Love Again (5 page)

She cocked her head to the side, “Humor me and lets walk around, I love this place.”

I nodded and smiled at her, “Lead the way beautiful.”

Lennie blushed, “Okay.”

I already knew my way around obviously but I’m a man, I wanted to follow her so I could stare at her ass some more.  Her legs were toned like she worked out regularly, the way her muscles flexed as she walked up the staircase made me want to reach out and touch them.  When her left hand swung back is when I noticed the small diamond on her finger.  Did that stop me from staring at her and picturing her legs wrapped around my waist, as I slid inside of her—absolutely not.  Did it stop me from picturing those green eyes of hers going hazy after she orgasmed—absolutely not.

Room by room we talked about the updates and I showed her what room had been mine.  When we went back downstairs I followed her to the back of the house, Harold had finally put a pool in like he wanted.  I couldn’t wait to sink down in it and let the water relieve some stress from my muscles.  The back yard was smaller since the pool had been put in, but the side that I had spent hours upon hours learning the game of football still remained.  “Are you sure you want to buy it?” Lennie asked interrupting the memories of my childhood here.

“One hundred percent.” I replied

“If you would like to put in a counter offer…” she started to say but I interrupted her.

“Nope, I’ll pay asking price.”

Her eyes got big again, “Oh…okay, when would be a good time for you to come into my office so we can fill out the paperwork?”

I shrugged, “I’m free anytime, what day works best for you?”

She pulled her cell phone out, “I don’t work on weekends unless you’re in a rush to get in here.  So how about Monday morning?”

She bit her bottom lip waiting for me to reply, I wanted to take the final few steps and see if her lips tasted as good as they looked with the pale red lipstick.  “That’ll be fine, I’ll call or text you if something comes up that I can’t make it.”

“That sounds great.  I know this is probably, no scratch that, this is very unprofessional of me but I have to say this even though you probably hear it all the time.  Your eyes are absolutely beautiful!” she blushed and looked away. 

“I’ve been told that a time or two, but thank you.  It’s not every day that you see a black man with blue eyes huh?” A grin spread across my face.

“No, I can honestly say I’ve never seen an African American with your eye color.  Well besides the little girl that was circulating online a few years ago.”

“You do know it’s okay to say Black, right?  I’m not going to get offended.”

She laughed, “I just…it seems rude.  I mean your skin isn’t actually the same color as the color black.”

This time I laughed, “My mom was mixed race and has the most beautiful blue eyes I’ve ever seen.  I guess I got lucky.”

Before she could respond her cell phone rang, she looked at the screen, “I have to take this, give me two minutes.” She walked past me and into the kitchen.  I looked around the back yard, then knelt down and dipped my hand in the pool water.  “I’m with a client right now I will call you back!  Justin stop it please!” she was whisper yelling into her phone but I could still hear her.  “Please just stop!” I could tell she was about to either hang up on the Justin guy or start crying.  I walked into the kitchen, her eyes were watering, “I…I have to go.” She said and hung up.

I raised one eyebrow at her, “That didn’t sound good and by the looks it wasn’t a very pleasant call.” 

“I’m sorry about that, just a misunderstanding with my husband.  SO, I will plan on seeing you again on Monday at say ten thirty?”

“Sounds good.”

There was a still silence between us, “Okay, I’ll get the place locked up.  Thank you for coming today.” I nodded my head and followed her out the front door, her cell phone started ringing again but she ignored it.  Her shoulders were tense and her eyes filled with worry as it continued to ring.  “I’m so sorry about that.”

“See you Monday.” I told her then went to my vehicle.  As I drove away I looked in my rear view mirror, she was shaking her head while holding the phone up to her ear. 

When I got back to the office Tiffany handed me a stack of messages and asked how the showing went.  I told her the house was even better to see in person and that after I was moved in she would have to come over for her grand tour. 

Back in my office I decided to research Lennie.  I entered the name Lennie Ericson into the search engine.  As I expected there weren’t very many results, I clicked on the link to her social media page.  “What the fuck…no way!” I said out loud. 

“No really!” My assistant Tiffany said from the doorway.  A stack of papers in her hand, “I need your signature on these.”

I looked at her, “Look at this guy and tell me where you recognize him from.”

She walked around the desk, “That’s umm,” she snapped her fingers, “the attorney guy that is seeing Jill…Justin Ericson!  Yeah that’s his name.” she was pretty proud of herself. 

“Mmmhmm, now tell me if this is Jill.” I clicked on the little arrow and showed her the next picture that showed Justin and Lennie on their wedding day a little over three years ago.

