Only he refused to take no for an answer.
Kayla lifted her chin defiantly. Well, he was just going to have to accept it No means no. Leroy had used and misled her for too long, and enough was enough. She was done committing adultery. She knew it was wrong to violate any of the Ten Commandments. Now she prayed that the Lord would forgive her.
Finding all the paper towels wet and, on the floor,, Kayla flung her hands through the air trying to air-dry them, then exited as two loud women with enough weave in their heads to aid Rapunzel pushed into the room. She walked across the red floor and was turning the corner when she felt a hand at her waist. Abruptly, she swung around and gasped.
“Jermaine.”
He gave her an irresistible smile. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“It’s quite all right. When did you get here?”
“I’ve been here for a while. Watching you.” He pointed to a table to the far left. “I started to come over to say hello, but I noticed you were with your man.”
Kayla pursed her lips. “That’s not my man.”
He looked pleased by her response. “Good. Then you won’t mind keeping me company at my table.”
“I would love to.”
He placed a hand at the center of her back as they moved past the table where Renee and Danielle were still entertaining. She waved good-bye to her girls’ stunned faces and followed Jermaine’s lead to his table.
“Would you like something to drink or eat?”
“A soda and some wings would be nice.”
He signaled for their waitress and ordered her standard soda, Jack and Coke, and a plate of wings and fries. She settled back in the chair and stared over at the dance floor as the music changed to Stockley’s “She.”
“You want to dance?”
She quickly shook her head. “I’m not much of a dancer.”
“Then just follow my lead.” He rose and held his hand out toward her.
“I-I can’t.” There was no way she was going out there and embarrassing herself. Renee would never let her live it down.
“Yes, you can. You trust me, don’t you?”
Kayla gazed up at his kind eyes and smiled. “Yes.”
“Good.” He grabbed her hand. “Now get your sexy behind out that seat and come join me on the floor.”
She rose out of the seat, grinning like a fool. It had been a long time since anyone had called her sexy or anything close to it. And it felt good. Yes, indeed. “Well, in that case, lead on.”
Chapter 8
Renee
After getting them old cats to buy us another round of drinks, Danielle and I convinced them that we were a pair of gold diggers and sent them rushing back to their seats.
“You need to quit playing with brothas’ minds like that,” Danielle warned. “That’s why that mothafucka tried to whup yo’ ass.”
See, now why’d she even have to go there? I mean, it wasn’t like I told that psycho that I wanted to marry him. He just assumed since I had given him some coochie that I planned to spend the rest of my life with him. That was his mistake, not mine. I’m the type of chick that’s going to do what the hell I want to do and deal with the consequences later. Although that was one time I did get my ass kicked. Damn, why’d she even bring that shit up?
“Fuck you,” I hissed, then sipped from my martini glass.
“That’s what you get for inviting Fred Sanford and Grady to our table.”
We shared in a laugh, then sat back in our chairs and enjoyed the music. I glanced over onto the floor and watched Kayla in Jermaine’s arms. I have to admit that they looked good together. A tall, big woman needs a brotha with a little meat on his bones, and Jermaine had just the right amount. Hopefully, she would give him a chance.
“She caught Leroy in bed with Tracy.”
I looked at Danielle. “Tracy who?”
“Tracy Branch.”
I gave her a puzzled look. “The one who has all them kids by—”
“Luke Jackson,” she interrupted with a nod.
“Damn! How you know?”
“Nadine called me while I was getting ready and told me that Kayla told her,” she replied between sips.
“That ho! Does that no-dick bastard have any respect for himself or his wife?”
“Obviously not.”
I shook my head. Let me catch John in bed with another woman, I will cut his dick off. Now that probably sounds crazy from someone who ain’t even wanting the dick, but it’s the principle of the whole thing. If he needs to fuck around, that’s fine, as long as I don’t find out about it, ’cause when I do, I’m gonna do a Lorena Bobbitt on his ass.
