Drama Queen Saga Read online

  “Dinner is served.” He imitated a formal waiter and bowed as he went into the kitchen. She could not help giggling to herself as she drank the remainder of the wine in her glass.

  Craig returned carrying two plates. He placed one in front of Kayla and the other at the empty seat near hers. She looked at the salad, which she could tell was freshly prepared.

  “I didn’t know what type of salad dressing you like, so I have a variety to choose from. I like this one myself. It’s raspberry vinaigrette. Sweet, yet tasty.” He licked his lips sexily at Kayla.

  “I’ll bet,” she said, blushing.

  They feasted on a fabulous dinner which Craig had prepared, consisting of salad, shrimp cocktail, Chicken Alfredo, garlic bread, and cheesecake. He amazed her not only with his culinary skills and witty conversation, but he even went so far as to grind fresh Parmesan over her pasta and butter her bread. By the time he placed the strawberry-topped dessert in front of her, she was too full to eat it.

  “I’m stuffed,” she whined as she looked at the thick slice of cake he gave her.

  “At least take a bite and save the rest for later,” he pleaded.

  “Okay. Just a taste.” Kayla took a small bite and closed her eyes. “Oh my God. This is the best.”

  “Naw, I got some better recipes if you wanna try ’em.” He winked and continued to clear the table. “Excuse me for a moment. I need to run upstairs.”

  Kayla looked at him inquisitively, but Craig just kissed the top of her head and left her sitting at the table, the sound of Boney James serenading her. I wonder what he’s up there doing? She didn’t even want to think about it. She poured herself another glass of wine and gulped it down. She heard him coming down the steps and regained her composure.

  “Wanna come upstairs for a little while?” he asked.

  “Uh, I don’t think that’s a good idea.” She could feel her heart beating faster as he walked closer to her.

  “I have something for you.” He looked deep into Kayla’s eyes. She wanted to look away but couldn’t. “Please, it’s not what you think.”

  A million thoughts seemed to go through Kayla’s mind, including Roni telling her to live it up and have fun. Curiosity won over apprehension and Kayla smiled at him.

  He reached for Kayla’s hand and she followed him up the steps and into his bedroom. She was surprised when he continued past the bed and opened another door. He motioned for her to come inside. Kayla slowly walked in and gasped. lt was the biggest bathroom she had ever seen. There were candles everywhere and she could hear Brian McKnight coming from a wall mounted CD player, asking her if he ever crossed her mind anytime. Craig pulled her closer, pointing to the jetted tub.

  “I took the liberty of drawing you a milk bath, with rose petals, of course. Your towel and washcloth are right here. It’s a pair of shorts and a T-shirt on the counter for you to put on when you get out. I can bring you another glass of wine if you’d like. This is a time for you. A brother ain’t trying to be all up in here or nothing like that, unless you want me to be.” He laughed.

  “I . . . uh . . . ” Kayla was at a loss for words.

  “Water’s getting cold. Enjoy. I’ll check on you in about forty-five minutes. Tub jet button is right here.” He pointed to the switch on the wall. “I’m going back downstairs to finish cleaning up the kitchen. Holla if you need anything.” He closed the door before Kayla had a chance to respond.

  Alone, Kayla put the top down on the commode and sat down to think. She looked at the steaming tub of white liquid with the flowers floating on top. What have I gotten myself into? She wanted to call Roni, but remembered her phone was in her purse, downstairs. Stuff like this happens to Roni and Tia, not me. What, what, what? As if prompted by Kayla’s thoughts, Phyllis Hyman began singing through the speakers that she was “moving on.” Why not? Me too!

  Kayla removed her clothes and stepped into the Jacuzzi. What if this nigga is some kind of freak with a camera hidden somewhere? She quickly looked around for a red light hidden somewhere and then smiled at being so paranoid. The soft, hot water felt like heaven on her skin as she submerged her body. She reached and flipped the jet switch and the tub began to massage her body. She relaxed like she never had before. The candles reflected in the bathroom mirror and caused an ambiance that whispered, “Let go and enjoy.” She closed her eyes and obeyed.

