Unfaithful Ties (39 page)

chapter 30

Kenneth & Lena...Atlanta Georgia

“10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1.... Happy New Year” Kenneth said to Lena.

“There
isn’t anybody else I’d rather celebrate the first day of the year 2012 with. I love you” Lena said setting a bottle of wine on a lamp table.

“Let’s enjoy this fine bottle of wine on the balcony?” Kenneth suggested.

“I’ll be right out I have to go use the ladies room”

“Don’t take to long” Kenneth said and kissed her on the cheek.

Moments later, Kenneth was standing on the terrace right outside he and Lena’s luxurious suite admiring the luminescence pinching through the twilight as the raindrops fell into the turquoise water, when she walked out on the balcony and wrapped her arms around his waist. They’d decided to bring in the New Year loving on each other and getting plenty of quality time. What happened between Vanessa and Jason had really hit home with Lena. Made her cherish her marriage a little more. Lately she’d focused more on her marriage than her sexual desires. She didn’t want to end up like Vanessa, alone, and labeled a cheating wife. Her and Kenneth had been getting along pretty good lately and they’d even made love a few times and it was good even though Kenneth still refused to go down on her.

For the most part they were a happily married couple.

“I wish we could stay here forever” Lena said, and squeezed him tight. He turned away from the chimerical vista before him and eulogized his wife’s unveiled curvy silhouette. “Woman I know that it’s dark but what are you doing out here naked?” He joked, squeezing her buttocks. “You trying to start something? Let me get you back inside. Lord knows I don’t want another man to get a glimpse of all this” He swooped her into his arms and carried her back into their suite, where he gently laid her down on the bed and engaged in arousing her with a sensual treat. He started with her toes, kissing them, one by one. Then he kissed her thighs, and smothered his face between for the first time.

Lena couldn’t believe that it was actually happening.

Kenneth didn’t come up for air until her limbs began shivering pleasurably as her hands gripped the satin sheets into her fist.

While uttering amorous sighs she felt like she was on
cloud nine, in Heaven and it were all compliments of Kenneth. “I love you Lena” he whispered, gazing into her eyes. Kenneth slid his tongue all over her body in ways that she didn’t know he knew how. It was amazing how even something as simple as a kiss on the shoulder made her lose control of her sexual utterance. He whispered the three words
I love you
to her repeatedly. Each time she felt like a balloon that had drifted to the clouds. She was high. Buzzed off of lovemaking.

She was experiencing multiple titillating spasms that’d captivated her emotions. The sensation kindling from her g-spot had paralyzed her ability to move let alone speak.

After her pussy had had enough of his tongue she coasted him over and kissed his chest, his neck, and inner thighs.  Her appetite to please him was becoming more intense ever time he groaned. She stroked his manhood, hungry to suck it and then for the first time in their entire marriage Kenneth let her go down on him. She was so excited that she stayed on her knees until they started to feel numb.

By now, they were grinding on top of the bed sheets drenching with the fragrance of great sex while the thunderstorm intensified their sex drive. They made love for countless hours, and when Kenneth finally eased out of Lena’s body it was no longer storming. Those two nymphomaniacs had screwed straight through the storm.

“Whew. That was good” Lena said exhaustedly when it was over. She rested her head on his chest. “I love you”

“I know that you do” Kenneth said, and kissed her on the forehead. “And I love you too”

CHAPTER 31

Brandi...San Antonio Texas

Spring had rolled around in no time, Brandi had lost both of her
breasts and she didn’t expect for her hair to grow back anytime soon. Depression was tugging at her nerves.

She was just getting home from another dreadful chemo session that left her wondering was she the only person feeling as though her life was living her. Some days something as simple as washing the dishes, or doing laundry was hard. The pain was nearly unbearable as it circulated through every limb of her sickened body. On days like these she wasn’t quite weak enough to quit but she felt like she wasn’t strong enough to keep going either.

And she was so sick of those sharp nauseous pains that felt like someone was stabbing her in the stomach, the burning sensations, the flushing of her skin, and just feeling helpless. Chemo was like eating rat poison in your food every day. She felt like it was killing her, slowly.

