Mistaken Identity

"I came home and she told me I would have to sleep in the guest room. She blamed a headache, but damn Dana. I'm a man. I have needs. She put me off far too long while we weren't married and I have waited like a damn fool thinking once I married her things would be different."

Sitting up, she looked down at his large body that filled her full size bed. "You came over at two in the morning because your wife denied you sex?"

"No," he said, sitting up looking dead at her despite the dimness in the room. "I came over at two in the morning to feel again. She'd been denying me for over a year and then she becomes this insatiable woman on our wedding night, but then reverts back to this frigid bitch in twenty-four hours. I couldn't take it anymore. I had to come where I knew-"

"Don't say another word to me, Jerome," she said, cutting him off about to get out of bed and demand that he leave.

He grabbed her arm and pulled her on top of him. "Please Dana. Not you too."

Frustrated, she asked, "Do you know I'll go to hell for breaking up a marriage? I'm the other woman, Jerome."

"I needed to talk to. I mean that's why I came back. I was frustrated and I had no where to go."

"There are a million of hotels out there."

"Yeah and a million bartenders who would love to hear my story, but I didn't want them, Dana. I wanted you. I wasn't going to touch you, but dammit, woman, you opened the door with that little thing on and you looked so damn good that I couldn't help myself."

She was confused. Very confused. At one moment she was suppose to be mad at him, but then he'd go and say the sweetest thing and make her forget her anger. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Just that and then I was going to ask to lay on your couch."

"You know the couch is still available."

He looked insulted. "You're serious, Dana."

"Jerome, I can't stand the thought of sleeping with my sister's husband no matter how much I'm attracted to him. I feel guilty. Matter of fact, take the keys by the door and there's a guest room downstairs in my office."

"What if I'm not done talking?"

Folding her arms over her sheet-covered breast defensively, she asked, "What is there to speak about?"

"I'm quitting the team, Dana, and I don't know how to tell Denise."

This news startled her. She tried to make light of the situation. "You're talking crazy. That's kind of drastic over sleeping with your sister-in-law, Jerome."

He chuckled genuinely humored by her. "You aren't why I'm quitting the team. I've thought about this long and hard, Dana. It was way before I...well tonight."

"And what about your wedding day?" she questioned.

"What about it? My decision to leave football has nothing to do with where I lay my dick at night."

His crudeness caught her off guard, but she said nothing to the fact.

"So why are you leaving?"

"I've accomplished what I wanted to accomplish. I wanted to know if I was good enough to play pro and I am. The team doesn't know yet, and my agent thinks I'm a fool because I'm guaranteed over ten million, but I don't want to go on living like this. I need to be myself. I need to be me. I envy you, Dana."

This was a bold statement coming from such a confident man. "Why? You live in a luxurious home, you're making millions a year. I'm barely making my house and car note, I'm trying to catch up on work on old equipment and I can't expand until I can up my production, but I can't do that until I can afford to get new equipment. I should be envying you."

"You live simple. You live like you want to live. You're not trying to impress anyone. You can take one day at a time and just go from there. That's a luxury."

She really didn't want to divulge anymore of her own personal problems to him, so she got back on the subject. "And what are your plans afterwards?"

"I've got plans," he said quite confidently. "I've already have investments working in my favor and on top of that I've been working on several athletic boards, speaking engagements, the youth foundation, businesses developments and so forth. Trust me, I will live comfortably when this is all over."

"Denise is not the kind of woman who wants to live comfortably."

"I know," he exasperated, getting out of bed and began to get dressed.

She tried not to look upset about him going, but she was. Dammit, this was her husband, not Denise's. Why should her selfish sister have the pleasure of this man's company when in truth he really belonged to Dana?

And why was Dana keeping her mouth closed? Denise could give a fig's ass about Dana.

Still, her lips would not spill the beans. Somehow Denise did have a special place in her heart. She was her twin.

"But you play so well, Jerome, why wouldn't you want to keep doing it?' she asked.

He stared directly at her and announced, "Because I'm not Jerome Lott, Dana."

