“You are so right. I have never quite looked at gossiping that way. Spencer girl, you go deep, don’t you?”
“Life is for living and getting the most out of it. We all have our faults, but its how we handle them that gives us strong characters. You take life seriously with a touch of salt. It is sour to the taste buds, yet sweet to the mind. You have to live, learn, and let God help you through prayer. Then you can live a full life. Most African Americans have a problem with getting help when we need it. We worry about how others will perceive us if they knew we went to see a shrink. We worry about what our current or potential employers would do to or with us if they knew we sought mental health counseling. Yet Caucasians brag on how many therapists they see like it’s a badge of honor. We should do the same thing and maybe we can lose some of the baggage many of us carry around.”
“You’re right. I know I need counseling, but I have held those same stereotypes in the back of mind. I guess I have been all lips and no action.”
“Now, tell me. What’s going on with you and Anthony?”
“I need a glass of wine to discuss this. Let me get your gift first. I brought this Dom Perignon for you, but I think I need a glass now. This is difficult for me to talk about.”
Jerickca took the two water glasses and poured the wine into them. Just as she reached to give Spencer her glass, the phone rang. “Hello,” she said. “Hi baby. How was school today?”
“It was fine. What are you doing?” asked Daphnie.
“I’m sitting here talking to Spencer.”
“Tell her I said hi.”
“What are you and your dad doing this weekend?” Jerickca asked.
“He said that we were going to a movie,” Daphnie said with excitement. “I want to see ‘You Got Served.’”
“I’m sure your dad will make sure that it is rated PG-13. Let me speak to him.”
“Hi, Honey. I miss you.”
“Mhmmm,” said Anthony. “Jerickca, when you come home we need to prepare for our summer vacation. Daphnie is too excited about going to Florida. She wants to get to that amusement park so bad; otherwise, I would have taken you all to Hawaii.”
“We’ll get a chance to go to Hawaii later.”
“When are you coming home?” Anthony asked. “Your daughter misses you already.”
“Does she miss me or do you?”
“Both. Please don’t waste money while you are there.”
“Anthony, don’t start that shit with me. I love you.”
“Me too.” Anthony quickly said, “Bye.”
Jerickca took a sip of her wine, walked over to the bed, and sat down. “Spencer, that man knows that he love him some me, girl. He can’t stand for me to leave him and I can’t stand to sleep without him. I feel so empty when he goes on business trips.”
“So what’s the problem between you two?”
“Satisfying sex and communication. It’s always about sex. Either you are getting too much sex, not enough, or not correct, or somebody’s G-spot is not getting tapped. In this case, it’s mine. I’m not sexually fulfilled. I love my husband, but kissing and foreplay went out the window four years ago. I feel like I’m married to my brother. There is no fire, but I love him dearly.”
Spencer looked at her friend and asked, “Have you talked to him about this?”
“Spencer, you know I have. But he’s says that there isn’t a problem and that he is satisfied. He basically said that he’s happy. I asked him to go to counseling but he told me to go since I was the one unhappy. He will not bend on that one because he is so private.”
“Then you go. Counseling will give you the guidance that you need to talk to Anthony. But if I were in your situation, I would probably just jump his bones.”
“I tried that but he always says, ‘I’m tired, just give me some now.” Jerickca said in a deep manly voice, “He has the equipment but he doesn’t know how to use it.”
“Well, it’s difficult to counsel a friend on an issue like this one but I strongly feel that you should seek counsel. I will give you some referrals and their numbers. I encourage you to call and talk to each therapist to see whom you feel you would be comfortable meeting. I’ll make sure you get the numbers before you leave.” Spencer got up and hugged her friend. “You have a man who cares about you. Try to work this out because you guys still love each other after all these years, and that’s rare in these times.”
“I’ll try. I always wondered why people have affairs and now I know. It’s not that the heart stops loving. In most cases, sex dies or communication stops. Someone always gives up, and I’m not old. I’m still sexy and want good loving, and I know my husband does to. He just doesn’t want to give it up. I feel better since talking, but girl, I want action when I get home. You know there is this fine facilitator here and I was definitely feeling some vibes from him. He asked me to go to dinner with him. I even thought about trying to get with that fine brother. But I guess I’ll keep my legs closed and my heart warm for Anthony.”
“You’d better,” Spencer said laughing. “Let’s go to Spago Restaurant on Dearborn Parkway. They have fabolicious food and the atmosphere is great.”
Jerickca and Spencer spent a lot of time together. They visited the Sears Tower, the world’s tallest building. Spencer took her to Robie House to look at the exquisite glass windows and doors. They went to Buckingham Fountain to see the light and water show, and finally they visited the Art Institute. She learned a lot about Chicago and shopped in their great stores. They shopped in the Loop, and at the Magnificent Mile and visited Marshall Fields, Ann Taylor, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdale, and Nordstrom. They shopped at the Louis Vuitton Store, Hugo Boss, where they picked up something for Anthony, and the Coach Store, where she purchased a purse for Daphnie.
