Side Chick Catching Main Chick Feelings

by B. M. Hardin

  She nodded and I knew that things were about to get real.

  “Well, let’s go see what my husband can do for you,” she said and I followed her towards the closed office door.

  The car lot was fairly busy and it looked as though they got a good bit of business.

  I wondered why they didn’t just stick to making money the legal way.

  But I was sure that the money that they made from drugs and whatever else they were involved in was probably ten times more.

  She knocked lightly on the door and then opened it.

  This was it.

  I was about to take a step that eventually I could regret or at the least lose a few nights of sleep over potentially.

  I hated that it had come to this, but if scaring him didn’t work, he would be reunited with his brother.

  Whether it was in Heaven or in Hell would depend on him.

  I walked in behind her as she introduced me.

  What?

  There he was behind a desk.

  Jinx husband.

  Kane.

  ********************************

  Chapter TEN

  Kane was the biggest liar on the face of the earth.

  I swear he had lied about everything.

  But after seeing him behind that desk that day at the car lot, I had a few questions and what I couldn’t find out from his wife, I’d found out from him.

  Kane had taken over after Mario died and had become the top dog of Mario’s entire drug operation.

  He was kind of young back then, but from what I was told, Mario had taught him pretty much everything there was to know, and he knew all of his contacts and connections too.

  Mario had wanted him to follow in his footsteps so badly and though Kane had desperately wanted to go in another direction, in the end, Mario had gotten his wish, though he wasn’t exactly alive to see it.

  Kane had become exactly what his big brother had wanted him to be.

  Jinx was years older than Kane and she was actually one of his connects sister.

  She’d met Kane months after Mario’s death.

  He was already in charge by then, which explained why I never saw her and why she didn’t know who I was or that I was the one that had gone down for Mario’s murder.

  She’d said that from what Kane had told her, he really did hate Mario and he was glad that he was dead.

  The story about Mario setting up their father was one of the only things that Kane had told the truth about.

  Apparently Kane had really been there that night of the murder and had cleared the house of all drugs, other weapons and money before the police got there.

  It wasn’t until that night that it clicked for him that he was a part of that lifestyle whether he wanted to be or not.

  It was in his blood.

  He’d actually been the one to call in to report hearing shots from a disposable phone so that the police could go in and find the body.

  Once Mario was buried and I was sent to prison, he’d given his family the money and picked up in the drug business where Mario had left off.

  The restaurant wasn’t the only thing that his family had purchased; they’d also bought the car lot.

  Though the police knew that Mario was dirty and was supposedly connected to drugs and gang affiliations, he had never been arrested, and since Kane had taken all of the drugs out of the house, no money, property or anything was up for grabs or seized.

  The only proof of drugs they had was what was in Mario’s system.

  That was it.

  Jinx explained that in the Latino world, age isn’t really a factor, so she and Kane found some kind of connection and hit it off.

  She said that the very first time they’d had sex, she’d gotten pregnant, and Kane decided to marry her.

  A few months after having their son, they were making a drop, only she had a bad feeling about it and switched the bag of drugs with a bag of miscellaneous things without telling him since he wouldn’t listen to her.

  When it came time to make the switch, as soon as Kane handed over the bag, police came out from everywhere, only to discover that the bag was full of nothing; there wasn’t a stitch of drugs in sight.

  She’d saved Kane’s life.

  We were a lot more alike than I’d thought.

  They had some minor footage on Kane that they were able to use and a minor charge that they could stick him with, but thanks to Jinx he hadn’t received anywhere near the time that he would have.

  They questioned her and wanted her to tell them everything that she knew or they would make her out to be some type of accomplice or something, but she didn’t care.

  She never said a word.

  And that’s where her prison time came in.

  She’d said that they both got out around the same time and pretty much went back to business as usual.

  Kane was in charge of the restaurant and the car lot, and he was still in charge of the drug operation as well.

  She said that he’d had some help running the operation from the inside and he’d had no problem reclaiming the throne once he’d gotten out of prison.

  At the sight of me walking into the office with his wife that day, Kane damn near died.

  Immediately I wondered if she had been the woman banging at the door a few days before but the more I listened to her voice, the more I realized that it hadn’t been her.

  Her voice was low and raspy and even if she screamed, it couldn’t get as loud as the woman’s had been.

  I couldn’t hear her as good as I’d wanted to but I heard her enough to know that it wasn’t Jinx.

  That meant that there was someone else in the mix too.

  How much ass did one man need?

  And besides they only had a son and the woman had said kids, which meant that he had babies elsewhere with someone else.

  He was going to be in some serious trouble.

  Kane and I pretended not to know each other for Jinx’s sake but I could tell that he didn’t want her to find out the truth and I was excited to know that now I finally had something to use against him.

  I’d found my way out of the mess without having to do anything illegal and that was a good thing.

