Unfaithful Ties (20 page)

“That’s gotta’ hurt to feel that way.”

“I’m not going to lie, it’s an uneasy feeling.” He said. “Sometimes I think that she’s just holding onto the years. But then there are times when I feel like she’s trying. It’s just lately all we do is argue. Parts of me
wants to try marriage counseling but an even bigger part of me doesn’t even believe that will help us.”

“I know a pretty good marriage counselor. Her office is not to far from here. My ex-husband and I visited her quite a few times.”

A crooked smiled curled on Kenneth’s face.  “And you think that she’s pretty good even though your marriage didn’t work out.”

“The therapist didn’t have anything to do with that. We’d just grown apart. Honestly, counseling is what made us realize that we didn’t belong together. Do you want her number?”

“Sure. Things have just gotten unbearable between us. Sometimes after work I sit in my car for hours waiting until I’m sure she’s fallen asleep before I go into the house, just to avoid an argument.”

“Damn, it’s that bad huh?”

A 911 dispatcher’s voice bellowed through the two-way radio. There’d been another homicide. Storm hit the lights and fled to the crime scene.

When she whipped the car into the parking lot of the low-income community, yellow caution tape was wrapped around the rundown apartment building. Concerned neighbors stood around, watching the swarm of police officers and detectives pacing in various directions. Some were snapping photographs, some searched through the parking lot meticulously, hunting for evidence, and some questioned the neighbors hoping that they’d find a witness. But in this neighborhood, Kenneth and Storm both knew from experience that no one ever saw anything. They both hopped out of the car and headed closer towards the crime scene.

Storm looked down at death, a young African American woman, mid twenties, lying on her stomach wearing only a bra and panties with a bullet hole in the back of her head. Fresh bruises filled her arms, neck, and legs.  Her panties were slightly ripped.

“What’s the story?” Storm asked turning her head slightly to her left while squeezing her fingers through a pair of gloves.

“The call came through around one-fifteen. Neighbor called it in. Said she heard tires squealing. She claims that by the time she made it to her bedroom window she didn’t see anyone. Only the girl.”

“That’s all?” Kenneth asked, kneeling down beside the breathless body. “She had to see something”

“That’s what she says” The officer that was first to get to the scene said.

“Figures” Storm cosigned. “Around here no one ever sees anything”

“Did the neighbor say whether or not she heard gunshots?” Kenneth continued.

“The only thing she claims that she heard was screeching tires.”  The officer said.

“Thank you sir” Storm said, and gave the officer a pat on the shoulder. “We’ll take it from here”

“Alright” Kenneth said pulling himself from the pavement. “We have a female victim with a gunshot wound to the back of the head. She’s banged up pretty bad. Her panties are ripped so she was probably raped. Meaning they wanted to torture her. I’m willing to bet she betrayed someone with a lot of street power. What do you think Storm?”

“I think that you’re on to something partner. This poor young girl”

“It’s sad how cruel some people can be.” Kenneth agreed, shaking his head.

“I hope you’ve had your Wheaties. This is going to be a long day”

“Yeah it looks that way
” Kenneth said. “I’m going to go talk to the witness and see what I can gather from some of these people standing around” And he walked away.

****

Meanwhile, by five o’clock Lena was walking through the doors of the Sundial dressed in a Red strapless dress that stopped right above her knees, and leopard stilettoes. Her hair flowed down her back, her makeup was immaculate, and she smelled like fresh strawberries. If eyes could eat Lena’s entire body would have been devoured the exact moment she sat down at the table. Chris eyes were locked on her.  She couldn’t determine whether the look in Chris’s eyes was lust or desire. Truthfully she didn’t care. She felt desirable again. It’d been a long time since she’d been looked at that way. Not even by her husband. All he cared about was work.

Chris lowered her head and dug a fork into her plate. “How did the meeting go?”

“Not good at all” Lena sighed. “I’ve accepted the fact that I’m going to lose everything.”

“What if I agree to help you?”

“You’d do that?”

“Of course I would.” Chris insured her grinning triumphantly.  “But it’s going to cost you something. Don’t worry it doesn’t involve money”

Lena flashed her a quick smile. She knew what Chris was getting at. “What exactly do you have stirring in that naughty mind if yours?”

Chris smiled. “I have a question for you”

“What?”

“What color panties do you have on up under that sexy dress?”

“What makes you so sure that I’m wearing panties?”

“Are you?”

“As a matter of fact I’m not.”

“Let’s cut to the chase. You came here because you haven’t been able to quit thinking about what happened between us. You enjoyed it just as much as I did and that’s why you came here without any panties on tonight?

Lena leaned across the table and whispered. “I don’t know about you but I’m willing to skip this dinner and check into a suite”

“I brought my friends this time” Chris informed her, pulling a hot pink dildo out of her purse along with a silver bullet.

“Mmmm. I can’t wait”

Chris pulled away from the table, grabbed Lena’s hand and they headed towards the elevator like a million dollars was hidden in it. “Forget dinner, the only thing that I want to eat is you” Chris said.

****

It was nearly nine o’clock by the time Kenneth and Storm made it back to the station. He was tired...and tensed
....and frustrated. Sitting at the desk he began rolling his neck in a circular motion and rotating his shoulders back and forth when he heard Storm moving in behind him.

“Gibson I think that the combination of this job and the problems in your marriage are starting to wear you down.” Storm said. She tossed a case file onto his desk. “You need a vacation”

He continued to twirl his neck. “I can’t argue with you there”

Landing her hands on his shoulders, Storm began massaging them “Damn, your shoulders are so tensed.”

