His Betrayal Her Lies (20 page)

“Wow,” Taylor said. “I haven’t seen Ari in
almost a month. He calls every day but we have nothing to talk
about.”

Pam stood up and walked over to the window.
Taylor looked at her, knowing that she was like a mind reader; she
always seemed to know what was going on in Taylor’s life. And
although Taylor didn’t lie often, Pam could always tell when she
was lying. She had told Taylor that scratching her left ear and
cocking her head to the side with a half-smile always gave her
away. Pam didn’t win the best friend award for nothing; she had
paid special attention to Taylor over the years.

“So,” Pam said, “if it’s not Ari keeping you
up, then who is? I know you, Tay, and that glow on your face can
only come from a woman who is getting dicked really good.”

Taylor and Libby laughed and shook their
heads at Pam’s blunt remark.

Not sure if she should reveal who her late
night visitor was, or even that she had a visitor, Taylor replied,
“No one, ladies. I just have a lot going on right here in the
office and lately I’ve been taking work home.”

Pam assessed Taylor closely. “Stop lying,
Taylor. We’re not leaving until you tell us the truth. Come on,
girl, we’re your best friends. Who the hell will you tell if you
can’t tell us?”

No one, Taylor thought.

As the minutes ticked by, Libby’s and Pam’s
eyes were fixed on Taylor. Silence. “We’re waiting,” Libby said,
tapping her feet on the carpeted floor. More silence.

Taylor was having an inner battle. There was
nothing in her life that she hadn’t shared with these two women.
They knew all her secrets, except for this one. If they knew she
was having an affair—and with whom—they would surely go into a
frenzy.

After the long pause, Taylor broke the
silence in the room. “I’ve met someone.”

Pam took her seat and scooted closer to
Taylor’s desk. “Who is he?”

Taylor’s eyes bounced from Pam to Libby, and
from Libby to Pam again.

“Will someone please address the elephant in
this room,” Libby yelled irritably.

“Damn, Taylor, you act like you are sleeping
with the devil,” Pam added.

Silence.

“Okay, fine. If I tell y’all who this person
is, I promise you it’s not serious and we’re just kicking it,
that’s all.”

Both women said okay in unison.

Taylor took a deep breath and decided to have
no shame in her game. She was a grown-ass woman and she could do
what she wanted. “It’s Kalon Knight.”

At exactly the same time, Libby and Pam
gasped in surprise. Libby’s hands flew up to her chest, with a look
of terror on her face. Pam was smiling about the dirty sex secret
she heard.

“I can’t believe you are messing with that
man after all I told you about him,” Libby said, disgust oozing
from her tone.

Pam held her hand up to Taylor for a
high-five. “Girl, that man is fine as wine. I wanted to tap that
but now that you have, that makes him officially off limits. Damn,
you got to tell me if it’s true what they say about him. Is he
better in bed then he looks? I can’t imagine anything being better
than his fine ass.”

Taylor crossed her arms and turned to Libby.
“I heard everything you said about Kalon and it’s not like that.
I’ve seen him a few times.” She then pointed to Pam. “I don’t know
about telling you how good Kalon is. I don’t kiss and tell.”

“Dang.” Pam snapped her fingers in
disappointment.

Libby fussed at Pam. “This shit isn’t funny
at all.” Then she turned to Taylor. “Wait a minute, did you say
you’ve been with him a few times sexually?”

“Yes,” Taylor said.

“Do you remember my friend from college, Tina
Waver?”

Taylor arched her eyebrow. “Yes, what about
her?”

Libby looked up at the ceiling before
continuing. “A year ago, I ran into her at my grandmother’s house;
she was visiting her sister who lived next door. We started to talk
and she told me about this man who broke her heart. She slept with
him one time and he never called again. Never returned any of her
phone calls either. To this day, it’s hard for her to take men
seriously because he made her never trust what a man says.”

“What does that have to do with me?” Taylor
asked.

“That man was Kalon Knight. Tina said a woman
at her job who slept with him told her that he had a one-time rule,
and after he got what he wanted from a woman, he tossed her to the
side.”

