Push The Button (13 page)

“Don’t. It’s done. It’s over. We’re here. You. Me. We’re here. I have my baby back,” He reassured her, hugging her close to Him. They embraced for a few seconds before Nicole reached down and untucked her towel, letting it fall to the ground.

“On your knees,” He whispered into her ear. She slid down and positioned herself on her knees, at His feet, head down.

“This morning, you woke up and made two errors. What were they?”

“I...I didn’t call you, Sir. I’m sorry.”

“What else?”

She could not, for the life of her, think of what else she might have done wrong. She only knew, in that moment, she could not stand the feeling of being a complete disappointment to her Sir. Her anxiety levels began to rise and she began to tremble.

“Sir, I... I don’t know. I don’t....”

“Before you utter a single word, you are to remember that your mouth has a greater purpose. Your lips, your tongue exist to please me. As such, your first action is to use your mouth to service me. Do you understand?”

“I think so...”

“You think so?” He grabbed her hair and pulled her head up.

“Look at me!”

She raised her eyes to meet His.

“Give me your hand.”

She raised her right hand and He grabbed it and placed it on His full erection.

“Open your mouth”

She opened her mouth and moved towards her hand. She was now focused on tasting Him and realized it had been a while and then....it clicked...

“Oh God, Sir!!! I’m so sorry, so so sorry. I was supposed to wake you up the
right way.
”

“Shut up!” He commanded, pushing Himself beyond her parted lips.

“This... is... how... you... will...awaken me...every fucking day... Do you hear me??”

She could offer no response, as He completely occupied her throat.

“Don’t ever make me wait this long again, OK??”

She nodded her head and focused on not gagging. She closed her eyes and accepted her current duty and proceeded to take care of her Sir. She placed her hands on His cheeks, caressing and pulling Him closer. She wanted to make up for her transgression.

“Stop, baby. It’s all good. We’re good. You have to get ready for your interview.” He pulled back and helped her stand up. He cupped her face in His hands and kissed her lips, gently.

“You know I love you, right?” she whispered against His lips.

“Yes. You show me every day,” He responded.

“I’m going to fix this,” she promised.

“We’re going to fix this. You’re mine,” He reminded her.

“All yours. You’re mine?” she asked.

“Maybe,” He responded with a twinkle in His eyes. “Clearly!” He confirmed.

“Go get dressed,” He said, swatting her on her behind. “You better bang this interview out...or else.”

“I got this!”

Nicole got dressed and grabbed her valise and car keys. She went downstairs, going over possible interview questions and her responses. She accidentally dropped her keys and reached down to grab them. When she came upright, she accidentally bumped into someone making his way towards her.

“Oh excuse me, I’m sorry!”

“It’s quite alright, Beautiful. Be careful,” the man said with a smile Nicole could not help but notice and admire.

Damn, he’s fine
.

She continued towards her car, clicking her remote to open the trunk before she got there. She tossed her valise in, slammed the trunk, and clicked again to open the doors. She rushed around to the driver’s side and got in. She put the key in the ignition and adjusted her mirror. She saw the man she just bumped into standing behind her car.
What the hell?
She put her car into reverse and waited for him to move. When he didn’t, she honked her horn. “Come on!!” she yelled. “What the fuck are you doing??” The man stood still. Keeping her foot on the brake, Nicole dug into her pocket for her phone to call David. She was startled by a banging on her window and dropped her phone to the car floor.

“You’re gonna pay for what you did to Marcus, Bitch!!!” the man’s muffled yell promised. Just as quickly as he arrived, the man ran off and Nicole began to shake. She put the car into park and dialed David’s number. There was no answer. She dialed again and it rang six times and went to His voicemail answering service.
Why the fuck isn’t He answering?? Is He in the shower? Dammit!!

Nicole took the keys out of the ignition and got out of the car. She looked around and saw no sign of the man anywhere, so she walked as fast as she could in her heels back to her apartment building. She paced as she waited for the elevator and paused when she got to her door.

The door was ajar.

“David??!” she called out. “Baby, I called you. I just had the craziest shit happen in the parking lot!”

She pushed the door open and dropped her phone and keys, gasping at the scene in front of her.

She breathed deeply.

