Something went through me, and my body tingled all over. After all this time, I couldn’t believe he had said those words to me. His words encouraged me to find out more, but he placed his finger on my lips to shush me.
“Not right now,” he said. “We’ll talk after we’re finished.”
Jaylin lowered his head to my breasts. As his tongue turned circles on my nipples, he inserted himself again. The skillful rhythms of his strokes were tearing up my insides—in a good way, of course. After intense fucking for at least an hour, we both cut loose together. Sweat ran from our bodies. We were breathless, taking in more juicy kisses and sharing just how much we had missed each other.
“Would you please tell me what’s going on?” I said embracing him while I straddled his lap. “Are you and Nokea over?”
Jaylin comfortably held his head against my chest. His arms were around me and I softly rubbed through his sweaty curly hair. He began to tell me about a dream he’d had. Still, when all was said and done, according to him, he was still happily married to Nokea. Damn was all I could say, but after a performance like that, I could tell he wasn’t happily married at all.
“I—I just had to do this, Scorpio. I needed this, and I missed you so damn much.” He looked up at me and rubbed back my hair with his gentle hands. “That dream fucked me up, and I couldn’t stop thinking about you. Understand, though, that no matter what I’m feeling right now, I can’t ... I just can’t leave my wife. I love her a lot and that’s not going to change.”
It was no surprise to me how Jaylin felt about Nokea, but there was no guilt in me whatsoever. I just had to deal with his marriage, and since I was getting married in a few weeks, what the hell? We agreed to go our separate ways, but it felt good as hell for us to go out like we did. I promised him that I wouldn’t hold on to something that would never be. I even cried in his arms that night, sharing with him how much it pained me to let him go—again.
Jaylin understood my frustrations, and on his drive to the hotel, he called to put me at ease. He again told me he loved me, and expressed his regrets that we could never seem to get our relationship to work out. We both agreed that things happened for a reason.
When I ended my call with Jaylin that night, he wished me well. Other than a letter his lawyer had sent, relinquishing Jaylin’s parental rights to Mackenzie, this phone conversation was the last I’d heard from him. The letter was something that I requested. Even though I had the letter in my possession, I never, ever did anything with it. Something inside me didn’t trust Bruce to do right by me, and I was right.
Now I had to focus on getting my kids better, and the thought of losing them made me think about Jaylin even more. Did he even deserve to know about his son? What about Mackenzie? He would kill me if something happened to her, and I didn’t call to tell him. Besides, I didn’t want to go through all of this alone. I needed Jaylin so bad, but I wasn’t sure about telling him about his son. That would bring about so much trouble for me, and for his marriage. I was torn with my decision, but deep down, I knew that Jaylin had to know the truth.
NOKEA
I almost hated to say it, but life with Jaylin was so perfect. My husband was truly the best, and waking up with him every single morning made me the happiest woman in the world. He had a better attitude about life in general, and things really took a turn for the better when Shane moved to Miami Beach, Florida, with us. He and Jaylin had been doing well with their business ventures. Now, with two ambitious men working together, the sky was the limit. They’d made so much money in the housing/property market. Even though housing was in the negative, rich folks still had money to buy property. Just last week, Jaylin and Shane had closed a deal they’d been working on for months. It was an investment of $2.5 million that had turned into a payout of $9 million. I didn’t know which one of them was the happiest, but a celebration was well in order.
Nanny B put together a dinner party for us that night, and we celebrated with our neighbors, and with Shane’s girlfriend, Tiffanie. He’d met Tiffanie during a visit with us a while back. At the time, he was dating Scorpio and didn’t want to complicate his relationship with her. Tiffanie was patient, though. When I told her that Shane was moving to Florida, she wasted no time getting to know him. They went on a few dates, and it wasn’t long before he started spending a lot of time at her house. Her family owned several exquisite restaurants, Leylah’s Kitchen, named after her mother, and Tiffanie had a lot to bring to the table. Even so, Shane seemed to hold back a little. He talked to other women on occasion, and he had gone out on a few dates with other women. I hadn’t said anything to Tiffanie about this.