“Uh-no…no it’s not.” Tiffany said with wide eyes. 

“This is Lennie the realtor, obviously his wife too.”

“No way—maybe they are divorced?” Tiffany asked.

“Nope she had a ring on when I went to Wilson’s and Justin called while I was there.” I told her.

“Wow…just—are you sure?”

I glared up at her, “Really?”

She raised her hands up in front of her, “I just don’t get it.  He’s cheating on her with…that,” she pointed at Jill, “and Lennie has no idea?”

I shrugged, “Every fundraiser we’ve been to he’s had Jill with him.  I know one night at the club I watched them both cut lines on a table and snort the shit off the table top.”

“You can take one look at her and tell that she’s strung out most of the time.” Tiffany shivered.  I exited out of the browser and leaned back in my chair.

“I don’t get it, does she never question him?”

Tiffany just shrugged her shoulders, “You could always hire a private investigator and have him get proof like you did with Ava.”

“It’s not really my place though.” I told her.

“Whatever you decide, just remember you know what it’s like to be cheated on and not know about it until it’s almost too late.” Then she walked out of my office. 

The rest of the day I was flooded with phone calls, I made sure not to schedule anything for Monday. 

Trevor text me shortly after five to ask if I was going to go to the club.  Since I owned ‘The Glo’ on weekends we would hang out and have some drinks.  I text him back and told him to meet me there around nine that evening. 

~~~~~~

“Okay so let me get this straight…” Trevor was trying not to laugh.

I interrupted him, “Yes she’s married, yes her husband is always with that Jill chick, no I don’t know if Lennie knows about it.”

“You want to bag a married woman!” He said with wide eyes and pointed at me. 

“I’d also like to slam your beer bottle against your head.” I leaned against the rail of the VIP section.  Looking out over the packed dance floor and the bar that was busy like always, I scanned the crowd.  “No fucking way!”

“What now?” Trevor asked. 

As if she could feel me staring at her, Lennie turned around and scanned the balcony until her eyes landed on me.  We held each other’s stare for a few seconds until the woman she was with nudged her and handed her a drink then Lennie turned away.  “That’s her.” I told Trevor.

He followed my line of vision, “Shit dude, I’d bang her to—married or not.”

“Are you just begging for that beer bottle to be fed to you?” I asked.

He laughed, “Chill out brother, I’m not like that but I would really like to be introduced to that hot friend of hers.”

I watched as the two of them weaved through the crowd of people until they disappeared below the balcony where we were standing. 

“Out of sight out of mind, come on man this place is crawling with ladies that would rock your world for a night.  I’m sure her husband will be showing up soon anyways.” Trevor said to me trying to get me to snap out of the trans I was in. 

“Right, I’ll get us another round of shots and another beer.”

I was so happy that the guys were right, after the listing went live on our website my email was flooded with inquires and my phone seemed to never stop ringing.  I returned calls in the order that I received them, the first caller caught my attention. 

After talking with Dominique and setting up the appointment I decided on my drive home I would call Corrina and share the news with her about the listing.

“Hey girlfriend!” she answered.  There was so much noise in the background I could hardly hear her.

“Good grief, are you in a club?  I can hardly hear you.” I yelled into the phone.  The line crackled and fell silent.  I waited for her to reply but the call had dropped.  “Fine I’ll just wait for you to call me back.” I huffed and threw my phone onto the passenger seat. 

I pulled into the parking garage grabbed my messenger bag and purse. 

The doorman David smiled, “Have a great weekend Lennie.”

“You too, tell Maggie I say hi!”

He nodded, “I sure will.”

Once inside the apartment I kicked my heels off and hung my bags up, then went to the wine cooler and pulled out a bottle of my favorite Sauvignon blane.  Then I went upstairs to the bedroom and grabbed my Kindle and changed into a pair of yoga pants and oversized t-shirt of Justin’s.  Back downstairs I turned on soft jazz music opened my Kindle and went on a one-click spree. 

I was reading Travis and Abby’s story by Jamie McGuire when Justin walked through the door.  I smiled at him then turned back to my book.  Abby and Travis were just getting ready to take their relationship to the next level when suddenly my Kindle was yanked out of my hand and thrown against the wall next to our fireplace.  “How many fucking times do I have to tell you to stop reading that shit?” Justin yelled. 

“It’s not Fifty Shades of Grey!” I argued. 

“I don’t fucking care, for the last hour I’ve been getting notifications about you blowing money on fucking porn!” he yelled at me. 

I laughed, “It’s not porn, Justin.”

The look in his eyes made me want to take the words back, he lowered himself so he was eye to eye with me where I was sitting on the couch.  “I don’t care what you fucking call it, it makes you act like a fucking whore.  Then again you always have been a slut, you sure as hell didn’t put up much of a fight when I tried to get you into my bed.”

I sat there shocked, hurt, and the tears that seeped from my eyes couldn’t be stopped.  I opened my mouth to say something but a knock at the door interrupted me.  “Who in the fuck is here on a weeknight?” Justin stomped over to the door and yanked it open.  I wiped my eyes and started to stand when I heard the most amazing voice, Corrina.

