Shane hung up and I lightly put my phone on the receiver. To hell with him. I knew I was right about his feelings for Nokea. After all I’ve done for him, having any kinds of feelings for her was a stab in my back. I was so angry. I never wanted to see or hear from Shane again.
Chapter 13
Nokea
For the last three consecutive nights, Jaylin showed up drunk as hell and had sex with me. The first time, I didn’t know how bitter he was, and the second time, he kissed me and told me he wanted to work things out. Afterward, he left. When he came back last night, he choked up and told me how painful this was for him to accept. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him and I tried to comfort him as best as I could. Again, he abruptly left. I was so confused about what to do. He was becoming more and more unstable and having sex with me was not the answer to our problems. To me, it made him even more upset. I had to put an end to this and do it soon.
As I lay in bed, Nanny B came into the room. First, she looked around and then she looked at me.
“Is LJ in here with you?” she asked.
“No. I thought he was in the room with you.”
I got out of bed and we looked around for LJ. He was nowhere to be found. We were both rushing around the house and outside looking for LJ. There were many openings to our house, and I feared that LJ had gone out to the beach by the water. He liked to work out with Jaylin, so I hurried to Jaylin’s work out room to see if LJ was there. He wasn’t, so I checked the loft areas, the wine cellar, the sauna, along with the kid’s playroom again. Nanny B had checked all six bedrooms and she looked for him in the up and downstairs kitchens. Last night, I knew Jaylin had left alone, but before I called the police, I quickly called his phone. Thank God, he answered.
My breathing was heavy. “Jaylin, is LJ with you?”
“Yes.”
I closed my eyes, thanking God. “Why didn’t you tell me you were taking him with you? And, you were drunk last night! How could you risk his life like that?”
“Nokea, don’t call here yelling at me like you’ve lost your damn mind. This is my son and I take him wherever the hell I want to.”
“I never said you couldn’t, but you will not take him from this house without telling me. And, to risk his life because you won’t grow up and be a man is unacceptable.”
“I’m gon’ let your remark slide. When you get through with all of your bullshit talk, he’s safely here with me. I will bring him back whenever I get ready to.”
I dropped the phone and Nanny B picked it up. “Jaylin, you listen to me good. Now, I’ve been real patient with you and Nokea’s mess, but when you involve these kids, you involve me. You do not take LJ from this house without telling somebody something. With all that’s happening in this world, we almost lost it! If you’re drinking and driving with your son in the car, you should be ashamed of yourself. I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but whatever it is, you need to not let your kids suffer.” Nanny B paused and listened to Jaylin for a long while. I could hear his loud voice through the phone. The click from him hanging up was even louder. “That’s your husband,” she said. “For better or worse, you married him. Right about now, I sure as hell would like to put my hands around his neck and choke him!”
Nanny B shook her head and walked off into the kitchen. I was frustrated too and feeling as if I hadn’t protected my kids. I stopped in Jaylene’s room to get her. I carried her into my bedroom and sat her on the bed with me. I colored in a coloring book with her. After I read a story to her, I turned to the Cartoon Network channel on TV. She was tuned in. As she was occupied, I reached for the cordless phone to call Shane. I hadn’t talked to him for a while and I wanted to find out if there was any news on his case. When he answered the phone, he sounded dry.
“Did I reach you at a bad time?” I asked.
“Sorry, I thought you were Jaylin. I’m not prepared to talk to him yet.”
“I’m surprised that he hasn’t been in touch with you. I just knew you’d be the first . . . Maybe second person he’d call. I’m sure Scorpio might have been the first.”
“Well, I’m not going to argue with you there, and from speaking with her earlier, they’ve definitely been in touch.”
Shane’s validation went to the pit of my stomach. I had been speculating all along, but knowing that Jaylin had been talking to Scorpio made me numb. But, what could I do? I knew Jaylin would run to Scorpio. It wasn’t as if it was a surprise. “So, uh, how have you been? I hope better than me because your life couldn’t be any worse than mine.”
