“Damn you smell good,” he commented as soon as I slid out of the bathroom and into the bedroom.
“Do I?” I moved his way. He looked so handsome in his semi-unbuttoned dress shirt and slacks.
“Yes.” He welcomed me into his lap. “What scent is that?”
“It’s from Whipped, and the scent is Honey Butter.”
“Oh, Camarih’s shit. I love it.” He kissed my neck, hugging my body tightly. “I missed you all day.”
“I missed you too.” I lifted his head, stared into his eyes for a few moments, and then pecked his lips. “I went to see a doctor today.”
“About what?”
“About our conceiving issues.”
“Oh yeah? When did this happen? And what she say?” He frowned a little bit.
“I went for the first visit to take the actual tests some weeks ago, then she told me the results of it today. She let me know that everything is good, and I’m perfectly healthy for conceiving, carrying, and childbirth.”
“You know I could’ve told you that for free, right?” He smirked with his handsome self. There was nothing like a chocolate brother, a tall one at that.
“Shut up.” I giggled bashfully. “Anyway, she wants us to go back down there and get some tests done on you, just to try to—”
“Nah, I’m not doing that.”
“Wade, it’s just a test to check on your sperm count.”
He briskly moved me from his lap and repeated, “I’m not doing that, Shanece. I hope you didn’t tell her I would.” He finished unbuttoning his shirt, exposing the wife beater under it.
“I mean, no, I didn’t, but I did give her the impression that we’d come down and have you checked out.”
“Well like I said, I won’t be going.” He removed his belt then proceeded to loosen his pants.
“Why not? Aren’t you the least bit curious as to why we haven’t gotten pregnant? We’re both young, seemingly healthy, and we fuck at least once a night on a busy day, so—”
Coming closer to me, he kneeled down, taking my hands into his.
“Baby, it’s because of the stress. I bet you didn’t tell your doctor my ex-wife basically lived with us, did you?”
“No.”
“Exactly. Having her here has you stressed the hell out, and that’s probably why shit ain’t popped off yet. Soon as she’s gone, watch you stay pregnant.” He kissed me.
“I mean, maybe that is it, but I still think you should see Dr. Jennis to be sure—”
“Shanece, I’m not going.” He rose to his feet and started toward the bathroom.
“Wade—”
“I ain’t going! Don’t ask me again!” he snapped, making me jump even though he was all the way in the doorway of our en suite.
Before I could even reply, he slammed the door and started the sink water to brush his teeth.
I sat there thinking about his anger and words for a little bit, then got up to go eat them ribs Cheri cooked. I could smell it and now the garlic mashed potatoes all the way up in the room. Plus, this scented butter I got from Camarih’s brand smelled like food too, making my senses tingle even more.
“Just in time! Want me to make you a plate?” Cheri offered as soon as she saw me.
“No—sure, go ahead.” I wasn’t in the mood to be independent right now.
Cheri happily piled the food onto one plate, then another for herself. When done, she brought them both and grabbed two waters before sitting with me. I usually would’ve spoke up about her going to eat in her own spot, but I wasn’t in the right state of mind to be Regina George.
“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I did overhear the little tiff you and Wade just had.”
“Cheri, please, let’s just eat in silence.”
“Okay.” She munched on some of the ribs. “What do you think?”
“It’s great, but you already knew that. You’re a professional chef.”
“True, but that doesn’t mean everything I make is going to be to someone’s liking.” She simpered, but I didn’t reply. “I know you don’t want my opinion or advice, but I’m pretty sure Wade got a vasectomy while we were married.” She bit another rib, watching me.
“What? No he did not. Why would he do that when he wants children?”
“He does? That’s news to me.”
I wiped my mouth with a napkin and sat up straight.
“How is it news to you? He wanted children, you didn’t. Isn’t that why your little relationship blew up?” I frowned at her lying ass.
