded them into the dishwasher.
“You can go and relax and I’ll think of something for us to do. Don’t stress yourself, Honey. I can come up with something we’ll both enjoy.”
Riley looked at her before he walked out of the kitchen.
She never asked about his thoughts; she was just glad to be a part of his life. Natasha did everything she thought he might like, and when she was off the mark, she asked him to tell her what he wanted.
Natasha was confident that he would come around; she had already staked quite a bit on that belief.
• • •
Bill regretted everything he had done to his best friend, and he hated what it had cost him. Life without Riley was boring and predictable.
Since Riley and Natasha started living together, the phone calls became fewer and fewer, until one day, they simply stopped. In order to get his job back, he had to agree to a transfer, and had been moved to the company’s new start-up in Sugar Land.
That meant he was farther away from Riley and that made the gap between them widen even more.
He had heard about the wedding, but there was no way in hell he was going. He didn’t care what Linda said. They’d been kicking it on the low for a few months and to his surprise, things were going pretty well.
She wasn’t the nicest woman, and she could be pushy at times, but Bill told himself she was something to do.
“You missed a beautiful ceremony,” Linda said, when she called.
“Aw, all that crap is for women anyway. Don’t be out there and find yourself some young island man,” Bill joked. “Sounds to me like someone might be a little worried,” she teased.
“Nah. It’s all good. I just know how you feel about younger men, that’s all.”
Once he ended his call with Linda, Bill tried to figure out what he could get into for the night. He didn’t really go out much anymore and most of his time was focused on work.
Although he didn’t want to broadcast his association with Linda to the world, he felt comfortable kicking it with her.
Because she was older, he didn’t have to worry about some of the childish shit younger chicks did. She had her own money, so she wasn’t in his pockets.
After one good round of sex, she’d smoke a cigarette and drift off to sleep. She wasn’t trying to break his back or get him to do all kinds of freaky shit that he’d had enough of.
The only issue he had was the constant nightmares that woke him up in cold sweats. In one, he was surrounded by Leela, Samantha, her new husband, Riley, Linda’s mother and father, and Linda, when Natasha burst into the room and screamed at him about being weak.
Right there in front of everyone, he’d cower down and beg her to leave him alone. He felt like she was the true source of all the loss he’d recently experienced.
But Bill wasn’t the type to verbalize any of that to anyone. Instead, he went about his daily routine and got with Linda maybe once or twice a week.
When he looked back on everything that had happened, he told himself it was all for a good reason. He just didn’t know what that reasoning was, and he resigned himself to the fact that he might never find out.
Bill took a beer, sat in front of the TV and started to surf the channels. He watched the game, until the game watched him; then he retired to bed.
It wasn’t the most exciting life, but it was his and it was what he had. Besides, Linda would be back by Monday and he’d drop in on her for a day or two. He finally realized that the good ol’ days were gone for good.
READER’S DISCUSSION GUIDE
1. What did you think about each character’s personality?
2. Why did Riley think his wife needed him to control her?
3. Why was Leela so impacted by what happened to Samantha’s marriage to Bill?
4. Is a friendship able to survive divorce among friends?
5. What should Leela’s grandmother have done differently when she learned about her husband’s betrayal?
6. Do you think Linda’s reaction to the betrayal was valid?
7. Why was Leela so easily lured away from her marriage to Riley?
8. Was Natasha brilliant or desperate?
9. What’s a deal breaker for marriage?
10. Should marriage evolve with changing times?
&nb
sp; 11. Are all divorces a sign of failure?
12. Were Samantha’s new views on marriage understandable?
13. Where would you like to see these characters in five years?
14. Did Leela jump back into a relationship too soon?
15. Can Riley and Natasha make it?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Credit: Rochelle Scott Design & Photography
By day, Pat Tucker works as a radio news director in Houston, Texas. By night, she is a talented writer with a knack for telling page-turning stories. A former TV news reporter, she draws on her background to craft stories readers will love. She is the author of seven novels and has participated in three anthologies, including New York Times bestselling author Zane’s Caramel Flava. A graduate of San Jose State University, Pat is a member of the National and Houston Associations of Black Journalists and Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. She is married with two children.
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ALSO BY PAT TUCKER
Somebody Has to Pay
The Cocktail Club
Sideline Scandals
Party Girl
Daddy’s Maybe
Lachez (an original e-book)
Football Widows
Daddy By Default
BOOKS WRITTEN WITH EARL SEWELL
Loyalty Among Friends
A Social Affair
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
© 2016 by Pat Tucker
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ISBN 978-1-59309-590-1
ISBN 978-1-4767-7576-0 (e-book)
LCCN 2015957697
First Strebor Books trade paperback edition July 2016
Cover design: www.mariondesigns.com
Cover photograph: © Keith Saunders/Keith Saunders Photos
Cover design by Marion Designs
Cover photograph by Keith Saunders Photography
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