Side Dishes - Ch. 11
The east coast, Sage repeated silently through the thick, desire-filled haze that threatened to only get thicker as Delane turned her around in his lap and began to literally feast upon her torso with loud slurping sounds that revealed his extreme hunger for her.
Yet Sage continued to repeat those three words to herself - the east coast. Just thinking about the east coast reminded her of all that had happened to her there, including salvation and giving birth to their son. A son that she was supposed to be telling Delane about right now instead of being two steps away from making love to the man.
“I can’t do this,” Sage suddenly announced, withdrawing from him completely and returning to the glass table area on shaky legs. She quickly planted her body in the nearest chair, lest she fall down from the gravity of their passionate encounter. Sage could hardly catch her breath now as it was and she had no idea how or when her shoes had come off.
“Why not, Sage? I can tell that you still want me. And you and I both know how good we are in bed together. So what’s keeping you from me?” Delane asked as he sat on the side of the bed a bit breathless himself.
Inwardly, his mind became almost consumed with jealous thoughts of Sage being in love with another man to the point that she couldn’t finish what they started. A man that she probably genuinely loved since Delane deemed the love she once professed for him just as fake as Petra’s long sculptured nails.
“God,” Sage replied softly as she adjusted her bra and buttoned her shirt back up with shaky hands. “I’m a Christian now.”
Delane looked at her in shock, before laughing in disbelief. “What kind of scam are you pulling now, Sage? I mean, I’m not a religious man, but even I know not to play with the Man up above. Furthermore, Christian women don’t behave the way you just did. At least I don’t think they’re supposed to.”
Sage’s cheeks grew red with embarrassment, her heart swelled with conviction. “No scam. I am a Christian and have been one for about four years now, despite how promiscuous I just behaved. And you’re right, Christian women and men aren’t supposed to act the way I just did. Therefore, I apologize to you and to God for setting such a poor example. I now see that old feelings, five years of celibacy, and a private hotel room don’t mix.”
It won’t happen again, Lord, Sage vowed silently, sending up an extra prayer for strength to insure that it still won’t happen tonight. After all, her gorgeous ex-husband was still in her hotel room and she still had much to tell him before he left.
“Huh? Wh…” Delane started, not really sure what to say to that. He’d never heard Sage talk this way before. Had she really changed? Was she really a Christian and had only just experienced a moment of weakness? And what was this about her being celibate for the last five years? And why did knowing that bring him such pleasure?
“But that’s not the only thing that has changed about me, Delane,” Sage continued. Then she stood up and walked towards the bed until she was standing directly in front of him.
Lifting up the bottom of her blouse with one hand while lowering the waistband of her skirt with the other, Sage said, “These were put there from carrying our son.” Her fingers pointed to the tiny stretch marks that were leftover from her pregnancy even though her stomach was still amazingly flat.
Delane’s eyes widened as they looked where she pointed. No wonder her breasts are bigger, he mused, mindful of other changes in Sage’s body. Yet he had no words to say in his shock. His passion was long gone by now.
“Delaney was the other thing I was going to tell you about tonight,” Sage continued as she re-adjusted her clothes. Then she went to her multi-colored purse and retrieved her black leather wallet that was full of photos, showing their son from infancy to the age he was now.
A still silent Delane received the wallet and flipped through it, studying the pictures for a long soundless moment as his thoughts ran rampant inside of him. There was no doubt about the child’s paternity. He looked the spitting image of a mocha-skinned, caramel-eyed Ryder male, even down to the long dimple in his right cheek.
Finally Delane looked up at Sage, but it was with accusatory eyes. Finally he had words to say, but they were also accusatory in nature. “Not only did you take my money and possessions, you also took my child away from me?” he asked with increasing bitterness weighing heavily upon him. Delane felt robbed of almost five precious years with his son.
Sage felt slapped in the face by his words. Soon her ire rose above her pain. When she spoke, her anger was apparent. “If I’d come to you sooner, you would have only accused me of trying to get child support. So I stayed away until I could take care of the child on my own, without your money.” Then her voice softened a bit as she realized that anger was not the way to go in this matter. “Now I’m trying to make restitution for what I’ve done, Delane. Doesn’t that count for something?”
“You shouldn’t have done it in the first place!” Delane nearly shouted. He stood to his feet as unforgiveness dripped from each and every word he said. Yet underneath that unforgiveness was an inferno of blazing desire as he stood so close to Sage that each inhalation gave him a loin-stirring whiff of her floral perfume. What Delane wouldn’t do for just one more taste of her?
“So you won’t forgive me for this either?” Sage asked in an almost whisper. She gazed up into Delane’s stormy eyes that now looked like a hard stick of caramel candy. Knowing that this was the second time she’d tried to get him to forgive her with very little success, Sage felt disappointment and discouragement eat at her belly again. As a result, her shoulders drooped and her eyes looked away, lest he see the pain he’d just caused her.
