Where I Wanna Be (34 page)

“
I know, baby.”

Faith and Simone

Faith woke up and hoped she’d just had a horrible nightmare. She reached over to her husband’s side of the bed and felt how cold and empty it was. She soon realized it wasn’t a nightmare; everything did happen. Eli left her and that was it.

They had never spent more than a couple weeks apart in their entire relationship. If Eli had to travel, he made sure Faith came with him. If she wasn’t able to go with him, Eli made sure the business trip was short. They texted each other throughout the day and always talked about their respective days over dinner. They went on a family vacation once a year and a couple’s vacation twice a year. Their sex life was legendary; incorporating toys, porn, role-playing and other things to keep it hot and exciting.

They dated for six years before they got married and started trying to conceive before the wedding, thinking it was going to take a while. It didn’t take long for them to conceive but the couple suffered numerous miscarriages. They went through respective testing trying to figure out what was wrong with him, what was wrong with her. After accepting the fact there was unexplained infertility, they were ready to start the procedure for in-vitro when Faith fell pregnant with Nathan, who they deemed their miracle child.

Now she was going to somehow explain to her son why Daddy wasn’t going to come home anymore.

****

He looked so beautiful, yet peaceful, in her bed.

Simone smiled as she watched the slow rise of her boyfriend’s chest leading up to his peaceful smile. The struggle, the patience, the longing to be together but couldn’t be… all of that was officially behind them both. They were together. Forever. She came back to New York to get a fresh start on life and being with Eli was the cherry on top.

They made love several times the night before, with each session more passionate than the last. It was clear to Simone that Eli took out all of his frustration on her with each thrust and orgasm he gave her. He would hold her shoulders down as he gave it to her from behind. He steadied her waist as she rode him, occasionally forcing her down so their tongues could play with each other’s. He encouraged her orgasms with his words as well as his tongue and fingers.

After they were done, she saw how contemplative Eli was. He was silent but his mind was going a mile a minute. When he did speak, he kept his words to a minimum, not diving into talks about the future or anything heavy. Simone wanted to talk to Eli, to see where he stood, where
they
stood but she respected his position. He chose her over his wife and son and she knew it couldn’t have been an easy decision.

“
Good morning, angel,” Eli opened his eyes. “How did you sleep last night?”

“
Well,” Simone slightly nodded, “when I did sleep that is.”

Eli chuckled. “You weren’t complaining last night.”

“
How could I? I was too busy screaming.” Simone yawned. “I’m surprised the neighbors didn’t call the cops.”

Eli laughed. “I’ll take it easy next time.”

Simone kissed her boyfriend. “I don’t want you to.”

Eli sat up in bed and rubbed his face. He had a long day ahead of him but it was crucial he took care of some important business first. He needed to retrieve some of his clothing before Faith went
Waiting to Exhale
on it. “I need to stop by the house and pick up some clothes and other things. I’m going to spend this afternoon searching for a new place.”

Simone scooted closer to her boyfriend. “Why don’t you move in with me? It’s closer to the flagship store and more convenient.”

“
You make a good point but I need to be close to Nathan’s school in West Brighton.” A small sadness appeared when Eli thought about his son. How in the hell was he going to explain to him what happened without having his son hate him? His mother managed to keep it together when she told him and his brothers that their father left. He remembered hearing her softened cries late at night for several months and the anger towards his father festered with each cry. “I need to be able to pick him up from school in case Faith isn’t able to.”

“
Speaking of Faith,” Simone glanced over to Eli, “when are you divorcing her?”

Eli’s back stiffened and he sat up straight. The thought of divorce never crossed his mind at any given point when he slept with Simone. He was raised to not believe in divorce and his brothers felt the same way. Now he had to contemplate divorcing his wife, a woman he’d known just about all of his life; Eli honestly wasn’t sure if that was in the cards. “I just left her last night, Simone. It’s going to take some time.”

“
Did you talk to her about visits and splitting the assets?” Simone inquired.

“
Simone…” he warned.

“
I’m sorry, baby.” She sat behind Eli and wrapped her arms around him. “I just don’t want anything to stand in our way of being together. I want you without strings or limitations.” She rested her head on his shoulder.

Eli rubbed Simone’s hands on his waist. “I understand that, but I need to handle Faith on my own. She already hates you and I don’t want to further her cause.”

“
Okay, okay, I’ll back off.” Simone agreed. “Tell me what I can do to make it easier on you.”

“
You know what you could do to make it easier on me?” Eli smiled. “Get naked for me so I can have another round with you.”

Simone fell back into the bed. “I’m already ahead of you.”

****

“
Hi, everyone, thanks for coming in,” Faith began at the weekly meeting she held with her stylists. “Um, I just wanted to say thank you for your love and support for the past several years. I’m nothing… MillionHair, is nothing without all of you and your support.”

