On the Other Side(13)

Once he was standing strongly on both legs, he reached out his hand to Damita and helped her off of the car.

“Come on, angel, let’s go home.”

“But what about the car?” she asked.

“No worries. I gave the driver a thousand dollars and told him to pick the car up later. That will more than make up for any money he lost tonight.”

Neal fixed his pants and opened the front passenger door for Damita to get in and he drove them home.

As he drove, Damita dozed in the passenger seat next to him. He looked over at her and it occurred to him that no matter how independent a woman thought she was, all it took was a real man to keep her in line. He knew it and Damita would know it soon enough. It would take some time but eventually she would recognize who wore the pants in their family. The mere thought of his own family were enough to fill him with excitement. She didn’t know she wanted to be a mother yet, but he would convince her and if that wasn’t enough he would make it happen. He’d had enough experience to know that women were like children. They didn’t know what they really wanted until they had a man there to show them.

Damita woke up just as they were pulling up in front of their building.

“Hey, sleepy head,” he said.

“Hey.”

“I’ll be up in a minute. Wait for me?”

“I’ll try. I’m just so tired.”

Once Damita was inside the building, Neal got out of the car.

“Alpha Phi Alpha for life!”

Neal turned to find his frat brother, Michael, standing behind him.

“What’s up, man?” Neal asked.

“I should be asking you that question. You seem to still be up to your same old tricks. Who was that nice, hot piece of ass you were drilling? Does the wife know and more importantly, when do I get my turn?”

Neal sneered at his frat brother. “Watch your mouth, man. That was my wife.”

Grinning from ear-to-ear, Michael extended his hand to give Neal a pound.

“Damn, my man; you gonna leave me hanging? How did those pills work out for you?”

“We’ll see.”

“Here are your keys,” Neal said, handing him the car keys.

“You’re lucky we got history. I don’t drive folks around anymore. This is my company now. I’ve got a fleet of vehicles and drivers to match.”

“Yeah, I know; or have you forgotten who helped finance your little venture?”

“You won’t let me forget,” Michael said under his breath.

“Excuse me?”

“I tried to pay you back—with interest–and you didn’t want it back, but every time I turn around you want a favor.”

“Maybe you should have sold me a stake in the company like I asked and we’d be through with one another,” Neal reminded him.

Neal looked at Michael menacingly. “You will continue to do whatever I tell you to do or have you forgotten that little mishap you were a part of in college?”

Michael lowered his head. “No, I haven’t forgotten. You won’t let me forget.”

“I’m sure the young lady hasn’t forgotten either; she’ll have to live with that for the rest of her life. We all have to live with the decisions we make, Michael. Now it’s your turn to live with yours.”

Michael stomped off, got into his car and drove away, while Neal stood at the curb laughing.

“Some people refuse to take responsibility for their actions,” Neal said aloud.

Once inside the building, he looked at his watch, hoping that the effects of the Valium he had slipped into her wine earlier had not worn off. He was also looking forward to some sex without a whole lot of thinking involved.

By the time he got in the apartment she was sprawled across the sofa with her shoes still on.

“I spend ten thousand dollars on a fucking sofa and she puts her damn shoes on it,” he muttered to himself.

He picked Damita up, and carried her into the bedroom. He laid her out on their king-size platform bed and removed all of her clothing, including the shoes. He tried to wake her, but put very little effort into it. When it was clear she was not waking up, he spread her legs and unceremoniously shoved himself inside of her. She stirred and opened her eyes and he continued to pump away inside of her until he was done. He rolled off her and went to sleep. Confused and feeling overwhelmingly tired, Damita assumed she had fallen asleep while they were having sex. Within a matter of minutes, she too was asleep.

Damita slept better that night than she had all week. It was a sleep of contentedness. She allowed herself to believe that what happened on their wedding night was nothing more than a momentary bump in the road. If she didn’t allow herself to believe that, she would never have a restful night of sleep ever again.