Authors: Michelle Love
JUDE
At the stroke of midnight, the actual date of my parents’ anniversary, the music stops and my parents are going up to the stage to give a speech. Mom beckons my brothers, me, and my sister to come up on the stage with them.
“Will you be okay here alone, Mercy?” I ask before I let her go. “Because I can take you up there with me, if you want.”
She shakes her head as her eyes go really big. “No way! I’m fine. You go on up there. I’ll be right here, waiting for you.”
With a little kiss, I leave her at our table, along with the other people my siblings brought, and follow my family to the stage. Once we’re all up, the lights come up and I see someone has made it to the party and is making a B-line for the stage.
Shit!
Ariel looks drunk as hell. Her fancy updo is down and her red hair is flowing wildly around her bare shoulders. Her dress is hitched up in the back and half of a bare ass cheek is showing as she waves at me.
My mother and father both look at me with frowns on their faces and I look at Ram and whisper, “Can you get those friends of yours you were on the football team with to run some interference with that crazy chick?”
He nods and makes a loud whistle that catches the attention of the three guys he invited to the party. With a wave of his hand, all three guys go toward Ariel and take her past the stage to stand at the side of it with them.
A few people noticed her but not all of them. With Ariel secured, I look out to see if Mercy noticed her and I can see that she did as she’s holding her hand to her chest and watching Ariel.
Crap!
Mom gets a smile on her face as she sees the situation is under control and nudges my father to begin his speech. “Hey, everybody!” Dad shouts over the microphone in his hand that Mom’s flipped the switch on to turn it on. “How are you enjoying the festivities?”
A ton of hoots and hollers sound off as the crowd lets him know they’re having a good time. In true Texas fashion, the crowd, though full of wealthy people, still sounds like a barroom full of hicks.
The crowd quiets as Dad continues. “Thirty-two years ago, I made this little filly my wife. Has every day been a picnic, you ask?” The crowd laughs. “No, it has not.” Mom smacks him in the arm. “Oww! See!”
Mom takes the microphone away from him. “Give me that thing, Jim!” She looks out over the guests she handpicked. “I’d like to thank each and every one of you for coming tonight to help us ring in this thirty-second anniversary we’re having. And I’d like to tell you all a little story about me and old, Jim Hurst, here. You see, he had a hell of a time getting me to say yes to his proposal of marriage.”
“Now, they don’t wanna hear that, Loretta,” Dad says, making the crowd laugh again. “Just bypass that little tidbit of history, would ya?”
Mom shakes her head. “I will not. Anyway, this man here was a suave man with lots of money and he set his sights on me. I didn’t understand why. I was a girl from a middle-class family. I wasn’t rich or even popular. I was plain as they come.”
“Oh, come on now, honey,” Dad says as he wraps his arm around her shoulders. “You were always a great beauty.” He kisses her cheek and I have to smile as Momma blushes.
“In his eyes, I suppose I was,” she says. “But in mine, I wasn’t fit to be the wealthy man’s wife. So when he asked me one night in July as we sat on the bank of a creek and fished in the moonlight if I’d like to marry him, I told him, no thank you.”
Everyone laughs and claps. Then my father says, “She nearly broke my heart with those words. I wanted her to be mine so bad, it made me crazy when she told me no. But did I give up on her?”
The crowd shouts the answer, “No!”
Dad laughs and says, “You’re damn right I didn’t give up on her!”
Mom laughs too then says, “So a month later, at the roller rink on my twentieth birthday, this man right here asked me to marry him again. This time, he produced a large diamond engagement ring. A thing he hadn’t before. My heart leaped with joy as I looked at that ring. But you know what I told him?”
The crowd answers, “You said, no!”
Momma nods. “I told him, no. I still thought I wasn’t enough for the man. I still felt like a rich woman, a woman in his league, could come along and take him away from me if she wanted to. So I turned him down again.”
“She really broke my heart that time,” Dad says as he looks into my mother’s eyes. “I’d went out and bought a big ol’ rock for her to put on her finger and let the other boys know she was taken. But she pushed that ring back in the little black box and gave me the answer I did not want. Did I give up?”
The crowd answers, “No!”
Dad shakes his head. “But I almost did. I left Dallas and went to Europe to get the little filly out of my head. I was gone a whole year. When I came back, my little Loretta was twenty-one and more beautiful than I remembered. I fell right back in love with her and for once, she looked at me with something in her eyes that had been missing before.”
Mom takes up the story. “I’d graduated from college. With hard work, I had managed to graduate with honors, a thing I didn’t think I was capable of. Not only did I graduate college but I also had me a boyfriend. A nice, normal, middle-class boyfriend who was nice enough to me. But he never looked at me the way this man right here did.”
Dad looks at Mom and says, “And you never looked at him the way you looked at me.”
