Either way, I’d had enough. She wasn’t as receptive to my advances, so I had to back off. I didn’t know if me telling Isaac about being with his wife would cause as much damage as I intended for it to cause, but I wanted to send him over the edge like I was when I found out about my sister. When he found her work address on that piece of paper, I was just about ready to spill the beans. I intended to give her address to my connection, so he’d know where to find her. We came up with another plan, so I ditched the address, not knowing Isaac would see it.
After a long night working at the club, I went to Denny’s for an early breakfast. I sat and waited for my companion to come. The motherfucker had straight up been tripping lately, and if he didn’t get his shit together soon, I was gon’ have to put my foot in his ass.
Just as my food was placed on the table, he walked in. I removed my silver-framed glasses then placed them on the table.
“It’s about damn time,” I said, looking up at him. “Why haven’t you returned my phone calls?”
He slid into the booth and sat across from me. “Because I’ve been busy. I told you that I wanted out of this mess, so I wish you’d stop calling me.”
“What’s wrong? You got pussy whipped? I should have known that Cydney was too much for you to handle. But at the end of the day, you and I have a deal.”
“Yeah, well, the deal was over when she left Maui. I’m on my time now and it has nothing to do with you.”
“So, you think you can play me like that? We had a deal, Raymond, and it ain’t over until I say it’s over. Now, I’m about to blow this thing wide open. I need you to follow through on the plan. Got it!”
Raymond laid a bag on the table and looked over at me. “There’s your money back. I don’t want it nor do I need it. Cydney’s a very nice woman. She’s not going to divorce Isaac for me or for anyone. Besides, he’s already found out about me. He’s working to save his marriage. I’ll bet the money that’s in your bag that he’ll save their marriage, so that means your plan has failed. It’s time to go back to the drawing board. This time, don’t include me.”
I sucked my teeth and felt my eye twitch. I wanted to jump across the table and beat his ass. “If you hadn’t come to St. Louis, he wouldn’t have found out about you this soon. You fucked up my plan. And why, Raymond? Cause you had to come here and fuck her again, didn’t you? Yesterday, you didn’t return my phone call because you had sex with her again.”
Raymond moved around in the booth, looking very uncomfortable. He shot me a serious and stern look.
“Face it, Miguel, you chose the wrong man for the job. If I could, I would take Cydney from Isaac and make her mine. I could love her the way she deserves to be loved. I regret like hell that you’ve involved me in something so conniving. Once I check on my family, I’m out of St. Louis for a while. I’m glad that I don’t live here anymore, and seeing your face is starting to really irk me. When I get back to Florida, I’m sure you’re dying to tell Cydney all about me. When you do, I hope you’d mention what a wonderful woman I think she is.”
I slammed my hand on the table then tightened my fist. “You are a sorry excuse for a man. And you’re right, once Cydney finds out that you spent time in jail for money laundering and drug trafficking, she’s going to wash her hands and be done with you. Since then, your wealthy family disowned you. I was the one who supported you the entire time you were in jail. We’ve been friends for too long, Raymond, and you owe me to see this thing through.”
He darted his finger at me. “You supported me because you knew I was innocent. My father and you were behind that bullshit. I was the one who had to take the fall! You’re still on his payroll, Miguel, and all I have to do is tell the police about your little pick up tomorrow. You didn’t think I knew about it, and if you have a problem excluding me from your little game with Cydney, everyone will know what kind of person you really are. So, back off. Both you and my father can go to hell!”
Raymond eased out of the booth, displaying a devilish gaze. “And you have the nerve to wear that police uniform and call yourself a cop,” he snickered. “What a fucking joke.”
He walked away.
“And a damn good cop at that,” I yelled.
I chewed my eggs and realized that through all of my efforts, I was back to square one. I couldn’t depend on nobody to handle this shit, so I had to do it myself.
