The Men of CLE-FD updated (20 page)

Her showing up uninvited would mean a delay in his plans.  He hadn’t been rock climbing in a while and decided to head to the indoor rock climbing gym to burn off energy.

Her brow arched upon viewing him half-naked. “I didn’t come to fight but to check on you.  I saw on the news what happened.  Are you okay?”

He stood in the doorway not offering her entrance into the apartment. “I’m fine.  But thanks for checking on me.”

She ducked under his arm to enter the apartment. “Do you want to talk about what happened?  I remember how depressed you’d get after a tragic fire.”

Orlando didn’t move from the door or close it.  “No, I don’t want to talk about it and I was in the middle of getting dressed.”

Her mouth curled into a grin.  “It’s not like I haven’t seen you naked before.  In fact, why don’t you let me give you one of my famous massages; you loved those.”

Orlando raised his eyes to the heavens and said silently,
Can I get a freaking break!
  He watched her drop her purse on the table and lean a hip against the edge of the sofa cracking her knuckles as if to warm up to perform the deed of good duty.  Was she actually expecting him to comply? And worse yet, why wasn’t he throwing her out of his apartment on her ear?

“Well, I’m waiting,” she said sweeping her hand in the direction of the sofa. “Come lie down and let me get started on those tense muscles. And, if you require a little extra, I’m open for that too.”

He scanned Maggie over; she always dressed sexy.  Today was no different as she intimidated him by showing off those sexy long legs, wide hips, and narrow waistline.  The short natural hair style fit her soft features.  Her smooth dark skin glittered.  He knew it was from the body sprays she loved to use.  She would transfer glitter to him if she hugged him or after they’d make love.

He flexed against the cotton fabric of the towel—a natural reaction for a man being offered sex.  Since ending his celibacy, his sexual cravings had returned vigorously.  Only the woman he wanted was proving herself indecisive.  He refused to be a yo-yo on the end of her string.  At least with Maggie he knew what he was getting; a lying, cheating, jezebel with a great body.

He shook the notion from his head.  As hard up as he was, he was not willing to accept the invitation Maggie was offering.  Although he was mad at Regan, he felt sleeping with another woman would tarnish his memory of their one night together.  “I don’t think so, Maggie,” he said snapping from his haze.

“No strings attached, Orlando.  I know that little tart you claim to be messing around with can’t be getting it done for you.”

He adjusted the towel around his waist. “Speaking of which, leave Regan alone.”

“Oh, she told you about our visit.”

“Did you think she wouldn’t?  You need to get it through your head that who I see is none of your business.  Who I have living in my house is none of your business.  Do you notice I’m not all up in your business? It’s because I don’t care what you’re doing.”

Maggie licked her lips unbuttoning her blouse slowly. “Stop lying, Orlando.  I know you care about me.  I hurt you and you have every right to hate me for what I did, but you can’t resist me.  You have never been able to resist our hot passionate sex life.”

“He can resist you now, sister! So button your clothes and get the hell out of my man’s apartment,” Regan said sharply as she appeared in the doorway.

Orlando’s head snapped in the direction of the voice.  He hadn’t heard her or the rattling of the plastic grocery bags she carried approach the door.  “Regan,” he stammered.  Granted, he had not moved from the spot he’d been standing since Maggie arrived, but felt that he’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

“What’s going on here, Orlando? Am I interrupting anything?”  Regan’s sharp eye stare drifted from his half-naked body to Maggie, who had not bothered to fix her clothing.

“Nothing is going on, Regan.  Maggie stopped to see how I was doing and now she is leaving.”

Maggie rolled her eyes crossing her arms over her ample breasts. “You weren’t asking me to leave before SHE showed up.”

Regan dropped the grocery bags on the floor. “Is that right?  Did you ask her to stay?  Is that why you only have a towel on? Oh my God, I’m interrupting the good-bye moment.”

Orlando went on the defensive. “Regan, I was getting dressed.  I have not slept with her!”

Maggie smiled wickedly. “We don’t know what would have happened if you had not shown up.”

Orlando shot Maggie a scolding look. “You know damn well nothing would have happened.”