Tiffanie wanted him to move in with her, but for now, he continued to stay with Jaylin and me. Of course, Jaylin didn’t mind, and I think they wouldn’t have had it any other way. Most of their business was handled at home, but a few months ago, they rented an office space, which was less than five miles away. Jaylin made it clear that he didn’t want to do any heavy work, but to be honest, he and Shane were starting to spend a lot of time away from home. That was okay with me—as long as Jaylin was happy, I was happy.
I guess the only thing in the world that troubled me was the fact that I still hadn’t conceived another child. I mean, the doctors said my chances were slim, but I had hoped that they were wrong. Jaylin and I often made love, but both of us were over the age of thirty-six; we weren’t getting any younger. Jaylin hadn’t said anything about another baby, but I knew he hadn’t said anything because he didn’t want to hurt my feelings. For the time being, LJ and Jaylene were truly enough. We loved them with every fiber of our beings, and they made our lives feel so complete. I wouldn’t trade my life for anything in the world, and I was so blessed to have a family that loved me so much.
On Saturday, Jaylin, Shane, Tiffanie and I were on the beach playing volleyball. The weather was perfect. At ninety degrees, no one was complaining. I wore a nude-colored bikini that meshed well with my caramel-colored skin. Jaylin and Shane were in swimming trunks, and Tiffanie had on a white bikini. She and Shane were winning the game, simply because Jaylin couldn’t seem to concentrate. He was too busy standing behind me, complimenting my backside and watching me do all of the work. Shane served the ball over the net, and when Jaylin hit it back over, he ran up from behind and grabbed my waist. Tiffanie hit it back over, but Jaylin let the ball fall in the sand. He pecked down the side of my neck.
“Are y’all going to play ball or what?” Shane asked.
Jaylin ignored Shane, then squatted down. “Get on my shoulders,” he said, holding the ball in his hand. “We will win this game.”
I straddled Jaylin’s strong shoulders and he stood up, balancing me with no problem.
“What’s up now?” he said to Shane and Tiffanie.
Tiffanie put her hand on her hip. “That is so unfair. You guys ...”
Before she said another word, Shane lifted her, placing her on his shoulders. She laughed and held on tight. As slim as she was, I didn’t think Shane would have a problem balancing her either. When I served the ball over the net, she did her best to hit it. She wobbled on Shane’s shoulder, but he kept telling her that he wouldn’t let her fall.
“Are you sure?” she said, purposely waving her hands in the air. She put Shane’s strength to the test. Since she kept wobbling around, they both fell to the sand. Jaylin called the game after that; with me still on his shoulders, he jogged back to our house. I was laughing and bouncing all around, knowing that there wasn’t a chance in hell he’d let me fall. When we got to our house, Jaylin carefully lowered me to the ground. We entered the house through the sliding glass doors and made our way into the oversized kitchen. Nanny B had an apple pie baking in the oven; it filled my nose with pure sweetness. Shane and Tiffanie came in, sniffing at the aroma as well.
“What else is for dinner tonight?” Jaylin asked, opening the refrigerator. “I’m surprised all Nanny B has in the oven is a pie.”
“I told her not to cook din
ner,” I said. “I thought we could all go out to dinner.”
Shane and Jaylin eyeballed each other.
“You and Jaylin can go,” Shane said. “I gotta catch up on some work.”
A tiny frown covered Tiffanie’s face. “But, honey,” she whined, “it’s the weekend. I want to go to dinner, and can’t you put off what you have to do until tomorrow?”
Shane glanced at Jaylin again. “Not tonight,” Shane said. “If I could, I would.”
He took Tiffanie’s hand and left the kitchen. They headed to the lower level, where his living quarters were. I didn’t want to pry, but I had to.
“What’s up with that?” I asked.
Jaylin bit into an apple, doing his best to play it off. “What’s up with what?”
“The two of you eyeballing each other.”
Jaylin shrugged; then he walked off to our bedroom. I followed behind, still waiting for an answer.
“Out with it, Jaylin,” I said, following him into his spacious walk-in closet. “Come on and tell me. What’s up with Shane and Tiffanie?”
Jaylin removed his shorts and grabbed a pair of stonewashed jeans from a hanger. He tossed the jeans over his shoulder and stood naked. “Whatever is going on, it’s not our business. All you need to be concerned about is me, not them.”
