Checkmate 3: Playtime's Over

by Tiece

  She walked into the kitchen remembering that she had some ibuprofen that might just help a little. After grabbing a bottle of water out of the refrigerator she noticed the pack of BC’s on the counter top.

  “Aww, he remembered.” She said. She washed the powder down with a mouthful of water and smiled. Rico made it easy to love him.

  She headed back down the hallway and into the bedroom. She sat on the foot of the bed and watched her handsome man sleep. Thoughts of Monica crossed her mind. This was nothing unusual being that Monica was the only other person who had personal ties to him.

  Rico’s eyes slightly opened appreciating everything in his life the moment he saw Mona smiling at him. “Hey babe…” He whispered. “I see you’ve changed into your nightgown. You were resting by the time I got back and I didn’t want to wake you.”

  “Thanks, it felt good to sleep so peacefully.” She said. “I see you’re tired.”

  “Yeah, I am,” he said finding himself dozing back off. “I love you babe.” His voice dragged. She smiled at his comment and the way he turned over to go back to sleep.”

  “I love you too.” She leaned down kissing him on the back of his head. “Rest baby,” she whispered. A light speed tone quickly focused her attention toward Rico’s cell phone.

  Who could be texting him this time of the morning? She questioned herself. Starting to ignore it because it couldn’t have been anyone but one of the fellas, the light speed tone was heard again. Hell naw…

  She reached for the phone immediately realizing that she was dead ass wrong for invading her fiancé’s privacy. Her thoughts were to just look at the name or number and put the phone down. She pressed the button as the phone lit up and the name Baby Mama appeared above the text message sent to him. Hell, he only had two of them and one was looking at his phone. Not even caring to think about it twice she opened and read it.

  **********

  The vibration between Candy’s legs felt amazing. What a tense, but sensual arousal it gave her. She smiled as Brendon’s face emerged.

  Damn, she thought. This was everything she had imagined it to be. As Brendon’s handsome face faded away she could feel the astounding tremor once again between her thighs as it inched its way closer to her kitty. She lightly moaned and rubbed between her legs.

  What’s this? She quickly thought. She was shocked and disappointed to find that this was her cell phone vibrating between her legs and that she and Brendon must’ve fallen asleep a couple of hours ago.

  She sat up slowly so she could see who was texting her.

  Hey Sis, I’m sitting here about to lose my mind and I need you like really bad. Hit me back if you’re up. Just text and I’ll call right back. I don’t want my phone to ring and wake up Rico. Sexy Red

  What the hell? Candy immediately thought. She looked at Brendon hating to wake him, but she knew that he couldn’t stay the night. Plus, she didn’t want to seem desperate by allowing him to stay that long.

  She softly touched his face. He was so damn handsome to her and the main thing that turned her on was that he was a real gentleman who didn’t take advantage of the situation when he clearly had the chance too.

  “Bren,” she lightly called out.

  “Huh?” He said opening his eyes to see her beautiful face. “Aww man, what time is it?”

  “It’s almost 1am.” She answered. “We must’ve fallen asleep.”

  “I see,” he said standing up. “I need to go. I have a lot to do tomorrow.”

  “Yeah, I have school in the morning.” She said as she followed Brendon to the door.

  “I had a good time,” he said turning to her.

  She smiled. “So did I?”

  He leaned down and kissed her gently on the lips. The sparks were still there as she blushed from such an electrifying moment.

  “You have very kissable lips,” he whispered. “I can kiss you until the sun comes up.”

  “I tend to have that effect on men.” She grinned.

  “Consider yourself lucky because no one has quite had such an effect on me.” He confessed, opening up the door. The cold wind blew swiftly through her hair instantly making her shiver. “It’s cold, I’ma go so you can close this door and lock up.”

  “Please do before I ask you to stay.” She said. Without saying another word Brendon walked off, but the smile she left on his face definitely wasn’t going anywhere. Candy smiled from such an unbelievable time she spent with him. They laughed, talked, and kissed until they fell asleep. He was amazing and she really liked him a lot, but she knew it was unwise to rush things. Both of them had a lot to lose and she wasn’t willing to put all of that on the line so quickly.

  She walked back into the entertainment room and the sight of her phone reminded her that Mona had messaged her. She picked it up to text message Mona back.

  Hey Sis! What’s going on? Call me back as soon as you get this message. Candy Gurl

  Candy flopped back down on the sectional and turned the TV up a little. It had been on mute the entire time Brendon was visiting. Her phone rang startling her a bit.

  “Hey Sis… What’s up?” She answered.

  “Can you believe that I was so naïve?” Mona asked.

  “Huh? And why are you whispering?”

  “Because if I wake up Rico then I might as well fight him,” she stated. “I’m so mad I don’t know what to do!”

  “Calm down.” Candy softly said trying to defuse the situation. “Breathe… Tell me what happened.”