  Kane agreed to help me take care of the “stalker” in front of Jinx and Jinx demanded that we keep in touch and expressed that she’d wanted to be invited to the wedding.

  I walked out of the building that day happier than ever before.

  But I’d walked out into a another issue.

  Drake.

  He was always popping up on me and I was sure that meant that either he was following me or maybe he had recently put some kind of tracking device on the car or something.

  “Looking for a new car?” Drake asked suspiciously.

  “No, actually I ran into a girl that I knew in prison, Jinx. Her and her husband own this place and I came by to chat with her. Go in and ask for her, you’ll see,” I said confidently, knowing that he wouldn’t question me any further because of how sure I sounded.

  “You’ve been acting strange Moe. Is there anything going on that I need to know? You need to tell me now.”

  I smiled at him which made him look at me strange.

  I was sure that Kane was no longer going to be an issue so I shook my head.

  “No baby. Everything is okay. Are you ready to get married or what?” I asked him and then kissed him to relax him.

  Dray didn’t ask anything else about his concerns and he headed to his car and I headed to mine.

  Glancing at the dealership, I saw Kane looking out the window and just before pulling off, Jinx walked up beside him.

  My wedding wasn’t far away, and now I had nothing and no one standing in my way.

  Praises to the Man above.

  Won’t he do it?

  ~***~

  Jinx talked and talked and I wondered if I should tell her about what had happened between her husband and I.

  She was determined to keep in touch a
nd since we both knew a good bit about each other, I guess if I was ever going to have a friend, it might as well be her.

  But I had been screwing her husband; I would think that I should open my mouth and say something to her.

  But I didn’t.

  I was sure that he wasn’t going to say anything and I guess my best bet was not to say anything either.

  I guess that meant we were never going to be real friends.

  But she didn’t have to know that.

  “Your big day is coming soon. I’m trying to get my husband to come with me, but so far he won’t budge. But I’ll be there even if he doesn’t.”

  I wish Kane would bring his raggedy ass to my wedding!

  We’d only talked once since he’d found out that I had gone to prison with his wife.

  He’d answered a few questions and vowed to leave me and my relationship alone as long as I continued to pretend not to know him to his wife and keep his secret condo to myself.

  Jinx knew nothing of the condo, which confirmed that it had been another woman knocking on the door that night, threatening to take away his kids.

  But who she?

  And he had kids by her?

  Jinx was going to go crazy!

  I guess it was none of my business and as long as I didn’t have to worry about him anymore, whatever happened to him when Jinx found out was his problem.

  As long as she or Dray didn’t find out about us, everything was cool.

  I hadn’t spoken to him since and since Drake and I were moving into our new house after the wedding, I wouldn’t have to worry about seeing him either.

  “Kane said that he took care of the stalking issue. Well, he said that someone took care of it for him. I didn’t bother to ask him how, but I’m sure that he won’t be bothering you anymore”

  “Yeah, I’m sure he won’t. Thanks again.”

  We chatted for a while longer and then I headed to meet my sisters for my final dress fitting.

  I was truly on cloud nine and I couldn’t wait to spend the rest of my life with Dray.

  I was about to be somebody’s wife; and the only wife to the somebody that ever really mattered.

  I arrived late to the dress shop and my sisters were already there and trying on their dresses after alterations.

  “There’s the bride to be,” they chimed.

  I was going to be the first to get married.

  Chardonnay had been in relationships here and there as far as I could remember, but she was currently a work-a-holic, so I figured that a husband and kids were nowhere in her near future.

  Lee Lee wasn’t the settling down type and I definitely couldn’t see her married to anyone unless they had a bank account the size of Texas.

  And as far as I knew, the baby girl Velvet was seriously dating her lover from college, and more than likely, they would be headed down the aisle next.

  But I only had seven days left to say I do and I just couldn’t wait.

  I tried on my dress and came out for the girls to see me.

  “Aww,” they squealed in unison.

  I did look some kind of good too.

  I was going to be a beautiful bride and my only wish was that Mama was there to see Drake make me an honest woman.

  Maybe then she would have believed in our love.

  The dress fit perfectly and that was one less thing I had to worry about on my never ending last minute wedding to-do list.

  And I had enough sisters to help me get them done.

  I was about to put them to work.

  We walked out of the dress shop and just as I was about to appoint things for them to take care of she stopped right in front of me.

  Naomi.

  Drake’s ex-wife.

  She just stood there, looking at me as I looked at her.

  She had somewhat of a smirk on her face but I could also see that she had an attitude as well.

  “What?” I asked her as my sisters looked on.

  She just looked at me.

  I quickly followed her eyes to Lee Lee but my sister looked away.

  Naomi seemed surprised that Lee Lee was with me.

  Hmm…

  Chardonnay had always been a hot head and she opened her mouth to get snappy but I beat her to the punch and said something instead.

  “Can I help you with something?”

