Torn Apart (African American Romance) (8 page)

“Is there something wrong?
You looked a little taken aback,” Rhonda asked knowing fully well that she was the reason for his reaction.

“No, not at all. You’re just so stunning. I’m trying so hard to control myself but
I want you bad, Rhonda.” Ken took a long swig out of his wine glass until his whole glass was empty. This made Rhonda smile since he appeared to be more nervous than she had felt. She took her glass from Ken and followed his lead by taking a swig of her wine and then handing the glass back to Ken who just stared in awe.

“So, we
have about 40 minutes. I have always wanted to have sex in a public yet private place like this, haven’t you?” Rhonda asked before she reached up wrapping her arms around Ken’s neck and pulling his lips onto hers for a deep kiss. Rhonda wrapped her legs around Ken’s body lifting her curvy frame up on him while he propped her up with his forearms. Ken’s strong frame slowly moved toward the nearest counter to place the wine glasses down that he was still managing to carry, before he fully grabbed Rhonda’s ass and walked her over to one of the chaises while still deeply kissing until both of their lips felt swollen. As soon as he sat Rhonda down, she immediately reached for his already erect penis and began to massage him as he looked down at her and became even more erect. The next thing Ken felt was the tip of Rhonda’s tongue running along his shaft and then her full lips taking in his thick head. Rhonda had not performed on him orally their first time together, and he was not expecting it this time but he was amazed at how good she was at it. Ken grabbed her head as she continued to take in more of him the more she sucked.

“
Awww shit…damn,” Ken responded which made Rhonda know she was on to something with this. Rhonda had never been in the habit of sucking dick but had decided after their last encounter that she wanted to try it with Ken. She loved the way he responded to it but she needed to make sure he wasn’t enjoying it too much because she wanted him inside of her.

“Baby, don’t come yet
—I’m getting wet for you,” she said after pulling away from him and turning around so her ass was facing him.

“So you ready for this dick?” Ken
asked as he placed his hands gently on her hips and started backing her ass up into him.

“Yes baby.”

Ken begin to finger her from the back, teasing her and making her anxious and more wet waiting for him to enter her as she leaned over with both arms positioning her up on the edge of the chaise.

“Damn, you so wet baby,” he said aloud before leaning in and tasting her from the back. The feel of Ken’s strong tongue in her pussy made
her moan a bit louder.

“
Shhh…we don’t want to be interrupted now, do we baby? You want me to stop?”

“Hell no but damn, that feels so good,” Rhonda responded. “Come on, don’t tease me.”

Ken decided to give her what she wanted—what he wanted as well—as he suddenly entered her, grabbing her ass enjoying the view of her cheeks bouncing with the motion of her rocking back and forth into him. Before long they were both making noises and did not care if they were heard or not. It was a good thing that the music was still lightly playing in the room because there would not have been any question on whether or not sex was going on in the private room.

They both had stamina that left them with about 10 minutes to both climax, jump in the shower to get cleaned up and then throw their clothes on. Ken went to pay for the services and told Rhonda to use the extra time to finish getting dressed. It
did not take her long to come out looking as stunning as she had looked when she first arrived downtown to meet Ken. He stood up when he saw Rhonda approaching and she gave him a big hug thanking him for the visit to the spa. The receptionist stepped from behind the desk handing Rhonda a gift basket full of beauty products and treats to take home with her, courtesy again of Ken.

“You are too much,” she said to him before giving him a kiss that made the receptionist blush.

“You deserve the best, beautiful.”

Hearing those words had brought Rhonda back to real life and the things that were on her mind before she started her date with Ken. For those
hours she had spent with Ken, she had totally forgotten about David. Could it be possible that she desired both David and Ken? Or was it a matter of who was giving her attention at that given moment?

After saying their goodbyes, they exited the spa and the hotel to walk down a few steps to a quaint eatery for lunch. They were both famished and ready for some good food, and Ken was familiar enough with this place to know it would have the perfect menu with a variety of entrees to choose from.
As they enjoyed their delicious food and one another’s conversation, they learned so much more about one another and found out that they had quite a bit in common. It was as if Rhonda was talking to the male version of herself, as far as their determination to go after their dreams and goals. By the time Ken was walking Rhonda back to her car, they were each an open book to one another having shared so much about their past and present. They even discussed relationships, in which Rhonda did bring up her past about David and shared with Ken how she had recently gotten closure with that relationship. It was while she was telling Ken about David that she sort of experienced those emotions and hurt from the past all over again. Rhonda realized that she now had gotten closure and maybe it was best not to go backwards wondering if David and she still had something worth exploring. This moment with Ken was showing her that it was time to let go of the past and see what was in store for her future, and she saw Ken being a big part of that.

New Beginnings

“Congratulations on the engagement, Rhonda!”

The emails and calls had been coming in
all week and now that today was her last official day as part of the full-time staff, people were passing by every few minutes with sentiments and well wishes. She looked down at the engagement ring she had been wearing on her finger for the past three weeks and could not believe how her life had changed in a matter of months. In addition to marrying the love of her life, Rhonda was also about to pursue going back to school. She was able to work things out with the agency where she could contract for them working from home and only coming into the office occasionally for meetings. Things were going well, Rhonda thought to herself as she smiled and tried to concentrate on packing up the last few things she had in the office space.

She was interrupte
d again by a knock on the door and turned around to see Ken standing there staring at her with a forced smile on his face.

Rhonda just stared back wondering who would be the first to break the silence.

“Hey Rhonda, I just wanted to stop by before you left and tell you that I wish nothing but the best for you, just in case you thought I felt otherwise. David is a lucky man—I just hope he realizes what he has.”

