Who Do I Run To? (24 page)

Chapter Twenty
-Seven

K.P. was asleep on the sofa, and he heard a tap on the front door. He got up and walked to the door and looked through peephole. It was the same dude he had saw earlier that day. He looked down at his watch. It was after midnight, and he was wondering why the man was tapping on Janiece’s door at that hour. He opened the door and the shocked look on Isaiah’s face told K.P. that he didn’t expect to see him there.

“Can I help you?”
K.P. asked.

“Sorry
, man, I was looking for Janiece.”

“And you are?”
K.P. asked, standing straight up. They were both about the same height, and although K.P. wasn’t in the military, his body was just as tight as Isaiah’s, but Isaiah wasn’t intimidated by him one bit.

“I’m Isaiah,” he said extending his hand
. K.P. didn’t bother to shake it.

“Well
, I’m K.P., Janiece’s fiancé; she’s not here right now.”

“Okay, can you tell her that I stopped by?”

“Sorry, man, I won’t be able to do that. I don’t know if she told you, but she and I are back together, and it would be better if you didn’t come by anymore,” K.P. said and gave him a look to let him know that he should back the fuck off.

“Well
, you don’t have to let her know I stopped by, and until she tells me it will be better for me not to stop by, that’s when I won’t be stopping by anymore,” Isaiah retorted. He had no clue that K.P. was there, because when he pulled up his truck wasn’t there. He debated whether he should go over or not, and now he wished he had not.

“Look
, man, I know you been hanging out with Janiece, because we were going through some things, but we’re working our things out, and it would be better if you would leave my woman alone. I read the little note you left hanging on our door, and I understand that Janiece has shared some things with you, but I’m telling you to back off and leave Janiece alone,” K.P. said sternly. He didn’t want to have to take their conversation to the next level. Janiece and Kimberly already had a fight early, and if he and Isaiah had to scrap in that little-ass hallway, so be it.

“Oh
, so you’re divorced now?” Isaiah asked, and K.P. stepped out the door.

“Man
, you don’t know me, and you don’t know shit about my situation, so you need to tend to your own business and leave my woman alone. She is not interested in you and all this shit you trying to put in her head about moving on and starting fresh. That’s just what she’s going to do, but with me …, partner,” K.P. said, and Isaiah didn’t back down.

“Look
, K.P., I ain’t putting nothing in your woman’s head. She’s an intelligent woman, and evidently you didn’t realize what you had. If you did, you would not have kept her on the side for over five years. Trust me, I didn’t have to spit too much game to have her calling out my name, playa,” Isaiah said, and before K.P. could catch himself, he punched Isaiah in the mouth. Isaiah swung back quickly, but he didn’t hit K.P. as hard as he wanted to.

They were tussling
until Janiece yelled from the door for them to stop. She had come home and heard them thumping in the hall. She ran to see what was going on, and K.P. and Isaiah both were wrestling.

“
K.P., stop it! Stop it! Let him go!” she yelled, and he backed up. He and Isaiah were breathing hard. Now she stood between them.

“Jai
, tell him that y’all are done and not to come by here ever again,” K.P. demanded. Janiece was shaking. She wanted to touch Isaiah’s lip and wipe the blood away.

“Isaiah, I’m sorry,” she said
. He straightened his shirt and walked back into his sister’s condo. He didn’t say one word to her.

“
K.P., what the hell is going on?” she demanded. She was scared, because she had no idea what had happened. He walked away and went over to her liquor cart and poured himself a scotch. Quickly swallowing it, he poured another.

“Jai
, you stay the fuck away from that cat! Do you hear me!” he yelled, and he scared Janiece.

“
K.P., what happened? Tell me what’s going on. How did you end up in the hall fighting with Isaiah?” she asked. She wanted to know how it all started. She wanted to go and check on Isaiah, but she knew K.P. wouldn’t have let her out the door.

“That motherfucker got the nerve to talk to me about how he fucked you
, Jai. He doesn’t know who the fuck he dealing with. I didn’t need to hear that shit from him, and I’m telling you, Jai, you betta stay away from him, do you understand!” he yelled and hit the wall. Janiece stood there too scared to move. She hated what she had done; she hated that she had caused this much drama for Isaiah. She wanted so bad to check on him.

She went into her bedroom to undress
, but K.P. was so fired up he was walking around like he was going to explode.

“
K.P., baby, sit down, please, and calm your nerves, baby. You’re making me nervous,” she said, pulling her nightgown over her head.

“Why are you nervous
, Jai? You think I’m going to do something to you?” he said getting in her face. “You think I’m gon’ hurt you for fucking that cat, huh!” he snapped, and Janiece jumped. He realized that he needed to calm down. He looked at her and at the bruise that she had on her cheek and thought about all the drama and bullshit he had put her through, and now he was mad because after all those years, she fucked one dude. He calmed himself and apologized to her.

