In Between Lies (10 page)

             
“Hey, you with me over there?” Kevin asked. He clanged his fingertip across the top of his wine glass. “I mean
,
you
are
here with me aren’t you?” Or is there somewhere else you’d rather be?”

             
His smooth, chocolate skin glistened in the low, candlelit room. Soft music played in the background as their personal chef crossed the room and stopped at their table.

             
“Bonjour! Je m’apelle
Pierre
.” His French accent was very thick. He placed their meals before them. “Bon apetite!”

             
“Sorry, we don’t speak French,” Kevin said smoothly, “but I believe I understood what you said,” then waved his hand over the table. “And we do know good food when we see it,” and smiled.

             
“Pardon, enjoy your meal,”
Pierre
looked at
Savannah
, then back at Kevin, “you and your lovely lady friend, I may add.”

             
“Charmer,”
Savannah
said as she blushed.

             
Pierre
dismissed himself.

             
“So what were you thinking about?” Kevin asked.

             
“Nothing, really,” she lied.  “Well, since you asked, I was thinking about asking you to meet my family earlier. They are dying to see who I have been seeing lately. They would…um, I would love to have you over for dinner next week.”

             
“I can’t see why I couldn’t make it.” Inwardly thrilled that he’d finally gotten through her first layer of defense, he made it a point to emphasize his pleasure by taking her hand in his and kissed each finger lightly while looking into her eyes. “Just let me know when.”

             
Savannah
ate it up.
Whoa this man is too much! Lord help me!
she thought. Looking around she blushed. Just as she was getting comfortable he abruptly dropped her hand as his cell phone vibrated. Looking at it, he quickly dismissed the call, then without a word, delved into his platter that sat before him.

             
“Did you need to take that call? It’s ok if you need to.”
Savannah
prodded, as she took a bite of food.

             
“Private number… I have no idea who it was. Besides if it’s important, they can leave a message and I can call them back later.”

They finished their meal and lazily talked a little while longer before leaving.

“I had a lovely evening,”
Savannah
stated as both her and Kevin made their way into her kitchen. “Drink?”

             
“I’m glad you did. I want you to enjoy yourself,
Savannah
. You have been working hard lately..and yes, I’d love a drink.” Kevin followed her to the kitchen.
Savannah
handed him his drink as he loosened his tie and sat on the barstool next to her. “I want to tell you that I have had a great time with you these past few months,” Kevin said as he sipped his drink.

             
Looking into his eyes, she could tell that he was being genuine. “Me too. I have to tell you that I did have some reservations about our relationship at first. But you have really been there and I can’t complain.” She emphasized the word relationship. Were they having a committed relationship or were they actually a couple in a benefiting relationship? Not sure, she continued, but bypassed that thought. “Movie?” she pointed towards her sitting room.

             
Just then, Naomi ran across his mind. Feeling his facial muscles tighten, he tried to relax.
             
“What’s the matter?” she asked.

             
“Nothing. But first, let me freshen up.” He jumped from the barstool and headed for the bathroom, making sure his cell phone was in his pocket and still on vibrate.

             
Savannah
picked a movie and inserted into the DVD player. A wide smile crossed her face. She was happy that she had chosen to expand on their relationship despite Richards’ warning. He’d not shown any signs of being the player that Richard said he was. And that was a long time ago, she reminded herself. However, there was that phone call that he chose to ignore at dinner. It did seem a little suspect.

She pushed the thought from her mind, not wanting to jump to any conclusions then raced to her bedroom to change into something more comfortable. In the beginning of the relationship, the only thing that she could think of that semi bothered her was her seemingly inexperience in the bedroom. Kevin seemed to have a handle on that end and knew what he wanted. It had been up to her to match his insatiable pace. But the fast learner that she was, she quickly adapted to his different styles of lovemaking. And at times, she seemed to notice that his aggressiveness altered from time to time, for no apparent reason. He was satisfied as well as her being satisfied. She headed back to her sitting room, grabbed the remote and awaited his return.

             
“Hey baby,” he said with a concerned look on his face. “I’m going to have to pass on the movie tonight.”
             

             
“Why?”

             
“That was the station that called. I am needed for an emergency there.”

             
“Well, I hope everything is ok?” she said concerned and questioning at the same time.

             
“It will be. Rain check?” He grabbed her by the waist and hugged her tightly. “I will call you later after everything is settled.”

             
Savannah
stood at the window and watched him pull out from her driveway. Not knowing really what to think or say. Instead, she opted for a huge bowl of ice cream and decided to call it a night.

************************************

             
Sitting on her balcony located just off of her small one bedroom apartment, Naomi Saunders thought of Kevin Styles. He’d not answered any of her calls this afternoon or as a matter of fact, the last few days. She wondered if he was that busy or just ignoring her. The way she’d sexed him up the last few times, she found it hard to believe that he’d quickly dismiss her like that. Getting up, she walked to the edge of the small balcony and stared into the night sky.

In t
he short time she managed to get him alone and in her bed, he’d pumped his way into her once before unfeeling heart. Did she imagine it, or had he professed his love once again to her in the heat of passion? She embraced herself and smiled. Imagining the day when she could once again feel him in her and taste him had finally come about and it was sweeter than she thought it would be.

