What We Won't do for Love (Love, Lies & Lust Series)

by Mz. Robinson

That bitch is gay.

  Jade was tall with lean hips, a Jennifer Lopez ass, and emerald green eyes. She claimed she had a long-term live in boyfriend but no one in the shop had ever seen him. I told Mona that’s because her boyfriend was really a girl.

  “Looking good,” she said, in her thick Latino accent. Ignoring her comment I continued my stroll.

  “Hey Ms. O.” Mona laughed.

  “Hey Mon.” I smiled, before sitting down in the chair.

  “Ms. Jade was checking you out again.” Mona whispered, securing the plastic cape around my neck.

  “She’d better chill out before I plant this size 9 in the crack of her ass.” I whispered back.

  “Don’t do it girl, those shoes are too cute!” We both laughed.

  “Not working today?” Mona asked.

  I reclined in the chair, so that my neck was resting in the crease of the shampoo bowl.

  “I took the day off,” I said, looking up at her. How’d you know?”

  “I’ve never seen you in jeans before.” She was right. Normally I came in professionally dressed. Today I was simple but sexy in a pair of fitted Calvin Klein jeans, a blue off -the -shoulder fitted knit shirt, and a pair of open toe wedge heels.

  “The benefits of being your own boss,” she said. “One day I’m going to take a day off.”

  “And you should,” I told her. “Just as long as it’s not the first or third Wednesday.”

  “I already know,” she laughed. Mona washed, then rinsed my hair, and gave me a soothing scalp massage before rubbing a scalp tingling, lilac scented conditioner in my hair. After sitting under the dryer for fifteen minutes, I returned to the shampoo chair so Mona could rinse the conditioner out. She towel dried my hair lightly, then we walked over to her styling station.

  “I saw your girl and her man the other day.”

  “Who?”

  “Shontay and Kenny.” Mona turned on the hand dryer then began combing out my hair. “They were at the park with a pretty little girl that looks just like Kenny.” I didn’t want to put Shontay’s business in the streets so I played dumb.

  “Oh, really?”

  “Um hum,” Mona said, sucking her teeth. “So he finally told her.”

  “Told her what?” I asked.

  “About his daughter,” Mona replied, pausing with the comb in mid-air.

  “How do you know he has a daughter?” I asked, staring at her reflection in the mirror.

  “Hell, O, damn near everyone in Huntsville knows.” Mona shook her head. “It’s a damn shame Kenny’s triflin’ ass had your girl out here looking like boo boo the fool!”

  “I thought he was keeping Kiya on the low?” I said, confused.

  “He was, but Alicia wasn’t.” Mona laid the dryer on her station, and then began to section my hair. “You know Torey does Alicia’s hair.”

  “Since when?” I questioned.

  “Since about two years ago,” Mona answered.

  “Wait a minute,” I said, looking up at her.

  “Alicia’s been getting her hair done here and she and Shontay have never crossed paths?”

  “Nope.”

  “How is that possible?” I asked.

  “Because I run a clean business,” Mona said. “I know Alicia’s ugly ass only started coming here for one reason.”

  “And when I found out that reason, I told Torey to keep her ass on the opposite day of Shontay or pack her shit and go.”

  “Damn.”

  I was speechless at how something can be right under your nose and you not realize it.

  “Kenny is dirty, Octavia,” Mona said, straightening my hair with flat irons. “He’s about as dirty as they come. She paused a moment before adding, “You know he bought Alicia a ring.”

  “Mona he ain’t bought Alicia’s ass anything.” I said, laughing.

  Kenny was a dog but he was a cheap dog.

  “He did, O!” Mona’s eyes were wide. “One of my clients works at Friedman’s in the mall and she said she seen him in there buying it.” “Then I had her in here on the same day I knew Alicia was going to be here. Girl, she said it was the same ring Alicia had on her finger.”

  “Are you sure?” I asked.

  “Yes, plus she says her and Kenny are going to get married someday.”

  “Now I know that’s a lie.” I stated, confidentially. “Kenny may be a dog and we both know he is a hoe, but he’s not stupid. He’s never going to leave Shontay.” I said, shaking my head. “And even worse, she’s never going to leave him.”