“Marcus... Put... the gun...down. Please...”

“Leave.”

David quietly gave His command to a near-paralyzed Nicole. Keeping His eyes locked with Marcus’, He made no move other than to part His lips. He stood by their over-sized brown loveseat, His pale blue-and-white striped business shirt half buttoned with a cerulean tie hanging loosely over His shoulders. He wore boxer-briefs and trouser socks, as He had not yet put on His slacks.

Marcus stood in the foyer by their dining room, his back to Nicole. His broad shoulders heaved as he breathed deeply and rapidly, his shaky right hand pointing a compact 9mm Beretta pistol towards David’s head.

“No, don’t leave, baby girl. You’re just in time. Yeah, just in time to see what a punk assed bitch your man really is,” he asserted.

“Marcus! What are you d--?!”

“Did you not hear me, woman??” David interrupted, His voice slightly betraying His urgency. He chanced a glance at her and caught her eye. He stared for a couple of seconds, hoping she got the message that He wanted her to leave before things escalated further.

“You’re fucking crazy!!!” she condemned.

Of course she didn’t.

“You still don’t have your bitch under control, huh?” Marcus taunted, laughing. “You would think that bump on the head might have knocked some sense into her.” He turned his head to the left, keeping his right arm extended towards David.

“Come here, bitch.”

Nicole would not move. Could not move. She looked to David for guidance, but His eyes were locked on Marcus again, His focus narrowing on the pistol gripped in Marcus’ palm.

I can’t leave Him.

She took a hesitant step towards Marcus, then another. By the third, Marcus grabbed her arm and pulled her against him, wrapping his forearm around her neck. She yelped and tried to pry his arm away. David flinched forward.

“Unh unh! Stay back, muthafucka, before I put a bullet in her and make you watch her die... for real this time.”

“You hurt her and I promise you, on everything I hold sacred, I will delight in your suffering.”

“Tough words for a man without a gun...”

“Weak moves for a boy with one.”

Marcus squeezed his arm tighter around Nicole’s neck, barely noticing her grabbing and clawing at his flesh. David took a step closer to them.

“One more fucking step and I will snap her neck!”

“No... you won’t.”

“Fuck you mean, I won’t?? You telling me what I’mma do, bitch? Huh?”

“You won’t hurt her,” David reiterated. “You won’t do anything to her because... you love her. That’s why you’re here, right now, in this very moment. You’re in
my
home, pointing a gun at
my
head like some worthless thug off the street because... you...love...her.”

Nicole slowed her flailing and fighting and did the best she could to turn towards David. She felt Marcus’ grip loosen a fraction, but she was still trapped behind his massive forearm. David chanced half a step.

“When she was with you, you treated her like everything you feared and knew you didn’t deserve. You took advantage of her devotion and innocence. You used her heart and her body, selfishly. You...abused”

“I never abused her! You don’t know shit about what
we
had, ain’t that right baby girl? Tell him. Tell him I was good to you!” Marcus emphasized his last demand by tightening his arm around Nicole, tighter than before. She choked out a coughing gag.

“You abused her and beat down her spirit,” David continued, His words coming to Him a bit easier. He knew He had hit the right nerve. “You took the most delicate of flowers and crumbled its petals. You made it harder for me, sure... but eventually, our love was stronger than anything you ever did to her. And now...you’re mad. You’re mad, hurt, frustrated, lonely, and... worthless.”

“Oh you think you have it all figured out?” Marcus asked, lowering the gun a few inches but keeping it pointed at David. “You don’t know shit!”

****

“Come on, baby. You’ve spent $40 at this booth already. You could have bought me a stuffed animal at a store by now,” Nicole said with a laugh. Marcus slapped down another $5 and received 5 balls from the teenager running the game booth at the state fair. He unbuttoned his cuffs and rolled up his sleeves a bit.

“It’s the principle, girl.”

“What principle? That you enjoy wasting money?”

“That I can knock those bottles down.”

“I saw a documentary on how they rig these things, making them almost impossible to win. They do it to get your money from you and”

“I don’t give a shit, I’m going to win this. Don’t you have faith in me, baby girl?”

“I do, but...”

“There is no ‘but’. You either believe in me or you don’t.”

“I do.”

