Seduced by the Italian Billionaire (3 page)

Chapter4

Benito entered the bedroom wearing nothing but boxer shorts, a tray with breakfast for two clasped between his hands.

            I sat up, smiling. "Wow. Thank you."

            He smiled in return. "I wasn't kidding. You should be spoiled every day."

            We spent the next half-hour in bed, talking, laughing, and nibbling on eggs, bacon, toasted croissants, and melon. I began to feel like I'd known him forever, and that I could tell him anything. He gave me his full attention while listening, his eyes rarely leaving my face. I never wanted our time together to end. But around ten, I happened to catch sight of a clock on the nightstand.

            "Oh. I just realized I'm supposed to be chaperoning a summer kick-off barbeque at the youth center at noon. A group of other teachers at my school and I volunteer to help out at it every year, and I really shouldn't miss it."

            Benito said he understood, and after he'd given me a few quick kisses, we both got dressed, and he drove me home.

            We sat parked in front of my building for a few minutes, and I told him I had to tell him something.

            "I guess it's just -- "  I sighed, looking at my hands. "What am I trying to say,   here.   I guess I just want to say that I've had kind of a rough couple of weeks, a very rough couple of weeks actually, and I really needed last night. You really made me feel so special and –  just,
better
. So thank you. So much. I appreciated you spending time with me and all the spoiling. But just so you know -- just so you don't think I'm 'easy' or anything. One night stands aren't usually my thing. And in fact, I'd never actually had one before."

            Benito furrowed his dark brows. "Who had a one night stand? I didn't. I'd love to continue this -- I'd love to take you out again this weekend."

            I lifted my gaze to his face, a bit incredulous. "You would?"

            "Of course. That is, if
you're
interested in continuing things."

            I smiled. "Yeah. I'd like that."

            Benito smiled in return. "Good. Then, I'll call you before this weekend."

            I practically skipped up to my fifth-floor apartment.

            But once I'd showered and began getting ready for the barbeque, I began having doubts about if I actually
would
see Benito again. Never having had a one night stand before, I wondered if   "I'll call you next weekend" was just something men said to avoid awkwardness. I knew Tasha had heard that line before, only to never hear from the man again. But Benito
had
seemed sincere when he'd said it. He'd seemed sincere about everything he'd said to me during our time together, including when he'd called me beautiful. But then again, I knew some men were just good at faking sincerity. My ex-boyfriend Dwayne had been pretty convincing when he'd told me that he couldn't imagine ever being with anyone but me, and that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me. Exactly one month before he'd broken up with me via text.

            Dressing in white Capri pants and a navy blue top, I realized that only time would tell if Benito had really meant what he'd said and would call me. And if he didn't, I knew I'd survive. I'd move on stronger and wiser. But I also knew I'd survive with a little ache in my heart. I'd never met a man I'd felt so strongly and instantly attracted to. I'd also never met a man who'd made me feel so special. I'd never met a man who'd taken me to such lofty heights of ecstasy in the bedroom, and on only our first night together.

            While applying a little eye shadow, I couldn't help but think about our bedroom activities in detail, my pulse accelerating. I thought about how Benito had held me close while we were kissing, one hand caressing my hip. My thoughts wandered, and I thought about how he'd looked naked, soft light illuminating his chiseled chest, defined abs, and strong thighs. I thought about how his rod-straight manhood, pointing right at the ceiling, had looked. I thought about how it had felt to have his head between my thighs, his mouth on my most sensitive parts. How it had felt to have him inside of me.

            But soon I threw the eye-shadow compact in my makeup bag, shaking my head. "No, Felicia. Better not to torture yourself with these thoughts until you know if you're even going to see him again."

            That afternoon at the barbeque, I jumped and ripped my phone out of my pocket when it rang, not really expecting a call from Benito so soon, but maybe just hoping a little bit anyway. But it wasn't him. It was someone asking if I was happy with my current phone plan.

            Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday went by slowly, Benito never far from my thoughts. I went to bed each night trying, but failing, not to think about him. Several times I dreamed about him holding me, both of us naked, our arms and legs entwined. I dreamed about him moving inside of me, my hands running up and down his broad back. I dreamed about both of our voices rising in cries of pleasure. I never wanted to wake up from these dreams, because I didn't know if they were all I'd ever have.

            Wednesday rolled around before I had a chance to meet Tasha for coffee and tell her what all had happened with Benito in any great detail. She'd been working a lot the previous few days, waiting tables, and we'd only been able to exchange a few quick texts.

            She sat sipping her latte, listening quietly. Way too quietly for her to not have something on her mind. And after telling her the most important parts about Benito's and my time together after the club, I asked her what she was thinking about.

            She stared at the foamy surface of her drink for a few moments, uncharacteristically silent, before lifting her gaze to my face. "Well...I guess I'm not even thinkin' about anything. I guess I'm just -- my mind's blown. Like, if my brain was a computer, the hard drive or whatever just been zapped."

            "What do you mean?"

            "I mean just, this whole Benito dude thing. My mind is just like, blown."

            "You're worried he's going to break my heart and put me into another tailspin, aren't you?"

            "Not exactly. My brain ain't even got that far."

            "Well, what, then?"

            "Girl, you just gotta give me a minute. I think I'm still in shock."

            "About what? That he was so good in bed? Or that I slept with him so quickly?"

