Yuri smiled bashfully and nodded her head. “Well, come on. He was sleeping when I left out to get my coffee. He may be awake now.”
We followed my mom into the room, to find Maxwell Pierce sitting up in the bed. When he saw me, he smiled. “Hey, son,” he said, his voice sounding weak.
“Hey, Pop. You’ve been experiencing too much excitement on the road. You not thirty years old no more.”
He smiled tightly. His eyes glided over to Yuri and I introduced them. Looking back at me, he nodded in approval. After talking a little about the doctor’s findings, dietary brought in his breakfast, and Yuri and I tuned in to Good Morning America. Sliding my arm around her shoulders, she leaned into me. I was grateful that Pop wasn’t as bad off as I thought he was. We’d probably stay another couple of hours, then head straight to The Best Stop in Scott, five minutes west of Lafayette, for some boudin before we hit the road.
As my mama and Yuri talked, I stood to help Dad get his tray cleared away. “I think your mama and I are gonna settle down.”
“Oh yeah? Where?”
“Home. We need to be around when the two of you make us some beautiful grandchildren.”
I slowly shook my head. Old people just thought they could say whatever they wanted to say and get away with it. I glanced back at Yuri to see she was engrossed in a conversation with my mom and hadn’t heard a word of what Dad had said. “Deny it if you want, but you love her.”
“Okay, old man. Calm that down. We haven’t seen one another in months, don’t make me regret being here now,” I joked.
He chuckled, then his voice took on a serious tone. “We are getting older, son. I just wanna see you happy. That’s all.”
“I know. And you will.”
Glancing back once again, Yuri was massaging my mother’s shoulders as they conversed. They seemed to be getting along just fine. After clearing the tray for my dad and setting it on the countertop, I sat next to him in the recliner and watched TV while watching Yuri. The way she moved when she did massages was just so sexy. Her body rolled and swayed as she rubbed, and I enjoyed watching and imagining she was doing other things. Visions of our… well… my drunken sex with her last night flooded my mental.
She was so damn sexy. I couldn’t watch her massage my mother for another damn minute or I wouldn’t be able to walk out of here. My shit was growing and there would be nothing I would be able to do to hide it. Everything in me wanted to snatch her away from my mama and bring her to the bathroom and wear that pussy out. I closed my eyes for a moment, then turned to my dad and asked, “Y’all talk to Lacy?”
“Yeah. We called her right after we called you.”
“How is she? I haven’t talked to her in a couple of months.”
“She’s good. Just got engaged. You should call her.”
“Yeah, I need to. She just always seems preoccupied. So, I figured whenever she had time, she would call. When I looked up, a couple of months had gone by.”
“Yeah. We have to call her in order to talk, too, except for this last time when she wanted to tell us about her engagement.”
“Oh.”
“Maverick, my shoulders feel amazing!” my mom said, getting my attention.
I chuckled. “Yuri has the magic touch, that’s why.”
I walked over to her and pulled her to me as my mama smiled. I’d often seen my dad embrace my mom the same way and as early as my teenage years, I knew being in love was something that I wanted, too. I sat on the sofa, pulling Yuri to my lap, and listened to her talk to my mama. They’d hit it off extremely well and since they were going to settle down again, I knew they would probably be spending quite a bit of time together. As I watched TV, my phone rang. Yuri stood from my lap as I got it from my pocket. It was an unknown number. With a slight frown on my face, I answered, “Hello?”
“Hey, Maverick. It’s Cedric. Do you have time to talk?”
I glanced around, trying to decide whether I was going to talk to him in here or go out to the hallway. No one seemed to be paying me any attention, so I said, “Yeah. What’s up?”
He was quiet for a second, then he began stuttering. He was probably shocked that I was going to actually talk to him. “I… uh… I… I didn’t know that you were dating Yuri. I wasn’t making a move on her. I know her because she was my student. What I did years ago was dumb, cold, and stupid. It was bad enough I did it that time, but I swore that I would never betray you again.”
“I know. She told me.”
“Oh, thank God. Okay. Well, I’ll let you go.”
