Delilah

by Shelia M. Goss

  “I know. I let my lust take over for a minute.”

  Samson smiled. “It happens.”

  “Call me when you make it home.”

  Samson kissed her goodnight and exited her house. He let out a sigh as he slid into the driver’s seat of his SUV. BeBe and CeCe Winans’ latest gospel CD blasted through the speakers. Julia had no idea how much he wanted her, but he would not break his vow to God by sleeping with her and desecrating their relationship. He could wait until Saturday night.

  His conscience seemed to speak out loud. You would rather mess around with Delilah instead.

  Samson turned the music up louder in a failed attempt to drown out his own thoughts. He sped home and immediately called Julia when he pulled up in his driveway. “I miss you already,” he told her.

  “You could have stayed.”

  “And have you hate me in the morning? I don’t think so.” Samson turned the ignition off and exited his vehicle

  “Tonight will be the only night I can sleep. There’s so much more on our wedding to-do list.”

  “I’m confident you have it all covered.”

  Samson blinked twice. He couldn’t believe Delilah stood on the opposite side of his tinted windows. “Samson, are you in there?” Delilah yelled. She placed her face on his tinted windows when he didn’t immediately respond.

  “Julia, I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Good night.” He didn’t wait for her to respond. He prayed Julia didn’t hear Delilah yelling from the outside of his SUV. He removed his keys from the ignition and opened the door.

  “Delilah, you need to go home.” Samson tried not to brush up against her when he exited his SUV. Delilah reached out for him. He hit her hands every time she tried to touch him.

  “Come on, Samson. I know you’re hurting. I waited for you to come to me, but when you didn’t come, I decided to come to you.”

  Samson looked around, hoping none of his neighbors were looking. He grabbed Delilah by the arm. “Come on. Let’s take this inside.”

  Delilah giggled. “That’s what I’m talking about.”

  Samson struggled with getting the key in the lock with one hand, while never losing his grip on Delilah’s arm with his other. Once he entered his house and they were behind closed doors, he released Delilah’s arm. “Delilah, we need to talk.”

  “We can save the talking for later,” Delilah said. She slid her hand up and down his chest.

  Samson’s body hadn’t fully recovered from being around Julia. Delilah’s touch only increased the sexual urges. He shouted, “Get thee behind me, Satan.”

  Delilah stopped. “This is the second time today someone’s accused me of being the devil, and I’m not going to stand for it.”

  “Good. Now maybe you’ll stop. Sit so we can talk.”

  This time Delilah obeyed Samson. She waited for him to sit down first and then she took a seat across from him. She crossed her legs, deliberately exposing her thighs. Samson did his best to keep eye contact but found himself peeking at her legs during the course of the conversation. “This thing between us has to stop.”

  “Samson, if I could stop what I feel for you, believe me, I would.”

  “Delilah, you’re a pretty woman, and there’s not a man alive who wouldn’t want you, but I’m taken. End of story.”

  Delilah walked over to his stereo. She found a radio station, and as the latest R&B songs blasted from the speakers, she began dancing seductively. “If you can resist me after what I’m about to do, then I’ll walk away and never bother you again.”

  “Good,” Samson said.

  The Commodores’ song “Brick House” played next as Delilah swayed her body from side to side. Samson squirmed in his seat. He should have gotten up and walked out of the room, but watching Delilah dance had him hypnotized.

  There was something about Delilah that seemed to have a hold on him. She had a vulnerable side that she didn’t like to expose. He wanted to heal her. Samson knew pushing her away would hurt her, but giving in to her demands could jeopardize not just his life, but Julia’s.

  The hold Delilah had on him was hypnotic, and as much as he knew she was bad for him, he couldn’t seem to get enough of her. He had been able to resist temptation for years, but since the moment he met Delilah, she became his Achilles’ heel.

  Delilah made her way over to where Samson was sitting and straddled him. Defeated, Samson gave in to his carnal desires once again. The next morning, Delilah rolled over and whispered in Samson’s ear, “Ready for another round?”

