The Perfect Affair (8 page)

“J
ack!”

Any other voice surprising her like this would have sent Jacqueline jumping through the ceiling. But the greeting from the only person allowed to call her anything but her formal name only caused a really big smile. She’d know the voice anywhere; couldn’t remember a time when the woman in front of her hadn’t been her best friend.

“Kris!” She left the foyer in the home of her childhood friend, and entered the sun-filled living room. “Phillip didn’t tell me you’d be here! You didn’t either.”

They greeted each other with an enthusiastic hug.

“He didn’t know,” Kris said. “It was a last-minute decision.”

“Wow! It’s so good to see you!”

“Likewise, girl. But you know I had to come. Especially since my last phone calls went unreturned.”

“Sorry about that, chickie. I know I said I’d get back with you. But Los Angeles was a whirlwind.”

Jacqueline sat on the couch. Kris joined her. “Hmm . . . I wonder why.” There was no mistaking the sarcasm in her voice, or the concern on her face.

“You know why. The reason can be summed up in two words. Randall Atwater.”

Kris rolled her eyes. ”Obviously you didn’t take my advice on being cautious. So . . . you’ve shared bits and pieces before, but now I want to hear everything, from the beginning.”

Jacqueline lay her head back against the couch’s cushions to better relive each moment. “It started at the airport.”

“The airport?”

“More specifically, we met at the taxi stand. I walked over with him checking me out the entire way.”

“Are you sure that this meeting didn’t happen on purpose ?”

Jacqueline smiled but said nothing.

“Jack . . .”

“What?” Her voice was all innocence and light.

“Never mind. Go ahead. Tell me more.”

“It was raining like crazy; more inches than the city had seen in years.” Jacqueline sat forward, her tone conspiratorial. “I saw more inches than I’d seen in years, but I don’t want to get ahead of myself.” This comment finally loosened the worry lines from Kris’s face and brought on a smile. “On top of that,” she continued, “an accident had prevented taxis from arriving at the airport, causing long lines to form at the taxi stand.”

Kris obviously wanted to quickly hear the whole story. “And?” she asked, impatience coating the word.

“After discovering that we were both headed to the same place, Randall secured a car service for us. We parted in the lobby, only to end up having dinner together that very night!”

“He didn’t waste any time, I see. And why would he? You’re gorgeous.”

“I guess he thought so. The very next night he invited me to the Walt Disney Concert Hall to see the LA Philharmonic and LA Opera. He bought me these gorgeous gowns and shoes to match. We rode in a limo. It was so romantic, Kris. And to his credit, as I’ve shared before, Randall was the perfect gentleman.”

“Much to your chagrin.”

“Girl . . . you know me too well.”

“Of course I do. So you two didn’t have sex?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Right, you talked about inches. A comment, I would imagine, that comes from personal experience.”

“After the concert was over, I didn’t want the night to end. He escorted me to my room and then turned to leave. Before he did, I gave him a key card.”

“Brazen hussy!”

“I couldn’t even believe I did it! Felt like a fool, to tell you the truth. But the next night, while I was bathing in the tub, he used it. When I heard his voice I thought I was dreaming, but when I looked up . . . there he was.”

Jacqueline continued to share their week together: his breakfast speech, her exclusive interview, attending his workshops, and, of course, their sizzling sexual trysts. “It was amazing, Kris,” she finished, her eyes shining with excitement at the memory of it all. “More than I ever could have imagined or dared to dream.”

“I can’t believe you slept with the scientist!” Kris scooted closer to Jacqueline, her eyes mischievous. “Your comment about inches takes on a whole new meaning, namely that the guy came well equipped!”

“Not only had the equipment, but knew what to do with it. He was big but gentle, able to take control while making me feel that my needs came first. Does that make sense?” When Kris nodded, Jacqueline added, “He’s everything I dreamt he’d be from the moment I saw him at the taxi stand.”

“This is Kris you’re talking to, Jack. Be honest. These feelings started way before the two of you met.”

Jacqueline pulled her legs close and wrapped her arms around her knees. “I’ll admit that reading an article on Randall and then seeing his picture motivated my keen interest in stem-cell research. But I’d been involved in the medical and science communities before knowing his name. You know this.” Kris nodded. “I’m not obsessed with him, per se,” she continued, her eyes narrowing as she tried to make sense of the past week. “But I am terribly, incredibly infatuated.”

“He sounds like quite the catch. I can’t believe he’s not married.”

“I’m pretty sure he was married at some point. He has two kids.”

Kris frowned. “Are you sure he’s divorced?”

“Pretty much. He wasn’t wearing a ring.”

“Is that all the proof you’ve got? Are you kidding me right now?”

