City Vibes - Complete Series (BWWM Interracial Billionaire Romance) (12 page)

Chapter 26

Maria nodded and laboriously turned around, leading Reese out of the kitchen and into the now-empty, now dimly lit dining room. As the two of them sat in one of the booths, Maria started with, “So, you don't have to tell me everything, but I want to help.”

Reese nodded. “If I say anything, everything will come out.” She murmured. The words left her lips as if they had been carefully constructed, each individual sound over thought and amplified. The end-result was her sounding like a robot.

Maria nodded as she slipped a napkin out of the large stack of cloths. “Okay, well start from the beginning.”

“I cheating on Daniel.” The words slipped out of her mouth like word vomit.

Maria's eyebrows seemed to run right off of her forehead. Her fingers froze for a second and she gulped, but aside from that, she managed to stay calm. “Did you tell him?”

Reese nodded.

“Are you gonna leave him?”

Reese started to shake her head, but stopped herself. The answer that seemed so intuitive, so obvious before was now nothing but apparent. “I... don't know.”

Maria glowered at her, cocking her head to one side. “Honey.....” She quipped.

Reese just stared blankly back at her.

“Why would you tell him if you aren't sure.”

“At the time, I thought I was gonna stay with him.” Reese pressed. She had to admit, it didn't even make sense to her.

“So what did you think telling him was gonna do?” Maria demanded.

Reese shrugged. “I have no idea.” She mumbled. “I just knew that I couldn't handle keeping that secret from him.”

Maria nodded. “And now he doesn't trust you-” She then concluded.

Reese grabbed her first set of silverware, shaking her head as she did so. “No. I mean.... he said that I could stay friends with him.”

Maria raised both of her eyebrows, a humorless laugh escaping from her lips. “Honey, that just means he's afraid to make you choose. That's got nothing to do with trust.”

Reese narrowed her eyes, the ossified clogs in her brain; the paralyzed neurons, finally starting to turn. “No, that doesn't make any sense.”

“It doesn't?” Maria replied, the skepticism in her voice rendering it razor sharp.

“Because he's making me choose now.” She replied.

Maria raised an eyebrow. “What does that even mean?” She demanded.

Reese sighed. Just the prospect of uttering the crux of the matter, the thing that had been banging around her head of the last few hours, was enough to render her profoundly tired. “Jack gave me money for my research.”

“Who's Jack?” Maria demanded.

Reese's heart leapt with anticipation. The whole ordeal felt a hundred times more real now that she had finally told another soul, now that it wasn't just Daniel's unapologetic voice echoing in the deepest recesses of her ears. She leaned in and the words were almost coming out of her mouth before Franks slammed his check-book on the booth behind her. “She lives!” He exclaimed darkly as he leaned in on their obviously private conversation.

Reese slumped away from Maria, all momentum lost. “Oh, God Frank. I'm so sorry.” She murmured, unable to bring herself to look at him for fear of the unbearable glare she knew he must be unleashing on her.

She felt a displacement in the cushion as he sat down with her. “Oh that's right. You should be.” He replied, his voice making her skin crawl.

“I shouldn't have walked out like that.” She added, trying to make herself sound as apologetic and helpless as possible.

“No you shouldn't have.”

Reese could tell by the sound of his voice that her helplessness wasn't working at all. A quick glance at Maria, who was doing a thorough job of pretending like she couldn't hear anything that was going on right in front of her told her that she wasn't going to divulge any help either. “Just please don't fire me.” She pleaded, feeling her eyes stinging with the promise of tears, a function of this new kind of stress.

Frank nodded slowly. “I might...” He let his voice trail off.

Reese gulped, grabbing another set of silverware.

“But if you tell me why you did it, I just might reconsider.”

Reese slowly turned her gaze on him, staring into his eyes for the first time since he decided to join them. She was only half surprised to find his eyes sharpened with real concern and his brow furrowed in confusion. He genuinely wanted to know. She sighed. Well, after her revealing display of psychosis, there was no real reason to be afraid to talk to her boss about her feelings. She decided to just start from where she left off. There was no good in telling Frank about having cheated on Daniel. “Jack is the other guy. He's Daniel's friend.”

