Playing For Keeps

by Deborah Fletcher Mello

  Muscles tensed as they rode wave after wave of sheer pleasure. Neither could imagine anything being better, marveling how intensely each intimate encounter consumed them. Every coherent thought was lost, both blinded by the intoxicating sensations. It was gratification unlike anything either had ever experienced. Holding tight to each other they slid easily into the afterglow. Malcolm cupped her buttocks, his body still lost deep inside hers. He held her close, as he whispered softly.

  “Next time,” he said, squeezing each cheek as he trailed his fingers between them.

  Cilla giggled softly, her eyes closing as she felt the first realm of sleep beginning to take hold. She nodded. “Promises, promises,” she said.

  He chuckled with her. “Oh yeah,” he said, slumber pulling him hard. “Oh, yeah!”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Malcolm’s flight to Baltimore had been in the air for some fifteen minutes and he was still grinning like a Cheshire cat. His time with Cilla had gone by faster than either would have liked. Before he knew it he’d had to get out of her bed and back to work. It had been two short days and most of it they’d spent wrapped around each other. When they weren’t making love, they were making plans for their future, still uncertain about the details of their wedding.

  Checking in on the girls had been easy, the twins too distracted by all their stuff to have even missed him. Checking in on his mother had been something else. The matriarch had actually scolded him and as he thought back on it he couldn’t help but smile. Although he was used to his mother’s puritan standards, her old-fashioned morality still came at the most inopportune times. For a brief moment he’d thought about reminding her that he was a grown man who paid his own bills, and hers, too, but he’d bit back the words. Her being concerned didn’t warrant his disrespect even if he did think it wasn’t any of her business whose bed he slept in at night. He blew a low sigh as he thought about his beloved mother. He and Cilla were going to have to marry soon if there was going to be any peace in their home.

  Leaving her had actually been one of the most difficult things for him to do. He’d bypassed his usual morning run to dance between her legs instead, his body craving hers. And then he’d wanted to linger there as if he had nothing else to do. The memory pulled his smile wider.

  As he’d risen from the bed Cilla had narrowed her gaze, eyeing him seductively. There’d been the sweetest pout pulling at her mouth.

  “Stay,” Cilla had said, leaning up on her elbow.

  He’d laughed as he shook his head. “I can’t and you can’t either. You have to go to work too.”

  Cilla had sighed, her eyes rolling as she threw her body back against the mattress. “Don’t remind me,” she’d whined softly.

  “I need to get ready,” he’d said, smiling down on her. “Care to join me?” He held out a hand, gesturing for her to take the lead into the bathroom.

  Rising, Cilla had given him a slight curtsy then had wiggled seductively past him. Malcolm had followed quickly behind her. Inside the tiled bathroom Cilla turned on the water, waiting as it warmed. When the first rise of steam began to fill the room she stepped into the shower. Malcolm followed her, closing the shower doors behind them.

  Standing in the dry end of the shower he watched as she turned to face him, leaning back in the hot water with her eyes closed, her naked body like a vision to his lustful eyes. Water cascaded over her head and face, down across her skin. As she swept her hand through her hair, drawing the thick strands down her back, his manhood had hardened, surprising him. He’d been in his teens the last time he could get erection after erection with ease.

  Cilla had opened her eyes to look at him, allowing her gaze to drift downward. Her gaze was appreciative, her smile yearning. She lifted her eyes slowly back to his, crooking her finger in a come hither gesture. With his own seductive stare Malcolm had complied, joining her under the stream of hot water as he wrapped his arms around her waist. He kissed her deeply, warm water dripping like rain over them both.

  With no further invitation needed he’d pushed her back against the tile of the shower wall. His left hand slipped down to the back of her upper thigh, pulling her leg upward. Cilla instinctively wrapped it around him, drawing him closer. They stood at the perfect angle for him to enter her warm channel one more time.

