Almost Doesn't Count

by Angela Winters

  “Of course you do,” she said. “I just don’t really have one, except what I’ve told you before.”

  “Fuck that,” he said. “You can’t tell me we’re the first two people to get together under this . . . situation.”

  “It’s against the rules,” she said.

  “I told you that no one has to know, Billie.”

  “Someone could find out,” she said. “Besides, I’ll know. My professional integrity means everything to me. This mistake is—”

  “This was not a mistake,” he insisted. “What happened between us may have been against the rules, but it was not a mistake.”

  She sighed. “You don’t understand, Ricky. These rules are in place for a very good reason.”

  “When am I going to see you again?”

  “I can’t work on this case anymore,” she said. “I have to—”

  “I’m not talking about the damn case, Billie. When can I see you again?”

  “You can’t,” she said. “I’ll have the firm contact you. Please, Ricky, don’t talk to anyone about—”

  “Billie, I’m not going to let you hide behind your job. I want to be with you. You want to be with me and I know it. This is not over.”

  He hung up and Billie felt a sense of dread. It was true. She wanted him, and that fact made this all so much worse. Billie felt like she was drowning. If there was ever a time she needed her girls, it was now.

  When Erica entered Jonah’s office, he was standing near the bookcase behind his desk. When he turned to her, he smiled wide and started walking toward her. There was an awkward moment when Erica thought he was going to try to hug her. She didn’t know what she was going to do and she just froze in place. Fortunately, he stopped about a foot away from her.

  “It’s nice to see you,” he said with the calm, controlled voice that he was so known for. “Let’s sit down.”

  He walked over to the sofa against the far wall, but Erica didn’t follow him. When he realized that, he turned to her. She pointed to the two leather chairs facing his desk.

  “Here is fine,” she said, taking a seat.

  “Okay.” His voice held a little trepidation. “Have you been able to get ahold of Nate since we last talked?”

  She shook her head. “He came by, but I wasn’t there. I don’t even know where he is.”

  “He’s staying at the place of a guy named Raneed Peters,” Jonah said. “He goes by the name Reedy and he lives over on Alabama.”

  “He’s the guy, isn’t he?” she asked. “He got Nate into all this.”

  “He’s pretty much been a crook his whole life,” Jonah offered. “He has a juvenile record for dealing. He spent a short time in jail for illegal gun possession. The police suspect he deals drugs all around his neighborhood, but they haven’t been able to get him yet. They’d like to figure it out.”

  “Why is a drug dealer working as a handyman around a hospital?” she asked.

  “Health benefits?” Jonah smiled, but only for a second as soon as he realized Erica was not in the mood for jokes. “I suppose it’s because he’s not a big fish. Just a daily dealer.”

  “But he has been arrested before.”

  “More than once, and while I can see how he got a job at a car wash, I’m not sure how he got that job at the hospital. I would have hoped—”

  “Car wash!” Erica yelled, suddenly remembering. “How could I forget? I met him. I met him when I went to go see . . .”

  Erica stopped talking as it all came to her. She was confused.

  “You’re thinking right,” Jonah said. “Terrell got Nate the job at the construction company and Reedy the job at the car wash.”

  “He’s friends with him?” Erica said it as more of a question.

  “I wouldn’t say that.” Jonah leaned back in the chair.

  “Well, obviously he is,” Erica said. “He got him the job at the car wash. He was in his office the day I came over.”

  “I didn’t know that.” Jonah frowned.

  “Well, why would you?” she asked, not sure why this fact bothered him.

  Jonah brushed it off. “But look, Erica. I checked into that. He’s not friends with Terrell. You know I wouldn’t be angry to find that out.”

  “You’d love a reason to dog Terrell further.”

  He nodded. “Of course I would.”

  “You’d be surprised,” she said. “He’s actually in support of you helping me.”

  “I sincerely doubt that.”

