You're My Little Secret 2 (14 page)

KENNEDI

I just made it back home, and I’m exhausted. After spending the entire weekend in New York, I’d found the perfect dress. It was paid in full, and the designer is having it shipped to me two weeks before the wedding. The beading that I want has to be done by hand, and it’s going to take a while. I knew that Dominic would love it, and I could not wait for him to see me in it. Of course, he would have to wait for our wedding day for that. After getting off of the plane, my mother and I took Paris to dinner at a very upscale Italian restaurant. Thanks to the red sauce from my pasta, I have heartburn out of this world. As tired as I am I have to stop at Walgreens before I even attempt to go home. I haven’t seen Dominic all weekend, and I’m missing him like crazy. The plan was to run in and grab some antacids and hurry home to my fiancé. That quickly changed when I saw Brooklyn standing at the pharmacy counter. She was with another girl and surprisingly she was holding DJ. I’m happy because that means that we would have our house to ourselves for a change. I don’t know why, but I just stood there and stared at her for a while taking in her appearance. I know for a fact that I’m not ugly, so looks couldn’t have been the only thing that made Dominic want her. She never looked up to see me, but her friend nudged her and pointed me out. Our eyes met the minute she looked up, but she quickly turned her head when the lady behind the counter handed her something. I was still looking their way, but I was no longer staring at her. I couldn’t get over how much DJ looks like Dominic. It seems like the older he gets, the more it showed.

“Do you have a problem?” Brooklyn’s friend asked startling me. I quickly recognized her as the girl that Tiffany was arguing with in Saks all those months ago. I was so busy staring that I never even saw her approach me.

“Don’t flatter yourself sweetheart. You are really not that much to look at” I replied.

“Maybe I’m not, but obviously my friend is.”

“If you must know, I was looking at my fiancé’s son. I’m shocked that he’s not with my man like he always is,” I admitted.

“I’m trying to give y’all a break, but don’t worry, he’ll be back tomorrow,” Brooklyn smirked as she walked up to us.

“I really don’t mind sweetie. Since the blood test confirmed that Dominic is indeed his father I want him to be in his son’s life,” I blurted. I waited for her to look shocked or upset, but it never came. She turned it around and had me pissed off instead. 

“That’s what’s up. Now we know for sure that he’s entitled to every penny that Robert’s Trucking makes. After all, he’s a Roberts too. With all the money that Dominic is making maybe I need to pop out another one,” she laughed as she walked away.

I know she’s trying to make me think that she and Dominic are still messing around with that last comment, but I didn’t take the bait. I felt like snatching her back and wrapping my hands around her neck. I really hate that bitch and anybody she hung out with. After paying for my medicine, I got in my car and headed home. At least I knew that we were alone for tonight.

“Dominic,” I yelled as soon as I opened the front door. It’s dark, but I hear his music blasting from upstairs. I left my suitcase by the front door and raced up the stairs.

“Baby, I’m home,” I said looking at Dominic. I turned down the music and stared at him. He didn’t seem happy to see me. He never looked up or got out of the bed.

“What’s wrong Dominic?” I asked as my heart beat quickened. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and opened the nightstand drawer. He had thrown an envelope at my feet before he spoke.

“The first time you lie to me about anything I ask I’m done with you and I put that on my son,” he spoke calmly. I got so nervous that my hands started to shake, and my chest tightened up.

“What’s going on?”

“Pick up the envelope,” he instructed. I bent down and did as I was told.  Tears started to cloud my vision as soon as I looked inside.

“Baby, just let me explain,” I offered.

“You don’t have shit to explain. Your daddy already told me everything I need to know. The wedding is paid for, but that’s not the issue here.”

“Well, what is the issue?” I asked even though I already knew.

“Don’t play dumb Kennedi. It’s really not a good look on you. What happened to all of the money that I gave you to go towards this wedding?”

“I still have all of it baby. I didn’t know that they were paying for the wedding until a few months ago. I’ve just been putting the money you gave me into my savings just in case we needed anything at the last minute.” That was partially true. I knew from the beginning that my parents were paying for the wedding. I also still had all of the money that Dominic had given me to go towards it. I opened up a special savings account just to keep it in. I just assumed that I would have it to use for afterward. As much as I shop it wouldn’t have lasted very long anyway.

“That’s good to know. So when your bank opens up in the morning, you need to get a cashier’s check and have it ready by the time I get home.”

“Okay,” I said breathing a sigh of relief. I really thought that he was about to leave me. I’ve never begged anyone before in my life, but I would have gladly done it today.

“You can try to be money hungry like your mama if you want to. You gon’ end up alone just like her,” he said before walking out of the room. I heard the front door slam, and I immediately grabbed my phone to call my father. When I got his voice mail, I hung up without leaving a message. I’m going to the bank in the morning to deposit the check that he’s given me and withdraw Dominic’s money. I want to meet with my father afterward and give him a piece of my mind.