I stepped forward and eased my arms around his perfectly cut waistline. “I am always concerned about you, but I know how much Tiffanie likes Shane. Is he not feeling her anymore? If not, he should be honest with her about how he feels.”
“Oh, he’s definitely feeling her, but he may be feeling other people too. Tiffanie needs to stop forcing him to be with her, and the worst thing a woman can do is force herself on a man. If she backs off a bit, he’ll come around.”
“Back off,” I said, surprised. Tiffanie had in no way been pressuring Shane about anything, and what Jaylin said made no sense to me. “Jaylin, she’s not pressuring him. She gives Shane all of the space he needs! Like I said, if he’s falling for someone else, then he needs to be honest.”
Jaylin stared at me, then sighed. “Please, please don’t get yourself involved in this. I know you like Tiffanie, but their relationship is none of your business. Back off, Nokea. I can see it in your eyes that you really want the two of them together, but they have to want that too.”
“I do. They make a beautiful couple, and Shane has waited almost a lifetime to find happiness. A good woman is staring him in the face, and I hope he realizes it.”
“He will,” Jaylin said, reaching for the closet door and slamming it shut. He hit the light switch, leaving us in complete darkness. I waited for him to say something, but he didn’t. I felt around for him, but he wasn’t there.
“Jaaaylin,” I sang out. “Where arrre you?”
He said not a word in return. Just as I was getting ready to move over to the light switch, I felt my bikini bottoms coming down. I stepped out of them, and knelt on the floor in front of him. We embraced, and his hands slid down over my curvy backside.
“So, is this how we’re doing it now, huh?” I asked.
“Yep. ’Cause every time I put you in that bed out there, our kids come running in here, trying to be nosy. It’s worked out for us in the closet before, and since I was in the mood to dip into that pussy, what the hell?”
I laughed, knowing Jaylin was so right. Lately it seemed as if Jaylene, who was four years old now, and LJ, who was almost seven, weren’t giving us any breathing room at all. Nanny B kept them as busy as she could, and on Saturdays, Jaylin and I always tried to set aside that day for ourselves. It didn’t matter one bit to me where we made love. We had done it all over this house, and just last week we found ourselves getting a quickie in the garage.
I lay back on the floor, and as soon as Jaylin cracked his code, someone knocked on the closet door. I couldn’t help but laugh, for I had a feeling who it was.
Jaylin put his lips to my ear. “Shh,” he whispered. “Stop laughing and do not respond.”
“Mommie ... Daddy,” LJ said, knocking. “Are you in there?”
Jaylin must have known that I was getting ready to open my mouth, so he placed his hand over it. I chuckled a bit, knowing that LJ was not going away. Moments later, Jaylene’s voice sounded off.
“Daddy,” she said in her sweet, timid voice. “Please open the door.”
Jaylin dropped his head on my chest. “Damn,” he whispered. “I can’t believe this shit. How in the hell did they know we were in here? This is so fucked up.”
He slowly pulled out of me, then crawled his way to the door. He cracked it a bit and looked at them on the other side. “Yes,” he said. “What is it?”
“We want some ice cream and cake,” LJ said. “Nanna told us to ask you if we could have some before dinner and she said we should wait until the apple pie—”
“Yes. Please eat as much cake, pie ... ice cream as you’d like.”
I heard them run away from the door, and Jaylin crawled his way back over to me. He circled his thick head against my slit, making sure I was still wet.... I was. Trying to rush, he quickly cracked my code again. This time, he was able to get off more strokes. He whispered that he loved me, and just as I switched to a doggy-style position, another knock interrupted us. Jaylin slowly eased in and out of me, yelling out, “What?”
“Nanna said—”
“To hell with what Nanna said,” Jaylin shouted. “Go get your ice cream and cake! Do not knock on this door again, and I will be out in a few minutes!”
“Mommie too?” LJ added.
We couldn’t help but laugh. I gave up and moved myself forward. Jaylin pulled my hips back to him. “Hell nah,” he whispered. “We ain’t finished yet.” He paused his strokes. “LJ, your mother is not in here. She’s outside.”
