by Nia Arthurs
I felt myself leaning into him, enchanted by the spell his sweet words of love had weaved, but afraid to jump in again, afraid to trust my heart.
He raked his hand through his hair and stepped away from me.
“I’ve been reading up on this Kingdom business and I just wanted to apologize for the way I treated you. And I hope you understand how I feel.”
With that, he pulled back one last time and walked away.
“Good bye, Melody.”
That’s it? He was just going to walk away from me?
“Wait!” I blurted.
Before I could think through my next actions, I barreled into him and jumped into his arms. He staggered but managed to catch me and remain on his feet.
I palmed his cheeks with my hands, “I love you too, you jerk-face.”
And then I gave him six months worth of love.
EPILOGUE : SIX MONTHS LATER
SPENCER’S P.O.V.
Belize is a beautiful country. The gorgeous beaches, like the one in San Pedro that Peyton, Mia, Melody and I now frolic upon is a case in point. Since my first visit six months ago, I’d returned five times already. This country is getting under my skin. I can feel a serious case of Belize migration coming on. I must admit that I have already fallen in love with this place. The food is delicious, the weather is like summer everyday and the people are very friendly.
The thing is, I’m only interested in being friendly with one Belizean in particular.
I look down at my amazing girlfriend, “You want some sunscreen, babe?”
Melody is resting with her head in my lap, her long hair splaying all over my leg. She’s wearing some fancy beach tunic over her swimwear and I’m trying to behave myself because she looks so dang gorgeous and I just want to haul her away so I don’t have to share her with this beach and this sea and this sky.
“No, I’m good. Thanks.” She says. Her face is glowing with the excitement of being outside, and hopefully some of it is from being with me.
I can’t help but feel lighter when I’m around her. Work has become ten times harder because all I can think about is returning to Belize to be with my love. Simply being around her is like touching the sun. Speaking of sons, Mia’s father has just recently (and grudgingly) accepted me as a part of his daughter’s life. I was immediately acquainted with the famous shot gun the moment I stepped through the Reyes’ threshold and Melody introduced me to her parents. Mr. Reyes wasted no time informing me that any potential mate for his daughter needed to have a deep faith in The King. I didn’t disagree with any of his stipulations. My heart was open to a better way. Melody had introduced me to the Truth and I was getting there on my own time.
“Hey, what’s got you frowning on a beautiful day like today?” Melody asks, her brow wrinkles with concern. She looks so adorable (though she doesn’t find the word complimentary), that I have to kiss her. I bend and place a kiss on her cheek.
“Mm,” she says, and then holds her arm over my bent neck and pulls me down for a proper kiss. She feels more comfortable with our caresses when we’re in public and around friends. For the sake of both our sanities, I try to keep my hands to myself when we’re in private. Her playful side arises when we are on full display like this and it drives me crazy. The problem with only seeing your girlfriend snatches at a time is that you have a lot to catch up on when you do manage to get together. Being with Melody Reyes is a case in self-discipline.
We break apart but Melody’s eyes are still closed. I take the time to engrave this moment on my mind. Melody, eyes closed, lashes splayed over darkened mocha brown cheeks, slight smile on her lips, hair shifting slightly in the breeze is more than I ever imagined or deserved. I love everything about this woman. And I’m still trying to figure out how I ever managed to slip into her league.
“Hey! Hey, don’t do that!” I hear Mia cry from the shoreline where the waves nipped at our heels just a few minutes ago. I glance away from my girl to observe my best friend lifting Mia up and tossing her into the sea.
“My hair!” she screams, rising from the water with her wet hair slicked down over her face. I have to laugh. My best friend is smitten for sure. He’s usually a lot more suave around the ladies. Hm, this is probably why he keeps volunteering to return to Belize. I have a suspicion his compliance and support have more to do with a beautiful dark-skinned native than with me.
