Risking It All (13 page)

“Did you help that guy out with his property search? What’s his name? Quinton?”

Julissa held her breath. “Yes, we met at a building of duplexes and townhomes on Wednesday. I think he was really interested in buying,” Julissa said, carefully.

“Oh, reall
y? Big payday for you coming up
then?”

“Definitely.
” Julissa nodded. She hadn’t really given thought to the big commission check that she would be getting from the deal. “So, enough about me. How was your trip?”

“Great.” That was Michael in another
nutshell;
he liked to keep their conversations about work or anything else, for that matter, short.

“So, what would you like for dinner? I promise, no takeout this time.”

Michael smiled. “Surprise me.” He took another sip of his coffee. “I think after we get home, I’ll take an afternoon nap. I’m a little tired. I’ll be up in time for an early dinner.”

While she was cooking dinner, her cell phone rang. She confirmed that the call was from no other than Quinton. There was no way that she could answer the phone to him while she was cooking dinner for Michael. And certainly not in Michael’s home. She sent the call to voicemail, telling herself
that she would return his
call tomorrow morning while she was out shopping.

**

On Saturday morning, she was on her way home from the grocery store when her mother called. Her mother
, Annette,
lived in Washington with her stepdad. She and her real father were divorced the year Julissa started college. Her father lived in Canada with another woman.

When Michael and Julissa first started dating, Michael flew them out to visit Annette. Back then, he seemed genuinely eager to meet her mother. Annette took a liking to Michael right away. Called him a gentleman and even classified him as a keeper. Her mother had always warned her not to make the mistake she did by marrying for all the wrong reasons.

When Julissa had been old enough to understand, her mother revealed that the relationship with her dad was based on nothing but sex. When Annette got pregnant with Julissa, naturally a wedding followed. When the attraction faded, her dad asked for a divorce and moved on to the next chick.

For the most part, Julissa still talked with her dad on occasion, but their relationship had not been the same after he divorced her mother.

Julissa and Annette
we
re on good terms
and called each other at least once per week to catch up on thi
ngs. She hadn’t seen her since this past Thanksgiving, when she and Michael visited together.

“Hi, Mommie. How are you?”
Julissa asked, smiling into the phone.

“I’m doing well, honey. How’s my pretty little girl?”

Julissa smiled. She always blushed
when her mother called her that
.

“I’m doing good.  Are you still going to your knitting and sewing classes?”

“As a matter of fact, I am. I’m making a nice quilt that I’m almost done with.”

“You should send me a picture when you’re done.”

“Even better, I’m making one for you, too.”

“How’s the weather in Washington? It’s nice and warm here. In the eighties.”

“Pretty nice. For spring. How is Michael? Are things coming along with you two?”

“Things are okay?”

“Just okay, baby?”
It was obvious still that h
er mother absolutely adored Michael. She believed that Michael was the best thing that happened to Julissa. Not only did she know that Michael was more than well off wh
en it came to money, he was also
goo
d-looking, and a charmer. These things were a plus to Annette West.
Julissa’s
father, Latino and black, was blessed with good looks, but when it came to money, he couldn’t keep a steady job for more than one year. And even when he had a job that paid six figures, he spent money and charged up credit cards as if he made double that.
Aside the fading attraction, like her mother claims, money problems were the main thing that
led her mother and her father apart.

“Yes, things are okay.”

“Don’t worry, baby. No
good
man is gonna move you into his home without plans of marriage,” her mother reassured her.

“Either that or maybe he just wants someone to cook, clean, and buy his clothes…” Julissa sighed.

“You do what you got to do to keep that man. I was a little hesitant with you moving in with him, but I was thinking about it and I think women and men nowadays want to test out how married life would be before they actually make the commitment.
It didn’t quite work out that way for me.”

“I hope you’re right, Mommie.”

When she hung up with her
mother, she thought about their conversation
.
Julissa had seen how unhappy her mother was while going through a divorce. She didn’t want to make the same mistake by marrying a man for all the wrong reasons.

**

Michael had just fi
nished helping her bring the shopping
bags into the house. T
hey were putting the groceries in the fridge and pantry. This was something that Michael rarely helped her do.

“You don’t have to worry about dinner tonight, Julissa,” Michael said, lining up the canned goods in the pantry in order of expiration date, matching each type of canned good with each other on the respective shelves. It was a habit that he had picked up from her.

“I was actually looking forward to it. I was able to get some fresh salmon today.”

“I wanted to take you out tonight. If you have a taste for seafood, why don’t we go to Mary’s on the River?”

He was being
extra nice to her. She wondered what it was.
Something in the air?
Whatever it was it was making her feel guilty for what happened between her and Quinton Thursday night.

“That would be nice. I don’t remember the last time we went out to a nice restaurant like that…just the two of us.”

“I know, baby. I had some time to think on this trip and I know that I’ve been neglecting you a lot with all this work. I want to make it up with you starting tonight.”

Julissa smiled.
“What time should I be ready?”

