Two Wrongs Don't Make a Right

by Brenda Hampton

  “Lucky guess.”

  She got ready to walk away, but I reached for her arm.

  “Do you want something to drink?”

  She nodded, so I gave her a hundred dollar bill. I asked her to get me a Corona and she stood by the bar to get our drinks.

  I’d seen Miguel getting into a heated argument with some niggas at the door, so I stepped over to where he was. When I asked if everything was cool, he assured me that it was.

  “Yeah, I got everything under control. I told these punks they can’t come in here with no damn tennis shoes on.”

  One of the fools quickly spoke up. “And all I’m saying, is we’ve been in here with tennis shoes on before. What’s the big damn deal?”

  “The big damn deal,” I said, “Is you too close to my partner’s face and you disrespecting him. He don’t like to be disrespected.”

  “No, I don’t. And when I do, it pisses me the fuck off. Sometimes, I get all crazy and shit and start beating niggas asses for no reason.”

  I looked at the fool who had a mean mug on his face. “Trust me when I say you don’t want no trouble,” I said. “Just go get your Stacy Adams on and we won’t have no problem letting you in.”

  The three youngsters talked all kinds of shit before leaving. Just to make sure everything was good, I sat next to Miguel on a stool.

  “Guess who had the nerve to call me today?” I said.

  “Who?”

  “Avena. Cyd answered my cell phone and it was her.”

  “What did she want?”

  “I don’t know…don’t care. I haven’t called her back, nor do I intend to.”

  “She gon’ keep bugging yo ass, trust me. After awhile, she’ll give up.”

  We laughed and when two light skinned chicks entered the club, Miguel nudged me.

  “I know you don’t like’em that light, but you’ve got to appreciate women who put that much time and effort into looking good.”

  I had to admit, the ladies beautifulness and figures did cause me to take a double look, especially the one who had on a pair of white pants that revealed a tattoo on her lower back. Her fishnet white top barely covered her breasts and it left her midriff and back bare. As soon as they walked towards us, I asked for their ID’s. Miguel reached for one and I reached for the one that seemed to catch my eye.

  I worked the Juicy Fruit gum while gazing at the young woman’s name on her ID. “Sidney, huh?” I smiled because I damn sure wasn’t about to go there. She’d definitely remind me too much of my Cydney.

  She reached for her ID. “I thought you were supposed to be checking my age, not my name. But now that you know mine, it’s only fair that I know yours?”

  “Isaac. And don’t hurt nobody up in here tonight, Sidney. As fine as you are, I know that may be impossible.”

  She smiled and looked back at her friend who was conversing with Miguel.

  “I’m going to the restroom. Meet me there,” she said to her friend.

  Her friend nodded, and before walking away, she blew a kiss at me. I couldn’t help but to admire her backside, and all these pantyless women were driving me crazy. As my eyes followed her to the restroom, Laquinta came up and turned my head.

  “Your drink,” she said, handing it to me. “I know damn well you ain’t up in here flirting with anybody.”

  “Naw, baby, I know her from one of the apartment complexes we go to all the time. She’s one of my connections.”

  Damn near choking on my lie, I took a sip from my Corona then sat it on the table next to me. Laquinta stood close by me and sipped on her drink. Once Miguel got up to see about something, she took a seat on his stool. All kinds of females that I knew from working the streets came in. And every time one of them would hug me or get close, Laquinta got bent out of shape. After a while, I asked her to move away from me.

  “You would like that, wouldn’t you,” she griped.

  “Look, I don’t need you sweating me, baby. Go and have yourself some fun. You claim you don’t get out that often, so go dance and enjoy yourself.”

  Pissed, she rolled her eyes and moved away from me. I expected her to try and make me jealous and that’s exactly what she did. She hollered at every nigga that looked her way. She flirted and gave her phone number to many. Hell, no, I wasn’t jealous. I knew I could have her pussy any day, any time and any moment that I wanted it. That’s why I was working on something else for the night. Possibly Sidney who kept smiling at me from afar or this other chick I’d seen while cruising the streets with Miguel. I didn’t know her name, but she kept waving at me.

