Fighting the urge to take her for the fifth time, I reached for my keys, wallet, and cell that had fallen to the floor off of the table during our aggressive lovemaking.
“I don’t want a night of casual sex to mess things up.”
Gotta admit, that shit stung. “Casual sex?”
When our eyes met, she had this evasive, nonchalant smirk on her face. The passion was gone. The yearning had vanished.
“Yea.” Then she shrugged again, as if the hours I had spent making love to her meant nothing.
I had been fucking for years. Sadly, since I was a teenage boy. I knew what fucking was. That night, we hadn’t just been fucking. That was passion, desire, and chemistry.
But if she wanted to chalk it up to just sex, then so be it. I felt like I was begging her to see what had been growing between us. If she was determined to ignore it, maybe it was for a good reason.
“Holla at me when you need me,” was all I’d said as I headed towards the front door.
She looked like she wanted to say something, but I had opened the door and hurried out of it before she could decide what or if to at all.
I heard the door closing behind me as I made my way towards the elevator. Ironically, I was the one who felt cheap, as if I wasn’t good enough for her to see me beyond some hired help and a good time.
A few hours later, I was in the midst of laying some tile in a walk-in shower of a bathroom that I had designed in a home that JP Construction had built.
Working for Jeffery Peters had added more value to my life than selling dope ever had. I was still making dope moves but building houses had become even more of an addiction than the fast money had been in the streets. It was mind-blowing to see a piece of land turn into a beautiful structure worth six figures. To know that I had had a hand in building it was even more amazing.
“You ready for lunch, son?” I heard Jeffrey's voice behind me.
I peered out of the sliding glass doors that I had installed around the shower. Jeffrey was standing in the doorway, holding a Five Guys paper bag. My stomach growled when the aroma of beef invaded my nose.
“Hell yea.”
“C’mon then. Take a break.”
I gladly sat my tools down, left the shower, and followed Jeffrey. He was a sixty-year-old man, but he still built these homes with his own hands. He said that, despite having over fifty employees, being hands-on kept him humble.
In the past month and a half that I had been employed there, Jeffrey had grown even more of a liking to me. He respected that this was my attempt of leaving the street life alone, which I had finally been honest with him about since working for him. He was also amazed at how astonishing my remodeling designs were. He often told me that I had high paying skills that gave the homes more value. For that, he allowed me to design the entire construction, and in return, I received a percentage of the sales when the home sold.
Therefore, the pay was extremely good. Retirement from the dope game was drawing nearer.
As I followed Jeffery down the winding staircase, my cell rang. It was Brea’s ringtone, so I hurriedly grabbed it. I wanted to get the call over with so that I could focus on killing that burger.
“What’s up, baby girl?” I braced myself for her attitude.
Lately, she and Joziah had been borderline disrespectful towards me. Despite constantly checking them, I knew that being out of my home was what was affecting them. Even though I would never allow myself to drop the ball when it came to them, things had changed too drastically for them too fast. Now that I had an actual job, I had been unable to pick them up and drop them off for summer camp as religiously as I had been in the past. I knew that it was stressful for a kid, being ripped out of a routine they had been accustomed to all of their life.
“Daddy, I need some money,” Brea spat. “My summer camp is taking us to Dave & Buster’s.”
“You gon’ speak first?” I shot back.
She sucked her teeth. “Hello.”
I shook my head, gritting, “When is the field trip, Brea?”
She was dry as she answered, “Tomorrow.”
“Okay. I got you when I pick you up in the morning.”
“Are you going to pick us up in the morning?”
Grimacing at her attitude, I shot back, “I said I was, didn’t I?”
She sucked her teeth and sassed, “Okay, daddy.”
Then the little heffa hung up.
I shook my head, returning my phone to my pocket, too hungry to chastise her.
“Woman problems?” Jeffery asked with a chuckle as we sat at the card table we used for lunch.
“Yea, but not a grown woman; a gawd damn teenager,” I chuckled sarcastically.
Jeffrey had a hearty laugh. “Oh, those are the worst women problems to have. So I’ve heard.”
Jeffrey had never been married. He also never had kids of his own. I had learned through many of our conversations while working or on break, or even a drink after work, that that was his only regret in life. He had focused on building a successful business so adamantly that he had never married, despite having fallen in love a few times, and he never wanted to have kids out of wedlock. He owned a business worth millions of dollars, but it wasn’t worth not having a legacy to pass it down to.
“Man,” I groaned as I unwrapped the burger. “I gotta get my kids back. This break up is affecting them bad.”
Jeffrey nodded in agreement while filling his mouth with fries. “Yea, you don’t want them to be one of those teenagers out here, lashing out because they feel like they came from a broken home.”
The thought made me shake my head with disgust. “I really hate that her mother did this.”
Chewing on his double cheeseburger now, Jeffery shrugged, shaking his head. “That’s women for you. They lash out. You say you all were together for fifteen years, right?”
“Yea.”
“Women hold on to animosity for years.”
I leaned back in the chair, feeling the defeat all over me. “For what, though? I haven’t been a perfect man, but I never hurt on the level that she is on.”
