Bad Boy Romance: Bad Marine (Bad Boy Military Romance) (Alpha Bad Boy New Adult Contemporary Male Stories) (5 page)

I watched as Shantell ran up and down the house with her swimming gear in hand. She looked excited and happy and that warmed my heart. A part of me was envious of the power little joys had in her life.

“Mummy we are getting late”, she shouted and I knew if she could drive herself over to her uncle Gavin’s place she would.

“Coming dear”, I shouted back as I threw a glance at my reflection for the last thousandth time that morning. I had to look good, for my lover. I knew he was not going to pay any attention to me but I wanted to make him wish he could.  I was clad in a lovely floral sundress and had my hat to match it. Margo had invited us over for a Sunday barbecue and I was looking forward to it. I slung my purse underneath my arm and walked out of my room only to be met by an excited Shantell.

“How do I look mum?” she asked.

“Dashing as always”

“I would look even better if I had some of your eye liner on”, she said.

“Nice attempt darling but you know the rule”, I answered but was cut off by Shantell who finished my sentence for me.

“I know no makeup until am fifteen”.

“Good”, I answered, “We have to get going now”.

I grabbed the fried chicken that I had delivered from the fast food place around the corner and packed in one of my big bowls. I had thrown a homemade salad to make it look like my own creation and was ready to go. Shantell was already seated in the co driver’s seat as I got out of the house and locked the door. The day was perfect for an outdoor barbecue and the thought of taking a swim in Gavin’s swimming pool played on my mind.

“Here we go”, I said as I started the car and took off. There was no traffic and Gavin’s place was only a fifteen minute drive from our place.

“Mum can I sleep over at uncle Gavin’s later today?” Shantell asked.

“But you didn’t carry anything to change”.

“That is what you think, and remember the other time I slept over I left some clothes in Chelsea’s room”. Shantell was always sharp and swift to make her case and I always liked that about her.

“I am sure your uncle won’t mind”, I answered as I negotiated the next corner to Gavin’s place. The mention of him made me picture what he had on and I settled in a mental picture of his favorite khaki shorts and a white t-shirt to match. I pictured how tight the shirt hugged him and I loved how his behind looked in the shorts. I saw Shantell’s excitement as I drove into the drive way and parked my car.

“There are so many people here already! I told you we would run late!” Shantell shouted as she unfastened her seat belt and stepped out of the car. She quickly took her backpack from the backseat and ran along to say hello to the rest of the family. Gavin had not informed me that Aunt Mary would be around and I think I knew why. Aunt Mary was always nose up in my business and Gavin knew this. Her car was parked neatly in the driveway and I smiled when I thought of the many fabricated lies that I had already started forming in my ever calculating head.

I was sure that Shantell was already in the pool right now and I followed the noise of merry making and the lovely aroma of roast meat that filled the air. Margo was the first one to spot me and she waved me over to a table at the opposite end of the back yard. I walked over slowly and was sure that a few men were staring at me and others were pretending not to.

“Hey Yvonne!” Margo said as she planted a light kiss on my cheek and offered me a dazzling smile.

“Hello Margo”, I answered as I offered one of my lovely plastic smiles as well.

“You are looking good, please tell me you found a man”, she teased and let out a girlish giggle.

“My dear Margo, there is no one man enough who can handle this!” I answered confidently but secretly smiling and enjoying the thrill that came with it. Margo let out her usual hearty laughter as she gave me a warm hug and fixed me a plate.

“Shantell is in the swimming pool already”, Margo announced as she walked over to me and took a seat opposite me. She walked back and got a few sodas from the cooler before resuming her seat.

“I am sure she is”, I answered “Please tell me that you have something more stiff than this”.

Margo let out another laugh and placed the soda next to my plate.

“I had Gavin go pick some wine, there was only beer left in the cooler and I know you are not a beer fan”, she answered.

“You know me all too well my dear sister in law”, I answered and began to nibble on my food. The sun was scorching hot and I felt like dipping my hot body in the pool.

“I wish I could take a dive”, I said to Margo who sat opposite me and smiled.

“Why are you holding back?”

“Have you seen all these men that are around the pool?” I asked “I do not want to get into any cat fights with the wives just because the husbands are feasting their eyes on my gorgeous body!”

“I hear you”, Margo answered and took a sip from her soda bottle before looking back at me.

