Love With A Younger Man Read online

  I felt the walls closing in on me and had to get out of there. I grabbed my clothes and hastily dressed. A moment later, Richard walked back into the bedroom. When he saw me fully clothed and pulling on my shoes, a look of confusion filled his face.

  “Where are you going?”

  “Home.”

  “Why? What’s wrong, Amber?”

  Obviously, he had no idea that I’d heard the entire conversation he’d just had with his buddies.

  “At this point, it might be a lot easier to tell you what’s right.”

  “What are you—you overheard us talking, didn’t you?”

  “Every last damning word.”

  “Our relationship may have started out as a bet, but I do love you, and I’m beyond happy I took the dare.”

  “If I believe that, you’ll be selling me a bridge next!”

  “You know that’s not so,” he said, reaching for me.

  “Tell that to someone who doesn’t sell real estate for a living,” I said, pushing him out of the way as I headed toward the door. I grabbed my purse and slammed the door behind me just as my pent-up tears began to sluice down my face. Even though I knew I was doing the right thing, I still felt as if I were throwing away the best thing that had ever happened to me. I couldn’t have been any more miserable. I loved Richard with my entire being. I never knew the extent to which I could love a man before him. But I was tough. I could get through this. Hadn’t I pulled myself through worse things?

  I reached the elevator and punched the button to go down. As I waited, I pulled out my cell phone to call for a taxi.

  “Why did you run out on me?” Richard said behind me.

  Afraid to meet his eyes, I half-turned to face him, trying to act strong. Too bad my heart was working on its own game plan and had accelerated at the sound of his voice, causing me to have this terrible desire to rush back into his loving arms.

  “It’s the best thing,” I said, trying to keep the raw emotion from my voice.

  “How can you say that? I thought we had something others would kill for.”

  “All based on a lie.”

  “Initially. But I would have gone over to talk to you even if they hadn’t dared me to. I fell in love with you at first sight.”

  I turned away, trying to drown out his words and control my tears. Too bad it was all a losing battle.

  “Amber, can a kiss lie? Can’t you tell how I feel about you by my touch?” he asked. I couldn’t face him. I knew I’d be lost if I looked into his sexy blue eyes.

  Richard grabbed my shoulders and spun me around to face him. “Look at me! Tell me you don’t love me. If you can honestly do that, I’ll walk away.”

  I couldn’t miss the emotion in his voice and slowly lifted my head. I gazed into his deep blue eyes. They were sad and misty. I tried to speak, but nothing came out, giving him hope.

  “You love me, too. I know you do. Give me the chance to prove my love. If it doesn’t work out after,” he stuck out his bottom lip in thought, “let’s say in about fifty years or so, you’re free to move on.”

  I threw my arms about his neck. “Oh, Richard, I do love you so.”

  “Then marry me—tomorrow. The hell with long engagements!”

  I nodded yes, and he hungrily covered my lips with his. Inadvertently, I’d hit the dial button on the phone and the taxi dispatcher answered. Richard heard the voice and said, “We won’t need a taxi now. Sorry.” He closed the phone and whispered, “Now where were we?”

  An apartment door opened and a white-haired old lady with a shopping cart in tow emerged. When she saw us kissing, she said, “Ew, get a room.”

  I glanced at her, noticing that she hadn’t really hidden her eyes through the spread fingers of her hands. I got the feeling she was ogling Richard. Who could blame her?

  We kissed our way back into his apartment and closed the door behind us. As I ran my hands down his broad back and gently stroked his handsome face, I wondered how I could have found the strength to walk away from Richard and leave behind the love we shared. He was right about one thing: our love was indeed special. It was the kind that people seek, but only a few find. When he held me in his arms, I felt like the most beautiful woman in the world. He had the power to make me feel so alive. All he had to do was touch me, and I could feel my blood coursing through my veins awakening all my senses that had lain dormant for way too long.

