“That’s because I wanted it to. I was just so angry at your ass, Scorpio, that you left me no other alternative. I’m not going to even say that I’m sorry, because a huge part of me ain’t.”
“Fine, then remain angry with me for lying to you, but don’t make me continue to pay for it. Can you at least promise me that this vengefulness of yours is over?”
“Oh, it’s over. As long as you can promise never to lie to me again.”
“After what I went through, I promise that from now on, I will be open and honest with you about everything. But you gotta promise me that you will never have sex with Mercedes again. Remember how you felt about Shane and me? That’s the way I feel about you and her. I need to hear you say that you will never go back there again.”
He playfully stuttered. “I–I—”
“Jaylin.”
“Okay, I promise.”
“And what is it that you’re promising me?”
“I promise you I will never go to her place again.”
“Don’t take me for a fool, Jaylin. Tell me you’ll never fuck her again. I don’t care where it is: her house, your house, her car, your car, wherever. Tell me it will never happen.”
“Okay, damn. I will never fuck Mercedes again. That is, of course, as long as you keep your word about not lying and we remain together.”
“That’s still not good enough. I don’t care if we’re together or not; I want her out of your life.”
He huffed, pretending as if he really hated to make make me a promise. “Done deal. Now, let’s talk about something else.”
“Something else like what?”
“Like how much sex it’s going to take for us to make this baby.”
“Oh, Lord. I knew that was coming.”
“So, are you saying you don’t want to?”
“I enjoy having sex with you, but I don’t want our relationship to be based on that alone.”
“Do you think that’s all it’s based on?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “Sometimes I do. Sex always seems to work out our problems, and that’s not good. I don’t want to get into the habit of relying on it to work things out for us.”
“Having passionate sex with your woman is the most relaxing and stress-relieving solution to any man’s problems. Mad at your ass or not, it always works for me. Pussy be so good, sometimes I forget why I was mad at you to begin with.”
“But we need to rely on our communication, talking things out instead of avoiding them. Being honest is another problem. Sometimes I feel as if I’m afraid to be honest with you because of your anger. I shouldn’t have to feel that way.”
“And going forward, don’t. From now on, I won’t get angry. I’ll listen to you first, and then kick your ass later, okay?”
“See, Jaylin, you’re playing and I’m serious.”
“I’m serious too. But my dick is getting real hard right about now, and I’m anxious to make this baby with you. Besides, we got all night to talk.”
“And we got all night to fuck.”
“Then we’d better get started.”
As usual, having his way, we wound up having sex again. Nanny B and the kids had fallen asleep, and for the first time in weeks, Jaylin was passed out in his own bed. He even had the nerve to snore, which was something I rarely heard him do. I guess he was glad to finally be back in his own bed, and I was truly glad to have him sharing it with me once again. I only hoped our reconciliation efforts would last.
15
JAYLIN
Now that things were pretty cool on the home front again, I had a little more time to deal with Stephon and his problem. He’d been calling the house like crazy, trying to find out why I hadn’t deposited the money I’d promised. Until I knew what was really up, I wasn’t giving him shit. This is the same stuff that went down with Aunt Betty and me, and she soon found out I wasn’t playing. Give or take, she used Stephon to get money from me, but I wasn’t going to play the fool this time around.
I called Shane to speak with him further about the situation, and he agreed to meet me for a game of golf. I hadn’t played since retirement, so it was quite relaxing. Shane didn’t know how to play at all, so I got a kick out of watching his balls go into the water and trees.
“This is bullshit, man,” he said. “I for damn sure ain’t no Tiger Woods.”
“Not even when he was three,” I joked. We both laughed and hopped into the golf cart to go to the next hole.
“So, have you had a chance to talk to Stephon or what?” Shane asked.
“Momentarily. In so many words, he said you’re a liar.”
“Never have been, and never will I be. All I’m saying is something isn’t right with the brotha. I can only speculate, but you be the judge.”
