“Like I said, we’ll see.”
I didn’t want to interfere, but I could see how uncomfortable Jacoby was. “Jacoby, why don’t you go call Trey back? He called earlier, saying that he needed some assistance with his homework. Go call him before it gets too late, and you get all wrapped up in that game.”
Jacoby got up from the table and walked away. Cedric grabbed his arm, causing Jacoby to jump as if he were startled. All Cedric did was hold out his hand for dap.
“I can’t get no holla later or hand slap before you head to your room? I’m not staying long, but don’t forget to call me tomorrow.”
“I won’t,” Jacoby said then slapped his hand against Cedric’s. Jacoby also gave him a hug, too, and then he left the room.
“I’m telling you that something is up with our son,” Cedric said. “I don’t like it either, and I think he may need counseling. I also think that seeing me lying there almost dead has affected him in a major way. Every time I mention that day to him, he gets real uptight.”
“I think you’re making too much of this, Cedric. Jacoby has a lot on his mind with school and his girlfriend. Going away to Miami this weekend may be a good thing for him, but please be careful with my only child.”
“Sure, Miss Too Overprotective. I wouldn’t want him to fall off the yacht by accident and go missing in the water. You’d probably kill me.”
My face fell flat after that comment. Cedric shot me a peculiar look and stared at me. Why would he make a comment like that? Did he know something that he wasn’t saying? More than that, was his tail planning to kill my son? That comment rubbed me the wrong way.
I snapped my finger. “You know what? I just thought about something. I’m supposed to go take Jacoby for his SAT prep test this weekend. He’s on the schedule to take it, and I don’t want him to miss it. You may have to plan that trip to Miami on another date.”
“All right. I’ll check my calendar and see what’s up.”
Cedric’s cell phone rang. He looked to see who it was. He excused himself and went outside on the balcony to take the call. I had moved to the other side of the kitchen, and I kept seeing him peeking around the corner to see where I’d gone to. I moved closer to the sliding doors, trying to make out what he was saying. All I heard was a lot of whispers. Whispers that made me nervous. So nervous that when he came back inside, I questioned him.
“Why were you out there whispering?” I asked while standing by the island.
“I wasn’t whispering. And if I was, that’s because who I speak to ain’t your business.”
“If it’s not my business then it must have been Evelyn. Then again, it couldn’t have been her because I heard you beat her like she stole something from you. I didn’t know you’d gotten so violent.”
Cedric shot me that peculiar look again then walked over to stand in front of me. He eased his hands in his pockets and jiggled his keys. “Yeah, well, when you keep on getting fucked over by no-good women who want your money one minute, then want to kill you the next minute, you kind of get tired of the shit. At some point, the only way you can deal with them is by being violent, because it’s the only language they understand. The bottom line is, Evelyn got what she deserved. And everybody else who wishes to fuck me over will get the same thing too. With that, I’m out. I can’t check out the rest of the place, because I have somewhere I need to be. Don’t forget to tell Jacoby to call me, either way.”
I nodded and watched as Cedric strutted toward the door.
“By the way, what about the house?” I yelled after him. “Any buyers?”
He turned at the door. “We’ll talk about that the next time I stop by. Gotta go, but before I do, I wanted to let you know that I fired Cynthia.”
“Why?” I said with a frown. “She was very nice.”
“Nice, but too gotdamn nosy.”
Cedric walked out. I hated to hear that about Cynthia, but was it possible that Cedric had already put two and two together? He was a very smart man, and the least I could do was try my best to stay on his good side, just in case his suspicions grew.
I was so worried about how much Cedric knew that I decided to follow him and go see what he was up to. I also thought it would be wise for me to stop by his house and do some snooping around. I had to be sure that he wasn’t plotting against me and Jacoby. For some reason, he’d been extremely nice, which was kind of odd for Cedric. Yeah, he’d been near death before. That was definitely a reason to make someone have a change of heart. But what he’d done to Evelyn proved to me that Cedric wasn’t the changed man he was claiming to be.
