The next fourteen days flew by as the Finley Sisters made arrangements for what was sure to be the baddest, livest, and crunkest vacation the world had ever known.
June was one of the hottest months in Texas, and the girls couldn’t wait to strip down to the barest essentials and tour their cruise ship with a piña colada in hand, sporting rubber flip-flops that smacked the bottom of their newly manicured feet. They couldn’t wait to see Mexico and dive into the pristine blue waters along the foreign coastline.
Mona planned to get things as steamy as possible on the boat, but she already had things pretty steamy in her condo in Austin. The day before their ship was to set sail, Mona had a ravenous pharmacist between her legs, and he was munching so expertly, she would’ve sworn he took classes on the fine art of cunnilingus.
Dennis wasn’t the best guy to call if she needed her brakes changed or wanted a stout fellow to accompany her to the beach, but when it came go licking the kitty, Mona couldn’t think of too many men who did it better.
It was 9:37 p.m., and the stars were shining brightly through her bedroom window on the eighteenth floor. Mona’s condo smelled liked buttery vanilla from scented candles still smoldering in the bathroom. Her bed sheets smelled of passion fruit with the underlying fragrance of Burberry cologne. From a stereo in the living room, the Isley brothers crooned about love lost and a mystical place called Atlantis.
Mona’s night was perfect, from their dinner at Finn & Potter on East Fourth Street to her sensual sponge bath ten minutes ago. But none of that compared to the magic Dennis worked with his tongue when he was really in the mood to please her. He sucked her labia like taffy, inserting a stiff tongue every now and then. He licked her hard enough to make Mona squirm, but he never lingered in the same spot long enough for her to hump his face out of sheer desperation.
She held onto his ears like handle bars, loving every sensation he brought her. She didn’t have to guide the action because (unlike every other aspect of their relationship) Dennis was in full control when he had her juice box in his face. He knew that when he flattened his tongue and licked slowly, he could make Mona gnaw on her bottom lip in anticipation. He flicked his tongue like a serpent to make Mona’s left leg tremble. The faster he licked, the more she spasmed.
The feel of his hot exhalations on her pubic hair made Mona squeal. She climaxed within a couple of minutes. She stared between her legs, and Dennis watched her eyes until she closed them and let her head fall slowly to the pillow. Even as her vaginal walls contracted around his tongue, Dennis never slowed up.
“I love the way your cum tastes,” he whispered, and this must have been true because he slurped her sweet juices like a kitten lapping the last traces of milk from a dinner bowl.
Dennis didn’t make his way to her clitoris until Mona was on the verge of tears. He licked it until she arched her back and cried out in pleasure. He wrapped his lips around the hardening organ and sucked with increasing pressure when her ass started to slide across the mattress.
Mona thought she might pass out from an overdose of bliss, but Dennis slipped two perfect fingers inside her while he sucked, and she was wide awake again. She stared between her legs, wanting to express her gratitude in some way, but she couldn’t get the words out. So instead of offering a compliment, Mona squeezed his ears tighter and rode his face and hand for what felt like a heavenly half hour.
When Dennis finally backed away and pulled his boxers off for the real sex, Mona was positive she could take no more. Her bare chest, slick with sweat, rose and fell erratically. Her head swam. She didn’t smoke, but she wanted a cigarette. She wanted to go to sleep. What she didn’t want was some five-inch dick that would pale in comparison to the marvels of Dennis’ tongue, but he mounted anyway, and Mona realized she was wrong on all accounts.
She still had another level of ecstasy heretofore unexplored. And what Dennis lacked in length and width, he easily made up for with technique and dedication.
The stereo in the living room went through another three songs before Dennis finally had an eruption of his own. He was so exhausted by then, he barely had the strength to roll to his side of the bed. He lay flat on his back, staring vacantly up at the ceiling with his mouth slack. His cheeks glistened in the moonlight. Mona knew his jaws would be sore in the morning.
“Wow,” she panted. “That was awesome. What, what’s the occasion? Is it my birthday or something?”