Part 13

There was a moment of silence as Dana tried to digest this information, yet there was no way of swallowing it. "What do you mean you're not Jerome Lott?"

He was finished dressing and leaned over the bed. "Have you ever been in love with two people at the same time, Dana?" He changed the subject instantly as if he hadn't made an off the wall declaration.

Now she really thought he was losing it. "No, Jerome. I've never and you're not in love with me. We just like to fuck."

That gorgeous smile appeared on his face. "I love an honest woman, Dana."

"You don't love me," she reemphasized. "You've loved Denise all your life. Remember?"

"I said that?"

"This evening at the table."

He frowned as if he hadn't meant to admit that to anyone.

Dana wanted to get back on what she was confused about. "What do you not being Jerome Lott and falling in love with two people have to do with anything?"

Jerome sat back on the bed and lightly traced her lips with his fingertips as if he was trying to remember each and every inch of her.

"Nothing, Dana. They have nothing to do with each other. You're right. I'm talking crazy."

"But I was talking about the fact that you were leaving the team."

"I'm still leaving. Can I send for you while I'm on the road?"

"NO!" she shrieked getting out the bed and finding her robe near the bedroom door. "This isn't going to happen again. I'm a damn fool to let you even come here tonight."

"You're not a fool, Dana." He stood up and walked over to her.

She made no move to get away from him. As big as he was, he had never evoked fear in her. He didn't seem as if he was capable of hurting someone, yet there was this lurking Herculean power behind his eyes and movements. Maybe this was why Dana had always been attracted to him. He exuded a vigor supremacy that very few men could hold.

Her back was to the wall as he stood in front of her. He put his hands on each side of her head and leaned over her, but their bodies did not touch. That intensity of passion was in his eyes once more and Dana knew she would never deny this man anything.

"I think you're something special, Dana."

Damn! There he went again speaking to her heart. How the hell did he expect her not to fall in love with him even more if he continued to act like he really was in love with her?

"I think you're amazing," she admitted.

His kiss was brief, but it held so much emotion, she wanted to cry again.

A moment later, he was gone.

* * ***

Awaking the next morning, she immediately saw the empty pillow beside her. Millions of mornings she had awakened to an empty pillow beside her, but for some reason this morning was different. The imprint of where his head had been was still there.

Moving over on the bed, she could smell his sweat, his odor – him. Her hands moved under the pillow to bury her face into the fabric, but she touched some paper. Raising the pillow to see what she was touching, she gasped at the large roll of money left.

Jerome must have left it! No one else had been in her bed. She put the roll of money in the pocket of the robe and took a quick shower. The idea of him leaving money after they made love almost cheapened the experience. How could he do something like that?

So bothered by it even more after she got out the shower, she went over to her address book to see if she had a number for him. She couldn't ask her mother for the number, because she'd get too suspicious. Since she wouldn't be playing Denise anymore, she knew that she wouldn't be able to get the number from her own sister without Denise getting suspicious.

Her doorbell rung and she ran to the door without looking to see who it was hoping it was Jerome.

No such luck! Denise stood there looking like she had just stepped out of a salon.

"Good afternoon, Dana," Denise said, brushing past her and coming in Dana's home.

"Whatever it is," Dana said closing the door and facing Denise. "The answer is no."

Denise feigned a look of shock. "What would make you think I want something?"

"Because for as long as I've been living here, you have never stepped foot on my property."

"I hadn't been invited."

"What about my house warming party? I did send you an invitation."

"You weren't serious about me coming, were you?" Denise took off her glasses and looked around. "It's so small. How could you have a party here?"

Her tone of disgust really rubbed Denise the wrong way. "The door is still unlocked, Denise. You can run your tail right on out. I've got work to do."

"It's eleven o'clock in the afternoon, Dana. What work do you have to do when you're about four hours late for it?"

Dana bit her lip to suppress the gasp. She usually was sitting at her computer by now and she had to get together her deliveries by five. In all the years of owning her business, she had never overslept. "I own my own business. I'm my own boss. I make my own hours."

The look of envy came over Denise's face. "Fine, Dana. Do we have time to talk?"

"Sure, but do you mind me getting dressed?"