  “You need anything?” Craig quietly tapped, causing her to wake. She looked at her watch and saw that forty-five minutes had passed.

  “I’m fine. I’m getting out right now,” Kayla replied. She stood up and got out of the tub. Drying off, she realized that her skin was soft and supple. She looked at her reflection and smiled. Maybe it was the wine, but she looked and felt damn good. She decided to scrub all of her makeup off and get a little more comfortable. She bent over to pick up the shirt and shorts Craig had laid out for her. Usually conscious of what her grandma called an “onion butt,” Kayla turned around in the mirror and admired herself. She ran her hands along her full breasts and down her flat stomach, resting them on her hips. Bottle shape; blessed with it and worked hard to keep it. She pulled the T-shirt over her head and the shorts over her hips. She slowly opened the door expecting to see Craig, but his room was empty. She looked at the magnificent bed and decided to see how it felt. She sat on the side and rubbed her fingers across the bedspread. Mink. Go figure. Kayla laid back and closed her eyes.

  “I think you got a little too relaxed.”

  She sat up when she heard the deep voice. “Oh, my. Sorry. I just wanted to sit down for a few moments. I’m sorry,” Kayla said, embarrassed.

  “Ready to go back down?” Craig looked amused.

  “I don’t think I can make it.” Kayla smiled.

  “I’ll help you.” Craig reached and gently pulled Kayla up. When they got to the top of the steps, he got in front of her and put her on his back.

  “What are you doing?” She giggled.

  “Told you I’d help. Jump on.” He laughed. Kayla hesitated then climbed on Craig’s back. She could feel and see his muscles through the thin T-shirt he wore and noticed part of a tattoo on his left shoulder. She looked closer and saw that it was a cross with a rose wrapped around it.

  Somehow, they made it back into the living room. Craig had lit the fireplace and had a huge blanket lying in front of it. Kayla got off his back and stood in the middle of it.

  “You’re amazing,” she told him.

  “It’s Valentine’s. I wanted it to be special.” He pulled her to him and kissed her like he had before. Kayla responded, for it was what she had been waiting for all night long. She could feel him leading her to the floor and she obliged. They kissed for what seemed like hours. Exploring each other’s mouths, tasting each other, neither one wanting to be the first to pull away.

  “Turn over,” he whispered.

  “Huh?” Kayla stopped and realized what he said.

  “Turn over. On your stomach.”

  “Hold on, Craig. Maybe I need to let you know up front,” she began.

  “I wanna rub your back. Come on.” He began rubbing her neck in a circular motion. Kayla’s eyes began to close and her head fell forward. “I told you I’m good with my hands.” He reached under one of the end tables and pulled out a bottle of oil.

  Kayla lay on the blanket and Craig massaged her back and shoulders. His hands worked their way along her body, picking up where the tub jets left off. His touch was firm yet gentle, and there was something about the way his fingers lingered along certain spots that sent a chill down Kayla’s spine. She began to feel heat in places she hadn’t felt in a while. She heard herself moan as Craig’s hands kneaded her lower back.

  “Feel good?” he asked her. She could feel him shifting and suddenly she felt his breath in the small of her back as he began nuzzling. Kayla’s body tensed, shocked by what he was doing. “Relax,” he told her.

  He pulled her shirt up, began nibbling his way back up her torso, and licked her shoulder
s.

  “Craig,” she whispered. She did not want it to feel this good. It was too hard to say stop. Tell him you want him to stop, her mind told her. “What are you doing?” were the words that came out of her mouth.

  This was too much for Kayla. Somehow she managed to roll over, but once again got lost in his alluring eyes. Craig continued to sing as he removed her T-shirt and kissed her neck.

  Don’t do this, her mind said. Her back arched, reaching for his kisses as his mouth found her hard nipples. He kissed each one gently and continued down her stomach, stopping only to pour more oil.

  “You are so fine,” he paused long enough to say. Before she could thank him, she felt him kiss the inside of each thigh, bending her legs, nibbling her calves.

