by Unknown
Orlando took the towel lying across his shoulder and wiped his face. “She’s different. I can’t explain it, man. Really, there is just something about her. I feel like a damn woman. I think about her when I wake up and before I go to bed. I let myself fall for her first.”
He shared a lot with Sergio over the years, especially after Lorenzo died. Their families were close-knit and called themselves relatives. He knew Sergio wouldn’t repeat anything to anyone, especially his mother. Hell, if the shoes were reversed Sergio could even come to him and get the same respect.
“Well, my brother, it sounds to me, you are in love with this lady and being pigheaded about making the first move to resolve the issues. Orlando, remember not every woman will be Maggie; don’t be a fool and lose her over something stupid. Clear the smoke from your eyes and man up—call her.”
“She has to make the first move. I’m not chasing a woman that doesn’t want me.”
“All right then. Text her just to say good morning or ask how her day is going; there's nothing wrong with being polite.”
He remained adamant. “I’m not big on texting or talking on the telephone. I seriously doubt we’ll run into each other on the street either, so that is out too. You got any more ideas I can shoot down, Sergio. I’m on a roll.”
Sergio shook his head. “Now you’re being an asshole; remember this is a conversation you have when the woman you love finds someone else. That bull-headedness will only get you so far and Regan will find someone else.”
Orlando didn’t say anything and let Sergio leave. He sat on the bench with his jaw latched tight. He could see by looking around the weight room that the people were in their groove. The clang from the slamming heavy weights and the loud music playing resonated around him. He yanked the towel around his neck. This is fucking crazy! She makes the decision to end shit, but I’m an asshole. He stalled and tried to regain the mood to continue his workout. After several minutes of meditating, he cleared Sergio and Regan from his mind and continued with his routine.
*****
Regan kicked her legs up on the ottoman enjoying the plushness of the new chair. She loved the furniture and it matched the color scheme she’d chosen for the walls perfectly. She crossed her legs model style, staring at the fireplace. Smiling, she couldn’t wait until winter to sit in front of a roaring fire, stirring a warm cup of spiced cider with a cinnamon stick.
Yes, she definitely saw her and Orlando making love on the white fur throw rug that lay in front of it. Her brain came to a screeching halt. Orlando had not bothered to return her call from three nights ago. She had fallen asleep waiting for her phone to ring.
Three knocks followed by a doorbell ring indicated Lincoln was at the door. Dejected she got out the chair to let her sister in. “Hey, Lincoln, what are you doing here in the middle of the day?”
“Good afternoon to you,” Lincoln said handing her sister a stack of mail. “What has you looking as if you’ve been sucking on sour grapes?”
“You might as well be the first to hear. I tried to patch things up with Orlando and he blew me off. I guess you only get one chance with that man if you piss him off.”
She paced around the newly furnished living room. The store honored and delivered her furniture as promised. She even tipped the moving men extra for placing the furniture where she wanted. “He is so freaking headstrong! You know, I don’t care anymore. He can blow me off! Well, I can be just like him and act the same way. He hasn’t bothered to call me in three days and hell will freeze over before I call him again.”
Lincoln flopped on the sofa watching her sister rant like a maniac. “Regan….”
“No, Lincoln. I reached out and he gave me the cold shoulder….screw him,” she fumed. “Just because he is good-looking and one hell of a lover doesn’t give him the right to be rude.”
Lincoln propped her hand under her jaw and waited. Regan was pissed and if Orlando had been in the room, she would’ve knocked him on his ass before grabbing him by the scruff of the neck to repeat the process.
When Regan shut her mouth, Lincoln asked. “Are you done? May I speak now?”
Regan tapped her foot rapidly on the floor. “Not now, Lincoln. I need to cool off.”
“You’re going to listen anyway. Orlando is probably trying to reprogram. They fought one hell of a fire three nights ago. One person was killed and many were hurt, including firefighters. So before you go blowing him off, why don’t you think about what he is dealing with right now.”
