“This isn’t a game I’m playing with you, Scorpio. Get the fuck off me, and do not touch me again. Do you understand?”
My feelings were hurt because we’d never gotten to this point in our relationship. “Please don’t do this to us,” I whispered. “Let me make it up to—”
He pulled my hair tighter. “Do you understand what I just said?”
“I understand what you said, but your dick said something else.”
“My dick was in a dream with somebody else.”
“Let me guess: Nokea, right?”
He winked. “Nobody else. Now, if you’re going to lay with me, don’t be over here breathing down my neck. Scoot over and chill the fuck out.”
Not even trying to sweat him over no dick, I eased off him. I turned my back, hoping that he’d eventually come around. The one thing I knew about Jaylin was that he couldn’t lay in this bed for long without making love to me. I was sure I wouldn’t have to wait too long for him to get himself together and forgive me for something that was his fault too.
26
NOKEA
Jaylin really didn’t talk much about what happened, but I couldn’t believe he and Stephon had been at it again. This time, though, was nothing like the fight they’d had at my house. Jaylin was messed up, and when I called Stephon’s house to check on him, some chick answered and told me he was in the hospital.
When Jaylin left that day, I knew something was about to go down. If anything, I was more surprised I hadn’t heard from Scorpio. Jaylin said she saw us about to have sex, and being the type of woman she was, I expected her to confront me.
I couldn’t even imagine what Jaylin was going through, but I had my own problems to worry about. After I told Collins I wasn’t moving to Detroit, he’d become kind of distant. When I’d call, he’d cut our conversations short. When I’d go by his house, he’d pretend he was too busy and didn’t have time for me. I simply told him to make up his mind as to what he anticipated on doing with our relationship.
By all means, I was more in love with Collins than I’d ever been. But the truth of the matter was, I knew his attempt to move me to Detroit was so that I could be as far away from Jaylin as possible. Not only that, but I was getting tired of kissing his butt. I made a mistake, I owned up to it, and there was nothing I could do to change it. Either he was going to forgive me and move on, or say the hell with our relationship altogether.
While at work on Friday morning, Collins called and asked if we could have dinner. I was surprised to hear from him, and I could tell in his voice he was anxious to see me. Probably he was more anxious to have sex with me, since he’d asked me to meet him at the Ritz Carlton hotel before dinner.
I knew that the Ritz was an extravagant hotel, so I left work early and went home to change. I didn’t overdo it, but I put on a red spaghetti-strapped short dress and accessorized it with silver. I raked my layered hair and spiked the front. Before I left the house, I left Jaylin a message, asking him to pick up LJ at my parents’ house around eight, instead of at my house. Once I dropped off LJ, I headed to the Ritz to see Collins.
When I got there, I couldn’t remember what room number he’d earlier told me to meet him in, so I called his cell phone to find out where he was. He directed me to one of the ballrooms, and since I didn’t have a clue as to where they were, I asked a bellhop for assistance. He walked me to the room, and when I opened the door, my heart dropped straight to my stomach, causing me to hold it.
Collins sat at a beautifully decorated round table all by his lonesome self. He wore a black tuxedo, and when he saw me, he stood, inviting me to join him. Unable to resist, I walked up and embraced him. At that moment, I knew there was no other place in the world I wanted to be.
Collins pulled the chair back for me to take a seat. I smiled and looked up at the beautiful chandeliers that gave the room a dimmed lighting. Three waiters stood close by, and a few musicians played some relaxing music. Collins gave notice to the waiters, and one of them immediately brought over a bottle of wine, filling the wine glasses. After the waiter stepped away, Collins moved his chair close to mine and held up his glass. I lifted mine as well and asked, “What shall we drink to this time around?”
“Let’s drink to me finally realizing that everyone is entitled to mistakes. I’ve made them before, and I don’t want to go another day without the woman I love. Let’s just move on, okay? I don’t care if it’s in St. Louis, Detroit, Alabama, Mississippi . . . wherever. As long as I’m with you.”
I was relieved to hear those words come from his mouth. “Then let’s drink to staying together.”
“Always,” he said, leaning in for a kiss.
Collins and I drank more wine and talked intensively about our relationship. During dinner, I felt like the luckiest woman in the world. He was, by far, the best man any woman could hope for. There wasn’t anything about him I didn’t love. And even though I still had feelings for Jaylin, being with him never made me feel as safe and secure as I did when I was with Collins.
Dinner was over and the waiters moved the table so we could have the entire floor to ourselves. I wanted so badly to make love to my man, and if the others weren’t around, the moment seemed so appropriate. The musicians played “One in a Million You” by Larry Graham. Collins held me tightly in his arms as we slow danced.
I closed my eyes, placing my head against his chest.
“Do you know what I did today?” he said.
“No. What did you do today?”
“I had a very interesting conversation with someone.”
“Oh, yeah? And who might that be?”
“Your mother.”
I pulled my head away from his chest and looked up at him. “My mother? What did you talk to my mother about?”
“The usual. I figured she knows you better than anybody, so I asked her what really makes you happy.”
I smiled. “And what did she say?”
