Cheaper to Keep Her (part 1) Page 4

  best of the best for the place we’re going.” I was giddy. I wanted to just throw my hands around his

  neck and kiss him al over his face. But I remained cool and col ected as we both exited the car.

  Once inside the mal , I tried to stay as calm as possible but I wanted to just run around and grab

  shit. We went into Saks and a lady immediately approached us.

  “Mr. Carrington, you’re back,” the old white lady said to Duke. He smiled at her.

  “Yes, Caroline. This is Lynise . . . wil you help her find the perfect dress and shoes,” Duke said to

  the lady. I watched their exchange. It was crazy that Duke had a personal shopper and he was a man

  . . . that was usual y for women.

  “Ah yes, the perfect dress and shoes,” Caroline repeated, laughing.

  What the fuck is so funny bitch? I retorted silently in my head. I didn’t know why she was laughing

  and I started to feel like she was mocking me in some kind of way.

  “Go ahead, Beautiful, let Caroline work her magic for you,” Duke said and he took a seat on a

  leather chair in front of the fitting rooms.

  Caroline went and got about sixty dresses for me to try on. There was every named designer you

  could think of. I had never, ever put my ass in a Nicole Mil er, Alexander McQueen, Versace or Herve

  Leger dress in my life. Caroline also brought out about thirty pairs of shoes, most of them were

  Christian Louboutin, the red bottoms I had heard Oprah Winfrey talk about and saw her wear on al of

  her shows.

  “Damn! Beautiful, you look amazing in that shit,” Duke exclaimed when I final y came out in a

  crimson Herve Leger bandage dress. He made me blush. I whirled around for him in the tight fitted

  dress that looked like somebody had poured me into it.

  “That’s the one, Beautiful . . . that is definitely the one,” Duke said excitedly. That was enough for

  me. I went back into the fitting room and took it off. I gave it to Caroline and she and Duke rang up the

  dress and a pair of hot red bottoms. I came to the register just in time to see that he had paid $800

  for the dress and $695 for the shoes. I felt a little nervous letting a man spend that kind of paper on

  me. I started thinking that Duke might expect something in return. I mean we were in a recession and

  this man was spending that kind of money on me. I couldn’t lie to myself though, I was damn sure glad

  Diamond had convinced me to go out with him. Even if shit didn’t work out for the long haul, this one

  date was wel worth it.

  “Here you go, baby,” Duke said, handing me my bags. “Al yours,” he smiled.

  “Oh my goodness, Duke, I cannot thank you enough for such a wonderful first date,” I said and

  gave him a hug and a kiss on his cheek. I released him just in time to see Caroline smirking. I rol ed my

  eyes at the old white bag. I told myself that bitch was just jealous. Maybe she wanted Duke too, just

  like the fucking waitress did.

  “So you want me to drop you back at the Marriot or to where you live,” Duke said snidely as we

  pul ed back around my neighborhood.

  “Wel . . . um . . . you can take me home. The reason I—” I started to explain, but Duke cut me off.

  “Baby, it’s al good. I was real happy when you didn’t give me your address right away. That told

  me you were smarter than most of these chicks out here,” Duke interjected. I felt a sense of relief

  that he understood. Then I told him my address.

  Duke pul ed up in front of my apartment complex and I prepared to leave the car. He leaned over

  and kissed me softly on my cheek. I almost fucking melted inside.

  “I wil see you tomorrow night when you put that dress on,” he said in a low whisper. I wanted to

  tongue him down so badly. I swal owed the lump in my throat.

  “Yes, I wil see you tomorrow. Thank you again for a more than wonderful day,” I said softly. Then I

  kissed him back, also on the cheek.

  I exited the car and flew up the stairs to my apartment. I rushed inside and cal ed out for Diamond.

  “Diamond! Dee, you here?” I hol ered. I raced into her bedroom but it was empty. Then I looked at the

  cable box, it was nine o’clock. Diamond was probably at the club already, I reasoned. Then it

  dawned on me that I hadn't cal ed Neeko to let him know I was going to be late for fucking work.

