Chapter Twenty-two
Kylee was sitting in the living room watching reruns of
Diff'rent Strokes
when Eli walked through the door carrying a dozen red roses.
“Awww, are these for me?” Kylee asked, taking them from his hand.
“Who else would they be for?” he asked, smiling.
“They are so pretty,” she replied, before putting them up to her nose to smell them.
“Not as pretty as you,” he said, sitting down next to her and kissing her on the cheek before moving his way down to her neck.
“What's the special occasion?” Kylee asked, scooting over.
“You will never guess,” he said, still smiling.
“Well just tell me,” Kylee said, smiling too.
“Tionna's gon' finally give me a divorce,” he said happily.
“How you manage to get her to do that?” Kylee asked, standing up from the sofa.
“She don't have no choice,” Eli said, standing up as well.
“What you do?” Kylee inquired impatiently while walking into the kitchen to put the flowers in some water.
“Okay, two weeks ago I had my dude, Chico, from Henry Key & Lock, meet me at my house while Tionna was at work so I could get in the house and get some more of my stuff. Then I had my other dude, Omar, who hooks up security systems, come and put a camera in my bedroom,” Eli said while following Kylee into the kitchen.
“What?” Kylee asked, looking around for a camera.
“Ma, I don't have no cameras in here.” Eli laughed.
“I don't know,” she said playfully.
“Anyways, me, Omar, and Chico went back over there this mornin' and unhooked the cameras, took it back to Omar's shop, and watched the CD. And sure enough she was fuckin' somebody in my bed, just like I suspected a long time ago,” Eli said.
“What?” Kylee asked, surprised, knowing the chance of him ever going back to Tionna was over. “Well if you suspected she was cheatin' a long time ago, why you just now decide to put the camera in y'all's room?”
“I was sittin' back waitin' for the right time. There's a right time to do everything. When I met you and fell in love I knew it was the right time.”
Kylee's heart fluttered, hearing Eli say he was in love with her for the first time; she felt the same way.
“I never said anything to her about messin' around because she deserved to be happy. I wasn't givin' her what she wanted, so why rain on her parade?”
“Do you know the nigga she was fuckin'?”
“Yep.”
“Who?” Kylee pried.
“My nigga, Big Ness,” Eli replied, unfazed.
“What the fuck? I thought that was ya boy?” Kylee asked.
“He was; matter of fact, he still is. I ain't mad at him. He could only do what Tionna allowed him to do,” Eli said.
“True,” Kylee agreed. “So what happened next?”
“I went to her job, popped the DVD in her computer, and when the movie popped on she couldn't say nothin'. I had hours of footage; she was caught in the nude,” Eli said, smiling.
“Hell naw.” Kylee smiled.
“That's when I started makin' my demands. I told her I wanted a divorce and shared parentin'. I told her she could have the house, 'cause I bought it for her and Sy'onn. All I want is my clothes, my parents' belongin's, and my two cars and she can have the rest of the shit. I'll start over fresh.”
“And she agreed to it just like that?” Kylee asked.
“Just like that. She had no choice. I told her if I showed that tape to my attorney it would tear her ass up in court, even though I wouldn't do no shit like that. That's too much like snitchin' and I hate a snitch! But I'm gettin' what I want.” Eli smiled.
“Wow, you crucial.”
“Keep that in mind, just in case you try to pull some shady shit.” He winked.
“Whatever.” Kylee laughed.
“I'm just playin',” Eli said, knowing he was serious as a heart attack.
“I'm happy you finally got what you wanted,” Kylee said sincerely.
“I am too. Now all I want to do is celebrate by makin' love to my woman,” Eli said, walking over to Kylee and kissing her on her neck.
“Who said I was your woman? We never put a title on our relationship,” Kylee said, taking a step back.
“Well, would you be my woman, Kylee Ny'Air Hampton?” Eli asked, smiling.
“I don't know, Eli, a relationship is like a full-time job: you know if you apply for the position, you have to be ready to put in the work,” Kylee said.
“I stay ready to work, so gettin' into a relationship wit' you won't be no different,” Eli said.
“Promise me, if we gon' do this we gon' do it right wit' no bullshit,” Kylee said.
“I promise you, ma. I'm ready to take us to the next level; but if I'm gon' work you gon' work too, okay?”
“Oh, I'm gon' put in my share.” Kylee smiled.
“Good, now let me start by workin' on gettin' some of my kitty,” Eli said, taking a step closer to Kylee and pulling her into his space.