“
We got your back, Faye!” Cameron yelled out and other stylists concurred. “Whatever it is, we got you, girlie!”

Cameron’s support warmed Faith’s heart. “Good. I’m glad to hear that. This will make my announcement a little easier.”

“
Announcement?” Jocelyn was concerned. “Are you firing us? Are you leaving us?”

“
No, no, no. Nothing like that. I’m taking a sabbatical for a few dayss.” The reason behind the self-imposed sabbatical caused a swell of emotions to be lodged in Faith’s throat and she felt herself on the verge of tears again. She managed to maintain her composure and continued. “I need to take care of some things and I can’t do that and run the shop at the same time. But I’ll be back in a week and I’ll be checking in on all of you day-to-day so I won’t be away for long.”

“
Whew, child!” Kimberly grabbed her chest. “I was about to have a heart attack in this piece.”

“
So that’s it,” Faith clasped her hands together, “I’ll be back later. See you in a few weeks!”

Krista read more into Faith’s sudden announcement. While the other employees resumed their business, Krista knew her best friend too well. There were obvious dark circles under her eyes and the sudden disappearance of her wedding rings didn’t help matters. “Faith, can I speak with you alone?”

Before Faith could protest, Krista led her back to their office and closed the door behind them. “Wanna tell me what’s really going on?”

“
I’m going on a small break, that’s all,” Faith shrugged, “nothing more to it than that.”

“
Can you sell me that piece of bullshit again because I didn’t quite buy it the first time?”

“
I’m
fine,
” Faith silently pleaded with her best friend. “I just need a break.”

“
Where are you going?”

Far. Far, far away from here
, Faith wanted to answer. “Nathan and I are going to visit Disney World and will be back in a week.”

“
Is Eli going with you?”

Faith’s mouth opened slightly and she quickly closed it. The thought of her husband’s—soon to-be ex-husband’s—name made her skin crawl and her soul collapse. How could he give up on them so easily, without a second thought? “Like I’ve said, I’ll be back in a week and I’ll resume everything then.”

“
You wanna tell me what’s really going on with you and Eli?” Krista pressed. “Where are your rings?”

“
Why are you in my business, Krista?” Faith replied, curtly. “I just need to go away for a while.”

“
Fine, I’m dropping it.” Krista relented. “I hope you have a nice vacation.”

“
Thank you.” Faith picked up her bag and gave her best friend a hug. “I’ll be in touch.” She then left the shop.

Krista watched Faith get into her SUV and sped off before she made her way to Tony’s, next door. He was in the middle of setting up shop when Krista stopped by. “Tony, do you have a minute? It’s important.”

“
I have all the time in the world for you, sweetheart,” Tony lightly licked his lips. “What’s going on?”

Krista sat down in one of the barber chairs. “What’s going on with your brother and Faith?”

Tony shrugged. “I don’t know. They’re married with a kid?”

“
Seriously, Tony…”

“
I am being serious,” Tony wiped down his chair, “why do you ask?”

“
Faith just announced she’s going on a sabbatical with just her and Nathan. She wasn’t wearing her rings and she looked like hell.” Krista knew there was something more to it than what Faith told her. “I wonder if things are okay between her and Eli.”

Tony stopped cleaning his chair and narrowed his eyes. “She’s going on a sabbatical? Where?”

“
Down to Florida to visit the Disney parks. She didn’t mention Eli was going with them.”

“
Eli didn’t mention any trips he and Faye had planned.” Tony rubbed his goatee. “I’ll check with him to see what’s going on and let you know what’s up.”

“
Thanks, Tony,” Krista walked over to him and gave him a hug. “I really appreciate you doing this for me.”

Tony wrapped his arms around Krista’s waist and pulled her close to his body. She was a little thick, shaped like an hourglass. It seemed every piece of clothing she wore was specifically tailored to her body. She was more conservative than the other women he had dated in the past and he thought maybe, that’s what drew him to Krista. “Anything for you, Krista.”

****

The text notification on his phone woke Joey up from his peaceful slumber. It was nine o’clock in the morning and he knew he’d overslept, but the way he spent the night before was worth the lost sleep. They sat up and talked most of the night about anything, everything, even getting into friendly debates about current events.

She spent the night with him, but they slept on the top of the bed wrapped around in a thick, fleece blanket, and with their clothes on. He didn’t look at her like she was a ho or any of the other tricks he had seen all over New York. There was something magical about that woman lying in bed next to him.

He stretched out in bed and yawned before he grabbed his phone to check it. Tony sent a mass text message to him, Nick, and Kieran and Joey thought for a moment he didn’t actually read what he thought he saw.