My White Ex Soldier's Past (BWWM Interracial Romance) (2 page)

“Desiree Young, you are an amazing woman,” Taylor said in a low voice, almost a whisper.

“Taylor Ericson, you are not so bad yourself,” she said smiling. A while back, she would never have thought she would ever meet anyone who would make her feel this happy, this content. She had finally found the one. The one who accepted her even with all the skeletons in her closet, the one who was good looking and a gentleman. She could not have asked for more. She raised her head and looked at Taylor, whose face was moist with his perspiration. She knew exactly what was happening at that moment. She had felt it before and she was not sure she could handle it right now.

“You okay?” he asked looking at her. She smiled and nodded.

“Perfect,” she said looking at him. There was no way she had the heart to tell him what was going through her mind at that moment.

“Sure?” he asked. She nodded and laid her head back on his chest. She could still feel his semi-hard cock inside her.

“Yeah, I’m just famished,” she said. Taylor laughed.

“In fifteen to thirty minutes I will be back on Project Stew because I also have the day off tomorrow. You will need the energy,” he said as he gently caressed her back. She smiled and closed her eyes. She could feel a tear threaten to roll down her cheek. She hated this. She hated feeling vulnerable, especially in the presence of a man she cared about. She was actually happy he could not see her at that moment.

“
This cannot be happening. Not yet, maybe later. After a few more months or something,”
she thought.
“I cannot be falling in love with you. Not just yet. It’s too soon.”

Almost a week went by before Desiree went back home. Cynthia and Rochelle had actually given up checking up on her. It was a weekend, so Rochelle and Cynthia were both home when Desiree finally got there.

“And the prodigal sister returns,” Rochelle said cheerfully as Desiree walked into the living room. Desiree gave them a tired smile and sat down. “You looked exhausted. Everything okay?” Rochelle asked, a concerned look on her face.

“Yeah. I thought sexual escapades were supposed to rejuvenate the mind and body,” Cynthia said.

“Sexcapades,” Rochelle said in a whisper. Cynthia looked at her questioningly.

“Huh?” she asked, still looking at Rochelle.

“Sexual escapades are called sexcapades. You know, a short form,” Rochelle explained. Desiree smiled and sighed.

“Leave it to Rochelle to come up with all these weird words,” Desiree said smiling. Rochelle gave her a dirty look.

“The word does exist, thank you very much.” Desiree and Cynthia laughed.

“It does not exist if I have to accept it into my word dictionary,” Cynthia said. Rochelle rolled her eyes.

“Brangelina is a word too and it is not accepted into the dictionary. So…” Rochelle shrugged and quickly dismissed their words with a wave of her hand. “So, why are you so tired?” she asked. Desiree felt her cheeks flush when she heard Rochelle’s question. She was not sure how she was supposed to tell her cousin and younger sister that her entire body ached because of all the Kama Sutra moves she and Taylor had been doing of late.

“Oh my God,” Cynthia said, giggling. Rochelle turned to look at her and then shifted her gaze back to her sister.

“What? What did I miss?” she asked confused.

“Her body is sore from all the sex she has been having,” Cynthia said. This time, it was Rochelle’s turn to giggle.

“Desiree, you dirty, dirty little thing,” she said. Desiree buried her face in her hands to hide her embarrassment. “Don’t do that. There is nothing to be embarrassed about. You should be proud,” she added, still giggling. Desiree hurled a seat cushion at Cynthia and another one at Rochelle. “That was uncalled for,” Rochelle said wagging her finger warningly.

“Yeah, you would not want us to join forces,” Cynthia said. Desiree took a long deep breath. She always knew when to give up a fight. “So, now, tell us everything about your …” her words trailed off when she turned to look at Rochelle. “Sexcapade,” she said finally as she rolled her eyes.

“Whoa. Maybe not everything,” Rochelle said holding her hands up.

“There is nothing to tell, really. We just stayed indoors,” Desiree said. Rochelle and Cynthia exchanged curious glances.

“The whole week?” her sister asked looking surprised. “You didn’t go out once?”

“Well, we did go to work but that was it. We just stayed in and watched movies and did…other stuff,” Desiree said.

“Wow, you guys are like an old married couple,” Cynthia said. “So that’s all you did?” she asked again. Desiree nodded. Rochelle smiled and tapped Cynthia’s knee. “What?” Cynthia asked.