  “Well let’s talk about you,” Mona said, excitedly.

  “What about me?” I said, slowly, wondering what was coming next.

  “You know your Mama told me you got a man.” Ain’t that some shit?

  “When you talk to my Mama?” I asked.

  “She came in a few weeks ago to get a pedicure.”

  “She was looking hot, O,” Jade said, as she jumped into the conversation. “Your Mama is sexy for an older woman.”

  “I know and like me she’s strictly down for dick.” I said, with attitude.

  “So you say O, so you say.” Jade giggled.

  Note to self If I ever see that bitch out in public, beat her coochie licking ass! “Shut up, Jade!” Mona snapped.

  “Anyway, Octavia, your Mama told me you have a new man.” “We’re just friends.”

  “Um hum,” Mona said, sucking her teeth. “And you took him to meet your Mama.”

  “He just happened to be in the right place at the right time.” I responded flatly.

  “Well, Ms. Charlene says he is fine.”

  “And?” I waited, wanting to know what else she shared with my stylist.

  “And she can’t wait to have a son in law.” Mona said, smiling.

  “Well, she’ll be waiting a long time,” I said. I made another mental note to get on Mama for putting my business in the streets. “because I have no intentions of ever getting married.”

  “Me neither.” Jade said, proudly.

  “That’s because same sex marriages are illegal in Alabama,” Mona whispered to me. We both laughed.

  Have you ever had the feeling that someone was watching you? That’s exactly how I felt when I left Mona’s shop. Naturally, there were the brothers standing around the barber shop next door eyeing me like a hot fudge sundae, but I continued to have that feeling even after I got into my car and pulled off.

  Chapter 8

  Damon called me on Friday to ask me to meet him at his office instead of at the restaurant. He said he had to wait on a late delivery from Fed Ex.

  I arrived at exactly one ‘o clock and found Damon waiting outside looking extremely delectable. He was wearing black dress slacks and a white oxford shirt.

  “Hey beautiful,” he said, smiling at me.

  I parted my lips to return his greeting when he silenced me with a light kiss. His lips were on mine for only a few seconds but it was long enough to send a chill down my spine.

  “There’s been a change of plans,” He said. Looking at him curiously I waited for an explanation.

  Smiling he took me by the hand and led me through Nomad’s front doors. Inside, the waiting area was completely furnished with sofas and coffee tables as well as two large wall mounted TVs. There were several cubicles sitting behind the waiting area, each equipped with a desk, two chairs and a desktop computer. Following Damon I saw that we approached a pair of glass French doors.

  “This is my office,” he said, pushing the doors open.

  When I stepped thru the doorway the first thing I noticed was a huge velvet blanket spread out on the floor. On top of the blanket were two velvet body pillows, a wicker picnic basket and two glass champagne flutes.

  Next to the flutes was a frosty ice filled bucket holding a bottle of Dom P. I stood there smiling until Damon led me by the hand over to the blanket.

  “You are full of surprises.” I said, as I stretched out on one of the pillows.

  “You have no idea,” he s
aid, stretching out next to me.

  Opening the basket, he removed two saran covered plates holding submarine sandwiches. After sitting the plates in front of us, Damon popped open the champagne and filled both glasses.

  “I hope you like roast beef and champagne.” He said, handing me one of the glasses.

  “You’re in luck,” I said, taking the glass in my hand. “Both are my favorites.” I was being honest. He had made an accurate guess.

  After we ate our sandwiches he cleared our plates from the blankets.

  “Are you ready for dessert?” He asked, seductively.

  I was thinking, Hell yeah, if you’re the dessert. Instead I asked, “What dessert?”

  Reaching in the basket he pulled out two bowls. One full of plump, chocolate covered strawberries and the other filled with whip cream. Watching as Damon removed the lids from both bowls, I sipped on my second glass of Dom.

  Dipping one of the strawberries in the whip cream, Damon leaned in close to me. Opening my mouth I allowed him to slowly feed the fruit to me.

  “Was it sweet?” He asked.

