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  Placing her baskets carefully on his kitchen counter, she noticed an envelope waiting for her with her name elegantly written on the front. She opened it quickly, tearing the edges of the sealed paper and pulling out a small piece of stationary. Reading it quietly, she waded up the paper after she was finish and threw it in the garbage.

  Grabbing her baskets, she headed back out of the house and decided to go to Mitch’s place.

  ***

  LaToya unlocked Mitch’s front door and came inside without knocking. She didn’t need to do that anymore. He had told her that about a hundred times now. Every time that she announced herself, he would admonish her. Who else would be here if not me? he would ask. Just make yourself comfortable, he would say. My home is your home, he would remind. Setting down her baskets, she was surprised to see the alarm was off.

  Maybe I’ll feel better if I just make me something to eat, she thought. Her new diet was killing her, and although she had managed to lose five pounds, she still had an appetite like a lion.

  As she walked down the corridor to the kitchen, she halted when she heard two voices. Stopping in her tracks, she pushed against the side of the wall and listened, slowing even her breathing to hear them clearer.

  “Why now, Elaine?” Mitch asked frustrated. His heavy accent was thick with confusion and strained with annoyance.

  “Why not now? What would happen if I waited until it was too late?”

  “And what makes you think that it’s not already too late for Christ’s sake! We’re divorced. We’ve ripped our son’s heart out and torn it to pieces. Now, you want to come back? Do I have the word idiotwritten on my face? Is that what you take me for? Just because I try hard to be civil does not mean that I’m some push over. ”

  “I’ve always loved you, Mitchell,” she begged. “You have to know that.”

  “And I always loved you, Elaine, but it didn’t stop you from fucking my son’s pediatrician! It didn’t stop you from getting pregnant by him. It definitely didn’t stop you from ruining our family. Now, you want to come back? I’m in complete disbelief. I am. I can’t believe my ears.”

  LaToya held her heart. She couldn’t believe her ears either. In her mind, she had always prepared for competition outside of the home, but she didn’t know if she even had the ammunition to handle his ex-wife. They had so much history together. Hell, they had a child together.

  “But we could make it work,” Elaine pleaded softly. She walked up to him and held his face in her manicured, delicate hands. Her stiletto heels clinked against the tile and her gold bangles rattled as she moved into him. Melting into his body, she leaned in to kiss his lips, but he quickly moved away. “I know that you still love me,” she whispered.

  Grabbing her hands, Mitch shook his head. “Stop it, Elaine.” He swallowed hard.

  “Why?”

  Mitch smacked his lips, tired with the entire conversation. “I’m in love with some else that’s why.”

  “What?” Elaine looked up at him confused. She searched his face. “The cleaning lady? I thought that you were just kidding to make me jealous. You actually love that fat bitch?” Her voice raised.

  Mitch pushed her away. “You have no right to say those types of things about her. She’s beautiful and she’s smart and she’s worth a hell of a lot more than you.”

  “Mitchell, she’s just looking for a payday,” Elaine said facetiously.

  “And you aren’t. It’s funny that you didn’t want a damned thing to do with me until you heard about me making partner.”

  There was silence.

  She finally looked up from the ground. “That’s not true. I wanted you when I saw you here the other day. It was just something about you that made me realize how foolish I’ve been.”

  Mitch listened carefully, never taking his eyes off of her.

  “The promotion just made me realize how hard we worked to get you to this point. And the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I had made a mistake.”

  Mitch leaned against the counter and sighed. His muscular chest caved in under his weight. “You made a mistake? Mistakes come in the form of forgetting to pay a bill or pick up the dry cleaning or even toying with the idea of leaving. What you did was a little more than a mistake, dear. It would be better placed under the classification of a catastrophic disaster. And that promotion was always your dream, not mine,” Mitch said angrily. He stood up. “I was happy to get it, but you were the one who pushed me. You wanted me to leave New York and come here. You wanted me take on the hard projects to make partner. And then when I didn’t get it first off when I got here, you flew the coop and left me for the failure I was. Then you tried to make it be my fault. You told me that because I was never home, you had fallen in Felix’sarms. But it was you who sent me out to get the job done. I was damned if I did, damned if I did not.” He wiped the hot tears from his face. “Now you criticize the woman who literally helped me clean my life back up after you left me here to rot, because I wasn’t good enough.” He smirked. “You’re a fucking bitch, Elaine. You’re the ugly one.”