“We need to eat dinner,” Kylee said, trying to stop Eli from getting freaky as he sucked on her neck and fondled her breast. It had only been a little over a week since she'd had the abortion and the doctor told her she had to wait at least two weeks before having sex. Even though she wanted it just as bad as Eli she had to protect herself from getting any type of infection. It had been hard trying to keep Eli away from her. She'd been going to bed fully dressed, pretending to be asleep and even complaining of a headache, but all that was starting to get old. Eli was starting to get suspicious.
“I'd rather eat you,” Eli said, as he continued nibbling on her neck while trying to unbutton her shorts.
“Come, on, baby, let's eat before the food gets cold,” she said, trying to push him off of her.
“What the fuck is yo' problem? For the last two weeks every time I try to get some pussy, you push me off you, or pretend like you 'sleep!” Eli snapped. “What, you fuckin' somebody else?”
“No,” she quickly answered.
“Well, you sure haven't been fuckin' me,” he said angrily.
As good as Eli had been to Kylee she knew he deserved the truth, and she was going to give it to him, just not today.
“Look, Eli, I got a yeast infection,” Kylee said.
“A what?” Eli asked, frowning.
“A yeast infection,” she repeated.
“Where did you get that from? You damn sure didn't get it from me,” Eli said defensively.
“All women get yeast infections. You don't get it from anyone.”
“Well how come you didn't just tell me instead of avoidin' me?”
“'Cause I was embarrassed,” Kylee said.
“When did you find out about this yeast infection?” Eli asked.
“I found out about a week and a half ago when I went to the doctor. She said it came from me wearin' thongs,” Kylee lied.
“Well, what you supposed to wear, granny panties?” he joked, easing up on his attitude.
“At least for a couple of months,” Kylee said.
“That's not gon' be sexy.” Eli smiled.
“Whatever. I can make whatever I put on look sexy,” Kylee bragged.
“Well how long it's gon' be before I can get some of that kitty then?”
“At least five more days,” she said, wanting it just as bad as Eli.
“Damn, what am I supposed to do until then?” he asked, unzipping his jeans and pulling his Johnson out of the hole in his boxers.
“I can think of one thing,” Kylee said, dropping down to her knees and placing Eli's manhood in her wet mouth and pleasing her man, just the way he liked.
Chapter Twenty-three
Eli woke up bright and early, feeling like a new man. His woman was finally able to break him off and he had to admit she'd done an excellent job. Eli fixed Kylee breakfast, put it in the microwave, and decided to detail her car for her just to show his appreciation.
“Hey, Mr. Vernon.” Eli smiled and waved as he headed to Kylee's car.
“Hey, Eddie,” Mr. Vernon said, waving back.
“Eli,” Eli corrected.
“Yeah, Eli,” Mr. Vernon replied, forcing a weak smile.
“You a'iiiight?” Eli asked, Mr. Vernon who looked as if he was about to pass out.
“Yeah, I'm good. Just a li'l under the weather that's all. Ain't nothin' a cold Colt 45 can't take care of.”
Eli laughed. “Well I'll bring you one back when I'm done detailin' Kylee's car.”
“Good lookin',” Mr. Vernon said.
Eli got in Kylee's car and pulled off. He was bumpin' Tupac as he sped down the street. All of a sudden her tire felt and sounded like it was about to fall off. Eli pulled over to the side of the street and got out. He looked down at the almost-flat tire and shook his head. He popped the trunk, grabbed the bag with the jack in it, and opened it up.
“What's this?” he asked himself, pulling a piece of paper out and reading it.
Eli couldn't believe what he was reading. He wanted to kill somebody, preferably Kylee.
“An abortion? Ain't this about a bitch?” He frowned angrily.
Eli couldn't wait to get back to the house; he was going to get to the bottom of this. He put the spare tire on, went to the drive-through, and grabbed Mr. Vernon's beer before heading back to the house.
Eli backed up in the driveway at the house, got out of the car, walked across the yard, and knocked on Mr. Vernon's door. There was no answer. He didn't have time to wait, so he put the beer between the door and the screen door and jogged back across the yard.
“Hey, baby, thanks for the breakfast,” Kylee said, smiling, when Eli walked in.
Eli walked in and sat down on the sofa, staring at Kylee for a brief second. He stood up, and shook his head.
“What the fuck wrong wit' you?” she asked.
“Didn't I ask you not to make me regret this?” Eli asked out of nowhere.
