BFF's 2 (11 page)

“I am so sorry about that. That shit caught me off guard. I thought that she and I had an understanding.”

“No problem. Handle your business, baby. As long as it doesn't interfere with what we have going on, I'm good.”

He crawled on the bed and held himself up over me. “I'll tell you who has got it going on. You do. The way you're looking on my bed, all sexy and shit like this, makes me want to eat you alive.”

“You may not be able to do that, especially since you have to get up in a few hours to make those blueberry pancakes. I don't like to be rushed, and I assume that I'll be asked to leave soon.”

“Nope. As a matter of fact, I can make you some of those pancakes too. They're delicious, and for some reason, Libby can't seem to get enough of them.”

Arrogant motherfucker,
I thought. He was nothing like Keith was, but I had to settle. “Scrap the pancakes,” I said. “Not interested. But I am interesting in seeing how well you can eat me alive.”

“I can show you better than I can tell you.”

Bryson parted my legs and buried his face between them. His eating skills were decent, but he damn sure was no Cedric. I closed my eyes and pretended, just for a few minutes, that he was. Then I went into a daze, thinking about how much fun Cedric and I used to have during sex. More so, how creative we were, even while Kayla was in the same vicinity as we were.

That day, we were all at Kayla's and Cedric's house having dinner. I'd brought a date, trying to make Cedric jealous. He turned out to be a disaster, and as we were all downstairs playing pool and watching reality TV shows, I made my way up the stairs to find Cedric. The moment I reached the top stair, Cedric was standing by the kitchen counter waiting for me. He placed one finger over his lips, as a gesture for me to be quiet. He then nudged his head toward the garage door and walked toward it. I followed, laughing my ass off about what we were about to do. Inside of the five
-
car garage was a fleet of lavish cars that belonged to him and Kayla. The only spot that was empty was the spot where Jacoby parked his car. Cedric unlocked the car, and he opened the back door to his Rolls
-
Royce that provided plenty of room in the back seat.

We chuckled, and I got in the back seat with Cedric. Talking wasn't in our plans. His hands eased up my thigh
-
high skirt, and the moment his fingers slipped into my wetness, I turned on my stomach. Cedric unzipped his pants and flipped up the back of my skirt. He moved my thong to the side and filled my hot pocket with his hard, thick meat that always guaranteed me an orgasm.

“You can have a piece whenever you want to too. Just ask for it. And the next time you come over here, leave the broke
-
looking joker at home. He should be an embarrassment to you. I know you can do much better.”

I also knew that I'd have to go see about Cedric real soon, because men like Bryson just wasn't going to cut it. If I was going to involve myself with a real player, why not shoot for the best, or should I say, shoot for the player with the most money and the best sex? Compared to Cedric, Bryson was an amateur. I intended to toy with him for a little while longer, but his time would be up sooner than I originally thought.

After days and days of pondering, hours of lost sleep, going back and forth about my marriage, I'd finally made my decision. I was excited about it, too, and the first person that I needed to speak to was Cedric. We had a lot to discuss, so therefore, I made my way to his place.

Jacoby was at school. He and I had a long talk about how much he'd been skipping and his late nights with Adrianne. He admitted everything to me, and his excuse was him being affected, a little, by all that had been going on. He said that Adrianne had truly been there for him, and that he felt so much love when she was around. As for school, he said his work had suffered because he couldn't think straight. I understood everything he'd said, but I told him it was time for him to get back on track.

The same applied to me and Cedric. That was why I was at his front door. It was time to do this. I made sure Cynthia was out of the house, and when I entered, I went upstairs to find Cedric.

He wasn't in bed where he normally was, and when I checked the kitchen, family room, and his office, he wasn't there either. That was when I went to the lower level and saw him in the workout room, slowly jogging on the treadmill. He appeared to be getting himself back in shape, and I had to admit that he looked dynamite in his tan shorts. He didn't have on a shirt, and plenty of muscles bulged from his shoulders and toned calves. His beard was still a little scruffy, but his fade was intact. Every time I watched Scandal and would see Columbus Short, he always reminded me of my husband. Loud music played and Cedric looked up at the flat-screen TV mounted on the wall, as if he could hear it. I walked in and turned the music down.

“Good morning,” I said then sat on a weight bench. “I see you must be feeling better.”

“Much better.”

He slowed down the treadmill then got off of it. He used a fluffy towel to wipe his face then stood in front of me. Sweat dripped from his body and the shorts hung low on his waist.

I could see the bullet wound on his chest, and all I could think about was how lucky he was to be alive. I reached out to touch the wound. “Does it hurt?” I asked.

“It's still a little tender right there, but not really. I've been taking good care of myself since then. Been eating right, exercising, and playing with my dick to keep it alive and active too.” Cedric winked and laughed.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. “That's too much information, but I'm glad you're feeling better. Looking much better, too.”