“They’re so cute together,” Melody sighs and then sits up, freeing my thigh from the weight of her head. Our children will be geniuses like their mother if their heads all come out that heavy. “Do you think Peyton will ever sum up the courage to tell Mia how he feels?”
My eyebrows rise. It always takes me a minute to follow Melody’s thought processes. The woman thinks in mysterious ways.
“Do you think he should?” I survey Mia’s disgusted face as she storms away from my best friend. “Mia seems to dislike Peyton’s company.”
Hate is the more appropriate word, but I don’t want to assume.
“Nah. She’s just trying really hard not to like him. She has this idea of the perfect black man in her head.”
I smile in the slow way that Melody seems to enjoy, “Are you sorry I cheated you out of the perfect black man?” I ask, scooting closer to her on the worn beach towel.
“Kind of,” she teased.
I reach out and softly pull on a curl and then twirl my finger through the spirals.
“But I really believe that Mia just needs more time to…”
“Mm-hm,” I nod at the appropriate points but I have stopped listening. Mia and Peyton do not exist in the little world I create with Melody. I admire the softness of her curl. Her hair really doesn’t look as soft as it feels.
“Babe! Spencer! You’re not even listening to me!”
“What? Yes I am. You’re talking about Mia and Peyton, right?”
She arches an eyebrow and I know I’ve been had.
“Sorry. You were distracting me.”
She grins, her eyes alight with mischief.
“I am the one distracting you? While I’m having a conversation with you, I’m distracting you from listening to that conversation?”
“What can I say? My girlfriend is that hot!”
I can see the fight in her eyes. She’s deciding if she should let this one slide or pursue it and discipline me about the importance of effective communication. Have I mentioned that not long after I visited Belize six months earlier, Melody enrolled in an online course to earn her Bachelors degree in Communication Management?
I am so proud of her, but I must admit that she enjoys tutoring me on her course material. I feign interest for her sake. Thankfully, she decides to let me off the hook.
“My boyfriend is hunky but you don’t see me getting distracted.” She teases.
Her comment makes me smile. How did I end up with such an amazing woman?
“I know how I can distract you right now.”
She pulls my shirt front and yanks me close.
“I love you,” I admit once again as the Belizean sun halos her hair.
Her eyes soften, “I love you too. Jerk.”
THE END
If you enjoyed this story, I would be honored if you would let others know by writing a review on Amazon. Word of mouth is important for an author’s success. I love you all and pray that God’s will continues to be done on Earth as well as it is in Heaven.
I would love to hear from you at [email protected].
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Read on for an excerpt from the second book in the Taming Series:
TAMING MR. CHARMING
CHAPTER ONE
“Spencer and Peyton are what?” I shrieked, wondering if I was in an alternate universe. Or maybe I was on Punk’d. This had to be a joke. I was definitely on Punk’d, pretty soon the host of our local Saturday night prank show would jump out of the shadows and the cameras would be pushed into my face.
&nbs
p; My love-struck-with-her-boyfriend-of-two-years best friend grinned at me as if she were sharing good news. I smoothed down my hair for the cameras and glanced over to make sure my girl was camera ready. As usual Melody was stunning with creamy light brown skin and her gorgeous curly hair smacked into a bun on the top of her head. My best friend rarely used makeup and let her naturally curly hair frizz at will, but she was always Top-Model ready.
I, however, loved my makeup. I wondered if it would be too obvious if I flipped open my powder case right now and patted my cheeks. I didn’t want the producers of Punk’d to paint me as self-obsessed if they rolled the footage on national television. Yeah, I better not pull out my powder case.
I tuned back in to what Melody was saying, keeping an eye out for the entrance to burst open. Anytime now.
“The guys are dabbling in off-shore banking so they’re setting up an office in Belize. They’ll be here for a full year!”
Oh.
Oh, she was serious?
Breathe, Mia, Breathe. There’s still a chance that Jerry Larimore will rush through that door, shove a mike in your face and tell you that this has all been an elaborate scheme.