  “It’s true.” Erica leaned back and crossed her legs. “He’s trying to understand you and me. So maybe you can try to understand me and Terrell.”

  Jonah looked away for a second, managing a slight smile. He turned back to Erica.

  “The local police know who Reedy hangs with, and Terrell is not one of them. He only seems to know Reedy because of Nate.”

  Erica felt relieved. “Terrell wouldn’t have anything to do with him if he knew he was involved in drugs.”

  “Of course not,” Jonah said unconvincingly. “If you want to keep Nate away from Reedy and his boys, I can use my connections to put some pressure on local police to really dig into the operation.”

  Erica was trying to think about what was the best path. “Those sources who seem to know Terrell isn’t friends with Reedy do know that Nate is.”

  Jonah nodded.

  “Well, I don’t want them pressing down on Reedy if it will get Nate caught in something. Nate has never been arrested or gotten in trouble with the law. Maybe you can wait until I make sure Nate is out of this for sure.”

  “I think it’s best if we move quickly on this,” Jonah said. “And don’t worry about Nate. I promise you. I will make sure no matter how this goes down, Nate will not be implicated. I will protect him for you.”

  “Can you really do that?”

  He flashed her a knowing smile. “I can do anything you need me to, Erica.”

  She didn’t doubt that and it scared her. It was that power that threatened Terrell and Sherise at one time. It was the kind of power that she always thought could lead to only bad things. But now, that same power could save her brother and keep him from ruining his future.

  Erica smiled. “Thank you.”

  “Billie!”

  Billie snapped out of her daze at the sound of Sherise yelling her name.

  “What?” she asked.

  “Fine, I’ll get it.” Sherise rolled her eyes and made a smacking sound with her lips as she headed for the door.

  “Is someone at the door?” Billie asked.

  Sherise looked back at her as if she was crazy. “That’s usually what a ringing doorbell means.”

  Sherise opened the door to Erica. There was an awkward moment as the two faced each other for the first time since Erica had found out that there was a question about Cady’s paternity. Sherise felt like she should say something, but she didn’t know what.

  “Are you gonna let me in or what?” Erica asked.

  Sherise smiled and reached out to hug Erica, tight.

  “Oh, stop it.” Erica pushed her out of the way and kissed her on the cheek before walking inside. “So any news yet?”

  “We’re still waiting,” Sherise said, back to biting her fingernails. “It’s killing me.”

  What they were waiting for were the test results, which the lab Billie used promised would come in today. To keep Justin at home, Sherise left Cady with him and came over to Billie’s for what she told him was a girls’ night out.

  “Where have you been?” Sherise asked.

  “You don’t want to know.” Erica tossed her purse on the sofa and headed over to the dining area where Billie was standing, staring out the window. “What’s up with you?”

  “I didn’t think you were coming,” Sherise said nervously. “I thought you were gonna bail on me.”

  Erica turned to her and saw how vulnerable Sherise was at this moment. This was such a rare sight. She almost seemed like a girl, not even a woman anymore, just sca
red and waiting.

  “I’m here,” she said. “I told you we would figure this out. I just don’t understand why you didn’t tell us about Cady the same night you told us you slept with Ryan.”

  “I had one tiny shred of dignity left,” Sherise answered. “I was hoping to keep it. Do you know how disastrous this could be?”

  Sherise walked over to the table and sat down. Erica turned her attention back to Billie, who hadn’t even acknowledged her.

  “Billie,” she said loudly. “What’s wrong with you?”

  Billie turned to her and shrugged. “Nothing. I’m just nervous waiting for them to call.”

  Suddenly, Billie’s phone, which was laying in the middle of the dining room table, began to vibrate. Sherise let out a scream as her hands came to her cheeks. Billie looked down at the phone, but didn’t move.

  Erica, realizing that neither of them was going to move, grabbed the phone. She checked the ID.

  “It’s R. Williams.” Without answering, she offered the phone to Billie.

  Billie waved her hand and shook her head furiously. “No. No. No. Don’t answer it.”