  Enraged, Elaine reached back and slapped his face. Her gold bracelets jingled as her sweaty hand made contact with his jaw. “You really are a world class loser, Mitchell. You always will be.”

  “That’s me. Your everyday, average, world-class, loser. Take care of the kids. Take care of the ex-wife. Take care of it all and get nothing.” He hit the table and made her jump, “Nothing in response except a slap in the face. I have you everything and you gave me nothing.” His face reddened. “Get out of my house. Go home to your Felix and play doctor.”

  LaToya wiped the tears from her eyes as their conversation ended. That was certainly more than she had anticipated on hearing, but she had to know if he cared for her the way that she cared for him. Now certain of that fact, she turned to walk away, to give him the privacy he needed, but he heard her footsteps and stepped into the hallway.

  “LaToya?” he said shocked. His voice echoed down the empty hall. “How long have you been here?”

  LaToya took a long, deep breath and then turned around. She had tears on her cheeks running plentifully down her neck. “Long enough,” she said, trying to smile. “I promise that I didn’t mean to pry. Really, I didn’t. It’s just been a long day. I just sort of found myself here.” She tried to dry her eyes as she explained.

  “Well, this is where you belong,” he said lovingly.

  Walking to her, he grabbed her in his arms and held her close. She hugged him back, happy to be in his embrace. Tears ran down her cheek to his white polo, and she felt his warms lips on the side of her face. She could even smell Elaine’s perfume as she dashed past both of them and slammed the door on her way out.

  Chapter Seven

  LaToya called in her staff to clean the rest of her houses that night. In the state that both she and Mitch were in, they both really just needed to be together. As usual, she cooked dinner for them, and they sat at the kitchen table talking.

  “I think I just had a break through,” Mitch said proudly. “Before you, I would have never been able to tell that woman how I really felt. It was liberating.”

  LaToya smiled. “Before you, I would have never felt more important than Angela.” She frowned then. “It only occurred to me after Byron fired me that maybe the only reason that she was so kind to me is because she never felt that I was on her level. Then at the slightest hint of me having more than her, she turned on me.” She shook her head. “And had her boyfriend fire me.”

  “Now that was just plain stupid on his part.” He smiled. “I could have him fired, you know.”

  “Don’t,” she warned. “I’m already a sell out.”

  “What?” He looked up from his dinner. He had been in states long enough to know what that was.

  “There was huge argument about you and Byron at Angela’s house last night. She thinks that you only got the promotion, because you’re white.”

  “Oh. I suppose that it could eas
ily be misperceived here in this country,” he looked down at his dinner. “And you had to take up for me, did you?”

  “Yeah,” she said sighing. “I know how hard you work.”

  “Well, I’m very sorry that I came between you and your good friend.”

  LaToya smiled at him. “You didn’t do anything wrong. I’m still just as proud of you today as I was before she told me about Byron.”

  “That’s the thing, LaToya. I don’t... I don’t want to work this hard for the rest of my life. I want to live, you know. I want to be there for Zach and spend more time enjoying my real life. Do you know that this house is paid for? My car is paid for.” He sighed again. “I work my ass off for stuff, but at the end of the day I was just not happy. Somewhere along the lines, I lost what I was doing all of this for. And society says that you have to keep going.”

  “Society is bullshit,” she said quickly. “You decide your own destiny. If you don’t want this, why do you do it?”

