Hidden Intentions 2 Read online

  “Hey, babe,” I said to Vince on my cell phone as I walked to my car.

  “Hey, beautiful. What are you up to?”

  “I’m just leaving Leah’s and am on my way to work. How’s the new kid doing on the job site?”

  “He’s not doing as well as I thought he would. To be honest, I’m disappointed. He talked himself up at the interview, but now he’s definitely not delivering on his word. The kid is lazy and always has excuses. Those two things are my pet peeves. If he doesn’t get it together, I will have to let him go, plain and simple. I laugh, joke, and try my best to maintain a positive work environment for my guys. All I ask in return is that they do their job.”

  “I agree. Well, I’m off to the hospital. I can’t stay on the phone because I left my headset at home. See you later, Rappaport.” I kissed him through the phone before saying good-bye.

  I couldn’t wait for my shift to be over. I was spending the night at Vince’s, and we had a great plans set up for weekend.

  The annual Food and Wine Festival was swarming with people at the Norfolk Scope in the arena and Exhibition Hall. Not many were willing to pass up sampling dishes from celebrity chefs like grill guru, Bobby Flay, Paula Deen, and cooking partners Pat and Gina Neely.

  Also, this was an advertising haven for new chefs to try out their dishes. Butterfly chicken stuffed with spinach and feta cheese was the big hit. People kept going for second and third helpings.

  Since I was in the mood for cheese, I tried a creamy cheese fondue on bite sized fresh baked pretzels. Fruit eaten with pecorino Romano cheese enhanced the flavor.

  On the third Saturday of each month in the spring, summer, and fall, Seabring Park in Virginia Beach transformed in a drive-in movie. The movies ranged from black-and-white oldies to movies of 2001.

  Tonight’s feature was Love & Basketball. I always got teary-eyed at the end when the main characters, Quincy and Monica, decide to give their relationship another try. They were destined to be together.

  After the movie, the owners of the park didn’t like anyone to leave without dancing to a song. Otis Redding’s “These Arms of Mine” started playing through the speakers.

  Vince extended his hand out to me. “May I have this dance?”

  “Yes.” I nodded, smiling.

  “Nya, you feel so good,” he said, holding me close as we slow-danced. What we have is so special. I will always cherish it.”

  “This feels right.”

  We had come to the realization that both of our parents had experienced an old-school love affair. Vince and I longed for the same thing. My dream was to be happily married for the rest of my life. Longevity, memories, and building a life together with the one I love were vital to me.

  Later on that night, Vince enchanted my G-spot after he caught a glimpse of my purple bra and G-string set.

  Chapter 50

  Thankfully, I had the day off today. People were paying up to one hundred dollars to exchange shifts. My best pals, my family, along with their family members and friends, were looking forward to the event of a lifetime.

  “Let’s do a quick check. It’s supposed to be cold tonight. Do you have insulated gloves, earmuffs, and a thick scarf?” Vince inquired.

  “Yep, I have everything except the earmuffs. Besides, my world-famous cocoa will keep me warm. If all else fails, I’ll just stand right next to you, so you can keep me warm.”

  “Do you want to use one of my hats?”

  “Since there’s no time to run to Sports Authority, I’ll have to settle for yours.” I reached out for the hat.

  “Beggars can’t be choosers.”

  We started laughing.

  Though we arrived at the Obama rally two hours before he was scheduled to speak, thousands of people had already beat us there. While waiting, Vince and I handed out twenty-five dozen Krispy Kreme classic doughnuts. All we asked in return was that everyone share and pass the box down to the next person.

  Before Barack Obama made his way to the stage, he shook many hands. Tara’s father and I were one of the fortunate ones. When shaking his hand, I felt as though I was touching a piece of history in the making. During these times of uncertainty and crisis, all people could do was cling to their faith, and hope the economy and these heartwrenching times would turn around.