Mom’s hand runs over his cheek and I feel a little shaky inside as I think about Mercy and wonder if one day that might be us. I wonder too if my mother’s story is sinking into Mercy’s head. I know she sees me as a man who’s out of her league. But the truth is she’s out of mine. But I’m not going to let that stop me!
Mom continues as she looks at Dad. “No, I did not.” She looks back out at the guests as she says, “So with my newfound faith in myself when Jim asked me to go with him to a very fancy restaurant here in Dallas, I accepted.”
Dad adds, “She also finally accepted my proposal and six months later I made her mine forever.”
They kiss as everyone awes. I find myself looking out to find Mercy and our eyes meet from all the way across the large room. I throw her a kiss and she acts like she catches it and holds her hand to her heart.
Then I hear a shout, “What the hell was that!”
Crap, Ariel!
MERCY
The red-headed bitch shouts, bringing everyone’s attention to her. Which is a thing she absolutely loves.
The three guys who are around her take her by her arms, holding her in place so she can’t make her way over to me. I give a silent thank you to the Lord above and look back at Jude who’s pale and looks more than a little pissed as he points for the guys to get her out of the room and they do as he’s told them to.
His parents look mad but his mother quickly tries to fix things as she says, “Okay, then. Who’s ready to spend the next couple of hours listening to our good friends, George and Allen?”
The cheers ring out and Jude leaves the stage, coming straight to me. “Come on,” he tells me as he takes my hand and pulls me up then leads me out. Just as we make it out the door, I see those men have Ariel in the hallway too.
Jude spins us around as Ariel shrieks, “What the hell, Jude Hurst? You lied to me!”
I look at him and ask, “What did you tell her?”
“That I wasn’t coming here,” he says as I find Ariel struggling in the large men’s hands.
“Did you tell her we were in the shower together earlier?” Ariel screeches.
Jude turns around and shouts at her, “That’s a lie, Ariel. Tell her you’re lying!”
Ariel looks at me. “I was in the bathroom. His bathroom and he had no clothes on. His cock was all erect and.”
A loud slap rings out and I find my hand stinging as I’ve slapped Jude. My God, what have I done?
I haul ass away from him. My mind is a blur. I have no idea why I did that. That’s so not me!
“Fuck!” Jude shouts as he comes after me. “Mercy, don’t. She’s making more out of it than it was. I swear that to you!”
“Leave me alone!” I yell as I try to get on the elevator without him.
He grabs the doors before they close and gets into the elevator too. “Wait.”
“Jude, just let me go home. I’m too old for this shit,” I say. “I have a job and responsibilities and I have no time for this kind of thing in my life. Thank you for the nice evening and good night. Go back to that woman. She obviously has a thing for you and you must have one for her too or she wouldn’t have been in your bathroom when you were taking a shower.”
Jude looks over his shoulder and tells the guys who still have a hold on Ariel, “Can you put her ass in one of the hotel rooms my parents have here? Lock her ass in.”
One of them gives a nod as Ariel shrieks again, “I will not be locked away, Jude Hurst!”
“You can be locked in a room or I can call the cops and you’ll be locked up for public intoxication. It’s up to you, Ariel,” he shouts back at her.
She shuts up and goes along with the guys who walk to another bank of elevators. Jude moves into the elevator, letting the doors close behind him. He reaches out for me but I take a step back. “Don’t.”
“Mercy, I swear to you she’s making it more than it was. You see, I thought I was home alone. I had no idea she was there. I should’ve locked my bedroom door but I didn’t since I thought I was alone. She came into the bathroom but nothing happened.”
“Your erection?” I ask as I cross my arms in front of me, closing myself off from him.
“I did have one. I was thinking about you and how excited I was that you were coming to this thing with me. Then I got a text from some friends of mine and sent her on to party with them.”
“And she was okay with that?” I ask with a frown. “Because she doesn’t seem to be okay with that now.”
“I lied to her and told her I would show up where ever they were once I got ready. I told her I wasn’t coming to this thing. I lied to her to keep her away from here. And away from you. I’m putting her on our private jet tomorrow and sending her back to New York so she won’t be an issue in the future.”
“I thought you two were just friends,” I say and take a step back as he takes one forward.
“We are. But not anymore. Not after she pulled that stunt at your spa. I can’t hang with people who do shit like that. I meant to ask you this. You didn’t fire that lady, did you?”
“No, I gave her time off with pay for what she had to endure from that woman. So why did she think it was okay to walk in on you in the bathroom?” I ask as I move my arms away from my chest and down to my sides as I begin to calm down and notice the redness in his cheek where I slapped him and start to feel like an ass about that.
“She and I have dabbled in the sex department. We were never exclusive and it was only a handful of times in the last few years. No big deal really. That fact must’ve made her think she could do that.” He moves to my side and takes my hand then kisses it. “I’m really sorry this happened.”
I look at the mark I left on his handsome face then run my hand over the cheek I slapped. “I shouldn’t have hit you. It’s not a thing I’ve ever done before. I can’t really tell you what came over me. You and I have just met. I have no claim on you. That was completely out of character for me.”
