Free Fridays (19 page)

“Shit. You are so sexy,” said Malone.

Sheer electricity passed through Leela like she'd been struck by lightning. A tingle shot down her spine and that was after only one long, scrumptious kiss.

Leela was in trouble.

A
ll of the thrill had vanished from Free Fridays for Riley. He hadn't even been able to really enjoy the benefits of being able to do whatever he wanted because he remained in a state of constant worry.

What was Leela doing and how was she suddenly such a fan of the day he all but begged her to be a part of?

Riley was seconds away from confronting his wife. But he told himself that would only make matters worse. It would prove Bill's point, and it would make his wife suspicious, since the whole damn thing was his idea in the first place. Besides, he knew she was going to Samantha's. But that knowledge didn't stop his mind from racing with thoughts about what all the two of them would be doing.

“You okay, Dawg?” Bill asked, as he brought a couple of beer bottles to the table.

“Yeah, I'm straight.”

“You sure don't sound like it.” Bill eased one of the bottles in front of Riley.

There was nothing interesting about being at Bill's on Free Fridays. Riley wondered whether his friend got some pleasure out of his misery. Hell, he didn't care.

“What are we doing tonight? Let's go by Sam's,” Riley suggested.

Bill frowned. “You serious, Man?”

“Yeah. I wanna see what's going on over there. It's one thing to
look on an iPad and see what's what, but I wanna swing by; you know, pop up,” he said.

Bill nodded. He took another swig of his beer. But suddenly he leaned in closer and looked at Riley.

Riley thought it would be his wife who would throw in the towel first, but he found himself very close. Nothing had gone the way he'd expected, and the more he thought about it, the less he wanted to know just what was really going on at Samantha's house.

“Okay, after we finish these,” Bill said a second later. He raised the half-empty beer bottle. “Now do you get what I'm saying about marriage?”

“Man, that don't prove nothing. Yeah, you and Sam didn't work out, but I don't necessarily agree that given the opportunity, any woman would cheat. Hell, we don't even know for sure that that's what's going on with Leela. For all we know, the two of them are going out to party up like the good ol' days,” Riley said.

Bill sipped more beer and nodded. He didn't say anything to counter Riley's suggestion.

“Don't give me that poor ol' bastard look,” Riley said.

Bill frowned and moved the bottle from his lips. “You still wanna go over there?”

“Nah, Dawg. I'm good. I'm about to get another brew. You want one?” Riley asked, as he rose.

As Riley walked into Bill's kitchen, there was a knock at the front door.

“I'll get it,” Riley said. He pulled the front door open and found a pizza delivery guy there.

“Two large meat-lovers with wings and breadsticks,” he said.

Riley looked over his shoulder. “Why didn't you say you ordered pizza, Man?”

“Shit! I forgot. Thought you might want something to eat on while we figured out what to get into tonight.”

“Good looking out,” Riley said. He reached for his wallet and paid for the food.

Over pizza, wings, and beer, they talked more about their options for the night.

The next time a knock sounded at the door, Riley looked at Bill.

“Come in!” Bill yelled, instead of going to the door.

Riley frowned.

“What? We eating, Man!” Bill frowned.

Natasha opened the door and strutted in. “Hey, guys. Hope I'm not interrupting anything.”

Suddenly, Riley felt like he might have lost his appetite.

“I knew you'd be over here, and I wanted to talk to you face-to-face. You said you were gonna call me back last week, and I never heard back from you,” she said, as she walked all the way into the living room.

Natasha turned to Bill and said, “I knew you wouldn't mind. But I really need some alone time with him.”

Bill got up and grabbed one of the pizza boxes. He opened it, tossed a few wings and some breadsticks inside, then walked out of the room.

“Holler if you need me, Bruh,” Bill said over his shoulder.

Riley wanted to tell him to take Natasha too. But she wouldn't budge. The minute the door closed, she repositioned herself and eased between Riley's legs.

“I can't do this,” he murmured.

