If my calculations were correct, Chase had screwed Roc, Jaylin and Keith. The only reason Prince didn’t get none last time was because he’d been booted out too soon. The only other man she hadn’t gotten a piece of was the president, but then again, she probably had. I couldn’t believe how trifling she was. That was just too much dick for one woman to handle. At some point a bitch had to say enough is enough. Maybe, just maybe, she left to reflect on the consequences of being a ho.
While the men sat around watching football games, Scorpio and I were in the kitchen.
“Jada,” she said, bending over the island. “When you get time, I want you to tell me your favorite dish and show me how to cook it. Will you do that for me?”
“I can show you how I would cook it, but when your hands start touching everything, it doesn’t mean the dish will turn out the same way.”
“Maybe not, but let’s give it a try. You’ve been cooking some dishes that I be in bed dreaming about. I’m dead serious too. Even my housemaid, Loretta, don’t be throwing down like you. I may have to pay you to come to my house and work for me.”
“I don’t want to do that kind of work for a living, but how much would you be willing to pay me, do you have any pets, are your kids pests and will I get to see Jaylin? I tried to call him back the other night, but he blocked my damn number. He’s a silly muthafucka. I don’t know how in the world you deal with him.”
Scorpio laughed. “What I would pay you would surprise you, I don’t have any pets and my children are the most awesome kids ever. As for Jay Baby, he is so misunderstood. He got all that bark and very little bite. He’s extremely loving, and if he truly cares about you, I mean, you can have it all.”
“I’m talking about Jaylin Rogers, bitch. I don’t know what Jaylin you talking about, but the one who was here last time was a hot ass mess. He did come through for me, though. I guess he got some good qualities, but not enough for me to be married or involved with a man like that. He got that control thing going on, and in my world, a man ain’t about to control nothing. I be like go sit yo ass down somewhere cause I got this right here. All of it and thank you very much for trying to assist me.”
Scorpio laughed, and when I told her lasagna was my favorite dish, she asked me the best way to make it. Just as I got ready to show her the ropes, the doorbell rang. I was surprised because Alex said he wasn’t stopping by until next Wednesday. I didn’t think it was him, but as everyone looked at me, I quickly spoke up.
“Not many people know we’re here, but it’s probably the maid service. I’ll be right back.”
The president stood. “I’ll go get it. Why don’t you finish doing what you were doing and let me go see who it is?”
“Nope, because the rules say you’re not allowed to do that. I can handle opening the door, so sit down and keep watching the game.”
He sat back down and I headed to the door. When I opened it, I took several steps back, my mouth hung wide open.
“You must be at the wrong house,” I said to the most gorgeous looking Italian man I’d ever seen. He reminded me so much of Halle Berry’s ex-husband, and all I could think about was his naked, sexy ass in the movie Unfaithful that we had just watched the other night in the theater room. Fine hair was on his face, his skin looked real rich and smooth, and the clothes he had on damn sure didn’t come from a mall.
“I’m looking for Scorpio Pezzano. Is she here?”
I cocked my head back and squinted. “You ain’t Mario, are you?”
“Yes. Is she here?”
His attitude was a little snobby. I didn’t want to go off on his ass. I started not to let him inside, but since Scorpio was on my good side today, what the hell?
“She in here, but she told us her name is Scorpio Valentino. I don’t know about all this Pizza . . . Pezzani stuff.”
“Pezzano,” he said, correcting me as he stepped inside.
I ignored him correcting me, and if he said one more thing I didn’t appreciate, I was gon’ have to go off on his stuffy ass.
I directed him down the hallway, and as I walked behind him, all I could think about was why some bitches were so lucky. Maybe I needed to start dating again. I had been so afraid to open up and give somebody a real chance, ever since Kiley and me parted ways. I’d dated here and there, but I kept thinking about all the love I’d had for Kiley. It wasn’t as if our relationship was all that, but that nigga took good care of me. Real good care, and I ain’t had nobody . . . nobody who looked out for me as much as he had. More than anything, he accepted me as is. Then again, we did use to fight a lot, and I got upset when I’d thought about a fight we’d had. He punched me in my face. Maybe I was better off without him.
