Slick

by Brenda Hampton

  I walked up to one of the officers, pretending not to know what the hell was going on. They told me Lewis and his friend were wanted for questioning pertaining to three carjacking cases, a drive-by shooting on the north side, and a robbery. All, of course, fabricated charges, but what the hell? I hated to see black men go down like this, and it was kind of hard to watch the officers toss out so much disrespect. But, Lewis had fucked up, and he was about to pay for doing so.

  Before I left, the officer thanked me for helping them crack such a large drug case and he called a tow truck to come get my Lexus. They put Lewis and his friend into separate police cars, and I placed my business card against the window so he could see it.

  “If you need a lawyer,” I said with a smirk on my face. “Call me.”

  “Fuck you, motherfucker,” he shouted and spit on the glass. I laughed at him, and when my taxi came, I jetted.

  15

  SYLVIA

  Nobody knew how much I missed Jonathan but me. Hell, he didn’t even recognize how much I still wanted him. I hid my feelings very well and used Lorenzo like it wasn’t funny to get over Jonathan.

  Working for Jonathan and seeing him every day was tough. There were times I didn’t even want to go in because I knew how much seeing him in his sharp, tailored suits would weaken me.

  After Britney’s concert the other night, I was so sick to my stomach after seeing him with Dana that I asked Lorenzo to drop me off because I wanted to be alone. I cried the entire night and prayed to the Lord, asking Him to help me get over Jonathan. It was obvious he had moved on with Dana, and she didn’t have a problem trying to let it be known. Every time I looked their way, she would grab his hand or rub herself up against him. When I saw how affectionate he was with her, it tore me apart.

  During work, I fought hard not to bring up anything about what had happened between us; after all, it had been awhile since we were last together. And if it seemed as if he tried to avoid me, I was, without a doubt, trying to avoid him.

  I stood by the restroom door talking to Jackie. She asked me if I’d seen the news on Channel 4 about Lewis being arrested. I told her I hadn’t, and when she gave me the scoop, I was shocked. I knew Lewis was up to no good and was thrilled that he was finally behind bars. My prayers on that end had been answered.

  I rushed to Jonathan’s office to tell him, but as I walked into his office, he was on the phone laughing with his back turned.

  “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” he said then paused to listen. “Yeah, man, I’m picking up my car today.” He laughed out loudly. “I owe you big time, Jaylin, but to answer your question, no, you can’t have her because I’m not quite done yet.”

  I cleared my throat, and when he swung around in his chair and saw me, he told Jaylin he would call him back.

  I ignored what Jonathan had said because it was obviously said to make Jaylin believe we still had something going on. Jonathan had been hyped all week, so I figured his sex life with Dana was probably back on track.

  “I didn’t mean to interrupt, but did you hear about Lewis on the news?” I asked.

  “Yes. As a matter of fact, I did. By the look of things, he’s going to jail for a very long time.”

  “I would say so too, but don’t y’all run background checks on people before y’all hire them? I didn’t know he had all that mess going on.”

  Jonathan shrugged his shoulders. “I guess his bad record must have slipped through the cracks. I’m not in charge of that stuff, so there’s no telling what happened.”

  “Well, I’m glad he’s behind bars. In the meantime, do you mind if I leave early?”

  “Why?”

  “Because, I have some business to take care of.”

  “What kind of business?”

  “Jonathan, look, when I leave this place, I don’t have to tell you where I’m going or who I’m with. So, again, do you mind if I leave early?”

  “I don’t mind, but the only reason I asked is because I care about you.”

  “I’ll be okay, trust me. I don’t think I’m going to get in any trouble being with your daughter at the movies.”

  “How do you get to spend so much time with her and I don’t?”

  “Because, we talk almost every day, and she feels comfortable having girl talk with me.”

  “Girl talk, huh? I hope y’all not having the same girl talk you be having with Audrey and Jackie.”

  “Please. Britney and my conversations are on a completely different level. She’s a good girl, Jonathan. She’s a little on the wild side, but that’s okay.”

