The wedding

Two weeks later, Donte got off work, went home to take a quick shower and headed for the club where Heavenlee worked. He’d spoken to her a few times since spotting her in the store and they’d been on two dates. He liked her and wanted to see her at work.

He walked in and sat where Heavenlee suggested he should sit. He watched the other girls do their routines and waited patiently for Heavenlee to come out.

Unknown to him he had caught the eye of one of Heavenlee’s regulars and occasional dates—Thaddeus, a general ne’er-do-well looking for his next big score off of some hardworking person.

Spending some time in jail didn’t rehabilitate him; if anything it taught him to be a better criminal and not get caught. Thaddeus tapped the shoulder of one of his friends, Spencer.

“See that dude over there?” he pointed. His friend adjusted his eyes in the dim light of the club.

“Yeah, what about him?” his friend asked.

“Who does he remind you of?” Thaddeus asked and continued to look at Donte.

“I don’t know, who?” Spencer asked.

“That game app commercial guy; he used to come in here a lot,” Thaddeus said.

“But he’s White, that guy over there is Black—mixed at least…” Spencer said.

“I know, but the resemblance is too strong to ignore. Same eyes and same mannerisms.” Thaddeus narrowed his eyes and continued to watch Donte.

“I remember my mother telling me of some college White girl who got pregnant by a Black dude about thirty-five years ago. But no one knows of what became of the baby.”

“You think too much, man.” Spencer said and both men turned their attentions on the dancers. But Donte never left Thaddeus’s mind. When he set his sights on something he had to deal with it.

‘The attention to detail you have, you could be a private detective.’ His parole officer told him once. Thaddeus laughed it off. He had his hand in too many nefarious operations and didn’t want anybody in his business so he couldn’t conceive of doing it to someone else.

After Heavenlee danced Thaddeus motioned her over to his table. There was another dancer sitting on his lap. When Heavenlee got to the table he roughly pulled the dancer off of his lap and told her to get lost. She looked at him, rolled her eyes and went to find another man to entertain. Donte continued to sit and watch the other dancers until he could talk to Heavenlee.

“Hi, babe,” she said to Thaddeus.

“Go find something to do,” Thaddeus waved his hand at Spencer to leave him and Heavenlee alone to talk.

“I want you to get to know that dude over there,” he then said to her.

“Who?” Heavenlee asked and followed Thaddeus’s finger as he pointed to Donte.

Heavenlee’s heart sank briefly. She liked Donte and wondered why Thaddeus was interested in him. Did he know about her and him? she wondered.

“Why?” she asked.

Thaddeus narrowed his eyes thinking of a possible payout through blackmail.

“Just going with a rumor—rich White girl getting some big Black dick, then lying about how her baby came about.”

“Huh?” Heavenlee said totally confused.

“Just find out what you can about him and leave the rest to me. Now get,” he said and smacked her behind.

Heavenlee finished out her night and let Donte take her home.

“Hey, Jenna; don’t worry about taking me home.” Heavenlee said to one of the other dancers. Her car was in the shop and she had been relying on rides for a few days and growing weary, but thankfully Donte was there.

“You’re quiet tonight,” Donte said as he drove her home. “You were great onstage tonight by the way.”

“Thank you,” she said and remained quiet. Thaddeus setting his sights on someone was always bad news.

Heavenlee didn’t work the next night so she and Donte went on a real date. Their time together was often spent with him watching her dance. They went to a nice restaurant downtown.

“You have any brothers or sisters?” Heavenlee asked.

“I have a younger sister,” he said.

“What’s her name?” Heavenlee asked just to keep the conversation going.

“Denise Washington,”

“Really? It’s a small world. I went to high school with her.”

“You’re kidding,” Donte said.

“No. We had a few classes together,” Heavenlee said. “You have to tell her Lavonna Baker said hello. She won’t know me by Heavenlee. Hopefully she remembers me,”

“No one can forget you,” Donte said with a smile.

A week or two after talking with Bryan, Quisha laid low for as long as she could. She missed Chad but she didn’t want to deal with his family dynamics or his brother. She knew eventually she would have to face him because he still owed her money.

He didn’t frequent the club as much anymore, but Quisha had changed her days and hours in hopes of avoiding him and ignored his phone calls. Tired after a work night and studying, all she could do was shower and go straight to bed.

Just as she was drifting off a knock at the door startled her. She glanced over at her clock. Two am—who the hell? But she knew.

Chad walked in without being asked first.

“Are you avoiding me?” he asked and looked her square in the face.

“No. Why?” She asked and went and sat on the couch and curled her legs up under her. He sat across from her. He looked tired and worn down.

“What’s wrong with you?”

“Mom is getting worse; I think we may have to forgo the elaborate wedding and do something small and intimate,” he said.

Quisha narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms.

“What do your siblings think of this and of me?”

He thought a moment, treading carefully. “It’s something they’re going to have to deal with until Mom…” his voice drifted off momentarily.

“It’s not their business,” he said not long after. “I didn’t give my opinion of the people they married. My sister married a cheater—she has no room to talk.”

“You need to talk to your brother. He knows I work as a stripper and threatened to tell you,”

Chad laughed. But Quisha didn’t see the levity in that.

“He’s so scared someone is going to steal my fortune,” Chad said. “He thinks you’re a gold digger. You won’t be the first of my girlfriends he tried to chase away. Let me handle him.”

“I didn’t like how he spoke to me,” Quisha said.

* * *

A few days later

“So, you’re going to go through with it?” Bridget asked about the marriage.

“Yeah, I thought it through over and over,” Quisha said. “I mean, what harm can it do? People get married and divorced all the time. At least we know it’s for show and nothing more.”

Bridget shook her head.

“I don’t know,” was the last thing Bridget said to Quisha before she got married.