  “Shit!” I cursed myself and went to pick up my cel phone. I dialed Diamond’s cel first. I wanted her

  to tel me if Neeko had asked for me or find out what kind of mood he was in. Diamond’s phone went

  straight to voicemail. “She must be on the damn phone with that bastard Brian,” I mumbled.

  I clicked off and went to dial Diamond’s number again. I flopped down on our raggedy couch and

  started to press send on my phone. Suddenly, I looked over at the Saks bag and said fuck it. I didn’t

  bother to cal Diamond again. I figured I would just see her when she got home. I was no longer

  worried about Neeko’s ass. “I wil just show up tomorrow if I feel like it. Neeko don’t be paying a bitch

  anyway and those fucking tips suck nowadays,” I told myself.

  I picked up my Saks bag and put on my new shoes and strutted around my apartment feeling like

  a star.

  “I might just be quitting that fucking job soon anyway, when I become Mrs. Duke Carrington,” I said out

  loud, smiling from ear to ear .

  Cheaper to Keep Her Unique

  Chapter 4—She’s Coming Home With Me

  I had fal en asleep waiting up for Diamond.

  When I got up the next day, she was knocked out sleeping and I figured she had a hard night at

  the club, so I chose not to wake her. As bad as I wanted to shake her ass and show her the dress

  and the shoes, I didn’t bother. I had some running around to do since I knew Duke was taking me out

  that night. This time, I wanted to accent the dress with the perfect hairdo, so I cal ed up my girls at the

  Beauty R Us Hair and Nail Salon and told my hairdresser I was coming. I knew it was going to be an

  al day affair because the hair salon was more like a social gathering.

  I took a shower and threw on a Juicy sweat suit. I checked in on Diamond and she was stil out like

  a light. I scribbled a note down tel ing her to cal me on my cel when she got up and then I grabbed

  my purse and headed out.

  When I got to the salon, I noticed a missed cal from Duke. I smiled wide. It was so good that he

  had been the first to cal after our date and not me. Duke was showing so much damn husband

  potential I couldn’t take it.

  I immediately cal ed him back while I sat in the car waiting for my hairdresser to summon me

  inside.

  “Hey, Beautiful,” he answered. I couldn’t help but smile. He told me to be ready by seven-thirty,

  which gave me plenty of time to get my hair done, shower and get dressed. I told him I would be

  ready when he got there.

  When I got home from the hair salon, Diamond had already gotten up and left the house. “Damn!

  Why she ain’t cal me back? I know she had to see al the missed cal s from me,” I grumbled to

  myself. I started getting my shit ready to get dressed. Then I thought about how the hel I was going to

  do my make-up without Diamond. Shaking my head, I picked up the phone and tried her one last time.

  Her phone went straight to voicemail once again. “Diamond, it’s me. Cal my cel as soon as you get

  this message,” I said with attitude.

  I got dressed for my date with Duke and I wa
s starting to get real worried about Diamond. Even

  after my message she stil had not cal ed me back. I had cal ed her at least ten times. Sometimes it

  rang but most times it went straight to voicemail. I kept looking at my watch hoping she would come

  home before I had to leave. I lied to myself and said primarily because she had skil s in the make-up

  department, but I was worried about her as wel .

  I pranced around the apartment for a while in my new dress and shoes and I had to admit that I

  looked damned good. Final y, it was time for Duke to pick me up. I was forced to put on my own

  make-up and Diamond never came home to tel me how I looked. “Oh wel , Diamond, I tried to wait

  for your ass. I’m gonna curse you out when I see you,” I said out loud as if Diamond was there.

  Real y, I was trying to appease myself. I was pissed with her. I knew for sure her neglect had

  something to do with Brian. He was probably out of the hospital and taking up al of her time. At least

  that’s what I told myself.

