OBSESSED WITH TAYLOR JAMES (17 page)

                                                                                                                                                      
Chapter 12
           
 

Taylor made her way through the crowd of people in search of
her sister.  4
^th
Street bubbled over with people in the summer.  The
outdoor seating for the many restaurants and merchant shops drew people to the
one-time alley recently updated and reserved for pedestrian’s only.  She
reached the restaurant.  Scanning the faces dining at the outdoor tables for
Sabrina; she saw she was not there.

Lola’s wasn’t crowded on the inside. She waited to be seated
by the hostess and ordered a glass of lemonade when the server came to take her
order.  Sitting close to a window, she laid her cell phone on the table and
watched the people outside enjoying the day.   Her cell phone vibrated on the
table; it was a text message from Sabrina stating she’d be late but was on her
way.

A light tapping on the window took her attention away from
her phone.  It was Kelly waiving to her.  A tingling fanned through Taylor’s
body.  She smiled and returned the friendly greeting.  In a nanosecond, Kelly
was standing at the table.

Taylor, how are you?” Kelly asked disrupting Taylor’s
interaction with her sister via texting.

In a normal voice, she said, “I’m okay, Kelly.  Are you
and Dillon having lunch today?”

“Yes.  He called out of the blue and asked me to join
him.”

Taylor glanced out the window with hope her sister would
come into view. She did not want to talk about Dillon.  She did not want to
tell anyone about what Dillon had done until she figured out what was going on
with him. “And you are eating here?”

“Yes, we love Lola’s.  Are you waiting on Mario?”

“No, Sabrina is meeting me for lunch today.”

“I haven’t seen her in ages.  Maybe we should join you
two.”

Taylor scraped her teeth across her bottom lip.  Kelly
was not a stupid woman.  She had to know there would be fallout between her and
Dillon from what happened Saturday night.  Taylor adjusted the sunglasses on
her nose.  “I don’t think so, Kelly.  Saturday night did not leave me very
pleased with Dillon.  Actually, I’m going to reschedule my vacation.  I’m not
going on the cruise.”

“Please don’t do that.  Dillon didn’t want me to come and
if he is cooped up with only me, I don’t know what will happen to me, Taylor.”

A tendril of dread filled her belly.  She reserved lunch
for her to unload on Sabrina, not for Kelly to empty her burdens on her.  Kelly
eyed her waiting for her to respond. Shifting in her seat, she asked.  “Kelly,
are-are you saying you’re afraid of Dillon?”

Kelly played with the straps of her purse staring blankly
at Taylor. “I’m saying he is a different man these days.  His mood changes from
one minute to the next.  I am walking on eggshells around him.  I’m thinking
about calling off the wedding and moving back to Nebraska.”

“Kelly, I had no idea it was so bad.  But, go with your
instincts.  If you are having doubts about Dillon then do what you have to
do.”  Relief filled Taylor’s chest.  Maybe Kelly already knew Dillon was
possibly a psychopath in a suit.

Kelly narrowed her eyes.  “Does he talk about me to you?”

“Dillon and I really haven’t talked much since….”

“I know—since you got with Mario.  So he has withdrawn
from you also.”

“That is so far from the reason we aren’t talking
anymore.  You were at the party and saw what he did to me.”

“I was surprised at his behavior.  I was too speechless
to intervene.  I would never expect him to do anything to cross the perfect
Taylor James.  You have always been the center of his world.  The woman that
does nothing wrong in his eyes,” Kelly responded oddly.

Taylor shook her head and sighed.  “I am going to ignore
your jabs at me, but this has to stop.  I have no romantic interest in Dillon
whatsoever and you are aware of that.”

“That may be true for you, Taylor.  I’ve heard Dillon has
been in love with you since you were kids.”  She took the empty chair across
from Taylor and sat down. “It’s funny, we were happy until you came around
again.   He never mentioned you or once treated me like a disease until you
returned to Cleveland.  Suddenly, your name was mentioned so often, I doubted
she even remembered mine.”

Taylor’s already brittle emotional state took over. “What
you’re saying is I’m the cause of your problems with Dillon.”

Kelly didn’t shy away. “Yes.  Do you know how hard it to
compete with you?”

“You shouldn’t have to compete with me.  We are two
different people with our own agendas.”

“You don’t see the big picture, Taylor.  I don’t satisfy
Dillon anymore.  You occupy his mind, and he has pushed me out completely.  I
was holding on by a thread but now that has unraveled and broken off.”

