Sleight-of-Hand

“Where are you going?”
“Out!” said Darnell, as he slammed the door behind him. He could be a heartless son-of-a-bitch. Brianna looked over at the clock above the mantel. It was 10:30 pm—she knew she wouldn’t be seeing Darnell again until tomorrow after work.

From the outside, it looked as if the Roberts had the picture perfect relationship. Two Mercedes Benzes in the driveway of a half million-dollar home in the exclusive Baldwin Hills section of Los Angeles. No kids just yet, and they both wore what they thought to be the finest of the current fashion trends. Brianna was the envy of her hair and nail shop for the large 2.5-carat diamond wedding ring she flaunted. Most of the women in the shops though Brianna had it all: a successful, charismatic husband, a house in the hills, an expensive car, looks and class. But Brianna was good at making things appear one way, when they were actually another. She was a talented illusionist.

What the ladies in the shops didn’t know is that for the last year, Darnell spent 5 out of 7 nights away from home, with no explanation as to where he was going or with whom. At first, Brianna would call his cell until he picked up and gave her some type of explanation. That stopped the night he returned home unexpectedly and beat her until she passed out. Darnell did not like to be questioned by anybody, especially Brianna.

The ladies in the shops also didn’t know that the 2.5-carat ring wasn’t the ring Darnell had originally presented to Brianna when he proposed. She looked at the ½ carat round diamond on the gold band that he offered and cringed. There was no way she was going out in public with that. After much hassle, Darnell agreed to get a refund for that ring and meet with some friends of Brianna’s parents who were jewelers. They would allow him to pay for the ring over time. When Brianna selected the five-figure diamond, Darnell smiled and handed over the money he spent on the real ring. In that moment, Brianna knew she was making a good decision in marrying Darnell because he would do anything for her. It would be six months before she discovered he wasn’t paying the ring off and ended up getting a job at the Macy’s counter in the Baldwin Hills Mall so she could pick up the tab herself.

That job, more than anything, was what Brianna didn’t want anyone to know about. She hated working retail because she felt it was beneath her. So often she had discussed her international education at the prestigious University of Cambridge, but she never discussed how she was dismissed after a year of academic probation. Even her closest friends didn’t know that she had almost finished her education at a small state school in Northern California but dropped out after her father’s untimely death.

She had met Darnell while up North, a thuggish young man who had gotten his real estate license while in prison. He had become a successful real estate agent over the course of two years and was well known for the shrewd negotiation tactics on the behalf of his clients. Unfortunately, Darnell had acquired quite a bit of debt prior to entering prison and still had folks to pay off. When he first met Brianna, he saw a young woman who could assist him in getting his real estate business off the ground, but in the end, she spent the money before he could make it. After three years of marriage, he had had enough, but wasn’t going to let her take all the money he had saved for himself. He opted to stay in the marriage, but he sought solace outside of their home.

Brianna would never admit it, but working at that Macy’s counter is what kept her sane. She often volunteered for overtime, because she didn’t want to sit at home and dwell on all the things that had gone wrong between she and Darnell. It had started so sweetly, and she couldn’t figure out at what point they had ended up on different pages. She supported Darnell, bragged on his accomplishments to others and did her best to make him look good. She watched her weight because she wanted to be his trophy, but he complained when she got too thin. She knew he had an obsession with the roundness of her ass and had even convinced her to try anal sex to appease him. She fought him at first, but gave in when he started spending nights away from home. After awhile, that was the only type of sex Darnell wanted to have with her and he was always rough, sometimes smacking her ass so hard, it would be bruised when he was done. When she lost the weight, she lost that precious ass and secretly she celebrated. She had suffered from enough hemorrhoids to last a lifetime, but she still wanted to figure out how to keep Darnell at home.

Poor me, she thought to herself as she sat staring at the back of the door Darnell had just walked out of. She wanted to pack up and leave him, but where would she go? Moving back home with her mother was not an option, and her brother had a family of his own. Besides, she didn’t want anybody to know what was happening between she and Darnell. Her body ached from being ignored by Darnell and she was longing for the touch of a man these days. Darnell didn’t even notice the new silk lingerie set she was wearing when he walked out. She wanted to get drunk, but she already knew that would only make her feel worse. She couldn’t call any of her friends; they would be suspicious as to why she was calling so late. She opted for the next best thing to take her mind off of her circumstances and put her to sleep.

She walked up the circular staircase to the master bedroom and entered her walk-in closet. She went to her special drawer and pulled out her tool of choice: The Tickler. She also went into Darnell’s porn stash and pulled out one of his DVD’s. She never really watched the videos, but listening to the sounds of people fucking turned her on. She popped the DVD in, checked the batteries on The Tickler, and climbed in the bed. As she started feeling her body heat up, she closed her eyes and though about Raymond.

Raymond Perrineau, though folks called him Ray for short. Ray had been her high school sweetheart and the first man she slept with. He was a country boy from Houston, and he had such southern hospitality. Ray would carry her books to class, send her love notes from across the room, and always brought her flowers when he picked her up for dates. Brianna was ashamed of Ray, his country accent, and his lack of fashion sense. She tried to keep their relationship a secret for a long time, but her friends always knew and didn’t understand why she tried to hide it. Ray was such a nice guy and he treated her delicately, always recognizing how sensitive she was underneath her aggressive exterior. He loved everything about Brianna, including her desire to elevate her social and economic status.

Ray wanted to marry her after they graduated and move back to Texas and start a business, but Brianna was not having it. She had accepted Ray’s proposal and ring, but never informed him of her own plans to attend college overseas. Raymond assumed that she was attending Texas Southern University with him and didn’t realize he had been duped until he was back in Houston. He was scheduled to pick up Brianna from the airport and sat in the terminal for 11 hours waiting for her to arrive. She never did, and he had to get the news of her college plans from her parents. Brianna laughed the whole thing off and justified that she had made the best decision if Ray was that naïve.

However, Ray had come to mind once Darnell had started leaving her home alone most nights. She couldn’t deny that he had been a generous lover, always making sure she was satisfied before he was took care of himself. She always felt like she could be free with Ray, he would never judge or find fault with her. But his goals had not been enough to appease her. She wanted way much more in life than a small business in Texas. But sexually, he had always been more than enough.

She lay back on her 400-count Egyptian sheets and imagined her hands were Ray’s rubbing her breasts until her nipples were at full attention. When she felt herself getting wet between her thighs, she grabbed The Tickler and placed it in between her legs. She rubbed it against her clit, imagining Ray’s tongue and how he could taste her for hours. Her body writhed under the stimulation of her toy, and she took it until she felt her orgasm building. Just when she was about to reach her peak, she pushed The Tickler deep inside of her, still thinking of Ray. He would climb on top of her, placing her legs on his shoulders, and without fail, he would always find that place deep inside her that made her back arch. She imagined him now, kissing her toes while they made love, rubbing her stomach while he watched her body wiggle beneath his. The sheer thought of Ray flicking his tongue across her nipples while deep inside of her made Brianna cum instantly. The Tickler had done its job.

She laid still in bed for a while afterward, thinking on her current situation. She wondered what Raymond was doing now, how his business was going. She was sure it had failed without her being there to help him out. He was so simple, she thought to herself, forgetting the memories she had just recalled of Ray. Darnell was a real man, who had provided her with all of the things she could ever want. I can make this marriage work she thought to herself and thought about the hamburger she would treat herself to tomorrow to get her ass back to the way Darnell liked it. No relationship was worth having if it was too easy and a man like Darnell was exceptional. Plus, she thought to herself, Darnell will never find another woman like me. I’m all he could ever want.