by Shontaiye
EIGHT
Shaleea
Shaleea parked Noah’s Chrysler 300 in front of the district attorney’s office that was located downtown. After helping Noah get out of his wheelchair and in the car, she sat quietly and waited for him to tell her how the meeting with his lawyer went.
“So what happened,” she asked, after a minute of silence. He seemed as if he didn’t want to talk about the situation but Shaleea could give two fucks.
Just the day before he had been served at their home with a subpoena for him to take a blood test for Eva. Since then, Noah had been quiet. To Shaleea that was merely an expression of guilt and worry. She didn’t need Noah to confirm that the baby might be his because she could sense that fact in his demeanor. Noah had never been arrogant or cocky, but he was damn sure confident. These days Noah seemed stressed out and his mental state, along with his physical state, seemed fragile. That was a far cry from the Noah she knew.
What Shaleea didn’t know was that Noah was terrified. He could handle the fact of being Eva’s biological father. If only it were just that simple. What Noah could not handle was the fact that Shaleea was most certainly going to leave him for good if he was. He had just got her back. On top of that he had just been shot, and could very soon be fighting a murder case. Noah was a nervous wreck but he still tried to keep a brave face. There was a lot riding on that paternity test. Hitting rock bottom would be an understatement if he was revealed to be the father. He needed her now more than ever, but more importantly he needed God and good old fashioned luck.
“Well…” he paused. “I didn’t have a choice but to take the test. It was court ordered.” He sighed then continued. “So my lawyer met me up here so I could take the shit. In a few days that jawn will come back. John says that’s basically what they’re waiting on to decide whether or not they’re gonna try to charge me. Of course they not gon tell us that, but John not stupid and he keep me hip to the procedures and tactics they use.”
Shaleea looked at Noah. “Noah if for any reason you believe this is your baby please keep it real with me,” she begged. She had asked him the same question repeatedly but he always told her the same thing. She stared at him, eyes wide and intense. He avoided her gaze, choosing to look straight ahead.
“It’s not mine Shaleea,” he said with irritation as he scratched into his freshly tapered beard. Noah wouldn’t dare admit to the possibility. He could only pray that the paternity results were in his favor and supported his stance. He had no idea what he was going to do if the test revealed he was the father. He wasn’t sure how he was going to tell her. If given the option, he would hide it and take it to his grave. However, the situation wouldn’t allow for that.
Finally pulling up to their home, Shaleea got out, her backless gold jumpsuit clinging to her shapely body. Since the birth of their deceased son, her already voluptuous frame had filled out even more. Her breasts were fuller, along with wider hips and a larger, shapelier backside.
Walking around to the passenger side, Shaleea went to help Noah out of the car. Although he used a wheelchair to make it easier to get around, he was making excellent progress. It still hurt to move around but with the proper rest, the doctors expected him to have most of his strength back in a few weeks.
After getting Noah settled in, Shaleea walked to the bathroom. She sat on the toilet and took a deep breath. Tapping her feet against the slate gray tile, she groaned lightly. She was still having cramps and bleeding from Jahkee’s birth. After cleaning up she stood up. She washed her hands and then proceeded to pull some Tylenol out of the cabinet. Cupping her hand in the faucet to drink water, she quickly threw the pills back.
Sitting back on the closed toilet seat, Shaleea placed her head in her hands and closed her eyes. It was her way of finding momentary peace. Peace from all of her problems with Noah, her family, and the constant thoughts of Jahkee. She had no time to mourn and no time to wallow in self-pity. She had Heaven to take care of and a business to run. Both had been tremendously neglected over the last few weeks. She planned to make it up to Heaven with her undivided attention and a mini vacation. As for Susan, she planned to give her a well-deserved surprise bonus. After working longer days and handling all the paper work and inventory, she certainly deserved it.
Breaking away from her thoughts, she reached and grabbed her vibrating phone off the sink. It was Shanita.