  “I don’t know,” he half way laughed. “I’ve been asking myself that a lot lately. I felt the most fulfilled doing non-profit work. The buildings that we designed for worthy causes always made me feel...I don’t know...more centered. I’m going to work this partnership and milk it for all it’s worth, then I’m going to leave and start my own firm where I take on good causes like building hospitals in third-world countries.” He stabbed his steak and then paused. “Why do you clean people’s houses?”

  “I’m a neat freak. I can’t help myself,” she laughed. “It’s true. I actually enjoy organizing people’s lives.” She looked down at her plate. “And I guess I’m like you, because I save every penny. I plan to retire early and enjoy my life, too. And I shouldn’t have given a damn about one lousy account today, and normally I wouldn’t have, but it was because of Angela that it hurt.”

  “Trust me, sister. I know a thing or two about hurt,” he reassured.

  “I know,” LaToya said, looking up at him. “But it’s not your fault. What she did to you was horrible and inconsiderate.” She let the tears fall down her face again, “And I know that that kind of pain doesn’t go away quickly, but one day it will. Trust me. And you can sit across the table from a guy having dinner and see that the best of your years really aren’t behind you. And that there are good men out there who mean what they say and do what they say.”

  Mitch was speechless. He cracked a grin finally. “I hope it’s a not guy that makes me feel like that, LaToya.”

  They both laughed.

  LaToya quickly wiped her face. “Well, you are sort of...sweet,” she said looking down.

  “Well, you are, too.”

  Mitch set down his fork, moved his napkin off his lap and stood up. LaToya looked up at him. He walked around the table to her and kneeled at her chair. “We’ve been doing this no sex relationship for a while, and I totally respect what you’re doing, but tonight made me realize that I’m ready to take it to the next level with you, if you’re ready.” His words were soft, barely above a whisper. They were as intimate as the action he was suggesting. “Because I am sitting across from the woman who I know is enhancing every part of my life except one.”

  Her lips parted and she pushed the words out. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready. I haven’t had sex in so long, I’m not sure that I remember how to.” Her clever remark was lost on him.

  He smirked. “I can show you. It’s very much like riding a bike, love.”

  LaToya stopped smiling. “I want to make love to you, Mitch. But what if it completely ruins what we have right now?”

  “How can it?”

  “Sex makes things weird. You no longer open up, you become secretive.”

  “Who is you? I don’t do that. I become more open with a woman after sex.” He looked her in her eyes. “If you’re afraid, I understand. But I want you to take that leap with me anyway. Trust me.”

  “Leap?”

  “Yes, leap?” He smiled. “Right of the cliff.”

  LaToya took a deep breath and put down her napkin. Standing up, she took his hand and followed him quietly out of the kitchen.

  ***

  LaToya had cleaned Mitch’s room a hundred times, but she had never once been in it for any other reason. It looked different now that she was a guest. The king-sized bed looked larger, warmer and more inviting under the soft lights.

  Candles that she had lit earlier to freshen the room were now used to provide seductive lighting under the busy fan that made violent revolutions above them.

  Mitch had a languid grin on his face as he stood in front of her, bent into the curve of her voluptuous body and looking into her deep brown eyes. He tried to read them for instruction as he rubbed her shoulders. It had been decided by him as soon as she agreed to make love that he would take this night as slow as she needed.

  Zingers of wild, erotic sensations ran rapidly through her anxious body.

  “Are you on the pill?” he asked, eyebrows spiking.

  “No.” She shook her head.

  “Well, I have protection.” He dipped his head to her lightly kissed her lips.

  “I’m scared, Mitch,” she whispered on his lips.

  “Me too,” he assured. “But I love you, LaToya.”

  She looked up into his simmering, green eyes flashing with hope and sincerity and suddenly felt at ease. Those three words made all the difference.

  “I love you, too,” she said, smiling as she confessed her love. Her heart instantly exploded.

  Looking down at her shirt, she pulled it slowly off, revealing the shape that she had so desperately tried to hide for so long.

