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Dumped!
☺♥☻
A Letta Storm Novella
By
Dee Dawning
Copyright © 2010 Dee Dawning
Smashwords Edition
Dedication
Dumped! is dedicated to the proposition that Love knows no boundaries.
That said, I hope my readers, old and new, have as much fun reading Dumped!' as I did writing it.
Chapter One - Dumped
"Good afternoon, Hollywood Cosmetic Treatment Center, The Stars Best Secret."
"Hi Bernine. This is Lila. Is my hubby there?"
"Hello, Mrs. Patterson. He's not here. He left for lunch about noon, like he always does."
"Really? That's odd. I'm here waiting for him at the country club. We were supposed to meet here for lunch forty-five minutes ago, but he called me a half hour ago and…"
Whoa! You better watch what you say to the receptionist.
"Oh well, I'm sure he'll be along soon. Thank's Bernine."
"You're welcome."
If he left an hour ago, why'd he call and tell me he'd be a half hour late, because his appointments ran over. Hmm. Something fishy is going on here.
"Waiter?"
The handsome, young waiter came over wearing a smile. "Yes ma'am. Are you ready to order?"
"Not yet. Would you take this wine? I think I'd like something stronger. Bring me a naked lady."
He smiled and saluted. "Yes ma'am. One naked lady coming up for the pretty lady."
I smiled as he walked away. Nice ass, too.
Lila!
Sorry.
I didn't know whether to be worried or mad when Lamar failed to show. After waiting an hour and a half, I gave up and headed home in my Cadillac Escalade. When I got home, my day went from lousy to ghastly. Lamar stood outside with our friend and lawyer Daniel, directing movers as they loaded furniture, boxes and clothes—my clothes—into a moving van.
He'd kept me waiting for almost two hours while he…what is he doing? Moving my things out of our house? I was pissed! I revved the engine and drove the car, up over the curb across the sidewalk onto the lawn, screeching to a halt a couple yards from my husband and Daniel.
I should'a ran the 'son of a bitch' over, but I didn't know what he was doing yet. Daniel leapt away, while Lamar, acted as if I wasn't there. I jumped out of the car, slammed the door and stormed up to Lamar, screeching, "What the fuck is going on?"
"Hi Lila," Daniel said.
My husband turned to Daniel and growled, "Do it!"
An, aw-shucks, embarrassed look formed on Daniel's face as he turned to face me. He reached inside his coat pocket and pulled out some papers. "Lila, you and Lamar are both friends of mine, but as Lamar's attorney, I have to do this."
I glared at him. "Do what?"
His hand held the papers out to me. "Serve this divorce petition to you."
* * * *
Lila crumpled to the ground like a marionette whose strings had been severed. I glanced at Lamar. "I told you." I knelt down beside her. "You're the doctor. Aren't you going to do something?"
He shrugged. "She fainted."
I pressed my fingers and thumb to the inside and outside of her wrist. Thank God, she had a pulse. I gazed up at Lamar.
"Well?" he asked.
"She has a pulse."
"She'll be all right."
I pursed my lips to the side of my face. "No thanks to you."
"Since you're so concerned for her wellbeing, keep an eye on her, will you? I have to go."
I nodded. "What you did was cruel, humiliating and unnecessary. I could have had her come into my office and explained everything."
"I wanted her to know the break was irrevocable. It's done and I gotta go. Caviar is expecting me."
I watched as he turned and walked to his shiny white Hummer. It was obvious Lamar's newfound fame as cosmetic surgery to the stars had gone to his head. This was not the same man who had been my friend in college.
* * * *
To my surprise, I woke up on the living room divan. Daniel held a cold, wet compress to my head. "Are you all right?"
I forced my eyes to focus on Dan's smiling face. "I'm too stunned to know."
He scratched his head. "Lila, you are my friend and I want you to know serving you a divorce petition was the worse thing I could think of. Unfortunately, Lamar is my client. I had to give you that petition. It was my job."
