Love Again (14 page)

“You can shower if you want to, I’ll go get us something to drink.”

“Be a nice date and bring me some cake, you wasted your piece by the way.” She said with a laugh when she walked by me.  It took all I had not to climb in the shower with her, but I knew that it would just lead to us having sex in there too. 

I slipped on a pair of shorts and went downstairs; I cut her a piece of cake, made me a quick sandwich and grabbed two bottles of water.  Just as I was about to go upstairs I heard her phone ring inside her purse.  I wasn’t sure who would be calling and it probably wasn’t any of my business.  I put both plates down and dug through her purse.  When I pulled her phone out, it showed Justin was calling.  Instantly my blood started to boil.  Why the fuck would he be calling her?  I didn’t answer and let it ring until voicemail picked up.  When the display showed up, it showed she had numerous text messages.  I opened the app and the first several were from Justin, I could only read the first few words and from what I could read wasn’t good.  There were a couple from Corrina and some from the guys she works with.  I grabbed the plates and her phone and took them upstairs, when I walked into the bedroom, she was curled up on the bed under the blankets—sound asleep.

I woke her up but she only smiled at me and nuzzled deeper into the pillow, and mumbled, “Night.”

I laid awake staring at her soft creamy skin, watching her breathe, her pouty lips begged for one more kiss before I fell asleep.  I kissed her softly then shut the lamp off.  With my arms wrapped around her I fell asleep.  If Lennie thought this was just a one-time occurrence between us she was wrong.  I wanted more of her and hopefully she would want more too.

For the first time in a very long time I slept through the entire night, not one single nightmare from my childhood and the abuse that went on in the house with my dad had woke me up in pool of cold sweat. But Lennie wasn’t’ in the bed, I threw the covers off and looked at the nightstand where I had put her cell phone and it wasn’t there.  Surely she wouldn’t have left without at least leaving a note.  I went to the bathroom then put a pair of gym shorts on before going downstairs.  When I called out her name she didn’t answer, I checked my cell phone to see if she had sent me a text but she hadn’t.  I shook my head, frustrated, then decided to check the security system, sure enough a taxi had picked her up shortly after seven. 

Me
:  Why didn’t you wake me up? I would have taken you home.

Rather than wait to see if she was going to reply to my text, I decided to go shower then call Trevor to see what time he was going to work out.  By the end of the day I would talk to Lennie again.

I woke up naked with Dominique’s body wrapped around mine.  Our legs intertwined, his hot breath blowing against my neck as he breathed.  When I was finally able to slip out of bed without waking him up, I went to the restroom.  My hair was a disaster, my lips slightly swollen from the hard kissing we had done and my pussy ached with each step I took. 

After doing my business and washing my face, I crept to his closet and found a pair of shorts and a t-shirt.  My stomach growled, I decided I would sneak downstairs after getting dressed.  When I walked out of the closet I spotted a bottle of water, cake and my cell phone on the nightstand.  I didn’t remember brining it upstairs, did he bring it because it was ringing in the middle of the night? Once I was down stairs I found a charger and plugged my phone in.  While waiting for it to charge enough to power on I rummaged through the refrigerator for some kind of fruit.  Luckily there was a chilled bowl of mixed fruits, so I dished me up a small bowl and ate a granola bar that was in the pantry.  When my phone was finally charged, I turned it on and checked for missed calls and text. 

The first message was from Corrina before I could finish reading it, a message from Justin popped up. 

Justin: 
I always knew you were a whore, sign the fucking papers so I can be done w/ you.

Justin: 
You seem to forget that you’re still MY wife! 

Justin
:  You fucking stayed the night with that motherfucker?!

Justin
:  Bitch I KNOW YOU’RE W/ THAT NIGGER!!!!

Justin
:  Don’t be a cunt Lennie sign the papers!

Tears burned my eyes, I needed to leave.  I called a cab then quickly made my way around the house to pick up my clothes.  I’d have to borrow Dominique’s clothes since my shirt was ripped, I’d give them to Trevor so he could return them.  My cell phone continued to chime with new messages that I didn’t even want to read.  With my clothes wadded up and stuffed inside my purse I grabbed my shoes and rushed out the door.  I didn’t want the driver to buzz the intercom and wake Dominique up, so in my bare feet I ran down the driveway.  Just as I made it to the gates, the driver was extending his hand to push the intercom button. 

