Tainted Vows
By Tasha Minyon Fiedler
Published by Tasha Minyon Fiedler at Smashwords
Copyright 2012 Tasha Minyon Fiedler
Smashwords
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Thank you heavenly father for giving me the courage and the drive to make this dream a reality you are my rock and I will lean on you forever.
My husband Michael, you are the love of my life and I cherish our life together I am so blessed to have you in it. To all of my four children you have been my ultimate joy! You are all the reason I awake in the morning.
And to my mother Vivian thank you for passing along your talent to me…who knew???!!! I love you all!
Chapter One
“Oh God yes, yessss, yessssss! Dylan, don’t stop.” She panted.
“You like that baby?” Say you like it!” He said as he gently pulled her hair bringing her head back just enough to suck on her slender neck.
“I like it baby…” She gasped, enjoying the tender pain it caused her.
Dylan turned her over and she straddled him because she knew he loved to watch the ecstasy in her face as he thrust himself into her. Her sultry eyes made contact with his as he held firm to her round tight buttocks and her slender hips while he slid himself inside of her. Their eyes connected, she bit her full bottom lip, and threw her head back right on cue as his head pushed a pillow into the headboard when he felt the heat of her wrap around him. She rode him slow at first moving her strong body like an accordion grasping his chest with her small petite hands.
“Mm mm Kam, that’s right, ride it baby.” He groaned while massaging her full breasts.
She began to pick up her rhythm and take all of his hardness deep inside of her wetness while he held fast to her hips going as deep as she could take it. She was in full fuck mode now, with no holds barred, she rode him like he was a bucking bronco, her hair was tousled softly around her face, her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were hazed over with ecstasy. He loved watching the intensity on his wife’s face while they were making love. He loved knowing that only he could make his wife feel this good, and he loved even more that she, this sexy, goddess belonged only to him. These thoughts made him fuck her harder. He sat up and put her breast in his mouth hungrily sucking on her rock hard nipples moving from one to the other rolling them around on his tongue. She screeched with delight and watched him with dark smoky eyes. He made his way up her long delicate neck covering her with steamy kisses until he reached her full pouty mouth and gently pushed his tongue inside. She responded by wrapping her own tongue with his playing a little game of tug of war. The kiss was passionate and it took her breath away. She held the back of his head tightly her hands clutching a fistful of his thick dark hair and began to quicken the rotation of her hips. He matched her pace and the two were lost in a combination of their own erotic worlds.
“Oooh just like that, don’t stop, right there…oh gawwwwd right there, here I come, baby….” Her voice trailed off tightly.
“I’m coming too baby, yeah, come for daddy!”
Their bodies tensed in sync with one another as they both came to a climatic conclusion to their morning. He could feel her heartbeat pounding against his chest as she tried to catch her breath. He caressed the small of her back while she planted small kisses on his shoulders and chest.
“Mmmm, that was incredible love.” She said quietly into his ear.
“It always is with us Kam.” He said indignantly.
She gently rose off of him pushing her now wild hair off her face. As she walked across their master suite and into their adjoining master bathroom, he stared at her naked glistening bronzed body amazed that through the years and two kids later she still looked the same if not better than she looked when she was in high school. His friends and his male neighbors often commented on his wife’s good looks and lean curvaceous body, comparing her to their own wives who have gained X amount of weight throughout the years. He had even caught the neighborhood wives shooting envious glances up and down Kameron’s body. Damn, I’m a lucky bastard he thought chuckling to himself as he got out of bed.
Kameron was putting toothpaste on her toothbrush when Dylan came into their bathroom. He couldn’t help but to slip his arms around her tiny waist and nuzzle her neck.
“How about joining me in the shower?” He suggested.
“Honey, you know we have to be at the office early today for the monthly meeting, it wouldn’t be setting a good example if we are late.”
“Who cares, we own the damn place, let them wait!” He said pressing his hardness onto her backside.” I need you again.”
Rolling her eyes and shaking her head in exasperation she began to brush her teeth. He catches the look on her face and knows instantly that she already has her work hat on and she means business. He gave her in what he hoped was his sexiest come and get it baby stare, but it’s pointless. He slapped her playfully on her firm bare ass and walked over to his sink so he too can brush his teeth. At least I got a giggle out of her he thought.
Geez, you would think he got enough ass this morning, damn! Kameron thought to herself as she watched her husband walk over to the other side of the master bathroom to his sink. Morning love making had become a ritual in the Fitzgerald marriage. It’s not that she doesn’t enjoy it, it’s just becoming too much of a routine lately. Dylan lives for it and he doesn’t have any shame in expressing his need for “sex in the a.m.” He says it’s like his morning workout and when he’s in boring meetings throughout the day it gives him something interesting to think about. It wouldn’t be so bad if it weren’t so expected of her. He insists on at least two to three times a week and if she protests and would like to sleep in, she has to deal with his sulking and when Dylan sulks, it is more torture than not partaking in her wifely morning duties. Most times than not, she wishes she could rewind to the earlier years where their intimacy was more spontaneous and adventurous. The times when he would interrupt her while she was doing dishes and kiss her so passionately she would tremble and accidentally put the Tupperware in the pots and pans cabinet. Or the evenings where he would draw a bubble bath for her and simply wash her hair and make slow sweet love to her all through the night. Those are the moments she longs for but when she tries to rekindle those special times with him, his mind is elsewhere and he doesn’t hide the fact that his heart is just not into it either. Sighing she put the cap back on the toothpaste and stepped into the marble shower to cleanse her body, mind, and spirit.