On top of the chemo, she’d received an eviction letter in the mail recently and she definitely couldn’t stand the thought of trying to move giving her circumstances but it had to be done. She needed a job. She needed to move. She needed money. So she’d decided to sell majority of the furniture in the house, since she’d be downsizing anyway. Calling her parents for money was out of the question; they were already paying for her chemo treatments.

If she had the energy she’d walk next door and give Trae a piece of her mind. He was next door living the good life while she was stuck worrying herself crazy about how she was going to feed their kids from day to day. In front of her kids she was this strong macho person that could handle everything but inside she felt like a kid that needed a macho person to rescue her.

“Mama”
Tremaine said.

Brandi could hear him walking up the stairs. “I’m in here,” She yelled out from the laundry room.

“Mr. Raymond is downstairs, he wants to talk to you”

Brandi rolled her eyes; she didn’t want to be bothered. “Tell him I’ll be down in a second.” She
didn’t want to be rude because if it weren’t for Raymond her kids wouldn’t have gotten a darn thing for Christmas. She tossed the fabric sheets in the heat cycle and headed down.

Raymond was sitting on the sofa when she walked into the living room. “Hey there Ms.
Hardnett” He smiled, getting to his feet.

“Hello”

“How are you?”

Brandi wanted to ask, how do I look? But she played nice and said. “I’ve had better days. Just trying to get some things done around the house. “

“How do you feel about getting out of the house?”

Brandi nodded. “I’m really not up for it”

“Come on, it’ll make you feel better”

“Where are we going to go? Look at me! I’m not dressed for much of anything.”

Raymond looked down at Brandi. He was sure she’d shed a few pounds since the last time he’d seen her. She was wearing a pair of athletic pants, and a red t-shirt. Her head was wrapped in a satin scarf and in Raymond’s opinion she still looked good. “You’re beautiful in anything you wear. Come with me please, I want to show you something.”

Brandi felt herself
blushing; it’d been a long time since she’d heard a man tell her she was beautiful. “I can’t, I have my kids
”
She said hoping he’d give up
.

“
They can come too”

“Exactly where are we going?”

“Somewhere that will help take your mind off of things for a while.”             

Brandi had a look on her face that said she wasn’t too sure about this.

“Come on. Trust me. You guys will enjoy it. If you continue to say no I’ll just continue coming by here until you change your mind. So you might as well just save me the trouble” He giggled.

“I guess I’ll save you the trouble” Brandi smiled. “Boys” She yelled and turned back to Raymond “Let me go and grab my shoes, we’ll be ready in a few.”

“Take your time” Raymond insisted and sat back down on the sofa.

****

Beautiful was the word that popped into Brandi’s mind the moment she saw the land. The land was abundant with pretty green grass that seemed to stretch forever and ever. She could see fruits and vegetables growing in the rich soil.  It was at least one hundred acres of land.

Even the lake caught her attention, which was strange because she’d always ignored the lake back home. Maybe it was the canoes that caught her eye.

There was a rambling ranch style home nestled under a grove of tall cool trees. Pecan and Mesquite trees were everywhere. Reminded her of when she used to pick pecans with her grandmother. Looking at them brought a smile to her face.

For some reason Brandi imagined
herself starting over on this land. She could picture herself being lost in relaxation after a tiresome day by simply sitting on the screened in porch listening to the water streaming from the creek, or reading a book, or sitting by the creek tossing bread crumbs to the ducks.

The neighbors had to be a mile away.

She could have sat there all day listening to the natural music. She was thinking that birds and crickets always make the best tune. The sound was calm and peaceful. It was exactly what she needed because up until now she’d forgotten peace existed.

The horses, cows and even the peacocks seemed to be enjoying the quiet.

“Can we go for a ride on the boat” The boys asked as soon as they got out of the car.

“Sure but why don’t you boys go and take a look around the ranch first. There is plenty for you guys to do. Go-carts and four wheelers are in the barn”

“Are you serious?” The twins asked excitedly.

“Have fun but be safe” Raymond said and tossed them the keys.

“I’ll race” Trevon said, then grabbed Trent and jetted towards the barn.

“Wait for me”
Tremaine yelled while running behind his brothers.

“Living here would be like being on vacation every day”

“I figured you’d like it. My late wife always said that this place always made her feel like she was at peace. Like she was away from the madness of the world.”

