Always Unique Read online

  Good-looking, rich, and punctual, she thought. How often does a man like that come along? And how lucky can one girl be?

  “Hello, my love!” she answered, with all smiles.

  “Excuse me, I must have the wrong number.”

  “Oh, you got jokes?” she said. Even if the caller ID hadn’t done its job, Unique would have known Kennard’s brisk, sexy, thick New York accent anywhere.

  “I hope you’re on the way to Jersey now, making your way home.”

  Unique checked the side mirror and then changed lanes. “Twenty minutes. I’m in the car now.”

  “Good,” he said.

  “That’s it? Only good? I got a better welcome by the waiter at lunch,” she teased.

  “Now you’re the one with jokes.” If there was one chink in Kennard’s confident exterior, it was his jealous streak. “We missed the ESPN piece. It aired late last night. I’ve been getting calls about it all day.”

  ESPN conducted an in-depth interview with Kennard, focusing on his success in and out of work. It was filmed at three locations: his office, his boxing gym, and his home in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, where lighting had been set up in the great room that showcased his opulent furniture and lifestyle.

  During the interview, the reporter asked what Kennard did in his spare time, and without hesitation, he said, “I try to spend as much of it as possible with this lady here.” The cameraman got a close-up of Unique, who was sitting off to the side, admiring her man. Kennard continued, “We enjoy our life together and the fruits of my hard work.”

  “OMG! OMG! OMG! Babe, that’s so great!” Unique knew how much he’d been looking forward to it. “How come no one told you when it was airing? That’s crazy that we missed it, but even crazier that we didn’t even know it was coming on.”

  “They put it on a few days earlier than planned. One of the producers at the network tried to contact me but he couldn’t get through.”

  “And he didn’t leave a message?”

  “Actually, he did try,” Kennard said sheepishly, “but you know”—he paused—“my voice mailbox was full.”

  Unique had chastised Kennard for months about clearing out his voice mail. “Kennard…”

  “I know,” he said, before she could beat him up about it. “I need a better assistant.”

  That wasn’t what she was thinking at all. His assistant, Roger, couldn’t reach him half the time and neither could the receptionist, Sandra. But she knew how busy Kennard was. In all actuality, even though Unique knew that Sandra wasn’t in her fan club, she still felt sorry for the woman because Kennard not only did exactly what he wanted to do but he was all over the place. Her job was impossible, and the poor woman was always busy, but she would have to admit he juggled everything the best he could.

  “You know how it is, though,” Kennard continued. “If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. That’s why I made a promise to myself to clean out my messages every day from now on.”

  “Sounds like a great idea,” she said sarcastically. “An idea that I’ve been trying to make a reality for like nine months now.”

  “I’m full of good ideas, baby. That’s why I’m with you.”

  “That’s not all you are full of, either,” she said.

  “You’re making reference to the bulge in my pockets or the one in my pants?” he teased.

  “Neither.”

  “What?” He sounded shocked and offended.

  “Okay. You’re definitely packing where it counts, but…”

  There was a click on the line; someone else was trying to get through to him.

  “I hafta take this call, babe. See you when you get here. Love you.”

  “Love you, too.”

  After hanging up, Unique turned the music up. The words “I love you” soothed every muscle in her body. Her jam, “Motivation,” was on the radio and she began singing out loud. She’d butchered the first three verses of Kelly Rowland’s song when she noticed a car behind hers. It was a dark-colored, late-model Honda. And now that she thought about it, she was almost certain that she had seen that same car when she left the spa.

  Unique eased her foot off the accelerator, giving the car the opportunity to go around her, but it didn’t pass. The driver of the Honda also slowed down, scaling back at least two car lengths behind.

  She gazed into the mirror. What the hell? I know this car ain’t following me! Still, she thought about the letter and decided that it might be smart to take precautions in case they were related.

