Consequences

by Sasha Campbell

  He chewed while he considered that option. “I like that idea.”

  “You do? Oh, good!” I was so happy. Just the thought of spending a week on an island alone with my husband already had my juices going.

  We were talking and laughing and having a good time, and by the time we had finished eating I had this feeling that everything really was going to be okay.

  “You know you’re the only woman I’ve ever loved, right?” He pulled me by the arm and drew me closer.

  I smiled at him. “And you’re the only one I’ve ever wanted. But since we live in the ‘Show Me’ state, I think I can show you better than I can tell you.”

  “Oh, really?” he laughed.

  “Absolutely. Now how about my dessert?” I purred. I always did have a weakness for chocolate.

  I pushed his chair back and dropped down to my knees. “Lift up,” I commanded and reached for the waistband of his jeans, signaling for him to raise his hips slightly off the seat.

  “What are you doing?” he asked with a nervous laugh, although he knew damn well what was about to go down.

  “Just kick back, relax, and enjoy the show.” I dragged his jeans and boxers down over his waist and my husband’s beautiful penis sprung free. The second I wrapped my hand around his erection, Donovan squeezed his eyes shut and moaned.

  “Daddy, what’s wrong?” I asked in my baby voice.

  His answer was a combination of a grunt and a moan. I chuckled quietly, then leaned forward and blew my warm breath across the tip.

  “Shhhhit,” he hissed.

  I started licking, sucking, teasing, and his hips jerked off the chair. “You like that?” I asked.

  “Hell yeah.”

  “Did I hear you say you want me to stop?” I taunted.

  “Don’t you even think about it,” he said, then opened his eyes and I caught him staring at me. Donovan knows how much I like him to watch.

  I pushed my hair away from my face so I wouldn’t miss his expression. Lust and love were staring down at me and my nipples hardened. Damn, I loved that man! Our eyes were still locked when I lowered my mouth over his erection, taking him as deep as I could manage. I then wrapped my fingers around the base and began to stroke.

  “Babe, you look sexy as hell sucking my dick,” he hissed.

  “Mmmm-hmmm, I love sucking my husband’s dick,” I cooed between slurps. “I love the way it tickles the back of my throat.”

  Together my lips and hand worked his entire length while Donovan continued to watch me, eyes glazed and soft, low sounds coming from between his lips. He held on to my head, guiding me, and rocked his hips in rhythm with my long, deep strokes. I moved up and down, again and again, and Donovan flinched and gasped. I flicked my tongue across the head and applied pressure to the large vein right near the tip. It was my husband’s sensitive spot.

  “Shhhhit, you about to make me nut!” he warned.

  His words were magic to my ears. It felt good knowing I still managed to make him come after all these years. I moved faster, trying to deep throat him, and within minutes I heard a ragged cry. Donovan came and his penis pulsed inside my mouth. I sucked vigorously and swallowed every drop.

  My husband collapsed against the chair, breathing heavily. “Damn, babe.”

  I giggled. “I take it you enjoyed dessert.”

  He looked down at me with half-lidded eyes. “That’s my favorite.”

  We were smiling at each other when I heard a commotion up front that caused my brow to bunch.

  “Where the hell is he?” shouted a familiar voice. Next thing I knew the door to Donovan’s office flew open and he jerked upright on the chair.

  “What the fuck?” He gently pushed my lips from around his dick and fumbled to zip his pants. I was already trying to come from up under the desk to find out who had the balls to come barging into my husband’s office like they owned the damn place. “Yo, what the fuck you doing barging into my office?” Donovan demanded to know. As soon as his zipper was in place, he slid his chair back and rose.

  “Where the hell is my husband?”

  I scrambled from under the desk and looked over the top and found Lorenzo’s wife, Tammy, standing in the middle of the floor with a hand at her plump waist. The second she spotted me, she dropped her hand, rolled her eyes, and walked around in a circle like she was trying to calm her nerves.

  “Tammy, look . . . Lorenzo must have gone to get something to eat. He’ll be back shortly, but don’t come barging in my office like that again.”

