First Publication November 2009
Revised August 2011
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.
Copyright 2009 by Ms. Downlow, Published at Smashwords
Her Husband
Made Her Do Him
by Ms. Downlow
This book is dedicated to those who've craved nothing more
than to be in a committed relationship, but have felt the sting of betrayal.
I feel your pain.
Chapter One
BROKEN GLASS
"Heaven must be like this," James whispered into Katlynne's ear as he made love to her for the third time. It was early morning, and she had spent the night with him. She thrilled at his touch, his voice, his every move. Suddenly, there was a knock at his front door. He stopped mid-stroke, looking into her eyes.
"Shh!" he said.
The look on his face and the tone of his voice led her to believe she was in danger. She lay still as the knocking became more insistent.
"James, I know you're in there! Open this door!" said an angry female voice.
James hopped up and began putting on the clothes he had tossed on a chair the previous evening, when he'd brought Kat to his 1920's cottage bungalow in the Hollywood Hills. He looked at her, lying naked and stunned in his bed.
"Let me in James!" said the woman at the door.
Eyes wide, eyebrows raised, he put a finger to his lips to signal Kat to keep quiet. As the knocking continued, he quietly crept out of the bedroom into the adjoining living room. Suddenly there was the loud, unmistakable sound of glass shattering.
"Demitra! What are you doing? Look at your hands!" James said in a high-pitched voice filled with fear and concern.
Kat couldn't see anything from the bedroom, and couldn't be seen. She silently got out of bed, hid in James' closet, and stealthily pulled the door closed.
"Why didn't you open the door, James? Who's here with you?" Demitra demanded, as she continued to break glass.
"Stop, I'm opening it," he said.
"Oh God, you're bleeding! Wait right here, I'll get a towel," he cried, as he went back through his bedroom into the adjoining bathroom.
Kat trembled with fear. She knew that James' front door was made up of many small panes of glass, and she was certain that this woman, Demitra, had just broken some of the glass and cut herself. James said he didn't have a girlfriend, just a female friend that he went out with and had sex with sometimes. Kat felt like a fool for believing him, and giving her virginity to him the previous night.
Demitra followed James into his bedroom, and flung the closet door open just as James came out of the bathroom with a towel. She lunged toward Kat. James quickly grabbed Demitra around the waist from behind. She struggled to free herself as they both fell back on his bed. Blood spurted from her wrists.
"Let me go, nasty! What are you trying to do?" she screamed, sitting in his lap.
Kat stood naked among James' suits, shirts, and pants. She made a vain attempt to hide her body.
"He told me he didn't have a girlfriend," Kat explained in a weak voice. Underneath all the blood, she could see that Demitra was beautiful.
"He's right, I'm not his girlfriend. We're just friends," said Demitra, who stopped struggling. She stared at Kat, looking her up and down. She was bleeding profusely from both wrists. James took the opportunity to cover her wrists with the towel he had retrieved from the bathroom. There was blood everywhere.
"She's gorgeous, why don't you marry her?" Demitra asked, never taking her eyes off of Katlynne.
"Demitra, we have to get you to the hospital," James said, as he held the towel tightly on her wrists.
"He's one of the good ones. You're lucky," Demitra said. Sirens blared outside, and soon, James' small bedroom was filled with police, fire department, and ambulance personnel. As soon as Katlynne heard the first policeman announcing himself at the front door, she pulled the closet door shut.
She could hear the police questioning James and Demitra about what happened, and she could hear rescue worker's setting down metal bins, pulling and tearing surgical tape. Demitra admitted that she got angry because James hadn't answered her calls the previous night, and wouldn't open the door when she arrived.
The closet door latch was faulty, and the door popped open slightly. Kat peeked out through the small slit and could see James standing with his back to her. She'd decided to make love with him the night before, because he was everything she'd always wanted in a man. He was sincere, unpretentious, tall, dark, and handsome with beautiful jet black closely cropped curls, a nice mustache, and a very athletic physique. He was nearly done with college, and had a good paying job. Now she knew he'd been honest with her about Demitra, and as she gazed at him, his concern and compassion for his friend melted Kat's heart.
He was telling the policeman about her-that she was in the closet, nude. The medical personnel led Demitra out of the house, the police left, and James opened the closet door just a bit.
"Katlynne, I'm so sorry about this. I can't believe it, she cut her wrists up punching out the glass in the door."
"Don't worry about me. Go be with your friend. She needs you right now," Kat said.
"Okay. I'll call you later and let you know what's going on. A female officer is coming in to ask you some questions, and she'll drive you home."
"Alright," said Katlynne. As she watched James leave the room, tears slid down her cheeks. How tragic, to love a man so much you would do something so deadly to yourself. Katlynne grabbed one of James white dress shirts from a hanger and put it on.
After questioning Kat, the policewoman allowed her to clean up and get dressed in private. She led Kat out of the blood stained bungalow to her patrol car as a crowd of neighbors looked on. The bright sun couldn't penetrate the dark clouds that were forming in Kat's head. When she got home, she couldn't stop replaying the horrific scene over and over in her mind. Demitra would surely be scarred for life, never able to forget her tragic act of self-destruction. Kat would never forget.
A few weeks later, after James attended several psychiatric therapy sessions with Demitra, he and Katlynne resumed their whirlwind romance.
Chapter Two
THE FOUR-YEAR ITCH?
It was 11:30 pm. on a cool, mid-April evening, and Katlynne lay in bed, nude, staring at her husband's handsome face and body. Moonlight streamed into their second story bedroom casting a romantic glow over him, and the sight made her heart ache. They'd just finished making love, and he'd promptly fallen asleep hugging Katlynne so tightly, that she could barely breathe. She freed herself of his heavy limbs, but couldn't get to sleep.