  “Isn’t that your client?” Sherise asked. “The one you want to sleep with?”

  “Just let it ring,” Billie said.

  “Pick it up,” Sherise ordered, “and then hang up. I don’t want him clogging up the line.”

  “I’m sure she has call waiting.” Erica placed the phone, which had stopped vibrating, back on the table. “Why don’t you want to answer it?”

  “Because she wants to sleep with him,” Sherise said.

  “Stop it!” Billie yelled.

  Both women jumped with a start at her response.

  Billie sighed apologetically. “I just can’t deal with this. Not now.”

  “What happened?” Seeing how upset she was, Erica rushed over to her. “Billie, talk to me.”

  Billie lowered her head as Erica placed her hands comfortingly on her shoulders. She felt ready to fall apart.

  “I slept with him,” she whispered.

  “What?” Erica asked. “What did you just say?”

  “She slept with him,” Sherise answered for her.

  Erica blinked, unsure of what to say for a second.

  “I did,” Billie said. “I slept with him. Two days ago at his place. I was upset and I . . .”

  “Wow.” Erica was taken back. “I thought you weren’t supposed to sleep with him. I mean, you weren’t allowed to.”

  “I’m not, okay?” Billie was full-out crying now. “I know that. I’ve made a terrible mistake. It was awful.”

  “That’s too bad,” Sherise said, not taking her eyes off the phone on the table. “Broke all the rules and the sex wasn’t even good.”

  “That’s not what I meant,” Billie said. “The sex was . . . it was great. It’s just . . . it was an awful thing to do.”

  “Have you told anyone?” Erica asked.

  Billie shook her head. “I don’t know what I’m gonna do. I could get in so much trouble for this. I could destroy my career.”

  “Oh, sweetie.” Erica wrapped her arms around Billie and squeezed her tight.

  “You have got to be fucking kidding me!” Sherise looked at them in awe.

  “What?” Erica asked.

  “She breaks all the rules and you trip over yourself to comfort her, but when I do it, I get your judgment and criticism?”

  “Stop it,” Billie interjected. “You guys don’t start over me. I don’t—”

  “Don’t act like it’s the same thing,” Erica argued. “You cheated on your husband twice and lied about—”

  The vibration started again and everyone immediately shut up.

  “Answer it!” Sherise gripped the edges of the table as tightly as she could. This was it. She just knew it.

  Erica reached for the phone. “It’s Lab Corp.”

  Sherise let out a small yelp.

  Billie’s eyes widened as she looked at Sherise. She turned back to Erica and gestured for her to give her the phone.

  “Hello?” she asked. “This is Billie Carter.”

  While Erica was trying to read Billie’s expression as she listened, Sherise stared straight ahead, her lips pressed together, her fingers gripping at the table as if it would make a difference.

  “Thank you,” Billie said quietly. “Yes, please send a copy of those sealed results to me. Thank you again.”

  “So?” Erica asked the second she hung up.

  Billie reached over to Sherise and placed her hand over her head and caressed her hair. She smiled.

  “She’s Justin’s, Sherise.”

  Upon hearing this, Erica let out a celebratory yell and jumped in the air, but Sherise just sighed and her head fell to the table.

  Sherise felt like all the air in the world had been let out of her. She was crying now as she felt Billie rub her back. She couldn’t describe how she felt. All this time, she had hoped and knew in her mind that Cady was Justin’s, but she was scared. She didn’t want to even deal with the possibility that she wasn’t. This was real. Wasn’t it?

  “Are they sure?” Sherise asked, her face still flat on the table.

  “They are ninety-nine point nine percent positive that the male sample is the father of the female sample,” Billie said happily.

  “Jesus.” Erica had to sit down. She felt exhausted. “Thank you, Jesus.”

  Sherise finally sat up, tears still flowing down her cheeks.