****

I woke up bright and early the next morning, but Dominic was already gone. He didn’t get in until late last night, and he ended up sleeping on the sofa. I’d finally spoken to my father, and we are having lunch later on today. After crying to my mother for several hours last night, she was just as upset as I was. I told her that I planned to meet up with my father today, and she insisted on joining me. I love my father, but his meddling almost cost me my man. To me, that is unforgivable. After getting dressed, I went straight to the bank and handled my business. I made sure to send Dominic a text letting him know that his money would be home waiting for him. A sum as small as fifty-four thousand dollars wasn’t worth losing him, especially since there is much more where that came from. I don’t have to meet my father until noon so I decided to go to the office and talk to Tiffany for a while. I got her a gift when I was in New York, and I wanted to give it to her.

“Thanks for my perfume,” Tiffany said smiling at me.

“You’re welcome. I wish you could have been there with us. I know we would have had fun,” I replied.

“Girl, my mama was driving me crazy. She barely comes around, but she causes trouble whenever she does,” she complained. Tiffany’s mother is a recovering alcoholic. Actually, she’s just an alcoholic. She stopped getting help years ago. My mother’s oldest brother, Thomas, tried to help his wife for many years. When he saw that she didn’t want help, he divorced her and remarried. Since Tiffany hates her mother so much, she moved out with her father and never looked back.

“I know the feeling. My daddy has pissed me off for the last time,” I fussed.

“I know that you’re mad Kennedi, but you really should think about it some more. My daddy told me about what happened.”

“That’s a done deal. I’m meeting with him today to let him know how I feel, but what’s been up with you?” I asked changing the subject.

“Did I tell you that I met up and had a talk with Bryce a few months ago?”

“No, how did that go?” I asked.

“I knew that it wouldn’t go well, but I wanted to see him anyway. Of course, I had my reasons for seeing him. I made Kyle take a picture of us hugging, and I sent it to Taylor,” she said laughing.

“Are you serious? I thought he and Kyle were friends. Why would he want to do that and what was the point?” I inquired.

“Girl, it’s a long story, but they’re not friends anymore. He was happy to help, and the point is payback for how he treated me.”

“I still don’t understand what made Kyle stoop so low to help you do something like that,” I said.

“Now, don’t be looking at me sideways and don’t judge me,” she instructed.

“Just spill it Tiffany,” I impatiently demanded.

“Girl, I’ve been messing with Kyle and the sex is off the chain,” she said blushing.

“Ewe, he looks kind of dirty to me. I would have never put you and him together,” I criticized.

“And I would have never put Dominic with Brooklyn, but it happened,” she snarled.

“Wow, I see we’re hitting below the belt today. I think I need to get out of here before I say something to hurt your feelings,” I said. I only have a little while left before I had to meet with my father, so I headed to the restaurant early and got a table. Dominic never replied to my earlier text, so I sent him another one. After a few minutes, he replied with “alright” and that was it. I sat at the table and played with my phone until my father arrived. He was all smiles when he sat down, but not for long.

“How are you baby?” He asked sounding cheerful.

“Honestly, I’m kind of upset,” I said getting right to the point. My mother was late as usual, so I started the show without her.

“What are you upset about?” He inquired.

“Who gave you permission to tell Dominic about who’s paying for our wedding?”

“Kennedi, I’m a grown man. I don’t need permission for anything. The conversation didn’t go like you think it did,” he replied. Just as I was about to reply, my mother came walking over to us.

“You just can’t stay in your place can you Richard,” she smirked as soon as she sat down.

“I should have known that you had your hand in all of this. Misery loves company,” my father shot at her.

“Look, I’m not hungry and I have better things to do besides look in your face. So, with that being said, we’re just here to inform you that your presence at Kennedi’s wedding is no longer needed. My brother Thomas has agreed to walk her down the aisle in your absence,” my mother stated. The look on my father’s face was priceless. It was a mixture of shock and disappointment all in one.

“You have got to be fucking kidding me! I’ve put up over fifty thousand dollars on this wedding, and you’re telling me that I can’t come,” he said incredulously.

“That’s exactly what we’re saying,” my mother replied.

“And you feel this way too Kennedi?” He asked while looking at me.

“You don’t need to answer him Kennedi. The decision has been made. Maybe you can find a man desperate enough to marry your other daughter, and you can walk her down the aisle. I seriously doubt it, but it’s not impossible,” she replied before standing to her feet and walking away.

“Don’t do this to me Kennedi. You’re my oldest daughter and I’ve been dreaming about this day since you were born,” my father pleaded through teary eyes.

