“Yeah, just a li'l bit, though.”
“Man, what in that fucked-up mind of yours would make you think I would give you any of my money?”
“Well, you've already been giving me some through Dana, and I truly appreciate all that you do for me. But now you're going to give me some on your own free will.”
I couldn't help but to laugh. This Negro was a clown. “Lewis, you know what, you are sick. It puzzles the hell out of me how Dana could stoop so low with a boy like you, but I guess it lets me know how desperate she was. Tomorrow, get your shit out of my mailroom. If you ever come near my wife or my secretary again, I'm gonna kill you.” I started out of the booth.
“Mr. T, Mr. T, Mr. T, if I were you, I wouldn't leave so soon. Now, since I took a lot of time planning this shit out, you have got to stay and listen.”
Foolishly, I stayed at the booth, wanting to know what else Lewis had to say. “Make it quick. I have some business I need to tend to.”
“Please. All the hell you got to do is go somewhere and fuck your secretary. Earlier, I watched y'all for a good li'l while, and I feel cheated because she did not suck my dick the way she sucked yours. You must be on cloud nine having your cake and eating it, too, especially since Sylvia and Dana are friends. It's just a matter of time you'll be kicking down a threesome, won't you?”
“Maybe, or maybe not. But you sound a little jealous. A brotha like you shouldn't be wasting so much time and energy on my love life. Especially when the women say you got it going on like you do. Hopefully, watching me last night will help you better yourself in the bedroom. If not, then don't expect to get your dick sucked well like I do.” I slid out of the booth.
“In one week, Mr. T, I need five hundred thousand dollars. If not, everybody in the workplace will see these pictures I have of you and Sylvia fucking like wild animals, your wife will know that her best friend is a backstabbing bitch, and not only that, but she'll be able to use these pictures against you in court and take you for every dime you have. Then there's your beautiful, young teenager daughter you gotâ”
Before I knew it, I reached over and grabbed Lewis by his shirt. I tightened my fist and punched him so hard in his face that my knuckles cracked. He picked up the glass of water on the table and slammed the glass on the side of my face. My vision blurred from the water being in my eyes, and I wasn't sure if the glass had cut me. All I know was we went at it. The people around us cleared out and the manager and a few waiters ran over and tried to break us apart.
“Stop this,” the manager yelled. “Stop or I will call the police!”
While standing in the way, the manager got knocked in the face with a punch. He rushed away, and still seething with anger, I pounded Lewis's face and tore up his ribs with my fists. When I put him in a headlock, he lifted me over his shoulder and slammed me on the table behind us. I crashed on the table then hit the floor. Lewis lifted his foot to kick me, but I grabbed that motherfucker and tried to break it away from his body. I twisted and turned his ankle, causing him to lose his balance. When he fell to the ground, I took my size-thirteen leather shoe and punted it between his legs.
Lewis rolled over on his stomach and grabbed his dick. Shortly after, four police officers came rushing through the door. They aimed their guns at me.
“Lift your hands where we can see them! Now!”
I slowly placed my hands behind my head and two of the officers cuffed me. The other two cuffed Lewis, who was still lying face down on the floor.
After they sat me in a chair, they picked up Lewis and sat him in another chair. Blood dripped from his nose, his shirt was torn off, and his eye looked as if he just had a fight with Mike Tyson. I, on the other hand, wasn't in good condition either. The sleeve to my jacket was torn, blood streamed down my face and onto my white shirt, the taste of thick blood was stirring in my mouth, and my entire body was stiff as a board.
When the cops inquired about what had happened, I told them the partial truth. Since the manager and waiters knew me well from coming there all the time, they added a little somethin' somethin', and the cops immediately took the cuffs off me. I told them I wanted to press charges against Lewis, and when all was said and done, they stood Lewis up to haul him off to jail.
After I found my wallet that had skidded on the floor, I paid the manager $1,000 for the damages we'd caused. I knew the damages were much more than that, considering all the wasted food, the drinks that were on the floor, and the many people who walked out because of what went down. And since he'd kept me out of jail, I planned to come back tomorrow with a check that covered the entire inconvenience.