“No. Is that what he told you?” She laughed. “I tell you, men will say anything to their new woman to paint themselves in a great light.” She placed down her rib, ate a scoop of mashed potatoes, and then sipped her water like she was purposely making me wait. “Mr. Bias and I separated and eventually divorced because he didn’t want children. At first he pretended to, saying we should work on our careers first and down the line, once settled, we would make babies. Well, we defined our careers, but the baby making never came. Then he admitted he got a vasectomy to me, after we tried to have a child for a year but came up short like you two.”
I didn’t want to believe this bitch, but the way Wade acted had me conflicted. Why would he get so angry? What was the harm in checking his sperm count? He was a young, healthy man, so I was sure there would be no issues. And if there were, we could figure something out, unless that problem was a damn vasectomy. If he went in for these tests, my doctor would be able to see he had a procedure. Was that why he got so up in arms and declined to go?
“That’s a lie, Cheri, and you know it.”
“I know you have no reason to believe me, so I will leave it be then.” She got back to chowing down like she was dog in an eating contest.
I watched her for some time but then got up to leave. I wasn’t hungry anymore.
When I walked into the bedroom, I saw my husband shirtless and in bed while reading a newspaper. I could smell his soap, which was nice.
“Cheri made ribs.” I spoke softly, turning off the overhead light since he had the lamp on.
“I had a big lunch, so I’m okay. That food is too fattening anyway.” He spoke dryly, keeping his main focus on the paper.
Getting into the bed next to him, I asked, “Is there a reason you don’t want to go see my doctor? You can be honest.”
“I just think it’s unnecessary. I don’t need some medical professional to tell me what I already know. There is nothing wrong with us, and like I said, once Cheri is gone, you will be relieved, and your body will be more accepting to pregnancy.” Still, his demeanor was stoic, and his eyes were on the paper.
I said nothing, just slinked under the covers and turned my back to him. Grabbing my phone, I checked it to be sure I had no email replies from the people I’d conversed with about work, and then I prayed before trying to dozing off.
About fifteen minutes later, I heard Wade turn the lamp off and then snuggle up behind me, kissing the nape of my neck and caressing my breasts through the nightgown I wore.
“No, Wade, I’m not in the mood.”
“Shanece, come on.” He exhaled heavily like he was irritated. “Please tell me you ain’t mad about that fucking appointment.” When I didn’t respond, he said, “Aight.”
I could feel him turning his back to me as well, and we fell asleep separately, something we hadn’t done since we’d gotten together damn near.
I was at my vanity, straightening my hair because I was about to go visit the Museum of Ice Cream with Camarih, Rubie, and Jilly. Camarih had scored some tickets, which were hard to get, so I was excited to go. I’d wanted to attend for years, and now I would finally have the chance.
Just as I ran the straightener down the last piece, my phone started to ring. When I saw Paul’s mother’s name pop up, I covered my mouth. I’d forgotten to return her calls from a few days ago, and now I was afraid to answer.
Turning off the straightener, I picked up.
“Hi, Mrs. Porter. I am
so sorry!”
“Oh, it’s okay, sweetheart. I was starting to think you were ignoring me.” Her small voice came through.
“No way. You know I love you. You’re still my second mother.” I smiled in the mirror. I hadn’t worn my hair in anything but braids for years, so this straight look was new for me. “I was just at the doctor when I saw your calls, so it slipped my mind to return them.”
“Good to hear that you still love me. Is everything okay, sweetheart?”
“Yeah, umm… yeah, everything is good. How about with you?”
“Just fine. I was wondering if we could meet up for lunch or dinner so that I could run something by you.”
“Sure, but what is it about?”
“I’d rather talk to you about it in person. How’s next Wednesday?”
“I have to check out my calendar. I don’t have much free time during the week because of my job, so when I go into work Monday, I will see which time frames I have free and call you back.”
“You always did love that job more than anything.” She snickered softly, but I didn’t find her comment funny.
“Well I wouldn’t say more than anything, but yes, it is important. I worked hard to get to the position I’m in now. I will be the CEO of Scene Magazine by next year.”
