Close Quarters: A Novel (Zane Presents) (26 page)

“How long are you going to ignore him?”

“I don’t know.”

“Mel, there’s a storm outside.”

“And?”

“Don’t you think you should give him some peace of mind?”

“Since when do you care about Ellis’s feelings?” She reached over and snatched her robe from the couch.

“I don’t.”

“Then leave it alone,” she said.

“You’re mad right now, but in the morning you’ll see things differently.”

“Let
me
worry about it in the morning.” She pulled her robe on and clambered to her feet.

I stood in front of her. Melina’s eyes were drawn downward to my hardhead. She caught herself and turned away. “I would think that after what we just did you wouldn’t be uncomfortable with me.”

“I’m not,” she answered, avoiding my eyes.

“You can look all you want, Mel.”

She pulled her robe tighter and then turned to leave the room, bumping into the sofa on her way out. “I need a shower.”

I stepped into my shorts and sat on the edge of the couch. Melina’s underwear, socks and my tank were strewn across the floor. The Patron bottle was nearly empty. I raised it to my lips and drained the remaining tequila. What had just happened? It almost felt like a dream. Maybe I was in a tequila haze. Did Melina and I really just have sex? Great fucking sex, at that.

I replayed everything in my mind. I was definitely the initiator. I pushed up on Melina. I wanted her. I had to have her. If I was being honest with myself I’ve wanted her for a long time. What I was having a problem processing was the way that Melina responded. She was as into me as I was into her. I understood
being mad with her fiancé, but what happened between us had nothing to do with him. I felt it. It was in her kiss, the way her body reacted to mine.

I was trippin’. Maybe I was imagining a connection. Melina could’ve been taking revenge on her man and I was the easiest way to do it. Who knows? Instead of sitting there questioning her motives, I needed to consider my own. The tequila definitely didn’t make me step to Melina—I’ve never needed liquid courage when it came to women. But my anger at Kai probably played a part in my actions. A small part. The real deal was that I wanted Melina and I went after what I wanted.

I rubbed my hands over my head, wondering if I had just fucked up. This woman was engaged. Without a doubt, I had complicated things for both of us, but something was burning in me and I couldn’t help myself. I got up to turn off the music and pick up our clothes from the floor.

I heard the running water in the bathroom. I tossed the clothes on the couch and then wandered down the hallway, pausing outside the bathroom door. I turned the knob quietly and entered the steam-filled room, closing the door behind me. I pulled the shower curtain back and Melina startled. Her hair was wet and soap bubbles were streaming down her body. I shed my shorts and stepped into the shower behind her. I rubbed the front of my body against the back of hers, reaching around to squeeze her breasts.

I guided her hands to the shower tiles in front of her, gripped her hips and then entered her pussy from behind. I was in so deep, in more ways than one.

A
fter my interlude with Malik in the shower, we went to our respective rooms. I lay across my bed in my robe, head wrapped in a towel. Every time I nodded off, my eyes popped back open. It was three-thirty in the morning and my mind raced. Guilt battled with disbelief, confusion and shame. My head throbbed and my stomach ached. It was the tequila having its revenge and I deserved it and more.

I had done the unthinkable. I recklessly cheated on Ellis. My fiancé. Nothing that had transpired between us gave me license to be with another man. Not just any man, but Malik. The man Ellis didn’t want me living with in close quarters.

I placed my hand on my churning stomach, hoping to soothe it, but my thoughts drifted to Malik’s hand pressed against my stomach as he sexed me from behind in the shower. My stomach lurched. I wasn’t sure if repulsion or exhilaration was the culprit. I was so ashamed of what I had done, but it was impossible to ignore how good Malik made me feel. I fell asleep trying to figure out how I would face Ellis and Malik in light of what had transpired.

• • •

“Mel, wake up. Mel.”

I roused to Malik calling my name from the doorway of my bed-room.
The phone was ringing. My head . . .still pounding. “What?” I croaked.

“You need to answer that. Your boy has been ringing the phone nonstop for the past ten minutes. He lets it ring, gets the voice-mail and then calls back.” Malik turned and left, closing the door after him.

I rolled my head to the side to look at the clock. Five a.m. The ringing stopped and then immediately started again. I hadn’t heard it in my comatose state. I reached over to the nightstand and picked it up. “Hello,” I said in a voice that hardly sounded like my own.

