Dreams Do Come True (10 page)

Nico was riding on cloud nine. He still couldn’t believe that Shontell was there. He watched her on the sly as they rode up in the elevator. He got nervous all of a sudden. He remembered the chemistry that passed through them this morning when he had her on top of him. It had been a long time since he had been with a woman whom he had feelings for. The last woman was Tina, and he knew what he did and didn’t want. Tina’s lessons made him take a serious look at how he did things. He knew some things were better not said. They all had women that they had played around with on occasion, with the exception of David. It wasn’t something that he was proud of. That was part of being a single man. He knew going in that none of them really mattered, but sometimes the need was just there. This was different…way different.  

He pulled her to him, and Shontell leaned into his body. She seemed to fit perfectly into him, like they were meant to be. He loved the way they seemed so natural to each other. They say you only get one, or maybe two, soul mates in your lifetime. He never took any real stock in all that. Right now, with everything he was feeling, he was holding on to prove that it did.

They made it to his room, and she walked straight over to the balcony. She opened the door. It was cold out, but he joined her. 

“Aren’t you cold?”

“Normally I would be, but being around you is like having a hot flash. I just needed some air,” she told him. They both looked over the railing, taking in the downtown activity. Not many people were out. He figured it was because it was a work night.

“You have a beautiful view. Do you mind if we grab some blankets and sit out here?”  Nico nodded and instantly complied with her request. He would have told her she was crazy if she was any other woman. If she wanted to sit on top of an igloo, he probably would have said yes. It was only in the high 50’s. He went in and got the blankets, two glasses, and a bottle of wine. They wrapped up together and laid on the chaise. They sipped the wine in comfortable silence. They got accustomed to one another’s body.  Shontell took his glass from him and set both of them on the table. Readjusting herself, she leaned her head back on his chest. Looking down, he watched how her cleavage went up and down with her breathing. Trying to stay focused, he tried to look in another direction but failed. His eyes went right back to her cleavage. Wanting to get the thoughts out his head, he nuzzled her neck.

“That tickles,” she laughed, squirming a little.

“Oh, so you must be ticklish?” He gave her a devilish look.

“I truly plead the fifth,” she said, trying to keep a straight face and not give away the fact that she was truly very ticklish. Nico caught the look and began to try to tickle her again. She screamed, and he continued trying to tickle her for several minutes until she was out of breath. They both laughed as they switched positions on the chaise. It was a good thing it was a nice size. He cupped her chin and lightly kissed her nose, then her eyelids and the side of her face, stopping briefly at her lips. She had her eyes closed in anticipation of his lips touching hers. He wished he could take a picture of her just like this, he thought, as he gave her what she was expecting. The kiss was brief…just enough to tease them both. He intertwined their fingers.

“Thank you,” he whispered into her hair. She tried to look up at him, but he held her in place. He heard her intake of breath.

“Thank you,” she replied softly.

“Yes, thank you!”

“I want to say you’re welcome, but I am kind of confused as to why you are saying it.”

“It could be for a lot of things. But if you really want to know why, it’s just for you being here.”

“Hmmm. Where else should I be?” She pulled the blanket around them more, as she waited for him to answer.

“I’m sure you have men flocking to you in Detroit. Yet you decided to give us a chance. You have made the last couple of days different for me in a very good way.”

“Wow. I guess then I would owe you a thank you as well,” she told him.

“I can’t imagine why.” Shontell felt her nervousness coming back. She reached for the wine glass and took a sip.

“Really?” Nico lifted the blanket some, and they were both greeted by the wind. He straightened out the blanket. He laughed as she scooted back into him. That one movement almost sent him over the edge.

“Do you realize what kind of effect you have on me? I have been trying to have self-control when it comes to you, since the first night we were alone. But then you go and do what you just did.”

“What
I
just did?”

“Yes, scooting back. So this is how you affect me.” He adjusted himself so that she could
feel
the effect. Shontell blushed and tried not to smile.

“Wow. I…I am sorry. I didn’t mean to do that.”