“I’m sure you will, Shanece.”
Her tone was something I didn’t care for at all. It was like she was taunting me, trying to show that I cared about my career goals more than I cared for her son. That was an ongoing argument between Paul and I for the duration of our marriage.
It wasn’t that at all. I did love my job, but when Paul got sick and lost his, I realized I needed to go harder. If I didn’t, we wouldn’t have been able to live comfortably like we did nor take advantage of health insurance. So yes, there were certain nights I couldn’t stay by his side or nurse him throughout the day. Did I regret it? At times, yes, of course, because I didn’t have him anymore, but I knew that I had to do what I had to do so he and I could have a place to sleep, food to eat, medical, and cash to pay our bills.
“I’ll talk to you soon, Mrs. Porter.”
“Mhm.” She hung up.
I didn’t know what the hell she wanted to talk about, but I was hoping like hell I didn’t have to make an enemy out of her. I wasn’t lying when I said I loved her. I did. And the last thing I wanted was to butt heads with my dead ex-husband’s mama.
16
Eitan
“Finally, he’s asleep,” Rubie whispered as we looked over our son, Elijah’s, crib.
Homie had been crying and fussing all damn day, so it was nice to see him knocked out. I never thought I’d say this shit in one million years, but I actually enjoyed being a father. It was cool to think about the fact that you’d have people still here on earth, carrying along your bloodline after you were gone.
“I know, thank God.”
Rubie looked over her shoulder at me, pecking my lips deeply. Making her face me, I wrapped my arms around her sexy body, groping her ass cheeks roughly. I hadn’t fucked her in I didn’t know how long, so I was craving everything about her.
I’d fucked a lot of women over my twenty-nine years, but there was nothing better than sex with a female you were in love with. Not to mention, Rubie was the sexiest and most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. From her deep chocolate skin, to those thick lips and the shape of her body, I wouldn’t change a thing.
“Okay, don’t get ahead of yourself.” Rubie pulled away, peeling my arms and hands from her frame.
“Rubie—” I grabbed her wrist.
“Eitan.” She yanked away, cutting the bedroom light off so that the nightlight and baby carousel could illuminate the room.
Following her out, I hugged her from the back.
“You feel what you just did to me.” I let my extremely hard dick prod her ass.
“I’m sorry, baby.” She chuckled. “It’s not time yet though. Once the six weeks are up, I have to go and see my doctor, then we can do it after he clears me.”
By the time she finished talking, we were in our own bedroom. I kept my hold on her before collapsing onto the bed. Putting her on her back, I got in between her legs, pinning her wrists down.
“There’s gotta be something we can do in the meantime, Rubie. I’m backed the hell up, and I’m about to leave the state for a couple shows this weekend.” I kissed on her collarbone as I talked.
“So what you’re saying is if you don’t get something from me, you’ll get it out of state?”
“Nah, that’s not what I’m saying, I—”
“Then what the fuck are you saying?” She snatched her wrists from my grasp. “I don’t see the point in bringing up the fact that you’re about to leave the state, while mentioning how backed up you are.”
“Aight. I see how that shit came out, but I only brought it up because I ain’t gon’ see you for that time. You won’t come with me, so I’m gon’ be super backed up when I return.”
“Go jack off then, Eitan.”
Sighing, I rolled off of her and onto my back. Like nothing happened, Rubie went to brush her teeth and wash her face before getting back into the bed, but under the covers. She made sure the baby video monitor was working, then laid on her side to go to sleep. I tried to follow suit, but I was horny as fuck.
Sitting up since I couldn’t doze off, I reached for my water bottle on the nightstand to drink it down. I was hella thirsty for some reason—literally and metaphorically.
As soon as I put the empty bottle back down, my phone lit up. Scooping it, I saw it was from Frida’s ass again. Tapping it to open, I spotted another freaky ass pict—nah this shit was a video. Glancing at Rubie to be sure she was asleep, I went to the bathroom outside of the bedroom we shared and shut then locked the door.