  “Well, I can’t express enough how much I appreciate you being there for her. If it wasn’t for you, she’d be lost. Beverly’s so wrapped up with the men in her life that she doesn’t have time to even deal with Britney’s issues. I get kind of caught up myself, but—”

  “Let’s just hope and pray she stays on the right track. She’s been begging me to go see this crazy comedy movie with her, so I told her I would pick her up from school.”

  Jonathan looked at his watch. “You’d better get going. Tell her I’ll see her this weekend and thanks, again, for being there.”

  “No problem.”

  I left to go pick up Britney from school. She stood outside my car and talked to this nice-looking young man for a while. I blew the horn and she gave him a hug and said good-bye. She got in the car with a huge smile plastered on her face.

  “No way, chica. I’ve seen that look too many times before. Don’t even think about getting yourself involved. He is definitely a heartbreaker and you don’t need that kind of drama in your life.”

  “Whateverrrr,” she said, looking out of the window. “Look at him, Sylvia, he is soooo fine.”

  “Yes, he is,” I said, driving off. “He so fine that you don’t even need him.”

  She laughed. “Would you rather I be alone then?”

  “I’m not saying that, but I would rather you get your grades together first then worry about all that other stuff later.”

  “My grades are together.” She reached in her purse and pulled out a piece of paper. When she gave it to me, I saw it was her report card. She had two As, three Bs and one C.

  “Okay,” I said, shaking my head. “That’s definitely an improvement, and I’m proud of you. But knowing that you can do better, you still got some work to do.”

  “I know, but I’m proud of myself too. Last semester, I don’t know if Daddy told you or not, but I had four Ds and two Fs. If I keep this up, I won’t even have to go to summer school.”

  “That’s good. And be sure to call your father and let him know about your report card. I’m sure he’ll be pleased when he finds out.”

  She pulled out her cell phone and called Jonathan to tell him about her grades. When she asked him to meet us at the movie theater, I looked over at her and rolled my eyes.

  “Now, why did you ask him to join us, Britney? If this is one of your attempts to get us back together, it’s not going to work. Jonathan and Dana are happy, and I have moved on with Lorenzo. Stop interfering, okay?”

  “Interfering? I’m not interfering. I just want to see my father, that’s all.”

  “Fine, Britney, whatever you say.”

  The movie didn’t start until five o’clock. Britney and I stayed in the lobby until Jonathan came in. When I saw that he’d changed into his polo shirt and Levi’s, my heart melted. He looked spectacular in just about anything he put on.

  Britney ran up and gave him her report card. After he looked at it, he hugged her and smiled. I was sitting on a bench, so they came over by me. Jonathan asked if I’d seen what a great job she’d done.

  “Yes, I did. And I told her how proud of her I was.”

  “Yep. Sylvia’s so proud of me, Daddy, and she said when school lets out I can stay with her.”

  “Wait a minute. Don’t be lying on me. I did not say that. Besides, over the summer, I’m taking a loooong vacation. The last thing I need is your butt chilling at my pl
ace and I’m not there.”

  “Please,” she begged. “Would you at least think about it?”

  “No, Britney, there’s nothing to think about.”

  She sadly looked at Jonathan. “Daddy, would you ask her for me? She’ll listen to you.”

  “Baby, I don’t know if that’s a good idea. Sylvia might have some other things to take care of.”

  Britney rolled her eyes at both of us, and we went into the theater.

  Like father like daughter, Britney and Jonathan were all into the movie. I was quite occupied thinking about Jonathan, so the movie really didn’t hold my attention. I was glad when it was over, and since Jonathan’s car was outside, he offered to take Britney home. They both thanked me and waved good-bye.

  Before going home, I stopped at Dierbergs to shop for groceries. After I filled my tank at Quik Trip, I headed for home. When I pulled up, I saw Jonathan sitting in his car. He got out and came up to me, as I removed the bags from the trunk of my car. I handed him a few bags so he could help, but he dropped them to the ground. He looked at me, as I slammed down the trunk.

