Zoe sat looking at the door for a moment wondering why he hadn’t uttered a word. But then she figured he was trying to play the silent romantic role so she laid back and let the water wash over her. She had totally gotten lost in the music and was a little startled when Ramon kissed her forehead.
“Are you ready?” he asked softly.
“Ready for what?”
“For your bath,” he said as he lathered a loofa and began to slowly bathe her body. He washed every inch of her in an incredibly seductive manner. When he was done, he helped her stand to her feet, wrapped her in a towel, and lifted her out of the tub. Ramon went on to dry her off, lotion her body, and drape her in a short, sexy chemise.
“I could get used to this kind of treatment,” Zoe whispered and she wrapped her arms around Ramon and leaned in for a kiss. The light peck quickly escalated with Zoe slipping her tongue into his mouth. Ramon kissed her deeply as he allowed his hands to roam over her body. His touch was driving her crazy. She moaned as his fingers grazed her nipples and greeted him with wetness when his hand ventured over her round bottom and played between her legs. “Umm, baby, I want you so bad right now,” she whispered.
Ramon laid her on the bed of the dimly lit room and quickly walked out. But to her pleasant surprise, he returned just as quickly with a tray of strawberries, chocolate, and champaign. “Cheers to us, babe,” he said as they clinked glasses and drank to their new beginning. He sat the glasses down and turned his attention back to the beautiful woman lying in his bed. He kissed Zoe passionately and the sexy little gown he’d just draped her in was almost torn from her body. Ramon took her breast in his mouth, sucking and teasing her nipple with his tongue. He went from one to the other, sucking, biting, and licking as Zoe moaned with pleasure. Trailing southward, he teased her as he licked the inside of her thighs and finally he began to lick and gently suck her clit. He tasted her wetness and it made him hungry for more. Zoe arched her back and had her first orgasm of the night with Ramon drinking it in as if it were the sweetest nectar he’d ever tasted. When he entered her it took her breath away. He moved forcefully in and out and she matched him stroke for stroke until they collapsed in complete satisfaction.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
April walked out of the credit union ready to go home and relax after a long day of dealing with argumentative customers. To her surprise, Desi was standing outside of his car waving her over. She hurried on over and greeted him with a hug. “What are you doing here, handsome?” She asked with a smile.
“I was hoping to convince you and Zoe to join me for a drink,” he responded as he stroked her hair. It was impossible for Desi to hide how much he admired April’s beauty. He knew without a doubt that he was gay, but it was just something about that woman.
“After a day like today, I’m more than happy to join you. A good stiff drink is the perfect way to unwind, but I can’t speak for Zoe. That girl still has stars in her eyes and usually runs straight home.”
As Zoe exited the building she saw her two best friends chatting and signaling for her to join them. “Hey, Desi, what are doing here?” She questioned as she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him on the cheek.
“I came to take you and April out for a drink. It’s been a while and thought it’d be nice to catch up with my favorite girls.”
“Aww man, I’d love to,” Zoe exclaimed. “But I’ve got to run home and cook. Ramon is always so hungry when he gets in from work.”
“Come on, Zoe, you cook for him all the time. That man can live without your Spam and instant potatoes for one day,” April said sarcastically. It was everything Desi could do to not burst out laughing. The fact that Zoe couldn’t really cook was no secret.
“So it’s like that, y’all are going to dog out my cooking now? That’s cold.”
“Okay seriously Zoe, I hardly get to see you anymore. In the three months that you’ve lived with Ramon I’ve seen you twice. I mean damn, we used to spend time together at least twice a week. Is a couple hours of your time really too much to ask for now?” Desi looked at her with his puppy dog eyes, patiently awaiting her answer.
Zoe tilted her head to the side, smiled broadly and replied, “Where are we going?”
“That’s my girl,” Desi sang out as he planted a kiss on her forehead. “We’ll head over to Tin Lizzy’s, their drinks are good and you’ll be able to get those fried jalapenos you love so much.”
