One Toe Out (A Complicated Love Story) Read online

  “It is. I guess you’re normal then,” he joked.

  “Well thanks for your stamp of approval, I’ll notify the AJC,” she quipped, then sliced her banana into little pieces and stabbed a circle with her fork and stuck it in her mouth.

  “Well damn, I have to take back what I just said, you are weird,” he teased.

  “I’m not!” Simone objected. She gestured towards the kitchen, but it really encompassed the whole house. “This place does this to me. Even though everybody has been so nice, I still feel like I need to be prim and proper and dress up just to walk around this place.”

  He stared pointedly at her breasts, pouring out of her bikini top. “Well obviously you aren’t feeling like that now.”

  She had put on one of the skimpier swimsuits Mannie had picked out for her honeymoon, since she didn’t expect to see anyone she had only thrown on a sarong and a pair of Juicy Couture flip flops. Simone boldly met Kirk’s gaze. “I guess not.”

  Just then Aleesha walked into the room. She politely acknowledged Simone, but she nearly fell over herself trying to get to Kirk and Simone watched the scene play out with amusement. She mashed her banana then sprinkled some trail mix over it.

  “Hey Kirk,” Aleesha said while sidling up to him. “So how you been doing?”

  He smiled faintly at her. “Great Aleesha.”

  “So what have you been up to?”

  “Nothing, just working, keeping busy,” he answered then focused on his sandwich, dismissing her.

  Aleesha watched him, waiting for him to say more, when she saw that he wasn’t, she turned away. “Okay then, I’ll see you later.”

  Simone and Kirk watched her skulk out of the kitchen. “Wow, that was awkward,” Simone finally said.

  Kirk groaned. “God, I know. I never should’ve slept with her.”

  “You what?”

  “Yeah, we hooked up about a year ago. It was only for a month or so, and I feel so bad because she’s still interested, but I wasn’t feeling her.”

  “Why not? She’s beautiful, smart, sweet and she got one hell of a job.”

  “Yeah, she’s all that, but she didn’t have it.”

  Simone placed her elbows on the counter and cocked her head in interest. “It?”

  “Yeah it. It’s that indescribable thing that makes a man fall in love with a lady.” He ignored his sandwich and rounded the island. “I want you Simone. You have it.” He boldly ran a finger down the front of her bathing suit, skimming between her breasts; Simone shot a furtive glance towards the door before she cupped the back of Kirk’s head and brought it to her chest. Kirk tenderly kissed her bare skin and she moaned when his tongue ran over the top of her globes. She had been dreaming about this.

  “Stop it Kirk. J.T. said that if I ever sleep with you, our deal is off. And I’m scared. That means that my mother might be disappointed in me and he had promised Lawrence a job when he got out. I can’t just throw all that away for some unknown. I have too many people counting on me,” she whispered.

  Kirk grabbed her hands and she snatched them away, he ignored it. “You know that I have money, not as much as J.T. but I do pretty well. I can’t see your mom getting upset with you for divorcing your soon-to-be billionaire husband for a multi-millionaire. And as far as Lawrence goes, I can always make a few calls, I know a lot of people, who owe me favors, I can find something for him pretty quickly,” he said in a hushed tone.

  “Even if I wanted to go with you, I can’t, J.T. would be embarrassed if we separated so soon. And I can’t do that to him, I like him and I respect him. So leave me alone.” She bolted out of the kitchen.

  Chapter 10

  J.T. pulled the Land Rover in front of Phipps Plaza the upscale mall in Buckhead where celebrity sightings were a daily occurrence. He stopped at the curb for valet service, a young man raced to his truck. “Wait hold on.” He reached into the glove compartment and pulled out his wallet. He reached into it and pulled out a credit card. “Here you go.”

  “What’s this?”

  “Your credit card. How did you expect to shop?”

  “I thought you were buying everything,” she said shyly. After all, a clothing allowance was included in the pre-nup.

  J.T. laughed. “I am. Even though the card is in your name, I’ll pay the monthly balance. The bill will go directly to Kirk for payment. This way you won’t have to ask me for money all the time.”