ISAAC
I tried hard to put the thoughts of Cyd in the back of my mind, but her being with any man, especially a white man, was hard to swallow. The way she looked at him and he looked at her, that shit didn’t sit right with me. Since then, I’d been just about watching her every move. Yesterday, she managed to slip out on me because I had to go check Laquinta for ringing my phone like she was crazy. I wound up spending the night on the couch at her place, but the only reason I stayed was because Erica was sick. She had a cold, and since dick was the only thing on Laquinta’s mind, I held Erica in my arms for the entire night. When I got home, Cyd was gone. I’d been trying to catch up with her all day. I knew she wasn’t at work on Saturday, so going to her office was out of the question. I waited and waited for her to come home, but up until two o’clock in the morning, she was a no show.
When I heard the front door close, I turned in bed and looked at the clock. It was seven fifteen in the morning. I yanked the covers back and got out of bed with no clothes on. I walked down the hallway and noticed the doors to the kitchen swinging. I saw Cydney leaning against the kitchen’s counter, while drinking a glass of water. Her hair was nappy and was pulled back into a ponytail. Her clothes were wrinkled. I could see her nipples poking through her ripped blouse that had only a few buttons connected. She looked me up and down, before placing the glass on the counter.
“What in the hell happened to you?” I asked.
“Nothing,” she said, walking past me.
I grabbed her arm. “Nothing? You mean to tell me that you’re going to walk in here, looking like you’ve either been raped or fucked, and nothing is the best you can come up with?”
She snatched her arm away from me. “Nothing happened to me that I didn’t want to happen to me. Now, back off, Isaac. I don’t want to hear it this morning.”
She walked away. I followed her to our bedroom.
“Well, damn-it, Cyd, you’re going to hear it! This game you’re playing needs to stop, right now! Why would you come in here like this? You know that you being with another man is not what the fuck I want!”
She swung around and let me have it. “You should’ve thought about that when you started fucking every bitch you feasted your eyes upon. And how dare you fuss and cuss at me about not showing up here. I guess you can do it, but I can’t.”
She headed to the bathroom, but before she stepped inside, something clicked. I rushed up to her with a twisted face. “Did you have sex with him in the rain? Is that why your hair and clothes are like this?”
“Let go of me, Isaac,” she yelled, after I grabbed her arm. “You’re hurting me.”
“Good,” I said, reaching for her skirt. I pulled it up—she didn’t have on any panties. When I ripped the rest of her blouse, her bra wasn’t there. I was furious and couldn’t control myself.
“Get your ass in the shower,” I yelled while shoving her over to it. “Wash all of this motherfucker’s scent off you!”
She tussled with me and tried to push me away. When she bit my hand, I pushed her hard against the shower’s wall. I walked off to our bedroom, grabbed my gun and came back. With anger visible in my eyes, I aimed the gun at her.
“Take off your skirt and turn on the water!”
Tears started to fall from her eyes. She stared at me and slowly dropped her skirt. She reached for the faucet and turned on the water. With her back against the wall, I stepped inside of the shower, laid my gun on the shower’s seat and picked up a towel. I lathered it with soap and started to wash her body.
“Here you won’t even make love to me, but you gon’ g
ive this shit to someone else?” I rubbed the towel between her coochie lips. “What sense does that make, and I’m your husband? Turn around,” I yelled. Cydney slowly turned around. I lathered her backside. Her ass was like a melon. I could tell she’d been losing weight. For him, of course. That made me even angrier. I dropped the soapy towel and pressed my body against hers. I kissed the side of her neck and touched all over her body. She closed her eyes and trembled all over.
“Isaac, please don’t,” she said. “I don’t want this.”
“Please don’t what? Are you saying that I can’t make love to you?”
She moved her head from side to side. “No, you can’t. I don’t want this anymore. I…I don’t want to make love to you anymore.”
No doubt, I was hurt. Angry and hurt like hell. I lowered my tone and tried to display calmness. “Does my touching you hurt you that much? Does it cause you to tremble the way you are? I can’t believe that you don’t have no desire to make love to me anymore. Do you, at least, still love me?”