Regan fell into the chair sinking her head in her hands. She tried not to think about him possibly getting hurt or dying on the job. “My God, I feel like the lowest form of a human being. Is he okay?”
“According to Anthony, he is. He and a few other firefighter sustained minor injuries when they were hit by falling debris, but nothing critical.”
Regan jumped from the chair going to the hall closet grabbing her purse off the hook. She noticed Lincoln stayed planted on the sofa, and not in a hurry to move. “Why are you sitting there? We have to go to the firehouse. I have to make sure he is okay.”
Lincoln shook her head playing with her fingernails. “He won’t be there because his shift ended already.”
She adjusted the straps of the white mesh purse evenly across her shoulder. “Then I’ll go to his apartment.”
Lincoln unseated herself from the sofa. She was dressed typically for an IRS agent in a basic black suit, white blouse, and black pumps. She removed the suit jacket folding it over her arm. “I’m not going to stop you. You should check on him even though it is three days later. He would probably appreciate you cared enough to do it.”
“When I talked to him he didn’t sound right, but he didn’t mention the fire. I had no idea what was going on with him,” she said feeling her sister was condemning her. Had he said what was going on, she would have went to him or shown him compassion instead of blabbering about nothing.
“Well, I’m out. I’m cooking dinner for my man and taking it to his place. He’s had a rough few days at work and I tend to do whatever I can to help him relax,” Lincoln said rudely.
Regan narrowed her eyes slamming the closet door. “That was low and uncalled for. I do not like myself for what I was thinking about Orlando, but I do not hate myself either. You are judging me for wanting to do something for myself, Lincoln, and that’s not fair.”
“I’m not judging you about anything. You have to do you.”
“I intend to do me.” She frowned at her sister. “Look at you dressed in your official IRS attire. I bet your briefcase is filled with names of unsuspecting taxpayers waiting to be audited for claiming dinner at Denny’s as a business expense.”
“You are saying this why?”
“I’m saying you like what you do. Why are you making it wrong for me to want to do something I love?”
Lincoln answered challenging her sister. “Let me ask you this, Regan. If you were so dead set on leaving Cleveland to pursue a journalism career, why’d you furnish this house with brand new furniture? You have this place looking like a home, not a layover to your next phase in life.”
Regan didn’t answer and stepped aside to let Lincoln leave. Lincoln turned to her, winked an eye, and said, “You mull that over and get back to me when you have the answer.”
Regan shut the door ready to blow steam from her ears. Lincoln got on her last nerve with the arrogant way she spoke to her. Throwing her purse on the accent table, she went to the coffee table and got the mail she’d tossed down. Ripping the lip of the envelope open, she removed the letter. She didn’t know why she bothered to read it; it would be another rejection letter.
After reading the letter, she held it against her chest exhaling through her lips. Folding it back into the envelope, she went into the kitchen opening the fridge scanning the contents. There was not a thing in there to feed a six-foot, three-inches, one hundred eighty-five pound firefighter.
*****
Orlando turned off the wat
er and stepped from the shower grabbing a towel off the rack. Roughly rubbing the towel over his body, he winced hitting the wound on his shoulder. Opening the medicine cabinet, he removed the bandages and covered the wound as it started to bleed. It was taking a while to heal but it was a deep abrasion.
Clicking on the electric shaver, he shaved his face and trimmed his goatee. Satisfied with the results, he slapped on aftershave lotion and went to the bedroom to dress. He’d slept a solid four hours and was now antsy to do something to work off his self-recriminations. His heart knew his crew had done everything possible to rescue each victim before evacuating, but his mind wouldn’t let it go a person was left behind.
The knocking on the door surprised him. He didn’t have many visitors dropping by unexpectedly. No one really ever knew when he would be home. Normally he would have to buzz people inside but the intercom was broken and management had not replaced it leaving outsiders the ability to walk in freely.
