C.A.K.E
Chapter 11: Too Close for Comfort
Though Eli asked her to stay put, he's so glad she ignored him.
Arden glides past Melinda and Armando, and into Eli's eager embrace. She's let her hair down, and her Nikes have been swapped for a pair of black flats.
With her back to the enemy, she surveys her husband. She puts her arms around his torso and whispers to him.
"Are you okay?"
Elliott cradles her chin in one hand and slips his other into her hair. Her wrinkled brow and the tears clouding her almond eyes, remind him of the reason he loves her.
He smiles at Arden. "I am perfect."
Then he bends his head and kisses his wife. He closes his eyes and slips his tongue between her lips. She follows his lead and folds her arms around his neck. They both relax into the space that belongs to them alone, a home that exists in their every kiss. Somewhere safe.
Elliott rests his forehead against hers, and she notices the singed spot on his shirt. Arden's jaw tightens, and she asks again if he's all right. He nods and pulls her against his chest.
Melinda clears her throat behind them.
Elliott watches Arden roll her eyes, before turning to face Mel and Armando. A pageant grin worthy of the crown replaces the disgust that turned down her lips just seconds earlier.
"Melinda." Arden gives her the same stale greeting as Elliott did.
"Arden, so nice to see you," Melinda says, eyeballing her.
"Mm-hmm. Is this the boyfriend?" Ardi asks, glancing at Armando.
"Fiancé."
"Semantics, Melinda." Arden shrugs.
"Armando." He offers his hand to her.
Arden stares at his outstretched palm. She gives him a quick wave of her hand, before folding her arms across her middle.
He grins. "Another fiery one, I see."
Arden shifts her focus back to Melinda. "Why are you here?"
"You kidnapped my kids."
"I did no such thing. They left of their own volition."
"I find that very hard to believe."
"Believe what you will, Melinda. Neither Elliott nor I knew they were coming back to Birmingham."
"Fine. We can all pretend you didn't lure them back here." She pauses to glare at Arden. "I'm taking them home."
"They are home," Elliott says.
"Their home is with me."
"Not tonight, it isn't. It's late. They're staying here," Arden asserts.
"Don't you think that's a decision they have to make for themselves?"
Ardi nods. "You're absolutely right. Let's go upstairs and you can ask them yourself."
Arden and Elliott apologize to Edward for Melinda's outlandish behavior and ask him to have management send them a bill for the damages.
They also ask him to make sure that after tonight she is not allowed inside the building under any circumstances ever again.
"Shall we?" Eli leads the way to the elevator and they all step inside the small space.
None of them are too thrilled about sharing the close quarters, even for this short duration. All except one, that is. Armando leers at Arden. Elliott notices the other man's eyes on her. He switches places with her, eyeballing the model.
Melinda nudges Armando's arm. "Like what you see?"
"You know I appreciate beauty in any form." He smiles at Arden, who groans.
"Yes, she's very pretty. But you might want to check under the hood first. Sometimes that new Ferrari turns out to be a lemon ... Right, Fin?" She raises her eyebrow at Elliott.
"Don't start, Melinda," he warns.
She sets her sights on her real prey. "Still barren, Arden?"
"For the last time ..." Elliott's response is cut short by Arden's hand on his arm.
"Yeah, not much has changed with me." Ardi tilts her head and smiles at Melinda. "But I see you've managed to become even more of a bitch."
"You still think that's an insult. That's cute."
"I didn't think it would be fair to point out that dime store dye job, and those crow's feet." Arden sighs at Melinda's bottle-blonde locks. "I was raised to respect my elders."
"At least the sound of my broken biological clock doesn't keep me awake at night."
Arden laughs. "Oh, I'm sure yours stopped ticking twenty years ago."
"Maybe. But I'm not the one still sporting scars from twenty years ago." She gestures to Arden's cheek. "You know there are procedures for that now. There's no need to walk around looking like a patchwork quilt."
"I don't see why not." Ardi shrugs. "You're allowed to look like the crypt keeper in front of millions of people every week."
Melinda is silent a moment, pretending to be too engrossed in her freshly manicured nails.
"Speaking of my show, you would be perfect for a segment we're doing next month. It's called When Genetics Goes Wrong." She looks Arden over from head to toe and sighs. "Guess, some people just never get past that ugly duckling phase."
Arden bites the inside of her cheek. Then she kind of chuckles and glances down at her feet, before making eye contact with Melinda again.
"I used to think you were just an insecure, fame whore." Ardi smirks. "But now I see that was a compliment."