  When Duke pul ed up to my complex, I was peeking out of my window. I looked at my watch and

  decided I would make him wait for a good five or ten minutes before I came outside. It was a little

  payback for him making me wait the day before. Besides, I wanted to make a grand appearance, so

  me waiting outside was not an option.

  I let my grace period pass and then I headed outside. When I emerged in the parking lot, Duke

  rol ed his window down and whistled, which caused me to smile.

  “Mmm, mmm, mmm, Beautiful, you look sexy in that dress,” Duke cal ed out to me as I made my

  way to the car. He had gotten out and opened my door.

  “Thank you, Mr. Carrington,” I commented, as I slid into my seat. Duke kept giving me compliments

  as he drove to the restaurant. I think he must’ve made me blush fifty times.

  We pul ed up to the Melting Pot, one of the most expensive restaurants in Virginia Beach. Once

  again, Duke was about to do it big. He drove his Porsche 911 up to the valet stand and stopped. This

  time I waited in my seat until he opened the door for me. He helped me out and held my hand while

  he gave his keys to the valet guy. Duke didn’t let my hand go the entire time it took us to walk into the

  Melting Pot and get our table. Once at the table, he pul ed out my chair and pushed it up to the table

  once I sat down.

  We began our nice, quiet and romantic dinner with a toast to us. The expensive champagne

  caused a tingling in my throat and eased my mind. I must’ve had five glasses of champagne before

  we completed dinner. I was tipsy as hel by the time the valet brought the car around. I was holding

  onto Duke’s muscular arm for dear life.

  “You ok?” he asked me.

  “I’m fine,” I lied. I real y didn’t drink like that so the champagne had snuck up on me. Once the car

  came, we drove and I didn’t even ask Duke where we were going. I just rested my head back on the

  headrest and went along with whatever else he had planned.

  I had my eyes closed when we final y stopped moving. “Beautiful, we’re here,” Duke said, touching

  the side of my face gently. I popped my eyes open, embarrassed that I had drifted off. I looked out

  the window and noticed a huge house in front of me. I looked over at Duke with a confused look on

  my face. He started chuckling.

  “This is my house,” he said.

  I relaxed a bit. I was stil kind of out of it, but my buzz was wearing off a little bit. I fol owed Duke

  into his grand home. The shit was off the chain. I estimated in my head that the house had to be at

  least 3,000 square feet. We started walking through it and I noticed immediately al of the expensive

  furniture, artwork and home décor. Once we were in his living room, I looked out the huge glass bay

  window and noticed the beach. Duke had one of the coveted nicest properties in Virginia Beach. “This

  is nice,” I said, staring out the window.

  “This is only one of my homes,” Duke volunteered. “I don’t stay here most of the time. I have a few

  places here and there.”

  He sat down on an al -white leather couch and put his feet up on a glass coffee table. “Come over

  here and sit with me,” Duke instructed, patting a spot on the couch next to him. I turned around from

  the window and smiled at him.

  “Gladly,” I said seductively. I eased onto the couch next to Duke and he wrapped his strong arm

  around my shoulder and pul ed me as close to him as I could go. I rested my head on his shoulder

  and sighed.

  “Did you have a good time tonight?” he asked me.

  I lifted my head a little, so I could look at him. “No,” I said and paused. He crinkled his face. “I had a

  wonderful, magnificent, awesome time,” I said, then I let a big smile spread across my face. Duke’s

  face eased into a smile.

  “Whew, you had me scared there for a minute,” he said jokingly, acting like he was wiping sweat

  off his forehead. We sat there for a few minutes like that. Then Duke excused himself and left the

  room for a minute. He came back with just his wife beater holding a chil ed bottle of champagne and

  two flutes. I couldn’t stop staring at his ripped abs and beautiful chest through his undershirt. He knew

  his ass was fine too.