When Mario stepped into the living room area, all eyes were on him. He didn’t say shit to nobody—his eyes were focused on Scorpio. The expression on her face was flat. She didn’t appear happy to see him at all.
He held out his hand to hers. “I want you to come home with me, now. Stop all of this nonsense, babe, and move back in with me. I’ve given you enough time to think about us. I’m not going to wait any longer.”
“Listen,” I had to say. “If she won’t move back in with you, I most certainly will. I got some of my clothes in that closet back there, and the rest of that shit can stay at my house. Think long and real hard about this . . . please.”
Of course, my offer was ignored. Damn.
“Jada, you can start packing because I’m not going anywhere with him. I don’t even know why you’re here, Mario, and who are you to show up here like this?”
“I’m a man who still loves you very much. I made some mistakes and I’m sorry. Sorry for everything. I promise you Camila and our baby won’t interfere.”
I pretended to play a violin while humming through the bullshit. Some men needed to get it the fuck together. All this sorry mess was for the birds.
“Blah, blah, blah,” Scorpio said and rolled her eyes. “You’re wasting your time and your breath. I’ve been sooo good without you. There is no way that I’m going to go back to living in hell with you.”
Mario released a deep sigh. He finally took a moment to look at all three men on the sofa, staring at him. They were probably thinking what a pitiful looking motherfucker, but I was sure all of them had been in similar situations like this before.
Mario dropped his hand, looking at Scorpio again. “Please,” he said. “Just one more chance. One more, and if I ever screw up again, you can strip me of everything. You can have it all, babe. All of it, cause all I want right now is you.”
Okay. Now he was talking my language. I had to talk some sense into Scorpio. She was tripping.
“Girl, do you need me to go get your things? He said you can have all of it. And by the looks of it, he got a lot of it. Besides, most men ain’t nothing but a bunch of cheating, no good, low down, sneaky, dirty ass, lying, conniving—”
Mario swung around, looking at me with a twisted face. “Would you please shut the fuck up? Damn, man, you need to zip it!”
I tightened my fist and swung at his ass. Luckily he ducked, and by then, Roc had gotten up to back me away from Mario.
“Damn, Ma, calm down,” Roc said as he held me back. “Yo ass be tripping.”
“Scorpio, you’d better give this sucker an answer and get him out of here before I whup his ass! He don’t know me to be talking to me like that. I don’t care how much money he got—yo money don’t mean nothing up in here.”
Scorpio had already stepped up to Mario, and as he grabbed her waist, I saw her look at the president from the corner of her eye. He slowly moved his head from side-to-side. I didn’t know what in the hell that meant, but it caused her to back away from Mario and tell him to leave.
“You’re making a fool of yourself,” she said. “I’ll call you whenever I get home so we can talk, but please do not expect to hear good news.”
“I’m going to keep hope alive.”
He tried to kiss her, but she backed up and g
lanced at the president again. I was stunned. Had they been fucking and I didn’t know about it? I had some investigating to do, but for now, I had to make sure Mario got out of here. Five minutes later, he was gone. Scorpio seemed so upset that she went outside to gather herself. The fellas got back to the game and for the next few hours they were occupied. I cooked dinner, but every now and then I glanced at the president, especially when Scorpio had come inside and went to the bedroom. He didn’t look her way, but my eyes knew what they had seen. There I was thinking that her and Roc had been hooking up. My Boo hadn’t done a thing. He was good or, at least, I hoped he was. I would surely find out soon, and when everybody went to sleep tonight, I had some digging to do.
Later that night, I went to my bedroom downstairs. It had been cleaned up by the maid service, but I wasn’t about to sit on the bed because I knew Keith’s ol’ nasty self had leaked his juices on it. So had Chase, as well as Evelyn. I wondered what the two of them had been doing since they’d left here, and as I sat at the desk, starting to watch some of the videos that had been filming everyone here, I laughed at some of the things I saw. I pursed my lips, rolled my eyes and even gagged. Nothing really shocked me, until I saw Scorpio go into the theater room. The president went in after her, but unfortunately, there was no footage inside to show what they did. I thought that was kind of odd, because cameras were in there when we’d had our little popcorn fight. Somehow the cameras had disappeared. But I didn’t need cameras. What else could they have been doing in there at two in the morning? More than that, I guess it was no big deal. The president was just like everybody else was. He probably needed some sex, too, and what better woman to get it from than Scorpio? She was always willing and able.
