Read Crush Online

Authors: Cydney Michele; Rax Lutishia; Grant Lovely

Crush (26 page)

BOOK: Crush
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“Ugh, please don’t call me that. I’ve done a great job trying to forget about my ex. He hasn’t contacted me in a minute and that’s the way I like it.”
Wendell gave her a sober look. “Are you really trying to move on?”
“I am. If only I could know you’re doing the same.”
“If you knew that, then what?”
“Then I’d be okay with you calling me your lady. But until then, Lorraine will do, thank you very much.”
10
How Much More Can I Be Humiliated?
Faye couldn’t believe it. She was accustomed to men chasing her in hot pursuit while she looked over her shoulder and laughed. Being desired by men was like pressing a needle in her vein and injecting herself with heroin. Nothing felt better than making men lose their minds. But Wendell Holmes was different. She’d assumed after they’d had sex that night he’d be blowing up her cell, begging her to return for a repeat. Or maybe he’d do what others had done and insist she move in. Wendell did neither. That intrigued Faye. It was as if he had used her, and not vice versa.
Tonight she was at home, fuming mad. Earlier she’d placed some oversized dark sunglasses over her eyes, rented a fancy sedan, and driven past Wendell’s condo a couple of times. But his place appeared to be completely dark. The drapes were drawn. It meant he wasn’t home. Or if he was, he was having sex. With Stick Figure. Faye shook her head vigorously, not wanting to believe that Wendell would choose someone so dreadful and desperate looking over
her
. Jeez, what was the world coming to? She blamed her string of bad luck on jerks like Tiger Woods, men lucky enough to have beautiful, intelligent, cultured women at their side—women so stunning they made men look like kings—but instead the undercover sluts preferred to get it on with trashy pole dancers who got their start sucking on bananas. She hated men like that.
In her heart, Faye knew that Stick Figure didn’t quite fit the “ho bag” description, but in her mind, if a man picked
any
woman over her, the girl was an automatic low-life wannabe tramp player hater who could never truly compete with her. Yet in a way, Stick Figure was competition because if she wasn’t, wouldn’t Wendell be with Faye?
“This is not even happening,” she said through clenched teeth, almost wanting to scream. “How much more can I be humiliated? I don’t do humiliation!”
Faye wailed as she stared at her reflection in the full-length mirror. She resembled a young Donna Summer: huge, pretty doe eyes, thin nose, and thick, pouty lips. Faye’s bone-straight hair was so long it reached her behind. She clamped her hair in a ponytail just to avoid sitting on it. She’d purchased eighteen-inch hair extensions because she knew most men were shallow enough to be swayed by lengthy hair. And she needed men to love her. Every man. That’s also why she wore new clothes daily, preferring to buy dresses and skirt sets fresh from the mall rather than dry clean the clothes she already owned. She had a strong need to always stand out in a crowd and would do anything to achieve that.
But now she didn’t know what to do. She couldn’t believe that although she’d gotten weak and called Wendell three times,
three
, he hadn’t called her back. She didn’t leave a message. She wasn’t the type of woman to leave a message. But the fact that Wendell had caller ID should have been motivation enough for him to return her call. See if she was okay. Phone her to let her know he’d been missing her bad and wanted to kick it with her.
“I always get what I want. And I want Wendell.”
Wendell stood in the doorway of Lorraine’s apartment. They’d just returned from their date. He briefly came into the apartment to use the restroom and chitchat. But now he was ready to head out.
“Listen, young man. I had an incredible, unforgettable time. But it still doesn’t excuse you for leaving me in the lurch at that workshop. I felt so lost.”
“Sorry about that. But the other team members were there. I knew Lance was coming and asked him to help you out if needed. Did you see him?”
“Lance is such a boring gossip, plus he can’t hold a candle to you.”
“Aww, baby,” Wendell said. She tugged at his heart. He just wanted to wrap Lorraine in his arms and hold her. He felt bad for what he’d done, but sometimes before a man can fully let another woman in, he must get a different woman out of his system. He hadn’t planned on being with Faye. It had just happened. And it had been important for him to carry out his fantasy with her so he could move on and be with the chick he really wanted to be with.
