Cheaper to Keep Her (part 1) (5 page)

Caroline went and got about sixty dresses for me to try on. There was every named designer you could think of. I had never, ever put my ass in a Nicole Miller, Alexander
McQueen, Versace
or Herve Leger
dress in my life. Caroline also brought out about thirty pairs of shoes, most of them were Christian Louboutin, the red bottoms I had heard Oprah Winfrey talk about and saw her wear on all of her shows.

“
Damn! Beautiful, you look amazing in that shit,” Duke exclaimed when I finally came out in a crimson Herve Leger
bandage dress. He made me blush. I whirled around for him in the tight fitted dress that looked like somebody had poured me into it.

“
That’s the one, Beautiful . . . that is definitely the one,” Duke said excitedly. That was enough for me. I went back into the fitting room and took it off. I gave it to Caroline and she and Duke rang up the dress and a pair of hot red bottoms. I came to the register just in time to see that he had paid $800 for the dress and $695 for the shoes. I felt a little nervous letting a man spend that kind of paper on me. I started thinking that Duke might expect something in return. I mean we were in a recession and this man was spending that kind of money on me. I couldn’t lie to myself though, I was damn sure glad Diamond had convinced me to go out with him. Even if shit didn’t work out for the long haul, this one date was well worth it.

“
Here you go, baby,” Duke said, handing me my bags. “All yours,” he smiled.

“
Oh my goodness, Duke, I cannot thank you enough for such a wonderful first date,” I said and gave him a hug and a kiss on his cheek. I released him just in time to see Caroline smirking. I rolled my eyes at the old white bag. I told myself that bitch was just jealous. Maybe she wanted Duke too, just like the fucking waitress did.

“
So you want me to drop you back at the Marriot or to where you live,” Duke said snidely as we pulled back around my neighborhood.

“
Well . . . um . . . you can take me home. The reason I—” I started to explain, but Duke cut me off.

“
Baby, it’s all good. I was real happy when you didn’t give me your address right away. That told me you were smarter than most of these chicks out here,” Duke interjected. I felt a sense of relief that he understood. Then I told him my address.

Duke pulled up in front of my apartment complex and I prepared to leave the car. He leaned over and kissed me softly on my cheek. I almost fucking melted inside.

“
I will see you tomorrow night when you put that dress on,” he said in a low whisper. I wanted to tongue him down so badly. I swallowed the lump in my throat.

“
Yes, I will see you tomorrow. Thank you again for a more than wonderful day,” I said softly. Then I kissed him back, also on the cheek.

I exited the car and flew up the stairs to my apartment. I rushed inside and called out for Diamond. “Diamond! Dee, you here?” I hollered. I raced into her bedroom but it was empty. Then I looked at the cable box, it was nine o’clock. Diamond was probably at the club already, I reasoned. Then it dawned on me that I hadn't called Neeko to let him know I was going to be late for fucking work.

“
Shit!” I cursed myself and went to pick up my cell phone. I dialed Diamond’s cell first. I wanted her to tell me if Neeko had asked for me or find out what kind of mood he was in. Diamond’s phone went straight to voicemail. “She must be on the damn phone with that bastard Brian,” I mumbled.

I clicked off and went to dial Diamond’s number again. I flopped down on our raggedy couch and started to press send on my phone. Suddenly, I looked over at the Saks bag and said fuck it. I didn’t bother to call Diamond again. I figured I would just see her when she got home. I was no longer worried about Neeko’s ass. “I will just show up tomorrow if I feel like it. Neeko don’t be paying a bitch anyway and those fucking tips suck nowadays,” I told myself.

I picked up my Saks bag and put on my new shoes and strutted around my apartment feeling like a star.

“I might just be quitting that fucking job soon anyway, when I become Mrs. Duke Carrington,” I said out loud, smiling from ear to ear
.

Cheaper to Keep Her Unique

Chapter 4—She’s Coming Home With Me

I had fallen asleep waiting up for Diamond.

