Hidden Memories (11 page)

“Now you know that’s too wild for me.” Sage held up a leopard-print teddy with dangling garters and said, “This is borderline.”

“Go for it,” Tawny encouraged, her pretty brown face breaking into a friendly, gap-toothed smile. “No one will ever know.”

Tawny and Sage had been friends since both women worked at Coca-Cola. They had been roommates until Tawny moved in with her boyfriend.

“I don’t have the nerve,” Sage admitted, putting the teddy back on the rack. “Let’s get something to eat. I’m starving.”

Their final stop after a four-hour shopping spree was at a restaurant.

“I knew you were going to come over here,” Tawny said, looking at the Ruby Tuesday menu. “Let me guess, you’re going to order the seafood gumbo and baked potato.”

“Uh-huh, and you’re going to have the blackened chicken salad,” Sage shot back.

“My favorite salad,” Tawny said, laying the menu on the table. “You’re glowing, girl. Ramion must be the one.”

Sage smiled. “Boy, did we have to struggle to get this far.”

“Yeah, but you’re there now. You should feel really good about things. The man gave up a promising position with a prestigious firm for you.”

“You act like he sacrificed his entire career when he’s actually doing better and making more money.”

“Sage, you know what I’m talking about. He left his big-time mentor, Mr. Williamson. Notice nobody calls him Ed or Edwin. It’s always Mr. Williamson.”

“So?”

“So, he’s got clout. With Mr. Williamson backing him, Ramion was set. Breaking into politics would have been no problem. They would have laid out a welcome mat for Mr. Williamson’s protégé.”

“Are you implying that I ruined his career?”

“No. I’m just saying he did it for you. That should make you feel special,” Tawny said.

“Don’t be cute, Tawny. It wasn’t just for me. Ramion wants to make it on his own.”

“Are you in denial, girl? The only reason he left Mr. Man’s law firm was because he knew he couldn’t have a relationship with you after breaking up with Edwinna.”

“Maybe,” Sage said, shrugging her shoulders. “But it was over between them when we started going out.”

“Not quite. And you know it. He probably wouldn’t have broken up with her when he did if it weren’t for you.”

“Maybe.”

“Sage, you know it’s true. That’s why Edwinna hates you so much.”

“That’s her problem,” she said, tapping her finger against the menu.

A mini-skirted waitress approached their table. “Good afternoon, Ladies. What can I get you?”

“A gag for my friend,” Sage said to the waitress. “And I’ll have the gumbo.”

* * * * *

When Ramion arrived to pick up Sage for their trip to Cancún, she was grinning with the glee of a child on Christmas morning. “I guess you’re ready to go,” Ramion said, noticing the three suitcases lined up by the door.

“I’ve been ready for hours,” Sage admitted. “I can’t wait till we get there.”

“I can’t believe I had to talk you into taking this trip,” Ramion said, recalling her unenthusiastic reaction when he suggested a vacation for the New Year’s holiday. Sage had been reluctant, explaining that she had a lot of work to do.

Ramion had been relentless, placing travel brochures all over his house so that, no matter where Sage went, an enticing brochure lay in arm’s reach. The brochures were filled with pictures of coral beaches, the azure-blue ocean water, historic ruins, museums, elegant restaurants, uniquely architectured hotels, and shopping malls. It was the picture of the Cozumel ruins that finally captured her attention and tempted her to leave work behind for a few days.

Stretching up on her toes to peck his lips, Sage said, “I’m glad you convinced me.”

Ramion loaded her luggage into his car and closed the trunk. Sage locked the front door of her house and came down the steps carrying her purse and computer.

“Baby, what kind of vacation are we going to have if you take that computer with you?” Ramion asked, his forehead creased in a frown.

“I can get some work done on the plane or lounging on the beach.”

“You’re not going to be able to relax if you bring that computer with you, baby. Leave it here, okay?”

Sage hesitated before turning around and going back inside her house. Minutes later, she came outside without the laptop.