“You will never know. You may never know. That's the curse that comes with those beautiful beings, man. Don’t you know that?” he chuckled.
“I mean, I know that I put her through some stressful times. But we were kids when we got together. We were both figuring things out. She knew what she was getting into when she got with me. I never hid that I was a street nigga. It took me years to make a life in the game; she thought it would take her simply asking for me to get out of it?”
Jeffery shrugged with a chuckle. “I’m not even going to try to make it make sense for you, son. All you can do is what's best for you and your kids.”
“And that’s them being at home with me.”
“What's stopping you?”
“I would never take them from her, so that means taking her back.”
“And? What’s wrong with that?”
“And she hurt me bad. She stole from me and took my kids right from under my nose. And for what? Because I couldn’t give her a better life than the one I had been providing for her for fifteen years? She never had to lift a finger. All of a sudden, what I provide isn’t good enough? It was so bad that she stole from me? Now I just look at her like she one of the opps.” I shook my head, still disgusted months later.
Still destroying his burger, Jeffery nodded. “I get it. But, as men, sometimes we gotta set our feelings aside to do what’s best for our family. I know many men that are in relationships that are only being kept together by the kids. That’s a sacrifice that many parents make, men and women.”
“Absolutely,” I agreed.
“But… I can see how that is hard for you, considering Tempest and all.”
I swallowed hard, ashamed that I had had to lie to him about being engaged to Tempest. He had literally helped me change my life around without even knowing it. I owed him a great deal. He would forever have my loyalty. However, I had to
tell him about the engagement when he heard me talking to Tempest on the phone about the engagement party.
“You’ve found a woman that you love. Now, you have to figure out how to integrate her and your children together into a family that has a focus on making them happy.”
I had a hard time trying to find the lie in what he had said.
Though Tempest and I were only pretending, our chemistry was real. Since leaving her house, I wondered if I had fallen in love with Tempest. Despite her constant rejection, strong feelings for her were developing in my soul against my will. She was Wonder Woman to me. She had survived damn near being burned alive and had mustered the strength to go on living, educating herself, and becoming an extraordinary woman.
I was the total opposite, however. I was a dope boy with three kids just now getting my shit together at thirty-two years old.
What could I offer her?
The answer to that wasn’t what I knew she deserved. So, I pushed feelings of unconditional love for Tempest into the back of my mind.
Chapter 12
Damien Coleman
On a Thursday morning, I finally forced myself to go ahead and tell my mother about the wedding. Since we’d slept together, I had been contemplating even following through with this. Tempest had left my ego in shambles. Since walking out of her house that morning, I had only been keeping things short and professional between us. But a large part of me no longer wanted to give her the option of using me, since she was going out of her way to make it obvious that I wasn’t good for anything else.
However, ego aside, that burning desire to take care of her was still there. As a man, I wanted to keep my word and do this for her.
“Hello?”
I cringed, knowing I was about to get a fucking mouthful.
I sighed. “Hey, mama.”
Being a mother, she instantly heard the tone of my voice and became concerned. “What’s wrong?” she asked reluctantly.
“Nothing is wrong.”
“Well?” she pressed.
While nervously chewing on the corner of my lip, I glanced out of the passenger window at Maya’s house. Being so thirsty for this bag, I hadn’t thought about how this would affect everyone around me.
Maya was beyond hurt. Even though I had told her that Tempest and I were only dating, and that Katrina didn’t know what she was talking about, Maya didn’t believe me, especially since Tempest was wearing a ring in the photo. She’d swore I was lying when I had said that that ring was from Tempest’s ex that she simply still chose to wear. The erratic phone calls hadn’t stopped. She was an emotional roller coaster. One minute, Maya was cursing me out. The next, she was in tears.
However, I was only concerned about hurting those closest to my heart. My kids, first and foremost. Maya’s feelings were no longer my problem. She had ensured that when she stole from me and moved out behind my back. Yet, my kids had already been acting out as a result of the sudden change in our family’s dynamic. This engagement would only further complicate my relationship with them if they ever found out, and they were way too young to understand the truth.
“Um…” I hesitated.
“Spit it out, boy!” my mother snapped with a giggle. “You’re making me nervous.”
The other person I was concerned about hurting was my mother. She would be so hurt that she had never met Tempest and that I hadn’t ever told her that I was even thinking of getting married. So, I told her the truth.
“I need you to come to this engagement party,” I quickly spat.
“Whose?” Her pure obliviousness was hilarious.
I cringed while answering, “Mine.”
“What?! You and Maya got back together?” she started to ramble. “And when did you propose? Why didn’t you tell me—”
“Mama—”
“How in the hell did you all go from broken up to engaged? You kids are something else—”
“Mama!” I laughed. She finally stopped running her mouth long enough for me to speak. “I’m not engaged to Maya.”
There was a long pause before she sang lowly, “Ooooo.”
“It's this girl I met a few months ago. Her name is Tempest.”
She squealed, “Who in the whole hell is Tempest? And why haven’t I met her? You marryin’ some stranger bit—”
“Mama!” I spat, stopping her rant.
