“I would hardly call him an ex-boyfriend, Rick, we went out one time. He was a friend for a lot longer than that. I miss my old friends. I don’t know anyone here.”
Rick sighed and sat down next to her. Meeka sat up and looked at him. He was not so mad as before, but he was sad.
“Out of all the people, did it have to be him?”
“I saw him at the park. It was not like I searched him out.”
“No, but you knew it would hurt me, didn’t you?”
“No, I thought you wouldn’t know and didn’t see a point in telling you for you to get all mad like this.”
“So you just kept it from me?”
“To save your feelings.”
Meeka wished she could have sucked the words back up. It was not the right thing to say and Rick’s eyes darkened further.
“I can’t believe you, Meeka. You can be so damn cold sometimes.”
“Why should it be such a big deal? You're supposed to trust me and not freak out. I knew you were going to freak out and there is no reason to. If you saw us, you should have just come over, instead of this.”
“If I would have seen you, Johnny would be at my E.R. I got the news from one of the nurses from work. Do you know how embarrassing that was?”
“Oh so it is an image thing? And when did you turn into Rocky?”
“When someone is sniffing around something that is mine.”
“Something? Are you serious?”
Meeka was getting more and more upset. Sometimes he was just too damn dominant and drove her crazy. He seemed to forget that she was doing just fine without him. It wasn’t true, but that is what she told herself. Her anger was only in her eyes and her voice was level and even.
“I think I'm going to sleep in the kids’ room. Good night, Rick.”
His hand on her arm stopped her from leaving. She looked at him with a deadly look and he released her immediately.
“This is not finished, Meeka.”
“Oh, I think it is.”
Chapter 9
Their romantic night was a bust and Meeka woke up in her eldest son’s bed. It was not that she was curled almost into a pretzel in the small bed, but that Rick was not with her in it. She could feel the loss and she wished it had gone differently. She wished that she had walked away from Johnny that day in the park. He was a friend, but not worth losing Rick.
Meeka decided that she would go talk to him. She didn’t have to pick up the kids until that afternoon, so there was still time to salvage their day. Creeping into the bedroom, she stopped when she saw that the door was closed. That threw her off, but not nearly as much as when she opened the door and found the room empty. The bed had not been slept in and there was a note on the night stand.
“Meeka,
I took an extra shift last night and I will take another one today. I should be home tonight.
Rick”
Meeka read it again and she felt her eyes start to water. She could not believe that he had left and picked up extra shifts on his days off. They barely saw each other as it was and she felt like it was all going downhill. The bad feeling was back in her stomach and she wished she hadn’t left the room. Meeka knew that she was in the wrong and as much as she wanted to blame him for being jealous, she shouldn’t have made him feel that way. Though on the other hand, she was torn because she hadn’t done anything wrong. How was she supposed to be responsible for his feelings?
She sighed to herself, conflicted. Meeka decided not to call him and let him cool down, as that is what she would have needed if she was as mad as he apparently was. She took a long bath and decided to go over to her mother’s early for lunch. If nothing else, her mother would be able to give her some of her no-holds-barred advice that she needed so terribly bad right then.
***
“Hey, Momma. How was the visit?”
“Whew, I sometimes forget how hard having young ones was. Malik has been big for so long, but oh I miss it. You and your brother were about that far apart and oh my, what I wouldn’t give to turn back the clock sometimes. Having grandbabies is almost as good, but then I have to give them back.”
“Well you can always have them another day if you want to. Me and Rick are having some issues that needed to be ironed out.”
“Oh, well where is he?”
“At work, he took a couple extra shifts because we got into it.”
“About what?”
Meeka sent a questioning look to her mom.
“They are in the living room with your father, though I think Carter is down for his nap. He just ate. What did you guys get into it about?”
“Johnny.”
“Bringing up old stuff again huh? I thought you guys were passed that.”
“We were. I had lunch with Johnny a couple of times and someone saw us and went back to him…”
“Meeka!”
“What?”
She did not like the look on her mother’s face. It had almost as much accusation in it as Rick had the night before. Another sigh before she sat down at the kitchen table. It was becoming apparent that she was not as right as she thought she was. Her mother never pulled any punches.
“You shouldn’t have done that. I hope you're not thinking about leaving your husband for that restaurant manager. You know, your husband, the doctor.”
“Mom, it's not all about money. I wouldn’t care if my husband had a minimum wage job. Besides, it's not even like that. We are just friends.”
“Baby, men and women are not friends.”
Meeka snorted. She had heard the argument before.
“You know that is not true. You have never been friends with a man before and done nothing with him?”
“I didn’t say that, but one of the people always wants more.”
“Well I just want to be friends with him. It really was innocent.”
“Yeah, but he wants more, doesn’t he?”
“Of course.”
Meeka was shocked at the answer, but she knew it was true. Being around Johnny was a big ego boost to her, just because of the way he looked at her and the desire in his eyes. She was also still attracted to him, but she was not tempted to go further. She loved Rick and their life together. Meeka met her mother’s gaze and she just looked at her like, “see?”