“Lorraine, that will never happen again. Fingers crossed,” he said and winked. “I am not trying to hurt you. God knows you’ve been through enough. You deserve to have the exact type of guy you want. Decent, honest, considerate, loving, protective, classy. I can be that. I swear. I
am
that.”
“Wendell, I want to believe you, but sometimes I just don’t know.”
“Don’t you have a good time with me? Haven’t I proven to be way different from guys you’ve dated in the past?”
“Yes, and yes. For one thing, I appreciate that you haven’t tried to push up on me. You’ve been a gentleman. My mother would love a guy like you.”
He stiffened but recovered. “I want us to wait and take our time.”
“Well, since you’ve been celibate for so long, I guess waiting a little while longer won’t hurt.”
“Um, yeah. So, I gotta skedaddle. See ya later. At work?”
“Come here,” she said in a sexy, commanding voice. She raised her head and planted her lips on his. They enjoyed a long, wet, and warm French kiss that made her dizzy with passion.
“Mmm, I love your lips so much. But we need to stop or else we’ll end up in bed. That’s not what I want to do. I’m trying to do something different, ya know?”
“I know,” he croaked. Right then he thought that being with Faye wasn’t so bad. If Lorraine had such high standards that she’d be forcing him to hold off from having sex with her, he didn’t feel so bad about getting some on the side. After all, he wasn’t married to the girl; he desired her, no doubt, but a man had needs. And if the time came when she fully wanted to give herself to him, he knew he could drop Faye like a skillet of hot chicken grease.
Hey, I’m not even with Faye anymore. That was a onetime thing.
“One more thing,” Wendell said. “Guess who’s coming to the Toyota Center this Saturday?”
“Tell me,” Lorraine squealed.
“Maxwell and Jill Scott.”
“Oh my God. I heard the promo on the radio the other day. Are we going?”
“You and me. This Saturday. Buy yourself a pretty dress.” He opened his wallet and handed her a crisp hundred-dollar bill that felt smooth to the touch. “Choose something hot that shows off your legs.”
“Aww, you’re sooo awesome. Thanks so much.” Lorraine was so astounded by Wendell’s generosity all she could do was blush and lean forward to give him another quick kiss. Wendell waved, turned around, got in his car, and sped off.
“This is working out better than I thought,” she said a half hour later while talking to Joanna on the phone. “You know how you wonder if you can ever meet the right type of guy who fits the bill? Well, I’m a witness, it can happen.”
“What did Mr. Wonderful do this time?”
Lorraine filled her in on all the details of the most recent events.
“Who knows how long this will last, but for right now, girl, I am loving how he’s being extra attentive, caring, and considerate.”
“Hmm, sounds like he’s good at compensating for his previous blunder,” Joanna reasoned. “But still be careful, sis.”
“Hey, I know what I’m doing.” Lorraine flinched, slightly irritated. “Wendell’s the real deal. Nothing like you know who.”
“Compared to Posse, an eighth grader will appear to have class and style. Don’t compare every man to Posse, though. You’d be doing yourself an injustice.”
“I think I’m getting my just due now, though; that’s what makes me so happy.” Lorraine thoughtfully bit her bottom lip. Although she was happy that her ex had stopped pestering her with his annoying phone calls, sometimes she’d be sprawled in bed at night, clutching her pillow. She’d close her eyes and imagine which woman he was with and she’d wonder what made him stop calling even though she’d asked him to. Her pride made her want to believe he still longed for her. And she’d softly sing Brian McKnight’s lyrics, “Do I ever cross your mind, any time?”
“I will say this,” Lorraine allowed. “The fact that a man who claimed to love me can move on just like that makes me wonder if he was telling the truth in the first place.”
“Girl, please,” Joanna said. “Just because a man says he loves you doesn’t make his words automatically true. The only person who can never tell a lie is God himself. The rest of us are subject to error.”
“I know all that,” Lorraine snapped. Knowing the truth didn’t mean it always felt good or comfortable. That’s what raw truth did: exposed the sides of life that weren’t always pretty.