  Since Vince had visited his family for Thanksgiving, he decided to spend Christmas with me. After eating a hearty meal at my parents’ house and taking extra plates, we went back to his place for an all-night Christmas movie marathon. We watched National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, This Christmas, A Christmas Story, Love Actually, The Family Stone, and A Charlie Brown Christmas. Munching on kettle corn and sipping on Shirley Temple cocktails with cherries on top made the night even more special.

  Chapter 51

  “What a day,” I whispered to myself while turning the key to enter in the front door. My overnight shift was finally over. We had received four inches of snow last night, and the roads were horrible, but I managed to get home safely by driving as slow as I could. It took me forever to make it. I was petrified of swerving into another lane on the icy roads, so I took my sweet time. Yesterday, I had put salt on the porch and all over in the driveway, so the steps weren’t that bad for me to walk on.

  “Nya, you finally got home. I’ve been waiting for you,” a voice bombarded me.

  The next thing I know, I fell on my knees in disbelief and shock. “Tory!” I screamed.

  “Yes, it’s me, baby. I’m here now,” he declared, picking me up.

  “Put me down! What happened to your face?”

  “All right, I’ll put you down. If you let me explain, I will tell you about the fire.”

  As I looked into his eyes, it felt as if I was dreaming. While paying close attention, I made sure everything was still intact. No broken bones, or missing teeth, but he had plenty of scars on him. His voice was deep and raspy.

  “Tory, you left me without a word of good-bye, just a sorry-ass note. I looked for you, but never turned up anything. I wasted thousands of dollars trying to find you for months.”

  “I know you were probably looking for me, but I had to kick the booze on my own. I almost lost my life because of it. If it wasn’t for the fire, I wouldn’t be here today.”

  With every breath I took, repressed anger and rage started building up. “How could you do that to me? I loved you!” I screamed again, pushing him away.

  “I’m sorry,” he said, inching closer to me. “I know I have plenty of explaining to do.”

  I kept pushing him away, and the pushing quickly turned into hits.

  “You don’t give a crap about me, your family, or our marriage. My birthday, Thanksgiving, and Christmas went by without one word from you. I thought you were dead. In the back of my mind, I thought a police officer would come to my door saying they found you dead in a back alleyway. I’ve worried sick over you. When you left me, I was left with the burden of dealing with a stress-induced peptic ulcer. Thank you so much. What a heartless and selfish husband you are! Your poor mother hasn’t been the same since you left. Tory, you think you can do whatever the hell you want and get away with it. I hate you!” I shouted while hitting him.

  Tory used his hands to block my hits. When I finally calmed down, he lifted me up and carried me into the living room.

  “I’m sorry,” he kept repeating as he held me close.

  He made the mistake of kissing me, and I bit his bottom lip. “Let go of me.” I pushed him away from me.

  “No.” He refused to let go of me still holding me close and attempted to kiss me again.

  My emotions finally took over, and I kissed him back. I hadn’t realized how much I really missed him. The touch of his skin was what I’d been yearning for.

  Tory gently laid me on the living room floor. While we were kissing, he took off the pants of my scrubs. Then, after he took off his jeans, he slid his python in the place he knew so well, and my pussy welcomed him.

  “I hurt you. I�
�m sorry. Please forgive me,” he expressed, gazing into my eyes as he thrust his dick in and out of me.

  His strokes felt so good. “You hurt me so deep by abandoning our marriage,” I cried out.

  Tory started kissing me again. “I won’t ever leave you again,” he said in my ear.

  “Liar!” I blurted out, crying.

  “Shhh,” he cooed, caressing my hair.

  I felt myself about to climax. I tried hard to fight it but to no avail. Only Tory could make my whole body shake uncontrollably. When Tory came, he held me tight as we both lay there.

  Once I had the strength to stand up, I sat on the couch to put my pants back on. “Get out!” I hollered at the top of my lungs, confused about what had just happened.

  “This is my home. I’m not leaving.” He rose to his feet.

  “No, you’re sadly mistaken. This is my damn house. You don’t live here anymore, loser,” I informed him as he put his clothes back on. I literally shoved him out of the house.