“Sounds like a plan. I’ll follow you guys over there,” Zoe said.
“You know that both of y’all can just ride with me. I’ll bring you back to your cars when we leave the restaurant,” Desi offered.
“No, Tin Lizzy’s isn’t that far from the house so it makes more sense for me to drive there instead of doubling back.”
“Yeah, I think I’ll drive too, Desi,” April added.
The threesome formed a caravan and headed across town. After a ten minute wait, they were seated at a high top table and the first round of drinks were placed before them. They raised a toast to friendship, love, and life. “Well, I’ll drink to two of those,” April laughed. “We all know that there’s no love in my life right now, but I want to hear all about y’alls. Desi, you and Kirk all good now, ironed out all the issues and concerns?”
“As a matter of fact we did and you ladies will be the first to hear this tid bit of news, we have decided to get married.”
“What!” Zoe exclaimed. “Are you serious? How did you and Kirk go from fighting like cats and dogs to wanting to get married?”
“We talked and once again I reassured Kirk that I was not, nor had I ever cheated on him. He said I was welcome to come back home under the condition that I agree to couples counseling.”
“You agreed to counseling?” Zoe asked in disbelief. “You’ve always said that the only way you’d visit a shrink was if they paid you.”
“I know, but I wasn’t ready to give up on Kirk and me so I was willing to try just about anything. Anyway, we went to a few sessions, talked things out and came to a mutual understanding. And you know that he recently changed jobs?”
“No, I didn’t know that,” Zoe said.
“I did,” April boasted as if she had one up on Zoe.
“Wait a minute, how did you know before me?” Zoe questioned.
“Because she actually has time to talk to me these days,” Desi said bluntly. “Now back to my story. The benefits on Kirk’s job are outstanding, but his company doesn’t recognize domestic partners as dependents and therefore won’t insure them. So with me losing my benefits soon, Kirk had the bright idea that we run off to a State that recognizes gay marriage and then his company will have to cover me as his spouse.”
“Are y’all absolutely positive about that?” April asked.
“No, but when Kirk threw it out there as a good reason to marry, I thought what the hell, it’s worth a shot. Plus I knew that benefits had very little to do with anything. Kirk just really wanted us to marry, he wants to know that I belong to him.”
Again, they raised their glasses in a toast. And as the evening went on, they laughed, talked about the good, bad and ugly of their lives and drank to just about anything. When asked if she still liked living with Ramon, Zoe gave a resounding yes and they drank to that too. Finally amidst the laughter and drinking, April looked at her watch and realized that it was 9:30pm. “OMG, do y’all realize what time it is? We have to get up for work in the morning and as beautiful as I am, I need my beauty rest.”
“Wow, I didn’t realize it had gotten so late,” Zoe said as she glanced at her watch. She then pulled her purse from the back of her chair and retrieved her cell phone. Foolishly she’d forgotten to take if off of vibrate and had missed six calls from Ramon. “My man’s been trying to reach me, probably missing his baby,” she gushed.
Desi picked up the tab, they said their goodbyes and went their separate ways. It only took Zoe about fifteen minutes to get home. To her surprise, the house was completely dark. She surmised that Ramon
had stepped out for a bit as well. She fumbled with her house key and finally slid it in the lock but it wouldn’t turn. She shook the doorknob, pulled the key out, double checked that it was the correct one and tried again. Still it wouldn’t turn, wouldn’t unlock the door. She pulled out her cell phone and called Ramon.
“Hey babe, I’m here at home but I can’t get my key to work, I can’t get in the house.”
“Then maybe you should’ve answered my calls. Maybe if you’d brought your ass home like a decent woman you’d be able to get in the house,” Ramon explained as he turned on the porch light and watched her through the glass that surrounded the front door.
“Ramon, stop playing. It’s cold out here, I’m tired and not in the mood for silly games.”
“This isn’t a game, Zoe, you need to learn to bring your ass home at a decent time if you plan to live here,” Ramon screamed angrily.