  This is wrong. You don’t even know this man, her brain warned her. It was as if her body and mind were at war, but the physical was determined to beat out the mental. When Craig poured oil on each of her feet and began sucking her toes, Kayla knew that her mind had lost all control of her body. She could not remember taking the shorts off, but she knew they were not there when she felt Craig’s fingers opening her dripping canal. She gasped as she felt his tongue going where only Geno’s had gone before. Craig licked and sucked her like she was one of his sweet recipes that he had perfected. She could hear him moaning and it turned her on to the point where she thought she was gonna lose her mind totally. Her legs began to shake as he buried himself between her legs. And at the moment when she had reached the pinnacle of the voyage he was taking her on, he stopped.

  “Not yet. I want to cum with you and feel it,” he said. He removed his sweats and her eyes widened at his long, thick penis. His hand never left her clitoris, continuing to stroke it, and before she knew it, he had entered her, taking her even further.

  “Oh God, please don’t stop,” Kayla groaned from the back of her throat.

  “I won’t, baby. I wanna cum with you. How long you want me to ride, baby?” He looked deep into Kayla’s eyes.

  “Forever,” Kayla answered. He pleasured her and stroked her with a rhythm like no other and as she felt herself gushing while he pumped into her, they came with a fierceness that shocked the hell out of both of them.

  “Dang, Kayla. You certainly had a better night than mine,” Roni commented. It was a little after nine in the morning and Kayla had to be at the music store by ten. She had been home since seven, having fallen asleep in Craig’s arms as he entertained her with stories about growing up in Mississippi. He had to be at work by six thirty and told Kayla she could stay as long as she liked, but she chose to leave when he did.

  “So you see my little package I gave you came in handy, huh?”

  “What package?” Kayla asked as she lay across her bed, not wanting to go to work.

  “Uh, the condom.” Roni said it like Kayla was slow.

  “Oh, yeah, it did. Thanks,” Kayla said, not wanting to tell her friend her night of sexual pleasure had been an unprotected one. “Look, Ron. Don’t tell anyone about this. I just want this one to stay between me and you, okay?”

  “Sure.” Roni was surprised. Kayla usually shared everything with Yvonne. “They don’t know about the date?”

  “They don’t even know we went out last weekend. I just wanted to keep it on the DL. You know how Yvonne is, and Tia has been wrapped up in some guy named Theo. Hold on, I got a beep.” Kayla hit the flash button and answered the other line. “Hello.”

  “Good morning, beautiful. You up yet?” Craig asked her.

  “I never went back to sleep. I have to be at work at ten, remember?” she responded.

  “Oh, yeah. I forgot you were a teacher by day and a CD bootlegger by night,” he said, trying to be funny.

  “Ha-ha. I get off at five, though. What time do you get off today?” Kayla questioned, trying to feel out whether he was trying to hook up later.

  “Uh, I gotta work a double so it’ll be pretty late,” he said quickly.

  “Okay. Well, I gotta get ready and get out of here.” She sat up and noticed how late it was.

  “I’ll call you later. And Kayla, thank you for a great Valentine,” he said sexily.

  “No, I should be thanking you. Talk to you later.” Kayla smiled as she hung up the phone and threw it on the bed. It quickly rang again and she answered it. “Hello.”

  “Why was I on hold forever? It must have been a man. What did he say?”

  “He has to work a double and he’ll call me later, nosy,” Kayla replied. “But I gotta get out of here.”

  “At least he’s sending you to work with a smile on your face,” Roni yelled before Kayla had a chance to hang up.

  That was the one and only time Kayla ever slept with Craig. After that night, she only talked to him a few times, nothing serious, and she would see him occasionally when she and the girls went to State Street’s. She learned early on that he was full of crap. He would say he was coming over and wouldn’t show, but it was all good with Kayla because although the sex was off the hook, it made her realize she still wasn’t over Geno, and a relationship wasn’t what she needed right now.

  4

  I need a drink, Kayla thought as she looked down at her vibrating cell phone. Unfortunately, Craig was calling her for the third time in the past fifteen minutes. Kayla hit the END button and sent the call to her voice mail. She had experienced the day from hell and was in no mood for lying, no-good niggas. She had a fight break out in her classroom and her boss actually insinuated that it was her fault, her car was acting like it had an attitude, and most importantly, she was stressed as hell working two jobs and still being broke. This is not how her life was supposed to be working out.

