Talk a Good Game (39 page)

There he goes with that Jedi
mind-trick shit again. “Of course I love you. But love just isn’t
enough.
’

“
Don’t say that.
Love is what
’s
holding us together,” he
insisted and I noticed him rocking on the balls of his feet the way
CJ does when he
’s
nervous.

“
But I need more than that to come
back to you and for me to wear your ring again.”

“
I
’
m going to get you back,” he said
with a smirk. “That much I
’
m confident about. I
love you and we’re good for each other. I don’t know why you can’t
see that.”

“
All I see is a
man who wants to control me and every aspect of our relationship
and I
’
m tired of living like
that.”

“
No, you just don’t
like
to listen!” Kaleb snapped.

See, I told you it was just a matter of time.

“
Listen to what?” I was all up in
his face now. “You ain’t my daddy. Nobody tells me what I can and
cannot do. And until you get that in your thick skull we’ll never
have a chance!”

Suddenly he was scared and we stared at each other
silently.

“
You
’
re right. I gotta let you be your
own woman. And I
’
m gonna work on that and with the
help of a good therapist, I know I can do it. I just ask that you
don’t give up on us just yet. Give your man time to get his head on
right. Please… I can’t lose you.” He sounded desperate I had yet to
respond. “I
’
m getting ready to get this money
and I need you. Babe I can’t lose you.”

At the mention of money I wanted
to throw my arms around him and tell him all was forgiven but
that
’s
what he wanted me to do and
then I would be back under his roof with him cracking the whip
again.

However, the heart wants what the heart wants.

“
Get it together then come back
and talk to me.” I kissed his lips then went inside the hotel and
didn’t bother to look back.

NYREE

“
You need to
leave that lying mothafucka alone! First, he lied about his kids,
now you find out he
’s
been married three damn times!
Girl…, I told you, you need to run the fuck away while you still
can.”

I
asked Janelle to come over
because I needed someone to talk to. Ever since we had gotten back
from Memphis on Sunday, I had been miserable. The ride home was
long. While Jeremy pleaded his case, I completely tuned him out.
Today he showed up at my job but I just didn’t want to hear shit he
had to say. Thank goodness my realtor hadn’t sold my house
yet.

However, as angry as I was, I
hated myself because I was missing him like crazy. Jeremy had been
sending me bible scriptures and texting me discussion topics
from
Our Daily Bread
and I just couldn’t resist responding. I had never had a man
who I connected with on a spiritual level before, so it was just
hard. But I wasn’t no fool. He had not only embarrassed me but he
did it in front of his family. Hell, they hadn’t even known we were
engaged. I felt betrayed and used and I wasn’t sure if I was ever
going to forgive him.

“
Have you called and canceled the
catering?”

I dragged my legs up to my chest
and groaned. Damn. I had forgotten all about the wedding plans.
Hell, I was supposed to pick up my wedding dress from the cleaners
tomorrow. “No, I haven’t done anything.”

Janelle blew out a long breath. I knew she was
getting tired of me. Hell, I was tired of sitting around all day
feeling sorry for myself.

“
Nyree, you need
to figure out what you
’
re gonna
do.”

“
I know,” I spat and was
frustrated at her for even bringing it up.

“
I wouldn’t be a friend if I
didn’t say I think you’re rushing things. Obvious after this
incident you don’t know enough about him.”

“
You gotta lot of nerve,” I
snarled and glared over at her. How the hell she gonna talk about
me when her ass was engaged as well?

“
I gave Kaleb his ring back but
even before that I wasn’t talking about marrying that crazy
mothafucka.” Janelle shrugged. “I’m well aware Kaleb’s fucked up in
the head. I make no excuses.”

“
And that makes it right?”
Sometimes she has the most ridiculous shit coming out of her mouth.
Janelle crossed her legs and rolled her eyes. She hates hearing the
truth.

“
Whatever.
We
’
re talking about you, not me. You
have a wedding next weekend and almost two hundred guests coming.
Are you marrying this dude or not?” Janelle sat there swinging her
leg showing off her pink pumps.

“
I don’t
know.”

“
Well then you better figure it
out.” Rising, she moved toward my kitchen. “You want something to
drink?”

I shook my head. Ever since our
falling out I couldn’t eat or drink. All I could do was think about
how much I missed him. No matter what he had done or said, he was
still my soul mate. I could feel it in my bones. What I couldn’t
understand was why he felt compelled to lie to me about stuff that
I would eventually find out the truth about anyway.
“
I
don’t
know what to do.”

She sauntered back into the living
room holding a Pepsi can in her hand. “Well, the only other option
is to go talk to the fool and find out why he be lying like
that.”

Janelle was right. We needed to
talk but I just wasn’t sure yet if I was ready.

“
What
’s
his family say?” Janelle asked
between sips.

I blew out a breath and replied,
“I spoke to his mama. She said she understands if I decide not to
marry him. No one deserves to be treated that way.”

Janelle gave a rude snort. “Ain’t
that the truth.”

I decided to ignore her response.
“She said Jeremy has self-esteem issues. Always has. Feels like he
has to try and be better than everyone else. He’ll do anything to
make himself look good for attention. I don’t get it and neither
does she.”

