EMDS - #1 - A Congressman's Temptation (MxM)

c.2

  I turned the hot water off, reaching for my towel and wrapping it around my body before I exited the shower. I walked into my room and into the cool breeze, shivering as my body temperature slowly adjusted. I frowned at the sight of the black tuxedo lying across the edge of the bed. 

  “ Ma’, how the hell am I supposed to put this on? “ 

  “ Just like you do regular clothes, Elijah! You're not a child! “ 

  I rolled my eyes, groaning as I began moisturizing my body. I looked into the closet, reaching for a pair of black briefs that were sitting in the clothing bin. I started the uncomfortable journey of putting the tuxedo on. The feeling of the layered fabric against my chest rendered me uncomfortable. 

  “ Look at this s**t, Elijah? “ Keenan entered the room, pulling on the tight vest and the tangled tie. I laughed. 

  “ Boy, you still don’t know how to tie a tie? “ I gestured for him to walk towards me. 

  “ You know I wasn’t paying attention to a damn thing growing up. “ 

  I grabbed the piece of stitched cloth, maneuvering it around his collar and making sure that I had everything lined up. I folded the larger piece over, bring it up the back and through the small loop. I tugged on it lightly before nodding. 

  “ Thank you, little brother. “ 

  “ Anytime, Keenan. “ 

  My father yelled to us that the car was waiting outside. We all scurried downstairs, gathering at the door to make sure that everyone looked the part. I gazed in amazement at each of us, but more specifically at my mother and sister. Both of them were aging well and oozing youthfulness in the dresses that hugged their bodies perfectly. We followed my father out to the limo as he opened the door, allowing us to climb inside. He entered behind us, adjusting his suit as the driver pulled away from the house. 

  “ This is some bullcrap. “ I whined, lowly. 

  “ Baby, why do you seem to be the only one complaining about the clothing? “ my mother chuckled at me. 

  “ Ya’ll know how much I hate feeling restricted. I feel like a damn……. “ 

  “ Elijah? “ my father interrupted me followed by a focused look. I decided that not talking would be the best option. 

  “ I’m surprised you didn’t try to get the last word in, ‘Lijah. “ my sister gasped, sarcastically. 

  “ Speaking of words, let’s go over these rules. You are not to speak unless you are spoken to. Even then, there will be no answers given to any questions that may be asked tonight, no matter how politically correct we may feel. “ my father looked at both Keenan and I. “ Just follow my lead, and we will get through this, okay? I love you, and I thank you for trusting me. “ 

  “ We love you too. “ 

  We finally arrived at the event, which I expected to be something quaint and comfortable. I stared in amazement at the architectural beauty that stood before me. Tulle was draped decadently from the ceiling, and strings of roses and gold leaves hung over the entranceway. Photographers took over the place like ants, waiting for the perfect moment to surround their victim and take charge. 

  My father exited the limousine first, extending his hand to my mother and assisting her out of the low car. Keenan followed suit as I reached behind me to help Erica. Keenan stood to her left as I stood to her right. We locked arms and followed the red carpet into the building. 

  The once muffled music was now shouting at us. The diverse mix of people standing around who were laughing and chatting against the music instantly sent me into a business mode. The bar was extensive and complimented the buffet filled with cuisine that made your mouth water.

  " The table is right here. " my father pointed out.

  Once we settled in, I noticed how uneasy Keenan was. He wouldn't stop looking around and switching in his seat. I tapped Erica on her leg, motioning my head towards Keenan's direction. She reached out for his hand, cupping it tightly.

  “ We will get through this together. “ she smiled. 

  Once our presence was known, the attention was on us. People watched us with puzzled and intrigued expressions. Some were wondering what we were doing there amidst the drama going on already. Others seemed happy to finally have access to us after all of these years. But one familiar gaze caught my attention. 

  Mr. Andrew Phillips. 

  Since the day we first met, he’s always been able to send a tingle up my spine. He was always so charming with his slick salt and peppered hair, paired with a neatly trimmed and up-kept beard, which was at least four inches in length. That famous smile and wink combination interrupted my thoughts as my father excused himself, answering his ringing phone away from the table. 

  “ All of a sudden, nobody wants to show off their big personality. Act natural. “ she leaned to the side as the server carefully poured the white wine into her glass, then proceeded to make his way around the table. 

  “ True, but it’s weird. I can’t shake my ass, and it’s not like I want to do that with my mother around. “ my sister grabbed the bottle of wine from the server as Keenan and I just looked at each other. 

  “ You know what, you’re right Erica. “ my mother smiled, menacingly. “ You wouldn’t be able to keep up anyway. “ 

  “ And now it begins. “ Keenan chuckled. 

  “ Kelsie? “ the small squeal startled us. We all looked at the woman who was slightly slumped over, trying to force her words over the smiling that she couldn’t stop doing. My mother rolled her eyes, taking a deep breath, and turning to face her. 