Chapter Two
“Mom, don’t forget I’m staying late after school to finish my painting for the school art exhibit.” Kyle said as he was pouring a glass of orange juice.
They were in her most favorite part of the house, the gourmet kitchen that she was most proud of because she designed it. She took special care to make their kitchen welcoming, warm, and cozy. She had chosen mahogany cabinetry with Brazilian hardwood floors, along with cream granite countertops with flecks of gold and chocolate, the kitchen island was massive in size which she had purposely chosen a subtle cream color base with a chocolate colored granite countertop. Because she loves natural light, she had a window sized to fit the entire wall where the kitchen sink was placed so she could look at her wild flower garden and custom built cedar gazebo while she did the mundane task of washing the dishes.
“I didn’t forget. How’s the painting going, are you almost finished with it?” Kameron asked her youngest son a sixteen year old junior.
“Excellent, mom, I’m stoked for you to see it!” He said passionately after taking a giant gulp of orange juice. He walked over to the stainless steel sub-zero refrigerator and placed the bottle of juice on the shelf.
Kameron loved to hear the enthusiasm in her son’s voice when he talked about his art. She knew how hard he worked on each project. At times she would find him quietly drawing and painting on the nights she walked around the house because she couldn’t sleep. He never knew she was watching him from his custom built art studio because he would be listening to his music through ear buds. He would be so engrossed in his work that she would lean her head on the door frame and watch his intensity as he diligently created his master pieces. The soft sound of his art pencils caressing the drawing paper and the feather like rustling of the brush stroking the canvas allowed her to relax and eventually make it back to bed and fall into a deep sleep.
“Well I’m stoked to see it myself, dude!” She said smiling lovingly at him ignoring his eyes as they rolled into his head the gesture she was used to when she tried to sound cool with her son.
She reveled at the fact that they were one in the same. She remembered how much she wanted a girl when she was pregnant with Kyle. No matter how persistent Dylan was with her to find out what they were having-because he wanted to have another boy-she refused, she had a confident feeling she was going to finally have her baby girl. She would daydream about all the fun girly stuff her and her daughter would do together, but after the longest nine months of her life and just four short hours of labor, she was shocked to see that the baby the doctor held up for all to see, had a penis. She smirked slightly remembering how foolish she must have sounded when she gasped “What the hell is that?”
It didn’t take long to get over the anguish of having another boy because Kyle was beautiful. He had a perfect round head with a wave of auburn curls, dimples on both sides of his cheeks, and hazel eyes. He was amazing and when he locked eyes with her they became instantly inseparable, and the connection they shared from that day forward was a bond that couldn’t go unnoticed by anyone.
“Hey loser you better not have drank all the orange juice!” Cody her oldest son of seventeen charged in interrupting her thoughts.
“Screw you Cody.” Kyle said quietly his brow frowning as he took a sip from his glass. Cody stopped in his tracks, his broad shoulders square showing he was up for a challenge.
“What’d you say punk?” He turned in Kyle’s direction and grabbed his not so broad brother by the back of the neck and rustled his hair.
“Knock it off Cody, Mom!”
“Cody, that’s enough.” Kameron said lightly. She was all too familiar with her boys love hate relationship.
“I’m just kidding mom. “You need to lighten up bro.” He said shoving Kyle into the cabinet.
“Good Morning Cody.” She said leaning in for him to kiss her on the forehead.
“Morning mom, where’s breakfast, I’m starving!” Cody asked opening the refrigerator and gulping juice straight from the container.
“Man that’s gross, mom look at that, tell him to stop!” Kyle said disgustedly.
“Ah leave the boy alone, let him drink.” Dylan boomed in squeezing hard onto Cody’s shoulders. “The boy is getting geared up for the football practice tonight, we want this varsity all star quarterback to get all the nutrients he needs!” Smirking as he walked over to the island to grab the daily paper and a cup of coffee.
“Of course I want him to have all the nutrients as you put it, however, he’s a big boy and he is fully capable of making his own breakfast, or at least pouring it in the bowl.” She said pointing to the large glass door that said Pantry on the front.
“Very funny mom!” Cody said rolling his eyes while walking over to the pantry.
“Hey dad, do you think you’ll be able to make it to the art show? It’s in a few weeks, I was asked to be in it by my art teacher. You should see what I’m working on, it’s awesome!” Kyle said excitedly.
Kameron looked up in time to see Dylan’s expression grow dark as he contemplated what his son was saying. It was a look that she was familiar with because nothing Kyle did struck his interest. Ever since Kyle was a baby Dylan would say he wasn’t anything like Cody. He wasn’t built like Cody, he didn’t fuss like Cody, he didn’t eat as much as Cody did, and he didn’t even hold his bottle like Cody. Kameron would protest this time and time again explaining to Dylan that Kyle was just a baby and he shouldn’t compare the two. Unfortunately for Kameron, he was right, Kyle and Cody were different than night and day. Kyle was timid, quiet, and very thoughtful. Cody was loud, boisterous, and rough. From the time he was two years old, Kyle would carry around a little tablet where he would draw and write whatever was on his little mind. Cody carried around anything that resembled a ball.