My eyes traveled around the room, looking for anything that had potential, and I turned up my nose. Nothing but a bunch of mud-ducks. Anything halfway decent was already taken. Couples were dry humping on the dance floor. Bodies rubbing. Hands groping. Titties jiggling. To the far right I spotted Ron. He was on the dance floor, bumping and grinding with some short ho dressed like a video hoochie.
I nudged Danielle in the arm. “Danny, look.” She followed the direction of my eyes. Her back straightened with anger written across her face.
“I bought the negro that Rocawear outfit.”
“Looks good on him, too,” I said. Although she rolled her eyes at me, Danny knew what I had said was true. Ron is fine. Maybe it’s the cornrows he was rocking or his tall, chiseled body, or that sexy smile that made you want to drop your thong. I don’t know what it is but the brotha looks good enough to lick from head to toe. Mothafuckas like him didn’t need a job because there was always some bitch stupid enough to take care of their asses. Like Danielle. Oops, did I say that?
“I’ma go over there.”
Oh, hell nah. I pushed her back down into her chair. “For what?”
“He owes me money.”
“Money you ain’t gonna get, so you might as well quit trippin’. You knew what type of man he was when you started fucking with his ass.”
Danielle glared across the room as Ron and his hoochie moved like they were trying to make a baby together. I held on to her arm so she couldn’t jump out of her chair, then happened to glance over at the door and my heart stopped. Calvin Cambridge. I hadn’t seen him in ages, but the years had definitely been good to him. He strolled across the room like he owned the place, in a two-piece slacks and shirt that represented style. I got so wet watching him that I had to cross my legs.
Calvin and I go way back. Let’s just say, Calvin was the one that got away. We were dating at a time in my life when I needed a man, not a boy. I had two kids, working full-time and taking college classes in the evening. Danny and I were out one night when he approached me. We danced all evening, then fucked all night. He was a lot of fun and the kids adored him. Unfortunately, he was going to school at the time and had a part-time job. After a while I got tired of him eating up my food and dirtying up my sheets. All I was getting was dick, plenty of that, but I wanted something more. So, I dumped him for an army brotha who I ended up marrying, only to find out that the mothafucka already had a wife. Years later, I realized that I had made the biggest mistake of my life. Calvin’s now a university police officer with a large house, a nice ride, and did I mention he had a big dick? Okay, maybe I did, but it was definitely worth repeating.
While Danielle continued to glare at Ron, I watched Calvin, trying not to be obvious. After ten minutes I got tired of waiting for him to notice me and got up from my chair and swayed over to holla at some chick I knew back in high school. I could care less about Ginger’s Jeri curl-wearing ass. I just wanted to make sure Calvin saw me in my new spandex dress. Sure enough, by the time I returned to my seat, he was heading toward our table. I tapped Danielle on the arm and got her attention.
“Look who’s coming.”
She finally tore her eyes from Ron and followed the direction of my eyes. “Oh, damn!”
“What?”
“He’s the one that investigated Portia’s
so-called rape.”
I chuckled under my breath. She had called and given me the details, but she had left out that vital piece of information.
“Whassup, ladies?”
I studied his beautiful brown eyes and faked surprise. “Calvin, is that you? I haven’t seen you in, what, ten years?”
He grinned and licked his lips LL Cool J style. “Give or take a few.” His gaze shifted to Danielle. “Hey, Danny.”
“Whassup?” She stared down at her drink, avoiding eye contact.
“What are you doing in town?” he asked.
I crossed my legs. And just as I had hoped, he started salivating. “Dropped my kids off with their daddy for the summer.” I motioned for him to take the seat beside me. As soon as he flopped down in the chair, I caught a whiff of Armani. Mmmm, it smelled good on him.
“Danny, how’s Portia?” he asked.
She glanced up with a look of embarrassment. “On punishment for the next century.”