  Chapter 9

  Delilah pouted and complained, but Samson wouldn’t budge. “You can still call off the wedding,” Delilah said.

  “That’s never going to happen, so you might as well let me go.”

  She did something she said she would never do in front of a man. She cried. Samson reached out to her. She pushed his arm away. “Don’t touch me.”

  “Delilah, fine. It’s almost eight o’clock, and I have things to do.”

  “I can see myself out.”

  “You can’t stay here. When I leave, you leave.”

  “So you’re kicking me out?” Delilah yelled.

  “Calm down. Nobody’s kicking you out.”

  Wiping her eyes, Delilah got out of the bed and put on her clothes. Samson avoided looking at her. Delilah should have felt some type of shame, but she didn’t. She never made Samson do anything he didn’t want to do.

  “I’m going only because I have something to do myself,” Delilah said.

  “Be careful,” Samson said as he walked her to the door.

  She was disappointed he didn’t at least give her a hug. She dialed her best friend’s number as soon as she was seated behind the wheel of her car. “Keisha, let’s meet for lunch. My treat.”

  At one that afternoon, Delilah met Keisha at a local eatery. The crowd had thinned since the lunch rush hour passed. “Girl, I love that hair color on you,” Delilah said as she sat across from Keisha.

  “Platinum blond. You should try it.” Keisha ran her fingers through the end of her hair.

  Delilah loved changing her hairstyle, and having a best friend who was a hair stylist worked in her favor, but she would leave the platinum blond to Keisha.

  “I ordered your favorites,” Keisha said.

  “Good, because I haven’t eaten anything since yesterday.”

  Delilah listened as Keisha gossiped about the patrons at her salon, but the news didn’t compare to what Delilah had going on in her life. The waiter brought over their food. Delilah explained her dilemma. “Samson wanted it as much as I did, so I don’t know why he keeps tripping with me.”

  “You’re going to burn in hell for messing with that preacher,” Keisha said. She dipped her French fries in ketchup.

  “Did you not hear a word I said? He wants me too, but he doesn’t want to disappoint his parents.”

  “Delilah, I don’t know what planet you’re on, but the preacher is just using you. He’s getting sex from you, but he’s still marrying his virtuous woman. Move on. Save yourself from heartache, but most importantly, save your soul.”

  Delilah’s cell phone rang. “That’s probably him now.” Delilah retrieved her phone from her purse with a huge grin on her face. “Hello.”

  “Are you making any progress?” William asked.

  Delilah rolled her eyes. “Just give me some time.”

  “Time is money. I need that land to build my shopping center, so I need to see some results. He still won’t take my calls.”

  “I’m working on it. I have a trump card I haven’t played yet. He’ll do whatever I want when I play it.”

  “Well, what are you waiting on? Give me the results I want or you’ll be jobless.”

  William disconnected the call without waiting on Delilah’s response. “Are you okay?” Keisha asked.

  “Yeah,” Delilah responded, as she slipped her cell phone back in her purse. “Just my boss getting on my nerves.”

  “You need to find yo
u another job.”

  “Where else am I going to work and make twenty dollars an hour in this city? Plus, I’m getting a bonus for this special assignment,” Delilah said. Delilah, feeling distress, had shared with Keisha details of her special assignment.

  “You can find something. I can get you a job on the riverboat with me. Girl, with my tips, I easily pull in a thousand dollars every week.”

  “I know nothing about a crap table or blackjack.”

  “You don’t have to. There’s a training class you go through.”

  “Well, if this doesn’t work out, I’ll think about it.”

  “You have options,” Keisha said.

  “If Samson marries that woman, I don’t know what I’ll do.”

  Keisha stopped eating. “Do I need to slap some sense into you? You’re delusional if you think he’s going to drop Ms. Prim and Proper for an ex-hooker.”