  Richard swept me up, as if I were weightless, into his strong arms and carried me back into his bedroom. He set me down on the bed and dropped down next to me. He merely looked at me for one long moment, kissing me with only his eyes. “If only you knew how much I adored you, lady…”

  I ran my hand down the side of his face. “I think I do.”

  Then, his lips covered mine. The kiss was slow and thoughtful, but powerful enough to send shivers of desire racing through my body. I never wanted a man as much as I wanted Richard. I gave myself freely to the passion that was quickly building between us.

  Suddenly, my clothing had become a restraint. I undressed quickly as Richard slid off his jeans. I welcomed him into my body and was soon lost in the hot tide of passion that raged through us both—abandoning myself to a whirl of sensation that finally exploded in uncontrollable pleasure.

  Lying in bed afterwards, Richard took ten years from my life when he said, “We can’t get married tomorrow.”

  As crazy as it may seem, the first thing that went through my mind was that he’d changed his. Speechless and terribly hurt, I turned and shot him a blank stare.

  When he saw the look on my face, he exclaimed, “Babe, just empty whatever’s going through that beautiful head of yours, right now!”

  I exhaled audibly. I hadn’t even realized I was holding my breath.

  “What I meant to say, was that I don’t want to get hitched in front of a Justice of the Peace. I’m going to be the happiest guy in the world when I marry you, and I want a real wedding where all our friends can see and share my happiness.”

  “Is that what you really want?” I asked.

  He bent down and kissed me. “More than anything, baby.”

  ***

  The following day, when I got to the office, Eve was already there talking to Ray Johnson, the real estate agent who’d been hired a few months before me. He was a nice guy who dressed well in expensive, tailored suits. His features, which looked as if they’d been sculpted from granite, gave him a rugged, outdoorsy look, which the ladies found most appealing. Aside from being charming, he spoke in a soft baritone, which helped him sound sincere. Although he was married with three kids, I often thought he and Eve had something going on. It was just a feeling I had, nothing substantial. Since it wasn’t my business, I kept those feelings to myself.

  I dropped my purse into my desk drawer and went over to the coffeemaker to pour myself a cup. Still radiating with happiness, I walked over to Ray’s desk.

  “Good morning!” I blurted out.

  “Well, aren’t you the happy camper this morning,” Ray said.

  “Win Lotto?” asked Eve.

  I laughed and gave my usual reply. “Don’t you have to play to win?”

  “Okay, so it’s not Lotto. What gives?” asked Ray.

  “I’m getting married!”

  “Geoffrey finally got some sense knocked into that stupid head of his?” Ray said.

  “That’ll never happen,” replied Eve coolly.

  “It’s Richard, the corporate lawyer. I know I’ve mentioned him to you, Ray.”

  “Oh, yeah, I remember now. Congratulations.”

  “When’s the big day?” Eve asked.

  “We didn’t pick one yet. Still in the planning stage.”

  “Well, let us know so we can clear our schedules,” Eve said, as she put her arms around me and gave me a hug. “I’m so happy for you, hon.”

  “Thanks. What’s going on in the realty world?”

  During the next forty minutes, Eve brought us up-to-date on some new listings th
at had just come on the market. Ray gave us a rundown on the progress he’d made in trying to sell a house on Belvedere Drive. It was in a swanky neighborhood and would bring in a pretty penny. I didn’t have much to report. I’d made some appointments for the afternoon, but I had nothing new on the market.

  My phone rang, and I walked over to my desk to answer it. “Black Diamond Realty. Amber Martin speaking. How may I help you?”

  “So you’re calling yourself Amber Martin now,” a man’s raspy voice said, immediately turning my blood to ice. I knew that voice. How could I ever forget it? It had haunted my dreams for years and still did from time to time. How did he find me?

  “What do you want?”

  “Is that how a loving daughter speaks to her father?”

  “Father? Don’t make me laugh. You don’t know the meaning of the word. I have nothing to say to you,” I said and was about to slam down the phone.

