Inner Circle (16 page)

“What, you don’t like it?” she asked, ironing out her dress with her hands.

“Nah. I think you should wear the red one I like.”

Amber forced a smile. “It’s your birthday,” she said, unzipping the back of her black Herve strapless dress. The dress fell to the floor leaving her in only her black La Perla thong and studded Jimmy Choo platforms.

“Bend over and place your hands on the bed.” Sean’s voice emulated that of an attacker, and Amber wasn’t sure if he was being seductive or if he was acting out a scene from
Law and Order SVU
.

“Honey!” she responded playfully, “our guests will be here—”

Before she could finish her sentence, Sean had slipped out of his pants and underwear. He held his hard dick in his hand, and the look in his eyes confirmed just how serious he was about his request.

“Babe,” she whispered, unsure of how she should feel. “I, umm . . .” Amber didn’t know whether to be afraid or just to submit.

“Don’t you think I deserve a birthday present?” Sean asked, gently pushing her down on the bed.

Amber sighed softly and waited, positioning herself for Sean to take her from behind. She wasn’t prepared for the sharp pain when, without warning, he shoved his dick into her ass, then gripped her tightly by her waist as he began banging himself in and out of her.

Her moans were both from pleasure and pain. He knew she wasn’t a fan of anal sex but insisted tonight be one of the nights she obliged him.

“Sean,” she mumbled. “Sto . . . p.” Her voice was pleading.

But instead of stopping, he leaned over, placed both hands tightly on her shoulders, and began pounding himself inside of her even harder.

She screamed and began crying softly, but it didn’t seem to matter. It was clear to her that Sean had an objective that he was determined to accomplish.

“Fuck!” he said as he pulled his dick out of her ass, flipped her over, and forced her to her knees. “Suck it!”

“What? Sean, no, please,” Amber begged turning her face away.

“Damn, Amber, you’re gonna make me lose my hard-on. Come on, baby, hurry!” he pleaded, stroking himself.

Confused, Amber opened her mouth, allowing Sean to place himself inside her. She cried as she began sucking him off. Although she had pleased Sean orally plenty of times before, this felt forced and degrading. He moaned, stroking in and out as if her mouth were a pussy. Amber swallowed, and then nearly gagged as the taste of anal juices and semen slid down her throat. She closed her eyes and cried some more.

Within moments she felt his release in her mouth.

“Awwww, yeah, babe, that’s
exactly
what Daddy needed,” Sean said, continuing to stroke in and out.

Amber swallowed the gush of sticky residue that rested in her mouth while wiping the tears from her eyes.

He grabbed her by her waist and pulled her forward. Kneeling, he slipped her thong down, and then off. He opened her legs and kissed her softly on her pussy, then gently fingered the hairs away from the lips.

“What, you thought I was gonna let you pleasure me without me hooking you up?”

Amber searched his face for answers she couldn’t find. She wasn’t sure what this was, and to be honest, she didn’t exactly know how to handle it. “Sean?” she managed to mutter. “What is this all about?”

Sean, however, didn’t bother with words, and instead, did laps around her vagina with his tongue. He sucked and licked her just as hard as he’d just fucked her moments prior, until finally she completely gave
in to him. As her body went limp from the oral pleasure, any thoughts of confusion she’d ever had about their reconciliation were erased. At the moment, she was completely convinced that only a man who truly loved her would please her like this. And just as Sean used his actions to speak louder than words, after tonight’s party, Amber would be on a mission to do the same.

Amber
beamed as she made her way down the stairwell to the front door. Gloria had beaten her to the punch, and she saw her in-laws as well as Eve and Chase coming through the door.

“Well, look at you,” Eve raved as Amber made her way to them. “Girl, you know I’ve always loved that red dress. And you are certainly wearing the hell out it.”

The two exchanged kisses to the cheek and laughed as Amber greeted the others.

“I must admit, this is the best I’ve seen you look in a long time.” her mother-in-law said, giving her a quick once-over. “It’s about time, is all I’ll say.”