  “Monica happened.” She confided.

  “Again… What do you mean?” Candy was confused.

  “She sent Rico a message about fifteen minutes ago telling him that she and Aiden had made it to their family’s beach house in Florida safely.”

  “Okay…”

  “Okay my ass! I didn’t know about that, which is just the start of the shit he’s been keeping from me.”

  “Maybe it didn’t cross his mind to tell you because you were a little out of it when he dropped by to pick you up. Did you ever think about that?”

  “Yeah, but it was more.”

  “How much more?” Candy questioned.

  “I’ll read it to you.” She said opening up the message from Rico’s phone.

  Hey Big Head… We’re Florida bound for the next few weeks. Aiden and I just made it to our family beach house. I do know not to call this time of the night. Wouldn’t wanna wake up your pretty little fiancé… We both know she wouldn’t take that so well. Anyway, I’m sure you’re sitting in front of your laptop eating popcorn, so hit me back when you get this message. Btw… Thanks for calling and being so adamant about me checking in. I knew that you cared about me. You just don’t like to admit it.

  “Okaaaay…” Candy dragged as she attempted to react quickly before Mona lost her everlasting mind. She didn’t know what to make out of the message and she knew that no matter what she said Mona was going to take it the way she wanted too.

  “I just can’t believe that he’s been talking to her behind my back. I mean what’s up with the part about her knowing how he feels about her? And knowing that she couldn’t possibly call him this late,” she pondered. “It’s like they’ve secretly discussed things like her not calling him at this time of the hour.”

  “Yeah, like he’s warned her already.” Candy added.

  “Yeah,” she agreed. “And the part about not waking up the pretty little fiancé makes me think that at times she says little things about me and he doesn’t straighten her.”

  “I feel you, but don’t look too much into that. I don’t think that Rico would allow anyone to disrespect you in that way.”

  “That was the same thing I was thinking until I read the message.” Mona snapped.

  “Just calm down,” Candy softly coached.

  “Calm down. Calm down. Oh I’m calm!”

  Candy shook her head because she knew that calm wasn’t anything close to what Mona was feeling. “Okay you have to think a little bit more
rational. You don’t wanna alert him with the facts just yet. I mean sleep on it and in the morning you’ll wake up with a clearer head.”

  “I don’t know how I’ll sleep on it knowing that my fiancé has been lying to me.” Mona’s voice sounded as if she wanted to cry.

  “Look, it may not be as bad as it looks. Emails, text messages, and letters are things written that can be misconstrued. Do I think that I feel that he’s hiding something? Yeah… maybe… but we don’t know for sure. I also think that she can be manipulative and flirtatious. I’m sure that Rico isn’t going to tell you everything that him and Monica discuss because no telling what she says to him. Think about it. If he tells you things that are unsavory to the ear then you’ll certainly not care for her nor would you care for him going around her. And you know he loves his son too much to have y’all two biting each other’s head off. Give your fiancé a little credit before you go throwing things in his face like this.”

  “But how would know about him sitting in front of his laptop and eating popcorn this late? He’s been discussing things with her that he shouldn’t be.”

  “I never said that he wasn’t, but I’m sure it’s not what you think. Please, think about it before you react.” Candy said.

  Mona thought about it for a moment as she calmed down. “Maybe you’re right. I’ll just think about it before I slap the shit outta him.”

  “That’s my girl.” Candy commented.

  “Thanks for the talk. I’m going to bed. Love you,” Mona said.

  “Anytime Sis, love you too and I’ll call you tomorrow once I’m out of school to see how things are going. Plus, you know tomorrow is Valentine’s Day. I gotta know what Rico has planned for you. Oh and since you’ll be sober, hopefully, you can give him some pussy and end the man’s drought.”

  “Yeah well, let me find out that somebody else ended that drought and.”

  “Didn’t we just have that conversation lil crazy lady?” Candy shook her head. “Nobody has ended the man’s drought, but you sho’ need too, because I think you need it more than him.”

  Mona grinned a little. Candy always knew how to make her feel better. Okay Sis,” she whispered and ended their call.

  Mona sighed laying her head back on the sofa. “Please Lord… I pray that there isn’t anything going on behind my back that I can’t forgive.” She walked down the hallway and sat on her side of the bed. She looked back at Rico who had no idea that she’d just gone through his phone. Thoughts about him being unfaithful were heavily on her mind. If he could lie about conversations that he and Monica had or times he’s actually went over to her house or met up with her secretly then he wasn’t to be trusted. She hated this feeling because she had so much hope in what they shared.

  She lay down beside him but slid as close to the edge of the bed as she could. Her body couldn’t stand to touch him right now. She needed to know what he’d been up too and by any means necessary she was going to find out.

  Chapter 17

  Monty walked into the kitchen to fix him a glass of orange juice. Brendon was already in there eating a bacon and egg sandwich that Catherine had cooked.