“DON’T!” I yelled.  He yanked his hand back inside the car and looked at me like I was certifiably crazy.  I entered the code and waited patiently for the gate to open, I slipped through and pressed the button for it to close. 

“Walk of shame huh?” the driver said with a smug look. 

That confirmed that what I had done with Dominique was a mistake and that Justin was right.  I was a slut.  “Just take me to my apartment please.” I said through clenched teeth while trying not to break down in tears in front of him.  On the ride back to the apartment I called Corrina.

“Hey hoochie!” she answered

I started to cry, “I shouldn’t have went there…”

“What? Why?  What did he do to you?” she asked rapidly. 

“Nothing,” I hiccupped, “Justin knew I was there.”

“WHAT…HOW?” she yelled.

“I don’t know, oh god, I’m horrible.”

“Where are you?” she asked me.  Her voice wavered slightly. 

“I’m just about back to the apartment, I’m going to go lock myself inside.”

“If Justin shows up do not let him in.  I’ll let you know when I’m back in town.”

I sniffled, “Okay.”

“Lennie, if you didn’t tell Justin where you were at how we he have found out?”

“I don’t know…I don’t know.” The cab pulled up in front of the building, I threw a wad of cash through the opening and hurried out of the car.  My bare feet stung against the concrete, the revolving door was full so I had to push my way between people to get inside.  “Why can’t I have a normal life?” I whispered while more tears fell down my face.

“Listen to me, what’s happening to you is not your fault.  I’ve contacted an attorney for you to talk to.  She can come to you or you can go to her office.”

“I’ll wait for you to get home so you can be here.” I said as I stepped into the elevator. 

“I’m going to push through this photo shoot and my meeting as fast as I can so I can come home early.  I love you.”

“I love you too.”

With my cell phone fisted in my hand I slid down the wall of the elevator and sat on the floor.  More tears flowed out of my eyes; I was on an emotional roller coaster that I didn’t want to be on.  I wanted to be happy like I was before all of this happened.  Maybe if I talked to Justin we could sit down and talk things through.

When the elevator stopped I slowly stood up, my entire body ached.  But the ache between my legs reminded me of Dominique.  The doors opened and without looking up I started to exit and ran directly into a solid chest. 

“Lennie?”

It was Trevor, Dominique’s friend.

“Sorry…sorry.” I tried to step past him.  I didn’t want him to see me like this. 

He caught up with me before I could get inside the apartment, “Whoa…whoa,” he grabbed my elbow and stopped me, “What’s wrong?” he lowered his face to look me in the eyes. 

“Nothing,” I fumbled with the keys and dropped them.  Before I could pick them up Trevor grabbed them and unlocked the door for me.  I was expecting him to leave but instead he followed me inside.  “Thank you.” I sniffled. 

“Are you okay?” He lifted my chin with his fingers, inspecting my face.  “Tell me what’s wrong.  Did somebody hurt you?”

“No, just personal issues.” I told him.

He raised one eyebrow at me, “Okay.” He dragged out, “You’re a hot mess I don’t think you should be alone.”

I laughed lightly, “Thanks.  I’ll be fine though.”  My cell phone dinged.  I pulled it out of my purse and felt sick when I read the text from Justin.

Justin
:  Such a good little wife, since you’re back at your place why don’t you shower off the filth from that mother fucker then sign the papers!?

“Hey,” Trevor looked at me, “You just turned as white as a ghost.”

“How does he know where I’m at?”

“He…who?” Trevor asked.

“My…husband.” I handed Trevor my phone. 

After a couple of minutes he grinned and handed me my phone, “I knew those clothes looked familiar.”

I looked up at him, “What? Oh…”

Trevor was smiling big, “He’s a good guy you know?”

“NO, he’s not!  He’s fucking crazy!”

“Dominique?” he asked with wide eyes.

“Huh?  No…Justin!”

He nodded he head, “I removed the tracking app on your phone by the way.”

“Tracking App, are you serious?”

I followed him through to the living room, using his phone he showed me the app.  “Has your battery life been pretty crappy?  Calls sounding strange too?”

“I’ve never noticed the calls but the battery doesn’t last but half a day sometimes not even that long!”

“If it were me, I’d be buying a new cell phone and getting my number changed too.”

“I can’t because of my clients.” I sat down on the couch with a huff. 

“Block Justin.” He said with a shrug. 