Calvin gave her a sympathetic look. “Teenagers.” The music changed to something slow. Suddenly I wanted to feel Calvin in my arms but before I could ask him, I heard him ask Danielle instead.
She shook her head. “Nah, I’ll pass.”
He wasn’t giving up that easy. “Why?”
Danielle rolled her eyes. “Because I said so.”
While they went back and forth, I sat back in my chair feeling some type of way. Helllooo. Was the brother blind or what? Finally, I rose and grabbed Calvin’s arm. “Come on before the song’s over.” I was relieved he followed me onto the dance floor, because for a second he didn’t act like he wanted to go. I draped my arms around his neck, feeling his hard body against mine. He wrapped his arms around my waist. I smiled seductively; my eyes locked on his.
“What?” he finally said.
“You,” I purred.
“What about me?”
“It’s good seeing you again.”
“You, too.”
He pulled me into the circle of his arms, and I closed my eyes and inhaled while we moved our bodies together. I knew at that exact moment that I was taking him back to my hotel room. No was not even an option.
“You married?” I asked.
“Nope.”
“Seeing anyone?”
“Nope.”
“Good.”
He pulled back slightly so he could stare down at me. “Why is that?”
“Because I plan on taking you back to my hotel room tonight.” Do you know he had the nerve to start laughing? “What the hell is so funny?” I asked with straight attitude.
“You. You still want things your way.” He was still chuckling.
I grinned because he knew me too well. “And what’s wrong with that?”
“The problem is, I don’t go backwards. You and I had what we had and when you got tired, you tossed me aside like a pair of worn-out Air Force Ones. It is what it is, and what it is, is over.”
The song ended. I turned on my heels and tried to hold my head high. I couldn’t believe he had the nerve to turn me down. It wasn’t until I had settled in my chair that I noticed he had followed.
“Danny, let’s dance.” Calvin moved around and carefully yanked her out of her chair, refusing to take no for an answer, and led her out to the dance floor.
I sat there fuming, hot as hell.
Chapter 9
Danielle
Danielle really wasn’t in the mood for dancing.
What she wanted to do was run over there and pop Ron upside his head for disrespecting her in public.
“Hey, you look like you’re ready to kick someone’s ass.”
She glanced up at Calvin and couldn’t resist a grin. “Somethin’ like that. My no-good ex is over there grinding with that video reject.”
He followed the direction of her eyes and chuckled. “He looks a little on the young side.”
She simply shrugged.
“How about we piss him off?” he whispered close to her ear.
“You’d do that for me?”
He answered by pulling her close to his body. “He’s staring you down.”
“Good.” Danielle reached down and squeezed his behind, grinding into him. “Is he still looking?”
Calvin pulled back slightly and smiled. “Oh, yeah. He’s watching.”
Good. She couldn’t resist looking past his arm at Ron, whose eyes were practically popping out his head. Hehe! He was jealous and she was enjoying every moment of it, especially after all the mess he had put her through. Calvin pulled her even closer and nuzzled her neck. She’d be lying if she said that shit didn’t feel good, because it felt damn good leaning against his rock-hard body. As they swayed to the music, she snuck another peek at Ron. He was mad and it made her heart flip-flop. He had to care about her. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be staring at her like he wanted to choke the mess out of her. While giggling softly, Danielle turned her head at the exact moment Calvin moved his and their lips met. She didn’t even realize they were kissing until she felt his tongue invade her mouth. Ohmygoodness! He was an excellent kisser. No one had ever kissed her that way before. Ron didn’t tongue-kiss. He was a nibbler, but now she realized she had been missing so much. Calvin’s hand came up to cup the back of her head and he deepened the kiss passionately. For a split second she didn’t want the moment to end. Danielle opened her eyes long enough to make sure what was happening was real, and sure enough, Calvin Cambridge was attached to those thick, succulent lips. She was so wrapped up in the kiss that it took a moment to realize the music had stopped and everyone was clearing the stage for the electric slide.