“Thank you,” he said, shaking my hand. “That young punk should've known better.”
“Yeah, but so should I.”
Disgusted that I allowed things to go this far, I went to the bathroom to see how much damage had really been done to my face. The cut wasn't as bad as I'd thought, so I gathered a bunch of paper towels and pressed against my face to stop the bleeding. The police had asked if I needed an ambulance, but I declined. The only other things were a cut inside my mouth that wouldn't stop bleeding. And as for the soreness in my body, I couldn't do anything about it.
When I came out of the restroom, one of the officers waited for me. The other two still hadn't left with Lewis yet.
“Are you going to be okay, Mr. Taylor?” the officer asked.
“Yes, I'm fine. I thought I needed some stitches, but I think I'll be okay.”
I looked at Lewis and he grinned. “This is not a laughing matter, young man,” the officer said to Lewis. “You're in serious trouble.”
I walked up to Lewis and stood face to face with him. “I told you this shit wasn't funny. And if you still think it is, laugh it off in that fucking jail cell tonight. Going against me, Lewis, you'll lose. Just like you lost out today, you're going to lose out again.”
He gathered spit in his mouth and let it out in my face. With the police standing there or not, I punched him so hard that it sent him and the officer standing to his right to the ground.
“Okay, Mr. Taylor,” the other officer said, grabbing my arm. “Now, you're going to jail.”
I quickly wiped the spit off my face and showed no resistance. The officer cuffed me and escorted me out to his police car. He placed me in the back and closed the door.
After the other officers placed Lewis in another car, they stood outside and talked for a while. When the officer hopped in the front seat, he straightened his rearview mirror and looked at me.
“Mr. Taylor, why did you say anything to that stupid punk? You know he was just trying to work you over, man, don't you? Thugs like him are a waste of time.”
“I'm well aware of that. He just had my damn blood boiling.”
The officer laughed. “Yeah, well, a fancy lawyer such as yourself should know better, right?”
“I guess, but a fancy lawyer such as myself will kick ass when I need to.”
We both laughed this time and the officer pulled off.
“Is your car parked around here?” he asked.
“It's in the parking garage to your left.”
The officer pulled over to the left, opened the door, and uncuffed me. “Have a good night, sir. Next time, let the courts handle it, okay?”
“They always do, don't they?” I smiled, thanked the officer, and headed to my car.
What a night,
I thought as I got into my car. It was almost nine o'clock, so I hurried home to wash up and change clothes so I could go get Britney from Sylvia's place. To save some time, I called Sylvia's place to see if they could meet me at my place, but I got no answer.
Thinking hard about what Lewis said, I knew that motherfucker was out to destroy me and everyone around me. I had to watch my back, and at the same time, have everybody else's, too. I was so mad at Dana for allowing this fool to have so much control, and Sylvia? There was no way in hell she let him fuck her after hating him so much. When I thought about her mood yesterday, and about her suddenly leaving the office, my mind started playing tricks on me. Was there a chance she was fucking that nigga too?
Rushing home, when I pulled in the driveway, Dana's car was there. I was in no mood for the drama tonight. All I wanted was to see my daughter and to lie in a nice, comfortable bed.
No sooner than I went inside, I saw Dana on the couch. She was ready for me to listen to another one of her sob stories. I walked right past her and headed to the bedroom. Seeing how roughed up I was she followed behind me.
“What happened to you? Were you in a car accident or something?”
“Yeah, I wish that's all it were.” I pulled off my bloody shirt, slid out of my shoes and went into the bathroom. Dana came in and wet a towel while I started to run water in the tub. When I stepped out of my pants and eased into the tub, she came over and wiped the side of my face with the towel.
“How did this happen?” she asked again.
I moved my head so the towel wouldn't touch it. She tried to wipe my face again, but I snatched the towel from her hand. “This is what happens when you fuck around with stupid, ignorant, lowlife sons of bitches.”
