An Unexpected Love (Women's Fiction/BWWM Romance) (15 page)

Shanti got Patrick’s voice mail for the fifth time
that night.

“Daddy,
please
call me as soon as you can.” She put her hand over her free ear to block out
the loud music from downstairs. “I need you to pick me up.” She gave the
address again. “Call me back.”

As she hung up, Khalil opened the door and slinked
inside the bedroom. “There you are.”

She sighed and put her phone in her purse.

“Why are you sitting up here by yourself?” He chugged
beer from the bottle. “
Ahhh
!”

“How many of those have you had?”

“Not enough.” He swayed toward the bed. “What’s up
with you, girl? Why you don’t wanna have any fun?”

“This is not my idea of fun.” She crossed her legs. “I
can’t believe Aliyah left me here.” She checked her watch. “I gotta get home.”

“You know what you need?” He sat beside her on the bed.
“You need to relax.” He held the bottle in front of her. “Have some of this,
and it’ll calm you down in no time.”

“I told you.” She pushed his hand away. “I don’t want
it. Please just leave.”

“Leave?”

“I wanna be left alone. That’s why I came up here.”

He looked at the bottle and then back at her.

“You’re some piece of work, aren’t you? I’ve been nice
to you, haven’t I?” He leaned his head toward her. “Don’t I get a kiss at
least?”

“You must be out of your damn mind.” She pushed his
head away. “Please leave.”

“You don’t own this house.” He sipped beer. “I can
stay in here if I want.”

“Fine.” She stood. “I’ll leave.” Then she headed toward
the door.

“Wait, wait, wait.” He ran behind her and grabbed her
by the arm. “Hold up.”

She jerked away. “Let go of me!”

“
Shh
.” He held her tighter.
“I just wanna talk. There’s nothing wrong with that, right?”

“I don’t wanna talk to you.” She tried to free
herself. “Let me go, Khalil!”

“What you gonna do if I don’t?” His thick eyebrows
furrowed. “I’m sick of this shit.” He threw the beer bottle in the trash. “What
the hell is your problem?”

“I don’t have a problem.” She struggled. “Let me go,
or I’ll scream!”

“So what? They can’t hear you over the music.”

She pried at his hand. “Let go!”

“Why you gotta be like that?” He held her to him. “All
I want is a kiss. That’s all.”

He lowered his mouth to hers.

“Stop.” She turned her head away. “Let me go!” She
slapped him. “I’m leaving.”

             
She
passed him, but he pulled her back. “You ain’t going no damn where! Give me a kiss.
That’s all I want…shit…you think you too good for me?” He walked toward her,
while she backed away. “Is that what you think? You’re just a stuck up little
bitch.”

She raised her purse. “Get out of my way or…I swear to
God—”

“Why? You ain’t gonna do shit.”

She looked into his eyes and saw nothing. No emotion.
No feeling. Just hollow emptiness.

She backed up until she bumped into the bed. “All I
want to do is leave, all right?” She panted. “That’s all.”

He looked her up and down.

“All I want is a kiss.”

“I’m not kissing you.”

“Well, I guess you ain’t leaving either, huh?” He
bumped into her, knocking her on the bed. “It’s your choice.”

She shoved him and got back up.

“Aw, you’re feisty aren’t you?” He nodded. “I knew
there was a reason I liked you.”

“Listen…I called my dad.” She gripped her purse. “He’s
coming to get me. If he finds out you were bothering me, you’re gonna wish
you’d never met him.”

“I don’t give a fuck about your punk ass daddy. Let
his ass come in here and see what happens.”

Her heart nearly burst out of her chest.

“But right now, this is about me and you.” He licked
his lips, while staring at hers. “A kiss for your freedom.” He grinned.

She fought the bile rising in her stomach. She held
her breath and moved closer to him.

“See, that’s more like it.” He put his arms around her
and gave her a hard kiss that almost suffocated her. “You like that?” he asked
as he touched her hair.

 
“Okay, you got
your kiss.” She wiped her mouth, fighting the urge to vomit from the smell of
his beer-cigarette breath. “Get out of my way.”

“Let me see your
titties
.”

Her breath caught in her throat. “
Wh
…what
did you say?”

He crossed his arms and rocked. “Let me see your
titties
, and then you can go.”

“No!” She touched her blouse. “Get out of my way, or
I’ll scream so loud—”

“You’re not gonna do shit,
lil
’
mama. Not a damn thing.” He touched her blouse. “But you are gonna show me them
titties
. Then you can leave.”

“Fuck you.”

“You know what?” He grabbed her when she tried to
pass. “I think I like that idea much better.”

“What?”

A wave of fear flooded over her, reminding her of the ominous
feeling she’d had all night that something horrible would happen…only she
assumed it would be to Aliyah and not to her.

“Yeah, I like that idea.” He wrapped his arms around
her. “I like that idea a whole lot better.”

He tried to kiss her.

“No!” She turned her head left and right. “Leave me
alone!”

“Shut up!” He shook her. “I know all about girls like
you, but you are the ultimate tease.”

She shook her head. “No…I’m—”

“Yeah, you’re the kind of girl that says ‘no’ but means
‘yes.’”

He held her tighter.

“No…if…if you think I’m that type of girl, you’re
wrong. I just want to leave. Please, just let me leave.”

She tried to push him away, but he held her steady in
his grip.

“I’ll let you leave.” He threw her on the bed. “When
I’m finished.” He crawled on top of her.

“No!” She fought as he pinned her arms to the bed.
“Someone help! No!”

“Shut up!”

He forced his mouth over hers.

“
Mmm
!” Shanti writhed and
kicked underneath him. “No!”

“Here we are.” Cross showed Layla into his place and
walked into the living room on the right. “
Mi
casa is
su
casa.”

