by Nikki Turner
I let Monica speak that noise, but the truth was she wasn’t sick of it when she rode around in a brand new Mercedes I purchased for her a month ago. She wasn’t sick of it when she was out buying expensive clothes, getting her hair and nails done, or when she gave money to her family. When she invited them over here to brag about how lavishly we lived, she wasn’t sick about it either. So, her words went in one ear and out the other. She was just upset because she had no control over my dick. She knew damn well that she was wasting her time and mine, trying to argue about where I’d been all night. She just hated the fact that I was with Keysha, because the two of them never got along.
* * *
After I cooked dinner for me and Keith, and we went for a swim in the backyard, my boy Rico and his son, Lamar, came over. He was one of Keith’s friends and while they played video games, me and Rico sat by the poolside talking business. My daughter was asleep on my chest and Monica was inside with our son. She hadn’t said more than a few words to me all day, but I didn’t trip.
“We need to make that move by next week. Let me know when you’re ready so I can rent that van,” Rico said.
“Will do. Who’s all going with us?”
“Just me, you, and Carmelo. You know Papa James don’t want a bunch of niggas traveling with us.”
“Yeah, I know. By next Friday I should be good. I need to work out a few kinks in my personal life before then, but other than that, it’s time to shake some things up and do what we gotta do.”
Rico slapped his hand against mine, before leaving without his son who stayed to play with Keith. After I closed the door, I carried my daughter upstairs. When I opened the double doors to my master suite, Monica was lying across the bed with our son in front of her asleep. Her long, wavy hair was spread out on the pillow, and with her skin being so light, I could see the puffiness in her eyes. At times, it bothered me to see her so upset. The last thing she needed to do was worry about tedious shit, like Keysha, who didn’t even matter.
I laid my daughter on the California king bed and sat on it. Monica looked past me to look at the TV.
“I’m sorry about earlier. I hate to get at you like that, but I wasn’t in the mood. I had to deal with some shit with Keysha and her mama, and the last thing I wanted to do was come here and start arguing with you.”
“I don’t care what you’ve been through with Keysha and her mama. All I wanted was for you to answer my question. I still want to know the truth. Did you or did you not have sex with Keysha last night?”
I didn’t want to answer Monica’s question, because I would never hear the last of this. Months ago, I told her I was done fucking with Keysha because the bitch was crazy. She’d done some foul shit over the years and said some harsh things to Monica that neither of us appreciated. For me to go have sex with her wasn’t good, but the way she looked in those tight jeans, gave me a rise that needed immediate attention.
“What difference does it make, Monica? As long as I don’t bring no shit here, you shouldn’t even care about what I’m doing out there?”
“I do care, and don’t you think for one minute that what you do out there doesn’t come here. It does. I want to know what’s up because it will make a difference.”
Now, she had my attention. “What might that be? I’m eager to hear it.”
“Yes or no, Tremaine? Did you or didn’t you?”
“Yes. Now tell me about this difference.” I stood up.
Monica stared at me without a blink. I could see that she despised me in her own little way, but I knew that I had this entire situation on lock. She wasn’t going anywhere. She wasn’t going to do anything but be mad at me for a few days then shit would get back to normal. The one thing that I knew about Monica was that she loved money. She wanted the best of everything, and she also wanted our kids to have everything they needed. She knew that walking out on me would tremendously change her financial status. And there was no other nigga out there who would give her all that I had given.
For now, all she could do was go into the bathroom and shut the door. I knocked to tell her I was getting ready to jet.
“I’ll be back in an hour or so. Lamar and Keith are in his room playing video games. They already ate, so no need to fix them anything else. They also got some movies in there to watch, so when you get time, ask if they want to watch them. Other than that, if you need anything hit me up. I love you, ma, whether you realize that shit or not.”
Monica didn’t respond. I kissed my sleeping babies, said good-bye to Keith and Lamar then left.