“No,” Dennis said. “It’s my birthday, remember?”
“Oh, yeah,” Mona said. “Happy birthday, baby…”
***
Two hours later Dennis stepped out of the shower in the wee hours of the morning. He dressed quietly while Mona lay motionless, wrapped like a baby in the sheets. She was still grinning, relishing the afterglow of their lovemaking.
Mona knew Dennis had to open his pharmacy at 7 a.m., so she wasn’t concerned with him leaving. He had a key to her condo, and she didn’t have to get out of bed and walk him out.
When he was fully dressed, Dennis came to the side of the bed to kiss her goodbye, but then he crossed the room and, much to Mona’s dismay, he turned on the lights. She immediately rolled away from the brightness, burying her face in the pillows.
“What are you doing?” she moaned.
“Check it out,” Dennis said. He was on her side of the bed again. “I wanna show you something.”
Mona didn’t have to do anything but roll over and open her eyes, but that was too much of a hassle. “I’m tired,” she whined. “Show me later.”
“No, you need to see this now,” Dennis informed. “It’s important. It’s the most important thing ever.”
Mona sighed and rolled over reluctantly. She pulled the covers from her face and stared at him groggily. Her eyes widened a little when she saw what he had, but it wasn’t the sudden excitement Dennis was hoping for.
The pharmacist was kneeling on one knee. He held a small jewelry box like an offering. The ring inside was nice, but Mona needed a rock twice as big if she was going to take herself off the market. But the thing about that was, Mona wasn’t ready to take herself off the market—not for a guy like Dennis.
She hoped this was just some silly anniversary she forgot and Dennis wasn’t stupid enough to do what it looked like he was about to do, but his dopey grin told her he was, in fact, that stupid.
“Mona, I want to get married. I want us to… Will you marry me?”
He was so pathetic Mona almost started laughing—literally. She had to put a hand over her mouth and clear her throat.
“Um, no, Dennis. I don’t think we, I mean, no. That’s not a good idea.”
She thought he would’ve been prepared for such a response, but Dennis’ smile fell like he stepped barefoot into a warm pile of dog shit.
“Wh-what?”
Mona sat up on one elbow. “Come on, Dennis. You’re not serious, are you?”
He frowned. “What do you mean?”
“We’ve only known each other for eight months,” Mona said. “We never talked about marriage before. What gave you the idea I wanted to settle down?”
“I, I wanted to surprise you,” Dennis explained. “It wouldn’t be a surprise if I asked you about it beforehand.”
“But usually a girl will give you some kind of hint that she wants to get married,” Mona reasoned.
“Like what?” Dennis closed his jewelry box and returned it to his pocket.
“Like they’ll see a baby and say, ‘I can’t wait to have a family,’ ” Mona offered. “Or they’ll take you to a wedding and say, ‘I can’t wait till it’s my turn.’ I never said anything like that, Dennis.”
Mona normally wasn’t this kind when she rejected a man, but this wasn’t some random guy hitting on her. This was a proposal for marriage. And after the tongue work Dennis put in a few hours ago, Mona felt she owed him at least a soft rejection. Plus it really was his birthday.
“So, is that it?” he asked. “You don’t want to think about it or anything? Your answer is just no?”
Mona still didn’t believe he was serious. She knew she was the most awesome woman on the planet, but she never treated Dennis like he was the man of her dreams.
“Okay, let me think about it,” she said, only because it was obvious that was what he wanted to hear. “I’ll give you an answer when I get back from Mexico.”
Dennis narrowed his eyes. “You’re going to Mexico?”
Oops. “Uh, yeah. Me and my friends are going on a cruise tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?”
“I thought I told you.”
Dennis shook his head. “No. You never said anything about that.”
And that’s not a clear enough sign that I don’t want to marry you? Mona wondered. “I’m sorry.”
Dennis shook his head and made it to his feet. He lumbered across the room and turned the light off. A few seconds later Mona heard her front door open and close. Dennis even had the decency to lock the deadbolt.
