Restoration of Love (5 page)

     “Oh Nikki, I’m glad you’re home,” her mother’s voice came over the phone. “ I was going to leave a message. If you’re not busy tonight, I want you to come with me over to your sister’s. She and Turner are home from their cruise and she has some pictures of their trip she wants to show us. You can pick me up around seven.” She didn’t even wait to hear whether or not Nikki was busy.

     “No mother, I can’t tonight.”

     “Excuse me?”

     “I said I can’t,” Nikki repeated, “I have plans tonight.” At least she hoped she had plans. “And I am not going to break them.”

     “Well, what plans do you have, Nikki, that are so important?” slightly annoyed that Nikki would not just drop everything to pacify her.

    “Mother, I am forty-three years old, way past the age where I have to report to you for everything I do. Now I told you that I have plans and that should suffice.”

     “Humph,” her mother pouted, “I guess those plans involve you gallivanting around town to those cheap pick-up spots they call clubs nowadays with that slut, Tia. Oh, yeah, I heard about the two of you out clubbing and I also heard that she was so drunk that they had to take her out of the club. Yeah, you thought I didn’t know. Well, Mrs. Freedman’s daughter was there, too and she told her momma everything. Imagine my embarrassment when she told me my child was in one of those places. I bet your sis . . .”

     Nikki interrupted her mother’s sentence before she could finish. “My sister, Mother, your precious daughter and favorite child used to frequent those places so much that the bouncers knew her by name.” Nikki was fuming. She had not meant to be so disrespectful to her mother, but tonight of all nights, she did not want to hear her mother go on about Gina.

      “Humph,” Her mother said trying to make Nikki feel guilty,” You go right ahead and do whatever it is that is more important to you than spending time with family. With your attitude, we don’t want you there anyway.” With that her mother hung up the phone without even saying goodbye.

      “Sorry, Momma,” she said looking at the phone as she put it back in the cradle, “But I’m living for me now.” Nikki picked up the phone again and called Carlos.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

     It was almost six forty five and Carlos was due to arrive at seven. It had taken quite a bit of persuading before Carlos relented and said that he would join her for dinner. Nikki put on a sheer black pants outfit with silver rhinestone sling-back heels. She had the plates warming in the oven, the wine chilling in the fridge and was just about to light the candles when she heard the doorbell ring. Carlos was early.

     When Nikki opened the door, the man standing before her once again took her breath away.

     “Hey, beautiful,” he said, looking apprehensive.

     Nikki smiled and went toward him into his arms. She held onto him as thought her life depended on it. She didn’t even care who saw them standing in the doorway.

     “Well, this is certainly not the welcome I expected to get,” Carlos said when she finally let go of him.

     “I told you on the phone. I’m a changed woman.”

     “What brought all this about?

     “Let’s just say a good friend knocked some sense into my head.”

     “I like that friend,” Carlos said, hugging Nikki again.

     Nikki took Carlos’s hand and guided him into the living room. “I hope you’re hungry, because I have a meal fit for a king.”

     “I am hungry, but not for food,” Carlos said, pulling her onto his lap. “Girl, you feel so good.” He leaned close and kissed her cheek and then her neck. It was at that moment that she knew that all she wanted right now was this man. This man who looked so good, this man who stood up to her and told her how he felt. She knew that she wanted him and he wanted her right back. She kissed him on the lips softly at first and then her kisses became more urgent. She slipped her tongue into his mouth and didn’t say a word. She would let her body do the talking for her.

     As the intensity of their kisses increased, so did Carlos’ manhood. He took Nikki’s hand and guided it to his zipper. “Nikki, feel this. If you are playing with me, this would be a good time to stop.” Nikki could not ignore the desire in his eyes or the desire she felt. She kissed him again, passionately, and moved his hand to her breast.

     “Does it look like I’m playing?” she breathed in his ear. She stood up and took Carlos’s hand. He stood, also, and then lifted her effortlessly and carried her to the bedroom. She was glad now that she had decided to take a chance earlier and light candles and spread scented rose petals on the bed.

     Carlos laid Nikki on the bed as he planted soft kisses on her face. Nikki knew when she looked into his eyes that she could not stop. He easily slipped off her silky top and as he unhooked the black lace bra, he stopped to marvel at her perfect breasts. He gently kissed and suckled each one as if he were a baby. He gently trailed kisses from her breasts to her navel. Before he removed her black panties, he looked up at her as if to say, “Are you sure you’re ready for this?” She touched his cheek as he continued. She moaned in delight as he slid the panties down and gently kissed the center of her womanhood. He moved slowly down her legs, moving his tongue lightly against her thighs, kissing softly until he reached her feet where he took each toe in his mouth and sucked it gently. Nikki thought that she would die from the sheer passion that she felt.

     Carlos stood to take off his own clothes, never taking his eyes off of Nikki. She could see in the candlelight the desire in his eyes. When he removed his pants, she gasped, knowing that she would soon be the recipient of what she saw. Nikki thought he would enter her right away, but instead he opened her legs and continued to taste her liquid as if she were a fine wine. As Nikki tried to reciprocate, he held her hands to stop her. He told her that this night was all about her and he wanted only to please her. Nikki felt as though she might pass out from the intensity of what Carlos was doing to her. Then, finally, he entered her, moving slowly at first, finding a common rhythm between them. Then, when he could no longer contain his passion for her, his strokes became intense and deliberate. She moaned with ecstasy. Never had she experienced such complete joy making love.

     Carlos found places on her body she didn’t know existed. He explored, he touched, he tasted and he wanted to make love to her again and again. As soon as Nikki had reached her peak and thought their lovemaking was over, Carlos would pull her body close to him and they would start again.

