This Can't be Life (27 page)

After the divorce, she first moved to a small town in Florida to get away from him. Then to
Rochester
,
Minnesota
. He found her not long after she moved to Rochester and made the mistake of getting too close. She noticed him while peeking out her window. She didn’t panic. She casually grabbed Ty, packed some bags, and walked out, holding her gun in plain view. Although she didn’t see him, she knew he was still somewhere close, watching. She managed to get out of town and that’s when she came to LA, where they’ve been for a little over two years now. She had to go thousands of miles to get some semblance of peace. It worried me that he could easily find her through the California Bar, but she always assured me that she was safe. She lived in a secured building, worked in a secured building, and Tyson went to a school that was very safe. Plus, she carried a gun in her purse at all times. I still worried, though. I knew all was quiet now, but I had a feeling he would show up sooner or later.

When Nichelle was in her first year of law school, her parents died in a plane crash. They were both from New Orleans, Louisiana. Her father grew up in a very wealthy and prominent Creole family. Her mother was from the other side of the tracks with skin that was darker than a paper bag. This was taboo to his family and they were strongly against their relationship, so they disowned him when they got married. Nichelle never knew them, and she didn’t have any family on her mother’s side. She had an older brother that died from heart failure on the football field during a homecoming game his senior year. She and her parents watched him collapse after being tackled. They waited in the stands for him to get up, but he never did. She was in 10th grade when that happened. She was15 and he was 17 and they were very close. His death changed their family forever.  Although they spoiled and cherished her and became very protective of their only daughter, their only child, understandably, her parents were never the same.

Nichelle spoke often of how she felt alone in this world until she met her husband, Solomon, Tyson’s father. She was left a lot of money from inheritance and life insurance after her parent’s death, which allowed her to maintain the lifestyle she was used to. We talked for hours on end about family, friends, and the importance of both. Nichelle and Tyson brought a lot of joy into my life.

I got up and kissed Nichelle on the cheek when she walked up to the table in an expertly tailored, pinstriped suit.

“You better quit speeding like that, Chell,” I chastised playfully as we sat down.

“You know how I do. No time to waste, hon.” She removed her jacket.

“Waiting on a verdict. Might come any time now. I need a shot of something for real, D. What you do all day?” she asked, sipping water and looking around for the waiter.

“Nothing worth talking about. How long has the jury been out?” I asked as the waiter walked over to our table. Nichelle ordered a shot of Patron Anejo, a Sprite, and our usual five dishes.

“Think that’s it, D?” she asked before finishing off her glass of water.

“Bring us the shrimp in lobster sauce, some fried wonton strips, and I’m cool with water.”

“They went in at 11:00 this morning, so it’s been almost three hours. The longer, the better, though,” she shot out while the waiter was refilling our water glasses.

“Solomon called the office today. He left a message,” Nichelle mentioned, rubbing her temples.

“You think he found you through the State Bar?” I asked, alarmed.

“Probably too much press on this case. Or the damned Bar. I don’t know, Deon. This means he knows where I am. I’m not running again, D. I can’t keep on running with Tyson, uprooting him as soon as he gets comfortable.”

“Maybe you should quit the firm, Chell, especially since he knows where you are.

“I know, but I can’t just leave in the middle of a case. I’m tired of running from his ass. I really am, man! I can’t even do what I spent all that damned time going to school for, because this asshole is missing more than a few screws. I didn’t practice law for far too long because of that bastard. I don’t deserve this shit and neither does Ty.”

We sat in silence for a while. After she demolished her shot of Patron, she sipped her Sprite and smiled.

“It’s going to be all right, though. I’m not about to worry about that crazy fool right now. Talk to home chick?” she asked.

“Who? I don’t know who you talking about,” I pretended, knowing damned well who she was talking about.

“You know I’m talking about Simone, Deon. Don’t play dumb,” she laughed.

“Naw, I haven’t talked to her. I messed that up, you know that.”

“Yeah, you did, D. I really liked her. And Ty
really, really
liked her,” she replied smiling. “That was messed up what that dumb ass guy said about her. You should really find a way to get back in contact with her. You can’t leave things the way they are. I’m sure she thinks you are a major jerk.” The waiter returned and placed our food on the table. We dug in immediately.

“Yeah, I know she does, but I don’t know what else to do really. I don’t have any other way to get in contact with her aside from leaving messages at her salon, and I’ve left more than I even want to admit. I’m sure she has a lot on her plate right now,” I replied.

“Yeah, I’m sure she does. But, I know that if you could sit her down and talk to her, she would understand how you felt and why you did what you did.” She ran her hand through her shoulder-length, straight hair. It was colored bronze and looked nice with her skin tone.

“I don’t know. I really should have just talked to her instead of cutting her off like that. She was already super guarded. I don’t think this is something she could get over.” The conversation was starting to depress me, so I changed the subject. If I hadn’t, Nichelle would just go on and on. “Can you get a sitter tonight? You should come with me to the Playstation party. See how the game turned out. Should be hot.”

“I’ll call Maria and see if she can come stay the night. And I’ll let you change the subject this time, but I’ll bring her up again. She was good for you. You have to figure out a way to make that right.”