“Screw this and screw you,” Zoe shot back. She turned and started down the walk way to her car when Ramon swung the door open and stormed after her. He grabbed her by the arm and ordered her to get in the house. Snatching her arm away, Zoe began to yell, “Who the hell do you think you are? Don’t you ever grab me like that. I will not be man-handled.”
Ramon looked at her as if he could strangle her with his bare hands. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself, stepped back, and began again. “Look, Zoe, I’m sorry for changing the lock. I was upset that you hadn’t returned any of my calls and didn’t let me know where you were. The longer I sat here waiting on you, the more concerned I became, but eventually the concern turned to anger. You’ve never just gone out and not let me know if you were going to be late.”
“I don’t care how upset you are with me Ramon; it is not okay for you to put your hands on me. Putting your hands on me aggressively like that is unacceptable,” Zoe preached as she stood her ground, letting him know that she was not taking his actions lightly.
“I know and I’m sorry. Come on, let’s go in the house and finish this conversation.” Ramon extended his hand as if to say “after you.” Reluctantly, Zoe walked back to the door and entered the house. Ramon closed the door behind them, took her coat and purse, and led Zoe to the kitchen. “Are you hungry?”
“No, I had dinner with April and Desi.”
“So they’re the reason you didn’t come home or answer my calls?” Ramon badgered.
“They are not the reason Ramon. The choice was mine. It’s been a long time since I spent time with my friends and I miss them. I wanted to catch up and enjoy their company. Now I’m sorry I didn’t answer your calls, I forgot to switch my ringer back on after work. But you can’t freak out like this every time I’m late coming home. Just like you have time with your friends, I’m going to have time with mine. From now on I will let you know in advance, but they are a part of my life that I won’t be giving up.”
Ramon sat right in front of Zoe, took her hands in his and looked sternly in her eyes. “After a while you’ll come to realize that I’m all you need. I’m the only true friend you’ll need,” he advised as he squeezed her hands with far more force than he should have.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Zoe was excited to be spending Sunday afternoon with her mom and sister. For the first time in a long time, she was looking forward to her mom’s heavy, fattening meal. Ramon had a small job that he’d promised his customer would be finished before the week was over, so he was going to meet Zoe at her mom’s once he was done. This was perfect for Zoe, it would give her a chance to have some alone time with her family and speak privately without Ramon hanging on her every word.
“So tell me, Pam, how are things with you and Alvin?” Zoe asked as she poured three glasses of wine.
“Everything is really good with us. He just got a big promotion at work and decided to take me on a mini vacation to celebrate,” Pam gushed. “We’re heading to South Beach next week for a three day weekend.”
“That’s great! I swear I’d give my right arm for a break.”
“Why don’t you suggest to Ramon that you all take a little break?” Martha suggested.
“In all honesty Mama, I’d prefer to get away alone. I could use a little time to myself to meditate, release a little stress,” Zoe confessed.
As Pam and Martha looked back and forth at one another with concern etched across their faces, Zoe sat the glasses on the table and took a seat. Following her lead, Pam and Martha sat as well. They each took a couple of sips of wine before Pam broke the brief silence. “So tell us Zoe, is everything okay with you and Ramon? Is he treating you well or are you starting to have issues with him?”
“Everything is cool for the most part. His possessiveness is starting to drive me a little crazy, but other than that, we’re all good.”
“Exactly what do you mean when you say his possessiveness?” Martha inquired.
Zoe told them about his over the top reaction to her hanging out with April and Desi a couple of weeks ago. “I couldn’t believe that he actually changed the lock just because I went out for a bit. Hell, if I changed the locks every time he hung out with his friends the locksmith would have to move in.”
“That’s just ridiculous,” Pam exclaimed. She was clearly annoyed with Ramon’s outrageous behavior. “Why didn’t you just tell him to kiss your ass and come back here?” Clearly Pam’s nervous condition had been replaced with confidence and a low tolerance for foolishness.