“Lina? Is that you?”

As soon as I heard the fear in his voice, the guilt crashed down on me tenfold. “It’s me, Ellis.”

“I was so worried about you. Are you all right?”

“I’m fine.”

“I have been calling you all night—ever since you left here. I was about to call the police.”

“Thank goodness you didn’t. I’m okay.”

“I can’t believe you would drive off in a snowstorm—”

“Not now, Ellis.”

“Fine. I’m sending a car for you.”

“No, I’ll make my way back there in a few hours.”

“I don’t think so. The roads are terrible and I think you need to get here before your parents come down for breakfast. I didn’t disturb them when you left. As far as they know, you’re still here—you never left.”

I knew he was right. I did not want to drag my parents into my drama. “I’ll be ready.”

“Good.” He hung up without a good-bye.

I struggled to lift my body from the bed and over to my dresser.
I pulled out the most comfortable thing I could find to wear. An oversized sweatshirt and a pair of leggings. I sunk my feet into my Ugg boots and went about tackling my hair. It was damp and waving up on me. I pulled it back into a ponytail bun and threw on a knit hat. There was no help for the dark circles under my eyes.

I went into the bathroom and washed my face and brushed my teeth. I dotted on a bit of lip gloss, then went to the kitchen for a bottle of water. I needed to hydrate and to flush the tequila from my system.

Malik was stirring in his room, but he didn’t come out. I spotted my bra and panties on the sofa next to his tank top that he used to wipe his semen from my stomach, and a fresh pang of guilt hit me. I tossed my underwear and my cell phone in my purse, then left the apartment to wait downstairs for the car to take me back to Long Island.

I dozed off on the ride. As the car pulled into the driveway I saw Ellis standing at the front door, still wearing his clothes from the day before. I took a deep breath and stepped out of the car.

Ellis held the door open for me as I entered the house. I removed my coat and boots with him looming over me. I shut the closet door and turned to see his outstretched hand. I paused a moment before grasping it. He headed toward the staircase, my hand in his. We went into his bedroom and closed the door.

Ellis released my hand and pulled me into an embrace. “I get it, Lina. I’m sorry.”

I leaned back, so I could see his face. “Ellis—”

“I am sorry.” He led me over to the settee at the end of the bed. “I know my mother can be difficult, but I honestly believe she has good intentions. Now before you say anything, let me finish. Obviously, there’s a serious issue between the two of you. I intend to do everything I can to rectify the problem.”

“Ellis, you’re part of the problem. You facilitate your mother’s behavior.”

“She’s my mother. She has such a different outlook on how to treat people. It’s hard for me to admit this, but she’s so accustomed to interacting with people of her own ilk, that sometimes she’s a bit callous to others. I had hoped that she would see the beauty that I see in you and love you like a daughter.”

“It’s not likely.”

“I think it would have been different if my father was still here. He loved you, Lina. He would have never abided by Mother treating you the way she does. He kept her grounded. She would’ve followed his example and truly welcomed you into this family.”

“But your father isn’t here.”

His shoulders hunched. “I know. It’s times like these when I miss him. There are so many days when I need to talk to him about work . . .about life . . .just about anything. There were so many things left unsaid between us.” Ellis seemed to get lost in his thoughts for a minute. “He would know what to do about my mother—I don’t.”

“So what do you expect me to do?”

“Let me handle her.”

“You have failed miserably in that department. If your father wouldn’t have tolerated your mother’s behavior, why do you?”

“I promise you, I will make things right.”

“I want to believe you, but—”

“Last night, when I couldn’t find you, it was unbearable. I didn’t know if you were safe or not. The thought that I drove you from the house, and something could have happened to you, was maddening. The prospect of having to account to your parents and explain to your father that I didn’t take care of his baby girl scared the hell out of me. I swore that if you returned safely that I would
move heaven and earth to bring peace to our family. We
are
a family, Lina. You’re my future wife. I love you.”

I began fidgeting with my hands, turning my ring around my finger as I tried my hardest to hold back tears. “I love you,” I whispered with a hoarse voice.

“I know we’ve discussed it before, but I want you here with me. There’s no reason why we shouldn’t be living together. We can start packing your things this week.”

I nodded.