      Before they knew it, daylight was attempting to break through the dark curtains in her room and Nikki knew that this would be the start of a wonderful new day for her.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

     Carlos left at the break of dawn, but the sweet, musky smell of lovemaking mixed with his cologne lingered on her sheets and in her bedroom. She clung to her pillow for as long as she could, trying not to lose the magic of what had taken place.

     When she finally got out of bed to get ready for work, she actually sang with the radio as she dressed.

     As she was about to walk out the door, the phone rang. It was Carlos.

     “Good morning, pretty lady.”               

     “Good morning, yourself,” she said, smiling and caressing the phone.

     “I would ask you how your night was, but I think I know.”

     “Yeah, I spent it with a certain handsome, younger man.”

     “ Oh, did you? I trust everything was to your liking?”

     “Way beyond anything I could have imagined,” Nikki said, closing her eyes, remembering.

      “I just wanted you to know that last night was special for me, too. One night of many, I hope. Have a good day at work and I will talk to you later.”

      “You, too, Carlos. Bye for now.”

     All morning at work, Tia kept trying to get Nikki to tell her how her evening with Carlos had gone, but Nikki had two legal briefs to type up and didn’t have time to talk. She invited Tia to lunch instead.

     They barely sat down at the table at the restaurant and ordered their food, when Tia began squirming in her seat like a child who has to go to the bathroom. She begged, “Come on, Nik, tell me what gives. You’ve been acting strange all morning. I thought I even heard you humming to the radio. You can’t keep a sis in suspense like this.”

     “Can’t you wait until we get our order? You have to know right now?”

     Tia pretended to pout, so Nikki figured she’d better start giving her some of the details of the night before. “All right, all right. Last night Carlos and I,” Nikki paused like she was back in high school and had to whisper what she was about to say. “Carlos and I did the wild thing and wild is not an exaggeration.” Nikki put her hand over her mouth, waiting for Tia to say something. Instead, Tia looked at her as if she had just told her she had a deadly disease.

     “Tia, what’s wrong?”

      “Girl, I’m so happy for you that I am just speechless. First of all, I can’t believe you finally took the wrapping off the package and second, how was it? Did you rock that boy’s world? You know younger might be better for some, but age has wisdom and I hope you put it on that young thing so good that he won’t want to ever look at a young chick again. He will be walking around in the dark saying ‘has any body seen Nikki? I want my Nikki’.” Tia was laughing out loud.

     “Girl, you are too crazy, and lower your voice. You’ll have everybody in here looking at us. And for your information, he was the one that put it on me.” Nikki pretended to fan herself furiously and laughed, “Girl, I swear, I have only been with two other men in my life, but Tia, what I experienced with this man was like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. Even all the years I was married to Trent, it never came close. It was passionate beyond belief. We did things I thought people only did in trashy novels.

     “I can see that young thing put it on you and got your nose all open at the same time.”

     “Tia, I feel like I’ve been in a cave, hibernating. Then this man/boy comes out of nowhere and wakes me up, and Tia, don’t laugh, but I feel like I’m alive again. I mean I know that I’m somebody’s mother, but this man really makes me feel like a woman.”

     “Nikki,” Tia looked at Nikki suspiciously, “ Have you gone and fallen for this boy?”

     “First of all, he is not a boy you even said that. Secondly, I don’t know, T. I mean you get comfortable thinking your life is one way. You’re settled in and then along comes someone or something that shakes you to the core. Yes, I would like to share my life with someone. Being alone was never something that I planned or saw coming. But, I thought that the man I would be with would be a certain way, look a certain way and I never, in a million years, thought he would be so much younger
and
of a different race. I don’t know if I’ve fallen for him, but what I do know is that he made me feel something again that I thought had died.” Watching Tia’s face, she added, “So, after all the advice you’ve been giving me, you’re going to judge me now?”

     “You know better than that, Nik. I am happy for you because you are my friend and you needed this. You are the closest thing I have to a sister so that makes me concerned for you, as I know you would be about me. Nikki, you are not like me. You can’t do anything casually, and that includes having a sexual relationship with this man. I know it’s way too soon for the two of you to talk about where this is going, but I also know you. You are going to have to find out if this guy is serious, but putting too much on him too soon will drive him away. What I am saying, girlfriend, is enjoy the moment, live for today, and don’t worry about things that haven’t happened yet.”

     “I am, Tia. For the first time in my life, I am trying not to read something into what isn’t there. I want to just enjoy being with someone. Yes, I have thought about the future, I have. But, until he brings it up, I have promised myself to be silent and just enjoy what we have now.” Nikki hoped that Tia believed what she just said, because she didn’t. To lighten the mood a little, she smiled at her friend and said,” Come on, let’s eat our food before it gets cold.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

     For the first month and a half, Nikki and Carlos were together almost every day. On the nights when he didn’t have to work early the following morning, he would stay at Nikki’s. They watched TV, went out sometimes, played board games and yes, made love…a lot. Nikki couldn’t believe how deliriously happy Carlos made her.

     She had not told anyone except Tia about Carlos, and that included her mother. The last thing Nikki wanted was to listen to her mother’s disapproval of Carlos and to hear what a disappointment she had been. Besides, still in the back of her mind was the conversation she had with Tia about the future of this relationship. Tia was right. Nikki was not the type of woman who could do anything casually, especially sleeping with someone. In the beginning, she tried to convince herself that she could. She told herself that if he walked away today, she could let him go with her dignity still intact. But, that thought left a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. She tried not to think about it, but as Tia had reminded her, she needed a certain order in her life. Although her life with Carlos had been fun up until now, she knew that she could not go on unless she knew where they were headed. She decided that tonight would be the night that she and Carlos would have “the talk”.