by Xyla Turner
Until that one fateful day on the beach, a woman came running over with her son to get a beach ball. I was reading a book, but Jacquez was on his laptop, since he was not on a sabbatical. The woman basically had patches covering her nipples and a barely-there thong. She bent over to get the ball, showing her whole ass, and I knew my strong woman’s card would get revoked, but a ping of jealousy ran through me. Not just a ping, but territorial jealousy. Very unlike me, if I had to be honest.
Maxine kept asking how we were getting along, but I told her we’d fallen into a bit of a friendship. She did not believe me until I told her that we’d had no sex at all. Not even a hint toward it. We ate, talked, and then he left. There seemed to be a commitment about his declaration to get us right. This further sent Maxine over the edge. She shared that Noah had mentioned that he had changed. I wasn’t sure what that meant, but I knew one fucking thing. This woman’s ass in his face was getting me hotter than fish grease. Then she had the dirty nerve to turn around and start talking with him. He engaged in the conversation, and half of me wanted to get up so they could talk, but the other half of me wanted to drag her ass to the ocean by her hair.
To do that takes a lot of balls.
“Excuse me, who are you here with?” I interjected without thinking.
“Oh, me. Just me and my son.” She gave a wide smile.
“Then you should go and tend to him, because we did not trot our asses over to you,” I followed up while pointing at her son playing by himself.
“Oh,” she exclaimed. “I didn’t mean any harm; I just was making conversation.”
This bitch must think I was born yesterday. Been there and did that.
“Listen.” I put my book down to stand up. “Your son is over there playing by his lonesome. I suggest you go and play with him and stay out of men’s faces. Especially men that are with other women. It’s fucking disrespectful, and you’re too old to not know that.”
After spelling it out, I guess she figured the cat was out of the bag, because she put her hands on her hips and said, “You’re out here all of the time and you don’t even touch. I just figured you were friends or distant siblings.” Her eyes narrowed, but just as I was about to take a step towards her, Jacquez was up and pulling me into his body so I would not drag hers.
“You’re mistaken,” he chimed in. “I love this woman. We’re going to get married and have babies as soon as she says yes. So…your son is waiting.”
His strong arm had me nearly in a head lock as I was trying to turn and see her face, instead of his hard chest. All I heard was a huff and a woman’s voice snapping at her son for him to come on. What the fuck was wrong with people? Who did shit like that?
“You all right there, Mayweather?” Jacquez loosened his hold on me with a chuckle.
“It’s not funny. She’s disrespectful,” I retorted.
“Yeah, but I’m not studying her,” he replied.
“I don’t care if you were. You don’t do shit like that.”
“You don’t care?” he asked with one eyebrow up.
“No.” I shrugged.
“You don’t care that I love you? Don’t care that I want to spend the rest of my life with you? You don’t care about me?” he asked.
This was a different question, but I was a bit too emotional to answer them. Therefore, I untangled myself from his grasp and stepped away.
“I would hope that you know that I care for you, Jacquez. That wasn’t what we were talking about, though. We were talking about if you were studying another woman. Let’s not mince words,” I corrected him.
It was then that his alpha stepped in. He took one deliberate step towards me and said, “You’re going to sit here and try to bullshit me about you giving a fuck if I’m studying another woman or not, Sheryl. You are many things, but I never deemed you as a bullshitter.”
With that, he turned and began to walk off. Just like he had the last time. Alarms went off in my head because he was right. I could be a bitch, but I never really was one for the bullshit.
“Jacquez!” I called.
He stopped but remained where he was. At first I didn’t know what to say, but then I blurted, “Yes, I love you, dammit.”
This had him turning around as he eyed at me with that smoldering look. Damn, I missed that. Like he was a lion on the prowl, looking at his prey. Shit, I was happy to be prey and caught in the trap of everything Jacquez. The man was a lovemaking machine, and I could not deny it.
There were very few people on the private beach, which I am sure that woman was around here roaming naked. Or as she said, she was trying to shoot her shot, because he and I couldn’t be together.
BITCH.
However, nonetheless, this man had uprooted his life to come and be with me. I am many things, but I go after what I want.
Always.
Therefore, I made the short trek over to him in the sand and in bare feet threw my arms around him and kissed him hard. Be damned who was around or what they thought. I could kiss my man wherever the fuck I wanted.
Wait.
He was pushing me away.
“What?” I asked as he framed my face and held me at a distance.
“Love, I love that you finally said it, but I meant what I said earlier. I want to obey your wishes and get us right. Involving this, the intimate part, may be confusing or pose a problem, but how do we do this the right way?”
He was so serious, I could not be offended that he was shutting me down. Sex or not, baby or not, he was trying to show me that he wanted me. He wanted us.
With a smile on my face, I nodded my head and said, “How about we discuss this tomorrow? I have something to do, and I want you to be a part of that.”
“Tomorrow?” he clarified.
“Yes, tomorrow. We can discuss all of this.” With a quick swoop, Jacquez leaned in, pulling my head to his lips and kissing my temple, where he lingered.
“Tomorrow, then. Night, love.” He let go and turned around to go to his new beach house.