Ellis leaned over and kissed my cheek. “Things will get better.” His kisses trailed down to my neck. “Trust me.”

Trust
. I had violated our trust. A tear rolled down my cheek. Ellis drew me onto his lap, planting kisses all over my face. He ended with a lingering kiss on my lips that nearly made me start bawling. Ellis led me over to the bed. We laid on top of the duvet, fully clothed, and spooned. Ellis on his bed with clothes on—I suppose people do change.

I
was at the window, staring down at a snow plow boring a narrow path in the middle of the street, while burying the cars parked at the curb. There would be a lot of pissed people trying to dig their cars out later. The snow had stopped and the sun was shining bright, but it was cold, and the wind was still brutally whipping out there.

I heard Melina when she left the apartment at five-thirty a.m. obviously heading back to her fiancé. I knew she had to go back, but nevertheless it was fucking with me. She left without even speaking. What was I expecting? Some crazy shit went down last night. What was there to say about it?

I walked over to the couch and turned to the news on the television. The news anchor cautioned people to stay off the roads if they didn’t need to travel. There were airport delays and many businesses were opening late. That was all I needed to hear. I would be cooped up in the apartment all day, but unlike yesterday, there would be no drinking. No more wallowing in anger. I’d spend my day working on my business plan. The first thing I needed was a hot cup of coffee. I hadn’t slept much after I “showered” with Melina. I could still feel me inside of her; she covered me like a glove. I shook the thought from my head. It would be a long day if my mind kept wandering to what took place in here last night.

I couldn’t explain it, but I wished she hadn’t left. I wanted her near me. I understood it was improbable—her parents were in town. Melina was doing what she had to do and I needed to do the same. I went to the kitchen and brewed a pot of coffee. I set up shop at the kitchen table and got busy on my plan.

I got a text from Terrence at noon, saying that the snow couldn’t stop him and he was on his way over. College football was on all day and my boy wanted to hang. I had put in two solid hours of work, so I was down.

I straightened up the living room and then made some hot wings to grub on while we watched the game. I was throwing some frozen fries in the oven when the buzzer rang. I gave Terrence a brotherly grip at the door. “Come on in and get comfortable, man. Make sure you kick off those snowy boots.”

Leave it to my boy to tote cold beer in with him. “Put these in the fridge, Malik.” He handed the beer to me, then got situated in front of the TV.

I returned from the kitchen with a tray of wings. “Man, Dru let you out of the house after the storm we just had?”

“C’mon, man. You know I call the shots,” he said, laughing.

“Hold up. Let me get that on tape.”

“Nah, man. You know what’s said between brothers stays between brothers.”

“Oh, no doubt. That’s why I’ll play the tape for her, instead of telling her.”

He howled. “I’d have to revoke your players’ card for that infraction.”

“Man, your players’ card disintegrated once you got engaged.”

“You got jokes.”

“All day.”

“Well, you can take five while I go wash my hands.” He left the room, laughing to himself.

I poked fun at him, but I was glad he found Dru. She made him a better man. We had been partners for a long time and got into lots of trouble together. I remember one time we went to Atlantic City for the weekend. We met a set of twins from A.C. at the casino. Sherri and Berri were their names. We argued over which one of us would get Berri. Never mind that they were identical and equally hot. We figured with a name like Berri, she had to be the freaky one. We spent the night gambling, drinking and getting to know the twins much better. They came up to our room and things happened. It was a wild Saturday night. We both had Berri. We both had Sherri. In the morning, the twins asked us to give them a lift home. They gave us directions, not to their house, but to their father’s church. He was a minister. He was standing at the entrance to the church greeting his parishioners and saw us when we pulled up. He walked up to the car, scowling until Sherri and Berri introduced us as their college classmates that would be coming to service that morning. They dragged Terrence and me into the church. Four hours later, we were still sitting in the front pew, listening to their father’s fire and brimstone sermon. At one point Terrence nodded off and the minister called him out from the pulpit. As soon as the benediction was read we shot out of there. Sherri and Berri were on our heels, but we were too fast for them. We jumped into the car like
Starsky and Hutch
and peeled out of there, tires screeching all the way down the street. We’ve got a million stories like that—and worse—that stay between us. At least Terrence had the good sense to change direction. I was still adding to the storybook collection.