by Anna J.
Once back in my room, I blocked my number and called Sheila to see if she would answer. She was probably at work and wouldn’t answer right away, and I decided against leaving a message because I knew she would never call back. Allowing the phone to ring until the voice mail picked up, I hung up and called the courthouse instead. That was a phone she had to answer.
“District Court, how may I direct your call?” Sheila answered the phone in a very professional voice that held a lot more confidence than I remembered. I guessed once I left Philly she was able to do her.
“Sheila, it’s Monica. I need your help,” I began, ready to run down a list of errands for her. As I was talking I noticed the phone was awfully quiet on the other end. Taking the phone from my ear, my screen read that the call was disconnected. Did this bitch just hang up on me? Going to my call log, I hit the number again, waiting for her to answer.
“District Court—”
“Did you hang up on me?” I spat into the phone, ready to get rowdy if necessary.
“Monica, now is not the time—”
“Then when is the time? This is about my son,” I said, cutting her off midsentence.
“Look, I get out of here at five. Get a pen and pad to take down my number and we can discuss it then. Right now, I’m working and don’t have time for this.”
Seems like we got a backbone while I was gone, I thought as I got a piece of paper ready. I already had a number for her, but the judge’s Rolodex may not have been up to date, or she may have been operating from a different phone. The number she gave me was the same number I had, and after confirming that I would call her at five fifteen, I hung up. I needed to get in touch with James, but I wasn’t really sure how to go about it.
Falling back on the bed, I just stared at the ceiling, trying to sort everything out. My phone ringing scared the shit out of me, and I jumped up to see who it was. The screen read Jaydah’s name above the number, and I was not beat for her today. I was surprised that it took her this long to call me. Maybe she had book signings or something that kept her busy because surprisingly she hadn’t called me since we touched down in Philly three weeks ago. I wondered to what I owed the pleasure of her call today. I was almost tempted to let her go to voice mail, but I was bored out of my mind and could use some form of entertainment for the time being.
“Hello?” I spoke into the phone in a sleepy voice like I had been awoken from a nap or something. Hopefully she would take that as a hint and not want to talk my head off.
“Monica, how have you been?” She spoke in what I assumed, by the huskiness in her tone, was supposed to be a sexy voice, but I was not moved by it at all. As good as the sex was with her, I didn’t need to give this chick any ideas. She was too damn clingy for me, and I just didn’t feel like the shenanigans.
“I’ve been good,” I responded, not bothering to give up any detail. She knew what I was here for, but I wasn’t about to give up details. We were just fucking, ain’t like we were buddies.
“Okay . . .” she said, becoming silent for a while. I just sat on the phone, listening to her breathe. “Well, did you find your son?”
“I never had to look for him. I know who he’s with.”
“Yeah, but you said they had moved, and—”
“So, what exactly is the purpose of this call? I know you didn’t call to get in my business,” I responded, rudely cutting her off. This bitch was acting like we knew each other forever.
“Well, I was in fact calling to see if you made progress, but you’ve made that clear that it’s not my business,” she answered in a measured tone that indicated I might have struck a nerve and was working her nerves. Ask me if I cared.
“I’m doing okay.”
“Cool. So . . . ummm . . . when are you going to let me eat your pussy again?”
Speechless. Direct and right to the point was usually how I liked it, but this one definitely caught me off guard. I must say she had me intrigued. Taking a second to think, I knew I had to meet up with Sheila later in the day, but it was still early. Maybe I did have time to fool around with Jaydah for a second. I could definitely give her something to write about in one of her freaky novels. The butler was out getting food and paying bills for the judge, and I didn’t see security anywhere so maybe I could sneak out undetected for a while. He wouldn’t even know I was gone.
“Okay, what’s your address? I can’t stay long, but I guess I can come and play for a little while.”
“Or I can come to you if that would make it easier,” she offered, sounding suddenly happier that I agreed.
“No, I’ll come to you,” I said, looking for a pen to write down her address. I couldn’t be that disrespectful and invite her here because I didn’t know how the judge would feel about it. I had a feeling that I might be able to talk the butler into a threesome, but Jaydah didn’t like to go home when it was time. I found that out the hard way when she came to my house. Basically, the safest bet was to just meet up with her.
Writing her info down, I took a few minutes to refresh and get myself together because if I knew her, she would be on me the moment I walked in the door. The streets looked pretty clear from here, so I made sure I was by myself before jetting out. I didn’t feel like being surrounded by bodyguards today, especially since I didn’t really need it. Unless the judge had a hit out on me or some shit.
I got down to Jaydah’s house in no time, keeping an eye on the rearview mirror to make sure I wasn’t being followed. I didn’t know who was trying to set me up, and my motto was always to trust no one. When I pulled up to her condo I could hear my phone ringing, and became instantly annoyed. Is this bitch eyeballing me from the parking lot? I never told her what kind of car I was driving, so how did she know it was me? Searching my bag for the phone, I pulled it out, ready to go in on her ass, only to see a strange number on my screen. I didn’t think nothing of answering, figuring maybe she was calling from a house phone.