I sat down on the closed toilet top then pressed play on the video. I saw it was Frida playing with her pussy, and my dick went straight in the fucking air. Reaching down into my boxers, I got right to stroking my shit as I watched. Literally, in fucking minutes, I was busting into the stack of tissue I’d grabbed just in time and feeling bad as well.
Rubie would kill me if she knew what the fuck I’d just done. She did tell me to jack off, but I doubt she meant to a video of my ex.
Dropping my iPhone onto the bathroom rug, I stood, pissed, flushed the semen-covered tissue, and then washed my hands as if my ass was about to do surgery. After making sure there was no evidence of what I’d just done, I went back to the bedroom to sleep pretty soundlessly.
I needed to block Frida’s ass… but I didn’t.
“What you thinking?” Rahim turned down the new song Holli and I did together.
“I like it. You think it’s gon’ do the same numbers as our original track?”
“Better. It sounds better, y’all flows are tighter, and you got more fame than before,” Tony let me know, and everyone nodded in agreement.
“Well then my work here is done.” Rahim got up.
“Damn, Dallas got yo’ ass on a time schedule or something?” Abel inquired, packing his stuff too.
“No, fool, but we do have to be somewhere together tomorrow, so I’m not trying to be tired.” Rahim shook his head, throwing his Gucci backpack on his back and checking the time on his AP.
“Where y’all gotta be at?” Tony quizzed. I knew that nigga well, so I was sure he was being an asshole, making me chuckle subtly.
“To look at some venues, if you must know.”
It was quiet for a hot second before we all started to laugh loudly as fuck.
“Bitch got you looking at venues already? You just proposed to that hoe like a week ago.” Tony lit a blunt.
“She ain’t a bitch or hoe, my nigga.”
“Bitch look like a fucking hoe to me.” Tony blew smoke out nonchalantly.
“And this is why none of y’all muthafuckas are invited to my damn wedding.” Rahim pointed to all three of us.
“I ain’t even do shit!” Abel and I said simultaneousl
y, while still laughing at Rahim’s anger.
“You ain’t gon’ be there either, nigga. Soon as ex-wifey call, saying to bring yo’ ass home, you gon’ be right there sucking her titties to fall asleep.” Tony inhaled on the blunt as we all doubled over in laughter.
Rahim didn’t seem too angry about that comment, almost like it was true. And shit, it was. The only person who couldn’t see where Rahim wanted to be was Dallas.
“Bye, niggas,” was all he said as he bounced.
Abel was right behind him, promising me he’d have the mixed version of the track for Holli and I to listen to and approve soon.
When they left, I just sat there thinking. Tony chuckling at his texts brought me out of my inner thoughts, and I could tell by the bright look on his face that he was chatting it up with Camarih.
“Let me ask you some shit, Wacko.” I spoke up.
“Bet not be no gay shit.” He put his phone down, inhaling on his weed suspiciously.
Chuckling, I replied, “Nigga, calm yo’ ass down. It ain’t no gay shit. When have I ever came at you with some gay shit?”
“Never, ’cause you know it’d be lights out for yo’ ass.”
“Nigga, if I was gay, you wouldn’t even be my type.”
“Fuck out of here. I’m everybody’s type, bitch.”
“Nah, you just Camarih’s type. I’d be into a corporate type nigga.” I stroked my beard. Tony stared at me for a minute like he was worried about me.
“This fame and shit is getting to yo’ head. See, now you gay.” He blew smoke out. “And you damn right I’m Camarih’s type. I’m the only muthafuckin type she got. When they ask her fucking preference, it ain’t men or women, she just say Houston.”
We both chortled heavily at his stupid ass.
“Muthafucka, just let me ask you my damn question.” Why the fuck were he and I even talking about this shit? Had me sounding gay for nothing. “What did you do for them six weeks after Camarih had the baby?”
“Minded my fucking business.”
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