“What?!” she snapped.
“Stop talking,” I calmly told her, holding my head. “I’m not marrying her for real. Well, I am, but we are going to get a divorce as soon as we can. She only needs me to marry her so she can get her inheritance. She offered to pay me, and I need the money.”
There was a long period of silence. Seconds went by before she finally pierced the silence with cackling.
“What the hell?!” she spat through her laughter.
I chuckled as well. “I’m ready to get out of the game and be an example for my kids. Trying to save up to make that move is taking too long. When she approached me with the idea, I thought she was a godsend.”
My mother started giggling uncontrollably. “Maya is going to lose it, boy.”
“She already has been.”
“You told her before you told me?!”
“No. She saw it on social media. Somebody tagged me in a picture. I told Maya that I wasn’t engaged, but she doesn’t believe me. I can’t tell her that it isn’t real. She’ll ruin this bag for me.”
My mother chastised, “Chile…”
“Will you please come to the engagement party? I need it to look real, so I need to have family there.”
“When is it?” I could hear the intolerance in her tone. She was motherfuckin’ “tied” of her kids and their shenanigans.
I cringed again, telling her reluctantly, “Saturday.”
“Saturday?!” she screamed. “This Saturday? As in two days from now, boy?!”
“Yes.”
“Chile…” She sighed deeply. Frustration, similar to what I had heard many times as a kid, filled her end of the phone. “Fine.”
My smile resonated in my words, “Thank you, mama. And don’t tell Nimah. Her ig’nant ass will fuck it all up.”
She giggled. “Okay, baby.” Then I heard her doorbell ring. “Hold on. Somebody is at the door.”
While I held on as she went for the door, I sent Brea a text message, letting her know that I had arrived to take them to summer camp.
“Speak of the devil,” my mother told me. “This is Nimah right here.”
“Aw, shit,” I groaned.
“Who you talkin’ to?” I heard Nimah ask her.
“Your brother,” my mother sounded eager to tell her.
When I heard Nimah say, “Gimme the phone,” I was shocked.
A few seconds went by before I heard her voice.
“Hey, brother,” she happily spoke into the phone.
Yet, I was still dry with her. “What up?”
“I miss you.”
My eyebrow rose, full of suspicion. “What you want?”
She whined, “I do miss you.”
“Mmm humph,” I grunted.
She sucked her teeth and whined an apology. “I’m sorry.”
“Your nigga still wanna kill me?” I teased.
She smacked her lips loudly, “Fuck him.”
I chuckled. “Oh, he don’ fucked up?” I teased.
“Yea. You know how niggas is,” she groaned.
Nah, just the niggas you like to fuck with.
That was all that needed to be said, though. Nimah had been mad at me for years for one thing or the next, and then she simply got over it.
Just then, Maya’s front door opened, and the kids slowly emerged from the house.
“Ah ight,” I told Nimah. “Well, hit me up later. I gotta get the kids to summer camp.”
I grimaced as the morning sun shined down on the attitudes on Brea and Joziah’s faces.
“Wait a minute, bro,” Nimah rushed. “Let me get a few dollars.”
My head fell back as I cracked up. “I fucking knew it.”
“Then what’s your point?” she sassed.
“I’ll Cashapp you, punk.”
“Thank you, jerk.”
“Bye.”
As I hung up, I saw that Joziah and Brea were arguing. However, shockingly, they were arguing over who would be able to sit in the backseat, instead of fighting over the front seat, as usual.
“I don’t wanna sit up there,” I heard Brea attempt to whisper.
“Me either,” Joziah whined.
I rolled down the window. “Brea, come on. Get in the front.”
She didn’t even attempt to hide her frustration as she sucked her teeth and snatched the front passenger door open.
It was crickets as the kids climbed in. The only one of them happy to see me was Faye.
“Daddy!” she exclaimed as she bounced into the backseat.
I turned back, smiling at her as she buckled herself in. “Yes, baby?”
“I’m going to be six soon!”
“I know. You only got two weeks. What you want for your birthday?”
As Faye started to ramble off her extremely long list, I discreetly watched Brea and Joziah’s demeanors. They were rolling their eyes and grimacing as me and Faye discussed her gifts. Both of them were plugged into their phone with headphones. They hadn’t even bothered to speak.
Defeat left my shoulders heavy as I started the car and pulled off. These weren’t my children. My kids loved me. I was their everything. They had once clung to me harder than they bonded with their mother. They told me everything and wanted to spend every moment with me. Yet, slowly, our relationship had diminished to them only asking me for something when they needed it. I wanted to force our relationship to rekindle, but I wasn’t emotionally there because I, too, was still hurt from the way Maya had split us up. As far as I was concerned, their attitudes were warranted. I was mad, too. Yet, my heart went out to them. At the end of the day, I was still a father. Jeffrey’s voice rang in my head. Maybe it was time that I bit the bullet in order to be there for my kids.
Maya Bradford
Who knew that trying to get evicted would be so gawd damn hard!
Property of a Savage Page 12