Since her mother barely knew her from Eve in between her sky high binges, she grew up practically homeless, a very unsheltered life. Moving from one place to another, usually each one worse than before, she’d become a quick learner and knew how to adapt to her surroundings very well. The advances of her mothers binge partners/boyfriends forced her to grow up quickly. A chameleon of a sort, she knew how to fit in well with others when the need benefited her.  She also grew to learn to fight for not only herself
,
but for what she wanted
in order
to survive in
Chicago
’s cold streets. She’d worked her way through a small community college and found refuge in taking short drama classes. Thus she’d found her calling…and that is where she found
her
Kevin.

             
H
e was standing there in the middle of the set. She sat, staring at a tall, dark, lean brother. Even back then, he was smooth. He had it, whatever
it
was…the aura of confidence, a magnetism that could only be his own. She’d sat there and watched female after female approach him and engage in small talk only to be sent away. However
, a couple of times
she’d noticed that there was an exchange, probably of phone numbers, she’d thought. She’d noticed that he was picky in which girl he chose to engage in conversation with. Most were tall, light skinned, had a nice body shape and tight frame…and from what she could tell, a fat behind. Oh, he knew what he liked.

From that point on, she’d made it her business to become acquainted with the dark god. It really didn’t matter to her at the time that she was a little overweight and out of shape, and wore thick, wide rimmed glasses. Hell, she was practically blind. But she could see him, both physically and in her minds eye at night when she la
y
in her small dorm room fantasizing about him. She had charm on her side
,
and
had to admit to herself that she
was a thick, beautiful, lightly bronzed milkshake…and donned a fat ass that she kept hidden under baggy jeans. So why not give it a shot
?
Instead of approaching him as the others, she’d observed, she studied him more closely and got to know and understand his tendencies and mannerisms. So she watched and waited… then became a friend in waiting, using their Drama class as an opening into his life.

             
Her studying had paid off and she quickly became more than a friend to Kevin. In a matter of months, they were an unspoken, on the side kind of couple. Nama sexually grew in ways that she hadn’t imagined in such a short time that it scared her. Kevin’s bedroom skills far surpassed any man that she’d been with in her short, dating life, and gave her more and more courage to try more things under his tutelage. She was sprung even before she knew what “sprung” actually was.

             
Unfortunately for her, she’d found that she was not the only one and had issues with it…to the point of creating such chaos behind his back with the “other” women that she’d lost her unborn child due to the stress of trying to keep up with him and his flings….then turned around and lost him completely to someone new. His love life, she’d found had a revolving door and she was just one of
the
many nameless that it revolved around. He never knew about the child they had conceived and lost.

             
Shaking herself from her past thoughts, she got up and headed back to her bedroom and checked her reflection in the mirror. The once wide rimmed glasses were now replaced by light brown colored contacts. Her thick frame, now taut and just right was the envy of most of the women she auditioned against for commercial spots. And her short, spiked hair framed her face perfectly, leaving one to only imagine what secrets she hid behind what she called one of her best assets; her big, beautifully shaped eyes. Eyes that men stared into and became mesmerized
by
instantly. Yes, she’d completely transformed herself into a bona fide diva that men found hard to resist. She smiled and got dressed while happily humming to a tune that was playing on her clock radio. Just as she finished putting the final touches of make up on, her doorbell rang.

             
“You ready?” he asked as he stepped inside. “We have about thirty five minutes to get to the set for your photo shoot. And baby, you look good, I might add.”

             
“Well thank you so much, Mr. Caldwell….”

“C’mon, Naomi. Since we have developed this working connection and whatever else that comes from it, please, call me Richard.”

“Okay, Richard. I really need to get this portfolio done so I can land more gigs,” she smiled, grabbed her purse and her duffel bag then disappeared through the doorway with him following closely behind.

The ride to the studio was a pretty short distance from Naomi’s apartment, which happened to be a block away from Richard’s home.

“This is nice, Richard,” Naomi said. “I love the pictures. Is this all of your doing?” She pointed to a far left wall that housed a myriad of photos.

“Yes,” he said as he walked her down the hall and gave an explanation of each one.

“So who is the woman?” She pointed to at least three of the photos that were  photos of a woman in various poses.

“Oh, that is my best friend,
Savannah
. Very photogenic, isn’t she?”

Naomi recognized her from the club as the one sitting and chatting with Kevin. “I thought I recognized her.”
             

“Excuse me?” Richard asked. “What did you say?”

“Nothing really.”

“As a matter of fact, I could give you one of her cards. She gets a lot of inside tips on who s doing what in the city. She works for a production company and could possibly help you get more work.”

“Really? That would be nice. Thanks,” she smiled wide, exposing too many teeth while trying to contain her excitement. “You really have it nice in here. It makes it very easy to let your hair down,” she giggled. “She looks comfortable too.”

“Yes, it is. I tried to make it as comfortable and as warm as possible. I hope that feeling comes across when we shoot. You can be totally free here with me.” He pointed to the lounge area. “And I do mean totally…” he smiled, then added, “You can change in there.”