  “Nya, please don’t shut me out of your heart!”

  “No! When you had my heart, you didn’t know what to do with it. Don’t try to set foot in this home. I’m changing the security code, and I’m removing your name from the Brink’s security system. We’re over. Go back to wherever you came from.” I slammed the door in his face.

  My head spinning, I accidentally walked into the table in the foyer, and the cordless phone fell to the floor. I called the only person I felt could help me with this situation.

  Steven answered the phone. “Hello?”

  “Steven, it’s Nya. Come get your brother. He’s standing on my porch, and I want him to leave now!” I yelled out.

  Chapter 52

  “What!”

  I heard the phone drop. “Hello! Hello!” I called out.

  “Nya, I’m still here. Sorry, I accidentally dropped the phone. Where did he come from? Where the hell has he been all this time?”

  “I don’t know. Right now, I don’t care. Please come get him.” I hung up the phone.

  While Tory was steadily banging on the front door, I ran upstairs to the spare bedroom to get the rest of his belongings. Funny, I had been contemplating giving his clothes to Goodwill.

  “Here are the rest of your clothes,” I declared while dumping five storage bins on the lawn.

  Just then, Steven pulled up in the driveway and was trying to take Tory with him.

  “Nya, please . . . Can I just have thirty minutes to explain?”

  “No! By the way, I want a divorce!” I shouted and slammed the door once again.

  Rage and bitterness still consumed me the next morning. I thought I would cry and become a walking zombie just like when he’d first left. Today, I didn’t shed one damn tear.

  I switched shifts with some coworkers, so I could have the next few days off to get my head straight. When I wasn’t right emotionally, I tended to make mistakes. When dealing with people’s lives, mistakes should be kept to a minimum, so I wasn’t about to take any chances.

  All I really wanted to do was punch Tory in the face. How could he think he could just come back, simply explain what happened, and then everything would be okay? To top it off, we had sex without a condom. I was fertile as hell.

  I quickly ran into the bathroom to see if I had the morning-after pill. The last thing I needed was to be pregnant by him. He turned out to be a horrible husband and most likely wouldn’t do well as a father. I spotted the pills in the medicine cabinet. “Thank God!” I declared at the top of my lungs.

  In the afternoon, I spoke with the lawyer to confirm serving divorce papers to Tory. Since we didn’t have any children, we had to be legally separated for only six months for everything to go through.

  Many thoughts were swarming in my head. Would Tory even sign the papers? Would I have to sell the house? To be honest, I loved this house and didn’t want to leave. Could I continue to afford to pay the mortgage, homeowner association dues, and utilities all by myself? What about Vince?

  “I can’t wait to see you,” Vince said, after picking up his phone.

  I hadn’t spoken to him since I’d left the hospital yesterday morning, so he had no idea what had happened since then.

  “Hey. How’s your day so far?”

  “It’s cool. So far I’m having a typical busy day. Two checks from prominent business owners bounced on me. With winter rearing its ugly head, people are calling to get their heating systems repaired or want new ones installed. How’s your day going? You getting ready for work?”

  “It’s going fine. I switched shifts with a co-worker so I could have the day off. I’m not really feeling well today, so I’m just going to stay home. Can I see you later on in the week?” I asked, wanting some time alone.

  “Sure, it’s no problem. I miss you though. Besides, the weatherman is already saying the roads will be icy tomorrow morning. I want you to be safe.”

  “I miss you too. I’ll give you a ring later on.”

  No Tory in sight today, I thought. I sent a text blast to Tara, Yvette, and Leah, informing them that Tory had come back.

  Just then, Tory showed up again, and was pacing back and forth on the front porch. I sent the girls another message that he was outside my house. I didn’t know why he came back. Maybe, he was hoping I would open the door.

  Within forty minutes, Tara, Yvette and Leah were standing outside my front door.

  “Why would you hurt my sister like that?” Leah demanded to know, throwing snowballs at him.