“
Did he seem like someone with
self-esteem issues when you first met him?”

I took a moment to think about
that question. “Not at first, but since his daughter and the
weekend at his parents, he’s been stuttering like crazy and putting
himself down.”

Of course at any sign of weakness,
Janelle turned up her nose. “Girl, he sounds too pathetic. I don’t
know how you deal with all that.”

“
Probably the same way you deal
with that crazy man of yours, going off every other
week.”

She gave me a silly smirk but I
could tell my comment bothered her. “It adds excitement to the
relationship.”

“
We
’
re way too old for that kinda of
excitement. That
’s
shit we do in our twenties.” I
added with an eye-roll.

“
Anyway…” Janelle dismissed my
comment by a flick of her wrist. It kills that girl for me to be
right.

“
And what about
Frankie? You can’t keep playing with him like that. You know
he
’s
feeling you.” A few days ago I had run into
Frankie in Walmart looking gorgeous as ever and all he could talk
about was this heifer here. Hopefully, Janelle will wake up and
realize what she has before it
’s
too late. “Trust me,
someone as fine as him is not going to be single for long.” I could
tell my comment really bothered Janelle. What the hell she expect
Frankie to do? Continue to be her side-dick? “You really need to
decide.”

Like I said she is quick to flip
the script if we
’
re talking about her.

“
Uh-huh. Don’t
you worry about Frankie. Now… what I need to know if
we
’
re gonna have a wedding or not. I
just bought a dress. I got an appointment for both of us next
Saturday to get our hair done and the girls and I have planned a
bachelorette party for Friday. Time is money, baby,” she added with
a two-finger snap.

Before I could answer I heard the doorbell and my
heart started pounding like crazy.

Janelle jumped up from the couch
before I could. “Let me get that for you.”

I didn’t object and waited as she
swung open the door. As soon as I heard her suck her teeth, I knew
who it was.

“
Hey Jae.”

“
Jeremy… what can I do for you?”
She blocked the door.

“
Jae, go ahead and let him in,” I
said because I just wasn’t in the mood for anymore
drama.

“
I guess,
” she mumbled and
stepped aside for him to enter. As soon as I saw him my mouth went
dry and I hated the way I was feeling, yet I couldn’t deny how much
I missed him.

“
Hey Angel,” he said and I tried
to ignore the look of remorse on his face. “Can I please talk to
you… in private?” Janelle was still standing by the door with her
arms crossed looking like she was ready to knock him upside his
head.

“
Jae, can you give us some
privacy?”

“
Whateva,” she mumbled then
sauntered to her purse and swung the strap over her shoulder. “I
expect you to call me tonight with an answer.”

As soon as she was gone, Jeremy walked around and
took a seat on the couch. The same place he was sitting the last
time we were dealing with his bullshit.

Finally, he looked at me.
“
Angel,
I
’
m sorry.”

“
You
’
re
always
fucking sorry!” I
snapped.

“
I know and I don’t know why I
didn’t just tell you the truth.”

“
Ya think? Especially since the
truth was gonna come out eventually.”

“
I know, I
should have been honest. And I
’
m sorry,” he stammered,
struggling for the right words. “I guess I wanted so badly to
impress you that I was afraid you wouldn’t be interested in me if
you knew the truth.”

“
And like I said before you need a
woman who accepts you for you.”

“
Does that mean you no longer
wanna be with me?”

“
No, what it means is that I’m
tired of the lies. I have tried to be nothing but honest with you
since the beginning yet all I keep hearing is lies and more lies. I
just don’t get it.”

He shrugged his shoulders. “I know
Angel. And it hurts my heart every time I think about the lies I
have told you.”

I surprised myself by laughing.
Hell, it was either that or cry. “And then you embarrassed me in
front of your family! How could you have treated me that
way?”

He looked like he was on the verge
of tears. “I
’
m so sorry. I just was
embarrassed that my family put my business out there and I didn’t
know how to react.”

“
Why didn’t your mama know we were
getting married?”

He leaned forward with his elbow
resting on his knees as he spoke. “I told her on the phone I wanted
to get married again but when she started telling me it was too
soon, I backed off. I was planning on announcing it before we left
Memphis. You just beat me to it.”

“
Because
I
thought
they
knew,” I said defensively. He wasn’t going to blame this on
me.

“
And I apologize
for that. I didn’t want to worry you about my family being against
the idea so I lied and told you I had told my parents about our
wedding. I know now that was wrong, but I knew they wouldn’t
believe how much I loved you until they had a chance to meet you.
Now, they think you
’
re the best thing to have ever
happened to me.”

I smirked a little. Knowing his
parents liked me really meant a lot. Especially since my
ex-mother-in-law couldn’t stand me for no reason at all.

“
I should have told you the truth.
I knew they would judge because this would make my third marriage
and I just didn’t want anyone trying to talk me out of it. As you
can see my cousins had a field day.”

“
This is
your
fourth
marriage.” I wasted no time correcting him.

He shook his head. “I wasn’t ever
married to Jasmine
’s
mother. I just told my mother
that. She and my dad had been getting on me and I just decided to
tell them we had gotten married so they would leave me alone. But
Angel, she was never my wife.”