“Your brother is in the hospital in Lafayette, but he might be getting discharged soon.”
“Maxwell is sick?”
“He had a mild heart attack, but he’s doing okay. They put a stint in because he had some blockage.”
The room had gotten quiet, so I glanced around to see all eyes were on me. “Oh wow. Let me call him.”
“Okay. I’m here now.”
“Oh. Well, I’ll wait a while before I call. Thanks, Maverick. It’s been a long time not talking to you. I appreciate you for telling me about Maxwell, too.”
“We cool, Cedric. No problem.”
I ended the call to find my mom’s hands over her mouth. They knew that I’d refused to speak to Cedric, since the incident between us years ago. But that was done. I’d found my one. Although he betrayed me, I didn’t need to continue to hold a grudge against him. There was no reason to be angry anymore. That didn’t mean that I would be all in his face, though. I would just be cordial whenever I saw him. “I can’t believe you talked to Cedric,” my mother said.
“Yeah. A certain woman caused me to realize that there no need in being angry about that anymore. No sense in holding on to the past.”
Dad smiled and nodded as Mama and Yuri went back to their talking and cackling, while I kicked back and watched Pop doze off to sleep.
Chapter Thirteen
Yuri
I was so grateful that Maverick and I were back on track. We’d been spending a lot of quality time together. It had been a little over a month since we’d made up and we’d been unstoppable since. We spent every weekend together, either at his place or mine. While we both enjoyed going out together, we rarely did. I was content just being in the house with him, lying on the couch, watching movies, or doing what we did best… fucking. However, it was more than that… much more. I was in love with him. I didn’t know how to tell him and suddenly, I was afraid that he may not reciprocate.
Maverick was very passionate and expressive. I felt like if he loved me, he would say so. So, maybe he didn’t love me, but he sure in the hell made me feel like it. I didn’t want it to seem like I was rushing him. So, I would wait. In the meantime, Beverly Pierce was trying to monopolize all my free time. Since her daughter was in DC, I was the substitute. I didn’t mind, but some days, I just wanted to stay home. Between her and my mama, they kept my phone hot.
Just as I was walking in the building for work, my phone was ringing. I knew it was either one of the two of them or my baby. Once I got to my room and sat my bags down, I checked my phone to see my mama’s number. “Lawd have mercy!” I huffed, then called her back.
“Hey, Yuri! I just wanted to tell you to have a good day! Me and Beverly going shopping without you today.”
Thank God. “Hey, Mama. Thank you. Y’all have fun. I’m so glad that y’all are getting along.”
“Yeah, we are. We’ve been talking about planning you and Maverick’s wedding when the time comes.”
“Okay, that’s my cue to end this call.”
She laughed loudly, then said, “Bye, gal.”
I ended the call as I shook my head and got my shit ready for my first client. It was a man, and he was new. I was thankful that I wasn’t in an office by myself. The time I got stalked was still fresh on my memory. Had I been in an office alone, there was no telling what could have happened. When the receptionist called over the intercom to let me know my appointment had arrived, I walked out to see Mr. H
arper. What in the fuck?
He smiled and I said, “Hi, Mr. Harper, follow me back.”
My nerves were all over the place. I couldn’t massage him. Maverick would blow a fucking gasket. When I was about to close the door, he stopped me. “I showed up to actually cancel the appointment. I made the appointment, since the first time I saw you in Sertino’s. It had slipped my mind until this morning when my calendar reminded me of an appointment. So, I thought I would show up to let you know that I didn’t want to give Maverick any doubts. Have a good day, Yuri.”
Blowing out a steady breath, I said, “Okay. Thank you for that. If you still wanted to get a massage, I can see if someone else has an opening.”
He lowered his head and bit his bottom lip. “I didn’t want a massage, Yuri. I wanted you until I found out that my nephew had already claimed you as his. Thank you, though.”