“Bitch you have NO idea how hard it was to hang up on you!” she practically tackled me on the couch.  I hugged her back not wanting to let go of her.  I could feel Justin staring at us. I pinched my eyes closed trying to stop the burning tears from falling down my cheeks and onto Corrina’s shoulder.  She turned her head, “Are you okay?” she whispered. 

When I opened my eyes, Justin was standing behind her with his hands on his hips, eyebrows drawn together and a look of pure hatred on his face.  I finally released her and wiped my eyes.  “I’m so happy to see you!” We both laughed and sniffled while we wiped more tears off our faces.  “How long are you back for?”

Her smile was so big the corner of her eyes wrinkled, “Permanently! My boss bought a building here, the renovations are finished so we are going to have shipments coming in and I get to be the manager.” Corrina bounced beside me. 

“NO WAY--Oh my god, Corrina that’s so awesome!” I hugged her again. 

“Well isn’t that just fan-fucking-tastic.” Justin said and rolled his eyes before walking out of the room and going upstairs. 

Corrina looked across the room, “Is that your Kindle?” she asked with wide eyes.  She walked over and picked it up.  The screen was shattered.  “Did the book end that bad?  I mean I’ve read some that make me want to throw my Kindle but for fucks sake—I never have.”

“Shhh!” I put my finger up to my lips. 

“Don’t tell me to shut up, explain what the hell is going on!  You were crying when I walked in!” she whisper shouted and put my device on the end table. 

“Hate to interrupt your lovely reunion but we have reservations at seven.” Justin said as he walked down the stairs. 

“Oh, we do?” I asked.

“Duh, I wouldn’t fucking say it if we didn’t.” He spat back. 

“Do you want to join us?” I asked Corrina.

She looked at me then at Justin, “No, I need to get some rest.  We can do lunch tomorrow though.”

“You need to go change, you’re not going out looking like a fucking homeless person.” Justin said to me.

Corrina’s eyes got big she hugged me, “I’ll text you tomorrow.” She didn’t say goodbye to Justin as she walked out the door. 

“What is your problem?” I asked.

He laughed, “Your little bitch is back, I hate to burst your bubble but you aren’t going to be around her much.  I have always hated how you two act like immature teenage girls when you’re around each other.  Go change.” He finished.

As usual Justin was preoccupied with his cell phone, three different times he left our table for ten minutes at a time to talk.  I stared out the window at the city, couples holding hands smiling at each other, men holding doors open for their significant others.  I pushed my plate away and looked over at Justin’s plate that still had most of his meal left on it and was no doubt cold.  The waiter appeared and cleared my plate then refilled my water.  Shortly after that Justin sat down, “Seriously you couldn’t fucking wait?” he snapped at me and pushed his plate away.  The waiter quickly made his way back to our table and asked if Justin wanted a to-go container, “No.” He handed his credit card over and we waited in silence until the waiter brought it back.  He thanked us and we left. 

The drive home was silent between us, I thought back to our college days and how we could always find something to talk about.  We called it our A and E conversations,
“Anything and Everything, I love hearing your voice.”
Justin had told me.  I looked over at Justin, the streetlights flashing across his face, over the last couple of years he had changed so much.  He was no longer the free spirited, happy go lucky man that I had fallen in love with.  Sitting beside me was a man that looked tired and unhappy. 

“Are you unhappy in our marriage?” I asked.

He glanced at me out the corner of his eyes, “Why the fuck would you ask that?  If I wasn’t fucking happy we wouldn’t be in this car together now would we?”

“It’s just that you…” I started to say but he interrupted me. 

“I’m tired and I want to go to bed.  I’ve got a busy week out of town next week, all this conversation is going to do is lead to an argument.”

I bit my bottom lip, “I have a big showing tomorrow.” I said to change the subject.

“Let me guess, three bed two bath house with a white picket fence out front.  Their family is expanding and they just HAVE to move.”  He said with a sarcastic tone.

“You’re right.” I lied. 

The last few miles was complete silence not even the radio was loud enough to be heard. 

When we got home Justin went upstairs to shower, I laid out my clothes for the following day.  Instead of waiting for him to finish up I stripped out of my clothes and decided I would join him in the shower.  The glass shower walls were fogged over so I quietly opened the door and stepped in.  He rinsed his hair and scrubbed the small amount of shampoo off of his face, when he opened his eyes he blinked and blinked.  “What the fuck are you doing?” He asked. 

I stepped toward him, “We haven’t showered together in a while, is it a crime to want to be close to my husband?” I laid my palms flat against his chest. 

Justin grabbed my wrists and pulled my hands away from him, “This is why I don’t like you reading that shit you do.  We aren’t in college anymore, grow the fuck up.  It’s called personal space and I prefer to have mine—especially in here.” He pushed the shower door open and got out.  I stared at his back as he dried off, there were so many things running through my mind about what to say but I chose to keep them to myself.  I didn’t want to fight, I couldn’t handle another fight like we had earlier in the week. 