Maria's eyes went wide. “Oh.” She murmured.

Reese nodded slowly. “He gave me a massive check for that research grant I have been trying to get.” She explained, more to Frank than to Maria, who already knew this part.

“Wait.” Frank replied, shaking his head in confusion. “But Jack isn't your boyfriend is he?”

Reese shook her head.

He nodded, his jaw hanging open as he finally understood.

Reese could already feel herself starting to tear up again she tapped her foot and tipped her head backwards, trying to stop that salty liquid from overflowing again, but aside from the standard effects of gravity, it was largely unhelpful. “Daniel thinks he's just trying to get in my pants. He told me not to accept the money.” her voice came out heavy and broken.

Frank leaned in, his brown eyes cutting right down to her agonizing soul. “Or?”

An erratic sob escaped from between her lips. She began shaking uncontrollably as this new wave of emotion threatened to consume her. “He's gonna break up with me!” She cried. “He doesn't trust him and he doesn't trust me; all because I did that thing with Jack and- I just don't know how to tell him that I love him.... he won't even believe me if I ever did.... oh God he thinks I'm gonna leave him! I don't know if I want to leave him! This is my future, what does he expect me to.... and ….. what if?...” At that she became aware of Frank's arm wrapped around her. The small gesture made her feel protected and understood, but did nothing to quell the fire-like conflict raging just behind her red eyes. She sucked in heavy breaths, but none of the oxygen seemed to make it to her brain. Her mouth hung permanently open. So many words fought to make it through the funnel that was her voice box. Too many for any to be successful. “I...” She gasped. “I can't do this. I can't do this! It's not fair!”

Frank rested his chin on the top of her head. It wasn't long before she felt Maria's thin finger stroking her on the other side. “You know, people will tell you that life's not fair. They will tell you to adapt. They will tell you to change your perspective because you can't change your situation.”

“But that's all bull shit!” Reese exclaimed, her frustration speaking for her.

Frank squeezed her at this. “I know, Reese. It is. It's a whole load of bullshit. That's why I won't tell you that.” He replied.

Reese's sobs subsided in her surprise.

Sensing that Reese was calming down, he continued. “I'd tell you that this world is sick. It's sick because it's filled with a bunch of people who would rather adapt to than change their situations. You want your future and you don't want to sacrifice your heart to get there..... so don't.”

Chapter 27

Reese paused in front of the door to Daniel's apartment, the familiar gold letters suddenly looking brand new. She pressed her palm against the door, then her second palm and her forehead. She took a few more deep breaths, trying her best to calm her emotions. She didn't want to come of neurotic, or out of control, or immature. Finally, and with trembling hands, she opened the door.

She stopped as soon she had stepped over the threshold and shut the door behind her. Her eyes darted from the opened and half-empty bottle of gin sitting on the kitchen island, to the open bay window and puddles of water that seeped around everywhere, to the half-full pizza box hanging half-off of the kitchen table, and, finally, to Daniel, who sat on the floor with his back against the couch and his legs extended out in front of him. He looked up at her with tired eyes, a weak smile playing at each corner of her lips at her approach.

Once she was about a foot away, she couldn't bring herself to get any closer to him. She found herself more and more vulnerable to his addictive presence the closer she was to him. Just seeing him sitting there like that made her want to collapse into his arm more than anything else. She wanted to feel his warm hands on her body, needed to feel the comfort of his skin against hers. But she was not privy to that now. She was in a fighting stance: her interest against his. This was no man's land; barbed wire. The only way she could survive was if she separated herself from him.

“I thought I had lost you.” He uttered in a voice more broken than she had ever heard in the two years that they had been together.

Reese nodded. “I'm here.” She replied.

He shook his head. “But you understand why I had to do it right?”

Reese's heart flipped at this. This was it: her first obstacle. “I understand why you did it, yes.” She replied.

He nodded, then ran his fingers through his hair. “Good. That's good. Are you hungry?” He asked, gesturing towards the pizza at the kitchen table.

Reese shook her head.

“Oh.” His shoulders slumped. He then patted the space next to him. “Do you want to sit down?” He then asked.

She just shook her head again.