"Don't remind me," What a slimeball Lamar is, having a close friend hand me divorce papers, in the front yard, while my belongings are being hauled off to God knows where. "Where is the son of a bitch?" I snarled.
"He went to see his girlfriend."
I jerked upright. "Girlfriend? That's what this is about? He torpedoes my life, I faint and he marches off to see a girlfriend?"
The empathy in Dan's eyes was understandable, but I found it offensive. The last thing I needed at this point was him feeling sorry for me.
"I wish I could explain what he's doing to you but I can't."
My mind spun like a dervish. I was in shock. After seven loyal years of marriage, this. "I busted ass for five years to put my snake of a husband through medical school and this is how he repays me." I sighed. "I guess I never knew him."
"He's changed. Success has made his head swell. This is tough, but in the end you'll be better off without him. I've known you both a long time and I always felt you were the better person."
"Thanks Dan." I hugged him, but felt dizzy, so I lay back against the armrest. "I'll bet you'd never do anything as seedy as that."
Dan's baby blue eyes looked conflicted. He opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, but seemed to change his mind.
I pursed my lips. "Humph, I should've married you."
His eyes widened. He fidgeted and once again acted as if he would speak, but he remained silent.
Realization of what was happening slammed to me. I began to shake. "What am I going to do? I have no money, no job, no place to live."
Dan stroked my forehead. "You have your old condo in Pasadena."
"It's rented out."
"Not anymore. Lamar wouldn't renew the lease and kicked the tenants out. That's where your things are being delivered."
I held my hands up. "That's fine, but I still have no job, or money."
"You'll get money, too. Don't worry."
"When? How much?"
"I'll explain it all to you, but I have a question."
"What?"
"Under the circumstances you couldn't have kept working at the medical office, but how come you quit working there?"
"That was Lamar's idea." I rolled my eyes. "He decided, about six months ago, the practice was doing well enough, that I should stay at home and join charities. He said it looked bad for me to work there as if we were barely maki…" I paused while an epiphany took shape in my mind. "Hey! You don't suppose he wanted me out of there so his philandering ass could fool around with impunity, do you?"
Dan shrugged. "I wouldn't doubt it. He met his girlfriend three months ago."
"What an asshole. And since I stay home now, I planned to have a baby."
"Thank your stars, you didn't."
I shook my head. "Getting pregnant would've been a project. We were down to having sex once every two or three weeks. How come you're here, anyway? Won't your asshole client get mad at you for comforting the enemy?"
"He asked me to make sure you were all right. Besides, I wanted to. You're one of my favorite people."
"Aw, that's sweet." I sat up, embraced him and my pulse sped up. I always liked Dan's looks—dreamy light blue eyes, lean handsome face and long sandy brown hair with sun bleached highlights. He'd asked me out when we first met. I wanted to do it, but it seemed so risqué back then, going out with a white man. I knew my parents would have a fit, so in the end I chickened out.
What are you thinking? He just handed you a divorce petition. He's your future ex-husband's smarmy lawyer. He's the friggen enemy.
No, he's not. He's Daniel, my friend. True he introduced me to asshole, but I asked him to. "What now?"
"I'd like to talk to you."
"We're talking now."
He glanced around. "In a more comfortable setting. Why don't we go the condo? You could tell the movers where you want everything and then we could talk."
"All right. Do you remember where it is?"
"Sure. Karen and I used to hang…" Dan blanched. "I'll meet you there."
When I got there, the three movers were leaving. They'd set the furniture in acceptable locations. But a dozen or so boxes needed to be unpacked and my clothes had been thrown in a heap on the queen sized bed. I hung some of the clothes in the closet, set the rest in the dresser and began to unpack boxes. It was hard to swallow—while I settled into the home Lamar and I had shared for five years after marrying, he was off to see his girlfriend—most likely fucking like bunnies. There had to have been signs. How did I miss them? Am I that obtuse?
Dan showed up to help and we finished by five-thirty. I was tired, but on edge.
"I'm hungry. How about you?"