He turned on the lights. Layla entered the ultra-neat
room with the flesh-toned walls and shiny, brown-tile floor. It looked like he spent
his time mopping and cleaning. He’d kept his room at Wellington spotless, so
his home being so immaculate wasn’t exactly a surprise.

“What do you think?” Cross stood by the navy-blue
couch that didn’t exactly match the curtains, but brought flair into the room.

“It’s so clean.” She walked around, glancing at several
pictures of Cross and his son. “I bet you can eat on the floor. I like a clean
house, but this is something else.”

He grinned. “Guess I can be a little obsessive about
cleanliness. I just don’t like clutter. I never have.”

“I can understand that,” she said, eyeing the white,
dust-free ceiling fan.

“You want something to drink?” He rubbed his hands
together. “How about apple juice?”

She sat down. “You
love
apple juice.”

He raised an eyebrow. “You remember?”

 
“Hell, it was
all you complained about at Wellington.” She took off her blazer and laid it
beside her. “You kept whining about them not having your precious apple juice.”

“I don’t whine.” He chuckled. “I’ll be right back.”

As he left the room, Layla finally let go of the
breath she’d been holding since he asked her to come back to his place. She’d
longed to be alone with him from the moment she’d left the center. Now she
was
.

She stroked the soft armrest. She couldn’t remember
the last time she’d been alone with a man besides Patrick. It seemed like
nothing before her marriage had ever existed.

She inhaled, enjoying the lasting aroma of Cross’
cologne.

What happens
now?

They were no longer at the center barred by rules or
regimes. They were alone now, outside the walls.

Layla’s crotch tingled.

Before Cross, she’d forgotten how just the thought of
a man could send her body into ecstasy. Her passion for Patrick had died a long
time ago. When they had made love, she did it out of duty instead of zeal or
desire.

She patted her hair.

Sometimes she felt like an outsider looking into some
other woman’s life. How could she let a man change her from who she longed to
be? From who she was? She found nothing scarier than needing a man so much that
she gave up who she was in the process. She had no idea where things would lead
with Cross, but she’d walk away and never look back before sacrificing herself
again.

Never again will she let a man take who she was away
from her.

Cross walked in with two glasses of apple juice with
ice. “There you go.” He held one out to her.

She took the glass. “Thank you, sir.”

He sipped and exhaled. “I could drink nothing but this
stuff for the rest of my life.”

“Goodness.” Layla flinched as the sugary drink stunned
her taste buds. “Been a long time since I had apple juice. I forgot how sweet
it is.”

Cross gulped until he got halfway to the glass. “How
about some music?” He gestured to the stereo on the back shelf.

“Sure, that sounds nice.”

He turned through the radio channels and stopped on an
R&B slow jam that Layla liked, but she couldn’t remember the name of the
song. He returned to the couch and started laughing.

“What’s so funny?”

“I’m just thinking about you singing.” He sat beside
her. “You didn’t lie when you said you sucked. I think you’re the worst singer
I’ve ever heard.”

She crossed her legs. “I told you.”

He leaned over, laughing. “The host offered you five
dollars to
stop
singing.”

“I wasn’t stopping.” She stuck her head in the air.
“Shit, he made me do it. So I was gonna make him suffer.”

“I guess now I’ve been proven wrong about you.” Cross
sipped from his glass. “All this time, I thought you were perfect. But you
can’t sing.”

She shivered with delight. “No one’s perfect, Cross.”

“You sure are close to it for me, though.”

“I had so much fun tonight.” She got her glass and
held it to her lap. “I don’t think I’ve had this much fun in…I can’t even
remember when.”

“Surely you and Patrick did things together.”

“It had been a while since we went out. When we had
actual dates, it wasn’t like what you and I did tonight. Karaoke?” She curled
up her nose. “You’d never catch Patrick doing something like that. He’d be too
busy worrying about how it looked to people to see him acting silly.” She
giggled. “That’s what I like about you. You don’t mind being silly and showing
that part of yourself.”

“I don’t?” He crossed his eyes and made another funny face.

“Cross.” She laughed. “See? You’re always making me
laugh.”

“Laughter’s the best medicine.”

“At first I thought it was some kind of defense
mechanism, but then I realized that you really do just like to have fun.”

“When you grew up like me you had to have fun. Layla,
I went through so many hard times as a child that laughter soothed me.
It
became my friend.”

“That’s how I feel about cooking.” She nodded. “I fell
in love with it from the minute I could walk. My mom is a retired chef, and she
taught my sisters and me how to cook before anything else. She used to say, ‘If
a woman can’t cook she’s useless.’
Kinda
old-fashioned thinking these days, but I see her point.” She sipped apple
juice.

Cross squinted. “I think that’s so sexy.”

“What?” She moved the glass from her lips. “Cooking?”

“No. Watching your lips on that glass.”

“
Cross
.” She
turned away, chuckling to herself.

“I had a wonderful time tonight too.” He took her
hand. “It’s been so long since I felt such a connection. I felt it the minute I
first saw you.”

She tangled her fingers within his.

“At Wellington, I almost forgot anyone else was there
because I was so focused on you.” She scooted closer to him. “It was the first
time I’d ever enjoyed being there. I didn’t wanna leave.” She stared into his
sensuous eyes. “I didn’t wanna leave
you
.”

“You don’t know how I wished to have you alone like
this, Layla.” He laid his hand in her lap and caressed her thigh. “I can’t
believe it’s finally happening. We’re once again in our own little world and
nothing else matters.” He touched her cheek. “What are you thinking?”

“I’m wondering if you’re gonna ever shut up and kiss
me.”

That is all that he needed to hear. He set his glass
down and pulled her into his arms.