Her mouth hung open. “Did you and Lewis have a fight?”
“You're damn right we did. And I feel like such a fool for stooping so low tonight and fighting with his ass.”
“But wha . . . what made you fight with him? I mean, baby, it is over between us. I love you and there is no reason for you to fight with Lewis over something that belongs to you.”
“Whatever. Look, let me enjoy my bath alone, all right? I'll talk to you when I get finished.”
Dana left quietly and closed the door behind her.
I let the jet bubbles massage my body for a while, shaved, and then gargled with Listerine to kill the soreness in my mouth. When I came out of the bathroom, Dana was lying across the bed while flipping through an
Ebony
magazine. She closed it, laid it down on the nightstand, and then she reached for her purse and pulled out some papers. After she handed them to me, I sat on the bed next to her. I was somewhat nervous, thinking they were our divorce papers, but when I saw they were papers from her doctor's office confirming the pregnancy, I was a slight bit relieved.
“I told you I didn't lie. And I'm also not lying when I tell you this child is yours. We've waited so long to have a baby, and I'm so afraid that I'm going to lose it.”
I placed the papers on Dana's lap, and then I lay back on the bed. I looked up at the ceiling and placed my hands behind my head. “Just move back in for now. I don't want to cause the baby any harm. Besides, when Lewis gets out of jail, I don't want him trying to hurt you.”
Dana moved back and laid her head on my arm. She turned sideways to look at me. “Thank you. I don't want to be away from you another day, and going forward, I'm going to show you what a wonderful wife you have.”
“Dana, I'm only asking you to come back because I want to protect what's mine. As for our marriage, I can only take it one day at a time. I'm not making you any promises. If this living arrangement doesn't work out for me, I will let you know.”
She nodded, and then kissed my cheek. When I closed my eyes, she rolled on top of me and rubbed the cut on my face. “I'm so sorry.”
I grabbed her hand and started to rise up. “Yeah, I'm sorry too, but move. I need to go call Britney.”
Dana raked her hair to one side then she reached for my hand and placed it on her breast. “It's been awhile for us. The only way to break the ice and get you out of your misery is for me to show you just how sorry I really am.” She leaned forward to kiss me, but I turned away. She grabbed my face and pressed her soft lips against mine.
Enjoying the sweet taste of her lips, I kissed her back. The kissing became intense, so intense that I rolled on top of her and hurried out of my robe. I lifted her skirt and tore off her panties. She kicked off her high-heeled shoes, and as soon as her legs opened, I pushed my dick inside of her. Almost immediately, I let out a deep sigh, feeling relieved. My pace was slow at first, but then I was so excited to be in her pussy that I picked up speed. Dana's head was hanging off the bed, and it was squeaking loudly as we got our fuck on. She gripped my ass while I took deep strokes inside of her and was very apologetic.
“I'm so sorry, baby, please, pleeeease forgive me. I love you, Jonathan, only yoooou.”
I was so caught up in the moment with Dana that I didn't even hear Britney and Sylvia. Sylvia called my name, and when I snapped my head to the side, I saw them standing in the doorway with blank expressions covering their faces.
Dana rose up on her elbows and I got up off her. My dick was dripping wet with her juices, and by the time I covered myself with the robe, Sylvia had run out of the house. Britney ran after her. I tightened my robe and hurried out of the room. Dana stayed on the bed, calling for me to come back.
I ran outside, but Sylvia had sped off. Britney pushed my chest and stormed back into the house. She picked up the kitchen phone and dialed out. Thick wrinkles lined my forehead and I snatched the phone from her hand. “Watch yourself, all right?” I yelled. “I'm sorry it had to be this way butâ”
“But, my ass,” she yelled back. Tears poured down her face. “You are such a liar. I hate you, Daddy! That bitch has made nothing but a fool out of you andâ”
I slapped Britney across her face and grabbed her arm. “Stop it! Don't you dare talk to me that way, Britney! I am your damn father and you will respect me!”