Knotting a towel around his waist, he walked barefoot to the living room. The space was small but big enough for him. He didn’t have a lot of furniture or many keepsakes sitting around. It was a basic man cave with a 60-inch flat-screen television atop a multi-compartment stand situated in front of the sofa and matching chair. He didn’t play videogames so there wasn’t any of that stuff cluttering shelves, but he did love music. The CD stand next to the television was full of music of every genre. His bikes and climbing gear were stashed in a corner. The other corner had a coatrack since the closet was filled with sporting gear and tools.
He peeked through the peephole and sighed. Bumping his head against the door he contemplated pretending he wasn’t home but his car was parked outside. He yanked open the door. “Maggie, can’t you find someone else to pester today?” He asked annoyed by her very existence.
Her showing up uninvited would mean a delay in his plans. He hadn’t been rock climbing in a while and decided to head to the indoor rock climbing gym to burn off energy.
Her brow arched upon viewing him half-naked. “I didn’t come to fight but to check on you. I saw on the news what happened. Are you okay?”
He stood in the doorway not offering her entrance into the apartment. “I’m fine. But thanks for checking on me.”
She ducked under his arm to enter the apartment. “Do you want to talk about what happened? I remember how depressed you’d get after a tragic fire.”
Orlando didn’t move from the door or close it. “No, I don’t want to talk about it and I was in the middle of getting dressed.”
Her mouth curled into a grin. “It’s not like I haven’t seen you naked before. In fact, why don’t you let me give you one of my famous massages; you loved those.”
Orlando raised his eyes to the heavens and said silently, Can I get a freaking break! He watched her drop her purse on the table and lean a hip against the edge of the sofa cracking her knuckles as if to warm up to perform the deed of good duty. Was she actually expecting him to comply? And worse yet, why wasn’t he throwing her out of his apartment on her ear?
“Well, I’m waiting,” she said sweeping her hand in the direction of the sofa. “Come lie down and let me get started on those tense muscles. And, if you require a little extra, I’m open for that too.”
He scanned Maggie over; she always dressed sexy. Today was no different as she intimidated him by showing off those sexy long legs, wide hips, and narrow waistline. The short natural hair style fit her soft features. Her smooth dark skin glittered. He knew it was from the body sprays she loved to use. She would transfer glitter to him if she hugged him or after they’d make love.
He flexed against the cotton fabric of the towel—a natural reaction for a man being offered sex. Since ending his celibacy, his sexual cravings had returned vigorously. Only the woman he wanted was proving herself indecisive. He refused to be a yo-yo on the end of her string. At least with Maggie he knew what he was getting; a lying, cheating, jezebel with a great body.
He shook the notion from his head. As hard up as he was, he was not willing to accept the invitation Maggie was offering. Although he was mad at Regan, he felt sleeping with another woman would tarnish his memory of their one night together. “I don’t think so, Maggie,” he said snapping from his haze.
“No strings attached, Orlando. I know that little tart you claim to be messing around with can’t be getting it done for you.”
He adjusted the towel around his waist. “Speaking of which, leave Regan alone.”
“Oh, she told you about our visit.”
“Did you think she wouldn’t? You need to get it through your head that who I see is none of your business. Who I have living in my house is none of your business. Do you notice I’m not all up in your business? It’s because I don’t care what you’re doing.”
Maggie licked her lips unbuttoning her blouse slowly. “Stop lying, Orlando. I know you care about me. I hurt you and you have every right to hate me for what I did, but you can’t resist me. You have never been able to resist our hot passionate sex life.”
“He can resist you now, sister! So button your clothes and get the hell out of my man’s apartment,” Regan said sharply as she appeared in the doorway.
Orlando’s head snapped in the direction of the voice. He hadn’t heard her or the rattling of the plastic grocery bags she carried approach the door. “Regan,” he stammered. Granted, he had not moved from the spot he’d been standing since Maggie arrived, but felt that he’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
“What’s going on here, Orlando? Am I interrupting anything?” Regan’s sharp eye stare drifted from his half-naked body to Maggie, who had not bothered to fix her clothing.
