Too Naughty (19 page)
“Nope,” I said, irritated by her questions. “Is Scorpio in her office?”
“Uh, I ... I don't think so. I haven't seen her for a few hours.”
“Then I'll just wait for her until she comes back.”
Jamaica looked at another stylist as if something was going on. I walked back to Scorpio's office, and it was obvious. She was sharing lunch and laughter with a young man in a post office uniform. When she saw me, she quickly stood up from the couch and so did he.
“Shane,” she said dryly, “this is my new mailman, Wesley. Wesley, this is Shane. Wesley's been delivering my mail for about three weeks, and he asked if he could take a break and eat lunch with me today.” Once she got her lie together, she looked at my face and then at my shirt. “What happened to you?”
“Wesley, if you don't mind,” I said.
“Oh, no,” he said. “My bad. I must get going, anyway.” He smiled. “Scorpio, I'll see you tomorrow. Next time we do lunch, it'll be on me.”
“I'll hold you to it, Wesley. Be careful and stay safe.”
She watched as the youngster gathered his mailbag and left. Then her eyes followed me as I walked over to the couch and took a seat.
“You babysitting now?” I asked.
She ignored my question. “Again, what happened to your face? Your girlfriend Felicia jacked you up?”
“I didn't come here to argue with you, Scorpio. My day hasn't been going well, and I came here to lean on my woman's shoulder.”
She appeared to be stunned by my words, and her brows rose. She leaned back on the couch, crossed her legs, and folded her arms. “So, now you need a shoulder to lean on? Last night, my shoulder wasn't good enough.”
“I never said your shoulder wasn't good enough. Last night was a reminder to you that I will not be ordered around by anybody, Scorpio. All you had to doâ”
“I can't believe you,” she said, standing up. “First, you damn near curse me out for calling Jaylin's house to speak to you, and then you never called back to apologize for your tone. The whole weekend, you kept your cell phone off, and the only time I heard from you was when you came back in town yesterday. You had been home for hours, Shane, and finally called me when you wanted to get your dick wet. To make matters worse, you allowed somebody like Felicia to come before me. There are no words to express how hurt I am, and that is something you promised me you'd never do.”
“I told you that we don't have to communicate every single day. Sometimes, I require my space. My purpose for going out of town was to relax and clear my head. I do not owe you an apology for anything I've said or done. If I've hurt your feelings in any way, that's because of your own weakness.”
Scorpio shook her head and walked over by the door. She leaned against it. “You know what your problem is, Shane? Your problem is j-a-y-l-i-n. You believe everything he tells you, and you are so afraid I'm going to become the woman that I was when I was with him. But you know what? It takes two to tango. I gave him what he gave me. And that was a bunch of headaches between both of us. Since then, you've provided me with a better relationship. Finally, I know what it means to truly love somebody, but you've been banking on me to fuck up.
“You haven't given me the chance I deserve, because you don't want to. That way, you and your buddy can sit around and talk about what I did or didn't do. Mr. Shane Ricardo Alexander, I've given you all that I can give. I can't give you anymore and I have nothing else to prove to no one. There is a price that you'll have to pay for last night, and for how you've been disrespecting me. So, I'm asking you to get off my couch, get out of my place of business, and stay the hell out of my life.”
I sat quietly, shifted my eyes around the room for a moment, and then looked at her.
“Is that what you really want?”
“I don't ask for things I don't want.”
I sat for another moment or two and then stood up. I walked over by the door and stood in front of her. I looked her pretty self up and down and then leaned into her soft lips for a kiss. She backed up.
“Save it for somebody else.”
“I don't want anybody else,” I whispered and wrapped my arms around her waist. She tried to pull away, and when my grip got tighter, she reached up and smacked my face. I closed my eyes and loosened my embrace. When I opened them, Scorpio stood with a tear rolling down her cheek. I reached up, attempting to wipe her tear away, but she pushed my hand away.
“Have it your way, baby,” I said. “I hope this is what you want.”
I walked out and made my way through the shop. One of the stylists, Bernie, stopped to ask me something, but I paid her no attention. I kept on walking, until I reached my car. Scorpio was making a big mistake, but possibly, so was I.
SCORPIO
23
Just who did Shane think he was, coming up in here, trying to butter me up? Last night, my feelings were so hurt that I couldn't even sleep. I wanted to wipe that smirk off Felicia's face, but there was no way I was going to let her see how much she'd gotten underneath my skin. I'd thought hard about Shane's major mistreatment, and I had no problem stepping away from him until he got it together.
