Champagne Life (25 page)

“Not that I know of.” Jeremy pulled over the car, reached into the glove box and pulled out a crumpled up piece of paper. He turned on the car light and attempted to focus on what was written on the paper. “This is the right address.”

He pulled up closer to the house. There was no way this was a function for college kids. The guests entering were dressed in fancy suits and gowns as opposed to stumbling through the front door in jeans and tank tops. The valet guys took turns parking luxury cars and SUVs. When Jeremy pulled up in his Honda, the valet gave it the once-over before asking for his invitation.

“I don't have one,” Jeremy said.

The guy shrugged and nodded his head, motioning toward a patch of grass farther down. “Park it over there then.”

Jeremy pulled up to the spot where the guy indicated. “Are you coming?”

“Not really dressed for a formal party,” I said. “I'll wait for you in the car.”

“Okay. I should be no more than twenty minutes. Wish me luck.”
He reached into his pocket, pulled out another mint and popped it into his mouth. “Can't be too careful.”

“Good luck.”

Jeremy got out the car and headed toward the colossal two-story house. He turned around, saw me watching him and waved. I waved back. I was glad I had the chance to get out of the house. If I wasn't out, I'd be sitting around, thinking about my argument with DeShaun, which would have been depressing.

I closed my eyes and listened to the loud music blaring from the house. It sounded like a mixture of jazz and blues tunes. Every so often, I checked the rearview mirror to see if Jeremy was headed back to the car. He had been gone for over thirty minutes. I'd give it another five minutes before trekking up to the large house.

Fifteen minutes later, I hopped out the car and made my way toward the house. I walked up to the door, figuring I would be stopped in my tracks, especially dressed like I was, but instead, I walked right in without so much as a second glance. The first thing that captured my attention was the huge crystal vase sitting out on a table in the hallway. The hardwood floors led straight to the back patio, where most of the guests were gathered.

When I walked through the patio doors, the back of the house was even more extravagant than both the front and the inside put together. The Olympic-size lavish pool was lit with bright, fluorescent lights and was surrounded with men dressed in crisp, starched tuxedos and women dressed in colorful sparkling gowns. Men and women in plum-colored tuxedos and black bow ties walked through the party, holding up serving trays with cocktails on them.

I lost myself for a moment, picturing these types of parties being the very same parties that my parents had attended years ago. Between the ages of seven to eleven, I remembered my father
donned a black tux, while Mom usually wore floor-length ball gowns. She would kiss me on the forehead and leave me with the babysitter, telling me that she was going to the Cinderella ball and that she would be back before midnight. I went to bed, picturing myself attending those fairytale balls, wearing a poufy white gown with diamonds running down the sides and red shimmering shoes. Not sure why I pictured red shoes, though. It may have had something to do with
The Wizard of Oz
being my favorite movie.

I would picture a handsome Prince Charming and when I first met DeShaun, he reminded me of that prince I envisioned as a child. What I failed to realize was that fairytales didn't always have happy endings.

I glanced out over the crowd. Almost everyone—younger, older, coupled up or single—had a glass of champagne in their hands. That was the life I would've killed for.

I searched for Jeremy, but there was no sign of him. It wasn't too hard to spot the black faces throughout the crowd. Most of the black people wore the maroon tuxedoes. I did spot one black man in the crowd. His back was to me, but even from the back, I could see he had a nice physique, tall and broad. He stood by the pool with a well-dressed, dark-haired woman and another couple.

The woman he was with was pretty. She had an exotic Middle Eastern look to her.
At least the only brother in here wasn't with a blonde
. Her white dress hugged her curves and was simple yet elegant. She wore a pair of diamond stud earrings and a matching bracelet, but no necklace.