“I’ll make reservations for six. Is that alright?” Michael said, moving around the island to get to the other side beside her. He kissed her on her forehead.

“Six is fine. I better go get ready. I neglected my hair appointment this morning, so I need a
head start
.”

“Go ahead. I’ll put up the rest of the groceries.”

Um, what had gotten into this man?

He hadn’t been this thoughtful in a long tim
e. Was Julissa finally winning
at getting her man to realize that their relationship was lacking and they needed to revive it? She wondered how long this act of romance would last. One night, one week, one month? Who knew? But, it was the moment that Julissa had been waiting for and she was going to enjoy it for as long as it lasted.

At the restaurant, Michael was the perfect gentlemen
talking about the situation
they were having at his job and about all the people involved. She listened intently, sometimes even lending her opinion. They enjoyed grilled lobster and scallops, white wine, and dessert at the famous high-scale restaurant.

When they arrived home, they were both early risers, so they took turns taking showers and getting ready for bed. Michael watched her as she slipped out of her robe and into a red teddy.

“Oh, I wanted to tell you one more thing…”

“What?”

“I’m planning on hosting Ray’s fifth anniversary party at my house. Some people on the job thought we should do something special since he’s done so much for the firm. Ray and I work close together on a lot of projects at the office.”

“That’s nice of you. Do you have an exact date and do you know how many people we should expect?”

“In three weeks. I’m thinking about inviting a handful of employees and a guest. Between all your friends and my friends, we should plan for about forty or fifty people. Think you can handle that?”

“Yeah, I can handle that. No problems.”

“Good. Although, I had no doubts about that.” Michael said, kicking off his bedroom shoes and climbing in bed. “Come here.”

“What?” Julissa turned around while pulling her hair up in a ponytail.

Michael tapped the empty space on the bed where she was supposed to be. She climbed in bed beside him.

He kissed
her shoulders and arms lightly. “I didn’t realize how much I would miss you over this past
week in New York.
”

“I think you just missed getting some, not me.”

“That, too.” He climbed
up over her
. “I missed everything about you. The way you smell. The way your skin feels so soft when I to
uch it.” His hands had found it
s way up her teddy and to her waist.

“Uh-huh. What else?”

“I missed kissing you.” He kissed her body through the silk fabric of the teddy. “I missed tasting you.” He lifted her skirt and kissed and licked her belly button. “I missed you.”

Julissa closed her eyes and moaned as Michael’s lips traveling up from her stomach all the way to her lips. He began kissing her softly. Suddenly, an image appeared in Julissa’s head. An image of Quinton kissing her. She pulled away and shook her head.

Michael looked at her strange
ly. “Something wrong?”

“No, just a little migraine, I think.” Julissa pulled Michael’s lips back to hers. “I know you can make it feel better.”

He
smiled, sheepishly, and continued kissing her.

Michael didn’t waste time pulling off their clothes, prying her legs open, and inserting his throbbing dick into her pussy. Af
ter all, he hadn’t had sex
in over a week. She didn’t blame
him for pounding into her
like it was the last thing good on this earth.

After about four
minutes, he was completely spent. Only seconds later, he was quietly snoring beside her.

She squeezed her legs together, t
urned her back to Michael, closed her eyes, and waited for exhaustion to set in.

**

It wasn’t until Thursday that Julissa actually broke down and called Quinton. She had checked her personal email this morning and he had emailed her.

             
Julissa,

I know your situation. I don’t blame you for not answering or returning my calls. It’s just that I didn’t think it would go down quite like this. I was expecting to talk
to
you and hear your voice, but I guess
not
much can
be done when you’re hundreds of miles away. But, I’ll be there soon. I’m coming down on Friday. Can you call me when you get a chance to discuss our closing? Our relationship is more than just what w
e obviously feel for each other. W
e also have a professional relationship regarding real estate. Did you forget? I will be waiting to hear from you.

             
             
             
             
             
Missing You, Q.

How could she forget that she was supposed to be helping this man with his closing? She picked up her cell and dialed Quinton’s cell phone number.

“I thought you would ne
ver call,” he answered
.

“I’m sorry. I’ve been so busy and…and I mean
t
to call you but…sometimes
—
”

“You don’t have to explain, I know. You live with that guy and it makes sense to me now.”

“Q, maybe this isn’t such a good idea.”

“What do you mean? Us working together? Or is this about what happened last Thursday?”

“The obvious, Q. What happened last Thursday was a mistake. I’m sorry it happened. I never meant to lead you on into thinking that you and I could actually have something together.”

Quinton was quiet on the other end for a while, before he said, “A mistake? Is that what you
really
believe?”

“Quinton, don’t make this
any
harder for us than it already is. I don’t want to hurt you and I don’t want to hurt Michael.”

“
I understand.”

“Okay, well…are you still moving to Atlanta?”

“Without a doubt. Are you still going to assist me with my business?”

“You know I will, Q. A friendship is the single most precious thing that two people can have. Let’s keep it that way.”