“Hello,” she answered.
“Hey. How you feeling?” Shanita asked, always full of concern.
“I’m okay. Just got in from the district attorney’s office and now my damn stomach is hurting from cramps,” Shaleea complained.
“Ugh…Well did you take something for it? And what did they say when yall went up there?”
“I took a Tylenol and honestly I don’t know exactly what was said because Noah insisted he go in alone. He claims his lawyer says it’s best. The less I know, the better apparently…” Scoffing lightly, Shaleea continued. “I think he’s hiding shit from me and doesn’t want me to sit in on meetings with his lawyer because he is able to speak more freely. I ain’t gon worry about it tho, because the truth will definitely surface; it always does.”
“I couldn’t have said it better myself…Well, the reason I called you is because I cooked. I made some meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and peas. I can bring you a plate or you can go get Heaven from Shyanne’s and yall can come eat over here,” she offered.
“I will be by there shortly. I have to pick up Heaven anyway. I’ve been seeing her on and off for the last couple weeks… I don’t want to keep pushing her off on anyone and I know she feels neglected,” she said, sighing for the millionth time that day.
“Heaven understands and everyone loves her. She’s like one of our own so she’s it’s not a problem at all. Don’t ever think that…But look, come get this food. I’ll wrap Noah up a plate also for him to eat later.”
“Thanks Nita. I’ma check on Noah and I’m on my way.”
“Ok,” she responded.
They both hung up and Shaleea exited the bathroom to go check on Noah. He was fast asleep in their king-size bed, with the sports channel still playing loudly. She could never understand how he slept through so much noise. Giving him a soft kiss on the cheek, she grabbed her keys and left.
After driving for a few minutes, Shaleea took the street that allowed her to enter onto the expressway. Shyanne stayed way out near West Philly in Wynnefield, a racially diverse, middle class section of the city. It was quite the distance during mid-day traffic, and out of the way from the Mt. Airy neighborhood much closer to her, that Shameeka and Shanita lived in. Their neighborhood was next door, a few minutes away from her own Chestnut Hill.
“What the fuck!” Shaleea yelled out to herself since she was alone in the truck. She had run over something in the road and her truck was now riding ruggedly and making thumping sounds over the roadway. She immediately recognized the sounds as a flat tire.
“Fuck,” she muttered through gritted teeth.
She immediately hit her flashers and pulled over on the narrow shoulder to avoid damaging the rim on her $50,000 truck. She grabbed her phone and called AAA. She never used them, but they religiously took nearly $200 dollars from her bank account to give her and Noah piece of mind on the roadway.
She ignored the automated messages and patiently waited on the line for a live representative. While waiting, a black Ford Crown Victoria pulled up behind her. As the stranger exited the car, Shaleea quickly looked to see if any more speeding cars were approaching. The expressway she was on was dangerous and there wasn’t much space to walk. He could approach at his own risk, because she wouldn’t dare step foot out of her truck.
The stranger approached the passenger’s side window away from the roadway and knocked on the glass.
“You need some help?” he asked. He reached in his pocket to his wallet and pulled out his badge. He was a cop. He didn’t look like one.
Shaleea rolled down the window and smiled. “Yes, than
k you. I do. I got a flat tire. I called AAA but they still have me on hold,” she responded.
She noticed how handsome and ordinary he looked. Not that cops didn’t look like regular people, but he looked like they could have grown up together, or perhaps could’ve lived down the block from her as a child. For some reason when she thought of cops, she thought of fat, white men or boring up-tight black men. This one was neither.
“Oh that’s easy,” he smiled, his large brown eyes crinkling at the corners. He had a chocolate complexion, not as deep as hers but still very rich. He had bushy eyebrows that would benefit from a good pluck, and full luscious lips. He caught her staring and asked, “So do you have a spare?” He said it like he had asked already. “I can swap it out for you in five minutes.”