After he left, I went up front with the stylists and chilled with them.
“What was wrong with Shane?” Bernie asked. “He jetted so fast, and the only thing he left us with was a whiff of his cologne.”
“Girl, for the moment, Shane and me are over. Last night, he played me like a stepchild and allowed his ex to stay the night with him.”
Jamaica's eyes nearly popped out of her head. “Stop lying! Are you serious?”
Jamaica was ready to play around, and I wasn't in the mood. Ignoring her for the moment, I took a seat in one of the empty chairs. “Jamaica, please don't get started. I'm not feeling too good today, all right?”
“You ain't been feeling good all week. We sholl know how to tell when your little happy home has crumbled down, because you be one moody-ass person. In a few days, it'll be okay. You and Shane will be screwing again, and we'll soon see your happy and bright smile.”
“You mean the same smile you used to have when your man knocked you upside your head one day and was able to sex you only moments later? Is that the kind of smile you're referring to?”
“No, hoochie. It's the smile that I had when Jaylin brought his fine ass in here and allowed me to put my lips on his. I have dreams about that dayâI mean, nightâas he carried me in his arms and caressed my beautiful black body later that night.” She held her throat. “He might have fractured my throat with his big dick, but the memories I have of him will last forever.”
I grinned. “So, you gave yourself to him later that night and he hurt your mouth, huh?”
“Yes, honey. I must applaud you for being able to deep throat such a thing, but he damaged me. Afterward, he left my place, shaken up by what I put on him, and when I mentioned your name, he couldn't even remember who the hell you were.”
“Damn, you were that good to him? I've never known any woman so good to Jaylin that it caused him to forget about me.”
“Well, trust me, he forgot it. You know I wouldn't lie to you, right?”
“Oh, you'll lie to me. And I know you're a liar, Jamaica, because Jaylin was at Shane's place that night. So sorry, but once again, you've been busted out, Miss âI've fallen on the floor and can't get up.' You should have been ashamed of yourself. And whether you face it or not, Jaylin would never give his dick to a woman like you. You don't have what it takes to get a piece of him.”
Jamaica laughed out loudly. “I'm glad you think so. And now I see why his wife had to step up in here and smack you back in place. She must have smacked you real hard, becauseâ”
Bernie interrupted and dropped the curling irons by her side. “Must we sit up here and listen to the two of you go back and forth about Jaylin? We all know Jaylin and his ... his goodness got it going on, but don't y'all know of some other men who got it going on, too?”
“Blair Underwood or Fifty Cent?” Jamaica yelled.
“No comparison,” Bernie said. “You know damn well that Blair is a force that can't be reckoned with.”
“Are you crazy?” I yelled. “It's Fifty Cent all day long. I guess you didn't see his movie, did you?”
“Movie or not, Blair is a man with class, and he is well put together. Heâ”
“No, no, no,” Jamaica interrupted. “Fifty is a straight-up thug! A woman needs a man who will beat the pussy, and based on what I saw, Fifty will beat your pussy good. I don't know if Blair is capable of all that.”
“That's what I'm saying.” I stood up to give Jamaica five. Most of the ladies in Jay's agreed.
“What about Idris Elba?” Jamaica asked.
“Who in the hell is that?” Deidra asked.
I quickly responded. “
Daddy's Little Girls,
baby. That brotha is off the chain, but it's a toss-up between him and Shemar Moore.”
Daddy's Little Girls,
baby. That brotha is off the chain, but it's a toss-up between him and Shemar Moore.”
“Toss-up, my butt!” Jamaica yelled. “Did you see Shemar in
Diary of a Mad Black Woman?
Girl, them braids made me look at him in a different way. He was thugged out andâ”
Diary of a Mad Black Woman?
Girl, them braids made me look at him in a different way. He was thugged out andâ”
“And it's obvious that you like thugs,” Bernie said.
“Love 'em. Can't get enough of them, and I'd take a thug any day over some wannabe, fake Negro who gon' turn into a thug, anyway, when you get him in the bedroom. That's why I don't care what anybody says. I love me some Flava Flaaaav!”
“Wowwww,” Deidra said, sounding just like him. We all laughed and said Flavor's name in unison. “Flava Flav!”
“Flava ain't no thug to me, so next!” I said, continuing to laugh. “Anyhow, what about Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp, Richard Gere, or Justin Timberlake?”