“No. You don’t deserve to be forgiven,” Delane retorted in a lower voice that was becoming eerily calm with each passing second as he handed his ex-wife the wallet back and moved completely away from her.
Although Delane felt sure that he could still sleep with Sage, he knew that he could never allow himself to forgive her. Doing so would make him vulnerable to her wiles again, and Delane’s wallet and his heart couldn’t afford that a second time. Fortunately, his family’s business wasn’t affected by the divorce since it was acquired before the marriage and by inheritance, which meant that Sage legally didn’t have access to it at the time of their breakup. However, all the profits Delane had made in that business while he’d been married to her had been split down the middle.
“And what about our son?” Sage persisted, looking up at him again. She hoped that Delane would at least want to be in their son’s life. Surely he wouldn’t take the money and possessions back and forget about their little boy.
“Our son will know his father,” Delane said calmly as he quickly buttoned his shirt and restored his clothes to normal.
Sage smiled with extreme gratitude and enormous relief. “I appreciate this so much, Delane,” she whispered as she watched him go towards the door.
Having heard her whispered statement, Delane stopped at the door and glared at his ex-wife. “Don’t think for one minute that I’m doing this for you, Sage,” he replied with sharp bitterness accenting each syllable, immediately causing her eyes to tear up.
Unable to remain unaffected by her pain, Delane lowered his eyes and took a deep breath to ventilate his temper and cool it down. His right hand remained paused on the doorknob since there was no way he could leave the room while Sage was hurting like this. Especially since he was the one who’d caused it.
Then tapering his voice to at least a professional tone, Delane concluded his business with his ex-wife on a more positive note. “The phone number at the house is the same, so just leave your home address and telephone number on my answering machine. I’ll get out to the east coast as soon as I can wrap up a few things at work.”
Then Delane quickly left the room, lest he surrender to the overwhelming desire to hug Sage’s pain away and then make sweet love to her all night to try to make up for all the years of pain they’d both suffered.
As he walked down the hallway towards the elevator, Delane began to acknowledge a few things about himself. One was the fact that he was absolutely still attracted to his ex-wife, now more than ever before. The second being the fact that hurting Sage still had a way of hurting him. Knowing that he was still vulnerable to her made Delane angry. The unmet need in his loins didn’t help the current situation very much, either.
********
Meanwhile, Sage continued to watch the closed door with sadness pervading her soul. Realization hit her hard that she and her mother were solely responsible for turning such a good man into a bitter soul. She could only pray that Delane's future interaction with their lively son would help to restore him back to the man that he once was.
Yet Sage continued to repeat those three words to herself - the east coast. Just thinking about the east coast reminded her of all that had happened to her there, including salvation and giving birth to their son. A son that she was supposed to be telling Delane about right now instead of being two steps away from making love to the man.
“I can’t do this,” Sage suddenly announced, withdrawing from him completely and returning to the glass table area on shaky legs. She quickly planted her body in the nearest chair, lest she fall down from the gravity of their passionate encounter. Sage could hardly catch her breath now as it was and she had no idea how or when her shoes had come off.
“Why not, Sage? I can tell that you still want me. And you and I both know how good we are in bed together. So what’s keeping you from me?” Delane asked as he sat on the side of the bed a bit breathless himself.
Inwardly, his mind became almost consumed with jealous thoughts of Sage being in love with another man to the point that she couldn’t finish what they started. A man that she probably genuinely loved since Delane deemed the love she once professed for him just as fake as Petra’s long sculptured nails.
“God,” Sage replied softly as she adjusted her bra and buttoned her shirt back up with shaky hands. “I’m a Christian now.”
Delane looked at her in shock, before laughing in disbelief. “What kind of scam are you pulling now, Sage? I mean, I’m not a religious man, but even I know not to play with the Man up above. Furthermore, Christian women don’t behave the way you just did. At least I don’t think they’re supposed to.”
Sage’s cheeks grew red with embarrassment, her heart swelled with conviction. “No scam. I am a Christian and have been one for about four years now, despite how promiscuous I just behaved. And you’re right, Christian women and men aren’t supposed to act the way I just did. Therefore, I apologize to you and to God for setting such a poor example. I now see that old feelings, five years of celibacy, and a private hotel room don’t mix.”
It won’t happen again, Lord, Sage vowed silently, sending up an extra prayer for strength to insure that it still won’t happen tonight. After all, her gorgeous ex-husband was still in her hotel room and she still had much to tell him before he left.
“Huh? Wh…” Delane started, not really sure what to say to that. He’d never heard Sage talk this way before. Had she really changed? Was she really a Christian and had only just experienced a moment of weakness? And what was this about her being celibate for the last five years? And why did knowing that bring him such pleasure?
“But that’s not the only thing that has changed about me, Delane,” Sage continued. Then she stood up and walked towards the bed until she was standing directly in front of him.
