Secrets On Lake Drive (30 page)

“We haven’t talked about that yet.”

“Are you happy about this?”

“Yeah, I’m very happy.”

“But…”

“How did you know there would be a
but
?”

“Because I know you. So what’s the
but
?”

“Well, Sean is a very attractive man, and I
don’t want to be fighting women off of him all the time.”

“Girl, please. You don’t have to worry about
that. Sean is so in love with you, he can’t even see other
women.”

“And how would you know he’s that much in
love with me?”

“Because...I just know.”

“How can you know something like that? You
weren’t even hanging around me that much when I was living with
Sean.”

“Okay, okay. I didn’t tell you this before. I know I
should have, so don’t be mad at me. But for the past two months,
Sean has been calling me every week to check on you.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yep. Just a couple of weeks ago, he wanted
me to tell you that he loved you. Then he broke down and cried. I
felt so bad for him because I knew that man loved you, and I knew
deep down inside that you loved him, too, no matter how hard you
tried to fake it.”

“You did?”

“Yeah, I knew.”

“Wow. I can’t believe he called you and
you
didn’t tell me.” I nudged Keisha. “And what have you
been telling him about me anyway?”

“I told him that you were working. And when
he told me how much he loved you, I was like, ‘Awww’.”

So my best friend had been giving Sean
updates on me. I couldn’t be mad at her, though. That little scheme
had Sean’s name written all over it. If he didn’t love me, he
wouldn’t care what I was doing.

I LEFT KEISHA’S house in just enough time to
meet Kevin, who arrived promptly at four, back at my apartment.

“So, where did we leave off?” I questioned him, as
we sat on the couch in the same manner as we did on his first visit
to my place.

“Ah, I’m not sure. We got off to a good
start, though.”

“Well, I have a question for you. Did you
have a relationship with our father?”

“Yeah. He was always there. He was at my
graduation. He stopped by to visit me from time to time. We weren’t
the best of friends, but we had somewhat of a relationship. He was
at the hospital when Ciara was born.”

What!
My father, the man who agreed
with my mother that I shouldn’t keep my baby, was playing
granddaddy to Kevin’s daughter. I was fuming. I was so upset, I was
ready to end the conversation and tell Kevin to leave. Kevin could
read my sudden mood swing.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Ah…uh…yeah, I’m okay.”

“You seem to be a little troubled.”

My eyes teared up. “It’s just that my father
was never there for me, and ah…he made me give my little boy away…”
I stopped, not wanting to overwhelm Kevin with my complaints about
our father.

“You have a son? I didn’t know you had
children.”

“Yeah, I have a son. My parents made me give
him up for adoption as soon as he was born.”

“What! Why?”

“I was young, just about to graduate high
school.”

“And why didn’t they want you to keep the
baby?”

“Because I was in high school and had
college ahead of me. They said they didn’t want me to ruin my life.
Going to college was required no matter what.”

There I sat on couch getting angry, again. I
wanted to tell Kevin to leave…I really did, but I didn’t want to be
rude.

“Kevin, excuse me for a moment.”

I went into my bedroom and shut the door. I
was a mess. It was not fair to me that my father accepted Kevin’s
little girl but not my sweet, innocent little Eric. Kevin had his
daughter with him, while my son was in this world without me. I
wiped my eyes and tried to pull myself together to return to Kevin
in the living room. When I did, he was standing up.

“Monica, I’m sorry. I made you upset.”

“No, Kevin, it’s not your fault. My parents
did this to me, not you.”

Kevin walked over and hugged me. “I know,
but I’m sorry. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“I know you need your space right now so I’m
going to go.”

Just as I watched Kevin drive off, Sean
pulled up in the truck, and boy, I was happy to see him. I needed
to be close to someone who loved me. I hurried up and dried my
face, not wanting Sean to know that I was crying. I greeted him at
the door. He had brought a dozen red roses for me, but when he saw
my face, he put the roses on the coffee table and immediately
wrapped me into his arms. There was no other feeling like that – to
have him comfort me and give me his complete attention like I was
the only thing in the world that mattered to him.