“I’m pissed Nokea, but I’m not going to allow Scorpio’s decision to end our relationship be the end of the world for me. Relationships come and go. I gave her all that I could. Yes, I made some mistakes, but I never claimed to be perfect. She was waiting for me to fuck up. She and Jaylin both are blowing this incident out of proportion.”
“I agree with you, but nobody likes to be lied to, especially by the ones who say they love you. That doesn’t give Jaylin the right to treat me as he has. Right about now I am so angry with him. Sorry, though, I really didn’t call to discuss my problems. I wanted to know how your case is progressing.”
“Earlier, I talked to Frick and the charges against me were dropped. They might need me to testify against the man, but Frick said he’d be in touch.”
“I’m happy to hear that. The other day, I met with a few detectives who stopped by our house. I told them my side of the story and they said they’d be in touch too. If I have to testify, you know I will. That man needs to pay for what he did to us, and for what he did to those other people too. The more I think about it, we could have gotten seriously hurt.”
“I agree. And I’m grateful for how everything turned out.”
“Me too,” I said. Afterward, there was complete silence, until Shane cleared his throat.
“Well, I gotta get back to work Nokea. Call me any time, all right?”
“Same here. But, would you do me a favor?”
“Of course.”
“Keep an eye on Scorpio. If she and Jaylin connect again, I’m ending this. There’s no way for me to find out what’s happening in St. Louis, but if you find out anything, let me know, okay?”
“I’ll do what I can, but I want you to do me a favor too.”
“Anything.”
“Be strong. Don’t let Jaylin mistreat you and stand up to him. Jaylin is a man that has to be challenged. Whatever happens, you’d better put forth your best fight. You know him better than I do. If you think about the troubled times y’all had, you always got him to react when you took control of the situation.”
“You’re so right, but it’s hard for me because I’m not a confrontational person. That’s why you and Jaylin are good friends. You’re confrontational and he enjoys going toe-to-toe with you.”
“When he’s ready, I’m sure he’s going to confront me. I’m going to be very honest with him about my feelings, just like I was with Scorpio. After that, he can do whatever.”
“It’s always a pleasure speaking to you. I’ll be in touch, okay?”
Shane hung up and his words made me feel so much better. He was right about Jaylin. From this moment on, some things were about to change.
Chapter 14
Jaylin
LJ and I had a good time together. I watched him on his motorbike, we went to the movies, the beach, and I drove around the city in my Hummer. He’d been with me all day, and not once did he ask for Nokea. How dare she and Nanny B call and criticize me for wanting to spend time with my son. They were lucky that I hadn’t taken both of my kids and left the fucking country.
On the drive home I explained to LJ that I needed some time for myself. I promised to come back for him. When we got home, he gave me a squeezing hug and kiss. I opened the door and he hurried inside. He went straight to the kitchen where Nanny B was and I followed behind him.
“Nanna,” he said, jumping into her arms. She picked him up and tightly embraced him. She did
n’t even look at me. When I asked where Jaylene was, Nanny B shrugged her shoulders.
“Are you upset with me or something?” I asked.
“Very. I don’t like how you spoke to me over the phone. I’m too old for this mess Jaylin. Things have been good. Nobody needs any of the stress that’s been going on around here lately.”
“You don’t even know what’s going on. You’re always siding with Nokea. I’m sure she half-ass told you her side of the story.”
“I’m not siding with anyone, but at least Nokea knows how to speak to me. You’re out of control and leaving here like this is ridiculous.”
I stared at Nanny B, wanting to go the hell off. “Whatever. I apologize for my tone, but I will not apologize for anything else.”
“Your apology is not accepted.”
That fast, I was irritated. “Well, too got damn . . . too bad then. What else do you want me to do?”
“For starters, you’d better get that mouth of yours together. I’m not Nokea, and if need be, I will put you back in place where you belong. Don’t make me disrespect you in front of your child, and at this point, I will.”