            "Nope, neither of those things. I knew you needed to live it up, and I'm glad you took my advice. And as for him being good in bed -- "   Tasha gave me a sly smile and the hint of a wink. "I could already tell he would be just by seein' his moves on the dance floor. I  do got  eyes  on my face,  ya  know. None of that stuff's what I'm shocked about. None of that stuff's why I almost fell down the front steps just leavin' my building today."

            "Well, what made you?”

            "'Cuz I was scrollin' through some stuff on my phone while I was walkin'. And what I saw made me skip a stair and I had to grab the rail just to keep from crashin'. We mighta been meetin' up in the busted-leg wing of a hospital today if it weren't for that rail."

            "Well, I'm glad you're okay. But what was so shocking on your phone that it made you trip? And what does whatever it was have to do with Benito?"

            Tasha drained the last of her latte and tucked a strand of glossy black hair behind one ear. "I don't even know how to say this. Because I just don't know how you're gonna feel about it. And maybe you won't even feel any certain way, and maybe it won't even change any of your feelings for this dude. But maybe it'll just make you feel how I feel. Maybe it'll just make you feel like -- just straight-up shocked."

            I scooted forward to the edge of my chair. "Well, what is it? Just spit it out!"

            "Okay. Well, so you know how when you go in to check your email, and there's all these news stories and pictures and stuff when you sign in, before you even get to your email?"

            I scooted even closer to the edge of my chair. "Faster. What do news stories have to do with Benito?"

            Tasha took a deep breath. "Felicia, do you know what he does for a living?"

            I thought for a moment. "Well, yeah. He's in computer technology or something. He told us that at the club. And I know he must be pretty good at it, just because of --
just because of how affluent he is, I guess. And not that that matters to me, because I'd still be interested in him even if he lived in a shoe box -- but I know that him being affluent probably means he's pretty good at his job."

            Tasha stared at me with a look I couldn't quite read. "Girl --you have no idea."

            "About what?"

            "You have no – freakin’ -- idea."           

              "About
what
, Tasha? You've gotta tell me the full story right now. I'm dying here."

            She slowly leaned back in her cafe chair, stretching. "Nope. Not yet. Because you just made me think of a question I wanna ask ya before I tell ya. And I think I already know the answer, but I think maybe you just need to say the answer out loud for
you
, just so that if this thing with Benito goes any further, even if it someday goes all the way, you'll always know what your answer was, and nobody can change it, or take it away from you, and you'll
know
. You'll know what your answer was before you even knew the full story about Benito."

            "Well, what's the question?"

            "Back what you said a minute ago -- that you'd still be interested in this dude even if he lived in a shoe box. Well, say that was the case; say he lived in a shoebox in the Bronx, like us. Say maybe he waited tables like me, or say maybe he was a teacher like you. Say maybe he worked hard for what he had, but what he had wasn't much. Say the fanciest place he could ever take you to was a hamburger joint." Tasha paused, studying my face. "Would you still, in all complete and totally, be interested in this Benito dude? And search your heart, girl. This is important."

            I didn't even need to search. I already knew how I felt.

            "Yes. Yes, I'd definitely still be interested in him. For sure. Because I guess it's like this -- the penthouse was nice. It was luxurious, and kind of a thrill to be in. The expensive champagne was nice. It was fun to have a treat like that. It was fun to be indulged. But all that was secondary to the way Benito made me
feel
. How he
treats
me. Like when we were dancing, and all those gorgeous girls were around, but he didn't even glance at them. He only had eyes for me. And like when he called me beautiful that night and seemed like he really meant it. I even told him some stories over breakfast the next morning, about growing up in Detroit, and I even told him a couple of the  -- the painful parts of my childhood, and he just listened so attentively, like he was really interested in my life, like he really wanted to find out more and more about me. And I just loved the way that made me feel. I just loved the way he made me feel the entire time I was with him. As if he really cared, and as if he had all the time in the world for me. So -- I guess it all boils down to this. I think he's a good man, and he has a good heart. And that's exactly what I want, and what's most important to me. I want a man with a good heart, and the rest is just bonus. So if the penthouse, and the champagne, and the fancy car, if all that stuff fell away, and if Benito were just a sanitation worker from the Bronx, yes. Yes, I'd definitely still be interested in him. I wouldn't even care if he were a little less good-looking, either. I'm definitely after him, but I'm after his caring, and his sensitivity, and his heart."

            Tasha nodded and slugged back the rest of her latte. "Okay, then. Exactly what I knew you'd say. Now, remember all you just said. Remember it good. Because if you and this dude do move in a long-term direction, there might be some people who gonna say that all you just said is not what's really in your heart. They might say that you got other intentions and motivations in your  heart   -- bad ones. And you gonna need to remember your words just now so   you'll   know   --
that they don't even have a clue what's up. So remember your words, and I'll even be your witness that all this was everything that was truly in your heart. Okay?"

            I nodded, thoroughly confused.  " 'Kay."

            "Good. Now, get ready. 'Cuz I'm about to say this." Tasha leaned across the little table and lowered her voice. "Felicia -- Benito is a billionaire."

            "A -- a  what?"

            "A billionaire."

            "A  --  a  billionaire?"

            "A billionaire."

            "A billionaire?  Like   -- with a
b
?"

            "What'd it sound like I said? He an astronaut? He a dentist? He secretly an alien from outer space? He a
billionaire
. With a
b
. And with lots and lots of zeroes in the number of his net worth dollar amount. Probably like, fifty or somethin'."