  “TGIF, girl,” her girlfriend Yvonne said as Kayla walked to the school’s parking lot.

  “You can say that again, girlfriend,” Kayla sighed.

  “You ready to go? You look worn out,” Yvonne said as she unlocked her car.

  “Yeah, just frustrated.”

  “Girl, you need a drink. You wanna go by State Street’s for happy hour tonight?” Yvonne asked.

  “I don’t know. I’m tired, Von.”

  “Come on. Roni has been calling my cell and I know that’s what she wants. Let’s go for a little while. At least get our eat on for free.” Yvonne smiled and Kayla couldn’t help but laugh. “Besides, you may even meet Mister Right.”

  “More like Mister Right Now.” Kayla giggled. “I am not staying all night, Von.”

  “Cool. You know I’m not gonna be in there for long either, Kay.” Yvonne told her friend. “You’re taking your car?” she asked as Kayla unlocked her car door.

  “I might be ready to leave before you are. I told you I’m tired,” Kayla answered and got into her car.

  She pulled out of the parking lot behind Yvonne and opened her sunroof. The air felt good on her face and she immediately felt rejuvenated. She turned on the CD player and let the mellowness of Jill Scott relax her as she drove. Her cell rang and recognizing Tia’s number, she answered it.

  “Hey, ho!” Tia sang into her ear.

  “Hey, girl. Where you at?” Kayla asked. Tia was a fitness trainer and she worked varied hours, depending on her clients.

  “On my way to da club to meet y’all.” She laughed.

  “I know you are all diva-fied, so let me warn you that I am not. I have on my jeans, a black shirt, and some casual shoes.”

  “But I know you got your spare pair in your trunk, trick, and you’ll probably mousse that good hair and make that face up before you step up in there, so I ain’t even worried,” she answered. She knew Kayla too well. Kayla did have a spare pair of shoes in her trunk, as well as a full makeup kit, complete with extra hair products.

  “I’ll see you in a minute. We’re almost there. Ms. Yvonne is leading the way.”

  “All right, I’m pulling into the parking lot right now, so I’ll get us a table,” she said and hung the phone up. Kayla’s cell immediately rang again and this time it was Roni.

 
“What up, Ron?” she answered.

  “What’s wrong with you? Von said you don’t feel good.”

  “Just tired, I guess. Dealing with them bad-ass kids is wearing me down.”

  “You need a vacation. I don’t know why you don’t call out sometimes.”

  “Unlike you, I don’t teach public school. We don’t have a million subs to come in when we call out. We are short staffed. And even if I call out at one job, I have another one to go to,” Kayla replied.

  “What you need to do is find a guy that’s paid to help you out for a minute. Geno is over and done with. You need to find another to step in and take over,” Roni continued. Just the mention of Geno’s name made Kayla’s heart beat faster. Despite everything, she still missed him.

  She pulled into the club parking lot, parked beside Yvonne and noticed Roni walking toward them. She shook her head at her and put the cell into her purse. “That’s why you got a two hundred dollar cell phone bill. Why didn’t you tell me you were already here?”

  “I was caught up in the conversation.” Roni shrugged. They gave each other a quick hug and Kayla opened her trunk to change shoes. She set up her big mirror and touched up her hair and makeup. Times like this she was glad she opted to cut her shoulder length hair to the short, funky style. She had surprised everyone when she did it, but she was going through a lot and decided it was time for a change. Roni and Yvonne watched as she handled her beauty business.

  “You ready, Diva?” Yvonne asked.

  “Yep. Let’s go.” Kayla turned and smiled a weak smile as she closed her trunk.

  “’Bout time,” Roni joked as they joined the line that began to form outside of State Street’s Sports Bar. Each time the Lonely Hearts Club visited, the crowd seemed to get bigger and bigger. After a few moments waiting in line and getting their ID’s checked, they made their way inside.

  “You see Tia?” Yvonne said loudly above the sound of Craig Mack’s “Flava in Your Ear.”

  “No, let’s look over by the wall.” Kayla pointed to the round tables lined along the side of the club. “You know she’s not far from the dance floor.”