“Uh-uh. You’re lying to me, Daddy. I saw her....”
I would have given anything to see Jaylin’s face. “Did his ass just call me a liar? Fuck naw.” Jaylin backed up a bit, but I quickly grabbed his hand.
“LJ, I’ll be out in a minute,” I said. “I’m looking for something to wear tonight, okay?”
“Okay,” he said. I heard him walk away again.
I backed up to Jaylin, and we hurried to finish up. It didn’t come without a fuss, though, and Jaylin couldn’t seem to get what LJ had said to him off his mind.
“Well, you did lie to him,” I said, putting on Jaylin’s long white pressed shirt to cover up.
He was zipping his jeans, and couldn’t believe I had defended LJ. “I don’t care what you say, he was out of line. He don’t say no shit like that, and I’m going out there to see what’s up with him.”
Jaylin left the closet, but I wasn’t worried about anything. When it came to his kids, he was a big ole wuss. They had him wrapped around their fingers, and he hadn’t disciplined either of them a day in their lives. Now, he would scare them when he raised his voice, but that was it. I, however, had no room to talk about Jaylin. My parents taught me never to put my hands on my children. They were given timeouts and stuff like that, but there was no denying that Jaylene and LJ were two very spoiled children.
When I stepped into the kitchen, Nanny B was standing near the refrigerator, shaking her head. Jaylin stood behind LJ, looking at him like he was crazy. LJ and Jaylene had two big bowls full of ice cream and thick slices of chocolate cake. LJ’s jaws were too fat for him to swallow, and Jaylene had chocolate all on her face and hands.
“Mommie,” she said, holding out her hands to me, “this is de-delicious!”
LJ nodded, and Jaylin playfully slapped the back of his head. “You are a bad example for your sister. I can’t believe Nanna let y’all do this.”
Nanny B pursed her lips. “You told them to have at it, so I did. I let them get whatever they wanted, and don’t blame me because you told them to eat as much as they wanted.”
Somebody had to get order in this place, so I removed their bowls and made both of them get up from the table. Jaylene had the nerve to cr
y, and LJ pouted. They both ran to Jaylin for comfort. Like always, he was the sucker.
“Leave their bowls alone, Nokea. I’m the one who told them to get it. I’ll clean up the mess.”
“No,” I said, dumping their bowls in the trash. “Eating this much cake and ice cream will make them sick.” Jaylene threw a fit, but I ignored her. She wailed out loudly and Jaylin went to the rescue. He put her in his arms and started to tickle her belly. LJ was hanging on to his leg; he was so jealous that Jaylin hadn’t picked him up. Nanny B made it all better when she suggested they go watch The Princess and the Frog. LJ was in love with the princess, and Jaylene wanted to be her. They rushed out of the kitchen with Nanny B, leaving me there to clean up their mess.
“I thought you were going to clean this up,” I said to Jaylin, wiping down the table with a wet rag.
“I was, but then I thought about your horny ass in the closet. You should have let me leave, but you kept backing that ass up to me and wouldn’t let me go. If you would have come out of the closet like your kids asked you to, then you wouldn’t be in this predicament.”
I pointed to my chest. “Me horny? No, I don’t think so. That was your horny self, and you were the one who...”
I paused when I saw Tiffanie come up the steps. Her eyes were red, and it looked as if she’d been crying.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
She sniffled and combed back her straight black hair with her fingers. To me, she could have been Zoe Saldana’s twin. I couldn’t believe that as pretty as she was, Shane was causing her grief. He definitely had to be out of his mind, because Tiffanie probably had many, many options.
“I’m fine, Nokea. I’m on my way home. I’ll see you sometime tomorrow.”
Jaylin didn’t say a word. Obviously, he knew what was going on, but didn’t want to tell me. I walked Tiffanie to the door. After I let her out, I went back into the kitchen to find Jaylin. He wasn’t there. I suspected that he’d gone to the lower level to talk to Shane. I didn’t like being kept in the dark, but truthfully, it wasn’t any of my business. I figured I’d talk to Tiffanie later. After I cleaned up the kitchen, I went to my bedroom to shower and change into something casual for dinner.
Jaylin's World Page 2
