Games

Games

A Novel by

Wanda B. Campbell

Electronics Edition

Copyright © 2006 by Wanda B. Campbell

Published by W.B. Campbell Publications/Micah 6:8 Books

Games. Copyright © 2006 by Wanda B. Campbell. All rights reserved. No part of this e-book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages to be included in a review.

This book is a work of fiction. Any names, characters, places and occurrences are either created in the authors’ imagination or are used in a fictitious manner and are not to be construed as real. While the authors may have been inspired in part by actual events, none of the characters in the book are based on an actual person and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Note from the Author

For those who have read
First Sunday in October
,
Liberation
and
Unresolved Issues
, and thought
, Hey, did I miss something?
Well, here it is.
Games
is the second book of the Simone Family Series.

You’ll remember how young Brian and Shay connected from the beginning, but the paths they cho
ose may surprise you. Not as wise as their parents, Reggie and Julia, the young pair make immature mistakes and play games that could cost them their future together.

I sincerely hope you enjoy Brian and Shay’s journey. Perhaps their story will bring back memories of your younger game-playing days.

As always, I love hearing from readers. Feel free to join my Facebook group, Wanda B. Campbell Readers & Supporters. Or email me at [email protected].

Thank you for your continued support. Without you, this journey would be very lonely and meaningless.

Many blessings,

Wanda B. Campbell

Shay looked out over the city from the bay window. From where she stood, the streets of Oakland were a place of peace and tranquility, unlike her mind. Her thoughts and her desires raged a battle so fierce common sense and immorality collided—the pressure giving her a slight headache.  Her mind told her run as fast as her size-nine feet would take her and don’t look back, but the fire fueled with longing racing through her veins conveyed a different story. One time wouldn’t alter her life one bit. One taste of ecstasy wouldn’t bring damnation. Or would it?

Shay didn’t know what to do. She had never wanted anything so badly in her life. The mere fact that she was still standing in his living room after the many warnings and red flags her conscience sent, confirmed that this was a battle she was about to lose. Shay closed her eyes. “God, please help me,” she prayed in a whisper and went back into the den instead of out the front door.

***

Brian stared out of the kitchen window. He’d finished the dishes ten minutes ago, but couldn’t move. He had a decision to make and didn’t trust himself to make the right choice. He’d avoided making a decision for two years, now it was unavoidable. She was different now and so was he.

All evening he told himself this was not right, that God wouldn’t be pleased, but his flesh promised him complete satisfaction. Tonight his one-year-old commitment to God was being tested to the max.  No matter how hard he prayed the fact remained: He wanted LaShay Hampton in the worst way.

He considered calling his father. Just hearing his voice would bring him back to Earth, but truth be told, Brian wasn’t sure he wanted to come back, not yet anyway.

Brian walked into the den, just as Shay turned around. The little strength he had quickly vanished with each step she took toward him. In his eyes, Brian saw that Shay was fighting the same battle as he. Brian placed his arms around her, causing her breathing to accelerate. She returned his embrace and parted her lips. Brian’s darkened eyes seemed to look right through her outer shell and directly into her desires. As if she couldn’t stand the torture, Shay pulled Brian to her and kissed his lips. After a short feast, he pulled back nearly breathless.

“Shay, this is going to change everything. If you’re not ready for that, help both of us and leave now,” he warned.

Shay didn’t move.

He surrendered then. “Tell me what you want, Shay,” his voice deep and loaded with passion.

She didn’t say a word, just slowly lifted her tank top over her head.

Brian’s heart pounded as he watched her remove the straps to her undergarment. He picked her up and carried her to his bedroom.

Later

“Oh, my God, what have we done?” Shay murmured while covering herself with what little sheet remained on the bed.

“We had sex,” Brian answered regretfully.

“This was a big mistake. I shouldn’t have allowed this to happen.”

Shay’s words added injury to his emotional wounds. He’d sinned against God and in the process he hadn’t physically pleased Shay. Brian sat on the side of the bed with his back to her. “Sorry, I was that bad.”

Shay leaned over and stroked his back. “Brian, that’s not what I meant. What we shared was beautiful. Something I’ll always remember. Thank you for giving me the gift of womanhood. But what we did was wrong. We committed sin.”

“I know.” He sighed. “I should have stayed sexually pure. I should have been more responsible.”

“Where do we go from here?” she finally asked.

“I don’t know, but we can’t do this anymore.”

She agreed. “I know. I can’t handle this emptiness, this guilt.”

He finally turned to face her. “Shay, we cannot go back to the way we were. We-I need to put some space between us. I’ll always remember this night, it was wonderful, but I don’t know if I’ll ever overcome this guilt either.”

Shay quietly retrieved her clothing and dressed without saying a word. Just before she left his bedroom she kissed him on the cheek and softly told him good-bye.  He stayed in the same spot, long after he heard the front door close.

Shay cried all the way home. Her first sexual experience was supposed to bring her joy. It did, for a moment. Then the guilt of committing fornication overwhelmed her, sending ecstasy out the window.  She no longer felt like a secure twenty-three-year-old woman. Willfully committing sin brought an instant feeling of shame and vulnerability that she’d never known before. And exposure. She felt as if the driver of every passing vehicle on I-680 knew she wasn’t a virgin anymore. Everyone knew she’d just spent two hours in the bed of a man that wasn’t her husband and for the most part, enjoyed it.

