Never Again, No More 4

by Untamed

  “That’s what I told Gavin,” I agreed.

  “You cool?” Mike asked Gavin.

  He blew out a ragged breath and gave Mike pound. “I’m straight, dawg. Let’s go sit down.” We all began leaving the bar.

  The guy continued his harassment as we walked away. “That’s right. Massa said leave. Run, niggers, run.”

  Ignoring them, we found a couch. Once we sat, I looked at all three of them, and they all looked pissed. “Fuck them, you guys. Let’s have fun,” I said, encouraging them to let it go.

  Lucinda relented first and high-fived me. “You’re right. Putos was tryin’a blow my damn buzz.” She flagged down a waitress. “Excuse me. Can I get a Cîroc and lemonade?”

  The waitress nodded and walked away.

  “There we go. Like I said, fuck them,” I said, looking at Gavin.

  When the waitress came back, Mike paid for Lucinda’s drink, and Gavin ordered a Patrón on the rocks. Oh yeah. He was super pissed. That was the only time he even fucked with tequila. Lucinda downed her drink quickly. Then she and Mike got up, held hands as they went to the dance floor, and stayed on the floor for at least another hour, grinding and winding to every fast and slow song that came on. I sat beside Gavin in silence, watching everybody else as he sulked. He wasn’t even good for conversation. As I talked, he nodded his head, as if he was a million miles away. I was so hurt that he’d let some lame ass spoil our night.

  “Baby, come on. Let’s dance for a little while. I’m getting tired of sitting here watching Lu and Mike have all the fun.”

  “A’ight. I’ma try this again. Just for you.” He stood up, and we walked to the dance floor.

  “Glad you could join us, but my heels just said to me, ‘Sit down,’” Lucinda slurred.

  “Yes, mamacita, you need to sit down,” I replied.

  She shot me the finger right before she and Mike left to go back to the couch.

  As Gavin and I danced, I felt his tension subside, and soon we were having a good time again. On the last song, when I backed it up to him, he got aroused, and I knew the night at the club was over.

  “Let me see if Mike is ready to go. I can’t wait no longer to tackle that,” he whispered in my ear.

  The effects of the alcohol had kicked in on me, so I was ready myself. We walked back to the couch, where Mike had his arm wrapped around Lucinda’s shoulders and she had leaned her head on his chest.

  “Are you two ready to dip?” I asked.

  “Yeah,” they said in unison.

  As we left, we continued living up our good time with each other. Even though that fool had tried to spoil the night, it had gone well. That was until we saw the dude and one of his boys as we were walking to Mike’s SUV.

  “Massa and the slave hoes leaving,” the dude said, loud enough for us to hear.

  “Real men speak the fuck up to the person they’re really talking to,” Gavin shouted.

  “Gavin,” I pleaded, his name slipping off my lips. Since he was buzzed, I knew he was feeling right for a fight.

  The dude turned around and said, “Yeah, bitch, I’m talking to you and your fuck-ass friends.”

  “Trust me, nigga. This ain’t what you want,” Mike said smoothly.

  “Such language in front of your massa,” the guy said, only this time there was no laughter, as he and his friend sensed the tension.

  “Let’s just go to the car,” I pleaded.

  Lucinda and I forced our men across the parking lot, but this dumb fool and his friend followed us. Was he looking to get his ass beat tonight? Seriously? Why couldn’t grown-ass people go out and not have to deal with these types of people? So what if I didn’t want to dance with his whack ass? Just ’cause his ass needed some pussy in his life, he wanted to be pissed off and hating on us. Why couldn’t this nigga just leave us alone and get off his ol’ Louis Farrakhan shit?

  Before we could get to the SUV, this fool actually rushed up to fight Gavin. Before anyone knew what fully happened, the shit was over and done with. Gavin dropped him so fast that he went lights out instantly, and before his friend could even jump in, Mike knocked him out in one cold, hard punch. Both of the dudes were laid out on the side of the street in what had to be the quickest fight, or non-fight, of my life.

  We quickly got in the car before the cops pulled up on us, and then we drove off, leaving the fool and his friend lying on the ground, taking an asphalt nap. When we turned the corner, Mike laughed and looked in the rearview at Gavin.

