White Lines II: Sunny: A Novel (29 page)

She watched him crying for a while, staring at him in silence and telling herself that he wasn’t worthy of her pity. But she had eventually softened and moved her chair closer to his.

“Stop crying!” her tone was demanding rather than consoling. She shoved a few tissues into his hand. “You didn’t cry when you put all them pills in your mouth!”

Sheldon had wiped his eyes and looked at Mercedes, sadly.

“If you ever do something this dumb again, I’m never gonna talk to you. I swear, Sheldon. I will never speak to you again for as long as I live.”

He stared at her. Her mother had told her that Sheldon was medicated, so she assumed that his silence was a result of the drugs they had given him.

“Did you hear what I said, boy?”

He nodded slowly. “Yeah. I heard you.”

*   *   *

Every Sunday since then, the two of them sat together in a corner of the room, and Mercedes filled him in on all the things going on in her life that he had missed. Sheldon listened intently and Jada and Sunny watched them, grateful that Mercedes seemed to know what to say and do to get him to act right. In the hours that she visited him, Jada got a glimpse of the son she loved, and not the menace he had become.

Sunny, meanwhile, had been caught up in a whirlwind of activity. The Vintage show had been the talk of all the fashion and entertainment circles, and the print ads appeared in just about every major magazine in the months that followed. She and Olivia were constantly attending parties and their careers had both taken off. Sunny’s movie was in preproduction and she and Abe were like old friends now as they worked together to finalize the script. With all this going on, the last thing she had in mind was a ten-day vacation to sunny Acapulco with Malcolm.

He watched her staring out the window and shook his head. “You’re scared.” He stood up and started putting his shoes on.

Sunny frowned at him. “What are you talking about, scared? I’m not scared of
shit
.”

“Jenny G already agreed to stay here and watch Mercedes. She’s like a second mother to her, so you know she’s gonna make sure that she goes to school, that she eats, that she’s taken care of.”

“I know that.”

“And Jada is a big girl. She has her sister here with her, so it’s not like you’re leaving her literally by herself.” He shook his head again, convinced that she was making excuses. “You’re only backing out of this trip because you’re scared.”

“Scared of what, Malcolm? You sound stupid.”

“Scared of love.”

Sunny laughed as if the notion were absurd.

“You can laugh if you want, but I know it’s true.” He stood and faced her. “Months ago, I told you how I feel about you. Obviously, you don’t feel the same way. So I’d rather you just say that than stand here and make excuses about how Jada needs you to stay.” He laughed at how silly her excuse was. “I’m kidding myself,” he mumbled. “I might as well walk away from you now, while I still can.”

He grabbed his wallet off the night table and headed for the door.

“Stop being dramatic!” she called after him. Malcolm kept right on walking. Sunny went after him. “Malcolm!”

“What?”

She stopped in her tracks and stared at him. “Why are you making a big deal out of this? We can reschedule the trip.”

He shook his head. “No. Let’s not.”

As she watched him heading for the door, she realized that he was serious. She told herself that she didn’t care if he left, that she could have any man she wanted. But her heart dropped and she knew in that instant that she really did have love for Malcolm Dean. Despite her reservations about falling in love again, she was already gone.

“Malcolm!”

He stopped walking, his back still facing her. “What?”

She sighed. “Maybe Jada can survive without me.”

A smile spread across his face, and he had to resist the urge to jump for joy.

*   *   *

Their flight landed at Acapulco International Airport the following morning, and what a glorious morning it was! The sun stood bright in the sky while a soft breeze blew gently.

They rode in the back of a limo from the airport to their home for the next ten days: a high-rise hotel on the south end of the resort town Punta Diamante. Sunny wore a large wide-brimmed hat and a long, flowing sundress while Malcolm looked casual in a pair of khaki shorts and a polo shirt. Sunny wasn’t sure why she was annoyed by the sandals he wore, but then it occurred to her that Dorian would have never been caught wearing shoes as corny as those. She pushed it to the back of her mind and adjusted her sunglasses on her nose.