Denise followed her sister to her bedroom door. "I wanted to first know how it went."

"How what went?" Dana was glad her sister stood outside the door because it gave Dana time to straighten the bed, before finding some clothes.

"My honeymoon, silly."

Dana found a sweatshirt and pants, quickly and then started to tackle her mused hair. "He didn't suspect a thing."

"Of course not. He's not an observant man, Dana. He just likes a pretty face."

That wasn't true about Jerome, in Dana's opinion. He was a confused man, but she wasn't going to dispute this with shallow Denise.

"Tell me what happened. He's bound to go down memory lane one day."

Talking about what happened on her honeymoon to someone she couldn't stand was rather sick, but Dana bit her lip again to remind herself that it wasn't all hers. True, Denise did not deserved Jerome, but Dana never felt from the get go that she deserved him either and if she ever wanted to be with him, her own deception had to be known. Once that was out the bag, Dana was positive Jerome would want nothing to do with her.

"I'm waiting," Denise said impatiently.

Dana had finished putting on her clothes and came out the room to go to the kitchen. Denise followed. "We got to the chapel/hotel, got married and spent the night together."

"What happened?! Did you fuck him?"

Dana quickly removed the two cups of coffee on the table so Denise wouldn't suspect she had company last night. "No...I mean yes...this is way to embarrassing to discuss, Denise, and I couldn't deny him. There was some touching," she said evasively.

"What kind of touching?"

Dana warmed her water in the microwave to have some herbal tea and fixed her toast. "Tasting was more like it."

"Eww...you did that to him? He asked for it?"

"You never did that?"

"Once or twice," Denise admitted with an embarrassed cackle. "But he was so damn big my jaw got tired."

"Doesn't the idea of sharing your man with your sister bother you?"

"He's just a man," Denise said nonchalantly. "He's been shared before. Men do it all the time and don't think about it, Dana. There's nothing wrong. It's not like he was with both of us at the same time. Now that's nasty."

That was a weird way to accept the situation, but Dana had to admit she hadn't been thinking at all about Denise when Jerome was here last night making love to her. Although, if there were two Jeromes, she wouldn't mind being with them at the same time. This brought a slight amusement to herself.

"And then?" Denise asked.

Dana finished fixing her breakfast and went through the door that connected her flat with the other part. Denise was right behind her. "We slept, awoke, went shopping, had lunch in Cleveland, came back, had sex somewhere between all that and then came home."

"And?"

"And what? That's it."

"And how was he?"

"I mean he was a good lover-"

Disgusted, Denise said, "I'm not talking about in bed. I mean how was he as a person, silly."

"Jerome's a nice guy. He was nothing but nice."

"Oh please, the man's got a tongue that lays people low. He's crude and sarcastic all the time."

They were talking about two different people in Dana's opinion. "Look, Denise. Jerome was nothing but nice to me. I'm not lying."

Denise huffed, while digging around in his purse. "Here's the money I promised you."

Dana looked at the check her sister handed her. It was twenty thousand. "This is more than we discussed."

"I know, but your services are not done, Dana." Denise handed her another envelope.

"What's that?"

"It's a plane ticket to sunny Florida."

"You're giving me a vacation?" Dana questioned.

"Yes and no, silly." Denise sat in a chair, while Dana sat behind her desk and logged into her computer. "I'm giving you an opportunity to be with him again."

"What?" Dana almost dropped her tea all over her desk.

"He left this morning to go to spring training early, but he ordered me to have my ass in Miami in August to our vacation home down there in a month before the season starts and I had better act like I had acted on our honeymoon. I've never stayed at the home personally, but it used to be the home where he grew up before he moved up here. I know it's only to come down there and have sex because he doesn't like to have sex while the season is going on. That's why I came over to find all that out. Seems like he's not going to take my attitude anymore and I can't think of any more ways to put him off anymore. Since I can't think of ways to disobey my husband-"

Dana cut her off correcting her, "He's my husband, remember?"

Denise sucked her teeth. "Oh yeah. Well, I was on my way to my lawyers anyway to discuss that matter, but since you enjoyed yourself the first time being me, why not again?"