She didn’t feel worthy of any favors from God, but she was thankful her mother and stepfather were already in bed when she arrived home. Shay didn’t have the strength to face anyone; right now she could barely face herself. Inside her bathroom she soaked in a hot bubble bath and tried to understand why and how she ended up in bed with Brian Pennington.

They were introduced to each other over three years ago, shortly before her mother married his father. With only an eleven-month difference in their ages, they had a lot of things in common. From the beginning they were inseparable and instantly became best buddies. Back then, Brian was someone for her to hang out and debate with, nothing more. At least that’s what she tried to make herself believe. In truth, she became possessive of Brian from day one.

Shay would never admit it to him, but she had always admired Brian for being so focused at a young age.  He always knew exactly what he wanted to do with his life. From day one, all he talked about was being a criminal defense attorney.  Shay, on the other hand, wasn’t so sure what she wanted to do with her life, but being around him made her want to figure it out. Brian unknowingly brought direction into her life along with companionship.

When her mother gave birth to her little brother two years ago, their relationship took a turn. That was the first time their attraction for each other surfaced and since then they had an unspoken commitment to each other.  It was impossible for either of them to date other people, because they spent all of their free time with each other. They talked on the phone often and shared the important events of each other’s
lives. She was the first to call him on his twenty-first birthday and Brian was the first to congratulate her upon graduating from Stanford University. Brian escorted her to school and social functions. Shay accompanied him nearly wherever he went. The two even traveled together. Their parents were not blind to their closeness, but they never discussed it with them.

Now, at age twenty-three Brian was no longer a young boy with no rhythm; he was a man. And he looked like a man. The once
-oversized goofy kid had transformed into a fine six-foot-four-inch two-hundred-forty-pound smooth dark-chocolate specimen. Brian was her type of man: tall, dark and thick all around. Shaving his head bald only made him that much more appealing to her. That alone, should have been enough for her to stay away from him, but it wasn’t.

She’d heard the warning signals loud and clear, but told herself she could handle it. She told herself she could tolerate the constant hugs and affectionate kissing that escalated to petting.

At first they started with friendly little pecks on the cheeks; then graduated to soft kisses on the lips. From there, deep-seeded passionate kisses with plenty of tongue. The other day when they’d enjoyed a swim, something they’d done hundreds of times before, Shay nearly hyperventilated when he stepped from the pool in black briefs.  She became instantly stimulated and had to drape a towel around her chest when he rubbed lotion onto her shoulders. That day she vowed never to go swimming with him again. Even as she made that vow, she knew she wouldn’t be able to keep it. Fact was, she liked being with him and constantly fantasized about being intimate with him.

Today they’d gone ice-skating. She hadn’t planned on coming back to the house with him, but at the last minute changed her mind.  They had made tacos for dinner and went into the den to watch a movie. Halfway through
The
Bodyguard
, she ended up straddling his lap, nearly intoxicated from kissing him. A soft moan escaped when she felt the tenderness of his fingers underneath her tank top. But then he suddenly lifted her from him and went into the kitchen.

“Why didn’t I just leave?” she groaned as she squeezed the water from her sponge. Shay knew the answer: She really didn’t want to.

Shay’s heart warmed as she reminisced about how good Brian made her feel.  After the initial penetration, Brian was so gentle and caring, fumbling his way. She appreciated him for taking his time to try and please her. When she reached the pinnacle of womanhood, she cried softly. If she didn’t know any better, she’d think she was in love with him.

She bolted upright, splashing water on the floor. “Oh, God!” Panic filled her, now realizing how irresponsible she’d behaved. She and Brian had had intercourse twice without any protection!

“Oh, God, please don’t make me pay for my sin with an unwanted pregnancy,” she prayed. She would have to wait at least a week for the answer to that prayer.

Before climbing into bed, she kneeled
down and prayed. “God, please forgive me for yielding to my flesh and committing fornication. Forgive me for enjoying it. And, God, please take away this guilt and please take this desire from me.”

After a long hot shower
, Brian lay in bed unable to sleep. He looked at the now-empty space next to him. Changing the sheets hadn’t changed the facts at all. Brian had given his virginity to LaShay Hampton. “How did I get here?” he asked himself for what seemed like the thousandth time.  He already knew the answer; Brian wanted to be with Shay, had wanted to for a long time.

For the last two years, she’d been the woman in his life.  It didn’t start out like that. In the beginning, Shay was just his buddy, someone to hang out with when he visited his dad. That first year, she rarely called him by his name, opting to identify him as “
fat head”. They had a lot in common, but he thought she was bossy and controlling. Shay always had to have the last word on everything. They couldn’t get through the day without at least one argument. Then after his little brother, Josiah, was born things changed. She changed.

She no longer bossed him around, but treated him with respect. Like he was equal to her and she no longer threw the fact that she was eleven months older than him in his face. When he needed someone to talk to, Shay was his best listener and his chief supporter for every idea. She was always there for him.

For two years, he tried to ignore his feelings for her. Brian was successful as long as he didn’t see her, which wasn’t too often.  After he committed his life to God, he thought his feelings for her would go away, at least the physical ones, but they didn’t. Shay didn’t give him any reason to think she felt the same, so he never voiced his feelings to her.