  Unique was nearly home. She could keep driving, but if someone was following her, she didn’t want to lead them to where she and Kennard laid their heads. Kennard always warned her to be vigilant of the stickup and carjack mob. Because she was from the South, Kennard—like most New Yorkers—thought that meant she was a little naïve. And like most New Yorkers, he definitely let the area code, the zip code, and the accent fool him, because when it came to Unique, he couldn’t have been more wrong. Unique had definitely been around the block a few times and knew more than what Kennard credited her for.

  Unique was trying to figure out what she was going to do, when it hit her that there was a large grocery store about two miles ahead on the right. The parking lot was well lit and normally filled with customers coming and going. If the Honda was still behind her when she reached the store, she decided she would turn in and see what would happen from there. Only a fool or a bold bastard would try something stupid in a brightly lit area in front of a bunch of witnesses.

  Two miles later, she glanced in the mirror and the Honda was still there. Ain’t this a beyatch!

  Unique hit her turn signal and busted a right into the parking lot. Navigating the Benz through the well-populated area, she didn’t stop until she was in front of the store.

  The driver of the Honda came right in behind her. Unless the driver coincidently needed to stop for bread, milk, and eggs, it was now official that the Honda was following her.

  And for the first time tonight, Unique started to get a little nervous when the fool drove past, turned around, and then parked directly behind her. She tried to get a look at the driver but the windows on the Honda were tinted.

  Unique sat there in the busy parking lot, watching the Honda and then watching the clock as seconds turned into minutes. The Honda hadn’t budged. There was a Mexican standoff going on between her and the driver of the Honda.

  Unique was getting pissed. Fuck this shit. First the letter, now this shit. Emboldened by the lights and crowd, Unique stepped out of her car. She was done with the games.

  She knew now that it probably wasn’t a carjack mob or any stickup kids because if it was, they would already have been over at her car, pulling her out or putting her in the trunk of the Honda.

  This shit is crazy!

  Unique thought she had it figured it out: It had to be one of Kennard’s old foot dragons. That’s what she called a jilted lover or a bed warmer who didn’t know how to accept rejection. A clinger. When the person hears it’s over, he or she drops to their knees and grabs you by the foot, begging you not to leave as their pathetic asses are dragged across the floor. Unique knew better than to let her emotions override her intellect and she was more of a lover than a fighter, but this scenario was getting out of control. She felt that she had to take matters in her own hands and had no choice but to straighten out the low-self-esteem bitch and then go home to her man. This broad was becoming a major distraction and a waste of time.

  I have to nip this nonsense in the bud! she told herself when she opened up the door and stomped her way toward the Honda, prepared to kick a little ass if she had to, heels or no heels. She was halfway to the car, close enough to hear the engine idling. Then it struck her that the engine was idling too loud, and she saw the car jerk a bit as if the driver was putting it in gear. But before her body could react to what her ears were hearing, her eyes were seeing the tires spinning out before the Honda lurched forward.

 
Unique wanted to stand firm so she could come eye to eye with this dragon, but she was no fool; she needed to haul it back to her car because the chicken head was trying to run her over. Or scare the living life out of her.

  While she was momentarily frozen, she had good reflexes. Her stilettos were in the asphalt like a carpenter’s nail in a piece of plywood but this was no horror movie; she took off like a track star and ran to her car.

  Unique wasn’t about to get run over by a raggedy Honda in the middle of a supermarket parking lot. She could feel the heat coming from the engine as it got closer. Inches before colliding with her, it swerved, barely missing her.

  “Bitch ass!” she said out loud, no longer nervous. Now she was just flat-out mad. Unique ran back to the Benz, jumped behind the wheel, and took off after the runaway Honda.

  She caught up easily. Motherfucking bitches wanna follow me, I’m going to show this motherfucker about fucking with me.

