Never Again, No More 2

by Untamed

  “It depends on if you’d let me take you out again, but this time on a real date,” he stated, and I noticed a little nervousness in his voice. He looked at me with his brown puppy-dog eyes, and I knew that’s how he’d pulled many a woman. The look on his face was hopeful yet fearful of my answer, but most of all, he looked sincere.

  To say I was shocked was putting it mildly. Did he really just push up on me? He was fine as hell. No, I mean really he was. About six feet tall, with a muscular build, low-cut Caesar, and neatly trimmed goatee, he reminded me of the football player Reggie Bush with facial hair. There was no question that we enjoyed one another’s company and that our conversation flowed like water, but a date? Was I really ready for a date with Aldris? I hadn’t dated anyone really in over a year. My focus had been on raising Nadia, getting an education, and making money so much so that I hadn’t even considered being with a man. Then to go out with a man like Aldris? Our backgrounds and lifestyles were so dissimilar. He was that dude who went to the strip club as a birthday gift, and I was that chick who stripped there. That’s what I meant.

  I put my head down as I contemplated it. “I don’t know what to say, Aldris. I really don’t know about that.” I fidgeted nervously.

  He reached across the table and lifted my chin. His touch sent a jolt of energy through me that I’d never felt in my life. I didn’t know if it was attraction, nervousness, or lust—hell, maybe it was a three-in-one combination—but whatever it was, it felt damn good. Once he noticed that I was nervous too, he stared at me with sheer determination in his eyes, as if nothing was going to deter him from getting what he wanted.

  “You wear nervous well. Underneath that tough-girl facade is a woman, an amazingly beautiful woman, inside and out, whom I’d love to get to know, but for now, I’d settle for one chance at an actual date.”

  Shit, I’d never had a dude—I mean, a man—say no shit like that to me. As rough and tough as I was on the inside, that little bit managed to touch the little girl in me who just wanted to be loved. And that was hard to do for such a round-the-way chick—woman—like me. I smiled shyly, taken aback by his words. I was so caught up I agreed without a second thought. “I’ll go out with you on one real date.”

  “All right then.” He stood as I realized that I’d agreed. His smile was so infectious that I could do nothing but bask in his warmth. I didn’t have the heart to change my mind. “Let me get you a to-go box so we can go shop a bit for some of the best deals on computers, and you can land this job,” he said excitedly before going to the counter.

  As I watched him glide to the counter, I felt giddy yet afraid. I had no idea what I was getting myself into with Aldris. Not to mention, part of my reservation was because I wasn’t sure if he was attracted to me or Spanish Fly. Again, the last time I saw him before today, my huge ass was all up in his face at Club Moet. I also wasn’t sure of his motives. Perhaps he simply wanted to help me, but I wasn’t used to having generosity being extended to me without asking for repayment. However, I was going to try not to overanalyze everything. Even if it went nowhere, Aldris and I would remain cool people, and that was good enough for me. But for now, my focus was solely on landing this job not only for myself but for Nadia.

  Chapter Eight

  Charice

  The bright bulbs went off in my face. Mad as hell, I pushed the camera back. “Move! Excuse me! Please leave us alone,” I yelled, trying to escort my children inside their private school.

  “Mommy, why are these people following us?” Charity asked.

  “Just hush and keep moving,” I replied.

  “Charice! Can you give us a comment about your relationship with Lincoln Harper?” one reporter asked.

  “What is Ryan Westmore saying about your engagement?” another asked, flashing more cameras in my face.

  “I’m trying to take my children to school. Please leave,” I bellowed in frustration. I pushed open the front doors and allowed them to slam shut in their faces.

  Well, the cat was officially out of the bag now, and boy was it out big time. Now my life was riddled with turmoil. Ryan hated Lincoln and wasted no time expressing that to me and anybody else who would listen, with the exception of the press. He didn’t want Lincoln around the triplets or me, and not a day went by when Ryan didn’t try to convince me to leave Lincoln and be with him. When I refused, it turned into a shouting match over the stipulations he wanted to put on me about the triplets with regard to Lincoln.

