Push The Button by Feminista Jones

Darlene, in for a kiss right after that.
    Marcus focused on his collard greens.
    “So when’s the wedding, kids?” Joseph asked for the opposite end of the table.
    “We’re not sure yet,” David responded.
    “What’s the hold up, man?” Marcus inquired, between bites. He looked at Nicole. “She scared or something?” He winked at her. David felt her stiffen. Nicole grabbed His thigh under the table and squeezed. His jaw was clenched again.
    “Scared? What does she have to be scared of? My brand… of love isn’t anything to fear. Not at all,” David replied.
    “Well you know how some of these women can be. They can’t handle the pressure…run at the first sign of trouble straight into the arms of the next man,” Marcus countered.
    “Awww shit,” Darlene said under her breath. Jonathan shot her a dirty look. She pretended to focus on her plate, pushing her fork around, shaking her head.
    “I’ll be right back,” David said, standing up to excuse Himself. As he stood, so did Nicole, as was the expected behavior. David said, “Sit,” and He headed to the stairs to go up to the bathroom. Nicole sat back down and tried to focus on eating, but found her appetite completely gone.
    “What’s the matter, baby girl? Why are you acting so cold? Feeling a chill down below?” He pointed to the pocket on his shirt, where Nicole saw a red satiny cloth sticking out. “You missing something? Found these in the bathroom on the floor, by the tub,” he said in a hushed tone. He quickly pulled the red panties out, balled them in his hand, brought them to his nose, and inhaled.
    Nicole grabbed the glass of wine before her, brought it to her lips, and whispered back with a slight smirk, “Come now, Marcus, you know me better than that.” She took a long sip from her wine glass. “I wasn’t wearing any to begin with,” she continued, looking him directly in his eyes.
    Just then, Janice let out another infectious giggle and Marcus’s eyes shot to her, the horror spreading across his face.  As he seemed to pale a bit, Nicole choked on her wine, from the knot of laughter bubbling in her throat. Wine shot from her nose all over her plate and her face turned beet red. She alternated between laughing and coughing so loudly, she caught Janice’s and Joseph’s attention. Both shot up from their seats and rushed down to see if she was OK. Marcus quickly shoved the panties into his pants pocket. Just then David returned to the table to see the commotion.
    “Baby, you OK?” He said, rushing to her aid, patting her on the back.
    “Don’t pat her back, boy, you’ll only make it worse,” Janice cautioned. Nicole waved both of them off and began to wipe the tears from her eyes.
    “It’s nothing, nothing really. I’m fine. Wine just went down the wrong pipe,” she said when she caught a steady breath. Janice and Joseph made their ways back to their end of the table. Nicole dabbed her eyes a bit more and began wiping up the wine off of her plate. David looked over at Marcus and noticed his face seemed off.
    “What the hell happened?” He asked, knowing something was amiss.
    “Oh nothing baby, seriously. Marcus here just developed a special fondness for your mother that he never imagined he could have,” she said with a laugh. “It’s all good, baby, I promise. Finish eating, love,” she finished.
    David wasn’t satisfied and looked at Marcus.
    “Listen to your woman,” Marcus said with a bite that was not lost on David. He opted to ignore it when He was again distracted by His mother’s laughter.  God, she is so happy,  He thought to Himself.
    “David, uhhh, why don’t you step outside with me for a second. I just want a few words with you, nothing major, if that’s OK with your lady, of course,” Marcus said, attempting as sincere a look as he could muster.
    David looked at Marcus skeptically, but agreed to join him. The two men excused themselves and walked outside and stood on the front porch.