“Baby, what’s wrong? Talk to me.” He took me
by the hand and we sat on the couch together.

“I’m fine now that you’re here.”

“Monica, you know I don’t like it when you
keep things from me.”

“I know.”

“Then talk to me, baby.”

“Kevin was just here. I asked him if my
father had a relationship with him and he said yes. Then he said my
father was at the hospital when his daughter was born. But when
Eric was born, they made me give him away.”

I doubt if Sean could make out the last few
sentences of my tearful explanation, but he sure tried to comfort
me as best as he could. Sean wiped my eyes with his soft
fingers.

“Well, that’s about to change. You don’t
have to cry anymore, because I’m here and I’ll always be here for
you. Always.”

“You mean that?”

“Yeah, I mean that. I love you.”

I needed to hear those words from him more
than anything.

“I love you, too.”

When Sean grabbed me into his arms again, I
closed my eyes and took a few quick deep breaths. I could feel my
worries drifting away from me.

“Sean, can you stay with me tonight?”

“Of course, I can.” Sean took off his suit
jacket and loosened his necktie, while I went to get a Kleenex.
“Have you had anything to eat?” Sean asked when I returned.

“No. I’m not really hungry.”

“Yeah, but you need to eat something,
baby.”

“I know.”

“I’ll order pizza. Is that okay?”

I was in a daze, staring at Sean as he
talked. I loved the way he just took control.

“Monica…did you hear me?”

“Yeah. Pizza sounds fine.”

“Ah’ight.”

Sean ordered a large deep-dish pepperoni,
ham, and sausage pizza from Pizza Hut, and we sat in the living
room and ate. It was now about ten o’clock, and my eyes were
heavier than a pair of ten-pound weights. I had already dozed off a
couple of times throughout the movie, using Sean’s shoulder for my
personal pillow.

“I’m going to go to bed,” I told him, with
my arms still wrapped around his muscular body.

“Okay. I’ll sleep on the couch.”

“I wish I had some men’s clothing so you
could change into something a little more comfortable.”

“You better not have any men’s clothing
lying around here.”

We both laughed. Then Sean unbuttoned his
shirt while asking me where his goodnight hug was. Talk about
enticing…if I kept on staring, I was going to jump on him. He
walked over to me with a smile gracing his beautiful face, took my
hands, and placed them on his firm body. I finished the hug with my
arms stretched around him. My head was up against his chest, right
where I liked it to be. He smelled so good, like Cool Water mixed
with aftershave lotion. We held each other a little longer. Neither
of us wanted to let go first.

“You better go ahead and get into bed before you
fall asleep right here.” He said it, but he didn’t want me to go to
bed. I knew because he squeezed me tighter than a boa constrictor
hungry for a meal.

“I wouldn’t mind going to sleep right here,”
I said, while planting little kisses on his tight chest. I didn’t
want to go to bed alone. I wanted him to wrap those huge muscles
around me and hold me.

“Really? So does that mean I don’t have to sleep on
the couch?” Sean withdrew from me so he could completely see my
face.

I stood on my tiptoes and kissed him. I couldn’t
believe I did it so suddenly, but I did. One minute, I was talking
about going to bed. The next, my tongue was playing with Sean’s
taste buds.

He picked me up and carried me into the bedroom,
laying me on my unmade bed.
Looks like he won’t be sleeping on
the couch after all.

I finished taking his shirt off and he
climbed on top of me to initiate a kiss of his own. Before I knew
it, my white t-shirt was over my head and on the floor. So were my
jeans. The only things I had on me were some Hanes cotton bikini
panties and Sean, and I wore him like an infant wears a onesie. His
pants were on the floor, too, and he wore some silk, silver boxers
that were so smooth, I couldn’t distinguish the boxers from his
well-maintained skin. Sean moved away from my lips and kissed and
pulled on my neck like a suction cup.

I thought that being with him would be
awkward since I wasn’t used to being touched by a man, but I felt
comfortable with Sean. It had been a long time since I’ve been
loved like this. Every time Sean touched me, my body jerked, and I
was breathing so heavily I could see my chest going up and
down.

