In the Ring: A Dario Caivano Novel

by Perri Forrest

  Rochelle snatched her body into a sitting position with her back turned away from him. She didn’t want him to see her on the verge of crying. “Come on, Chelle, don’t do that. You know I appreciate you being there. We good like this. You got your life and I got mine. You know I know how you get down. Why you wanna give all that up? All this up?” he asked, looking around. “You’re doing pretty good for yourself.”

  “Don’t act like you give a fuck about my ‘nice life’,” she said with air quotes. “All you give a fuck about is fucking me. And the whole time while you’re sitting up here like some punk-ass puppy, your prized possession has already moved on and upgraded . . . to a white boy. A fine-ass white boy at that,” she added just to twist the dagger. As much as she hated it, she knew that Chanel was Tyler’s kryptonite and that no woman would ever compare. So, digging that dagger into his heart did her heart good.

  “What the fuck you talkin’ about?” he asked, his tone turning serious.

  “Just what I said,” she snapped, getting out of bed and putting on her chemise. She folded her arms across her chest. “I know you call her like crazy. I checked your call log the last time you were here. You probably call simpin’ like a little bitch. But guess what?” she asked, rolling her neck extra hard. “She don’t give a single fuck about you. She got a white man and she seems real caught up. So yo’ ass is done for. And I’m done too. Ain’t nobody got time for a whiny-ass man. The dick is good, but it ain’t worth my tears. Get dressed and get the fuck out.”

  “Alright, cool. You got that. Make sure you take yo’ ass to swallow that pill tomorrow, though.”

  “Fuck you!” Rochelle yelled through her tears. “Fuck you!”

  Tyler was all too happy to leave. Now wasn’t the time to be there anyway. He needed to be somewhere, strategizing on how to get his woman back.

  CHAPTER 26

  Dario

  Somehow in the throes of all the passion, we managed to make it from Suite 713, and back to Chanel’s place. We made love some more and every damn time I entered that woman, I was covered in regret that I hadn’t found my way to her before now. In the beginning, I halfway expected her to hold back parts of herself due to earlier reservations about entering a relationship. But that was far from who she was in front of, and behind closed doors. Chanel was a woman who knew how to satisfy a man and because of that, with each and every thrust, I made sure she felt exactly how much she was desired and appreciated. And as she sighed, quivered, and locked me in between her thighs, amidst her latest orgasm, I knew that I’d done my job. With her, it wasn’t just about me getting off, but more about her having the best experience I could give her.

  “Hey, what’s swirling around in that beautiful mind of yours?” I asked Chanel, as she stared up at the ceiling, while lying in the crook of my arm, a while later.

  She inhaled a deep breath and then released before rolling her upper body onto my chest. She leaned in to kiss me, then smiled. “What do you think?”

  I caressed the side of her pretty face. “I just wanna make sure.”

  “Well, it’s all good stuff, that’s for sure. I’m just surprised at how much stamina you’re working with.” Her smooth thigh found its way on top of mine. “How did you just go ten rounds in the ring, endure reporters, fly back home . . . in a matter of hours . . . and then give me all of that? Damn, Champ.”

  “You got jokes,” I laughed. “Do we really wanna talk about the unexpected? Because I got a few things that I didn’t expect too!”

  “Nooo,” she giggled. “We don’t ha—”

  “Like the woman who led me to her office at the height of club hours to take advantage of me.”

  “Oh my God, Dario! Stop!” she bashfully shrieked.

  “Or the woman who rode me like I was a prized stallion at a Texas rodeo. Or—”

  “Oh my God!” she screamed, laughing hysterically as she climbed on me and covered my mouth. “Stop it!”

  “Okay,” I said through the palm of her hands. But my laughter kept coming. I pulled her close to my chest and waited for both of our laughs to subside.

  “I can’t believe you,” she remarked just above a whisper a short time later. “You are just too much.”