“Aww thank you so much…And yeah I have a spare. It’s in the back,” she answered with a smile. “By the way, I’m Shaleea,” she stated. She figured it was courteous to at least give him her name. After all, he was helping her out.
“Nice to meet you Shaleea. I’m Razul,” he added, before taking off to the side of the car to tend to the flat tire. Shaleea looked over and saw that he had on normal street attire consisting of blue jeans and a gray polo, paired with gray New Balance 990’s. It was something about his plain, rugged manliness that brought chills to her body.
After ten minutes of weird noises and the car going up and down, Razul was finished.
“Thank you so much. I really appreciate it,” Shaleea told him. Her eyes darted around for her wallet. She spotted it on the edge of the seat and quickly dug out $20 to give him.
“Here you go. I want to give you something for helping me out,” she offered, extending her hand out so he could take the money.
“You good sweetheart. I would never take money from a woman.” He smiled and couldn’t help but notice once again how pretty she was. Something about her deep Hershey-bar complexion seemed exotic to him.
“Aww, well thank you again. I really appreciate it.”
Hesitating, Razul decided it was now or never. “Umm, I did want to know something though.” He smiled and paused. “I was hoping that I could take you out some time…sometime soon,” he added, expressing his extreme interest in her. She was really pretty and it was something in her eyes that intrigued him.
“Uhhh, I don’t know,” she blushed. As she did that, Razul noticed the large, sparkling engagement ring on her finger.
“I mean, it’s harmless,” he said, doing his best to persuade her without acknowledging her future union. He didn’t want her to feel that he had ill intentions.
“It doesn’t have to be dinner. Maybe we could have a drink…meet somewhere very public. I just want to see you again…as new friends.”
“Okay,” Shaleea agreed, surprising herself by her quick response. As much as she already knew it was a bad idea, she couldn’t help herself. Noah was going to flip if he found out. She looked at Razul and figured, what Noah didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. He had more than his share of fun anyway.
The two exchanged numbers and Shaleea drove off, all the while, her mind drifting back in thought to the mysteriously not-so plain cop she had just had the pleasure of meeting.
NINE
Mann
Mann hit the key fob to secure his cream colored, late model BMW. He had just exited it to run into the gas station.
“Yo let me get $20 on three,” he stated, speaking loudly to the clerk, who was behind a massive bulletproof encasement used to secure the cash and the lives behind it.
She nodded her turban wrapped head and quickly accepted his money through the designated space. Mann quickly hurried out of the tightly packed store and proceeded to pump his gas. He had several things to do and wasn’t trying to be all night doing them.
His new connect was supplying him with the best grades of weed around and it was moving like crazy. After his massive come up off Dodda he was doing triple the numbers he once was with Noah. This kept him literally running around night and day to pick up money from numerous spots.
After gassing up his BMW, Mann hopped in and turned onto Cayuga street off Broad Street to exit North Philly. He had some money to pick up at a few spots in West Philly and then he was headed home. All else could wait. As he cruised down the Expressway he reached over and grabbed his bottle of Hennessey he kept tucked on the side of his plush leather seats.
Since his grandmother had passed, his headaches grew worse and so did his drinking. To him, alcohol eased his pain. He got through most of the day self-medicated and slept through the night with the assistance of sleep aids and Tylenol. Although he was seeing more money than he ever had in his life, he was in a poor state mentally. His primary concerns and thoughts revolved around getting rich and keeping tabs on Shaleea through Naomi. He wasn’t even so much as worried about Noah anymore. If he was going to retaliate, he would’ve been done so. Family life and stress was making him soft.
For now, he would keep quiet and wait everything out. It was all a tactic before the storm came.
TEN
Shaleea
Noah watched as Shaleea rocked and struggled her way into her favorite pair of Levi jeans. While he wanted her to go out and enjoy herself, he couldn’t help but feel jealous at the thought of a bunch of dudes eyeballing his chick.