I grappled for some kind of explanation. “But, don’t they do engineering and technologies and stuff? Why are they in banking?”
Come on Jerry. Come on.
Melody regarded me with a smirk, “You don’t care about that. You just don’t want to see Peyton.”
Ugh. Peyton Lowry, the bane of my existence.
Almost three years ago, Melody and her boyfriend Spencer met in the States while she was on an assignment with her job. The couple had battled some major issues but eventually made up and were currently - and quite bitter sweetly - in a long distance relationship. I was happy for my friend and celebrated with her anytime her sexy Asian boo came all the way from L.A. to visit. Unfortunately, Spencer Braden was always accompanied by his best friend/ business partner, Peyton. And let’s just say Peyton Lowry’s success, wealth, and good looks didn’t keep him from behaving like a ten year old little boy when it came to his interactions with me.
As the supportive best friend, however, it was my responsibility to keep Peyton occupied every time Spencer came to see Melody. At first I didn’t have a problem with the babysitting. Boys did not scare me. I knew the male species, their wants, their needs, and their thought processes, better than most. But Peyton was not at all like the men I was used to. He grasped at any and every opportunity to annoy me and nothing was sacred. He was like an annoying older brother. Sometimes I forgot that he was the co-founder of a very successful technology patenting company in L.A.
“Peyton’s a pain in the butt. I don’t know why he keeps coming back here. Pass that hanger, please.”
Melody and I were arranging my store with the new stock that arrived from Port, the national shipping agency. I owned a little boutique near the north side of Belize called Mia’s Designs. The boutique was my pride and joy. I left the more scholarly and academic pursuits to Melody. I knew from a young age that I loved fashion and make-up and looking good. No piece of paper from an expensive school would gratify me. It was a dream come true to behold my store which I’d gotten on sale from a Chinese grocer at an incredible price. I made most of the improvements myself with some help from the Reyes family and Archie, the adopted Reyes family lawyer. Every fixture, every shelf, every mirror had been installed with elbow grease and determination.
On the side I designed a few pieces of clothing but nothing that I felt was ready for mass judgment. Of course, my best friend and her family kept trying to convince me to reveal my designs to Belize. Even Peyton had jumped on the bandwagon, though I suspected he joined the ride just because he knew it would bug me.
“You know why he comes to Belize, Mia.” Melody replied, handing me the hangar. Today was my bestie’s only day off and I felt bad for working her this early in the morning. Unfortunately, the store didn’t make enough to hire full time employees yet so I tricked Melody into being my indentured servant by promising her a gallon of Ben & Jerry’s. She’d developed a strange craving for that imported ice cream ever since L.A.
“You’ve forgotten that I know you better than anyone. This is the first time in years that a guy has gotten any kind of a reaction from you.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I defended, pursing my lips. I knew that Melody wanted to set me up with Spencer’s best friend but fairy tales like that only worked in Melody-Land. We had two very different world perspectives.
My story was much different than my friend’s. Melody grew up in a stable home with caring parents living an example of love before her. She grew up with a solid faith and always did the right thing. Soon, Melody will graduate with a Bachelors degree in Business Communication and Management. Plus, she’s dating a guy who adores her. On their wedding night, Melody will be able to give him the pristine, untarnished gift of her body and heart.
I, on the other hand, suffered along with my parents in a terrible marriage. Oh, they’re still together but my sixty year old father sleeps on the couch every night. My parents fought constantly. As the youngest of four, I was the last to leave and so bore the brunt of the family disunity alone. I had no doubt that my parents would be better off if they weren’t together but there was one problem: appearances.
For my mom and dad, it was all about appearance. Every Sunday, the Johnsons packed into the third pew to the right of the Living Waters Church. No one suspected that Daddy sometimes went to his mistress for the night. No one knew that Mama cried herself to sleep when he did. Because every Sunday morning and night without fail, the Johnsons were starched, pressed and in church.
