Raging Blue (13 page)

Chapter
27

Blue

“Oh! Let’s go to H&M and look around,” Francois said, pulling Blue into the flagship Fifth Avenue store.

Just like any woman, shopping therapy was like a ray of sunshine on a dark and gloomy day, and Blue’s gloomy days were adding up to a season of overcast. This particular shopping trip didn’t seem to help her feel any better, though. Normally, Blue would talk with Mia while strolling through the stores checking out the latest fashions.

Blue wished she had never answered the phone. She'd spent weeks avoiding her family and trying to keep her prying mother’s questions at bay. She'd finally told her cousin Francois that she and Jay were no longer together, but spared her the details leading to the divide. The information prompted Fran to ask thousands of question about what happened, but Blue remained lean on her responses. After that, Fran invited Blue out for a day of shopping to ease her mind.

“Look at this dress, Blue. This would look great on you. This turquoise is amazing. Think about how good you would look in it with your curves. Plus, it would bring out your eyes. Try it on,” Fran said, tossing the dress to Blue.

“I don’t feel like it.”

“Come on, Blue. We’ve been from store to store and haven’t bought anything. You love to shop. Just try the dress on. Maybe it will get you in the shopping mood.”

She knew Fran meant well, so she trudged to the fitting room.

“Blue, which one are you in?” Fran yelled as she entered the fitting room area.

“I’m over here,” Blue called out.

The next thing Blue knew, Fran was tugging at the door and telling her to open it.

“I’ve got more stuff for you. These will fit your shape better than mine,” Fran said, handing Blue a load of clothes.

“I’m not trying on all of this stuff. We’ll be here all afternoon,” Blue told her, while shielding her half-naked body with the dress she was about to try on. She looked around Fran to make sure no one else saw her.

“So what! We don’t have anything else to do today. Hurry so we can go somewhere and have lunch. I’m starving.”

Blue sighed and took hold of the clothes. She had to admit, the selections were right on target. Fran knew what looked good on Blue, even though their styles were miles apart. Fran possessed a more daring style, preferring to mix colors and sport bold looks. Blue’s jeans, white button-down shirt, and riding boots looked rather subdued against Fran’s textured leggings, long fitted tee, bushy brown boots, and fire-orange leather jacket. Blue kept her bushy coils restrained in ponytails, while Fran allowed her wild coils to hang loose and free.

“Come out and let me see.”

Blue emerged wearing the first dress.

“Wow! That looks so good on you. I know you’re buying that. Jay will wish he never left,” Fran said and laughed loud. “Plus, it’s perfect for the fall now that summer’s almost over.”

Blue looked around, offering a shy smile at the folks who appeared to be startled by Fran’s outburst. The mention of Jay’s name gave her pause.

“Try on the other stuff. I’m going to be in the room next to you trying on my things. Maybe we should hang out tonight. I’ve got a friend over at the 21 Club. We could go for a few drinks over there. Get your mind on happier thoughts, like martinis and cute dudes!” Fran’s booming laugh filtered through the fitting room. Her mouth ran nonstop.

Feeling genuinely lighter, Blue laughed and willingly tried on the rest of the clothes Fran had picked out. She decided to buy everything.

“You should wear the blue dress tonight. Let’s go downtown and find some shoes to wear with it,” Fran suggested as she galloped to the register alongside Blue. “Let’s hop in a taxi, grab a bite to eat, and then shop for some fabulous footwear.”

Fran chuckled. Blue shook her head and laughed with her.

“Ma’am, would you like to use another form of payment?” the clerk asked.

Blue’s brows creased. “Why?”

“Because your card was declined,” the clerk informed her.

“Declined!” Blue yelled at first, then repeated a little softer.

“Yes, ma’am,” the clerk said as if she wasn’t buying Blue’s astonishment.

Confused, Blue took her check card back and gave the clerk another from a different bank. That card was declined, also.

“Here,” Fran said, handing her card to the cashier. “Put it on this one.”

Blue stepped back bewildered. She couldn’t fathom why her cards declined when she had thousands of dollars in both accounts. She didn’t always carry her credit cards around, but kept plenty of money in both accounts to cover her daily and occasional spending.

Fran paid for both of their purchases, and they quickly headed out of the store.

“Wait!” Blue grabbed Fran by the arm. “I have to go to the bank and check my accounts.”

“Okay,” Fran said, looking concerned. “Maybe it was a computer glitch.”

“On both accounts? I don’t think so. My banks are right here on Fifth Avenue.” Blue looked at her watch. “If we hurry, I can catch them before they close.”