“I was going to hide it in my suitcase,” Sage said, grinning devilishly, as Ramion opened the car door for her.

“Let’s leave work behind us. It’s time for some fun!”

* * * * *

Sage flipped through the current issue of
Vanity Fair
magazine as the airplane glided down the runway to position for takeoff. Seated comfortably in the first-class section of the jumbo jet, a glass of mimosa on the tray in front of her, Sage sighed with contentment. Ramion sat beside her, reading a book. She heard the airplane’s engines rev, and moments later they were on their way to Mexico.

Cancún greeted them with a light, misty rain. They went through Customs, presented their passports to Mexican custom agents and then retrieved their luggage. Outside the airport, they took a taxi to the hotel.

“Look at this place,” Sage said, as the taxi driver drove through the resort zone, a mile-long stretch of hotels in all kinds of architectural styles and design.

“Tourism is the number one industry here,” Ramion said. “So hotels are plentiful.”

“Oh, that looks like a mall,” she said, pointing to a sprawling building with storefronts and restaurants. “We have to go there. I heard they have wonderful pieces of jewelry here.”

“We can do that tomorrow if you like. But on Saturday, I want to go to a bullfight.”

“Oh, Ramion, I can’t believe they still do that.”

“Believe it.”

Sage and Ramion checked into a six-star resort that offered tennis courts, a golf course, a fully equipped fitness center, a sand-bottomed whirlpool, swimming pools fed by waterfalls, four restaurants, three bars and aquatic activities. It was located on the beach and within walking distance of a shopping center.

The first thing Sage did after entering their room was walk out to the balcony. She didn’t notice the entertainment center with the 40-inch TV, VCR and stereo system. She gazed upon the crystal-blue waters of the Caribbean coast and breathed in the salty ocean air.

“It’s so beautiful,” she gushed. “I guess I thought the pictures were too good to be true.”

“It’s real, baby,” Ramion said.

“This is paradise,” Sage said, peering over the balcony. White sails danced offshore in the distance and, closer inland, people swam in the turquoise water. The diamond-white shimmering beach, with its perfect sand, beckoned.

“I don’t even want to unpack,” she said. “I just want to get to that beach.”

“Then let’s change and hit it,” Ramion said.

Under the sunny sky, Sage and Ramion walked along the beach, holding hands. Removing her sandals, Sage let the silky sand ooze between her toes. They found a spot to sit under a tropical palm tree and savored the moment—the sultry sun, the silver-white sand, the turquoise ocean and the cloudless sky. They had already fallen under Cancún’s hypnotic spell.

Much later, they returned to their room, unpacked and changed clothes for dinner.

Downstairs in the hotel lobby they exchanged American dollars for Mexican pesos and caught a taxi to a downtown restaurant. They dined on lobster dinner while beautiful Mexican girls dressed in gypsy clothing performed a flamenco dance, their feet stomping and hips gyrating to a salsa-hot beat.

The waiter cleared the table, recommending flan for dessert.

“We’ll pass on dessert,” Ramion said, his gaze passionate and hungry as he stared at Sage.

“I’ll be your dessert,” she whispered, when the waiter walked away.

* * * * *

Dessert began on the balcony. Sage stood against the railing, the cool ocean breeze caressing her body. Ramion kissed the nape of her neck and tenderly massaged the muscles in her shoulders. She relaxed against him and closed her eyes, enjoying his soft, gentle kisses. He nibbled at her ear, his tongue delving inside, his teeth gently nipping at the lobe. He unbuttoned her blouse while licking the sides of her neck, slowly, then faster, faster.

Sage was quickly aroused and anxious. She wanted to kiss him back, felt an urgent need to run her tongue through the dense black hair on his chest. She wanted to feel his desire and touch his maleness. She tried to turn in his arms to face him, but Ramion held her tight.

He removed her silk blouse and the strapless bra and unzipped her skirt as he kissed her back. Restless with anticipation, Sage wrestled with him.

“Be still and patient,” he whispered. “I’m going to love you.”

