Trouble with Luv' (20 page)

“Doesn't she look hot?” Kendall asked Ebony.

“She does.” Then to Opal, “How much weight have you lost?”

“Ah, give or take about eighteen pounds.”

“You go, girl! I'm scared of you!” Ebony chuckled. It felt good to laugh again. This time, it was Ebony who threw her arms around Opal and squeezed tight. “Keep at it, girlfriend. I like the new you.”

“Me, too.” Swallowed by her career, her children and being there for her friends and family, Opal hadn't even noticed that an entire year had passed without a single date. Sure, she went out with male friends and co-workers, but it was never anything serious. No more waiting by the phone for Jamal to call. She was wasting her time waiting for him to come to his senses and ask to come back home. Opal was going to get out there and see what the dating world had to offer.

After agreeing to meet for lunch later in the week, Kendall and Opal left. Ebony watched her friends get into their respective cars, and waved goodbye.

Ebony closed the door and returned to the kitchen. As she entered the room, she spotted Opal's sunglasses sitting on the counter. Ebony snatched up the glasses and sprinted back down the hallway, in the hopes of catching her best friend before she drove out of the cul-de-sac. She flung open the door, but instead of entering a wide-open space, ran smack dab into Xavier.

E
bony didn't want Xavier in her house. Didn't want him in her personal space, asking all sorts of questions, trying to get all up in her business. Her friends had cheered her up, given her the support she so desperately needed and helped to restore her self-confidence. Xavier being here would just complicate matters.

Her heart had shattered into a million pieces when Jacqueline humiliated her, and now Xavier was here to stomp on what little of her pride she had left.
I'm not going to let you hurt me,
she vowed, crossing her arms over her chest. Casting aside the advice she'd been given by her friends, she stepped back to create some distance and usher in some fresh air. “What do you want?”

Xavier stood firm. He had some hard questions for her and he wasn't leaving until he got answers. She had lied to him, maybe not point-blank, but neglecting to tell him she had once dated his brother-in-law was inexcusable. “We need to talk.” Anticipating her response, he added, “And I'm not leaving here until we get everything out in the open.”

Ebony shivered as the wind flowed into the foyer. Rubbing the cold from her shoulders, she thought of what to do next. Ebony definitely wasn't in a talking mood and she didn't want to be badgered about her past. Exhausted didn't begin to describe her emotional state, and the sooner Xavier vacated the premises the sooner she could go to bed.

“Xavier, I want you to leave.”

Pretending he didn't hear her, he closed the door behind him and slipped off his shoes. Not bothering to wait for an invitation, he stalked into the living room and sat down on the couch. Xavier waited for Ebony to join him, but when she didn't, he patted the empty space beside him. “Come here.”

Ebony didn't know if she could. Being in such close proximity of him might end up working against her. What if he tried to kiss her? Or touched her hand? Pushing his kisses and soft touches out of her mind, she stood there quietly.

“Please?” The soft pleading of his eyes did her in.

Ebony ambled into the room and took a seat. Inhaling deeply, she waited for the interrogation to begin.

“Why didn't you tell me about you and Malcolm?”

Her lips pinched. “Tell you what, Xavier? How was I supposed to know you knew who Malcolm Pleiss was?”

“You didn't know he was married?”

“No!”

“Really?”

Ebony didn't know why, but she couldn't bring herself to meet his gaze. Maybe it was because of the skeptical look on his face or the way he was studying her. Xavier was implying that she knowingly took up with Malcolm. He couldn't be further from the truth. Making no effort to hide her displeasure, she said, “Malcolm told me he was separated.”

His voice was thick with insinuation. “And you believed that?”

“There was no reason not to.” She offered an explanation before Xavier could probe any further. “Malcolm had a two-bedroom apartment on Thomas Avenue, he was available whenever I needed him and he never once mentioned his wife in my presence. I didn't even know her name.”

Ebony read the question in his eyes. “When I heard you and Jacqueline talking in the living room, I recognized her voice but I couldn't place her right away. All I knew was that she was somehow connected to my past.”

“How did you get involved with Malcolm?”