“I need to wait and see if we can talk things through first…”

He interrupted me, “Bullshit, that asshole doesn’t deserve your time!  You might want to reply to Dom’s text or he’ll be beating down your door in a bit.”

I pulled his text up and read it, just as I started to type out a response there was a knock at the door.  Trevor jumped up from the couch and jogged over to the door, he pulled his shirt off and unbuttoned his jeans before opening it. 

“Sup?” He said to whoever was at the door.

“Get the hell out of my way.” Dominique pushed past him.  I looked at my phone then back at him.

“You always just fucking leave and not let people know?” he asked angrily. 

I stood up from the couch, “No, I don’t do the walk of shame very often.  Never have actually!” I yelled at him. 

Trevor slipped out before I could stop him, I looked back at Dominique.  He had fire in his eyes, his jaw set tight and his hands resting on his narrow hips.  “Why the fuck didn’t you wake me up?”

“Because what happened last night shouldn’t have, I’m still legally married.  I don’t want to drag you into this mess, he already knows I stayed there.  Trevor deleted a tracking app that was on my phone.”

“So you regret being with me and think it was a mistake?” he said not addressing the rest of what I had said to him.  Slowly he walked toward me, “Look at me.” He commanded.

I finally looked into his eyes; “I can’t be with you, not until my divorce is final.  I haven’t even signed the papers yet.”

“You do realize that he’s still controlling you right?  It’s invisible abuse.  Right now you’re trying to think of excuses for him and you believe everything stupid fucking thing he says to you.”

I looked away from him, “This is my mess, just leave.  Please.”

“No!  I won’t fucking leave.  I know damn good and well that you don’t think last night was a mistake.  You might still be legally married but that son of a bitch has been fucking anything that’ll give him attention for a quite a while now.  You deserve better than him.”

“Dominique, we don’t even know each other.  You’re so intense and aggressive…”

“You won’t give me a chance to get to know you!” He shouted at me.

“I have yet to sign the stupid divorce papers, I’m an emotional wreck, and need time to myself.  Maybe last night wasn’t a mistake, okay?  It was good, really REALLY good and the best I’ve ever had, but for myself and my own sanity I can’t do it again while I’m still married to him!” I wiped tears from my face. 

He cupped my face in his hands, “I’ll call my attorney right now to look at the papers. You think you need to be alone but you shouldn’t be because then you start believing the shit he says to you.  Last night was mind blowing for me, not just the sex Lennie.  I haven’t slept that good in years.”

I shook my head and pulled his hands away from my face, “I don’t get it, I’ve seen the women that you have been with,” I waved my hands down my body, “I’m not them--not even close!”

“I know you’re not THEM”, he slid his finger up my arm leaving a trail of heat and goose bumps behind.  “I want what’s in here,” he tapped the side of my head.  He moved his hand down to my chest over my heart, “I want to be in here eventually too.  The rest of you is a fucking bonus, and to me, you’re like winning the jackpot.  The way our bodies react to each other doesn’t happen just one time.”

“Friends, Dominique, we have to be friends first.” I said softly. 

“I can do that.” He said with a grin.

“No more sex.” I stated firmly.

He pursed those sexy full lips, “That’s a drastic line to draw since it went from being a straight line to a blurred line, to smudged and missing line.”  I leveled him with a glare, “Fine.” He rushed out. 

~~~~~~

An elderly black man read through the divorce papers, and then took his glasses off.  “All he want’s is…everything.  He doesn’t even want you to keep the car.  You sign these and you don’t get a single dime or anything besides your personal belongings.” Dominique’s attorney Parker told me. 

“I don’t want anything from him, well besides the truth, but that isn’t included in there is it?”

He shook his head and gave me a sad smile, “I’m afraid not.”

“How long after I sign them will it be until it’s final?” I asked.

“It should, should being the key word here, take sixty days since they are emergency divorce papers.  Knowing his firm though they’ll have it finalized in no time.”

I grabbed the pen out of his hand and scribbled my signature, “Now what?” I asked.

“I’ll have them delivered to him, today, along with your car.  If you have more things in the house he’ll have to allow you to get them.”

I explained that I had everything out of the house and only had a few things I needed to get out of my car. 

“I’ll have somebody here in an hour to get the car.  If it makes you feel any better, Justin is in pretty deep financial trouble.  Putting your money in a separate bank account was a very wise decision.  I’ll contact the bank and let them know you aren’t able to transfer any funds until the divorce is final.” Parker told me.