Anger rose in Blue like steam as the first bank representative showed her the recent withdraws on their joint account. The second bank revealed the same fate. Jay had cleaned them out, leaving less than one hundred dollars in each one. When Blue examined her statements further, she saw that an airline ticket had also been purchased. She thanked the last representative and stormed out of the bank with fire in her eyes. She wanted to cry, but refused to break down in front of her cousin.

Fran followed fast on her heels. "OMG! Blue, I can't believe that bastard. I can give you something to carry you for a little while," Fran offered.             

“I’ll be fine. I have money. I just need to get to it,” Blue told her.

“That son of a…oh man! I can’t believe him,” Fran said, stomping her feet.

“I can.” Blue’s response was simple—calm.

“You still want to finish shopping or grab something to eat?” Fran asked.

“I’ll still hang out with you later tonight. I have some cash and credit cards at the house,” she told her.

“Good. Well, let’s go somewhere and have lunch now. I’m starving. My treat!”

“Obviously,” Blue said,
and they both laughed.

Even though her appetite was doused by the fact Jay had cleaned out their joint accounts, she still went to the restaurant and enjoyed the time she spent with her cousin before they went their separate ways.

During the taxi ride back to her house, Blue called Gavin to vent.

“Your buddy is at it again. Can you believe he cleaned out both of our accounts?” Blue started speaking the moment Gavin answered. She realized she hadn’t given him a chance to say hello. “I’m sorry, Gavin. How are you? Do you have a minute?” she said, laughing at her rambling.

“I’m fine, and yes,” Gavin said casually, “I can believe that.”

“I should fly down to Atlanta,” Blue said.

“Why Atlanta?” Gavin inquired.

Blue shrugged. “Where else would he go? He’s either there already or on his way. At least in Atlanta, he would have a place to stay. And I wouldn’t be surprised if he were heading to Mia’s. He paid for his ticket from our account. I saw the transaction when I was at the bank,” she said.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” he told her.

“I’m going!” Blue huffed and fell silent.

After a few moments, Gavin asked, “Do you need anything? Any money?”

“No, I’ll be fine.” Then Blue thought out loud, “The fight has begun.”

She hung up before Gavin could say another word.

The mailman had just locked the mailboxes when Blue arrived back at her house. She grabbed her mail on her way up to the apartment. Once inside, she headed to her home office. As she passed by the guestroom, she turned her nose up at the mess she had left in there. What happened to her today was a wake-up call that prompted her to take action. She started with Jay’s things in the guestroom. She called The Salvation Army and arranged for them to pick up all the junk in there—although she preferred to burn it like the jilted wife in Terry McMillan’s book,
Waiting to Exhale
. Her way was more satisfying and safe, though.

Blue pulled all of their bills from the file drawers, ripping open any notices from creditors on both individual and joint accounts. Jay hadn’t changed his address yet, so all of his mail still came to the house. Blue logged on to the computer and arranged for funds from the small investment accounts left in her name to be distributed to her by mail. Pretending to be Jay, she began placing calls to cancel all the accounts with Jay’s name attached to them.

On one call, the representative insisted the account holder was a male. Blue pretended to be insulted by her oversight, arguing that Jaylin was a unisex name. When Blue asked to speak with her manager, the rep apologized and relented since Blue was able to provide her with all of Jay’s credentials, including PIN and social security number. Since they’d been together, Blue had handled all the bills. She was glad for that arrangement now.

By the time Blue finished, she had closed every account with either his or both of their names on them. She moved the emergency money they kept at home to a shoebox in the back of her closet until she decided where to put it. Now the only money Jay could get his hands on was what he had already taken out of their bank account. Blue wished she could see his face when he tried to use any of his credit cards. The last thing she did was call the property management office and had the locks changed immediately.

Blue was ready for whatever came her way. She knew she would catch Jay off guard by simply staying in the game. This time, Jay wouldn’t be playing alone.

Chapter
28

Gavin

Gavin opened his eyes and stared into Lisa’s face for a few moments, trying to regain his composure. As much as he enjoyed being intimate with her, he couldn’t help thinking about Blue. He rolled off of Lisa and stared at the ceiling.

Lisa, who was still reveling in the afterglow of their lovemaking session, moaned and closed her eyes. Gavin watched her tongue slide over her lips as if she could taste the remnants of their lovemaking. She pressed her legs together and squirmed. After attempting to quench her fire numerous times, Gavin was spent, but Lisa looked like she still wanted more. Gavin set his gaze back on the ceiling and thought about how unfair their exchange had been. His motivation was not of pure desire, but a need to release. Lisa had obviously mistaken his feverish lovemaking for pure passion. She could never know he was only able to reach his climax by envisioning himself with Blue instead of her.