Lifting up the bottom of her blouse with one hand while lowering the waistband of her skirt with the other, Sage said, “These were put there from carrying our son.” Her fingers pointed to the tiny stretch marks that were leftover from her pregnancy even though her stomach was still amazingly flat.
Delane’s eyes widened as they looked where she pointed. No wonder her breasts are bigger, he mused, mindful of other changes in Sage’s body. Yet he had no words to say in his shock. His passion was long gone by now.
“Delaney was the other thing I was going to tell you about tonight,” Sage continued as she re-adjusted her clothes. Then she went to her multi-colored purse and retrieved her black leather wallet that was full of photos, showing their son from infancy to the age he was now.
A still silent Delane received the wallet and flipped through it, studying the pictures for a long soundless moment as his thoughts ran rampant inside of him. There was no doubt about the child’s paternity. He looked the spitting image of a mocha-skinned, caramel-eyed Ryder male, even down to the long dimple in his right cheek.
Finally Delane looked up at Sage, but it was with accusatory eyes. Finally he had words to say, but they were also accusatory in nature. “Not only did you take my money and possessions, you also took my child away from me?” he asked with increasing bitterness weighing heavily upon him. Delane felt robbed of almost five precious years with his son.
Sage felt slapped in the face by his words. Soon her ire rose above her pain. When she spoke, her anger was apparent. “If I’d come to you sooner, you would have only accused me of trying to get child support. So I stayed away until I could take care of the child on my own, without your money.” Then her voice softened a bit as she realized that anger was not the way to go in this matter. “Now I’m trying to make restitution for what I’ve done, Delane. Doesn’t that count for something?”
“You shouldn’t have done it in the first place!” Delane nearly shouted. He stood to his feet as unforgiveness dripped from each and every word he said. Yet underneath that unforgiveness was an inferno of blazing desire as he stood so close to Sage that each inhalation gave him a loin-stirring whiff of her floral perfume. What Delane wouldn’t do for just one more taste of her?
“So you won’t forgive me for this either?” Sage asked in an almost whisper. She gazed up into Delane’s stormy eyes that now looked like a hard stick of caramel candy. Knowing that this was the second time she’d tried to get him to forgive her with very little success, Sage felt disappointment and discouragement eat at her belly again. As a result, her shoulders drooped and her eyes looked away, lest he see the pain he’d just caused her.
“No. You don’t deserve to be forgiven,” Delane retorted in a lower voice that was becoming eerily calm with each passing second as he handed his ex-wife the wallet back and moved completely away from her.
Although Delane felt sure that he could still sleep with Sage, he knew that he could never allow himself to forgive her. Doing so would make him vulnerable to her wiles again, and Delane’s wallet and his heart couldn’t afford that a second time. Fortunately, his family’s business wasn’t affected by the divorce since it was acquired before the marriage and by inheritance, which meant that Sage legally didn’t have access to it at the time of their breakup. However, all the profits Delane had made in that business while he’d been married to her had been split down the middle.
“And what about our son?” Sage persisted, looking up at him again. She hoped that Delane would at least want to be in their son’s life. Surely he wouldn’t take the money and possessions back and forget about their little boy.
“Our son will know his father,” Delane said calmly as he quickly buttoned his shirt and restored his clothes to normal.
Sage smiled with extreme gratitude and enormous relief. “I appreciate this so much, Delane,” she whispered as she watched him go towards the door.
Having heard her whispered statement, Delane stopped at the door and glared at his ex-wife. “Don’t think for one minute that I’m doing this for you, Sage,” he replied with sharp bitterness accenting each syllable, immediately causing her eyes to tear up.
Unable to remain unaffected by her pain, Delane lowered his eyes and took a deep breath to ventilate his temper and cool it down. His right hand remained paused on the doorknob since there was no way he could leave the room while Sage was hurting like this. Especially since he was the one who’d caused it.
Then tapering his voice to at least a professional tone, Delane concluded his business with his ex-wife on a more positive note. “The phone number at the house is the same, so just leave your home address and telephone number on my answering machine. I’ll get out to the east coast as soon as I can wrap up a few things at work.”
Then Delane quickly left the room, lest he surrender to the overwhelming desire to hug Sage’s pain away and then make sweet love to her all night to try to make up for all the years of pain they’d both suffered.
As he walked down the hallway towards the elevator, Delane began to acknowledge a few things about himself. One was the fact that he was absolutely still attracted to his ex-wife, now more than ever before. The second being the fact that hurting Sage still had a way of hurting him. Knowing that he was still vulnerable to her made Delane angry. The unmet need in his loins didn’t help the current situation very much, either.
********
Meanwhile, Sage continued to watch the closed door with sadness pervading her soul. Realization hit her hard that she and her mother were solely responsible for turning such a good man into a bitter soul. She could only pray that Delane's future interaction with their lively son would help to restore him back to the man that he once was.
© 2006 Suprina Frazier
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