Within the hour, I was at Bree’s apartment. Bree was the kind of chick who didn’t give a fuck. She got in my shit from time to time, but for the most part we were all good. She accepted my situation with Monica, but she hated Keysha with a passion. I think Bree didn’t trip off of me as much because, with her being a stripper, she had plenty of niggas trying to pay up for the pussy. She was only upping it, though, to a specific few, so she said. But when all was said and done, I could have her the way I wanted her with the snap of my finger.
Bree stood in the doorway with her yellow bra and panties on. Her chocolate body looked as if it were dipped in baby oil, and her long braids flowed all the way down her back to the tip of her apple bottom ass.
“Before you enter, do you mind telling me what happened to you last night?”
“Questions, questions, questions. This is what my life consists of, but the answer is I was busy and couldn’t make it. Sorry.”
Bree stepped away from the door to let me inside.
“Apology not accepted, but it is what it is. I was hot and bothered last night, but another nigga came over to take care of that little problem for me. He’s still here, so you need to make this really quick.”
“I just dropped by to see my son. Where is he?”
“He’s at his friend’s house. I’m not picking him up until later. If you want to stop by then, call ahead of time and let me know.”
“A’ight. I’ma let you get back to your company. Whatever you do, don’t hurt that fool. I know what you’re capable of, especially when you’re so hot and bothered.”
“I know what you’re capable of too, that’s why I preferred you over him. But there are times when I don’t mind settling for less. A sista gotta do what she must, especially when she’s trying to get hers. With that being said, before you go, can you do me a favor?”
“What’s that? Or should I say, let me guess. Money, right?”
Bree put her praying hands together and nodded. “Just a little. Niggas at the club ain’t making it rain like they used to, so I’ve been short on cash for a while. I’ve been looking for another job too, ’cause you know this stripping shit getting played out.”
“Yeah, I know. I wish you would do something else, but that’s like you telling me that I need to do something else. So do you, ma, but also do whatever to make some changes, especially for the sake of our son.”
“I feel you. Same to you, though. Now, go. Call me later and be good, punk.”
Bree leaned in for a kiss. I had no problem reciprocating. I left so she could get back to her business, and then made another quick detour before going back home.
Porsha lived about twenty minutes away from Bree. Yeah, Porsha was one of Keysha’s good friends, but they never really got along. Why? Because of me. Porsha and me had been hooking up for the past two years, off and on. I didn’t intend for anything like this to happen, but I always noticed her watching and checking me out whenever I was at Keysha’s place. Then, one night we were at a club together and I pulled Porsha aside and asked her what was up. That’s when she expressed how much she’d been feeling me. We didn’t say much to each other at the club that night because Keysha was there. But later on that night, Porsha called me and I went to her house. I was tipsy, but when she threw that good pussy on me, I woke the fuck up. Ever since, we’d been sneaking around doing our thing. Porsha was the one who told me all the foul shit Keysha had been doing and
saying behind my back. She kept me tuned in to everything, and that’s how I was able to find out where Keysha’s mama had moved to.
I rang the doorbell, and within a few seconds, Porsha answered with a huge smile on her face. She threw her arms around my neck, pulling me into the house.
“I miss you,” she said. “Why haven’t you been answering your phone?”
Mo’ questions, mo’ questions, mo’ questions, I thought.
“I’ve been a little busy today. But either way, I missed you too. I can’t stay long, because Keith is at my house and I need to get back to him. I just stopped by to see what was up with you.”
Porsha backed away and pouted. “Aww, I wish you could stay. I’m bored to death, and I thought we could maybe go get a pizza and drinks or something. You sure you don’t have time?”
“Not tonight. Maybe when I get back from out of town I will.”
Porsha appeared disappointed. I followed her into her bedroom where she had been sitting on the bed playing cards. They were spread all over her bed, a glass of juice was on her nightstand, along with a bag of weed. A fat joint was next to it, so we sat on her bed and started to get high.
