Never Again, No More 2

by Untamed

  “The next time she was in Dallas, we had a chance meeting at a hotel lounge, and we refused to fight the feelings we were experiencing. We took things slow, getting to know each other and enjoying our time together. I won’t lie. The fact that I am in a bad position with Ryan eats at me, but I can’t hide how I feel about your daughter. I love Charice, and there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for her or the triplets. Nothing in this world,” Lincoln said, smiling at me as he gripped my hand tighter. I felt my cheeks flush.

  After a long pause, my mom spoke, waving her hand in the air. “Well, we can’t tell you how to live your lives. But you two are sure about this?”

  I nodded. “Yes, Mama. I love him.”

  “And I love your daughter. I’m crazy about her,” Lincoln said, kissing me on my cheek.

  “And Ryan is okay with this?” she countered. “All things aside, he’s changed, and he truly loves and cares for you, Charice.”

  “Umm, we haven’t exactly told him yet.” I bit my lip and waited for the blowup.

  “Say what?” they yelled in unison.

  “There just never seemed like a right time.”

  “You mean to tell me that you two have dated to the point of falling in love and you haven’t said anything to Ryan? Nothing at all?” my dad asked.

  We shook our heads.

  “Well, thank the good Lord you two aren’t talking about getting married. At least he’ll have time to adjust,” my mom blurted.

  Lincoln and I looked at each other. “Mom, about that—”

  “Wait a minute!” She jumped up. “I know good and well you’re not telling me that you’re engaged.”

  “Umm, well, actually, Mr. and Mrs. Taylor, I asked Charice to marry me on our trip to Paradise Island . . .” Lincoln said and paused out of uncertainty.

  “And I accepted,” I finished.

  “Wait a minute! You mean to tell me that you went to Paradise Island with Lincoln, who you told me was a friend, got engaged, and no one knows about this relationship?” my mom asked, hands on her hips.

  “When you make it sound like that, it seems so horrible,” I said.

  “Answer the question!” she hollered.

  “Yes, that’s what happened,” I admitted.

  “Unbelievable!” My mom threw her hands up.

  I turned to Lincoln. “This is not working out how I thought,” I said before turning back to my parents. “Look, it seems bad and rushed, but please, we are grown adults. We didn’t just do this on a whim.”

  “Of course it doesn’t seem that way to you. You’ve known about it for six months!” my mom exclaimed. “Have you told his parents? I’m sure they must be livid!”

  “Actually, his parents knew about us already, so they were happy to hear the news,” I admitted willingly, even though I was adding more fuel to the fire.

  My mom shot us a hard glare. Then she focused her heated stare at me. “You trusted his parents with the news. His parents—who have a relationship with Ryan—but not us?”

  “Mrs. Taylor, I told my parents on my own volition. I didn’t even tell Charice that I was going to tell them,” Lincoln defended us.

  “Then that makes you the one out of the two of you who has some common sense. I’m sure your parents had fun getting to know my daughter the way a parent is supposed to,” she shouted as my dad consoled her.

  Lincoln stood up and walked over to them. “In hindsight, I should’ve encouraged Charice to tell you all. For that, I am sorry. I guess we were so consumed by how Ryan and the kids would react that we didn’t consider your reaction. I know that all of this has taken you by surprise, but please believe me when I say I truly love your daughter, and I would love it if I could have permission to marry her.”

  “Now you want permission?” my dad asked sarcastically.

  I joined Lincoln’s side. “Dad, he’s being polite. Don’t take this out on him, because it was my bad and not his. His obligation is to his parents. Now I am sorry for not telling you guys. I really didn’t expect our relationship to develop this quickly. However, it has, and I love him. Whether you guys approve or disapprove, I’m marrying him. I’m begging you to please look past my mistakes to see my happiness and be a part of it,” I said as I rubbed Lincoln’s back.

  My mom, who’d had her back turned toward us, turned to face me. “You’re serious about this, aren’t you?”

  I smiled and nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

  The scoff that escaped her couldn’t be missed, but there was a glint of understanding in her eyes. Grudgingly, she shook her head, then nodded in acceptance. “I could kill you, but I love you. You have to give me some time to get used to this, but if this is truly what you both want, I will support you.”

