| AGAIN II BY TORRI |
CHAPTER 2 |
Chapter 2
Dorian’s House
Morning
“Kelly, Blair, will one of you answer the door please?” Dorian yells from her bedroom. “Damn, where are they when you actually need them,” she says to herself as she goes to answer the door.
“Yes?”
“Blair Cramer?” The man asks.
“No.”
Blair, overhearing her name, joins Dorian at the door. “I’m Blair Cramer, and you are?”
“I’m from the court. These papers are for you,” he hands her a large manilla envelope. “Please sign here,” shoving a clipboard toward her and pointing to an empty space.
“What’s this about?” Blair asks while she signs the paper.
“I don’t know mam, I’m just making a delivery,” he responds as he turns to leave.
“Blair, what is it?”
“Well, I haven’t opened it yet, so how would I know?” She rips the envelope jaggedly, anxious to see its contents. “What the hell? That bastard!”
“What? Let me see.”
“Todd is trying to take my little girl away from me.”
“Mommy, is daddy back?” Starr asks with a hopeful look on her face.
Blair bends over and plants a kiss on her daughter’s forehead. “I don’t know sweatheart. How long have you been standing there?”
“Um, don’t know,” she answers with a shoulder shrug. “I bet Fred talked to Daddy and told him I miss him.”
“Uh, Starr, honey, why don’t you get your backpack so we can go to River’s,” Dorian says, gently pushing Starr toward the stairs. Starr bounces up the stairs, happy that her daddy is finally coming back for her.
“Damn you Todd Manning,” says Blair, reaching for the cordless phone. She dials several numbers, and waits for someone to answer on the other end.
“This is Sam Rappaport. I am unable to take your call right now, but leave your name, number and a brief message, and I’ll get back to you.” Beep.
“Sam, this is Blair. Todd is back, and he’s trying to take my little girl. Sam, I need a lawyer, please call me.” She slams the phone down, and throws the papers on the desk.
Outside of Dorian’s House
“Ms. Delgado.”
“Mrs. Manning,” she corrects.
“Yeah, sorry about that. I gave Ms. Cramer the papers like you said.”
“Thank you Tim. I appreciate you calling. One more thing, what was her demeanor?”
“Uh, she seemed a little upset.”
“Good,” she hangs up the phone, and turns toward Todd, who was listening from the kitchen.
“Who was that?”
“Tim.”
“Yeah, who’s he?”
“The guy who served Blair with the court papers this morning. Any more questions?”
He doesn’t answer, choosing instead to move close to her; very close to her. She has her back to him, but she can feel the heat from his body. His warm breath stimulating her neck. “Do you have everything you need for tonight?” His hand brushes against hers as he reaches around her to grab an apple. She feels his hardness against her, while he lingers behind her.
“What?” Her concentration broken by his being in such close proximity.
“Do you have everything you need for tonight?” He steps away from her and sits on the counter, enjoying their teasing game.
“Yes,” she steps directly in front of him, spreading his legs and standing between them. The first two buttons of his shirt are unbuttoned, so she reaches through the opening and lightly touches his chest hair. “What time are we supposed to be there?” Her other hand rubs the inside of his thigh, dangerously close to his penis. Her eyes never leave his, gauging his reactions.
“Uh, it starts at eight, but I think we should get there about ten,” his breath catches.
“Okay.” She abruptly removes her hands and walks away.
“Hey, wait,” Todd says as he hops off the counter to follow her. “Where are you going?”
“For a walk.”
“Yeah, but we-“
“We’ll finish later, I promise.” She pulls him to her, and kisses him leaving him wanting more.
The Limo
Night
Todd had insisted that they have a limo for the masquerade ball. The partition was raised, separating the driver from his passengers. They were both anxious to let the town know that they were back. Secretly, they would enjoy surprising all of their enemies.
They were dressed in all black, from head to toe. He wore a traditional tuxedo with a black vest and tie. Her black-sequenened dress revealed a little of everything; a little cleavage, a little leg, a little bit of back. For the occasion, she Todd had purchased a pair of diamond teardrop earrings and a matching necklace.
He watches her intently, basking in her beauty. She feels his eyes burning through her and is keenly aware of his yearning for her. She reaches for his hand, massaging his palm.
“Nervous?”
“No, I just don’t like wearing these monkey suits. This damn tie is choking me,” he fiddles with the bow.
“You look so handsome.”
“Whatever.”
“Whatever,” she mocks.
“You look really good tonight.” He uses his free hand to trace the outline of her breasts through the material.
“Thank you.”
“I can’t wait to see their faces when they see us. Old Asa might keel over from a heart attack.”
“He’s too mean to die,” she giggles. His lips unexpectedly cover hers, his hand move up and down her thigh. The limo stops before they can carry it any further. Reluctantly, they separate and try to straighten themselves out.
“I think you need to put on some more lipstick.”
“That’s because you’re wearing all of mine,” she applies a fresh coat while he wipes his mouth.