Kyle was lean and Cody was broad and muscular. Dylan tried without fail to “make a real boy” out of Kyle by wrestling around the house with him, coaxing him into watching sports with him and Cody, and when Kyle got bigger he would even go as far as to push Kyle in a random snow bank from time to time. Kameron got so pissed that she would yell at Dylan and tell him to “stop being such a fucking bully, he’s a kid, leave him alone.” That only encouraged Dylan to be “harder on the boy, no mama’s boys in this family”. After about seven years of bullying, crying, and yelling, Dylan finally got the picture and put his focus solely on Cody, his “golden boy” who is someday in his daddy’s mind going to make it to the Super Bowl.
“Well kid, we’ll see. I got a lot going on at the office so let me check my schedule, okay?”
“Sure dad, whatever.” Kyle muttered looking down.
“Hey loser, it’s time to go!” Cody said grabbing his backpack and walking toward the large mud room where the garage door was located.
“Kam, we should get a move on it too.” Dylan said looking down at his Rolex avoiding the cold glare emanating from her eyes.
“Okay boys see you guys later tonight, I want your chores done as soon as you come home from school.” Kameron said picking up her purse and black leather shoulder bag from the tile floor of the mud room. They all headed out to the heated six car garage. She turned to Dylan, “Are we riding in together?”
“Yeah, but I’m driving!” he said with a wink.
Cody climbed up inside of his midnight blue GMC club cab truck starting it almost immediately and screeched out of the driveway with bass booming in his aftermath.
“See ya mom.” Kyle said kissing Kameron on the cheek. “Bye dad.”
“Drive safe sweetie.” Kameron returned as she climbed inside of their black GMC Yukon Denali. She watched as Kyle got inside of his green Jeep Cherokee, slip his seat belt on, check his mirrors, turn on his favorite morning show, and carefully back out of the drive way.
Kameron leaned her head back on the soft cream leather behind her and exhaled slowly as she watched a bird fly overhead through the sunroof.
“What’s up babe, you still thinking about this morning?” Dylan asked as he lightly squeezed her delicate knee that was peeking out from her black pencil skirt.
“No, just letting go of some of the tension from this morning.”
“What tension?” he asked glancing at her as he drove off in the direction of the freeway towards Fitzgerald Motors.
“You know, nothing, it was nothing.”
“It obviously wasn’t “nothing” if it’s still on your mind.” He said tightly.
“It’s no big deal really, Dylan, let’s talk about the meeting we have for this morning.” She suggested.
“No I don’t want to talk about the meeting I want to talk about this tension.” He said roughly.
“I just noticed how you didn’t take any interest when Kyle asked if you could come to his art exhibit. It was as if you really didn’t want to hear about it and…”
“Hold on wait just a second!” Dylan heatedly interrupted her. “You don’t know what I was thinking you always do this, assuming crap Kam!”
“Well if I could finish what I was about to say.” She said under her breath.
“What, what was that, speak up honey I can’t hear you.” Dylan sneered sarcastically.
Breathe Kameron, breathe. Ask yourself if this battle is worth it this morning. She was all too familiar with trying to keep herself from irrupting with anger with her big headed husband. How can we go from powerful lovemaking this morning to this? She asked herself.
“All I was saying is that it would have been nice if you would have acted a little interested in what Kyle was saying about his art exhibit. That’s all, plain and simple.” She exhaled.
“Yeah I know what you’re saying because you have been saying the same thing for sixteen years now, and to be quite frank, it’s getting old.” Dylan said turning onto the freeway toward their company.
“Fine, forget I said anything about it.” Kameron said quietly.
Dylan accelerated faster than normal, driving as if he were behind the wheel a Honda Civic instead of a large SUV, maneuvering through traffic like the road was his Daytona 500.
The one thing Kameron learned a long time ago in dealing with her husband when he started acting irrational was to know when to back down she gripped the leather seat. She knew if she kept up an argument it would only escalate to a war with Dylan. He was used to getting what he wanted and he was relentless in making sure he was victorious at all times. Nothing ever got physical between them but his words and his silent aftermath was enough to make her shudder with fear at times making her feel vulnerable and on edge. Over the years Kameron would mentally badger herself for being such a coward around her husband when she used to be so outspoken with what was on her mind. But what Dylan wanted he got come hell or high water.
They had met in high school. He was the starter quarter back and she was on every committee imaginable she thought he was joking when he asked her for her phone number. No. Scratch that. He demanded that she give him her phone number. She remembered like it was yesterday. She was walking down the hall after her newspaper committee meeting and he was just coming from football practice.
“What’s up Kammie?” he had said with a smirk. She remembered cringing when he said that. She had hated being called Kammie since the third grade and he was the only person who continued calling her that.
“Hey Dylan.” She said holding his cocky stare with her own. She knew girls would just die, simply die to have him talk to them, but not her. She could care less about Dylan Fitzgerald handsome quarterback football star of the century she thought he was an arrogant jerk and wanted nothing to do with him.
“Give me your number.”
“What?”
“Your number. Give me your number.
“Why?”
“I wanna call you.”