  To add to our problems, Lincoln had been in more than one argument with other teammates about dating me, and he and Ryan had come to blows in the stadium parking lot. The media was hounding all of us like crazy. My home was no longer private, and even Lincoln’s parents and my parents were dragged into the mess by the paparazzi. Now they were cornering me at my children’s school. What the hell?

  The media ran all kinds of crazy headlines about it: A COWBOY’S LOVE AFFAIR, COWBOY’S LOVE TRIANGLE, and the most beloved title, TWO COWBOYS AND A COWGIRL. I had bitches writing me letters asking how I snagged two NFL players as if I were some sort of groupie. It was all beginning to be far too damn much for me.

  “Just one statement, Charice,” a reporter said, interrupting me as I rushed out of the school.

  “Leave me the fuck alone. How’s that for a statement?” I hurriedly got into my SUV and slammed the door. I took a deep breath and pulled off, leaving the sea of reporters behind.

  You would’ve thought that this story would’ve stayed centralized in Dallas, but I thought it was more popular here in Atlanta. Everyone was trying to make it seem as if my motives were malicious when the truth of the matter was that Lincoln and I truly just found each other and fell in love. Was that just too simplistic to believe? Oh, and my family? They just kept giving me the “I told you so” speech, and I was tired of hearing that, too.

  To top things off, Lincoln and I were both on edge and under a lot of stress between our families, Ryan, and the media, and it seemed the only thing we could do when we spoke was take it out on each other. We argued over the stupidest shit, like why it took so long for me to call him back, or him acting as if he didn’t have the time to talk to me when I did call. It seemed as if no one understood where I was coming from except my girls.

  After I finally got LaMeka’s mom to admit to me that she was in a transitional home, I knew it was time to catch up, so I called a mandatory girls’ gathering. It seemed that we were all going through some shit, and if I couldn’t count on anyone or anything else, I always had them. And right now, I really needed them.

  “Is the coast clear?” I asked, pulling up into the backyard of LaMeka’s transitional house. She closed and locked her privacy fence behind me. “These fucking reporters have been hounding the shit out of me.”

  “You good,” LaMeka confirmed. I hopped out of my SUV, pulled off my Chanel shades, and headed inside with her.

  “Thanks.” I smiled wearily to them. “So, ladies, what’s good?”

  “That shit is all over the news and entertainment reports about you, Lincoln, and Ryan. What the hell happened?” Lucinda asked me.

  I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair. “Ryan caught me in Lincoln’s house.”

  “Daaaammnn,” all three of them said in unison.

  Trinity shook her head. “I’m not gon’ even go there, Charice. How the fuck did he manage to do that?” she asked sarcastically.

  “I missed Lincoln, so I flew down to visit. Apparently, he’d planned a team-building golf game with the offensive line that he forgot about because I was there. Long story short, I’d ordered him something from Best Buy, and I thought it was the deliveryman—”

  “And when you got to the door, it was really Ryan,” LaMeka finished, putting two and two together.

  “Exactly. But there were also two other dudes from the team.”

  Trinity again shook her head in disbelief of my predicament. I could almost see the “I told you so” dancing on her tongue. “I know Ryan was emb
arrassed like a muthasucka.”

  Dropping my head into my hands, I released a weighted sigh. “Embarrassed ain’t even the word for it. More like pissed the fuck off. I’ve never seen Ryan so angry and jealous. He tried to kill Lincoln! Poor Lincoln was trying not to fight him back, but the other two guys could barely contain Ryan. I finally had to stand my ground and let Ryan know that I chose Lincoln, and when I tell you he looked devastated, I mean that thing.”

  “Have you talked to Ryan since?” Trinity asked.

  “Every day. He’s relentless in getting me to leave Lincoln.”

  “Kinda reminds me of Terrence,” she blurted.

  Snapping her fingers, Lucinda turned to Trinity with a questioning gaze. “What is the deal with you two anyway? You know, since Suwanee,” she asked as we all nodded.

