My Redemption Too: a Second Chance series

by S. K. Lessly

  I grinned at her, not arguing about the invasion of my solitude. I could understand the need to have this night out. She’s always with Taylor no matter if Tyler was home or not. Their parents sometimes watched her, but Tonya couldn’t stand being away from her baby. When Tyler was home with her, she didn’t care, but it was something about outsiders, such as her family, her words, not mine, that had her spooked.

  I did, however, pass on the drinks. I don’t know, for some reason, I just wasn’t feeling it. However, that didn’t stop my girl. She gave me a glass of juice, and we clinked glasses and took a huge sip. I watched, jealous as hell, while she made a satisfying moan. I rolled my eyes.

  She grinned at me and held up her glass. “Are you sure you don’t want some?”

  I nodded. “I’m sure. I am also sure that in about forty-five minutes, you’re going to be two sheets to the wind.”

  Tonya shook her head. “Nah, probably twenty.”

  It took about thirty.

  “I couldn’t believe that bitch was smiling and grinning in his face?” Tonya questioned on a slur, her body curled up in my lounge chair, drink number… ah hell, I didn’t know, in her hand.

  I was sitting Indian style on the couch facing my friend. We had recapped the picnic and the fireworks afterwards, sponsored by me and Paul. I also told her all about our argument the following day. I was curious about her input on what happened and I knew she would give it to me straight.

  I tossed back my third glass of juice. I had to pee like a racehorse, but I didn’t want to move. I placed my glass on the table in front of me and studied my girl.

  “I know right. I should have beaten her ass. Sabrina thinks she’s slick smiling and grinning at my man. What about hers?”

  Tonya rolled her eyes. “Girl, Melissa told me that after you two left she heard Sabrina and Dominic arguing inside the house.”

  My eyes grew wide. “What about?”

  “About all that flirting she was doing. She had been doing it right in his face while sitting on his lap no less. Melissa said he called her desperate and pathetic.”

  “Nooo!” my eyes grew wide as hell. I then shook my head and wished I had vodka and lemonade in my glass right about now, and I really had to freaking pee.

  Tonya nodded emphatically.

  “Girl yes! Sabrina stammered a bit, but what could she say? She was overt with her flirting, and it was in her date’s face. Melissa told me that Dominic wasn’t her man but still she flat out disrespected him. Nevertheless, he did give her an ultimatum. She either figures out who she wants and what she wants, or he’s out.”

  “Dang, Dominic, that was both badass and cruel.”

  Tonya narrowed her eyes on me. “Fuck that. It wasn’t cruel. It was justified. She embarrassed him so to speak, don’t you think? I mean, how can she laugh in Paul’s face, touch him and bat her eyes and think her date wouldn’t be pissed off. Or that he wouldn’t catch her.”

  “That’s true. Well, let me ask you this. According to Paul, Sebastian had a staring problem too, is that true?”

  “He noticed that too?” Tonya asked, and my eyes widened in surprise.

  “You noticed him looking at me?” I queried incredulously.

  Tonya scoffed at me and rolled her eyes. She took down the rest of her drink and sat it down next to mine. “Woman, please that man practically undressed you with his eyes.”

  I sat forward in my seat and narrowed my eyes on my friend. “Okay, sure I’ll admit. It did seem a bit creepy he was looking at me like he wanted to eat me but I was more weirded out because the man is also gay. How could he look at me like that and claim he’s batting on the other team?”

  Tonya waved a hand in front of her face. “Bitch, please! He’s what you call bisexual. That means, if you don’t know, he can go both ways.”

  I sucked my teeth but didn’t reply. I couldn’t deny that I noticed Sebastian looking at me throughout the night. He was looking at my ass, and when we talked, his eyes kept hitting on my boobs. And yes, I had been uncomfortable under his gaze. The thing was, I didn’t care too much for his attention. I didn’t want his attention. I also didn’t encourage it.

  I stopped though and replayed my last thought. Didn’t I encourage it by not addressing it? It had been the basis of my argument with Paul. I sighed and leaned back on the couch.