  “Uh-huh,” she said to Donovan, but she was looking straight at me. “Let me guess. Nikki, you knew all along, didn’t you?”

  I glanced nervously at Donovan, then back at her. “What are you talking about?” I had a pretty good idea what she was hinting at, but when it comes to an angry wife, the best thing to do was play dumb.

  She started charging me, temper flaring. “You know damn well what I’m talking about. That my husband’s been fucking that bitch!” she screamed and slammed her hand on the desk. I flinched.

  Clearly confused, Donovan looked from me to her. “Tammy, you need to calm the fuck down. Baby, what the hell is she trippin’ about?”

  I wanted to snatch Tammy by her neck and shut her up. Instead, I shrugged and faked ignorance. “I’m not sure,” I replied.

  “Uh-uh. I can’t believe you gonna stand there and act like you don’t know what the fuck’s going on!” Her head was swiveling around on her neck. “Donovan, your wife knows damn well what I’m talking about! Her bestie has been fucking my husband,” she said bluntly.

  “Besties?” He turned and faced me. “Trinette’s messing with Lorenzo?”

  I laughed, trying to stall as long as possible. “Baby, don’t be ridiculous. She’s all the way in Richmond.”

  “No, he’s fucking her bestie . . . Tristan.”

  “He’s what!” Donovan shouted. Then he went from looking confused to amused. “Hell nah!” He started laughing. “I know my man ain’t fucking that fag.” He turned to face me. “Is he, baby?”

  I looked from him to her and wanted so badly to pretend I hadn’t known anything about it, but I couldn’t even fake it anymore. “No, she’s right.”

  There was no mistaking the horror on his face. “What the . . .” Donovan’s voice trailed off with disbelief. “Hell nah.”

  As much as I wanted to cuss her out for barging into Donovan’s office and ruining my perfect afternoon, I had to give Tammy her props for figuring it out. I always said it was hard to get anything past that crazy bitch.

  She looked at me through narrowed eyes, still letting her anger get the best of her. “All this time he’s been messing around and you knew about it. Yeah . . . okay . . . I got something for both y’all.” She was rolling her neck and pointing her finger at me.

  “Tammy, if you can’t control where your husband sticks his dick, then that’s your problem because it sure in the hell ain’t none of mine.” I spat because I was pissed off at her for bringing her fat ass up in here trying to act like she was running things. I propped a hand to my waist and took a step forward, itching for her to get smart with me. She had a whole lotta nerve showing up at the shop and starting shit.

  “You know you wrong for this,” she mumbled under her breath, then shook her head and walked out of Donovan’s office.

  I didn’t know what to say, so I just turned around and waited for my husband to say something. Of course it didn’t take long.

  Donovan shot me a look. “I knew he was messing around on Tammy, but . . .” He shook his head. “All this time . . . I can’t believe you knew Lorenzo was fucking that fag and you didn’t say nothing.” He sat down in the chair with a look of disgust.

  I sighed. “What was I supposed to say . . . hey, baby, guess what . . . Lorenzo is screwing Tristan.” I walked over and tried to kiss his lips, but Donovan turned his head so I caught his cheek.

  His eyes flashed with anger like he was about to explode. “I can’t believe thi
s shit. All this sneaking around going on behind my back!” He sprung from the chair and stormed across the room. “I knew I wasn’t crazy.”

  “Who’s sneaking? What’s going on with Tristan and Lorenzo doesn’t have anything to do with us. If your boy wanted you to know he was sexing Tristan, then he would have told you. But for obvious reasons he wanted to keep their relationship a secret.”

  He glared over me. “Yeah, but you could have at least given me a heads-up.”

  I tossed my hands in the air with frustration. Maybe I should have told him, yet I took my friendships seriously and besides, that was one love triangle I didn’t want to be in the middle of because I knew how crazy Tammy acted when it came to her man.

  Donovan started pacing the length of the room and with each passing second I grew just as agitated.

  “Talk to me,” I urged.

  “I don’t have nothing to say,” he pouted.

  Out on the floor there was loud talking and then Tammy screamed so loud, it’s a wonder she didn’t shatter the storefront window.