He grins which I find crazy then he says, “I think you found a shred of jealousy over me is why you did that.”
“Why in the world are you smiling over that, Jude?” I ask as he must be insane. “That isn’t normal. We’ve only been around each other for one damn day and here I am acting like I own your ass. That was wrong of me. It won’t happen again.”
“You’re damn right it won’t,” he says with a laugh. “Want to know why?”
“Because you never want to see me again. I completely get it. I’m obviously not meant to date right now. I have too much on my plate at the moment. That much is obvious.”
He shakes his head. “No, that’s not why, silly girl. It won’t happen again because I’m not going to give you any reason to do that again.” He pulls me into his arms and kisses me. Just as the elevator doors open, he ends the kiss and leans his forehead against mine. “I’m going to let all the women who have been in my life know I’m in a serious relationship with you. Via social media. How about that?”
How can I tell this man that I’m not available to be in a serious relationship?
JUDE
“Come back up with me, please,” I ask her as we’re still in the elevator. “Ariel’s locked away. She won’t be messing things up anymore.”
Mercy looks at me then nods. “It would be rude of me to leave without telling your parents goodbye, anyway.”
I press the button to take us back up then kiss her as the doors close. Her body melts into mine as our tongues move around the others with soft wisps. Then her leg wraps around the back of mine as I lean her back against the wall.
My body presses against hers as the wall holds her still for me. My dick goes hard for her and my kiss grows hungry and she seems to be feeling it too. As her hands move down my sides, I feel the hard edge of the key-card to my hotel room and I make a fast decision to ask her one more time the question I’m praying she says yes to.
Pulling my mouth away, I look at her and find her eyes all glazed with lust. “Let’s go to my room.”
She looks at me as her fingertips move over my lips. She bites her bottom lip then says, “I can’t.”
“Shit,” I hiss then kiss her again.
I go crazy on her, kissing her hard and letting her know I want her more than I’ve ever wanted anything as I grind my erection against her. I push her short dress up and rub my hard cock against her, making her moan.
Our breathing is loud and ragged as the elevator comes to a stop. I let her mouth go only long enough to hit the button that will take us up three more flights to the floor my hotel room is on.
“What are you doing?” she asks as she breathes heavily.
“I’m taking you to my room,” I say as I go back to kissing her and pick her up, making her wrap her legs around me.
Her dress goes up and my growing cock is making the fabric of my slacks stretch as far as it can. All I can think about is her and how she’s making me feel. The doors open and I walk out of the elevator with her just like that.
She pulls back and looks at me with wide eyes. “Jude, put me down!”
I look over her shoulder and see no one else in the hallway and my door is only a few feet away. So I say, “No.” I get to the door and lean her on it. “Grab that card out of my left jacket pocket.”
She does as I say and I find myself relieved she’s not fighting me on this. She plunges it into the slot and the door beeps then she opens it and I take her inside. My heart is pounding now that I have her all alone.
I kiss her again before she can start thinking and coming up with some damn reason she can’t do this. Laying her on the bed, I start to pull my clothes off.
Her head starts shaking. “No, I’m not on any kind of birth control and I have no condoms. We aren’t doing anything more than making out.”
I reach into the drawer beside the bed and pull out the condoms I brought with me for just such an occasion. With a wiggle of the long line of them, I say, “I’ve got that taken care of. I thought I might get you up here.”
She bites her bottom lip again, a thing I now realize means she’s thinking and we can’t have that. I pounce on her and kiss her hard, pulling the little clips out of her hair to set it fall free.
Her hands move over my back then they come around front and she begins to unbutton my shirt which is a great sign. Then she moves her head, breaking our kiss and says, “Let me up, Jude.”
“Damn it, Mercy. I really don’t want to. I swear to you this really means something to me. It does.” I run my hand over her cheek and look deeper into her eyes than I’ve ever looked into anyone’s before. “You’re special. I swear to you this isn’t a one-night stand.”
“Let me up, Jude,” comes her stern words.
“Mercy, please,” I find myself begging which is just not a thing I’ve ever found myself having to do before.
“Jude, you wouldn’t understand so I’m not even going to try to talk to you about this. Just let me up, please,” she says.
Her eyes are soft and she doesn’t seem like she’s mad or holding back. So I roll off her and get up and help her up. “What are you going to do, Mercy?”
She looks at me then starts to walk away, pulling at her dress to straighten it as she goes. Her hair is down now except for a few pins and she pulls them out as she tosses her hair around with her hands.
I suppose she’s fixing it the best she can so she can leave with a bit of dignity intact. I’ve kind of messed her up with all my pawing. She looks at me over her shoulder with a smile and puts her hand on the doorknob.
Giving her the most disappointed look I can make, I hope I hit some place in her heart that makes her change her mind. She kisses her palm and blows across it.
I guess that’s her answer. Well, ain’t this some shit?
To be continued…