Delilah (4 page)

The palms of Samson's hands were drenching with sweat. He grabbed another napkin off the dining room table to wipe them. He listened to his mother and Julia go over last-minute wedding details while they ate dinner. He couldn't wait to get Julia alone so he could find out what happened at Delilah's. He dreaded telling her about his indiscretion, but Delilah had left him no choice.

“Son, I can't tell you enough how proud I am of you and this beautiful woman here,” Regis said between bites.

“Thanks, Dad.” Samson hoped Julia would forgive him because between her parents and his, they had spent a lot of money on their upcoming wedding.

“Julia told me about her visit with Delilah,” Kelly said.

Samson saw the looks exchanged between Kelly and his dad.

“We'll talk about it later,” Julia said to her fiancé.

“Dear, the first thing you need to learn is to never, ever sugarcoat things when you talk to your husband,” Kelly advised. “He'll appreciate your honesty.” Kelly looked in Regis' direction. “Won't he, dear?”

Regis dropped his head. “And son, you'll learn to never disagree with your wife.”

Samson and Julia looked at each other and laughed. “This will be us in thirty years,” Samson said.

Kelly didn't seem to find it amusing. Her nose twitched. “Well, Samson you already know how I feel about Delilah.”

“Everybody at this table knows how you feel,” Samson responded.

Kelly ignored Samson and continued to give Julia advice. Their conversation transferred from the dining room table to the den. Samson was relieved when Regis finally took over the conversation.

“These two probably want to spend a little time together before it gets too late,” Regis said.

Kelly smiled. “Oh, I was young once. Julia, why didn't you stop me? I would have let you two go a long time ago.”

Julia looked at Samson. Samson shrugged his shoulders before Julia spoke. “Mrs. Kelly, I always enjoy our conversations.”

Samson's parents walked them to the door. Kelly reached out to hug Julia good-bye. “Remember what I said.” Kelly then hugged Samson and whispered in his ear when he bent his head down, “Take care of your mess.”

Samson and Julia exited the house, and less than an hour later, Samson and Julia were sitting on her couch watching a romantic comedy on DVD. Samson couldn't enjoy the movie or Julia's company because he dreaded telling her about him and Delilah. He visualized Julia's reaction to the news in his head several times. He was positive her response would mimic the woman's reaction in the movie they were watching. It was enough to change his mind. He would have to figure out another way to deal with Delilah. He couldn't dare risk losing Julia by telling her about his lack of restraint.

Samson yawned. “I don't know about you, but I'm getting sleepy, so I better go.”

“You could spend the night,” Julia said in a low and sultry voice.

“I don't think that's a good idea.” Samson moved and Julia stood up.

“Why? We're getting married next week, so why not?”

“We decided to wait until after we're married, so waiting one more week won't hurt.”

“I'm a woman, and I have needs.” Julia waved her hands back and forth in the air. “This no sex before marriage was your idea. I've been waiting two years to have sex with you. We're about to get married, so come on. Let's just do it.” Samson could hear the frustration in her voice.

“I have needs too, but baby, we've come this far. We can wait.” Julia had no idea how hard it was for him to resist making love to her. He had never seen her so aggressive with him before.

“I bet you if it was Delilah offering her body to you, you wouldn't turn it down?”

“This has nothing to do with her and everything to do with us.”

“Prove it.” Julia started kissing him and unbuttoning her blouse.

Samson pushed her off him, almost tripping on her coffee table. “Hold up. I'd better be going before things get out of hand.”

“You don't have to go,” Julia said as she licked her lips.

“I don't want to go, but if I don't, we both might do something we'll regret tomorrow.” The sweat popped off Samson's forehead.

“You're right. I don't know what came over me. Let me walk you out.” Julia buttoned up her blouse.

“Baby, in one week, we can sleep in each other's arms every night,” Samson said.

“I know. I let my lust take over for a minute.”

Samson smiled. “It happens.”