“I know, but it happens. You are a very sensual woman. That in itself is a rare find. Most women now are aggressive. That is a turn-off to me,” he told her. He watched her movements as if they were in slow motion. She reached up to him and kissed him, not even letting him finish his thoughts. She pressed her full lips on his. She tilted her head and opened her mouth slightly as Nico pressed his tongue into her mouth, tasting the wine they had both been sharing. He could feel the electricity go through his body as the kiss deepened. He moaned.

He shifted his body to where they were more sandwiched. He kissed her neck as she lifted his shirt and ran her hands across his abs. Nico sucked in his breath. Her fingers felt like lightning bolts on his flesh. He pushed the straps of her dress down her shoulders, kissing her skin as he made his way to her breasts. She wasn’t wearing a bra, so it made it easier to cup her breasts. She arched her back, and he tongued her dark areola. He went from heavy to light pressure on her nipple, as he lightly bit her. He repeated the same thing on her right side, and then went back to her lips. Shontell stopped the kiss to pull her dress over her head. Now she was only in her lace panties. Nico looked at her body and smiled. He kissed her stomach and pulled her on top of him. He was holding the blanket around them, although there was plenty of heat between them. The room could have caught fire. Nico began grinding their bodies together, and he could feel the heat from her core through his pants.  Shontell threw her head back and bit her lip. She raked her nails over his chest so hard he knew that there would be marks, but he didn’t care. Shontell wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head partly on his shoulder and back.

He could feel the heat and wetness from her tongue. His whole body was at full attention. When did making out get so intense? He couldn’t help thinking about this as she began tonguing his ear. That was his ultimate hotspot. His leg began to shake and he was losing control.

“Shontell? Um, Shontell?” he repeated, barely getting it out of his mouth before she lifted her head and stared into his eyes.

“Ne vous arrêtez pas,”
she told him in French.

Nico froze. He had never heard anything sound so sexy. He didn’t even care that he didn’t know what she had said. He couldn’t take her body being any closer to him. He quickly picked her up and took her back into the suite.

Nico laid Shontell on the bed, and he lay on top of her. He propped his hands on the bed.  He didn’t want to have all his weight on her. As he was walking into the room, he knew he had to slow this down. Shontell had him wanting her in ways he only saw in movies. Yes, he needed to cool them off. He wasn’t surprised when she opened her eyes and looked at him in confusion.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, touching his ear and playing with it. He closed his eyes with her touch and again lost all train of thought. Man, she was making this hard. He was rock hard to prove it. He sighed, and he grabbed her hand gently. He kissed her fingers, distracting himself so that he could think for a few minutes.

“I am probably going to regret this. I think we had better stop now while we still have the chance. I don’t want either of us to have regrets after this night.” 

“Thank you for thinking of me, but I am a big girl. I think I can handle making love to you,” she said, pouting.

“Yeah, you can. But I don’t think
I
can. I know I will have to watch you walk away from me tomorrow. I am going to have some restraint for the both of us,” he told her.

He kissed her lightly and then slowly. She went from kissing him to sucking his tongue. They began kissing again after a few minutes. When they broke apart, they were both breathing hard from the intensity.

“Well, if that’s the case, then you need to not kiss me like that again, sir.” She was looking him dead in the eye. She gently pushed him off of her. She grabbed the blanket and put his shirt on. He watched her as she wrapped herself back up and then turned back to him. He liked seeing her in his shirt. He loved how such a small thing had a huge effect. She pulled him up off the bed and took his hand and led him back on the balcony.

“Let’s sit back out here and talk. It’s almost time for the sun to rise,” she said as they got comfortable again. He didn’t realize that it was such a late hour. He looked at his watch, and it was 4:30 a.m. They talked and watched the sun come up before they both fell asleep. They were awakened by one of their phones vibrating. 

Nico gently shifted her as he went to grab their phones. It was Shontell’s. She answered it and spoke to her friend. She told Sandy she would be to the room in a bit and ended their call. She stretched, and she was surprised to see Nico watching her this time. Her hands instantly went to her hair. He wanted to renege on what he said earlier. She looked so sexy like that, but he refrained and smiled at her. “Umm, why are you looking at me like that? You are freaking me out.” She ran a hand through her hair again.