And she did. Just like that. No real reason. She just scribbled her name onto the large calloused palm he presented to her and he walked away leaving her mind boggled standing in the high school corridor.
He didn’t call her for a month. She would see him at school and he would always saunter up to her and say “Hey Kammie” and walk away. She would tell herself it wasn’t a big deal that he didn’t call because she didn’t care anyway. But when she was at home, she would jump every time the phone rang and her heart would skip a beat with the anticipation that it was him on the line. It’s not like she wanted to talk to him, it just pissed her off that he was such a tool about it. Damn she should have never given that asshole her number she had thought.
The night he called completely took her off guard.
“Hello.” She mumbled through the toothpaste and toothbrush she had in her mouth.
“This is Dylan Fitzgerald he announced. Can I speak to Kameron?”
Shit. Double shit! She had given up long ago on this kid. She frowned as she remembered swallowing the mouthful of toothpaste.
“Ummm hi, hey, what’s up Dylan? She managed to stumble out.
“You sound different”
“Yeah I was…I was brushing my teeth.”
“Gross. Okay. Do you wanna go out Friday night?” He asked.
“With you?”
“No, with my dad. Of course with me.”
“Sure.”
And that was it. From that point on they were inseparable. Everyone in the school was mesmerized by their dating. Dylan was a rich jock and she was the poor girl who was on the newspaper committee, the diversity committee, and any other committees that were for a good cause. She was cool with anyone who was cool with her and she didn’t take shit from anyone who dished it out to her. Dylan only socialized with the rich snobs who were in his circle. Dylan was asked why Kameron Mason? His answer, she’s the only girl who wasn’t on my jock 24/7. Besides that, she’s fucking hot.” Kameron never gave any real reason for being Dylan’s girlfriend and she thought it wasn’t anyone’s business anyway.
Surprisingly enough, she was intrigued by Dylan’s coward less attitude towards life. She found him dangerously exciting and although it was very rare, she loved the fact that he only showed her his more subtle side. His dark hair and dark eyes made him appear rustic and hard as if he was from the wrong side of town. His build was stoic and strong and he commanded the attention in the room whenever he walked in it. They were alike in a lot of ways. They both had an adventure for life, they didn’t care what people thought of them, they were both good looking, and the sex between the two was incredible. So incredible that she ended up pregnant with Cody by the time she was seventeen and Dylan had already graduated high school. He didn’t want a bastard child or so his father had said, so they got married. And for the past seventeen years she has been dealing with Dylan Fitzgerald and all of his demanding, arrogant ways.
“You know Kam, if you wouldn’t baby him so much and let him be a real boy, maybe he wouldn’t be so damn sensitive. Did you ever think about that? Maybe you should remind yourself that he is not your little girl, but your son, maybe that will help him out a bit.” Dylan growled interrupting her thoughts down memory lane.
“I said fine Dylan, let’s just drop it and focus on today’s meeting, okay?” Kameron said as steady as she could.
The inside of the SUV was completely silent. Her breathing stopped as she waited for his response. She watched the vein in his right temple pulsate and his muscular jaw bone clench. After what seemed like an eternity he turned to her with eyes that were the color of coals and said, “Good.”
Instead of talking about the meeting they rode the rest of the way to the dealership in silence. Dylan loosened his tie around his throat and she checked and rechecked her Blackberry, basically staring at her home screen quietly hoping the day would go a lot better than this morning.
Miraculously they made it to work safely despite Dylan’s silent road rage. Dylan smoothly pulled into the parking lot of Fitzgerald Fine Motors and Luxury Vehicle’s and parked in front of the windows of the enormous car dealership.
Dylan’s father had owned four car dealerships when Dylan was a kid. Ever since Dylan became CEO, he has opened five more and deals internationally. Dylan likes to compete to win and when his father learned of her pregnancy he doubted his son could do much for the company. Dylan quickly proved his dad wrong by selling 15 luxury vehicles in one month when he was only eighteen years old his dad immediately promoted Dylan to sales manager of one of his dealerships. Dylan was a natural at winning people over with his charm and charisma and it didn’t take him anytime to learn the car business, he knew how to talk the talk and walk the walk. Men and women alike were drawn to him and he got off on it. He succeeded more so than his father ever dreamed he would and Dylan’s success had placed a larger wedge between the two of them than ever before. When Dylan and his father are in the same room, you wouldn’t want a dull knife to try and cut through that tension.
“Kam, I’m sorry about snapping at you earlier. Let’s go in and make it a good day okay?” Dylan said quietly as he turned off the engine.
“Okay I’m over it anyway.” She lied with a forced smile.
He leaned over and pecked her cheek quickly before opening the driver side door he straightened his tie, ran his hand through his dark wavy hair, smoothed out invisible wrinkles on his double breasted black suit coat, and strolled toward the glass door entrance of the building leaving her alone in the car. Reaching for the handle to open her own door she noticed her hand trembled a bit. Yeah let’s make it a good day, she thought as she fought back the sting of tears threatening to escape her eyes.