“I can’t argue with that either”

Gliding her hands over the small of his neck, she massaged her thumbs into the tough knots, helping him become more relaxed. “Is this helping?”

“Mmmm” Kenneth groaned. “It sure is”

She inched right below is shoulder blades alternating between pressured kneads with the palm of her hands and deep tissue massaging. “I hope so because I don’t know what I’m doing. Your muscles are extra tight right here
” She told him.

Kenneth’s eyes were closed “
Mmmm” He groaned again. “It feels damn good to me. I can’t remember the last time I had a massage.”

How does this feel?” She whispered in his ear, lowering her hands to his lower back.

The smoothness of her voice and the warmth of her breath had turned him on. In that moment he fantasized about Storm and the things that he’d do to her if he weren’t married. Something he’d never done before.  “It feels great” He groaned. The satisfaction steaming through him and not to mention the fact that his nature was starting to rise made him realize that he had to stop her. “I think I’m good now”

“But your still so tensed” She said into his ear.

Her voice was sounding sexier. He couldn’t allow her to continue. She was turning him on, causing him to think of things that shouldn’t cross his mind.  He heard the sound “Mmmmm” creeping through his lips again. She was really getting to him now as she slid her fingers up his spine and landed her hands on his shoulders again.

Digging into his tendons she smooth out every tight nerve. “I can feel your muscles loosening up
” She mumbled, her hot breath still inches away from his ear.

“
Mmmm” He groaned more. “It does feel good”

That’s when Kenneth felt Storm’s tongue suckling his earlobe. It felt so good to him. He couldn’t stop it. The suckling continued along his neck. If he didn’t stop her now
....and soon, his dick was going to jump out of his pants. “Storm. Stop I can’t do this. “ He told her, getting from the chair. “I’m married”

“Kenneth I...I’m....”

He walked away from her rubbing his hand across his hair. “Storm as bad as I wish that things could be different. They can’t. I gotta’ go home to my wife. Sorry if I confused things for you. I should have stopped you at the massage.” He said, looking away from her.

“No need to apologize. “ She said. “Still need me to give you a lift home?”

“I’ll just drive an unassigned car home, but thanks.”

“So I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?” She said, and headed for the door.

“Good night” He mumbled.

****

Kenneth pulled into the parking space and just sat there. The ignition was still switched on but the engine wasn’t idling. He was listening to some old school R&B while smoking on a cigar and thinking about what had taken place back at the station between he and Storm. The feelings surging through him were strong. Storm appreciated him, respected him and understood him. Most importantly she made him feel like she wanted him. She gave him what he’d been missing from his wife. It was a nice feeling knowing that a woman as characteristic as Storm desired to be with him. Especially when he wasn’t so sure his wife still believed that he was the man she should spend the rest of her life with.

It was five o’clock in the morning and Kenneth was still sitting in his on-duty car. He dreaded going in the house, but he couldn’t sit out there all night. Although sleeping in the backseat of a car couldn’t be any more uncomfortable than sleeping in the bed with a woman that treats you like she’d rather sleep alone. As he switched off the ignition and swung open the door, he prayed he didn’t wake her when he got into the bed. He wasn’t in the mood for any of her nagging.

“Another late night?” Lena asked nastily as Kenneth sank down into the bed.

“Yeah. I picked up a pretty gruesome homicide case today”

“You’re really going to blame it on work. When you smell just like her?”

“Just like who?”

“Who else? You’re reaping of her perfume. Gosh, why don’t you just admit that you two are sleeping together?”

Kenneth settled into the bed. “Lena, it’s late, I’m tired and I really don’t want to deal with this shit right now okay”

She sprang up from the bed. “Fine. You don’t want to deal with this and I don’t want to deal with you. Neither do I want to sleep in the same bed as you. You lying, sneaky, cheating, dog.” Lena rushed to the closet and pulled out her luggage.

Kenneth jumped out of the bed. He scurried into the walk in closet “What are you doing?” Through his tired eyes he watched his wife as she
angrily  yanked down a few shirts off of the hangers. “Lena stop” He insisted grabbing her hands.

“Don’t touch me” She warned, and broke away then walked out of the closet. “I’m moving into the guestroom” She snatched a few panties and bras out of the chest drawer, grabbed a pair shoes, her make up kit and flat ironers and shoved them all into her luggage.

“So what we’re roommates now?”

“Kenneth we’ve pretty much been roommates every since you resigned from your damn job and chose to spend all your damn time playing Robocop. Which is the reason why I’m broke. I’ve been stuck here paying all the damn bills by myself”

“No you’re broke because you blew through the savings by making bad investments. I had plenty of money saved up. The financial issue is only half of our problem”

“Finances wouldn’t be a factor if you would have been honest about the money you’ve been keeping from me.”

“That’s what this whole I’m moving to the guestroom thing is all about. It has nothing to do with Storm. You’re mad because of the account that you didn’t know about. I hid that account from you because I know you. I know that you live above your means. I know that you’re not good with money and I wanted us to have something to fall back on. We had enough money saved up to live comfortably. My little Robocop job as you so blatantly put it has nothing to do with the reason why we are in this financial crisis.”

“Like I’ve said a million times. We were fine until you wanted to start being a toy cop.
Why can’t you be a man and go get a real job?”

“I am a man. I buss my ass every day for my family. It’s just too bad that I have a wife that doesn’t recognize it. You know you are a very smart woman but you have a stupid way of thinking. I’m tired of trying to please you. In fact I’m tired of everything. So it’s fine, if you want to sleep in the guest room go right ahead I’m not going to stop you”

“Even if you wanted to, you wouldn’t be able to stop me” She snapped, dragging her luggage out of the bedroom.