I kept watching the videos, only because I noticed some of the other things the president had been doing since he’d been here. He’d been definitely breaking the rules around here, and his phone usage was off the chain. I couldn’t gripe about it because I was sure he’d had some important business to tend to on the side. Business that we didn’t need to know about, but what I saw on the video next was, indeed, my business. I cocked my head back as I saw the president shove Chase against the wall. Fear was in her eyes as he choked the breath out of her. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, and I covered my mouth as saliva started to drip from it. I kept blinking to clear my watery eyes. My body started trembling, and when I saw her body hit the ground, I couldn’t watch anymore. All I could think about was getting the fuck out of here. I wanted out, and I was so nervous and afraid that the president was going to kill all of us. But fuck everybody else. I was only going to save myself. I didn’t have time to consult with anybody, and I feared that when I left this room, his ass would be somewhere lurking, watching and waiting for me. Tears ran from my eyes and cascaded down my face. I tiptoed out of the room, whimpering quietly as I made my way upstairs. The stairs squeaked loudly, but when I reached the top I felt relieved. It made me so nervous when I didn’t see the president on the sofa. That was where he normally was at this time of the night; he was there when I had gone downstairs. I couldn’t stop crying. My stomach hurt, and with every step toward the front door, I snapped my head from side-to-side, watching my surroundings. I couldn’t wait to reach the door, and when I touched the knob, I turned it, pulled the door open and sprinted so fast that I wound up skidding down the driveway, after I fell and banged up my knees. The pain, however, didn’t stop me. I got up, running as fast as I could. It was times like this that I wished I was athletic. I wished I could hop over fences . . . Lord, I wished I was about two or three pounds lighter so I could run just a little bit faster. I was moving, but it was as if the house was following me. I hadn’t gotten far, until I decided to run to the next block over where Hell House was no longer in my view. My chest, however, burned. My legs throbbed so badly, and my arms were weak. I cried so hard that my vision was blurred. I saw bright headlights coming my way, and as I dove in somebody’s yard to hide myself behind a bush, the car had passed. It was a white man driving, but as I tried to run after his car to catch him, he sped up and took off. I just had to keep on moving, until I reached a gas station or something. I needed to call somebody and tell them what the president had done. He was no good. He was dangerous. I hated that I’d voted for him, and what in the hell would a man like him do to this country? He would destroy it; maybe, that was his intentions. I couldn’t stop thinking about the look in Chase’s eyes, and even though I didn’t like her, I never wanted something like that to happen to her. God . . . this was a mess! What had I gotten myself into—those were my thoughts as I kept on running. I had made some progress now, and as I reached a curvy, two-lane road that I knew had a gas station on it, I finally slowed down. I bent over, placing my hands on my knees and trying my best to catch my breath. The producers at Hell House could keep their damn money. I didn’t want it nor did I need it. I would never go back to that house again, and I wasn’t so sure if snitching on the president was the right thing to do. From where I came from, WE DIDN’T SNITCH! No, sir, not me. Then again, I stood up straight, thinking about how much a video like that could be worth. Somebody probably wanted it, and they would, most likely, pay me millions for it. I thought hard about what to do, and the more I’d thought about it, well . . . the last thing I would be considered was a fool!
Hi, Readers! Hope you enjoyed Hell House Returns, and the next book will conclude this series. Meanwhile, if you would like to read more about these characters, be sure to check out my novels that include them.
Thanks a million and don’t forget to post a review.
Keith and Evelyn: BFF’s Series
Roc: Plus Size Diva: Who Ya Wit the Beginning (Full Figured 1,3,5) and
Who Ya Wit the Finale
Scorpio and Mario: Jaylin: A Naughty Aftermath (The Naughty Series)
Jada: How Can I Be Down?
Chase: Don’t Even Go There
Mr. President: Black President: The World Will Never Be The Same
Happy Reading!!
www.brendamhampton.com
Hell House Returns 4: Reality TV Drama Page 11