Mona waited a few seconds more and then rolled back onto her side and tried to recapture some of that good sleep she was enjoying before Dennis’ awkward interruption. She thought he ruined a great night of pleasure with that proposal, but all Mona had to do was imagine his head between her legs and she felt a mighty aftershock.
“Ooh…” she cooed and squirmed, a delicious smile parting her lips. That was almost good enough to make her want to get married. She chuckled and sighed dreamily.
Yeah, right.
***
The following afternoon in Overbrook Meadows, Dawn was ready for the final phase of a plan so monumental she was calling it Operation Exodus.
When her friends left town two weeks ago, a small part of Dawn hoped their vacation plans would fizzle once everyone reconsidered the financial aspects. No way was Rene going to give her five hundred dollars and pay for half of her cruise ticket. And Mona was by no means a philanthropist. She wasn’t going to give Dawn that kind of money, either.
But the following Monday, Rene called to announce that the deal was already underway: Rene secured three cruise tickets from her cousin, and she was ready to mail Dawn a check for the five hundred she promised. Dawn almost backed out, but Rene was so happy and Henry was such an asshole. And the idea of getting on a real, live cruise ship was starting to tantalize, just a little. In all twenty-eight of her years, Dawn had never traveled past the Texas border. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to leave the entire country.
Dawn asked Rene to mail the check to her mother’s house so Henry wouldn’t see it—and God forbid find some way to cash it himself—and a few days later the funds arrived. Dawn’s mouth went dry when she opened the envelope, and her fingers trembled when she filled out the deposit slip at the bank. At that point Dawn knew she was obligated to go, and she began to strategize a stealthy escape.
Mona only sent four hundred dollars for Dawn’s new outfits, but that was a huge blessing. In fact, it was more than Dawn spent on her wardrobe over the last three years.
Shopping and packing proved to be a bit of a hassle, but it wasn’t as taxing as Dawn feared. Henry was always interested in her comings and goings, but he only became suspicious when Dawn was out of bounds. So she made every effort to stick to her normal routine.
There was a Super Target across the street from her dry cleaners, and Dawn did most of her shopping there. She left work early as often as possible so she could run over and pick up a new pair of tennis shoes, new shorts, towels, tee shirts, and pretty underwear. Over the next two weeks she bought new capris, fancy blouses, and she even found a beautiful evening gown for sixty dollars. She left the shopping bags at her mother’s house each day when she went to pick up the boys.
The hardest part was getting suitcases and other things she needed from her house. Dawn found time to do this whenever she got home before Henry, or whenever he’d leave to visit a friend or relative. Even if she only had a thirty-minute window, Dawn rushed to grab a suitcase or an armful of clothing. She’d store the luggage in the trunk of her car and unload it at her mother’s house the next day. It was risky, but after a week and a half of this, she was almost done. Henry never noticed the dozens of hangers missing from their closet.
***
On the day before the cruise, Dawn had two suitcases and a smaller travel bag fully packed at her mother’s house. The boys still hadn’t spilled the beans, and Henry was totally oblivious. The last thing on Dawn’s to-do-list was to grab a few necessities from the bathroom that would draw serious attention as soon as she took them. Plus she still had to tell Henry she was leaving.
Dawn never felt so rebellious, but she wasn’t cold-hearted at all. She couldn’t leave the country without saying a word to her boyfriend of two years. Henry’s love for her was warped, and it was even dangerous, but it was still love.
On Sunday morning Dawn woke up early and got ready for church like she normally did. After breakfast Henry went to the living room and posted up in his usual spot in front of the television. Dawn took the boys to worship the Lord, and she dropped them off at their grandmother’s house afterwards. This was nothing new except for the fact that Tim and Luther would be there for a whole week this time.
Dawn didn’t spend too much time with her sister Denisha, but she asked her to tag along when she went to pick up her last few necessities from home. Dawn knew Henry would still be there, watching sports most likely, and he would have a lot to say when she told him about the cruise.
