Black Jewel

Chapter 6 - Mauricio's House

Mauricio lived just off South Ocean Drive in Hollywood, Florida. His condo building was one of the most pristine in the area, Hollywood Hills Tower. Not only did this high-rise have forty one floors of impeccable residential amenities, but it also had a cinema, cigar lounge and ocean, intercostal and city views.

They pulled up to a black steel gate on the south side of the building. Mauricio waved his key fob in front of a square metal box. When the gate opened, he drove into the garage and up to the fifth floor where there was designated parking for motorcycles.

In the elevator, he swiped his key card and hit '37'. The doors opened to a private foyer. He punched in a code on the keypad next to a set of double doors. It disarmed the alarm and unlocked the doors.

Lola couldn't believe her eyes. His place was immaculate. It was sleek, contemporary and decorated in lots of Earth toned colors.

He took her bag and led her to his bedroom. He set it down on the bed and began taking off his jewelry.

"You can put your stuff in one of the drawers," said Mauricio pointing to the nightstand.

"Damn already!" she said jokingly.

"What?"

"I get a drawer. Do I get a key next?" she asked giggling.

"Slow down, girl."

Mauricio just didn't like a mess on his floor. So, he left one of the nightstands empty for his guests.

He sat at the foot of his bed and took off his shoes. She crawled up behind him and wrapped her arms around him. He turned around and kissed her.

"So, which side am I sleeping on?" she asked.

"Sleep?" he said like none of that was gonna happen.

She laughed and then asked for a towel so she could take a shower.

He led her to his bathroom, turned on the shower and got her a towel. Next, he showed her where he kept a small stash of feminine products she might need. Mauricio was smooth like that and was always prepared for his lady friends who might stop by.

Before leaving, he kissed her and smacked her on the butt.

After her shower, Lola came out in a white tank top and a thong. She took a locket out of her bag before putting it away. Then, she bent over to dry her hair with the towel.

"Damn, Baby!" he said walking into the room.

"You like what you see?" she asked shaking her butt, teasing him.

"Hell yeah."

She popped her head up slinging her hair back. She became speechless and bit her bottom lip when she saw him.

Mauricio had taken a shower in his other bathroom. So, he walked in wearing just a towel, exposing his beautifully tattooed upper body. His arms and chest were chiseled, his abs were ridiculously toned and firm and he had a serious V in his pelvic area.

"Damn, Baby! You're bad as hell," she said lustfully.

"Thank you," he said smiling, licking his lips.

She set her locket on the nightstand and climbed into bed. She watched him as he put on a pair of boxer briefs. Then, he went to get a couple of beers.

"So, what's with the necklace?" asked Mauricio.

"It was my mother's. I sleep with it for her protection when I'm away from home."

"What do you mean WAS your mother's?"

Lola was a little apprehensive about telling him because she knew the topic could be a mood kill. Also, she didn't really like talking about it or getting too personal, especially on a first date. But Mauricio made her feel comfortable enough and really seemed interested. So, she told him the story.

"She passed away when I was 18."

"I'm sorry to hear that. What happened?"

Her mom had been sick with what they thought was a common cold or the flu. But she wasn't getting any better. And being the workaholic she was, she never went to the doctor. Natalie thought she could cure herself. Until one day, she was rushed to the hospital with a fever and stiff neck. The doctors thought she might have had Meningitis, but the tests came back negative. Turned out, she had inflamed lymph nodes, which caused the stiffness in her neck. And she caught pneumonia with a slight case of asthma, which explained the fever and a slight wheeze the doctor heard. They treated her with all kinds of medicine, including antibiotics. After a few days, she seemed to be getting better. Then all of a sudden, she had a heart attack and couldn't be resuscitated.

"Damn! What happened?" he asked in disbelief.

The autopsy revealed that the hospital gave her a medication that she was allergic to and made her heart swell. Natalie's body rejected the medicine to correct the swelling. So, she had a heart attack and passed away.

"Baby, I'm so sorry to hear that," he said cuddling her.

"Thank you, but that's not the worst part."

"What do you mean?

She told him how a certain pharmaceutical company didn't properly label one of their medications. Because one of the ingredients was so minuscule, they didn't think it would make a difference. So, they didn't disclose it on the bottle. And they most certainly never anticipated that that same ingredient could cause an allergic reaction that would result in death.

"Damn. I'm so sorry to hear that. How's your pops?"

"I never met him. He died before I was born. It was just me and my mom. But she's told me stories about him."

"Well, I hope you at least sued the hell outta somebody," said Mauricio a little pissed for her.

"Yeah...both the pharmaceutical company and the hospital. They ended up settling out of court."

"That's cool." Then he tried lightening the mood. "So I know you got paid-d-d-d," he said in a funny voice.

"Yeah. I got a little something," she said giggling.

But she didn't like talking about the money. People's interest changed when they knew how much she got.

"Well, I don't want yo' money. I just want that ass," he said laughing.

"Can't tell."

"Oh, ok. So, I see you want the dick."

"And what's wrong with that?"

"Nothing."

He climbed on top of her and kissed her. He spread her legs open and began grinding on her. Then, her phone rang. She forgot to turn it off. And by the ringtone, it was her madrina. She knew Ana would keep calling if she didn't pick up.

Five minutes later, "Sorry" came out of Lola's mouth after she hung up.

She explained how close her and her godparents really were. She was the child they never had. So, they were very overprotective of her. He understood.