  “Do you think I was overacting about Sabrina and her flirting?”

  Tonya studied me for a few seconds before she nodded. “Yeah, girl, I do.”

  I blew out a breath. I knew I had overacted I just didn’t want to hear the confirmation from my bestie. She’s supposed to be on my side. I could do no wrong in her eyes, or so I thought.

  “Listen, Lauren, while I understand your gripe. I understand where Paul was coming from too. I could see the difference in how he treats you versus how he used to treat Sabrina. I also think she could see it too. It bothered her I’m sure, but she wasted her time trying to get his attention because all he sees is you.”

  I smiled and nodded.

  “Yeah, I know. He was pissed as hell at me that night. I knew I was overreacting but I just couldn’t help it. Things have been going so well between us that I think something is going to happen to break up our happy home, you know? Fate can be a bitch sometimes.”

  Tonya reached over and squeezed my leg.

  “Yeah, but it can also be fantabulous. You and Paul have a second chance here. You guys have to make the most of this and not take advantage of each other. Everyone can see just how much you two love each other. You can tell the difference between how you two used to be with your exes and how you are with each other. It’s beautiful, it’s sexy, and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for you two.”

  I placed my hand on Tonya’s and squeezed. I grinned devilishly at her. “Oh, girl me too. Me too. So, let me ask you how things went down with Sebastian? And what’s up with David?”

  Tonya laughed. “We are going to need another drink for this conversation.”

  Tonya stood on wobbly legs and went to make another drink. I took this time to run to the bathroom. When I emerged, my bladder no longer cussing me out, I sat back down and reminded Tonya she needed to spill her guts.

  “Oh yeah. Okay so, as you know, Sebastian and Amy had a huge affair. David wasn’t as stunned as you were. He and Amy had an open relationship. What he didn’t expect was you not knowing what was going on. Sebastian and Amy had been sleeping together for a long time, inviting others to their uh sex sessions.” Hearing that Sebastian had been cheating on me for a while wasn’t a surprise. What had been a surprise is what she said next. “David thought you were with it.”

  I almost spit out my drink on her. “What!”

  Tonya nodded. “Yup, he thought you knew about your husband and was down with it.”

  “Uh, David does know that I’m not transgender or a guy, right?”

  She laughed. “Yeah, girl he knows.”

  “So why would he think I was with Sebastian’s lifestyle?”

  “He was just like all of us, lost in the web of lies Sebastian and Amy spun. He was just as surprised to hear that you had no idea about Sebastian’s alternative lifestyle. He didn’t know he lied to you. He thought about telling you what was going on when we were at the beach. That was when he realized you didn’t know.”

  “How?”

  Tonya shrugged.

  “Don’t know. Maybe he could just tell. Everyone could see something was up with you two. Maybe he put two and two together or maybe Sebastian's lies had caught up with him. Either way, he was going to pull you aside and talk to you or at least try, but he was afraid that you wouldn’t have believed him. He also thought about going to one of us, but he never had the chance.”

  “Shit went down with first Paul then me.”

  Tonya nodded and took a sip of her drink. She smacked her lips and grinned at me. “So, tell me, did you and Paul kiss and make up?”

  I grinned. “We did.”

  She nodded. �
�Good. Don’t let those two heffas get in between you two.”

  “Nope, never.”

  Tonya stayed over for at least a few more hours, hanging out talking and enjoying each other’s company. She called an Uber home instead of driving because she drank entirely too much. I had a great night hanging out with Tonya. She made me feel good about Paul and me, not that I wasn’t good with our relationship. It just felt good to hear that others could see how Paul and I were meant to be together.

  Tonya had helped me clean up a bit before she left, which saved me from having to do it. I was tired as hell. I locked up the house, set the alarm, and crawled up the steps. I took a quick shower, washed my face, and brushed my teeth before I climbed in the bed and reached for my phone. I typed out a text to Paul and smiled as I hit send.

  Me: I can’t wait until you get home.