  “My man. You are all right wit’ me. I don’t give a damn what nobody says. You my nigga,” he joshed, and we all laughed.

  Gavin reached forward and gave him pound. “I appreciate you having my back too.”

  “Anytime, man. Besides, I wanted in on that, calling me a fucking field nigger,” Mike said.

  Lucinda giggled, looking back at Gavin. “You know what you should’ve told them, right?”

  Gavin and I looked at each other and quipped in unison, “You got knocked the fuck out!”

  After our laughter subsided, I reflected on our wild time. “There’s nothing like drinks and fights to bring couples together. Damn. What a fucking night.”

  When we got back to Mike’s house, we said our goodbyes, and I drove to Gavin’s. After the night we’d had, we were ready to handle some business, but when we walked inside, something seemed off, and an eerie feeling came over me. It must’ve hit Gavin too, because he asked me to wait in the foyer while he checked the house.

  When he reached the living room, he yelled out, “Oh, hell naw,” which caused me to go running to him. His place had been completely ransacked.

  “Oh my God,” I gasped as I gazed around the living room.

  “Son of a bitch. Look at my shit.”

  I walked into the kitchen and looked around. “Baby, come here.”

  Gavin ran in to the kitchen. “Don’t walk around without me. I haven’t checked everything out yet,” he said. Then he followed my gaze, and we both focused on the note that had been left on the refrigerator.

  Gavin,

  I know where you stay at, dawg . . . my bad . . . white boy. So I figured I’d stop by and say hello. Did you like my hello? Ha. Ha. Oh well. Just so you know, I helped myself to one of your beers and a big-ass sandwich. I didn’t take shit else, because there’s only one thing you’ve got that I truly want. And I ain’t gonna stop until I get it. Besides, I had it first.

  Deuces!

  We didn’t even have to say a word, because there was only one person who could’ve written that note. Tony. That was what happened when you tried to be nice. I swore I should’ve let the chips fall where they did while his ass was in the hospital. It was because of me that he had received top care, which had given him a new lease on life. Now that he was better, he’d been making my life hell. I knew he was my sons’ father, but at this moment, I wished to hell I’d never even met Tony Light.

  Gavin looked at me and nodded. “Your boy wants to go to war. Okay.” He hit the counter with his fist and walked off to check the rest of the house. “Okay.”

  I put my head down to collect myself; then I called the police.

  Couldn’t he let me be happy for once?

  Chapter 13

  Lucinda

  Coming into the house, I felt like a tank of alcohol was swirling around in my stomach. It’d been a long time since any of us had hung out, and I was definitely feeling the after effects of my liquid high.

  “Party, party, party, let’s all get wasted,” I sang as I flopped down on Mike’s sofa and giggled. “I’m so tipsy.”

  He sat down beside me. “I see. I’m a little twisted myself.” He chuckled.

  As I struggled to get my heels off, I said, “I had so much fun, Mike. Thank you so much for showing me a good time.”

  He laughed at me and said, “Lean back before you fall off the sofa with your wasted ass.”

  He grabbed my leg and caressed it slightly before he unbuckled my heel. Our eyes met as he aimless
ly slid his fingers up and down my leg, from my calf to my ankle. My breathing became labored from the unspoken tension this caused, and I closed my eyes. He slipped my shoe off.

  “There you go.”

  “You . . . you don’t have to stop there.”

  He let out a nervous chortle. “You’re tipsy. I’m buzzed. No, it’s not going down like that,” he said, shaking his head. He stood up.

  Confused, I looked at up at him. I couldn’t have misread the sign. Tipsy or not, I wanted to feel alive again. I wanted Mike to help me feel alive. But despite what I knew I had read, he had rejected me. Suddenly, rage welled up inside of me. “So how can you say no to free ass when you’re drunk, and Aldris couldn’t?”

  “Huh?” he asked, clearly taken off guard.

  As I stared up at Mike, all the emotions that I thought were dissipating began to resurface and bubble over. Without warning, tears fell from my eyes as I rocked back and forth in agony. Mike sat beside me and held me. “Why couldn’t he say no? What did I do to deserve that, Mike? Wasn’t I a good woman? I tried to be. Why wasn’t I enough?”