  “Speaking of too much, what did I walk up on last night?” I asked. “That’s the second tense encounter I’ve walked up on between you and somebody else. Are you one of those difficult women and I just haven’t found out yet?”

  When I asked her the question, I was kidding, but the look that came over her face told me that she thought it was anything but funny. I was about to apologize to her when she looked in the distance and responded quickly.

  “That was my . . .” She paused briefly before continuing. “. . . my mother’s other daughter.”

  “Oh. Your sister?” I was shocked. She’d never mentioned a sister to me before. “Shit, there’s a surprise. I just assumed that you were an only child. I’ve only ever heard you talk about your mother and your father. Never a sibling. Is she your biological sister, or somebody that you call your sister?”

  “Same mother, different fathers. And in black families that makes us whole so I don’t even have the courtesy of calling her a half-sibling without it being frowned upon and corrected.”

  “Well, if it’s any consolation, she is half, though,” I added, trying to make light of the situation. “You guys share the same mother, only. So, you’re uterine siblings or maternal half-sisters.”

  “See, and that’s why you’re my new best friend! You’re coming all with the terminology and stuff.”

  “Yeah, a semester of anthropology in community college schooled me just a bit.”

  “And then they gave you that take-away just to be able to give to me some years later. That’s what up,” she kidded. “That there was all the validation I needed, because me and that chick have zero love between us and absolutely nothing in common.”

  “I guess the fact that you have different dads would explain why I didn’t really see any resemblance. But then again, I didn’t look at her for too long anyway. So, what’s up with you guys if you don’t mind me asking?”

  “I don’t mind you asking. I actually can’t stand her and the feeling is very mutual. Trust me. In fact, the day that I ran into your car, I was distracted from a heated confrontation that I’d left with her and my mother. My mother had some bright idea about bringing us together.” Chanel stopped and shook her head. I could tell that the subject wasn’t one that she wanted to journey into.

  I rubbed her shoulder. “It’s cool, baby,” I said. “I just wanted to ask. It looked tense.”

  “You are so damn cute. Why do I say that, you ask? Because without hesitation you were right there to save me if need be. I adore you for it. But, I promise you didn’t have to rescue me.”

  “I actually did have to do that. It’s either rescue you, or somebody having to rescue them and that wouldn’t be so pretty.”

  She grinned wide before kissing me softly on the lips. “Ooohh, I hear that roar, baby, and I like it. Just so you know, though, I’m tougher than I look, babes. Buuuut . . .” she purred as she sat erect to mount me. “I’m weak as hell when he’s around.”

  I watched Chanel’s seductive show as she slowly ground her curves across me. When she reached behind her back to massage my sac, I sent my thumb inside of her and underneath her hood causing her breath to constrict then seep into a short hiccup.

  “Caught you off guard, huh?” I teased, while my thumb navigated around her bud, making intermittent stops to make her churn. She tossed her head back in pleasure, her chest rising then falling, as she surrendered to the tensed arousal. When her movements picked up speed against my hand, I withdrew, pulled her to me and flipped her over onto her back. Just as quickly, I moved in between her thighs and with a long, deep stroke, I took up residence inside of her welcoming inferno.

  “M-m-mmm,” she moaned pulling her thighs closer to her body to allow me all the way inside. “Oohhh,” she shrieked.
“Yesss, Dario . . .”

  Dragging my way around inside of her I could already tell that we were in for a long morning, and that was fine with me. At the rate we were going, I might be able to forego the gym for the day, settling instead for a high-octane workout with my beautiful goddess, Chanel.

  CHAPTER 27

  Dario

  “So, Rai, are you comfortable with me and your mom’s relationship?”

  “Yeah, I think it’s cool.” His answers were short, and he seemed to approve, but I needed him to really approve. He’d shown me at our first meeting that he was completely invested in the protection of his mother; not that that was a bad thing, but you kinda needed the approval of your woman’s kid if you were going to pursue a permanent spot someday.