“What are you talkin' about?” Kylee frowned, trying to think back to see if she'd done anything she wasn't supposed to. She knew he hadn't found out about her sneaking over to Tony's whenever she'd gotten the chance, because she made sure she only did that while Eli was at work.
“You know what the fuck I'm talkin' about, Kylee,” Eli said, getting angrier by the second.
“Look, I don't know what ya problem is, but you shoulda checked it at
my
front door!” Kylee snapped.
“Fuck you mean
, my,
broad? You don't pay a muthafuckin' thing up in here! Keep talkin'. I'll put yo' ass out,” Eli snapped.
“What the fuck is ya problem, Eli?” Kylee asked desperately.
“You wanna know what my problem is? My problem is yo' lyin' ass killed my seed
. If
it was mines and, yeah, I said
if,
” Eli said, mean mugging Kylee.
Kylee's mouth hit the floor. How in the world did he find out about her getting an abortion? The only people who knew other than her and Ja'Nay were the people at the clinic.
“Close ya mouth,” Eli said smartly. “I can't believe you would do some foul shit like that!”
Kylee had completely forgotten about hiding that paperwork in her trunk. Her intentions were to throw the paper away as soon as she got the chance, but she'd forgotten.
“What the fuck was you doin' goin' through my trunk?” was all she could come up with.
“Bitch, I was changin' ya tire if you really must know!” Eli snapped.
“Bitch?” Kylee asked.
“Yeah, bitch,” Eli repeated.
“Look, you ain't gon' talk to me like you be talkin' to that old ho!”
“You right, I'm not. I'm gon' talk to you like a young ho,” Eli said, pointing his finger in Kylee's face, trying to refrain from putting his paws on her.
Kylee was actually scared. She'd never seen Eli this mad before. She wasn't sure what he might do to her so she decided to leave until he calmed down. She got up from the sofa, grabbed her keys off the ottoman, and headed toward the door.
“Where the fuck you 'bouta go? I ain't done talkin'.” Eli grimaced.
“I'm 'bouta go to my parents' house until you calm down,” Kylee said nervously as her heart raced.
“What you leavin' for? I ain't gon' do nothin' to you, I don't hit women,” Eli assured her.
Kylee still wasn't comfortable with staying, just in case Eli decided to snap.
“I'm just gon' go,” Kylee said, walking toward the door, hoping he would let her leave without any problems.
“Yeah, get the fuck outta my face before I spit on you,” he threatened. Eli would never do anything to physically hurt a woman but he would definitely spit on one.
Kylee didn't respond; she just hurried out to her car, got in, and pulled off as fast as she could.
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After Kylee had left, Eli couldn't take it. He was sitting around thinking about the death of his parents, not being in his only child's life full time, and, on top of all that, his girl killing his unborn child. This was too much. He walked in the kitchen, grabbed Kylee's fifth of Belvedere and began taking it to the head.
By nine o'clock that night, Eli was sloppy drunk. He was sitting on the sofa watching
The Hangover
when there was a knock on the door. He looked over at the clock and attempted to get up off the sofa. After the third try he succeeded.
“'Bout time this bitch came home,” he said as he stumbled to the door with the bottle still in his hand. Eli swung the door open and was surprised to see Ja'Nay standing there.
“Is Kylee here?” Ja'Nay asked.
“Naw,” Eli answered.
“Are you okay?” Ja'Nay asked, eyeing the half-empty bottle while stepping in.
“Yeah, I'm a'iiiight. Are you?” he asked smartly.
“Do you know where Kylee is?” Ja'Nay asked, looking around.
“Hell I don't know. Look, I need to sit down; the room is spinnin',” Eli said, putting the bottle back up to his lips and taking a swig.
“Come on, Eli, let me help you to the sofa,” Ja'Nay said, grabbing Eli by the arm as he swayed back and forth.
“Get off of me! I don't need no help,” he slurred.
“Is everything okay over here?” Ja'Nay asked, concerned.
“Yeah, why wouldn't it be? Naw, it ain't, I ain't even gon' lie. I can't believe Kylee killed my baby,” Eli said, breaking down from the combination of hurt feelings and liquor.
“Come on, Eli,” Ja'Nay said, grabbing his arm again, leading him over to the sofa. This time Eli didn't resist. Ja'Nay helped Eli sit down. She took the bottle from his hand and set it on the floor next to the sofa. “You gon' be okay until Kylee gets home?” Ja'Nay asked.