“What the fuck!” Jamaica got serious. “Do you see any white women up in here? Now, I dig me some white men, but we on the brothas right now. Stick to the brothas, all right? If you can't, then I got a pair for you.”
Everybody waited for Jamaica to respond.
She slowly let their names fall from her mouth. “D-en-z-e-l Washington and j-a-y-l-i-n Rogers.”
Bernie quickly spoke up. “Now, that's a tough one for me, because y'all know how I feel about my Denzel. However, after seeing Jaylin again, I just don't know!”
“It's Denzel for me,” I said. “Jaylin ain't got nothing on Denzel.”
“Of course you would say that, Your Fakeness,” Jamaica said. “If Jaylin had dicked you down while he was here, you'd be jumping up and down for Jaylin like they just called your name on
The Price is Right,
telling you to come on down. And since you won't be honest, I will. Denzel the mutha-effin' bomb, but Jaylin done surpassed him.”
The Price is Right,
telling you to come on down. And since you won't be honest, I will. Denzel the mutha-effin' bomb, but Jaylin done surpassed him.”
“I'm gon' have to disagree,” Deidra added. “Now, I've seen Jaylin, and he fine, but not like Denzel. Jaylin can't touch Denzel's swagga.”
“Deidraaaa,” Jamaica whined. “But you didn't see Jaylin's
dick.
It was a pretty sight, wasn't it, Bernie?”
dick.
It was a pretty sight, wasn't it, Bernie?”
Bernie nodded. “Yeah, it was rather interesting. Scorpio, I hate to say it, but how in the heck did you let something that ... that delightful get away?”
Everybody laughed, and all I could do was shake my head. When Jamaica decided to compare Jaylin to Shane, it was time for me to go.
“Why you leaving?” she asked.
“Because y'all up in my business, that's why.”
“For me, it's Shane all the way, baby,” Deidra said. “Anytime a man can get down with you like he did in a limo, at a club, and on a motorcycle, he definitely has my vote.”
Jamaica added her opinion. “Baby, from what I heard, Jaylin wasn't short stopping. He laid it down at the movies, on the MetroLink, and on a pool table. And any man who can dig into you on a roller coaster has got to get some votes.”
“Y'all are so damn silly.” I laughed. “Why are y'all making up lies about my relationships?”
“I guess you told us lies, then,” Jamaica said. “Truth or consequences ... didn't you tell usâ”
“I'm out of here and the game is o-v-e-r.”
Everybody griped as I headed back to my office. I closed the door and walked over to my desk. I wanted to call Shane, but I was tired of the back and forth. I said he'd have to pay for his mistakes, and I meant it.
FELICIA
24
I kept waiting and waiting for Shane to come home. I wasn't sure what had gone down between him and Stephon, but I was even more nervous than before. I kept peeking out of the windows, and every time I heard a door slam, I'd run to it. Since Shane had moved to his new place, I didn't think Stephon knew where he lived, so I was a bit relieved. All I could do was sit around and watch TV, while biting my nails.
Finally, when I heard the door unlock, I was sitting in Shane's hearth room, watching the news. I quickly stood up, and he came into the room to join me.
“I see you've been to the hospital,” I said.
“Uh-huh,” he said, unbuttoning his shirt. He removed it and laid it across the chaise. He then unbuttoned the top button on his jeans and sat down to remove his shoes. Once he got comfortable, he sat back and placed his hands behind his head.
“Anything good on cable?” he asked.
“I'm not sure. I've been watching the news.”
“Toss me the remote.”
I tossed it to him, and he caught it. “Are you going to tell me what happened or not? You know I'm dying to know.”
He flipped through the channels. “I don't want to talk about it, Felicia. The least you know, the better.” He paused and changed the subject. “Did anybody call?”
“How would I know? You told me not to answer your phone.”
“That doesn't mean that you didn't look at the caller ID.”
I smiled. “Your mother called, somebody from the Mayor's Group and Bradstone Broadcasting called, Amber Watson, Jaylin Rogers, and three other names I didn't recognize. One a female.”
“What time did my moms call?”
“She called early this morning, right after you left.”
“Jaylin?”
“He called about an hour ago.”
“Thanks.”
“You're welcome. Sooo, have you eaten anything? If you haven't, I can go in the kitchen and whip us up a li'l somethin' somethin'.”
“That's fine, whatever.”