  “Don’t hang up—at least, not before we do plans for lunch,” he said and began to laugh at his own joke.

  “I brought lunch,” I deadpanned.

  “Don’t you want to see your dear old man?”

  “No. I have nothing more to say to you.” I was trembling, as if I’d plunged into a pool of icy water, but a fine coating of perspiration broke out over my entire body.

  “I wouldn’t hang up, girl, if I were you,” he threatened.

  “I’m not a scared child anymore. There’s nothing you can do to me.”

  “Ah, but you’re wrong. Besides, you have something of mine.”

  “I’ll gladly return your money. In fact, I’ll double it,” I generously offered.

  That caused him to laugh. I hated his hideous laugh. “You bet that sweet ass of yours, you will. And then some.”

  “I’m done tricking for you.”

  “That so? What would your high and mighty boss do if she saw some pictures of you doing nasty things to men?”

  “You wouldn’t!”

  I looked up and saw two pairs of eyes watching me. I couldn’t continue talking to my father in the office.

  “I need to call you back.”

  He snorted into the phone. “Like you ever would. No need. I’m right downstairs in the lobby of your fancy building. If you don’t come down in ten minutes, I’m coming up to introduce myself.”

  I felt my throat close. My entire world was about to unravel. What had taken me years to build, my father was going to destroy in only minutes. Somehow, I had to find a way to stop him. Eve was coming toward me.

  “What’s wrong, Amber?” Her face was a mask of concern.

  I’d just die if she found out about my past and my father. A fine woman like her wouldn’t understand. “Nothing,” I said, shaking my head. “I have to go out. I’ll be back.”

  “Whatever it is, I can help,” she replied to my back.

  I’m afraid not this time, I thought.

  I took the elevator down. My hand shook as I pressed L. The elevator door opened and I walked toward the front door as if I were going to my own execution.

  “You never thought I’d find you, did you, pumpkin,” he said, stepping in front of me. He’d gotten heavier; his barrel of a stomach looked inflated. His moon-shaped face wore the same nasty smirk I’d remembered, but his flat nose looked a little more off-kilter and his mustache had gone gray. “Nice coverage of that charity dinner you attended. You married to that player in the picture?”

  “What do you want?” I asked him, but he simply ignored my question.

  “My darling little Keisha, all grown up now and rubbing shoulders with the high and mighty. And selling real estate. I’ll bet you make lots of dough. Just look at you, strutting around in fancy duds just like some fashion model.”

  “What do you want from me? I have a new life now. Can’t you just go and leave me alone?”

  “You know I couldn’t do that.”

  I knew my father always had a nose for greed. Somehow, I had to play on that and get him to go away. I opened my purse and took out my checkbook. “Here’s the hundred dollars.”

  “That’s piss money compared to what you’re worth.”

  I decided to be blunt. “What will it take to make you go away?”

  He scratched the two-day growth of salt-and-pepper beard on his round face. “Hmm, I’d say…a million.”

  “Are you crazy? I don’t have that kind of money.”

  “A smart girl like you can find a way to get it.”

  “And if I can’t?”

  “You can always work it off—”

  “I won’t trick for you.”

  He shrugged. “Then perhaps you can make some money off the pictures. I can give you a good price for them.”

  I could taste acid from my stomach. “You know, you’re a real bastard.”

  “Tsk, tsk. So fresh. Obviously, you didn’t get enough of my spankings.”

  A visual of having me get naked and lie down across his knees as he slapped me with one hand and beat his own meat with the other flashed in front of my eyes. I nearly threw up. I forced the bile back down my esophagus. “You’ve got to give me some time to raise the money.”

  “Of course. I’m not as heartless as you make me out to be. Two days.”

  “Two days? I need more time than that.”

  “Two days,” he repeated, “or else I tell your boss what a fine catch you really are.”