  “Thank you, Mama,” I cooed as we embraced tightly. “You always have my back.”

  “Yes, I do, so please stop blindsiding me with information,” she told me. Then she hugged Lincoln. “You better take care of my baby.”

  He laughed and hugged her in return. “I will. That is a promise.”

  “Let me just tell both of you that if you pop up at my house with a grandbaby I know nothing about, I’m whipping y’all’s asses!” she cautioned.

  “We promise we will not do that!” Lincoln and I both laughed. I turned to my dad. “Dad, we cool?”

  He shook his head. “No, we ain’t cool. Your mother may be cool with this, but not me. Not at all,” he said and stormed out, heading toward his office.

  “Daddy!” I yelled after him to no avail. I’d never seen him react this way. Usually, the roles were reversed. My mom was the stubborn one, and he was the forgiving one. “Why is he acting this way?” I turned and asked my mom.

  “You’re his little girl, Charice. You may be grown, but you’re always our little girl. You remember how hard your dad took your pregnancy and the Ryan situation? Even now, it’s still hard. He just puts the best on the outside for his grandkids. He’s always been your protector and provider. He doesn’t want to see you go through any more changes. Then you waltz in here and declare that Lincoln—who we know nothing about—is filling that space, and you all but demand that we accept that. It’s a lot for him. You’re his baby, his only baby.”

  Remorse instantly filled me. My mother was right. Regardless of Lincoln or any other man, my dad always had been the rock and quiet warrior I’d gone to for understanding and solace. He always would be that. He never let me see him sweat, the only exception being his fight with Ryan. True enough, Lincoln was the love of my life, but my daddy was my daddy. I needed him to know that, no matter what, he would always be my daddy.

  “Hey, you,” I said quietly as I walked into his office.

  “Hey,” he said plainly and sat back in his chair.

  “Daddy, can I talk to you?”

  He threw down the newspaper he’d been reading. “Sure, Charice,” he said.

  I sat beside him. “I was wrong with how I handled everything.”

  He nodded. “Mm-hmm.”

  I cut straight to what I knew the issue was. “He’s a good guy. He’s nothing like how Ryan used to be.”

  “So you say.”

  “I know this time, Daddy. I learned a lot from you and, honestly, from Ryan. Now I know what I need in my life and what I want. I also know what I won’t tolerate. Lincoln is a gentleman. He makes sure I know I’m his one and only, and he takes good care of my heart. I love the man in him, and he loves the woman in me. He reminds me a lot of you.”

  “That won’t make me like how you handled it.”

  “But does it make you feel better about my decision?”

  He exhaled. “I don’t know.”

  “You’ll always be my daddy. Nothing will ever change that. I just need for you to allow Lincoln to take his rightful place as my husband. I trust him, and if he messes up, my daddy will be right there,” I said, leaning my head on his shoulder.

  Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. “Come in,” my dad said.

  Lincoln gingerly walked
in and cleared this throat. “Mr. Taylor, I’m sorry to interrupt, but I just felt I needed to say something—”

  “My daughter is talking to me, and you just waltz in here to make a statement?” my dad interrupted.

  With his head bowed, Lincoln placed his hands in his pockets and stood by the door. He took a moment as if contemplating his next words before he gazed up and looked my father in the eyes. “I’m sorry for the intrusion, sir. I value your time, and I value your time with your daughter. I simply want you to know that I will take care of your daughter because I love her. I swear that on my life. I am not like Ryan, nor am I here to replace you,” Lincoln pleaded to him.

  “And you’re quite sure about this?” my dad asked.

  “Yes, sir,” Lincoln answered. “Very sure.”

  My dad turned to me and hugged me. “I love you, sweet pea. If he makes you happy, then I am happy for you.”

  He hadn’t called me sweet pea since I was in middle school, and it caused a girlish grin to grace my face. “Thanks, Daddy.”

  He winked at me. “You’re welcome, my love,” he said and kissed me on my forehead. He got up and walked over to Lincoln, silently accepting him by extending him a handshake.