  “ Margerie? Oh, honey, how have you been? “ she stood up to hug her as I watched in shock. I didn’t know she had it in her. 

  “ Oh, I-I’ve been great. Just marveling at these.. “ she paused. Her face, along with her lips and her body completely froze. Erica shook her head and began pouring another glass of wine. “ beautiful chocolate children that you and Charlie have created. “ 

  “ Yes, these are my babies. “ 

  “ Not babies anymore. “ my father chimed in. “ My apologies, family. How are you, Margerie? “ 

  She began to shake. Her mouth opened wide as she pointed at my father. ” Oh my God! It’s Jesus! “ 

  “ Okay, let’s get you some help, Marg. “ Andrew intervened, handing Margerie over to the escorts he had called over to the table. My sister nudged me as I tried not to blush. 

  “ Thank you, Andrew. You know Kelsie, and I'm sure you remember my beautiful children. “ 

  “ Yes, how could I forget? “ he turned and looked directly at me. Me? Maybe it was Erica, and I'm just imagining things. Who was I kidding, he looked directly at me! “ Your firstborn, Ms. Erica. That smart one, Keenan. “ he smiled. “ And the creative one, Elijah. A walking masterpiece. “ 

  “ Alright now, Andrew. Have your way with these prissy women around here, but my child is not the one. “ my father warned him with a look as Andrew backed down. “ Wouldn’t want another divorce on your hands, would you? “ 

  “ Damn, again? “ my sister mumbled as Keenan nudged her lightly. “ What? “

  " That was kind of shady, Dad. " I sipped the wine as I shook my head.

  " I didn't mean for it to come out that way, Andrew. " 

  “ I understand completely, Charlie. You guys enjoy your night. “ he and my father nodded at each other before Andrew swayed away. 

  “ Looks like they’ve finally let the press inside. “ my mother turned around to fix my father's crooked tie.

  Sure enough, the room filled with the bright flashes and the crews that once waited patiently outside. Some of the attendees flocked to them, making their jobs tonight easy to accomplish. In the midst of the burst, I met the gaze of Andrew. He turned around to walk out of the building and into the garden. My curiosity got the best of me as I made a plan to escape as soon as I could.

  “ Alright, you ready to do this mother? “ Erica acted as if she was stretching. 

  “ Oh, bring it on. “ she flipped her hair. Who is this woman sitting in front of me? “ Let’s give them what they came for! “ 

  As if on cue, the DJ began to play Get Down On It by Kool and The Gang as my mother and sister made their way to the middle of the dance floor. Instinctively, everyone crowded around them to watch and join in. As my father and Keenan followed suit, I moved away and escaped to the garden. I inhaled deeply as the wind kissed my face. I walked further along the concrete path as I adored the flowers that lead to the big Magnolia tree that stood in the center of the plot. I sat down on the bench, listening to the sound of the insects singing in the night. The rustle of the leaves dancing with the wind entranced me. 

  “ This is beautiful. " I started.

  “ The department is trying to get rid of it. “ 

  “ They’re a bunch of fools. “ I looked over to him, taking in the sight. His meaty thighs, strong arms, and the way he relaxed into his confidence. “ You’ve been complimenting me for quite some time, Commissioner. Every time that we meet, I sense that you have something you would like to say. Am I right?  “   

  “ You are good, I will tell you that. “ he stood up, slowly inching closer to where I sat on the bench.

  “ You’re a ladies man, this isn’t what you really want. Those women complain about you majority of the time, and that makes me question how many of them have been in bed with you. “ 

  “ None, but your father has taught you well about the way of the people. “ 

  “ It's easier to go with the Senator than to go against him. “  

  “ Is that why you left home? “ 

  That question would always end our conversations. I was never ready to talk about it, but I knew that I would have to face this sooner or later. I knew that I was running out of laters. 

  “ I might as well be honest. “ I shrugged. “ I just needed that independence, that’s all. When you are told that you have to move a certain way, it becomes frustrating. I could have rebelled, but I knew that I would never hear the end of it. That was a war that I wasn't going to win. “ I explained. " Leaving was the only option. " 

  “ Our stories are quite similar, actually. I started working in this city when I was twenty-one years old. I was the lowest of the lowest, and I climbed those steps quicker than anyone that has been, or ever will be. I've had to make sacrifices that only a few in this world would understand. “ he lowered himself next to me on the bench, grunting lowly. 

  “ You are still young, but you grunt like an old man. “ we both laughed. 