Having my attention, she turned around to face me. “I will always love you, Isaac, but my heart is moving in another direction. My body yearns for the husband I had years ago, but not the one who stands before me today. I’m sorry, but I just can’t give myself to you under these conditions. You’ve hurt me so much that I have nothing left for you.”
I hoped that Cydney was speaking out of anger. She had to be. “I’ll do whatever it takes to make things right. I know I’ve said it before, but I just can’t lose you like this, baby. I need you…we need each other. If we have to go to counseling or whatever you want me to do, I’ll do it. Just give me one last chance. If I fuck up, then you can have your divorce. But please, please don’t give up on us,” I paused and took a deep breath. “I love you. No matter what, I’ve never stopped loving you. Your heart belongs to me and mine belongs to you. Please stop seeing this other man. Let’s try to fix this.”
She remained silent for a while then spoke words that gave me hope. “Fix it, Isaac,” she whispered. “Do whatever you’ve got to do to fix it.”
“Does that mean you’re giving me another chance?”
“Just fix it,” she said again.
I turned off the water and tried to kiss her. She turned her head, so I kissed her cheek. I placed my hand underneath her chin and turned her face to me.
“You’ve given me hope. You are not going to regret this opportunity you’ve given me.”
Cydney remained quiet. I got out of the shower then reached for a towel in the closet to dry off. Once she stepped out of the shower, I dried her off too. I then went into another closet to get her robe and handed it to her. She put it on, turned on the television, and then sat on the bed.
Moments later, I was dressed in my casual Nike sweat suit. I brushed my waves and was ready to go. Cydney told me to “fix it.” That’s what I intended to do. I told her I’d be back later and asked if we could spend some time together. She didn’t say yes, or she didn’t say no. Her “we’ll see” was better than nothing.
My mission started with going to see Laquinta. I figured this would be difficult for her, but I couldn’t stand to lose Cydney. If the time ever came where I was forced to choose between the two of them, I always knew who I would choose.
When I got to Laquinta’s place, she was outside talking to one of her girlfriends. She was surprised to see me back so soon. I asked where Erica was and Laquinta said that her mother had come to get her.
“How’s she feeling today?” I asked.
“She’s better. A little grouchy, but other than that she’ll be fine.”
Laquinta said goodbye to her friend, and I followed her inside of her apartment. As soon as we were inside, I sat on the arm of the couch and removed my tinted glasses. I then reached for her hand and wasted no time in telling her what was on my mind.
“Unfortunately, I…I gotta end this with you. Things been getting hectic at home and my life has been downright miserable. Lately, I’ve been taking my frustrations out on you and I don’t think that’s fair.”
Laquinta pulled away from me and pursed her lips. “I don’t even want to hear it, Isaac. I knew you were going to do this to me and Erica. You can take all of your so-called promises and shove them up your ass.”
She was trying to be tough, but her watery eyes showed hurt.
“I never made you any promises, Laquinta. I told you I’d take care of Erica, but you’ve never proved to me that she was mine. Every time I asked you, you said you would but never did.”
“I don’t have to prove nothing to you. I told you she was yours and so be it. As much as you’ve been fucking me, how could she be someone elses? Shit, my back hurt everyday for laying on it so much for you.”
Her voice rose, but I remained calm. “All I’m saying, is if Erica is mine, I will support her. I will no longer support you. I would like a blood test that confirms she’s mine.”
“Whatever,” she said, throwing her hand back at me. She then placed it on her hip. “Well, for the record, she ain’t yours, sucker. Now what, huh? Now, you can take your ass back to your wife and live happily ever after. You got all that you could get out of me and my time is up. It’s been real and it was fun while it lasted.”
She stormed to the door and opened it.
I sat still on the couch, in disbelief that she admitted to Erica not being my child. “So, you put a baby off on me and you knew she wasn’t mine. Is that what you’re saying?”