After what happened, food was the last thing I wanted, but I felt like having a drink or two or five or ten. "Sure, as long as they serve alcohol."
He laughed. "All right. You pick and I'll buy."
I picked Gringo's Cantina—a popular restaurant and lounge near the condo. Lamar and I, usually in the company of Daniel and his ex-fiancé, Karen, used to visit Gringo's almost every week.
Daniel asked to be seated in the lounge, and we were escorted to a booth. Before Dan could open his mouth, I said, "I'll have a naked lady."
His brow furrowed. "You don't want a margarita? You always ordered a frozen margarita when we came here."
"I know, but I had a few naked ladies at my aborted lunch with Lamar this afternoon, so I don't want to switch."
He ordered a naked lady for me, a margarita on the rocks for himself and nachos for both of us. When the waiter left, he turned to me and took my hand in both of his. "Since Lamar is my client, I have to be careful what I say and do, but I think what Lamar did sucks."
"That's sweet of you to say." I leaned over and kissed his cheek.
After the drinks and nachos arrived, Daniel ordered fajitas. When he looked for me to order, I set the empty martini glass down. "I'm not that hungry, but I'll have another naked lady."
He arched his eyebrows. "Are you sure? You're not that big and those are strong drinks on an empty stomach."
"Please, I'll have a bite of yours and some nachos."
When the waiter left, I asked, "I understand why you couldn't tell me, but how long have you known about Lamar and this other woman?"
To my surprise and pleasure, Dan rested his arm around my shoulders. "Lamar asked me to prepare this divorce petition on Monday, four days ago. That was the first I'd heard of her and I swear I was every bit as shocked as you."
"What's her name? What does she look like? Where did he meet her? What does she do?" I signaled time out. "Never mind, I don't even want to know."
By the time the nachos arrived, I was ready for naked lady número tres. "I'll have another."
Daniel flashed a cross look. "Bring the lady another…naked lady."
I dabbled on the nachos and ate a tiny bit of Dan's fajitas, but I didn't have an appetite. Dan told me how Lamar planned to take care of me by paying off the condo, giving me a cash settlement of a measly two hundred fifty thousand dollars and paltry alimony of two thousand dollars a month. I needed another naked lady. While naked lady número cuatro was on its way, Daniel went on. "Lamar is doing a reasonably good job of compensating you for seven years of marriage and hopes you won't get an attorney of your own. Nevertheless, as a friend, I advise you to seek competent counsel."
I waved my empty glass in my hand. "Can I have just one more? Please."
"I know you don't drink a lot, aren't you getting the least little bit tipsy?"
By getting tipsy, if he meant seeing double and slurring my speech, I was there. "Yeah, a little, but you have to admit dis has been an extra-aordina-ary day in the life of Lila Patterson, soon to be Lila Landers again."
He laughed. "All right, one more, but that's it. At least you don't have to drive home."
I pursed my lips to the side. Daniel and me at home…alone. Woowee. "Dat's right. I have my white knight to drive me home and…tuck me…in."
Daniel gazed at me and arched his eyebrows.
When naked lady número de cinco arrived, I blurted out, "Have you seen this bish?"
He nodded. "Lamar showed me a picture."
I frowned. "And?"
"She's young and pretty, but no prettier than you and at twenty-eight, you're not exactly a has-been."
That made me feel good. I reached out and cupped his chin with my fingers and thumb. "Baby, do you still think I'm the best looking black woman, this side of heaven."
"Lila, even though it's been almost nine years since I said that, you have grown even more beautiful. I think Lamar is making the mistake of his life."
My eyes teared up and pain stabbed across the bridge of my nose from trying to fight off tears. "Then why?"
He shrugged and stuck his hands out, palms up. "Trying to recapture lost youth. Stupidity, I don't know."
Daniel dropped his hand high on my thigh, and a pilot light ignited in my core. "I don't s'pose you know what this home-wrecker does?"
He looked away and took a long sip of his margarita.
I prodded, "Do ya?"