Rubbing her forehead, Libby got up and took a
water from the mini fridge in the corner of Taylor’s office. “The
part that doesn’t sit well with me is why he changed that rule with
you.”

Taylor already had water sitting on her desk.
She took a swig. “I don’t care what type of rule he has. I’m not
looking for anything serious. Maybe he did that because these women
required more from him and he knew it. But he and I both know that
we are using each other for sex, nothing more.”

Pam chimed in, “Tay, it’s easier for men to
sleep with women and not have feelings but you know we’re not built
the same way. Be careful with your heart in this.”

“Too late to worry about my heart, Pam. It’s
broken. I don’t even know what side it beats on anymore, that space
is hollow.”
Thanks to Ari.

Getting right to the point, Libby asked,
“Have you talked to him about your marriage and how you’re not
looking for anything serious?”

Taylor froze in her swivel chair, hating to
make this confession. “I haven’t told him I’m married, and I
thought it was understood that we both wanted to just enjoy each
other with no strings attached.”

“Nooooo, Tay,” Libby drawled. “You have to
tell this man about your marriage. You’re not a deceitful person
and this shit can blow up in your face if he finds out from someone
else. Plus how do you know what he wants? You never asked him, did
you? He has already changed the rules for you, so I say be careful.
Men don’t take kindly to their hearts being played with.”

There was nothing more to be said. Taylor sat
and thought to herself. If the game had changed, if Kalon now
wanted to take things to the next level, surely he would have told
her. Or would he?

* * *

At the gym, Kalon increased the treadmill
speed to eight, propelling him from a jog to an all-out run. He
wiped his face for the sixth time as beads of sweat rolled from his
forehead to his chin then dripped down his T-shirt. Bumping the
speed up another notch, he threw the white towel over the top of
the machine’s digital display. A pool of sweat between his calves
made his blue basketball shorts cling to his thighs.

The hour-long workout gave him time to think
about Taylor canceling their last four dates. The first night she
claimed she had a headache and needed to get some rest. He
understood and told her to feel better. But after she canceled on
him twice more and then again this morning, he started to think
there was someone else. And that thought didn’t sit well with him.
Although he hadn’t asked her to be exclusive, he figured she would
know by now that he wanted something more serious.

The bad part was that he hadn’t been able to
sleep the last four nights since she wasn’t there with him. His sex
drive had been high ever since he lost his virginity at the age of
fifteen to his cousin’s next door neighbor, Shanna. Right now his
libido was doing tricks in his shorts. He hadn’t worn underwear in
four days because his dick wouldn’t go down. At work, he wore loose
fitting pants to keep from showing how horny he was for this woman.
He needed her more than he needed food, and no other woman was
going to be able to scratch his itch.

If only I knew where she stayed.
He
had asked her once if he could spend time at her place and she
immediately changed that subject.

At the end of his workout, instead of doing a
cool down, Kalon pressed the off button on the treadmill, making it
come to a sudden halt. He felt dizzy as he stepped off, then
remembered that he had not eaten all day.
This woman has got me
bugging.

“Hey, Kalon, is that you?”

He turned toward the familiar voice.
Damn,
Patricia. What does her stalking ass want?

“Hey, Patricia, wazup?”

She walked up, bouncing her double D’s in the
too-small tank top and sporting her black Nike Capri leggings. “I
thought that was you when I was getting my work out on the butt
master machine.” She turned her butt around to give him a look.
“You see how firm it’s getting?” she asked, rubbing her hands up
and down her butt cheeks.

“Yeah, they look great. I have to run,
Patricia. I’m about to grab something to eat.”

She perked up. “I was just about to eat, too.
Where are you going?”

Oh shit. Think. Think.
“Actually, I’m
going home to fix a sandwich and take a shower.”

Her disappointment was replaced with a little
dignity. “Oh. Well, okay just give me a call sometime. You said we
were friends and all; I just want to hang out.”

Kalon agreed to give her a call and left her
standing there as he fled to the men’s locker room.