“So I have to tell you something, Yvonne”, Margo started and looked me straight in the eye. I immediately got nervous and felt my heart constrict as I feared for the worst.

“Sure, you know you can tell me anything”, I answered as I sat up and returned her gaze.

“I do not know why I am telling you this, but please do not judge me”, Margo went on to say.

I listened keenly to her before letting out a curious smile “I can never judge you, Margo”

“It is something that just happened and I know that your loyalty may be to Gavin more than me but we have also been close friends over the years”, she went on to say.

“Just say it already”, I lashed out.

“Okay, okay”, Margo said as he raised the palm of her left hand in midair as a sign of surrender.

“So I have been cheating on Gavin”, she confessed before dropping her gaze to the floor and taking another sip from her soda bottle.

“I should get something stronger, hold that thought. I am sure Gavin should be back from the liquor store”, I said and got to my feet.

Margo simply nodded as I got to my feet and headed indoors in search of Gavin. My legs felt weak and my blood was pumping hard in my chest.

“Hey Yvonne!” Gavin said from behind me with a box perched underneath his left arm. He always somehow managed to conjure up a greeting in the most nonchalant manner.

“Hello”, I said quickly “Did you get the wine?”

“Here you go” he said and handed me a bottle of clear white wine. “Are you ok? You sound like you have been running a marathon”.

I hadn’t realized how I was panting and my shortness of breath but I couldn’t tell him why I was like that.

“I’m good”, I answered “Shantell is in the pool”

I rushed out of the room and immediately walked over to where Margo was still seated waiting on me patiently. She had two glasses in her hands and looked nervous as she watched me take a seat opposite her.

The wine caressed the corners of my mouth and glided smoothly down my throat. I drew my strength and courage from it as I gulped it down in a hurry. Margo did the same and we both took in a long breathe when we were on our third drink.

“Ok, so keep spilling”, I said and I sipped again from my glass.

“Well, it has happened twice with two different men”, Margo confessed.

“Wait a minute”, I said shocked “Are you cheating on him with two different men?”

“Shhhhh…not so loud”, she said as she placed a finger on her lips. I looked around us worriedly and could spot Aunt Mary at a distant looking over at us.

“I can bet you a thousand and one dollars that Aunt Mary sure wishes she could read lips right now”, I said and to Margo who looked over at Aunt Mary and waved politely.

“I never really liked that old hag either”, she said through clenched teeth that sent hilarious tickles all through my body.

“So let’s get back to the matter at hand here”, I said and diverted my attention back to Margo.

“How the hell did you pull it off?” I asked as I leaned back in my seat and sipped again from my glass.

“Did?” Margo answered “Child please, why are you talking about it like it’s in the past?”

I looked at Margo closely and could not detect any ounce of remorse in her words. In fact she sounded proud of what she was doing to her husband. I didn’t want to sound judgmental because I needed her to tell me more. I decided to push the thought to the back of my mind and blamed her carefree attitude on the liquor.

I was dumbfounded for sure and did not know what to say next. My throat felt dry and I jumped on to the question that any woman would ask her.

“Why are you doing it? I mean, he seems like such a nice husband and caring father”, I asked.

“He is”, Margo answered “He is the perfect husband and father”.

These were not the words that I had expected to hear from her, “So why do it?”

“Gavin is too nice”, Margo explained “He never does anything wrong, he is too perfect for me”.

“Those are not words you hear any woman complain about”, I said as I took another long gulp from my wine glass.

“I know I am being selfish but we lack passion in the relationship. Everything is normal and follows a certain routine, everything is, I don’t know, everything is just Gavin”, she answered.

“So how did it all start? And how on earth do you keep it a secret?” I asked again and sipped from my glass. The contents were almost empty now and I seriously needed a refill.

“It started like any other affair would start, one is my trainer and the other is Chelsea’s piano teacher”, she started but all of a sudden switched the topic to something else.

“You have to let the butter soak underneath the chicken and set your oven at about 250 degrees”, Margo said all too loudly. I looked over my shoulder and noticed that nosy Aunt Mary had walked over to where we were seated.

“Hello ladies”, she greeted “You weren’t planning to hog all that wine by yourself now were you?”

I handed her the almost empty bottle and she disappointingly took it and shook the contents of it. It was almost empty.