She wasn't satisfied, not because she hadn't reached an orgasm. No, that hadn't even been what she was out to achieve when she'd grabbed James at the door and taken him to bed when he'd come home from work.She needed something that so far he'd been unable to deliver-peace of mind. She needed to know that she was the only woman in his life. The only one he made love to, and confided in. The one he still wanted to spend the rest of his life with. That was how she felt about him, and how he had once felt about her, but her intuition along with mounting evidence told her that his feelings had changed.
She remembered that when she was dating him, another guy who was interested in her warned that if she married James, she'd be bored. Oh, how she longed to have her boring life back! She rolled out of bed and went downstairs to the bathroom of the Baldwin Hills condo they'd purchased right after they'd gotten married nearly 4 years earlier. Katlynne didn't want James to hear her cry. She turned on the shower and stepped in, letting the hard needles of warm water pierce her skin as she sobbed uncontrollably.
There was no way she was going to be able to get her mind off of her troubles and focus on the long night of studying ahead. She was a second year law student at UCLA, and final exams were just 3 weeks away. She couldn't let this latest evidence of James' infidelity ruin her performance, as she had last year. James had surprised her back then, too, when she discovered a woman's name and phone number on a dirty, worn out sticky note laying in the kitchen floor. Finding the note made her go out to his car and investigate, see what he had there. She'd found a birthday card in his glove compartment that said, "Happy Birthday, Sexy! XOXO." No signature, but she knew it was from a woman.
Armed with the two pieces of evidence, she'd rushed back into the house, just as James was putting on his tie preparing to leave for work.
"James, who is Trish? Is she the same woman who gave you this card?" she'd asked, thrusting the note, and open card in his face to refresh his memory.
James looked stunned, and completely at a loss for words.
"Where did you find that number?"
"On the kitchen floor!"
"Well, then you know I wasn't trying to hide anything from you. It's just a co-worker who's on my team with the company."
"So, is this card from her, too?"
"No, that's from a lady that's like a grandmother to everybody at work. She likes to joke around."
"So why didn't you ever bring it in the house? Your birthday was two months ago."
"No reason, I just forgot about it," he said, kissing her goodbye and heading for the door.
Kat always showed James everything anyone of the opposite sex gave her, and he never seemed to mind. He was that confident that she loved him to the exclusion of all other men. If only she could be that confident about him-but he'd made it impossible by doing things like sequestering the birthday card in his car. She sensed he wasn't being honest about the phone number or the card. From that day forward, she suffered silently, never letting on that her intuition told her that he was cheating. When exam time arrived, she barely passed, even though she knew the material like the back of her hand. Her confidence was blown, her focus shattered.
When she'd received her grades and told James why they were so poor, he had laughed at her. He insisted she was just trying to find someone else to blame for her poor performance instead of placing the blame where it belonged, squarely on her shoulders. Kat convinced herself that he was right. But now she realized that she had been right all along, James was cheating.
Katlynne got out of the shower, dried off, and looked in the medicine cabinet. There was a bottle of Vicodin containing 25 pills that she'd gotten earlier that year, but never used--when she'd had her wisdom teeth removed. She wondered how many she would need.
The next morning was another typically sunny, beautiful day in Los Angeles. The clear skies, and singing birds made Katlynne optimistic. She went to school with her head on straight, determined to muddle through. But as she sat in Professor Jones' Entertainment Law class, her optimism evaporated, and once again she felt like dying. Now, instead of taking lecture notes on her laptop, she was surfing the web on Vicodin overdose, and figuring out how many pills to take.
Professor Jones could see that she was distracted, so he didn't call on her. Kat was his favorite student. He knew all about her troubles with her husband, both past and present. He also knew that she'd nearly failed her first year because of her suspicions about him.
Thereafter, she was placed on academic probation. She'd been warned that if she didn't bring her grades up during the first semester of second year, she'd be dismissed from the school, and forced to reapply if she wanted to get back in. That would have meant she'd have to compete with a fresh pool of applicants, most of who were first timers without a tainted law school performance.
Kat had been devastated by her poor performance, and unlike some of her friends, she couldn't get a summer position with any of the top firms. Professor Jones had hired her as his summer research assistant, and kept her on when school resumed that fall.
That summer, Kat had also secured a staff position on Law Review, the school's top legal journal, because she wrote an excellent paper for the write-on competition. Even with all those duties on her plate, she had a stellar exam performance the first semester of her second year. She'd convinced herself that her husband wasn't cheating after all.
Now, with her second year coming to a close in less than a month, Professor Jones knew he would be seeing less of Katlynne, and this fact made him extremely sad. Of all his students that year, she was the most intriguing. In his 10 years at UCLA Law, he'd never met anyone like her. She was conservative, but sassy, shy, but spirited when it came to discussing topics that she was passionate about. He dismissed the class and waited for Katlynne to walk by him.
"Professor Jones, did you get the research information that I completed?" she asked, stopping in front of him.
As usual, being in such close proximity to her made his pulse race-she was breathtaking, and he noticed many of the students couldn't keep their eyes off of her either.
"I did, and thank you for turning it in so early, Kat. I'd like to meet with you in my office at noon to discuss it, if you don't mind."
"That's fine, I just have to stop by the Law Review office first to turn in my article, and I'll be right up."
She knew he didn't really need to discuss her work. He really wanted to see how she was doing, and she was grateful for his concern. He knew that Katlynne's fears of her husband cheating had recently resurfaced, and that she now had solid evidence.
