To The Woman He Loves 2

by Theresa Hodge

  “This gym is definitely working out for you, Ruby.” Darryl grinned as we began our workout on the tread climber.

  “Why do you say that, Darryl?” I tried to hide my blush. I already had an idea of what he meant.

  “Your body is in the perfect condition. I don’t mean to be disrespectful or anything. I’m just calling it as I see it.” He winked at me.

  I had to watch Darryl. He seemed sweet and harmless, but he was a charmer. If I wasn’t careful, Darryl might get under my skin—literally. I was in no position to bring more complications into my life.

  “You’re too purdy to be frowning. What’s wrong?” Darryl asked, giving me a concerned look. I didn’t want to admit my thoughts to him, so I was happy when he began speaking again. “Are you having problems with your brute of a husband? I couldn’t help but see the two of you out in the parking lot that day you left the restaurant. I wanted to come to your rescue, but I didn’t want to cause more trouble for you,” he continued.

  “Can we not talk about Ronan right now? Let’s just enjoy or workout.” I panted, feeling the burn from the workout.

  “If that’s the way you want it, its fine by me. My ears are always open if you want to talk about it. My shoulders are always available, if you need to lean on them,” he added.

  “Thank you, Darryl. You’re so kind.”

  “I can’t help but to be to you, Ruby. I’m going to be honest with you. From the first day you ran out into the street in front of my car and your doe-like eyes clashed with my own, you tugged at my heart and have been tugging ever since,” he said, seeming to walk the tread climber effortlessly.

  My heart thumped against my chest erratically from either the cardiac workout or Darryl’s admission. I smiled at him but remained speechless. We finished our workout in relatively silence.

  “Will you have coffee with me, Ruby?” Darryl asked after forty-five minutes on the machine.

  What the hell. Having coffee with a new friend couldn’t hurt.

  “Yes, I would like that, Darryl,” I answered him. “Let me grab my things and say goodbye to Serenity. I’ll meet you by the door.”

  “Cool,” he said before I walked off.

  When I reached the locker room, my phone was ringing. I quickly opened the locker and shuffled through my bag and found my phone. It displayed a number I didn’t recognize.

  I answered.

  “Hello Ruby, please do not hang up on me,” Misty’s aggravating voice sounded pitiful on the other end of my phone line.

  The hell… “What do you want Misty?”

  “I want to apologize, for everything. What I did with your husband was wrong. Coming to your house, everything. It was all wrong. When he broke things off before that night, but I didn’t believe him. What we shared felt so real, but I was wrong,” she said, her voice choking up on the last sentence.

  “That’s all warm and fuzzy to hear. However, as far as I am concerned, we cleared up all that needs clearing up when we were in Ronan’s office. There really is no need for you to reach out to me ever again. If you’re trying to clear your conscience, I suggest you find a good church and go pray to God.”

  “I didn’t plan to fall in love with your husband,” she continued as if she hadn’t heard a word I said.

  “That’s good to know,” I said nonchalantly.

  “I really didn’t mean for things to turn out the way they did, but it happened anyway. The way our selfishness hurt you at a time when you were down has been torturing me. I’m sorry for everything, and especially for ever coming to your home.”

  “You are forgiven Misty. Go and live your life and don’t worry about me. I’m good,” I said, as women came and left out of the locker room.

  My head was about to pop from listening to bullshit apologies. Ronan and Misty had to be the most apologizing cheaters in the city. Darryl was waiting on me, and I would rather enjoy a cup of coffee with him than talk to Ronan’s mistress.

  “Thanks Ruby. I hope you and Ronan can work your marriage out. He loves you, you know,” Misty said.

  A deep pain shot through my stomach. My husband’s mistress telling me how much he loves me. Humph!

  “Just do us both a favor and do not contact me or Ronan again. Like I said, you are forgiven, as far as I am concerned. I do not need to ever hear from you again,” I said with no wavering in my tone. The last thing I ever planned on doing was becoming friends with her. There was no need for any deep conversation on our behalves.