Mel glares back at Arden. "I'd rather be a fame whore than a motherless one any day."
The air in the elevator is set ablaze, sucking all of the oxygen out of the cramped space.
"All right, that's enough. Give it a rest, Melinda." Eli takes Arden's trembling hand.
Melinda raises her palms. "Wasn't me."
Elliott gives Arden's hand a gentle squeeze, and she does the same. She's okay.
Finally, they reach their floor and walk down the long hallway that leads into the penthouse.
Melinda takes a moment to study the artwork on the walls. A portrait of Arden, Elliott, and the twins is of particular interest to her all of a sudden.
"I let you two live in relative peace with my children." She's all but snarling at the photo. "Bet everyone around here thinks ya'll are a regular Brady Bunch."
"Who gives a fuck what people think. We're a family." Elliott takes a breath, keeping himself from saying more.
"I do care about my kids." Melinda's expression softens. It almost seems genuine. Almost.
"There aren't any cameras or press here, Melinda," Elliott smirks. “Do me a favor, and drop the bullshit."
"What are you talking about?" Mel asks.
"Give your other face a rest. I'm sure it gets enough airtime on your show."
"Well, which is it, Fin?" She turns to him. "Do you want me to behave, or not?"
"I want you to be a slightly better version of yourself. One who doesn't exact pleasure from crawling underneath other people's skin and defecating on their internal organs. One who isn't such a spiteful bitch."
"You're out of line, asshole. You can't talk to her like that." Armando makes a half-hearted attempt at defending his woman.
"Do you really wanna go there with me again?" Elliott charges up to him. "I can't even understand why you're doing so much talking."
"Why not, Finley?" Melinda asks. "Your little mouthpiece has had plenty to say tonight."
She narrows her eyes at Arden.
"Everybody just take it down a notch. Fighting with each other all night isn't going to solve anything." Arden steps into the middle of the fray and urges Eli away from Mel's glorified escort.
In less than three hours, she needs to be at the bakery. So it's time for everyone to put the bullshit to bed.
"Pardon me little Miss Muffet. But I'm not in the mood to hold hands and sing an old negro spiritual."
"Let's get one thing straight, father time." Arden addresses her. "None of your passive-aggressive shit in front of the kids. Whatever animosity there is between us, stays between us. Got it?"
Melinda gasps and places a hand over her chest.
"Really, Arden. You're so confrontational. Try to keep that ghetto girl attitude in check. This isn't the hood."
Melinda struts past Arden toward the door of the apartment.
wife's hand again. She squeezes it, much harder this time.
the sofa and Arden heads up to the twins'
to my kids alone
left foot on the stairs, resting her weight on her right. She hangs her head and sighs. Then
"It's your world, Melinda."
see that." She glares at Arden like she's the hired help, making sure to bump into her elbow as
as she starts up after her. Elliott catches her arm, hugging her
it,"
I really want to," she whines, like a bratty kid in the middle of a
up the stairs. "And I wouldn't blame you. But you are
still
conjugal visits." Elliott kisses her cheek, and they share a laugh. She faces him and drapes her arms around his neck. "I need more than a few
it that you need more than a few
something I can put into words." He settles his hands at her waist
can I see
of our house." He grabs her ass, then lifts her onto a nearby side table. "But I might be persuaded to give you a little
around his back and pulls him closer by the waistband of his
"Nope, try again."
couple of buttons
wagging a finger at her. "You
laughs, and a mischievous smile lights
head, and Elliott meets her lips halfway. They're lost in
and turns to find Armando has joined them in the hallway. His lithe build is leaned against the wall, staring at Arden like she's the newest installment on the Cinemax after-dark
Eli steps in front of his wife, blocking the other
chuckles and removes another cigarette from the slender silver case hidden in his breast pocket. He regards Elliott through his thick lashes, as
to interrupt your little United Nations
in the street like
head against Elliott's shoulder. She can't help
nudges him.
her, and she shakes her
the hall, last door on the
them in the direction of the
calls as he passes. He stops and turns on his
Won't happen again." He smiles and disappears
"Bastard," Elliott mutters.
kill Melinda, you can't
her. "How do you
smirks at her, and she shrugs. "I read the occasional magazine. Sue
Casper. Now Armando. I'm starting to feel
takes a
to worry about. They're
is your
closes her eyes
genius intellect, actually. Devilishly handsome with a hint of boyish charm." She smiles at
might know someone like
sometime." She sighs. "Until then, guess
I'm just a placeholder, that means I don't have to be a
kisses her. He slips a hand into her shirt, manhandling her delicate curves. Arden whimpers but
tear yourselves away from each
of the stairs, staring daggers
wait for Melinda to continue with their
her hands. Then she looks Arden dead in the
want to leave," Melinda utters each word through gritted
all the way down here. I should
my fault. I should have said something the second they showed up here," Arden says, a look of pity on
just ... nauseating." She plays with a thread on the sleeve of her dress. "They can stay here until Thursday, and
starts to object, but Eli touches her
glancing
the middle of the expansive room, looking around with her hands on her hips.