“Good,” he said, with a wink. He picked up the first ball and threw it...and missed. Nicole turned away. She couldn’t watch anymore. She took out her cell phone and considered sending someone a text message, but she only knew a few people who were using them regularly. They cost $.10 each. She opted for solitaire instead.

“Haaaaaaaaaaa!!!” Marcus belted out his excitement just at that moment. “Told ya, baby girl! Told ya I’d get win it! Pick which one you want.”

“Oh goodness, I don’t need one of those,” she said, waving him off with a smile.

“Come on, pick one. What about the purple one? I know that’s your favorite color. Hey man, give me that purple bear on the third shelf. Yeah...yeah that one right there,” he instructed. The teen handed him the bear and he turned and held it out to Nicole. She folded her arms and shook her head.

“Marcus, I don’t need that silly bear!”

“You sure? Let’s name him.”

“How do you know it’s a ‘him’?”

Marcus held the bear’s sewn on mouth to his ear and pretended to be listening to the bear tell him something. He smiled and laughed as if they were having a real conversation.

“Well, Jamaal here tells me that he knows he is a boy because he can’t wait to be held by you and drawn in close to those soft, round tittayssss,” he said, laughing. “Yes, his name is Jamaal, and yes, he said ‘tittaysssss’ just like that.”

Nicole laughed out loud. Marcus always had a way of making her laugh, even when she was frustrated or mad at him. She moved towards him and took the bear from him. He pulled her into a hug and lifted her up off of her feet, causing her to yelp. He buried his lips into her neck and twirled her around.

“Put me down, Sir!!” she yelled while laughing and halfheartedly pounding his chest. He kept twirling her as if she were as light as cotton.

“Never!”

“Never?”

“Never, baby girl.”

“Promise?”

“Absolutely!”

“Hmmm. We’ll see about that,” Nicole said, not quite doubting, but not quite believing his promise of forever. Things were so up and down for them and were becoming increasingly tense. This evening was a nice reprieve and she loved this side of him. He was so playful, warm, and considerate. He made her feel special and, well... Jamaal.

“You’re crushing Jamaal,” she informed him.

“Oh, oh, my bad. Can’t crush our boy,” he said as he backed up.

“Our boy? I thought he was mine?”

“True, true, but...someday we’re going to have our own little Jamaal, and maybe a Jamilah.”

“You want to have children with me, Sir?”

“Yes of course, I do. Why wouldn’t I?”

“I just wasn’t sure that was something you’d even thought about in passing, much less given deeper consideration.”

“I just said I’m never letting you go, woman. Why wouldn’t I put some babies in you?” Marcus laughed as he swatted her backside. “Those hips were made for carrying my strong, bigheaded babies.”

“Whatever...”

“You gonna have my babies?”

“Marcus...”

“You’ve been using my given name a lot more lately. What’s up with that??” Marcus’s brows furrowed a bit with genuine concern.

“Nothing... Sir, it’s nothing. Sure. I’ll carry your bigheaded babies,” she said with a smile, redirecting the conversation. A state fair was not the place to have what could be a passionately embarrassing discussion. “I don’t know about those names though. Jamilah is nice, but Jamaal? I don’t think so,” she said shaking her head.

“Oh, I was only joking about that. Definitely Marcus, Jr.” he said, flashing the smile that always made Nicole’s knees buckle. Today was no different. She stared into his eyes, making clear her intention and desire. Marcus picked up on it.

“Nasty girl. Tsk tsk tsk.”

“Ha ha. Whatever. You love it.”

Marcus paused. He cupped her face in his large hands and leaned in close as if to kiss her. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply.

“I know most of the time, I ain’t worth half the time you give me. But... shit. I love you. I do. I

love you and I need you, and that’s why I’m never letting you go.”

Nicole kissed his lips gently, then again, more deeply.

“Promise?”

“Mmmhmm,” he moaned into her lips. “Now come on, let’s go home so I can give you what you want. My baby girl is so fucking nasty, I love it!” He grabbed her empty hand and led her towards the parking lot so they could go home and he could lay her out. Nicole let out a deep breath when they arrived at their car. They each got in on their respective sides and after fastening their seat belts, Nicole turned to Marcus.