  This time it was Trinity’s turn to drop her head, obviously upset about what she was about to reveal to us. “So much shit has gone on. Honestly, I’d snuck around with Dreads ever since that night in Suwanee. I thought we were careful. It was the best of both worlds, you know. My man to take care of my home, and my man to take care of me. It was playing with fire, but I felt like I could handle it. I guess being with Dreads made me feel invincible in a way. But that invincible shield got penetrated by Pooch. He caught me a couple of Sundays ago in the park having a family picnic with Dreads and the kids.”

  A collective gasp swept through all of us. To be honest, I was more shocked to see that Trinity still stood here with us, among the living. Pooch was crazy in love with Trinity, to the point of being obsessed. It was something we all were leery about but never placed stock in because Trinity was loyal to Pooch. Or she had been. But as long as she was loyal to him, there were no problems, because Pooch simply didn’t want Trinity to cheat or leave him. As long as that never happened, we all believed that Pooch would never cause Trinity any harm. But it had happened. Not only was she disloyal, but she’d also cheated, and she’d done both with the number one sworn enemy, Terrence.

  We all guessed how that went down, but no one wanted to ask, so I decided to be the one to broach the subject. “What happened?”

  “What didn’t happen? That’s the question,” Trinity said sadly. She looked up, and the pools of water developing in her eyes revealed the untold pain that lay behind them. I’d known it was bad, but somehow, I knew—I think we all knew—that it went beyond bad. We all stared at each other and back at Trinity as we braced ourselves for what happened next.

  “It all seemed so surreal,” she began. Her voice quivered as she swiped tears out of her eyes. “I had to stop him and Terrence from tearing each other apart in the park with all those kids around, and then . . .” She paused briefly as the tears she’d tried to stop finally rolled down her face. “Pooch beat my ass at the house.” Her shoulders deflated as emotion overcame her. With her hand over her forehead, she took a deep breath and continued through a tearstained voice.

  “He, uh, he raped me to prove that I wasn’t gonna give his pussy away,” she barely got out before completely breaking down.

  We hurriedly gathered around her. Lucinda rubbed her back while LaMeka and I held her hands. “You don’t have to go on,” LaMeka interjected.

  She shook her head. “No, I need to tell y’all this,” Trinity said, her voice continued to shake. “Three days later, Dreads showed up at my house, and Pooch tried to kill him. He had that gun pointed straight at Dreads, but the safety was on, and Dreads beat his ass. I tried to stop them, but I passed out.”

  “Passed out?” we all repeated in shock.

  She nodded, wiping her eyes. Her next words nearly caused all of us to pass out. “I’m pregnant.”

  Lucinda patted her back. “No, Trinity, don’t tell us that, chica,” she said, her voice filled with disappointment. “You know how Pooch feels about kids, and you got pregnant with his child again?” Lucinda asked in disbelief.

  Trinity let out a slight groan. “I’m about nine weeks pregnant.”

  “So? What does that have to do with anything? You know he don’t want no kids. You can still have an abortion,” Lucinda said. “’Cause you know he’s gon’ make you do it.”

  She turned to Lucinda angrily. “First of all, I don’t give a fuck what he would want me to do. I’m not aborting my child, and how dare you of all people even suggest that I should?” Trinity fumed. “Besides, that’s not even my fucking point. Think about what happened two months ago.”

  Her words dawned on me. I inhaled sharply, then whispered, “It’s Terrence’s baby.”

  Trinity nodded. “Exactly.” She threw her hands up.

  Not that I doubted what she said, but it’s not like Trinity and Pooch had been separated. Maybe she was wrong about this. Maybe she simply wanted this child to be Terrence’s. I had to ask because she’d already been through enough with Pooch. A baby, especially a baby by Terrence, could mean her funeral for real. “Okay, listen to me, honey,” I said, turning her face toward me. “How can you be sure?”

  “That’s around the time Pooch got robbed. We hadn’t had sex in like three weeks when that shit went down between me and Dreads ’cause he was trying to get his clique straight. Dreads and I didn’t use no protection, and that nigga skeeted all up in my shit. And I am pregnant to the exact date that we made love. It’s definitely, unquestionably Dreads’s baby,” she said as tears rolled down her face.

  “Ay, mamacita, what are you going to do? ’Cause if you’re still breathing, then Pooch doesn’t know,” Lucinda said with her usual bluntness.

