And here’s chapter two… Time to meet Regina. I would like to know what you think of Claudette? Also, I changed the other girl’s name to Lola so If you see anything different please let me know.

And yes, this was really long. I’ve been working on Chapter Two since November 1st.

enjoy…

Chapter 2

Of course, no matter what topic they discussed, the subject eventually turned to sex when Lola was a part of the conversation. It was as if her best friend couldn’t think of anything else. The woman even kept what she called a boink of men she wanted to sleep with.  

Regina really wanted to leave this whole scene right now, considering what had just recently happened to her, but Lola was trying to help, and Regina knew this. Claudette wouldn’t, though.

“You don’t think it’s possible to be multi-orgasmic, Claudette,” Lola said as she stuffed little pieces of bread in her mouth like she hadn’t eaten for days. “But I assure you I have achieved a level of pure sexual pleasure-“

“That’s enough!” Claudette snapped. Her wide, cold brown eyes turned to Regina and smiled wickedly. “Can’t you see, you’re making Reggie uncomfortable?”

Regina had always distrusted Claudette. At twenty-seven, Claudette had always acted as if she were too old for her own good and belittled everyone around her as if no human was more important than herself. However, in Regina’s opinion, this would explain why Claudette never had any girlfriends and a man who wouldn’t marry her to save his life.

She was a former beauty queen, and according to Lola, Claudette had won some awards when she was younger for her fabulous looks. Still, no one had ever praised her for her sparkling personality—because she had none! At five feet eight inches, with perfect ebony brown skin, one hundred and fifteen pounds, women were dying to be her size seven, especially Regina, who was a short five feet three inches, with oily to dry skin all over her body, one hundred and seventy-five and an uncomfortable size fourteen.

Yet, as beautiful as Claudette was, she seemed to dislike Regina somehow. There was always some animosity for whatever Regina did.

“We all know Regina wouldn’t do something like that,” Claudette smirked as if whatever Lola had been spouting about was good.

Since Regina had been listening with half an ear, she sat straight up, giving them her full attention. “Do what?” she asked Lola.

“A one-night stand,” Lola answered, digging in her purse to find a lighter for Claudette, who was holding a cigarette in her fingers. Since they were sitting outside the cafe, smoking was fine, but Regina still looked disapproving.

This gorgeous hunk of a Hispanic man came by, lit Claudette’s cigarette, flashed a beautiful smile to all of them and left.

“Was he delicious or what?” Lola said, following the man as he sat down with other men in suits.

Regina frowned as she looked at all the other men around the table. “I know who he is.”

“Who?” Lola asked eagerly.

“A Bellini. You can tell by their looks, and that man is one of them.”

All three women stared at the table, but Regina knew that no matter how hard they stared, none of the men would turn their way. Bellini men were untouchable but wonderful to look at.

Regina learned about them just recently when she was commissioned to design a pair of riding boots for Armando Bellini, a Chicago lawyer who was in Detroit on business. Regina’s design teacher had referred him to her, and she met with him.

At this point, he wasn’t in this meeting with the others, but she knew why the other Bellinis were in town. They were opening a brand new hotel in the Detroit area, working on creating a traveling business co-op housing district in the eastside, which is a newly anointed historic district, and setting up a meeting with one of the casinos in town for private condos, as well.

“How do you know?” Claudette asked, a bit jealous she wasn’t getting any attention.

“I met Armando Bellini just the other day, and he told me so much about his family. He’s commissioned me to do something for him,” Regina said quite proudly.

Claudette sucked rudely on her teeth, yet just as it looked like she was about to say a snide remark, Lola said, “In any case, I’m aware Regina doesn’t do that. I have been her friend for her entire life.”

“Regina won’t do that, will you Gina?” Claudette asked.

“That’s none of your business,” Regina said stiffly.

Claudette snickered, knowing the subject was touchy for Regina. “I never met anyone so terrified to take a chance before.”

Lola came to her defense. “She’s not terrified, Claudette. She don’t trust people like you do. Regina’s always been careful. Are you jealous of her or something? There’s nothing wrong with Gina; I don’t think you should make it an issue. Just because she doesn’t open her legs and mouth regularly like you do for any man who has no intention of marrying you, I don’t think it’s fair of you to get on her ass about it.”