He turned his face to me. "She's a stripper. But he's going to make her quit."
Shocked, my jaw dropped and I'm sure my eyes rounded.
"She's going to UCLA. She's studying pre-med."
"I gotta see this. Whats her name? Where's she work?"
He scratched his head. "I'd rather not say."
I took his hand and lifted it to the table. Holding it, our caramel and white fingers entwined, I stressed my wishes. "Well, as my friend, I'd rather you told me."
Daniel took a deep breath. "Her name is Cybil, but she goes by Caviar. She performs at The Hot Spot!"
"Thank you. That wasn't so hard was it?"
He sighed. "I guess not."
"When does she work?"
He shook his head slowly then lowered it digging his fingers into his scalp. "Nights, six 'til two."
"Silly me, I guess she'd have to work nights, if she goes to school during the day. And I'll bet, since this is Friday she's working right now."
He shrugged. "Probably."
I nudged his arm with my elbow. "Could you let me out, please?"
His brow furrowed. "Where are you going?"
My smile was as innocent as I could make it under the circumstances. "The ladies room."
He eased out and I slipped past him.
After freshening my appearance, I returned and grasped his hand. "C'mon."
He jerked it away. "What?"
I grabbed his hand again. "We're going to The Hot Spot."
He pulled it away, again. "I can't. Lamar might be there, and he'd see us together."
I was tipsy, but determined. I stomped my foot and crossed my arms. "Fine, I'll catch a cab." I retrieved the phone from my handbag and dialed information. "Yellow Cab, please."
As the number began to ring, Daniel rose, took the phone, and canceled the call. "I'll take you, but we have to be careful. If Lamar is there, we can't let him see us."
Chapter Two – The Hot Spot
It took fifteen minutes driving to the industrial part of town to reach The Hot Spot. Daniel turned into a driveway alongside a well-lit building, which featured a neon sign with animated letters that blinked and flashed, "The Hot Spot." In smaller letters below, the sign read 'All Nude Cabaret.'
Shifting in my seat, somewhat surprised, I inquired, "The Hot Spot is all nude?"
"Apparently."
A sign on the door read, "Amateur Strip Contest Tonight. Win $1,000."
Daniel quipped, as he held the door open for me "Don't get any ideas."
I laughed in falsetto. "Very funny."
I'd never been to a topless, let alone a nude club before. I suppose, technically, the only difference was the performers took off their bottoms as well as their tops in a nude club, but that was a huge difference to me. I'd flashed my breasts once in college and didn't think too much of it…but less than a handful of men had ever seen my vagina and only my estranged husband had beheld it in detail.
Inside of the club was dark. To our right set a cashier cage. Above the cage was a sign. Membership for Men, Twenty Dollars. Membership for Ladies, free. All drinks free for Ladies. Daniel pulled a hundred dollar bill out of his wallet and slipped it to the cashier.
Ignoring the leering men who'd turned around to check out the new arrival—me—I scoped out the place. Two performers were on the stage and wore only six inch platform heels. A barely perceptible scent of perfume, cologne with a hint of sex tinted the air and teased my darker nature. I inhaled the very subtle aroma and glanced at Dan.
It became apparent the bikini clad waitresses doubled as strippers when one ascended a staircase to the stage. Other stripper/waitresses, nude or nearly nude, danced in front of, or straddled customers grinding their bottoms into the customer's laps and one girl, her back to me, knelt before a man her hands on his buttocks. My stomach did a dippsy doodle, but, to my consternation, my core was warm and getting wet. Another peek at Dan reassured me.
The customers, mostly men, behaved, but a few around the runway, which jutted into the audience, were rowdy. A permissive, anything goes atmosphere pervaded the nude club. Abruptly, I felt very much out of place.
I glanced back toward Daniel.
The cashier gave him a card to fill out, along with his change.
"What's the card for?" he asked.
"To join. We're a private club, otherwise you could only get non-alcoholic drinks."
Dan filled out the short application and signed. "There, what can I get now?"