“I’m sorry, but I’m done talking,” I replied.

“You are just like your mother in every way. I don’t blame Dominic for cheating on your stubborn ass,” he vented. I looked at him in shock, wondering how he knew about that.

“Yeah, and you forgot to mention the baby too. I saw the mother, and I can see why he did it. It’s only a matter of time before he leaves you just like I left your mother,” he spat before he got up from the table and walked away. His words hurt, but I refused to cry. My plan was only to come here and give him a piece of my mind. It was my mother who took things a step further. After the way he’d just talk to me, I was happy that she did.

BROOKLYN

I was so pissed when I ran into Kennedi at the store. I played it off, but my feelings were truly hurt. Dominic was my first and only sex partner. To know that he questioned the paternity of my baby really did something to me. I didn’t even answer the phone when he called me last night, but he popped up anyway. I faked like I was sick, so he played with DJ while I stayed in my room. When he picked me and DJ up this morning, I really didn’t have much to say. I was too upset to confront him last night, but I planned to give him the business as soon as he dropped DJ off tonight. I already told Bryce that I wanted to start catching a ride with him in the mornings. Mrs. Liz said that she would pick DJ up for me if I needed her to. I was done with Dominic, and I couldn’t wait to let him know. He’s been looking to buy me a car, but I didn’t want anything from his ass. Aside from our son, we didn’t have anything else to discuss. He and his family love DJ to death so I would never keep him away from them, but I didn’t want to see him if I didn’t have to. Candace and Co-Co told me that it wasn’t that serious, but it was very serious to me. I would have respected him more if he had told me how he felt from the start. To hear it from his fiancé, at Walgreens of all places, was an insult.

I’d just finished making my baby’s bottles when I heard him coming through the front door. He walked into the kitchen holding DJ, who was sleeping peacefully in his car seat.

“What’s up baby?” He asked as he tried to give me a kiss. I turned my head and walked off into the living room. After a few minutes, he came from the back of the house and sat down on the sofa next to me. He put my feet up on his lap, but I pulled away.

“We need to talk,” I said turning to face him.

“Yeah, we really do. What’s up with the attitude all of a sudden?” He asked.

“If you had doubts about DJ being yours why didn’t you tell me? And why did I have to hear from your fiancé that you had a blood test done on my baby?” I questioned. He looked like he was surprised by what I’d just said.

“It wasn’t even like that Brook. I never had any doubts about my baby,” he admitted. “I didn’t even want to have the test done.”

“I had a feeling it was Kennedi’s idea and that only makes the shit worse. If you didn’t want to do it, you should have said no. You make me think you had doubts just like she did.”

“Brooklyn, I know without a doubt that I was your first. I never had doubts about anything. I was just trying to keep the peace at home,” he replied.

“Well, let me make it easier for you. I don’t want to do this anymore Dominic. It was going to end anyway so let’s just end it now. I can’t even trust you to keep shit real with me. If Kennedi hadn’t said anything, you never would have told me. After today, if we’re not discussing DJ then we don’t have anything else to discuss,” I said sternly.

“Don’t do this Brooklyn. You’re reading more into this than you should. I knew from the start that he was mine, I just had to prove it to her,” he said.

“That’s cool. I’m happy that all doubts are removed. I don’t have any hard feelings,” I replied honestly.

“Yes you do!” He yelled. “If you didn’t you wouldn’t be sitting here telling me that it’s over.”

“Dominic you’re about to be a married man in six months. Whatever we had was bound to end anyway.”

“Brooklyn please, I’m begging you not to do this,” he said as his eyes filled with tears.

“Did you hear anything that I just said? How long did you expect me to keep being your side bitch? I’m holding myself back from moving on, and you’re about to have a wife.”

“So that’s what all of this is about?” He said as he jumped up from the sofa. “You’re trying to be with somebody else?”

“It’s not just about me being with somebody else, but eventually that’s going to happen,” I answered truthfully.

“So what about my baby Brooklyn?” He asked sounding pitiful.

“What about him Dominic? You know I’ll never keep you away from DJ. You can get him whenever you want to just like always. Bryce is going to start taking me to school though.”

“So you’ve been planning on doing this? Don’t make it seem like it’s because of the blood test. Married or not you know I’ve always been here for you. You don’t want for anything, not even my time.”

“And you think I’m supposed to be okay with that? I love you, and I don’t want us to have bad blood between us, but I just can’t do this anymore. Please don’t make this any harder for me,” I begged. Making it hard was exactly what he was doing. Instead of leaving, he laid down on the sofa and pulled me in front of him, hugging me from behind.