  “Do you even miss me?” he asked.

  I took a deep breath and walked past him. He grabbed my arm, but I turned away, trying not to face him. “Sylvia, I must know, please. Because I . . . I’m missing you like hell.”

  I turned to face him. “Please don’t do this to me. I have finally—”

  He stepped up to me and placed his lips on mine. Dying to feel the taste of his lips, I dropped my bags, heard my eggs crack and watched my oranges roll on the ground. I pulled Jonathan closer to me, and eager to feel each other, by the time we reached the front door, his shirt was unbuttoned and my skirt was up. I fumbled around for the key and was already moist as he rubbed his hands on my pussy.

  When the door flew open, I quickly helped him out of his jeans and we fell on the floor right by the front door. I tightened my legs around his waist, and when he entered me, a loud gasp escaped from my mouth. Tears rushed to my eyes, but I blinked them away. This was such an emotional moment for me, especially when Jonathan came closer to my ear and whispered, “I love you.” By then, we had already fucked our way to the hallway, and I stopped the motion to look at him.

  “Wha . . . what did you just say to me?” I asked.

  He ignored me, rolled me over on my stomach, and eased his steel back inside. He watched my ass grind against him, and as I was now on my hands and knees, he held my hips and guided us in the perfect direction. My pussy couldn’t stay quiet, and the sounds of him stirring my juices could be heard through the silence. Jonathan broke some of that silence, and said exactly what I needed to hear.

  “Damn, you just don’t know, Sylvia. I’m happy to say it again. Yes, I’m in love with you. Not only just in love with this amazing-ass pussy you got, but I’m in love with everything there is about you.”

  After hearing that, I got down to business and worked his dick as best I could. I was on a serious high and nothing in the world could bring me down. Not even Lorenzo, who had decided to stop by without calling, or Dana who had been ringing Jonathan’s phone like crazy. We were so into each other that nothing outside of us being here together even mattered.

  Jonathan had my legs spread far apart while I lay back on the kitchen table. He looked down at the goodness of him sliding in and out of me.

  “Yo, you should really see this,” he said, smiling.

  “If it’s anything like it feels, I’m sure it looks good,” I moaned.

  Jonathan released one of my legs and lightly rubbed my clitoris with the tips of his cold fingers. I was about to explode, and when I did, I squeezed my fists and pounded his chest.

  “Damn you!” I squealed. “I’m never going to get over you. I love you so much, but what are we going to do, baby? We cannot keep doing this.”

  “I agree,” he said, helping me down from the table. “I’ve been thinking about what to do for a while, but, baby, I don’t have an answer for you right now.”

  “The sad thing is I don’t have an answer either. I guess we’re going to have to take this one day at a time and see where things go.”

  “It’s all we can do.”

  We took a shower together, and not even wanting to leave, Jonathan cuddled in bed with me until two-thirty in the morning. When I asked what he planned to tell Dana, he told me he’d think of something. We walked outside and picked up my busted groceries bags that were still there. I watched Jonathan slowly drive off in his car.

  As usual, I didn’t get a lick of sleep. It felt so good having Jonathan back in my life again, but then there was a side of me that knew this would never work itself out. There was too much at stake. Dana would never give him up, and if Mama and Papa Bell found out I was interfering in their daughter’s marriage, they would kill me. That didn’t even include the people at work who would think I was a backstabbing bitch for sleeping with my best friend’s man, let alone wanting to marry him.

  Focusing too much time thinking about this on a Saturday morning, I went for a quick jog. When I got home, I cooked breakfast, but as soon as I sat at the table, the doorbell rang. Not knowing who it could be at nine o’clock in the morning, I looked out the window and saw Dana. I wasn’t up for arguing with her and when I told her I wasn’t, by yelling through the window, she insisted that she just wanted to talk.

