L.F.L Part. 3

That Monday was Labor Day, and Michelle and Phillip had planned to spend the holiday with Eric and Jeffery and their wives. The three couples had all agreed to a cook­-out at Phillip’s. Phillip had considered himself to be the master griller and wanted the opportunity to show off for Michelle. Michelle was a pretty good cook herself; she had learned her way around the kitchen from her mother. Since the cook­out was to be potluck, she was making her famous macaroni and cheese, her killer baked beans and her “man­-slayer” German Chocolate cake. Denise (Eric’s wife) was making the potato salad and Nicole (Jeff’s wife) was bringing collard greens. Eric’s job was bartender and Jeffrey would be assisting Phillip with the grill duties.

Before their guests arrived, Michelle and Phillip made sure everything was all set up on the patio out back. The “patio” was really an outdoor living space; complete with a kitchen area, and a seating area with a fireplace and a full bar. Beyond that space was the pool area with tropical landscaping, which included a grotto and waterfall.

“Honey” Michelle said to Phillip as she watched him get the grill going, “I was thinking; if you still want me to, I wanna go with you when you go to Florida.” “Are you kidding!?” Phillip said, almost dropping the tray he was holding. “Hell yes I want you to come with me!” “But” Michelle said, “I was thinking too, that, maybe we could hop over to one of the islands for some romance, and” she continued as she got up and walked towards him, “some f​reak time! I told you I was a b​ad good girl and (singing) ‘I wanna do something freaky to you!’” she finished as she stood behind him putting her arms around him.

“Woman are you t​rying to make me mess up this barbeque!?” Phillip said, getting completely distracted. He wanted to toss that tray and make love to Michelle right there on the patio! “You know I’m trying to impress you with my skills; and you are about to make me blow the whole thing! You better let me finish putting this meat on; and t​hen we can sit down and finish this conversation” he said with warning—he was two seconds from flinging that whole tray of meat—grill be damned! “Ok” she pouted and went back to her seat at the table.

“You got everything under control?” Phillip asked her. “Yeah; I got all my side dishes done and I just finished the cake” Michelle answered. Her mind started to wander, and she was trying to visualize being in the islands with Phillip. Being alone in a sexy, romantic setting with a fine­-ass man making love to her? She was convinced that was what she needed to make her fall in love. Who wouldn’t fall in love under those circumstances?

“Ok babe, I’m all yours” Phillip said as he came over and sat at the table with Michelle. “Ok, what I was thinking was, maybe we can go to the Caribbean for a few days after your meetings are done.” Michelle said. “Yeah, that sounds great; where did you have in mind?” he asked her, while he sipped the beer he brought with him. “I don’t know” she replied, “I thought maybe you would know where to go....someplace sexy, where we could be alone...maybe someplace with a private beach where we can be naked” ​she teased. “Oooo” Phillip said, “you, the beach, sexy, n​aked​...that’s all the convincing I need! I​’ll call my travel agent first thing tomorrow!”

“You forgot f​reaky!​” Michelle said as she got up and straddled Phillp’s lap. She put her arms around his neck, let her tongue lightly trace his lips and softly kissed him. “Let’s get naked and get in the pool” she whispered in his ear. She could feel that “bump” pop up in his lap. “Come on baby, you know you want to” she was still whispering as she kissed his ear.

Phillip put his arms around her waist, closed his eyes and just breathed in her perfume. He thought he was going to pass out!

Michelle got up, pulled Phillip up by his arms and began leading him to the pool. “What about our guests?” he asked; not really giving a damn about them at all as he let himself be led to the pool. “They’re not due for an hour and a half” she said.

When they got to the pool, Michelle undid Phillip’s belt then unbuttoned and unzipped his cargo shorts and pulled them down with his boxers. Phillip feigned exasperation, stepped out of his shorts and boxers and kicked off his shoes.

Michelle pulled one string and her dress fell off into a heap at her feet revealing her tanned, naked body. She stepped out of the dress, kicked off her sandals and stepped down into the pool. She turned to Phillip teasing him with her nakedness, and beckoning him to come to her. Phillip had taken off his shirt and walked towards the pool. Michelle was all the way in the pool; beckoning Phillip to her, as she continued to tease him. He walked into the pool and she swam a little farther away from him still beckoning. “Come and get me” she teased.

Phillip swam over to her and grabbed her before she could swim away. He pulled her to him and pressed her body to his, kissing her. He walked her back toward the shallow end of the pool as she laughed and pretended she wanted to get out of his grip. He held her and walked in the water so that he could position himself to lean back on the side of the pool.

Michelle could feel his desire pressing itself against her. She put her arms around his neck and closed her eyes. She wanted him and there was no use in her pretending she wanted to be anywhere on earth but in that pool! Michele wrapped her legs around Phillip’s waist, allowing him to easily slip into her.