  Unique was on the Honda’s bumper, where the license plate was conveniently concealed behind a patch of mud. The driver got the message and knew Unique wasn’t to be fucked with. The Honda made it known that it wanted out of this cat-and-mouse game, mashing the pedal to the metal, but it was no competition for Unique and her V12 engine. Unique was right on the Honda’s bumper, and she was thinking about ramming the Honda in the rear end. She knew she had the Honda exactly where she wanted it and could make it stop.

  But enough was enough. She had somewhere she needed to be. As she contemplated bringing this whole mess to an end with an accident, she hesitated too long, giving the driver a chance to veer onto the George Washington Bridge. Unique screamed at the Honda as if it could hear her, “That’s right, keep booking, beyatch!!!!”

  LOVING BEING LOVED

  On her way home Unique was trying to decide what she should tell Kennard. She wanted to tell him to get his exes in check. Still, hindsight being twenty-twenty, she was embarrassed by the way she had acted and wondered what Kennard would think of her. But all of her thoughts went out the window once she put her key in the door and stepped into the house.

  She could not believe her eyes: Kennard had gone all out for her.

  The lighting was dimmed to a seductive low. And flickering candles provided just enough illumination to make out the trail of rose petals he’d left for her to follow.

  “Kennard,” she called out sexily.

  When he didn’t answer, she kicked off her heels and followed the white rose petals. The floral path continued through the foyer, through the great room, up the spiral staircase, down the Australian hardwood hallway, and into the master bedroom.

  There she found more candles, and rose petals on the bed in the shape of a big heart. There were hundreds of petals of various colors: red, white, yellow, and pink.

  “Material Things” by Avant flowed from the custom speakers that were built into the walls. Kennard still hadn’t revealed himself, but his presence was definitely felt all through the house. As she looked around, Unique couldn’t help but think that if she lost all of this, one day she might be a mad bitch in a Honda, too.

  “I hope the reason you’re taking so long to get here is because you are getting undressed,” Kennard said from the bathroom.

  Unique’s nipples perked up at the sound of his voice. Her vagina had been wet since she stepped into the house and smelled those scented candles.

  “I’m going to let you undress me,” she said as she stepped into the spa-sized bathroom. “If that’s okay with you?”

  Kennard had continued the rose theme in the sunken Jacuzzi. He sat in one of the dressing chairs, wearing nothing but black silk pajama bottoms and a seductive smile. His body was hard and chiseled like a Greek statue. “Your wish is my command, my queen. You merely have to say it, and it shall be granted.”

  “Then what you waiting for?” Unique was ready to get this party started. “Come, daddy, and undress your queen.”

  Kennard did exactly what his woman asked. He methodically removed one piece of clothing at a time: dress, then panties, then bra. It was like peeling a banana. He paid extra attention to the soft spots.

  Unique’s body was on fire by the time her designer clothes hit the marble floor, and she was ready to be extinguished. As if he could read her mind, Kennard stepped out of his bottoms and scooped her up off of her feet and carried her to the Jacuzzi, which was big enough to hold eight people. The rose petals parted as he submerged her naked body into the perfectly heated water and the scent of lavender wafted through the air.

  They made slow, jet-powered aquatic love for the next hour, but the real sex took place above water, in their bed. Kennard had thought of everything. They got freaky with the Kama Sutra, along with oils, chocolates, fruits, and whipped cream as an appetizer. The night progressed like a hedonistic holiday. It was Independence Day, and the fireworks didn’t stop exploding until deep into the wee hours of the morning. Afterward, they fell asleep and spent the night in each other’s arms.

  When the alarm on Kennard’s phone sounded and nudged them awake at exactly 8:00 A.M., he hit the snooze button. They spooned for the next fifteen minutes on crumpled rose petals until the pushy alarm went off again.

  “Babe, we need to get up,” Kennard said.

  Unique pouted. “Don’t we have time for a quickie?” She wanted him to think of nothing but her while he was at work.