“Nothing is going on, Regan. Maggie stopped to see how I was doing and now she is leaving.”
Maggie rolled her eyes crossing her arms over her ample breasts. “You weren’t asking me to leave before SHE showed up.”
Regan dropped the grocery bags on the floor. “Is that right? Did you ask her to stay? Is that why you only have a towel on? Oh my God, I’m interrupting the good-bye moment.”
Orlando went on the defensive. “Regan, I was getting dressed. I have not slept with her!”
Maggie smiled wickedly. “We don’t know what would have happened if you had not shown up.”
Orlando shot Maggie a scolding look. “You know damn well nothing would have happened.”
“This is the same stunt she pulled when she came by the house. She is trying to make trouble for us,” Regan shouted taking a step in Maggie’s direction. “If you are bold enough to want a piece of me then bring it on, sister!”
Maggie dropped her arms and charged to meet Regan’s threat. As Maggie and Regan argued, the neighbors stood in the hall listening and watching.
In the two years he’d been in the building, he had not caused any ruckus and now this. Two women, with very loud voices, were arguing at the top of their lungs to the point he couldn’t understand what they were saying. Frustrated he slammed the door shut and stood between the two women to stop the cat fight.
He shouted louder than the both of them. “Shut up! Damn, you’re grown ass women acting like kids!” He pinched the nerve between his eyes. “To be truthful, I’m not in the mood to deal with either one of you today, and you both need to go.”
Maggie was the first to speak. “Orlando, I’m sorry,” Maggie said apologetically. “I was out of line.”
With order restored, he lowered his voice. “Maggie, you haven’t changed and taunting Regan was uncalled for and childish.” He turned to face Regan; her face was flushed with mortification. “And you know I wouldn’t do something like that. Shit, I broke my celibacy to be with you!”
Maggie’s face went blank upon learning he’d slept with Regan. Snatching her purse from the sofa she stormed by the both of them. “I hope you both rot in hell,” she said closing the door so hard behind her that the pictures on the wall shook.
The silence grew intense as Regan knelt down to gather
the groceries from the carpeted floor. “I’m sorry, for my behavior, also,” she said in a low voice. “I’ll clean this up and leave too.”
“What is all this?” He asked helping her shove food into the plastic bags.
Her voice was soft and timid. “I thought I’d make dinner for you. I heard what happened and I wanted to comfort you, only I made an ass of myself again.”
He stopped her from what she was doing and stood her straight to face him. “Regan, we need to talk. Let me put on some clothes first.”
He returned from the bedroom wearing a pair of black clingy shorts but shirtless. Regan was seated on the sofa with her legs crossed, a fist planted against her lips and her body drawn tight. He sat on the far end of the sofa realizing this would be the hardest thing he’d ever do. He had to break it off completely to avoid future conflicts with Maggie and to kill his desire for wanting her for himself.
“Well, I’ll start,” he said folding his hands together. “I didn’t call you back the other night because I had a lot on my mind. There are times I have to deal with the job before my personal life.”
“I totally understand, Orlando. Had I known what was going on, I would not have called.”
“I should have told you what was going on. As far as the other issue, we are both at fault to an extent. I assumed you wanted more when we should have talked about where we were going with our friendship.”
“I’m going to take the blame for that also. I should have been upfront about my intentions. My divorce sent me into the world without a safety net. Mark provided everything for me and now I’m on my own.”
“You said you were bored living his lifestyle and wanted your own life, Regan.”
She shrugged her shoulders. “My ambitions didn’t kick in until late in the marriage. I wasn’t in a hurry to fulfill my dream until our marriage began to fall apart. When Mark moved out of the penthouse, I thought I would flash my degree and get my name known right away. The public would be clamoring about Regan Hathaway, the newest raising-star correspondent.” She gave a nervous chuckle. “I wasn’t sure which network would be lucky enough to get me, but it was going to be a fight to see who’d land my talent.”