She was weightless in the water and he moved in and out of her easily. He moved faster and faster, bouncing her back and forth; her body responding until she was breathlessly moaning his name—while he groaned hers; as the urgency of their orgasm could not be denied.

Afterwards, they both swam around lazily, laughing and playing in the pool until they heard Jeffrey and Nicole call out as they walked through the house. “Dammit they’re here!” Phillip exclaimed, startled. They quickly got out of the pool, grabbed their clothes and ran into the pool house to dry off and get dressed.

“Anybody home?” Jeffrey called out as Nicole put the collard greens on the counter in the kitchen area. Just then Phillip and Michelle emerged from the pool house looking like two guilty teenagers. “Oh” Jeffrey said, “did ahh, we interrupt something?” “Not at all” Phillip said. “We just went for a little swim, that’s all” Michelle finished, and winked at Nicole. “Hey everybody”, they all turned around to see Eric and Denise coming out to the patio. “Hey man; come on out here and get behind the bar so we can get this party started!” Jeffrey called over to his friend. “Hey Denise” Michelle and Nicole said at the same time. “Let me show you where to put that potato salad” Michelle told her as she showed her where the patio refrigerator was. “This place is a lot nicer than your old house Phillip” Nicole said. “Yeah” Denise said, “how ‘bout a grand tour Michelle?” “Sure, c’mon” Michelle answered leading the ladies into the house.

“Man, why were you looking so guilty when we came in?” Jeffrey asked Phillip. “What’s going on?” Eric asked. “Nothing” Phillip answered. “He’s just busted that’s all!” Jeffrey told Eric. “Oh yeah?” Eric said, looking at Phillip. “Yeah” Jeffrey continued, “Phillip and Michelle came out of the pool house...w​et,​when Nicole and I got here.” “Whaaat?” said Eric. “You heard Michelle, we just went for a little swim...that’s it!” Phillip said defensively. “Well I guess what happens in the pool...”Eric said. “...s​tays in the pool!​” Eric and Jeffrey said in unison. All three friends burst out laughing.

“You know bro’, Michelle is the best thing that ever happened to you” Eric said from behind the bar as he started preparing some cocktails. “You’re not kidding about that” Jeffrey added. “You are a lot more relaxed now” Eric continued. “Yeah and you laugh more now!” Jeffrey added, “It’s like we got the old Phillip from college back!” he finished. “Yeah” Phillip said, “She has made quite a difference in my life. I f​eel like that old Phillip again! And you know what?” He asked them; “I think she’s the o​ne!​” he said before they could answer. “Whaaat!?” they exclaimed at the same time. “Yep, I think so” Phillip replied. “Don’t get me wrong!” he remarked, “I’m definitely not rushing anything; but if everything goes as well as it has so far, I might just pop the question by Valentine’s Day.” “Well, I’ll be damned” Eric said. “Me too” Jeffrey added. “Just keep this quiet” Phillip told them; “If you two say anything to Denise and Nicole, my fish is fried!” “Nah bro’, quiet is kept” said Eric. “Yeah, we definitely don’t want to get that female frenzy started!” Jeffrey said. “Alright then” Eric announced, “bar’s open; what’ll you have?”

After giving Nicole and Denise a tour of the downstairs part of the house, Michelle had managed to slip away and put her bikini on under her sundress when she took them upstairs and sent them off to explore the upstairs of Phillip’s house. She rejoined them as they were going back downstairs. “Phillip has excellent taste” Nicole said. “Michelle you are lucky” Denise remarked. “How so?” Michelle asked. “Well” Denise continued “Phillip is obviously head­-over-­heels for you; and if you end up being M​rs. Phillip Stevens, you won’t have to lift a finger to decorate this house!” “You really think he’s that crazy over me?” Michelle asked. “Girl are you c​razy!​?” Nicole asked; “All he talks about is Michelle, Michelle, Michelle when he’s at our house.” “Ours too” said Denise. “That’s not a bad thing though” Denise continued; “’Cause to tell you the truth, all these years we have known Phillip, there has never been another woman in his life to this extent.” “What do you mean?” Michelle asked. “Well...” Nicole answered; “None of his other ‘friends’ (Nicole made air quotes) have ever played hostess at one of Phillip’s barbeques.” “Uh­-uh” Denise added; “Not at all...e​ver!​” “Thanks ladies” Michelle said; “It means a lot to me that you guys think I got it like that.”

“So ahh, what was r​eally going on with you two in the pool?” Nicole asked Michelle. Michelle feigned embarrassment and looked at the floor. “Nothing...just, you know...” “Ooooo” Nicole said, “h​old­-up-­wait-­a-­minute-she­-done­-put­-some­-freaky­-in­-it!​” “He­-ey” Denise and Michelle said, snapping their fingers in the air. The three of them were cracking up as they walked back out to the patio to rejoin the men.