  “Every time I looked at her,” she said, speaking slowly and full of emotion, “I told myself that I saw Justin’s nose or his eyes. She was his skin tone, not mine. When she smiled, it reminded me of him. But I was forcing it. I made it so that everything she did reminded me of Justin so I could believe that she had to be his. She had to be.”

  “She is,” Billie said.

  “She’s always favored him,” Erica said. “You weren’t making that up.”

  “What are we going to do now?” Billie asked.

  Sherise wiped the tears from her cheeks as she took a deep breath. She looked up at Billie with the determination of a woman who had just been given a second chance at life, at love, at happiness.

  “Oh, no,” Erica said. She recognized that expression.

  “That bitch is gonna pay for this,” Sherise said. “She’s gonna—”

  “Wait.” Billie held up her hand to stop her. “Jennifer is not your priority right now. You just got a reprieve. Don’t make your situation worse.”

  “My situation is fine,” Sherise said. “Her situation is the one that’s about to get worse.”

  “We have to think this through.” Billie sat down at the table.

  “You should just go to Justin,” Erica said. “You have the news you wanted. Tell him the truth about who Jennifer is, why she’s sleeping with him. Once he knows you know he’s been cheating, he won’t be as judgmental when you tell him about Ryan.”

  “That’s a good idea,” Billie said. “You have the power back. Go to Justin. It’s between you and your husband now.”

  Sherise shook her head. “I appreciate what you two are doing and I fully intend to tell Justin what’s going on, but there is no way that bitch is getting away with this.”

  “Sherise,” Erica warned.

  “She didn’t just sleep with my husband,” Sherise argued. “She tried to take Cady’s daddy away from her. She tried to hurt my baby.”

  “We can deal with her later,” Billie said. “First you deal with Justin and get that shit straightened out, then—”

  “It’s too late,” Erica said. “She’s already got a plan. It’s probably already in the works, isn’t it?”

  Sherise smiled. Hell yeah, it was.

  Walking up to her apartment building, Billie was scrolling through her e-mails on her smartphone and did not notice the person sitting on the steps leading up to the door until coming right up on him.

  “Ricky,” she said.

  He stood up with a hurt expression on his face.
“I didn’t expect you to be happy to see me, but this is a little insulting.”

  She wasn’t sure what expression she offered him, but Billie didn’t have the energy to try to fake it. “I didn’t expect to see you at all. How did you get my address?”

  “Does it matter?” he asked.

  “Of course it matters,” she said. “You’re my client. You’re not supposed to—”

  “I’m not just your client anymore,” he said. “How long are you planning on running from me?”

  “I’m not running.” She tried to walk past him, but he blocked her way. “This is a difficult situation and I’m trying to make the best of it.”

  “This can’t be the best of it.” He reached out and touched her arm. “Us not seeing each other at all can’t be making the best of it.”

  “Please stop,” she said, already feeling a tingling sensation at his touch.

  “I want to see you,” he said. “I want to be with you again.”

  “That isn’t going to—”

  Before she could react, his lips were on hers, pressing against them. She could feel his desperation in the way his hand gripped her arm, trying to pull her to him.

  “God dammit, Billie!”

  She tore herself away from Ricky to see Porter walking toward the both of them. She could tell he was furious from the fire in his eyes.

  “How many guys are you sleeping with?” he asked, looking at Ricky. “First Robert, then this guy. Who the fuck is this?”

  Ricky stepped closer to him. “You might want to watch who you refer to, boy.”

  “Boy?” Porter looked him up and down and laughed. “Please.”

  “Who the fuck are you?” Ricky asked.

  Billie held up a hand to stop Ricky, whose agitation was growing. “Porter, what do you want?”

  “Who is this?”

  “None of your business,” she said. The last thing she needed was for Porter to find out that the man he saw her kissing was her client. “What do you want?”

  After another hateful stare in Ricky’s direction, Porter turned to her. “I know what you did. You’ve already crossed the line. You can’t stop can you?”

  “Porter, please—”