The driver opens the door and they emerge hand in hand. The walk to the door, seems to take forever. Todd inhales deeply before he opens the door. “You ready?”
“Yes.” He opens the door, and enter the magical room. The dance floor was filled with waltzing couples, the music provided by a live band.
“Yuck, this is making me dizzy,” Todd remarks. “I need to go get a drink.”
The ball was a benefit to raise money for ALS research. Dorian was underwriting the whole affair, and had managed to get most of Llanview to show.
They approach the bar, but Todd turns away when he sees Vicki. Vicki noticed the couple as soon as they arrived, sensing somehow connected to them. She watched to swagger of the man, and the straight posture of the woman. His hair was shorter, but there was no mistaking the identity of the man.
Vicki quickly grabs Todd’s arm before he can get away. “Todd?”
“Damn,” he mutters. He does not remove his mask, only turns to face her.
“Is it really you?”
“Does it look like me?”
“As charming as ever I see. Tea?”
“Hi Vicki.”
Vicki observes them closely, noting their matching wedding bands. She also notices how close they are, their bodies always touching. “Were you planning on telling me you were back?”
“No.”
“Todd.”
“Well, we were, but just not right away. Can we talk about this somewhere else?”
“What’s wrong with right here? Are you up to something?” Vicki asks, slightly suspicious.
“Uh, no. Besides, Delgado-Mannning keeps me in line.”
“I was wondering when you were going to tell me.”
“Yeah, well you already knew. If you wanna talk, let’s go out on the terrace.” Todd turns to walk away, but Tea reaches for his hand, and pulls him to the side. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I just think you and Vicki should have some time alone. I’ll stay in here.”
“I want you to come.”
“I’m not going anywhere. I’ll just sit here at the bar until you get back, okay.”
“Fine.” Vicki, staring out into the darkness, waits patiently for him.
“Okay, so you wanted to talk, talk.”
With her arms extended, she embraces her brother, and holds him with all of her might. Before she knows it, her eyes fill with tears, and she cries uncontrollably.
“Hey, I was only teasing. You don’t have to cry about it,” he tentatively pats her back.
“It’s just, I’ve been so worried about you. I missed you Todd. You called a couple of times, and then, nothing. I didn’t know if something had happened to you.”
“Yeah, well, we’ve been busy,” he says with a devilish grin.
“How long have you been back?”
“Uh, I don’t know. A couple of days I guess.”
“Where are you staying?”
“We bought a house.” He watches the ballroom, keeping an eye on Tea.
“Where?”
“In the country.”
Vicki notices that he is distracted, she sees the desire in his eyes to return to his wife. “I see that you want to get back to her, so I won’t hold you any longer. May I ask you something?”
“Yeah.” He starts to smile as Tea heads toward the terrace. He returns his attention to Vicki.
“I can see that you’re happy, but are you really okay?”
“For the first time in my life, I’m more than okay. Now get out of here and let me be alone with my wife.”
The terrace fill with the light filtering from the ballroom as Tea joins them and removes her mask. “I got tired of waiting,” she says.
“I’m going to leave you two alone. Tea, the two of you will have to come to dinner at Llanfair.” She hugs them both, and rejoins the party.
“She wasn’t too hard on you was she?”
“Naw. You mind if we stay out here for a few more minutes?”
“I’m in no hurry. What’s wrong?”
“I was just thinking that we’re so happy right now. We’re trying to get Starr and the paper back, everything is going good. I’m just waiting for something bad to happen.”
“If you wait for something bad to happen, something bad will happen.” She steps closer t him, wrapping her arms around his waist. “Besides, we’re a team and whatever life throws at us, we can deal with it.” He leans forward and meets her lips. They kiss slowly, sensually at first, then with a passionate urgency. She pulls away first, out of breath. “Uh, we better get back in there.” She takes his hand, and they stroll confidently back into the party.
All of the guests have arrived, and Dorian is standing at the podium, ready to make an announcement. The music has stopped, and everyone gathers around the stage. The waiters have made sure that eveyrone is holding a glass of champagne to toast.
“Ladies and gentleman,first I have to thank each and every one of you for coming tonight. As you all know, I lost a very important member of my family to ALS, David Renaldi. This benefit is given in his honor. Together, I believe that we can beat this disease. We set out to raise one million dollars for ALS research and I am very proud to announce that we have exceeded that goal.” Everyone applauds. “One of our guests agreed to match the total amount raised. Thanks to this guest, at the end of the night we will have raised over two million dollars. I have no idea who this person is, but they did agree to identify themselves at the appropriate time. I see no better time than right now. Please, whoever you are, step forward.”
The crowd parts, as the couple, walks to the front, hand in hand. He steps to the microphone, and looks out at the people. He smiles to himself, savoring the moment. He clears his throat. “Ladies and gentleman, may I present to you,” they slowly lift their masks, “Mr. and Mrs.” he pauses, making them wait, “Todd Manning.” They reveal their faces and smile.
TO BE CONTINUED
2001 COPYRIGHT BY TORRI
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