  I turned into the community that we’d made the drive to visit. “Okay, because I just really wanna make sure that—”

  “Daaang, this is where Freddie lives?!” Rai blurted out sharply. “This is a nice neighborhood,” he announced, as we drove down the immaculately paved streets of the County View Estates, in San Jose. “This is legit! Does everybody in your family have nice houses?”

  I issued a light guffaw at his excitement. I was sure that when he unleashed his outburst a few seconds earlier that it was about me and my quest for information on the relationship between me and his mother. Thought wrong! But it seemed now wasn’t the time because he was on a whole other page.

  “I guess you could say that. But they’ve worked hard for them.”

  “You didn’t buy their houses for them?” he asked curiously. “Because when I get rich, I’m buying my mom something sweet! I like our house now, but I want to get her something like one of these houses.”

  “I think that’s cool. And no, I didn’t have to buy any houses; they already had them by the time I was able to. But I did get a few enhancements here and there just to keep them smiling.”

  Rai started to laugh, and then turned toward me with a cheesy grin. “What kind of enhancements?”

  “What you laughin’ at, young one?” While my left hand was still on the steering wheel I held up my right hand to begin the countdown. “Okay, so I had an infinity pool equipped with a hot tub installed for the parents. I had a full gym added in its own section of my aunt’s oversized garage. They also managed to get a gazebo out of me. I . . . uhh . . . let me see. Ohhh! I had a basketball court built in the backyard for Freddie.”

  “A basketball court?! Like, a whole court?!” He gave me a slight side eye, his lip turned up at the corner. “Not the ones that move around with the sand in the base that sits in the driveway?”

  “Like a real court, dude. Now what?” I challenged.

  “Now, I can’t wait to see it!”

  “You act like you can play or something,” I goaded.

  “I balls, man! Ask my mom when we get back later! She’ll tell you!”

  “Yeah, okay, we’ll see.”

  Moments later we pulled into my designated spot inside of my aunt’s garage. I could tell that Rai was bursting at the seams. Oh, to be a kid again, I thought.

  “You ready, bud?”

  “Yep,” he said, already coming out of his seatbelt.

  “Hey you!” my Aunt Veronika greeted excitedly, before we even made it up to the door.

  “Hey there, Zie,” I greeted, pulling her into a hug.

  “And who do we have here?” she asked.

  “This is Rai. He’s my girlfriend’s son.”

  “Ohhh,” my aunt said, looking at me with knowing eyes and a smile. “Well, Rai, my name is Veronika and it’s very nice to meet you.”

  “Thank you, Miss Veronika, it’s very nice to meet you too.”

  “Freddie!” my aunt called out. “Your cousin is here!”

  “It’s okay. We’ll go and find him. Seems Rai here thinks he’s got game and wants to see the basketball court, so maybe they can hang out a bit before we take off.”

  “Okay, well, when you get them all settled, come find me in the kitchen. I’ve kicked Isabel out for the day so that I can make a Prague cake.”

  My eyes bulged. “Nooo, you’re making—”

  “Absolutely, my wonderful nephew. And do feel free to take some with you when you bring Freddie back home. I’ll try my best to rescue you a portion from your uncle and his friends, who will be here later.”

  “Please do, you haven’t made that in a long time.”

  A short time later when I got Freddie and Rai all squared away and watched them dunk on each other a few times, I headed back inside to chat with my zie for a bit.

  “So, sit down and tell me all about your new girlfriend.” My aunt smiled. “You do realize that you haven’t ever used that word around me, right?”

  It was weird how much she and my mother looked alike and they were a year apart. From their dark brown hair, with no signs of grey, to their green eyes, and even down to their height, they were spitting images of one another. Not to mention neither of them looked a day over thirty-five . . . at forty-nine and fifty years old.

  “You realize that, right?” she repeated in case I hadn’t heard her.

  “I do realize it.”

  “Now, your cousin, God rest his beautiful soul, always had some girlfriend that he was trying to introduce us to.” She chuckled lightly. “Forever the lover boy.”