“You know you ain’t supposed to be messing around like this, and when you gon’ stop,” I asked.
“Soon. Now on another note, Angel called and told me what had happened between you and Keysha. I can’t believe that she pissed in your orange juice and put floor wax in your eggs.”
I pulled the joint away from my mouth. “She did what!” I yelled. “Did you say she peed in my orange juice!”
“Yes,” Porsha giggled, but I didn’t see shit funny. “I thought you knew what she had done to your food. That’s why you fucked her up.”
“I fucked her up because she was tripping. I can’t believe that nasty bitch went out like that. I’m glad I didn’t eat those eggs and I only took one swallow of the orange juice.”
“What about the pancakes? She clipped her toenails and put them in there.”
I thought back to when I ate the pancakes earlier. I remembered something being in my mouth and I had to spit it out. I held back on kicking Keysha’s ass earlier. Now, I wish I would have torn her ass up.
“I knew something was in those pancakes, but I wasn’t sure what it was. All I can say is that’s fucked up. I bet I won’t eat shit else from nobody’s house. That’s it for me.”
“Aww, boo, don’t be like that. I wouldn’t do nothing like that to you, but you already know how Keysha is. That bitch coo-coo, like her mama. I don’t know why you keep fucking with her, and from what Angel said, y’all had sex last night too. What’s up with that?”
“She raped me, like I’m about to rape you, before I get out of here.”
I removed the joint from Porsha’s hand and lay on top of her. She released the smoke from the joint directly in my face then placed her hand over my mouth.
“If you got Keysha’s piss in your mouth, don’t kiss me because I don’t want to taste it.”
“Fine,” I said, lowering myself down between her legs. “If you don’t want me to use my mouth to kiss you, maybe I can use my mouth for other things like this.”
I lifted Porsha’s long T-shirt and saw her peach silk panties. While she remained on her back, I moved the crotch section of her panties aside and lightly licked my tongue between her moist folds. Not only was her pussy nice to look at, but it also tasted like a juicy, sweet cherry. Her clit was swollen, and as I turned my tongue in circles around it, Porsha spread her shaking legs wider.
“I think I’m falling in love with you, Tremaine. I hate that shit too, because the last thing I want to do is be a member of your baby mama’s club.”
“At the rate we’re going, you may as well prepare yourself to join the party.”
All Porsha did was laugh. I did too, but we both already knew that she was three months pregnant.
Chapter Five
Keysha
I stood on the porch, ringing Tremaine’s doorbell. It was late, but I wanted my son to come home with me. I didn’t appreciate the way Tremaine had gone over to my mama’s house and showed his ass; therefore, Keith was going to spend the week with me instead.
Since no one came to the door, I banged on it. Minutes later, I could see Monica walking toward the glass door with a frown on her face. She yanked the door open and lashed out at me.
“What do you want? My kids are trying to sleep, and that also includes your son.”
I cocked my head back. “So, in other words, it sounds like you’re trying to say my son is your son? I think not, Monica, and you’re going a little bit too far with this motherly thing.”
“Whatever, Keysha. Like I said, what do you want?”
“Is Tremaine here?”
“No.”
“Where is he?”
“I don’t know, and quite frankly, I don’t care right about now.”
“Sounds like you’re trying to get some balls. I guess things are a bit shaky over here, huh? And for you not to know where Tremaine is that seems kind of odd. Especially since you’re always chasing after him and you can sniff him out anywhere he goes.”
Monica’s frown turned into a smirk. “You got that right, Keysha, I sure can sniff him out. I don’t necessarily chase after him, but I usually know where he is. As in right now, at this minute, you may want to call your girlfriend, Porsha. I’m sure she can direct you from there.”
Monica attempted to shut the door, but I stuck my foot in it so she wouldn’t. Wrinkles lined my forehead because I was curious about why Porsha’s name came up.