Eli
Melinda." Arden nods her head
wanders off in search of her convenient fiance, leaving Ardi
her arms around herself and glares at him. A
what's going on with
Armando gives Arden one more lingering look, before stepping onto the elevator with Mel. She flips him the bird. He pouts his
sighs and tries once again to hug his wife.
steps to her left, and sails past him back into the apartment. Elliott follows, with
Teagan's bedrooms. Somehow, Elliott knows it might be best not to follow her upstairs. She's already expressed a desire to throw someone down those same
foot of the staircase. A few minutes later, she jogs down the stairs again
He matches her steps into
a nearby floor lamp and asks Elliott to face her. She asks him to follow her finger, and repeat a quick phrase back to her.
as she asks, with an amused
up a vase, and tosses
doing?" he exclaims, barely saving it from a shattered
wondering, if Melinda's hand being shoved up your ass has
sink, and he groans like he wants to
"Every single time that woman shows up, your backbone . . . disintegrates.
for a moment before launching it at Eli. The miniature clay elephant hurtles through the air on a collision course with
another even larger porcelain dish at him. This one comes within inches of making contact with the hardwood floor. He snatches the plate from certain destruction in the nick
"Arden ..."
to put our relationship before your irrational fear of angering her. But yet again,
Elliott. The volume is moving so fast, his best option is to duck. As he rebounds,
He rubs
300-page projectiles and storms off to their bedroom. If she can't throw shit at him, then she's done talking. She flings the door of the master closed as
"Ardi, wait a minute."
her shirt and yanks off her jeans, before slipping out of her underwear. She throws the clothes into a
you going to charge around the house
her teeth, as she secures her hair into a loose bun on the
actually upset with
into the bathroom and closing
find some
door handle and realizes she didn't lock it. She wants him to
with caution. As mad as she is, she could be waiting behind the door with another blunt object. He peeks his head around the door. No baseball bats or crowbars jump
letting water that is almost as hot as her anger soak into her pores. Elliott opens the glass door. A rush of cooler air strikes
"Arden."
me alone, Elliott." She pulls
opens the thick glass once more, and steps inside the tiled shower with her without stopping to undress. The downpour from the various jets and showerheads in the steamy enclosure drenches his
"I can't do that."
"Get out," she demands.
"No."
"Elliott."
stands firm and
groans, and turns her back
to her shoulder, softly biting and sucking as he goes. She dips her shoulder and moves away from him.
slips his arms underneath hers, letting his hands cup her breasts. He massages
She helps him peel the wet clothes from his body, tearing the fabric from his
her over to the shower bench and makes her sit. He gets down on his knees in front of her. Then he starts to plead for
dirty blonde curls. Just when she's ready to scream for her savior,
his feet and lifts her. Ardi wraps her legs around his back. With one swift movement, he slips into her warmth. She melts like sugar in his arms, uttering his name over and over like it's her new
relieving the
groping each other in a feverish rhythm. Elliott
what she needs, without her having to ask. Sometimes he knows before she
her nails into Elliott's arms. He grips her tighter, as they both reach new heights where
now, he settles onto the shower bench with Ardi still straddling him.
tries to find her breath again, he
she says
"Round two, then."
hand on his chest. "I gotta
this time. "Stay home and play
have an eight
all my classes for the day." He looks
at
looking at you." He leans back to better admire all of her naked glory.
much fun as that sounds, I
and takes her breast
her fingers through
other breast. Eli alternates sucking and caressing, relentless in his
begins to wear her down. "Okay ... maybe
Elliott plunges his lips into
from his eager kiss. They could be in here until next week if she continues to let him
out of here, so I can
stay. I promise I'll be
"I already know
"Yes, you do."
manages to behave long enough for both of them to use the shower for its designated purpose. Though
of her usual beauty routine. She's swathed in a terry cloth robe, sitting on the edge of a white leather ottoman. He's kneeling in front of her, rubbing a body butter into her toasted skin. He has such careful hands. Eli has to put real effort into