I Want Candy (41 page)

“Rich – don’t forget rich as hell,” Jasmine added.

Candy laughed, “Yes, he’s doing well financially, but I told you, that isn’t what this is about.”

“It sure doesn’t hurt!” Jasmine laughed. “I’m happy for you. I want to meet him though.”

“Funny you should mention that. I asked him if you both could come to the holiday party even though you aren’t technically family. He agreed. Please come and…”

“Hell yeah I’ll be there! I saw what you’re planning. I’m gonna get my drink and swerve on! Any cute guys gonna be there? I mean cute
Black
guys.”

Candy rolled her eyes. “Yes, Jasmine.” Candy stood up and shook her hair. “Thanks, Girl. You did a good job.”

“You’re welcome,” Jasmine said, walking Candy to her front door. “And Candy?” Candy turned around and faced Jasmine. “Be careful. Guard your heart.” The sadness in Jasmine’s tone seeped through the air like a fog. Candy knew that statement was more for Jasmine than herself, but she nodded and smiled.

“I will.” Once in her car on her way to Gabriel’s, Candy picked up her cell phone and dialed Dallas.

“Come on, come on! Pick up!”

“You’ve reached Dallas Handes. Please leave a brief message at the tone. Toodles!”

“Damn it! Hey, Dallas, it’s me. Call me right back, please. Jasmine seems to be a bit down in the dumps, and I didn’t wanna ask her and open Pandora’s box, but let me know what the deal is please.” Candy hung up the phone and thought heavily about Jasmine until she reached Gabriel’s house. Her phone rang just as she was being let inside.

“Hey, I just got to Gabriel’s house. What’s up with her?” Candy said, not giving Dallas a chance to answer.

“Jasmine and the cop aren’t doing so hot. Come to find out, he’s married still, at least legally. He didn’t bother to tell her, then his estranged wife called her. Jasmine was fallin’ in love and feels like a fool now,” Dallas sighed.

“Oh, damn. I’m so sorry. I’ll have to call her when I get a second tonight,” Candy said.

“Look, just enjoy your time with ‘Mr. Lover Man,’” Dallas teased.

“Yeah,” Candy smiled. “Oh, Dallas, my company’s holiday party’s comin’ up in about three weeks or so, and I wanted to let you know that you and Jasmine are invited.”

“I’ll be there. I love company holiday parties. I know any party you’re planning will be a blast.”

“Wonderful. I’ll talk to you soon,” Candy said with a smile as she watched Gabriel look out the window and make silly faces at her. She grabbed her bag and walked towards the door. Gabriel swung it open before she could knock.

“Did you bring a swimsuit?” he asked as he pushed himself out the door, carrying a black bag.

“Well, no. I didn’t think we were going swimming in the dead of winter unless it was in your indoor pool,” Candy laughed.

“I sent you a text message a couple of days ago about it. That’s OK, we can skinny dip.”

“What? What’s going on?”

“You’ll see.” Gabriel took her by the arm and immediately ushered her to his car. They drove fifteen minutes to his private plane. An appointed pilot waited. “Hey, Henry,” Gabriel said as he grabbed their bags. “Thanks for being here on such short notice. Rick had to cancel at the last minute.”

“No problem, Chief.” Henry nodded as he rubbed his thick stubble. He glared at Candy, looking at her up and down. Candy stared back at him, placing her hand on her hip in irritation. Henry quickly turned away. She took a seat by the window. The plush, dark-sapphire seats felt like butter against her skin. Gabriel took a seat by her, handing her a glass of champagne before taking her free hand into his.

Candy smiled at him as he lowered his lips to hers. Henry looked at them through his mirror, his eyebrows furrowing.

“So you still aren’t gonna tell me where we’re going, huh?”

“Nope,” Gabriel grinned. Candy pinched his shoulder and laughed. Two hours later, Candy woke up with a gentle shake. Gabriel looked down at her. “Sweetheart, we’re here.” He caressed her cheek slowly with his index finger. Candy stretched her legs, extended her arms, and yawned with a faint smile upon her face. She rubbed her eyes and looked out into the starlit sky.  The private landing strip was adjacent to the ocean, no more than a few hundred feet away.

“Where are we?” she asked sleepily.

“Delray Beach.” Gabriel grinned as he grabbed their bags and exited the plane. “Come on, Sweetheart. Thanks again, Henry.”

“No problem, Chief. Enjoy your stay. I’ll return tomorrow afternoon to get you and your…friend,” Henry frowned.

“My woman, she’s my girlfriend,” Gabriel corrected as he grabbed Candy’s hand once setting the bags down. Henry nodded and prepared for take-off.

“I don’t like him,” Candy mumbled as they walked towards the sparkling sand. The moon’s reflection radiated across the ocean, causing the waves to glisten in their steady motion.

“Yes, I saw how he looked at you when we got on the plane.” Gabriel kissed her forehead. “No worries, Dear. His opinion doesn’t matter,” he assured as he bent down and removed Candy’s four-inch heels. “Now that we’re in Florida, let’s enjoy ourselves and forget about him. First, we’ll get our bags in the villa. Then we can get a nice bite to eat and take a stroll on the beach before bed if you’d like.”

Candy grinned and looked around. “It’s gorgeous out here.” Her eyes filled with tears. Gabriel placed her shoes in his open duffle bag and hugged her. “No tears. You’re supposed to be happy,” he smiled.