  As my eyes searched the crowded club, Sidney came up to me and placed her elbow on my shoulder.

  “Do you work here often?” she asked.

  “No, I don’t work here at all. My partner in crime does. He asked me to come help him tonight.”

  “Oh. So, you both are police officers, huh?”

  I nodded and could see Laquinta watching me from a distance.

  “Well, this is my first time here. It’s okay, I guess. My girlfriend comes here often, and since I’m from L.A., you know our clubs be popping way more than this.”

  “I bet they do.” I sat up straight so she could move her elbow from my shoulder. She did, and seconds later, Laquinta walked up to us.

  “Isaac, baby, what time are you leaving? I’ll be ready to go soon. I wondered if you’d take me home.”

  She knew better than to front on me like that. I narrowed my eyes, and tried not to hurt her feelings. “How did you get here? However you got here is the same way you’re going to get home. I’m not leaving yet.”

  “Well, I’m ready to go,” she snapped. “Since you consider yourself my man, I’m asking you to take me home. Now!”

  There were only two women in this world that could yell at me and get away with it. My mother and my wife. I was already going to make Laquinta pay for calling my phone and telling Cydney she was my lover, but even more so now that she kept showing her ass. Yes, Cydney had confronted me about Laquinta before, but I never admitted to having an ongoing relationship with her. Cydney was always left to assume, but Laquinta’s phone call kind of validated that something was still going on. That upset me.

  “Just so you know, I’m not your man. As a matter of fact, I’m a married man. Don’t be coming up to me with this attitude like I owe you something, because I don’t owe you shit. A ride home tonight will not come from me, so get the fuck away from me.”

  Laquinta responded with a hard…very hard slap across my face. It was loud and turned many heads in the club. Embarrassed, I jumped up from my stool and snatched her collar. I pulled it and drug her outside like she was a ragdoll. As she got feisty, I shoved her against the brick wall and placed my hand above her head.

  “What in the fuck is wrong with you?” I said. “You don’t put your got damn hands on me like that, woman. And I’m being kind by not calling you a stupid bitch.”

  She pouted and shot daggers at me with her watery eyes. “You shouldn’t be up in there flirting with no bitches right in front of my face. I don’t give a shit what you do when I’m not around, but don’t be disrespecting me like that.”

  “If you want respect, you gotta give it. Don’t you ever put your hands on me again. Now, I’m going back inside. As for you, you’re going home. Get in your car and go home. I’m not letting you back in this club tonight.”

  “You don’t have no control over where I go.”

  She walked around me to go back inside, but I pulled the back of her collar again. “Don’t make me hurt you, alright? I said go home. I’ll be there in about an hour. We can finish this conversation up then.”

  She snatched away from me and tried desperately to go back inside. I was getting furious with her, so I shoved her, causing her to stumble. “Save yourself the embarrassment. I don’t want to hurt you out here, baby, but you’re leaving me no choice. Go home. I swear to you that I’ll be there in an hour.”

  No doubt, she was pissed, but
by the look in my eyes, she wasn’t about to challenge me. The last time she did, she paid dearly for it. I wound up apologizing for many days and nights, for putting my hands on her. That was something I didn’t like to do, but Laquinta was a chick who liked to fight. For now, she seemed to calm down. I escorted her to her car, and not saying one word to me, she left.

  When I got back inside, Miguel was waiting by the door cracking up. I already knew what it was about, and all I could do was shake my head.

  “You heard it, didn’t you?” I asked.

  “Man, that smack was so loud, I heard it over the music. I looked up and thought I was gon’ have to come peel that bitch up off the floor. You should have fucked her up for that one. She was way out of line. I don’t recall you ever saying Cydney went out like that and she’s your wife.”

  “I know,” I said. “Laquinta will pay for it later, though. I bet she’ll never try that shit again.”

  As Miguel and I continued to talk, Sidney and her friend came over by us. She had a set of keys in her hands, and it appeared that they were getting ready to leave.

