This Life: A Novel (24 page)

Chapter Thirty-Nine

October 5

Miami
,
Florida

“Will your phone ever
stop ringing?” Margot laughed as she sat in Blake’s
Miami Beach
office.

“What can I say? The
world is happy that I am back in business. But it sure as hell wasn’t without a
cost.” Blake put her phone back in her bag, but no sooner had she done that
when a text message came through. She reminded herself to check it later. She
had been receiving a flurry of texts, too, from old and prospective clients. Everyone
was ready to do business with her again.

“I lost money. Time is
money in this business,” Blake said, leaning back on her chair. “But that means
nothing to me. I’m glad to have my name back, and all. However, I did have some
time to think. I need to reinvent myself. I don’t want to be in this business
forever. You see, the wolves come at the door every so often, and I am tired of
fighting the wolves—”

“Not you, Blake,”
Margot said, shaking her head playfully. “Ms. Queen of Fixing. You are more
than equipped to handle this.”

Blake stayed silent and
rested her chin in her hands. “Maybe, but does that mean I should keep doing
this? I can use those skills in anything. Damn it, instead of buying up the
real estate on a
Caribbean
island, maybe I just
want to lie on the island?! Can I lie on the island sipping a Mai Tai on the
beach, Margot?”

Margot laughed at
Blake, who smiled sarcastically imagining herself lounging on a beach chair. “Well,
honey. Come to think of it, you don’t take vacations. You are the hardest-working
woman I know. So, what’s the plan, then?”

“I don’t know yet. I
may finish up this Wishman Spears deal now and think about that later. Margot,
since we haven’t spoken, there is a lot of stuff you missed.” Blake looked over
Margot’s shoulder and signaled to her assistant to hold any calls. “I have a
son.” Blake filled Margot in on Lionel, his recitals, visiting him in secret,
and her “growing” friendship with Kenton.  

Margot’s mouth hung
open the entire time.

“I want to get to know
Lionel, like a mother, and—Kenton too.”

“So you’re a mommy?”
Margot smiled warmly.

“Not a real mommy, but
a mother. I want to be a real mommy.”

“You are, dear.” Margot
touched her hand. “You are.”

“I fought to keep my
empire together for me, and for Lionel. This is my legacy for my son. I won’t
let anyone rip that away from me.”

“And Kenton?”

Blake blushed.

“Ooh, girl, did you
sleep with him?”

“Not yet,” Blake
gushed. “He is handsome, kind, sexy, and the adoptive father of my son. I mean,
I couldn’t make this up! The powers that be brought us together somehow for
some reason.”

“Well, the reason is obviously
for you to be back in Lionel’s life.”

“Right, I just didn’t
expect a man to come with the package, you know?”

Margot sighed. “You got
a two-for-one deal. Not many women would complain.”

“You know my track
record with men. Brett? Lang? Not good,” Blake, turning down the corners of her
mouth. “
Bad
.”

“This is different,”
Margot said, raising her chin. “Maybe this is your chance to fix those wrongs. I
say give the man some!”

Blake laughed out loud,
as Margot sat straight-faced. She was serious.

“And you and Thomas?”
Blake asked.

Margot waved her hand
like she was batting a fly. “That chick took that check quicker than a
crackhead taking a five-dollar bill.”

Blake eyes widened, and
she said, “I’m not gonna ask how much.”

“She was cheaper than I
thought.”

“Hmm.” Blake nodded,
surprised that Robin didn’t push for more.

“We have an agreement
that we can raise the child, no visitations. She was more than willing to
comply. But I’m not surprised, I knew she was a coldhearted bitch.”

“I’m proud of you,
Margot. Has Thomas moved back in yet?”

“We’re working on it,”
she said, slowly. Then her eyes lit up. “I hired an interior designer for the
baby’s room.”

“I can’t wait to see
it,” Blake said, hearing her phone buzz again for another message.

#

Later, Blake and Kenton
were walking on the lawn surrounding her home under the warm evening glow of
the moon.

“Dinner was bad, as in
good,” Kenton grinned as they climbed the steps to go back inside. “How did you
know I love seafood?”

“What Black man doesn’t,”
Blake laughed, her hair slightly damp from the humidity. She tucked it behind
her ear.