Chapter 3
Each and every morning Kameron is welcomed like royalty when she walks through the dealership to where her office is located. “Good Morning Mrs. Fitzgerald.” “How are you Mrs. Fitzgerald?” “Lovely weather we’re having Mrs. Fitzgerald.” Blah, blah, blah. Every greeting, every constricted smile, every “nice” gesture is noticeably pretentious and this morning she could give a damn. But for business sake, she put on her best dignified front, said her hellos, thanks but no thanks on the coffee, and hold all phone calls until one o’clock to the receptionist.
Grateful to have finally made it to her lavish office upstairs, she was able to sit at her desk, place her head in her hands and exhaled the long awaited breath that had been constricted since the argument she had with Dylan. Regaining her composure she slowly leaned back in her oversized black leather chair and looked out the floor to ceiling windows that look down to the main floor of the showroom. From here she could see everything that is going on. She scanned the lower level and observed the receptionist answering multiple phone lines with ease, sales people scurrying around to assist in showing potential buyers “nothing but the best in vehicles”, and the grazers who were the people who weren’t really interested at the time, but “we’ll see.”
Never in a million years would she ever have thought that she would be playing a role at Fitzgerald Motors. She had never sold or had thought about selling a car in her entire life but according to Dylan and his father she would be a prize asset to the company. They thought her vibrant personality and beauty would be just the thing to liven up the sales at this particular location. She protested and refused to go along with such shenanigans but her refusal was vetoed by her husband. Reluctantly she decided to go along with their plan and just as they quickly released her onto the sales floor both Dylan and his father pulled her quickly off.
It wasn’t that she was bad at sales she just didn’t know squat about cars, makes, models, motors, nothing. But she did know how to acquire the attention of the customer with her quirky sense of humor and they were drawn to her nonabrasive approach with them during their time at the dealership. She made each and every customer feel at ease and when a customer feels at ease, they buy. That approach alone changed everything and soon Kameron was frequenting all of the dealerships teaching classes on selling etiquette and the benefits of good customer service. Fitzgerald Motors sales went through the roof and from there on Kameron became President of Customer Relations and Sales at Fitzgerald Motors.
Kameron enjoyed her position and she loved feeling valued and appreciated. Ever since she and Dylan had Cody she put all of her energy and attention on being the best mom and wife she could be. She always assured herself that she would get back to the things she once enjoyed doing but then she got pregnant with Kyle and was elbow deep changing diapers, sleepless nights, mommy and me classes, and play dough. She had to admit it did feel good to dress up and have interaction with adults instead of with Barney. But after ten years of teaching the same old teachings she needed a change, her own identity for once. She had done the mommy thing, the wife thing, and the family business thing, now it was time to do her thing and she could feel the time was fast approaching. She knew Dylan liked her right where she was and he never showed much interest in hearing any of her own dreams. He would insist that she is where she belonged and why start something when you already have a good thing going for you in the first place. But Kameron had a different outlook on life she thought as an individual you had to keep changing and evolve by challenging yourself and traveling down different avenues in your lifetime.
Stifling a yawn Kameron listened to her husband go into grave details on the projected amount of sales for the upcoming month, the new inventory, the new salespeople, how the sales decreased the previous month and why, what changes he was looking forward to…yada yada yada…
He was dressed immaculately in a tailor made black Armani suit with a stark white shirt that was a stunning contrast to his dark wavy hair. He was cleanly shaven and his diamond pinky ring caught the sunlight every time his hand was in motion making little rainbows dance on the ceiling. She could smell his expensive cologne and aftershave lotion where she sat at his side at the head of the table. His expression was serious and he made sure to make eye contact with everyone in the room including her. Dylan knew how to be intimidating and it gave him satisfaction when he made everyone in the room shift uneasily in their seats when his dark eyes lingered on theirs for seconds always making the opponent break first from the stare. He marveled at the power he had over people because it made him feel superior. She used to think he was intoxicatingly sexy during these meetings and would be sexually aroused for the remainder of the day. When he would get home much later than her from work, she would make him leave his suit on until the boys were asleep and then she would pounce on him so she could remove his clothing and have her way with him. Now sitting next to him he made no excitement jump off in her because she was still pissed about this morning, and the previous morning, not to mention the morning before that. Each time he made eye contact with her she would stare him down with a raised eyebrow. She knew he wasn’t pleased with her demeaning him that way in front of their employees, but she could care less.
“Kameron, earth to Kameron… “
There was an uncomfortable silence in the conference room. “What? Oh I mean, sorry. I didn’t hear you?” Kameron was caught off guard by her husband’s voice that was filled with irritation and when her eyes met his she was faced with an icy glare.
“Do you have anything you would like to add before this meeting is adjourned?” He said tightly squinting his eyes at her.
While trying to get her bearings straight, Kameron shuffled through the papers in front of her and tried to rack her brain on what she was supposed to touch base on today, but for the life of her she couldn’t find her notes and she couldn’t find her memory either. Shit! She could feel Dylan’s eyes throwing lasers through the top of her skull, she heard someone clear their throat, a mumble, a pen tapping on the table, the restlessness in the employees all around her silently wishing she would hurry up so they could get the hell out of this dreadful conference room, the ticking on the wall clock was getting louder by the second. Fuck it.
“No, no I don’t have anything to add.” she said quietly looking up at Dylan’s expression that was etched with disgust.
He held her eyes for what seemed like eternity cleared his throat and said “Meeting adjourned”.