Claudette snorted rudely. “Hell no, but you have to wonder what’s wrong with you, Regina? Haven’t you ever thought you were the biggest prune that ever lived?”

“You forget my mother’s known in the community. I can’t take chances like you and Lola can without tarnishing my mother’s reputation,” Regina retorted.

Claudette extinguished her cigarette. “You’ve never just picked up a stranger and went home with him?”

Disgustedly, Regina said, “No, and I would never do something like that.”

“Why not?” Lola inquired honestly. The subject was a very touchy one between the friends, but Lola had always wanted to know what made Regina so stuffy.

Regina shrugged, not wanting to discuss the past with Claudette, who was present. It wasn’t that she wished Claudette to think she was perfect; she just had a feeling Claudette was looking for something to sink her teeth into and use against Regina. “It’s just not in my nature.”

“And what is?” Claudette said. “Prince charming coming to kiss you from a long sleep?”

“No,” Regina seriously answered. “More like him landing in my lap with wings on his heels and a sword to fight off the evil dragon.”

Lola laughed.

Claudette didn’t think Regina’s sense of humor was hilarious. “Get your head out of the clouds, Gina.”

“Stay out of her business,” Lola defended. We’re twenty-seven years old. Gina and I have about four good years of single life before we start worrying about our clock stopping. You, on the other hand, have had four good chances, but you decided not to. Don’t you agree, Gina?”

This was definitely a salt-on-wound gibe. Regina knew about the four abortions Claudette had undergone. Three in one year with three different guys-It was hell on her body because the doctors also found a lump in one of her breasts, and she had to go through a mastectomy.

That had been Claudette’s only good news that year because the lump turned out to be non-cancerous. Claudette had gotten substantial-sized breasts in place of the ones she had to lose, which always drew almost every man’s eyes.

Regina didn’t like bringing up bad memories for people, but Lola had no problem being rude to her cousin Claudette.

“I think I should go,” Claudette said, getting up from the table, tossing a fifty down and leaving.

“She’s a bitch, I know, but unfortunately, she’s family,” Lola said, reading her best friend’s thoughts. “I feel so sorry for her at times, though. She has no friends, and I think she needs our company more than she realizes. It’s like charity when I invite her along, and then I don’t have to hear my mom nagging about being nice to the family, although that heifer’s never been nice to any of us.”

Regina felt the same way and never complained about Claudette tagging around with them sometimes. “How’s her mother been doing?”

“Aunt CeeCee is fighting to stay alive in hospice, but as much as I love her, I don’t think she’s going to make it another summer,” Lola said disappointedly. “We’ll have to go over and visit her instead of sitting down for the Easter dinner.”

Lola’s family was big on gatherings, and although Regina had a family of her own, she enjoyed spending time with Lola’s family. They felt less stressed, more relaxed, and not so concentrated on what the public would think of them.

For most of her life, Regina remembered her mother hissing, “Not in public!”

“You know, if you don’t want her around, then you just say the word, okay,” Lola said, holding her friend’s hand. “With you and Mason breaking up, maybe Claudette might not be good company.”

“It’s a change from always thinking about him,” Regina said.

Lola leaned in close to Regina. “Have you really ever thought of a casual sex encounter?” she asked quietly.

“No!” Regina said emphatically. “Do you know what my mother’s opponents would do to her if they found something like that out? This is an election year.”

Lola rolled her dark brown eyes in exasperation. “You’re always worried about what others think, Regina, especially your mother. What about you? What if there was no chance it would ever be known, or if you could just do it and get it over? Would you?”

“No,” Regina persisted.

Lola huffed. “You’re going to tell me you don’t wonder or have fantasies about meeting a tall, dark, mysterious stranger, taking him somewhere mysterious, then bumping monkeys until the cows come home. For one night, a man would be your sex slave, and you can do anything and everything with him. Think about it!”

“I don’t think about it,” Regina said emphatically. “Do you know how many diseases are floating around or the danger I could put myself in by picking up some stranger?”

“Oh please,” Lola said casually. “I do it all the time. Nice guy in the bar, whispering what he’d like to do to me in the dark is a turn-on.”

“It’s also sick, and you’re an addict anyway. I don’t know anyone else in the world who has a bucket list of men they want to have sex with.”

