Chapter 10

Vonni whispered against my lips, “You’re still the sexiest man I’ve ever been with. It’s been so long since we’re both been single. I just want to fuck you so bad. No need to hide, feel guilty, or rush.”

I sucked on her tongue, my hands drifting underneath her coat, feeling her naked, round flesh, and teased, “Technically, one of us is single.”

“Semantics, I need some dick. And I haven’t had good dick in a very long time.”

“Mm…so you think my dick still good?” Smiling, I slowly unbuttoned the five clasps and opened her coat wide. Yep. She was completely naked underneath except, the black high heels. Her body fuller, curvier, sexier because of the two babies she carried. “And you’re still fine as fuck. You were my weakness for so long.”

Vonni pressed her supple body against mine. “And you were mine.”

Pushing the coat off her shoulders until the material pooled around her heels, I grabbed her ample bottom and lifted her up, wrapping her legs around me, and carried her to the bed. I laid her down and hovered over her, wondering if maybe Vonni had been the one for me all this time. She had my son, and he would be my only seed. Maybe that meant something. Maybe we were meant to be, and I got caught up in who she was at the time and not who she would become. I pushed back her braids so I could see her face and smiled. “Hey.”

Her plump, red-stained lips curved displaying her one deep dimple. “Hey.”

Lowering my head, I kissed her slowly, thoroughly, sensuously, savoring her mouth. Her arms circled my neck, and she caressed the back of my head, giving me her tongue willingly. My hands slid down the sides of her body, to press her ass into my erection. I kissed down her neck, licking and tasting her sweet skin, encouraged by her moans and pleasure-driven writhing underneath my tongue as I traveled down her body. I cupped her heavy breasts, first indulging on one stiff nipple and then the other while my finger dived in and out of her dripping, slick mound, readying her for my carnal invasion. I needed to fuck impossibly hard and I had to make sure she was ready to receive what I needed to give without hurting her. When she started gyrating against my hand and groaning loudly, I reached for my wallet on the bedside table.

Her eyes drowsy with pleasure, she stopped my hand. “No. Let’s not use anything.”

I smiled and kissed her swiftly but deeply before answering, “Tonight, is about missing and needing each other and I want to protect you. If we decide to really do us again, then we can be raw with each other.”

She nodded though I saw a flash of sadness in her eyes. Wanting the passion to flow and not ebb away from us, I quickly donned the condom and raised her hands above her head with one hand and, lifted her ass with the other as I penetrated her wet walls completely and forcefully. Slamming into her over and over, the only noises were our animalistic, guttural groans and our bodies slapping against each other. I held Vonni’s wrists tight against the headboard, rendering her immobile, as she kept her legs strong and open despite my powerful thrusts, giving me free rein to use her body. I fucked and fucked until all the pent-up emotion I had inside since I first heard Kari’s voice earlier burst from within me.  Seconds after I yelled out in ecstasy, Vonni cried out my name.  Instead of collapsing on top of her, I rolled us over so she can lay her naked body on top of mine. I placed soft kisses on her face thanking her for knowing exactly what I needed until she soon fell asleep with a satisfied smile. I stayed awake long after her, wondering if I would ever be as content with her as she had always been with me.

****

Vonni prepared a celebratory dinner at her home in honor of Dominick’s victory. Although he finally lost in the Finals, he would now be ranked sixth in the county in his division of tennis. Vonni’s parents and sister and her family joined us at her home for a home-cooked meal. I grilled steaks and chicken in her backyard. Vonni made potato salad, mac and cheese, and green bean casserole. Her sister brought desserts. Kari handled drinks for the adults and the children and kept the children entertained by playing video games in the living room. All in all, it had been a wonderful day of tennis, family and without the presence of Vonni’s estranged husband, her family treated me like I was her man. Once they realized that I was committed to being a father to their grandson despite my marriage to another woman, I’d had a good relationship with her parents.  And since everyone knew about my divorce, subtle comments, and hints about us finally becoming official, abound.

Kari and I had been polite yet distant which hadn’t gone unnoticed by Vonni. We were in the kitchen cleaning after her family had gone home. Kari had taken Dom and Dallas to get ice cream. She had been surprised when I offered to help her clean the kitchen since I’d notoriously eschewed household duties most of my life. Having a housekeeper during my childhood and an ex-wife who loved cleaning, practically ruined me for being any good to a woman who expected her man to help around the home.

Vonni wrapped her arms around my waist and rested her head on my back while I washed the dishes. “Mm…I love whenever you visit, I just feel safer. Even when I’ve been with other men, including my husband, no one makes me feel as safe as you.”

Hands still in the sink water, I twisted to kiss her cheek. “So why did you and Phil separate?” I straightened back up to finish the dishes. After we had sex, we’d woke up in the wee hours of the morning, showered together, and I followed her back to the house. We hadn’t talked about a possible future or much of anything, but we had been touching each other and sneaking hopeful glances all day.

She lifted my sweater to kiss my back and though she lowered my sweater, she kept her hand underneath gently rubbing my stomach. “Why did you and Kam?”