“She is falling in love with him,” Rochelle said. Desiree looked up and shook her head. “Come on, we are the closest people to you. We know you better than anyone and you are going to lie to us?” she asked.

“I’m not falling for anyone,” Desiree snapped.

“Honey, it’s fine to lie to us. But do not, for the love of God, lie to yourself,” Rochelle said looking at her. Desiree shook her head and put her hands up.

“We are not going to talk about this,” she said.

“Fine. You were taking all the fun out of it anyway,” Rochelle said. Desiree turned her attention to her sister.

“What about you?” she asked looking at Rochelle who was now looking back at her more confused than surprised.

“What about me?” she asked. Desiree moved closer and looked at her.

“You and Tony, is it? You guys went to Vegas last week?” Desiree said. Rochelle nodded.

Cynthia looked at Rochelle, surprised. “You guys went to Vegas? I thought you said it was a business thing,” she said, looking at ‘Rochelle.

“It
was
a business thing,” Rochelle said quickly. “He was chasing a new deal or something,” she added. Cynthia was still not convinced.

“What, is he a lawyer? I thought he was in accounts,” Cynthia said.

“That’s what I said,” Desiree interjected excitedly.

“Okay stop it, both of you,” Rochelle said. “It was business and I had fun while he worked,” she said leaning back on the couch.

“Talk about falling in love. Look at little girl, all grown up,” Desiree said.

“Come on. I have a heart of stone. I never fall in love,” Rochelle said, laughing.

“I think it’s more like an ice box, and this time even we think that you could be falling in love,” Cynthia said. Desiree nodded and looked at her sister. Normally, Rochelle would date someone and dump him in a couple of months…the exact time it would take for either party to develop any real feelings, but with Tony, it had taken a while and she was still there.

“It has been almost six months and you are still there. You are not even showing any signs of leaving any time soon,” Desiree said. There was a long tensed minute before Desiree’s phone beeped loudly, breaking the since.

“Look at that. Maybe God really does hear my prayers,” Rochelle said as Desiree typed frantically on her phone.

“We might be having a guest for dinner,” Desiree announced as she tossed her phone aside. Rochelle and Cynthia exchanged glances before looking at her. “I’ll cook,” Desiree said rolling her eyes.

“Awesome! So, I’m guessing Taylor is the one joining us?”  Rochelle asked as she looked at her sister. Desiree smiled and grabbed her bag. “And she claims that love is not in the air,” Rochelle whispered to Cynthia

“I heard that,” Desiree called from the hallway as she walked to her room. She quickly put her bag and shoes away and took out a pair of flip-flops. She breathed a sigh of relief as she slipped into them.
“How can something so beautiful cause so much discomfort?”
she thought as she looked at her black peep-toe ankle boot heels. She then pinned up her hair and walked back to the living room where Rochelle and Cynthia had put their feet up and began watching a movie. Of course they were not going to help. They hated cooking. She could understand her sister, but Cynthia? The girl owned a deli. She had asked about that before and Cynthia had said that when you spent all day cooking, you needed a break from the pots and pans at home.

She walked to the kitchen and washed her hands. It was already four and Taylor’s dad said he would swing by in a couple of hours. That gave her just two hours to come up with a meal. She needed something quick, nothing fancy. She opened the refrigerator door and looked inside. She shook her head when she saw that the groceries she had bought a week ago were still untouched. “What do you guys eat when I’m not home?” she asked.

“Pizza, french fries. The usual,” Rochelle called out. Desiree shook her head and took a chicken out of the freezer. She quickly washed and defrosted it and then put it in a baking dish. She poured some of her homemade rosemary and garlic sauce into the dish and salted the sauce. She always thought the sauce gave the chicken a special kick. She set the timer on the oven and then put the chicken in. She walked back to the refrigerator and then took out some corn. After running the cobs under running water for a few minutes, she put them in a pot with some salt and water and then set it on the stove. She looked around for what she could have on the side.
“Rice. Of course,”
she thought as she took a bag of rice and scooped out two cups. She put that in the rice cooker and then headed to the refrigerator one last time. She took out some tomatoes, lettuce and some chopped spring onion. She mixed them up in a bowl and then poured some lemon dressing on them before tossing them one last time.

She looked at her watch and smiled. She had done all that in an hour. She liked making that meal. It was fast and healthy. She then took out four plates and glasses and then walked over to the kitchen table. She hummed a slow tune as she set the table. She was so engrossed that she did not hear the door bell. When she looked up, Rochelle was standing at the doorway looking worried.

