Married Men (63 page)
Authors: Carl Weber
“I love you, James,” my wife moaned affectionately, clutching the sheets just as an orgasm overtook her body.
“I love you too,” I growled back as my body stiffened and my own pleasure erupted.
Totally spent, Kathy lay flat on her stomach while I gently collapsed onto her back, gasping for air. After a brief recovery, I slid my sweat-soaked body off of hers. She snuggled up next to me and I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her in close, her back to my front. I was so exhausted I wanted to just close my eyes and let the sedative of sex take me to dreamland, but I couldn’t do that because it as against the rules we’d created almost a year and a half ago to keep our marriage together. Somehow, I was going to have to force myself to stay awake at least ten more minutes and talk to her before allowing myself the enjoyment of sleep. I kissed her neck, whispering in her ear, “You okay? Do you want me to go down on you or anything?”
“No, baby. I’m fine just like this. All I want to do is hold me.” I did as I was told and she snuggled her backside against me. A few seconds later I could hear her snoring lightly.
I loved Kathy more than anything in the world. Sure, we had our problems like most couples. Hell, I even thought we were gonna break up a few years ago, but we worked it out and now things had never been better as far as I was concerned. I’d loved her since the day we met in our junior year at Virginia State University. She was my soul mate, and I’d do anything and everything to keep her and my boys safe and protected. I kissed her neck again then dozed off to sleep.
I couldn’t have been asleep more than five minutes when the phone rang. Instinctively, I reached over and picked it up from my night table, glancing at the caller ID before hitting the talk button. The screen read Private Number, and my eyes wandered to the clock radio on my night table.
One twenty-one A.M. Who the hell is calling me at this time of night?
Then it hit me. There was only one person who would call me at this time from a private number—my fraternity brother, Sonny. He lived in L.A. and was flying in sometime tomorrow. I was supposed to pick him up at the airport, so he was probably calling to let me know what time his flight would arrive. Sonny always had a beer or two after dinner, so knowing him, he’d probably just forgotten about the time difference.
One twenty-one A.M. Who the hell is calling me at this time of night?
Then it hit me. There was only one person who would call me at this time from a private number—my fraternity brother, Sonny. He lived in L.A. and was flying in sometime tomorrow. I was supposed to pick him up at the airport, so he was probably calling to let me know what time his flight would arrive. Sonny always had a beer or two after dinner, so knowing him, he’d probably just forgotten about the time difference.
“Hello?”
“James?” It wasn’t Sonny as expected. It was a woman, a familiar voice, but in my tired state I just couldn’t make out the voice. “James?” the woman asked again.
“Yeah, who is this?”
“It’s ... it’s Michelle.”
The hairs on the back of my neck stood up and every muscle in my body tightened. I could feel Kathy start to stir next to me and fear ran through my body. I immediately cupped the phone and rolled over on my right side, away from my wife.
I’d met Michelle about two years ago during the time Kathy and I were having problems and contemplating divorce. She was living with her mother and their house was a daily stop on my UPS route. Her mother was addicted to the Home Shopping Network and was constantly ordering nonsense she didn’t need. Looking back at things, I wished I had never met Michelle, but in all honesty, she was exactly what I needed to realize that what I had at home was worth fighting for.
In the beginning, I never even thought about having sex with Michelle. She was just the girl in a beat-up housecoat who answered the door when I dropped off her mother’s packages. But as time went on, her appearance started to change. At first it was subtle; the scarf she usually wore to cover up her rollers disappeared and her hair was now combed every day. Then one morning she started wearing makeup. I knew something was definitely up when she stopped wearing the beat-up housecoat and started to answer the door wearing silk pajamas or a negligee. Being a harmless yet flirtatious guy, I gave her a few compliments on her improved appearance. Yeah, I know I was a married man, and even though things with my wife were rocky, I really didn’t think anything would start with Michelle. I was just seeking some attention. That changed, though, when she was more than a little receptive to my flirtation. We started flirting back and forth over the next couple of weeks. I don’t have to tell you what happened after that. Let’s just say it happened every day for six months, even when I didn’t have any packages to deliver to her house.
“I thought I told you not to call me on this phone.” I was whispering but my voice was cold and serious.
“I know, but I’ve been calling your cell since five o’clock and it just keeps sending me to your voice mail.”