“I can’t leave you alone Brooklyn. I need you. I swear I won’t even get married if you tell me not to,” he said as he buried his face in the crook of my neck. My body stiffened when I heard him sniffling, but I couldn’t turn around to look at him. I had to stand my ground and let him go. If I had looked in his face, sympathy would have made me change my mind. As bad as I wanted to, telling him not to get married was something that I couldn’t do. But at the same time I couldn’t go on for the rest of my life being his little secret.

Dominic and I stayed in the spooning position for a few hours until I heard my baby crying from his bedroom. I tried to get up from Dominic’s hold, but he pulled me back.

“I got him,” he said as he got up from behind me. His eyes were red and puffy, and I felt like I wanted to cry right along with him. After staying in the back for a while, he came back with DJ, who was fully dressed and alert.

“I’m taking him home with me. Let me know if you need a ride to school in the morning,” he said sadly before he walked out of the front door. I got up to secure my locks, and that’s when the tears started. I know I did the right thing, but my heart was still broken about having to do it. I sat on the floor with my back up against the door and cried for what felt like hours. If my phone hadn’t started ringing, I would probably still be there.

“Hello,” I whispered hoarsely into the phone.

“Brook?” Kevin asked.

“Yeah, this is me,” I replied.

“What’s wrong?” He asked.

“Everything,” I cried. “Can you get away to come over here?”

“Text me your address, and I’m on my way,” he replied. I sent Kevin my address and told him to call when he was at the gate so I could buzz him in and meet him downstairs. I needed somebody to talk to, and I didn’t feel like talking to anyone in my family. Aside from my mama, everybody seemed to be alright with me continuing to deal with Dominic. I can’t lie and say that he’s not good to me, but that wasn’t enough. I didn’t want to have to lie and sneak just to be in a relationship with anyone. When my phone rang again, I buzzed Kevin in and went to meet him downstairs.

“What you been crying for Brooklyn?” Kevin asked as soon as he saw me. I started telling him everything that happened as we took the elevator back up to my apartment. He just listened without saying anything, and that’s exactly what I needed.

“Damn, it’s nice in here,” Kevin observed when he walked into my house. “That nigga got you living right.”

“You are so stupid,” I laughed. “You want something to drink?”

“No, I’m good. I just wanted to make sure you were straight. You didn’t sound like yourself when I called.”

“I’m good now, but thanks for coming,” I smiled.

“It’s nothing, you know I love you,” Kevin said smiling back at me. Kevin always tells me he loves me, but it was different this time. He didn’t say it like he was talking to his friend. I felt uncomfortable about how he was looking at me, so I turned my head. He put his hand on my chin and made me face him again. I raised my hand and stopped him when he leaned into me for a kiss.

“Kevin I can’t do this with you. You’re my best friend, and I just got out of something else not even twenty-four hours ago,” I acknowledged.

“I know that Brooklyn. I’m just trying to make you feel better. I won’t take things any further than I have in the past,” he promised. He pushed me back on the sofa and started removing my pants and underwear. After getting on his knees, he pulled me to the edge of the sofa and buried his face deep in between my legs. As wrong as it was, I wrapped my legs around his neck and enjoyed the sensation until the sun came up.

****

I don’t remember when I fell asleep, but when I woke up I was still naked from the waist down. Kevin was still fully clothed sleeping peacefully on the sofa right next to me. I looked over at the clock and saw that I only had about thirty minutes before it was time for me to leave for school. I got up and jumped into the shower and cleaned myself up. When I was done, I threw on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and grabbed my books. When I went into the living room, Kevin was sitting up on the sofa looking drowsy.

“I have some spare toothbrushes in the bathroom, and the towels are in the hallway closet,” I informed him.

“Alright, thanks,” he said getting up and walking away. I needed him to hurry and leave before Bryce showed up to get me. Since he longer dealt with Kyle, he felt like I should have cut ties with Kevin as well. Kevin had never done anything to me so I didn’t feel like it was right to do him like that.

“I’m about to head out. Call me later when you get a minute,” Kevin said giving me a tight hug. I was about to leave out with him and head downstairs to Bryce’s apartment. I almost pissed in my pants when I opened the door and saw Bryce standing there. He looked Kevin up and down with a frown on his face that couldn’t be missed. Kevin walked around him and took the elevator back down to his truck.

“I know damn well you didn’t let him sleep here, and Dominic is paying all of the bills in this bitch,” Bryce shouted.

“Mind your business Bryce. I’m grown just in case you forgot.”

“I don’t give a damn. You know you’re wrong for that shit Brook. Just remember what you just told me when the shit hits the fan. Don’t bring your grown ass downstairs crying to me since you want me to mind my business,” he snapped. I didn’t even reply as I locked my door and followed him to his car. I didn’t have to explain myself to Bryce or anyone else. As far as I was concerned, I was free to do what I wanted whenever I wanted to do it.