  Kennard looked at the time, then reluctantly pulled himself from the bed. He playfully whacked her on the butt. “How about you give me a rain check?” he said. “I have to wash this chocolate out of my ears before I go to work.” His semi-hard manhood had a mind of its own, however, and it seemed to like Unique’s idea better.

  “You weren’t complaining about how sticky you were last night,” she said playfully.

  “That’s because last night I was putting in work.”

  “And you definitely were, babe,” she agreed. “I tell you what … if you come back to bed right now, to save you some time, I’ll lick the chocolate off of every part of your body and clean you up real good, baby,” she offered in her sexiest voice.

  She wiped her tongue across her lips to show him what he would be missing in case he’d forgotten.

  While Kennard thought about the proposition his dick bobbed its head, as if it wanted to say, Can I get some action? He didn’t think about it for long before jumping back into the bed.

  “You’re incorrigible,” he said.

  She eyed his fully erect manhood and then gave him a devilish look. “You’re the one holding the gun, not me.”

  “I beg to differ since you’re the one who is about to blow my brains out.”

  Kennard started kissing her Australian-style—down under—and didn’t come up for air until she shook. Unique gratefully returned the favor. Afterward, Unique slipped on her thigh-length Agent Provocateur robe and went downstairs to fix Kennard breakfast while he showered.

  She whipped up turkey bacon, scrambled eggs, and cheese, and was making sandwiches on toasted croissants when she heard Kennard calling her.

  “I’m in the kitchen, babe,” she yelled back.

  “Damn, something smells good in here,” he announced a second later, coming up behind her. He wrapped his hands around Unique’s waist, kissing her on the back of the neck. She loved his touch and the chemistry they shared.

  Unique turned around and got a look at him. “Dayum!”

  Kennard wore a brand-new tailored, Italian-cut suit, light gray with a four-button jacket; a crisp, striped, buttoned-up gray, black, and white shirt; and black leather Gucci loafers. “Somebody’s looking good this morning!” she said.

  Kennard struck one of his patented magazine poses. “That’s where you’re wrong, baby.”

  “Am I?” she said, handing him a plate full of food. “Here, babe.”

  “Yes, you are.” He took a bite of his sandwich. “Because…,” he said, with his mouth full, “I look good every morning.”

  Unique laughed. “And that you do. I�
��d be the first to second that.” She tried to give him a playful love tap on the chest. “But your butt is way too conceited.”

  “Try confident,” he said, brushing off the love tap.

  “Try narcissistic,” she came back, with a bigger smile.

  “Whatever,” he said, ending the debate. “You know you love it, though.”

  “Now, that’s true,” she confessed. “But that’s only because I love everything about you. Even your snoring.”

  “I only snore when I go to sleep on a full stomach,” said Kennard defensively.

  She gave him a tell-it-to-somebody-that-don’t-sleep-with-you look.

  “Okay, so I snore,” he admitted. “Now, are you going to walk me to the door or are you going to continue to beat me up about the few faults that I may or may not have?”

  “Baby, whatever your faults are, I love you all the same, so you’re perfect in my eyes.”

  “You giving me those sweet nothings already and it ain’t ten A.M. yet,” he said.

  “Yeah, your rewards for rising and shining early. You know what they say, the early bird gets the worm.” With a sexy smile, Unique walked up and cupped his package.

  “And that’s exactly why I need to head out. I’m already late.”

  “Oh, don’t you worry about that because the early bird might get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.”

  “You have way too much wisdom for your own good,” he teased. He took one last bite of the sandwich and left the remaining half of the sandwich on the plate on the table. He rose from his chair and hugged her. “Thank you for breakfast.”

  “Anytime, baby.” She smiled.

  “I gotta go get the bacon,” he said as he kissed her on the forehead and slowly let her go. Then he grabbed his briefcase, and headed for the door. Like a little puppy dog, she followed closely behind him.

  Before he left the house, they kissed in the foyer. It was a long, passionate kiss. Unique stood in the doorway until Kennard got into his car and his Maserati had disappeared completely from her sight.