  Paul: Oh yeah, why?

  Me: Because I’m going to feed you, fuck your brains out, then put you to bed.

  Paul: Fuck baby I can’t wait. Love you.

  Me: Love you more.

  Still grinning I plugged my phone in my charger, closed my eyes, and passed out.

  26

  Lauren

  The gang was back!

  Well everyone except David anyway, but his headcount was replaced by Sabrina’s new beau Dominic.

  Someone, namely Sebastian, believed that Memorial Day was such a success that we should get together again. Others agreed, which led to us meeting up four weekends in a row. We either went to Samson’s house or we went out for drinks and dinner. That’s right we had couples’ night out.

  At first, I felt awkward. I wasn’t sure what to expect from Sabrina, Sebastian, or even Paul. Nevertheless, I had to say things went rather well. Everyone was cordial with each other. We weren’t besties, but we were able to hold conversations without violence.

  I was really at ease when Paul treated me as if our audience didn’t consist of our exes. The attention he gave me didn’t seem forced either. He wasn’t fake or disgruntled when he spoke to Sabrina or Sebastian. He also didn’t hesitate to pull me away from the group so that he could cop a feel or fuck me up against Samson’s truck. What was even better was the fact that Samson had no qualms with calling us out.

  “You two are fucking ridiculous,” he'd say once we returned from wherever we snuck off to, “you better not have put a dent on the side of my truck.”

  The first time he called us out, I damn near passed out from embarrassment. I heard a gasp coming from Sabrina’s side of the living room and could feel Sebastian’s eyes on us. Paul however laughed and pulled me closer to him. He kissed my neck and said to his friend. “No dent this time, but your shocks are going to need to be replaced.”

  Laughter rang throughout the room, but I didn’t miss the jealousy in Sebastian’s sneer or the resentment from Sabrina. Well, they could kiss my ass. I was in love, and I enjoyed knowing that Paul was too.

  Well into June, about a week from the Fourth of July, we were all coupled up and hugged up in the living room of Samson and Melissa’s place. Paul and I were lounging on this oversized chair with our fingers entwined, me resting on his lap. He was doing his usual, trying to get me to leave with him so that we could have a quickie out in the garage.

  I had asked him one day if he was like this all the time with Sabrina. I had reminded him how many times I saw him and Sabrina hugged up together with his mouth close to her ear.

  Paul frowned at me.

  “Fuck no. What you saw was me telling her how I hated pretending. Most of the time she and I argued and fought right before you guys came over. It was messed up, but we had to pretend that everything was cool until you guys left.”

  That made me feel bad for them both. I couldn’t imagine the hell they both were in during the last months of their marriage. It also, and this might be messed up to say, but it felt good to know that he was only freaky this way with me.

  Anyway, we were all sitting around focused on our partners, listening to music, talking quietly amongst each other. Paul had cuddled me closer to him and covertly slipped his hand underneath my shirt. He was nibbling on my neck while playing with my nipple through my lace bra. Shit, good thing the room was dimly lit or folks would know exactly what we were doing.

  Well, maybe they already had an idea since Samson called out, “You two need to get a room or something.”

  I heard a loud smack on bare skin followed by Samson saying, “What, baby? They are worse than teenagers I swear.”

  I grinned and leaned away from Paul to look at him. The heat in his eyes, the desire for me ignited every nerve ending in my body, not to mention the sensation he was producing from his fingers on my nipple.

  “Let’s go home, baby.” He leaned close to my ear. He traced the shell of my ear with his tongue before he kissed me softly. I stifled a whimper and shuddered. “I want to fuck you. Feel your sweet pussy as I stroke you long and slow.”

  Good god, yes!

  I nodded emphatically and was just about to stand and say my goodbyes when Sebastian broke the mood.

  “So, listen. I was thinking that we plan another trip as a group.”

  There were some groans in the room, and some threw pillows at him.