“Jai, I’m sorry
, baby. Forgive me for yelling at you. You’re the best thing that ever happened to me. And I can’t stand the fact that he touched your body, and then gon’ stand in my face and brag about it like you were his woman. I lost my mind, okay? Please forgive me, baby,” he said and held her close. “Jai, let’s go. Let’s fly to Las Vegas tomorrow and buy a house and start over.”

“
K.P., you’re still married,” she reminded him.

“I know
, and I’ll just have to commute back and forth ’til it’s final, but we just have to leave this place. I don’t want to be surrounded by all of this drama and negativity. I want us to be away from everything.”

“Baby
, we can’t run away from our problems. That isn’t going to make them go away.”

“Well
, let’s just take a vacation, wherever you want to go. I can call the travel agent in the morning. Just say you want to get away with me,” he pleaded, and she agreed that they should. She figured if she left for a few days, maybe by the time she returned Isaiah would be gone and she wouldn’t have to go through the motions with him.

“Yes, let’s take a trip. Let’s go away. We need to get away and be alone,” she said.

“Good. I’ll call my travel agent in the morning, and we will go wherever, just to get out of Chicago, okay, baby?”

“Okay,” she said
, and they kissed. He rubbed her back, and his dick started to swell. He pulled her closer to him. Janiece knew he was horny and wanted her, but she wasn’t quite free from her “visitor,” Aunt Flow, so she pulled his boxers down and kneeled on the floor. She stroked him gently, and then took him inside of her mouth. The warmth of her mouth made him moan. He rubbed the back of her head while she teased his dick with her tongue. Then she played with his balls while she made circular motions with her tongue around the head.

She paused for a second
, and he went over to her bed. He lay back and rested on his elbows so he could watch as she sucked him like a porn star. He had ten inches of thick steel, and Janiece was a pro at pleasing him with her dick-sucking skills. Now she stood and removed her gown, exposing her erect nipples, and that turned him on more.

She spit on the tip and then rubbed his dick in the center of her breast. He reached and squeezed on one of her nipples while she rubbed his dick over the other
nipple. After a few moments of playing around her breasts, she put her mouth back on it. He was ready to climax, and when he gave her the signal, she jerked him and let his hot juice squirt all over her breasts.

K.P.
was out of breath by the time she was done. Janiece got up and went into the bathroom to clean herself up, and when she came back, she took the hot towel and wiped him down. After that, they climbed into bed, and he pulled her close to him and silently vowed to never let her go. There would never be an opportunity for another man to slip inside of his woman. She was too fine, too intelligent, and too good for him to lose.

As
K.P. thought about Isaiah and cringed, he prayed that he’d never come across that cat again, because he was liable to kick his ass. He definitely had to get Janiece away from that cat because he could give K.P. a little competition. They were built the same, had the same complexion and the brotha looked like he could dress. K.P. didn’t want him around persuading Janiece to do anything else. That slick bastard was trying to snatch Janiece from K.P., and K.P. vowed that that shit wasn’t going to happen.

The sooner he got Janiece out of Chicago the better. He didn’t want to go
out every day wondering if Isaiah was somewhere lurking around her place. He already knew that Janiece had feelings for him, and he wasn’t going to lose her, not after all they had been through and how close he was to marrying her. Isaiah was messing with the wrong man’s woman, and K.P. was going to make sure he didn’t go anywhere near Janiece ever again.

Chapter Twenty
-Eight

Janiece set her alarm for 6
a.m
. to make sure she got up to call into work. First, she went to the bathroom, and then she went into the kitchen to get a drink of juice. As she did so, she looked out and saw Isaiah getting out of his car. What was he doing up so early she wondered, and then she thought about his sleep still being off. She wanted so badly to open the door and say something to him, but she knew if K.P. caught her talking to him it would have been hell.

She stood there watching him for a moment
until she was unable to see him any longer, then she finished her apple juice and went back to bed. She tried to go back to sleep, but her mind wouldn’t rest. Thoughts of Isaiah flooded her mind. She got back up and got her cell phone out of her purse. Then she went into the bathroom and sent him a text message. When she hit the
OK
button to send the message, she looked up and noticed herself in the mirror.

The bruise on her face was a
n ugly, darker shade and she got pissed all over again. When she touched it, it still had a sting—Crazy-ass nut,” she said to herself. She was getting ready to walk out of the bathroom when her phone went off. She hurried to silent the ring tone, because she didn’t want to wake K.P..

It was Isaiah responding to her text. She said that she was sorry for the previous night
’s events. His response was, “Janiece, I need to see you,” and she responded back to him saying, “I can’t because K.P. is here,” and he texted her back asking if she could get out and meet him somewhere. She stood there with her mind racing. She wanted to go and meet him, but she had no idea what she was going to say to K.P. to get out, plus her tire was on a flat and she would have to use K.P.’s truck again.