“Porsha?” I questioned. “What do you know about Porsha, and how can she direct me on anything that has something to do with Tremaine?”
The smirk on Monica’s face was locked there. “Why don’t you do both of us a favor and go ask her. You’re wasting your time at my house, especially when Porsha has all the answers you need.”
If Monica knew something, she needed to tell me. I pushed on the door, and that’s when she let go of it so I could come inside. There was a huge part of me that was so jealous because she was over here living with Tremaine like this. The foyer was lit up with a hanging, crystal chandelier and the floors were marble. A winding staircase was to the left, and a beautiful dining room was to the right.
“Monica, don’t play games with me, all right? Why are you bringing up Porsha’s name, and what does this have to do with Tremaine?”
Monica crossed her arms and tapped her foot on the floor. “You asked where he was so I told you. Now, if you don’t mind, I have children to tend to. I’m sure with your loud voice down here, my babies will be waking up soon. I really don’t have anything else to say to you, other than what a complete fool you’ve been.”
I was almost speechless. I didn’t know if Monica was fucking with my head or not.
“Are you here to get Keith? If so, I can go wake him up for you.”
I was still in shock about what Monica had said. I hated for Keith to stay here with her, but things could get real ugly when I got to Porsha’s house.
“I’ll come get him in the morning. I need to go handle a few things right now. If Tremaine comes home soon, tell that bastard to call me. I need to speak to him right away.” I turned to walk toward the door.
“I don’t tell Tremaine anything, so good luck at Porsha’s house and be sure to tell her I said congrats.”
I quickly swung around and opened my mouth wide. “Congrats for what?”
Monica shrugged her shoulders. Her lips we sealed tight. Wondering what in the hell was going on, I bolted out of the front door and hopped in my car. Within the hour, I was parked in front of Porsha’s house with rattled nerves. Something inside told me that this bitch had backstabbed me. I had known that something wasn’t right all along, but I ignored the way those two always looked at each other. I pretended that nothing was there, even though I knew this thing between me and Porsha was deep. There was a reason why we always stayed at each other’s throats.
We could never get along. No matter where we went, we always found a way to start arguing with each other. When it came to Tremaine, she defended him. She stood by his bullshit and always made me look like the villain. This explained all of it. I felt like such a fool, and for Monica to be the one to tell me was gut wrenching.
I hurried out of my car and rushed to the door. As I was ringing the doorbell, I could hear Porsha’s footsteps.
“Who is it?” she asked.
“Me. I know it’s late, but we need to talk.”
I could her Porsha sigh. She opened the door and stood there gazing at me. She saw the frown on my face, but her frown was deeper than mine.
“Can’t we talk tomorrow,” she said. “Or call me later. I was trying to get some rest, after all it is after midnight, you know.”
“I know very well what time it is, but what I need to talk to you about can’t wait until tomorrow.”
Porsha unlocked the screen door to let me inside. At least one thing I could say was, that if she was fucking with Tremaine, he definitely wasn’t paying her. Her place was crappy as fuck. She lived here for three years and barely had any furniture. The furniture she had was outdated and looked like it came from the Goodwill. I didn’t appreciate the smell inside either. And the more I got a whiff of it, it smelled like Tremaine’s cologne.
Porsha tightened the belt on her robe, and I followed her into the living room where she sat on the couch, tucking her feet underneath her. I sat in a chair that felt as if it had no cushion. While sucking my teeth, I gave her an evil stare. She was real fidgety and could barely look at me.
“Somebody told me something real interesting today,” I said. “All I want is the truth, Porsha. This all needs to come out in the open, and when it does, it’ll explain why I’ve been having all of these weird feelings inside of me.”
“Weird feelings about what?”
“About you and Tremaine. Are you fucking with him?”
Porsha laughed and threw her hand back at me. “You can’t be serious. Is this a joke or what? I barely like Tremaine, and even though I always take up for him, that doesn’t mean that I want to hook up with his ass.”