“She said the simple things in life, nothing fancy or extravagant. Just knowing that you’re loved, she said, means more to you than anything.”
“What else did she say?”
“She didn’t say much else, but what your father said is what kind of threw me for a loop.”
Knowing Daddy better than anyone, I backed away from Collins. “What did he say?”
“He said that his baby girl deserves nothing but the best. Said you’d been through a lot and he hoped more than anything you’d find happiness. When he told me he’d kill me, I got kind of scared.”
I was confused. “Kill you? For what?”
“He said he’d kill me if I didn’t live up to his expectations as his son-in-law.”
Collins smiled and got down on one knee. I trembled all over, my fingers unable to stay still. He reached in his pocket, and before he could even put the ring on my finger, I screamed out, “Yes!”
He stood up and lifted me with joy.
“Baby,” I said in tears after he put me down, “I don’t want to wait. I don’t want a big wedding because I don’t care about all that stuff. I just . . . I just want to do this as soon as possible.”
Collins looked shocked. “Like when? How soon are we talking?”
“Soon. Today, or tomorrow, the next day . . . I don’t care.”
“Okay, then let’s make arrangements to leave for Vegas tonight, and by tomorrow we’ll be done with it.”
“I love you so much,” I said, kissing him over and over again.
We parted ways and hurried home to pack. Mama and Daddy had called, trying to find out if I’d accepted Collins’ proposal. I informed them that I had, but cut our conversation short because of time. When I thought about calling Pat to tell her, I changed my mind because I knew she would keep me on the phone forever with questions about Jaylin. As for him, I didn’t even want to think about how he would feel about the news. For now, I wasn’t going to tell him anything. Our plane’s departure was at ten fifty-five tonight, and we were going to be on it.
I packed my suitcase and called Collins to tell him I was on my way, but when I made it to the front door, I saw headlights from a truck that pulled into my driveway. I looked at my watch. It was almost eight o’clock. It was obvious that Jaylin didn’t get my message about picking up LJ at my parents’ house, because it was him.
Panicking, I slid my suitcase by the side of the couch to hide it. I straightened my dress and looked in the mirror beside the door to wipe the dried-up tears from my face. I opened the door and put on a pleasant smile.
“What are you grinning for?” he asked, and then stepped inside.
“No reason. But LJ is with my parents. They had something at church this evening and wanted to take him with them.”
“You made me drive all the way over here for nothing? Why didn’t you call and tell me to pick him up over there?”
“I did call you. I guess you didn’t get my message.” I stood close by the door, continuing to hold it open.
His eyes seached me over. “You look nice. Why you all dressed up?”
“I’m having a late dinner with Collins. I was on my way out.”
“Dinner, huh?” he said, placing his hands in his pockets and moving toward the living room. I hoped that he wouldn’t see my suitcase, so I quickly closed the door and walked toward the kitchen so he would follow me.
“Yeah, dinner,” I said, entering the kitchen. “Would you like something to drink?”
“No,” he yelled, staying in the living room.
As I stood by the doorway, my heart raced. I thought of many ways to rush him out, but when I opened the kitchen door, he eyes were glued to my suitcase.
“Are you going somewhere?” he asked.
I wasn’t good at lying to Jaylin, and getting him to believe me was going to be hard. I placed my hand on my hip and massaged my forehead. “That’s, uh, I . . . I packed that when I thought I was going to Detroit.”
“You wouldn’t happen to be going to Detroit tonight, would you?”
“Look, I told you I wasn’t going to Detroit. Now, would you please leave so I can meet Collins for dinner? I’m already late.”
Jaylin lifted the suitcase, placing it on the couch. He tried to open it, but it was locked.
“Give me the key,” he said, holding out his hand.
“For what?” I snapped.
“Give me the damn key!”
I rushed up to him, reaching for my suitcase. “No! Now, again, would you please leave so I can go?”
“I’m not going anywhere until I see what’s in this suitcase. Since you forgot to tell me about the engagement ring on your finger, I know there better not be any of LJ’s fucking clothes in this suitcase.”
I completely forgot about the ring. “Look,” I said, unlocking the suitcase, “there is nothing in here that belongs to LJ. See?”
Jaylin picked through my clothes and then looked at me. “So, when’s the wedding? Since you got all this negligee in your suitcase, I assume it’s soon.”
“I don’t know,” I said, closing the suitcase, unable to make eye contact.
“You gon’ do this to me again, aren’t you?”
“Do what, Jaylin?”
“I can’t believe that here we go again.”
“What are you talking about?”
That look of hurt that I hated to see in his eyes was there. “Nokea, don’t play me like no damn fool! You’re going to marry this fool, aren’t you?”
“No, I am not going to marry a fool! I’m planning on marrying Collins if I can get the hell out of here. But it’s just like you to stand here and try to take this opportunity away from me.”
“I’m not taking anything away from you. I find it odd, though, that something brought me over here just in the nick of time. And I was going to call and tell you I’d pick up LJ tomorrow because I wasn’t feeling well.” He turned my shoulders so I could face him. “Nokea, don’t do something that you know for a fact you’re going to regret.”