Henry might try to prevent her from taking her things. He might raise his voice in anger, but Dawn knew he wouldn’t throw a punch if there was a witness present. Henry was big and bad in the privacy of his own home, but he had a serious fear of prison. He never jeopardized his freedom in any blatant ways Dawn could remember.
When Dawn and Denisha arrived at her home, Henry’s truck was parked right where it should be, and the sight of it made a hard, slimy knot form in the pit of Dawn’s stomach. Her knuckles grew white on the steering wheel, and her chest tightened. Denisha noticed her apprehension, but she didn’t know Henry like Dawn did.
“You all right?” she asked. “What’s the problem? You’re only going to get a couple of things out the bathroom, right?”
“Yeah,” Dawn said. “But Henry don’t know I’m leaving.”
Denisha frowned. “Why not?”
“ ’Cause I know he don’t want me to go,” Dawn said. “He might try to stop me.”
Denisha’s eyes widened. “Stop you? Stop you how?”
“I don’t know,” Dawn said. “That’s why I got you with me.”
Denisha nodded slowly, not sure she liked the position Dawn put her in. Denisha had had a couple of abusive relationships in the past, and they never ended well.
“I didn’t know Henry was like that,” she said. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I’m telling you now,” Dawn said. “Now come on. I wanna hurry up and get away from here.”
Inside the house, Henry barely looked away from the television when Dawn passed him on the way to the kitchen.
“My sister’s here,” she called. “She in the living room.”
Henry didn’t get up, but he leaned to the side and turned his head in that direction. Denisha stood stoically in the doorway.
“Hey, Henry,” she said.
He nodded at her. “What’s up.”
Dawn emerged from the kitchen with two plastic grocery bags in hand. She walked past Henry again, heading for their bedroom this time.
“I got to get something out of here,” she told him.
Henry nodded and narrowed his eyes, but he didn’t say anything. He was only wearing boxer shorts with a dingy tee shirt. Dawn knew he was upset because she brought company in the house without giving him time to throw on a pair of pants. She also knew he wouldn’t get up and follow her with Denisha standing there.
In the bedroom Dawn’s hands were shaking so badly she could barely pick up her hoop earrings from the dresser. Frustrated, she swept all of the sparking trinkets into her grocery bag, figuring she could sort it out later. In the bathroom she grabbed her curling iron, her blow dryer, and a few other toiletries.
She tried to take a couple of things from the medicine cabinet, but her fingers trembled, and she ended up dropping them in the sink. She kept looking back, expecting Henry to come and see what the commotion was, but he remained seated.
Finally Dawn decided she had everything she needed. She sighed loudly and wiped the sweat from her forehead. She planned to spend the night at her mother’s house today, and if she forgot something, she could make another trip to Target later on. She took a deep breath and returned to the living room with her heart thumping. Henry looked up at her expectantly. Denisha was still standing in the doorway.
Dawn thought maybe she should just keep walking. She could call Henry from her mother’s house and let him deal with his anger all by himself. But on second thought, she figured it was best to get it over with now. She was sure he wouldn’t do anything but yell at her, and she didn’t want him to bring his bad attitude to her mother’s doorstep. Tim and Luther were having a good time over there, and Dawn wanted to keep it that way.
“I’m, um…” Dawn paused next to the television. “I’m going out of town for a little while,” she said. “I won’t be back until next Saturday.”
Henry’s eyes widened. His face turned into something dark and ugly. Usually when he got mad, his face transformed for only a second or two, but this time it stayed that way. Dawn’s knees trembled, and she had a terrible feeling that she would be with Jesus soon. She took another step in her sister’s direction.
“What’d you say?” Henry asked.
“I’m going on vacation with my fr-friends,” Dawn said. “Rene and Mona, from the reunion.”
That bit of news pushed Henry the rest of the way from angry to pure evil. He bared his teeth and took a deep inhalation through his nose.
“Naw, you ain’t,” he said. “You need to go put that shit back. We gon’ talk.”
“It’s too late,” Dawn said. She took another step, but she was still within punching distance. “We already made plans. It’s too late to talk.”