  “What’s up Cuz?” Monty spoke.

  “Just eating before I get my day started. What’s going on with you this morning?” Brendon asked.

  “I’m just going to the office for a little while.” He said. “It’s Valentine’s Day and for a change I don’t have anybody to shower with love.”

  Brendon grinned. “I feel ya Cuz. I don’t either,” he said thinking about Candy and if he should just surprise her with a little something later that day.

  “I woulda sent Candy something, but she won’t truly appreciate it. Don’t get me wrong, because I know I could, and that may just make her day, but I’m starting to feel a certain way about her rejections. So it’s best I just leave that be for a while and see where it goes.” He looked down at his phone as an incoming text came in.

  Hey Monty. I just made it home. The Doctor told me that I have pneumonia so I’ll be in the bed for the rest of the week. Well, Happy Valentine’s Day and Thanks for staying with me at the hospital until I fell asleep. K

  I’m glad you’re home, but sorry to hear you have pneumonia. Hopefully, there is something that I can do to lift your spirits at some point today. Happy Valentine’s Babe. Monty Banks

  Monty smiled then redirected his attention to Brendon.

  “Something or shall I say somebody has you smiling.” Brendon stated.

  “It’s just MiKayla. She’s sick with pneumonia, bed ridden for a week or so.”

  “Bedridden?” Brendon teased. “Is cupid tryna start some shit today?” They laughed. “Nah, I’m playing. I hope she gets well soon.”

  “Me too and I’m gonna make sure that it’s definitely sooner than later.”

  Brendon looked down at his watch. “I have a little work to do this morning myself. Kina arrived yesterday so I’m going by the hotel to pick her up.”

  “Dang, I hadn’t seen Kina since we were youngsters.” Monty commented. “I’m surprised that y’all never got with each other.”

  “Nah man, Kina is like a little sister to me.”

  “Well, I would like to see her. It’s been a long time. Does she look the same, still tall and skinny?” Monty asked.

  “Kina got a nice lil body now Cuz. She’s a cute young lady with ass and all.” They laughed.

  “Not Kina?” Monty asked as he thought back to the slender, no ass, braces wearing Kina.

  “Yeah Kina,” Brendon insisted. “She’s still funny, down to earth and nosey as hell.” He grinned. “If you finish early at the office then stop by so she can see you. She’ll love that.”

  “Oh yeah, I’ll stop by ‘round noon then.” Monty said as he grabbed two pieces of bacon and began eating them. “I’m still tired as hell.”

  “Don’t mention it. I could use a few more hours of sleep myself.”

  “I’m sure you do. I barely beat you home. No sooner than I could get in my bed I heard you pulling up.” Monty said.

  “Oooooh, so you were just getting in yourself. Looks like somebody had your attention last night.”

  “I can’t lie, I needed that attention.” Monty smiled while reminiscing about him and Susan’s conversation over drinks. “It seemed like somebody had your attention last night too.”

  Brendon cleared his throat. “Nah man,” he paused for a moment. “It was nothing like that. I had fallen asleep in Kina’s hotel room. Trust me, nothing happened.” He didn’t completely lie, but telling the whole truth wasn’t something that was wise to do.

  “I feel ya Cuz,” Monty said. “But look, I’ll stop by your spot later. Tell Kina to put on something sexy for me.” Monty teased.

  “A’ight Cuz, Kina came here to work not to run behind you.” He joked.

  “Yeah, maybe I should leave her alone.” He teased exiting the house. “But, we’ll see.”

  Brendon washed his hands and dried them. He had a long morning ahead of him as well, so he headed out the door. Upon reaching his truck he called Kina to make sure that she was ready because he was on the way. He wanted badly to place a call to Candy, but he didn’t want to feel like he was cramping her style or invading her space.

  His phone rang disturbing his thoughts. He looked down at the caller ID and it said C Girl before he could answer it the ringing stopped. He continued driving in hopes that she was really thinking about him and would call right back. Unfortunately, five minutes had passed and she hadn’t called back. He dialed her number.

  “Hello,” she answered.

  “What’s up Sexy,” he said. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”

  Candy smiled. “Aww! Thanks and Happy Valentine’s Day to you too. What you got going on today?”

  “I have a little business to tend to today but nothing major.” He said.

  “I’m glad to hear from you.” She smiled. “I’m on my way to school. I shouldn’t have stayed up so late because I’m paying for it this mo
rning.”

  “I know the feeling.” He said slightly yawning.

  “Did you miss me?” She asked.

  “Of course I did. I was thinking of calling you, but then you called me.”

  “I called you?” She acted surprised. “I didn’t mean too… I mean, I didn’t realize that my phone had called you.”

  “Really?” He said, not sure if she was just playing with him or not.

  “I’m for real, but I’m glad that you called me back.”

  “Me too,” he said. “I love hearing your voice.”