Lola slapped the table and cackled. “Sex is good and fun. It’s better than smoking, and it’s much better than alcohol.”

“That doesn’t make it good for you,” Regina refuted in a hiss, trying to keep her voice low and hoping no one was looking at them from the embarrassing conversation. “Especially if you’re not married.”

“Did you talk this way with Mason?” Lola asked suspiciously with a teasing glint.

“Mason told me we should wait if you must know. He was strict about even talking sexually.”

Lola snorted. “It said it when I met him, and I still believe it: Mason was gay.”

Regina chortled. “He wasn’t. He was trying to impress my mother. Matter of fact, I think he was more attracted to my mother than me.”

“Who wouldn’t be? Your mother’s a knockout, and I’m a girl. My brother says Juanita Cody is a looker, and he’s fifteen.”

Regina’s mouth dropped open. “You are too much, girl.”

“There’s nothing wrong with being a prune, Regina,” Lola said assuredly.

“I’m not a prune!” she said, slightly offended, even though she knew Lola was only teasing.

“Okay, then there’s nothing wrong with acting like one. Just like it’s nothing wrong with being a slut, but there is something definitely wrong with waiting for a man to marry you after you’ve been with him for a century.” Lola referred to Claudette, who had known her boyfriend, Ray, for about as long as the girls had been friends, but he had never asked to marry her.

“Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?” Regina snickered, only feeling slightly guilty about Claudette’s misery. Her phone chirped loudly, and she looked at the time. “Speak of the devil. My mother likely wants me to accompany her on a shopping spree.”

“Something big about to happen?” Lola guessed.

“She’s going to announce her bid for city council in two days.” Regina put down twenty on the table.

Lola handed her back the money. “Claudette paid enough for the both of you. Get out of here, kid.”

Regina kissed her friend’s cheek before leaving. The valet brought around her green Ford Focus, giving her the strangest look, and Regina drove over to her mother’s office in the New Center Area.

The attendant most likely wanted to know about the special windshield she had in her car.

Juanita was getting out of a meeting with the New Center Chamber of Commerce and waved excitedly at her daughter as Regina tried not to draw attention to herself. Her mother had a smile that could melt the heart of any iceberg. It was wide, warm, and welcoming, and Regina wished she could beam like that.

With rich caramel brown skin, vibrant and clear, Juanita was an inch shorter than Regina, but what she lacked in height, Juanita made up for in a wonderful personality. Her mother was perfect for political office. When discussing business, Lola sometimes told Regina she looked like Juanita, but Regina didn’t think so.

“I want you to meet my daughter, Regina, Mr. Roscoe. She’s a clothing and accessories designer. Regina, give him one of your cards. She’s great at men’s clothing,” her mother said, pushing away a cowlick from her new Halle Berry semi-shorn hairstyle. “You should think about a fine-tailored suit, Mr. Roscoe.”

Regina always tried not to look embarrassed, as her mother tooted her daughter’s horn as if Regina were God’s gift in tailoring and designing.

After her mother dragged her around the office to meet everyone and pass out business cards, Juanita finally took her daughter into the privacy of her office. She hugged her as if she hadn’t seen her in forever.

They’d just had lunch yesterday.

“How have you been, Gina? You look well.” Juanita kissed her forehead.

“I look fat, mother,” Regina complained.

“You’ve been around Claudette again, I can see. Why does that woman make you think about your weight all the time? I can assure you, while she was under the knife to get those boobs done, she had her waist taken in and that fat removed from her thighs,” Juanita declared, grabbing her purse and motioning her daughter to follow her.

“Because she doesn’t sit right in my soul, and I always feel I must compete with her physically.” Regina quickly changed the subject. “says, “Where are we going today?”

“Great Lakes Crossing. I brought an extra pair of walking shoes for you. I need a dress for the upcoming ball to raise money for the foundation, and I thought you’d like one, too, since you’ll be coming. It’s a great networking opportunity.”

Since Regina started her own business, Juanita had been constantly looking out for her daughter; her mother made it her mission to ensure everyone knew about her daughter.

When they were in the limousine on their way to the largest mall in Michigan, she casually asked her mother, “Do you think I’m a prune, Mom?”