“That’s exactly what I did,” Zoe explained. “But then he came running after me, pleading for me to go in the house. Once I did he proceeded to apologize and tell me how he’s the only real friend that I need. And he was squeezing my hands so tight. It was all a little too weird for me and left me feeling uneasy. I still don’t like the way any of that went down.”
“And what did he bring you as a make-up gift the next day?” Martha asked with a stone face.
“Mama, how did you know he bought me a gift?” Zoe challenged.
“Zoe, that’s a classic sign of an abuser. Baby, they treat you like crap, curse you, grab you, and eventually beat you, and they always come back with a gift,” Martha spat angrily. “I want you to leave him Zoe. Come back home before he starts to escalate this behavior.”
“Mama, calm down. You know I would never fall for any mess like that and I don’t think that Ramon is an abuser. That was the first incident of that nature. Believe me, I stood my ground and laid down the law. I was very clear with what I would and would not accept.”
“That all sounds good Zoe, but we all know that if Ramon is in fact an abuser, your laying down the law means absolutely nothing. And we know from experience that the longer you stay, the worse the behavior will get,” Pam warned. “You need to bring your ass home.”
“Look, y’all really do need to calm down,” Zoe demanded. She looked at her mom and saw that tears were dancing at the rim of her eyes, threatening to fall down her face. “Mama please don’t cry. I promise y’all that the man has never hit me and he won’t. If he ever tried, he’d have one hell of a fight on his hands and I wouldn’t hesitate to pack my things and come right back home.”
“I’m going to trust that you’ll actually do that Zoe. I pray that you’re right, that he isn’t an abusive man, but please don’t ignore the signs. Promise me that if something like that happens again, you’ll leave,” Martha begged.
“I promise, Mama. Now let’s finish up dinner so that it’ll be ready when he and Alvin get here,” Zoe suggested.
“They’re getting a free meal so if they have to wait a little bit for it then oh well,” Pam asserted, clearly still angry about the information her sister had just divulged.
Alvin was the first to arrive. He came in with a warm smile and comforting hugs for everyone. He couldn’t help but notice the serious faces plastered on each of the women. “Is everything okay?” He asked although he had a sinking feeling that it wasn’t.
“Everything is fine,” Zoe assured him. “I hope you’re hungry because Mama threw down to
day.”
“I am starving! All I’ve had today was a cup of coffee and a protein bar. Whoever said that crap would keep you full for hours lied,” Alvin laughed, but noticed that Zoe was the only one to laugh with him. “Okay ladies, for real now, what’s wrong? Ms. Martha, you look like you’re about to burst into tears and Pam, you act as if you’re ready to punch someone’s lights out. What gives?”
“It seems that Zoe is having a bit of problem with Ramon,” Pam spat. “He’s acting like he wants to start man handling folks and” The doorbell interrupted Pam mid-sentence.
“Look y’all, I want you to lose the attitudes right now. I don’t want Ramon to know that I spoke to y’all about this. It was one incident that I don’t want to cause me more problems because y’all can’t get and keep your attitudes in check. Now get it together,” Zoe demanded as she went and opened the front door. “Hey, baby,” she said as she greeted Ramon with a hug and kiss.
“Hey, you okay? I thought I heard someone fussing in here.”
“Oh no, must have been the folks in the apartment next door,” Zoe lied.
Ramon stepped further into the apartment and greeted everyone with a cheerful hello. He felt as if he was greeted half-heartedly by everyone except Zoe. Thinking that it may have just been in his head, he walked over to Ms. Martha and gave her a big hug. Normally she would wrap him up into a big hug and talk sweetly to him as if he were her son. But her weak pat on the back greeting assured him that it wasn’t in his head. This was a feeling that Ramon didn’t like and he began to rack his brain as to why he was getting the cold shoulder. Then it hit him like a ton of bricks, Zoe must’ve relayed the events of the night they’d argued.
Trying to honor her sister’s request, Pam attempted to straighten her face and lighten her tone. “So, Ramon, were you able to complete the job?”
Hate the Way He Loves Me Page 8