  “Shit,” he said with exasperation. “I don’t know, Lucinda. I don’t know.” He consoled me. “From what I see and what I know about you, you should’ve been enough. I know you would be for me.”

  I looked up at him, shocked that he’d said that, yet happy to hear that someone knew my worth.

  “Shit.” He closed his eyes and leaned his head back. “Did that really come out of my mouth?”

  For a moment, we sat in silence, allowing the moment to be. As I continued to wipe my tears, a warm sensation came over me. Being in Mike’s arms felt so comforting during a time when everything in my life was pure chaos. I needed this. I needed him. I snuggled against him, caressing his chest. “So let me be enough for you,” I whispered.

  He looked down at me, and I could tell he was struggling. “I can’t. I so wish . . . I can’t. I don’t want you like this.”

  “Like what?” I asked, confused.

  “Heartbroken over another man,” he blurted. “In love with Aldris and looking for comfort. Damn it, Lucinda. I want you, but I want to matter to you. I want you to love me like I—” He swallowed hard, then jumped up again. “Go to bed,” he said as he stalked into the hallway.

  I jumped up on wobbly legs and followed him. “Wait a minute.” I grabbed his arm. “Mike, don’t walk away from me.”

  He turned to face me. “Look, Lu. I never should’ve invited you here. There are too many emotions swirling between both of us.”

  “So you don’t want me here?” I teared up again. My drunken haze had my emotions on high, and I leaned against the wall for support.

  “No,” he said definitively. “I’m starting to want you here too much.”

  That was when it hit me like a ton of bricks. This was about more than sex for Mike. I had never realized that Mike had feelings for me. His actions made so much sense now, and I felt horrible. I couldn’t give him what he was looking for, and outside of temporary gratification, I didn’t know if I could offer anything else.

  “I shouldn’t keep putting you in this position. I’m fucked up right now, Mike, and I’m not just talking about from the liquor. I don’t know what it is I really want, besides to make the pain go away, and I can’t do you like that. You’ve been too good to me for that.”

  He leaned against the opposite wall and brought his hands together. “You love Aldris, and I can’t knock that. You were his woman, and you were going to be his wife. You have to work through that. Right now, the timing isn’t right for us, but if it ever is, I’m here.”

  I pushed off the wall, walked up to him, bent his head down with my hand, and kissed his forehead. “You’re amazing. Thanks for being man enough to withstand me.”

  “It’s a hard damn job, I’ll have you know.”

  “Well, you don’t have to worry about it for long. My condo will be ready in a week, and then I’ll be moving out.”

  “Yeah,” he said sadly. “I guess I have to help you move.”

  “You don’t sound enthusiastic.”

  He rubbed his face. “That’s ’cause I’m not. I know what you have to do, and I know what I told you, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t wish things were different.”

  Just then, the doorbell rang.

  “Who the fuck could this be?” Mike asked, walking up the hallway toward the door, with me on his heels. “Did Meka call you and tell you they made it home?”

  I snapped my fingers. “As a matter of fact, no.”

  “Maybe this is them,” he said, swinging the door open. “Yo, Gavin. You forgot—” His words were stopped short when he was met with a punch to the face. “What the fuck?” he roared, falling backward.

  “What the hell?” I shrieked, backing up into the hallway and steering clear of the commotion. When I looked into the foyer, I saw that it was Aldris.

  “You muthafucka!” Aldris shouted at Mike as he stomped into the living room. “You’re supposed to be my boy.”

  “What the fuck are you doing here?” Mike asked as he followed behind Aldris. “And hitting me and shit?”

  “I came over because I couldn’t sleep, and I wanted to holla at my boy to get advice. I pull up, and Lucinda’s car is over here. You just couldn’t wait for me to fuck up so you could stick you a little Spanish fly.” Aldris spewed the words like they were venom.

  After hearing Aldris’s rant, I ran into the living room. “You need to go.”

  Aldris confronted me. “And what are you doing here?” He glared at me. “So you’re gonna go and be with my best friend? And what the fuck do you have on?”