Juanita pressed the tinted window that divided her driver’s and passenger’s areas to give them privacy. “Hell yes,” she answered once they needed the seclusion. “You’re the biggest prune on this earth, in my opinion.”

Regina was shocked by her mother’s response; her perplexity clearly showed on her face.

Her mother patted her thigh in assurance. “It’s okay, love, I’m your mother. Who can you trust if I can’t be honest with you?”

Her mother was always very candid with her daughter about personal issues. “Why do you think I’m the worst prune in the world, Mom?”

“I never said you were the worst. You tend to overthink things, and you’re terrified to take risks with your heart, but it’s understandable because of me. You feel if you guard yourself against what I had to go through with your father, you’ll be fine, and by staying sexually pure, you’ll accomplish that.” Her mother spoke as if they were discussing the weather when Regina remembered her mother had gone through hell when their father had left them penniless and homeless when Regina was six.

“Mom, don’t you think I have a reason to be cautious about who I fall in love with?” she asked.

“Yes, you do, but sex and love have absolutely nothing to do with each other. That’s your problem, girl; you’ve mistaken the two,” Juanita said matter-of-factly. “Just because that’s the only good thing I can remember about your father doesn’t mean that’s all to a relationship. Love is intimacy, passion, and caring. Your father once felt that for me until Carlita the Tramp dangled her butt in front of his face, but you reap what you sow. Now look who’s penniless and homeless.”

Regina had to agree with her mother.

“Has Lola been putting ideas in your head, love?” Juanita asked.

She shrugged but always felt comfortable speaking with her mother about any subject. “She spoke about some things. One night stands, things in the dark, Mason being gay.”

“Wasn’t he?” her mother teased.

“Mom!” she exclaimed.

Juanita chortled. “I was just kidding, but the boy couldn’t find a hot spot in Antarctica if you asked me, and I liked him. He was just a nerd, and I didn’t think he was right for you.”

“So why didn’t you say this earlier?” she asked suspiciously.

“Because you told me he made you happy, I kept my comments to myself. I stopped speaking badly about your boyfriends. Jesse said to keep my mouth closed about those men you find until you tell me you’re marrying them.” Her mother spoke of Jesse, Juanita’s personal assistant and press agent.

“I was thinking about marriage with Mason,” Regina said.

“But he never proposed. He only gave you a ring. Just like that, Claudette. Her boyfriend gave her a ring, and she’s been wearing that Rock of Gibraltar for six years, but he hasn’t proposed, let alone moved in with her. I never understood things of that nature.” Juanita shook her head. A strange silence and a brief look of pain crossed her mother’s features before Juanita said, “I could have Jesse arrange something for you.”

Aghast, Regina burst out, “What are you talking about?”

“Calm down,” Juanita said, patting her daughter’s knee again. Her phone rang, and Juanita answered it. After a minute, she hung up and said to her daughter, “Jesse’s been on the political scene for years. I’m sure he can arrange something discreet and very nice.”

“No! I won’t have my mother setting me up with a hooker!” she exclaimed.

“It’s called a male escort, Regina. Why not?” her mother had the nerve to ask. “I think it would open your mind to a lot of experiences. If you got a hold of an expert, you wouldn’t settle for things like Mason.”

“You act as if he wasn’t human, Mom,” she cried.

“I think I’ll have Jesse check into that,” Juanita teased with a playful wink.

Regina knew it would be difficult to get a serious answer or response from her mother. “I don’t want my mother setting up a date for me,” she said. “Especially something so illicit. What if the press found out?”

“I’ve been in politics for so long, Regina; I know how to cover up my shit and yours as well.” Juanita added, “It doesn’t have to be a date.”

“You sound like Lola.”

“You probably need it, love.” She handed her daughter a card. “This is to Jesse’s private line. Any time you change your mind, give him a call.”

Regina swore Lola and Juanita had been breathing the same kind of lunacy. She could never do a one-night stand. It was unethical, disgusting, and immoral.

“You know you could do it yourself, Regina, but use precaution and protection,” her mother warned. “No one will ever know. You don’t have to tell him your name; he won’t have to tell you his. Use lots of protection, and just let him use your body. You’ll be surprised by the outlook you’ll have.”

Regina decided to change the subject and discuss her mother’s bid for the city council. Juanita loved to talk about politics.