I looked at LJ who was still snuggled up with Nanny B. I wanted to put her in her damn place, but instead, I snickered and left the kitchen. She wasn’t worth my time. When I looked into Jaylene’s room, she wasn’t there. I then went into my bedroom. She and Nokea were on the bed. Jaylene reached for me and I picked her up.
“Hello, precious,” I said.
She said hi and placed her small hands on the sides of my face. She then puckered her lips and gave me a kiss. My heart melted. I hugged her tight. I knew she’d seen me do that to Nokea a million times and I looked over at her.
“Did anybody call?” I asked.
“Nope,” she said. I zoned in on her clothes lying on the bed. I watched as she held a bottle of fingernail polish in her hand, carefully polishing her toenails.
“Where’s LJ at?” she asked.
“He’s in the kitchen with Cruella.”
Dressed in her pink silk pajama shorts and white half tank, Nokea got up and left the room. I put Jaylene down and she followed behind Nokea.
I stayed in my room and fell back on the bed. The Cartoon Network channel wasn’t my cup of tea, so I reached for the remote to change the channel. As I flipped through the channels, I looked at the sexy red dress set across the bed. I then turned to the cordless phone on the dresser and picked it up. Just for the hell of it, I pressed the redial button. The phone rang several times, and then Shane picked up. I hung up on him and held the phone in my hand.
By the time Nokea came back into the room, I had put the phone down and was still lying across the bed. She went into the bathroom and started to curl her hair. A huge part of me wanted to fuck her up, but I remained cool. I entered the bathroom, but Nokea ignored me, continuing to style her hair.
“Where are you going?” I asked.
“Claire who lives up the street is giving a candle party and she invited me to it.”
“What time are you leaving?”
“As soon as I get ready.”
“What are your plans after that?”
“I don’t have any plans after that.”
“Then what time are you coming home?”
She lowered the curling iron and huffed. “Why do you want to know? So I can be here when you come in for your nightly sex session?”
“No, I just thought you might have some plans with Shane. The red dress is a li’l jazzy for a candle party, ain’t it?”
She stared at me as if I were pitiful. “I had a feeling where this was going. You just won’t let it go, will you?”
“When’s the last time you talked to him?”
“I can’t remember.”
I walked over to the phone, picking it up. Nokea knew what I was getting ready to do, so she stepped out of the bathroom and tried to take the phone.
“Would you stop this?” she yelled.
I bit down hard on my lip and rubbed my goatee. “Again, when is the last time you talked to Shane?”
She ignored me, turning back around and moving toward the bathroom. I yelled her name. When she turned around hollering, “What?” I threw the phone into the wall beside her. It broke into pieces. Nokea ducked out of the way. I pointed my finger at her.
“Don’t be calling that muthafucka in my house again! As for the candle party, you got until midnight, Cinderella, to wrap shit up! If you’re not home by then, you can expect trouble.”
Nokea blinked and shook her head. “I’m really starting to dislike you Jaylin. As long as you’re away, I’ll call whoever I want to call. Pertaining to the party, wait up for me, Prince Charming. Stay your butt right here and you’ll see if I show up.”
She went into the bathroom, but I grabbed her arm, squeezing it tight. “You want me to hurt you, don’t you?”
“Physically, I wish you would. Maybe it would make you feel better. Mentally, you’re tearing me up. I’m not sure if you can do any more harm than you already have.”
She snatched her arm away, went into the bathroom and closed the doors. I went into the other room, said goodbye to my kids and left.
When I got back to my neighbor’s house, I sat back on the chaise in the living room and watched the football game. The Rams were still my favorite team, but since they were out of the play-offs, I quickly became an Indianapolis Colts fan.
The time was flying by. I kept watching the clock. As soon as it turned midnight, I called home. The voice mail came on. I didn’t want to keep calling back and wake the kids. I contemplated hard on getting up and going to see what was up. By the time 1:00 A.M. came, I could no longer sit still. I drove to my house, went inside and Nokea wasn’t there. I drove down the street to Claire’s house and mostly all of the lights in her house were out. I had a feeling that Nokea was going to test me, but now was not the time to play games with me. I drove back to my neighbor’s house and didn’t even trip. When I sat back on the chaise in the living room, I dialed out on the phone and called Scorpio. Leslie answered and said that she was still at Jay’s, so I hung up and called there. An unknown voice answered.