“I can’t help it if he likes me. He knows I’m married.”
“But you went and had lunch with him anyways. I’m sorry Meeka, but I think I'm taking Rick’s side on this one. You know you did wrong.”
“I guess I just don’t see it like that.”
“Well you should because he does. Let me keep the babies for another night and you go make up with your husband. You guys are too good together to be having all this drama between you two. If you love each other, make it work.”
If only it was that easy, Meeka thought. There was the whole pride thing to get over and the fact that she really did not see her wrongdoing.
“Thank you, Momma. I guess I will go do some shopping, get something nice to wear.”
“There you go, now you are thinking, child. Fill that man’s stomach and wear something red, he will be over his issues quickly.”
Her mother laughed and looked off as if she was remembering a similar time. Her parents had been married for over thirty years and she had done something right to make it all work out.
“You always have the best advice, Mom.”
“You knew it yourself, Meeka, though sometimes you have to hear it out loud.”
Chapter 10
Meeka left with a little lighter feeling. She got to spend some time with her kids that she missed tremendously and still had plenty of time to do a little shopping. She ended up going to the same store that she was going to the day she got in her car wreck. The day came back to her and she drove a little more carefully. Pulling into the boutique, she parked and walked in.
The store was full of beautiful silky things and Meeka bought several outfits before she left. She also went to get her hair and nails done. Sh
e wanted everything to be perfect and to take his mind off of all the recent bad. Meeka needed to see that lust take over his eyes again and by the time she was dressed, she figured it would be hard to deny her that.
It was after four by the time she got started in the kitchen, but dinner wasn’t going to take long. She made a salad and seared the steaks right before he was supposed to get home. After twenty minutes, she covered the plates so they wouldn’t get cold. After an hour, she checked her phone to see if there were any missed messages on her phone. When there wasn’t any, she started to wonder where he was.
Meeka dialed his number and waited through four rings before it went to voicemail. She hung up and stared at the phone for several minutes, willing it to ring. When it didn’t, she took her bottle of wine and went into the living room. There were photo albums and she found herself looking at the ones from their wedding. It was one of the happiest days of her life, though it did not seem to be that way at the present moment. Meeka kept telling herself that every marriage had rough patches, but how could they make up when he wasn’t there?
When it started to get dark outside, Meeka called him again, as well as left a message. The more wine she consumed, the less worried and more pissed off she became. Meeka dialed his number again and it went immediately to voice mail, like he was pushing the ignore button. If she hadn’t had such a good buzz from the wine, she probably would have gone out searching for him. She did call the hospital and was told that he had left hours before. Her mind wondered where he was and if he was going to come back to her.
Meeka drank more of the wine and passed out a little after ten. She was awoken about eleven by a knock at the door. Thinking that she had locked it before she went to sleep, she did not even try to cover up what she was wearing. It was supposed to be Rick at the door, but it wasn’t.
When she opened the door, the person on the other side was as shocked as she was. Johnny’s dark eyes took in the tight red teddy and stockings that she was wearing. His face was unable to cover up the sudden feel of desire he felt. Meeka looked down after a minute, remembering what she was wearing and blushing underneath her dark skin.
“Oh shit, Johnny. Um, wait here, let me throw something on.”
“Don’t have to for my sake.”
His gaze took in every one of the curves that he had missed so much. Her large breasts were bigger than before and heaved, spilling over the sweetheart low neckline of the negligee. He swallowed hard and watched her get nervous then she turned around and sprinted up the stairs. Johnny could not take his eyes off of her sweet, round ass that he wanted to bury his face into.
He was there on a whim, an idea. After he didn’t see her that day, he had worried about her all afternoon. Finally, he had looked up the doctor and found his address. Johnny wasn’t sure what he was there for, though he had thoughts of confessing his love and her going off into the sunset with him came to mind. It seemed to be fate that she had answered the door that way.
Johnny shut the door behind him and looked around the richly furnished house. He picked up a picture of the happy couple and he set it back down, picture down on the mantle. When Meeka finally came back down, she had a robe on, though it was not doing a very good job of covering up what he had already seen. The bright red fabric blared through the sheer white robe and the sight made him forget his own name.
“Johnny? What are you doing here? It's like eleven o’ clock at night. If Rick was here, he would freak out.”
Johnny shook his head. It was not the words that he had thought he would hear, but he pressed on anyways.
“I'm here for you. I can’t stop thinking about you and then we ran into each other at the park. I knew that it was meant to be. Don’t you think it was a sign?”
“No, Johnny, this is a small town. We were bound to run in to each other eventually. But, we can’t see each other anymore. Rick found out and I should have told him. He feels betrayed and I don’t blame him.”
“You have to feel more for me than that. After what happened that night, I mean, it has never been like that before for me. You can’t tell me that you didn’t feel it too.”