The man shrugged. "Anything you want."
I heard the exchange and didn't doubt what he said. Dan's presence comforted me. I searched for a vacant table or booth. It was time to enter this den of hedonism.
Daniel grabbed my hand. "Let's go." He hitched his chin to my left. "A couple is leaving that booth over there."
When we got there, the woman scooted out and came toward us, while the man slid back in. As the mildly attractive dark haired woman edged by us, her companion, a nice looking red-headed man stared at us. "Yes, can I help you?"
Daniel tilted his head left and stuck his hands out to the side. "Sorry, we thought you were leaving."
"Oh, I got you." He took a swig of his beer and waved a hand toward the vacant part of the booth. "My girlfriend had to leave because she's next. You can sit with us, if you like. There's plenty of room."
Dan nodded. "Thanks, we'll do that." He nudged me toward the seat.
I slid in.
Dan slipped in beside me as the man offered his hand. "My name is Chris, but my friends call me Deuce."
"I'm Lila and my friend is Danny." I'd never called him that before. I liked it.
Deuce waved at Dan. "Good to meet you both. Are you here for the contest, too?"
I narrowed my eyes. "Contest?"
"Yes, the amateur nude contest."
I smiled. "No, I'm just here to see what one of these places is like."
"Phew! Glad to hear it. Terri doesn't need the competition."
A long fingered hand with stiletto tipped nails set a cocktail napkin down in front of me. A child-like voice, introduced herself, "Hi, I'm Caviar." and asked, "What can I get y'all?"
I gulped. Caviar? The home wrecker? Slowly, I turned toward the source of the question. This was no child. Caviar was a buxom, 'Barbie doll' type wearing a miniscule string bikini.
Deuce straightened, raised his brow and quipped, "Well lookee here. I'd tell you but you'd probably slap my face."
She laughed. "I hear it all the time, but you're kinda cute."
"And you're hotter than hot. You're bitchin'."
She smiled then looked at me. "Ma'am."
"I'll have a naked lady."
Her laugh sounded like a shriek. "For a lap dance? There sure are plenty of them around here. Which one caught your fancy?"
She's going to med school huh? Good luck asshole. "No, the drink, naked lady. It's a type of martini."
Her dull eyes opened wide as did her mouth. "I neva heard that one before. Sorry."
As Danny ordered a draft beer, a tall, black man strolled our way. It was Lamar, the snake. I ducked back hoping Deuce could block his view of me.
Fortunately, he never looked at us, because he only had eyes for his woman-child, and when he passed beside her, I heard the sound of a crisp slap strike her behind.
"Ow!" She jumped and turned around, rubbing her well rounded ass. With half a smile on her face she demanded, "What'd you do that for?"
His laugh was playful. "Baby, you had that sweet ass jutting out, blocking half the aisle."
My jaw tensed, as a slow burn coursed through me.
She wagged her forefinger at him. "You just wait. I'll get even later."
I was so pissed that if I'd had a gun, Lamar would have gotten his brain air-conditioned.
He laughed. Continuing on, he quipped over his shoulder. "Looks like she'll be wearing out my tongue tonight."
"Damn straight!" she spun back to us. "Sorry, that's my boyfriend. We're engaged. We're getting married as soon as he gets rid of the roaring bitch he's married to."
Roaring bitch? I grit my teeth and tried to ignore that ignoramus, but like a masochist my traitorous ears wouldn't stop listening. There was murder in my heart. If I could have put a contract out on the pair of them, right then, I would have paid up to a million dollars. On credit, of course.
"He's a big time plastic surgeon. That's how I met him. At his office. Well, actually I met him here when I was on stage, but that's a long story."
No, no, a thousand times no. I don't want to hear it. But my turncoat ears did, and they convinced my mouth to say, "I'd like to hear it."
Her eyes brightened. "You would? It's pretty naughty."
I forced a smile. "Now, you really have me curious."