“Scorpio Valentino,” I said.
The person who answered asked me to hold. Shortly, Scorpio answered the phone.
“What in the hell are you still doing at work?” I asked.
“Jaylin, sometimes Jay’s is opened until two or three in the morning. This is still early for us. The question is, why are you calling me in the wee hours of the morning? It took you long enough to call me back, so I guess that means you’ve made up your mind.”
“I want you to come see me.”
“When?”
“Now.”
“Jaylin, I can’t come right now. You have to give me at least twenty-four hours notice.”
“Then, come tomorrow night. I’ll pay for your ticket and have my driver, Ebay, pick you up from the airport.”
“You know what I don’t understand?”
“What?”
“You can have nearly any woman you want. I’m sure there are plenty of beautiful women in Florida. Why me?”
“Because I don’t want to be with just any woman. What I want, only you can give me.”
“If I come, you and I are not having sex. Mentally, I don’t think you’re ready for that and neither am I.”
“Then, why are you willing to come?”
“Because I miss you. I want to see you and I know I’m capable of making you smile. Besides, we’ve always been good friends. A face-to-face talk might help this situation we’re in.”
“Well, I got a better suggestion that might help this situation we’re in. It’s right between your legs . . . .”
“Jaylin, I’m serious. I’m not coming there so we can have sex. I’m a different kind of woman. It’s not going down like it did in the past.”
“All right, but just come. I’ll book your flight and call you back with the details.”
“See you soo
n,” she said.
I hung up and went to the computer to book her flight. It was booked for 9:00 A.M. I called her back with the time.
“Nine o’clock,” she yelled. “I told you I needed twenty-four hours notice. Besides, you said tomorrow night.”
“It was the only flight available for tomorrow.”
“You are such a liar. There’s no way I can make it by 9:00 A.M.”
“Come on now, baby, damn. Why you making this shit so difficult? I booked an early flight ’cause I can’t wait to see you. I can’t wait until tomorrow night.”
“You’re working me Jaylin. Once I get to the airport, my ride better be there.”
“I ain’t worked you yet. Ebay will be holding up a sign that says, ‘On my way to Jaylin’s crib.’”
“Wait a minute. I’m not coming to your house, am I?”
“Naw, baby, I’m chilling elsewhere. You’ll see when you get here.”
“Bye Jaylin.”
I hung up and lay back on the chaise. Nokea knows better than to fuck with me, I thought. I hope she ain’t forgotten what I’m about. If she has, I have no problem refreshing her memory.
I could barely sleep last night. First and foremost, the thoughts of Nokea drove me crazy, but I was too upset to think about her all night. I knew if I called the house and she wasn’t there, there was no telling what I would do. Then, I couldn’t wait to see Scorpio and share with her what was on my mind. Ebay was already on his way to the airport to get her. Just as I got out of the shower, he told me they were on their way here.
I waited patiently in the living room wearing my satin brown pajama pants that tie around my waist. My house shoes were on my feet, and a cup of coffee sat beside me. I occupied myself with the newspaper to pass by the time. It wasn’t long before I heard Ebay’s Jeep pull up. I already told him the door would be opened. My eyes stayed focused on the door. A few minutes later, Ebay opened the door, holding it for Scorpio. She came inside. Her eyes connected with mine. She smiled, but the only thing I could do was stare at how fine she looked. Her hair was full of fluffy loose curls that hung past her shoulders. She wore a sexy black top that had a low v-neck in the front and barely covered the thick meat on her breasts. Two thin silver necklaces lay between her breasts. Her dark denim, hip hugging jeans were held in place by a silver belt. As she held out her arms and walked over to me, her stilettos clicked on the marble floor. I took a glance at the gap between her legs. All I could think about was how badly I wanted to get inside of her. Certainly, my dick was already on the rise and couldn’t contain itself much longer.
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