Johnny was walking towards Meeka and she was backpedaling, not liking where the conversation was going. She put her hand up to stop his advances and he did.
“Look, Johnny, I'm sorry if I led you on in any way, but I am married and this can’t happen. I am not one of those types of wives. I'm not saying that I don’t have feelings for you Johnny, it’s just that…”
“I just want to know if there is a chance for us, if you were ever single again?”
Meeka’s face softened and the desire in his dark depths were replaced with something else that made her feel even worse. She did not want to crush his hopes and did not have the heart to tell him that she really didn’t ever see it happening.
***
“Yes, if for some reason I got divorced, you would be the first person I looked up.”
Rick could not believe his ears. He was already tipsy after the beers at the bar with his colleagues. They had lost a patient today, a young male shot in the same part of town that Meeka used to live. It was a hard one for everyone, though the similarities to the one he had lost before, Meeka’s husband instantly came to mind. There was talk of a possible lawsuit, but he was more in his mind with the rest of it. He hadn’t been home and seen Meeka in almost two days. He was tired and the last thing he had expected was to see the very man that they had been fighting about in his house when he got home.
He stood in the doorway, unnoticed by the two. Rick’s eyes took in what she was wearing and he started to see red. She never wore things like that for him, but there she was, dressed in barely there clothing, entertaining someone else. There was no green in his vision, just blinding red rage as he walked towards Johnny.
Johnny made a startled noise seconds before Rick’s fist hit him in the face. Meeka was left stunned to watch her husband get so violent with him. She should have stopped it, but was strangely turned on by the more aggressive side of him. If she was being honest, she was getting turned on as he picked the man up by the back of his shirt and literally threw him out the door. There was a soft thud as he hit the concrete and there was a moment of pity for him on the curb.
Rick slammed the door and then walked towards Meeka with a determined look on his face. His eyes and body tried not to respond to his wife. She was beautiful and he had never seen her look so lovely. Her cheeks were pinkish under her caramel tone and she was breathing fast. Rick could tell she was turned on and for a moment, he almost walked to her like nothing was different between them and that she wasn’t turned on by another man. The last thought stopped him in his tracks.
“Meeka. What the fuck was he doing here and why are you half naked? Where are the kids? You had a man in my house, with the kids upstairs? What the fuck Meeka?”
The words tumbled out of his mouth like a barrage and each one hurt more and more. Johnny had stopped by and let himself in, she could not stop that. She opened her mouth to give her defense and snapped it back shut when the other questions went through her mind.
“The kids are at my mom’s house. I thought we could have a nice night together since last night sucked so bad. Went and got a nice outfit, waxed, hair, nails, made your favorite and guess who did not show up?”
“So you called Johnny over when I was a little late? Well good to know that I am so easily replaced.”
His words were filled with venom and bitterness. He was not really listening to his words, but his own words in his head.
“A little late? It is almost midnight and you're drunk.”
“Not drunk enough for this.”
Rick turned around and walked away. He opened the door he had just slammed and staggered out.
“Where are you going?!”
“Out.”
Meeka ran to the door, but he was already getting into his car. He revved the engine and peeled out of the gravel parking lot, kicking up small white stone
s in his wake. She immediately worried about the condition he was in to drive, but there was no stopping him, he was already gone. She bent down and picked up the phone that he dropped in the scuffle with Johnny. Johnny was nowhere to be seen and she found herself thankful for one less thing to worry about. It was just too much. Meeka shut the door behind her and waited up on the couch for hours, waiting for Rick to come home. He wasn’t home by the time she passed out on the couch waiting.
Chapter 11
When she woke up in the morning, Meeka went and checked the bedroom and for the second night in a row, it was not slept in. She sat on the bed with a heavy sigh and sat down on the soft comforter. She buried her face in the material and started to cry. The blankets smelled like him and that made her feel even worse. She didn’t understand how it had all gone so wrong and she was even less knowledgeable about how it was going to work out.
She almost called him, before she realized that she had his phone. Unsure what to do, she got dressed in her regular clothes and pushed the soft silk material into her drawer. Her fingers pressed the softness, and the hope that was bought with the garment was gone. Nothing had ended the way that it was supposed to.
Meeka called her mother and told her that she was going to come pick up the kids.
“You don’t have to come this early. We are just now having breakfast and Dad was talking about taking the boat out. It is such a pretty day and you know how he likes the boat. Malik said something about learning to fish and now he won’t let it be.”
“That sounds like fun. Are you sure? I know they can wear you out.”
“Really, come later when we get back, baby. You two have fun.”
“I don’t think that's going to happen, but thanks Mom.”
Meeka turned the phone off and after a minute, decided to go to the store. She had to do something to take her mind off of what was going on in her marriage and the fact that her husband was still MIA. She tried not to imagine him in some woman’s arms. Marla came to mind and she tried to push the thoughts away. It did no good to think such negative thoughts.
Doctor's Baby - BWWM Romance (Doctor's Love Book 3) Page 4