She text
ed him back telling him she needed time to figure out how she was going to be able to meet him. His response was, “No matter what time, I’ll wait for you because I gotta see you.” She closed her phone, put it into her purse, and walked away, but hurried back to make sure it was on vibrate, just in case.

When she went back into the bedroom she was relieved to see
K.P. still asleep. She climbed back into bed trying to come up with a plan to get out and see Isaiah. She couldn’t come up with anything. She wasn’t used to lying to K.P., and she wasn’t really comfortable with the idea of starting to lie to him. She now knew what K.P. went through to get out of the house. She had a little more insight on how he used to tell her that “he would try,” because she had to try now to come up with something that wouldn’t make her look suspicious, and then, bam, it hit her.

She got up and grabbed her jeans off the chaise and her sweatshirt she had on the night before. S
ilently, she went into the bathroom and brushed her teeth and washed her face. She combed her hair down, making sure she covered the bruise on her left cheek. After applying a little lip gloss, she went back into the bedroom.

“
K.P.,” she whispered and shook him a little. He opened his eyes and said, “What is it, baby?”

“I need to run down to Walgreen’s and get a box of tampons. I
’ll be right back.”

“You driving the truck?” he asked sounding groggy.

“No, I’m gonna walk,” she said so she could be by herself for a little while.

“You sure
? It’s probably cool this morning, babe,” he said turning over on his stomach.

“Yeah
, don’t worry, I’ll be back shortly.”

“Okay,” he said and fell right back
asleep. She jetted out the door and called Isaiah as soon as she was out of window sight. He picked up on the first ring it seemed.

“Hello
, Janiece,” he said in his sexy voice.

“Hey
, can you meet me at Walgreen’s?”

“I’m on my way,” he
replied and turned his car around. He saw her walking and pulled over for her to get in. She climbed in, and he pulled off. He drove down 95th Street, passing up Walgreen’s. Janiece didn’t want to go too far because she didn’t have a lot of time. He pulled up into a parking lot and turned off the car. She looked so beautiful to him, and he was looking like a box of yummy chocolates to her. Her heart was thumping so hard she thought he could feel the vibration.

“It’s good to see you,” he told her.

“It’s good to see you too,” she said to him, and they were looking at each other not quite sure what to say next.

“Look
, Isaiah, I am really sorry—”

“Hey
, don’t worry about it. It’s not your fault. He’s starting to realize how good of a woman you are, and if I were him, I’d done the same.”

“Isaiah
, I should have never gotten involved with you, because now, I can’t stop thinking of you and I miss …” she tried to say but he kissed her. It sent tingles through her body, and she knew she should have stopped him, but she was too weak to break loose. He grabbed her face, causing her to cringe because of the sting.

“What’s wrong?” he asked and saw the bruise
. Did that asshole hit you, Janiece?” he asked assuming the worst, and that angered him.

“No, Isaiah
, nothing like that. K.P. loves me. He would never hit me,” she said defending him. K.P. was a pistol, but Janiece felt safe with him and he’d never physically abused her.

“Then what happened to your face?” he asked
, wanting the truth.

“I had a little altercation with his wife, but that
’s another story, and I don’t have that long.”

“Damn, I’m sorry,” he said touching her face gently.

“I’m cool. You should see her nose,” Janiece said with a chuckle.

“Look
, I know you’re going to be with K.P.. I don’t see you leaving him any time soon. I hate that, but I know you love this dude, but at the same time, Janiece, I want you, and I miss you like crazy, girl, and it’s killing me not being able to see you.”

“I know
, Isaiah, but I don’t know what to do. I love him, yes, but there is something about you that I can’t let go. I think of you all the time, and I do miss spending time with you.”

“Well
, I only have a little over a week left here. I’m going back to Texas next week, Wednesday, so can you manage to squeeze me in sometime between now and then?”

“Isaiah
, I don’t know. K.P. is trying to take me out of town for a few days.”

“
Where?”

“I’m not sure. He
’ll be calling his travel agent today, and then I’ll know.”

“Well
, for how long?”

“I don’t know
that.”

“Janiece
, you can’t. Tell him it’s not a good time that you can’t take off work. Just don’t leave. I don’t have much time left.”

“Isaiah
, how? I don’t know how to lie to him. K.P. is smart, and he is not just gon’ go for that. I agreed to go last night, and if I back out now, he’s gonna be suspicious.”

“Well
, he doesn’t know I’m going back to Texas, so if you go and I’m gone when you come back, can you get away to come to Texas?”

“You want me to visit you in Texas
?” she asked him in astonishment.

“Yes, I
’ll buy your ticket. Just say you’ll come,” he asked with determination.

“I think I can do that if you really want me to.”