Taylor saw the beginnings of another public scene in a
restaurant happening and was unable to stop it.  She heard her voice rising.
“Kelly, what do you want me to do? If Dillon is in love with me, that is not of
my persuasion.  I cannot control his heart.”

“You can control yourself. Stop being so
YOU
all
the time!”

“I don’t even know how to respond to that because it was
stupid!  I will not change who I am for anyone.”

The crocodile tears formed beneath Kelly’s eyelids. Her
bottom lip trembled. “Some friend you are.  If the tables were turned and I was
going after Mario, you would do whatever you could to keep him.”

“This is where we are different.  I don’t pester Mario
throughout the day.  Whatever he does when I’m not around, I have to trust
him.  If you pursued him and he responded, then so be it.”

“That is not true.  I know about your trust issues.”

“I never had trust issues.  I was jealous when other
women approached my boyfriends.  However, that is in the past.  I was able to
put it there because when I’m with Mario, and he is making love to me, I know I
am the only woman he wants.”

“He has you believing that crap?  Men love to fantasize
about other women when making love to their woman.”

Taylor rolled her neck. “Not Mario.  When he says my name
at that crucial moment, I know he is only thinking about me.”

“You have it all, don’t you Taylor?”

Taylor relaxed in the chair wanting to clear the air of
the tension.  She said in a calming voice, “Kelly, I have no beef with you and
never have.  I have stood by your side during your relationship with Dillon.  I
cried with you when you lost the baby.  I don’t want him that way.  Being his
friend has been my only intention and nothing else.”

Kelly took a tissue from her purse and wiped her nose.
“Taylor, I’m asking you woman to woman, to stay out of our lives and let us
be.  Just leave us alone and don’t offer Dillon any more helpful advice.”

“Excuse me? I don’t think I heard you correctly.  Kelly,
were you listening to any of this conversation?  I don’t want Dillon.  If it is
your desire to marry him in his current state of mind, then do it and be
happy.”

Kelly’s amber eyes glowed. “I heard you and I have advice
to give you.  Instead of worrying about what Dillon and I are doing in our
relationship, maybe you should work on trying to keep a relationship with
Mario.  Your track record isn’t that great when it comes to men.  You should
work on keeping him happy if you expect him to stick around.”

Taylor heard the thundering in her ears from her blood
pressure rising. The adrenaline pulsed through her veins underneath her skin. 
She gripped the wood edge of the table to keep her hands from going around
Kelly’s throat. “First, my love life is not any of your concern.  And, second,
if I were you, I would walk away while you have a chance with all your limbs
attached.”

Kelly’s voice rose to alarming levels as she stood up
from the table. “Why, Taylor!  You’re ruining my chances for happiness with
Dillon.  Why did you have to return to Cleveland?  I hope you enjoy watching
Dillon’s sanity deteriorate watching you with a man that makes him feel
inferior.  Thank you, Taylor; thank you.”

Kelly stormed away leaving Taylor angry and confused by
the soap opera tantrum she threw in front of the patrons of the restaurant.
Slapping the hard table, she bit down on her lip hard enough to draw blood.

What in hells bells is happening with the crazy ass
people that are supposed to be my friends?

She crossed her arms tightly across her chest avoiding
the eyes of the people in the restaurant.  She didn’t care they looked anyone
was looking this time.  Composure was not an option with her mood, she was mad
as hell and the anger had to be release before she exploded on the next person
to step in her path.

Sabrina entered the doors of the restaurant in search of
Taylor.  The hostess pointed her where Taylor was sitting.  She only needed to
look once at her sister’s blowfish express to know she was pissed beyond
words.  Sitting carefully, she touched Taylor’s hand.  “What’s the matter,
Taylor? Who has pissed you off?”

Still staggering from the implications Kelly placed upon
her, she fumed, “I want out of this damn city and away from crazy ass people.”

“Taylor, are you going to explain why you want to leave? 
You’ve been talking about opening a law firm soon.”

Thankful the sunglasses stopped Sabrina from seeing the
tears brimming, she swallowed to keep her voice steady.  “That will be a
mistake.  I should have taken the position in New York the moment I found out
Dillon was working at Cartwright & Associates.”

Sabrina held Taylor’s hands that were shaking. “Tell me
what happened between you and Kelly.  I saw her as I was walking over here.  I
spoke, but she blew me off.”

Taylor removed her hand to drink a sip of lemonade.  “Be
grateful she didn’t stop to talk to you.”