She bought something at each of the stores. Anthony was going to have a fit, but Jerickca didn’t care. “What was the use of having money if you couldn’t enjoy it?” she always said. Jerickca and Spencer shopped until they almost dropped. They enjoyed touring the city of Chicago together. Spencer was excited that her friend had got the chance to see how she was living.
Jerickca enjoyed Spencer’s company so much that she hated leaving her friend. At the airport, Jerickca took her hand and thanked her for her hospitality. “Thank you for always being in my corner, Spencer. You are such a good friend. Most so-called friends would have told me to seek pleasure outside of my marriage, but you want my family to stay together. I thank you for not encouraging me to sleep with James, the conference facilitator. It was so clear that he was interested in me. It’s so hard to find good friends, but I thank God that He led me to you.”
Spencer smiled and said, “I love you, too, and when I come to visit in the fall, I want you to show me around Missouri, the Show Me State. I had a great time with you.”
“Girl, you know I will show you all the hot spots. You think Chicago is the bomb? Wait until you get to St. Louis! There is so much to do. We can cross over the Mississippi River and we are back in the state of Illinois. So baby, you get two treats for the price of one. Well, they are calling my boarding number. Smooches, love you, and thanks for bringing me to the airport.” Jerickca grabbed her friend and hugged her tight.
“You are welcome. Call me when you get home. Have a safe trip.”
“Bye now.”
“Bye.” Jerickca shouted as she walked to get on the plane. She turned and mouthed the words “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” Spencer responded.
Chapter 33
Patches closed his eyes and tried to think about Jessica. He missed her. He had to see her, because he couldn’t function without seeing her. In a short time, she had captured his heart. He was having a hard time keeping a hard on. Toi was sucking his penis like a trick trying to catch a payday to purchase some crack, but all he thought about was how she disgusted him. He would never have Jessica on her knees on the ground while he stood next to a car. He cared too much for her an
d would never allow a woman he loved to be outside in the dark, on her bare knees on the heated concrete, sucking his dick.
“Toi, get your ass up, girl.”
Toi ignored him. She was trying hard to turn him out because she wanted more from Patches. She wanted to be his one and only gal. So she wanted to give him pleasure that only she knew how to give him, but tonight was different. He couldn’t keep a hard on and she was working it but to no avail.
“Toi, I said get your ass up,” Patches said as he pushed her head back.
“”What’s wrong, baby? I’m not making you feel good?”
“Nah! I can’t do this with you anymore. Get off your knees.”
“What do you mean? You know I love you,” Toi whined.
“Didn’t I tell you that I don’t roll like that? I ain’t in love with you, and you know that.”
“Why are you here then, letting me suck your damn dick?”
“I’m outta here.” Patches said as he zipped his pants up and walked toward his car.
“You yellow bastard!” Toi said as she picked up a large rock, threw it at Patches’ car window, and missed it by inches. “I hate you!”
Patches turned around and walked briskly toward Toi. He tried to grab her by the waist but she took a step back and smacked him hard. Finally grabbing her by the arm and twisting it back gently, trying not to hurt her but giving her a message, he said, “You will never get a good man like me by sucking dicks in a parking lot. Get some class and stop giving up your ass.” He dropped her arm and walked toward his car, got in and burned rubber, leaving her standing there looking stupid.
He picked up his mobile phone and dialed Jessica.
“Hey baby girl, how are you?”
“I’m okay, and you?”
“Missing you, that’s all. Can I come over?” Patches asked.
“It’s too late, and I have to be in court early tomorrow.”
“Are you afraid of me?” Patches wanted to know.
“No, I’m afraid of what we might do when we are together. You know I’m not a one night stand.”
“I know that, but we have been seeing each other for five months and you and I haven’t touched second base yet.”
“Is that all you want from me? Sex?”
“Jessica, I really like you and I’m thinking about you every second of the day. I just want to hold you tight.”
“Come on over,” she whispered.
“I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
When he walked up to the door, he knocked lightly while he adjusted his shirt. Jessica opened the door wearing a white negligee with a long matching robe. He grabbed her and kissed her hard as he shut the door and locked it. The kiss was so powerful that his knees buckled. She pulled him to the couch and they kissed, touched, and hugged for more than an hour. Jessica took Patches’ hand and walked him into her bedroom. There she removed his shirt and kissed his nipples. She gently glided her hand across his chest and planted kisses on his cheek, nose, ears, and finally, his lips.
“Are you sure you’re ready for this Jessica?” he asked.
“Yes, I am. I couldn’t be more ready.”
Now it was his time to take the lead. He wanted this to be special. He wanted to please her the way he had never pleased another woman. He wanted to be gentle with her.
After laying her across the bed, he kissed every inch of her body as he strategically removed her nightclothes. Her body trembled as his tongue glided over every inch of her body. He lingered longer on her perky breast as he gently suckled each one. Moving his head and tongue from her chest down to her stomach, he kissed and stroked every inch of her body, savoring the taste of her skin. Finally, he tenderly pushed her legs apart and licked her like he was trying to reach her soul. Within minutes, she screamed out as her body shook while she pressed his head down deep into her being. Jessica grabbed the headboard on the bed and screamed, “It feels so good.”
Patches stood up and lovingly looked into her eyes. “I love you,” he said. This was the first time that he uttered those words and really meant them.