  “Don’t worry,” said Misty with sadness in her voice. “I got myself another job with an airline, many, many miles from Miami. You, Ronan and all of the city will never see or hear from me again.”

  “Good for you,” I said.

  “You have a good man, Ruby. I guess I’m just a devil woman who led him astray. Have a great life,” she said before hanging up the phone.

  With that, she was gone from my life. I hoped, forever.

  I didn’t know her purpose of calling, or if what she said was genuine or not. It really didn’t matter. She knew Ronan was a married man before she got involved with him. She had done what she set out to do—stormed in like a category five hurricane and left destruction in her wake.

  Chapter 17

  Ruby

  Darryl and I strolled a short distance to a little café not too many blocks from the Knight’s gym. He opened the door for me to enter Madcap Café’. I thanked him as we walked up to the counter to place our order.

  Madcap Café was a casual little place where we could just walk in, place our order and find a place to sit. I ordered a French Press and Darryl ordered a regular coffee. He talked me into sharing a pastry with him. By taking a small portion of his, I wouldn’t mess up the workout I put in at the gym earlier.

  Darryl and I made small talk at first. I found myself becoming more and more comfortable with him as we talked, until eventually I opened up to him about the reason we met each other in the middle of the highway.

  “Ruby, I’ve been wanting to ask you what led you to run out in the street that day? Something terrible must have happened for you to do something so dangerous. You could have been killed,” Darryl said.

  “Darryl, so much led up to that moment. If you have time to listen, I will begin from the beginning. It’s not a pretty story but I will confide in you.”

  “I have all the time in the world for you, my dear. Even if I didn’t have the time, I would make it for you,” he said with honesty in his eyes.

  I settled back in my seat and went back to the very beginning as Darryl Nichols gave me his undivided attention. “I had cancer and I kept it from my husband.”

  His eyes grew in surprise and he leaned forward before settling back in his seat.

  “I even kept the treatments I went through from him. Our marriage became strained when I couldn’t perform my “wifely duties” any longer. You see, before I had the surgery to remove the cancer, we had a rambunctious sex life. Ronan was all over me, or I was all over him. Either way, we practically drank each other in daily. When I found out I had cancer, I vowed not to tell Ronan why I could no longer be sexually active with him. I didn’t want him to know about the cancer. I needed time to heal after my surgery, so I did whatever I could think of to bide my time before I could once again be intimate with him.”

  “How did you have surgery, right under your husband’s nose without him knowing?” Darryl asked in puzzlement. “That had to be hard on both of you.”

  “Ronan, had to go out of town on a business trip. The retreat he went on was supposed to have lasted for seven days. I had my surgery on the first day that he left. My best friend, Shauntay, took care of my children. Hell, she’s taking care of them now while I figure the mess of my life out.”

  “How are the kids taking this?” he asked.

  “They don’t say much about it. They do love Shauntay, but I know they’re taking it hard. That’s why I must do something to get us settled back down, and fast,” I said, thinking about my childr
en.

  “Children have to be high on the priority list in situations like this. Something like this could scar them for life,” Darryl said. “Did your husband recognize you were sick when he got home from his retreat?”

  “He came home from the retreat earlier than expected, four days after my surgery, to be exact. I was in bed when he arrived. I was heavily medicated on pain killers. I was disoriented. I’m sure I looked a mess. I tried to play it off, but Ronan knew there was more going on with me than I was willing to admit.”

  “Why didn’t you trust your husband to stand by you, Ruby? I don’t mean to cut in or pry, but isn’t marriage supposed to be in sickness and health? There had to be a reason for you not to trust your man, the head of your family, to be your strength during that time,” he said with that constant puzzled expression on his face.

  “That’s a whole different story. But I will say this…My distrust in my husband stems from my father not sticking by my mother’s side when she became ill with cancer. I couldn’t risk my husband doing the same thing to me. The devastation from my father’s abandonment killed her in the end. I was scared to death when I got my diagnosis.”

