NiceGirlsDo (19 page)

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Darbi put her groceries down on her kitchen counter. She unpacked her bags, putting away the expensive steaks she'd just picked up at the butcher's. She saw the message indicator light blinking on the wall-mounted phone. She glanced at the clock over the kitchen doorway. 11: 30. She'd have plenty of time to cook the steaks, sauté a medley of vegetables, bake a few potatoes, and have time to spend half an hour soaking in her favorite bubble bath before Clay arrived.

After a surprisingly long night’s sleep, she’d awaken with the conviction that no matter what had gone on between Clay, Damien, and Cami, it was over. There was no way Clay could want her as badly as he did if he were interested in anyone else.

Based on that belief, she had taken another big step yet in their relationship. She thought about her trip to the jewelers and the ring she had picked out for him. In buying it, she had gambled that if his feelings were as strong he said, he'd want to do whatever it took to make her happy. She closed her eyes. Lord, please let him accept this ring.

If he did, it would change their relationship in a way so exciting, just thinking about it sent shivers of anticipation through her. But she was getting ahead of herself. He had to arrive and accept the ring before she started dreaming of a real future with him.

She opened her eyes. The phone rang as she moved across the kitchen to check her messages. She picked it up. “Hello.”

“Hi, girl, I didn't expect to find you answering the phone today. I thought I’d just leave a message.”

“Hey Dani. Why not?”

“I thought you'd be too busy with Clay.”

She smiled. “He's still home. He slept on the way home from the airport so I decided to let him sleep in.”

“Big plans for today?”

She nodded. “You know today is the third anniversary of our first date. I'm making him a steak dinner.”

“With your special sauce?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, my, if you don’t have him now, you’ll have him once he tastes that sauce of yours.”

She laughed. “And I'm going to wear this little black dress I paid a fortune for. He loves me in black. I bought special candles so we can eat by candlelight. We'll dance and then later, I have a new black teddy I think he's going to love. I'm telling you now, do not call me tonight or tomorrow morning because I expect to be very busy.”

Jadan laughed. “Oh, I heard that, girl. Are you going to tell him?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Listen, have a great anniversary night and on Monday, Willow and I want to meet for lunch. It's time we discussed a party to introduce him to your friends.”

She nodded. “You're right. I'll talk to you on Monday.”

“Okay.”

As Darbi made her preparation for the special night she and Clay would share, she kept expecting the phone to ring. When she hadn't heard from him by four-thirty, she remembered that she'd never checked her messages.

She ran a tub full of her favorite bath beads and took her cordless phone into the bathroom with her. Sliding down into the slick, wet silk of the warm water, she closed her eyes, and listened to her messages.

She frowned as she finished listening to Clay's message. He'd left it at twelve-thirty. It was now after four-thirty. So why hadn't he called her? She dialed his private line in his bedroom and his got his voice mail. She tried the number to the rest of his condo and his cell phone. She received voice mail on each line.

Amber answered on the third ring. “What are you doing calling here? I thought Clay would have you in bed by now.”

Didn't she wish. “He's not here. Is he there?”

“He's not with you?”

“No. I haven't seen him today. He left a message while I was out saying he had to go out and he'd call me when he got back, but that was nearly eight hours ago. Now I'm starting to get worried.”

“I haven't seen him since he got home. I called him last night around eleven and got my head chewed off for waking him and didn't expect to see him again until Monday night when he gets home from work.”

“Is Damien there?” She left a message asking him to call her as soon as possible and settled down to enjoy her soak. She called him several times over the next two hours. At nine p.m. as she sat in the dark living room wearing the new dress she'd bought especially for him and that night, she decided to call Damien.

“He's in his study working, but he's been here all day. Do you want me to get him?”

“No. I'm probably overreacting. I'm sure he's fine.”

“Hold on. I'll ask him.”

After several minutes, Damien got on the phone. “Hi Darbi. I haven't heard from him since yesterday afternoon when he called to tell me he was on his way to the airport for his flight home. But I'm sure he's all right. If you like I'll call around to a few of his friends.”

