CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

After calling out sick for the past two days, Zoe wasn’t surprised that April was calling. She’d called yesterday, but Zoe just wasn’t ready to talk to anyone, wasn’t ready to start lying in order to cover up the truth. But she knew that if she didn’t answer the phone today, her family and friends would literally start knocking the door down trying to find out what was going on. So she took a deep breath and answered, “Hello.”

“Hey girl, are you okay? I’ve been calling you for two days now. Why haven’t you come to work?”

“I’ve been a little under the weather the last couple of days. Between menstrual cramps and fighting off a cold, I just wasn’t up for work, but I’ll be in tomorrow.”

“Well you should’ve let me know. I’ve really been worried about you. So much so that if you didn’t answer the phone this time, I was going to call Desi so that he could do a drive by with me. We were going to be over there banging on your door.”

“Come on now girl, no need for all that, I’m fine. Have I missed anything major at work?”

“Not at all, just the usual crap. But without you being here the days seem to be moving a lot slower. Do you need me to drop by with anything, you know, soup or tissues?”

“Thanks for the offer, but Ramon has already gotten me both. I’m going to go in here and get a little more rest so I’ll be ready for work tomorrow.”

“Alright, well if you need anything you know you can call me day or night.”

“I know and I appreciate that, April. Thanks a million.” Zoe said goodbye and went back to watching The Steve Harvey Show. Watching television, eating junk food, and laying around was all that Zoe had done for the last couple of days. She didn’t want to be seen by anyone because there was still some slight bruising around her nose. She hadn’t been in the mood to explain and lie about what happened. So she chose to become a temporary recluse. The time alone, peace, quiet, and rest had actually felt really good. She just hated the way it had come about. Ramon, sensing that the best thing he could do was to leave her alone, had made himself scarce. He’d been leaving early, working late, and keeping quiet. But Zoe knew that his mousy behavior was going to be short lived.

Just as she’d predicted, Ramon had returned to his normal behavior. He didn’t work late, but instead came home at his usual time and his first question was what’s for dinner? Zoe looked at him as if he were talking gibberish. She turned her attention back to the TV because her favorite 80’s show, A Different World, was now on. “Babe, did you hear me? What’s for dinner?” Ramon asked again.

“I don’t know, I assumed you were going to pick something up on your way in,” she responded without ever turning her attention from the television.

“But we just went grocery shopping less than a week ago. The fridge and cabinets are full of food, so why would I pick up take out?”

“Because I didn’t want to cook. These two days have been my recovery and relaxation days,” Zoe answered with a touch of defiance in her voice.

“So you haven’t done a thing today.” Ramon was clearly disgusted.

“Oh, but I did do something. I made your appointment with a therapist for anger management. You’ll have eight sessions staring tomorrow evening at 6:00pm. I got you the latest appointment they had. I also scheduled us for four couple’s therapy sessions. We’ll do those on the days that you don’t have anger management.” Zoe watched Ramon closely to see if his facial expression would change to one of anger. To her pleasant surprise, he remained calm and unaffected.

“Okay, just text me the address of the therapist so I’ll have it in my phone. What day do we go to the first couple’s session?”

“Friday evening and I figured we could leave there and go out for a nice dinner. Is that cool with you?” Zoe asked.

“That’s fine, but what are we going to do about dinner tonight? I swear I’m about to starve.”

Zoe looked at him and took into consideration that he had been working hard all day. “The best I can offer is chili dogs and fries.”

“I’ll take it,” he replied as he made his way to the bedroom to undress and wash the days stress away in a hot shower.

As the water poured over him, he couldn’t help but focus on how annoyed he was becoming with Zoe. Yes, he had agreed to the therapy, he would’ve agreed to just about anything to keep Zoe from walking out the door. But now he felt that she was taking all of this a tad too far. He reasoned that she never would’ve gotten popped in the nose if she hadn’t been trying to beat up on him. Hell, as far as he was concerned she needed to be in anger management as well. And if she didn’t stop sitting around moaning about recovering and healing as if she’d been shot, he was going to scream. Ramon finished his shower, threw on some sweats and sat on the side of the bed to try and decompress before going back out to deal with Zoe.

“Babe, dinner is ready,” Zoe yelled out.

Even though she was serving a less than gourmet meal, she decided to at least serve it with a little flare. When Ramon walked into the kitchen, he found candles burning, soft music playing, and his meal served on their so called good china. A smile spread across his face and he was relieved that there would be no more cold shoulder or rehashing of Saturday night’s events. For him, this was a sign that Zoe was finally ready to let it go and move on.

“These are the best chili dogs ever, babe.”

“I think you’re just hungry. So tell me, how was your day? Did you get that house renovation job you were bidding on?”

“As a matter of fact I did. And babe, it’s going to net me about $5,000 more than I initially thought it would.”

“That’s great, Ramon, if you keep this up you’ll have to hire a couple of more workers to keep up with demand.”

“Yeah, that’s the plan. If I get this other job out in Alpharetta I’ll have to hire someone sooner than I had anticipated. I should know in a few days if I’ll get it,” he said proudly as he shoved food in his mouth.

They continued eating, talking, and laughing as if all of the issues from the past few days were behind them. Zoe was sharing the topics of the crazy talk shows she’d watched over the course of the past two days when the doorbell rang.

“Are you expecting someone?” Zoe asked.

“Yeah, Harvey’s picking me up to go hang with the guys for a little bit,” Ramon explained as he got up to answer the door. “Hey, dude, come on in. Grab a seat and I’ll be ready in a second. Babe, you remember Harvey, right?”

“Hi, Harvey, it’s nice to see you again,” Zoe smiled as she rushed back to the bedroom to join Ramon. “Where are you guys headed to?”

“Just to a little club for a few. I promise I won’t be long.”

“Another strip club I assume.”

“You know I don’t pay any attention to those women. I go just to have a drink and hang with the fellas,” Ramon reassured her.

“Just make sure you keep your hands and money to yourself. If you want to make it rain for anyone, let it be me,” she teased. “And my dances come complete with an amazing orgasm.”

She kissed Ramon deeply and again warned him to keep his hands and money in his pockets. She watched him walk out the door as she struggled to keep her disapproval of his little outing to herself.

Zoe went back to watching television when she was struck with an idea. She jumped up, showered, lotioned her body, and sprayed on her favorite fragrance. She then went through her lingerie drawer and pulled out the sexiest outfit she had. The seductive sounds of Kem played in the background and candles illuminated the room.

“Babe, I’m home. Told you I wouldn’t be gone long,” Ramon bellowed from the front room. “Where are you?”

“Come on back to the room, baby.”

Ramon looked disgusted as he wondered if she’d already gone to bed. As he got closer, he heard the music and smelled the fragrant candles. When he saw Zoe draped across the bed in her heels, stockings, garter, and bustier his jaw hit the floor.

“Come in, let me help you relax,” she offered as she crawled off the bed and helped him remove his jacket. “Have a seat, relax and enjoy the show.”

Zoe changed the music to the raunchy, “Drunk In Love” song by Beyoncé and began to dance for her man. She shook her ass in his face, danced in the middle of the floor, and grinded on his lap until he felt he would explode. Ramon stood to his feet, grabbed Zoe, and threw her back on the bed. He undressed in record time and made love to her like he never had before. It was more forceful, animalistic and she loved it. She had successfully seduced her man and hopefully convinced him that there was no need for him to ever visit a strip club again.