  “None of your fucking business, Aldris. I’m not your woman anymore, remember? Where’s Jennifer?”

  “The fuck if I know.” Aldris face contorted as he looked back and forth between Mike and me. Bypassing Mike, he stalked over to me, pleading his case. “Baby, I want to be with you. You’re supposed to be my wife. What’s going on? Why are you here? Can’t you give us a chance?”

  Had he lost his mind? I was in disbelief that he had the audacity to stand there and question me and my decisions. “A chance? Are you kidding me? I gave you plenty of chances. You lost them all when you decided to fuck your ex.”

  “So you’re gonna fuck my boy to get even?”

  “Dri! It ain’t even going down like that,” Mike interjected.

  “Oh, yeah, right. You ain’t never been about shit, Mike.”

  “Well, apparently, neither have you. He’s more of a man than you are.” The words came out of my mouth before I could stop them.

  Aldris looked at Mike and charged at him. “Son of a bitch!”

  Mike caught him and pinned him against the wall in the living room. “Look, muthafucka, I’m not banging Lucinda. What you need to focus on is her right now. If you want her back, there she is. Focus on her for once in your selfish-ass life. Maybe, just maybe, you can get her back,” he said before he eased up and issued a final warning. “Be cool.”

  “A’ight, nigga,” Aldris said.

  Mike slowly backed up and straightened his clothes. Then he looked over at me. “I’m going in the back so you two can talk.”

  Aldris and I stood there staring at each other for what seemed like forever. It felt so different between us now. Just a little while ago, I was ready to marry this man, and now I literally loathed him. To me, he was worse than Raul. At least Raul didn’t hide his trifling behavior. He was the way he was. You either accepted it or not. But Aldris . . . Aldris was that dude that hid behind the exterior of a real man, but when push came to shove, he wasn’t shit. Nothing.

  “Why are you here?” Aldris inquired again.

  “I don’t owe you any explanations. Nada. We’re not a couple.”

  He nodded. “Okay, I deserve that.”

  “Don’t get me started on what you deserve.”

  “Baby.” He sighed. “I don’t want to see you hurt. I know I did what I did, but Mike is not the man f
or you—”

  Pursing my lips, I sneered. “And you are? Mike has been there for me when you were off playing house with Jennifer.”

  “Really? You are aware that he has a baby mama and three children? How are you gonna come first?”

  “I’m not with Mike.” I clapped my hands together for emphasis. “Even so, Latonya and he keep it strictly on the friendship for their kids’ sake. I’ve met her. She’s a nice chick. Got a nice man by her side. Nobody is secretly trying to interfere or screw anybody on the sly. Hell, they could’ve stayed together for that,” I said, defending Mike. “We all have a past, Aldris, but the rest of us learned how to move on from it. That’s what Jennifer was supposed to be to you, remember?”

  For a moment, he looked at me strangely. “How do you know all of this? Are you living with Mike?” he asked angrily.

  Damn it. My fury had caused me to overtalk. It was time to end this before Aldris really did pop off on Mike. “You need to leave.”

  Aldris’s eyes widened as the reality of my situation with Mike dawned on him. “I’ll be damned,” he said, rubbing his face. “Ain’t this some shit? You and him ain’t kickin’ it or nothing, but you’re living with him?”

  He wanted to go there. Fine. I could too. “And why are you upset? Hasn’t Jennifer moved into your place yet? Or maybe you moved into hers?”

  Frustrated, he threw his hands up. “I haven’t even talked to Jennifer. I’m too fucked up over you.” Raking his hand down his face, he released a breath before he closed the space between us. “Lucinda, I want to be with you. I want to work shit out so that we can get married and be a family. I want to have a son, maybe even two, and another daughter with you. I want us to grow old together. I know how I’ve been acting and what I did was fucked up, but I love you so much, Lu. I can’t tell you the hell I’ve been through without you in my life. I can’t breathe, baby. I can’t breathe without you.”

  While I was listening to him, tears found their way into my eyes. My lips trembled as I mulled over what my heart felt and what my mind said. Testing the waters, Aldris pulled me to him, and the tears I had tried to withhold slipped from my eyes.