  “Wow, I’m really sorry, Ruby. It looks like life has dealt you a rough blow. If this is too hard for you to discuss, you don’t have to go on. We can talk about something less intrusive.”

  “No, talking with you is cleansing.” I dashed some stray tears away that leaked from my eyes. “I don’t mind telling you everything, Darryl.”

  “If you’re sure about that, then I will listen.” He gave me a head nod as a cue to go on with my story and I did. It felt good to discuss my life with someone who I knew would be impartial.

  “Ronan tried to understand my odd behavior. I kept pushing him away, so I could give my body time to heal. I urged him to go out and meet with friends or to go to the bar and hang out. After a month passed, he started accusing me of having an affair. After a while, I grew tired of him accusing me of something I wasn’t doing. I needed all of my strength to fight for my life.”

  I paused and took a breath. Darryl reached over to give my hand another reassuring squeeze.

  “Ronan met another woman by the name of Misty Crewe. To make a long story short, I found out he was with her on nights when he left our home. Our marriage has been on the rocks ever since. The day when I ran out in the street, Misty came into my husband’s office and described their sexual encounters to me. The things she said my husband did to her broke me. I don’t think I’ll ever be whole again.”

  “You will be whole again, Ruby. I can promise you that. It will take time, but if you trust and believe, it will happen eventually.”

  “Do you really believe that, Darryl?” I asked, feeling a slight smile rising to my cheeks.

  “Yes, I believe faith takes us a long way. You will be fine, Ruby. But your husband should have fought harder to get to the bottom of whatever was bothering you. He should have gotten hard facts that you were cheating on him, instead of going out and cheating himself. He doesn’t deserve you.”

  “I didn’t trust him enough to tell him of my illness. The biggest portion of my husband’s betrayal lies at my feet.”

  “No, it doesn’t. From a man’s standpoint, and you must trust me on this, if your husband cheated on you, he was going to cheat on you eventually anyway. The flaw lies within Ronan. I do agree that you should have told him the truth, but nothing you did caused him to cheat. As a man, he should have turned every corner and lifted every rock, until he got a clue as to what was wrong with you…his woman.”

  “I was great at covering my sickness up.”

  “Now, you and your husband have to ask yourselves was it worth it in the end?” Darryl asked.

  Hurtful tears rolled unashamedly down my cheeks. Baring my soul to Darryl that day at Madcap Café relieved an enormous burden. He took time to listen to me, to challenge me, and to encourage me. Darryl became more than a good Samaritan. He became a great new friend.

  “May I see you home?” Darryl asked me.

  “Let me just send Serenity a quick text, letting her know you will drop me by her apartment.”

  “Cool,” Darryl said.

  I picked up my cell phone to text Serenity. It wasn’t long before she responded.

  “I’m ready,” I said.

  “Where to?” Darryl asked once we had walked back to the gym and gotten inside his vehicle.

  I told him Serenity’s address. He put the information into his GPS and we were on our way. Darryl and I rode in comfortable silence. We said a few words here and there, but mainly I took in the scenery and wondered what my life would be like without Ronan in it. It hurt to even think about it.

  In no time at all, Darryl was pulling up to Serenity’s apartment building. “It’s that one right over there,” I pointed out to him. He found a parking space and parked.

  “Do you mind if I walk you to the door?” he asked with a hopeful expression on his face and in his warm, brown eyes.

  “I don’t mind, at all.”

  Darryl was out of the car in that instant and walking around to open the passenger side door. He assisted me to step down from the vehicle.

  “Thank you,” I said as I slid to my feet.

  “You’re welcome,” he replied as he walked me to Serenity’s apartment door.

  I unlocked the door and turned one last time to Darryl. He was a good guy. We just couldn’t go any further than the point of Serenity’s threshold, if I wanted to work on my marriage with Ronan.

