BFF's 2 (17 page)

“She's a little off, Keith. I suggested that she gets some help. Hopefully, she'll take my advice.”

He slammed the bottle of beer on the table. “A little off? No, she is way off and wacky as hell. I don't ever want her in this house again.”

“Yeah, well, you're way off too by suggesting that she and I are lovers. I guess you're a wacko too. And in case you forgot, I live here too. I don't tell you who is or isn't allowed in here, and it's wrong for you to try to tell me.”

“What I say goes. She's not welcome here, Trina. If you don't like it, you know what you can do.”

Keith walked past me and left the kitchen. The last thing I wanted was to get into another heated argument with him, so I decided to let him cool off and rethink his position. He went upstairs, and I grabbed my purse and keys from the couch. I looked like a bum in my jeans and half shirt, but I needed to get out of there. I also needed to go talk to Bryson. If what Evelyn said was true, Keith needed to know. I wasn't about to keep any more secrets from him.

Taking my chances, I went to a worksite where Keith and I had taken Bryson some lunch earlier in the week. It was a big project that he was working on, so I prayed that he was there so we could talk.

I arrived at the location, seeing several construction workers with hard hats on. It was rather noisy, and I started to think that maybe this was a bad idea. My thoughts were quickly washed away when I saw Bryson and another man standing real close to each other. They appeared to be indulged in a deep conversation, and I knew flirting eyes when I saw them. There was too much smiling going on and a bunch of lip licking, too. I parked my car, and as I moved toward them, I saw Bryson back away from the man. The second his eyes shifted in my direction, the man turned around to see who I was. Bryson said something to him, and he walked away.

“What's up, sis-in-law,” he said with a smile. “You know better than to come out here without any lunch in your hand, and where is my brother at?”

“He's at home, mad as hell at me.”

“What for?”

“I'll tell you in a minute. That's why I'm here. Is there anywhere private where we can talk?”

Bryson nodded and told me to follow him into a construction trailer that was piled with junk, including a desk, several folding chairs, and orange street cones. He invited me to have a seat in one of the chairs.

“Can I get you a bottled water or soda?”

“No, I'm fine.”

Bryson got a bottled water from the fridge then took a seat behind the wooden desk.

“What's on your mind? Keith's been causing you some headaches?”

“No, not exactly, but one of my friends have been. That would be Evelyn. She came to see me today, and she said some disturbing things to me about you.”

Bryson almost dropped the bottled water that was close to his lips. It splashed on his shirt and he wiped it. “What did she say that was so disturbing? I could say some disturbing things about her too, but I'm skeptical about going there because she's your friend.”

“I'll get straight to the point. She said that you were on the DL. Claimed she caught you having sex with a tranny and showed me the balance of some money you put into her account to keep quiet. I totally do not believe her, but I needed to hear what was up from your mouth. Why would she say something like that about you, if it wasn't true?”

Bryson leaned back in the chair and scratched his head. “Because she's fucking crazy, that's why. I swear I be messing around with some weird-ass chicks. But this here takes the cake. I've never heard no shit like this before, and where do these women be getting their stories from? Books?”

I laughed because he had a point. “It's funny that you say that because I recently read a book by Nikki Michelle,
Bi
-
Satisfied.
It was along the same lines as what Evelyn claimed she saw you indulged in, so maybe she read the same book.”

Bryson laughed. “Maybe so. But, uh, just so you know, I don't get down like that. Not me; never.”

Bryson guzzled down the water, while tapping his fingers on the desk. As we talked, he tapped faster. His leg shook and he had the same shocking look in his eyes that I'd had when Kayla confronted me about what Cedric suspected about me.

When the direction of my eyes traveled to Bryson's fingers, he stopped tapping them and squeezed his hand.

I let him know what was on my mind. “Let me just say this to you, okay, Bryson? I don't know if Keith ever mentioned this to you before, but I used to be bisexual. My family disowned me, and until this day, they still do. I had a very difficult time telling anyone what was going on with me, and I kept that secret away from my friends for a very long time. You may already know that the chick who stabbed Keith was my lover. I have to live with that, and it still pains me to know that my lies could have killed him. I don't care what your sexual preferences are. You know that Keith and I will love you regardless. But do me a favor and please tell him the truth, if indeed you are having sex with men. I say that because hearing this from other people will be damaging. If Evelyn has any proof, or if what she's saying is factual, it's just a matter of time when your secret will no longer be a secret. All the money in the world will not keep her mouth closed.”