Henry dropped the remote and put his hands on the arms of the sofa so he could push himself up. His fingers were long and strong, like talons. His thumbnail was almost completely black from an injury at work. Dawn took another step, but she saw all of this very clearly.
“Sit yo ass down right there,” Henry said and pointed to the couch.
“She ain’t gotta sit down,” Denisha said. “You can’t talk to her like she yo child.”
Dawn never had backup before, and it was a thrilling yet chilling experience. She knew she had upped the ante by bringing Denisha. Henry had no choice but to fold or add more chips himself.
“You shut yo ugly ass up!” Henry told Denisha. “This ain’t got shit to do with you.”
Denisha’s jaw dropped. “Uh-uhn!” She reached for her sister. “Come on, Dawn. You need to get the hell away from–”
Before Denisha could finish her sentence, Henry leapt from his chair and grabbed hold of Dawn with both hands. His left hand caught a huge lock of hair in the back of her head. His right hand locked onto her triceps, and Dawn’s forward progress came to a painful halt.
“OWW! LET ME GO!”
She dropped her bags and reached for the back of her head because that’s where it hurt the most. Henry pulled her hair so hard, it felt like her skull was being ripped in two.
“OUCH! HENRY, LET ME GO!”
Denisha was stunned stiff for a second, but her sister’s screams snapped her out of the daze. She rushed forward and grabbed both of Dawn’s arms.
“Let her go!” Denisha screamed. “You dumb-ass nigga! Let her go!”
Dawn was caught in a vicious game of tug-of-war. Henry’s grip on her arm was vice-like, and her hair wasn’t slipping through his fingers at all.
“STOP!” she wailed, at both of them this time. “STOP! PLEASE! LET ME GO!”
Denisha did let go because she learned a long time ago that a woman could never fight a grown-ass man. “All right,” she said, nodding her head frantically. “I bet you ain’t so bad when the police get here.”
Tears burst from Denisha’s eyes. She clawed through her purse and produced a cellphone. Before she flipped it open, Henry growled and shoved Dawn forward, hard enough to bowl both of the women over.
Dawn scrambled to her feet first, panting and crying, her hair wild like a lost child. She helped Denisha to her feet and pulled her towards the door. But Denisha yanked her arm away. She saw this scene too many times, in reality and in her nightmares, and she was sick of tucking her tail between her legs.
“FORGET YOU, YOU UGLY BASTARD!” she yelled at Henry. “You’re going to jail, nigga! Don’t nobody put his hands on my sister! I’ma kill yo ass!”
She actually tried to go after him, but Dawn grabbed her by the waist and nearly lifted her feet off the ground.
“Come on!” she pleaded. “Forget him! Just, come on!”
“Naw, Dawn! Forget this nigga! I can’t stand this punk!”
“Please,” Dawn begged. “Please, just come on!”
White flames burned behind Denisha’s pupils, but she conceded and allowed Dawn to pull her out of the house. They jumped into the car, and Dawn backed out of the driveway going way too fast. By the grace of God she didn’t plow into her neighbor’s car parked on the curb or mow down a crowd of school-age children playing touch football in the middle of the street.
***
The following afternoon in Houston, Rene was poised to be the only Finley Sister to leave town without any man problems, but fate would not allow such a thing. Blake drove her down to the boating dock in Galveston, and he couldn’t wait until Rene walked away from his car before he messed everything up.
In the past two weeks, Rene gradually forgave him for leaving her in Overbrook Meadows. In retrospect she knew Blake was right about everything: Just because he couldn’t attend reunion events all weekend didn’t mean he wasn’t in love with her. And just because they always made themselves available when it was proper to bring a date didn’t mean that was the nexus of their relationship.
The truth was Blake was an all-around great catch. He was smart and devoted and successful. He was black and proud. He was fine and handsome. He was passionate. He was a good listener and a great lover.