I searched the crowd again for Jeremy. I was ready to go. I was sick of watching people flaunt their wealth in front of each other, but especially in front of broke me. My gaze drifted back to the mixed couple, but this time, the guy turned around. My heart leapt
up to my throat and my knees buckled from under me. I grabbed on to the post next to me to steady myself. I couldn't take my eyes off of the black Prince Charming,
my
Prince Charming. The only difference was, I wasn't the Cinderella who was tightly holding his hand.

I
couldn't take my eyes off DeShaun. He looked so happy, chatting it up with those people. He said something and everyone in the group laughed. I especially took note when the woman he was with, in the tight white dress, looked up at him and playfully smacked him on the shoulder. The longer I watched, the more it felt like the air was rushing out of me.

“You've decided to come in,” Jeremy said, walking up behind me. “I apologize it took so song, but Dean Freitag told me he wants me to enter his enrichment program as an intern. Can you believe that? He actually asked me to personally intern for him.”

I couldn't take my eyes off my husband. “What is this a party for?”

DeShaun reached over and grabbed two glasses of champagne from one of the guys in the maroon suits. He handed a glass to the woman and they clinked their glasses together. She must be Jenn! She was hardly what I pictured. I had assumed the woman DeShaun always spoke about was at least sixty years old. This woman with DeShaun didn't look a day over thirty-five.

“Dean Freitag said something about a surprise party for his wife. Nice, isn't it?”

I nodded. “Very.”

“Are you okay?”

I turned around and headed back toward the front door. “No. I'm ready to go.”

Confused, Jeremy followed my fast pace. “What's wrong?”

“Let's go, please.”

When we got to the front door, I did a quick jog back to Jeremy's Honda, still sitting on the grassy knoll. When I reached the car, I bent over and stopped to catch my breath.

“What's wrong? What happened back there?”

“Nothing.” Feeling as though I was going to get sick, I bent over and took several deep breaths. “I guess I wasn't feeling well and needed to get out of there.”

“Do you want me to take you to the hospital?”

I shook my head. “It passed. I'm good.”

“Okay,” he said skeptically. He went around to the passenger side of the car and unlocked the door. “I know you said not to open up the door for you, being Miss Independent and all, but—”

I slammed the door shut and backed him up against the car. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him. I used my tongue to prod open his lips and force my tongue down his throat. He didn't resist.

“Oh, God, Naomi,” he said, breathless. “I've waited for this moment for so long. I know it's wrong, with you being married and all, but I'm so attracted to you. I can't help myself.”

I took a step backward, trying to put a little distance between us, but he took a step toward me and grabbed me by my waist. He pulled me to him and kissed me hard. His fingertips ran up and down my back as he continued kissing me. This time he was the one that inserted his tongue into my mouth. His lips were slightly dry, but it still felt good.

“Do you want to go somewhere?” he asked.

I shook my head. “We can stay right here.”

He glanced over my shoulder. The traffic was far enough down
the driveway that you couldn't see us in the dark. The only way we were visible is if someone rolled up on us. “Get in the car,” he said.

He rushed back over to the driver's side and I got in on the passenger side, but the heat between us had cooled down some. We both sat, looking out the window, not sure of what to say or do.

“Want a beer?” he offered.

I nodded.

He reached into the backseat and produced two warm beers. He handed me one while he popped open the other. I quickly pulled the tab on the can and chugged down half the beer without a pause. When we finished those, he reached back and grabbed two more. With the drinks we had earlier, I was beginning to feel more relaxed. His hand reached over and started rubbing my thigh. He was beginning to feel more comfortable, too.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked.

I reached over and placed my hand between his legs. I gently started to massage. I felt it becoming engorged. He rolled down the window and tossed his beer can out onto the grass. I had his full attention now. “Is the backseat okay?” he asked.

The backseat was littered with clothes and books and other stuff I couldn't see in the dark. With one swoop of his arm, the junk was pushed to the floor.

He climbed into the backseat first. I followed.

He kissed me again, this one was a little wetter than the first. When he felt no resistance, he got bolder and gently outlined my lips with the tip of his tongue, eventually pushing my lips open with his tongue and hungrily exploring.