“What the fuck was that all about Kameron?”
“I’m sorry, I…
“Looked like a complete idiot!” Dylan was staring down at her while she sat on a chair in his office. “You’re supposed to have your shit together during these meetings Kam. Did you not hear me talk about our decrease in sales last month? That was your opportune time to jump in on ways to fix that problem, but noooo you were in la la land yawning and trying to mean mug me in front of our staff, my staff because you’re so caught up in our little tiff this morning.” He seethed.
“Don’t you dare talk to me like that; I’m your wife damn it and I don’t deserve to be…”
“I don’t give a damn if you are my wife, you are my employee and if you fuck up I’m not afraid to call you out on it. Do you understand where I’m coming from?” He boomed his voice bouncing off the walls in his large office.
“I wasn’t mentally prepared this morning and with for god sake Dylan it is 2011 and the economy isn’t what it used to be..” She mumbled for the sake of saying something.
He had called her in his office almost instantly after the meeting and she knew from the tone of his voice he was beyond pissed and she wasn’t going to be excused from her negligence. Before she could cross over the thresh hold of the door and into his office he had laid into her not giving a single thought to who might hear him yelling and cussing at his wife. Secretly she thought he may get off on humiliating her like this especially since she tried his patience by staring him down during the meeting.
“The economy Kam? Don’t blame this on the damn economy. You are supposed to come to these meetings with both barrels blazing. Our company…
“You mean your company, your staff, that’s what you just said right?” Kameron asked looking straight at him.
“Don’t start that bullshit. That’s not what I meant and you know it.”
“But that’s what you said.”
“I don’t have time for this this little ping pong game thing that you do. You seem to have lost your focus on your job lately. Last month we lost some revenue and our new car sales were down thirty-seven percent don’t like to see numbers like that and it is your responsibility to make sure that never happens.”
He paused and tilted his head from side to side trying to remove the irritated kinks that were forming in his neck. He paused for a brief moment looking at the ceiling before he continued.
“You are supposed to be setting an example here as my wife, as President of Customer Relations, it seems as though you are losing your flare and I’m not about to let you get away with slacking on your job. What’s your deal?” He said lowering his voice but keeping his tone tight.
Kameron stared back at him offering no words or further explanations.
When she didn’t answer he said “Ok so I fucked up this morning. I’m sorry. You have every right to be angry with me. I will work on this thing between me and Kyle. I will go to his art show. Does that make you feel better?”
“Do whatever you want Dylan it makes no difference to me what you do. Me, I’m going home for the day.” She said her voice quivering a bit.
“We drove in together Kam and I’m not leaving…
“You can take a dealer car off the lot later tonight if you need to.” She heatedly said. She could feel her cheeks grow warm and by the feel of the lump in her throat she knew her tears were a millisecond away and she didn’t want to give him the satisfaction that he had power over her.
“I need to run some errands anyway so I’m going.” She said firmly as she stood up and made her way to the door but she wasn’t quick enough because in about four strides to her eight steps her husband was already across the room blocking the doorway with his broad body. She kept her head down to avoid any further altercation but he lifted her chin and scanned her face. When he saw the tears forming in the corner of her light brown eyes his expression darkened. Kameron knew the troubling look didn’t carry any concern just plain frustration. The one thing Dylan hated the most was when she cried. He told her it was a form of weakness and a waste of time. She pushed past him and hurriedly went across the hall to her office where as soon as she blinked, she couldn’t stop the shower of tears that escaped her eyes.
Chapter 4
Damn it to all hell! He hated fighting with Kameron and it seemed like that was all they did lately. If it wasn’t one thing, it was another. She never seemed satisfied with anything anymore. One minute they are fucking like hot and horny teenagers and the next they are in a UFC battle. It just didn’t make any sense. Dylan crushed on Kameron as early as the third grade and unbeknown to anyone in high school he had been intrigued by Kameron’s independence and carefree attitude that most people mistakenly thought of as bitchy. Kameron was the only girl who wasn’t drooling at the mouth to be near him in fact she gave him no regard at all; actions which made him want to get even closer to her.
She was the only biracial girl at the school during that time and despite being outcast by most of the students – the black kids claimed she wasn’t “black” enough and the white kids thought she wasn’t “white” enough- she was pretty popular because she held her own and the kids eventually respected her and really liked her. She was on every committee time would allow her to be on, she worked evenings and weekends as a waitress, and she was on the honor roll. And not to mention she was incredibly beautiful. Her golden bronze curls hung loosely past her shoulder’s , her eyes were brown with a sparkle of copper framed by lustrous dark chocolate brown eyelashes, and her skin was a rich caramel that he would long to reach out and lightly caress.
Kameron wasn’t on any sports teams and you would never catch her in a cheerleading uniform, but she was in damn good physical shape. Of her five foot five inches her legs were her best physical attribute long and lean just the right length. Her face wasn’t glammed up like most of the teen girls in the high school in fact she never had any makeup on except for mascara and lip gloss on her full pouty lips. And that was all she needed because she was a natural beauty with flawless features that you would find graced on the cover of a teen fashion magazine. But she never gave the impression that she was a beauty queen.