“Call me when you make it home.”

Samson kissed her goodnight and exited her house. He let out a sigh as he slid into the driver's seat of his SUV. BeBe and CeCe Winans' latest gospel CD blasted through the speakers. Julia had no idea how much he wanted her, but he would not break his vow to God by sleeping with her and desecrating their relationship. He could wait until Saturday night.

His conscience seemed to speak out loud.
You would rather mess around with Delilah instead
.

Samson turned the music up louder in a failed attempt to drown out his own thoughts. He sped home and immediately called Julia when he pulled up in his driveway. “I miss you already,” he told her.

“You could have stayed.”

“And have you hate me in the morning? I don't think so.” Samson turned the ignition off and exited his vehicle

“Tonight will be the only night I can sleep. There's so much more on our wedding to-do list.”

“I'm confident you have it all covered.”

Samson blinked twice. He couldn't believe Delilah stood on the opposite side of his tinted windows. “Samson, are you in there?” Delilah yelled. She placed her face on his tinted windows when he didn't immediately respond.

“Julia, I'll talk to you tomorrow. Good night.” He didn't wait for her to respond. He prayed Julia didn't hear Delilah yelling from the outside of his SUV. He removed his keys from the ignition and opened the door.

“Delilah, you need to go home.” Samson tried not to brush up against her when he exited his SUV. Delilah reached out for him. He hit her hands every time she tried to touch him.

“Come on, Samson. I know you're hurting. I waited for you to come to me, but when you didn't come, I decided to come to you.”

Samson looked around, hoping none of his neighbors were looking. He grabbed Delilah by the arm. “Come on. Let's take this inside.”

Delilah giggled. “That's what I'm talking about.”

Samson struggled with getting the key in the lock with one hand, while never losing his grip on Delilah's arm with his other. Once he entered his house and they were behind closed doors, he released Delilah's arm. “Delilah, we need to talk.”

“We can save the talking for later,” Delilah said. She slid her hand up and down his chest.

Samson's body hadn't fully recovered from being around Julia. Delilah's touch only increased the sexual urges. He shouted, “Get thee behind me, Satan.”

Delilah stopped. “This is the second time today someone's accused me of being the devil, and I'm not going to stand for it.”

“Good. Now maybe you'll stop. Sit so we can talk.”

This time Delilah obeyed Samson. She waited for him to sit down first and then she took a seat across from him. She crossed her legs, deliberately exposing her thighs. Samson did his best to keep eye contact but found himself peeking at her legs during the course of the conversation. “This thing between us has to stop.”

“Samson, if I could stop what I feel for you, believe me, I would.”

“Delilah, you're a pretty woman, and there's not a man alive who wouldn't want you, but I'm taken. End of story.”

Delilah walked over to his stereo. She found a radio station, and as the latest R&B songs blasted from the speakers, she began dancing seductively. “If you can resist me after what I'm about to do, then I'll walk away and never bother you again.”

“Good,” Samson said.

The Commodores' song “Brick House” played next as Delilah swayed her body from side to side. Samson squirmed in his seat. He should have gotten up and walked out of the room, but watching Delilah dance had him hypnotized.

There was something about Delilah that seemed to have a hold on him. She had a vulnerable side that she didn't like to expose. He wanted to heal her. Samson knew pushing her away would hurt her, but giving in to her demands could jeopardize not just his life, but Julia's.

The hold Delilah had on him was hypnotic, and as much as he knew she was bad for him, he couldn't seem to get enough of her. He had been able to resist temptation for years, but since the moment he met Delilah, she became his Achilles' heel.

Delilah made her way over to where Samson was sitting and straddled him. Defeated, Samson gave in to his carnal desires once again. The next morning, Delilah rolled over and whispered in Samson's ear, “Ready for another round?”

Delilah pouted and complained, but Samson wouldn't budge. “You can still call off the wedding,” Delilah said.

“That's never going to happen, so you might as well let me go.”