As always, Katlynne promptly showed up to his office, rolling her laptop briefcase along behind her. She was dressed conservatively as usual, in a navy blue skirt suit with a cream colored blouse underneath. Her long, brown, shapely legs looked even more fabulous in high-heeled navy pumps. With a sigh, she sat down in a chair opposite the professor, angling her legs to the side so as not to bump his.
"Bad day, huh? I can tell by the look in your eyes, nothing's changed. You don't deserve this, seriously."
"I don't know what to do. I don't want to keep accusing James. I don't feel like being here." Katlynne's eyes glistened with unshed tears. She couldn't tell him the truth that she was planning to commit suicide.
"You can do this, Kat. I'm not going to tell you what to do about your marriage. But you've got to pull it together for final exams. You cannot repeat your first year performance. Throw yourself into your studies, I know it will keep your mind off of what he's doing," he said, coming around to her side and placing his hand on her back.
"I wish there was something more I could do...you have to understand Kat...your husband is probably insecure because you're doing so well, and attaining a goal he's never reached."
Professor Jones was married too, but he often fantasized about Katlynne and today he couldn't resist her. He walked around the desk, took her by the hands, stood her up and wrapped her in his arms.
"Devin," she cried, calling him by his first name, as he had often instructed her to.
She put her face in his chest. This was the first time that he'd ever hugged her. He lifted her chin and kissed her, putting his tongue in her mouth, but she fought the urge to kiss him back. He stopped, drew back, looked into her eyes and said,
"If you were mine, I would never have treated you this way."
Kat was stunned. So many of the female students were envious of her for working with Professor Jones, who was the campus hottie. She decided not to respond, and hoped that he would get a clue that she wasn't open to him. She certainly didn't want to shoot him down, because in truth, she was attracted to him, too. But she'd met his wife, and would never trespass on her territory. She walked over to his office window, and looked down at students having lunch in the quad below.
"I know you think James is threatened by my education, but he's the one who always encouraged me to have educational and career goals. How could he say one thing, but mean another?"
He came up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. She could feel the heat coming off of his body, as he said,
"He wouldn't be the first. I've seen many of my student's marriages fail because they were going to law school. It's a big strain on any relationship. I emphasized that to him when I met him at family orientation night. Whatever you do, don't blame yourself for this, seriously."
Kat was afraid to move lest he try to kiss her again, and she didn't want to bump her butt up against him, but he was standing so close it was almost impossible not to. Yet she felt positive energy radiating through his hands to her shoulders and into her body, making her believe she could take control of her situation.
"You're so right! I'm not going to let something that I'm doing to better our lives ruin our lives instead!"
"That's the right attitude. Call me if you need to talk. I'm here for you. Now, come on, I'll walk you to the BLSA meeting." He took her hand and she turned to face him. He embraced her again, and this time, he didn't try to kiss her. She was relieved. He let go of her hand before they walked out of his office.
All of the BLSA members were already present when Kat and Professor Jones entered the room, but they stood to greet him. He was popular among the Black Law Student Association members, because not only had he helped found the school's chapter of the organization, he also often sat in on their meetings.
After the meeting, Kat was exhausted, but she soon perked up. It was Friday, and she could spend a quiet weekend at home with James, making love to him, and making him forget the other woman. What with taking a full load of classes, serving as a staff member on Law Review, and working as a research assistant for the professor, sometimes there simply weren't enough hours in the day to devote to him. She was determined not to mention the suspected affair, and just focus on pleasing him.
"You ready?" asked Cynda, Kat's best friend and carpool buddy, who was also a BLSA member. She was a stunning, black and Puerto-Rican beauty with long jet-black hair, flawless deep brown skin, and a petite, shapely figure.
"Yeah. I'm so glad it's your turn to drive, because I'm tired!"
Cynda was bi-lingual, and would let Spanish words fly whenever she was excited or angry. Fortunately, Kat had taken Spanish in high school and undergrad, so she understood nearly everything Cynda said at those times. Not that she needed to, because most of the time Cynda would immediately repeat the words in English. The two women had met on the first day of orientation, before they knew they would be in the same first year section and have all their classes together. They'd quickly hit it off, and when school started, they became study partners.
They waved goodbye to fellow classmates that they encountered along the way to the parking structure, and then hopped into Cynda's huge late model silver-blue BMW 7 series sedan. She started it up and carefully backed out of her parking space. She was definitely not looking forward to the late afternoon stop and go traffic she'd have to brave on the freeway from Westwood to Baldwin Hills, where Kat lived. Cynda lived near her, in a more exclusive, gated enclave.
Kat's cell phone rang and she answered it.
"Hello."
"Hey Kat, I forgot to tell you, I'm going to be out of town for the weekend. BP needs me to go to a conference in Biloxi. I just got on the plane now at LAX." said James.
"What? Why is it that you don't tell me these things until the last minute!"
"I'm sorry, I've just been getting home so late, and you're already asleep. I didn't want to wake you..."
"Are you sure you're not just trying to get away with that woman?" she asked, deciding that this news removed the self-enforced bar of not mentioning the suspected affair.
"Katlynne, stop asking me about her, for the last time, I'm telling you, there is nothing going on between us!" he insisted.
Tears instantly sprang from her eyes and poured down her cheeks as she turned her face away from Cynda, and looked out the passenger side window. She noticed the driver in the car next to her staring with a look of concern on his face. She brushed the tears away and forced her voice to sound composed, though she was mentally unhinged.
"Okay. I love you. Have a safe trip," she managed to cough out.
"I love you, too. You've gotta trust me, baby. I'll call you when I get to Biloxi." How was she supposed to trust him when her heart told her that he was not to be trusted?