  Soon after, Tara joined in. “Tory, you’re fucked up!”

  Yvette had to convince the both of them to come in the house. “Y’all, it’s too cold out here. Let’s go in the house.”

  “I can’t believe he had the nerve to come back,” Yvette announced after closing the front door.

  “Turn the heat up,” Leah said.

  “I’ve got it on seventy-three degrees.”

  “It’s not enough. Turn it up to seventy-five, so it can be warm and toasty in here. With you, being wrapped in the Snuggie fleece blankets every chance you get, it’s hard for you to feel the nip in the air.”

  “Yes, I do love my Snuggie.”

  “I’m going to boil water for some tea,” Yvette said, and we all followed her into the kitchen.

  Tara pulled out orange-flavored green tea and biscotti cookies dipped in chocolate from the pantry. “So when did the jerk get here?”

  “Yesterday.”

  “Why didn’t you call us earlier?”

  “You all have lives, Yvette. Besides, it was late, around eleven, and on a school night.”

  “What did he have to say for himself?” Leah asked.

  “I never gave him the opportunity to really say anything. I don’t want to hear any more lies or excuses. For all I know, he could very well still be an alcoholic. I don’t want to know. I don’t want to have to deal with it. Right when I’m really trying to move on with on my life, his behind shows up. I had to take the ringer off the house phone. Tory called at least every fifteen minutes. On my cell phone, the ritual became every half an hour. Today after he leaves, I plan to put my car in the garage, so he won’t think I’m here. He’ll leave eventually. I doubt he’ll stay out there all day.”

  Yvette shrugged her shoulders. “Maybe he did seek treatment.” She took out coffee mugs from the cabinet.

  “At this point, does it really matter?” Leah bit into a cookie. “It’s a little too late to be coming back.”

  “Only Nya can decide if it matters or not,” Yvette replied, pouring the hot water into the mugs and settling tea bags in them.

  “I despise him. I’m so pissed. I thought this anger had disappeared, until I saw him again yesterday.”

  “Did you tell Vince yet?” Tara asked.

  “No, I was supposed to see him tonight, but canceled. I’ll tell him when I’m ready though.”

  “I’m hungry,” Leah blurted out.

  “There’s leftover spaghetti in the refrigerator. Heat
it all up in the microwave, so everyone can get a plate.”

  “Wait. I hear a car pulling up.” Leah ran to look out the window. “Tory is getting in the car with his brother.”

  “I didn’t think he would stay here all day,” I responded.

  “Overall, are you all right? You can stay with Jarvis, the kids, and me if you need to get away.”

  “No, I’ll be fine. I’m stronger than I thought I was. Really, I just want him to leave me alone.”

  “Do you truly want a divorce?” Tara questioned.

  “Yes, I think so. It’s for the best. I’ll have less drama in my life. I refuse to take him back. I don’t want to be put through what he did to me ever again. If I get back with him, I’ll be taking that risk.”

  A week went by with no Tory in sight. I’d been going over to Vince’s house. I didn’t know what would’ve happened if Vince came to the house and Tory showed up.

  The temperature had risen and melted most of the snow away. Kids in my neighborhoods were disappointed to see their masterpiece snowmen dwindling down to water.

  “Are you all right?” Vince asked while we were watching the show, Ghost Whisperer.

  “Yeah, I’m fine. Overtime hours are getting to me, that’s all.”

  “Now that you mentioned it, you have been working a lot of overtime hours. Why?”

  “Well, I switched a couple of shifts to get a few days off last week, and I had already signed up for extra hours. I need the extra money. I’ve been paying all the bills by myself. Car payments, mortgage, and utilities all add up. I have to admit, I’m proud of myself for not charging anything on the credit cards to make ends meet.”

  “I don’t mind helping you. How much do you need?”

  “Listen, I appreciate your help, but I’m managing it on my own. Those sausages Stromboli are probably ready in the oven. I brought extra tomato sauce, just the way you like it.” I grabbed his arm and led the way into the kitchen.