  “Despite my reaction, I have a good feeling about you. I’m going to put all things aside and trust in what you have told me.”

  Lincoln smiled widely and shook his hand. “Thank you, sir. I appreciate that, and again I am sorry for how everything was handled.”

  My dad nodded. “I can accept that. I give you my permission to marry my daughter.”

  “Thank you so much, Mr. Taylor. I promise you won’t be disappointed,” Lincoln said excitedly as I stood next to him, grinning from ear to ear.

  My dad opened his arms for a hug, and Lincoln obliged. “Good. And I better not be disappointed, or I’m going to cut your balls off,” my dad whispered in his ear. I pretended not to hear.

  Lincoln pulled back quickly and swallowed hard. “Yes, sir.”

  “We’re clear on that?” my dad asked him.

  “Very,” Lincoln nodded.

  “Good. Now let’s go see what my beautiful wife is cooking,” my dad said, walking out of his office.

  “Did you hear what your dad told me?” he whispered.

  “Uh-uh, sure didn’t,” I faked and walked down the hall quickly with Lincoln on my heels.

  I loved Lincoln, but I agreed with my daddy on that one. Besides, I wasn’t getting on my dad’s bad side for anyone. All may have been well that ended well on that note, but if the meeting with my parents was an indication of a fraction of the tension we’d have to go through with Ryan, then I knew we were up for a damn battle. Trust me. Every time Ryan called or saw the kids, he always tried to push up on me. He was utterly relentless. So many times, I wanted to just burst out and say, “I’m with Lincoln!”

  I felt bad for Ryan, but this new and improved Charice, the one who finally found life outside of Ryan Westmore, really didn’t give a damn about his hurt feelings. I’d gone through the internal emotional struggle about my relationship with Lincoln, and then I realized I really didn’t owe Ryan anything after all the times he had hurt me in the past. I wanted to claim my heart’s independence from Ryan, and hiding my relationship with Lincoln was like still being trapped in Ryan’s web. I’d been tangled in his web of deception for eight years, and it was time to, as Mary Mary would say, “Take the shackles off my feet so I can dance!”

  But I understood Lincoln’s position. Ryan was his boy. He still confided in Lincoln about his love for me, and I knew how foul Lincoln felt. Because of that, I had continued to give Lincoln the time he needed to best prepare himself for the revelation to Ryan. After Lincoln shared that, their friendship would never be the same, perhaps even nonexistent. Still, it was time.

  * * *

  I hadn’t seen Lincoln since we’d told my parents two weeks ago, so I decided to fly out to Dallas for two reasons: to surprise him with a visit and to make plans to break the news to Ryan. Yes, I needed to see my man. The two weeks we’d spent apart felt like utter torture, but I’d be lying if I said that his absence was the primary reason for the impromptu visit. Now that we’d moved beyond dating to engagement, we could no longer continue to withhold information from Ryan. The sting of our newfound love would hurt, but now that we were mixing families, the revelation was a necessity.

  He was so ecstatic when he opened the door Friday morning to find me standing there that he decided to skip his workout with the team so that we could spend time together. We discussed some things we wanted for the wedding and got down to our personal form of working out: lovemaking. Umm! It was so good we lingered in the bed from exhaustion until late morning.

  Waking up first, I rolled over and rubbed his chest. “Good morning, baby.”

  Smiling sweetly, he yawned. “It’s more like good late morning,” he chuckled. “Ma, you put your thang down last night.”

  “You know how ma does it,” I giggled and kissed him.

  He pulled me close to him. “I can’t wait until we’re married.”

  I squeezed him tight. “Me either. Then I won’t have to surprise you. I’ll already be here.”

  He caressed my hair. “I love you, ma.”

  “I love you too, pa,” I said and sat up. “But if I lie here anymore, I’m going to grow attached to this bed. I’m going to grab a shower, and then I’ll make us some lunch. How about that?”

  “Can I shower with you?” he asked seductively.

  “Two things are going to happen if you do that.”

  He tried his best to look innocent. “What are the two things?”