“I’m on my way up now,” I spoke into the phone as I gathered up my stuff. She must have been extra horny to be stalking me, but it was cool. I was one hell of a catch.
“Monica?” A male voice came across, and I had to pause for a second. Was this who I thought it was?
“James? Is this you?”
James
Moving Forward Looking Back
“Monica, I’m sorry if I caught you at a bad time,” I stuttered into the phone nervously. I didn’t know if she was going to ram on me and start cursing me out or what, and I just wanted to brace myself for it.
“Oh, no, it’s not a bad time,” she responded, just as nervous. “What’s going on?”
I had to pull the phone back and look at it. Was she serious? Not sure what kind of games Monica was playing, but I just wasn’t beat for it. She gave my mother-in-law the number to contact her for a reason, and if it ain’t about her son then we ain’t got shit to talk about.
“Well, you took extreme measures for me to contact you. Is this about your son?”
Again the phone went quiet on the other end. I was starting to lose my cool with her, and this was about to be a wrap before it got started. This was the first time in weeks that I got a moment to myself, outside of Jordan being upstairs sleep, and I needed to get this with Monica—whatever this was—done and over with. I just didn’t have the energy to go through the motions with her at this point in my life.
“Ummm, yeah. Is there a way I can meet him . . . I mean, meet up with you to discuss the situation?” she asked in a still-nervous voice. I decided to be a little nicer to Monica. I was sure this had to be hard for her, and it took a lot for her to even step foot back in Philly in the first place.
“Well, we definitely need to talk. When can we hook up?”
“Right now.”
Now it was my turn to be quiet. I didn’t want to get caught up in her web again, so I didn’t want to bring her to the house. I also didn’t want being seen out with her in public to be misconstrued, so I knew I had to be discreet
. We definitely couldn’t meet in Philly, but I couldn’t leave my son alone. Maybe getting her to the house real quick was the best move. At least there she could state her purpose and keep it moving.
“Hello?” she spoke into the phone, probably thinking that I hung up.
“Yeah, I’m here. Do you have a pen? I’ll give you my address so that you can come by the house.”
I regretted it as soon as I spit the numbers out, but it had to be done. Hopefully we could just get this done and over with, and her seeing a few pictures of her son would be enough.
What I needed Monica to understand was that she couldn’t just pop back up into this boy’s life like everything was cool. As crazy as shit was, Junior thought Jasmine was his mom. Plain and simple. Yeah, she was extra hard on him, but she was all he knew. He grew up with the other kids, and knew us as a family. What if she wanted to take him away? How would the kids react? So many thoughts went through my head, and I could feel myself starting to panic. Monica could act crazy if she wanted to, but if she tried some slick shit it would be on. I needed to restore some type of order before Jazz came home, and getting her out of the way was one of the top things on the list to do.
“How long will it take you to get here?” I asked as I looked around to double check that the house was neat. I didn’t want her to think that we weren’t on point around these parts.
“Give me thirty minutes.”
“Don’t be late.”
Not even waiting for a response, I just hung up on her. I hated to admit it, but I was nervous. Monica made me weak, and I really hoped that she would be strictly business today. She still looked damn good, and I had to adjust my growing erection in my pants. Just thinking about what those lips and hips were capable of had me ready to get it popping. Shaking my head, I went to check on Jordan. He would definitely get my mind straight for that devil that was about to show up at my front door.
I thought to maybe at least call Jazz’s mom to see if she could stop by after her workday was over; that way if things got heated she could possibly show up just in time to stop it. Monica was irresistible, and I knew I would want her. I just had to try my best to stick to the matter at hand.
The clock seemed to be moving in slow motion, being as though only about ten minutes had gone by. A part of me was hoping that she would show up early so that we could get this over with. I already decided that if she showed up even a minute late then she would have to reschedule. I didn’t want her to be here when the kids got home from school because there would be too many questions. They would want to know who she was, and I would have to lie because they weren’t ready. This was already becoming too much.
At the twenty-three-minute mark I heard a car pulling up to the door. My heart was pounding in my chest, and my palms were sweaty as I walked toward the door. Who was I kidding? I was not ready for this meeting, and I should have just told her that now wasn’t a good time. Hell, it was too late now because she was already here.
Approaching the door, I took a deep breath before opening it, only to be greeted by Jazz’s mom. Damn, she showed up too early! I thought she had to work, but she either had the day off or only worked a half day. I should have called her when I thought of it. At least I would have known she was on her way and I could have stalled her to show up after Monica got here. Well, it was too late now, and I would just have to wing it. After all, Monica only had about five more minutes to show up, and then it would be her loss.
Of course my luck wasn’t that good, and as soon as I took the bags from my mother-in-law’s hands to take in the kitchen I heard another car pull up. I kept walking like I didn’t hear it, and decided to let her answer the door so that I could feign surprise that Monica actually showed up.