“So what are the two of you talking about?” she asked as she sat in between us. I could feel Margo’s mood change and I too felt disappointed. I loved how she was confessing her sins to me and it felt like I was watching a drama series.

“Nothing much, just chicken”, Margo said before getting to her feet and turning her attention to me “I had better go check on my other guests”.

Margo then winked at me and walked away to make sure her other guests were entertained. She stopped on her way to whisper something in Gavin’s ear and to the normal human eye; they made the happy perfect couple. I looked at Gavin and for the first time noticed that he had worn exactly what I had hoped. My thoughts were however brought back to earth by Aunt Mary who poked me in the ribs with her elbow and smiled her usual cheeky smile.

“So Yvonne, do you have a man in your life”, she asked.

“I’m fine, thank you Aunt Mary, thank you for asking”, I replied.

“Now that we are done with the pleasantries, do you have a man who keeps you warm at night?” she asked again.

“Some nights, I use my covers on the rest of the nights”, I replied and watched the perfect white teeth display that Aunt Mary gave me after I answered her.

I spent the rest of the evening listening to Aunt Mary’s very vivid and disturbing descriptions about her past sexual escapades, drinking wine and occasionally attending to Shantell. I could see and choose not to hear the other women pointing at me and asking why I was not helping them in the kitchen. One of them made a comment about me not having a man and being a loner. It was simply the usual conversations that always rang in people’s ears at every family gathering. The ones everyone pretends not to hear or know about. More and more it seems like the glue that holds my life together now. The night drew near and I needed to leave, I had work to do and I knew Shantell had already made up her mind about staying over at Gavin’s. I looked around for Margo but could not find her and decided to leave after saying a short goodbye to her husband.

Once in the car I checked my mail and realized that I still had time to drive around and probably get a drink or two at my favorite local bar that was about ten minutes away.

The place was not so lively, being a Sunday night and all. I threw my gaze around and looked at the crowd. I could spot a few equally lonely souls in the crowd and I silently wondered if it was by choice. I sat at a corner booth and sipped on a martini by myself as I thought of Margo’s revelation. That woman had an unusual sexual appetite without a doubt. I accepted a few drinks from strangers and acknowledged their knowing looks. My attention was not really on them all along as I thought of Gavin. I wanted him, my body wanted him, and I wanted him to make love to me and the sweet ache that was calling out from between my thighs only longed for him. I pulled out my cell phone from my purse and placed a call to Gavin.

“Hello Yvonne, how are you?” he asked and I immediately got the code. I could tell that he was not able to talk to me at that moment but I simply did not acre.

“How is Shantell? Has she put on her braces?”

“She is alright, fast asleep”, came the reply.

“I want you, I want you to come over and make love to me”, I pleaded.

“Okay Yvonne, I will let her know that”, Gavin replied so casually.

“I want you to ripe off my clothes and do whatever you want to me”; I went on in my drunken state.

“Ok, I was actually heading to the office, I will pass by and get her insurance card”, he answered.

“Ok, I will be waiting for you dressed in my sexy lingerie, you know the sky blue one, the one you love the most”, I went on to answer him.

“Alright, I give you a call when I leave the house as I head to the office”, Gavin said as he hang up the phone on me.

I knew what was going to transpire next and got to my feet immediately. I ignored the few business cards that had come my way and rushed over to my car. I was being driven by my desire and wanted nothing more but to feel him inside me. There was no traffic as I rushed by a few stops signs and headed straight for home. I checked the time on my phone and knew that Gavin would be a few minutes behind me. I screeched onto the driveway and I rushed upstairs to the bedroom.

Something was off.

As I turned the knob to my room and found it open.

“That’s strange”, I said out loud as I turned it open and slipped in “I thought I had closed this door”.

Speaking to myself was a common practice I had acquired from living alone. I switched on the lights and there perched on my bed was Margo staring at me through devilish eyes.

“Jesus”, I shouted when my eyes landed on her.

“I am sorry Yvonne, I did not mean to scare you”, Margo said and did not move a single muscle. It made me question the sincerity o her apology. I could feel my heart pumping blood very fast through my veins as I had a million and one questions that ran through my mind all at the same time. The first thing that ran through my mind was Gavin who was driving over. I reached for my cell phone that was well tucked into my purse and attempted to text him before Margo’s voice stopped me.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you”, she echoed and the commanding voice forced me to look up and stare into the end point of a gun that was in her right hand.