"All right. We make most of our money from tips, so when I'm up on the stage I spread my legs for the gash hounds. Men get very generous when they see pussy. In the days when I had sex for fun, I would give it away, and get nothing except pleasure for it, but I wised up. My pussy is a commodity. No one sees between my legs without big bills.
"I'm not supposed to let customers touch me, but I make exceptions. Under a ten, I just smile. For a saw buck, I cup my breasts, stoop down and spread my legs for a clear view of my puss. For a double saw buck, I do the same thing, but take the mystery out of Caviar by parting the folds with my fingers.
For a fifty I go even further. I sit down right at the edge of the stage, knees bent and legs spread. I make eye contact, roll my tongue over my lips and hitch my head down toward my twat. I splay the folds and he gets to lick my snatch and clit."
My turncoat mouth wouldn't shut up. "Is that what your fiancé did?"
"Close. He held up a Ben Franklin, folded it several times until it was the size of a quarter, and holding it between two fingers, shoved it deep up into me. I placed my hand over his to hide what went on and let him move his fingers around inside me for a few seconds. After enjoying about a half minute of being fingered, I pulled his fingers out, put them in my mouth and sucked my juices off."
Deuce piped in, "I'd like to do that baby."
She ran her long fingers across Deuce's cheek and smiled at him. "You come back when my boyfriend's not here and I'll give you a lap dance you'll neva forget."
I cleared my throat, "A'hem. You were saying?"
"Oh yeah. My fiancé, Lamar is his name, did that three nights in a row. On the fourth night he slipped a note inside me. It said, 'The bearer of this note is entitled to a free breast implant. Doctor Lamar Patterson.' So I went in for a free breast implant. Of course, he got to fuck me several times in his office, so it wasn't entirely free, but I dug it and I dig him. And I really dig my new breasts."
Caviar, or Cybil, or whatever her name was, pulled her bikini top off and the eyes of the men on both sides of me bugged out.
Deuce reached out and started kneading her right breast.
"What do you think?"
Deuce mumbled, "Fanfuckingtastic."
My traitorous mouth lied. "Very nice." Actually, they reminded me of two balloons blown up to the verge of popping.
"Thank you. You're very nice."
For a roaring bitch.
"You might want to go see Lamar. You look like you could use a little boost topside."
I ignored her little dig.
Danny leaned over and whispered, "Did you see the rock on her finger?"
My gaze shifted from her boobs to her left hand. The diamond on her ring must have been six carats. My disloyal hand reached down and lifted her hand for better viewing, so my treacherous mouth could ask, "Is this from your fiancé?"
Her smile was as wide as the runway on which she plied her trade. "Yes, it was wrapped in yesterday's Ben Franklin."
I'd seen and heard about all I could stand. The betrayal of my husband was total and unconscionable. Before I stood up to leave, I heard a bit more of the outlook, my future ex was about to endure at the hands of this bimbo.
"Lamar wants me to quit here but I don't know. I just love the way the roosters ogle my curves and the way their eyes glaze over when I spread my legs and show off the goodies."
Deuce cooed, "Yeah baby, spread them long hot legs."
She ran her fingers through his red hair, "You are so cute. You come back next week when it's slow and I'll give you a very special, all nude lap dance."
I elbowed Danny. "I've seen enough. I'm ready to go."
Deuce whined "Oh, you're leaving. Terri will be up shortly."
"Yes, I'm sorry, but I have to go. I just remembered I forgot to feed the goldfish."
Caviar's eyes rounded. "Oooh! Poor little goldfish. I just adore animals. You better get going. It was nice talking to you. Do you still want me to order your naked lady?"
"What do you think?"
She shrugged. "That's why I'm asking?"
"Think about it. If I'm not here, who's going to pay for it?"
"It's free for lady's"
"Then who's going to drink it?"
"Oh."
As the valet pulled up in Danny's BMW, I palmed a ten and handed it to him before Danny could. I figured Danny had spent enough on me tonight. As he pulled out onto the street, I asked Danny point-blank. "What did you think of Cybil's boobs?"