She blinked, realizing she had no idea who his friends were -- other than the damned Cami, of course. Should she ask Damien about the hussy? She decided doing so would call her faith in Clay into question. “Thanks, but I'm sure I'll hear from him in a little bit. Sorry to bother you.”

“I'm sure he's all right, Darbi.”

She nodded. But he wouldn't be once she got her hands on him. “Thanks. Good night.”

At ten p.m. she warmed up part of the vegetables, ate them, had a glass of cider, undressed, and went to bed. She woke a little before twelve a.m. and called Clay's private number. She hung up when the voice mail message started.

She went back to bed and lay sleepless for what felt like hours before falling asleep.

Chapter Eleven

At eleven-thirty, Clay stood over the bed where Cami finally slept. He brushed his hand against her cheek and quietly left her apartment. Forty-five minutes later, he let himself into his bedroom.

He stripped down to his briefs and sat on the side of his bed while he checked his messages. When he saw all the messages from Darbi, he groaned. He glanced at the clock, decided it was too late to call her, set his alarm for eight a.m. and fell into bed.

“Where the hell have you been?”

Clay rolled onto his back, opened his eyes, and stared up into Damien's frowning face. He sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. He squinted at his bedside clock. “What the hell is wrong with you, Damien? It's two-thirty a.m.”

“So you're all right, huh? Man, are you in trouble.”

He looked up and saw Amber standing in the doorway. He frowned at her and tugged the cover on the bed over his briefs. “What are you two doing here in the middle of the night?”

Amber shook her head. “I wouldn't want to be in your shoes, Clay. Darbi called around nine p.m. last night looking for you. She spent the day planning a special night for the two of you. She bought a new dress, candles, the works, and you stood her up.”

He raked a hand through his hair. “I did not stand her up. I called her and told her I had to go out.” He paused. “How do you know she planned something special for last night? Why would she tell you and not me?”

Amber rolled her eyes. “Last night was the three-month anniversary of your first date. I told her you wouldn't care about anything as romantic as that.”

Oh, damn, he was in trouble. He closed his eyes briefly. “Why didn't she tell me?”

“Get real, Clay. She wanted to surprise you. Where were you?”

“With Cami.”

Damien, who had stood silently while he and Amber talked, tensed. “With Cami? You stood Darbi up and then spent the night with Cami?”

He cast a narrow stare at Amber. “Go to bed, Amber.”

“Go to bed? I’m not a child, Clay. I’ll go --”

He pointed a finger at her. “Do not make me repeat myself.”

She turned and left the room, slamming the door behind her.

He rose and faced Damien. “How many damned times do I have to tell you I only sleep with one woman at a time? I did not sleep with Cami.”

“Then why the hell spend all day and half the night with her while Darbi sat alone waiting for you?”

“I didn't know she planned anything special. Had I known, I wouldn't have stayed with Cami so long.”

“Why were you with her in the first place?”

“She wanted to talk.”

“And that took all damned day and most of the night?”

“I've never seen her so ... sad and depressed. She's in love with some bozo who doesn't love her.”

“Why tell you -- unless you're the bozo she's in love with?”

“It's not me!”

“And I'm supposed to believe that? What the hell is wrong with you, Clay? Are you going to start playing with Darbi's emotions the way you've played with Cami's for years? Damn, I never knew you were such a selfish bastard! You have two women in love with you. Instead of picking one and sticking to her, you want them both!”

Behind the anger, he heard tension in Damien's voice. He saw the pain in his gaze and sank down on the bed as he realized he was looking into the eyes of a man in the grip of jealousy. “You're in love with her! Why didn't you tell me, Damien?”

“Fuck off, you selfish bastard!”

When he rose and touched Damien's shoulder, Damien jerked away from him and stormed out of the bedroom, slamming the door.

He sank onto the side of his bed. Damn, he was in some deep shit.

His bedroom door opened and Amber peeked in. “Damien just stormed out looking like ... is he all right? Are you all right, Clay? You two didn't ... fight. Did you?”

“No, honey. Please go to bed.”