He was a manager at British Petroleum, a demanding, but prestigious position that did more than pay the bills. The young, conservative couple had been married for four years. At 30 years old, he was six years older than Kat, and had earned his engineering degree from USC.
Now, she could no longer control her tears as they streamed down her face.
"Oh, Beauty. ¿Qué pasó ahora? What happened, now?" Stuck in slow traffic, Cynda took the opportunity to look over at Kat, and rub her shoulder.
"James...is...going...on...a....trip.....with...that...woman." Kat was sobbing so hard; she could barely get the words out.
"¿Qué has hecho para merecer esto? What have you done to deserve this? Absolutely nothing, that's what! Damn it! You are too incredible for him, Kat. That does it, I'm not taking no for an answer this time. We're going out tomorrow night. I'm not going to have you sitting around feeling desperate again while he's out messin' around!"
This wasn't the first time that Kat told Cynda about her suspicions. She'd confided in her when she'd been suspicious during her first year, and more recently when she found convincing evidence of his fling. Cynda had her own ideas about how Kat should handle it, but Kat hadn't listened to her. She was beginning to think Cynda might be right. James was making her feel insecure, desperate, and suicidal. She hated these feelings, but so far, willing them away hadn't been effective. For over a month now since she'd discovered he really was cheating, she'd been plagued with visions of him making love to another woman.
Now that he was going out of town, quite possibly with his lover, Kat would have all weekend alone with her debilitating thoughts. She began to feel angry with herself for being so wimpy.
"No way! I don't have to live like this anymore, you're right, there's nothing wrong with me!"
She was determined to escape the maddening thoughts. She dried her eyes and checked her reflection in the lighted visor mirror. Except for a little puffiness, she looked fine, but she was always self-conscious about her appearance. She had absolutely no reason to be. She was a 5'9'' shapely beauty whom people mistook for a model or someone famous. Her skin was the color of caramel candy, her soft brown eyes sparkled brilliantly, and she had light brown, below the shoulder length hair.
As they completed the drive home, she and Cynda firmed up their plans for a night out. Kat breathed a sigh of hopeful relief. She felt so lucky to have friends like Cynda and Professor Jones, because without them, she would have killed herself by now.
Chapter Three
BREAKING OUT
The next evening, Katlynne drove to Cynda's house to get her and the two other girlfriends that would be going out with them. Soon, the ladies arrived at a hot Hollywood club. Kat had never been into the club scene, but she needed the distraction, and this is where the ladies wanted to go.
At the club, a bouncer immediately waived them ahead of all the people waiting in a long line outside. Once inside the upscale hangout, the DJ was playing a nice mix of old school and current hits. Although the women were invited to party in the VIP section, they opted to mingle with the regular folk.
"I hate the VIP section here! Some of these playas think they can put their hands all over you just because of their status," said Kim, one of Katlynne's single friends who loved to club. She and Katlynne had attended UCLA undergrad together.
"Yeah, well, blame it on some of them half-dressed hos that get invited. You know, the ones who act like every man in the place is already theirs, and you need to back off. They be kissin' and rubbin' on two or three men, tryin' to lay claim to more than one," said Aisha, another single friend who was so addicted to clubbing, she often engaged in the activity from Wednesday through Saturday nights. She'd gone to high school with Katlynne.
"Don't worry ladies, you'll meet your wealthy mates in due time. I have lots of events lined up for you over the summer-including a big celebrity bash in the Hamptons," said Cynda, who was married to a fine, black, wealthy, top celebrity agent named Donavan.
The place was enormous, but crowded. There was a giant floating oval bar in the center, and low-slung cushy black leather sectionals around the perimeter of the room. The sectionals were setup in U-shapes for intimacy, and had short white tables in the center. Soft white light emanated from block glass inserts in the floor that reminded Kat of the ones in Michael Jackson's Billy Jean video. Like the ones in the video, these lit up whenever anyone stepped on them.
Thanks to Cynda's status, the hostess seated them on one of the few remaining sectionals, and they promptly ordered a round of cocktails. A few NBA players ventured over to ask the ladies to dance, but they declined the offers. Only the best looking of them asked Katlynne. She wasn't interested, although she was feeling the music.
"Girl, they can see that big rock on your hand, so why do the cute single dudes insist on asking you to dance when there are two single women at the table?" Kim groaned, then knocked back her X-Rated martini in one big gulp.
After taking a sip of her Margarita, Katlynne pouted, but couldn't get mad at Kim. She was used to men hitting on her even though they noticed the ring.
"I'm just playing, Kat. You've got that certain something that makes men want to take on the challenge even though you're married." Kim apologized.
"Girl, you're crazy. Keep it real, they just want a booty call with no strings, so if by chance they've successfully selected a horny married woman, it's all good," Kat laughed.
The ladies talked and joked for a bit, and all but Kat ordered a second round of drinks. When the waitress returned with the drinks, she handed them 4 shot glasses filled with Patron.
Handing Kat a shot glass, Cynda said, "Kat, you know what Smokey says in Friday...well, I know it's Saturday, but we're gonna get you high tonight...you ain't got shit to do, 'cause your man's out of town."
"You know that's right, come on girl!" Kim said, elbowing Kat's arm.
The four women downed the potent shots, slammed the glasses onto the table, and fell all over one another laughing. Soon, the DJ started playing Lil' Wayne's "Ms. Officer." Feeling the effects of the potent liquor, Kat felt dangerous, and wanted to get out on the dance floor, shake her ass and get some attention.
"Come on, let's set it off!" she said.
They headed out, practicing their moves along the way. The floor was huge, but crowded, so they danced on the fringes. Kat looked around at the people standing nearby, and noticed a tall, gorgeous man leaning back against the bar, looking at her. She was thirsty. As the song ended and they headed back to their table, she lagged behind, stepped over to the now crowded bar, and squeezed herself between the man and a woman who clearly was not his date.