“Well, I don’t know what else I can do, Chell. Fuck it! She’s just another girl,” I said raising my voice. I wanted this conversation to end immediately.

“All right, damn! Sorry. I just know that she made you happy. Other than Ty, she’s the only one that I’ve seen make your eyes sparkle. Not to mention, the only girl that I’ve had the pleasure of meeting. Oh, and the only girl that you’ve brought to your home in I don’t know how long. But, if you don’t want to talk about her, that’s fine. I won’t bring her up again.”

“Just because you don’t see women coming and going doesn’t mean they’re not. So, you going with me tonight or what?” I asked as we both put more food on our plate. Nichelle could eat more than me. Her five foot eleven frame held her 160 pounds well. She was blessed that all the food she ate went to the right places, making her a shapely, southern looking girl, although she was from
Jersey
.

“Yeah, I’ll go. Nothing else to do.” Her cell phone rang and she fished for it inside her purse. The jury had reached a verdict in a fraud case she had been working on for over a year. She took a long sip from her drink after returning the phone to her purse.

“Love ya, babe, gotta go. Cross your fingers and wish me luck.” She kissed me on my forehead, dropped two $20 bills on the table, and walked off before I could say a word. She knew she didn’t have to go in her pocket to pay for anything while she was with me, but that’s Nichelle. She never let anyone tell her what she could and couldn’t do.

Talise

Now I know I’m not crazy, but I’ve smelled liquor on Malachi’s breath the last few times he’s come over here. Hell, that was today, yesterday, and the damned day before, and I don’t like that!

“Babe, you been drinking?” I asked, still standing at the door where he had just kissed me before walking in.

“Yeah, I had a drink. Why?”

“You went to get a drink in your scrubs?” I asked, knowing he never wore his scrubs in public. Lately, he only had two destinations: from the hospital to his home and from the hospital to my home. Otherwise, he would change before he left the hospital.

“Why, Talise? Does it matter? Why are you interrogating me like a damned detective or something? Look, I just got off of work. I can go home if you’re in a bad mood or something,” he replied firmly, making my heart skip a beat.

“I’m sorry. I just worry about you drinking and driving.” Quickly, I decided to drop it, feeling that it wasn’t worth arguing with him and risking a big blow out over what could be nothing. He works long and hard doing exceptional work, and if he wants to have a drink after work, then hell, he deserves it. But every day? I tried to swiftly push the thought of the liquor on his breath out of my thoughts and out of my head. My man is here, he is a good man, and I love him.

“You hungry, baby?” I asked, still standing by the door.

“Yeah, I’m hungry. Really hungry, actually.” Malachi walked over to me, never once taking his eyes off of mine, and pushed me up against the door. My heart was beating rapidly and my breaths were getting shorter and shorter until he finally supplied me with the oxygen I needed by bringing his mouth to mine. The liquor on his breath was the furthest thing from my mind. Our tongues locked and we kissed like the world was ending around us, like nothing else mattered. I opened my eyes to find his focused on me, staring through me, reading my mind. He pushed his hand between the door and my ass, cupped it, and pulled me to him. I could feel the stiffness in his scrubs rubbing me in the right place, waking every nerve in my body. His left hand pressed flat against the door above my head, he ran his right hand gently from my ass up to the arch in my back, moving it softly up and down, driving me crazy. All the while, our tongues spoke to each other in a language that could only be translated from tongue to tongue, from soul mate to soul mate. I pulled off his lab jacket and let it drop to the floor. He then pulled his shirt over his head and dropped it at our feet.

I rubbed his nipples with my thumbs and nibbled on his bottom lip. He untied the knot in my short, turquoise, silk kimono robe then began pinching my nipples with his thumbs and index finger. I dropped to my knees untying his scrubs on my way down. I reached inside the slit in his boxer briefs and pulled out my special friend. I put him in my mouth and pleased him to the point of ejaculation, but drew back before he was able to release. He guided me to a standing position by pulling me up by my hair, kissing me as soon as my mouth was in reach of his. He then turned me toward the door and bent me over, all the while sliding my thong panties to the side. I placed my hands on the door, palms flat, right before he entered me from behind, making me explode immediately. I knew that I couldn’t lose this – lose him. I was in for the long haul.

Simone

I can’t believe that man has not called me back! What type of shit is this? I hate being the one to make the first move, but
Carlton
didn’t take my number, so if I wanted to hook up with him, I had to buckle down and call him. I was happy to get his voicemail when I called. I left a message and passed the ball to him, and shit, it has been one whole day and his ass hasn’t called me back yet. If he doesn’t call, I will not be calling his ass again. That is definitely not an option. That man had me jumping when my
home
phone rang, and I didn’t even leave my home number; that’s not cool at all. I didn’t know what to do with myself in the meantime.

Both of my friends have boyfriends and treat me like a long lost stepsister. I hate that shit. I would never neglect my friends for a man, and that’s real. I know who will be there when the boyfriends are out running the streets, walking all over them—me. Wish they thought like that! My Blackberry buzzed on my nightstand, scaring the shit out of me.