“This is the same stunt she pulled when she came by the house.  She is trying to make trouble for us,” Regan shouted taking a step in Maggie’s direction.  “If you are bold enough to want a piece of me then bring it on, sister!”

Maggie dropped her arms and charged to meet Regan’s threat.  As Maggie and Regan argued, the neighbors stood in the hall listening and watching.

In the two years he’d been in the building, he had not caused any ruckus and now this.  Two women, with very loud voices, were arguing at the top of their lungs to the point he couldn’t understand what they were saying. Frustrated he slammed the door shut and stood between the two women to stop the cat fight. 

He shouted louder than the both of them. “Shut up! Damn, you’re grown ass women acting like kids!”  He pinched the nerve between his eyes. “To be truthful, I’m not in the mood to deal with either one of you today, and you both need to go.”

Maggie was the first to speak.  “Orlando, I’m sorry,” Maggie said apologetically. “I was out of line.”

With order restored, he lowered his voice. “Maggie, you haven’t changed and taunting Regan was uncalled for and childish.”  He turned to face Regan; her face was flushed with mortification. “And you know I wouldn’t do something like that.  Shit, I broke my celibacy to be with you!”

Maggie’s face went blank upon learning he’d slept with Regan.  Snatching her purse from the sofa she stormed by the both of them.  “I hope you both rot in hell,” she said closing the door so hard behind her that the pictures on the wall shook.

The silence grew intense as Regan knelt down to gather the groceries from the carpeted floor.  “I’m sorry, for my behavior, also,” she said in a low voice.  “I’ll clean this up and leave too.”

“What is all this?” He asked helping her shove food into the plastic bags.

Her voice was soft and timid. “I thought I’d make dinner for you.  I heard what happened and I wanted to comfort you, only I made an ass of myself again.”

He stopped her from what she was doing and stood her straight to face him. “Regan, we need to talk.  Let me put on some clothes first.”

He returned from the bedroom wearing a pair of black clingy shorts but shirtless.  Regan was seated on the sofa with her legs crossed, a fist planted against her lips and her body drawn tight.  He sat on the far end of the sofa realizing this would be the hardest thing he’d ever do.  He had to break it off completely to avoid future conflicts with Maggie and to kill his desire for wanting her for himself.

“Well, I’ll start,” he said folding his hands together. “I didn’t call you back the other night because I had a lot on my mind.  There are times I have to deal with the job before my personal life.”

“I totally understand, Orlando.  Had I known what was going on, I would not have called.”

“I should have told you what was going on.  As far as the other issue, we are both at fault to an extent.  I assumed you wanted more when we should have talked about where we were going with our friendship.”

“I’m going to take the blame for that also.  I should have been upfront about my intentions.  My divorce sent me into the world without a safety net.  Mark provided everything for me and now I’m on my own.”

“You said you were bored living his lifestyle and wanted your own life, Regan.”

She shrugged her shoulders. “My ambitions didn’t kick in until late in the marriage.  I wasn’t in a hurry to fulfill my dream until our marriage began to fall apart.  When Mark moved out of the penthouse, I thought I would flash my degree and get my name known right away.  The public would be clamoring about Regan Hathaway, the newest raising-star correspondent.”  She gave a nervous chuckle.  “I wasn’t sure which network would be lucky enough to get me, but it was going to be a fight to see who’d land my talent.”

“Hmm, you decided to use your maiden name if you make it famous?”

“Heck yeah; I’m not giving my ex-husband any shout-outs to my claim to fame.”

He chuckled, “Well everyone has to start somewhere.  Keep plugging at it and you’ll get there.”

“Getting a foot in the door would be nice.  Anyhow, I had not planned on meeting you in the process.”

Orlando rubbed his hand down the front of his shorts to rid the dampness on his palms. “Regan, that’s what we need to discuss.  I don’t want to stand in the way of your dreams.  We should go back to being friends and not pursue anything beyond that.”

“That’s not what I want, Orlando.”

He saw her eyes well with tears; it made his heart ache.  He had fallen for her but letting her go to find herself would save him from suffering another loss.  He took her hands pressing her knuckles against his lips. “Baby, you need time to explore what you want.  I can’t do the yo-yo thing.  I did that with Maggie.  She would get with this guy and they would be cool for a minute. Then he would disappear or whatever, she expected me to be here waiting for her.  Like a fool, I would take her back.”