Bryson looked away, swallowed, and then looked at me with a devious gaze. “Didn't you hear what I said? I told you that bitch was lying, and I'm not about to confess to something that ain't true. Keith told me about your little girlfriend, but if that's how you chose to get down, then don't come in here trying to push that shit off on me. I got a gang of women who can vouch for me. They know what I stand for. It's called pussy. That's what my heart desires, and unfortunately, your friend is only upset because hers wasn't good enough for me. Now, I have to get back to work. But before I do, you may want to tell your friend that if any of her lies leak elsewhere, well, I can show her better than I can tell her.”

Seeing that Bryson was getting pretty upset with me, I stood to go. “If she is lying, then I guess you have nothing to worry about. If you are, then you're the one who has to deal with the repercussions. Thanks for listening to me, and you have my word that I will not bring any of this up to Keith.”

“I hope not. And please keep that bullshit to yourself.”

On that note, I left. I knew for a fact that Evelyn wasn't lying. Bryson was. But at this point, there was nothing that I could do but keep quiet until the shit hit the fan.

Evelyn told Trina what had happened and Trina told me. I wanted to laugh at what Cedric did, but to me, it really wasn't a laughing matter. Don't get me wrong. I despised Evelyn to the fullest. I would never be a friend to her again, but Cedric was out of line.

With that being said, I was going to contact him and say something, but I decided against it. I said that Jacoby was my priority and that he was. I'd been making sure that he handled his business at school, I limited his time with Adrianne a little bit, and the two of us spent a lot of quality time together talking, hanging out, and enjoying each other's company. I made it clear to him that I had his back and he now knew it, more than ever.

Jacoby and I had just gotten back from Froyo, getting some frozen yogurt. The second we got out of the car, Cedric was parking. He hadn't been over to see our new place, but I'd given him the address and told him all about it. He was in the process of looking for a place too. A few days ago, he mentioned that someone was interested in buying the house. I guess he'd stopped by to tell me all about it and to check out the new place we called home.

“Damn, that's how I get played?” he said, looking at our yogurt with his hands held out. “Where's mine at?”

“Jacoby bought this for me,” I said. “Since I didn't have any money.”

Jacoby said, “What's up,” to Cedric and walked ahead of us. Since I'd known about the incident, he kind of shied away from Cedric. I told him to stop doing that because Cedric would pick up on it and say something, as he'd done before.

“No money,” Cedric shouted. “Woman, please. If your money is gone, you need that ass kicked.”

Jacoby had already opened the door to our apartment, so we followed and went inside. Cedric looked up at the vaulted ceiling in the foyer and checked out the spacious living room area with double bay windows.

“What kind of apartment is this?” he said. “How did you find this place?”

“By driving around. It's nice, isn't it? Let me show you the kitchen.”

“I prefer to see the bedroom,” he joked. I rolled my eyes at him. “Not to do anything with you, but just in case I may want to move in another unit around here.”

“Please, no way. I don't want to be close to you, and I think it's best that you move waaaay on the other side of town.”

Jacoby was already sitting at the kitchen table when we entered. He was eating his yogurt while watching TV. Cedric spoke about how fabulous the kitchen was, and then he sat at the table with Jacoby.

“What's up with you, man? Why have you been ignoring me?” Cedric asked.

Jacoby shrugged, looked at Cedric then looked at the TV again. “I'm not ignoring you. I was just looking at TV, trying to see if the game was on.”

“That's cool, but, uh, how about we get together for the weekend. Go to one of the basketball games in Miami and see who's really bringing the Heat. A friend of mine got a yacht down there, too. He has a son around your age and we can hang out with them on the high seas and have a good time.”

Jacoby nodded while rubbing his forehead. “Maybe so. I'll let you know for sure by tomorrow. Adrianne and I had plans, but I'll see if I can cancel.”

“Adrianne can wait. Besides, she sees you more than I do. You need some space and time to just go do you, if you know what I mean.”

“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 hung 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.