Chapter 79
“Come on. Let’s eat.”
Napoleon convinced Johnnie to keep their rendezvous at the chic Bel Glades Hotel. He reserved the honeymoon suite. The suite was filled with long-stemmed red roses and candles, giving the room a romantic ambiance. He knew Johnnie would be apprehensive and cold. To her, it was only a chore she had to complete. Like ironing clothes, it was something that had to be done but no pleasure was derived from it.
Napoleon didn’t want an unemotional, detached romp. He wanted her to take an active part in the interlude. He wanted her to be reckless, to throw herself into the night and be liberated from her sense of loyalty to Lucas. In short, he wanted her to want him as much as he wanted her. To him, that was the only way sex could be truly enjoyed.
Johnnie was afraid to be seen riding in his car, and agreed to meet Napoleon in the parking lot of the hotel. She remembered what it was like to ride through her old neighborhood with Earl when Billy Logan yelled “Ya whore!” at her as they rode down the street. She felt bad enough that she was betraying Lucas, but she also disregarded Sadie’s sisterly advice, which was another reason she didn’t want Napoleon to pick her up.
Johnnie was astonished by the luxurious hotel’s marbled floors and massive pillars, which stretched up to the ceiling. Without thinking, she said, “Wow.”
When Napoleon heard her, he knew she had just lowered her guard, if only a little. It was what he hoped would happen. As far as he was concerned, all women craved power, riches, and beautiful things. It was like a sweet pastry to them—hard to resist. His tool stiffened, and an almost invisible victorious smile appeared.
When the employees spoke to him using his first name, suddenly Johnnie felt like a piece of meat on a very expensive hook. Johnnie’s attitude changed and Napoleon could feel the vibe.
Stepping into the elevator, Napoleon said, “What’s wrong? Don’t you like the hotel?”
“It’s okay,” she said dryly.
Napoleon fell silent as he considered what just happened. He could tell by the sullen look on her face that she was upset because she no longer felt special. They exited the elevator on the top floor and entered the honeymoon suite, complete with his and hers bathrooms.
Johnnie gasped when she saw that the luxurious suite was full of roses. The sweet scent filled the room and she inhaled deeply. Although she didn’t want to be, Johnnie was impressed.
“Make yourself at home,” Napoleon said in a low, romantic voice. “We have all night.”
She scanned the room and was taken in by the picture window. From where she was standing, she could see the city lights of her native New Orleans. “The city is beautiful at night,” she heard herself say.
“Yes, it is,” he agreed. “Would you like to see it from the terrace, Johnnie?”
“Yeah. Why not?”
Just before walking out to the terrace, she noticed the enticing aroma of the dinner he’d ordered for them. She wondered what they were going to have—it smelled marvelous. When he opened the terrace door, a cool breeze swirled around them. The breeze was the perfect antidote to the blistering August night. New Orleans was usually an inferno in late summer.
“Johnnie,” Napoleon called to her softly. “I’m not going to bullshit you, okay? I love women, and black women in particular. Sure, I’ve had other women here. I’m not going to lie about that. But none more gracious, none more lovely, none more stylish than you.”
“Is that supposed to make me feel better about what I’m doing?” she said disapprovingly.
“Well, it’s supposed to make you feel better about me. In the business I’m in, I don’t meet a lot of honest people.”
“What makes me so special, Napoleon?”
“Your innocence,” he said sincerely.
“What do you mean?”
“You have an innocent way about you that hasn’t been corrupted, even though you’ve done some not-so-innocent things. It’s hard to explain, but it’s your innocence that attracts me, not just your beauty.”
Johnnie looked over the cement baluster to see what the street looked like from the fiftieth floor. “Everything looks so small from here,” she said.
“See, that’s what I mean, Johnnie.”
“What?” she asked naïvely.
“You say that like you didn’t realize things would appear smaller from this height. It’s like you don’t know these things or something.”
“Well, I’m only sixteen,” Johnnie said, feeling the need to defend herself.
“Yeah, but you look like a woman,” he said, turning a deaf ear to her youth. “You act like a woman. And that’s the attraction, don’t you see? You have the face and body of a woman and the innocence of a child. Men are going to want to protect you. That’s what we enjoy.”
“Protect me from what?” Johnnie asked, still looking at the street.
He turned her around to face him, then gently lifted her chin so that he could look into her eyes. When she looked at him, she could feel his powerful aura. “Anything and everything. All the evil of this world.” And with that, he kissed her. “Come on. Let’s eat.”