  “I guess Lorenzo’s back.”

  There was a crash. “Got-dammit!” Donovan raced out onto the floor to break it up.

  The second he stepped out the door, I dashed over to my purse and grabbed my cell phone and called Tristan’s number. “Come on . . . answer,” I mumbled, because I wanted to give him the 411. I was sure Tammy was going to come after him next. The phone just kept on ringing and as soon as his animated voice came on the line I hung up. There was no point in leaving a message because he rarely checked them.

  “This is some bullshit!” I heard Don say as he came storming back into his office. I quickly stuck the phone in my back pocket. There was no telling what he would say if he knew I had tried to reach Tristan.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked, trying to show him just how concerned I really was.

  “Nothing now. Lorenzo had to tell that crazy chick of his to get the hell up outta here with that mess. This is a place of business.”

  I agreed. “I know that’s right.”

  “I can’t believe that bitch broadcasted that shit for the whole floor to hear!”

  Hell, I could. Tammy planned on taking Lorenzo down with her. “What did Lorenzo say? Did he deny it?”

  Donovan pierced me with a look of disbelief. “What the hell you think he did?”

  I had asked because I wasn’t sure. Especially since the way Tristan talked, Lorenzo had already asked Tammy for a divorce. But I didn’t dare say that out loud because Don would never have believed it.

  “What I still can’t understand is why the hell you didn’t tell me he was fucking around with that fag.” Donovan had fury in his eyes.

  “Listen, I wish you’d stop calling him that! His name is Tristan and I’m not going to keep going over this. Tristan told me not to say anything, and I was tryna respect his privacy.”

  “Since when do you keep secrets from your husband?”

  Women keep secrets from men all the time. I don’t know why he was acting like this, especially when he never really wanted to hear the truth anyway. That’s why our marriage had struggled for years, because he never wanted to talk about the problems that we were having. He’d rather keep it swept under the rug. I know that was in the past and our relationship had evolved since then, but I just couldn’t help but think that this had to be his paranoia again. I sure hoped not.

  “I tell you everything I think you need to know about. Tristan and Lorenzo was none of my business. Lorenzo should have told you. Hell, he knew me and Tristan worked together and that I was bound to find out. It’s not my fault he was messing around behind Tammy’s back.” Now I was starting to get pissed off. Everything was going just fine between us until that crazy chick came barging into the shop.

  Donovan was quiet; then eventually he lowered back into his seat and sighed.

  I spoke again, my voice softer this time. “Baby, I’m sorry for not telling you, but it wasn’t my place to tell you your boy was on the DL.”

  Donovan looked up at me and after a few seconds he started grinning. “You’re right. But damn! Lorenzo a fag? You know how many times that nigga’s seen my dick?” His eyes widened.

  “Mmmm-hmmm, and I’m sure he liked what he saw just as much as I do,” I said, then started laughing.

  Donovan shook his head and tried to keep a straight face. “Damn, I don’t know how I’m going to be able to look at him the same after this shit.”

  I walked behind his chair and wrapped my arms around his neck. “Ain’t nothing changed.”

  “The hell it ain’t!” he barked.

  I leaned in close and ran my tongue along his ear just the way he liked it. “Baby, we got our own problems. Let Tammy and Lorenzo work that shit out on their own.”

  “Yeah, my bad. You’re right.” He gave me that boyish grin that I adored. “C’mere and give your husband a kiss.” He grabbed my arm and brought me around the chair and back onto his lap. “I’m sorry for trippin’, but, baby, you gotta understand, it’s a man thang.”

  “I get it. Trust me, I do.”

  He dragged me close against him and brought his mouth down over mine. As soon as he kissed me, staying angry was the furthest thing from my mind. I just wished I could find a way to keep us this happy, because I was growing tired of walking on eggshells all the time.

  POW! POW!

  “What the—”

  Before I could wrap my mind around the sound, Donovan sprung from his chair, practically knocking me on my ass.

  “What the hell?”

  “Take cover!” he demanded. Then I watched in slow motion as he reached inside his desk drawer and pulled out his gun—the one he kept in a lockbox on the top shelf of our bedroom closet.