She did something she said she would never do in front of a man. She cried. Samson reached out to her. She pushed his arm away. “Don't touch me.”

“Delilah, fine. It's almost eight o'clock, and I have things to do.”

“I can see myself out.”

“You can't stay here. When I leave, you leave.”

“So you're kicking me out?” Delilah yelled.

“Calm down. Nobody's kicking you out.”

Wiping her eyes, Delilah got out of the bed and put on her clothes. Samson avoided looking at her. Delilah should have felt some type of shame, but she didn't. She never made Samson do anything he didn't want to do.

“I'm going only because I have something to do myself,” Delilah said.

“Be careful,” Samson said as he walked her to the door.

She was disappointed he didn't at least give her a hug. She dialed her best friend's number as soon as she was seated behind the wheel of her car. “Keisha, let's meet for lunch. My treat.”

At one that afternoon, Delilah met Keisha at a local eatery. The crowd had thinned since the lunch rush hour passed. “Girl, I love that hair color on you,” Delilah said as she sat across from Keisha.

“Platinum blond. You should try it.” Keisha ran her fingers through the end of her hair.

Delilah loved changing her hairstyle, and having a best friend who was a hair stylist worked in her favor, but she would leave the platinum blond to Keisha.

“I ordered your favorites,” Keisha said.

“Good, because I haven't eaten anything since yesterday.”

Delilah listened as Keisha gossiped about the patrons at her salon, but the news didn't compare to what Delilah had going on in her life. The waiter brought over their food. Delilah explained her dilemma. “Samson wanted it as much as I did, so I don't know why he keeps tripping with me.”

“You're going to burn in hell for messing with that preacher,” Keisha said. She dipped her French fries in ketchup.

“Did you not hear a word I said? He wants me too, but he doesn't want to disappoint his parents.”

“Delilah, I don't know what planet you're on, but the preacher is just using you. He's getting sex from you, but he's still marrying his virtuous woman. Move on. Save yourself from heartache, but most importantly, save your soul.”

Delilah's cell phone rang. “That's probably him now.” Delilah retrieved her phone from her purse with a huge grin on her face. “Hello.”

“Are you making any progress?” William asked.

Delilah rolled her eyes. “Just give me some time.”

“Time is money. I need that land to build my shopping center, so I need to see some results. He still won't take my calls.”

“I'm working on it. I have a trump card I haven't played yet. He'll do whatever I want when I play it.”

“Well, what are you waiting on? Give me the results I want or you'll be jobless.”

William disconnected the call without waiting on Delilah's response. “Are you okay?” Keisha asked.

“Yeah,” Delilah responded, as she slipped her cell phone back in her purse. “Just my boss getting on my nerves.”

“You need to find you another job.”

“Where else am I going to work and make twenty dollars an hour in this city? Plus, I'm getting a bonus for this special assignment,” Delilah said. Delilah, feeling distress, had shared with Keisha details of her special assignment.

“You can find something. I can get you a job on the riverboat with me. Girl, with my tips, I easily pull in a thousand dollars every week.”

“I know nothing about a crap table or blackjack.”

“You don't have to. There's a training class you go through.”

“Well, if this doesn't work out, I'll think about it.”

“You have options,” Keisha said.

“If Samson marries that woman, I don't know what I'll do.”

Keisha stopped eating. “Do I need to slap some sense into you? You're delusional if you think he's going to drop Ms. Prim and Proper for an ex-hooker.”

“I was an exotic dancer. Big difference.” Delilah looked around the room to make sure no one was listening. “Besides, you don't have to tell the world my business.”

“I just want you to see how ridiculous all this looks. You slept with him. The sex was good. Now move on.”

“You just don't understand. I'm a better person because of Samson.”

“I've seen him on TV and yes, he's sexy, but he's not the only man in Shreveport.”

To Delilah, he might as well have been because Samson was the only man she wanted, and she'd stop at nothing to get him.