One minute she was moaning, the next she gasped as she was suddenly pushed away, and Ron was standing all up in Calvin’s face.
“Nucca, what the fuck you doin’, disrespectin’ me like that?”
Before she or Calvin could react, Ron reeled back, and sucker punched Calvin in the face.
“What the hell are ya doin’?” she screamed as she tried to get Ron off of Calvin. Ron pushed her away and she slid across the floor. By the time Danielle managed to get up, Calvin had recovered and was throwing punches of his own. Everyone quickly cleared the dance floor. Security had been alerted and was on their way over. Ron noticed and took off running across the club and out the door.
Calvin reached out a hand and helped her up from the floor. “You ai’ight?”
Danielle simply shrugged. She was so embarrassed she couldn’t even look him in the eye. “I should be askin’ you that question. You okay?”
He pressed a hand gingerly to the side of his mouth. “About as good as can be expected. That janky-ass nigga caught me off guard.” Danielle followed him off the dance floor.
Kayla came rushing over. “Are you okay?”
Danielle nodded. “Yeah, I’m all right”
“Danny, girl, Ron ran out of here like he stole something.”
“He probably realized that Calvin’s a cop.” Danielle glanced over at her table and found Renee dying with laughter. The last thing she needed was to hear her mouth. “I’m outta here. Calvin, walk me to my car.”
Kayla gently squeezed her shoulder. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”
Danielle nodded and headed for the exit.
Chapter 10
Renee
Okay, I was probably wrong for laughing, but that was some funny shit. Calvin had gotten knocked the fuck out before he even had a chance to see it coming. Ha-ha! Calvin’s my boy and all, but he ain’t from the streets like Ron.
I leaned back in my chair while sipping on my third drink. I could still see the look on Danny’s face when she went sliding across the floor, skirt up, thong showing. Yo, that was crazy. Now, any other time I would have jumped out of my seat and ran to my girl’s aid, but you know, truth be told, Danielle brought that one on herself. What the hell was she doing on the dance floor lip-locking with my ex? We had vowed never to mess with each other’s men, past or present. So, what do you call what she was doing? They were grindin
g and rubbing all on each other. I don’t blame Ron for clocking Calvin, although the person he should have been checking was Danny’s ass. Yes, I’m not even going to front. I am jealous because Calvin would rather spend his evening with my girl than me.
“Renee, let’s dance.”
I startled because I didn’t even hear him walk up to me. David Lovell. Nice dude. Short as hell but cute. I finished my drink, draped my slender purse over my shoulder, and followed him out onto the floor. It was a fast number, so I didn’t have to worry about him trying to cop a feel. I swayed the way I always do when I know I look good and grinned over at him.
“Whatchu know good?” he asked.
“Not a damn thing. Whassup wit’ you?”
“Same ole, same ole. Dee-Dee and I split up so I’m tryin’ to adjust to bein’ back in the game.”
I almost laughed in his face because this was his way of letting me know he was available.
“I hear you’re writing books?”
I nodded. “And what are you doing with yourself these days?”
“I’m a Columbia police officer.”
“Really?” David nodded. “Well, I’m impressed.” I was, really, because most of the dudes I knew from back in the day weren’t doing a damn thing with their lives. They were all in jail, still living with their mamas, or gay.
Reaching down, he removed his cell phone from his hip. “I want yo’ number now before you run off and I don’t see you for another fifteen years.”
I rattled off my cell and watched as he danced and programmed in the number at the same time. My purse started vibrating.
“That’s me calling, so you now have my number. Make sure you hit a brotha up from time to time.”
I nodded. The music changed to Cardi B and I started rocking like all the other young folks. I watched David move and I’ll have to admit he had some skill. I checked him out from head to toe. He’d gained a little weight over the years, but it seemed to be in just the right places. His chest was buffed, and his arms had some muscle definition going on.
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