It was a small ceremony with his siblings, his mother, Bridget and Heavenlee. It was held in his mother’s garden on a bright pretty summer afternoon.

“Don’t you think you should have told your mother?” Bridget said, just before the ceremony.

“Tell her for what?” Quisha asked. “After I get my money and an annulment she doesn’t even have to know.” She sat in the mirror while her cousin did her hair. She applied her own makeup; she had months of experience working in the club.

“You look so pretty, Cuz,” Bridget said and stood back to admire her handiwork.

Quisha wore a formfitting dress from a secondhand store. She didn’t see the point in paying a lot of money for a brand new dress. But she did splurge on a pair of silver five-inch open-toed pumps and even then Chad was still a good head taller than her.

As the wedding march played she was in a dreamlike state as she marched up to her groom. He stood motionless with an expression she didn’t understand. The minister administered the vows. Chad and Quisha repeated their vows and the minister said, “You may now kiss your bride.”

Chad tilted his head and kissed Quisha. He drew back and they looked briefly into each other’s eyes and then he kissed her again. A feeling neither understood washed over them.

The minister took them each by the arm and turned them towards their guests. By all intents and purposes the marriage was real and their family clapped happily for the bride and groom—but the bride and groom were both lost in their own thoughts.

Quisha and Chad mingled with their guests and thanked them for coming.

“So, where are you going for your honeymoon?” Gretchen asked as she took a bite of cake and looked at Chad.

“Hawaii,” Chad said and glanced at Quisha to keep her quiet. They had never discussed the honeymoon because they weren’t planning on taking the fraud to that level. A few hours later the small reception ended, leaving Chad and Quisha alone in her apartment.

“Why didn’t we go to your mansion?” she asked as Chad loosened his tie.

“Because I have nosy neighbors who knew I was getting married and should be on my honeymoon,” he said and took off his suit coat and sat on her couch.

Quisha had been to his mansion a few times; it was as she expected—a man’s lair, with dark colors, and modern furniture with hard lines. It certainly needed a woman’s touch.

“This is a little ironic,” Quisha started. “I mean, you didn’t want to get married, yet now you are married.”

“I know,” he said. “My mother is dying. I was backed into a corner.”

Quisha dropped the subject knowing it was tearing him apart.

“Are you hungry or something?” she asked.

“No,” he said. He put his head in his hands and then reclined back against the couch. He watched Quisha struggle to unzip her dress for a few seconds before getting up to assist her.

“Here, let me,” he said and unzipped her dress.

“For all that it’s worth, you were a beautiful bride,” he said.

“What are you doing?” she asked as he lightly kissed her cheek and then her neck. He didn’t answer. She turned around and looked up into his face. Quisha viewed Chad as a business agreement at first, but looking up into his face and him looking down into hers—feelings washed over both of them. Was it love, lust, loneliness? They had fallen for each other and this time it couldn’t be denied.

He bent his tall frame down and brushed his lips over hers. She shuddered slightly at the sensation. She melded into him, becoming one with the heat of his body pressed against hers.

The kiss was sweet and unintentional, which made it hot as their emotions caught up with the physical aspect of what they were doing to each other. His tongue sought hers as he undid her bra and he then moved his hands slowly down to her hips where he slid off her panties.

“I don’t want you dancing at the club anymore,” he said against her ear and unzipped his pants.

“What?” she said breaking the spell.

“You heard me. For the time being anyway,” he said and reached for her again.

“Already wielding your husbandly rights,” she said snidely and let him kiss her again.

“Get used to it,” he replied then ushered her back to her room.

“You’re in for a rude awakening. I have a hard time taking orders from men,” she said.

“But you don’t have a hard time shaking that ass for men,” he retorted.

“Leave my apartment—now,” she said and pointed towards the door.

Instead he finished taking off his clothes and climbed into bed.

“It’s been a long day and I’m not going anywhere,” he said.

During the night he rolled over on top of her.

“I was being an ass earlier. I’m sorry,” he said and spread her legs.

Something took over them and before she knew it, she was calling out his name with each thrust. She dug her nails into his back as she came.

* * *

The next morning the newlyweds stayed in bed. Chad put an arm under his head and stared at the ceiling. Quisha propped herself on her right side and stared at her husband.

“I think we should lay low for our honeymoon,” he said. “What’s for breakfast?”

“How about you get it yourself?” she half joked.

“No point in having a wife then,” he teased back.

“I’m kidding,” she said and went to get up but he pulled her back into bed.

“I’m going to make the most of this,” he said and buried his face in her neck.

“So am I,” she said and kissed him.

* * *

When Jessica found out that Chad had gotten married she hit the roof. She knew he had other women, but she also knew she was his main one and ignored it. When she found out that he had married a Black stripper words could not begin to tell how she felt. Within minutes of finding out he was married she called him up. He answered, knowing what was coming next.

“You miserable bastard!!” she yelled into the phone. “You lead me on for two years and you conveniently married a…”

“Don’t say it,” he warned.

“A filthy stripper,” she sputtered.

“It’s not what you thi—” He was cut off.

“Go to hell, Chad!” she said and hung up on him.

“Who was that?” his brother asked. They had gone to look at some property his brother was interested in purchasing a week after his honeymoon.

“Jessica.”

“Oh boy—she should kick your ass,” his brother said and laughed.

“I’m sure she will eventually,” Chad said dryly.

“So, how was your honeymoon?” his brother asked.

“How do you think?” Chad responded.

“I’m sure it was pretty, um, interesting. Bet she knows all the tricks and trades…”

“Don’t talk about her like that,” Chad said, irritated.

Bryan looked at Chad before they went to inspect the property—but his response was duly noted.

“Just make sure you always keep it wrapped up before you play,” Bryan said as he got one more dig in.