“I am! It’s just so overwhelming. No one has ever done anything like this for me before.”

“Well, you weren’t with
me
. Now you are, so get used to it.” They continued to walk for a few minutes until they reached the villa.

“Do you like tapas?” Gabriel asked from the open door of the bathroom as Candy unpacked.

“I love ’em. What kind?” she asked as she wiped another tear from her eye and looked around the beautifully decorated room. The villa windows were draped in layers of white, sheer curtains. There were golden and white accent pieces all along the room in the form of vases, frames, and oversized sea shells. The beach-scented breeze meandered through the windows, providing a feeling of relaxation.

“Nuevo Latino’s the name of the restaurant. They have some really good sushi too,” he added as he finished washing his face.

“OK. Sounds interesting.”

“I think you’ll like them,” Gabriel said as he came out of the bathroom in his underwear. Candy stood and watched as he slid into a pair of light tan cargo shorts, sandals, and a white tank top. He then ran his fingers through his hair before putting on his baseball cap.

“Why are you staring at me instead of getting into something more comfortable?” he questioned while still adjusting his shorts.

“Well, I don’t have anything really. I wasn’t prepared. All of my more casual stuff is for colder weather.”

“OK. No problem.” Gabriel picked up the phone in the room.
“Hola. Necesito un tamaño de siete trajes de baño y vestido.
Sí. Gracias.”

Candy’s eyes grew in size. “What the? Who did you just call?” she laughed. “I know a little Spanish. You said something about a dress.”

“You’ll have a swimsuit and a dress in a few minutes. The dress will more than likely be a sarong, but you can wear it as a skirt, a dress, or with the swimsuit. It’s up to you. As far as shoes, there’s a little gift shop next door. We can get you some flip flops.” Gabriel disappeared in the bathroom once more, this time closing the door behind him.

Candy looked at the closed bathroom door, quickly picked up her cell phone, and stood in the closet.

“Girl! You won’t believe where I’m at! Florida! I’m in a gorgeous private villa on Delray Beach!” Candy told Dallas. After a brief conversation, Candy emerged from the closet to see Gabriel standing there with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face. She looked into his eyes, dumbfounded. They both burst out laughing.

“Now that you’re finished rubbing this little adventure into your friend’s face, do you want to spend a little time with me?” he asked, grinning.

“Yes,” Candy laughed as she leaped into his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing her lips quickly to his. He returned the affection, embracing her tighter, rubbing his lips gently against hers. Pressing her breasts harder into his chest, she parted his lips slowly with her moist tongue. He returned the favor as they tongue danced with one another. Several minutes passed until finally Gabriel pulled away, laughing.

“We’ll never get out of this room if this continues,” he chuckled. “I’m easily distracted. Don’t do that again if you want to eat,” he laughed.

“Well, maybe we should have a quickie first,” Candy grinned as she slid her pants and shirt off, leaving only her lace navy bra and panties in view. He looked her up and down listlessly, then removed his clothing without any further hesitation. She took hold of the sides of her panties and slowly stripteased them down past her thighs and knees before letting them hit the floor. She reached behind and unhooked her bra. It soon joined the panties on the floor, allowing her full breasts to come into perfect view. Gabriel raced to her, picking her up and tossing her on the bed. Candy erupted in laughter as he tickled her stomach with his fingertips. Positioning his hips in between hers, he slowly grinded on her, stirring her nature into a frenzy.

[KNOCK! KNOCK!]

“Senor, I have what you requested,” came the male voice with a thick Latin accent.

“Sólo un minuto,”
Gabriel responded.

Gabriel immediately rolled off of Candy. She sat up, eyes glossed over and disoriented. She watched as Gabriel quickly slid his shorts back on. Gathering the sheets from the bed, she quickly covered herself as Gabriel went to the door and partially opened it.

“Muchas gracias,”
Gabriel said as he took the bag the man had brought and handed him a tip. “Honey, here are the clothes,” he sighed. “Let’s just go ahead and get some dinner. We can pick up where we left off later. Trust me, I’d prefer to continue, but the mood has kinda been shot,” he laughed.

“You can say that again!” Candy agreed as she took the shopping bag from Gabriel’s hands. Gabriel finished dressing and watched as Candy played with the fabric wrap in different ways until she had it just as she wanted. “I left the bra off so it can be strapless. Do you think my breasts are moving too much?” she asked as she jogged in place for a test run.

Gabriel put his head in his hands and laughed.

“What’s so funny?”

“Please stop jiggling your tits. You’re killing me,” he said, turning red with laughter. “You look fine. Let’s just go before I change my mind.”

Candy burst out laughing. “What?”

“You look silly but sexy at the same time when you do that. Let’s just go.” Gabriel stood up and took her hand as they exited the villa.

* * *

“Oh, these are too cute!” Candy said as she picked up the little red sandals with white floral design.

Gabriel rolled his eyes and laughed. “They close in ten minutes, Candy! Any day now. You’re gonna turn this into some sort of event, aren’t you? I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.” He leaned up against the gift shop wall and crossed his ankles watching Candy flitter around with an armful of knick-knacks, costume jewelry, and sandals. She waved him off and continued to look around before picking up a small box of chocolates, then headed to the register. As she pulled out her money, Gabriel quickly stood up and handed the cashier his card.