Watching him walk off, I realized that I did not want to lose him.
We had to get us right too.
Chapter Sixteen
Jacquez
That night I was in the shower, like I had been every fucking day, jerking off to the image of Sheryl riding my cock or better yet, wrapping her lips around it, as she choked or tried to gobble it up. The woman was a beast in the bedroom. Just my bloody speed, to tell the truth.
Her words of “I love you” were almost my undoing, and then she kissed me. Bloody hell, I was seconds from devouring her.
Abort.
Abort.
It was the only word that kept coming to my head. I wanted her more than anything, but I had to get this right. We had to get it right. That was my only thought as I pulled away from her blessed kiss. Getting it right.
After spraying the wall with yet another load of what felt like barrels of cum, I cleaned the shower and let the hot water attempt to calm my soul. The hardest thing in the world is being so close to the thing that you want and unable to enjoy it.
A dream deferred.
The next day, we had our routine breakfast, but for lunch, she wanted me to order in so we could do the thing. I had no idea what the thing was, but I hoped it involved us making our next step.
When I arrived at her door, it was open, and that meant I could come inside. She was waiting for me at the kitchen bar table with her cellphone and a piece of paper in front of her.
“What’s going on?” I sat down next to her and met her solemn face.
“All my life I felt like something was off or wrong about me. Anyway, the older I grew, the more I realized that there was something more. I made a quick visit to my mom, who was rarely sober and made mention of someone being my father. As if the deadbeat who was my father was not the one. This prompted me to get a blood test, which I did and received the results that he was in fact not my father. While there is something disturbingly wrong about this news, I w
as extremely happy about it. It just made sense. After some research and plain olé’ hearing the gossip, I think I have found who could be my father and wanted to call him. I’d like you to be here when I do. It’s…it’s a big deal.”
My heart immediately went out to her, causing me to stand, kiss her temple, and run my thumb across the side of her cheek.
“I’m here for you. Whatever you need.” I paused. “This is a big deal. Are you ready?”
“Yes,” she answered with a deep nod. “I am. On some level, I’d been putting it off when you came, but like I said before, I wanted to close some of these gaps before thinking about other things.”
“That makes sense, Sheryl.” My head nodded in understanding of her dilemma. “Let’s do it.”
Reaching my hand out for her to take it, I felt like I was being invited into her more intimate world. This extended beyond our meals, daily walks, or sunset viewing. This was different.
Sheryl grabbed my hand and hit the button on the phone. It rang three times, and then a deep voice answered.
“Hello?”
“Uh, hel-lo,” Sheryl answered. “M-my name is Sheryl South and my, uh…”
“You’re South’s daughter?” he interjected.
“Ye-yes,” she stuttered again.
Fuck.
This was not my woman. She literally took the bull by the horns and would ram his ass back. Not wanting to swoop in and take over, which is what I was seconds from doing, I merely stood up behind her and curled my arms around her neck so she knew I was there and of all things had her back.
“Some neighbors said you’d been asking around. Think I’m your father, huh?” He seemed to be a straight shooter as well.
“Well, I don’t know, but it seems as though my mom was with you during the time of my conception,” she answered with more surety in her voice.
“Well, so you want to meet or something? Have our blood checked. Seems as though you’ve done well for yourself, despite your mama. God bless her heart, but she bat shit crazy. I’m sure you know.”
Sheryl looked up at me and nodded, as if what he said was true.
“Take it ya not looking for money, so I’m assuming you’re looking to connect? Am I right?”
“Yes, sir,” she answered. “I don’t want anything, but I just want to know.”
There was silence on the phone for a moment, then the man said, “I know what you mean. I asked that mama of yours several times. She told me I was the crazy one. She said she was on birth control the whole time, but that woman would forget to close the refrigerator, so I know she didn’t remember to take those little pills.”
This made Sheryl laugh, assuming it was probably true and part of her routine.
“You know I’m telling the truth,” he chuckled. Almost in the same way she did. Sheryl must have heard it too and then jerked her head to face me. I shrugged and kissed her chastely.
“Yes, that was most of my job,” she confirmed. “Closing all doors.”
“You’re in Philly?” he asked.
“Not right now,” she answered. “Sort of taking some time off, but I planned to come there soon.”
“Ahh, good,” the man replied. “I’d love to meet you, and we can get that blood test if you want. Don’t want to speak out of turn, but there’s a whole family down here that might be a part of yours.”
Sheryl’s body grew tense, but then she sighed and said, “Yes, what does next week look like for you?”
“I’ll make it open. Just let me know what day and we’ll make it happen,” he shared. “You must know that I’m Jeryl Williams, and I cannot wait to meet cha.”
“You too, Jeryl.”
The phone disconnected, and my woman let out a big sigh.
That next week, we booked a trip to Indiana where Sheryl set up a meeting place with her potential father. She said that she wanted me there with her for moral support, and I wasn’t going any gotdamn where. As soon as the man walked into the diner, I knew that was her father. He was tall, at least over six feet, medium build, with a short cut that was mostly gray. His khaki jacket, jeans, and black shoes were all neat and clean. He had similar bone structures and a unique gait that resembled Sheryl’s. She must have known it too, because she grabbed my hand under the table and squeezed hard.