“Oh, Sean, baby…you’re too much man for me,”
I whispered in his ear. “I don’t know if I can handle you.”

Sean looked me in my eyes. “We’re just
kissing right now, baby. If you can’t handle this, you’re really
going to be in trouble.” We laughed together. “Besides, you’ve been
doing a good job of handling me so far. Don’t…be…scared…now,” Sean
said between kisses.

We kissed and held each other for most of
the night, and though there was no sex, it sure felt like we had
made love. I don’t know which turned me on more – the passionate
kissing or his self-control. I knew Sean wanted to make love to me.
I wanted to make love to him, too, but we didn’t go there.

“I can’t believe we’re together like this,”
Sean said, as he stroked my hair.

“I can’t believe it either. I thought you
hated me.”

“Nah, I thought you hated me.”

“Whatever, Sean. I was always nice to you,
and if I did cop an attitude, it’s because you had one first.”

“Ah’ight, ah’ight.” He couldn’t argue with
me on that one.

“So do you really think this can work
between us?” I asked him.

“Of course, I do. Why? Do you have
doubts?”

“It’s still early in our…uh…”

“Relationship? It’s okay to say it. Now say
it with me. Re-la-tion-ship.”

I laughed at Sean’s silliness. “It seems so
weird just saying that.”

“You’ll get used to it.”

“It just feels like this happened all of a
sudden.”

“If you ask me, it’s been happening all
along. I was checkin’ you from the beginning. I still remember the
day I came to your class. You were wearing that tight skirt and had
your hair all pinned up, looking all sophisticated.”

“My skirt was not tight.”

“Yeah, it was. But my favorite outfit of
yours is the sundress you wore when you went out shopping with
Keisha that day. And you wore your hair down. I like it when you
wear your hair down. It brings out those big, bright eyes of yours.
And that dress showed all of your curves.”

“Oh, so you’re only interested in my
body?”

“I’m interested in your body, your likes,
your wants, your desires…the person you are on the inside as well
as on the outside.”

“Good, because the person I am on the inside is
falling deeper in love with you by the minute.”

Sean smiled. “Good.” He ran his index
fingers up and down my back. “Monica, I’m serious about us. You
know that, right?”

“Yeah, I know.”

“I mean it. I want to spend the rest of my
life with you.”

“You are something else. You know that?” I
closed my eyes while Sean fondled my hair. “What on earth did I do
to deserve you?” Sean’s smile disappeared when I asked him the
question.

“You loved me. That’s all I ever wanted, and
the bond between us can never be broken. I’m going to love you
forever.” He kissed the tip of my nose, then closed his eyes.

Sean had me hooked. I don’t even think I had
fallen for Cornelius that fast. But Sean was ready for my love and
I was ready to give it to him.

Sean skipped work so we could spend the day
together. First thing in the morning, I took a shower, got dressed,
then rode with Sean back over to his house. As soon as we walked
through the front door, I saw my Roman. It almost seemed as if he
knew I was going to be coming. He had a certain look about him, but
maybe that’s only because we’d been apart for so long. He ran up to
give me a hug.

“I missed you, Mommy.”

“I missed you, sweetheart.”

Roman was so happy to see me that he started
crying.

Sean went upstairs to shower while I sat in
the family room with Roman and Victoria.

“Roman, go get me a glass of water, baby?” I
knew Victoria was sending Roman away so she could flood me with
questions. I could tell she was itching to know what was up with me
and Sean.

“So how have you been, Monica?”

“I’ve been okay, Mama V.”

“I’m sorry about your father.”

“Thanks.”

“It’s been different without you around
here. We all missed you.”

“I missed you guys, too.”

“So I assume you and Sean are okay now?”

“Yeah, we’re okay.”

“Actually, we’re more than okay. Monica told
me last night that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with
me,” Sean said from around the door, even though he was the one who
said those words to me.

He had a glass of grapefruit juice in his
hand. And he was dressed nice, too. He had on a blue Nautica
sweater, a pair of dark jeans, and some black Timberland boots.

“That’s wonderful.” Victoria was beside herself.