“You look great, Amber,” Chase joined in. “And happy!”

“Why wouldn’t she be happy? Hell, she doesn’t work, has no real skills, and she gets to live this fabulous life compliments of my baby,” Tami chimed in. “I’d say
happy
was an understatement.
Ecstatic
seems more appropriate, if you ask me.”

“Good thing no one did,” Eve responded, pulling Amber away. “Chase, would you mind getting us some drinks from the bar? I’ll have my usual, Ty Ku Soju, please.”

“Sure thing,” Chase replied, relieved to get out of the cross fire.

Amber made sure that Chase was out of earshot before she spoke. She didn’t want to give Chase the impression that when the shoe was on the other foot, Eve would ever speak ill of his family—not that she had to. Unlike Sean, Chase always stood up for Eve. His love for her was obvious to everyone who came in contact with them.

Amber knew Chase from USC but hadn’t seen him after he’d been drafted and left school. Her thoughts drifted back to the time of her baby shower seven years earlier. It wasn’t until her baby shower that Eve finally revealed who the man in her life was.

“I didn’t want to steal your thunder,” Amber remembered Eve saying when she showed up at her baby shower waving her copy of Sister2Sister magazine featuring Chase and Eve as the hottest new couple.

“Chase Landon! You’re dating Chase Landon? What the hell happened to your no-dating-athletes’ rule? Does your mother know? How long have you two been an item? And why are you just now telling me?” Amber asked in a rapid interrogation.

“Well, damn, don’t ask me too many questions all at once,” Eve joked.

“This isn’t funny, Ev. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.”

“You sound mad.” Eve sounded puzzled. “You’re my best friend. I thought you of all people would be happy for me.”

Amber sat on the bottom step of her then almost empty house. “It’s just that it’s Chase Landon.”

“He’s from your alma mater,” Eve replied, searching Amber’s face for the root of her concern. “Wait! What’s this about?” Eve scooted close to Amber. “Is this about me dating an athlete, or is this about which athlete I’m dating? You got a problem with Chase?”

“Of course not!” Amber said, placing her hands on the swollen baby-filled belly. “I’m just concerned is all. You’ve always been so adamant about getting involved with an athlete. You practically ran me through the coals when I told you I was getting serious with Sean, and you didn’t let up even after I told you I was pregnant and that we were getting married. But yet, you come in here waving an article in my face and expect me to what? Do cartwheels?”

“Wow, I’m sorry. I didn’t think about it like that. I guess I was pretty hard on you. But that’s not why I chose not tell you about Chase. To be honest, it all just kinda happened so fast, that I . . .” Eve twirled her ponytail around her hand before twisting it into a bun. “As much as I resisted, Chase just won me over. It only took a week for me to know that it really didn’t matter what he did. I’d fallen madly in love with who he was. I love him,” Eve whispered, wiping a tear from her eye.

“Ev . . . Chase . . .” Amber was hesitant. She’d never seen her best friend so genuinely happy.

“Yeah?” Eve beamed with excitement.

“About Chase . . . from what I knew about him from school, he seemed like a cool person.”

“Glad to hear it. For a minute there it sounded like you were going to tell me something bad about him. Girl, I couldn’t take that.”

“Well, there is something. If you want to call it that!”

“What?”

“You know Sean and Chase weren’t exactly friends in college.”

“Why?”

“I didn’t get all the details.”

“Probably over some broad. You know how men get down,” she said with a grin. “I’m sure by now all’s forgiven. Hell, it’s not like they run in the same circles. Sean plays basketball, and Chase is football.”

“And they’re both ballers. Athletes! You’ll be surprised just how small this circle really is,” Amber warned.

“Damn, Amber, you make it sound like a fucking cult.”

Amber laughed. “Something like that. It’s not just our men we’ve got to think about, it’s their families—mothers, fathers, exes, kids, baby mamas, the whole nine. But don’t worry, you’ve
got me, and like always, we’ll ride this train together.” Amber hugged Eve. “I’m happy for you. And no matter what, I’ll always be there.”