Things had
been so awkward the past couple of months as Rhonda had gotten back with David and accepted David’s proposal to get married. Ken had been heartbroken by the turn of events, and was forced to have to face her on occasion when coming to the office to do business. It was a relief for both of them when it was confirmed that Rhonda would begin working on a part-time status for the company working from home. This was the first time they had a civil conversation or exchange since she had reunited with David. She knew this had to be hard for Ken to come and do this.

Rhonda walked up to Ken with the urge to hug him; she just w
anted to touch him. Her deciding to marry David had not instantly banished her feelings for Ken, and looking at him standing here trying to be adult about all of this made her heart beat harder and faster for him even more. Rhonda stopped herself from reaching out to him like she wanted though.

“Ken, I really appreciate you stopping by and saying that. I know it can’t be easy, considering you did not do anything wrong to deserve
this thing that happened.”

“Well Rhonda,” Ken stepped in enough to close the office door. “Why did this happen? Because you can deny it all you want, but I feel it and I see it; it isn’t over between us. You still want me as much as I want you right now. What is old dude holding over you that you can’t let go?”

So much time had passed and this talk had never taken place and Rhonda never thought that it would. The fact of the matter is that she did have feelings for Ken, even when she decided to choose David—it was just a matter of a turn of events that occurred over the course of a week or two that made her turn to him.

“Ken, this isn’t the time or place for us to discuss this but I can say that there’s no need to go over this. I’m with David now and getting another chance with him. You should just move on; you don’t want someone who is still hung up on another man, do you?”

“No I don’t but I know that your feelings are even stronger for me. I know this baby. I feel it,” Ken said as caressed her cheek not caring who might see them. “You are too afraid to let go and see what could happen between us. Baby, I would make you so happy.”

Rhonda wanted to kiss him but she couldn’t. Even if Ken was right, he had made her decision and she was sticking with it. Before she had a chance to respond, her offi
ce door opened behind Ken and in walked David.

“Am I interrupti
ng something here?” David asked.

“
David, I want you to meet Ken. And Ken, this is my fiancé David. He was just congratulating me on everything and telling me goodbye.”

Ken turned to face David but that was about all he had to offer David at this moment. Ken knew that David had manipulated Rhonda into getting back with him, basically using her the way he had when
they were together before but there was nothing Ken could do but step back and let Rhonda see for herself.

“Thanks man for stopping by and wishing us well.” David was not sure if Ken was the man that he had taken Rhonda from, but he had an idea from the look on this man’s face and how he saw him looking a
t Rhonda that he was the one. David then turned his attention to his fiancé.

“Hey beautiful, you ready to get out of here?” David moved toward Rhonda and gave her a kiss on the lips that he purposely made longer to try to prove a point to his competition. David knew he had Rhonda, but he also knew Rhonda had cared for this man before he came back in the picture and he had to make sure
Ken was not a threat to his plans.

“Again Rhonda, I wish you nothing but the best. I’ll give you some privacy now,” Ken interrupted giving Rhonda one more look before leaving her office. He did not even bother to give David the satisfaction of acknowledging him at all.

Rhonda was so torn, but she had made the right decision, right?

“So umm, is he someone I need to be concerned about?” David interrupted her thoughts.

“No baby—like I said he was just saying goodbye. And, I am ready by the way. You are just in time to grab that box. Let’s get outta here!”

David left out ahead of Rhonda as she finished saying her goodbyes. She had to go make one more stop to say goodbye to her dear friend,
LaVerne, who was doing her best to avoid Rhonda. LaVerne had not been happy with Rhonda in the past few months, especially since David had reemerged. Since he had been back in the picture LaVerne hardly ever saw Rhonda outside of work anymore. She also felt that David had worked his way back into Rhonda’s life with his own intentions, although she could not figure it all out either. LaVerne had seen Rhonda with Ken and had never witnessed her friend being that happy before, so it confused her when she ended things with Ken to go back to David. Instantly, she saw that Rhonda was not as happy as she had been and every time LaVerne tried to talk to her about it they would end up in a big disagreement; it had made their friendship a little tense but Rhonda had to go see her friend.

             
As Rhonda got closer to LaVerne’s desk, LaVerne noticed her approaching and stood up with her arms extended for a hug. Rhonda walked right into them welcoming the embrace.

“
LaVerne, regardless of what you are thinking about me right now I want you to know that I still love you girl. I know you don’t understand my recent decisions but everything is going to be fine. Just trust and support me, ok?”

“Rhonda, I come on hard the way I do because I
only want what’s best for you, but I haven’t liked our distance so if you need me to back off I can do that. Just know I support you and always have your back. Please be careful though. And go with your heart. I love you girl.” LaVerne smiled at her friend.

Both of them looked at each other through teary eyes and agreed that they would meet up for dinner and drinks that next evening.

“Thank you, sis! I love you back, by the way,” Rhonda said before letting the elevator door close between them.

              After Rhonda’s afternoon rendezvous with Ken a few months back, she had made up her mind that she was going to see where things could go with him. She had decided she would tell David that they could be friends but she was not looking for anything beyond a friendship. She had felt that it was time to keep moving forward and not move backward, even if David had changed and could offer her what she needed in a real relationship. She had made plans to see Ken earlier in the day on New Year’s Eve and hang out with LaVerne that evening to bring in the New Year. Rhonda and LaVerne had not hung out since she had returned back from Christmas and figured she could bring in the New Year with LaVerne like she did last year—over drinks, food and girl talk. LaVerne’s son was usually either with his father or grandparents, which made LaVerne free every year so that was usually tradition since both Rhonda and LaVerne were usually single during that time of the year. This year since Rhonda and Ken had just started dating, she explained the situation to Ken and he understood. He decided to go to a friend’s house party, but told Rhonda that next year this time he planned to have Rhonda to himself kissing her lovely lips as the New Year began. Rhonda said she did not have any rejections to that.