“I agree” Brandi said walking out to the lake. She picked out a few pieces of
breadcrumbs from a container and tossed them into the water. “How long have you been a widower?”

“About six years. My late wife died of cancer”

“I’m sorry”

“
Ahh don’t be. She gave me the best years of my life. She found out in the very last stage. It was nothing that the doctors could do. After two years of watching her suffer I’d made peace with the fact that she was headed to a better place. I didn’t want to see her suffer anymore. It’d become a struggle for me to watch her just melting away. I’m sure it was a struggle for her too”

“This journey is definitely a struggle.
Every single day. Some days I want to give up and die and other days I want to fight and live.”

Raymond threw a few pieces of bread into the water. “So
Mi-s-ss Hardnett” He said with emphasis on the s’s. “How has everything else been?”

“If you want to know the truth, terrible. I have so much on my mind it’s no wonder it hasn’t blown up by now.”

“Talk to me”

“I still haven’t found a job. I don’t have any help from my children’s father. I just don’t believe in going to the courts and forcing a man to take care of his responsibility so I just make sure that I do my part and I’m sure that God is going to handle him. I also got an eviction letter the other day. Shall I keep going?” She giggled.

“Well I have a decent size three bedroom apartment that’s been vacant for a while. I will rent it out to you for whatever you can afford because I can tell that you’re not going to accept it for free”

“That’s nice of you as soon as I can find a job I’ll definitely take you up on that offer.”

“What type of work are you looking for?”

“The only thing I’m probably qualified for is a job with janitorial services. That’s about all I’ve ever done, cleaning that is.”

“I’m positive that you know how to count money” He jokes. “I have a friend that is the president at First Capital Bank I could talk to him and see if he has openings.”

“Why are you always so generous to me?”

“Because you deserve a break” He said.

Brandi looked away, knowing exactly where the conversation was heading.

“Tell me a little something about you” He said.

His words pulled Brandi’s eyes back to him.
              “There is not much to know about me.”

“That’s not how it looks to me. Your eyes say a lot”

“Feel free to elaborate”

“I can tell that you’ve been hurt”

Brandi looked away and tossed more bread into the lake.

“Am I wrong?”

“You’re right. The man that I was with hurt me. He hurt me bad. In fact I think he liked hurting me. I thought it was normal because he was the only man I’d ever been with. And I got content with it, comfortable even. I made myself believe that I didn’t deserve better. That my life wasn’t going to get any better than him.”

“Brandi I would love for you to let me fix that”

She turned to him. “Fix what?”

“Your heart.”

“Please” She said smacking her lips. “The last man that tried to fix me ended up damaging me more.”

“I’m not trying to damage you and I’m not trying to fix you. I want to fix your heart because it has been misused. It has been kicked, stumped and stabbed and I want to be the man that fixes it. I’ve wanted you since the day you brought Trent into my classroom. When I saw you I could see the hurt and I wanted to tell you so bad that you don’t deserve the hurt that he’s putting you through but at the time I didn’t feel like it was my place.”

“Now is not the time for me to be jumping into anything. What do you see in me anyway?”

Raymond tossed the last bit of
breadcrumbs into the water, turned to Brandi and pulled her hand in his.

“I see a woman that has been mistreated, I see a woman that has gone through so much that she’s scared to receive compassion, scared to accept the fact that someone desires her. That someone thinks she’s beautiful. That someone wants to love her and her children, the right way”

Brandi was at a loss for words, this was the first time that she’d felt desirable in….well, it was the first time because she’d never felt desirable before.

“Raymond, I, I don’-”

“Shhh,” He said pulling his fingers to his lips. “I’m in no rush. Right now I just want you to enjoy the moment. Listen to the music of nature and relax.”

“This is a lot of land”

“More than enough land to raise a family on.” Raymond hinted. “I’ll be right back.”

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to go round up the boys and get my fishing gear”

“Did you say fishing gear?”

“Yeah we’re going fishing”

“I’ve never gone fishing before”

“It’ s a first time for everything”

When Raymond and the boys made it to the lake, they all climbed in and headed out to the middle of the lake.

“So how am I supposed to do this? I’ve never been fishing before.”