It had been over a month since he had been shot and he was still making progress. Although his wound was almost completely healed and his body was back to being strong, his sexual performance wasn’t all the way back. At first he was having pain from being on top of Shaleea during sex. This resulted in her orchestrating sex from on top of him, ultimately causing him to continuously ejaculate prematurely. It was frustrating to him because he felt like he wasn’t able to completely satisfy her, which in turn fueled his current feeling of insecurity.
“Where you say you and Naomi was going again?” Noah asked again.
“Mojo’s…for the last time Noah,” she lied. “Why don’t you get you some rest babe and relax,” she said, doing her best to calm his nerves, before leaning over and giving him a kiss on the lips.
“What time you gon be in,” he asked, disregarding her request.
“I don’t know. I probably will only be gone a few hours. She smoothed on her final coat of lip gloss and smiled wide. “I won’t be gone long. I promise…It’s a bowl of Jambalaya in the microwave if you get hungry and I’ll call you in a little bit.”
“Aight,” he responded dismally. “Have fun,” he said sarcastically, as he used the remote to flick through the channels on his 80 inch, wall mounted plasma television, a gift he was given by Shaleea after his arrival from the hospital. Knowing he would be weak and probably still somewhat bed ridden, she picked it up.
“Thanks boo, I will,” she responded before walking out.
<><><>
“Yeah girl. I gotchu,” Naomi laughed lightly into the phone. “If for any reason he calls me, you ran to the bathroom,” she reinstated for the second time as Shaleea requested. “Then call you,” she continued, knowing full well that Noah would never reach out to her after what happened between them, or rather what didn’t happen between them. In a way she was actually glad nothing happened since she ultimately got the prize; Mann. He was in essence the real hustler of the two. Mann had the vision, Noah just had the money at the time. Now it was her man that was on top.
“What the hell are you up to anyway?” she laughed jokingly, as Mann sat beside her with curiosity running through him.
“Okay boo. Aight. Bye girl,” she said hurriedly, before hanging up.
Mann sat silently with curiosity killing him. He did his best to avoid appearing nosey. He didn’t want Naomi to know what he was ultimately up to.
“Umm hmm, her ass is up to something,” Naomi said aloud.
“Why you say that,” asked Mann.
“That bitch aint never call me and ask me to cover for her with Noah. Talking bout tell him she going to Mojos, when her ass is really going to Sonix’s. Sounds like sh
e creeping to me,” she laughed, doing her best to make Shaleea sound like the whore she really was. She was only putting up with her ass because of Mann. She didn’t need her anymore and their friendship was non-existent. It had clearly been destroyed by jealousy.
“Damn…That would be crazy if she was…Noah aint just too long came home from the hospital,” he said, growing angry at the thought of her being with someone else, whoever it was.
He didn’t understand why he was so hung up on Shaleea; he just was. Even if she was out creeping on Noah, he felt that Noah deserved it. The problem was he was thinking about himself; how he felt. It was the fact that he felt like she was creeping on him. What they shared that one night was far from over. Shaleea was now his obsession and he would stop at nothing to get her.
<><><>
Shaleea walked into Sonix Restaurant and Lounge and peered around. It was dimly lit with rustic colors and a fire place. It was very upscale and cozy. Razul waved to her from the corner. She smiled and walked over to him. It had been only two weeks since he changed her tire and they had been texting non-stop since then. Very quickly she had grown extremely attracted to him. Not only was he handsome, he was single, never before married, and had no children. She also admired his drive and work ethic, as he often worked sixty hours a week as a Police Sergeant in the Narcotics Department. He wasn’t well off, but he was hardworking and she respected that.
Shaleea greeted him with a warm hug and sat down in the high top, wooden chair beside him. He smelled good.
“You look nice. How are you?” she asked, while checking out his attire. He had on a signature black and white Adidas track suit and classic white shell tops. He was handsome indeed.