He ran his hands up and down Sage’s stocking-covered legs, loving the feel of silk against his hands. He rubbed the inside of her thighs before moving to the place between her legs to stroke her hot, wet center. She moaned encouragement when he pulled down her panties and stockings. She kicked them away impatiently.

“Don’t turn around,” he whispered, and sank to his knees. He caressed her soft buttocks, his hands moving in small circles, driving her senseless. She dug her fingers into his shoulders.

Ramion slowly moved higher, his hungry mouth kissing every inch of her flawless back until he was standing, then nibbled her shoulder. Sage could not contain her passion. She turned and kissed his lips hard, her tongue determinedly probing the inside of his mouth.

She softly bit his bottom lip, and her slender fingers inched up and down his chest through the dark mat of hair and tugged at his nipples. Ramion then carried her from the balcony and gently laid her on the bed.

He quickly removed his clothes and unleashed a torrent of kisses on her breasts. His hot tongue began an encirclement on the fleshy tips of her breasts—around and around and around until her brown nipples were taut. His mouth covered her nipple, pulsating rapture through her body. He licked the fullness of her other breast, up and down, up and down, and when he finally took her nipple into his mouth, Sage trembled.

His hands began to explore the place between her thighs, and she writhed under his touch.

Ramion lowered himself so that his head was between her legs. He began licking her inner thighs to the vortex of her pulsing need. He opened her with his fingers, and his tongue plunged inside her lips to taste the sweet nectarine of her desire.

“Ramey Ramey,” Sage moaned.

When he rose up to meet her, she clasped her arms around his neck and bit into the deepness of his shoulders. Ramion spread her legs wide and entered her. Slowly, steadily, he moved inside her, deeper and deeper. Languidly. Sage arched to him and rocked with him. She opened her eyes and whispered, “Faster, faster.”

Ramion looked into her flickering olive eyes. “I love you,” he said.

“And I love you,” she moaned.

He quickened his rhythm, controlled, sweeping.

Their passion exploded like the space shuttle blasting into orbit, and they collapsed into one another’s arms.

* * * * *

Their days were spent leisurely wandering the streets of Cancún—shopping at the urban-like malls, touring the ruins and museums, browsing through the flea markets, swimming and jet skiing in the ocean, and even attending a bullfight. At night, the restaurants and clubs were only a brief stop on the way to passion.

A party was planned for New Year’s Eve at the hotel, their last night in Cancún. Before going to the party, Sage and Ramion took a walk along the beach. It was dusk, the sun on the crest of setting—suspended between the sea and sky.

They found a secluded spot on the beach, hidden away from the main area. They were sipping margaritas, Cancún style—tequila, vodka and lime.

“Have you enjoyed yourself?” Ramion asked, breaking the silence.

“You know I have. It’s so beautiful here. Atlanta seems so far away, another world. Almost wish I could stay here forever.”

“You couldn’t do it. Not for long,” Ramion said. “I’m glad I convinced you to come, Sage. I had an ulterior motive for bringing you here.”

“Uh-huh, to keep me from leaving your bed in the middle of the night.”

Ramion laughed. “Not exactly.”

A seashell rested near Ramion’s feet. He picked it up, examining its interior, and, holding it out to her, said, “I think there’s something inside.”

Under the final rays of the sun, Sage peeked into the orange-colored striped shell with its delicate pearlescent tint. Something sparkled inside, just as he’d claimed. Her heart fluttering with excitement, she shook the seashell. A diamond ring fell out, its face winking up at her from its bed of sand. Sage held her breath as she picked up the ring that signified a promise of eternal love.

For a long moment, neither spoke a word. Ripples of laughter and rock music were carried to them on a breeze.

Ramion took the ring from Sage’s hand. “May I?” he asked, before gliding the two-carat, pear-shaped diamond ring onto her finger.

Sage stared at the ring through tears. In the sun’s twilight, the sand glistened and the ocean water roared, sending its white foamy froth to the shore. When Sage peered up at Ramion, she was at once captured in the gleam of his onyx eyes.