I rushed to Jacoby’s room to tell him I’d be right back. He didn’t bother to ask where I was going because he was on the phone. I hurried into my car, suspecting that Cedric would be heading toward the highway. Sure enough, he was. He had just made a left turn, and I had to go through a red light to prevent him from getting away from me. There were several cars between us, and I could barely keep up because Cedric was driving fast. I could see that he was on his cell phone. He didn’t end the call until he got off at the Forest Park exit. That was where he exited his car and walked up to a white man who appeared to be waiting for him. They shook hands then sat on a bench, talking for a while. The man passed Cedric an envelope, but they kept on talking. There was no way for me to see what was inside of the envelope because I was too far away. As I moved closer and squinted, Cedric tucked the envelope into his jacket. He exchanged another handshake with the man then left.
After that, I followed him to a restaurant on Manchester. That was where he met a woman outside. She appeared to be a classy woman who kind of reminded me of myself. She was very tall and could have easily been a model. Truthfully, she almost looked like me, but I was healthier than she was. I watched as she and Cedric sat in his car and kissed. It was pretty intense, and then they exited the car. Cedric held her waist and patted her ass as they went inside. Less than a minute later, they came back out and headed to his car. With so many people waiting outside to be served, I guessed that the wait time was too long for them. Her back was against Cedric’s car and he stood in front of her. I saw his hands creep up her dress, but she playfully smacked it. The way they acted toward each other, I could instantly tell that this wasn’t a new relationship. Yet again, they shared a lengthy kiss then got into separate cars. Cedric followed her, and I followed him. I thought they were going to his place, but instead, they stopped at her place, which was less than a mile away from where he lived. It was obvious what they were getting ready to get into, since Cedric tossed his jacket over his shoulder and followed her into her house, while wiggling his tie away from his neck. After seeing that, I sped off. I was feeling some kind of way about my ex-husband being with this woman. Yes, a tiny part of me was jealous, but a huge part of me was delighted about the decision I’d made to proceed with the divorce. For him to bring up sex, when in my presence, was wrong on so many different levels. He knew better. I wouldn’t dare go there with him again.
Cedric was going to be busy for a long time, so I drove to his house. I still had a key to let myself in, but I was nervous about going inside and snooping. The second I pushed the door open, my cell phone rang, causing me to jump. It was Trina. I hurried to answer, just so she wouldn’t call back and rattle my nerves again.
“Hello,” I whispered.
“Why are you whispering?”
I raised my voice up a notch. Didn’t make sense to whisper anyway, especially since no one was there. “No reason,” I said. “What’s up?”
“Nothing much. I wanted to holler for a minute, about Evelyn.”
Evelyn. Evelyn. Evelyn. I didn’t have time to discuss Evelyn right now.
“Listen, Trina, I’m kind of busy. And to be honest, I’m getting kind of tired of hearing about Evelyn and her drama. I’m not trying to be rude, but can you please find someone else to talk about?”
Trina hesitated with her response. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll talk to you later.”
Trina hun
g up on me. I surely didn’t care. I mean, enough already with Evelyn and her mess. I seriously couldn’t understand why Trina was still trying to hold on to their friendship. I was going to tell Trina how I really felt about this. But for now, I had a bigger fish to fry.
I dropped my cell phone into my purse. The first place I went to was where Cedric spent most of his time. That was in his office. The next thing I did was search through his computer. I examined his files and looked at the last links in his browser that he’d visited. I read some of his recent letters and scanned through his calendar to see if anything was out of the ordinary. Most of the things that I saw were related to business. I didn’t find much on his computer, so I began to check his drawers. Yet again, much of what I found was business related, but I did find a porn magazine, condoms, and several pictures. I flipped through pictures of the woman he was currently with. They were naked pictures, and I found myself a little jealous because she had it going on. I also saw several “get well soon” cards from her. Touching messages were written inside and she stressed how much she loved him. Like I’d said, it was obvious that their relationship had been going on for quite some time. Joy made that quite clear in her letters and cards.