“I have been, and I’d say you were right. I’m gonna bring it to his attention one more time, and if he lies to me again, he’s on his own. You know I love my cousin to death, but a drug addict is somebody I can’t tolerate.”
“I hear you.”
Shane and I stayed on the green for several hours. He even started to get the hang of things. He almost came close to beating me, but when the ball slipped away from him at the last hole, he fell to his knees.
“Damn it!” he yelled. “Now, why didn’t that sucker just go in there?”
“Seems to me like you need to learn how to work your holes a little better, like I do.”
“Trust me, I work my holes pretty damn good,” he said, getting off the ground.
“Who you shaking down these days? You never talk about one specific person.”
“That’s ’cause women play too many games. I don’t have time for that shit. I keep one or two who I can kick it with every now and then. Other than that, there’s nobody in my life on a regular basis.”
“Sometimes it gotta be like that, and I don’t blame you not one bit. Relationships, marriages . . . all that shit can take up too much of a brotha’s time. When I was sticking and moving, I was definitely better off.”
Shane slapped his hand against mine and we headed to the barbershop to see Stephon. One of the barbers said he and some other fellas had gone to a strip club, so not having anything else to do, Shane and I headed to the East Side.
The club was stuffy as hell, and I could barely see from the dimmed lighting. I scanned the room hard, looking for Stephon. When I noticed him in a circular booth with some other brotha, I tapped Shane on the shoulder to get his attention.
We both looked quite casual—me in my Nike shirt, hat, and shorts, and Shane in his khaki shorts and polo shirt. My appearance wasn’t a factor, as I truly was there to see what the hell was up with Stephon. He saw us coming, and before he could slide out of the booth, I slid in next to him.
“What’s up, cousin? You weren’t getting ready to leave, were you?” I asked.
The other dude got out of the booth and Shane slid in on the other side.
“As a matter of fact, cousin,” Stephon said, “I was on my way out.”
“Look, Stephon,” Shane said, not beating around the bush, “say whatever you want, but I’m a brotha who’s concerned about you. The—”
Stephon quickly jumped on the defensive. “Man, I don’t need you to be concerned about me. Y’all the ones tripping. I can’t believe y’all would even think I would do something like that. Jay, especially you. Shane don’t know no damn better, but you should know what time it is.”
“I don’t know shit. I know what you’re saying, but shit ain’t been right with you, man. Either you’re more hurt by Mona leaving your ass, or something else is going on with you. I don’t know what it is, so I can only assume.”
His tone lowered. “Maybe I am more upset about losing my woman than I show. But let me get through this how I want to get through it. When you’re going through something, I don’t go around thinking you’re a damn crackhead, do I?”
“Hey, fine. If you say you’re cool, then I trust you. I’m not going to interfere again, and neith
er is Shane. But if you need me, you know I’m here.”
“Me too,” Shane said.
Stephon looked at both of us and grinned. When this half naked chick danced on the table in front of us, he leaned back and looked up at her. After she worked the table, she turned around and squatted her ass directly in our faces. I reached in my back pocket and pulled out the envelope that had Stephon’s two grand in it. I slammed the envelope in his hand.
“You can do better than this. Don’t spend it all in one night,” I said, sliding out of the booth.
He pounded his chest with his fist. “Thanks, bro, and trust.”
“Let’s hope so.” I looked at Shane, as he seemed to be mesmerized by the chick on the table. “Are you leaving with me or not?” I asked.
He waved me off. “Uh-uh, not right now. Stephon, you don’t mind if I stay, do you?”
“Not at all. After all, what are friends for?”
I wasn’t in the mood to stay, so I told both of those fools goodnight and headed home. I wanted so badly to believe Stephon, but I couldn’t. I had my doubts, and the only person I felt could clear shit up for me was Mona.
