by Noelle Vella
“Yes, I am. Why?”
“No reason.”
“You got a problem with me now that you know I’m close to fifty?”
“Nope. I like my men with a little wisdom on them.”
He glanced at me. “Oh yeah?”
I nodded. “Gabby always picks on me about it. She asked how I ended up married to Malik.”
“I surmise Malik is younger than you?”
Shaking my head, I answered, “No. We’re the same age. He’s just a few months older.”
“So being with an older man has never been an issue for you?”
“Not at all. Something about the age difference that makes the time we spend together more intense.”
Carl quirked a brow at me, then smiled.
I giggled a bit and shook my head as he pulled out the electronic key card and slid it into the sleek door slot. The light flashed green, and he pushed the door open to let me walk in first. We had been to the room earlier, but I didn’t have a chance to fully take in the room’s atmosphere since we were in and out. The room was cool and looked as if it was bigger than my two-bedroom townhome back home. The brown and cream carpet brought out the mocha-colored walls. A burnt-orange chaise with an ottoman sat in front of the glass sliding doors next to a round chocolate wood grain dining table. A square coffee table of the same color sat in front of a burnt-orange sofa. Cream-colored curtains were pulled to the side, showcasing the downpour of rain outside.
The door to the bedroom was open, and I could see the king-size bed had been made. White sheets that looked to be of the highest quality could be seen pulled down and neatly folded over the down comforter. The bed made me want to dive in and sleep away my adulterous ways.
Carl’s laptop and electronic tablet sat on the desk by the big flat-screen TV. A pen and a notepad right next to that. I was impressed with the room. The studio-style suite made me wonder what it would be like to live in luxury all the time. I wondered if the day would come when I would ever know what it would feel like not to worry about money.
“You can put your stuff in the closet if you like,” Carl said to me.
I nodded and asked, “Hey, will you call Diego to see if Gabby is with him?”
I dropped my bags on the couch and rifled through them, still shocked at the prices on some of the stuff Carl splurged on. Shit, the capris were a hundred and five bucks. For that price, I could get me, Leianni, and Hassan a few outfits. The man was fooling. Spending that much money on clothing seemed asinine to me. The dress he liked so much cost a whopping $200. I had a good mind to take that sucker back.
“Yeah, they did take too long to get the backup generators on. Actually, they should have kicked in immediately,” I heard Carl say.
I hopped up and walked into the bedroom. “Gabby with him?” I asked, assuming he was talking to his friend Diego.
He nodded, then told Diego, “Put Gabby on. Shell wants to make sure she’s okay.”
I eagerly took the phone just as Gabby answered, “Hello.”
“You okay?” I wanted to know.
“I’m fine. Meet me in the hall for a second.”
“Okay.”
I handed the phone back to Carl. Told him I’d be back.
“Where are you going?”
“Just out in the hall to talk to Gabby.”
I rushed out and saw Gabby coming from the opposite end of the hall. I couldn’t tell what mood she was in just by looking at her. She had her arms folded as it was a bit chilly and had on an oversized tee shirt that I was sure didn’t belong to her. Her face was glowing. Although there was no smile on her face, her eyes were shining.
“You okay?” she asked me as she approached.
“I’m good. You get stuck in the restaurant when the lights went out?”
She shook her head. “Was taking the stairs because the lines were too long at the elevator.”
I smiled. “You and Diego clicking?”
She shrugged nonchalantly. “Just keeping him company until you come to your senses with Carl.”
I chuckled lightly. “You act as if I’m about run off with the man.”
“No, you act as if you are.”
“Just enjoying the moment.”
“I can see that.”
I chose not to comment on her sarcastic tone and noticed her hair was wet. I asked her about it. She told me she’d gone out in the rain and sat in the cabana with Diego until the rain and wind got to be too much. We stood there laughing and talking a bit. I was doing it to stave off some of the sexual energy Carl had riled up in me.