  “Yes,” I said, softly.

  “Are you sure?” He asked, seductively.

  “I’m positive.”

  “Maybe I should find out for myself,” He suggested.

  I took that as a hint he wanted me to return his gesture, but as I reached for the strawberries he pulled me into his arms. Taking my face in his hands, Damon gently licked and sucked each of my lips.

  “Very sweet,” he whispered.

  Pulling away, I took one of the berries into my hand and swirled it around the cream. Holding it to Damon’s lips, I watched as he ate each piece never taking his eyes of me. After he had swallowed the last morsel, I lightly pressed my lips to his and licked and sucked each of his lips.

  “Delicious,” I said, looking in his eyes.

  Pushing me down on the pillow, Damon positioned himself in between my legs. The skirt I was wearing slid up around my hips, revealing my freshly waxed legs. Kissing me passionately, he moved his tongue to enter my mouth and I allowed it to meet mine.

  My heart began to pound fiercely as his lips moved to my neck then back up to my lips. The warmth and sweetness of his lips made me wet inside and I wanted him to take me right there on his office floor.

  Pulling him up on me, I felt him growing in his pants. Wrapping my legs around his waist, I slowly began to grind my pelvis into his. I could feel him hard as a rock in between my thighs and the feel of him made me wetter and wetter.

  Grabbing the back of my head, Damon kissed me harder. I could not stand it any longer and I wanted him inside of me right then. As I began to unbutton his shirt, Damon gently grabbed my hands. Pulling back slowly he moved his hands to my face. Stroking the curls framing my forehead, he took a deep breath then exhaled.

  “We can’t. Not like this,” he said.

  “What’s the matter?” I asked.

  “Nothing, it’s just I don’t want to rush this.”

  I was at a loss for words so I just laid there staring at him. This has got to be an all time first.

  Pulling me up with him, Damon sat upright. Squeezing my hands gently he brushed his lips across mine. “I am a very patient man,” he said “And although I would love to spend the rest of the afternoon getting to know every inch of your body right here.”

  Damn!

  “I would much rather I got to know all about you first,” He continued.

  Damn! Damn!

  Smiling, I agreed to slow it down a notch. I was highly disappointed that the two of us were not going to spend the rest of the day wearing out the velvet on his blanket. But at the same time it felt good having a man tell me no.

  I hit Park Place Mall after I left Nomad, to do a little window-shopping. Instead, I ended up purchasing two new suits, three cocktail dresses and matching shoes to complete each ensemble. I was shopping out of pure frustration and trying my hardest to stop thinking about Damon pushing inside of me.

  After I left the mall, I made a stop by Buzzing Baby Daycare to invite Shontay out for drinks. Shontay was the lead teacher for the one and two year old class. I found her wiping one of what I presume to be many runny noses inside her classroom.

  “I have no idea how you do it,” I said, watching her in disgust.

  “Do what?” She asked.

  “The crying, the screaming...”

  Frowning, I watched as one of the little girls loudly blew her nose in a tissue Shontay was holding. “The snot.” I finished.

  Laughing she shook her head, “Its more than just that,” She said. “With kids the good always outweighs the bad.”

  I watched as a pretty Hispanic girl turned her sippy cup upside down. I asked, “So is that a part of the good?”

  “Ana Marie,” Shontay called. “That is a no- no!”

  “No no,” Ana repeated, as she continued to watch juice trickle down to the floor.

  Rushing to Ana’s side, Shontay removed the cup from Ana’s chubby little fingers. Ana let go of the cup and threw her little arms around Shontay’s waist.

  “Sorry,” She said, sweetly.

  “It’s okay, Ana,” Shontay said, squeezing her gently. “It’s okay.”

  When the other children saw Shontay hugging Ana, they stopped what they were doing and joined Ana at her side. Bending down to their level, Shontay extended her arms to the group. The whole scene was so cute I had to smile. For a moment I understood what she meant by the “good”.