“Oh, I am sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. I love seeing you in my shirt as you are just waking up. You look radiantly beautiful to me,” he said as he kneeled in front of her to kiss her. She moved back. She shook her head and placed a hand between them.

“No…mmm…morning breath,” Shontell said through tight lips. She was still shaking her head, and she placed her free hand over her mouth as he reached in again. They both laughed.

“Shontell, I am going to kiss you.  Stop moving woman,” he said. They shared a brief kiss. 

“Okay, I’m going to my room to shower.  What time are you guys heading out?”

“I think at eleven. I will meet you downstairs in the breakfast area after I finish getting myself together.” She nodded as she grabbed her dress and other things.  She bounced out the door.

As Shontell walked back to her room, she couldn’t believe how giddy she felt. She hoped no one would see her looking like this. She looked down at his shirt and her bare feet. She was holding her clothes and shifted them so she wouldn’t drop them. She pulled the shirt to her nose and inhaled. It smelled like him. She would attempt to give it back but hoped he would let her keep it. 

It had been a long time since she felt like this. The last time was with Jesse. Jesse Wright, her ex-fiancé, was another R&B singer whom she had dated for three years. He wasn’t the sentimental, quiet type like Nico. In fact, he was the complete opposite. The man gave her some serious butterflies when she was with him.

When they dated, she always seemed to be in a whirlwind of emotions. Although she always had his back, Jesse had two major flaws: he had issues with anger and women. The women were what made them split. Hearing her text message tone, she looked at her phone…expecting it to be Nico.  Seeing that it was a number she didn’t recognize, she realized she must have spoken
him
up. She hated when that happened. She knew it had to be Jesse because every time she blocked him, he would call her from another “new” number. She huffed, reading the message out loud.

Hey beautiful, it’s been a minute. I had you on my mind and I wanted to say hello. I hope that all is well with you. -J.

She didn’t respond. She reached the door and knocked, since she didn’t have a key. She tapped her foot as she waited. She was pissed as she conjured him up. Trust and believe, he wasn’t what she wanted to think about right now at all
.

She was just about to knock again when the room door swung open. She almost fell into the guy she saw Sandy talking to last night.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Good morning,” he smiled as he reached out his hands to break her fall. His deep baritone voice startled her. She stared up at him because the man was gorgeous. He had chocolate skin, abs for days, and a broad chest. His bald head glistened even in the dim hall light. Shontell lowered her eyes so he wouldn’t know she was measuring him up.  She smiled back

“No, it’s my bad. I wasn’t paying attention. Good morning to you, too.” He scooted out so she could go into the room. She leaned out the door to look at him from behind, as he walked down the hall. Sandy was standing behind her, as she joined her in watching too.

“My goodness. I might need to move to Indiana,” Sandy said, fanning herself with her hands.

“OMG, you are such a freak. What was he doing in here?” she asked her playfully. She went to her overnight bag and grabbed a few things to take out.

“We were…playing cards. He uh…challenged me,” Sandy told her, trying to sound innocent.

“Yeah, I bet he did. What kind of cards were you two playing? Was it Strip Poker?” she asked her. She took off Nico’s shirt and folded it. She laid it on the bed.

How the hell did you know that? You got cameras in this room?” she asked, looking around the room. She burst out laughing and fell back on the bed.

“You are crazy. I hope you at least won.”

“Oh, you know I did.” The women high-fived. Once again, she had to admit that she envied Sandy’s free spirit and openness on life. You only live once. Shontell grabbed her toothbrush from the pile she took from her bag and headed into the bathroom. She remembered her text as she was brushing. She waited until she finished brushing and then began speaking.

“Guess who texted me?” Shontell said as she spit out the paste and wiped her mouth.

“Who? Please don’t say that loser,” Sandy said, rolling her eyes. She was never a Jesse fan and she let it be known, but she never interfered unless she needed to.

“Yep. It’s been six months since the last time. I figured that he had given up by now.”