“So, Diego and I were sitting at the bar talking, and he tells me something interesting about your weekend lover,” she said.
Just like my interest piqued, so did the nervousness that had crept up on me.
“Oh God, what is it? He isn’t gay, is he?”
Gabby laughed as she shook her head. “No, but, according to Diego, you’d be one on the short list of black women he’s ever shown interest in.”
My brows furrowed. “Say what?”
“Diego told me that Carl is one of those black men who seem to find his thrill in dating non-black women.”
“So that would mean his wife isn’t black.”
“We can safely assume that.”
I shook my head and shifted my weight from one foot to the other. I didn’t know how to feel about that tidbit of info. People often called me pro-black because I loved being black. Nothing was more powerful to me than being black and proud. I didn’t have anything against interracial dating. I believed love could transcend color. But I did have a problem with the stigmas that came with black men dating “other.”
Gabby and I talked a bit more. She wanted to know if I’d planned to stay the night with Carl even if the rain decided to let up.
“Was thinking about it,” I told her.
She quirked a brow, then frowned. “How did this go from being a girls’ weekend out to you carrying on a weekend affair with a married man?”
“If he’d been single would you be okay with it?”
“No, because we came to get away from men.”
I shrugged with a smile. “So, either way, you’d have a problem with it. It’s a lose-lose situation.”
“Yeah, for me. You’re leaving me with no other choice but to share a room with Diego.”
“I’m still trying to figure how that is a bad thing, especially since you’ve already popped the pussy for him.”
“Ugh. Goodness, Shell. You don’t have to be so crass.”
“I’m just saying. Quit fronting like you’re not enjoying yourself.”
“I didn’t say I wasn’t. I’m saying I wanted to spend time, chill, kick back, and relax with my girl, but she’s too busy popping her coochie for Carl.”
We both looked at each other and cracked up. I loved Gabby and would always take her advice to heart. I knew what I was doing was wrong, but I didn’t care to be right at the moment. I liked the feeling of being pampered and being catered to. Loved the way Carl moved against me when he was inside of me. I had a craving for his sensual foreplay again. Carl was giving me an erotic escapade that I was sure I’d never experience again in my life. And better yet, I loved the distraction he created. Besides, after tonight, I’d never see him again.
“I know I’m wrong,” I told Gabby.
She held her hands up. “I’m not here to judge. I’m here to be the voice of reason.”
“I know, and I love you for it, but I like pretending to be the wife of a man who pays $200 for one dress.”
She rolled her eyes. “So, it’s okay for Carl to pay for things you can’t afford, but when I offer—”
“Don’t even go there. You know why I declined your offer.”
She mumbled, “Whatever.”
“Anyway. I need to go shower because Carl decided to be nasty in the spa room.” I cast a knowing glance at her. “Care to explain why you’re wearing Diego’s shirt?”
She looked down like she jus
t realized she was wearing the tee shirt that was swallowing her whole.
“Oh,” she said flipping her hand off. “My shirt got wet when we went to the cabana. He offered one of his.”
I wasn’t so sure I believed her. “The Omni Boutique is downstairs. It’s a bit expensive, but you can grab another shirt there.”
She nodded. “Okay. You go shower, and I’ll check the store out.”
“Let me know if you want to leave in all seriousness. I won’t force you to stay just because I want to be a whore.”
Gabby laughed. “Go on, Shell. I need to get to this boutique to see what they have.”
“Okay,” I said laughing with her.
I walked back in the room to hear the shower already going. I saw a phone charger in the wall and hoped that it would fit mine. Luck was on my side. I hooked my phone up and waited for it to power on.
I looked up just as Carl was walking around the corner, and my breath caught in my throat. He was still wet. A white bath towel was wrapped around his waist as water trickled down his sculpted chest and abs. That white sat out in stark contrast to the chocolate skin he’d been blessed with. His locs rocked and swayed around his shoulders as he looked at me. He didn’t have his glasses on, so I got to see those liquid black eyes with no filter.