Gavin’s cell phone rang. Without looking at the display, he knew it was Blue.

Lisa reached towards the phone and blindly fumbled with the buttons to make it stop ringing, as she climbed back on top of him for another round. Ready to protest, the clench of her warm, moist walls on his manhood urged him to hold his tongue.

“My goodness, Gavin. You’re amazing. I can’t…mmm…get enough of you.”

Though he didn’t think he had any more to give, Gavin felt himself swell, filling her warm walls. Lisa dipped her hips in a sensual gyrating dance while pulling him in deeper, tugging at him, causing the swell of him to grow larger and broader. As he filled her up, a slow groaning rose from her core.

Lisa began to move faster and bounce harder as she rode him to an urgent peak. This time, she howled as she reached pivotal heights.

Gavin held her waist and moved with her, meeting every thrust with equal force. The warm wetness that slathered over him made him grunt repeatedly. As he closed his eyes and pictured Blue’s beautiful body on top of him, his muscles clenched, drawing his body into a rigid ball. He pulled himself away and released, feeling the tension rush from him like a waterfall as he met Lisa at the height of ecstasy. Gavin’s groan was staccato until his release was complete. Both of them fell back to their own side of the bed, spent—again. Gavin felt as though his vitality was being sucked from him, absorbing into the sheets. He prayed she was sated, because he didn’t have anything left for her.

He got up from the bed and headed to the adjoining master bath. The custom shower was large enough for three people. After turning on the water, he stood in the center letting it hit him from several angles.

He could hear the cell phone ringing from the room. Blue was calling back. He was sure of it. Guilt taunted at him for not answering. He hoped there wasn’t any kind of emergency. Lifting his face to the spray of the shower, he let the warm water wash over him, cleansing his body and clearing his thoughts. Blue wouldn’t leave him alone, and the frustration returned. As Gavin massaged a masculine-scented body wash into his skin, lingering around his manliness, Blue invaded his thoughts again, and he soothed himself with the images in his mind. Her lips. The sway of her hips. The roundness of her ass.

A pair of hands joined him, massaging him from behind. He pretended the soft breasts pressed against his back belonged to Blue as Lisa’s hands continued to rove all over his body.

“Did I tell you that you were unbelievable?”

Gavin turned to face Lisa and allowed his tongue to tease her lips. He hoped his kisses would suffice, because he couldn’t drum up any excitement. His maleness hung lifelessly. After they washed one another off, the phone rang again. Gavin felt it once more. Blue
needed to speak with him but he didn’t want Lisa to grow suspicious. Half dry, he trotted to the room to catch the call.

“Hi. Are you busy?” Blue asked.

“Uh…yeah. I...,” Gavin looked to see if Lisa was within listening distance, “…have company.”

“Oh. Okay.”

He glanced back towards the bathroom one more time. “Is there something you need? Is everything all right?”

“Everything’s fine. I
was having a moment and needed to talk. Just call me later.” Blue hung up.

He held the phone a second before disconnecting the call.

“That was her again, wasn’t it?”

Lisa’s question
startled him since he hadn’t realized she’d entered the room.

“She’s been calling
a lot. I hope everything’s okay.”

Lisa acted as though she wasn’t bothered by Blue’s calls, but Gavin could tell she was affected and wanted him to know she noticed all the calls.

“Everything seems to be fine.” His answer was short and indifferent.

Lisa walked around the room fumbling with the clothes they had thrown around before hopping in the bed. Gavin could feel the tension beginning to build.

“She’s your best friend’s wife, right?” Lisa asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

He felt the sting of her disingenuous tone.

“Yep.” Gavin busied himself pulling out a pair of sweats and a tank top.

“Oh.”

Minutes passed as both of them dressed in silence. There was an uncomfortable shift in the atmosphere. When Lisa finished dressing, she sat on the edge of the bed, while Gavin continued to stir around the room “tidying up”. He needed to move through the tension that had descended on the room like dense black smoke, threatening to constrict his breath.

“Gavin.”

Here it comes
. He straightened his back and took a deep breath. “What’s up?”

“Where are we going with this, with us?” Lisa asked as she sat at the end of the bed toying with the strap of her sandals.

The smoke in the room grew thicker. Gavin felt the thickness in his throat and swore he could now smell the impending fire. He didn’t feel like answering her question. He wondered why that question always seemed to come up at the most inappropriate time.