"If I had a pin, I could have popped them."
"Then why did you stare at them so?"
"I was surprised: she pulled them out right there."
Good answer. We drove to my condo in silence. I have no idea what Danny was thinking, but I was absorbing what I'd found out. Going to The Hot Spot accomplished two things. One, Caviar confirmed my suspicions that Lamar had lost his mind. That pleased me, but the other thing I found out, I wasn't so sure about. I found myself brimming with need. The casual attitude about nudity and sex, the bawdy atmosphere, it all had a titillating if not arousing effect on me.
It was like the law of unintended consequences. Obviously, while my husband parceled out sex to me, he wasn't going without. Nevertheless, the denial of sex and the gaudy display of sex in the lecherous atmosphere of 'The Hot Spot,' had my body on edge. Though the air conditioning was on high, I was warm all over. My pulse rate was high and my panties were damp.
As he drove, I watched Danny. I'd always found him charming, attractive and almost irresistible. His looks really appealed to me, yet I had resisted his youthful advances merely because he was of another race.
I studied his long lean body. When my gaze noticed a certain bulge in his pants, my stomach leapt into my throat. I licked my lips and pictured the cause of the bulge, between my legs. Mmm, it felt so good and then I recognized why. Without realizing, my hand had slipped down between my legs, comforting my nether regions.
"What are you thinking?"
Oh my God! Did he see me?
Though I'd thought it earlier, it wasn't what I thought right then. "How I'd like to blow up Lamar's car with him in it."
"Yeah, I thought we were done for when he came by our booth."
"I know. Caviar's 'sweet ass' saved us. Danny, can I ask you a question?"
He smiled at me. "Ah so now I'm Danny, am I?"
"Ah-huh."
"What do you want to know?"
"It's been six months since you and Karen called off your wedding and broke up, I wonder if you've started dating again."
He looked over and scrutinized me. "I've been out a few times, but I haven't seen anything that caught my interest. Until tonight."
"Tonight? One of the strippers?"
He laughed. "Of course not—you."
"Me? It doesn't bother you, even a little, that I'm black?"
He shook his head. "Never has, never will."
I ruminated about what he said as we drove on. If I hadn't refused to date Danny back in college, might he be my husband instead of that snake, Lamar?
He glanced over. "Now I have a question for you."
"Yes?"
"Now, that you are separated, would you go out with me?"
"I have a confession to make."
"What?"
"I'd hoped you'd ask that."
Danny chuckled. "Is that a yes?"
He pulled into my driveway and turned the motor off.
"Yes, it's a yes? Now, I have another question for you."
"Shoot."
While I built up my nerve to ask my very forward question, he waited patiently. What if it's too forward? What if it's too soon? Should I ask him? Screw it! "I'm very mixed up right now and it scares me to be alone. Would you spend the night with me?"
His mouth dropped open a couple inches and he loosened his collar. "I don't know if that's a good idea. Like you said, you're mixed up right now, and you probably think sleeping with me will even the score a little with Lamar."
"That it would, but I'm not interested in evening the score. I'm interested in rekindling the passion I denied myself nine years ago."
He shook his head. "Maybe if we'd gone out a time or two, but this just isn't right."
I wanted him and his tented pants said he wanted me. He isn't going to deny me. "You know, it didn't start out that way, but tonight sure seemed like a date."
His warm Danny smile appeared. "It did, didn't it?"
I pulled the keys out of his ignition and held them out of his reach. When he leaned over the console and reached for his keys, I kissed him. As my tongue traced the thin line between his lips, his tongue darted out and intercepted mine. For untold seconds they danced around each other as if suspended in air, between our lips.
As I held the keys away from him, I grabbed his engorged masculinity through his trousers. He jerked, and in an instant, his mouth was all over mine, crushing our lips together. His tongue stormed my opening, swirling everywhere against the soft, fleshy inner walls of my mouth. We had kissed once, nine years ago, with such passion it had scared me. I wasn't going to let our passion scare me again.