Blake drove a sleek, black Navigator, and he jammed a Lil’ Wayne CD on the way to the boat dock. Rene didn’t care for rap music, but she liked the way Blake got in the zone when he listened to it.
Blake’s parents were rich and so were his grandparents. He was a private school, Ivy League brat his whole life. The only time Blake went to the ghetto is when he took the wrong freeway exit, but he nodded his head and tapped his fingers on the steering wheel like he understood every problem Lil’ Wayne was singing about.
“You sure are in a good mood,” Rene noticed.
“Huh?” He looked over at her casually.
“I said you seem to be in a good mood.”
“Aw, it ain’t nothing.” That was another thing Blake did when he listened to rap music; he tried to act blacker.
“Are you gonna miss me?” Rene asked.
“Fuh sho,” Blake said. He put his free hand on her thigh and squeezed it comfortingly.
Rene put her hand over his and smiled warmly.
***
Rene saw her ship in the distance when they got close to the shoreline, and the sight of it made her heart swell in her chest. This wasn’t her first cruise, but it was the first one she would take with her sisters. She couldn’t wait to get on board.
Blake pulled into the dock with thirty minutes to spare. He hopped out of his truck and started unloading Rene’s baggage with what looked like enthusiasm. Rene barely had time to stretch her legs before he had all of her suitcases out of the trunk and a porter was rolling up to help get her things on the boat.
“Wow,” Rene commented. “You got somewhere to be?”
“Nah,” Blake said. He walked to her and gave her a big hug. “Why do you say that?”
“We’re a little early,” Rene said. “We could’ve sat in the car and talked for a minute if you wanted to.”
“What’s that?”
“We could’ve…”
Blake’s phone started to ring.
“Hold on a sec.” Blake pulled his cellular from his pocket and looked at the display. He looked at Rene, and then he turned away from her slightly. “Hello? Oh, hey. Uh… Okay, um, let me call you back, okay? All right. Bye.” He disconnected and turned back to his woman. “What was that?”
Rene’s eyes narrowed. She wasn’t the jealous or confrontational type, but sometimes shit is so obvious…
“Never mind,” she said.
Blake dropped his phone back into his pocket and went to help the porter load Rene’s luggage onto a cart. He gave the man a ten-dollar bill and tried to give his woman a kiss goodbye. Rene turned her head at the last moment, and Blake’s smooch landed on her cheek. He looked into her eyes and frowned.
“Is something wrong?”
“Is that why you’re in such a rush to get rid of me?” Rene asked.
“What’s that?”
Rene rolled her eyes. She hated doing this. It made her feel weak and insecure, even though she knew she was right. “Was that your girlfriend calling?” she asked. “Is that why you’re so happy I’m leaving?”
Blake knitted his eyebrows and then he smiled, as if finally understanding a complex riddle. “Oh, you think…” He reached for his phone. “That was my, did you say girlfriend?” He chuckled. “That was Mark,” he said. “We’re supposed to go over some numbers later on today.” He removed his hand from his pocket but didn’t come out with the phone. Instead he put two empty fists on his hips. “Are you, are you serious?”
Rene knew Mark was one of his business partners, but she was still convinced it wasn’t Mark who had just called. Blake wouldn’t have to turn his back to speak with Mark. And if he really wanted to prove her wrong, all he had to do was show her the last call on his phone.
But then again, Rene wasn’t the jealous type, and she never asked to look at his phone before. She never confronted him about any phone call that she could remember.
“Never mind,” she said and turned to follow the porter into the terminal.
“Wait, Rene,” Blake called. “Are you serious? You really don’t believe me?”
“I believe you,” Rene said, but she didn’t stop walking. She did turn and smile at him though. “Have a nice vacation.”
Blake’s frown intensified. “I’m not going on vacation. You are.”
“You get a vacation from me,” Rene said and turned her back on him for the last time. Inwardly she hoped Blake would run after her and grab her arm and refuse to let her get on the boat until she saw that it really was Mark on his phone display. She hoped he would chase her down and profess his love once again and make her give him a proper hug and a real kiss.
But he never did.