Dylan almost failed World Lit by gazing at Kameron for an entire semester. Of all the girls in the world she made him fucking nervous! He wanted so much to talk to her but thought better by it because of his family name. Fitzgerald. His father would skin him alive if he even thought about bringing home a girl not only from the wrong side of the tracks, but a mixed girl at that. One in which lived with only her mother because her daddy had run out on them to chase his crack pipe dream. No son of Miles Fitzgerald had better bring someone from those parts to his doorstep.
The Fitzgerald’s were one of the richest families in town and everyone from school knew it. According to his father, they had a reputation to uphold. If Dylan didn’t want to go to the snobby private school, he had better hang with nothing but the best and richest kids in the public high school. And that included dating. But that didn’t stop Dylan from asking for Kameron’s phone number. She had been real curt with him that day. He had called her Kammie and he knew she hated it. What an idiot he remembered thinking to himself after he called her that. But he didn’t beat himself up for too long because despite her absolute obvious distaste for him, she had given him her number. He couldn’t fucking believe his luck! He wanted to hoop, holler, and do cartwheels down the hallway and let the entire school know what astronomical event that just took place. But he knew better. Even his closets of friends didn’t know his secret intent. He had waited for one whole hour for her to get out of one of her committees when he knew no one would be around. He remembered the butterflies in the bowels of his stomach, the dryness on the inside of his mouth that no matter what amount of water he lapped from the water fountain outside the locker room gave him any hydration relief. He almost shit his pants and abandoned ship when he saw her round the corner of the high school corridor. Time stood still as she walked in slow motion towards him like in the movies or so that’s what his eyes saw.
He sought out his alter ego, the one he used when he was playing quarterback on the field and it was his job to annihilate the opposing team. He sauntered up to her dry mouth, knees knocking; breath labored, and executed the play. When he felt her small soft hand hold his steady while she wrote her number on his large palm her hair tickled his chin and she smelled like strawberries, the butterflies multiplied in the pit of his stomach and holy shit, he started to get a hard on.
It took him one full month to call her. He couldn’t help it. He was scared shitless. He had the number and didn’t know what to do with it. He didn’t know if he was prepared to take the questioning from his friends even though she was secretly on their list of girls to bang, he did know what his father would say, and the one thing that frightened him the most was he didn’t know if he could handle it if Kameron rejected him. But he called her and she accepted his invitation to go out with him. He was so pumped he could give a fuck to what anyone else thought about it, including his father.
After their first date they were inseparable and he was ecstatic. His father found out from a friend of a friend at the prestigious golf club he was a member of that his only born son was going out with the mixed girl from school. His father’s humiliation had turned to rage by the time he made it home from his eighteen holes of playing golf. Dylan and his father had an unforgettable verbal altercation where Dylan begged his father to just meet Kameron and he would see how intelligent she was that he was wrong when he called her “a stupid gold digging mutt” and “hell would freeze over before that black ass hussy would ever be welcomed into his home.” He went on to assure his son that he fucked up his reputation by taking this girl out in public with him and he would have no part of it. When Dylan sought refuge from his mother who was already three sheets to the wind she threw her head back and hooted with laughter while pouring her another stiff one. Dylan recalled saying something on the line of “fuck you old man” when his lights went out for a few seconds after his father punched him square in his face and dragged him to his bedroom where he was told stay indefinitely.
He snuck out that night and headed to Kameron's. To see her, to touch her, to smell her would bring him great relief. Up until that point in their relationship she only let him kiss her and fondle her breasts while she stroked his rock hard dick until he came. When she saw him all battered and bruised, she fixed up his eye and cheek. He didn’t dare tell her what his father said about her but she knew his father had objected to his seeing her again. She looked irresistible that night in her white tank top that hugged her full breast and taught waist just perfectly and those little pink shorts with the tiny yellow flowers fit her butt just right. Her hair had been put up in a sexy bun on top of her head the nape of her neck had been caressed with damp curls from the shower she had just got out of before he arrived her skin was warm and moist and held a hint of coconut. Her mother worked nights so they were alone. She gently kissed his cheek after she applied the last bandage and held his face in her soft hands. When she turned to walk away, he grabbed her by her waist, without words and intensity in her eyes she straddled him on her bed where he sat and she let him make love to her until dawn.
He knew he was making love to a girl for the first time. Not that he was a virgin, he wasn’t, he had fucked many girls because they let him and because he could, but he had never had one make him feel this way before. He knew she was a virgin so he was gentle when she allowed him to enter her, and once he felt her tighten around his hardness he had penetrated into a world of sheer irrevocable pleasure. His only bliss was her and the moment they had created together. He came harder than he had with any other girl making the pain in his face obsolete. That night their worlds became one and Dylan Fitzgerald fell head over heels in love with Kameron Mason. And no one, not even his own father could do a damn thing about it.
And to this day he loved that woman like no other. But he had a hard time expressing his feelings to her.
He had always said he wouldn’t ever in his life treat his wife like his dad had treated his mother, belittling her when in his eyes she did stupid things. He cracked his knuckles remembering how many times he heard his father say to his mother “you’re one stupid bitch” he had been maybe four or five when he first heard him say that, but he knew it was bad to say those words because his mother washed his mouth out with soap when she overheard him saying them in his room while playing with his action figure toys. He told her he was just being like daddy. But she never chastised his father for expressing those ugly words to her and that confused him and muddled his thoughts about his mom. The blood in his young body would grow cold towards his mother because her weakness to his father annoyed him. He didn’t understand how she loved his father, and he knew she loved him because he would hear her giggling and moaning with his father in their bedroom when they thought he was asleep at night.