“I love it when you do
that. Let me help.” He tucked the hair on the other side behind her ear,
tracing his fingers down the nape of her neck, until his hands gripped her in
an embrace.

She took a deep breath.

“I can fall in love
with you, Ms. Bertrand,” Kenton whispered in her ear.

She hit him playfully,
swinging her head back. “I thought you already were!”

He kept a serious face.
“I am.”

“Am?”

“I love you,” he said,
his eyes watering slightly. “Sorry, don’t want to overwhelm you.”

“Too late for that.” Blake
said against his lips, inhaling his vanilla-scented cologne.

“I love you,” he
whispered repeatedly in her ear.

She walked Kenton
inside her home, and still holding each other, they giggled like school kids as
they misstepped to the bedroom.

Blake closed the door
and laid Kenton down. She slipped off her turquoise silk maxi dress to reveal
nothing but skin underneath. There was just enough light in the room to touch
her curves. She stood there letting Kenton’s eyes canvass her taut, fit body. She
completely owned the moment, and his lips formed a smile. Finally, he
unbuttoned his shirt and tossed his clothes to the side.

Blake studied the gift
that saluted her, and finally climbed into bed with him. She led his hands to
her breasts. He kneaded her nipples between his fingers and brought them to his
mouth. “Mmmm,” he moaned like a child digging into a moist chocolate cake.
Blake collapsed on her back, and Kenton lowered his long, lean body on top of
hers. His lips lingered around the edges of her neck and shoulders. He took his
time inching down to her breasts, closing his mouth over her hardened nipples. He
moved down to her soft stomach and inner thighs, brushing his tongue against
her moistness. Then he mounted her thighs around his shoulders and lost himself
between them.

Blake pressed her hips
into him, feeling her insides soften and melt in his mouth. She gently grabbed
his head with one hand. “Don’t stop, don’t stop,” she begged him until she
erupted with the kind of pleasure she only had in her dreams.

“Jezzzus,” she called
out as he filled her up, sliding inside her with a thrust that landed
perfectly. Their bodies slick with sweat, the mangled mix of his cologne and
sweat in the air, Kenton rocked her with a gentle steadiness. He didn’t want it
to end, and neither did she. They kissed as he moved inside her, holding his
body up with his hands and burying his hips into her. He didn’t take his eyes
off Blake for a second as she gripped his muscled shoulders. A tattoo on his
upper arm, with a symbol that looked like a weapon of sorts with the words “God’s
Angel,” stared back at her.

Overwhelmed, Blake was.
She didn’t know what to expect from Kenton anymore. But one thing she was sure
of. He was no angel in the bedroom.

Chapter Forty

November 9

New York
,
New York

The following month,
Blake headed back to
New York
. She brought her mother with her for company. She still was
getting used to flying alone without Suki and the rest of her team. She missed
them.

In the living room of
her condo, she watched her mom finish a light work of Pilates.

“Two months ago, I
couldn’t lift my leg to get in the shower. Check me out now?” Her mother put
her arms out and did a slow turn.

Blake clapped from
across the room as she handed a towel to her mom, who was no Pilates expert. But
she was still relieved to see her perform the subtle moves the physical
therapist recommended.

They sat at the dining
table, and Blake made her mom a plate of smoked salmon, fried eggs, and toast. Blake
was skipping a full breakfast this morning.

“You know,
mija
,
you should think of doing the Pilates,” Jacinta said, chewing on a piece of
toast. “You don’t sweat.”

Blake laughed and said, “I
like sweating when I work out. In fact, I’m going for a run in the park after I
finish this banana.”

“Eww, and you come back
all sweaty and stinky?” Jacinta held her nose.

Blake rolled her eyes. “Sweat
detoxifies the body.”

“Well, I’m clean, I don’t
need detox. You kids come up with the craziest things.” Jacinta cut into a
delicate slice of smoked salmon as she spoke, and as wrong as her mom was, she
was just happy she was there.

Ten minutes later Blake
was out the door, on a jog she hadn’t done in months. She was determined to get
her stride back. With Kenton and Lionel in her life practically full time, she
needed to keep her space and meet her own needs when she could.

