Page 11

THREE MONTHS LATER

Jermaine stood at the entryway of his kitchen watching Eden in awe. Butterflies flapped in his stomach as if he had just seen her for the first time. He had seen this sight, her moving around the kitchen like a Top Chef, several times over the years. But now he watched her with a new appreciation. Since starting counseling, he now felt whole and unburdened.

He hadn’t realized how his behavior, views on women, and actions stemmed from childhood trauma. His therapist explained to him that vices such as womanizing, being hypersexual, and addiction were ways of self-gratification to fill the void from his childhood.

He had never thought about that before, mainly because he never thought about it. But after listening to what his therapist had to say, he had to agree that the words she spoke made sense.

There had been many times after a rendezvous where he felt empty and alone. However, he never felt that emptiness with Eden. Though he felt like he had the whole package with her, the nagging voice in his head constantly told him that she wasn’t enough. Since seeing a therapist, that voice had silenced. He felt less burdened and now he could genuinely appreciate the woman that he married. Creeping behind her, Jermaine wrapped his muscular arms around Eden’s waist.

Eden screamed.

“Oh my God! What are you doing here?”

She asked as she gripped her chest.

“I’ve been standing here for ten minutes just admiring you. You got in here smelling good. What are you cooking?” Jermaine asked as he bit her ear.

Eden sent up a quick prayer, “God thank you for talking me out of putting this Thallium in this food. I was so determined to do his ass in that I didn’t even know he was home. I would’ve been caught. Thank you, God!” She thought as she patted the vile in her left pocket.

“I’m doing pot roast and roasted vegetables. Do you want a plate?” Eden asked as she tasted the well-seasoned gravy.

After all these years, it was still an adjustment eating meat in front of her after having her believe that he didn’t consume it. Though he had practiced a vegetarian lifestyle while in college, it had nothing to do with the last supper he shared with his mother.

It was simply a personal preference and the fact that he had the ability to make his wife do something that she didn’t need to do. His therapist pointed out that he was manipulative, because he was intentionally taking advantage of a person that was willing to give freely of themselves. Eden had been the best type of woman, and his selfishness nearly made him lose her.

“I want something to eat, but what I want isn’t in that Crock Pot,” Jermaine moaned seductively as he pulled Eden’s legging’s down in one swift motion.

In the few months that they’d been back together, sex had become a rare act between them. They went from having sex daily to hardly ever. Jermaine could understand why, but he had to admit that he wanted his wife now more than ever. There was something about this domestic side of her that always brought out the savage in him.

The sound of his ringing phone halted the feast before he could even get started.

“What are you doing?” Eden asked as she stood with her leggings bunched at her ankles.

“Give me five minutes babe. I’m sorry. I’m waiting on a call from Harold Jayroe. ”

“Oh my God, really? The new Public Relations Officer?”

“Yeah, that’s why I got home early. He’s flying in and I’m picking him up from the airport and taking him to the hotel’s private housing. It’ll give us a chance to talk about what we expect from him,” Jermaine said proudly.

Eden understood perfectly. Work always comes first.

“Answer that, I’m going to the bathroom,” she said as she pulled up the leggings and sprinted off.

Jermaine admired the thickness of Eden’s backside as she sprinted down the hall to the bathroom. He hadn’t missed how her hips had begun to spread just a little.

Grabbing his ringing phone, his heart nearly seized in his chest.

“What the fuck?” He screamed inwardly as he watched the white numbers display on the screen. It had been months since this number dialed his phone, but he knew exactly who the unsaved number belonged too. He red buttoned the call and saw that there were nine missed calls from the same number in the past thirty minutes .

As a show of disrespect and mockery, the phone rang while in his hand. He hesitated on answering, but he knew he had to. This was the tenth call.

“Eden and I are back together. Don’t call-,”

“I know all about y’all being back together. I just don’t care,” Envy said truthfully. “Look, I got some things to do on y’all’s side of town today. I need to see you before I handle those things,” Envy crooned seductively.

“What happened between us was a mistake. It’s over. I got my wife back.”

Envy laughed.

Jermaine was really a joke to her.

“Just be honest Jermaine, you miss fucking me. Edy already knows about us, so it’s not like I had any leverage to use against you. I doubt that you have my number saved, yet you answered the phone while your dumb ass wife is home. You want to fuck me like we used to do and that’s why you answered the phone. You could’ve just blocked my number if you didn’t want to hear from me. Come get this pussy. I’m dropping my location,” Envy said before ending the call .

Jermaine’s third leg was hard as Chinese arithmetic. He knew everything she said was correct. For three months, he had not cheated on Eden, nor did he think of Envy, but now that she was back, he knew that he had to have her. He hated to admit it, but it seems that she was worth losing it all.