“It’s all I need, for now,” Jacqueline said with a shrug. “I’m ninety-nine percent sure that there isn’t a missus. He doesn’t seem like the type of guy who’d cheat.”

“The next time you talk to him, make sure that’s the first question you ask. If he’s married, Jack, you’re setting yourself up to get hurt badly.”

“I understand why you’d say that. But you weren’t there, Kris. You didn’t see how we were together, how he looked at me, how he couldn’t keep his hands off of me whenever we were together, or stay away . . . even when he knew he should and said he would.”

“It’s a rare man who turns down free sex, Jacqueline.”

“Our being together was about more than sex! We talked about his passions and mine. He knows that I’m well versed in all aspects of his research. Believe me, I took a mini-course in Dr. Randall Atwater to make sure there was nothing about the field he loves that I didn’t know.

“It paid off, Kris!” Jacqueline’s voice was part passion, part pleading for her friend to believe her. “Randall couldn’t believe how much I knew about his work and was pleased that he could speak in his language and I could understand. Obviously he’s never had a woman who could do that before.”

“That you know of. You need more information. If he’s not married, you could be one of several women warming his bed.”

“I’m not going to worry about that. I’m going to focus on him, take care of me, and study up for the next conference. One thing for sure; love is in the air. Who knows what the future might hold?”

R
andall eased experienced hands over Sherri’s shoulders, kneading with methodical precision. He ran a hand over the shoulder blades and up around her neck. In a rare move, they’d slept in and let their nanny, Blair, get the kids off to school. Then they’d enjoyed another round of lovemaking. Lately, having back-to-back sex had not only been rare, it had been almost nonexistent.

“You were talking about me. Now look who’s tight.” He braced his knees on the mattress and placed a kiss at the base of her hairline. “Relax, baby.”

Sherri took a deep breath. “I’m trying. And while I really appreciate this, darling, I’m the one who is supposed to be taking care of you.”

“We’ll get to that,” Randall said, his voice low and purposely sexy. “I have no intention of forgetting what you promised me tonight.”

“I believe that promise was made this morning?”

“I guess you’re right. It was after midnight that I got a chance to hit that spot.”

For a few moments, the only sounds in their master suite were Randall sometimes rubbing his hands briskly together to warm the oil and R. Kelly crooning some of the couple’s favorite songs from back in their dating and early marriage days. When the next selection began playing, Sherri shifted her head from one side to the other.

“Wow, that takes me back to good memories: the good old days.”

“Yeah, that was a runaway hit,” Randall agreed. His hands moved from her shoulders to the middle of her back. He used his fist to reach the deep tissue and loosen the knots he felt there.

“Mom loved that song. She heard me playing it in my room one day and came in to listen. When it was over she asked me who was singing, and then asked me to play it again.” They listened as R. Kelly’s popular song offered faith, hope, and the knowledge that one could do anything, achieve everything, if they believed. “We’re going to have to hire live-in help for her. Next to moving her to Virginia to live with us, or at least close to us, that is the only thing that will give me total peace. Knowing someone is with her, living there, and watching her every move.”

“I spoke with that UCLA neurosurgeon about a serum that I’ve developed from a specific plant’s stem cells, one that is very promising in reversing memory loss and decreased motor skills in the elderly. Unfortunately, until it’s been approved by the FDA, no hospital in America will touch it.”

“Then let’s try it outside of America,” Sherri answered. “Canada is very progressive and you have colleagues there. I’d fly Mom over the border in a heartbeat if it means that she’ll get better. I’ll do whatever it takes to make her well.”

“I know, baby,” Randall said, immediately thinking of another Canadian and how her citizenship and other connections might come in handy in this endeavor. “I’m as committed as you are in seeing that happen. I’d like nothing more.” He’d reached the small of her back, his ministrations soft and gentle as he massaged her there. His hands continued, slightly squeezing her love handles before moving over her round butt and squeezing again.

Sherri turned over. The look of love was in her eyes. “Remember when we first began dating,” she asked, rubbing her hands across his bare chest, “and I brought you home to meet Mom?”

“And I impressed her with my good looks and above-average intelligence?”

“Uh, not quite.”

“Ha!”

“No, I’m just teasing. She liked you right away, especially when you showed up with flowers. None of my other boyfriends had done that.”

“What do you mean ‘none’? You make it sound like there were several, when to my knowledge there was only one!”

“Will you stop being the researcher and just listen to my story? Yes, before you came along I’d only had one boyfriend. But I had several dates and none of them ever brought Mom anything.”

“Admit it, baby. From the very beginning . . . I was the man.” He leaned over and kissed her, light yet promising.