  In no time at all he was buried deep inside of her. As he began to stroke in and out, he lifted her up by her ass, moving her to wrap both of her legs around him. Using the wall to hold her up he took her as if he were on a mission, his speed and aggressiveness a pleasant surprise. Amazement danced in Cilla’s eyes. Minutes passed and despite the intensity of his previous orgasms Malcolm had felt another eruption rising with a vengeance. He stroked her harder and faster, over and over again. Neither of them lasted long, their coupling explosive. The intensity of his climax sent Malcolm to his knees, fighting to keep them both from falling. Her body shuddering, Cilla cried out, biting her bottom lip. She had clung to him and he’d held her, the shower’s spray beating down against their flesh. Everything between them had felt like heaven.

  All of Malcolm’s memories were sweet. One incredible moment after another. Life with Cilla was more than he could have ever anticipated and with every day they shared together he wanted ten more. Even in their few moments of disagreement he felt good about the two of them together. He’d hit the jackpot and he wasn’t willing to let the prize go.

  As the plane landed Malcolm shook the fog from his head. Taking a deep breath he made a concerted effort to focus. He was so love-struck that it was like he was some pimply-faced teenager and not a man who’d lived a lifetime. A man who had loved hard and had lost love once before. He straightened his shoulders and cracked his neck, twisting his head from one side to the other. Cilla would be there at the end of the week when he flew back. She’d be waiting, her love for him as intense as his own. He trusted that. Until then he had business that needed to be handled.

  Maxine met him at the door with her exuberant smile and his requisite cup of coffee. Despite the bright smile on her face she looked weary, as if the weight of the world was bearing down on her shoulders. He didn’t need to ask her what was wrong, already knowing who had put that worry in her eyes. “She’s out of control,” Maxine said after they’d gotten past the small talk. “I had to go downtown and ask for a restraining order against my own daughter. It just doesn’t make any sense to me.”

  Malcolm shook his head, just as baffled as his former mother-in-law. “I don’t understand what’s gotten into her.”

  “Them locking up that no-good boyfriend of hers just sent her right off the deep end.”

  Malcolm’s own good mood had taken a nosedive. “I’m sorry you have to go through this, Miss Maxine.”

  She shrugged, her narrow shoulders jutting upward. She drifted off into thought, her eyes glazing. That moment of quiet was almost haunting before she spoke again.

  “You always have such high hopes for your children. From the moment they draw their first breath we start planning their futures and dreaming big dreams for them. We hope and pray that as they grow older our dreams will become their dreams.

  “I lost all my boys to these streets and just when I thought she was on the right track, these damn streets came back to claim Shanell, too.” She’d been staring out the window at the streets below and turned to meet Malcolm’s eye. “Don’t you fail Cleo and Claudia the way I failed my children. Do whatever you have to do to keep them from this madness,” she said, before shifting her back to stare out the window.

  Malcolm moved to her side, pressing a large hand against her shoulder. “You didn’t fail them, Miss Maxine. You did everything you were supposed to do and more. There’s no one around who’d ever say you weren’t a good mother. You sacrificed everything you had for Shanell and her brothers. What happened to them they did to themselves. Their bad decisions and poor choices took them from here. You didn’t have anything to do with their failings.”

  Miss Maxine blew a heavy
sigh. Everything in her head told her Malcolm was right. Everything in her heart wasn’t quite so sure. She nodded, forcing that bright smile back onto her face.

  “The girls are very excited about you getting married,” she said, changing the subject. “And your mama is just beside herself. Claudette really likes this young woman.”

  Malcolm smiled back. “Cilla’s very special. She makes me incredibly happy.”

  “I hope I get to meet her soon.”

  “You will. I was hoping she could have come with me on this trip but she had to work.” His eyes suddenly widened, his brows shifting upward. “Hey, maybe you can come down to North Carolina this weekend? The girls would love to see you and it’ll be a great chance for us all to spend some quality time together.”

  Maxine nodded. “I’d like that. I’d like that a lot.”

  “Good, because you and I are still family and it’s important to me that you like Cilla.”