When I got up the next day, she was knocked out sleeping and I figured she had a hard night at the club, so I chose not to wake her. As bad as I wanted to shake her ass and show her the dress and the shoes, I didn’t bother. I had some running around to do since I knew Duke was taking me out that night. This time, I wanted to accent the dress with the perfect hairdo, so I called up my girls at the Beauty R Us Hair and Nail Salon and told my hairdresser I was coming. I knew it was going to be an all day affair because the hair salon was more like a social gathering.

I took a shower and threw on a Juicy sweat suit. I checked in on Diamond and she was still out like a light. I scribbled a note down telling her to call me on my cell when she got up and then I grabbed my purse and headed out.

When I got to the salon, I noticed a missed call from Duke. I smiled wide. It was so good that he had been the first to call after our date and not me. Duke was showing so much damn husband potential I couldn’t take it.

I immediately called him back while I sat in the car waiting for my hairdresser to summon me inside.

“
Hey, Beautiful,” he answered. I couldn’t help but smile. He told me to be ready by seven-thirty, which gave me plenty of time to get my hair done, shower and get dressed. I told him I would be ready when he got there.

When I got home from the hair salon, Diamond had already gotten up and left the house. “Damn! Why she ain’t call me back? I know she had to see all the missed calls from me,” I grumbled to myself. I started getting my shit ready to get dressed. Then I thought about how the hell I was going to do my make-up without Diamond. Shaking my head, I picked up the phone and tried her one last time. Her phone went straight to voicemail once again. “Diamond, it’s me. Call my cell as soon as you get this message,” I said with attitude.

I got dressed for my date with Duke and I was starting to get real worried about Diamond. Even after my message she still had not called me back. I had called her at least ten times. Sometimes it rang but most times it went straight to voicemail. I kept looking at my watch hoping she would come home before I had to leave. I lied to myself and said primarily because she had skills in the make-up department, but I was worried about her as well.

I pranced around the apartment for a while in my new dress and shoes and I had to admit that I looked damned good. Finally, it was time for Duke to pick me up. I was forced to put on my own make-up and Diamond never came home to tell me how I looked. “Oh well, Diamond, I tried to wait for your ass. I’m gonna curse you out when I see you,” I said out loud as if Diamond was there. Really, I was trying to appease myself. I was pissed with her. I knew for sure her neglect had something to do with Brian. He was probably out of the hospital and taking up all of her time. At least that’s what I told myself.

When Duke pulled up to my complex, I was peeking out of my window. I looked at my watch and decided I would make him wait for a good five or ten minutes before I came outside. It was a little payback for him making me wait the day before. Besides, I wanted to make a grand appearance, so me waiting outside was not an option.

I let my grace period pass and then I headed outside. When I emerged in the parking lot, Duke rolled his window down and whistled, which caused me to smile.

“
Mmm, mmm, mmm, Beautiful, you look sexy in that dress,” Duke called out to me as I made my way to the car. He had gotten out and opened my door.

“
Thank you, Mr. Carrington,” I commented, as I slid into my seat. Duke kept giving me compliments as he drove to the restaurant. I think he must’ve made me blush fifty times.

We pulled up to the Melting Pot, one of the most expensive restaurants in Virginia Beach. Once again, Duke was about to do it big. He drove his Porsche 911 up to the valet stand and stopped. This time I waited in my seat until he opened the door for me. He helped me out and held my hand while he gave his keys to the valet guy. Duke didn’t let my hand go the entire time it took us to walk into the Melting Pot and get our table. Once at the table, he pulled out my chair and pushed it up to the table once I sat down.

We began our nice, quiet and romantic dinner with a toast to us. The expensive champagne caused a tingling in my throat and eased my mind. I must’ve had five glasses of champagne before we completed dinner. I was tipsy as hell by the time the valet brought the car around. I was holding onto Duke’s muscular arm for dear life.