  She impulsively threw her arms around his neck. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” she chanted, so grateful for his generosity. Even though he was obligated to do it, it was still wonderful that he was just as excited as she.

  J.T. hugged her. “You’re very welcome. Come on let’s shop. It has an unlimited credit line, so we can shop all day.”

  “We?” Simone teased and jumped out of the SUV. “This is mine.”

  J.T. rounded the vehicle and grabbed Simone by the waist and swung her around while pretending to grab the card from her. They both laughed deliriously, looking very much like happily married newlyweds. And that was the picture that some quick thinking fan with a Smartphone sold to a celebrity blog.

  The next day the picture was all over the blogosphere with the caption: Love tackles the Jaguars’ quarterback. Back in her Buckhead office, Marcella’s eyes glittered with satisfaction when she saw the picture. “You’re doing a good job, J.T. A very good job.”

  Aleesha had met them in front of Saks. Simone had spoken with her several times on the phone, so she had imagined someone totally different from the person standing in front of the department store. No taller than five feet and weighing less than one hundred pounds, she was petite and looked barely out of her teens. She had wide hazel eyes and black wavy hair that reached her waist. She looked like she was from the Dominican Republic. She’s so fragile looking, Simone thought. In no way did she look like the person barking orders to her over the phone.

  J.T. had confided in her that he paid Aleesha eighty thousand dollars a year. He had joked that half of that was hazard pay for having to put up with Marcella. Simone knew that her high salary was partly because of Marcella, but mostly because she needed to be on call around the clock to be available for J.T. at the drop of a dime.

  Aleesha she looked as though if smoking was allowed in the mall, she’d snatch out a cigarette, Simone knew that she had one before she’d come into the mall, because she reeked of cigarette smoke.

  J.T. reached into his pocket and pulled out a wad of bills. He peeled off several one hundred bills, and pushed them into Aleesha’s hands. “Thanks for today. Are you ladies ready to shop?” He walked into Saks. “Since we’re here.”

  Two hours later, they emerged from the store, carrying only a few bags. Aleesha took the bags and headed out to J.T.’s SUV where she was going to lock their purchases up then meet them at their next stop.

  “Let’s see what’s going on at Gucci.” He grabbed her hand and tugged her along. Once people began to recognize him, they were stopped repeatedly for pictures and autographs, and being so appreciative of his fans, J.T. didn’t turn anyone down. The few minute trek to the store took three times as long. But once they were there, Simone forgot all about the delay.

  Aleesha was already there, looking relaxed and Simone suspected that she had smoked a cigarette, but when she walked by her, the scent that wafted off her, wasn’t of the legal kind.

  At Gucci, J.T. bought a pair of shoes, a couple pair of pants, and some shirts for himself. He got Simone two handbags, a python straight skirt and two bamboo thin bracelets. He also got her a diamantissima lariat necklace, which to the amusement of the staff he put around her neck right there. J.T. and Simone followed Aleesha to the SUV.

  “Let’s get something to eat then go over to Lenox. Then we’ll be done for today. I don’t want to shop too much, don’t want to encourage a carjacking,” he said and Simone understood. Times were hard, thus making people desperate and J.T. wasn’t immune to crime.

  J.T. got a booth for them at the
Lenox Square Grill where Simone had a Steak Salad and J.T. practically devoured a Chicken Philly with Sweet Potato Fries. Aleesha had begged off J.T.’s offer to eat with them, claiming that she had errands to run and that she’d meet them at Neiman Marcus in two hours.

  Simone looked up from her salad. “Thanks,” she mouthed and J.T. winked at her.

  A couple of hours later, fortified and with their second wind, they continued on their shopping spree. J.T. took her to Prada, Fendi, Cartier, Abercrombie & Fitch, Kenneth Cole, Abercrombie & Fitch, Caché, Kenneth Cole, Louis Vuitton, Michael Kors, Nicole Miller, and finally Victoria's Secret.

  Exhausted, Simone leaned back against the passenger seat. “Oh my God that was so tiring. I’ve never in my life been on an all-day shopping spree. I really did shop until I dropped,” she said incredulously while still shocked at the amount of money J.T. had spent today.