“Let me ask you something,” I said, in between his wet kisses.

“What's that?” he said, still probing my body with his tongue.

“I thought being married was a deal breaker for you.”

He sat up and looked at me. “You're throwing that back in my face right now?” He leaned down and went in for my neck, running the tip of his tongue up and down.

I tried relaxing by leaning against the backseat. I felt something stick me in my back, so I tried adjusting my position. It was difficult since his body was pushed up against mine. This time, the sticky thing poked my side. Jeremy sat up and pulled off his shirt. His chiseled chest was completely bare except for a thin line of dark hair that trailed from his belly button and ended well below the waist of his jeans.

He smiled, exposing perfectly white teeth. He was trying to make me feel comfortable. I forced a smile back.

He leaned down and kissed me again, but this time it was much softer. His hands rubbed up and down my body, eventually settling on the small of my back. This was a good time to take off my clothes so I slipped out of my shirt, and then my pink lace bra. I unfastened my jeans, exposing my matching pink and white cotton panties. It was awkward at first, but eventually we fell into a groove. He moved to the right so I had more elbow room and I slid back so his butt wouldn't grind into the gears of the car.

Headlights from a car sped toward us, but it swerved and continued down the road. Without skipping a beat, Jeremy continued on, pounding up and down inside of me. It felt good, but I kept thinking about my husband as I stared up into the dark, starless sky. I closed my eyes, but all I could see was DeShaun's face.

What I didn't think about, which I should have, was a condom.

Jeremy opened his eyes long enough to look down at me. I must've had a look other than ecstasy on my face because he said, “Don't worry, it's okay. I'll pull out.”

Thoughts of DeShaun and that woman in white kept running through my head. I kept seeing his face at that party and how happy he looked. I hadn't seen that smile in a long time.

That charmed life I had wanted for us for so long— he was living it. To make matters worse, he was living it without me.

T
his was the fifth party DeShaun attended with Jenn. Each time it got a little easier to fit in, thanks to Jenn's generous gifts of designer outfits and diamond cufflinks. He even felt comfortable engaging in conversation, whether it was about business, politics or vacation preferences. People were starting to recognize him and Jenn together. When she first introduced him to her friends, she referred to DeShaun as her business associate. More recently, he was still introduced as a business colleague, but Jenn had since added “dear” to his friend label. At the party before last, she had even called him her “special friend.” The fact that her circle started trusting him allowed him to secure more gigs. Next week, he was doing a party for the Herjavecs' accountant and the week after that, he was servicing a bris for her lawyer.

He felt terrible about lying to Naomi regarding where he was going, but she wouldn't understand. If she had it her way, his business would never get off the ground. If he had to lie a little to get ahead, he was willing to do so.

Tonight, they were at some Dean's house, who was throwing a big surprise birthday bash for his wife. As soon as they walked in, they spotted Misty and Liam Connery. DeShaun had met them both at a party for a mutual friend of Jenn's.

“We have to say hello to Liam,” Jenn whispered. “He recently closed another deal with Berti worth millions. I'm sure he'll want
to celebrate in a big way. Seal this deal and you will make big bucks. Just follow my lead and I'll work you in.”

DeShaun squared back his shoulders and held his chin high. He was as good as any of these people and tonight he was going to prove it. Not only was he planning to persuade Mr. Connery into throwing the biggest bash this year, he was going to charge him through the roof. DeShaun was trying to make deals while, at the same time, taking mental notes for preferences for prospective future engagements. Mr. Connery was the type who didn't give a damn about spending money. As long as the service was good, Liam and Misty Connery would be willing to blow one-hundred grand, easy. From that take, DeShaun stood to make $7,000, maybe $8,000.

Jenn broke the ice with a hug and a peck on the cheek for the couple. “Liam, Misty,” she exclaimed. “So glad to see you here. You remember my good friend and business associate, DeShaun Knowles?”