  Naomi stared at me for a second and then she grinned, slyly.

  “Nope.”

  That was all she said and then she walked away.

  What?

  What the hell was her problem?

  The not too long ago, before I’d saw her with Lee Lee, she’d seen me and she’d acted as though she didn’t even know me, but this time she had acted rather courageous and strange.

  What was she up to?

  “Who was that?” My oldest sister asked.

  “Drake’s ex-wife,” Lee Lee answered.

  I looked at her and she immediately looked as though she’d just stuck her foot in her mouth.

  “How do you know Naomi?” I asked her.

  “It’s not important,” Lee Lee said and looked in Naomi’s direction as she drove away.

  Hmm…something wasn’t right about this picture.

  I wondered what it was that Naomi wanted and why she had shown up.

  I also wonder how Lee Lee knew that she was Drake’s ex-wife and why she hadn’t mentioned knowing her before and why she didn’t want to tell me how she knew her in the first place.

  Not to mention the time that I’d seen them together and she’d lied to me about it.

  Something didn’t sit well with me and I had a bad feeling that something crazy was about to happen.

  And it better not happen on my wedding day, or I was going to catch a case…or a felony…again.

  ~***~

  “I’m getting married tomorrow!”

  I screamed at my reflection in the bathroom mirror.

  I was so happy that I couldn’t quite explain it.

  I was about to be Mrs. Drake Knox and I just couldn’t wait!

  My life seemed to flash before my eyes and I saw nothing but happiness and a life full of joy, kids and even success.

  It was the life that I’d always deserved and finally I was going to have it.

  The wedding rehearsal, dinner, and bachelorette party were all over and my sisters were passed out on my bed.

  Drake was wherever with the fellas and I was up alone trying to get my thoughts together.

  I had been through hell behind Drake and for a while I didn’t think that we would ever see a church together, let alone a wedding.

  But we had made it.

  Through troubles, murder, prison and an ex-wife, we’d made it.

  I wasn’t really worried about Naomi anymore.

  Maybe she had just been passing by and caught a glimpse of me in the dress store and became jealous.

  Or maybe she had come there with intentions on saying something and then backed out.

  But I couldn’t worry about her.

  And she had better not be worried about me…or Dray.

  I smiled at myself one last time and just as I was about to cross the threshold to my bedroom, my stomach started to turn and I turned around and ran back to the toilet.

  I threw up for about a minute or so and then I washed my face.

  Yep, I was pregnant.

  I was only a few weeks but I was keeping it a secret until after the wedding.

  I was so excited that keeping the news to myself for the past week had been hell, but I wanted to tell Drake on our wedding night.

  He was going to be so happy.

  I was sure that the baby was his.

  Though I had dealings with Kane, we never had unprotected sex, not even once, so I wasn’t worried at all about him being the father.

  This baby was all Drake’s.

  And tomorrow Drake was going to be all mine.

  I found a space in the bed beside my sisters and made myself comfortable.

>   I smiled and rubbed my stomach.

  Tomorrow was the beginning of forever and I just could wait!

  That night I dreamt of my wedding.

  Everything was perfect.

  Everything was beautiful.

  And I knew that tomorrow was going to be everything that I’d ever hoped that it would be.

  Hopefully even more…

  “Rum, what’s wrong?”

  My little brother looked nervous.

  “Drake is outside and we can’t get him to come in. The preacher is ready to start and asking him to take his place but he won’t come in.”

  What the hell is going on?

  I called Drake’s phone, but he didn’t pick it up.

  I was starting to sweat and I didn’t know if what I was feeling inside was coming from the pregnancy or coming from my nerves.

  After calling for the tenth time, I did what any soon to be bride would do.

  I went outside to see what was wrong with him.

  Lee Lee came with me and I was hoping that he was just nervous and needed the fresh air.

  His back was to me which was a good thing.

  “Dray don’t turn around, it’s bad luck,” I said to him.

  I could hear him exhale.

  “It’s a little too late for that,” Drake said and turned around.

  Uh oh.

  Behind him I saw Vicki, Naomi’s sister and my past boss.

  I hadn’t invited her and wondered what she was doing there

  She smiled.

  But I noticed that she wasn’t smiling at me.

  She was smiling at Lee Lee.

  I looked at my sister as she approached her and puckered up her lips.

  What?

  “Oh no, tell me that you two aren’t…”

  “You didn’t tell her?” Vicki asked Lee Lee.

  I knew that Lee Lee was nasty, freaky, and definitely a big fan of all things related to sex.

  But she was into women?

  Never ever would I have thought such a thing!

  But I couldn’t deal with that situation right now.

  I turned my focus back to Drake but just as I was about to open my mouth, I saw Jinx…and she was dragging Kane behind her.

  What the hell was he doing here!

  “Is the wedding outside? Or did we miss it?” Jinx asked.