I came up empty with my drawer search, so I lifted the pillows on the couch and searched underneath them. I checked the bookshelves, and that was where I found a 9 mm that made me more nervous. I didn’t dare touch it, but I walked away from the bookshelves and looked underneath a huge rug that covered the hardwood floors. Nothing. Nothing at all, so I left Cedric’s office and went to his bedroom. Didn’t have much luck there, but I found several more letters from Joy who was more than excited about our divorce. According to her, she couldn’t wait for Cedric to sell the house, so the two of them could move in together. That way, she could take care of him, since I failed to do so. I wanted to go to her house and slap her, like I’d slapped Evelyn for being so stupid. Women sure didn’t know how to stick together, and they would quickly throw you under the bus, when it came to a man. One day, I’d give her a piece of my mind and tell her what I really thought of the comments about me in her letters. She was on the outside looking in and didn’t have a clue what it was like to be married to Cedric.
With an attitude, I continued my search. Went to the basement then found myself back in Cedric’s office. I stood in the doorway looking around. My eyes shifted to a mail tray on one of the shelves that I’d overlooked. Inside of the tray were envelopes that contained bills. But there were also four envelopes wrapped with a rubber band. The envelopes hadn’t been opened, but there were letters inside. The letters came from the correctional facility where Paula Daniels was at. They were all addressed to him. Eager to see what she had written to him, I panicked as I tore open one of the letters. It was short, and according to her, she needed to speak to him about something important. She didn’t say what it was until I read the next letter. That was when she got specific and wrote that it was imperative that she spoke to him about something with Jacoby. She stressed how sorry she was, apologized for trying to kill him, but said she felt as if he needed to know the truth.
I hurried to stuff the letters into my purse. Looked around for more of them, but didn’t find any. Searched for a few minutes more then gave up. I left, feeling as if this situation would, eventually, turn ugly. Maybe Jacoby and I needed to get ahead of this and talk to Cedric? Seemed like Paula was eager to bust Jacoby out, and it was best that Cedric heard it from us, instead of her. I remained in the car in deep thought about what to do. And when my cell phone rang, I grabbed it from my purse and put the phone up to my ear.
“Hello,” I said.
“I have a question for you,” Cedric said in a serious tone.
My stomach twisted in a knot. I could feel a sheen of sweat forming on my forehead.
“Wha . . . what is it?”
“Why are you in my house?”
This time, my stomach hit the floor. I had no answer; my mouth was stuck.
“I have cameras in there,” he said. “Didn’t want what happened to me before to happen again. I’ve seen you going through my things. And the only other question I have for you is why are those letters from Paula any concern of yours?”
I was cold busted. Couldn’t think of a lie fast enough to get me out of this. I wasn’t sure if my made-up explanation would suffice or not, but I went for it anyway.
“The truth is, I still love you, Cedric. A part of me regrets signing those divorce papers, and I could kick myself for doing so. I suspected that you were on the phone earlier with another woman and I was jealous. After you left my house, I attempted to follow you, but I lost you somewhere on the highway. I thought you would meet the woman here, so I came by to see what was up. You know how nosy I am, so I started looking around to see what I could find. Your relationship with Joy hurts me, and I didn’t appreciate the letters I found from Paula. I hate her for what she tried to do to you, so I took the letters to dispose of them. You haven’t been keeping in touch with her, have you? I truly hope not, Cedric, especially after what she did to you.”
There was a crisp silence over the phone. I hoped that Cedric believed me, but maybe I rambled on too long. I waited with bated breath to hear his response.
He cleared his throat. “Hell, no, I haven’t been keeping in touch with her. I couldn’t care less about what she has to say, and I have no intentions to read those dumb letters. If she continues to write them, I’m going to turn them over to the police. I already have some people involved who will make those letters stop. As for Joy, she’s a nice woman. I don’t want you having any regrets about our divorce, only because I do believe you made the right decision for both of us. So don’t sweat it, baby. You know damn well that you can have a piece of me whenever you want it. All you have to do is say the word.”
Cedric laughed. So did I, feeling a bit relieved. Just a little, because I was still hoping like hell that the letters stopped.