From the kitchen I heard a muted conversation between Monica and Jazz’s mom, so I busied myself with putting the groceries away to buy more time before I went into the living room. Just as I was putting the eggs and milk into the fridge, the two women appeared in the kitchen doorway. I was speechless because Monica looked even sexier up close, and once again I had to control a growing erection.
“James,” Jazz’s mom began, “this is the young lady I saw at the hospital who gave me the number. I didn’t know you called her.”
“I just got around to calling her today,” I responded as my eyes bounced around the room, trying not to make eye contact. It appeared that she was almost wallowing in my discomfort, but she wouldn’t win today. “She’s an old friend of Jazz’s and mine.”
“Yes, she told me that at the hospital. I’m going to be heading out soon. I just came to check on Jordan and to make sure the kids had food for breakfast. I have to get home to start dinner for that spoiled husband of mine,” she said with laughter in her voice and love in her eyes. I wondered briefly if Jazz would feel that way about me one day.
“He should still be sleeping. I just gave him some pain medicine not too long ago.”
“Okay, I’ll go check,” she said to me before turning away. “Go ahead and catch up with your friend. I’ll stop back in before I go. It was nice to meet you again, Monica.”
“Nice to meet you as well,” she said, extending a sweet smile. She was so damn conniving and came off as sweet and innocent. I had to keep that in mind as I talked to her fine ass.
“Well, have a seat,” I offered as I sat down on the opposite side of the kitchen table. This entire experience was just too soon, and I knew I was making a mistake. When was it going to bite me in the ass was my biggest concern. Jasmine would not be happy about Monica being here in this house, around these kids, or anywhere in Philly for that matter. I knew that would be another hurdle to cross, but I couldn’t tell this woman she couldn’t see her son. I mean, I could, but all that would do was cause problems in the long run, and it was better to just avoid the shit now. Jasmine would be angry but she would just have to get over it.
Staring at her for a moment too long, the first thing I noticed was that she still looked exactly the way she did the last time I saw her. She didn’t appear to have aged at all; she just looked more mature. Everything was definitely still on point.
“So what brings you to my neck of the woods?”
“James, you already know what it is. I came to see about my son.”
Before I could respond, Jazz’s mom came back into the kitchen to let me know she was leaving. I excused myself to lock the door behind her, and to get myself together. I commended her for getting straight to the point, and for the first time since our initial conversation I felt like I could get through this. I just hoped she didn’t flip the script on me and try to seduce me . . . She might just end up getting some head out of the deal. Yeah, I was sure her main reason for the visit was to see about her son, but Monica used sex to get results for everything. That wasn’t to say that she hadn’t changed over the years, but that’s the Monica I remembered and it made me nervous.
Monica
Any Way the Wind Blows
The moment James said that I could come to talk about my son, I hopped back in the car and was on the road. I was driving so fast that I forgot to call Jaydah and tell her that I had to make a detour. I left my phone in the car, so I couldn’t even call her once I got inside, but it didn’t matter. At this moment she was a nonfactor, and I had to handle my business.
We sat quietly at first once he returned to the kitchen. I smelled his cologne before I saw him. I had to squeeze my thighs together to keep my clit from jumping, and to control the splash that would soak my panties. I couldn’t believe that this man still turned me on. He looked less bruised and beat up now, and I could tell that a lot of the scars would heal nicely, and not be a permanent fixture on his fine features. He looked more . . . mature. A shy smile crept up on my face as a thought of one of the times we hooked up popped into my head, and I had to make myself stay focused. I was here to get the dibs on my son, and that was it, but if he made a pass I couldn’t guarantee that I would resist.
“How is your wife?” I as
ked, my voice sounding foreign to my own ears, and I didn’t recognize the sound coming out. I did a quick scan of the room, taking notice that it was just as laid out as the living area of the house. I wondered briefly what the bedroom looked like, but I knew I could never go anywhere near it. The things that would happen on that bed would be a sin and a shame, and that wasn’t the purpose of my visit this time around.
“You’re not here to talk about her.”
Stung. James was playing hardball, and I knew I needed to bring my A game with him. It was apparent that this wasn’t going to be a pleasant meeting, so I might as well get down to business. Now wasn’t the time to pull punches.
“Okay, well I’m here because the checks were being returned and I couldn’t get in contact with you. What’s up with that? Then I get here, and this horrible-ass accident is going on, and I just needed to make sure my son is okay.” I came at his neck with way more attitude than needed, but I felt the conver-sation warranted it. No, I didn’t come to talk about his damn wife, but asking about her was the polite thing to do. Damn, I see I can’t even be nice to this fool. Every time I think I can get out of “bitch mode,” somebody shows me that I can’t.
“Okay, first off, he hasn’t been your son since the day you dropped him off on my kitchen table. A check doesn’t make him yours.”
Boom! And there it is. I guess he told me, huh? I almost didn’t have a comeback, but I wasn’t about to let this fool chump me. He had the wrong chick for that. I took a second to gather myself, because James’s simple ass was about to catch a bad break. I knew he may be angry about some shit, but he really didn’t want it with me, and I guessed I needed to remind him of how ignorant I could get.