“Yes, I do,” he said and kissed her again. The kiss turned into a long, passionate kiss, and Janiece knew she had to get back. “Baby,” she said pulling away, “I gotta go, because I still have to run in the store and pick up something.”

“Five more minutes
, Janiece. I promise I won’t let you get into trouble with your man.” Janiece could see a little bruise on the corner of his mouth, and she touched it.

“Are you okay?”

“Yea, boo, I’m a soldier,” he said and smiled. She kissed him again, then reluctantly to break it off, he ran her down to the Walgreen’s. He let her walk back, because she didn’t want to take any chances of K.P. catching her with him. She walked smiling ear to ear because she was glad she had gotten a chance to see Isaiah. Even if it was only for ten minutes, it was worth every moment.

When she turned on her street
, his car was already parked. She tried to hurry past when she saw him sitting in the car. “Now he knows he’s wrong for that,” she said to herself because he got out at the exact same time she walked past.

Isaiah
walked up the steps behind her, whispering things that made her smile, but she was determined to get away from him. He brushed up against her when he passed her to get to his sister’s condo door. She paused and let him get completely in before she opened her door. When she got inside, she was happy to see K.P. still sound asleep. She went into the bathroom and took a shower and was surprised to see her menstrual was done when she removed the spot-free tampon that she had on.

She
quickly checked her cell phone and read the text that was from Isaiah telling her to enjoy the rest of her day. Then she went into her room and crawled back into bed with K.P.. She had on a tank top and panties and when he repositioned himself to hold her, he felt her skin and that gave him an erection. Turning, he grabbed her breast, but she stopped him.

“No
, baby, I’m still on,” she lied because she just went and bought a new box of tampons so she had to play it off.

He didn’t put up a fight
; he just left it alone. They stayed in bed ’til about eleven, and when he got up, he was on the phone with his travel agent to see what was good. He decided they would go to Florida for a few days. Lucky for Janiece, she thought, when K.P. said that they wouldn’t be leaving until the next day. This would give her a chance to see Isaiah again, but where and how she didn’t know.

They planned to go for five days. They were going to come back on Saturday so Janiece could go back to work the following week.
Today, she had to get away from K.P.. At first she thought she’d tell him she was going to get her nails done. She needed to, but she also needed a plan that would give her a few hours with Isaiah.

K.P.
was walking around, chilling, and she was walking around on pins and needles, because she had to see Isaiah before they went to Florida. And how in the hell was she going to be able to visit him in Texas? She wondered. She was already taking this week off from work, and to try to take a few more days off would be impossible.

“Hey
, baby, I’m going to go over to Marc’s to get a few things for our trip tomorrow. Do you want to come with me?” he asked, and she quickly said no. She thought about Isaiah being across the hall, and if K.P. was going to be gone for a couple of hours, she could at least talk to him.

“Naw
, baby, I got to do some things around here myself for our trip tomorrow. Laundry needs to be done, and you know I have to get my hair done early in the morning.”

“Why can’t you get your hair done today?”

“Because there are no salons open on Monday, baby, and I’m gonna need some money because my direct deposit won’t go in ’til Friday.”

“No problem
. I’ll give it to you when I get back. I gotta stop at the cash machine. As a matter of fact, here,” he said going into his wallet and giving her a Visa debit card. “This account has money in it, and you can hold on to this one to get whatever you need. The pin is 7226,” he said handing her the card.

“Baby
, are you sure, because I can wait ’til you give me what I need later,” she said holding the card for him to take back.

“No,
there’s a few hundred in that account. I’m not worried,” he said and kissed her on the forehead. He went into the bedroom, and Janiece sat there looking at the card. She felt funny because K.P. had always given her cash. Never before had he trusted her with a debit card, and then she remembered her tire.

“Oh
, baby, do you think you can fix my tire before tomorrow so I can drive in the morning?” she asked as he walked back into the living room wearing a jersey and sweats.

“Yea, no problem, and Janiece
, baby, you know I trust you, right?”

“Yes,” she said looking at him puzzled.

“I know Isaiah is that dude from across the hall, and I’m trusting that you won’t do anything crazy.”

“
K.P., come on.”

“I
’m just saying, Jai.”

“I know, but don’t worry
, okay? I’m where I wanna be,” she said and touched his face because he was leaning over her.

“I love you
, Jai. Always remember that and I am gonna do right by you.”

“I know
, baby, and I love you too. I have always loved you. That hasn’t changed.”

“Okay, I’ll see
you in a few hours. Call me if you need anything,” he said and kissed her on the cheek. Janiece walked him to the door, and they embraced. She loved him, but something about Isaiah had her head. She watched him pull off and fought the urge to call Isaiah. She put the debit card in her purse and went to pick out the things she was going to pack for their trip to Florida tomorrow.