  “Yeah, he was that,” I said, reminiscing on Lucas and his many girlfriends. “He swore that he was gonna have a love like yours and Zii Christoph. Maybe if you guys didn’t make it look so easy, he wouldn’t have been claiming all those girls the way he did.”

  My aunt and I fell into hearty laughter thinking back to Lucas. He was a super jock but never took that “celebrity” too seriously. He had many girlfriends, but always one at a time and never the player type which he very well could have been.

  “Easy, huh? Yeah, that took years and years and years.”

  “You’d never know.”

  “So, enough about me. Tell me about this lucky girl that I’ll hopefully get to meet soon. Freddie seems to really like her and her son.”

  “Yeah. She’s a good girl. She’s got a good head on her shoulders. There’s a lot of promise there and I think it’s on its way to being something great.”

  “And if I may ask . . . how are things between you and her son’s father? He’s a beautiful boy. Is he mixed race?”

  Taken aback, I shot my aunt a baffled look, brows furrowed. Instead of responding to that part of her question, I decided that I’d just entertain the rest.

  “Rai’s father isn’t in the picture. He left Chanel when she was pregnant, so she’s done this on her own. There’s some guy that she dated for a few years that was kind of assuming responsibility and acted as Rai’s father figure, but he’s not in the picture.”

  “Hmm,” she stated, presumably entering thought-processing mode. “Okay. As long as you’re okay with the situation, I’m okay. How does my sister feel about this?”

  “She knows about Chanel. She’s excited to meet her. We’re planning a meet-and-greet when her schedule opens up, which should be this week.”

  “Okay. I’d like to meet her as well.”

  “Of course! Now is that all, drill sergeant?”

  “Oh no!” she giggled. “Is that how I came off?”

  “Yep!” I exclaimed, rising from my seat and pushing it back against the table. “But I’d expect nothing less.”

  Shortly after my time in the hot seat, the boys charged into the kitchen’s large nook area where my aunt and I were closing out our conversation. They were both smiling and hyperactive, signaling their desire to leave. I was glad to see that they had formed a bond.

  “Freddie, grab your jacket,” my aunt fussed.

  “Mom, it’s not even cold out—”

  “Grab the jacket or stay here. And I’m sure Rai is ready for you to hang out, so it might be a good idea to not argue the point.”

  “We’ll see you in the car, buddy.”

  “Okay, D! I’ll be ri
ght there!” Freddie declared as he rushed from the kitchen.

  I put my arm around Rai’s shoulder to usher him toward the front. “Come on, Rai, let’s get to the car.”

  “It was very nice meeting you, young man,” my aunt said. “Is it okay to get a hug?”

  “Sure,” Rai said, falling into her embrace.

  “You’re such a handsome boy. I’m sure this won’t be the last time that I see you.” She looked up at me and smiled. “And I can’t wait to meet your mom.”

  “See ya later, mom!” Freddie yelled, as he sprinted past my aunt and out the door.

  “Okay,” I said, leaning down to hug her. “We’ll see you later. Have fun and don’t forget to—”

  “I won’t,” she interjected. “You’ll have your very own thick slice.”

  “Thanks Zie Veronika. I love you.”

  “I love you too, nephew.”

  CHAPTER 28

  Chanel

  I threw my car in park in my mother’s driveway, then cut the engine. Luckily, when I ran up to her porch she was already outside. “Cool! I was hoping I didn’t have to run all the way in,” I said, extending the small stack of bridal magazines to her. “These are all the ones they had left. Some nice stuff in there. I looked through while I was waiting.”

  My mother’s smile widened. “Thanks baby,” she stated as she relieved me of the books. “What you looking in bridal magazines for? You about to marry you a white boy or something?”

  Immediately, I knew that she’d been talking to her daughter. “His name is Dario, and no, I’m not anywhere near thinking about marriage.”

  “So, then you are messing around with a white boy, huh?”

  “Don’t you think that’s kinda rude and disrespectful, Mama?”