“Let me suck your dick,” Natasha begged. “I miss you; I miss the way you taste. I know that wife of yours won't give you the kind of head I know you like.”

“Natasha, right now, my mind is all over the place. I can't,” Riley said.

“It's Friday,” she countered. “I know what that means for you. A good blow job from me won't even count. Let me help you feel
good. Let me take some stress off your mind, Baby,” she purred.

Before Riley could refuse again, Natasha reached for his crotch and grabbed a handful. She squeezed and stroked him.

“Natasha, seriously,” Riley said. But his voice sounded shallow. He wondered whether she could sense his weakness.

“Come, Daddy, let me do this for you,” she purred.

Riley flinched, and Natasha dropped to her knees and moved in for the kill.

The last thought that ran through his mind, before his eyes rolled to the back of his head was that Bill had gone and told her about Free Fridays! Gone from his head was the thought of driving past Sam's house.

•  •  •

Samantha sat at a table near one of the windows. She glanced down at her watch a few times and started to get a bit antsy. Why did she agree to this in the first place? There were at least one million other things she'd rather be doing.

She picked up her phone and checked it again. She was going to wait for another ten minutes; then she'd leave. What did she look like sitting and waiting on a man who all but despised her? She didn't know what he wanted with her anyway.

“Hey, thanks for waiting. Sorry I'm late.”

At first, Samantha didn't respond. She hated to be kept waiting and always thought it was rude when people were late. It was even worse when she was forced to wait on someone she didn't want to meet with in the first place. She eyed him suspiciously. “So, what's going on?” Samantha asked. There was no need for fake pleasantries.

They were at the 59 Diner in Stafford, and she didn't have lots of time. Even if she had all the time in the world, he was the very last person she wanted to spend time with.

“Why did you want to meet with me?” Samantha asked before he could settle into the seat across from her. She didn't even attempt to mask the sarcastic tone in her voice. She wasn't happy about being there and didn't care whether he knew it.

“I'll get straight to the point,” he said. “I think you're a bad influence on Leela, and I think you need to back off.”

Samantha looked at him side-eyed. She couldn't believe her ears.

“Uh. Leela is a grown woman. You act like we're in grade school or something. I can't force your wife to do anything she doesn't want to do,” she said.

With an adamant shake of his head, Riley's narrowed eyes zeroed in on Samantha.

But she remained cool under his glare. He may have walked around thinking that his biceps and muscles made others fear him, but she wasn't the least bit afraid.

“If I knew this was the kind of bull you asked me to come here for, I would've hung up the second you called,” she snarled.

“So that's how you wanna play this then?” Riley leaned back in his seat. He blew out an exhausted breath.

Samantha frowned. Her eyebrows inched upward. “What the hell are you talking about? If you think your wife has done or is doing something, maybe you should be talking to her instead of me!”

Defiant, Samantha arched her shoulders and folded her arms across her chest. She had made her position crystal clear. He could accept it or not, she didn't care.

“Look, I ain't got nothing against you. I get it. I get you are single now, running around proving you still got it and all that shit, but what I'm saying is, you don't need to drag your friend down with you,” Riley said. He used a finger to jab his words and point across.

Samantha jumped up from her seat. “Drag her down?” she huffed. “You have lost your damn mind. Look. What's going on or not
going on with you and Leela ain't got nothing to do with me!” She tossed him one final look, then suddenly turned back. “I've told you before, ain't nothing about me headed in a downward direction. I never liked your ass in the first damn place! Go beat on your chest and try to bully someone else! I'm done!”

Before Riley could say another word, Samantha stormed out of the restaurant and never looked back.

L
eela might have been fully satisfied, physically, but emotionally, she was a train wreck. She couldn't bear to look at her own reflection in the mirror for too long without the strong urge to upchuck. Despite how hard she tried, she couldn't wrap her mind around how she had landed herself right in the middle of a scandalous love triangle.