“I don’t regret loving Collins, Jaylin. I won’t regret being happy for the rest of my life. I do, however, regret letting this . . . this fuck thing continue with us. It is over and you’re going to have to move on now.” I took my suitcase off the couch and carried it to the door. Jaylin rushed after me, grabbing my suitcase.
“Fuck thing? You know this ain’t no fuck thing between us, Nokea. Don’t do this to me. Please don’t leave me like this. I need you. I’ve always needed you. Marrying Collins is a mistake, baby, and you know it.”
I did my best to convince myself that it wasn’t. “No, it’s not.”
“Yes, it is,” he fired back.
He snatched the suitcase away from me. I pulled it back, and as we tugged back and forth, it fell open and my clothes fell out. I looked at my watch. It was already eight-thirty. I kneeled down and quickly tried to throw everything back inside of the suitcase. Jaylin wasn’t about to let me leave, so he lifted the suitcase, making everything fall out again.
“You’re not going to do this to me,” he said casually.
“Stop it!” I yelled and covered my face. “Would you please just go?”
He grabbed me by my arms and made me face him again. The hurting child that I remembered seeing in the orphanage stared at me. The one that I’d watched suffer so much over the years because of his mother’s death was pleading for me not to do this. The one who had my heart, but had somehow managed to lose it yet again, was before me. This time, however, my mind was made up.
“Do you want me to go be miserable?” he asked. “I’ve been there and done that. I’m not in a hurry to go do that again.”
“Fine, then,” I said, moving away from him. “Stay here. I gotta go.”
I left my suitcase and rushed to my car. I looked at him standing on my porch and quickly drove off. By the time I was less than a mile down the road, I thought about going back, but I couldn’t. Something inside wouldn’t allow me to. That didn’t stop me from pulling over to the side of the road to release my emotions, but I didn’t turn around.
I made it to Collins’ house around nine-fifteen and we headed for the airport. Having plenty of time, we embraced each other as we waited for our plane’s departure. I visualized Jaylin’s expression on my porch, but my thoughts of marrying Collins helped to ease my pain.
I was even more at ease when the plane took off for Vegas, and I was calm by the time it arrived. We got a room for the night, woke up early the next morning to take care of business, and by late evening, I became Mrs. Collins Lorenzo Jefferson.
I was so glad to put my love for Jaylin behind me. For some reason, after I told Collins what had happened at my house, he didn’t think I would go through with our marriage. I reminded him about how much I loved him, and stressed how important it was for me to live a peaceful life. Knowing that I didn’t have to worry about Collins loving me one moment and then not loving me the next, like Jaylin would have done, my decision was not a difficult one.
27
JAYLIN
I was sick to my stomach. I stayed at Nokea’s house for at least another hour, and when she didn’t come back, I locked her place up and left. I couldn’t believe that fool Collins had smoothed her over and taken her in an instant, just like that. My heart ached as I thought about him being the victor, and I figured he was on cloud nine about Nokea’s decision. Still, a tiny part of me had faith that Nokea wasn’t going to go through with it.
I left her place and drove around for a while, thinking hard about our relationship. Majic 104.9 put daggers in my heart when they played Brian McKnight’s “Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda.” Maybe I should have been a better man. If it was too late for me, then I had no one else to blame but myself. I had messed over Nokea for years, so why did I expect her to sit around and wait for me to get my shit together? My eyes welled with tears, so I pulled over to the side of the road and chilled. I couldn’t believe that my thoughts of her being married to someone else had caused me so much hurt, and I hoped she’d call me soon.
&nb
sp; I sat in my truck for hours, thinking about my mistakes. I didn’t want to go home because Scorpio was the last person I wanted to see. She made me so sick, but my hands were tied because of Mackenzie. I knew I was about to lose her, and I couldn’t understand how I managed to travel back down this road again. The stress was too much for me, so I got a room for the night and did what I knew best—got drunk.
By morning, my head spun and I was laid out on the floor with the covers wrapped around me. The last thing I remembered was taking a shower and getting my dick sucked. Thing is, I didn’t remember by who.
There was a knock on the door. When somebody called out housekeeping, last night’s events entered my memory. I opened the door and saw the same chick from housekeeping that came to my room last night to bring me some extra pillows. Jennifer, she said her name was. I moved away from the door to let her in. She was a plain-Jane kind of white gal, had nice breasts, straight long blonde hair, and blue eyes. Her ass was nothing to brag about, but right about now, I didn’t care what she looked like. All I wanted to do was roll over and die.
“Did you get enough rest?” she asked.
“No,” I said in a dry tone as I sat on the bed. “What time is it?”
“Almost noon. Before I clocked out, I wanted to stop in and check on you. Last night, you seemed so—”
“Look, I’m fine. I just need some more rest, so if you don’t mind.”
She walked toward the door, then turned to face me. “Say, Jaylin?”
“What’s up?”
“Do you mind if I call you some time so we can go out? I mean, you . . . you really seem like a nice person.”
I stood up and made my way to the door. Before saying anything, I kissed Jennifer’s forehead. “Do yourself a favor and forget about last night. By the time I leave this room today, I will have no recollection of what happend. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
Naughty 3: It's Juicy, No Matter How You Slice It Page 25
