Page 32 of Seasoned
“You drive a hard bargain.” Clive rolled her onto her back and settled between her thighs.
The fullness of his erection and his hard thighs made her squirm and thread her fingers into his soft white hair.
“Is that a yes?”
“You promise, if I don’t like it you won’t insist I attend another event like that with you?’
“I promise.”
Clive slid his hand under her panties and into the slick evidence of her desire. Renee sucked air hard between her teeth and arched her back, pressing upward into the single digit he used to tease her.
“Okay, I’ll come.”
“Just for that, you get a very special reward.”
With a saucy grin, Renee began undoing his belt buckle.
14
“I’m almost ready!” Renee yelled from the bathroom.
Seated on the edge of her bed, Clive shook his head. He’d been waiting ten minutes already while she rushed around getting dressed for the event tonight. At this rate, he’d have to drive like a bat out of hell to get there on time.
Renee came out of the bathroom in a black dress with a bejeweled neckline and the same design around the ends of the three-quarter-length sleeves. His mouth went dry as he scanned the way the dress hugged her curvy body and showed off her cleavage.
“How do I look?” She did a quick spin on three-inch patent leather pumps.
“Beautiful, like I told you eight minutes ago before you changed into this outfit.”
“I know you’re annoyed, but I want to look my best.” She held up two sets of earrings, one in each hand. “Which ones do you think? Diamonds or pearls?”
“Diamonds,” Clive answered.
Renee stood in front of the mirror and held one earring up to her ear, then the other earring up to her other ear. Shaking her head, she said, “No. I think the pearls go better with this dress.”
Clive didn’t say a word. His wife used to ask his opinion about outfits, shoes, and jewelry, but ended up doing whatever she wanted anyway. He was fairly convinced that women only asked those questions so they knew which items not to choose.
After inserting the earrings in her ears, Renee smoothed her hands over her hips in the fitted dress. She turned to the left and then turned to the right, checking her appearance before finally taking a deep breath. “I’m ready.”
Clive stood, but she wasn’t actually ready. He groaned quietly as she dashed over to the walk-in closet and came out hopping on one foot while slipping on a different black heel on the other. Finally, she took another deep breath and stood erect. “How do I look?” she asked again.
“Fantastic. Can we go now?”
Strutting over to where he stood, she cupped his face and planted a kiss on his hairy jaw. “Thank you for coming with me.”
“I’m starting to wonder if this was a good idea. I thought this was your student’s event, but you’re so nervous I have to wonder if it’s really yours.”
She walked to the dresser and picked up her black beaded clutch. “It’s because I’ve known her since she was a fifteen-year-old kid in my class, and we’ve worked together for years. This is a big deal for her, and I guess in a way for me, too. Watching her grow and become the success that she is makes me so proud. I kinda feel like a mama.”
“Why didn’t you have kids of your own? You obviously have a tender spot for the young people you teach.”
Renee paused, a thoughtful frown coming over her face. Finally, she said, “I do love children, young people in general. But not everyone is supposed to be a mother—and liking young people is not enough of a prerequisite to be a parent. My calling was not to be a mother. My calling was to be a teacher. And I’m a darned good one. Besides, I never needed children of my own. Not when I’ve had the privilege of molding the lives of thousands of kids over the years.”
She often amazed him, but now Clive was actually proud to walk in with her on his arm. He took her hand. “Let’s get out of here and go see your kid do her thing.”
They left the house in Renee’s Volvo, with Clive driving. Amazingly, they arrived at the boutique hotel on time with one minute to spare. Outside the room where the event was taking place, the person at the door greeted them with a smile and escorted them to two reserved seats three rows back from a stage where two comfy-looking chairs faced each other. The audience chairs were arranged theater-style with only a few empty spots.
“Full house,” Clive whispered out the side of his mouth as he settled on the seat.