Absentmindedly, Jermaine walked to the bathroom, twisted the knob and frowned. Eden never locked the bathroom door.

Eden jumped and quickly closed Facetime.

“Eden, are you ok?

“Yeah, babe, I’m good,”

“That was Harold. He’ll be landing in fifteen minutes. Do you mind if I drive the Wagoneer? I know he’ll probably have a lot of luggage,” The lie rolled off his tongue effortlessly.

“Sure, go ahead!”

“Why is the door locked?” Jermaine asked as he twisted the knob yet again.

After a few seconds he heard the toilet flush and faucet run before Eden unlocked the door.

“I didn’t realize I locked the door when I came in here. But I’m glad I did lock it because you almost caught me in the middle of my favorite guilty pleasure, ”

“Oh yeah, what’s that?” Jermaine asked as he licked his lips seductively.

“Online shopping with your credit card,” Eden laughed as she held up her phone screen showing the Louis Vuitton website. “I spoke with Eve while you were talking to Harold. She wanted me to come over, but I told her, I’d have to do a rain check. I’m not feeling the best,” Eden said as she pulled on a T-shirt and climbed on the couch.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m just tired. With all the flights I’ve had to take for work for the International Offices, I’m just drained. Go get Harold. I’ll be here when you get back,” Eden said as she grabbed the remote.

“Call me if you need anything,” Jermaine shouted over his shoulder as he quickly walked out the door.

“ What the fuck are you doing? You just got your wife back about ninety days ago. Think with your big head, ” His brain said as he got behind the wheel of his wife’s second car.

He wanted to listen, but try as he might, he couldn’t. He couldn’t go back in the house to the woman he chose to love, honor, and obey and he couldn’t turn Envy down either .

“Stupid! Stupid!” He said as he slapped the steering wheel. Thoughts of the conversation he and Eden had before she came back home played in his head.

“Do I have to worry about you and Envy again? I-”

“No Eden. I put that on mama. That was a mistake, and it’ll never happen again,”

Three months ago, when he said those words, he meant them with every fiber of his being. But today, as he read Envy’s location, he knew his words were a blatant lie. As grim as it sounded, he was glad that his brother was dead, so Eden couldn’t seek revenge.

Envy spotted Jermaine behind the wheel of Eden’s Grand Wagoneer and wanted to burst into laughter. She sprayed a healthy amount of perfume on just to make sure the scent lingered in the car.

“You should really win husband of the year. Why are you driving her Jeep, instead of yours?” Envy asked quizzically.

The question made him nauseous. Trifling dudes did shit like this. He was wrong and he knew it. But sadly, he didn’t care enough to leave.

“Because I knew she wouldn’t think I was doing anything suspicious with her car,” Jermaine said and instantly felt like shit .

Envy threw her head back and laughed. “That’s how I know I’m worth the risk. You took your wife’s car, so she wouldn’t be suspicious, of you having sex with her sister,”

Jermaine dropped his head in shame. Envy was right. That is exactly what he did. So many different emotions swirled through him. But lust was still the strongest. As he looked down at Envy’s Lime Green Toenail Polish, blood drained from his head and shot to his dick.

“Since you’re on a curfew, let’s get to it. I didn’t come for the small talk. I came for the orgasm,” Envy said as she climbed to the third-row seat and spread her legs. Jermaine was right behind her.

He didn’t say a word as he dived headfirst in between her legs. In all the time they had been sneaking around he had never performed oral sex on her, but now, seeing how wet she was, how good she smelled and the bright green polish on her toes, he was turned on some much that he couldn’t contain himself.

“I didn’t come here for your tongue. Save the foreplay for your wife,” Envy said as she mushed Jermaine’s head disrespectfully.

Ironically, the disrespect turned him on even more. Sliding his condomless dick into Envy’s semi-tight hole. Jermaine closed his eyes and hissed .

“Damn, I missed this!” Jermaine growled as he drilled into Envy as if she were paying him. He was so caught up that he sucked her toes like she was his wife.

CHECK ADDITIONAL WEIGHT IN REAR SEAT

“Why would he put the suitcases on my back seat? Use the trunk,” Eden said when the rear seat notification came to her phone from the Wagoneer app.

Jermaine rarely drove this vehicle, so he had no way of knowing that the rear seats were weight activated. He also had no way of knowing that in the rearview mirror was also an interior camera that could be viewed via the Wagoneer App. Logging into the app, Eden’s jaw tightened when she saw the additional weight in her rear seat was not his coworkers luggage, but her husband going to pound town on her sister.