“Well, she seemed upset and nearly ran me over.”

She took another drink trying to calm her nerves
realizing plain lemonade was not going to get the job done. “She better be glad
she was able to walk down the street and not need EMS to pluck her ass from the
one of these walls.  Lord, I have never wanted to punch a person as much as I
want to punch Kelly and her stupid ass boyfriend.”

Sabrina signaled for the server. “Girl, I have a feeling
we are going to need something stronger than lemonade once you tell me this
story.”

“I have to go back to work.”

“You are in no shape to work, Taylor.  Behind the big
dark sunglass, I see the tears in your eyes.  You don’t cry.  Kelly must have
really pissed you off to make you cry.”

“If I never see her or Dillon again, it wouldn’t bother
me!” She said aloud.

Sabrina pursed her lips.  “Um…”

“What did you do, Sabrina?”

“I sort of invited them to the house for the Fourth of
July picnic Edward and I are throwing.  Taylor, I didn’t know you were mad to
the point of breaking ties with them until now.”

“Why would you even invite them?  You don’t invite them
to anything else you have.”

“They sent us a wedding invitation.  I was being sociable
and invited them to our barbeque.  I had extra invitations and stamps.”

She moped. “This is just great.”

“I’m sure they won’t come seeing how today went.  Anyhow,
forget them for a minute.  Why do you think you might be fired?”

“Oh God, this is going to take all day and one glass of
lemonade will not get me through it,” Taylor said removing money from her
purse.  “You are right; I’m in no mood to work.  We’ll order a pizza and go
back to my place and have an old-fashioned bitch-fest with hard liquor.”

                                                                                                                                                      
Chapter 13
           
 

Taylor waited for Mario to finish with his phone call. 
Still upset, she stood at the window woozy and a little tipsy from drinking
with her sister.  Edward had just picked up Sabrina to take her home.  The
James’ clan liked to drink, but were responsible and would never drink and
drive.

Mario’s gaze followed her as she walked around the living
room languidly. He didn’t like seeing her upset or worse yet, drunk. “Amor,
this has got to stop before it tears you apart.”

She shrugged her shoulders. It’s too late for that,
Mario,” she said strolling over to him and wrapping her arms around his neck. 
“I’ve been pushed over the edge and can’t stop the fall.”

“Baby, what happened?”

She didn’t release him but tightened her arms around his
neck. “I had a really bad day and I’m glad you’re here now.”

“I gathered that.  You and Sabrina were drinking pretty
early in the day.”  He patted her back.  “You could use a nap.”

Taylor dropped her arms from around his neck.  “I don’t
need a nap; I need a change of scenery.  I had a great life, Mario.  What
happened to it?”

He walked her to the sofa sitting down with her. “Your
life is the same, Taylor.  I’d like to think I’m adding to it, or is it me
you’re complaining about?”

She patted his cheek slurring her words. “Baby, you’re
the best thing to happen to me in forever.  We clicked right away and get along
now that we’ve come to an understanding.  I’m a lucky girl that gets groovy sex
at night and wakes up next to a handsome man in the mornings.”

The sting of the heavy alcohol vapors wafting from her
mouth smacked him in the face.  “Okay, if you are happy with all that, why are
you drunk?”

She yawned slumping against the cushions of the sofa.
“Cause I hate Dillon.  You were right.  Baby, that man….that….man I believed
was my friend, is out to destroy me. One stupid mistake years ago is coming
back to haunt me,” she mumbled.

He shook her on the shoulder. “Taylor, don’t fall asleep!
What stupid mistake and did Dillon do to you?”

“We had…” She passed out cold before finishing the
sentence.

Twitching the muscle in his jaw she passed out before
finishing her sentence, Mario maneuvered her until she was over his shoulder
and hauling her up the stairs like a sack of potatoes.  Taking her to the
bedroom, he laid her on the bed to remove her shoes and taking all her close
off except her underwear.  He turned up the air conditioner then covered her
with the bedspread and left the bedroom.

Downstairs he noticed her cell phone on the coffee
table.  Not wanting to do what was on his mind, he did anyway.  He scrolled
through the contacts until he located the number he was looking for.  Grabbing
his keys from the dining room table, he left the house to get answers.

Speeding from the driveway he narrowly missed hitting
Taylor’s neighbor who was pulling into his driveway.  Sebastian shook his head
as the maniac sped down the street.