He smiled tightly, then left me standing there in shock. He never even gave off the vibe that he was flirting neither time that I’d seen him. I was usually a good judge of character and could peep bullshit. That was why it took me so long to leave Rocco. I knew the man that he’d become wasn’t the real him. But Mr. Harper… Cedric… I never saw it coming. I sat in my chair, thanking God he didn’t try to get at me anyway. That would have put me in an awkward position. Shit, I was in an awkward-ass position now.
I’d assured Maverick that things were completely innocent between me and Mr. Harper. Now that I knew it wasn’t completely innocent on his end, I didn’t know what to do with that information. While I wanted Maverick to know, I didn’t want to cause discourse in his family, especially since Mr. Harper had done the right thing by canceling his appointment. My mind was so conflicted. Grabbing my phone, I called my mama. She answered the phone talking shit. “I thought I’d given you a cue to hang up and now you’re calling me. What’chu want heifer?”
I chuckled nervously and before I could respond to her, she said, “Oh shit. What’s wrong? You only chuckle that way when you’re nervous.”
“Have you met up with Mrs. Beverly yet?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“Put me on speakerphone.”
I needed both of them to tell me what I should do. Mrs. Beverly could look at it from the family aspect of it, especially since she knew both of them. “Okay. You’re on speaker.”
“Hey, daughter-in-law!” Mrs. Beverly yelled, then laughed.
The two of them sounded like some damn hyenas. “Come on y’all. I need some serious advice.”
They quieted down and I told them about Mr. Harper aka Cedric and filled my mama in on his past with Maverick. They were both extremely quiet when I told them what happened today. “So, this nigga was feeling you, but he backed off after knowing about Maverick?” my mama asked.
“Yeah or so he says.”
“That makes me nervous, Yuri. He still could have called to cancel. Why did he have to drive over there? I know it will really cause bad blood in the family, but I think you should tell Maverick. I would hate for him to find out and think you were trying to hide things,” Mrs. Beverly said. She continued, “I understand why you would question telling him and I admire you for wanting to keep the peace in the family, but a snake is a snake. I never really trusted Cedric, not even when he was a kid.”
“Okay. Then I’m gonna have to find a way to tell him.”
“Tell him during sex.”
“Mama!”
“What? Shit, he won’t be able to think about what you said.”
“See, that’s why I told you to put me on speakerphone so I could get advice from someone who was gonna take me seriously.”
“I’m sorry, Yuri. You know I’m gon’ clown. But do what you do best. Give him a massage and make sure he’s good and relaxed before you tell him.”
“I agree, Yuri. Getting a few drinks in him can’t hurt, either.”
They both giggled. I exhaled while rubbing my hand down my face. Maverick’s temper scared me. It could cause him to be so reckless. Seeing it that day I was moving was scary as hell. “Don’t worry, Yuri. It will be fine,” Mrs. Beverly added.
“I’m glad you’re so confident, ’cause I’m not. Y’all didn’t see Maverick that day when I was moving. He knocked Rocco out.”
“That punk-ass nigga deserved it. And hearing what you’re saying about his uncle, sounds like he deserves it, too.”
“He does. Apparently, he’s forgotten about that beating he got all those years ago. He must need a refresher.”
I rolled my eyes. I thought my mama was bad. Mrs. Beverly seemed to be with the shits, too. Putting my feet up, I decided to end the call. They were too busy laughing and talking like I wasn’t on the phone anyway. Going to my mini-fridge, I grabbed a bottle of water, although, I wanted to pour myself a glass of wine. My next client wouldn’t appreciate a drunken massage. I knew if I opened that bottle of wine, I wouldn’t stop with one glass. Slumping in my chair, I grabbed the remote and turned on some soothing music by Eric Bellinger. My nerves were on one thousand. How was I supposed to help clients relax if I was tense as hell?
Tell him you love him. Maybe I could slide it in, making him forget about what I was telling him about his shady-ass uncle. But I didn’t want it to seem like I was manipulating him into responding the way I wanted him to. After thirty minutes of mulling things over in my head, my next appointment had arrived. Standing from my seat, I straightened out my clothes and changed my music to my instrumental jazz, then went to get my customer to usher them to a whole new world.