  “ Hard work will do that to you. “ he combed his hair with his hand as he smiled at me. “ You’re growing into a fine man. So much wisdom and conviction. I truly admire your body of work. “ 

  “ My body or my writing? “ I smirked as he blushed. “ Which book is your favorite? “ 

  “ Has to be New Kid on the Block. “ 

  “ And where does it take place? “ 

  “ Somewhere in Alabama. “ 

  “ What’s the main character's name? “ 

  “ Tyrone Jackson. “ 

  “ And his main problem? “ 

  “ His sexuality. It's not cliche, which I appreciate. We all have experiences, both good and bad, but he's decided that he doesn't want to be defined by labels. That the world is full of too many opportunities to be anchored and stuck. He's a free man. He creates his own future. “ 

  I hesitated for a moment but he didn’t break. “ This proves nothing, but that’s quite impressive. “ 

  “ Well let me prove it to you. “ 

  “ Andrew, I…… “ he placed his finger softly on my lip as I shut my mouth. I didn’t know how to feel about that. 

  “ We’re both grown, Elijah. I can’t deny the way that I feel about you. I can’t deny the chemistry that we have. I just want a chance to show you what I’m really about. Forget what you’ve heard about me, find out for yourself. “ 

  “ Have a nice night. “ 

  As I stood up, he grabbed my hand gently. He pulled me closer to him, looking down into my eyes as our breathing synchronized. The world seemed to slow down around us as the noise filtered out until there was silence. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his card. 

  “ Just think about it. “ he nodded before he retreated into the building, leaving me stuck standing there. I reminisced everything at that moment. His lingering scent. His lingering impression. His boldness. His perseverance. There was just something about Andrew that made me question why I was even playing hard to get. I knew exactly at that moment what I wanted, and it was him.

  “ There you are! “ Keenan’s call broke me away from my thoughts. “ What are you doing out here? “ 

  “ Just getting some fresh air. Are they still in there dancing? “ 

  “ No, they’re done. Dad walked away with ‘Mere and they’re talking with Phillip. Mom told me to come and find you. “  

  There was a moment of silence before he spoke again.  

  “ Are you sure you’re okay, Elijah? We’re all worried about you. “ he stepped closer to me, placing his hands on my shoulder and looking me in the eyes. I hate it when he does that. He has that face you can’t lie to. 

  “ I’m fine. “ I forced out into a convincing sentence as he nodded.  

  “ Are you okay, Keenan? “ his body tensed up. He didn’t expect the turn, although he should have seen it coming. “ You  don’t seem like yourself, and it’s not just tonight. Since we’ve been back together, there is just something different. “ 

  He placed his arm around my shoulder as we began walking back inside the building. “ I’ll be fine, baby brother. I promise. “ 

  Later that night, I couldn’t stop thinking about Andrew. He’s been a petty crush of mine for some time, but he was right! There was no denying our chemistry. There was no denying him! I began fidgeting with my fingernails as my thoughts continued to sway back and forth. I could either take this chance, and this could be the most beautiful thing to ever happen to me, or this could end in disaster with a relationship and a family in ruin. 

  “ Don’t think too hard, baby, you might pop a blood vessel. “ Erica chuckled as she sat down. When I didn’t respond, she knew something was wrong. “ What happened? “ 

  “ Nothing important. “ I bit down on my lip, quickly stopping myself. 

  “ You’re biting your lip, ‘Lijah. “ she spoke in a stern tone. “ Now what’s going on? “ 

  I reached into my jacket pocket, showing her the card that Andrew handed to me. She looked wide-eyed at the thin white square and then back to me. She smiled, but it was an eerie smile. It scared me.  

  “ Why that expression? “ 

  “ You see, I had a dream. In that dream, you were sitting at a desk and signing millions of books. Then it switched to you jumping into a pile of cash. That’s when I woke up. That was the morning of the party. “ 

  I tried piecing everything together in my mind, but nothing came together. Then it hit me. When we were growing up, Erica's nickname was Lil' Cleo. She had a gift that wasn’t used too often, but her visions and her words held weight.

  “ This is the next book. “ we both spoke simultaneously. 

  “ But I couldn’t do that to this man. “ I stood up and headed towards the kitchen. 

  “ Oh please, people do it all the time. It’s journalism! “ Erica argued. 

  “ I’m not people, though. I........I just can’t. “ I poured the cold water into the glass, picking it up and putting it to my lips. 

  “ Okay, here’s how we’re going to look at this: the man has some kind of feelings for you, so I would just let it happen and go with the flow. It’s not like you have to be literal, ‘Lijah. I just think this would be a good idea because you feel that you’ve lost your touch. We all feel that you’ve lost your touch! You can put yourself back into your books. This time, we do it literally. “ 

  She was right. This could be the solution to all of my problems and a new way to approach my writing. She snatched the card from the coffee table, grabbing my phone, and walking them both over to me. I hesitantly grabbed them as I slowly dialed the numbers that stained the paper. 

  Hello? 

  Hey! It’s me. 

  I’m glad you called.