Ebony hesitated. This was the question she had been dreading. What she said from here on out would definitely change the way Xavier saw her. Thoughts of Malcolm Pleiss came creeping in, and try as she might, she couldn't shake them. Normally Ebony stayed far away from men with baggage. She didn't date single fathers. Or divorcés. Refused to give her number to men who weren't gainfully employed, regardless of how fine they were. But with his confidence and won't-take-no-for-an-answer approach, Malcolm had easily won her over. Ebony had contacted five different construction companies about renovating one of her boutiques that had suffered flood damage. On top of guaranteeing the renovations could be done after store hours so that business wouldn't be disrupted, Malcolm had quoted an estimate five thousand dollars less than his competitors. Ebony would have been a fool to turn it down. “I met Malcolm at a low point in my life. My parents had just died, I was busting my ass trying to get my business off the ground and I was living on a meager three hours of sleep a night. Every time my head touched the pillow, I had a nightmare about my parents' car accident. It was those nightmares that ultimately brought Malcolm and me together.”

“How so?”

“One morning when I showed up at the boutique looking haggard, Malcolm brought me a cup of coffee and offered his ear. We ended up talking for over an hour. He told me about the plane crash that ended his father's life and—” Ebony broke off when she noticed the harsh look on Xavier's face. His vacuous stare only added to her uncomfortableness. “What?”

“Malcolm's father isn't dead.”

Ebony felt her face pale. She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to think. “But Malcolm told me his dad died in a TWA plane crash back in 1989. He even showed me the newspaper clipping he kept in his wallet.”

“Malcolm Pleiss Sr. is very much alive. The last I heard, he was living in Vegas with a twenty-year-old showgirl.”

“Like father, like son,” slipped from Ebony's mouth. Shutting her eyes to block out the pain made it seem less real. In her mind's eye, she saw Malcolm holding her in a comforting embrace and telling her he knew what it was like to feel alone. “You're not alone, Ebony,” he'd said in a deeply tender voice. “You have me now. I'm here for you. We'll get through this together.”

Ebony shook her head in wonder. Besides being a cheat and a schemer, Malcolm Pleiss was also a pathological liar. He would say and do anything to get a woman into bed. Ebony wondered if anything he had told her was the truth.
I'll be thirty-three on my next birthday…I manage several contracting companies…I don't have any children…I love you, girl.
It was a marvel that Malcolm had the time to work with all the time he spent lying and juggling various women.

Regret filled Ebony's heart. And the more she thought about his deceit, the angrier she got. Malcolm might have regarded himself as a twenty-first-century Casanova, but he was a dirty, mangy dog in her book. “What kind of guy invents a story about his father dying just to worm his way into a woman's life? I can't believe this! He made up that whole story just to soften me up!”

“That's what it sounds like.” Xavier actually felt sorry for her. When Ebony had told Jacqueline she didn't know Malcolm was married, he had mumbled under his breath. She sounded like the typical mistress. “Don't hold me accountable for my actions. I didn't know. I didn't know,” were the first words out of an adulteress's mouth. But hearing what his ex-brother-in-law had done gave new credence to Ebony's claims. Cracking his knuckles, he pictured himself driving down to Prospect Park and paying the lowlife a visit. He didn't know his house number, but it wouldn't be too hard to find. There weren't too many Jaguars in Minneapolis and none had personalized plates that read Smokin'. Xavier shelved the thought for now. “What happened next?”

Ebony thought back to the first time Malcolm had taken her out for dinner. The man had wined and dined her to the tune of a two-hundred-dollar meal, plus tip. The pismo clam chowder and Maine lobster entrée had been the best meal Ebony had ever had. After date number one, they began seeing each other sporadically. A movie here, a dinner there. Nothing serious. Malcolm was an average looking guy with kind eyes and an easy smile, but she wasn't attracted to him. She didn't have fantasies about becoming his wife or having his babies. She enjoyed his company. She liked having someone she could talk to. Confide in. Vent to. Ebony considered Malcolm more of a confidant than a lover, so when he invited her to his thirty-third birthday party at the Marriott Hotel, she didn't think anything of it. That is, until she got to the suite and discovered she was the only guest. Swept up in the soft lights, Luther's velvety voice, and the champagne, she had allowed Malcolm to kiss her. He was in the middle of undressing her when the hotel door busted open and a hysterical woman screamed at the top of her lungs, “Get off my husband, you tramp!”

