One Love (19 page)

Charles stared into her eyes. “I
understand your work for Paxton-Waite is outstanding. Quite a
unique business concept. Very innovative.”

“
Thank you. I was fortunate
to be in the right place at the right time.”

“
I’m sure you worked hard to
get there,” Charles said.

“
Let’s not talk shop,”
Yasmin said in a breezy voice. She had completely missed the
undertone. “Even at this function, it’s bad form to dwell too much
on commerce.” She gave Charles an affection squeeze of his
arm.

“
You’re right. We should be
discussing light matters only.” Metoyer flashed her a smile that
gleamed.

Lanessa watched as he turned on the
charm. He treated Yasmin as though she was the only woman in the
room he thought worthy of his attention. Lanessa engaged in small
talk with them all the while taking note of how the man worked his
magic.

“
Let’s get out of here,”
Alex said quietly.

“
Come with us to the Fine
and Mellow Café. Henry Batiste and his jazz trio will start playing
at ten thirty.”

“
We’ve made other plans,”
Alex said quickly.

“
Oh, I see.” Yasmin grinned
at Lanessa.

Lanessa gave a small forced laugh.
“Long week, so we want to make it an early night.”

“
Yes indeed.” Charles wore a
slight smile.

“
Well goodnight,” Lanessa
said.

Yasmin hugged her. “Nice seeing you,
Alex.”

“
Same here. Bye.” Alex led
Lanessa away. “Walk fast before something else happens,” he
muttered.

Lanessa pulled him back. “I’ve got to
say goodbye to Dawson and Hargrove. One last
obligation.”

“
Will this night ever end?”
Alex groaned then put on a pleasant social face again.

Lanessa dared not risk too long a
farewell. She was grateful that Dawson and Hargrove were standing
not far from each other. She complimented them on the evening.
After a few more moments of making nice, they were headed for the
exit. A short chunky man stood talking to Charles Metoyer. As
Lanessa and Alex passed, he lifted a glass to her.

“
The class rating on this
party just plummeted. Can’t believe they let that rat in here.”
Lanessa was irked by the smarmy grin on his face.

“
Who?” Alex glanced
around.

“
Him.” Lanessa jerked a
thumb at the two men. “That troll sleaze slinger, Glenn
Curtis.”

She glared at the reporter then turned
her head sharply. Glenn Curtis called himself an investigative
reporter. What he really did was dig up scandal.

“
He tried to drag my
sister’s name through the mud. But I fixed him!” Lanessa bristled
at the memory.

“
Oh yes, that thing with
Bill Lang. But it came out that Jade had nothing to do with it.”
Alex held her hand.

“
Sure. And I complained to
his boss at The Advocate about the way he’d tried to trick me. He
wasn’t fired, but he got a tongue whipping.” Lanessa smiled with
grim satisfaction. Her expression turned sour when she turned and
found Curtis had followed them outside.

“
Hello there. You’re Alex
St. Romaine, right? How are you?” Glenn did not bother to wait for
an introduction. He stuck his hand out.

“
Hello.” Alex shook his
hand. He shot a sideways glimpse at Lanessa.

Glenn turned to Lanessa. “You’re
looking good. Nice to see you’ve done well since that unfortunate
incident three years ago.”

“
Still sniffing the ground
for garbage on other people?” Lanessa wore a smile that laced with
venom.

“
I report on topical news of
interest to the Black community.” Glenn smiled, seemingly
unaffected by her insult. “My newspaper’s circulation grows
daily.”

Glenn had somehow managed to start The
Baton Rouge Chronicle. The newspaper contained articles about the
African-American community, especially the upper-middle class in
south Louisiana. Equal portions of gossip and hard news fueled its
success.

“
If you like that sort of
thing,” Lanessa retorted.

“
We were just leaving.” Alex
moved to open the car door after stating the obvious.

