To The Woman He Loves 2

by Theresa Hodge

  “I know you speak the truth, Serenity. I hate Ronan right now. I hate Misty Crewe and I hate myself for still loving him the way I do. I feel like such a fool,” I said, slipping back into the very feeling I had prayed away that morning.

  “You’re not a fool, Ruby, okay? I will tell you who the fool is, but we already know that very important fact, don’t we?” Serenity reached across the table to give my hand a reassuring squeeze.

  “I couldn’t agree with you more,” I said. A brief smile tried to battle its way onto my lips. Serenity had a way of bringing me back to reality. The rest of our conversation was cut short as the waitress brought our orders and placed our individual plates before us.

  The steaming food on the plates began to stir my appetite. I bent my head to bless my food. “This looks so good,” I said before picking up my fork.

  Serenity did the same. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head as if she was having sex, when she dug into her sweet potato fries, chicken and biscuit. “Mmmm. My, oh my, this food is temptingly delicious,” she said between bites of her meal.

  I couldn’t help but to laugh at Serenity’s reaction to the food. She made eating look sinful. “It is scrumptious,” I finally agreed after getting my laugh out.

  “Girl, you can laugh at me if you want to. This is the best thing next to sex. Not that I’ve been having any. It gets hard as hell being celibate at times. Then at other times, I try not to let it bother me,” she said.

  “How did you do it, Serenity?”

  “Do what?” She stopped eating and gave me her undivided attention.

  “How did you go from being sexually active to being celibate?”

  “It wasn’t easy at first and it’s still not easy. I just made up in my mind that I had a lot of guys who only wanted one thing from me, and they want it without a commitment. I want more than a quick lay in the hay or the usual, wham, bam and thank you ma’am…You get what I’m saying Ruby? You’ve been married for ten years, so you’ve been lucky not to have to go through what I’ve been through before I began my year of practicing celibacy.”

  “I do know what you’re saying. I admire you for sticking with your convictions. I really do,” I said.

  “Thank you, Ruby. I know what most women think when they look at me. They think I’m a wild woman with the big ass and big boobs. They think I’m loose with every man I giggle with. They clutch their boyfriends close and their husband’s even closer. But, I’m not the woman that goes around stealing another woman’s husband. I never have been that type of woman,” she adds.

  “I’m guilty of something,” I said, coming clean.

  “What are you guilty of, Ruby?”

  “I saw you and Ronan go into a restaurant a while back. I saw him place his hand on the small of your back and open the door for you. I thought you were the one he was having an affair with. I even confronted him about it,” I sheepishly admitted.

  Serenity gave me a hard look before she threw her head back and began roaring in laughter. “Dang, I guess I’m going to forever be known as the husband bandit,” she said as she continued to crack up laughing.

  “That’s not funny,” I said and looked around the restaurant to make sure no one was hearing our conversation.

  “Hell, yes, that is funny, if you thought that I wanted your husband. Ronan is definitely attractive and all, but I would never do that to you, Ruby, or any other wife of a married man,” she said.

  “I’m sorry for thinking that way of you. That was before we got to know each other. I know better now,” I said apologetically.

  “No problem, my friend. From now on, come to me when you have your suspicions about me. We’re friends now and one thing you will learn about me is, I’m a loyal friend. I expect the same from you,” she said with a serious expression on her face.

  I shook my head in agreement with her. “I see why Shauntay loves you so much and why she has always spoken so highly of you. I finally get it,” I admitted to Serenity.

  Serenity’s smile grew so wide that it beamed. We finished up our meals in silence, then walked up to counter to pay our tickets.

  “I got this, Serenity,” I said before reaching inside of my purse to retrieve my bill folder to get my credit card.

  “Your money is no good here, Purdy lady. You might as well put that away,” Darryl said, nodding his head indicating the wallet clutched in my hand. He whispered something to the cashier, who stepped aside as he walked behind the counter to face me directly.

  “Thank you,” Serenity and I both thanked him instantaneously.