  “I’m sure I’m going to love her.”

  Malcolm moved back to his desk. “We really need to talk about the new office in North Carolina. I’m hoping you’ll think about moving and come help me run things from there.”

  “Are you thinking about closing this office?”

  He shook his head. “No, ma’am. We have more than enough business that it only makes good business sense to keep them both up and running.”

  Miss Maxine proffered her agreement. After reviewing his schedule and sliding a half dozen checks across the desktop for him to sign she headed toward the door. She came to an abrupt stop, her hand on the doorknob. Turning back to face him she met Malcolm’s stare.

  “What’s wrong?” he questioned.

  She blew another heavy sigh. “Watch your back, Malcolm. My daughter’s not herself and she’s blaming you for her all her troubles. I tried to talk some sense into her but that was like talking to a brick wall. Those drugs have her all messed up and I’m afraid of what she might do.”

  Malcolm gave her a slight smile. “Don’t you worry about me. And don’t you worry about Shanell. She did her worst when she put Cleo in harm’s way. I won’t let that ever happen again. You can trust that.”

  With one last nod Miss Maxine exited the room, leaving Malcolm to his own thoughts. Staring after her Malcolm couldn’t miss the heaviness that bore back down on her posture. Despite his assurances she was still burdened with worry. And suddenly, so was he.

  Cilla missed Malcolm something fierce. They’d spoken a few times since he’d gone to Baltimore and hearing his voice had her wishing he was back home by her side. Mama Claudette didn’t miss the expression that crossed Cilla’s face as she disconnected Malcolm’s call. The matriarch laughed heartily.

  “You two are funny to me,” she said with a deep cackle.

  Cilla laughed with her. “Are we that bad?”

  “You’re in love. You’re worse than bad.”

  “I do love your son. He means the world to me.”

  Mama Claudette nodded. “He feels the same way about you.”

  Cilla smiled. She had welcomed the opportunity to spend time with Malcolm’s mother and his daughters without him. It was important to her that they build a relationship aside from the bond she and Malcolm shared. She knew that to do that meant them sharing time and space together that had nothing at all to do with the man they all loved.

  This day was her time with her future mother-in-law. She’d spent the previous evening with the twins. Picking the girls up from school had been an experience, Cilla thought, reflecting back to the previous day. Both girls had been excited about her coming. There’d been rolling jokes about her having to wait with the other parents in the kiss-and-go pickup lane. After a trip to the public library to finish off their homework, they’d gone for an early dinner at Fat Daddy’s, then had walked the stores of Crabtree Valley Mall.

  Earthbound Trading Company had been Claudia’s favorite store. Spencer’s had been Cleo’s. One purple rock and a Bob Marley T-shirt later and the girls had been over-the-moon happy. Cilla’s on-sale finds at Belk’s had her on cloud nine as well. By the time they’d finished testing makeup samples at MAC and grabbing dessert from the Cheesecake Factory, the three were better than good with each other.

  Both girls had been animated, eagerly sharing their lives with her. The laughter had been abundant and their teasing made her feel like family. They’d had a great time together and Cilla was hopeful for the same with Mama Claudette.

  “So, where are we off to?” the older woman questioned, pulling Cilla back to the conversation. “Because I don’t usually wear gym clothes out in public.”

  Cilla laughed. “I thought you and I could do something totally out of character for both of us. We’re going to a pole dancing class.”

  There was a brief moment of stunned silence. Wide-eyed Mama Claudette turned to look at her. “Pole dancing?”

  Cilla nodded, a nervous giggle easing past her lips. “Yes, ma’am. My friend Bianca takes lessons at a studio off of Glenwood Avenue. They throw introductory parties once every month and I thought it might be fun for the two of us.”

  Mama Claudette paused for a brief moment before a wide smile filled her face. She laughed, the wealth of it warm and endearing. Her gray head bobbed against her thin neck. “Pole dancing! Well, I’ll be damned!”