“The best thing to do is get over it. Let him move on so you can, too.”
“If he has moved on, it couldn’t have happened at a better time,” she said to herself, hanging up from talking to Joanna. “Now that I’ve finally connected with a decent, sincere man, who has time for ex-boyfriend drama?”
That Saturday morning, Wendell woke up and felt himself being kissed all over his forehead, cheeks, and lips. The fragrance of White Diamonds reeked on his pillows.
“Turn over,” Faye commanded as she rubbed her fingertips across his erect nipples.
Wendell, not one to argue with a horny female, flipped over so that his stomach rested on the red satin sheets. Faye carefully straddled him and sat on his back like he was a pony. She rocked back and forth trying to develop some friction as she rubbed her body all over his.
I can’t believe I’ve been with this woman for twelve hours, making nasty love all night long.
Faye smiled as she leaned over to plant wet kisses against every part of his neck.
“You like that? How about that? Mmm, I’ve missed this and I refuse to give it up. I want my Joe-Joe every day, every night.”
When Wendell didn’t answer she knew just what to do. She flipped him over until he was flat on his back. She grinned and was overjoyed to see this gorgeous, sexy creature totally under her control. Power turned her on. And the stronger the man, the sexier and more powerful she felt, especially if the man let her have her way without a fight.
“You are
too
adorable, Wen. Just perfect.” She laughed and lowered her mouth to Joe-Joe. “Hey there,” she said, softly grabbing his penis. She thrust him inside her mouth and closed her eyes. Faye was willing to pleasure this man to the point of gagging. She was no fool. Men loved blow jobs. And if a man could find a woman who was willing to get him off without protesting, that woman was a keeper.
Faye sucked Joe-Joe every hour on the hour all that day. When she finally let Wendell take a breather so he could drag himself to the restroom, he snuck his cell phone into the bathroom and locked the door.
Please forgive me for what I’m about to do
.
He powered on his phone, which had been off ever since Faye had popped over to his place last night wearing a gorgeous lavender negligee underneath a maxi dress. His eyes loved what they saw and he knew he couldn’t say no. He let her in. They went straight to his bedroom and got undressed. All thoughts of Lorraine disappeared from his mind and he wouldn’t allow his heart to focus on her at all. Until now.
As he suspected, she’d left him two voice mails and one text. A classic question:
Where r u?
He texted her back.
Something’s come up. Can’t go 2 concert. Sooo sorry.
Will make it up 2 u. XXOO.
He sighed. Turned his phone off, relieved himself in the restroom, took off his bathrobe, and stepped in the tub to take a shower.
“Come get it while it’s hot,” he yelled after unlocking the bathroom door.
Lorraine’s hands trembled as she read the text.
What in the hell is he talking about? We’ve been planning this date all week. I’m wearing the damn dress he paid for. So what’s really going on? What came up?
Lorraine tried to calm herself, but it’s hard for a woman’s mind to stay rational when fear twists at her heart so much she can barely breathe or think.
Be careful.
Her sister’s warning resounded in her head.
Lorraine slumped on the edge of the sofa and kicked off the high heels she’d been wearing. She glanced at her watch.
The concert would begin in ninety minutes. But Wendell had told her to be ready early. He’d proposed eating seafood and having drinks at McCormick and Schmick’s prior to the concert. Lorraine had been elated and pumped up for this date the entire week. She’d felt pleased that their relationship was progressing and appreciated how Wendell tried hard to make up for disappointing her.
But now?
She heard her doorbell ring and leaped up to her feet.
Thank God. We’re still going. Whatever issue he had obviously has been resolved.
She grinned as she flung open her front door. She set her hands on her hips and frowned.
“What brings you here, Posse? And how’d you find out where I live?” At first she barely recognized her ex. He wore a short-sleeved striped polo shirt with white linen slacks and oxford sneakers that were so white they looked brand-new. But though the clothes were different, his eyes looked the same. Light brown and dancing with danger.
BOOK: Crush
10.66Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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