  “You’re both more than welcome. What’s that emblem on your shirt?” he asked Serenity as he peered at the writing on her workout gear.

  “Oh, this is one of the new workout uniforms the Knight twins gave me. They own their own gym not too far from here, where Ruby and I just got through working out before we came here,” she said.

  “Is that so?” Darryl said with a big smile on his face. “You work out a lot, Ruby?” He turned his full attention on me, seeming to size me up. His teeth flashed strong and white against his cocoa tinted skin.

  I could smell the faint scent of his cologne from where I stood. The smell of sandalwood tantalized my nostrils. “Actually, I don’t work out as much as I should, but I’m going to start. I owe it to myself to start,” I answered.

  “I agree,” he said. “I’m a firm believer that if you take care of your body your body will take care of you. Maybe we can work out together sometimes,” he said with a hopeful expression to his handsome face.

  I felt uncertain about how to respond. Serenity nudged me in the side.

  “Here is my card again, since the last one I gave you was snatched away. If you ever need a workout partner, or just need anything in general, feel free to give me a call,” he said with a smirk. I took his card and slid it into my purse.

  “Thanks again for our meal,” I said, never answering his statement about us working out together. “Let’s go,” I muttered in a low tone to Serenity.

  Serenity took my cue and I was thankful. “Yes, the meal was delicious. Thanks again. Ready to go, Ruby?” Serenity asked. I nodded and we headed to the main entrance.

  “Yeah, we should run,” I told her.

  “Don’t be strangers,” Darryl called out to us on our way out the restaurant doors.

  “We won’t,” we said in unison. We made our way through the parking lot to Serenity’s parked car. She stopped in her tracks and in a hushed tone said, “Ruby, you won’t believe this.”

  “Believe what?” I asked her with confusion in my voice. I wondered why she stopped walking suddenly.

  “Isn’t that Ronan sitting in that parked car over there?” she asked jerking her head in the direction she wanted me to look.

  I peered over in the direction that Serenity directed me to look, and, low and behold, Ronan was sitting in his car staring our way. The heat from his silver gaze burned me where I stood.

  “Yes, that’s him alright,” I answered with derision in my tone. I would know Ronan’s profile standing or sitting anywhere. What I didn’t recognize was the black luxury car he was riding in. “I think we should just keep walking and ignore him,” I said and began walking again.

  “I don’t think that’s going to work, Ruby. He’s getting out of his car and sprinting over here.”

  “I let out a defeated sigh and stopped walking again. “I’ll wait here to see what Ronan wants. Will you wait for me in your car?” I asked her.

  “Of course,” she said just as Ronan came sprinting up to us. “Ronan,” she spoke to him dryly.

  “Serenity,” Ronan spoke back and gave her a curt nod.

  “Humph!” Serenity said and gave him a hard look. “I will be right over there if you need me, Ruby,” she said and gave Ronan another hard look before walking away. “I’ll be watching.”

  “I want to know what the hell you think you’re doing over here with Darryl at his restaurant. I saw the way you blushed over every w
ord he spoke. I’ve been watching you,” he said with a hurtful tone to his voice, while tugging at my arm.

  I jerked my wrist away from Ronan’s grip. “How dare you ask me such a question after what you’ve done to destroy our marriage? I don’t owe you an explanation about anything I do from now on. You can consider us single, until I have a consult with my attorney.”

  Ronan’s silver eyes clouded over even more. “Don’t ever mention a divorce again; I won’t allow it!” he spat out vehemently.

  “I don’t care what you allow in your world of getting what you want when you want it, Ronan. I want out of this marriage and I’m getting out. But,” I lowered my voice. “This is neither the time nor the place to be having this conversation. We’re out in a public parking lot and people are starting to watch us.” I gestured to a couple who’d walked out of the restaurant and gave us the eye.

  “We wouldn’t have to talk out here, if you would just come back home. You can’t just leave with my children, Ruby. I’m their father…you’re my wife. All three of you belong with me, sweetheart,” he appealed to me.