  “No seriously, this could be great!” He recovered smiling. “Look we all need a getaway from the year we had, so why not do it together.” Sebastian looked around, but no one responded. “Come on you guys, seriously. We’ve been hanging out for almost a month now, and you have to admit things have been going rather good. I don’t see why we wouldn’t have a great time this time around.”

  There was silence in the room until Samson spoke up.

  “Okay let’s say we agree with you. When are you thinking about going out of town?”

  “Let’s make it after the Fourth of July weekend or the weekend after that. We can switch it up and head to Key West or Clearwater, Florida. We can stay up east and either head to Long Island or Maryland. Again, I’m game for anything. I would just like to get away and enjoy my friends. What do you say?”

  No one said anything at first. I was sure a few of us, namely myself, was thinking about the last time we were on a trip together, but the man next to me surprised me.

  “I think it’s a great idea. I’m game.” Paul squeezed me to him, and I looked at him astonished.

  “You are?”

  He shrugged. He actually shrugged.

  “Yeah, why not? Sebastian is right, we have obviously put differences aside here, and we seem happy with the choices we made. Why shouldn’t we be able to travel together? So far we’ve gotten together multiple times over these past four weeks, so clearly we’ve put away any ill-will feelings and have moved on. I think we could handle taking a trip together.”

  I saw Sabrina nodding out of the corner of my eyes, and I looked over in her direction just in time to see her smile and look at everyone in the room before lighting up in Paul’s direction.

  “I agree with Paul. I’m sure we would all have different experiences the second time around, so I’m game too.” Sabrina was positioned in between her man’s legs on the loveseat across from us. She shifted slightly to look at him. “Dom, you wanna go to the beach with me?”

  Dominic hugged Sabrina closer to him. “You bet, babe. Whatever you want to do is fine with me.”

  Dominic and Sabrina seemed to have graduated from just hooking up to becoming an item officially. Sabrina actually seemed happy, and I could tell that Dominic was smitten by the dark haired beauty.

  The room suddenly erupted in chatter. You could hear people shouting out suggestions on locations and timeframes on travel. I heard people mention going to Florida or even back to South Carolina. Everyone seemed excited, everyone but me. I was quiet and disturbed. I mean how could Paul be okay with all this? How could anyone be excited? It was mind-boggling to say the least. I got up from his arms and went into the kitchen to get me some water.

  I heard footsteps following me, but I didn’t turn around. I
knew who it was.

  “What’s the matter?” he asked once we made it into the kitchen. I ignored his question and pulled a bottled water from the fridge. I opened it and took a huge sip of water before I turned around.

  “How could you be okay with this?” I challenged. “Don’t you remember the last time we all were on a trip together? You caught your ex, that’s right in the next room, with another guy and apparently, mine was doing his thing as well. Why would you want to relive that again?”

  I could feel myself getting worked up from the memories of all that had happened— the cheating, the arguing, the unhappiness. I turned away from Paul and moved closer to the kitchen counter and stared out of the kitchen window.

  “I mean,” I began in a low tone, “I don’t know about you, Paul, but the last time we all were together, it didn’t turn out very well.”

  I felt Paul come up behind me and wrap his arms around my waist. I tried not to react to his closeness, but I couldn’t stop myself from leaning against him.

  He kissed my neck softly, then the shell of my ear.

  “What I remember about that trip was how much I wanted to be with you.” He maneuvered my body so that I would be face to face with him. He tilted my chin so that I could look in his eyes. “How much I wanted to spend time with you, to talk to you and to most of all see you in that white bikini again.” He grinned mischievously at me, and I snorted trying not to return his grin.

  I tried to move from his hold, needing the space to breathe and clear my head from the lust and memories of me wanting the same things, but he wouldn’t let me go. I groaned when I realize I was trapped where I stood, overwhelmed and confused.

  “Talk to me baby, what has you so hesitant?”

  I answered him with a shaky breath, “Everything about the trip has me hesitant. How could you be comfortable? Doesn’t it feel odd to you?”

  “No, baby, it doesn’t. And I guess it has to do with you.”

  “Me!” I screeched.

  He laughed. “Yeah, you.”