“
Good evening. And Lanessa,
I’ll be seeing you around.” Glenn dipped his head at her. His words
carried the tone of a threat.

“
Not if I see you first, you
little--”

“
Hey! Cool down,” Alex broke
in. “Let’s not allow him to spoil what’s left of this night.
Okay?”

Lanessa grumbled under her breath for
several seconds as she watched Glenn go through the doors. “That
guy is a real bum.”

“
Agreed. But at least he’s
out of your hair.” Alex opened the passenger door for
her.

“
I hope so,” Lanessa
murmured.

Alex loosened his tie with one hand
while steering his Montero off the parking lot with the
other.

“
Alone at last. Come
here.”

Lanessa slid against him. The soft
green glow from the dashboard was romantic lighting. His compact
disc played softly. Thoughts of Glenn slipped away and her frown
vanished.

“
I feel like we’re in high
school. You know, making out in a car.” She giggled and put a hand
on his thigh.

“
Now there’s an idea.” Alex
turned right at the next stoplight.

“
Where are we going?”
Lanessa put her head on his shoulder.

“
You’ll see.”

In a few minutes they were on the
gravel lot facing the largest lake in The Baton Rouge City Park
near downtown. Trailing willow trees near the shore waved in the
breeze. Alex lowered the power windows of the car. Except for a
Toyota Celica about fifty yards away they were alone. Despite
streetlights, a few twinkling stars were visible. Alex left the
ignition on so they could continue to enjoy music. He took Lanessa
in his arms and kissed her hard. Soon his hand roamed over her body
making her temperature rise. The sensation of his touch through the
silk fabric of her dress was electric. Lanessa was panting with
desire within seconds.

“
We’re going to get arrested
for public lewdness,” she managed to whisper. She gasped when his
fingers caressed her inner thighs and traveled up
further.

“
I’ll pay the fine,” Alex
mumbled without taking his mouth from hers.

“
Someone might see us.”
Lanessa did not make a move to break free in spite of her
warning.

“
It’s too dark. Nice. . .
and dark.” Alex turned up the heat even more with another long
kiss. His tongue brushed hers with rough insistent
strokes.

Lanessa drew back with a long moan.
“Now I remember why we were so happy to finally grow up and have
money for an apartment. I need room for what I want to do to you.”
She rubbed the fly of his pants.

“
Let’s be creative.” Alex
let a slow, provocative smile spread across his face.

He reached down and pushed a lever
causing her seat to recline. Lanessa found herself staring up into
his eyes bright with lust. She felt his hand push up the hem of her
skirt.

“
Alex, this isn’t going to
work.” Lanessa gave in to the urge to laugh. It suddenly occurred
to her what they must look like.

“
It will if we slid onto the
back seat. Just scoot ahead and I’ll join you.” Alex gestured to
her.

“
Are you crazy?” Lanessa was
laughing hard now with tears coming down her face.

“
Yes, crazy with passion.
Now come on. I’m serious.” Alex started laughing with her. “I think
I’m stuck.”

In a few minutes they were helpless.
Both were gasping for air between uncontrollable giggles. The car
shook as they shifted around.

Lanessa let out a howl at the idea
that he could not move. “Stop it. I can’t breathe.”

Finally he managed to slide back to
the driver’s side. Lanessa lay in her seat fanning her face with
one hand. The evening breeze felt good against her skin. Alex
helped her up and put the seat back in an upright
position.

“
Baby, I’m afraid we’ve
gotten too old.” Lanessa patted his face.

“
But it was a lot of fun
trying. Right?” Alex put his hand over hers.

“
Right,” she said in a soft
voice. Lanessa felt her heart open up. “It’s so good being with
you.”

Alex grew serious. “I tried to
convince myself I was doing okay without you. But this feeling is
like nothing else in the world.” He gazed at her hair and face as
though savoring the sight.

“
Finding love is heaven.”
Lanessa held his hand tightly.