"NO!" Dana exclaimed, standing up and handed back the check. "And I don't want your money. Not anymore."

"Oh please," Denise said. "You need the money. Look at this place."

Dana tore up the check and hurled the shreds at her sister. "Get the hell out my house, Denise."

Standing up, Denise shrugged. "I can write another check. Think about it. It's not for another two months, Dana."

"Get out!"

Denise left and Dana slumped in the chair distraught.

Part 14

For three weeks Dana avoided Denise's phone calls. The more time passed, the more of a slump she fell into. Jerome never contacted her and she started to worry because her period didn't start on time and it was never late.

When she was almost two weeks late, she really started to worry and went to the store to get a pregnancy test.

Just as she was reading the positive results, her doorbell rung.

Andre stood at the door with a white envelope outstretched to her and a look of concern on his face. "Are you all right?"

She didn't answer. The queasiness in her stomach had started and she found herself running to the bathroom and throwing up the toast and tea she had that morning.

He had come into the home and was standing at the bathroom door while she continued to throw up even last night's contents that were left in her stomach.

"Looks like you had some food that didn't agree with you. You need me to call an ambulance or something?" he asked when she had finally stopped.

She shook her head and rinsed her mouth out with water before taking a swig of mouthwash. After clearing her throat, she asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Denise was concerned."

"And?"

"Well, she said she knew if she came, you probably wouldn't let her in and if Gloria came, you wouldn't want to listen, so she thought I could do something. Help, you know?"

"Help me with what?"

"She said what's ever in the envelope you would know."

Looking down at the envelope, she saw the words, "You owe me," written on the front in Denise's handwriting. Opening up the envelope was another check for twenty thousand and plane tickets and instructions on how to get to the house. There was a security card at the bottom of the envelope also.

Andre spoke some more as she stared into the envelope. "She said to tell you that she spoke with a lawyer and when you return, she'll have some papers sent over for you to sign. Papers that will release you from whatever she had you get into. She wouldn't tell me the details, but she said you would understand. The only thing will be that the papers won't be submitted until the end of the year."

Dana needed to go. She wanted to see him, but...

Turning away from Andre to get her thoughts together, she clutched the envelope. All the deceit through out the years overcame her, bringing tears to her eyes and she didn't know if she could ever tell him the truth.

"You okay, Dana?"

"Yeah," she said tightly. "I'll be okay. Tell her, I'll do it."

* * ***

Finding the small townhouse Jerome Lott owned wasn't very hard to do once she gave an address to the cab driver. She was supposed to go to the car rental place and pick up something, but she opted to do this later. She really had no intentions of staying the whole three days that the ticket said.

One night with Jerome, and then she would go. She just needed to get at least a telephone number from him somehow without making it seem like she really didn't know.

The place was beautiful and there was an array of clothing in the closet for the both of them still with the price tag on them. There was a pool in the back, a Jacuzzi in a private area and a whirlpool bath in the master bedroom that could seat at least four.

The master bed was a California king, but it looked like a king and twin put together. There was a trophy room with all his pre-college stuff and then there was a private workout room.

There was a guesthouse in the back and she was drawn to go there and look around. Her security card didn't open the doors though, so she was forced to look around the windows. Someone was living there, she could tell. The closet was open and there were men clothing hanging inside.

She knocked on the door and rung the doorbell, but no one answered. Moving around the other side of the guesthouse, she saw there was another trophy room, but she could barely see the name on the trophies. One by the window only said, "T. Lott."

It could have been his father, she suspected but his father's name was Artie.

The flight had somehow taken a lot out of her in her 'condition' and she decided to get some rest. It was only ten in the morning and she couldn't eat a thing because of the morning sickness.

When she awoke, by the bedside table on the bed was another envelope. She opened it and saw that there was a V.I.P. pass to the game with Miami and Detroit at seven o'clock that night. There was a short note in Jerome's handwriting. "Limo pick up at six."

Dana wondered if he had come or had someone else come. Getting out of bed, she saw there was a second set of suitcases by hers and she knew someone had been in the room.