He nodded and looked me up and down. I had on a simple pair of tight jeans and a button-down shirt that matched my yellow earrings. My hair had been trimmed, nails had been done, and my sandals showed my perfect pedicure.

“So do you,” Cedric complimented. “And just so you know, I do love your hair like that.”

“Thanks.” I moved away from him and rubbed my hands together. I was a little nervous, but I assumed that he knew what I was there to discuss.

“Would you like to go upstairs to my office?” he suggested. “That way, you can sit on the couch and relax.”

I nodded. “Yes. That sounds perfect.”

I made my way up the stairs with Cedric following me.

“At least I know
that's
still in working order,” he said.

When we reached the top stair, I turned with confusion on my face. “What did you say? I'm not sure wha—”

“I was talking about my manhood. It had a reaction when you were walking in front of me.”

I moved out of the way and gestured for Cedric to go in front of me. “That's good to know. Maybe I'll have some kind of reaction too, walking behind you.”

We laughed and made our way to his office. I sat on the couch, while Cedric stood with his backside against the desk and his arms folded.

“So, what's the verdict? Don't give me a long spiel either. All I need for you to do is hit me with your news and so be it.”

“I don't know if I can sum this up as quickly as you may want me to, but the first thing I think you should know is that Evelyn had an abortion. She thought that you were dead, and since she couldn't provide for the baby, she terminated the pregnancy. I wasn't sure if you knew that.”

Cedric didn't flinch. “No, I didn't know, but thanks for sharing. I'll toast later, but for now, I want to discuss you and me. What's the deal?”

“Cutting to the chase, the deal is, I want to proceed with the divorce.”

This time, Cedric flinched. He cocked his neck from side to side, and I saw him take a hard swallow.

“That's your final decision?”

“Yes, it is. I just don't see how we can ever get this to work out, and I do believe that this is one of those cases where there has been too much damage done.”

“I agree, but whatever happened to for better or worse? We had our worse, Kayla, and we had to kind of go through some things in order to get to this point. Now, don't get me wrong. I respect your decision, but I'm trying to get you to see that many things, a lot of things, have changed.”

“I think they have, Cedric, but I don't believe that those changes will be enough for me. So, I'll just take my measly, little, tiny twenty percent and go on my merry way.”

Cedric chuckled and rubbed his brow. “I figured you'd go there with that twenty percent. But, remember, if you stay, you can have waaay more than that.”

“If I stay, that may be true. But then I'd have to deal with your late hours again, concern myself with who you're with, check your bank accounts, go through your pockets, hire private detectives, just to make sure you're staying on the up-and-up. I don't want to live my life like that anymore. It's time for me to be happy and live peacefully. I deserve that.”

“You absolutely do, so I can't argue with you on that.”

Cedric walked around his desk and sat in the chair. He typed on his keyboard, and seconds later, his printer sounded off. He removed the piece of paper and laid it flat on his desk. Whatever it was he signed it, and then brought the paper over to me. It was the last page of the dissolution of marriage agreement I had read time and time again.

“The signature you provided before wasn't acceptable because you were under the influence of alcohol. If you say what you mean, your signature is needed.”

I took the paper from his hand and held it. “First of all, I'ma need you to change that twenty percent to at least forty percent, print off the whole agreement, and give me a signed copy, and then get a notary in here to notarize it, until our attorneys can confirm.”

Cedric cracked up and walked back over to his desk. “I can't get you a notary right now, and there will be no problem with our attorneys confirming this. Also, I will be happy to give you a signed copy, but unfortunately, the twenty percent stands because you're the one abandoning me.”

I stood and went over to his desk. “For a very good reason, I may add, so let's crank that amount up to, at least, thirty-eight percent for my troubles.”

“Twenty-two.”

“Thirty-six.”

“Twenty-five.”

“Thirty-three.”

“Thirty and that's my final offer.”

I sighed and released a tiny smile. “Thirty will do, and anything is better than twenty.”

“Sixty-nine then. Over there, on the couch with you on top.”

“No, thanks. And why are you being so nasty today? We're supposed to be down in the dumps today, sad and disappointed that we're ending this. You seem just as happy as I am.”

Cedric looked at me with a blank expression. “Happy, I'm not, but I'm trying to make the best of this situation. I hope you are too.”

“More than you know.”

Cedric printed two copies of the document and we both signed it. “There you go, Miss Lady,” he said. “After one lump-sum payment, I can finally be rid of you and have you out of my hair.”

“I doubt that because we still have a son to raise. You know he's been getting away with murder in my absence, and I think we're going to have to put our feet down.”

“I've seen his sneaky self in action. But let him go ahead and do what teenagers do. Eventually, he'll learn some valuable lessons that will either lift him up, or bring him down.”

“Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of. Now come here.”