I stood up. “I know you're tired. But do you think that you can take me to my house later on so I can get some clothes? This shirt and sweatpants aren't working for me.”
“They look all right to me.”
“Please,” I said, raising his big shirt. “Do you see this rubber band I had to tie on the side of these sweats to hold them up?”
Shane looked at my bare midriff and tied-up sweats. He snickered. “I'll take you tomorrow. I'm in for the night. Besides, I have to return some after-hour phone calls to my clients.”
He went into his office, and I headed for the kitchen. I'd already skimmed through his cabinets and fridge earlier to see what he had to eat. It wasn't much, but the thawed chicken had to do. I saw a can of creamy corn and worked my magic.
I spent the next hour or so preparing dinner. Once I was finished, I took Shane's plate into his office, where he was. He was working on a design, but when I placed the food on his desk, he stopped. He looked at the seasoned baked chicken, buttered rolls, and creamy corn to go with it.
“It smells good. I appreciate it,” he said.
“Do you mind if I join you?” I said.
“I'd rather be alone.”
I left his office and closed the door behind me.
Leaving him in peace, I ate my dinner in the kitchen. Once I was finished, he still was in his office, so I went back to the guest room and got ready for bed. I took off the oversized sweats and left on the shirt. I lay in bed for about an hour but tossed and turned. When I heard Shane go into his room, I waited for a while and then got out of bed. I grabbed my pillow, and since his door was shut, I knocked.
“What?” he said sharply.
“Can I come in?”
“For what?”
“Be ... because I can't sleep. I don't want to be by myself.”
He didn't say anything, so I opened the door. The room was dark, but soon he touched the lamp on his nightstand and it came on.
I searched his nearly bare body from head to toe. The only thing that prevented me from seeing what I wanted to see was his navy blue jockey shorts. I noticed his glassy red eyes.
“Were you sleeping, or have you been crying?”
“Neither.”
“Well, why are your eyes so red?”
He didn't answer. He got off the bed and went over to the small sofa near the window to lie down.
“You can have the bed. Please don't ask me any more questions, and don't forget to turn off the light.”
I climbed in his comfortable bed and turned off the light. I lay on my back for a minute, staring at the ceiling. Moments later, I placed a fluffy pillow between my legs and turned to my side.
“Have you talked to Scorpio today?” I asked.
“What did I just tell you?”
“I know what you said, but I'm bored. Besides, it's good to get things off your chest.”
He hesitated. “Yes, Felicia. I talked to Scorpio today.”
“What did she say?”
“None of your business.”
“It is my business if you're in the dark, crying over her.”
“I told you I wasn't crying. I was just thinking.”
“Thinking doesn't make your eyes water and turn red.”
“Yeah, but a lack of sleep does. Now, please be quiet so I can get some sleep.”
I waited for about five more minutes and then spoke again. “Last night, she told me to tell you to go to hell. I forgot to tell you.”
“Good. I guess that sums up what she told me today.”
I sat up, wanting to celebrate the good news. “Did y'all break up?”
He hesitated again. “If that's what you want to call it, then I guess we did.”
“Did she call it off or did you?”
“What damn difference does it make? Listen, if you keep on bugging me, I'm going to leave you in here conversing with yourself. I had a long day, and I need to get some rest. Please be quiet.”
Because I didn't want to upset Shane any more, for the rest of the night I kept quiet. Actually, he was the one who interrupted my sleep. He complained about his body being sore, he got up to take a shower, and then he had the nerve to turn on the TV. I got a little rest, but it was obvious that he didn't get any.
By morning, Shane was up and out. I didn't know where he'd gone, and when I called his cell phone to see where he was, he didn't answer. I took a quick shower and found another pair of sweatpants and a shirt in his closet to put on. As I was getting dressed, he came through the door. He had some donuts and coffee in his hands and handed them over to me.
“Drink up so we can go,” he said. His phone rang, and since I was sitting near it, he asked me to look and see who it was.
“It's Jaylin. Do you want me to answer?”
“Nope,” he said.
“Why not?”
He ignored me and left his room with the donuts. I followed behind him.
“Can I have one?” I asked.
He tossed the donut bag over his head, and I caught it. I opened the bag and took out a glazed, round donut. Afterward, I sat on his couch and crossed my legs yoga style.
“So, where are we on our way to?” I said, biting into my donut.
“To your house,” he said, sitting across from me.
“And after that?”