~~~~~~

“Shhh—do you hear that?” Corrina asked me. 

We had met for coffee the following morning and I had to go back to our apartment to get my purse.  “Shhh…Justin’s sleeping.  Do I hear what?” I whispered as I put my purse strap over my shoulder.

“There it is again.” She swatted at the air.

I shook my head, “A fly really?” Then I heard a buzzing sound.  I cocked my head to the side and waited for it again. 

“It sounds like a phone vibrating.” Corrina said and walked toward the kitchen and I followed her. 

We quietly opened and closed a couple of drawers, when I opened one that had the coffee filters in it I found a cell phone.  It vibrated again.   Corrina walked up beside, “I know that’s not your phone.” She said. 

With the phone in my hand I looked at it, it was a phone I had never seen before, “I don’t know whose phone it is.” I told her.

When I looked at the screen there were fifteen missed calls and several text messages.  I swiped the screen, there was no picture on the screen.  So I clicked on a text message,

Jill
- Hey baby look what I scored for next week! XOXO I miss you so much!

Attached was a picture of a baggie that had white powder in it and money rolled up next to it.  Lines of white scraped out on a mirror. 

Jill
- Justin baby when you get a chance please call me, I really miss you.  XOXO

Jill
- Just think, we’ll find out next week what we are having!

Attached was a picture of a sonogram picture with the words
Jill & Justin 4ever!

“Oh my god!” Corrina said from beside me.  She took the phone away from me and put it back in the drawer.  “Come on!” She pulled me out of the apartment and quietly locked and shut the door behind us.  Once inside the elevator she turned and looked at me.  “Please tell me we didn’t not just see any of that.  I’ve had my suspicions about him but…”

“I have a multi-million dollar house I’m supposed to show today and I just read that my husband is possibly doing drugs
and
has another woman pregnant.  Exactly what in the fuck is going on?” I couldn’t help but cry.  Corrina pulled me into her arms, and we both cried. 

The doors opened, I tried to wipe my eyes but the more I wiped them the more tears spilled out.  “Is something wrong Lennie?” Lyle rushed over to us. 

Corrina said something to him, I couldn’t even talk as we walked out of the building. 

“Okay--you’re okay.” Corrina’s hand wrapped around mine.  “Can you cancel the showing?  Why didn’t I know about that big of a sale?” she asked with a laugh. 

I sniffled, “I can’t cancel it, I won’t cancel it.  I did try to tell you about it but the day I called was when you hung up on me.” I wiped my cheeks and gave small laugh. 

“Don’t cancel, definitely don’t cancel!  Go to work, put some cold compresses on your eyes for a little bit.  Redo your makeup, show this buyer the smart beautiful intelligent woman you are and seal the deal.  Call me afterwards and we’ll go to my apartment.”

I stopped walking, “You have an apartment and didn’t go through me?” I asked trying to sound offended. 

She held up her hands, “Boss man had it already lined up!”

“Where’s it at?” I asked as we got in my car.

“North Wabash Avenue!”

“WHAT?” I yelled. 

“I know,” she sighed but smiled.  “You will just die when you see this place it has EVERYTHING.”  She said.  Then she grabbed my hand, “Remember you call me as soon as you’re done and we’ll go to my place to talk about this.  Okay?”

I nodded, “Okay.  I’m going to look like a hot mess.” I shook my head and wiped away more tears. 

“Just do what I said and you’ll look just a hot as always.”

Luckily James and Henry were both busy when I walked in to the office, I went right for my office and closed the door.  Doing what Corrina said to do I went over to the mini fridge and grabbed a couple bottles of water.  I leaned back in my chair and rested the cold plastic over my eyes.