She ran about a quarter
mile, inhaling the crisp cool air and whisking past the trees, strollers, and
pedestrians, who mostly seemed to be going in the opposite direction. She
recognized no one. Years ago when she started jogging, she’d look forward to
the familiar faces on her path. It told her she was on schedule and part of
something that was improving her life.
I have to do this more often
,
Blake told herself, slowing down her pace when she heard her name called from
behind. She stopped, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and spun around.

“Think you’re the only
one who cares about looking good these days?” Lang said, dressed in gray sweats.

Blake began running
again. She wanted to disappear from Lang’s sight, but he strode right alongside
her.

“Can we talk?” he asked,
looking at her in between breaths. His hair was matted from sweat already, and
it had only been a few minutes.

“Hell to the fucking no,”
Blake said, calmly, changing directions, hoping he would get the hint. He
disappeared. Blake hopped back on her usual route that led to her apartment.
She dug in her fanny pack for her phone to call and check on her mother, when
she realized she forgot it.

“Oh, damn, shit!” Blake
shouted. She had only gone without her phone twice in the last seven years. “Shit!”
Her runner’s high diminished as her long, graceful strides turned into sputtered
steps. She took a few swigs of her water, looked around, and decided to walk
home. It was only fifteen minutes away, she thought. The crinkly leaves beneath
her feet made her smile, and she relaxed into her new walking pace.

As she approached the
Ramble that led to the side of the park closest to her apartment, Lang
appeared. He blocked her path.

She took a step back,
jaw and fists clenched. A metallic taste grew in her mouth.
One two three.
What would Suki do?
One two three.
She thought that there was no way
she could muster up in seconds what took Suki years to master or go toe-to-toe
with a two hundred–pound man.

Lang stared at her with
hollow, cold eyes. His nostrils flared with each hefty breath.

Blake whirled around to
run back, but he grabbed her by the neck and stopped her breath.

“Bitch, I’ve been
wanting you all to myself. You think you can get rid of me, do you?” Lang
stared into her eyes.

Blake still couldn’t
breathe. Her hands grasped at his around her neck, scratching him so hard, he
bled. He let her go and pushed her to the ground, but Blake wasn’t giving up. She
remembered a move Suki had taught her about the correct way to stand after a
fall with the least chance of getting hit. She put her foot on the ground, the
other knee down, and lifted her arm to guard against Lang’s wing at her head
with his foot. She lifted her hips up and threw the hardest kick she could get
out into Lang’s knee. With Lang bent over in pain, she put her arms up for
defense.

 Lang pulled out a
knife, grabbed her, and traced it down the bridge of her nose. “After I’m done
with you, you’ll never want to look in the mirror again, bitch,” he said, spit
gathering at the corners of his lips. He threw her to the ground and climbed on
top.

Tears flowed from Blake’s
eyes as she lay frozen. With her free hands, she dove her fingers straight into
Lang’s eyes, remembering that Suki had told her to “think of digging dirt.” The
pain caused Lang to drop the knife as he brought his hands to his face. She got
up to run, but he grabbed her by the leg and pounced on her again, busting her
lip open.

“I still see you got
that fight in you. But what if I told you something that would make you wish
you were dead?”

Blake’s face was matted
with blood, and her body was pressed into the dirt by his weight. Her heart raced
as she thought about what to do.

He grinded his hips into
her and whispered in her ear, “Lionel.”

Blake cried out. “Don’t
you fuck with him!”

Lang pressed his lips
into her ear. “Remember that night I took you in the dark? When am I gonna see
my son, bitch?!”

Blake didn’t know what
came over her, but she wrapped her legs around Lang. With all her might, she
managed to flip them both over. She rolled off him, but he reached for her
again. Kicking him in the face, she rose on her feet. She wasn’t running
anymore, she thought. “You raped me! It was you?!” Blake felt her mind draw
black. Everything turned off. Lang, hobbling back and forth with his bloody
face. She in the woods, with her world crashing down on her.

Lang charged at Blake until
they both rolled on the ground. He pinned her down, and as she kicked and spat
at him, he pulled out the knife again and swung it at her. She moved her face
quickly enough, grabbed a loose rock, and smashed his head. He rolled over in
pain, still calling toward her. Blake still crying, saw a gun.

Blake found another rock
and pounded it into Lang’s head until he stopped moving.

She looked up at the
sky, fell on her knees, and screamed the loudest she could from her soul.