  Trinity rolled her eyes at her and shrugged. “Gee, thanks with your rude ass.” She shook her head before she continued. “Actually, the weirdest shit is Pooch wants me to keep the baby to try to make us close again. But that ain’t gon’ never happen, especially not after what he did to me. The truth of the matter is I love Dreads, and I’m not killing my baby. But right now, I really don’t know what to do.”

  We all took a moment to process what she’d said. However, we could offer no real solution. No matter what, Trinity’s mind was already set, so the only thing that could be done was to support her decision.

  Although Lucinda had been the one giving Trinity the most grief over the situation, in true best friend form, she was the first to hug and console her. “I’m with you, girl. Whatever you need, I got you. Just don’t let Pooch find out. You know how that bastardo is.”

  Trinity pulled back, and out of nowhere, she gave Lucinda the most disgusted glare before she sucked her teeth. “Yeah, and so do you,” she said with a slight attitude.

  “What’s up with that?” Lucinda looked at her, confused.

  With her lips pursed, Trinity gave her a mean side-eye. “Come on, Lu. You know I know.” She smacked her lips and pointed her index finger at herself. “How you figure you can keep some shit like that from me? You think I live in the dark or some shit? I am Pooch’s girlfriend. Don’t too much shit go on with his businesses and operations that I don’t find out about.”

  Lucinda looked so defeated as she put her head down, seemingly embarrassed. “I figured he’d tell you.”

  “Oh, he didn’t, but you damn sure should have,” Trinity fussed. She crossed her arms and rolled her neck. “Skeet, Dread’s best friend, is cool with Greg. How you figure I wouldn’t find out about Spanish Fly? I just thought we were cool enough for you to tell me. You been my bestie since forever. But apparently you and Pooch is a little cooler than me and you,” Trinity smarted off.

  At this point, I was just as confused as LaMeka, who looked at me for answers that I couldn’t offer. I placed my hand up to stop their back-and-forth. “Wait. Hold up. What the hell are you two talking about?” I asked finally.

  Trinity looked over at Lucinda, who held a timid expression on her face, and she rolled her eyes again. “Go on and tell her about Spanish Fly. You scandalous, Lu. How you gon’ audition for Pooch?”

  “You don’t know the whole story,” she said, her voice trembling.

  “Audition?�
�� I asked with a puzzled expression.

  “Mm-hmm. Yep, audition,” Trinity said nonchalantly.

  This powwow just got wilder and wilder. Thank God we were all seated, because between my drama, Trinity’s revelation, and Lucinda’s scandalous antics, I was sure my legs were too weak to hold me up. My goodness. What the hell was going on with us? It seemed all of us were tied up in some bullshit that we all desperately needed to figure out and figure out quick. LaMeka and I stared at Lucinda in utter disbelief as we waited for her to explain. She had to explain this shit. This could not be life.

  Lucinda looked at us as if pleading for us to hear her out. “Ay, mamacita. It wasn’t like that, you guys. I swear,” she cried. “The truth is Raul got me fired from my job, so I was a stripper at Moet for a little bit,” she admitted. “I called Pooch, and he put me down.”

  “More like you auditioned naked in front of him to get the gig. That’s the only way Pooch put you down,” Trinity popped off.

  “No you didn’t,” LaMeka and I hollered in disbelief. Oh, hell no! This was too much.

  “I had to! I needed the money!” Lucinda shouted with regret. “It’s not like I slept with him. It was just for the gig. I swear. I put that on Nadia’s life,” she cried, looking at Trinity.

  As the information Lucinda revealed filtered into our minds, LaMeka gazed at her as if she’d just realized something. “Wait. How did Raul get you fired?” LaMeka asked.

  Lucinda sat back and rubbed her neck. She bit her lip, and you could tell just the thought of what transpired ate away at her. Sucking in air, Lucinda explained, “Long story short, that bastardo came to my job and picked a fight with me and my coworkers. It was a mess. Security and another manager had to get involved. Raul got arrested, and I had to make a statement. Later on, I was released from my job because my situation was an immediate danger to other employees,” Lucinda said, unable to hold back the slow and steady stream of tears that flowed from her eyes as she told the story.