The sound of Xavier's voice brought Ebony out of her thoughts. She cleared her throat and manufactured a smile. “Did you say something?”

“Were you in love with Malcolm?”

“No.”

Xavier was shocked by her prompt response. Ebony had been struggling to answer his questions ever since they sat down, but she had responded to the last one easily. Xavier swallowed. He hoped she would answer his next question with the same speed. “Did you guys sleep together?”

Ebony took her time answering. Jacqueline had done a venerable job of seeing to it that Xavier didn't trust her anymore. The seeds of doubt had been planted and there was nothing she could do to change that. Xavier's words played back in her mind as she considered her options.
There's no one in this world I'm closer to than Jackie.
There was a slim chance he'd forgive her if she told him the only reason she'd slept with Malcolm was because he'd pressured her. Xavier had been raised in a loving, supportive and deeply religious family; she had raised herself. Cliché as it might sound, blood was thicker than water and Ebony knew this was one fight she just couldn't win. Causing a rift in Xavier's relationship with his sister was the last thing she wanted to do. “I don't want to talk about it.”

“I'll take that as a yes.”

Ebony threw her hands up in disgusted resignation. “Take it any way you want. I'm not going to dredge up my past just to make you feel better.” There was a lot more she wanted to say but she held her tongue. Everyone deserved a second chance, regardless of their past, but it was clear Xavier didn't see things that way. It was too late for them, but his eyes needed to be opened to his own prejudices. “We can't change our mistakes,” she told him. “We can beat ourselves up all we want, but it won't change anything. Yes, I'm sorry about some of the things I've done, but I wouldn't be who I am today without those experiences. I never once questioned you about your past because it didn't matter. We—”

“What do you want to know?” Xavier demanded, raising his voice. “Go ahead and ask. I don't have anything to hide. My life is an open book.”

“Your past means nothing to me. I don't care how many lovers you had before me, or how many times you've been in love, or if you used to watch porn.” Ebony couldn't resist touching him. Her fingers caressed his cheeks, and then outlined his lips. When he managed a small smile, a frisson of hope filled her heart. If Xavier could find it in his heart to give her another chance, she would make sure he never regretted it. “Baby, all that matters to me is the man you are today. Your past has no bearing on our future and neither should mine,” Ebony's voice faltered at the end and she had to stop a moment to control it. “The only thing I care about is us, right here, right now.”

Her words pierced him to the core. Ebony had a damn good point. This wasn't the first time he'd been admonished to let go of the past and look to the future. He had heard it countless times before at Jubilee Christian Center.
If anyone is in Christ, old things have passed away, and new things have come.
As Xavier reflected on the power of the scripture, he was reminded of something his great-grandmother used to say. “Don't go stirring up old ghosts,” she would warn, swaying in her wooden rocking chair, “because once you do, there's no turnin' back.” His grandmother's words made sense, but his curiosity was burning a hole in the back of his head. It didn't matter that Jacqueline was happily remarried and awaiting the birth of her first child. He loved Ebony—mind, body and soul—but he couldn't move on until he knew every single detail of her affair with Malcolm.

Xavier's mind wandered. He envisioned Ebony in Malcolm's arms. They were in a seedy motel on the outskirts of town, and the busted neon green sign flashed across her clear and radiant brown skin. She was wearing a pink lace garter set, high heels, her jet-black hair a volume of springy curls. Xavier saw Malcolm's grubby hands pawing her breasts, and then gliding down the length of her stomach. Half drunk, they tumbled onto the battered queen-size bed. Pressing his eyes shut, Xavier gave his head a good shake. He wouldn't go there. He wouldn't allow his imagination to run rampant. It would eat him up inside if he thought about Ebony's relationship with his ex-brother-in-law. But instead of turning his mind from the past, he asked, “How many times?”

It took Ebony a second to catch his meaning. She stood and walked away from the couch. “Xavier, it's time for you to leave.”

“That many, huh?”

She paused. Not long, maybe all of ten seconds. Blinking away the tears stinging the back of her eyes, she put a hand to her chest to steady the volatile beating of her heart. “Why are you doing this to me? Why are you hurting me like this?”

The sound of her injured voice made him reach for her. Hurting the woman he loved was not his intention. Xavier went to her. He found it in his heart to push away his anger, and take her in his arms. “Ebony, you know I love you, don't you?”