Chapter 17
Trina
Keith’s big dick was so far up in me that I couldn’t even think straight. I couldn’t move and I was on the verge of a shaky orgasm. Make-up sex between us was always the best. This time around, I apologized for the incident with Evelyn. I made Keith feel as if I were on his side, but the truth was, I was caught in the middle.
I’d spoken to Evelyn and expressed how sorry I was about Keith’s ill treatment. I tried to explain his position, and Evelyn insisted she understood. What I didn’t tell her, though, was that I’d gone to see Bryson. I didn’t find it necessary to tell her my thoughts about what I discovered during our conversation. That would only give her more ammunition, and I didn’t want to stir her up.
What I wanted was more of Keith. He was now down below, sucking my well dry. My thighs were locked on his face and my eyes were squeezed tight. I could barely catch my breath, and I pounded his back, letting him know how spectacular his tongue tricks felt.
“Baby, you are the motherfucking man! My man, so keep doing that shit, only how you can do it!”
I loved to stroke his ego. Seeing him smile always made me feel good. His tongue snaked in and out of my folds. He tickled my pearl then turned me over to tackle my goodness from behind. I kicked, screamed and begged for him to keep at, so I’d come again. Within minutes, my request was honored. I was spent; he was too. He crawled next to me in bed and lay flat on his back while taking deep breaths. While staring at the ceiling, he rubbed his chest.
“Did I tell you how much I love you today?” he said.
I turned sideways and rubbed my hand on his chest. “No, you didn’t tell me, but you sure did show me.”
Keith massaged my ass when I laid my leg across his. “I did, didn’t I? But I’m gon’ need for you to calm your hot self down. Just so you know, you are wearing my ass out.”
“Good. And when I get finished with this shower, I’m going to wear you out some more. So get ready.”
I got out of bed and headed for the bathroom to take a shower. I th
ought Keith was going to join me, but he didn’t. With him not being in the shower with me, I took my time and indulged in a lengthy one. I shaved my legs and trimmed my toenails. It took me about an hour to get finished, and after I was done, I opened the door and could hear Keith downstairs talking. Better yet, yelling at somebody. I was so sure that Evelyn had shown back up, but as I jetted down the stairs, I saw Keith standing in the living room with Bryson. Their argument was pretty intense. I’d never seen them go at it like this before. They stood face to face with each other, talking shit.
“I’ll say it again,” Keith hissed. “Watch your mouth or I will drop your punk ass on the floor.”
Bryson folded his arms across his buffed chest and a smirk appeared on his face. “Do what you must, little brother. The floor is all yours.”
I quickly ran over and squeezed my short self in between them. “Whatever is going on here, it doesn’t need to be settled with a fistfight. I know the two of you can do better than this, so calm down and chill.”
Keith ignored me and inched forward, squeezing me more. “It can be settled when he gives our mother her money back. If not, I will handle you myself.”
Bryson stepped forward and I eased out of the way. “I will give the money back when I choose to. This really ain’t your damn business, and I’m getting tired of your threats.”
“Maybe so. But here’s a promise.”
Keith reached out and slammed his fist right at Bryson’s jaw. The blow sent him staggering backward, and he tripped over the table behind him and fell hard.
“How was that for a promise?” Keith said. “If you don’t give the money back, another one of those punches will be coming your way.”
Bryson tightened his fist and charged toward Keith like a raging mad bull. He wound up slamming Keith on the floor and they went at it tough. So tough that I had to scramble out of the way.
“Stop it,” I yelled to get their attention. “Or else I’ll call the police!”
My police threat fell on deaf ears and frightened no one. They kept at it and were pounding the hell out of each other. Keith was getting the best of Bryson, but then all of a sudden, the tables turned. He punched Keith in his mouth and I witnessed my man’s blood splatter. I rushed in and started hitting Bryson on the back of his head to distract him so Keith could get the upper hand again. My interference distracted Bryson, but it didn’t halt his punches. The next one he delivered landed right at my face, particularly at my right eye that throbbed and felt as if it had been knocked from the socket. I backed away and held my face. Keith lost it. But as he charged at Bryson, he sent Keith backing up with a hard blow to his stomach that dropped him to one knee.
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