“Okay, but you should call Darbi.”

He shook his head. “It's too late.”

“You shouldn't wait, Clay. She was so excited when she told me about planning last night and then when she called Damien's place, she was so worried. She must be out of her mind by now thinking you're with another woman.”

“What? She knows better than that!”

Amber shrugged. “But you were with another woman.”

“Not in the way you're making it sound.”

“Whatever. I'm not the one you have to convince, which is just as well because I don't know if I'd believe you didn't sleep with her ... in light of the history between you two.”

“Do me a favor and just please go to bed, Amber. I am not in the mood for any of your damned backtalk.”

To his surprise, she crossed the room and bent to kiss his cheek. “When she finds out you’ve been with Cami, it’s not going to be a good thing. Call her, Clay. Please.” She kissed his cheek again and left the room, closing the door quietly behind her.

He picked up the phone and called Darbi. He got her voice mail. He listened to her greeting, hesitated, and then spoke. “Honey, it's Clay. I'm sorry about last night. I got held up and ... I'll call you in a few hours. I love you.”

“Clay?”

He tensed as Darbi picked up the phone. “Yes. I'm sorry I --”

Her voice rose. “Where have you been, Clay?”

He sighed and closed his eyes. Did he dare admit he'd been with Cami? He knew he'd have to tell her eventually, but decided that confession would be best made in person. “I was with a friend.”

“All day and all night? Why didn't you call me, Clay?”

“I left my cell phone here when I left.”

“And this ... friend doesn't have a phone?”

He hesitated to admit that he'd been reluctant to call her while he was still with Cami. “Yes, but I didn't expect to be there that long and the time just got away from me.”

“This ... friend you were with ... what's his name?”

Shit. “I was with Cami.”

He heard her suck in an angry sounding breath. “You stood me up to spend the entire day and night with that ... with her?”

He was definitely in deep shit. “Darbi, I didn't stand you up. I left a message --”

“Telling me you'd call me in a few hours! What the hell were you doing with her all that time, Clay?”

His grip tightened on the phone. “Talking.”

“You expect me to believe you spent twelve hours talking to her? Did you talk before or after you fucked her?”

“What the hell is wrong with you, Darbi? I didn't fuck her!”

“No? Well, even if you didn't fuck her last night, you can start from tonight on because I don't ever want to see you again!”

“What? Darbi --”

She hung up.

When he redialed her number, she answered in a cold, angry voice. “It's over between us, so please don't call me again, Clay.”

“Honey, please don't overreact. I know you’re upset, but I promise you I did not --”

“I don't care about your promises. You spent all those hours with a former lover and expect me to believe nothing happened? Well, I don't believe you, Clay.”

“You don't ... are you calling me a liar?”

“In a word -- yes!”

“Darbi --”

“And it’s not exactly the first time you’ve lied to me, is it?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Why didn’t you tell me about the little threesome you had going with her and Damien?”

Damn Amber’s big mouth. “That relationship was over the moment I met you.”

“Is that what you would have expected of me? To sleep with you both?”

“Hell, no! Damien and I ... I know our relationship with Cami is difficult to explain, but ... it’s never happened with anyone else. We do not share our women. We’ve never even dated the same women. I love you too much to --”

“Tell it to, Cami.”

“Darbi --”

“Leave me alone, Clay!”

She hung up again.

He tossed the phone across the room and stretched out on his bed, taking slow, deep breaths in an effort to hold onto his temper. Who the hell did she think she was to accuse him of lying and cheating? What the hell did he need with a relationship with an insecure woman who didn't trust him? She didn't want to see him? Fine. She could go find herself that elusive black man she was forever tossing into his face.

* * *

After hanging up on Clay, Darbi got up and dressed in a sweat suit. Tears stinging her eyes, she picked up the phone again.

“Hello?” A sleepy male voice answered on the fourth ring.

She bit her lip. “Jefferson ... I know it's late and I'm so sorry for bothering you, but I need to speak to Sharde.”

“Darbi? Is something wrong?”

“Can I please speak to Sharde?”

“Is there anything I can do?”