“
You ok?” he asked me.

“
I’m fine,” I lied. I really didn’t drink like that so the champagne had snuck up on me. Once the car came, we drove and I didn’t even ask Duke where we were going. I just rested my head back on the headrest and went along with whatever else he had planned.

I had my eyes closed when we finally stopped moving. “Beautiful, we’re here,” Duke said, touching the side of my face gently. I popped my eyes open, embarrassed that I had drifted off. I looked out the window and noticed a huge house in front of me. I looked over at Duke with a confused look on my face. He started chuckling.

“
This is my house,” he said.

I relaxed a bit. I was still kind of out of it, but my buzz was wearing off a little bit. I followed Duke into his grand home. The shit was off the chain. I estimated in my head that the house had to be at least 3,000 square feet. We started walking through it and I noticed immediately all of the expensive furniture, artwork and home décor. Once we were in his living room, I looked out the huge glass bay window and noticed the beach. Duke had one of the coveted nicest properties in Virginia Beach. “This is nice,” I said, staring out the window.

“
This is only one of my homes,” Duke volunteered. “I don’t stay here most of the time. I have a few places here and there.”

He sat down on an all-white leather couch and put his feet up on a glass coffee table. “Come over here and sit with me,” Duke instructed, patting a spot on the couch next to him. I turned around from the window and smiled at him.

“
Gladly,” I said seductively. I eased onto the couch next to Duke and he wrapped his strong arm around my shoulder and pulled me as close to him as I could go. I rested my head on his shoulder and sighed.

“
Did you have a good time tonight?” he asked me.

I lifted my head a little, so I could look at him. “No,” I said and paused. He crinkled his face. “I had a wonderful, magnificent, awesome time,” I said, then I let a big smile spread across my face. Duke’s face eased into a smile.

“
Whew, you had me scared there for a minute,” he said jokingly, acting like he was wiping sweat off his forehead. We sat there for a few minutes like that. Then Duke excused himself and left the room for a minute. He came back with just his wife beater holding a chilled bottle of champagne and two flutes. I couldn’t stop staring at his ripped abs and beautiful chest through his undershirt. He knew his ass was fine too.

Duke placed the flutes down and poured us each a glass of champagne. I started to tell him no, but I didn’t want to rock the boat. We were having such a great time together. I picked up my flute and he did the same. We each took a sip and Duke busted out laughing at my reaction to the bubbly. “This expensive shit takes some getting used to,” he smirked.

After two glasses of the strong bubbly, I was feeling my head sway once again. Duke moved real close to me and took the flute out of my hand. My heart was beating uncontrollably as I felt his body heat next to me. He put the flute on the coffee table and turned back to me. I didn’t know what to do. Duke reached out and grabbed my face in his hands and brought it close to his. Instinctively, I closed my eyes. Duke placed his sweet tasting lips on top of mine and we began kissing savagely. He tasted so good. I could feel myself growing hot and my pussy getting wet. Duke moved in closer and I could feel his dick hard against my pelvis. We continued kissing. Then Duke put his hand on my breast through my dress and squeezed slightly. I let out a short gasp. My mind started to clear. I started getting nervous. Somewhere in my mind I was back in high school attempting to have sex for the first time. Duke’s hands were starting to travel to different places on my body and that made me uneasy, but brought me back to the here and now. My buzz was fading rapidly. When Duke started unzipping my dress, I pushed him off me.

He stopped abruptly.

I sat up and wiped my lips. Then I stood up and pulled my dress back down over my hips as it had ridden all the way up during our hot patting session.

“
What’s wrong, Beautiful?” Duke asked, sounding kind of out of breath. I knew he was horny and ready to fuck. “Nothing. It’s just early for—” I started.

“
Baby, whether you give it to me the first time or the tenth time, I am a gentleman,” Duke said, interrupting me in mid-sentence in his attempt to convince me it would be all right.