Damn, my tough-as-nails lady was nervous. This wasn’t something I was used to, but damn was I proud to be here to cover any emotion she wanted to feel. She trusted me with that, and I accepted the job, just the same.
The man laid eyes on her, and he must have known too.
“Gotdamn,” he exhaled as he came over to the table. “You got to be Sheryl South.”
His eyes were still on the silent woman sitting next to me. She must have nodded her head, because he slowly sat down and slid closer to the wall.
“I’m Jacquez Costa,” I introduced myself.
“Are you the lawyer or something?” The man seemingly had just realized that I was there and quickly grew on the defensive.
“No, I’m…” I went to say, but Sheryl interrupted me.
“We’re seeing each other,” she answered. “He’s with me.”
“Romantically?” the man turned back to ask Sheryl.
“Yes,” she confirmed.
“Hmm.” He nodded in my direction. “Well, I guess we’ll see what you made of. I’m assuming you’re of good stock, or you wouldn’t be here.”
“Yes, sir,” I answered. “I’d like to say so. I am waiting for her to say yes to my proposal.”
“Ahh.” Jeryl poked out his bottom lip as if he were pondering something. “Well, there are many a swamps back here if he ever treat you wrong, ya hear?”
Threats right out of the gate. I wasn’t mad about it. Hell, I understood. Jeryl hadn’t been here five minutes, and with the potential of this woman being his daughter, he was already being protective. He’d started off on the right foot.
With one arm around the back of Sheryl’s shoulders, I watched as the two talked for almost two hours. It was decided that they would get the test, but with looks and even other things they identified, it seemed they knew the answer. He had two other children, who had children. Jeryl also had seven brothers and sisters, who had a multitude of children, and they had children. So there was a big family that awaited her, which seemed to bring nothing but joy to her. They decided to go to a lab and get a paternity test completed, and because they would expedite the process, they could get the results in five days and not fourteen.
Despite that decision, Jeryl said he wanted us to come over for a shindig at his house and meet some of the family tomorrow. He said that no matter what the test said, he’d always remember this and see her as family. This made Sheryl cry, and I let her as I pulled her into my chest. I could understand, because my father had passed away when I was really young. Growing up without him was devastating, but I could only imagine thinking that someone who wasn’t your father, was and feeling like you didn’t belong. It was funny, because it was one reason why I left the States. Only this woman could bring me back here. Not even my mother. We all want to find love, connection, and to belong at the end of the day. I guess even my mother befriended Elsbeth, and she gets paid.
I get it.
As promised, they were able to take the test and the next day, we were at Jeryl’s house, where it looked like the whole town was there. A sign was on the door that said Welcome. The tears began to come, but I kept her by my side as she was greeted by so many as Jeryl proudly showed her around. His other children were there, and they seemed so happy to have another sibling that lived outside the state, they said they would come to see her. They noted how fancy she was and often referred to me as the white boyfriend. I would just correct them and say white fiancé. Mostly, they just drew back and said, “Okay, white boy.” We laughed and kept meeting people and eating good food. Jeryl kept her close, and so did I. A few times she leaned in and asked if I was okay. I wasn’t sure if that was because I was literally the only white
person there or because I was the only one who wasn’t family. I assured her that I was just fine and wanted to make sure she was okay.
“Oddly enough, I am perfect.” She squeezed my hand and laid her head on my shoulder.
Every day that week, Jeryl and Sheryl got together. Often it was the three of us, but there were times when I thought she might want to just connect with him. The result came back as promised, and when they gave her the results over the phone, Sheryl turned to me with tears in her eyes and said, “I knew it. Jacquez, I knew it.”
We called Jeryl and told him the news, which he received shortly after from the clinic and they decided to have another shindig. This time the whole town was invited. Sheryl didn’t have to convince me to stay one more week, as I knew she wanted to spend as much time as possible with her now official father.
One night as she drifted to sleep, she told me, “He asked about you. Asked why I hadn’t said yes to you. I told him that I did, you just didn’t remember.”
She chuckled as I went solid in the bed, but then she was gone. Completely knocked out, with little snores and all.
What the fuck was she talking about?
Chapter Seventeen
Sheryl South
The emotions that ran through me before I knew Jeryl was my father and after I knew officially was hard to explain. The fact that the deadbeat wasn’t proved that I was right, but to see this man, who looked like me and even had a familiar way about him come into that diner, I knew. People in the family I had various interactions with looked familiar and had some of the same mannerisms like me. It was the weirdest thing, but I knew it.
Jacquez was with me the whole time, and hell, I don’t know if I would have been able to get through all of that without him. He didn’t say much but stayed by my side with a hand on me always and never let me go. I don’t even know if I knew that I needed that, but he was there. I swear, I fell more in love with him, if that was even possible. When it was finally time for us to leave Indiana, Jeryl and I shared a long hug with a promise to come and visit him, along with the family to come visit me. They were so excited about coming to the big city with their cousin or sister. I was so excited for them to come as well.