Aching For It Read Online Free PDF Page A

young man, Miss Templeton.”
    “Yes he is,” Frankie concurred with Betty Boop baby talk and
a big puckered picture smooch. Sis has been known to overact on occasion.
    “So I made Jesse introduce me to him over the phone, and it
was love at first chat. After that, we talked almost every day and decided that
marriage was definitely part of our immediate future.”
    “Why haven’t you been down there to see him yet?”
    “I’m an actress, chile,” she said with a Vivica A. Fox
ghetto-fabulous head twirl and hand flourish. “I been working on a new film, Short
Sleeves in December , for the past three months and haven’t had a single day
off. But now that the film’s wrapped—by the way, look for it in theaters this
winter. I play Evan Ross’ Cal State LA college professor he has an affair with
during Christmas break, but when school starts back up, he dumps me for Meagan
Good, a new student fresh off a farm in Indiana. It’s a fabulously messy love
story with lots of steamy sex scenes—well anyway, now that the film’s wrapped,
I’m headed down there to marry me up my man.”
    “You seem to have a lot of experience with marriage, Miss
Templeton. What would this be, your third?”
    “ Only my third. Honey, in Hollywood terms, I’m Mother
Teresa.”
    * * * * *
    Ten days later, with her film shoot behind her, her story
intact and a week before I’d have to prep my Snoop Dogg photo shoot for The
Source , Frankie accompanied me to Santo Domingo to marry the man of my
dreams. We burned up thousands of frequent flier miles gliding over the
glistening blue Caribbean with the giddiness of teenagers on spring break. The
plane couldn’t set down on its island destination fast enough, especially for
me. I dialed Étie’s number the moment wheels met tarmac, and the flight
attendant gave us permission.
    “Hey, baby!” I singsonged like a Christmas caroler. “We’re
here!”
    “Oh my darling, I be waiting at main terminal,” he said with
a festiveness of his own. “I love you! I miss you!”
    We paid the ten dollar visitors’ admittance tax, sailed
through customs and entered the main terminal, which was crowded with smiling
wide-eyed locals. And then I saw him and he me. He was giggling excitedly. We
both were as we fought our way through the thick crowd. We rushed toward each
other.
    “There he is!” I exclaimed to Frankie as she hustled to keep
up with me.
    “Dayum!” she blurted out, stopping in her tracks. “He’s even
prettier in person!”
    I barely heard her. All I could hear was Étie crying, “ Baby!
Baby! ” as we fell into each other’s arms and hugged furiously. When we
finally came up for air, I introduced him to my sister.
    “It is pleasure to meet you,” he said with a warm sibling
hug, “and thank you for doing this for us, Francesca.”
    “No problem,” she swooned, eyeballing him from head to
crotch to toe.
    He led us to the parking lot and helped us load our
carry-ons into the car he had rented. He then whisked us off to the
all-inclusive beachfront resort in Juan Dolio we had booked for the occasion of
the mock honeymoon, which would follow the small civil marriage ceremony in
downtown Santo Domingo. I had totally agreed with Étie when he’d said that a
church wedding should be reserved for when he and I could legally walk the
aisle together.
    After getting Frankie settled in her room and reminding her
to take full advantage of the all-inclusive cocktails down at the pool bar,
Étie and I could not wait to get to our room. Once there, my lover attacked me
with all the force of his anxious love, backing my stumbling, giggling body to
the bed with his hungry kisses and groping.
    “I love you so much, my beautiful chocolate man,” he cried
desperately in between kisses, as I landed flat on the bed with a bounce and
equal want. He jumped on top of me and pinned my surrendering arms down with a
strength I hadn’t experienced from him before. He stared down at me with so
much