As Baby Rose softly played through my speakers, I set up the wine and fruit next to the massage table. Slightly adjusting my black lace bustier, I took a deep breath, trying to let my nerves die down. Maverick was coming over tonight and I was nervous about telling him about his uncle. I’d cooked one of his favorite meals: meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and green beans and had even made a sweet cornbread to go along with it. The Hennessey was on deck and pussy was, too. Whatever I had to do to lighten the blow, I’d do. I prepared our dinner plates and poured us two glasses of wine.
By the time I lit the candles and was about to sit, the doorbell rang. I went to the door and looked at myself in the mirror hanging on the wall. After fluffing out my hair and giving my titties a lift, I adjusted my sheer, black robe on my shoulders and opened the door. Maverick was standing there with a toothpick in his mouth, wearing a wife-beater and some basketball shorts, looking sexy as hell. His lips parted as he took me in, the toothpick dropping to the ground. “Fuck. What a nigga do to deserve all this on a weekday?” he asked as he walked in, looking around the apartment.
I bit my bottom lip to stop it from quivering as I closed the door. Turning to him, I smiled, then said, “All you have to do is be here. You deserve the world, daddy.”
“Daddy, huh?” he asked, grabbing his dick.
“Come on. I cooked.”
His eyes widened slightly as he followed me to the kitchen. When he saw the meatloaf, he slowly shook his head. “Are you about to break my heart, Yuri? This shit is giving me bad vibes. Something is going on.”
I frowned slightly. He was a thinker, and I should have known this shit wouldn’t work. I did too much. “What do you mean?”
“You cooked one of my favorite meals, you wearing lingerie, looking good enough to eat, the massage table is set up… if it were the weekend or a special occasion… I wouldn’t be as skeptical. But we’ve kind of settled into a routine and this is throwing me a big-ass, flashing warning sign.”
I huffed loudly, then asked, “Can we eat?”
“Naw. Just tell me. I won’t be able to eat until I know what you tryna smooth me out for.”
I extended my arm to gesture him to the couch. Slipping off my heels, I sat next to him, but angling my body to face him. He rubbed his hand down his face and I could see he was anxious about what I would say. I grabbed his hand and began, “What I have to tell you won’t affect our relationship, so I need you to relax in that. We’re in a great place and I
promise, I ain’t going nowhere and neither are you.”
He pulled me to his lap, straddling him, then lightly ran his fingertips over the top of my breast. “So, what’s up then?”
His hands slid to my ass as I stared at him. “Your uncle came to the spa today.”
He frowned and was about to say something, but I put my fingers on his lips. “He’d made an appointment with me for today over a month ago. I didn’t look to see who it was, I just knew I had an appointment. When he knew I was with you, it didn’t dawn on him to cancel his appointment until today. But instead of calling, he came to the spa. When I tried to schedule him with someone else, he made me aware of the fact that he only scheduled the massage because he was trying to get next to me. I knew I needed to tell you for a few reasons. One. I didn’t want you to find out some other way. Two. If this escalated, you would know that something else had happened. Three. If he didn’t have an ulterior motive, he would have canceled by phone and wouldn’t have felt the need to tell me how he felt about me. Four. I can’t risk losing you, again.”
His grip on my hips had tightened with every word I spoke. His skin had reddened, and his frown had deepened. I leaned in and kissed his lips, doing my best to relax him. I rubbed his shoulders and neck until he stopped me and said, “Let’s eat.”
“O-okay,” I stuttered as I stood from his lap.
He was too quiet, so I knew some shit was about to go down. Following him to the kitchen, I warmed our food, then brought it to the table. I poured the brown gravy in a boat and brought it to the table as well. When I sat, he reached across the table for my hands. I put mine in his and bowed my head. “Thank you, Lord for this wonderful woman and the amazing meal she’s prepared for me. Bless her and her hands. Bless her for trying her best to keep me calm so I don’t go find Cedric and f him up.”
My eyes popped open and I stared at him. This fool was crazy. But I was thankful that he was still sitting here and praying. He continued, “You know my heart, Lord. So, please forgive me for what you already know I’m gonna do. In Jesus’s name, Amen.”
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