Eli shook his head yes.
“Okay, well tell her to call me. I'm goin' to spend the night wit' Quann before he turns himself in tomorrow,” Ja'Nay said, standing up.
“Wait, don't leave,” Eli said, grabbing Ja'Nay by the arm. “Just wait a few minutes. Kylee will be back soon.”
Ja'Nay looked at the clock. She had at least an hour before she was supposed to meet Quann, so babysitting Eli for a little while wouldn't hurt.
“What you see in Quann?” Eli looked over and asked Ja'Nay, seeing two of her.
“I don't know. He's nice when he wanna be,” Ja'Nay answered.
“Kylee said he be doggin' you. Why you fuck wit' a nigga who don't respect you?” Eli asked.
Ja'Nay was feeling some type of way about Kylee telling Eli her business. “He don't be doggin' me,” Ja'Nay lied.
“Fuckin' any- and everybody ain't doggin' you?” Eli asked.
“What?” Ja'Nay frowned.
“Look, don't tell Kylee I told you that. I wasn't supposed to say shit,” Eli said.
“I won't,” Ja'Nay said. She couldn't wait to cuss Kylee out for telling Eli her business.
Eli stared at Ja'Nay for a brief second. “You a pretty girl; stop lettin' niggas dog you, okay?” Eli said as if he were scolding her.
“I will,” she said, checking Eli out.
“You promise?” Eli asked.
“I promise.” Ja'Nay smiled.
“You look nice in ya little mini skirt,” Eli said, reaching over tugging at Ja'Nay's skirt.
“Thank you,” Ja'Nay said.
Eli kept stopping in midsentence and staring over at Ja'Nay.
“You know Kylee had an abortion?” he asked, hurt.
“Yeah, I know,” Ja'Nay answered, considering it payback for her telling him all her business.
“Wow, that's fucked up. She killed my seed,” Eli said, shaking his head. “Then gon' try to tell me we couldn't fuck 'cause she had a yeast infection. Naw, we couldn't fuck 'cause you had a muthafuckin' abortion!” The thought made Eli angry all over again.
Ja'Nay didn't respond.
“Would you ever kill Quann's child?”
“Naw, I don't believe in abortions,” Ja'Nay answered.
“That's what I'm talkin' about,” Eli said, laying his hand on Ja'Nay's leg.
Ja'Nay knew Eli was drunk and out of line for touching her, but she didn't make him move his hand.
“I don't know why Kylee killed my baby. That's real fucked up. She knows I lost both parents, I barely get to see my only child; then she just gon' take this chance away from me and I don't know why,” he said, breaking down again.
“Don't cry,” Ja'Nay said, reaching over and comforting Eli with a hug. Eli laid his head on Ja'Nay's shoulder and cried.
“I'm sorry,” he said, lifting his head up while staring in Ja'Nay's eyes.
“It's okay,” Ja'Nay said. Eli was close enough to Ja'Nay's face for her to smell the liquor coming off his breath.
“Look at me, I'm a mess,” Eli said, wiping his hands down his face as if that was going to sober him up.
“You good,” Ja'Nay said.
“Are you sure?”
Ja'Nay shook her head yes, and before she saw it coming, Eli had leaned in and begun kissing her lips. She knew she was dead wrong and should have pushed him off of her, but something inside of her just wouldn't let her.
Eli's hand ventured up her leg and into her panty-less crotch. Ja'Nay threw her head back as Eli finger fucked her using two fingers.
“Ummmm,” she moaned as she pushed up against Eli's fingers.
Eli quickly unzipped his pants and pulled his Johnson out. Ja'Nay sized it up and instantly understood why Kylee was so crazy about this nigga. She pulled her skirt up, threw her leg over his, and slid her dripping wet cave down on his dick and began riding him. She wanted to feel what Kylee was always bragging about. Something must have snapped in Eli's head, because without warning, he shoved Ja'Nay off of him and jumped up.
“Get the fuck out!” he yelled, as if what just happened between them was all Ja'Nay's fault.
Ja'Nay pulled her skirt down without opening her mouth. She couldn't believe what she'd just done. She couldn't even look at Eli. Part of her felt horrible at betraying her best friend, but another part of her felt justified for all the shit Kylee was always talking. True enough Kylee didn't know her and Eli had just fucked, but Ja'Nay knowing gave her a weird sense of satisfaction. She was torn as she hung her head and walked out the door, wondering if Eli was going to tell Kylee.