Because the bulk of her time spent with Malone was during Free Fridays, technically, she didn't have to confess anything to Riley about what she had done, but she found the weight of that secret was like dragging a large cement block around.

Besides, who spent mornings sipping champagne and eating strawberries?

“Wanna know a secret about one of the many benefits of strawberries for women?” Malone had asked.

His deep voice was so sexy to her.

“I didn't realize there were many benefits,” Leela had said as she took a bite of one.

“Come over here so I can whisper it in your ear,” Malone had said, wearing a sly grin.

Leela had leaned in close.

She'd giggled after he whispered in her ear.

“I'm serious.”

“You're full of it,” Leela said, as she pulled back and laughed at his comment.

Malone threw two fingers up. “Scout's honor. I'm serious.”

“So you're telling me that eating strawberries makes it sweeter down there?”

“Here, let me double-check and I'll tell you,” he joked.

Before she could stop him, he had eased his way between her thighs again. Blissful pleasure was right around the corner and she enjoyed every bit of it.

The situation with Malone had gotten completely out of control.

There was no way she was about to give in to more thoughts about him. She would throw herself into her marriage; she had a good solid three weeks before the next Free Friday rolled around. She could get that man out of her system and do what a good wife was supposed to do. Couldn't she?

She rose from her mid-afternoon nap and had a sudden urge to go and find her husband. That was part of the problem. They didn't spend enough time together. She and Riley moved around their large house like roommates at times. He spent a great deal of time in his space, and she was confined to her own. Before Free Fridays, it didn't bother her as much.

Leela was tired of it. She was about to try and shake things up a bit. She decided that if she brought some spontaneity to their marriage, she'd remember what she had in her husband and would be better able to resist Malone. Forget the fact that he had completely ravished her in her dreams, or the fact that he sent sweet text messages regularly to let her know she was on his mind; she could resist all of that.

Leela strode through their home and glanced lovingly at the black and silver picture frames that captured images of their once happy life together. She was confident they could reclaim that and then some; all she had to do was focus on what was important.

“I thought we could go see a movie or go out to dinner,” she said as she stood in the doorway of Riley's oasis.

She'd been standing there for a while before she let her presence be known. She watched her husband and wondered how she had fallen so quickly for another man. Riley had his issues, but who didn't? When did she fall out of love and into lust and when did that lust morph into so much more? The truth was, she had fallen for Malone as if it was one of the most natural things to do. And for Leela, that was scary.

“Yeah, a dinner and a movie, that'll work,” Riley said as he turned to look at her. “Give me a few minutes.”

Leela turned and walked away. Of course she could do it; she had to. Her marriage depended on it.

•  •  •

A week before the next Free Friday, Riley sat on a table at the spa. He had yet to receive a compliment about it, but he knew the procedure had made a difference. He felt better about himself and that was all that mattered. His thoughts were broken when a man in a white lab coat walked back into the room.

“Do you have any more questions?” he asked.

“No. I think we're good. Oh, wait, how long will this take?”

The man picked up the clipboard from the nearby counter and flipped through a couple of pages.

“Well, the typical Male Laser Lift usually takes about forty-five minutes,” he said.

Riley shook his head. “Yeah, I know that. I meant, before I start seeing the results I want.”

“Oh. I'm sorry. Yeah, this is your third treatment, right? You should've seen results after the first time. We're talking lasers here, so discoloration, hair, and some of the wrinkles are zapped away immediately.” The technician flipped through more pages. “Why, are you not seeing any results at all?”

A hint of alarm eased into Riley's green eyes.

Thoughts of what Bill would say if he knew that Riley had resorted to ‘ball ironing' flashed through his mind once again. The truth was, lately he felt himself trying to correct quite a few things that never seemed to bother him in the past. How could he compete with another man when he had no idea who dude was? There was no other man! He was the man! He was the one and only man! If Leela dared step out on him, she'd realize that no other man would ever take his place. Look at Natasha. After all these years, she'd come to realize what he already knew: real men are hard to find.