Second Time Around (19 page)

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Authors: Darrin Lowery

BOOK: Second Time Around
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Jayna got up and went to the bathroom to pee.
“Then things are worse than I thought.”
Jayna didn't like this line of discussion. She didn't like where this conversation was headed.
“Brandon, I don't understand. What's the problem?”
“Jayna, go back to bed.”
His voice was flat but stern. It was as if he were trying to warn her to back off without being too harsh with her. On most other women this might have worked. For the average woman who would be glad to have a man such as Brandon, his tone would have definitely silenced them.
 
 
Not Jayna.
No man, not even her father, told Jayna what to do. No man would challenge her in any capacity, and she not meet that challenge. His tone put her on the defensive. His tone had her instinctively put her hand on her hip and look at him in a different light.
“Go to bed? What, am I, five years old now?”
Her tone was equal to his. Her tone reminded him that they were equal. Separate, but equal.
“I don't think tonight is the night to discuss your friend.”
His voice was just a bit higher than a whisper.
“Okay, then let's not discuss her.”
Now Jayna placed both hands on her hips. Her silhouette looked more like Serena Williams before a match than it did Beyoncé.
“Fine.”
“But let's do discuss the way you just addressed me,” she said with her finger pointing at him.
From where she stood, she could hear the sigh that he let out. She could also see the muscles in his neck and back stiffen. Something was bothering him, something besides his boss's relationship with Korie.
It had been a long time since Jayna found a man who she really cared about. It had been a long time since that care, love, and admiration were reciprocated. She walked over to him, stopping just a few feet before him. He hadn't turned around or acknowledged her. Lightning flashed in the windows and the wind howled outside and still his gaze seemed transfixed on the storm outside and the weather below. She wanted to hold him. She wanted to touch him. She wanted to tell him that whatever made him upset, she could make it right.
That's what she wanted to do.
What she had to do was stand her ground.
What she had to do was make it abundantly clear that he could not simply address her, or talk to her any kind of way. Boundaries needed to be set.
This looked as if they were about to have their first argument. Although she didn't know what they were about to argue about, she knew she needed to make him understand some things. She didn't want to make the mistake that a lot of black women make and let him talk to her any kind of way. That would establish a precedent and a pattern of disrespect. Once a woman started down that path, there was generally no turning back. Jayna loved Brandon, but she would not be disrespected by any man. Not even her man.
“I don't want to talk right now.”
He continued to face the storm, but he turned his head to the side as if to acknowledge her. His statement wasn't a request or a plea. It was more of an instruction. It was as if to say, I don't want to talk right now, go away until I do. His tone was dismissive. Again, most women might have waited. Most women might have chosen to fight this battle another day. Jayna thought to herself there was no time better than the present.
“So when do you want to talk about it? Should I schedule an appointment? Or should I simply start in with this first thing in the morning?” She was cynical.
He turned to face her. She was still looking breathtaking. She stood there naked as the day she was born, and she looked flawless. Naked or not, the look on her face said that she was not to be trifled with.
Most men looking at her would have given a moment of pause.
Most men would have taken Jayna back to bed.
Not Brandon. He wanted to. But a man's pride can be a powerful thing.
She would not back down, and neither would he.
“What don't you understand about my not wanting to talk right now?”
“What I don't understand is the way that you just addressed me.”
“I don't know what you're talking about.”
“Don't you? Your tone, it was dismissive. I'm not your damned concubine or an AA or some groupie. I just want to make sure we're clear on that.”
“I never called you any of those things. You're reading too much into this.”
“Am I?”
“You are.”
“Then tell me what is bothering you.”
“Didn't I just say I didn't want to talk about it?”
“That's what your mouth says, but your body is saying something altogether different.”
“Oh, you're a damned therapist now?”
“I'm a woman; it's pretty much the same thing.”
“No, it's not. Jayna, I have a lot on my mind right now, that's all.”
“Then say that. Don't disrespect me.”
“Disrespect you? Who the hell is disrespecting you? I have a lot on my mind and I don't want to talk about it right now. I told you that.”
“Again, it's not what you said, but how you said it.”
“Jayna, I hope this isn't what I have to look forward to each time we have a disagreement.”
“It's not, if you come at me the right way.”
“Hold up! Come at you the right way, just who the hell do you think you are that I'm supposed to walk on eggshells around you?”
“You don't have to walk on eggshells, Brandon, but like I said, you aren't going to just talk to me any kind of way, either!”
“Look, woman!” He took a step in her direction.
“Look what?” She took a step forward in his direction.
They were just a foot away from one another. Again, he was taken by her. She challenged him. In every way, she challenged him. In every way, she was his equal. Even now, with being upset with her, he loved her. The things he hated most about her, he loved about her as well. He stood there with fire in his eyes. She stood there with fire in hers. Brandon was well built and was a man who could instill fear in other men with just a glance. With Jayna, she just looked at him as if he were another mountain to climb, another obstacle in her way.
She took in his Issey Miyake cologne. He took in her Delicious by Donna Karan. He looked at her flawless body, her well-sculpted abs, and her ample hips. She looked into his dark brown eyes, his smooth skin, and his ripped midsection. For seconds they stood silent, watching one another. The storm continued to rage outside, and there was one brewing in his bedroom.
He wanted her.
She wanted him.
He wanted her more than he had ever wanted anyone.
At that moment, she wanted him more than she had ever wanted any other man.
“Do we have to do this now?” he asked.
He wasn't rude. He asked. His reasons for asking were obvious.
“No. We don't have to do this now.”
Her tone was almost forgiving.
He walked over to her. He invaded her space. He looked down and she looked up. They both were poised like two prizefighters.
“But we will finish this conversation.”
“Oh, you can count on it. We will finish this conversation.”
“But not now.”
“No, baby, not now.”
He pulled the drawstring on his silk pajama bottoms. As he did, they dropped to the floor. He stepped out of them and took yet another half step forward. This time he more than invaded her space. They were pelvis to pelvis. His hands explored her backside and her arms reached up and around his neck.
They kissed.
A storm waged outside the bedroom and another waged on the inside.
He picked her up and carried her to the bed. He turned on his iPod and soft music began playing. He laid her down on the bed and began kissing her ever so slowly on her soft lips. Their naked bodies touched. Pelvis to pelvis they felt one another's heat. It took virtually no time for his manhood to ease inside her. Her vaginal opening welcomed him freely. When he entered her, they both let out a sigh. They both exhaled and felt relieved. They both felt each other's passion.
He began with slow, deliberate strokes. She ran her hands alongside his muscles and across his face. She looked deep into his eyes as he glided in and out of her. Her mouth was open as he gently and deliberately hit her spot. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the feel of him. She enjoyed his length, his girth, and the deliberate taps to her cervix.
Muscles flexed throughout her body. Her legs pulled him in further and her vaginal muscles gripped his penis like a farmer grabbing a cow's utters. Her vaginal muscles flexed. Her Kegel exercises came in handy during love play. She held him. She held him with her love, her passion, and her pussy. Her breasts were swollen with passion and her nipples were erect. She enjoyed him. She enjoyed every inch of him.
Their tongues danced with one another. He reached beneath her and grabbed her ass as he forced himself deeper inside of her. She let out a guttural groan and he let out a primitive growl. He went deeper inside of her, deeper than even he had ever gone before. He began fucking her. He fucked her like he was trying to release all his demons in his seed. He fucked her as if he were making a point. He fucked her like he was trying to leave his mark on her forever in the bedroom. Together they rocked and bucked and began to sweat. She matched his intensity blow for blow. Together, as they made love, they looked like a muscular sculpture of two people in a passionate embrace.
The bed rocked. It was a 4,000 dollar bed that had never moved before since Brandon owned it. Tonight it was rocking. Tonight it was being tested. Brandon said things he never said before in bed. He called Jayna's name and said vulgar things in her ear as he penetrated her, things that could only be said in the throes of passion. She said a few things back and together they talked so dirty and so foul that Larry Flynt would have been proud. Two hours later they came. They came and they both collapsed.
 