  “I was an exotic dancer. Big difference.” Delilah looked around the room to make sure no one was listening. “Besides, you don’t have to tell the world my business.”

  “I just want you to see how ridiculous all this looks. You slept with him. The sex was good. Now move on.”

  “You just don’t understand. I’m a better person because of Samson.”

  “I’ve seen him on TV and yes, he’s sexy, but he’s not the only man in Shreveport.”

  To Delilah, he might as well have been because Samson was the only man she wanted, and she’d stop at nothing to get him.

  Chapter 10

  “Samson, you haven’t heard a word I said,” Julia said. She might as well have been talking to herself because Samson’s mind was on Delilah and the countless number of text messages she had sent him since Monday morning.

  He had avoided her all week, but he was sure his luck would be changing soon since it was now Wednesday night and Delilah rarely missed Wednesday night Bible Study. He looked at his beautiful bride-to-be. His insides fluttered as he thought about how much he loved her. He recalled the first time he realized he was in love with Julia.

  They had known each other since childhood because both of their fathers were prominent men of the cloth; however, it wasn’t until after they both graduated from college and they ran into each other at a church conference that his feelings changed from admiration to love. That was more than two years ago. Julia was soon to be his queen, and he couldn’t let anyone stand in the way of making it happen. Delilah had to be dealt with, but there was no one he could trust, or was there?

  “I don’t know where your head is tonight, but I hope you get it together before you go in there trying to teach your congregation,” Julia said.

  “Michael’s teaching tonight.”

  “Good, because you are not yourself.”

  Samson took Julia’s hand in his. “Come on, let’s go before we’re late.”

  “Aww, how sweet,” Delilah said when she ran into them in the hallway.

  “Just keep moving,” Samson told Julia.

  “Is something going on I should know about?” Julia looked back and forth between Samson and Delilah.

  Samson was caught off guard with her question. “No,” he lied.

  “That’s all I needed to know.”

  Samson sighed as they walked into the sanctuary and took their seats on the front pew.

  He could feel someone watching him, and when he turned around, Delilah’s smiling face was staring back at him. He jerked his body back around and did his best to concentrate on Michael’s discussion on the eighteenth chapter of Matthew.

  “Pastor Judges, would you like to add anything to what I said about leading others to sin,” Michael said, staring at him from the podium.

  “Uh, no. Minister Monroe, you’ve done an excellent job explaining.” Samson wiped his sweaty hands on his pants leg. He heard Delilah snicker. He glanced at Julia from the corner of his eyes. His attempt to reach for her hand resulted in her crossing her arms. The rest of the time, Samson blocked out everything else and looked directly at Michael.

  “I didn’t mean to put you on the spot earlier,” Michael said later in the pastor’s study.

  “Man, I’m just nervous about Saturday.”

  “I’m surprised you’re here tonight. I was a nervous wreck when I was about to get married.”

  “Julia and I are going to be gone all next week, so we wanted to be here.”

  “Well, if there’s anything you want me to do, let me know.”

  “My mom and Julia have it all covered. All I need to do is show up.”

  Michael looked over Samson’s shoulder. “Looks like you got company,” Michael said as Delilah walked into his office.

  “I hope I’m not interrupting anything. Pastor, I wanted to ask you something.” Delilah batted her eyes.

  “Pastor, I’ll catch you later,” Michael said.

  “No, don’t go. There’s something else I wanted to discuss with you,” Samson said.

  Michael didn’t read in between the lines that Samson didn’t want to be left alone with Delilah. “Call me on my cell when you finish.” He smiled in Delilah’s direction. “Delilah, nice seeing you.”

  Delilah licked her lips. “Same here. Tell that wife of yours she’s a lucky woman.”

  “I’ll be sure to tell her that.”

  Once Michael was gone, Delilah closed the door.

  “What are you doing?” Samson rushed to the door to open it.