Kameron was constantly complaining that Dylan never seemed to give a damn about her feelings or anyone else’s for that matter. That he needs to calm down more, relax, leave work at work, make more time for play, and connect more with their younger son Kyle. All that shit. And she wanted instant results at all times like he was a fucking magician that had the power to make the old Dylan vanish in a secret box and make a new and improved Dylan reappear. He made the mistake by seeking his father’s advice on marriage his dad told him to grow some balls, tell her who’s boss, and if that didn’t work, show her who the boss is. By showing her, he meant beat the shit out of her like he would do his mother when her fickleness would edge his nerves. Something Dylan meant he was not going to do to Kameron. There were times he would make himself refrain from such actions, but he couldn’t do much when it came to talking down to her. In the beginning of their marriage, she wouldn’t tolerate the shit that came out of his mouth and he got off on that. He could be nose to nose with her expressing himself and she wouldn’t back down. But lately she has shown her vulnerability by crying, staying silent, and becoming defenseless. He didn’t like it, but he didn’t like when she challenged him either because then it made him feel weak and out of control of their marriage and Dylan craved control, it was what he loved, it was what he knew, and it was what he had learned.
“Mr. Fitzgerald, you have a call on line three.” His thoughts were interrupted by his secretary’s raspy voice.
Blinking rapidly to clear his head and yank his mind to the present he said thank you Sally and pushed the red blinking button to answer the call.
“Girl, are you gonna be ok?”
As soon as Kameron’s tears subsided a bit, she slipped on her oversized black sunglasses and quickly exited Fitzgerald Motors. She didn’t care who saw her. It wasn’t the first time the employees witnessed friction between her and Dylan in the work place and it probably wouldn’t be the last. But the shit was getting old she thought and she was at her wits end trying to figure out a way to make things smoother in her marriage. She sighed with relief when she heard her friend pick up on the first ring. Skye listened intently as she always did when she heard distress in her best friend’s voice. Kameron explained the morning events in grave detail and Skye agreed to meet Kameron for lunch at one o’ clock at their favorite café. Kameron checked the clock in the SUV and hurried home to change out of her suit and into a comfortable loose heather grey sweatshirt that hung off her right shoulder with matching drawstring pants. She threw her curly hair into a pony tail and after splashing her face with cold water to minimize the puffiness of her eyes from crying, she applied bronzer to her face, glossed her lips, got into her cream Mercedes, and headed to meet her girl.
Now sitting across from Skye, she relaxed a little and let the crisp fall air fill her lungs and the warm autumn sun warm her face as they sat on the patio of the quaint café overlooking the St. Croix River.
“I don’t know what to do Skye. It’s like the harder I try the worst it gets between us. And, she said after taking a sip of her strawberry lemonade, he’s been so mean lately.”
“Well he’s always been borderline douche bag Kam, you and I both know that.” Skye said while stirring sugar into her coffee. She took a long sip staring intently at Kameron to further get her point across.
Kameron knew that Skye found Dylan to be overbearing and her favorite expression of many for him had always been “douche bag”. Kameron had stood up to her best friend when it came to her insults about Dylan but deep down she knew she was right.
“Yeah I know, but it hasn’t always been this way between us. We used to laugh and be spontaneous. Now everything is according to plan and it’s usually his plan.” Kameron sighed. “Like today after I screwed up at the meeting for instance, a few months ago he would have laughed it off, slapped me on the ass and made a smart remark about bringing out the knee pads next time I fuck up.” Kameron said chuckling softly.
Frowning and shaking her head Skye cut her sandwich in half.
“You’re so hard on him Skye”. Kameron said glancing up from her plate of chicken salad and witnessing her friend’s irritation to what she just heard.
“Well someone has to be since you’re not.” I mean what happened to you? You used to be driven towards your goals, not the Fitzgerald’s goals. You gave your entire life up for this man. He knocked you up in high school, you were ridiculed by his racist ass father, you got cause what did that mean old bastard say, oh yeah, he didn’t want his son to have a “bastard child” she used her index fingers and middle fingers on both her hands to indicate quotation marks. In comes kid number two and they talk you into joining the family business because according to your loving father in law, your ass would be a great asset to his fucking company!” Skye spat.
“Hey Skye, tell me how you really feel?” Kameron said shaking her head. She was used to Skye going on tyrants like this. Most times she got a kick out of listening to her friend go off, but today she was painting a picture of one Kameron didn’t want to study.
“This isn’t funny Kameron, not funny at all. Look at me; you know my story, very similar to yours. James was an ultimate douche bag. I was his Stepford wife. He had me under his spell and it happened right after Lauren was born. That’s what they do. They knock you up and then take full advantage of your rights to being independent. And what do we do? We go along with the shit cause we feel worn out raising that baby. They go to work all day and night, make it all cushy cush for us in our big American dream homes while we are trapped rocking, feeding, changing diapers, and burpin babies all day. It’s not fair. That’s why I left James so I could do me for once.” Skye was staring off into space reliving the pain she just described.