When I turned fifteen, I realized that I couldn’t take the pretense anymore. I started acting up, talking back to my mother, arguing with my father. Church was non-negotiable so I went, but I completely tuned out during the sermons. I started hanging out with the Pastor’s kid, slipping behind the church baptismal pool to make out and lighting cigarettes in the Children’s nursery during the seven o’clock service. The PK was your typical eighteen year old boy, rebellious and just as put out with keeping up appearances as I. One day, in the back of his old green Honda, he took my virginity.
I let that one event in the backseat of a disgustingly dirty green car define me. I started down a road of casual sexual relationships. I became manipulating and lewd. The “taken” men were my favorite to pursue and the unwritten codes of respect that I was breaking excited me. I’m not sure how I ended up so far from righteousness. The insecure little girl that I used to be only started down that path because she wanted to be heard. She wanted to prove to the Preacher Man that God was a myth and heaven and hell were on earth. She wanted her parents to stop fighting long enough to pay attention to her. But the little girl grew up and the woman that I saw in the mirror four years later was a douche. I did not recognize her.
That woman in the mirror would have continued to take over if it had not been for one call, one lousy two minute call that changed my life on the floor of the girl’s bathroom.
“Hello! Earth to Mia!” Melody snapped her fingers in my face.
“Oh sorry, gyal.” I apologized.
“Where were you? You were totally out of it.”
“I was just thinking about stuff.”
“Thinking about Peyton?” Melody teased, bumping me with her shoulder and wiggling her eyebrows expressively.
“No, I wasn’t.” I saw her deflate.
“What’s your obsession with me and Peyton anyway?” I inquired curiously.
Melody was always Team Peyton. But I didn’t get it. From the first day that we’d met, something about the guy irritated me. He was just so … likeable. I couldn’t conceive a man that genuine. There had to be strings attached. My history had taught me that genuine men of integrity didn’t exist anymore. Well, except for Spencer and Mr. Reyes, Melody’s dad. I think Melody’s sweetness attracted those types of people. My personality certainly brought
out the whackos.
“He’s nice. And you treat him really bad.”
“He’s always annoying me!” I protested, “Don’t you remember that time when he caught a lizard and pushed it in my face?”
“Um, actually, he was showing everyone the lizard. It was a rare Gekkota. It wasn’t in your face at all.”
I humped, “Well, I remember it differently. And what about the day we all went to the waterfall in Sucuts and he threw mud at me.”
“We were all having fun in the mud. His dirt caught you by accident.”
“Okay, but he was totally flirting with that nurse who tended you when you got stung by a jellyfish that last time.”
“First of all, I was perfectly fine after I peed on my leg, so that whole hospital dash was unnecessary. But he wasn’t flirting with her. She was married. We all knew that. All he did was ask about her kids. You saw how she lit up. What was wrong with that?”
“Stop taking his side in everything. You’re just like everyone else who’s blinded by this white guy.”
Melody grinned, “Oh, you mean blinded by how handsome he is? Or maybe how smart and kind and respectful-”
“Exactly!” I used the hangar in my hand to punctuate the point. “He’s too nice and kind.”
“And handsome?” Melody added breezily.
“Whatever. Trust me; Peyton Lowe has his share of female admirers. I refuse to be one of them.”
“Okay. I believe you. I think. I’m just saying-”
“How ‘bout you keep your thoughts to yourself?” I interrupted.
“Ouch. Grouchy much?”
I sighed as I recognized my harsh tone. “I’m sorry girl, it’s just…”
“You have Peyton fever.” Melody added in.
She got up to escape from my wrath but I popped her on the bum with my hangar before she could get away.
“Hey, that hurt!” She exclaimed.
“My bad.” I smiled smugly.
“Geez. All I did was point out that Peyton isn’t a bad guy and you go all Hangar Ninja on me.”