They arrived at their hotel and checked into a luxury suite. Sunny had to admit that now she was glad they had come. The moment the plane had started taxiing down the runway it felt as if a weight had been lifted from Sunny’s shoulders, one she hadn’t even known was there until then. The weeks of helping Jada deal with Sheldon’s rebellion, modeling for Vintage, partying with Olivia and working on the film with Kaleidoscope had taken a toll on Sunny, and she was relieved to be far away from it all.

They unpacked, immediately put on their swimwear, and headed down to the beach. Malcolm could barely keep his hands off Sunny in her tiny, white string bikini. She giggled as he scooped her up and ran into Acapulco Bay, tossing her onto a wave. Sunny swam out a little farther and Malcolm followed. They splashed and played in the water, laughing so hard that they had to stop to catch their breath. The beach was crowded with beautiful people, yet Sunny and Malcolm kissed and felt each other up, rolling together in the surf as if no one was around. Then they frolicked and ran along the sand, stopping at a beach bar to have a drink.

Sunny smiled at Malcolm, feeling more relaxed than she had for months. “I’m glad we’re here.”

He smiled back, feeling the same way. “You should let me steal you away more often.”

“I might just have to let you do that.”

They spent the rest of the afternoon snorkeling, watching the locals cliff diving, and enjoyed a boat tour where they saw sea turtles, cave rock formations, sea mountains, and even an underwater statue of the Virgin of Guadalupe. They ate lunch by the shore as the sun set, and Malcolm stared at her as if he had never seen a woman more beautiful.

“Come on,” he said. “Let’s go back to our room.”

Sunny smiled, knowing what he had in mind. “I want to go dancing. We can get freaky later on.”

Malcolm laughed. “Here’s what we’ll do.” He drained his glass. “We’ll go back to the room and get freaky
now.
Then we’ll go have dinner, do a little dancing and then…” He smiled a mischievous grin. “We’ll go back and get freaky some more.”

Sunny grinned, as well. “Let’s go. Last one back to the room is a rotten egg.” She took off running and Malcolm ran after her laughing.

They showered together and cleaned all traces of saltwater off each other. Malcolm licked her neck, her collarbone, ran his lips along the length of her back. Sunny felt breathless. He turned the water off and carried her to the bed, laying her across it, her body still dripping wet. Sunny wanted him, but he teased her first, licking her breasts and fingering her kitten until she was dripping internally as well. He laid his head between her thighs and ate her until her legs quaked and she cried out so loudly that he half expected hotel security to come knocking. As he rose to mount her, she was in such a state of ecstasy that she accidentally kicked him in the face.

“Owww!” he hollered, holding his nose.

“Oh my … I’m sorry, baby.” Sunny felt terrible, but the whole thing was so unexpected that she burst into laughter.

Malcolm followed suit and collapsed onto the bed beside her in hysterics. Sunny calmed herself after a few minutes and kissed his nose, apologetically.

“Aww, baby, I’m sorry. Let me make it up to you.” She kissed his chin, his neck, and traced a trail with her lips as she went farther and farther south.

Malcolm thought he must have died and gone to heaven as she took him into her mouth and caused her name to flow slowly from his lips.

*   *   *

Two hours later, they sat together at a restaurant, feeding each other and stealing tender kisses between bites. It was clear even to people who had never seen them before that the two were in love, although Sunny had still not uttered the words.

Malcolm traced his finger down the length of her face, brushed across her soft lips and shook his head slowly.

“What?” she asked.

“You must be the most gorgeous woman in all of Mexico.”

She blushed, and thought to herself that he was the only man who had made her feel like a little girl since Dorian died. “Keep talking like that and I might have to suck your dick again.”

He laughed loudly, attracting the attention of couples at nearby tables. Even though he was growing accustomed to her brash sense of humor, she still managed to catch him off guard with her comments.

Up-tempo music played lightly in the background and Sunny snapped her fingers to the beat. “Let’s go dancing! I feel like busting loose!”

Malcolm summoned the waitress, paid the check and they stepped outside and got a taxi, plentiful in this tourist town, to take them to the north end of town. Malcolm had been told that there were all-night discos in that area. The driver helped them into the car and off they went, looking out the windows at all the merriment in this high-energy party town. It was after midnight and the fun seemed to be just getting started.

They arrived at the strip littered with dance clubs and decided to check out one called Roja.