She wished he would turn around and look at her, but his attention was still focused on the dance floor. Looking at him, she realized he was Triple X, a Hip Hop and R&B singer from Atlanta, currently holding down the top spots on the music charts. Two of his most popular recent hits were about cheating.
He was hot-like Tyson Beckford and Usher sculpted and chiseled into one incredibly hard-bodied package! And like Usher, he was very different than most Hip Hop artists-not thuggish like 50 cent, or tattooed and grilled up like Lil' Wayne-but debonair and charming. He had to be at least 6'2, with chocolate brown skin, big, exotic twinkling brown eyes, full lips, and a dazzling white smile with sexy dimples.
Kat waited for the bartender to notice her, as she slyly looked Triple X up and down. The scent of his beachy cologne was deliciously intoxicating. The Patron made her feel bold...she leaned over, got close to his ear, and whispered into it.
"You smell edible."
They were standing so close; he pulled back a bit so he could look into her eyes. From his expression, Kat could see that he was absolutely pleased and shocked all at once.
"Whoa, what did you say?" he asked, clearly pretending that he hadn't understood.
Kat had no problem repeating her bold assessment, but this time she spoke into his ear more emphatically, and in a husky voice.
"You smell edible!"
He was obviously flattered, and flashed his beautiful white-toothed smile and sexy, deep dimples in response.
"Wow! That's what I thought you said. My name is X." He held out his hand, which displayed the most expensive blingy rings and watch Kat had ever seen on a man up close and in person.
"Katlynne LaSalle." She took his hand, and mentally noted how sensuous and smooth it was.
"What are you having?" he asked, waving the bartender over, turning sideways and leaning toward Kat, looking into her eyes.
"Water, before I get myself into any more trouble," she said, fanning herself with her hands because she suddenly felt hot.
He ordered water for her, and Ciroc for himself. When the drinks arrived, they both sipped at them, and stared at each other.
"Would you like to dance?" he asked, setting his drink down on the bar.
"Yes." She put her water down.
He took her hand and led her to the dance floor, while Ciara's past hit, "Get Up," flowed out of the club's powerful sound system. Kat freaked him with some sexy butt shaking moves, and when the song was done, she took his hand in hers and said,
"Thanks for the dance." She began to walk away. She had to get back to her girls, who must be wondering where she went.
Suddenly, he grabbed her around the waist from behind, and pressed his hard, hot body up against her firm round ass, sending electric thrills up and down her spine. He really was delicious!
"Where you going?" he asked, with a wounded look in his sultry eyes. Kat knew that because of his top celebrity status he was used to getting whatever he wanted.
He pulled her back onto the dance floor. They continued to dance, this time, to Usher's past hit "Yeah." X leaned in to ask Kat a question, but because the music was so loud, he had to get really close and put his lips to her ear. She had to do the same whenever she answered. He was really turning her on and she mentally nicknamed him Sexy.
"Do you come here often?"
"I'm married, so I really don't go out much," she replied, putting her lips right up to his ear.
"I noticed your ring. I'm married, too, but you probably already knew that, right?" His lips touched her ear again, and then he leaned back with a shy, lopsided smile that revealed his famous sexy dimples.
Of course she already knew that! She was a huge fan of his music, and followed all the media information about him, including the reports of his marriage to his wife, Tamra. He took a lot of heat from his fans for choosing to get married, especially since he chose someone like Tamra, who was not Hip Hop royalty. So far, Tamra was a one hit wonder who initially showed promise, but whose second CD had flopped. She was an attractive young woman, yet fans wanted to see Sexy with someone more amazing, like Beyonce, but Jay-Z had already bagged that.
"If I give you my number, you promise to call?" he queried.
"I'll try."
He guided her to an empty spot in the corner of the room, and gave her his cell phone number, assuring her that his wife had no access to it. She had to wonder about the sanctity of celebrity marriages. But he was simply too thrilling! Of course when she got back to her table, her friends wanted to know all about her dance with Sexy, but Kat didn't tell.
"Girl, we looked back and saw you squeeze in between Triple X and that white woman at the bar. I was like, damn! Kat sure is bold!" Aisha said.
"Yeah, what's up with that? Then I saw you looking at him, and you didn't know it, but that bitch was beside you, looking you up and down," Kim said.
"Then, later I went over and saw you shaking your ass, droppin' it on him," Cynda said.
"Hey, you said you were gonna get me high, and guess what, this shit is all your fault. I can't believe I went over there like that and...well, anyway, I'm gonna sit here and sober up now," Kat said, crossing her eyes, blushing, and fanning her face with her hands.
As the evening wore on, the women danced with various men, while Kat sat back and observed. Kim and Aisha got a few numbers from some celebrities, and were very excited. Cynda danced a few times, but otherwise stayed out of the game.
Sexy kept finding reasons to walk by Kat's table for the rest of the evening, and she never saw him dance with anyone else. Later, as the four women were leaving the club, he and his bodyguard came up and held the door for them, and walked them to Kat's car, making small talk along the way. As Sexy watched them safely exit the parking lot, Kat had to answer a barrage of questions.
"Uh oh, Kat. Did you get his number? I could tell by the look in his eyes, he was totally feelin' you!" said Cynda.
"Oh stop! Kat always draws that kind of attention. Besides, he's married, she's married, and you know she ain't like that, right girl?" asked Aisha.
"Aisha's right. Nothin's jumpin' off between me and Sexy!" Kat said.
"Wait a minute, what did you call him? Damn right! He is Sexy!" Cynda said.