It had been about two weeks since Michelle put Charlotte “on the case”. Charlotte had done her best but she did not have one damn thing to write in that little spiral note tablet she kept in her pocket. “Now, I’ve never had an affair, but I would think if you’re having one, you would have to have contact with the person at some point!” Charlotte thought to herself, frustrated that she hadn’t found anything out yet.

Charlotte had seen her husband’s cell phone on the kitchen table one afternoon when he had gone to the store. She picked it up thinking she would hit the jackpot. She began scrolling through the incoming and outgoing calls and all she saw were the numbers for their kids and the guys in his little retiree social circle. She didn’t bother to check the text messages because he didn’t know how to text. “Thank God old dogs can’t do new tricks!” she thought.

She was just about to put the phone back on the table when she noticed a number she had overlooked. She wrote the number in her tablet; along with the date and time; and placed the phone back on the table. Next, Charlotte went to her room and got her own cell phone and dialed the number. “Thank you for calling the Ritz­-Carlton Hotel; this is Simone, how can I help you?” she heard. “This is the what?” Charlotte asked. “This is the Ritz­-Carlton Hotel; how can I direct your call?” the woman said. “Never mind” Charlotte said, “I dialed the wrong number” she said and hung up.

“What the fu’...” Charlotte was interrupted by her phone ringing. She checked the caller ID, it was Michelle. “Hello?” Charlotte said. “Hey girl, what’s up?” Michelle asked; “How’s the ‘investigation’ going?” she asked. “I just found the number to the Ritz­-Carlton Hotel in Kenny’s phone.” Charlotte answered. “Why the hell would that negro be calling the R​itz-Carlton Hotel?” Charlotte asked. “Oooo, s​wanky”​ Michelle replied. “Who’s side are you on?” Charlotte said, getting pissed. “I’m sorry” Michelle said, “but that’s just not a usual a​ffair hotel.” “What do you mean?” Charlotte asked. “Well” Michelle explained, “a man doesn’t usually go to the Ritz­Carlton for just a casual affair” she explained. “The ‘Ritz’ is where a man takes you when he’s vested in you. What I mean is, if he ain’t into you big time, your ass ain’t going to the Ritz! There must be something else going on.” Michelle reasoned, “This ain’t adding up.” “What the hell else could be going on with my husband, another woman, a diamond bracelet and the Ritz­-Carlton Hotel? It adds up just right on my paper!” Charlotte railed.

“Calm down, calm down. Maybe he hasn’t done anything yet. Maybe he was just calling around to different hotels trying to gauge his chips.” Michelle explained. “What the hell are you talking about?” Charlotte asked, getting really irked. “Ok, if he i​s d​oing this, maybe he needs to gauge how much it’s gonna cost for him to step out and play” Michelle remarked. “What are you trying to say? My husband has to b​udget for an affair!?” Charlotte was in the zone now. “Dammit my husband ain’t no cheap­ass! If he’s gonna have an affair, why can’t he have it in a classy hotel? Why my husband gotta be a ‘b​aller-­on-­a-­budget’​!?” she said, raising her voice, completely ticked off.

“Do you h​ear yourself?” Michelle asked. “Pump your brakes ma'am... I’m trying to help you figure this out!” “Well...just don’t be making my man out to be some kinda broke­-down cheap-­ass!” Charlotte said, trying to calm down. “That was so not the point” Michelle pointed out; “All I was trying to do, was figure this thing out from different angles.”

“The eagle has landed!” Charlotte said suddenly in a hushed voice over the phone. “What?” Michelle said, confused. “The eagle has l​anded!​ He’s home”​Charlotte whispered. “Oh damn...why didn’t you just say so! We are doing P​­-I work, not playing secret agent spy girls!” Michelle said. “I gotta go; I gotta pack and get over to Phillip’s. We’re leaving for Florida tomorrow, then he’s taking me to an exclusive resort on Antigua; they have private beaches there, and you know what that means?” “What?” Charlotte asked. “N​aked on the beach!” she answered. “You a nasty little heffa’!” Charlotte exclaimed. “I know!” Michelle laughed. “ Now, I gotta go...talk to you later; and stay on the case! Bye” she said and hung up.

Charlotte’s husband came inside the kitchen through the garage carrying a few grocery bags. “Hey hon’” he greeted Charlotte. Charlotte stared at him with narrowed eyes trying to determine if he looked guilty or not. Kenny placed the bags on the kitchen counter and told her that since the weather was still so nice, he had bought a couple of steaks to cook on the grill. “That’s nice” Charlotte responded. “Do you want me to bake some potatoes and make a salad?” she asked. “Yeah, that would be great!” he answered. “I thought we could maybe eat outside; the weather is still so nice” he added. “Ok, that’ll be fine” Charlotte said, and she left the kitchen to go write something in her little notebook. When Charlotte got to her room, she took her notebook out, flipped it open, took out the pencil she had stashed in the spiral, and wrote, “that negro is guilty as hell!”