“Duhhh, it appears to be that way, doesn’t it? Now like I said before, get the fuck out of here.”
I slowly put my shades back on then strutted up to her. “Every last dime that I’ve given you for Erica, I want it back. You are so damn messed up in the head, Laquinta, and to lie to me about something like that did her more harm than good. I could kick your ass all over this living room, but you ain’t even worth it. This fuck game we played was fun while it lasted, but I guess all bullshit must someday end.” I pushed her face, and before she reached up to hit me, I grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her back.
“Stop, Isaac! Let my damn arm go, nigga!”
I let her go and shoved her towards the living room. After I made my exit, she slammed the door behind me, calling me every foul name she could think of.
When I got to my truck, I looked up at her window. She was looking out and lifted her middle finger. I smiled then she closed the curtains. After that, I headed for Sprint to get a new phone. I figured that she, along with some other females I’d been seeing from time to time, would call. I had to make sure none of them knew how to reach me. Before I was less than two miles away from Laquinta’s place, she called. What she had to say didn’t even matter. She’d used me enough, just as much as I’d used her. But when all was said and done, the reality of knowing that Erica wasn’t my child stung like hell. I’d done so much for her. I felt like a major fool for even trusting Laquinta. Certainly, she must have had a bigger effect on me than I originally thought.
Before I went to the Sprint store, I stopped at a jewelry store for about two hours. I bought Cydney another ring. It was two carats and had baguettes on the sides. I was so excited about giving it to her, and afterwards I went to Sprint. I purchased a new phone then called to check on her. She was sleeping. When I inquired about us spending time together again, she said, “maybe.” I told her I’d be home soon, and made my way over to Miguel’s place to give him my new number and tell him about my unplanned vacation from work. I’d planned on taking a week off, just so I could cater to Cydney and Cydney only.
It took a few minutes for him to open the door, and when he did, his eyes looked tired.
“Were you sleeping?” I asked.
“Naw, man, just chilling on the couch, checking out a movie.”
Miguel stepped into the living area and sat on his sofa. I sat on the arm of it and looked at the television that showed a man and two ladies fucking. Miguel reached for the remote to turn down the volume.
“Yo
u a horny motherfucker,” I said, joking with him. “It’s three o’clock on a Sunday and that’s all you can do is sit around watching porn?”
“And smoking weed,” he said, placing a joint in his mouth. I’d never seen him smoke marijuana before. It caught me off guard. He inhaled then passed the joint to me.
“Naw, you know I don’t go out like that, man.”
“Why not, Isaac?” He inhaled again. “With all of the crappy shit that’s been going on with you, why not?”
“Drugs ain’t my solution, that’s why? Anyhow, I came over here to let you know I’m taking the week off. I’m trying to work on some things with my marriage. It’s going to require some serious effort on my part and I’m ready to make some changes.”
Miguel’s eyes grew wide and he had a smirk on his face. “Oh, really? You and Cyd finally trying to squash all of this shit and make it work, huh?”
“Yeah, something like that. I’ll call Sarg in the morning to let him know what’s up. If you need to get at me, here’s my new cell phone number.” I gave the piece of paper to Miguel. He looked down at it.
“Damn, you done got a new number already? What about Laquinta? I know you ain’t turning that ass loose, are you?”
“I already did. Just a little while ago. She finally admitted to Erica not being mine, and even though I suspected it all along, I did want to believe that she was mine.”
Miguel shrugged his shoulders. “Hell, even I knew that she wasn’t yours. She looks more like me than she does you. And had I been hitting that almost two years ago, maybe there would’ve been a chance. Since I just started fucking her, I know Erica couldn’t be mine.”
I snapped my head to the side with a frown on my face. I was stunned by what he’d said, but maybe I didn’t hear him correctly. “What did you say?”
He didn’t hesitate to clarify what he’d said. “I said, that night she was looking all scrumptious and shit at the club, I had to see what was up with it. When you slipped out of the front door, a few days later, I slipped through the back.”
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