  “Donovan, what the hell are you doing with that gun?”

  POW! POW!

  Two more shots came from the front of the shop and there was screaming and the sound of broken glass.

  “Donovan, don’t go in there! Someone is shooting!” I shouted. But he ignored me and dashed out onto the floor. I hurried after him and into the shop, and what I saw caused me to stall. Glass was everywhere and all of the clients had dropped to the floor. Donovan raced over to the window, gun pointed. “Donovan, don’t!” I screamed.

  “I told you to stay back!” he yelled as he moved around the room like he was on reconnaissance in some damn combat zone. A gun? Seriously? Later he had some serious explaining to do.

  I heard sirens in the background. “Is everyone okay?” I asked, glancing around. Folks nodded as they rose to their feet. I was moving over to place a comforting hand to my husband’s shoulder when I noticed a man lying on the floor beside one of the barber chairs, not moving. It was Lorenzo.

  I walked over. “Hey, get up,” I said, tapping his shoulder with my foot. There was no movement. My heart started pounding like crazy. Something was definitely wrong with him. One of the other barbers also noticed.

  “Yo, Lorenzo. Get yo ass up!”

  There was still no answer. “Baby, come over here a minute,” I murmured. My stomach fluttered with nervousness.

  Donovan walked over and tapped his boy on the shoulder and when he didn’t get a response, he leaned down and rolled him over onto his back. I jerked back.

  “Holy shit!” he hissed.

  I heard a loud-pitched scream and it took all of twenty seconds before I realized the sound had come from me. This couldn’t be happening. It had to be a bad dream.

  Lorenzo was lying on the barbershop floor with a bullet hole in the center of his forehead.

  16

  Trinette

  It was Thursday, my favorite day of the week.

  I glanced up at the clock and it was two minutes since the last time I had checked. I guess it’s true, a watched clock never moves. I just couldn’t help it. I was anxious to get the hell out of the office and meet Jrue at our spot.

  He left at noon for a phony meeting and I was scheduled to leave at two for an advisory meet
ing at Petersburg Public Schools. I planned to cancel on the way to the hotel.

  I tried to focus on the applications on my desk for next semester. Several new students were interested in continuing their education at the college in the fall. They were waiting for my stamp of approval to make that happen. Did I mention how much I love my job? Most importantly, I love helping kids from broken homes strive toward a better life. It was more than I could say for my ghetto-ass cousins who’ve known nothing but public assistance. Trifling.

  At two o’clock, I finally logged off for the day.

  “See you tomorrow,” Zakiya said as I stepped in front of her office. “Must be nice that you get out of here early every Thursday.”

  I shrugged and tried to act nonchalant. “You know I schedule all my school visits for the same day of the week.”

  She grinned like she knew a secret. “Yeah, but I notice Jrue always has appointments on the same day.” She didn’t say anything, but it was implied.

  “So what are you trying to say?” I scrunched up my face and tried to appear confused, like I had no idea what she was trying to say.

  “I don’t know. You tell me.” She leaned back in her chair and folded her arms across her large breasts.

  No, she wasn’t trying to go there. Why she all up in my business? “Zee, girl, puh-leeze. Jrue might be fine and all, but if you haven’t noticed . . . I’m pregnant,” I said and gave her a disgusted look.

  She thought about what I said, then the smirk dropped from her face. “Oh yeah, damn. I hadn’t thought about that.”

  I laughed. Women are so stupid. “That’s what you get for trying to be Matlock or some shit. If Jrue is sneaking off to meet some chick, it sure the hell ain’t me.” Damn, I was good. Maybe I should have gone into acting instead of social work.

  “My bad. Me and the girls just assumed it was you the way he’s always in your office having private meetings.”

  I shrugged. “Hey, he might be feeling me, but I’m too busy focusing on this baby.” I rubbed my stomach and grinned.

  I waved, then walked out to my car smiling like a damn fool. Wait until I tell Jrue that he’s the topic of the office gossip. I climbed into my Mercedes, then drove to the hotel in Colonial Heights.