Sandy shook her head. That man was priceless. He cheats on a woman and then gets mad when she leaves him. She didn’t want her best friend hurt, but she didn’t want them together. She always felt uncomfortable around him. She had always felt he was up to no good. It must have been the creole in her blood. She would be damned if she let him try and mess up all that she and Shontell’s family had rebuilt. “Does that man have a radar that lets him know when you are remotely happy?” she asked to no one in particular.

Shontell could tell Sandy was upset by what she told her. That’s why she hadn’t mentioned the flowers and gifts he sent her from time to time. The gifts were all in a box in her closet. Sandy was muttering under her breath, which was something she always did when she was trying to keep her emotions in check. She didn’t say anything, because good friends weren’t a dime a dozen.  Sandy was the kind of friend that came along once a lifetime. It wasn’t often that your best friend got angry for you at someone’s actions. She went into the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. She didn’t know what it was about her that made him want other women when he had her. She stopped trying to understand that a long time ago.  She stepped in the tub because she needed to take a quick shower. As the water ran over her body, her mind wandered back to those years when she and Jesse were together.

When she and Jesse got engaged to be married, things changed in her friendship with Sandy. Things were hard for a couple of months. Jesse and Sandy didn’t get along. She always felt like she was defending one to the other. It left her drained at times. He always tried to keep her from spending time with Sandy. That was never an option for her, and she let him know that. One time it caused a huge blowout between them, and she decided to let them cool off a couple weeks before the wedding.  She allowed some time to pass, and then she decided to surprise him and make up for the lost time. She ended up being the one surprised when she found him in bed—with not one but two women. He said that they were fans. It didn’t matter to her, as he chased her down the street. Her hurt was deep. He was with those women in the same bed she had slept in with him. She came to town to visit him and didn’t know how many other times that had happened. That was over two years ago. Every time he contacted her since, he always claimed he had changed. Yet, he seemed to stay in the tabloids. He was with a different woman every other month it seemed, and she started not to care one bit.

Shontell let the water wash her tear stained face, and she promised herself that was the last time she would shed a tear over Jesse Wright. She finished showering and came out of the bathroom to find Sandy fully dressed and waiting on her. She looked like she was sad, and that pained her. Going over to where she was, Shontell took her hands in hers. They sat in silence for a few seconds.

“I am sorry. I don’t know why I still get mad when he is brought up. He didn’t deserve you, and he still has the balls to try and see how you are doing!” Sandy squeezed her hands and the two women embraced in a hug. They made their way out of the room and headed downstairs. They were having some coffee when Shontell felt she needed to tell Sandy something.

“Sandy, I want you to know that I appreciate you so much. You were there for me when others stayed away. Jesse is my past and, thanks to you and my parents, I now know my full worth. It has been hard…I won’t lie…but I just wanted to say thank you.”

“Girl, don’t make me cry. Ugh, I am going to get you if my makeup starts running,” she told her as they both dabbed at their eyes. Shontell didn’t hear Nico, but she felt his presence behind her. Sandy had a huge sappy smile on her face, and she nodded for her to turn around. Turning, she was greeted by a huge bouquet of lilies. Nico handed them to her and kissed her cheek.

“They are beautiful…thank you,” she told him as she stood to hug him. Shontell, Nico, and Sandy made small talk about the concert while the ladies finished off their coffee. Cleaning the space, they all walked over and joined the rest of the group. Their tour bus pulled up, and Martin’s wife said it was time to go. The older woman came over and said goodbye to her, along with Felecia. They promised that they would get together in Miami.

Dennis walked up to them looking sheepish, and he addressed Sandy.

“It was nice meeting you. Shontell, it was nice seeing you again so soon.” He was the only one who laughed at his bad joke.

“Thanks, I guess,” she returned. They were about to step back on the curb to wait for her car when Sandy’s friend from this morning called out her name. She excused herself and waved to the rest of the guys as she walked over to where he was. Shontell noticed the quick change in Dennis’ facial expression as he watched Sandy walk over to him. She wanted to laugh out loud.
When the heck did he get smitten with Sandy?
She would never give him the time of day
. Sandy had a strict rule not to date entertainers. Shontell stepped over to the side, and Nico walked back over to her after putting his luggage on the bus.