  Aleesha was on her way to J.T.’s house, they had to use her BMW as a secondary carrier since J.T.’s SUV was filled with items.

  “It was fun, I haven’t been shopping in a long time.” He took his eyes away from the road long enough to grin at her. “You’re pretty fun to hang out with.”

  “Thanks.”

  “I’m sure you probably didn’t get everything you wanted, so go back whenever you want to buy some more things.”

  “Oh, I think I got enough,” she said with visions of all her purchases dancing in her head. She reached up and stroked her Gucci necklace, enamored with the dainty piece of jewelry.

  “Are you sure you’re a lady? Here I am giving you free reign to shop with an unlimited budget and you’re turning me down, are you feeling okay?”

  Simone laughed. “I’m fine. I’m just getting used to all this money. I’m sure when it finally hits me, I’d go crazy.”

  J.T. groaned. “I’ve been warned.”

  Later that night after everything had been taken out of bags, untagged and hung up, and they’d eaten a light dinner, J.T. and Simone decided to hang out. Simone loved the time they spent at home without having to pretend to be something they weren’t.

  “Can I ask you something?”

  “Sure.”

  Simone tucked her feet under her and burrowed even deeper in the luxurious leather chair. She momentarily ignored the movie because she knew that she could watch it any time she wanted, as well as thousands of others that J.T. had stocked in his library.

  “So when did you know you that you were gay?” she asked and felt comfortable doing so. They had become friends.

  J.T. chuckled. “I know exactly when. I didn’t know what to call it; it wasn’t until years later that I knew what was happening.” He stretched his long muscled legs out in front of him. He grabbed a handful of peanuts and chucked them into his mouth. A gulp of beer washed them down. “I was thirteen-years-old and a new boy, Marcus Brown, had started at our school. He was cute, he had a low fade and was the color of cinnamon. The best part was that he was in my homeroom, and I would stare at him from seven thirty until eight o’clock when it was time for first period. I used to tell myself that I did it because he was new and I liked the clothes he wore, it wasn’t until I was sixteen when I would admit it to myself that I was gay.”

  Simone ached for teenage J.T. “Wow, that must’ve been confusing.”

  J.T. snorted mirthlessly. “Yep, here I was getting excited by my male classmates and having a crush on them and I couldn’t talk to anyone about it.”

  “Why not? It wasn’t that long ago, wasn’t your school gay friendly?”

  “Not really, they made fun of the so-called flaming ones. The girls accepted them, but not the boys; they were bullied and beat up on constantly. I even joined in,” he admitted, now ashamed of his behavior.

  “How could you do something like that? You were perpetuating gay hate and subsequently making it hard for not only you to come out but other gays.”

  “I know. And I’m so sorry. Confusion and pain, makes you do crazy things. I think about that now and it makes me sick. I really hated myself back then. I know that I can’t make it up to those kids but I make sure my foundation gives sizeable donations to organizations that try to eliminate bullying and those that try to create an atmosphere of acceptance for gay teenagers.”

  “That’s nice, I’m sure a lot of children benefit from your generosity.”

  “Yeah,” J.T. mumbled. “I’m sure.”

  Chapter 11

  The top was down on Simone’s Maserati as she headed down Interstate 75. It was one o’clock in the afternoon the beginning of May and it was already a very sultry eighty degrees. J.T. was out of town, on one of his business trips, so she decided to hang out with her mom.

  She pulled into her mother’s driveway. She was outside planting flowers, something that she had taken a liking to. Her knitting needles had been packed away in a closet. She hadn’t knitted anything since she moved into the new house. While she kept the yard at the old house mowed she never felt the inclination to do any gardening…until now. With all her diligence and creativity, her yard was shaping up to be one of the best in the cul-de-sac. An explosion of colors and fragrances were a treat to the senses.

  After Simone made a deposit of three hundred thousand dollars into Lillian’s account she decided to finish out the school year and to return in the fall to teach part time. She loved kids and no amount of money could take that away. She had a trip scheduled for Europe next month that the preparations kept her busy.