"Well, I sure wouldn't mind some of that hot fucking chocolate!'' Kim piped in. That comment drew a high five from Cynda, and Kat knew it was because, unlike the other women, Cynda was in on her secret that James was cheating. Cynda was pushing Kat toward Sexy so that she could carry out her plan.
Sexy had briefly made Kat forget her woes. Now, as she dropped her friends off at Cynda's to retrieve their cars, the heart wrenching, debilitating feelings that James had inflicted returned. Kat wondered if she should call Sexy.
Chapter Four
SECRET ENCOUNTER
Despite her misgivings, a week later, Kat called Sexy on his "no wifey access" cell phone.
"Hello," he said, in his signature rich, velvety voice.
"Hi, it's Katlynne," she said, while thinking there was no way he would remember her from the sea of other females he likely gave the number out to.
"Oh, wow! I can't believe this! To what do I owe the pleasure of your call?" he asked, with what sounded like genuine surprise and excitement.
"You know you don't remember me."
"Are you kiddin', how could I ever forget the most exciting woman I've ever met? Especially since your remark is now the best thing any woman has ever said to me, and according to my homeys, it's now their all time favorite pickup line. 'You smell edible!'"
Uh oh, he really did remember her, and probably had her pegged as just another groupie, albeit one with the best pickup line of all times.
"I'm so embarrassed. I've never said anything like that to a man before, not even my husband."
"Well, don't be embarrassed, that just makes it even more special. I don't know if you saw how shocked I was when you said it, because I really wasn't expecting to hear something like that from such a conservative looking young lady like you."
He had hoped to hear from her, but when she hadn't called him by the fifth day, Sexy decided she probably never would. Women always called him whenever he gave out his number, so it would have been a first for him. They talked for nearly 3 hours that afternoon, and did the same a couple of times a week for the next several weeks, getting to know each other over the phone. It was these conversations with Sexy that helped Kat get through her final exams, and stop focusing so much on her husband's infidelity. She was determined not to let her latest discovery about James ruin her life.
Every time they spoke, Sexy repeatedly asked her to see him in person, but she always refused. Not without great difficulty. He was easy to talk to, and seemed open and honest about himself. He candidly revealed his sexual fantasies and experiences. Kat had never spoken so openly with anyone about sex before, and in comparison to Sexy, she didn't have much to tell.
"My husband was my first-but before I met him, I did have experience in other areas."
"What other areas?"
"Well, this is embarrassing, but I was a virgin who liked head."
"Giving or getting?"
"Both, but mostly giving. I like having something to suck on."
"Damn!" Sexy was getting a serious hard-on just hearing her sensuous voice, but he was even more turned on at discovering she liked to blow. He recalled her beautiful full lips, and he wanted her mouth on his dick right then.
"Okay, now I'm totally embarrassed."
She told him that, when she and James were dating, she had given him the option of having an open relationship.
"I dated a guy before him who cheated on me, and I didn't trust anyone, so I thought things would work out better if I let him know up front that he could be completely honest with me."
"As beautiful as you are, he would have been out of his mind to go for it." Kat was sure Sexy was just saying that to flatter her.
"Well, I realize now that men don't like sharing their woman, but they don't mind sharing themselves. He said he didn't want to share me with another man, so I shouldn't have to share him either. All that's changed now that he's having an affair with his co-worker."
"What? How do you know that?"
"I suspected it during my first year of law school, and I was so screwed up about it, I nearly flunked out. After that, he convinced me that I was imagining things. But recently, I've discovered that I was right all along."
"His co-worker huh? Well, when you have to be around someone everyday, one thing can lead to another. A look, a touch..."
"A taste, a fuck!" Kat said.
"You got jokes," Sexy laughed.
He actually tried to make her feel better and paint a fairer picture of her unfaithful spouse.
"You've got to understand Kat, it really doesn't have anything to do with you. He's got to be crazy about you, but sometimes men do stupid shit. I'm not gonna sit here and lie, and say I've never cheated on my wife, but I will say it has nothing to do with her. I still love her."
As famous as he was, his confession should have come as no surprise, but she was caught off guard by his complete candor. He'd only been married for two years, so why was he already cheating on his wife? Why get married if you know you like to play around? She had to know how he would feel if the tables were turned.
"So what would you do if you found out she was cheating?" Kat asked.
Sexy got quiet, and it seemed to Kat that the thought had never crossed his mind before.
"I want her to be happy, and if she's not leaving me for ole dude, I don't need to know 'bout it."
Sexy was used to getting exactly what he wanted. He'd never met a woman who didn't want him, especially since becoming famous. His wife was the last thing he wanted to talk to sweet, conservative Katlynne about. He wanted her-he didn't want to miss the chance to fuck her.
"Well, maybe she's like me. I love my husband to death, and if I weren't so sure that he's cheating, I would never have made that bold statement to you at the club, and I certainly wouldn't have called you a week later."
"I tell you what, I'm not happy that you're hurting...that your husband is cheating, but you best believe I'm pleased that I met you, and that you're talkin' to me over the phone. I'm glad I can be here for you. I just wish you would meet me for breakfast or sumthin', 'cause I would love to see you again."
Kat blushed. She was flattered. She could hear a smile in his voice, and imagined his beautiful dimples and big, Tyson Beckford like, exotic, twinkling brown eyes. She wouldn't mind seeing him again. His silky drawl hinted at his Southern roots, and Kat had been born in the South, as well-in Houston, Texas, and also still had traces of a Southern accent.
"You're funny! There's no way I can meet you publicly and you know it!"