“I love you, too,” she responded.
With that said, he lay down next to her and kissed her for ten minutes. He felt no need to rush, and he wanted to remember this night forever. He studied her body as she moved toward his manhood. As she tried to lick him, he pulled her back up against him and kissed her. He knew that if she took him in her mouth, he would not last very long and would release his liquid into her. Plus he remembered that Toi had been sucking on him and he didn’t want Jessica to taste the remnants of her saliva. He had to regain control, so he massaged her clitoris until he had her full attention. When she was very moist, he eased into her. Jessica tensed up and tried to move her body away from him. The more she tried to scoot back, the more he moved into her. He thrust himself deeper and she moaned loudly in pain. “Jessica, you’re a virgin?”
“Yes,” she shyly whispered.
He kissed her hard and entered her gently. It was the sweetest feeling he ever had when they climaxed together. He knew that he would marry her.
The next morning, he walked into the office singing because he was so happy. He decided to go to the lounge area to get a cup of coffee. When he walked into the back room, everyone was sitting down, laughing, and talking about sex.
“Ya’ll tripping this early in the morning?” He laughed as he looked at Megan. “What’s up?”
“No, you are the one who just walked in talking that crap. Why you giggling like a little pussy?”
“Megan, I know that you didn’t go there. I’m not going to let you take me out of this mood. I feel too good to let your stupid ass mess with me this morning.”
Megan jumped up from behind her desk and swiftly walked toward Patches. She screamed in his face, “I know your yellow, silly ass didn’t call me stupid, did you?”
“Girl, you better step your ass out of my face. Your ass can dish it but you can’t take it. You best to move it!”
Megan stepped back. She didn’t know whether Patches was serious or not because he had never talked to her like this. “What’s your problem, Baby Boy?”
“Baby Boy is in looove,” he sang.
“No shit,” Megan said with a big smile on.
“Who is the lucky girl?” Phoenix wanted to know.
“Ya’ll remember that night we went to Club Illusion? Well, I met this attorney named Jessica there, and we danced and talked most of the night. She was very nice and all that. We kinda hit it off slow but we kept seeing each other.”
“She didn’t up that coochie, did she?” Megan laughed.
“I don’t roll like that. I get my needs taken care of,” Patches said as he lifted his chest up like he was a muscle man.
“You can get off your high horse, ’cause once Jessica finds out about your no-good butt, she’s gonna send you packing anyhow.”
“Megan, you’re always so negative. But true this. I really like this girl, and once I get her info to check on her credit status, I’m going to ask her to marry me.”
“Real.” Denver chimed. “She must have really turned you out.”
Patches paused as if he was reminiscing and smiled showing those pretty teeth, “Yeah, that sister turned the brother out,” he said dragging out his words.
“Well, you have never talked like this before, so maybe it’s true. But why do you have to check her credit and all?” Denver looked Patches in his eyes and said while sucking her teeth, “Explain that, will you?”
“I want to make sure her credit is A-1. I don’t want to marry a woman and she isn’t responsible enough to take care of business. I want too much—a nice home and furniture just like the next person, and a person with bad credit stops you from doing so much. Plus it’s a window into someone’s life, their future, you know.”
“Well, if all men were checking women’s credit history, most of us would be left out in the cold,” Phoenix said as she walked over and hugged Patches. “Congrats, Baby Boy!”
One by one, everyone hugged Patches. He stood straight and tall, smiling happily like he had won the Illinois State Lottery.
“If she says yes when you propose, whatever you need, we’ll definitely help out,” Megan said as she kissed Patches on his cheek.
“You got it, dog,” he said affectionately.
Chapter 34
Phoenix pulled into the lot of Devante’s job and parked near the rear by the entrance gate. She wanted to see what her husband was up to and bust him if she could. As she listened to Mary J. Blige, “No More Drama,” she quickly glanced around the parking lot. As she bent down to retrieve her cell phone, she turned her head and saw Devante walked out with a young lady who looked to be about thirty. She was very attractive, and as she walked, her long hair swung back and forth. They walked toward a pearl white 2002 Maxima, and she saw Devante kiss the young lady on her lips as they got into her car and drove off.
Phoenix was paralyzed by what she had seen and couldn’t believe her eyes. Shocked into a fixed position, she was unable to collect herself in enough time to follow the two kissing bastards. Dazed, she started crying, because she felt that the husband who was supposed to be all that was a no-good, two-timing bastard.
Not knowing what to do, she drove directly to Megan’s house in East St. Louis. Knocking on the door, she was crying so hard it was as if the Mississippi River had released its floodgates and poured water out into the surrounding communities, overtaking everything in its path.
With a broken heart and unable to control her tears, she banged on the door. Megan sneaked a look out the peephole to see who was banging on her door so hard that it sounded as if the Fourth of July had returned. Opening the door she shrieked, “Phoenix, what’s wrong?”
“Devante is having an affair,” she cried.
“Come in, baby.” Megan put her arms lovingly around her friend and hugged her. “Let me get you some coffee, and you go sit down in the living room by the fireplace.”
Backroom Confessions Page 19