UNIQUE LOVE (G X G) Completed

CHAPTER: 3

They never bothered to turn on the lights when they entered. Zeenia took Rhea by the wrist and hauled her into the master bedroom, where only half their clothes came off before they were sexually active in bed like desperate animals.

It was what Zeenia needed for her final weekend in Manhattan. Rhea's passion burned between them, infusing Zeenia with her own desires as she marked flesh and folded within limbs. It allowed her to care nothing about what starting life over in Michigan would be like, where she would have to reestablish herself not only as a professional but as a viable lover as well. At least in Manhattan, she could always count on some friend, whether Rhea, who she rarely saw or Imara who was probably cheating on her girlfriend, to share her bed, if not give a go at a relationship.

It is not fair. Zeenia's bemoaning almost claimed her as she fell face-first into Rhea's wet and warm p***y. Zeenia was thirty-six. How was she supposed to start over again at that point in her life?

She forgot her self-pity when Rhea came so hard she grabbed a pillow and threw it against the wall while grunting like a beast and slamming her body into Zeenia's face. When she was finished, Zeenia climbed on top of her and claimed her own pleasure.

The s*x was over sooner than Zeenia would have liked. Rhea rolled off her, turning on the lamp on the nightstand so she could adjust her dress straps and smooth down her hair. Zeenia remained in a supine position, wearing nothing but her white undershirt and a new lovebite on her throat. She gazed at Rhea's figure.

She had once asked Rhea to be her girlfriend. Zeenia asked a lot of women to be her girlfriend, but most of them were put off by her work hours or convinced she was too much of a playboy. Rhea said no because she was a 'free spirit who would not be kept caged.' Whatever that meant.

"For a woman who is moving soon, not much is packed up around here," Rhea said, her breasts disappearing back into the bust of her dress.

"That is because I am going to buy new things, or get a pre-furnished apartment," Zeenia replied.

"I see. Who is going to take care of this place? You are not getting rid of it, are you?" Rhea asked.

For the first time in hours, Zeenia was filled with a bolt of an anxiety fit to cause heart attacks. "No!" She would never unless she was that desperate for money. This was her home as much as it was an inheritance from her deceased parents. She changed some of the decors in the master bedroom, but in essence, it was still her mother and father's old abode. No one could purchase that sentimentality from her. "My aunt is taking care of it while I am gone," Zeenia replied.

Rhea kicked her legs over the side of the bed. Was she leaving already? Zeenia pulled a cigarette and a lighter from the other nightstand. She lit up and searched for her bedroom ashtray.

"Won't you stay tonight?" Zeenia asked as Rhea rounded the corner of the bed. "I could use the company." She always wanted to share her bed.

A sad smirk appeared on Rhea's sharp features. "Would that be a good idea? Maybe it is best we part naturally. No attachment necessary."

Zeenia twitched behind her cigarette. "You know what I mean?" She didn't want to say that she was feeling lonely, in words. Perils of being a romantic with a busy schedule. Nothing gave her more comfort and reassurance than having a woman to hold in her arms while she slept, or to be held in another's arms. Though it was the latter she preferred the most.

"Of course, I do," Rhea replied. That is why I suggested that. Rhea finished adjusting her sweater over her emerging curves. Zeenia wondered, since when did she have curves? Rhea was usually so thin the wind could blow her away. Zeenia figured it was the new sedentary job making her fill out.

"It is my last chance before I leave. I don't know when I will be back, and who knows if we can meet then?" Zeenia said.

Rhea stopped halfway out of the bedroom door. "Even so, I will probably be busy."

"Why is that? Your job?" Zeenia asked.

"No. I am having a baby. I am pregnant," Rhea replied.

Zeenia gave a start, coughing on smoke. "Since when?"

Another noncommittal shrug. "A couple of months now. I fooled around with a guy from work. I have decided to keep it, so he and I are getting married, or at least until the baby's born," Rhea replied.