“What’s wrong Roch? You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Desiree said, looking at her sister.

“There is someone here to see you,” Rochelle said. Desiree walked to living room curiously. When she saw Leon sitting there, she almost wished she had stayed in the kitchen.

“If it isn’t my lovely girl,” Leon said excitedly as he stood up. He spread his arms to hug her but she took a step back.

“What do you want Leon? If I didn’t know any better, I would say you are stalking me,” she said.

“I thought the two of us could talk,” he said and then looked at Cynthia who was still seated. “Alone,” he added loud enough for even Rochelle, who stood a few meters away, to hear.

“It’s okay guys,” Desiree said. Cynthia groaned as she stood up and walked towards the bedroom. “I’ll TiVo it for you,” Desiree called just in time to hear one of the bedroom doors slam shut. “So, Leon. What is this that couldn’t be said over the phone or in an email?” she asked, sitting down.

“Why don’t you move closer to me?” he asked patting the seat next to him. Desiree gave him a sarcastic smile and shook her head.

“I  can hear you just as well from all the way over here,” she said. “Out with it,” she snapped.

“Well, you never reply my emails,” he started.

“That’s because I have nothing to say to you,” she said looking at him.

“And you never pick up my calls,” he said ignoring her earlier remark.

“Must we do this dance, Leon? Just say whatever it is you want to say and stop wasting my time,” Desiree snapped, getting angrier by the minute. If there was one person she never wanted to see ever again, Leon was definitely the man.

“I left Pam,” he said looking into Desiree’s eyes. Desiree looked at him in surprise, wondering what he expected her to say. “Did you hear me, Dee? I left Pam,” he said again as he moved closer to her. She nodded and then shook her head.

“Good for her, Leon. I always thought she was an idiot for being with you anyway,” she said and crossed her arms.

“I thought you would be happy about this,” Leon said. Desiree laughed and threw her head back.

“Happy? Really Leon? Why the hell would I be happy?” she asked.

“She was the reason we broke up,” he said. Desiree put her hands up.

“I am going to stop you right there, Leon. We did not break up. I left you and I did it because I found out you were married,” she said. Leon moved even closer to her and took her hands in his.

“But she is no longer a factor. We can be together now,” he said. Desiree yanked her hands away and shifted her weight to get away from him.

“You need to get one thing very clear, mister. I would have never ever been with you if I had known that you were married. For some reason, you decided to lie to me, and unfortunately I wasted my time with you. If I had known Leon…my God, what kind of monster are you?” she asked, her voice breaking. “You hurt me and I would never want to cause that pain to anyone else. You were right to leave Pam. She deserves to be happy, not with a pig like you,” she said.

Leon looked into her eyes. He hated to see her hurt. He would have told her the truth from the start if he could do things differently and for some reason, he believed that he still had a chance even after all these years. He still had hope that he could have Desiree. There was something about her that set her apart from all the women he interacted with. He was not sure what it was. Maybe it was her pure heart or the way she seemed to be so honest with her feelings. Whatever it was, he loved it. He loved her and he wanted her back.

“I’m sorry,” he said looking at her. “But I really want you back,” he said in almost a pleading voice.

“I am seeing someone now, Leon, and even if I wasn’t, I would never come back to you,” she said looking at him. Leon took her hands in his again.

“We had something special,” Leon said leaning in close to her. She could smell his rich masculine cologne. Even now, that scent still drove her wild. “I know you still feel something for me, too,” he said leaning in even closer. By this time, he was literally inches away from her face. She yanked her hands away and stood up before quickly walking to the kitchen. She switched off the stove and turned the oven off before walking back to the living room. She looked at him and crossed her arms across her chest. She did not know it, but every time she did that, her cleavage that needed no help being noticed would come into full view, and Leon was enjoying every minute of the free show. He looked at her and wondered what she was going to say.

“Leon, the guy I’m seeing, he is nice and he makes me happy. He has never lied to me the way you did,” she said. Her cheeks flushed when she remembered the way Taylor had first talked of being a great IT guy, but she had lied to him too. And their little white lies were nothing compared to the trash Leon had fed her over the years when they were together. “I would never trade him for anything. Not even the memory of the good time that was all a lie anyway,” she said. Leon nodded and stood up.