* * *

Taylor agreed to meet Ari at the Cheesecake
Factory in Oak Brook. A public place was necessary so she could
keep her swinging hands to herself, and when she got tired of
listening to Ari’s bullshit she could leave. She had arrived at the
restaurant earlier to have a few drinks and calm her nerves. Kalon
had been calling her now for a week straight and she was running
out of excuses on why she wouldn’t see him. Sitting at the bar, she
ordered a drink. “I’ll take a white wine.” When the barmaid placed
the glass in front of her, she took a few sips.

In her mind, she missed Kalon and in a
perfect world maybe they could have had something special. But the
truth was that she was damaged goods and Kalon was her rebound
guy.

As for as Ari, she had thought long and hard
on her decision. She was ready to tell him today that it was time
for them both to move on.

“Taylor, you look good.”

She turned around to stare into the face of
the man who caused her so much pain. “Hi, Ari. I think our table is
ready.” The waiter walked them to a table set up for two.

“I’m glad you finally decided to meet with
me,” Ari said. “First let me tell you how sorry I am. I never meant
to hurt you, Taylor. You’re the love of my life.”

Taylor took another sip of wine and
listened.

“I know you’re wondering why I did what I
did. The truth is that my dad used to cheat on my mom. She found
out about it but I don’t know if she knew about this part. He would
take me with him to these other women’s houses and I knew it was
wrong but I just didn’t know how to make it stop.”

Taylor never knew Ari’s dad cheated on his
mother. It gave her more insight into the man she thought she knew
all these years. “I’m sorry, Ari, that you had to witness your
father’s infidelities but it should have made you a better man. Why
would you want to cause me the same pain he caused your mother? My
heart is broken, Ari, beyond repair. I’m so lost I don’t think I’ll
ever be able to truly trust anyone again.”

Taking Taylor’s hand, Ari pleaded. “Baby,
please just give us another chance. We can start slow and date
again.”

“I don’t know, Ari. I can’t deal with all
this baby mama drama you’ve got going on. And I don’t think I can
ever forgive you for fathering a child with another woman.”

Panic was in his eyes. “Taylor, all I’m
asking is for you to try.”

She pulled her hand back and picked up her
menu. “I’ll think about it.”

They continued to talk about her company and
his new flight assignments. When the meal was over, they ended the
night with a simple kiss on the cheek.

After dinner, Taylor went to her office to
pick up her briefcase. Sitting at her desk, she thought about if
she should give Ari another chance. The things that he experienced
as a child did not excuse the fact that he cheated on her but she
did understand. Although she had tried to turn her feelings off,
she realized that she hadn’t been able to. Her heart still belonged
to him.

Trying to sort through it all, she looked
around the room. There was a stack of mail on the windowsill.
Immediately, she remembered the day she brought a pile of unopened
mail into her office because the inefficient assistant she had at
the time still hadn’t touched it hours after it had been brought to
her. Sifting through the two-week old mail, she came across a
manila envelope addressed to her. Inside was a DVD. Taylor took it
out and flipped it over a few times. There was no label on it.

I wonder what this is.

She opened the disk drive on her laptop and
placed the DVD inside. Windows Media Player opened up the video. At
first there was just a black screen filled with static. Within
minutes, a woman appeared on the video having sex with someone. It
was hard to make out either face at first. But as Taylor began to
squint, Ari’s face became crystal clear, then Maci’s.

“
This fucking asshole has been playing me
the whole time.”

Taylor ejected the DVD from her laptop and
threw it across the room as tears rolled down her face. Her heart
hardened. She picked up her Blackberry and called the only person
who could comfort her.

The voicemail she left just said, “Hey,
Kalon. Can I come over?” She hung up the phone with revenge in her
heart.

“Fuck you, Ari. There will never be a ‘you
and me’,” she spoke aloud to an empty office.

Chapter 16

Kalon fixed himself a drink from his mini
bar. Taylor had just called and asked if she could come over. His
first instinct was to tell her hell no but he missed her. The
thought of not seeing her for an entire week was dreadful but he
couldn’t let her just sashay back into his life without her fully
knowing how he felt about her little stunt.