“Answer me first.” I debated whether to tell her now or later, but I would tell her the truth of what went down with my marriage. Especially if we were going to start seeing each other again.

“I got tired of doing everything alone. He kept losing jobs and I had to stay on him about finding another one. He had absolutely no ambition but plenty of pipe dreams. He fooled me with his dreams into marriage. And though he didn’t drink often, when he did, he made me uncomfortable, because he could be mean. I’d already dealt with a man who laid hands on me before, I wasn’t doing it again, especially not with my husband.”

I placed the plate I’d been drying down on the counter. “Wait, what the fuck happened? Some man used to lay hands on you?”

Vonni tapped my stomach. “Aaron it was years ago. I was dating this guy. He was before Phillip and after you. The guy had too much to drink. We’d already been having issues and we got into argument about his baby’s mama. It got heated and he hit me in the stomach hard, and I fell against the wall, causing the mirror to fall and shatter. Kari was in town and he had taken Dominick for the weekend. Well, he happened to stop by to pick up Dom’s jacket and he heard the noise. He rushed in and knocked the guy out with one punch because he was drunk. Kari asked if I wanted to call the police. I told him I didn’t because I was done with that guy anyway. Kari told me to pack an overnight bag and take Dom and go by my mother’s and he would handle the bastard. All I know is the next afternoon, Kari told me to meet him at my house and I’ve never seen or heard from that man since.”

I pulled her next to me so I can see her face. “Why didn’t I ever hear about this?”

She glared. “You were in D.C enjoying marital bliss. I asked Kari not to tell you.”

“So did this guy abuse you?” I demanded, “Answer me, did my son witness you getting smacked around?”

Vonni snorted, “Your son? What about me? You don’t care if I used to get hit as long as Dom didn’t see?”

I waved my hand dismissively. “So, he did abuse you. Did you date other men who abused you? Did Phillip ever hurt you? Dom and Dallas shouldn’t have been exposed to that.”

She threw the dishcloth in the sink water. “You really don’t care what happens to me.”

I protested, “I do care. But you’re a grown woman, and if you’re stupid –“

Vonni’s head jerked back. “Stupid? Are you calling me stupid?”

I dried my hands using a nearby napkin. “If you stay with a fucking abuser, when you’re more than capable of taking care of yourself, then I’m sorry. I don’t know what else to call it.”

She jabbed her finger in my face. “Fuck you.”

Moving her finger away from my face, I continued, “Fuck me? For what? Because I call it like I see it. You can fuck around with your life but not with your children, especially my child.”

Vonni yelled, “Damn, Aaron. I wasn’t abused by anyone okay? That was the only time with that guy. Phil and I had crazy arguments and I’ve thrown things at him, but he never put one hand on me. I left him because he couldn’t get his shit together and I can do bad by my damn self.”

I frowned. “Then why are we arguing?”

She folded her arms. “Because you just made it clear, your concern wasn’t for me.”

I lifted her chin. “You are my concern, but Dom is a child and my concern for him will always be stronger until he’s grown. I can’t have my child in a fucked-up environment because of the men you choose to date.”

Vonni’s voice began to quiver and she removed my hand. “You can be so self-righteous. You left me here in Tallahassee all alone to raise your son and have the nerve to judge me like you never made any mistakes.”

Kari came into the kitchen. “Hey, what’s going on? I can hear you as soon as we walked up. I told the kids to go to Dom’s room and play video games.”

Annoyed that I’d managed to piss off Vonni, I accused, “How come you never told me what happened that time Vonni’s man tried to attack her? I thought you didn’t keep secrets?”

He moved closer, pleading expression. “Nothing happened okay or will ever happen. She was just confused.”

I looked at Vonni whose expression changed from anger to fear. “Confused about what?”

“Shit.” Kari stepped back. “I thought you were arguing about…about…”

Vonni hugged herself and looked away.

I addressed Kari. “What did you think we were arguing about?”

He turned worried eyes to Vonni and then back at me. “It meant nothing. She was grateful that I got rid of that guy and…she tried to kiss me.” At my thunderous expression, Kari continued in a rush, “I moved my head before she could, and she apologized multiple times. We were both embarrassed and promised never to speak of it again because nothing happened.”

Vonni took my hand and held it against her heart. “I was vulnerable, and I’d been lonely because you were living in another city with Kam, barely taking my calls. As soon as I did it, I regretted it and I apologized and begged Kari to not tell you. I thought maybe he finally did, which is why you were angry with him.”

I snatched my hand. “No, I’m just pissed because you’re the second woman who can’t seem to stay away from Kari. I’m out of here.” I shook my head at Vonni and sneered, “I can’t do this shit again. I need to say goodbye to Dominick.”

She grabbed my arm. “Wait, Aaron. I only want and love you. Always and you know that. Kari reminded me of you and how you would’ve handled that man the same way. I was missing you like crazy. It was years ago.” I shrugged her arm away.