  “No, I don’t belong with you. You and Misty tainted the very soil on which our home was built on.”

  He gathered me close into a tight hug. “We can make our house a home again. Please come back to me and give me a chance to show you that we can make us work again. Come back home.”

  My heart dropped to my feet as I listened to Ronan plead for the children and me to come home. If I said his pleas didn’t affect me in the least bit, I would be lying. I stood there wanting to be in Ronan’s arms and wanting to run away at the same time.

  “Hey! Is everything alright over there?” Serenity asked, sensing I needed a possible out. She stood outside her car, readying to come to my defense if needed.

  I pulled away from Ronan’s serious gaze. “Stay here. I need to speak with Serenity for a minute.

  “You’re coming back?” he asked before letting me go completely. His eyes held a doubtful tone of voice.

  “Yes.”

  “You promise?”

  “I promise, Ronan. I’m not anything like you. I keep my promises,” I told him before walking off in the direction of Serenity, who wore a worried frown on her face. I didn’t want to bring her into our madness.

  “Serenity, thank you for the workout and having lunch with me. I’m going with Ronan to talk. I’ll catch up with you later.

  “Are you sure you want to do that, Ruby? You don’t owe him squat after what he put you through.”

  “I know, but I feel I must do this…for me,” I said. “I’ll talk to you later.”

  “Okay,” she said in a voice of ‘I will accept your decision but I don’t like it.’

  I gave her a quick hug and waited until she got into her car. I watched her drive off before walking back over to Ronan. He hadn’t taken his eyes off me, not once during my interaction with Serenity.

  “I’m ready,” I said when I got face to face with him.

  Ronan let out a relieved breath, when he took my elbow into his grasp. I allowed him to touch me without snatching my arm away. He opened his car door for me. I slid inside and settled my head against the cool leather seats.

  Ronan slid into the driver’s side and started the ignition. He looked over at me and gave me a grateful smile. I looked away without saying a word. I saw Darryl standing in the doorway of his restaurant with a blank expression on his face. I looked away, and just watched the passing scenery until Ronan pulled onto the highway and I knew he was taking me to the place I once called home. I objected, but he was insistent that we go there to talk. I tried not to think about the scene that played out in front of me the last time I drove up in my driveway. Well, his driveway now.

  Ronan pulled into the open garage and pressed a button to close it behind us. I kept my head averted from him the whole time. He came around to assist me out the car.

  “How could you bring her here, Ronan? Of all fucking places, why here?” I said standing eye to eye with him.

  “I didn’t bring her here. She got the address from when she worked at Turner. I was telling her to leave when you pulled up. That’s the honest to God truth.”

  “Well, that’s not what it looked like. It looked like you were about to screw her with the garage door up for all to see,” I said through clenched teeth. “I don’t know why I got in the car with you,” I said as I stormed away from him and into the house.

  “Listen, she came by. I asked her why she was here. She said she was invited to a dinner down the street. I asked her why she wasn’t there, and told her to leave. I was about to go looking for you, but I was so drunk that she tried to take my keys so I wouldn’t drive. We started arguing. Mainly, me telling her to get away and stay away from us. I was arguing with her when you pulled up.” Ronan’s story sounded believable. However, I knew what I saw. They looked like two impassioned people about to devour one another whole.

  “That’s a good story, Ronan. At this point, though, nothing you say is believable to me.” I stormed upstairs, wanting to wash the sweat from my body and change into some clean clothes. I didn’t want to do it there. I wished Ronan had taken me back to Serenity’s house. I felt more comfortable there than I did in this stack of bricks.

  “You want anything to drink, sweetheart?” Ronan came and stood behind me real close. He settled his big hands on my shoulder. I walked off in the direction of the bathroom. His hands fell to his sides.

  “No, I need a shower to wash away the sweat from my workout. Are my clothes still in the closet or have they been replaced?” I asked him in a sarcastic tone of voice.

  “Of course, your clothes are in the closet. This is your home…this is our home,” his voice trailed behind me as I walked over to the closet.

