Page 31 of Do Me
Chapter 9
“You’ve been humming that song for the past half hour,” Felicia said, staring at Londyn.
Londyn paused opening the large box filled with deodorant. “You know I love Prince.”
“Yeah, but he has a catalogue of music—"Little Red Corvette”, “Purple Rain”, “Te Amo Corazón.” Need I go on? But the only thing I’ve heard you singing is “Do Me Baby”, and with a goofy smile on your face. So, either you’ve scored coveted tickets to some hologram performance of Prince or you and Braxton finally did it.”
Busted!She had no idea that she’d been singing the song. It had been two weeks since that night with Braxton and she hadn’t been able to get the lyrics out of her mind. She still couldn’t believe she’d been so bold. The memory of his mouth all over her body started a low pulsing in her center and she closed her eyes briefly, willing it to stop.
“I’m waiting, Miss Thang.”
Londyn glanced over her shoulder to find Felicia standing on the other side of the room with her hands on her hips. “The latter one.”
A smile broke out on Felicia’s face and she pumped her fist in the air. “Yes!Was it the hot, sweaty get-your-freak-on sex?” she asked eagerly.
“No. More like the sweet, passionate, he-stole-my-heart kind oflove-making.” Braxton had said it was more than just sex to him and she had felt it with every touch and kiss. “It’s weird, but he is so different in a good way.”
Felicia brought a hand to her mouth. “I don’t believe it,” she whispered. “Monique was right. Youarein love with him. Have you told him about what happened with Antoine?”
“No,” Londyn said incredulously. “And I don’t plan to tell him. It’s bad enough that I know.” She was afraid Braxton would look at her differently and wonder how she could have allowed herself to get caught up with a man who’d taken advantage of her sexually and emotionally.
She came and sat on the floor next to Londyn. “You really need to tell him, Londyn. He shouldn’t have to compete with those bad memories whenever they show up.”
Her friend had a point. There had been times when she had nightmares about all the things Antoine put her through, all the promises of him doing better, and all the lies and excuses when he didn’t. But his blaming her for his problems had crushed her emotionally and only recently had she finally climbed out of the abyss of pain. Everything was going well with Braxton and what she felt for him went well beyond what she had experienced in her past relationships. Londyn wanted it, noneededit to stay that way. Besides, she hadn’t had any issues with them being intimate, so she figured she’d finally laid her past to rest. “I’ll think about it.” Changing the subject, she asked, “How many of these care packages are you doing?”
“We’redoing three hundred. It would’ve gone so much faster if Monique were here.” Monique had gone out of town for the weekend.
“I agree.” She scanned Felicia’s family room filled with boxes and boxes of everything from toiletries and towels to blankets and first aid supplies. “There is no way we’ll finish this today. And I’m going over to my parents’ house for dinner. They just returned from their trip. But I can come back tomorrow to help finish.”
“Thanks. Now I don’t have to stay up all night to do it. We want to distribute the tote bags next Saturday.” In addition to her day job, Felicia ran a non-profit organization that provided assistance to low-income and homeless populations.
“Well, let’s get busy.”
The two women worked for another hour opening boxes and separating items so that they would be easy to bag tomorrow before Londyn said her goodbyes and drove to her parents’ house.
“Oh, it’s so good to see you,” her mother said, when she opened the door to Londyn.
Londyn hugged her. “You look great, Mom. A month in the Caribbean was just what you and Dad needed.”
“I’ve already started planning for our next trip,” she said with a little laugh. “Of course, your father keeps saying I should at least let us unpack first before I book another one.”
“I wish I could take off a month and go somewhere, anywhere.” They entered the family room where Londyn’s father sat in his favorite recliner watching a sports channel. “Hi, Dad.”
He got up as fast as his sixty-nine-year-old body allowed and engulfed her in a big hug. “Hey, baby girl.” He held her away from him and studied her. “Everything going okay?”
She smiled. “Yes.” Better than okay. It had been a long time since she could answer his typical question truthfully.
Her father pressed a kiss to her forehead. “That’s what I like to hear.” He retook his seat.
“I know you took lots of pictures and I can’t wait to see them.”
“I’ll show them to you while I’m finishing dinner,” her mother said, walking toward the kitchen.
Londyn followed and sat flipping through the photos on the iPad Paulette had handed her. At sixty-six and five feet, eight inches tall, her mother had maintained her slim figure. The height gene had totally skipped Londyn, as she’d inherited her paternal grandmother’s petite stature. “These are so gorgeous, especially the beach shots. I’d give anything to be sitting on one right now.”
Paulette paused in stirring a pot. “Oh? I thought you said everything at work is going well.” She frowned and replaced the lid. “That young man you were seeing hasn’t done anything to hurt you, has he?” She came over and sat next to Londyn.
Londyn recognized the protective tone in her mother’s voice. Smiling, she said, “No, and we’re still seeing each other. I was only thinking I’d like to take a vacation is all.” She tried not to squirm under her mother’s scrutiny.