“You talk to your girl?” he asked me.
I nodded because I couldn’t speak. Carl’s dark skin was hypnotizing. His eyes pulled me in further into his web of lust. At that point, I didn’t give a damn who he was married to or why he’d married her.
“Everything okay with her?”
I answered, “Yes, she’s fine.” And so are you, I quipped mentally.
“Cool. You can shower if you want. I’m hungry so I’m going to order up room service. What do you have in mind to eat?” he asked as he walked over to the table to pick up the room service menu from the restaurant downstairs.
“Steak,” I said as I eyed him hungrily.
He looked over at me and smirked, like he picked up on the silent innuendo I’d thrown out.
“Later,” was how he answered.
“In that case, I’ll have whatever you’re having.”
He nodded. I got up to shower. As I adjusted the water to the hottest I could stand it, I thought about what would happen after the weekend was over. Carl would go back to his life in New York, and I’d go back to being an unhappily married woman whose husband had cheated and walked out on her. I didn’t ask for much. All I wanted was for Malik to be a bit more supportive and attentive. I wanted him to see how I took pride in being his wife. Wanted him to see all the work I put into keeping a home for him and our children. I needed him to acknowledge the fact I was going to school and writing so our kids could have a better upbringing than we had growing up. It was not because I didn’t want to spend time with him or be his wife.
I sighed and let the water wash over me as I pulled my braids up into a bun. I took the sponge and washed over my skin. Then I picked up a white washcloth to clean my woman parts. I was all into humming a made-up tune when Carl walked into the bathroom. I watched him snatch the towel from his waist. I couldn’t help it. My eyes latched on to what made him a man anatomically.
I got an aching between my thighs that only he could cure. He had one of those dicks that looked like it had been molded by the hands of God himself. I counted four veins that sat out in regal attention. I wanted to run my tongue from the base of his shaft to the mushroom crown of its head. I licked my lips like I could already taste him there. Wasn’t sure how I felt about wanting to suck another man off who wasn’t my husband.
But I for damn sure was thinking hard about it.
My heart started to race as he slid the shower door back and stepped inside.
“You order the food?” I asked as if the temperature in the room hadn’t shot up a notch.
“I did,” he answered, then closed the gap between us in the shower.
The sound of the water created an ambiance of being near a waterfall. His big hands held my waist as he gazed down at me, the heady look in his eyes forcing me to look away to get my bearings.
“What did you get?”
“Let it surprise you. Besides, I don’t want to hear you complain about what you can’t afford and what’s too expensive.”
I chuckled lightly, placed my arms around his neck. “I’m a country girl who’s not used to such frivolous spending.”
He smiled . . . more like gave a smirk before dipping his head to take my mouth. Pulling me closer, he let his hands travel over the dip in my back and land on my backside. I could feel him hardening against my stomach. I moaned out loud. Couldn’t help it. Carl’s tongue was working magic in my mouth. The scent of Dove permeated the space. It tickled my senses as Carl’s natural scent intoxicated me.
He pulled back from the kiss, lowered his head, and took one of my breasts into his mouth. My head dropped back while my hands fisted his locs. I loved when a man remembered I had two breasts and paid them both the same kind of attention.
When he moved down further, kneeled down in front of me while placing a trail of kisses from the valley between my breasts down my navel, my legs started to shake. He threw my right leg over his shoulder and sucked my clit into his mouth.
I hissed. Gripped his locs tighter. My mouth was open, eyes shut tight as I called on God.
“Shit, Carl . . .”
I glanced down at him to see he was all in. His face smothered in my pussy as his tongue vibrated against the only part of my body made strictly for pleasure. While I was trying to recuperate from the intense feeling of an orgasm on the horizon, he inserted two fingers inside of me. I came instantly, almost slipping in the process because of the quake in my womb.
“Oh my God! Carl, stop. I’m going to f-fall . . . Ahhhhh . . .”