  I opened the door, and all she did when she came in was look me up and down in my stretch workout suit that fit every curve in my body. She was dressed casually in jeans and a pink and yellow shirt that matched her high, spiked heels. I went back into the kitchen and she followed me. As I sat at the table, she leaned against the counter and stared at me.

  “Why can’t you just leave us alone, Sylvia?” she asked calmly. “I am here today to beg you to stop seeing my husband. I can’t believe that after all that’s happened, you still refuse to let him go.”

  I bit down on my toast and chewed. Once I finished, I responded to her. “You might not believe this, Dana, but I never intended for things to go this far. I’m sorry but . . . but I love him too. I have tried to get over him, and I have tried to move on, but I . . . I can’t. So as far as letting him go, right now, I can’t make you any promises. I don’t know what’s going to happen between us, but whatever does, you might have to be woman enough to move on.”

  Dana’s mouth hung wide open and she pointed to her chest. “So, you’re asking me, his wife, to move on? I can’t believe you, Sylvia. Every time I talk to you about this you sound as if you don’t have any sense at all. The only thing you care about is you. You say that you care about Jonathan, but are you even aware of what this is doing to him? If you don’t care about me, which it’s apparent that you don’t, at least think about what this is going to do to him, to his career, and to his family.”

  “I have thought about it. Pertaining to him, I’m the best thing that ever happened to him. In reference to his career, I have supported him almost every step of the way. And as for his family, they don’t even like you, Dana. They have always wanted us together. When I think about this, all I can say is that’s what you get for fucking a good man over. If you had never cheated on him, lied to him, and deceived him, none of this would have happened. Yes, my feelings would have always been there, but Jonathan loved you with everything he had; you fucked that up and you have no one to blame but yourself. The sooner you start to realize that, the better off you will be.”

  “No marriage is perfect, Sylvia. Yes, I’ve had my faults and I have paid for them dearly. But there is no way, and I’ve said this before, there is no way I’m going to hand Jonathan over to you, or to any woman, on a silver platter. Our vows said for better or worse and I’m sticking to them.”

  “You’re right and you should. But don’t skip over the part about being faithful. You throwing all this other mess up in there, but the bottom line is you should have appreciated what you had. Most women would love to have a man like Jonathan, so when you say that you are not going to hand him ov
er on a silver platter, trust me, you already have.”

  Anger covered Dana’s face and she narrowed her eyes while glaring at me. “So, I guess this means you’re not going to let him go, huh?”

  My look was stern. “No, I’m not. Jonathan will have to end this. And from what I know, he’s not ready to let go any time soon. My suggestion to you: deal with it or move on.”

  “Oh, trust me when I say you’ll have to deal with it too. You’ll have to deal with him being my husband, and making love to me every single opportunity we have. He’s not going to end anything, because we’ll be allowing him to have his cake and eat it, too. What man would want to end it? I’m aware that he was over here last night. And, yes, he lied to me when he got home, but look at what kind of man he’s turning out to be. He never used to lie and play games like this before. You’re creating a man who, eventually, you’re going to wind up hating.”

  “No, Dana, the Jonathan I know will make a decision soon. He’s not going to go back and forth for long; it’s not his style. All I can say is, you’d better prepare yourself. I’ve prepared myself for the good, the bad, and the ugly. I only hope that you’ve done the same.”

  Dana took her keys out of her purse and headed to the door. She opened it and turned around. “You’re going to lose out, Sylvia. And when you do, I’m going to enjoy every moment of it.”

  “I feel the same way, Dana. Good-bye.”

  16

  JONATHAN

  There was no doubt about it that I was torn between two women. I wasn’t trying to have my cake and eat it, too, but I couldn’t find it in my heart to let either one of them go. Dana’s and my marriage was somehow getting stronger, and we spent more time together during the week and on the weekends. As far as our sex life, it was off the chain, as it had always been. Now, she cooked dinner for me, kept the house spotless, and forever checked in to let me know where she was. Basically, our marriage was back to what it was years ago. There was nothing I could complain about, other than her parents still bugging us every once in a while.