*****

Be nice. Apologize profusely and do not side-step the
truth if confronted
was the mantra Dillon repeated walking the slow gait to
Mario’s office.  It didn’t matter how many times he repeated it; it would not
sink beneath the surface of his skull to penetrate his brain.  He knew Mario
would pulverize him to a grain of sand if they got into a fist-fight.  Taylor
must have told him what transpired earlier, and now he wanted to confront him. 
What he didn’t understand was why he wanted to do it at work and after hours.

He knocked on the door before going inside. “Hey, um, you
wanted to talk.”

Mario looked over his shoulder to make sure no one was
around.  “You know what this is about,” he said positioning the door where
Dillon could get inside.

Dillon eyed him strangely.  “Is this about Taylor?  I
apologize for my actions on Saturday.  I want you to know where I stand when it
comes to her.”

“Look, Dillon.  Whatever is going on between you and
Kelly is affecting Taylor in a bad way and therefore it is affecting me. I
don’t appreciate seeing my woman drunk in the middle of the day.”

“I asked Taylor to stop worrying about me.  Kelly and I
are working through a rough patch, but we’re cool.”

Mario shook his head disagreeing. “No, you’re not cool. 
But, then again that’s your headache….not mind.”

Stewing in his own juices he saw Mario’s dark eyes were
hooded as he watched him intently. “Mario, I don’t have a clue where you’re
going with this.  Kelly and I are not fighting, and Taylor told me she asked
you to join us on the cruise.  This will be cool, man! I’m looking forward to
us having a great vacation together.”

Mario chuckled. “Wow, you’re learning to lie and smile
while doing it.  Anderson is grooming you well for the legal field.  But here
is the real deal…Taylor and I are skipping the cruise.  You and Kelly go alone
and have that great vacation together without us.”

The smile on Dillon’s face faded.  “Are you speaking for
Taylor now?  She didn’t say she wanted to cancel the cruise.”

“Put your feet in Taylor’s shoes for a minute.  Would you
enjoy your vacation sitting across the dinner table laughing and toasting
glasses with the person who may have gotten you fired?”

Dillon listened concluding this conversation and Taylor’s
inebriation was to do Saturday’s event and not today. Crossing his hands behind
his back, he shrugged his shoulders.  “Mario, I can’t take back what happened
Saturday. I wish it never had.  I’m going to talk to Anderson and get it all
straightened out.”

Mario folded his arms across his chest to match Dillon’s
machismo.  Using a nonchalant tone he said, “I know something happened today and
it involves you.  She will not tell me what exactly happened, but it had to be
bad enough for her drink herself into a stupor.  Your name was the last she
sputtered before she passed out.  I will be a better man and give you a chance
to tell me what happened or we can do this when Taylor is on her feet.  The
choice is yours.”

“All right, this morning we had words regarding last
Saturday; that’s it.  I tried to apologize, and she wasn’t having it.   She is
pissed, and I don’t blame her.  Once she cools off, let me just talk to her. 
Taylor and I have been friends for years; we’ll work it out,” he said stepping
closer to the door.

Mario placed his hand on the door blocking Dillon from
opening it. The tone of his voice laced with ire, said, “You will not talk to
her.  I will not allow Taylor to be a pawn in your sick game or let you
manipulate her anymore.”

Dillon’s head pounded as sweat beaded on his face.
“Nobody is playing a sick game, Mario.  I jumped to conclusions before
thinking.  I’m sure we can smooth this over once and for all.”

Mario’s pupils were black as tar. He leaned closer to
Dillon.  “Leave her alone. Taylor won’t tell you to fuck off, but I have
nothing to lose by not being your friend.  So I don’t have a problem saying
it…vete al carajo, Dillon.  I hope we won’t have this chat again.”

“Taylor has a mind of her own and doesn’t need you to
speak for her.  If I want to talk to her I will,” he said in a challenging
manner.  “This conversation is over!” Dillon attempted to shuffle Mario aside
to escape the office.

Mario shoved his hands in Dillon’s chest pinning him
against the door.  “Listen, I wouldn’t let the expensive suits and education
fool you into thinking I won’t rip your heart from your chest with my bare
hands personally.  I won’t need to make a phone call for that to happen.”

Dillon threw up his hands coughing from Mario’s hand
tightened around the collar of his shirt.   He looked at Mario with the same
fear Taylor looked at him, only she stood her ground where he caved. “All
right, I’ll back off.  We don’t have to get physical.  We both care about
Taylor and want the best for her.”