 
Morning came. With the morning came the aftereffects of the storm. Irreparable damage had been done. The storm left its mark on the city and both Brandon and Jayna left their mark on one another. Each had the other's scent on their body. Each was sticky from their night of passion and each seemed to have enjoyed their primitive moment. Still, Jayna couldn't help wondering what had Brandon so distracted.
Brandon got up from their bed of sin and went to the shower. He had a lot on his mind. Part of what was on his mind was contained in the envelope in the drawer of his nightstand. The other issue was about Jayna. He loved her. There was no doubting that. The question was, Could he love a woman like Jayna? He let the warm water cascade over his body. Slowly her scent left his body and went down the drain. All his muscles tensed as he thought about the conversation they would soon have. He knew Jayna. Last night she wanted him just as much as he wanted her. Now that their lust had been quelled, it would just be a matter of time before they began again. It would be just a matter of time before she came and approached him about what was really bothering him last night. He lathered up his body in an effort to wash away his thoughts, his issues. While he stood in silence with water running over him, he exhaled. He knew their next conversation would not be a kind one.
While he contemplated things on the outside, Jayna was in bed thinking about things as well. She loved Brandon, that much was obvious, but what was last night about? She understood finances. She also understood that the company's stock had taken a dip in recent months. It was a decline that coincided with Korie and Vaughn's relationship. The company was still doing well, but to a stockholder any decline in funds would be closely monitored. Jayna wondered if Korie could be distracting Vaughn. If so, those distractions could indeed be costing the company tens of millions of dollars.
Jayna thought to herself that even if that were the case, what went on between Korie and Vaughn needed to stay between Korie and Vaughn. As far as Jayna was concerned, it wasn't her business. It wasn't Brandon's business, either. She understood his concern from a financial standpoint. Personally, however, she didn't see where it was anyone's place to butt in. Besides, what did her friend's relationship have to do with her? Jayna decided that she would not challenge Brandon about her girl. That wasn't her fight. All Jayna needed to know was that everything was okay between her and her man. That was what she decided, and that was what she was going to tell him.
She got out of bed, his scent on her flesh. She made up the bed, got a bottle of water, and then walked to the bathroom. She knocked and then slowly walked in.

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