  Duke placed the flutes down and poured us each a glass of champagne. I started to tel him no,

  but I didn’t want to rock the boat. We were having such a great time together. I picked up my flute and

  he did the same. We each took a sip and Duke busted out laughing at my reaction to the bubbly. “This

  expensive shit takes some getting used to,” he smirked.

  After two glasses of the strong bubbly, I was feeling my head sway once again. Duke moved real

  close to me and took the flute out of my hand. My heart was beating uncontrol ably as I felt his body

  heat next to me. He put the flute on the coffee table and turned back to me. I didn’t know what to do.

  Duke reached out and grabbed my face in his hands and brought it close to his. Instinctively, I closed

  my eyes. Duke placed his sweet tasting lips on top of mine and we began kissing savagely. He tasted

  so good. I could feel myself growing hot and my pussy getting wet. Duke moved in closer and I could

  feel his dick hard against my pelvis. We continued kissing. Then Duke put his hand on my breast

  through my dress and squeezed slightly. I let out a short gasp. My mind started to clear. I started

  getting nervous. Somewhere in my mind I was back in high school attempting to have sex for the first

  time. Duke’s hands were starting to travel to different places on my body and that made me uneasy,

  but brought me back to the here and now. My buzz was fading rapidly. When Duke started unzipping

  my dress, I pushed him off me.

  He stopped abruptly.

  I sat up and wiped my lips. Then I stood up and pul ed my dress back down over my hips as it

  had ridden al the way up during our hot patting session.

  “What’s wrong, Beautiful?” Duke asked, sounding kind of out of breath. I knew he was horny and

  ready to fuck. “Nothing. It’s just early for—” I started.

  “Baby, whether you give it to me the first time or the tenth time, I am a gentleman,” Duke said,

  interrupting me in mid-sentence in his attempt to convince me it would be al right.

  “Wel , I’m not one of those easy chicks. I’d rather wait,” I told him. I was stil standing up.

  He reached o
ut and pul ed me back down to him. It was as if he wasn’t trying to take no for an

  answer. Duke roughly put his mouth on top of mine again and forced his tongue into my mouth. This

  time it didn’t taste as good as the first time. I felt as if he was trying to choke me. I started squirming

  and then I forceful y pushed him. I couldn’t move his muscular body, but he eventual y got the picture

  and stopped holding me down. I stood up again. Between the effects of the champagne and my

  heavy breathing from trying to get Duke off me, I felt a little dizzy. I staggered away from him.

  “Beautiful, I’m sorry. I’m just feeling you so much,” he explained. I softened when he said that.

  “I just don’t want to do it right now, Duke. Please understand,” I said. I wanted him to respect me.

  He could say whatever he wanted to say, if I had let him fuck me so soon he wouldn’t want to make

  me his wifey. I was trying to be somebody’s wife, not go through another quick, slam-bam-thank you

  ma’am relationship.

  Duke was quiet. He looked like he was disappointed. I wanted to rush over to him and beg him to

  understand but I stood my ground instead. I was almost sure he probably had women al over

  Virginia, but I wanted to win him over. I wanted to be with him for the long haul if it was meant to be. If I

  had given in to him that early, I knew that would be the kiss of death for my chances at being his

  number one.

  “Duke, are you ok?” I asked as I picked up my purse.

  “I’m good. I wil take you home as soon as my head clears a little bit,” he said flatly. I could tel he

  was real y disappointed by the situation.

  “It’s al good. I can take a cab home. I have to go anyway. Diamond doesn’t have her keys and I

  need to let her in the house,” I lied. I needed to get the heck out of there as fast as possible before I

  gave in to him. I wanted him but I had to stand pat. To give in would be the end of my dream.

  Surprisingly, Duke didn’t argue with me. Instead, he was good enough to cal me a cab. He tried to

  give me money for the cab, but since I was the one who insisted on taking a cab, I refused his money.

  He grabbed my purse and pushed the money inside. I was glad. Truth be told, from where Duke lived