  I watched him walk away, wishing the ground would open up and reclaim him. The Devil must be missing him by now. The tears I’d been holding back slipped silently down my face. I brushed them away quickly as I walked outside to the coffee wagon. I needed something stronger, but a cup of coffee would have to do. I couldn’t allow Eve to see me in the state I was in. Therefore, I paid for a large coffee and took it over to the bench at the bus stop and sat down.

  I thought about the predicament I was in. Like a house of cards, my entire world had just collapsed. I had been given little choice. Even if I were able to come up with the money, my father would never let me off the hook. A shark smelling blood, he’d be back for more. This left me with only one choice.

  I had to run away again. A great deal of planning could take place in the wiggle time he’d given me. To tell the truth, I was surprised he’d given me that much time. Perhaps he felt I wouldn’t want to throw away the life I’d made for myself here and thought he’d have a sweet thing going for him. He was right about me not wanting to lose the life I’d made for myself. But he was misjudging me. I now had pride and respect for myself.

  I didn’t want to leave Richard. I loved him with all my heart and soul. However, I couldn’t tell him about my past. I doubt if he’d ever understand, let alone accept it. There had to be a clean break between us. Despite the fact that I didn’t want to hurt him, like a coward, I intended to run away without saying a word. There seemed to be no other way I’d be able to pull it off. I already knew what would happen if I told him to his face. Tears filled my eyes just thinking about him.

  Suddenly, a wave of raw fury passed over me and the desire to hunt my father down like the dog he was and kill him crossed my mind. But, I’d be damned before I went to jail for killing him.

  And Eve…how could I just walk out on her? Especially after all she’d done for me? I wanted to die. It would certainly be a great deal easier than leaving the two people I loved most in the world. Where was the fairness in all of this? Why allow me to pull myself out of the mire and achieve everything I’d wished for and more, only to cruelly rip it from me?

  I cancelled my afternoon appointments and went home to plan my escape.

  ***

  Luckily, Richard was preparing a brief for an important case and wouldn’t be around. That gave me ample time to create a false paper trail for my father to follow while I slipped away in a totally different direction. Working as a real estate agent, I’d made many contacts throughout the country. Relocating and getting another job in the field wouldn’t be too difficult.

  I intended to leave a mess
age on the office phone that I’d be out all day on showings. If I called in sick, Eve would check on me. Realizing I couldn’t just fall out of their lives without a word, I wrote two letters. In Eve’s, I thanked her for all the help she’d given me and apologized for running out on her. I couldn’t tell her why and hoped she’d be content with the letter. Deep down inside, I knew she wouldn’t, though, and felt badly about it.

  As for Richard’s letter, I doubted if the paper it was written on would ever dry. I couldn’t stop crying from the moment I wrote his name after Dear. I told him how much I truly loved him. Wishing him love and happiness, I told him to move on—exactly as I would. Right. I couldn’t tell him why I was leaving, either. Whoever said the truth will set you free was crazy or merely taking the wrong drugs!

  I’d mail the letters on my way to the airport. I’d booked a ticket for the last flight out to California. The printed e-ticket was lying on the counter alongside the letters next to my purse so I wouldn’t leave it behind. I crammed whatever I could into my luggage and piggy-backed the suitcases together so I could roll them out easily. Before I left my bedroom for the last time, I looked around the room to see if I’d left anything of importance behind. My eyes fell upon the bed. I imagined Richard reclining on his side smiling up at me. That brought a fresh crop of tears to my eyes. At that moment, I never hated my father more and wished for him to get exactly what he deserved.

  I rolled my luggage into the foyer and took my coat out of the closet. I put it on. Then, I grabbed the rest of my stuff. Purse, letters, and ticket in hand, I opened the door to find Eve standing there.

  “Going somewhere?”

  I nearly jumped out of my skin at the sight of her. As my heart slowed, I remained speechless as I stood there and stared at her. I knew there was no way I could safely talk my way out.

  “May I come in?” she asked, and pushed her way inside not waiting for an answer. “Farewell letters?”