  The dance studios at Turn Me Loose Fitness featured women of all ages and sizes participating in traditional and nontraditional classes. The pole dancing, twerk fitness, and Zumba classes were all filled to capacity. Once they were inside and Mama Claudette was introduced to other women of her generation she cast aside her preconceived notions of them going to some dimly lit hot spot where there was going to be gyrating and booty popping. The entire atmosphere was slanted toward more of a G rating than an X rating.

  Their pole dancing involved performing aerobic moves on a vertical pole. The women who were proficient at it included spins and inversions in high heels. For their beginners’ class Cilla and Mama Claudette started with a warm-up and stretching, then moved on to several arm, leg, and ab moves that evolved into a short routine on the silver-toned floor-to-ceiling rod. After the cool down they moved on to wine, cheese, and conversation with the other women, everyone joking and laughing about the good time they’d had.

  Cilla was beaming as Mama Claudette enrolled in a series of twelve classes, excitement flooding her face as she wrote them a check. She was still laughing as they made their way back to Cilla’s car.

  “I’m so glad you had a good time, Mama Claudette! I was nervous!”

  “So was I but that was just so much fun!”

  Cilla nodded. “I don’t know about you but I’ve worked up an appetite. Would you like to grab something to eat?”

  “I have never eaten sushi before. Do you think we could go get sushi for dinner?”

  “I know a great sushi place,” Cilla said, smiling as she started her engine.

  Thirty minutes later they were sitting at a table at Chopstix, a local Asian restaurant and sushi bar on Creedmoor Road. Mama Claudette was still extolling the merits of her good time, the dance experience more than she could ever have anticipated.

  “Thought my hip was going to give out when we had to do that shimmy, dip, and roll!” she said.

  Laughter rang between them. “Those leg extensions almost did me in!” Cilla exclaimed.

  Mama Claudette took a sip of her plum wine. “I’m so glad we did that. I would never have thought about doing something like that on my own. I can’t wait to tell Malcolm.”

  “I can just imagine what he’s going to have to say.”

  A brief moment of quiet passed between them as the waitress placed the first tray of their order onto the table. Cilla had started them with a sashimi appetizer. It was three kinds of raw fish: tuna, salmon, and yellowtail, sliced into thin strips. A petite bowl of soy sauce, a dab of wasabi, and slices of pickled ginger rounded out the condiments.

  Mama Claudette’s first bite was hesitant as she tasted the salmon
, adjusting to the texture against her tongue. “It’s sweet,” she said, a hint of surprise in her tone.

  “I really like the tuna,” Cilla said, the fish melting like butter against her tongue.

  Mama Claudette reached for the last piece on the plate, a smile pulling at her thin lips as she savored the flavor.

  Cilla couldn’t help but smile with her. “I think we have a new sushi fan!”

  “It’s better than I expected.”

  “You’re really going to like the other dishes,” Cilla said as their waitress rested one tray after another onto the table. “Thank you,” Cilla said, meeting the woman’s eye.

  Mama Claudette leaned back in her seat. She crossed her hands together in her lap. “Cilla, you have been really good for this family. The twins adore you. They couldn’t stop talking about you last night and you’ve done wonders for that son of mine.”

  Cilla smiled.

  Mama Claudette continued. “I can’t remember the last time I saw Malcolm so happy. It’s like he’s a different man. He won’t admit it but after his divorce he stopped living life. He was going through the motions, doing everything he was supposed to do but he wasn’t really happy. There was no joy there and he worked very hard to hide that from me and the girls. But since meeting you there’s light back in his eyes.”

  “Shanell really broke his heart, didn’t she?”

  “Shanell almost destroyed my son,” she said matter-of-factly. Mama Claudette blew a heavy sigh, her eyes shifting back and forth in thought. “One day you and Malcolm might have a son of your own and you’ll understand how I feel. You want only the best for your children and when you know in your heart that something or someone isn’t good for them, you want to protect them. And you can do that when they’re young but then one day you realize they’re all grown up and you can’t run interference anymore.