  Delilah jumped in front of it. They were now face-to-face. He could smell the cherry blossom lip gloss on her lips. “Your fiancée is in the restroom. Why haven’t you returned my calls?”

  “I’m beginning to sound like a broken record—because I’m busy. I am getting married in a few days.”

  “I know. That’s all anybody is talking about.”

  Samson moved and left Delilah standing with her back to the door. “I hate to rush you, but I need to go.”

  “Okay, but I wanted to drop off something with you.” Delilah reached into her purse and pulled out a disk. She handed it to him but wouldn’t let go of the case. “If I were you, I would watch this in private.”

  Samson needed Delilah gone before Julia came to his office, but he was curious to know what was on the disk. He looked at both sides of the disk, but there was no writing. Before he could ask Delilah any questions, the doorknob turned and Julia walked in. “What’s going on here?” she asked.

  Samson thought to himself that a closed door meant nothing because it seemed as if people still just burst into his office without knocking. He snapped out of his thoughts at the sound of Delilah’s voice.

  Delilah smiled. “Nothing. I just dropped off something to the pastor. You two make such a cute couple.”

  Julia responded, “Well, now that you’ve dropped it off, you can be going.”

  Delilah turned to face Samson. “Remember what I said.” She winked at him, turned, and twisted out of the room.

  “I know it’s wrong, but I can’t stand that woman,” Julia said.

  Samson threw the disk Delilah had given him in his briefcase. “Come on, I’ll walk you out.”

  Samson and Julia were in separate vehicles, so instead of leaving one at the church, they each decided to drive. He followed Julia home to spend a little time with her before heading home.

  It wasn’t until later that night, while lying in his bed, that he remembered the disk Delilah had given him earlier. He retrieved it from his briefcase and placed it in the DVD player. For some reason the disk didn’t immediately start playing like it normally would, so he played around with the remote. The screen remained fuzzy, but when he turned the sound up, he realized that what he was watching was no ordinary video. Within seconds, the visuals became clear and he saw his naked bottom staring at him on the screen.

  There was no misunderstanding what was going on. The video showed him and Delilah in the heat of passion. He watched the video, wishing he could turn back the hands of time. He had been celibate for years, and Delilah had him breaking vows to
his fiancée and, more importantly, to God. He could try to lie his way out of it, but the proof of his sin was not only a vision in his head, it was recorded for anyone to see.

  Chapter 11

  Delilah slept with the phone by her ear. She expected Samson to call her as soon as he saw the video. Morning crept up on her. She glanced at her phone and didn’t have one missed call. “I wonder if he even watched it.”

  Delilah knew her obsession with Samson was on the borderline of being considered psychotic, but she loved him and wanted him like she had never wanted any other man before in her life.

  She dialed Samson’s phone number. Her phone beeped. Trusts Enterprise’s number flashed on the caller ID screen. She disconnected the call with Samson and clicked over. “Delilah speaking,” she answered.

  “Any news?” William asked.

  “I’m working on it,” she responded.

  “Don’t disappoint me,” he said before hanging up.

  “I can’t believe I made a deal with the devil.” Delilah slammed down the phone.

  After the conversation with William, Delilah took a long shower. Her phone rang while she dressed. A smile crept across her face when she saw Samson’s number displayed on the caller ID. “I knew you would call,” she answered.

  “I’m coming over now,” was all Samson said.

  “I’ll be waiting.”

  Delilah changed her clothes several times. She wanted to look sexy for Samson, but then again, she wanted to play hard-to-get. The problem with Samson was, in her opinion, that she had been too accessible to him. She would be less forward from this point on.

  She reached for the room fragrance and sprayed it in the air. The fruity aroma spread throughout the house. She did a clean sweep of her living room to make sure everything was presentable.

  Before Samson could ring the door bell, Delilah greeted him at the door. “Come in.”

  Samson didn’t say a word. He walked directly to the living room and sat down. Delilah left him there and returned with a twelve ounce can of his favorite soda.

  “You can keep that,” he said.