  “I know that look. You don’t have to say a word,” Darryl said, putting a finger to my lips. My eyes widened at the feel of his flesh against mine. Desire flared to life in Darryl’s eyes as he watched me respond to him. I could feel his attraction towards me from the very beginning and, at this moment, I was sure he felt the burgeoning temptation between us.

  “If this is going to be goodbye, I have to know what your lips taste like, just once. I know you’re forbidden but—” He didn’t finish the sentence before his lips captured my unsuspecting mouth beneath his.

  I stiffened for a moment, until Darryl’s tongue thrusted between my lips. I closed my eyes and kissed another man for the first time in my married life. Darryl’s kiss was different from Ronan’s, but it was pleasant just the same. My arms wrapped around his neck and my lips opened wider to receive his gratifying tongue. A slow, budding desire started between my legs and I moaned low in my throat. My nipples budded beneath my clothes and poked out against Darryl’s chest.

  I felt myself being pushed backwards into the apartment. Darryl kicked the door closed behind us. He lifted me at the waist. I wrapped my legs around his waist. I could feel his hard bulge pressing through his shorts.

  Somehow, my back landed against a wall as Darryl and I kissed hotly with growing heat building between us. The intense throbbing between my thighs craved for Darryl to bury his shaft deep within me.

  “Just one time?” asked Darryl with an urgent look in his hungry eyes.

  Ronan…

  Visions of Ronan kicking the door close to make love to Misty crossed my mind. My desire for Darryl sparked into a raging fire.

  “I shouldn’t want you this much, but I want you in every way, Ruby,” Darryl muttered against my mouth. “I’ve wanted you for myself since the first time I laid eyes on you.”

  He pushed his hardness against my throbbing heat and it felt so damn good. His manly scent was warm and inviting and covered me like a cloud.

  “Mmmm,” I moaned as I felt my juices dripping onto my panties. I throbbed for more of what Darryl had to offer.

  “You feel what you do to me? I’ve imagined stripping you naked and burying all ten inches into your soft, hot body,” said Darryl as he seduced me with his heavenly mouth and monstrous erection.

  “I want you, too,” I said on a gasp when he grinded against me again. “Darryl, I do want you—”

  His mouth swallowed the “but” that was coming next. He swept me into another min
d-blowing kiss.

  “I want to take you miles high in pleasure. I want to tattoo my name on your body and have you screaming my name as you are filled to the max. I want all of that to you and more, sweet lady,” Darryl said with desire dripping from each word. “But only if you could be mine completely.”

  Then, I felt my feet touch the floor. He released me, just as suddenly as he had swept me up. He took a step back and looked into my eyes.

  “I know you want to work on your marriage. You want your family back together again. However, if for any reason, you and white boy don’t work out. You know where to find me. I’ll be there. And, I’ll be ready for you.”

  My mouth gaped open as Darryl took another step back.

  “And just so you know. Once you’re mine, I won’t ever give you a reason to let go,” he said, leaving me with my back pressed against the wall throbbing and speechless. I watched as Darryl Nichols and all ten inches of his hardness walked out of the apartment door and out of my life.

  After Darryl left, I needed a very cold shower to clear my mind. I was still in shock that he’d left me standing there within an inch of orgasm.

  Serenity was out for the evening, thankfully. She tried to get me to go with her. After baring my soul to Darryl in the café and the sinful moment we shared when he brought me back to the apartment, all I needed was some time alone. Time alone to think and prepare my next move.

  When I stepped out of the shower, I heard pounding on the front door. “I know Darryl hasn’t come back over here,” I said, and a smile formed as I sauntered around the guestroom, looking for something decent to throw on. “Of course, he came back.”

  Bam…bam…bam….

  The pounding continued ferociously like it was either the police or a wild man.

  “Just one minute,” I shouted out before hurrying into a pair of short cotton shorts and a matching tee-shirt. I hurried to the front door before whoever was on the other side had a chance to break the door down. I peeped through the peephole and saw him. I jumped back from the door startled by the appearance of my husband at Serenity’s apartment. He was not supposed to know where I was. I warned him about following me around.