Mario winked a mocking eye. “I’m glad you’re coming
around.  Now I have one more thing to say before you go change your
tidy-whities.  Kiss and make good with Kelly.  It will make our relationship a
lot easier around the office,” he said fixing the collar of Dillon’s shirt.

Dillon closed his eyes taking in a breath.  The image of
Mario’s smirked face burned his retinas.  His dislike for the man just soared
to heights beyond retrievable.

*****

The paranoia set in as Dillon drove home.  He knew
nothing about Mario Infante.  The man wasn’t from Cleveland but obviously had
connections in Miami and Puerto Rico with seedy people.  For all he knew, he
could be a former gang affiliate or knew people that belonged to Puerto Rican
gangs and would hire them to come after him.

He turned into his driveway to see Kelly entering the
side door carrying grocery bags.  She disappeared into the living room when he
entered the house.  He walked heavy-footed down the hall in search of her. 
Wasting no time, he threaded his arms around her body, pushing her down to pin
her on the sofa.  His hand balled a bunch of her hair yanking her head back, as
he pressed his lips against her neck.  “Here or upstairs,” he gasped against
her skin.

“Dillon, you’re hurting me,” she cried struggling to
breath under his weight.

He pushed his hips against her pelvic bone. “I’m ready to
give you what you’ve been asking for.”

He got off her dragging her to her feet and up the stairs
to their bedroom.  Dillon threw her on the bed straddling her so she couldn’t
move.  Looking into his lust-glazed eyes as he stripped off his shirt, Kelly at
first was frightened of his intentions.  Then he demanded. “Kiss me.  Kiss me
like you mean it.”

She reached up and clutched his shoulders drawing him
down to meet her mouth.  The mélange of their tongues and their flavors spread.
Everything he was doing to her now, he normally would pretend was Taylor.  Not
this time.  The primal instinct to have sex cleared his mind of Taylor.

He ripped the thin material of her blouse exposing her
breasts, squeezing them with rough hands. Kelly bit her lip.  He grunted
watching the pinkish-brown nipples swell under his fingers, before sucking one
into his mouth.

Kelly’s hands worked fast to unbuckle the belt of his
pants and push them down his hips.  She wasn’t sure what had come over him to
act so animalistic.  Once he got her skirt and panties off; he drove into her,
causing her to cry out from the dry penetration.

She whispered into his ear. “Baby, don’t be so rough.”

He continued his frenzy, biting the lobe of her ear.  “Do
you want it or not?”

She closed her eyes and let him have his way.  He had not
made love to her in months, and she was not going to miss this opportunity by
complaining.

*****

Kelly made sure Dillon was sleeping before getting out of
bed.  Tiptoeing down the stairs, she went to the den and closed the door.  She
sat behind the desk and opened the middle drawer removing a phone book.  She
needed to help Dillon, and there was only knew one way to do it and have it be
permanent.

She used her cell phone instead of the house phone to
make the call.  Nervous she waited for the person to answer, and when he did,
she was afraid to ask for a favor.  “It’s me.  I need to talk to you.  Where
can we meet?”

“Are you sure you want to go through with this?”

“I have to help Dillon.  He is not well, and I can’t
stand to see him suffering anymore.  If this will help him then I have to do it.”

“Okay, I will call you tomorrow on were to meet.  I
will call; you do not call me again.”

“Okay, I won’t call you anymore.”

The next morning, once Dillon left for work Kelly, drove
to the spot indicated by the mysterious caller.  She got out of the car holding
her purse close to her body.  A homeless man sleeping under the bridge kept her
close to her car.  She was in an area of town that she never visited, and a
white woman alone would stand out as peculiar.

Two men approached from across the vacant lot.  The one
man she knew the other she didn’t.  “Do you have it?” she asked clutching her
purse tighter.

“Yeah, I got what you want.  You got the money?”

She went in her purse and removed the envelope containing
the money. “How many Oxycodone pills are there for a $1000?”

The unidentified man counted the money after handing her
the pouch containing the illegal drugs.  “You got a month’s supply.”

“That would only be $900?”

“Handling fees ain’t included.”  He walked away leaving
her and the other man together.

She turned to the man saying, “Thank you.”

“Watch him with that stuff.  He could get addicted and
kill himself.  Is that all you needed?”

Kelly nodded. “Yes…no.  Can we go somewhere else and
talk?  I have another problem I want to discuss with you.”

“I’m busy today.  We’ll have to do it another time.”

“Okay.  Give me a call when you have a chance.”  She
turned and got inside her car drove off with the man watching her.