  “Either there won’t be any showering in the shower, or there will be, but we’ll get funky again by moving it back to the bed,” I laughed. “So, you stay here.”

  “What’s so wrong with the bed?” he asked, faking innocence.

  “I know you love this honey love between my legs, but we have to take a break, Lincoln. I need to look over the books for the nonprofits,” I told him. “And I wanted to discuss some more things with you. We can play later,” I added vaguely. I didn’t want to spoil the mood with the “Ryan conversation.”

  “But I don’t wanna be a grownup right now. I wanna plaayy,” he whined in the cutest little boy voice that he could muster up.

  I burst into laughter. “Well, I’ll tell you what. If you’re good, ma will throw in an extra treat for you later.”

  His eyes danced with excitement. “Cool with me. Go shower.”

  “Spoiled ass,” I laughed, heading to the shower.

  Though I’d have rather lain in bed with him, my reason for getting up was twofold. Lincoln had been pining over a new Sharp ninety-inch flat-panel television for his—our—entertainment room, and since the investments I’d made with some of the money Ryan had given me had produced a decent return, I ordered the $9,000 television for Linc out of my own pocket. It was being delivered today, so I needed to be decent when the installers came.

  I smiled to myself as the multiple showerheads cascaded a fury of hot water down my body. I loved his shower—our shower. I had to get use to the fact that all of this was now mine too. At times, I still couldn’t believe it. Lincoln and I were getting married.

  While I finished my shower, I heard the doorbell ring. Upset that I was missing my own surprise, and so Lincoln wouldn’t refuse the damn thing, I hurriedly got out and threw on the first thing I saw—one of Lincoln’s wife beaters, a pair of my short shorts, and my flip-flops—and bounded down the stairs. Grinning from ear to ear, I headed down the hall to the foyer. Once I entered the foyer, I overheard someone tell Lincoln that he forgot a team-building golf game, and Lincoln anxiously said that he’d catch up with them later. It didn’t dawn on me until I was in plain sight of everyone standing in the foyer that it wasn’t the installers at all, but Lincoln’s teammates, Marcus, Lamar . . . and Ryan!

  “Dawg, how could you forget the golf game? You planned it—” Marcus stopped in midsent
ence as I appeared. Their attention turned to me.

  “Charice?” Ryan’s confused expression said everything.

  Standing there like a deer caught in headlights, I threw my hands over my mouth. “Oh shit,” I mumbled.

  Lincoln, with head bent, let out an exasperated sigh. “Shit,” he muttered.

  The air in the room turned stale. My skin was flushed, and even the little bit of clothing I wore made me hotter. I wanted Ryan to know, sure I did, but not like this. Never like this. This was cruel. This was embarrassing. This was cause to kill a muthafucka. Nobody deserved anything like this. Lincoln looked as if he were utterly defeated, and Ryan looked stuck between confusion and pure rage. Marcus’s mouth hung agape in shock, and Lamar kept looking back and forth between Ryan, Lincoln, and me, trying to figure out the connection.

  Finally, Lamar spoke first. “Charice? Isn’t she your kids’ mother?” the rookie asked Ryan.

  “Yes, she is,” Ryan said tensely. “Now, I want to know what the fuck you’re doing here.”

  Just then, a Best Buy delivery guy came up to the open doorway. “Excuse me. I have a delivery for a Lincoln Harper.”

  “I didn’t order anything,” Lincoln stated abruptly with a bit of irritation in his voice.

  The deliveryman looked at his clipboard. “No, you didn’t. It’s from a Charice Taylor. She had it delivered for—”

  I bolted past Lincoln. “It’s my delivery,” I confirmed. “Can you all reschedule it?”

  “Ma’am, this is a three-hour job. The television is the largest—”

  “I understand,” I said, cutting him off. “But now is really, really not a good time. Please take it back to the store, and I will reschedule.”

  Frustrated, he huffed. “Okay, can you please just sign this? I need to verify that this is the correct address and that a delivery was attempted,” he stated, and I signed the necessary paperwork with Ryan standing next to me in the open doorway, his anger burgeoning.