Amber felt Eve shake her arm and realized she had drifted into a daydream. She looked back at Sean’s mother who was now making her way up the stairs, probably en route to her bedroom to find Sean.

“Can you believe her?” Amber said, shaking her head.

“Girl, don’t even worry about Mrs. Tami. Like you once told me, there’s a very fine line between mothers and their ball-playing sons, so don’t even bother with trying to fight that battle. Take it for what it’s worth and know that I got you,” Eve said, trying to comfort her. “Besides, you’re too damn good to be stressing over his evil-ass mama anyway.”

“You’re right. I don’t know why I’m even tripping. We’ve never gotten along, and to be honest, I’m really tired of trying. Nothing I do seems to work anyway. I mean, look around. This house is perfection. I’ve given them an extraordinary grandchild who I practically raise alone because Sean’s working most of the time. I threw this party for their son. But do you think I get any credit for any of that? No!”

“So stop trying to impress her stuck-up ass.” Eve rolled her eyes. “Fuck her! And you know I try never to disrespect anyone’s mother, but in her case . . .” Eve began to laugh.

Amber smiled. “Ev, you so crazy.”

“No, I’m just keeping it one hundred. Besides, she’s the crazy one not to appreciate you. After all the shit Sean’s put you through, both of them should be kissing your ass right about now.”

“About that,” Amber said slyly, “Sean and I . . . well, let’s just say, I think we’re going to be okay.”

“You fucked him?” Eve pried.

“Is it actually called fucking when you’re married?”

“Hell, yeah! Now don’t get me wrong. Chase and I make ourselves lots of love, however, there are those occasions where I don’t
need nothing tender. Sometimes, I need him just to catch me completely off guard and fuck the shit out of me.”

“Really?” Amber blushed.

“I’m talking pussy-sore-after-fucking kind of fucking,” Eve laughed.

“Eve!” Amber exclaimed.

“Oh, for goodness’ sake, Amber. You were always a bit prudish,” Eve teased. “So let me guess you fucked—” She cleared her throat. “Excuse me. I meant . . . so, you gave your man some ‘I forgive you’ coochie?”

“It was weird, because at first I wasn’t sure what was happening. But then, the way he handled me when it was my turn for pleasure . . . I don’t know, but it made me feel as if things between us would be okay, you know?”

“Listen, you know me, and I don’t judge anyone. I’ve been swayed a time or two over some good dick myself. And if you feel like you and Sean are on a road to recovery and you can forgive him, then you have my support.”

Amber hugged Eve and smiled. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me. I wasn’t the one who fucked you into forgiveness,” Eve joked. “Come on and show me the rest of the decorations in the house before Mama Evil finds you and starts in on you again. I swear she’s gonna make me kick her old ass.”

Amber laughed hard as she led Eve toward the family room. Eve was truly like the sister she never had. It was moments like this that she knew no matter what hand life dealt her, with Eve by her side, there wasn’t anything that she couldn’t conquer or endure.

“You ready to get your party on?” Eve asked, taking Amber by the hand.

Amber squeezed Eve’s hand tightly. “Absolutely!”

13

“The
three of them, they played all day. They kicked and passed the ball. Once Little T had learned to share, football was fun for all,” Callie quoted as she read the last page of her son’s favorite children’s book,
Little T Learns to Share.

“Mommy, Mommy, read it one more time, pleeeeeeease!” begged her five-year-old son, Dominic.

Callie kissed Dominic on the forehead. “Not tonight, sweetheart. But maybe tomorrow, okay?”

“What about me, Mommy?” Donatello, her youngest, pleaded. “You’ll read it to me too, right?”

“I’d never leave you out, Donnie, darling. But right now, I need you two boys to go to sleep.” Callie lifted herself from their embraces and made her way out of Dominic’s bed. She reached down to pick up Donatello and place him securely on the top bunk.