  That night, Shontay and I sat at the bar inside Club Hydro bobbing our heads to the sounds of Ludacris “Just Like That” blasting from the club sound system. We were sipping on a couple of panty droppers when two slim, light-skinned men approached us. As they got closer, I realized they were identical twins dressed in polo shirts, jeans, and tennis shoes. They were cute but not even close to being what I consider fine.

  “What’s up, ladies?” One of them asked.

  Smiling, I continued to sip on my drink.

  “What’s up?” Shontay replied.

  “Mind if we join the two of you?” He asked.

  “Not at all,” she said.

  I assumed it was the alcohol talking because normally she would have told him “yes, I do mind” and sent him on his way. The one doing all the talking sat on the empty seat next to Shontay and the other one plopped down beside me.

  “I’m Greg and this is my brother Brad,” he smiled.

  Greg was sitting next to Shontay and Brad was sitting to the right of me.

  “I’m Shontay and this is my girl, Octavia,” she said.

  “That’s a pretty name,” Brad said to me.

  Looking at him briefly I said, “Thanks.”

  “You wanna dance?” Greg asked Shontay.

  “Sure.”

  Before I could blink Shontay had hopped off the stool and made a bee-line to the center of the dance floor. I was praying Brad didn’t offer because I did not want to have to decline.

  “So what do you do?” He asked.

  Slurping down the last of my drink I placed the empty glass on the bar. “I ‘m in the food industry.” I answered. “So you’re like a caterer or something?”

  “Yep.” I kept my answer short with the hope he would not ask me anything else.

  “That’s tight,” he smiled. “Are you from here?”

  “Yep.”

  “That’s good.”

  “Yep.”

  “It’s jumping in here tonight.”

  “Yep.”

  There was a long period of silence between the two of us. Finally he said, “I’ll be back.”

  Smiling, I watched as he got up and walked away. I knew he wouldn’t be back and I was glad. Shontay was still on the dance floor backing her ass up with Greg when I finished my third and final drink. Removing my cell phone from my purse to check the time I realized it was one a.m. and that I had three missed calls. Checking my call log, I smiled when I saw all three calls had been from Damon. Smells like a booty
call to me. Grabbing my purse I headed for the ladies room. Once inside a stall I contemplated whether or not I should just wait and call him tomorrow. Looking at the time of his last call I decided to take a chance - it had only been an hour ago.

  The phone rang twice and then he answered.

  “Hello.”

  “Did I wake you?” I asked.

  “No, you didn’t,” he answered. “What’s all that noise in the background?”

  “I’m at the Hydro with Shontay.”

  “The Hydro?”

  “Yeah, it’s a club,” I informed him.

  “Oh.”

  “You called me earlier?” I already knew the answer.

  “Yeah,” he hesitated.

  “What was up?”

  “I was calling to see if I could come see you.”

  “Oh, I had my phone on vibrate.” I have no idea why I felt the need to explain myself but I did.

  “What time are you leaving there?” He asked.

  “I’m leaving now,” I lied, hoping he would take a hint.

  “Well, call me when you get home.”

  I didn’t want to call him when I got home. What I wanted is for him to meet me there. “Would you still like to come by?” I finally asked.

  “I don’t know,” he said, “It’s a little late.”

  “It’s just one a.m.”I said. “But, if you don’t want to…”

  “It’s not that I don’t want to…” He began. There was a small pause, and then he finally said, “See you in an hour.”

  Chapter 9

  When I got home, I was still buzzing a little from the alcohol but I was grateful I hadn’t gotten drunk. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen once Damon arrived but I wanted to be ready for whatever. I quickly showered and I had to wash my hair because it reeked from the smoke in the club. Once my hair was dry, I brushed my teeth before slipping on the DKNY set he bought me.

  It was exactly two a.m. when Damon knocked on my door. When I opened it I had to do a double take. He was wearing a white tank top and a pair of gray sweats. His broad linebacker shoulders and large biceps made my mouth water. Stepping back, I inhaled as he walked pass me through the door. The smell of his cologne filled my nostrils, enticing me even more. Securing the door, I turned to find him looking at me with that damn stare. His arms to his side and his legs spread shoulder length apart. He reminded me of a soldier- a well built, hand crafted soldier.