Kari moved out of the doorway, silently as I strode toward him. She tried to snatch my wrist, but I jerked it back. “I’m not going to fight Kari again, I’m telling my son, bye.”

From behind me, she asked nervously, “What do you mean by ‘fight’ him again and I’m ‘the second woman’?”

I stopped in front of Kari whose eye contact never wavered from mine, whose hands rested by his side though I knew he would defend himself if needed. I looked at him and then over my shoulder at Vonni. “Ask Kari who his new woman and soon to be wife, if they’re not already married, is?”

Kari shook his head, his forehead deeply furrowed with lines. “Not like this Aaron.”

“Like what then? Huh? Truth is truth, right? I never told the truth to Kam for years, right? Well, I’m about, to tell the truth to Vonni just like you told Kam at Thanksgiving about my son.” I looked at Vonni dispassionately. “Kari and Kam had an affair while Kam and I were still married. She left me for him. So, you can understand why I can’t trust it when you say, you want only me.” Vonni’s face crumpled into first disbelief and then she burst into tears while I brushed past Kari angrily.

He called, “Aaron. Come on, don’t leave like this. We had a good day, and nothing has to change between you and Vonni.”

I didn’t bother to look at him and said with barely veiled contempt, “Don’t be here when I leave out of my son’s room.”

I strode down the hall and opened the door to my son and his sister yelling playfully at the game. Dominick’s wide smile immediately changed into a frown when he noticed me. “Daddy?” He immediately dropped his controller and rushed to me.

I hugged him and rubbed his head. “I have to go, I’m too angry right now to stay. But I’ll call you tomorrow. And I want to spend spring break with you. Just you and me, wherever you want to go, okay?”

“Daddy, what’s wrong? Is it Uncle Kari?”

I breathed impatiently. “It’s okay, Dom. I need to go, okay?”

Dominick held on to my waist tight and looked at me. In a couple of years, he would be my height. “Can I go with you?”

I shut my eyes to his quiet request. He’d stopped asking me that years ago because his mother would get visibly upset anytime he asked. He thought it was because she was too attached to him. I knew it was because she couldn’t fathom the thought of me and Kam raising him. I grabbed his shoulders. “If you want to live with me, say the word and I’ll make it happen. You are not responsible for your mother. She’s a grown woman. You’re still a child and I would love nothing more than for you to live with me. But right now, you need to stay here with your mother, continue being the strong, young man you’ve always been. I’ll be back soon, or I’ll fly you in to see me. Whatever you decide. But I need to go right now.”

His eyes threatened tears.

“Have I ever made a promise to you I didn’t keep?”

Dominick shook his head. “No, sir.”

“And it won’t start today.”

I kissed his forehead and reached for Dallas to join us in a hug. She scrambled up and her small arms encircled me along with her big brother. “Love you.”

Dominick said quietly, “Love you.”

Dallas chimed in, “I love you more, Mr. Aaron.”

I smiled and backed from the embrace. “Call you tomorrow, okay?”

He nodded and sat back down on his bed and picked up his controller. Shoulders and back straight, he didn’t look my way again, used to biding me goodbye over the years. I stood for a moment watching my son patiently play the videogame with his sister, who obviously had difficulty understanding the game. Their age gap was about the same as me and Kari. I rarely showed the same kind regard and patience when we were children. Maybe I wouldn’t be fleeing from Vonni and Kari right now if I did.

The living area was empty, and I could hear Vonni in her bedroom crying. Kari was gone. I closed the front door behind me, unsure if I was closing yet another door on a relationship with a woman who loved me.

*****

The early chirps of birds greeting the sun drifted into my consciousness. I slowly opened my eyes weakened by the blinding light and I shifted in my seat. It was Sunday morning, and I had no idea if Tisha would be home or if she would be home alone, but I needed to see her. She had become my calm, my comfort, my compass. After the emotionally wrought weekend I just had, I needed peace that I struggled to find on my own. So, I drove four hours to Atlanta from Tallahassee and had been asleep in the parking lot of her apartment complex for the last three hours.

Tisha and I hadn’t spoken in over a month and she had tried to reach out a few times and I ignored her still trying to sort through my emotions. I hadn’t seen her in person since the day after we had sex and she may hate that I showed up on her doorstep unannounced. Tisha may curse me or punch the shit out of me, but I didn’t care. I would beg for forgiveness, stop making sexual comments, and innuendos with her, keep it at a friendship level, whatever she needed from me to be in my life again. I just wanted no… I needed my friend back.

I picked up my cell to text Tisha and suddenly there was a tap on my window. If I were a woman, I would have screamed bloody murder the noise in the quiet morning shocked me so badly. I turned prepared to explain to security why I slept in my car and my already rapidly beating heart caught in my throat. I saw the ends of her curly hair against her pink sweater first before she leaned down to give me a gentle, warm smile. Happy to see me.

Only metal and glass stood between me and Kameron Patterson. My Kam. My first love. My wife. And for so long… my life. 

***Whew…Chapter 10 was another intense chapter***

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