“You must have loved her to keep doing that and then to marry her.”

“I married her because she told me she was pregnant; not because I was in love with her.  She used me to get back at her long-time lover for doing his dirt.”

“That is awful, Orlando.  But what she did is not new.  Some women have to have that second man in waiting in case the first one gets away.”

“I don’t take kindly to being played a fool, especially when a kid was supposedly involved.  That took me a long time to get over.”

“Do you want kids, Orlando?”

What the hell happened?  How did I get off track of breaking it off with her to talking about having kids? 
He nodded. “Yeah I do.  I want a big family but some things just aren’t meant to be.  I keep meeting women I think may be the one then the bottom falls out.”

“I know that was meant for me.  But you never know what will happen and with whom; don’t you give up hope finding the right woman,” she said lowering her eyes.

He cleared his throat. “I was not singling you out.  I just feel if we fell in love, you would hate me for holding you back from doing your thing; I don’t want that to happen.”

He thumbed away the tear that fell from her eye when she blinked.  She turned her cheek to kiss the palm of his hand and said, “I’m already in love with you.”

Her words crashed against him hard.  He had to catch his breath and sat back on the sofa taking in deep breaths.  Regan caressed his face as he stared into space.  “Orlando, I received a response from a news agency in South Carolina.  If I get the job I will be moving and there is no way I would ask you to walk away from your career to follow me.  I thought it would make things easier if I didn’t say anything and just left.  I see now that was a bad mistake and I should have been honest with you.”

“So why are you telling me you love me if you’re leaving?”

“I couldn’t lie to myself anymore.  I had fallen for you before we spent the night together.  Also, I got a sense you weren’t feeling any love for me.  You looked at me as a friend and I tried to keep it that way.”

He looked at her.  Tears welled in her eyes again, but this time they spilled over.   Regan wiped them away quickly.  He studied her face as adrenaline rushed through his veins.  He swallowed. “Well, there are firehouses in South Carolina.  I’m sure I’m qualified to work at one of them.  My record is spotless and I’m an officer.”

Regan’s body began to tremble against him as her arms went around his neck.  The pain from the wound on his shoulder vibrated down his arm.   Finally, she released him. “God, I love you.  I cannot believe you would uproot for me.”

“That’s what you do when you love someone. You make sacrifices.”

“Are you saying…?”

He nodded cupping her face in his hands. “Yeah, I’m saying I love you too.”  Her head rested against his chest.  He caressed her hair. “I have never, in my life, said those words to a woman and I should have told you a long time ago in order to avoid this whole mess.”

“I agree.  I tend to love hard, Orlando.  Just let me know if I’m crowding your space.”

“Will you do the same for me?  I’m a distant person and will have to be reeled in when I drift.  It’s not because I don’t love you, it’s because I’m not used to sharing with anyone.”

Her hand traveled up his thigh arousing him.  His manhood came to life when her fingers gently folded around him.  The shorts were the only barrier between him and her hungry fingers; he was nude underneath.  He only threw on the shorts and no underwear since he wasn’t expecting any action to occur seeing how he attempted to make a clean break from her.

He moaned as her hand worked him.  He ran his hand over her back, and underneath the waistband of her pants to touch her soft skin.  The scent of her perfume filled his nose enticing his aroused member to grow yet harder.  He groaned when Regan slipped the waistband of the shorts around his manhood, freeing him from the confines of the material to cuddle between her soft hands.  She rubbed up and down.  His eyes closed, and jaw slackened. “Damn, baby.” He dropped his head against the back of the sofa and sucked air into his empty lungs. Her sexual abandonment brought him down a peg him and filled him with a sense of pride.

Regan nuzzled his neck, her lips dragging against his freshly washed skin to form a smile. “Do you want me to stop?”

“Hell no!” He snapped.

Her lips blew over the expansive head of his manhood as if to cool him off.  Chills ran down the base of his spine spiking every nerve along the way.  Then her soft lips closed over him sucking gently at first, then, taking him deep into her mouth as far as she could.