On Saturday morning, Mercedes had been calling me like crazy, so I made arrangements to go see her after I stopped by Daisha’s crib to see Mona. Mona was hesitant at first, but when I told her how important it was that we talked, she agreed.
I told Nokea to pick LJ up early, and asked Scorpio to stay there until Nokea got there. Sometimes I felt like Nanny B had too much on her, but when I brought it to her attention, she disagreed and reminded me how much joy the children had brought to her life. I didn’t want to argue with her, but I talked to Scorpio about us going out with the kids more often to give Nanny B a break. Scorpio agreed, and said that after Nokea left, Mackenzie and her would vamp for a while. She knew about me going to see Mona, but I didn’t tell her about going to see Mercedes. I knew she’d start tripping, and I wasn’t up to hearing her gripe.
Daisha acted kind of snobby toward me, so I took a seat in the living room and waited for Mona to come. I was alone for a while, and after Daisha ended her phone conversation with whomever, she finally came into the living room to join me. She sat far across the room, like I was a pitbull ready to bite.
“Why you way over there?” I asked.
“Because this chair is comfortable, that’s why,” she snapped.
“Fine, but are you mad at me about something? The last time we spoke, I thought everything was cool.”
“It is cool, Jaylin.”
“Then what’s up with your funky attitude?”
“I don’t have an attitude. Don’t get mad at me because I chose to disassociate myself with a man like you.”
“Don’t be so bitter, baby. You look quite ugly when you act that way. And just when I thought you had—”
“Well, you thought wrong. I am so tired of men like you and Stephon going around stomping on people’s hearts. God does not like ugly, and one day, the two of you are going to regret everything you’ve done.”
“Then back off and let God be my judge, damn it! You need to step off the cross and let him take care of me. He’s the Almighty One, and not you. Whether you believe it or not, I pay for my mistakes all the time. He makes sure of that, so there ain’t nothing bad you or anybody else can wish upon me.”
The doorbell saved Daisha and me from going any further. When Mona came in, Daisha gave her a hug, walked upstairs, and slammed her door. Mona sat in the living room with me, and before she tried to take God’s place, I quickly cut her off.
“Look, I know you’re still upset about what happened between you and Stephon, but I didn’t ask you to come here for that. I don’t know the details of what went down between y’all, and it really ain’t none of my business.”
“Then what is it that you want from me, Jaylin?”
“All I want to know is if you’ve ever seen Stephon doing drugs.”
“Is this an attempt of his to get back with me? I thought you had something serious to discuss.”
“No, no, honestly, it’s not an attempt. He’s been acting kind of different lately. Something’s up with him.”
“Well, I don’t know. You know what kind of drugs he uses, don’t you?”
“Not really. I saw him smoking some weed a few times, but that’s it.”
“Jaylin, please. Why are you sitting there lying?”
“Trust me, I’m not lying to you. If he’s doing anything other than smoking weed, I don’t know about it.”
She folded her arms and crossed her legs. Then she looked at me suspiciously. “Are you telling me you didn’t know Stephon’s been snorting cocaine for let’s say . . . a little over a year now?”
“Honestly, I didn’t know. I asked him about it, but he continues to deny it.”
“Don’t drug addicts always lie? My decision to leave him was not solely because of his obsession with women. It had a lot to do with his drug abuse. He promised me he would stop, but that just never happened. Now, I admit we fired up many joints together, but Stephon took shit too far with the cocaine. It became an everyday habit, and I couldn’t get with that.”
I was in disbelief. Even though I knew something was up, the news was hard for me to accept. “Why in the fuck didn’t I see it? I’m always over at his place and at the barbershop.”
“The evidence was there. When you came around, he never hid anything, so that’s why I thought you knew. He also told me he got the money from you, so I thought you were cool with it.”
“No way. Not after what our family has been through because of that shit. I can’t believe him. Damn!”
“Please don’t tell him I told you. If there’s anything I can do to help, let me know. I got a feeling, though, that you’re gonna have to let him sweat this one out.”