He gazed up at her, his eyes searching, scanning, breaking her with each passing second. “I'm sorry. Reese. I really am.” He pleaded. “We'll get you the money. Another way.”

Reese could feel her eyes stinging for the hundredth time that night. “How?” She breathed.

He opened his mouth to respond, but then just froze that way, with his jaw hanging stupidly open. He could find no way to respond to her, because there was none. What could he say? How could he defend himself? “I don't know right now. But I will soon.”

Reese pursed her lips. She could tell just from the look in his eyes that he could believe that no more than she did. “No. You won't. You could have. You had so much time to, but you never did.”

“Reese!” He exclaimed. “That's hardly fair.” he replied, his eyes glazing over.

Reese threw her arms in exasperation. “You never would have, Daniel. You're so absorbed in yourself, so focused on keeping me out of your life that you never put in any effort to get into mine.”

“That's not true.” He argued.

“Did you even know I needed the money this bad? If Jack hadn't cut a check, would it have ever clicked in your mind?”

Daniel had nothing to say to this.

Reese knelt down in front of him, her knees a mere inch away from his feet. “I love you Daniel, I really do. I can't see my life without you.”

He drew his legs away from her, then leaned towards her, cupping her chin in his hands all in one motion.

She flinched at this, thrown completely off guard by the painfully familiar sensation of his hand on her face. She could smell his essence, could feel him beckoning to her with his body. She wanted nothing more than to just melt into him and forget this nightmare of a night... almost nothing more.

“I love you too.” Daniel replied with more fervor than she had ever heard him use.

Reese wrapped her fingers around his wrist, holding his arm there. “Then you'll understand what I mean when I say that I don't want to chose.”

“What are you saying?” he whispered, resting his forehead against.

“I want you to believe me when I tell you that I love you. Nothing could change that. I love you enough to stay with no matter what happens to your paycheck in future, no matter where we live or how we live. I promise to love you no matter how many mistakes you make.” Reese felt more words coming on, but he cut her off with a kiss.

Her first instinct was to fight it, but resolve leaked out of her before she could stop herself. She leaned into that kiss; drank from that kiss; breathed from that kiss. She could feel his heart pounding on his chest as he pressed his body against hers. He slipped his lips from her lips, to her cheek and then her neck. Her eyes began to roll to the back of her head, but she had to force herself to stay focused. “But do you love me?” She whispered. By then, his hands were slipping underneath her shirt.

“Yes.” He breathed. The sensation of his warm breath on her skin sent chills up her spine.

She shook her head. “No, but do you love me enough.” She pressed.

He drew his head back up, pressing his hungry lips against hers. He undid her first button, then her second, then her third. Fire flooded every neuron in her body. She was more than just drawn to him. She felt her being inside of him and his in her. His every heartbeat was her own. His every breath brought life to the cells that made her who she was.”For what.” He hissed as he ripped her shirt off, the remaining buttons flying away and landing feet away from the two of them.
 

She mounted him as he buried his face in her cool skin, breathing in every bit of her. Reese tipped her head back, barely able to contain herself. “Do you love me enough.” She gasped. “Enough to let me take this money. To let me have my future... and to let me have you too?”

He stopped and looked up at her, his eyes wide with surprise.

Tears steamed from Reese's eyes as she stared back down at him. She clutched his face in both of her hands and planted a wet kiss on his forehead. Every  part of her wished that he would just utter the words she wanted to hear; the words that meant that she had finally succeeded, that the struggle was over. “Do you trust me?” She demanded. Then, in a softer voice. “Do you love me?”

He stared up at her, his eyes darkening as he slowly understood what she had meant by this; what her true intentions were. He dug his fingers into the skin that covered her back as he realized that she had rejected, whole-heartedly his ultimatum. He held her even tighter as he realized that he would have to bring himself to do something he never thought he would ever be able to do... or lose her forever.

Something about this: an ultimatum on top of the ultimatum, the former a thousand times more compelling than the latter, but him in a bind; forced him to consider what he really wanted, and what that really meant.

“I do.” He said. Because he could see himself in no one's arms but hers.

Reese wrapped her arms around him, squeezing him as hard as she could as she wept sobs of pure joy.