Zeenia was still too flabbergasted to properly reply for a few seconds. She knew Rhea was bisexual, but the idea of her marrying and birthing babies was almost too much to believe. "I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything. See? It is for the best you are leaving. We can't get reattached to each other. You don't like kids anyway, Zeenia."

"I like kids, just not my own, Rhea."

Rhea then opened the door. "I have always enjoyed my time with you. You are a good lover."

She was almost out of the door when Zeenia jerked forward again, cigarette ashes spilling into the ashtray beside her. "Wait!" she bade, signaling Rhea to wait. "One more time," Zeenia requested.

The door closed with a sigh. Rhea then stayed most of the night, arms wrapped around Zeenia as they forced themselves to sleep. Rhea's arms around her, holding her, protecting her from the changes of the world that were threatening her. Only in bed did Zeenia feel such safety. 

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The first thing Zeenia thought as she disembarked the plane was that Michigan was too bright. The flight took three hours and forty minutes, to reach Michigan from Manhattan.

She slid her designer sunglasses onto her nose before rolling her carry-on into the airport proper. Her handbag slipped down her arm and threatened to knock down her water bottle out of her hand. All she could do was a yawn. The flight was only a few hours, but she had stayed up most of the night wallowing in self-pity and making last-minute arrangements over the phone. Her apartment, when she left it, was in a state of chaos.

The airport was also too bright. The vaulted ceiling was lined in skylights, showcasing the clear blue sky. Zeenia attempted to find the baggage claim before she was blinded with Michigan-branded sunshine.

Her day got more obnoxious when she found a young woman holding a placard that said, "Ms. Zeenia."

It turned out that she was the night auditor at Zeenia's new hotel, sent to the airport on her day off to pick the new general manager up and escort her to her temporary accommodations in the hotel. By the time Zeenia got the manic woman to calm down long enough to introduce herself, the night auditor talked herself hoarse and could barely manage a "Nice to meet you. I am Catherine Dickson."

She insisted on trying to pick up Zeenia's suitcase at the baggage claim. At first, Zeenia stood back, amused, watching this tiny lady try to manipulate a suitcase two-thirds her size. Not only was it the largest suitcase allowed on the plane, but it was also so heavy with Zeenia's clothing that she had to pay a weight fee for it. Eventually, Zeenia jumped in before Catherine was crushed by half of her boss's professional wardrobe. 

A company van waited in the parking lot. Although Catherine insisted on helping load up the suitcase, Zeenia shooed her to the driver's seat to get things ready. 

This blasted sunlight. It glared off the metallic frame of the van and made her want to throw up. Zeenia slammed the trunk shut and climbed into the passenger seat, where she promptly passed out. She woke up ten minutes later when they were on the bridge, linking Michigan to the airport. Bright blue water expanded around them, rolling in gentle waves and mocking the sky above it. Zeenia lifted her head off the window and readjusted her glasses. She could see the skyscrapers of downtown Michigan loomed in the distance.

"Everyone is looking forward to meeting you, Ms. Zeenia." Catherine kept her eyes on the road. "We haven't had a manager for a couple of weeks now, and things are a bit crazy for everyone."

Great! Zeenia thought. A mess for her to clean up. "Who is in charge?"

"The assistant manager, Mr. Henry. Jackson." Catherine pulled something from the backseat with one hand. "I have brought a general file on the hotel for you to look at in your spare time."

Zeenia snatched it, much to Catherine's dismay. "I have spare time now." More than she wanted.

While Catherine drove in silence, Zeenia flipped through the binder, looking at photographs of the hotel, and its general information. She perused the staff pages but did not retain any of the faces or names. All she could think of was how she had left a well-oiled machine back in Manhattan.

I have to start more than myself over in this city, Zeenia thought. She wanted a cigarette, but she also didn't want one of Catherine's first memories of her to be smoking in an air-tight van.