"Yeah, I'm just dreaming, because under different circumstances, I would love being seen in public with you. I have an idea though. You said you go to UCLA, right? Well, there are some secluded residential areas around there, and you could park on one of those streets. I'll pick you up and take you to a private place, where we can be totally alone."
"Alone? That sounds too dangerous. I'll be honest, I'm very attracted to you, and now that I've gotten to know you better over the phone, I think you're pretty cool. I'm sure you're used to getting what you want from women, but I'm not a groupie..." she rambled.
"Kat, I don't think you're a groupie! That's what I dig about you. So far, I can tell you're not like anyone I've ever met before, with yo' proper self. I love the way you talk, so don't take it personally. Look how long we've been talkin', and you still won't hook up with me for a simple cup of coffee or sumthin'. Damn, you make me work so hard, girl, and I'll admit, I'm not used to being put off. It's no secret, I'm very attracted to you, but I would never make you do anything you don't want to do."
He meant what he said. He would never force himself on any woman, not that it had ever come to that.
"Okay, my last final exam is on Thursday, so how about Friday?"
"Are you serious? That's perfect!" He was more excited than a puppy getting a huge treat.
On the morning of their meeting, she was a nervous wreck, because she was convinced her husband suspected something was brewing. Even though Katlynne thought he was cheating, she didn't feel right secretly meeting another man.
"Schools out. Why are you looking so extra special?"
She was wearing a white short sleeved silk blouse that had ruffles on the bust, a tight black above the knee-length fitted skirt with a short slit that ran up her right thigh, and 4 inch black pumps. She poured him a second cup of coffee, and answered his question.
"I'm going to Nordstrom. You know I like to dress up when I go shopping there." She made a mental note to stop by Nordstrom later that day so she wouldn't be telling a complete lie.
As always, before heading off to work, he groped her breasts and butt, and kissed her goodbye. It made her feel like she was his property and that he was asserting his ownership rights. She preferred to be romanced, and had let him know time and again to no avail. Groping her boobs and ass on the way out the door didn't appeal to her prim and proper character. On the other hand, neither did cheating.
After James left, Katlynne went to the prearranged location near UCLA and parked her car in a safe, secluded residential neighborhood. Sexy arrived on schedule, in a shiny black Maybach with dark tinted windows. She'd been raised in the ghettos of Los Angeles, and had never been in such an expensive, beautiful car in her life! Yet, Sexy out-shined the car with his stunning good looks.
"Hey gorgeous!" he said, as he jogged around to open the passenger door for her, with a huge smile on his handsome face.
"My memory did not do you justice-how could you possibly be more beautiful than I recalled!" he declared, taking his seat at the wheel.
He couldn't recall ever being so thrilled to see any woman as he was seeing Katlynne. Perhaps it was because she had put him off longer than most.
"Hi," she said, sinking into the supple white leather of the seats, feeling very shy and self-conscious. After all, the man had access to the finest women in the world, so she had no clue why he was jocking her.
"We're going to my Malibu crib."
"What?" she asked, with a terrified look on her face.
"No, don't worry, my wife doesn't know about it. I bought it the year before we got married," he assured her.
His wife didn't know what he owned before their marriage, not that he begrudged her anything. He put her on the title of his Beverly Hills property so she owned 50% of it, even though he'd bought it before they were married. She'd grown up poor, and had never made enough money in the business to buy her own property. He'd been successful in the music industry since his first single was released at 19 years old. Now, at the age of 27, he'd amassed quite a fortune, and also owned real estate in Atlanta, Vegas, Miami, and New York, all purchased before his marriage.
He reached over and took Kat's hand in his as he steered through the just under 20-mile drive to Malibu from Westwood. Just holding her soft, pretty, French manicured hand made his dick hard! He couldn't help noticing, she wasn't wearing her big wedding ring.
As they approached Pacific Coast Highway, Kat's nerves began to get the best of her. They were getting close to Malibu, and she wasn't sure she could trust herself alone with Sexy. He could feel her trembling.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
How could she even begin to explain her conflicting emotions? On the one hand, she felt more nervous than she had on the night she'd decided to lose her virginity to James. Being with Sexy was like a dream, but it was all too real. She was stepping out on her man, and with a known player! On the other hand, Sexy was?.well?so freakin' sexy! He made her feel free, like she was connecting with a side of herself that she'd never known existed, but nonetheless needed to break out.
"Nothing will happen that you don't want, Kat. I just want to spend time alone with you without encountering the paparazzi." His desire for her was overwhelming.
Kat tensed up. What if they did encounter the paps? How would that affect her marriage, her future as an attorney? Still, none of those scenarios scared her as much as her recurring thoughts of committing suicide. She tried to get her mind off of her fears by asking Sexy about his favorite music, which happened to be mostly anything old school, although he was playing a mix of old and new on the incredible stereo in the Maybach.
She trembled more as Omarion's song "Touch" flowed through the speakers. The explicit lyrics had her shivering with anticipation and apprehension.
My eyes have seen
Nothin like you
Wanna bite you
So Sweet
Not tryna be
Disrespectful
But I just want to get you
They eventually approached a pair of massive and elaborately carved wooden remote controlled gates, which closed as soon as they entered. He explained that this was his own private road. They soon pulled up to a stunning glass and concrete mansion overlooking the crashing waves of the Pacific Ocean.
As Sexy helped her out of the car, she couldn't believe the incredible blue-green brilliance of the water. What a way to live, and he told her that he hardly ever actually stayed here. As she gazed at the ocean, he stepped in front of her, looked into her light brown eyes and said,
"I'm so happy you decided to see me. I've got a surprise for you."
"I don't want anything...please, no gifts. The only thing I want is the one thing I can't have-for my husband to be faithful." She looked away sadly.