“She couldn’t get over the way you dressed: Hush Puppies paired with khaki pants, button-down shirts, and those Bill Cosby-style sweaters. ”

“Hey, don’t knock a man’s style. I had to rock those sweaters with my wire-rims!”

“Okay, I’ll give it to you,” Sherri said as she moved over so that Randall could lie down beside her. “You did look cute in those horn-rimmed glasses.”

“Not cute . . . handsome.”

“Okay, now you’re pushing it. You were just . . . ah!” Sherri reacted to being tickled. “Randall, stop!”

He did, and pulled her on top of him.

She kissed him, ran her tongue along the crease of his mouth until his lips parted, then darted her tongue inside. “You still look cute,” she said, kissing him again.

“Is that so?” His hands went on a journey of discovery, luxuriating in the feel of her naked skin. Fourteen going on fifteen years . . . and he hadn’t had enough.

Sherri rolled her hips, pressing her pelvis against his hardening manhood. “There’s nothing about you that I don’t like,” she whispered into his ear, before nipping its lobe. “Absolutely nothing.”

Soon, Randall’s mouth found a nipple and Sherri’s hand found his shaft. Leisurely moments of kissing, fondling, nipping, and licking gave way to panting and thrusting and a sex-scented room. There was something to be said for time, and how the longer one made love to one’s mate the better they knew each other. Randall knew exactly where and when to touch, and Sherri knew just how hard to squeeze. Some nights they got frisky and talked nasty, but on this night—Sherri’s return home after a quick trip to Raleigh—no words were needed. Their bodies communicated everything that each needed to know.

They changed positions and for a moment, with Randall above her, they stared into each other’s eyes. “I missed you, baby,” he said at last, as he once again entered her and began to stroke. “I missed this.”

“Me too.” Sherri spread her legs wider, then lifted them up to grant him deeper access. “I’m sorry for not—”

“Shh. What’s past is past. We’re here right now. And I’m loving every minute.”

“Ooh,” she whispered, as he shifted his hips and hit her spot. “Me . . . too.”

Their orgasms weren’t seismic clashes of bodies where stars were seen and trumpets heard. Rather they were intense yet subdued, like a melody that’s been heard over and again, but is still enjoyed every time. Randall gave one final shiver before resting his full body weight on Sherri: hip to hip, chest to chest, forehead to forehead.

“That was good, baby,” she said, once she’d caught her breath.

“It’s always good. I appreciate you, Sherri,” he said, rolling off of her and then cuddling her to his side. “I know these last few months have been challenging: my rising profile, the increased travel and time away from home, the kids and their full schedules, this situation with Mom Elaine. I want you to know that I understand why you’ve been distracted. With the award and the newfound grant money and the like, I’ve been caught up as well.

“What time are the kids getting home today? I might take them to the mall or something, spend some daddy time.”

“That would be nice. But Albany already has plans to go to the mall later on, with her study group.”

“How much studying can you get done in a dressing room?”

“Trust me, I was skeptical as well. Until I found out that Melissa would be there with them.”

“Ah, good. Lauren’s mother will make them toe the line. That’s one of the reasons I’m glad that she and Albany are best friends.”

“Me too. Hopefully Lauren’s study habits rub off on our daughter and not the other way around.”

“I can’t see Lauren becoming a fashionista. She’s too much like Melissa for that.”

“Practical, tolerates no nonsense.”

“Exactly. What about Aaron?”

“He has track practice, but I’m pretty sure he’s free after that. You might want to send him a text indicating your plans; otherwise he’ll head straight to his room and the videogame that is rarely detached from his hand when he’s home.”

“As long as his homework is done and his grades remain high, I guess there are worse habits he could have.”

“No doubt.”

“All in all, we’ve been blessed. They work my nerves sometimes, but they’re good kids.”

“Things might change up during their teenage years, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed.”

Randall kissed the top of her head. “All done.” He eased out of bed.

She rolled her head and lifted her shoulders, grateful that she indeed did feel more relaxed. Watching Randall padding naked to the bathroom, she asked him, “Where are you going?”

“Into D.C. I have a meeting. Don’t worry. I’ll only be there a few hours.”

“Please make sure that you’re back by seven thirty. I’d like us all to have dinner together tonight. You know, like one big happy family.”

“That sounds doable. I might even be able to pick Aaron up after his practice. I’ll call and let you know.”

Sherri slid on a robe and left the room, humming as she went to the kitchen in search of some much needed java. Snatches from the conversation with her friend Renee continued to play in her head, especially the part that reminded her of what she had—a good man.

She smiled as she reached for the coffee, thankful for the blessing that showered upstairs.
Yes, I’ve got a good one,
she mused, thinking of Randall.
That I do.