“
One love, Lanessa. You,”
Alex said, his voice deep and intense.

They held each other close for a long
while without speaking. Words were not needed. Suddenly the rich
tones of Luther Vandross came from the car speakers.

“
When I’m feeling this way,
I want the whole world to be happy.” Lanessa sighed. She thought
about her friend. “But Yasmin is in for a letdown.”

“
Yes.” Alex nodded. “And
Shauntelle is going to be really hurt.”

“
Why can’t the world be
perfect?” Lanessa addressed her rhetorical question to the ink blue
sky.

“
It can be if you let me
take you home.” Alex rephrased the sultry lyrics that came from the
compact disc.

Alex drove to Lanessa’s house. They
went inside and put a blues recording in her stereo system.
Thoughts of looming sadness in the lives of others were forgotten
as they undressed. They took full advantage of the extra room they
now had.

“
Not the bed. The floor,”
Alex mumbled between kisses planted on her neck. “And I have a game
we can play.”

“
Alex, you are full of
surprises.” Lanessa wiggled against him.

“
No talking. The first one
to speak buys dinner.” Alex ran his tongue down between her
breasts. “And I don’t intend to lose.”

“
I--” Lanessa felt a soft
haze fill her head.

“
Ah-ah, starting
now.”

He was as good as his word. Lanessa
had to concentrate hard to keep from crying out. His mouth was all
over her body. Lanessa was lost, totally senseless within seconds.
Just when she thought she could take no more, Alex changed
positions. He pulled her upright. Lanessa gave gasped when he
entered her from behind. His thrusts grew harder and faster.
Lanessa moaned as she moved with him. A powerful force gripped her.
She was calling his name before she knew it. A powerful orgasm
gripped her and she seemed to lose all conscious thought. Alex came
with a lustful growl. His explosion sent new shivers of pleasure
through her. The release left them spent.

“
Dinner at Savoie’s. You
pay,” he panted.

“
Worth it,” she said in a
raspy voice.

Later when they were in her bed,
Lanessa drifted off to sleep with nothing on her mind but how
wonderful it was to lose a bet.

***

Lanessa arrived at Jackie’s office.
The accounting firm was located in a historic building in one of
the oldest sections of Baton Rouge. Beauregard Town had been one of
the original neighborhoods over one hundred fifty years ago. A few
of the sidewalks leading to houses were still made of brick that
had been laid before the Civil War. Bright late afternoon sunshine
made the imposing three story white house gleam. Lanessa entered
the tall double doors made of cut glass. Jackie was standing next
to the reception desk talking to two secretaries.

“
Hello there. I’ll be
through in a minute,” Jackie said.

She signed three sheets where one of
the young women pointed. After a few more instructions and being
handed a stack of yellow phone message notes, she led Lanessa to
her office. Two other of her associates stopped them along the way.
One of the men, a stout blonde, seemed especially harried. He and
Jackie had a quiet conversation after which he seemed somewhat
calmed.

“
One of those days?” Lanessa
looked into offices they passed. The desk was covered with folders.
People marched around wearing serious faces.

“
And a half, girl.” Jackie
had a corner office on the first floor. She shut the door and
plopped down in her chair.

“
The price of success,”
Lanessa quipped. “Everybody with money wants Brumfield, Brumfield
and Johns to help them hold onto it.”

“
You know what? I’m so sick
of dealing with rich folks. They really do think everyone was born
to say ‘How high?’ when they say ‘Jump’.”

“
Poor, baby. You’ll have to
go on another Mediterranean cruise to recover.” Lanessa put on a
fake face of pity.

“
Okay, I get the message,”
Jackie said. “Poor girl from Easy Town makes good then
whines.”

“
Actually we just trade one
set of troubles for another.” Lanessa smiled at her. “So go on and
whine.”

“
Nah, it’s out of my system
for now. Wanna soft drink?” Jackie went to the small refrigerator
set in an alcove of her office.