Kat was dismayed. What was she doing here? Who did he think she was-a ho? It appeared that he'd already forgotten her admonishment over the phone weeks before, when he'd told her about a Gucci watch he'd bought for her. She made it perfectly clear-no gifts! She wasn't for sale. Besides, how would she explain that to her husband? She'd told Sexy that she was only a low level flosser, living just comfortably above her means. That meant Coach-on sale at that, INC, Bebe, bargain bling, and BCBG. What would she look like suddenly sporting Louis V., Gucci, Christian Louboutin, Hermes, and Burberry?
Now he said, "Okay! I get it. No gifts. It's not a gift Kat, not in that sense, but I know you're gonna love it!" He took her by the hand and led her into the mansion.
Kat wondered what Sexy was up to...
Chapter Five
WOMAN'S INTUITION
When they met, what Kat loved most about James was his honesty. Over time, there were minor issues he would lie about, but his facial expressions always gave him away. As soon as Kat would let him know she could tell he was lying, he would fess up and tell the truth. Not on one particular Friday in early March though. He arrived home from work after 11p.m., and saw her studying on the sofa, as she often did.
"What's up? I don't get a kiss and hug after a hard days work? You used to be happy to see me whenever I got home!" he fussed, standing in front of the sofa, briefcase still in hand.
"I think you need counseling, Kat, because you don't do the things you used to-you don't iron my clothes, make my lunch, cook dinner, and you never want to have sex!"
Kat jumped up and kissed his stony lips. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. His complaint about lack of sexual frequency came as a complete surprise, because when they met, he had informed her that his friend with benefits, Demitra, wanted to have sex too often. So, from the start of their sexual relationship, although Kat discovered that she really loved having sex with him, she made sure to tailor her needs accordingly, to keep from overwhelming him. And why was he telling Kat, who had earned her BA in Psychology, that she needed counseling? Okay, so maybe some Psych students chose the major because of their own mental issues, but she didn't think she had any quirks that needed analysis. He had to be kidding, or maybe he was grouchy because he'd had a rough day.
"I'm sorry, baby," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him close, while he stood with his arms at his sides, still not letting go of his briefcase.
"Come on, don't be so grouchy. I love you." She kissed him, and looked into his eyes. James didn't look like himself. "What's wrong? You can't be serious. You went with me to orientation, so you knew I wouldn't have as much time to do all of the things I used to."
The law school had invited family and spouses to an informational session to let them know how grueling the three years of legal education would be. It was also part of the school's plan to garner support for its students, and optimize their chances for success.
"Kat, you're shirking on your duties."
"Why would you say that?" she asked, backing away from him.
"Because you used to do everything for me, now you don't do anything but school work!"
That was patently false. The only things she no longer did were iron his clothes, cook dinner, and make his lunch. She had stopped making dinner on weeknights because he rarely ate it when he got home, so she took to just quickly heating up a Lean Cuisine for herself. She'd even lost a few pounds, and he'd complimented her on it.
Over the course of that surreal weekend, she tried to understand James. At one point, he opened up the yellow pages to the Psychologists' listings, and placed it on her lap, ordering her to choose someone. She was blown away. He was acting so odd, this was not the man she had fallen in love with and married. No, that man believed in sexual equality. That man told her that housework was not just a woman's duty, and both partners should share chores equally.
However, Kat had spoiled him after he made that statement. She believed that a black man who held his woman in such high esteem deserved to be catered to in every way, so she happily did his laundry, ironed his clothes, made his lunch, handled their finances, shopped, cooked, cleaned, and arranged family gatherings with her in-laws while simultaneously holding down a part-time job and attending UCLA undergraduate school.
Now, she had even more responsibilities and even less time to do all those tasks. So, she felt that he was unreasonably upset that she wasn't doing the minor things that really ought to fall on his shoulders-ironing his clothes, and making his lunch to take to work.
She kept asking him what his real reasons were for saying she wasn't doing enough, and that she needed counseling. Finally, that Sunday evening, he dropped the bomb-it was a female co-worker who told him Kat needed counseling. The co-worker also said that if she were his wife, she'd be doing all the things Kat wasn't! Kat couldn't believe how naive he sounded, and she tried to convince him of the woman's true intentions-she was saying whatever she thought he needed to hear so that she could get with him.
Kat was deeply offended and betrayed by the fact that he had discussed their marital issues with another woman. When she thought about why any man would do such a thing, she felt a sickening sense of impending doom.
"James, I can't believe you're complaining about how often we have sex! When we met, you told me that you don't like women who are too sexually needy-like Demitra."
He remembered, and was surprised that his statement to Kat years earlier about Demitra was the reason Kat didn't have sex with him as much as he wanted.
"You mean, all this time you've been holding out on me because of what I said?"
Katlynne nodded.
"Damn, I had no idea! I never meant for you to think I was talking about you."
How was Katlynne to interpret what he'd said any differently? He'd made the statement during the very early days of their relationship. They'd just finished making love, and were cuddling. She was caressing his still hard dick.
He said, "I hope you aren't like Demitra, she always wanted to have sex, she was never satisfied. When I didn't respond to her, she would lie next to me and masturbate while she thought I was sleeping. Besides, there are more important things in life than sex. Like achieving our mutual goals as a couple. I'm about to graduate, and when I do, BP will expect me to work long hours to earn the great salary they'll be paying me. You like reading so much; you should enroll in college, too. You said you took the SATs, but never applied." James didn't want to tell her, but he had his own selfish reasons for making the statement. He'd said it because he'd known he was Katlynne's first lover, and he feared her new found joy of sex would make her insatiable. He worried that he wouldn't be enough for her and she would seek other lovers.