“That’s because I’m busy.” I glanced at Kathy to see if I was talking too loud. She seemed to still be asleep.
“You don’t have to get nasty, James. What is wrong with you? Is your wife right next to you?”
“Yes. Now look, it’s late. Don’t call me anymore, okay?”
“No!” she shouted. “We need to talk now. I really don’t care if you wife is there or not. I need to talk to you.”
I didn’t like her attitude and was thinking about hanging up. The only thing that stopped me was the fact that she could call back. One call at 1:30 in the morning Kathy might ignore or sleep through, but a second call would have her radar up like she was NASA waiting for the space shuttle to land. “Look, I don’t have time for this.”
“Well, make time. Unless you want me to show up at your doorstep with your son.”
I swear I could feel my heart stop. “Hold on a sec.” I cupped my hand over the phone then swung my feet off the bed to sit up. Kathy turned toward me.
“Baby, who’s that on the phone?” She was still half asleep.
I turned toward her and forced a smile. “Oh, it’s just Sonny. I’ve gotta write down his flight information. I’ll be right back.”
“Aw‘ight. Tell ’im I said hi.” She rolled back over, pulling the covers around her neck. I left the room, heading downstairs as quickly as possible. When I reached the family room, I turned on the television for background noise and brought the phone to my ear.
“What the hell is this about, Michelle? You told me the baby wasn’t mine.” Now that I was not within earshot of Kathy, I had a real attitude.
“I know that, James, but I was wrong.” There was a strange tone to her voice, not the attitude I expected. It was more like exhaustion. If I didn’t know better, I might have thought she didn’t want to be having this conversation with me. But I did know better, and I was sure Michelle was up to something.
“What do you mean you was wrong? Why you trying to play me, Michelle? You know that baby ain’t mine. He looks just like your boyfriend. He don’t look nothin’ like me.”
“Ain’t nobody trying to play you, James.” The attitude had crept back into her voice. “I just want you to take care of your responsibility. I can’t do this by myself.”
“What responsibility? That baby ain’t mine. I saw you and his daddy pushing a stroller down the street just the other day. You looked like one big happy family. Why you trying to put this on me now? I ain’t rich. I ain’t got no money. Damn.”
“You think I want this? I wouldn’t even be talking to you if Trent hadn’t failed a paternity test. The baby’s not his, James. DNA tests don’t lie.”
There was silence on my end. I wasn’t sure what to say. I wanted to ask, “Well, whose baby is it?” but common sense told me that wasn’t a good idea, especially since she had my cell number, my home number, and my address. If she wanted to, she could make my life a living hell.
As if she was reading my mind she said, “You’re the only other one I was sleeping with, James, so don’t come out your face with any stupidness.”
God, I wish I had never met her.
“What do you want from me, Michelle?”
“I think we should sit down tomorrow and talk. All I want you to do is take care of your son, James. I don’t want anything else.”
“I can’t do it tomorrow, Michelle. It’ll have to be Sunday.”
“Sunday it is. Call me after church with the time. But don’t make me call you, James, ’cause I ain’t calling your cell phone anymore. I’m calling your house.”
“Aw’ight. I’ll call you.” I clicked off the phone then walked up the stairs as if I was in a trance. How the hell was I gonna tell Kathy that I had another son?
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CARL WEBER
is the Publisher and Editorial Director of Urban Books. He graduated from Virginia State University with a BS in accounting and has an MBA in marketing from the University of Virginia. He is the bestselling author of
Player Haters, Lookin’ or Luv, Married Men, Baby Momma Drama,
The
Preacher-.’s Son,
and the upcoming So
You Call Yourself A Man
and is a major contributor to the novella,
A Dollar and a Dream
. He lives in Long Island, New York with his family. Readers can visit Carl’s website,
www.carlweber.net
, and e-mail him at
[email protected].
is the Publisher and Editorial Director of Urban Books. He graduated from Virginia State University with a BS in accounting and has an MBA in marketing from the University of Virginia. He is the bestselling author of
Player Haters, Lookin’ or Luv, Married Men, Baby Momma Drama,
The
Preacher-.’s Son,
and the upcoming So
You Call Yourself A Man
and is a major contributor to the novella,
A Dollar and a Dream
. He lives in Long Island, New York with his family. Readers can visit Carl’s website,
www.carlweber.net
, and e-mail him at
[email protected].
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