If Malik had walked in right then with a gun aimed at me I wouldn’t have been able to stop. I was too far gone. So far gone, in fact, that when Carl stood and lifted me around his waist, I didn’t think about the fact he didn’t have a condom on. Not until I felt how intense . . . Oh God . . . there he was . . . inside of me . . . raw. I bit down on my bottom lip and growled as I hid my face in his shoulder. I had to stop. We had to stop. He knew it too.
“Shit,” I heard him mumble.
Playing with fire was what we were doing. The feel of him inside of me uninhibited made me feel savage. Made me feel as if I was in a mating ritual, one where Carl belonged to me and only me.
“We have to stop . . . condom,” I murmured through bated breaths.
“I know,” he said.
We were doing wrong. So wrong. Trying to have what couldn’t be. I pulled my head up and looked down at him. He’d weakened me. Gotten me to the point that I didn’t care about the consequences of my actions. I had to pull back. Needed to be responsible.
“Get a condom, please,” I asked of him.
I inhaled hard when he made his dick jump inside of me. Since neither of us were moving, I could feel every pulsating sensation he made inside of me. But he knew we couldn’t do this. We couldn’t travel a road of what if and let the chips fall where they may. He took me from his waist and grabbed my hand as we exited the shower.
“Lie down,” he told me.
My body still wet from the shower, I crawled onto the bed. I watched in eager anticipation as he ripped open a condom and expertly rolled it on. My thighs were already open. I was so willing, so ready to let him have me. When he crawled between my thighs . . . caged me between his arms . . . slipped inside of me so agonizingly slow, I knew it was going to be hard to say good-bye when the weekend was over.
Chapter 18
Gabrielle
We were stuck in Hilton Head for the duration. The storm showed no sign of letting up, and even if it did and we had a chance of getting back to Tybee Island, Shell was so caught up playing house with Carl I didn’t think I’d be able to separate them with a blowtorch, C4, or dynamite. After our meeting in the hallway, it was evident that s
he was completely enamored with him. I’d let her live her fantasy of being Mrs. Mischelle Robinson for the duration, because all too soon, we’d be returning to reality.
When I left to talk to Shell, Diego was taking a shower. I got back, and he was already dressed, wearing a white tank top, a pair of white, black, and red basketball shorts; and a pair of white and black Nike Air Max 2015 running shoes. He looked just as good in casual attire as he did in business wear.
“Mind if I take a shower now?”
“It’s all yours. I imagine Carl and Shell won’t be coming up for air anytime soon,” he presumed.
I shook my head. “So it seems. They’re in fairy tale lockdown, pretending they’re married to each other. Go figure,” I shrugged.
“I’m not even going to attempt to try to figure that one out,” he said, laughing.
“Agreed. Trying to understand this whole situation is making my brain hurt.”
“So don’t think about it. You two will be heading back to Tybee Island tomorrow, so whatever is going on between those two will be over. That’ll be the end of it,” he deduced, grabbing his wallet and keycard off the desk.
“I hope you’re right, because I can’t take much more of their scandalous lovefest,” I said. “Are you going downstairs?” I questioned.
“Yes. I’m going down to the shop. Write down what you want me to pick up,” he said, handing me the pad and pen that were sitting on his nightstand.
I took it from him, leaned on the desk, and wrote down all the toiletries I needed.
“I really hate asking you this, but can you do me a huge favor?”
“What is it?” he inquired.
“Shell said there’s a boutique downstairs. It’s called the Omni Boutique. Would you mind seeing what they have since I don’t have a change of clothes?”
“Sure, no problem,” he replied. “You actually trust my judgment?”
I shrugged. “Looking at the way you dress yourself, I think you’ll pick something nice.”
“So you like the way I dress, do you?” he asked, that perfect smile on his face.
“Still fishing for compliments, I see,” I teased, pulling Diego’s oversized shirt over my head, handing it to him. “I’m going to take my shower.”