  “Leaving so soon,” I asked.

  “I am,” she said. “My friend isn’t. She’s staying, but I’m using her car to go back to the hotel.”

  I picked up her hand and removed the keys. “It’s dangerous for a woman to be by herself at night. I’ll take you back to the hotel. You’ll be safe with me. I promise.”

  “Not after watching your girlfriend smack you the way she did. If she sees us leave together, she might knock me upside my head or something.”

  I laughed and handed the keys over to her friend. “I’ll take Sidney back to the hotel. She’s in good hands. Whenever you get there, she’ll be there waiting for you.”

  “Is that cool,” her friend asked. “Miguel said that once the club closes, he’d follow me to the hotel, so I’ll meet you there.”

  “That’s cool,” Sidney said. I followed behind her as she left.

  By four thirty in the morning, I had already taken Sidney to the hotel, fucked her and was on my way to Laquinta’s house. Sidney was too damn easy. The second we stepped into the hotel room, her clothes were off. I’d been teasing her in the car and had her insides on fire. The only problem was, she came too quickly. After that, she really wasn’t much good. She got tired and I had to do all of the work. I didn’t mind because some of my frustrations were taken out on her. The rest, I saved for Laquinta.

  I knocked on Laquinta’s door at about four forty-five in the morning. She opened it and was still in the dress she’d worn at the club. Seething with anger in her eyes, she walked over to the couch, sat yoga style and placed a pillow in her lap. Since she was partially in the dark, I turned on the lights so I could see her face.

  “If you gon’ sit there and pout, I can leave.”

  She folded her arms. “Where have you been, Isaac? You told me you’d be here in about an hour. It’s damn near five o’clock in the morning!”

  “I don’t need to be reminded of the time. And, for the record, I don’t answer to nobody but my wife. Hell, I barely answer to her so you know damn well that you ain’t got shit coming.”

  She got up, stomped to the door and opened it. “Fuck you and your wife, Isaac! You don’t ever have to answer to me and both of y’all can go to hell bastard! I don’t need this shit. Not from you or anybody else!”

  I slammed the door then pointed my finger near her face. “Leave my wife out of your mouth, alright? As a matter of fact, if you ever call my phone and she answers, hang the motherfucker up! You know the rules, Laquinta, and how in the hell are you going to try and keep tabs on a married man? It can’t be done, sweetheart. You’re making a fool out of yourself by trying to keep me in line. It ain’t happening, baby, I can promise you that.”

  She rolled her eyes and swallowed hard. “What did I ever do to you but love you? I’ve put up with your shit for too long and have allowed you to walk all over me. Not once—”

  “Not once did I ask you to do shit for me, Laquinta! I didn’t ask you to love me. You did that on your own! Hell, I didn’t even ask for a child, but you lied to me about being on the pill and gave me one anyway! You knew I was married, and when I gave you money for an abortion, you used it for something else!” Releasing my anger and frustrations, I knocked over a floor lamp and sent it crashing to the floor. The light went out, and that’s when Laquinta stormed back over to the couch. She plopped down and continued to display an attitude.

  “So, now you’re making me pay for all of this, nigga? Is that what you’re doing? Putting all the blame on me? Well, I’m not the one to blame. You need to take a look at your own self! You’re the one who keep running over here, trying to have your cake and eat it too!”

  “I take full responsibility for what I’ve done. Truthfully, I’m the one who’s a fool for taking care of a baby that might not be mine.” I stepped up to her and removed her hands from her face. “She ain’t mine, is she Laquinta? Erica looks nothing like me and you know it.”

  She snatched her hands away from me then smacked away a few tears. “You’re just afraid to face the facts. You’re hoping that she’s not yours so you can have an excuse to end this with me and work things out yo bitch.”

  “Keep talking like that and I’mma show you who I think the real bitch is. I don’t keep coming here because of Erica. I come here to be with you. But whenever I have a blood test done, you’d better hope and pray like hell that she’s mine. Up until recently, I haven’t asked you for a blood test because I trusted that you wouldn’t lie to me. But the more I look at Erica, I have doubts. If she’s not mine, some serious shit gon’ go down between you and me, you understand?” She didn’t respond, so I grabbed her face with my hand, squeezing it. “Do you understand?”