  Mitch felt his breath catch in his throat. He tried not to show his hidden excitement. Even the smallest reveal heightened his already thrilled senses. Her decadent, soft chocolate skin was a beautiful, uninterrupted shade of deep mahogany that reminded him of the purest silk. Her large breasts were cupped together in a black bra shaped into a perfect heart. He looked at the crease that separated them, licking his lips with anticipation of taste.

  Her long torso was shapely and full. Marveling at seeing a plus size woman for the first time nearly naked, he was completely fascinated by the unmarked, unstressed perfect darkness before him like a faultless night.

  Crossing her arms across her body, she tried to hide herself, but he quickly pulled them away and made her show herself. Stepping into her, he felt her breast graze his chest. It was then that he realized that he was fully dressed.

  Remembering his bedroom manners, he took off his shirt, snatching it from his body quickly to reveal a tanned, muscular build that defied his profession. He broad shoulders and thick muscles dwarfed her. LaToya noticed a sweet little beauty mole on under his left oblique muscle. It looked delectable.

  He placed her quivering hand on his chest in hopes that she would allow him the same offering. She caressed his muscles, fascinated by his perfectly carved body.

  His hands softly wrapped around her, accelerating their heat as he plucked her bra straps. The garment fell to the floor between them and caused an ache in his groin. How he loved perfect breasts. LaToya’s breasts were large, full and ripe with sensual chocolate bits aroused at the tip. He kneeled down to taste, wrapping his wet mouth around her areola and suckling at her nipples slowly. He moaned hungrily as he tasted her, putting his hands around the full orbs for a better grip. Every time that he pulled away to look at her, the wind from the ceiling fan tickled her senses. She gasped in the silence of the room, creaming for him involuntarily between her hot thighs as she watched him taste her. It was so intoxicating to watch as he moved and tasted her with utter care.

  LaToya didn’t realize that her mouth was open. The seduction of the slow passion baffled her. He had only just touched her, and yet she already wanted to explode from the outside in. Her nervousness quickly dissipated when in one strong motion, he picked her up and placed her on the bed. His muscles bulged under the pressure of her body. Veins tore out to the front of his bronze skin. Yet, h
e didn’t seem the least bit drained from her weight. He toted her as if she was a feather.

  His intention was clear. He was not yet finished disrobing her. Going for the pants she clung to, he pulled them down slowly to see black panties that matched the discarded bra. Her large thighs were as perfect as her stomach and her shapely calf muscles astonished him. He looked at her manicured toenails and her soft feet and smiled.

  “What?”she asked, uncomfortable again with him staring at her.

  “You’re so beautiful,” he whispered, touching her waist.

  She grabbed his hand. He wanted to take the last piece of clothing that made her safe. She looked into this eyes, begging his approval.

  “LaToya, you’re fascinating. Please, don’t be shy,” he assured in a soft, deep voice. His eyes twinkled. “I think that you’re perfect.”

  She didn’t believe him, but she did let go. Releasing his hand, she allowed him to pull her underwear away. His strong hands massaged her as he made his way down her legs.

  For a moment, he paused with her panties still gripped in his hand as he pulled away. And in that moment, she wondered what he must think of her.

  He trailed his hand back up her inner thigh brushing past the small strip of hair that hid her aching sex. Cream slicked her inner legs and soaked his fingers as he rubbed her. He slipped his finger in his mouth and tasted it. She closed her eyes for a moment, remembering what it felt like to be invaded. Her body clenched tight against his fingers as he returned them.

  “You next,” she taunted, opening her eyes.

  He put his veined hand on his belt buckle and pulled away at the clasp all the while maintaining a naughty grin. His khaki pants were open now, showing black cotton underwear below. With a tug, he pulled them down past his elongated erection and shuffled them off along with his socks. Like a school boy, he stood in his glory breathing heavily and looking at his catch.

  Only inches away from his penis, she felt her eyes lock in on him. What would he do now? She braced herself for anything. She wanted everything.