“We’ll see,” I said, standing to leave. “We definitely will see.”
I thanked Mona for her time and jetted. Again, I felt as if I was fighting a battle with Stephon that couldn’t be won. How could he lie to my face like that? Didn’t he understand we were in this shit together? I couldn’t understand what would make him turn to drugs when he could have had anything he wanted. All he had to do was ask and there it was.
His excuse of being under pressure didn’t suffice. I felt pressure every single day of my life. He wasn’t under any more pressure than I was. And if he was, he knew all he had to do was pick up the damn phone. I was mad as hell just thinking about the shit, and really didn’t know what I would do, if anything.
I called Mercedes and told her I was on my way. I wasn’t in no mood for fucking, and since I’d promised Scorpio I wouldn’t do it, I planned on keeping my word. My reason for going to see her was to talk her into dropping the charges against Scorpio and to somehow call it quits. If she dropped the charges, getting my money back was also a plus.
However, when she came to the door with an ocean blue lace negligee on, I was encouraged to change my mind.
“So, you do have some clothes, huh?” I said, wrapping my arms around her.
“Very skimpy clothes. I thought you’d like to see me in something other than my birthday suit.”
“The birthday suit is fine, but it does help to be creative sometimes too.”
Mercedes and I smacked lips for a while, and she reached for the buttons on my shirt to undo them. I pecked her lips and grabbed her hand. “Baby,” I said, “I need you to do me a favor.”
“Anything.”
I pecked her lips again. “Um, I like that. But are you certain that I can have anything I want?”
“Anything your heart desires.”
“I hope so. But, uh, I need you to drop the charges against Scorpio.”
“Anything but that.”
I moved my head back. “Why not?”
“Because she is not going to get away with what she did to me. I lost a very important job because I had an ugly scratch on my face.”
“I understand how you feel, but just drop the charges, ok
ay?”
“I don’t know, Jaylin. She deserves whatever she’s got coming.”
“That’s fair, but do it for me, please. You don’t have to do it for her; just do it for me.”
Mercedes took her arms off my shoulders and walked over by the huge picture window. She placed her hands on her hips and sighed. Persuading her was going to be a lot tougher than I thought, so I walked up from behind, squeezing her waist.
“Baby, please. You don’t need the hassle and neither does she. The only reason I’m asking you to drop the charges is so I can get my damn bond money back. I hate throwing away my money on something so ridiculous.”
“Then you should have left her ass in there. Why did you bail her out anyway?”
“If it wasn’t for Mackenzie, I wouldn’t have. Scorpio and I talked, and she’s looking for another place to live. This will all be over with sooner than you think.”
“Listen, I’ll do it, but only because of you. You’d better keep her away from me, Jaylin, or next time, I’m going to hurt her.”
“That’s my girl,” I said, kissing her cheek. “But there won’t be no next time.”
Even though I was not up to having sex with Mercedes, I did it anyway. I felt kind of bad lying to her, but I really didn’t want Scorpio to have to stand before no judge because of me. It wasn’t even about the money, because I couldn’t care less. There simply was no other way out of this mess other than for Mercedes to drop the charges.
As for ending it with her, doing it today would have been a big mistake on my part, especially when I had her in the palm of my hand. I decided to wait until Scorpio was completely off the hook, and then I would break the news to Mercedes.
It was getting late, and Mercedes asked if I would stay the night. I told her LJ was at the house and I didn’t want Nanny B to be up all night with him. I found myself telling her one lie after another. This definitely wasn’t my style.
I was surprised to see that I made it home before Scorpio and Mackenzie. Nanny B said they were spending the night at Leslie’s house. Just the thought of them sleeping there gave me the creeps, but I was glad I didn’t have any explaining to do. While I was at Mercedes’ place, Scorpio had called a few times, but I didn’t answer my phone. I waited until I was in bed and on my way to sleep before I returned her call.
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