“I need to stop at the pharmacy to get my pain medicine, stop at the grocery store to get my mother a few items, and then get back here so I can do some work.”
“I ... I hope I'm not a bother. Maybe by next week I'll feel comfortable going home, but just not right now. Stephon scares the hell out of me. Had I known he was that messed up in the headâ”
“Well, now you know. You can't stay here forever, Felicia, so you need to go get a restraining order against him. That way, if he comes near you, you can have him arrested.”
“Did he say that he was going to hurt me yesterday?”
“If he did this to me, what he will do to you might be more severe.”
“I can't understand how you got so banged up like that. You're much bigger and stronger than he is, and don't you have a black belt in karate? I would've put my money on you any day of the week.”
Shane looked as if he were in a daze. “He caught me tripping, Felicia. Motherfucka straight up caught me tripping.”
He downed his coffee, and so did I. I ate one more donut, and we left.
The day was enjoyable. I gathered a week's worth of clothing from my house, and then we stopped by Shane's mother's place. When we dated before, I had the opportunity to meet her then. He didn't take a woman home to meet his mama unless he really cared for her. That was how I knew how much he loved me, but I was the one who messed up a good thingâall for the power of a bigger dick. If I had known things would've turned out as they had, I sure as hell wouldn't have ever let him go. It wasn't as if he didn't know how to work me, because he always worked me good. And as for the size of his dick, it wasn't no Jaylin-sized dick, but it was long and thick enough for me to say, “A job well done.” I was just too excited about getting with a man like Jaylin, who could give me multiple orgasms within a short period of time, and he had mega money. Stupid me, I guess. And as for Shane, I'd be willing to turn back the hands of time any day.
As we drove off in his Lexus, Shane's mother waved good-bye to us. She was so nice to me, and I couldn't help but keep smiling.
“I don't know what you're smiling so much for,” Shane said.
“Because your mother likes me, that's why. I know she wishes I would've been her daughter-in-law.”
“Shit.” He laughed. “My mother does not like you, Felicia. As a matter of fact, she can't stand you. She was just being nice, that's all.”
I cocked my head back and snapped, “Are you crazy? That woman offered to make me some cookies, she invited me over anytime, and when we left, she gave me a warm and motherly love embrace.”
“And that's the same woman who pulled me back into her room, yelled at me for bringing you over to her house, and told me she'd kill me if I started dating you again.”
“Are you serious?”
“Hell, yeah, I'm serious. My mother hasn't forgotten what you did to me in the past. I'm her baby, Felicia, and when you hurt me, you hurt her.”
“Why did you tell her what happened between us? You ain't have to tell her everything.”
“I told her that my dick wasn't big enough for you. I don't care to repeat what she said about you after that.”
“Oooh, you need to stop,” I said, lightly punching his arm. “You didn't really tell her that, did you? She must think I'm some kind of whore or something.”
“You said it. She didn't.”
I rolled my eyes and looked out of the window. We sat quietly for a moment, and then I asked him about Scorpio.
“The last time I asked, you hadn't taken Scorpio to meet your mother yet. Has she met her yet?”
“Nope. I was getting around to it, but I never found the right time to do it.”
“It's not like your mother lives in Egypt or something. She's only twenty minutes away. Just as we went there today, you could've taken Scorpio to meet her ... if you wanted to.”
He looked away. “Maybe I didn't want to.”
“If you love her likeâ”
He snapped, “I'm not going to spend the day talking about Scorpio. If you want to, I can take you back home.”
“Excuse me,” I said, rolling my head in circles.
When we got back to Shane's place, things calmed down. He went back to work in his office, and I was back in the kitchen, cooking. Every time the phone rang, he asked me who it was. After I told him, he never took one call. Not even from Jaylin. I couldn't believe Shane wasn't answering his calls. Something must have gone down between them. Surprisingly, Scorpio hadn't call. I was so sure she was missing what was between his legs, but it wasn't easy for her to find someone else to fill her void. Yes, her not calling was a bit surprising to me, but I was also surprised by the other females who called Shane's house. What in the hell was up with that? I thought his skeeza had him tamed, but evidentially, I was wrong. I wondered what Scorpio said when she was here and his other women called, especially during the middle of the night.
Shane and I stayed up late, eating, playing Scrabble, and talking. Before he called it a night, it was almost midnight. I knew he was tired from all the yawning he'd been doing, and I suggested giving his bed back to him so he could rest.
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