The Facade

Chapter 34

"This is absurd." I shook my head as I turned away from Marlon. "That's impossible."

"It's very possible and it's happening right now." Marlon walked up behind me. He placed his hands on my shoulders. "I never thought I'd feel this way about a girl until I met you."

"That's bullshit." I used his favorite curse as I wiggled out of his arms. Marlon was amused by my demeanor. I pressed my back against a wall with crossed arms.

He grinned, then stepped toward me. "See you even use my profanity now."

"I always cursed." I squinted up him. As I lifted my chin my lips got dangerously close to his. His body was dangerously close to mine.

"But not like that." He looked at me from the side of his eye. Brushing past him, I walked across the room.

"Marlon, must you insist that you're the reason for my greatness? I was great when you met me. That's why you chose me for this little circus of a marriage." As I walked past his couch, I ran my fingers along the fabric seductively.

"You were always great." Marlon stepped closer to me. "You're perfect, Rose."

I paused, gripping onto the couch. Suddenly I realized the position I was in. Marlon was now in the palm of my hand. He was the one begging. I decided I wanted to have fun with this. Want was a foreign feeling for Marlon when it came to women.

"You're confused, Marlon. I have had men." I told him. Those men didn't mean a thing to me. Still, I tried to protect my heart from Marlon. I refused to allow him to realize that I missed him too.

After I revealed that revelation, Marlon turned tense. His jaw clenched and his fingers rubbed together and fisted. He walked up to me, looking down in my eyes. "You've had other men? I thought you were over with that."

"Well, I was always allowed to have lovers." I placed my hands on my hips. "As were you."

"And I had many people over the past few days. But the last thing I expected was for you to take the chance of getting a lover, Rose." Marlon's nostrils flared. His chest rose and fell as more tension filled the room. He couldn't believe that I actually had other men who weren't him. He didn't expect me to actually do it during our little arrangement.

"Fantastic. I love being full of surprises." I smirked, resting my bottom on the back of the couch. I was beginning to enjoy having him wrapped around my finger. "Oh, and I hope you enjoyed your lovers who came through this door. I, for one, can say I enjoyed it."

"Enjoyed what?" Marlon asked through gritted teeth.

"Fucking. Every man I fucked gave me the most pleasure I've ever had. I must say, being married to you made me realize how much of a sexpot I am." I grinned. Marlon walked toward me, so I stood up from leaning on the couch. My brown eyes peered up at his, he was furious. Marlon kept walking toward me, causing me to walk backward. Suddenly my back was pressed against the wall. There was no where to go in the most delicious way.

"Rose." He said in a low growl. I lifted my eyebrows at him, my eyes looking along his lips. Then, I peered into to his eyes, lowering my chin. "How many have you had?"

"How many of what?" I asked in a sarcastically innocent tone, running my finger along his collarbone. One of his pecks tensed as he tried to control himself.

"How many men have you fucked?" Marlon asked, his eyes tensely looking into mine.

"It doesn't matter, Marlon. It's none of your business." I told him in an uppity tone. Lifting my back off of the wall, I tried to walk past him. His large hands only pressed me against the wall once again.

"Did they recognize you? Did they know you're mine?" Marlon's hands gripped onto my shoulders.

"Why would it matter? I'm sure you've had your fair share of random women as well." I squinted up at him. "Isn't that right, Marlon?"

"They didn't matter to me." Marlon's eyes got wide, his voice was laced with vulnerability. I was in his arms but I didn't belong to him. That was something that he couldn't wrap his mind around. "They were just girls."

"And these were just men." I lifted my nose. "Now if you'll excuse me..."

I began walking towards the door as he let go of me. He couldn't stand to see me walk out on him. "Wait!"

I turned toward him, placing a hand on my hip. He was a perfect mixture of anger and sexual tension. He licked his lips as he stepped forward, raising one of his eyebrows while his eyes looked me up and down. "Don't leave."

I stepped closer to him. His thumb slowly curled into the waistband of his pajama pants. He nudged at the strap, I looked down to see that he was fully hard. I looked up into his eyes, he took his thumb and rolled it along my lips to my chin "Take off your dress."

"No." I simply said. His jaw clenched again. Hearing that little word didn't go over well with him.

"You're my wife." He stepped closer to me, to the point where his body was now against mine.

"I'm your 'wife' who's leaving." I informed him. His hand opened and he gripped my whole chin, bringing my face closer to him. Then he leaned into me and gave me a deep, forceful kiss. After he pulled away, he looked down at me to see my reaction. I acted as if I wasn't ready to have him take me over that couch. "Are you finished?" I asked.

Turning around, I opened the front door. In came Eartha and James tumbling in, they were listening in with their ears pressed on the door. Both of them adjusted their clothes. Marlon stood there without ever taking his eyes off of me.

"You two have more problems than I thought." Eartha spoke, but Marlon was oblivious. He stepped forward toward me. James looked up at Marlon, placing a hand on his shoulder, but even then Marlon kept his eyes on me.

"Goodbye, Marlon." I looked back at him over my shoulder. Turning forward, I walked away from his apartment with confidence.

In the distance I could hear Eartha, "Maybe I shouldn't have told her to get a divorce."

After exiting the building, I breathed in the fresh air outside. Well, as fresh as New York air could be. Walking down the street I was determined to finish this without getting caught up in Marlon's issues.

After returning home, I opened my notepad and flipped the pages. Finally, I got to where I wrote Harry Belafonte's interview. I crossed my legs on the couch as I placed the rotary phone on my lap.

"Hello, operator?" I spoke into the phone. "I'd like to speak to Mr. Harry Belafonte."