  She scratched at my hand, causing me to remove it. She then looked me directly in my eyes. “I said she’s yours. I haven’t been fucking with nobody but you, so how dare you come here with this nonsense all of a sudden? I’m not having this conversation with you again, Isaac, and if I’m the person you came to see, then act like it.”

  I pulled Laquinta up from the couch and started to unbutton her dress. Once I pulled it off, she stood before me in her thong. I yanked on it, until it tore. It dropped to the floor, and that was when I reached for her pussy, cuffing it in my hand.

  “You know I’m hooked on this shit, but you’ve got to stop causing me so much grief. I get enough of that at home; I don’t need it here. If all we’re going to do is argue, I swear I won’t have no problem letting you go. The choice is yours. Either silence yourself or be done with me.”

  I eased my fingers inside of Laquinta’s pussy, causing her to hike up on the tips of her toes. Unable to handle my touch, she dropped back on the couch and opened her legs wide. I got on my knees then placed her legs on my shoulders. I pecked her thighs, but before going all in, I looked up at her.

  “I apologize for some of the hurtful things I said to you, but I do mean what I said. If there is no peace here, I don’t want this.”

  “Neither do I,” she said, lowering my head down to her good stuff. I pushed her legs close to her chest and got busy. Moments later, Laquinta’s nails clawed the couch and she couldn’t stop apologizing to me. “I…I’m sorry for putting my hands on you and it will never,” she took several deep breaths. “Never happen again. If you want peace, you got it. It’s right here, baby…always, you will find it right here.”

  I stopped for a moment, just to confirm her words. “I hope so. Peace and pussy, that’s all I want.”

  She fired back. “And all I want is dick and money.”

  All we could do was try to honor each other’s wishes.

  CYDNEY

  One thing I knew about Isaac, when mad or not, he meant every word he said. His last words to me were, if I didn’t get my shit together, he’d leave me for someone else. I wasn’t too much worried about it, but there was no way I’d let him have the final say-so in this marriage. While he w
as away last night, I thought hard about where our marriage was headed. The only answer I could come up with was…nowhere. Isaac wasn’t willing to make any changes, and at this point, neither was I. Finally, reality had set in. If I ever intended on being happy again, I had to be honest with myself and with Isaac about how miserable my life was. I was tired of pretending. Keeping up this charade in front of our families was getting ridiculous. It was only a matter of time that the truth would come to the light. I could tell that Isaac’s mom, and mine, could see right through us. I knew they’d be hurt by my decision to end our marriage, but Isaac left me with no other choice. Certainly, my happiness was more important than anyone elses.

  Sunday was supposed to be a day of rest, but not in my household. Around one o’clock in the afternoon, Isaac strolled in looking and smelling as if he’d been soaking in sex. He walked right past me and headed for the shower. As he stood and let the hot and steamy water pour on him, I stood in the doorway.

  “Wash all of her residue off you, please. And once you’re done rinsing, make sure you wash yourself again.”

  “Cydney, I’m tired. I’m not up to arguing with you today.”

  “I’m not going to argue with you, Isaac. But it’s time that either you or I left. Which one of us is going to be the brave one? That’s the real question.”

  “Well, I’m not going anywhere,” he said. “This is my house and I’m staying right here.”

  “Fine,” I said, walking away and into my closet. “And make sure you can pay the bills in your house too.”

  I pulled out my suitcase and laid it on the bed. Isaac turned off the water, grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist. He looked at me, as I entered the closet and pulled out some clothes. While observing me, he dried off, moved my suitcase aside and then got in bed. He turned his back to me then pulled the sheets over his head. I continued packing up more necessities, but since I had so much stuff, I knew I’d have to come back for many of my belongings later. Either way, the suitcase was filled to capacity and I pulled it off the bed so I could go.