“Dennis, David is looking for you,” he told him, looking in the direction where he still seemed to be looking.

“Oh, okay. See you,” he said, and turned and walked away. Both Shontell and Nico looked after him. Nico lifted his eyebrow.

“What the heck was that about? I know he…” Shontell lifted her finger to his mouth to stop him.

“Whatever it is, she isn’t going to have it. So let’s not even think about it.” 

“Oh, yeah. Okay, I can get that. Now, back to you beautiful. Can I get another hug?” He pulled her into his arms. He held her tight and she exhaled.  

“I won’t embarrass you by kissing you in front of everyone. Please text me as soon as you and Sandy make it back to Detroit. Promise?” He barely whispered the words. She knew that he didn’t want her to go as much as she didn’t want him to go.

“I promise, and I will see you in a few days. We are still on for Miami, right? Dinner?” He slowly let go of her hand. She folded her arms to fill the void it caused her to feel.

“For sure, darling,” he said, as he hugged her again. He ran to get on the bus and she waved as they pulled off. She stood holding herself as they pulled away. This time was worse than yesterday. She didn’t understand how that was possible. She walked over to the valet booth and handed her ticket to the young gentleman. He ran off in search of her car. Shontell reached inside her purse to get some money for her tip. She looked around and wondered where Sandy had wandered off to. She knew her best friend, and figured that she was probably in the corner somewhere getting a quickie. She laughed at that thought, because she knew Sandy would. It wasn’t that she was out there sexually; she just always seemed to get what she wanted when it came to men.

After she became a widow, she and her confidence seemed to have taken on a new life. Kareem had died in a work accident six years ago, and it took her a while to bounce back. He was her first love. Sandy had to bounce back quicker than anyone. Because of all of her drama, she was the first one she saw when she opened her eyes in that hospital. The valet driver pulled up just as Sandy walked out of the hotel doors. She shook her head at her friend, and she knew her assumption was correct.

Are you ready, hot mama?” she asked jokingly as she handed the couple of dollars she retrieved a few minutes before to the driver and got in her car. They both waved to her friend.

“Girl! I needed that fix. It’s going to be a long while before this happens again.” Sandy stepped around the valet guy and sat down in the passenger seat. “Oh really. I find that hard to believe!”  “Girl Scout’s honor. I do have to set an example for my child at some point,” she told her, putting her fingers up to her chest as she grabbed her sunglasses.

“You do know that you are doing the sign for the Boy Scout’s honor, and not Girl’s. Besides, you are a great mother. Monica knows that.” “Thank you. That means a lot to me, coming from you…especially with everything I put her through.”

“Stop that! That’s in the past and over with. I can’t wait to see our baby walk across that stage this year.”

“Me either. I am so proud of her. The party you are doing has her so excited.”

“Well, she deserves it. She went from being an average student to salutatorian.”

“Right. Are we still hitting that new outlet?”

“You know it.”

“CHARGE!” They both shouted and began cracking up.

They spent the next four hours shopping. They were getting things they needed for the cruise and wanted to make it back to Detroit by nightfall. Shontell dropped off Sandy, waving to Monica who was sitting on the porch with friends.

Later that night, she texted Nico and told him she was home. He responded that he missed her already. She was smiling as she headed into the bathroom to run her water. She was testing the water temperature when she heard her doorbell.  She looked at the clock in her kitchen. It was almost 10:30 p.m. She wondered who would be coming over this late without calling. She grabbed her Taser gun out of her purse and slowly walked toward the door. She was glad that her shoes were off, preventing her from making a sound. She stood up a little bit on her tiptoes as she looked through the peephole. She groaned and cursed to herself. This is not how she wanted to end her day.

What the heck was Jesse doing at her door? She stood there for a few minutes not knowing if she should open it. She started to walk away, but knew he would stay out there until she did open the door. She slowly cracked it open.

“What are you doing at my house, uninvited no less?” she asked him, not even trying to hold her annoyance in.