  “This is your home now, Ronan,” I said and removed an Ethnic-Print dress from a hanger. It was one of my favorites, which showed off my willowy slim curves. I placed the dress on the bed, before walking over to the set of dresser drawers that housed my underwear. I removed a matching bra and panty set to place by my dress. I could feel Ronan’s hard stare when it landed on me.

  I chanced a look over my shoulder and his silver gaze held a hot intense look as his eyes raked comfortably over my body. The tight fit of my workout gear molded my flesh like a second skin. That was another reason I needed to change.

  “Don’t look at me like that. I told you that I’m only here to talk, Ronan. There’s no telling what kind of filthy disease your whore has given you. If I get sick behind you sleeping with her, I am going to kill you.”

  “Ruby, I went to my doctor to get a checkup,” Ronan picked up a piece of paper off the dresser and showed it to me. It was dated three days ago, and showed results of a battery of STD tests he’d had run. All were negative, thankfully.

  “Well, good for you. You must be a proud man to know that you laid down with a bitch and didn’t get burned. I’m still only here to talk.”

  “That’s fine, Ruby. I would never do anything to you that you didn’t want done, anyway,” he said, deflated.

  “Good. I’m going to take a quick shower, then we’ll talk. I don’t have all day. I still need to pick the kids up from school in a couple of hours,” I informed him as I walked to the bathroom, closed and locked the door behind me.

  Ronan’s penetrating, brooding gaze followed me until I was safely in the bathroom behind the locked door.

  I peeled off my clothes and left them in the middle of the bathroom floor before walking over to the large walk-in shower to adjust the temperature of the water. I released the twist from my long hair to fall around my shoulders. I stepped under the refreshing hot spray of the quadrupled head shower. I grabbed my bottle of shampoo that was still in the caddie where I left it last.

  My eyes were closed as I massage my tight, tension-filled scalp with my fingertips. I felt a rush of cool air enter the shower and was startled to feel the warm body of my husband brush up against mine.

  “What? How d
id you get in here, Ronan?!” I sputtered as the shower water and suds from the shampoo filled my mouth. My eyes burned from the suds as well from glaring at him.

  Ronan didn’t answer my question. Instead, he turned my back to him and brushed my hands aside. “Allow me to wash our hair,” he muttered out thickly.

  “No, I want you out,” I said, as his strong hands massaged my scalp and worked the shampoo into a sudsy lather. My eyes closed along with my demands for him to stop. His hands massaged my scalp in such a way that the tension from my scalp fell by the wayside.

  I bit my lip to keep from moaning aloud. After washing my hair and rinsing it, he picked up the foamy bottle of conditioner. He squeezed a generous dollop into his hand before working it through the tresses of my hair. I didn’t know what to think or how to feel with Ronan coming into the shower the way he did.

  After rinsing the conditioner from my hair, he picked up my bath cloth and squeezed my body wash onto the cloth. I stood under the spray of the water as he took it upon himself to wash every part of my body.

  He washed until I was squeaky clean. I turned and watched him as he took the same bath cloth and bathed himself, as well. My eyes traveled down his six pack abs, when he gripped his hard, long shaft in his hands and began to lather it with his body gel. I watched the suds wash away, leaving his pale hardened length throbbing and bobbing as it stood to attention.

  “I missed you,” Ronan said when he noticed the direction of my gaze.

  “I doubt you missed me,” I said and turned my back to him before he could see hot tears fill my eyes.

  “Don’t hide your face from me, Ruby. I deserve to see the pain in your eyes, since I’m the cause of all your pain. It breaks my heart to see you hurting because of my actions. I know I probably don’t deserve you or the kids, but I can’t live without either of you.” Pain filled my husband’s silver gaze and it did my heart good to see Ronan’s eyes well up with unshed tears. He earned every tear.

  “You did this to us.” My hand lifted to caress the side of his rugged handsome face of its own accord. Deep down, I didn’t want to see him hurting. I didn’t want to hurt either.