  Before Simone could step out of the car, her mother was at the door, waiting for her, she had pulled off her gloves, clasped her hands together and beamed at her. As soon as Simone stepped out of the car, Lillian threw her arms around her, as though she hadn’t seen her in months, when she just saw her just three days ago.

  “I still can’t believe how homey you made this house in such a short time,” Simone gushed.

  Not only had the house been transformed into a showcase but so had her mother. Her hair had been cut into a sleek bob, just long enough to skim her ears when she moved and long enough to pull back into a ponytail, like it was today. She had lost fifteen pounds, transforming her chubby body to curvaceous sexiness.

  Lillian led her around the side of the house to the garage where they went in and she placed her gardening gloves, hat and dirty shoes on the utility shelve. Lillian happily patted the Volvo that Simone had purchased for her and they walked into the house.

  Simone grabbed her mother’s hand and squeezed it. “Your place just keeps getting prettier and prettier every time I see it. Who knew that you were a decorator?” she gushed.

  As soon as they closed on the house, Simone and her mom had spent weeks shopping for items to furnish it with. Simone nodded towards the chandelier hanging from the kitchen ceiling. “I like that. It’s such a unique touch, who would ever think of putting a chandelier in the kitchen.”

  Lillian beamed at her daughter. “It is nice. I saw where an interior designer did it on TV and I decided why not. I ran over to Home Depot and a couple days later it was installed.”

  Simone hugged her mom. “Great job! It looks wonderful.”

  “And I’m almost ready for my trip to the Big Apple. I can’t wait to see everything and especially do some shopping for my trip to Europe. Thank you so much for treating me to the trips,” she said excitedly.

  “Aw Mom, no problem. I’m so glad that I can do it for you, considering everything you did for me while I was growing up. Have you decided who you’re bringing with you?”

  “I think I’m taking Isabelle to New York. She said that she would love to join me. And you know I’m going to Europe by myself.”

  Simone smiled. Her Aunt Isabelle was the perfect choice. She’s really Lillian’s sister-in-law, her ex-husband’s sister, but they had always gotten along. She used to live in New York and Simone was sure that she’d show her around. “Mom may I talk to you?”

  Lillian looked at her concerned. “Of course, come on, let’s sit on the deck. Give me one minute.”
Her mother reached into the refrigerator for a pitcher of sweet tea.

  “I’ll get the glasses,” Simone offered and went over to the cabinets. Gone were the set of Kmart glasses, instead Lillian had replaced them with beautifully crystal cut glasses.

  “Okay what’s wrong?” Lillian asked as soon as they got settled on the deck.

  Simone took a deep breath. “I want to get to know Kirk a little better,” she confessed.

  “How much better?”

  “I’m attracted to him, and you know…” her voice drifted off, letting her mom fill in the blank.

  Instead of answering immediately, Lillian looked out over her backyard, this was one of her favorite places, it was so tranquil. She loved to sit out at night drinking wine while reading. At her old house, she had the front porch to sit on, but between the nosy neighbors, the cars zooming up and down the street and noisy teenagers, there was no privacy. Out here on her deck, Lillian found that she could think and finally confront her past, because her future looked so bright.

  “Does J.T. know?”

  “No! And if he does, he’ll kill me. Kirk is his good friend. He told me not to even consider it.”

  Lillian took a sip of her tea before answering. “Well, maybe you shouldn’t see him,” she said carefully.

  “But I want to,” Simone protested. “I think there’s potential for something life lasting.”

  “I told you that this might happen.”

  “I know, you did. But I had no idea that I’ll meet Kirk. I never met a man like him before. He’s amazing Mom,” Simone said softly.

  “I think you should forget about him,” she said, her voice tight with an unidentifiable emotion.

  Simone shook her head. “I can’t do that!”

  “Do you want to lose everything?” she snapped.

  “But now I want more.” Simone stared at her mother. Who is this day, she wondered.

  “So you’re willing to mess everything up, because you’re in love?” Lillian scoffed. “Think very hard about what you’re doing.”