As soon as they stepped inside, they were swept up in the music. A live band had everyone on their feet and the singer’s melodic voice pulled them both toward the dance floor. They danced until they were sweaty and breathless, applauding along with everyone else as the song came to an end and the band began a new one.

Malcolm had to use the bathroom, so Sunny went to the bar and ordered a tequila sunrise. As the bartender went to make her drink, a handsome Mexican stranger appeared at her side, smiling at her.

“Hello,” he said. “You are beautiful,
morena
.”

Sunny smiled, thanked him, and sipped her drink.

“Do you want to dance?’ he asked.

Sunny saw Malcolm headed their way and shook her head. “No thanks,” she replied politely.

“Come on,” the handsome stranger urged, smiling at her. “Just one dance.”

Malcolm saw the man standing beside Sunny; saw, too, that she was looking uncomfortably over the man’s shoulder as Malcolm approached. Casually, he sidled up beside them.

“You are the star for the night,” the man was saying. “I want to twirl you around.” The man was slurring his words ever so slightly and was clearly drunk. The bartender delivered their drinks. Sunny sipped hers nervously as the stranger reached to pay for them.

“Trust me. You don’t want to twirl
her
around,” Malcolm spoke to the man, looking him square in the eyes. “She likes to kick dudes in the face when she’s finished coming.”

Sunny’s laughter came so suddenly that she spat her sip out all over the bar. She was embarrassed and apologetic as Malcolm laughed and the stranger frowned, confused.

Malcolm tossed a twenty on the bar for Sunny’s drink and pulled her toward him, his hand palming her ass. He ordered a drink, too, and watched as the stranger finally got the hint and took off.

“You’re crazy, you know that?”

He nodded. “Crazy about you.”

Three tequila sunrises later, they were both tipsy. Sunny had to pee, so she left Malcolm at the bar and found her way to the ladies’ room.

Squatting over the toilet because she was wary of germs, Sunny pissed like a racehorse. She had a wad of toilet tissue in her hand as she waited for the steady stream to cease its flowing from within her. The bathroom had been empty when she entered, but she could hear two women come in now, speaking in hushed tones. Sunny listened as she wiped herself. She was fluent in Spanish so she understood the ladies’ conversation.

“Hurry up!” one lady rushed the other. “We only have a few minutes!”

Sunny was just about to flush the toilet when she heard the sound of a long, sustained sniff. She froze, familiar with that sound. She wondered for a moment if it was her own longing for cocaine that had her imagining things. But as she emerged from the stall, she saw that her ears had not deceived her. Two Mexican women stood at the sink, one with white powder on her nose. They both looked startled by Sunny’s sudden presence in their midst.

Quickly, the shorter of the two women moved to put away her stash.

“No! Wait,” Sunny urged. She spoke to them in Spanish, and they seemed surprised by this. She gestured toward her nose and the taller one wiped the powder from hers. “Where can I get some?”

Scared, the two women moved toward the door hurriedly. Sunny blocked them, her eyes desperate. She dug around in her purse until she found her driver’s license. She held it up for their inspection, explained that she wasn’t a cop, that she was just an American girl on vacation and she wanted some
yeyo
, that she would pay them if they would help her get her hands on some.

“Please!” Sunny hoped that they would see how desperate she was. She had told herself that she could survive for ten days without getting high, and she had enjoyed her first day in Mexico with Malcolm. But she knew that some coke would make the vacation far more bearable. It could mean the difference between her having a good time and having a great one.

“No
policia
?” the tall one asked.

Sunny shook her head vigorously. “No!”

The tall one seemed satisfied. The longing on Sunny’s face had convinced her. She reached into her bag and pulled out a tiny plastic bag of cocaine. Holding it out to Sunny, she sized her up. Seeing her American driver’s license had already told her what she needed to know.

“Fifty doh-lars. U.S.!” She was suddenly speaking English, albeit heavily accented.

Sunny frowned. She knew that what she was being offered was worth twenty bucks at best, but she was in no position to be choosy. She handed the woman the money and took the coke in exchange. To show them that she wasn’t a cop, she took some out of the baggie and snorted it right in front of them. Both women visibly relaxed then.