Cedric stood next to me and I put my face next to his. I held up the agreement and told him to smile while I used my cell phone to take a selfie of us.

“You're crazy,” he said with a fake frown. I was all smiles when I snapped the picture.

“I may need to send this picture to someone. Thanks.”

Cedric moved away from me, but we stayed in his office, talking for about another hour. He agreed to wire the lump-sum payment into my account by tomorrow, but said that he needed to go directly to the bank in order to transfer that kind of money. We also talked about living arrangements. His intentions were to put the house up for sale and move into a smaller place. I was planning to get me a place as well. Jacoby was left to decide who he wanted to live with, and Cedric and I were fine with that. The truth was, I hadn't felt this good in a long time. I was glad that we'd gotten closure. Now I could focus on my own life. Holding on for so long had only crippled me.

I made my way to the front door so I could leave. Cedric was behind me. “I guess I'll see you whenever,” he said.

I turned and gave him a tight hug. He rubbed my back and I rubbed his. I felt his hardness, but backed away from him.

“Now, who would've thought that my ex-wife was capable of doing this to me?” He looked down at his rising shorts. “All I can say is, baby, you're bad in every way possible. Why don't we seal the deal by indulging in some of that wild sex we used to have when we were mad at each other? You were always at your best when you were mad at me, and I would be thinking about that shit for days and weeks after.”

I couldn't help but to laugh at Cedric's attempt to have sex with me. “Sex or no sex, the deal is sealed. And I'm not really mad at you now, so having sex would be a waste of time. So, good-bye, Cedric. I'm sure we'll be speaking soon. Please don't forget about the money tomorrow because I really need it. If you need me to take you to the bank, let me know.”

I reached for the doorknob and Cedric smacked me on my ass; squeezed it too, and had the nerve to honk. I made my exit and closed the door behind me. But when I got into the car, I sat for a while thinking. I looked at the bay windows, manicured lawn, and two-story brick house that was one of the best looking houses on the block. Cedric had taken good care of me, no doubt. It was kind of painful to leave here for good, knowing that I would never officially stay in the house again. With that in mind, I wanted to leave my mark. I marched toward the front door and opened it. Went inside and made my way up the stairs where I could hear water running. Right at the bedroom's doorway, I removed all of my clothes and then swished toward the bathroom where Cedric stood naked, waiting for the tub to fill. His eyes shifted to me in the doorway, and a wide smile washed across his face.

“I guess this ain't really over, until it's over,” he said.

“Oh, it's over, trust me. I just had an urge to seal the deal, like you suggested.”

I walked into the bathroom and threw my arms around Cedric's shoulders. With our bodies pressed together, both of our hands roamed. Cedric touched my curvy backside, and I had my hand on his heavy, hard meat. Just as I was about to direct it inside of me, he stopped me.

“You'd better not tell your girlfriends about this. If so, they would think you're out of your mind.”

“What I do with my life is my business. I don't owe anybody an explanation; after all, no one has walked in my shoes. If I want to screw my ex-husband's brains out, I will.”

“Then g'on with your bad self. And you're right. To hell with them all. We got this.”

I wasn't sure about the “we” thing, but I surely did have it. Got all of it and then some. And right after we finished having sex, I thanked Cedric for the good loving and made my exit with my divorce papers in hand.

This time when I got in the car, I drove off. I reached for my cell phone to call Trina and share the good news. She didn't seem as upbeat as she did the last time.

“Okay, what's going on?” I asked, feeling a little frustrated. Just once, one time, I wanted to talk to somebody who didn't have a lot of drama going on.

“If I told you, you wouldn't believe me. All I can say is I shouldn't have ever stopped by Keith's house that night. Then again, I'm glad I did because I discovered that your friend has been making her rounds.”

My brows arched inward. “What friend? I don't have many, so who are you talking about?”

“Evelyn. Do you know she was at Keith's house when I got there?”

I had to slam on the brakes. “Are you kidding me?”

“No, I'm not. She's supposed to be seeing Keith's brother, but I found a picture that Keith sketched of her while she was sitting on the couch in his studio. He pretended that it wasn't a big deal, but Evelyn made it clear that she had been there, several times, when I wasn't. Keith thinks I'm overreacting, but you already know how Evelyn is.”

“Yes, I do. And I'm surprised at Keith. I don't know what to say about Evelyn, but the two of us need to do something to put that chick in her place. I don't understand why you continue to be her friend. I am soooo done with her. That hooker can't say anything to me right about now.”

“I question why I keep fooling with her too, but this last incident took the cake. She called and tried to apologize for upsetting me, but she wouldn't admit to doing the wrong thing. Said there was no harm in her going over there. When I inquired about the sketch, she said she didn't know Keith was doing it, until he was finished. She also said that he made some advances toward her. I'm so upset right now that I don't even want to bring any of this shit to his attention.”