“He apologized for that. He was delivering a baby and it took longer than he imagined. What was he going to do, tell her to quit pushing long enough for him to call me?”
Tiffany started laughing and I joined in. “I guess you do have a point, but I thought you just said you were really feeling Chauncey?”
“I am and that’s why I wanna take it slow with him. I refuse to set myself up for another failure. I just can’t deal with that. If it’s meant to be, it will be. In the meantime, I’ll see what ol’ boy is talking about. There’s nothing wrong with having options.”
I spent so much time getting to know Chauncey and so far I liked him. I liked him so much that I decided to take things slow with him. In the past, there were several times I found myself so caught up in the sex, I couldn’t see how wrong the dude was until I found myself wondering how the hell I ended up with another fool. Nevertheless, it wasn’t gonna be easy; not as fine as Chauncey was. But I was determined to hold out until I was certain that everything I was feeling about him was real. Tiffany smiled, but I could tell something was heavy on her mind.
“What’s with the long face? In a month you’ll be getting married to the man of your dreams.”
“My wedding can’t get here fast enough.”
I could tell by the tone of her voice something was bothering her. “What’s wrong?”
Instead of telling me, Tiffany stared at the wall behind my head and had this faraway look in her big brown eyes. If I hadn’t known better, I would have sworn she was trying not to cry. “Kimbel is tired of me telling him no. A week and a half ago, things got a little out of hand and he stormed out the house and didn’t come back until three in the morning.”
“What do you mean by ‘out of hand’?” I replied, digging for answers. I ain’t ashamed to admit it, but inquiring minds wanted to know.
Our eyes met for a brief second; then she turned away and blushed. “We ended up on the couch with him going down on me.”
My mouth hung open. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. My girl had finally had her coochie ate out. “Hold up. You lying?”
Tiffany sadly pushed her shoulder-length hair away from her face. “No, I’m not. I couldn’t have stopped that man if I had wanted to. I don’t understand it, but my body wanted something that my brain just couldn’t control.”
“Hell naw! You liked it, didn’t you?” She tried to play it off, but I knew her ass too well. “Tif . . . don’t even try to lie to me!”
She was looking at the wall again.“Okay . . . I’m not going to lie. Damn! It was unbelievable. I . . . I have never felt like that before in my life.”
She rambled on about what happened and how far she let him go, and I sat there shaking my head, taking it all in. My girl had finally had her first orgasm. Hell naw!
“For the first time in my life I understand why some women can’t go without sex. I could have Kimbel licking my kitty every night. Uhhh . . . of course I’m talking about after we’re married.”
That was guilt talking. She liked the feel of his tongue and needed to stop trying to front. I don’t know why my girl is always trying to act like the Virgin Mary or some doggone body.
“If he was licking on your stuff, then why did he get mad?”
“Uhhhh . . .” Tiffany paused and took a long breath. I waited for her to continue, but I could tell by the way she was playing with her drink she was uncomfortable. “I . . . uh . . .”—she looked around as if someone might hear our conversation—“he got mad because I . . . I wouldn’t do him.”
“Oh, hell naw!” I started laughing. I know I shouldn’t have, but I couldn’t help it. I pictured him standing there with his dick in his hand, begging her to give him some head, and Tiffany looking like a kid who was scared of the dark. “I don’t mean to laugh at you, but this is some funny shit. No offense, Tiffany, but I see why Kimbel was mad.” I was laughing again, but I stopped when I noticed the embarrassed look on her face. Tiffany was so naïve. “Girl, you got that man all excited. You got yours, but you didn’t let him get his. That’s why he was mad. I’m surprised he didn’t just take the coochie.”
“Take it?” She looked like she was ready to slap me. “Candace, puhleeze. Kimbel would never do that. Instead, he left.”
She brought her glass to her lips; then she had that stupid faraway look in her eyes again. After a while, her eyes pooled with tears and I felt bad for her.
“I’m afraid he’s running out of patience with me. Ever since that night he’s been distant and withdrawn, and we barely speak to each other.”
“If he truly loves you, he’ll respect your wishes and wait.” I was getting mad now. Just like a man to try and pressure a female into giving him some. I thought Kimbel was different. I guess I was wrong. “He waited this long, hell . . . what’s a few more weeks?”
“I know. That’s what I was thinking, but ever since that night he’s been acting funny. I mean really weird, like he doesn’t want me around. Since it is his house, I decided to stay at Mama’s the other night just to see if he said anything. The bastard didn’t even call looking for me. That shit hurt.”
I sat back on the couch, stunned. “Damn, girl. That’s bad.”
“I know.” She looked like she was on the verge of tears. “Anyway, the girls were talking in the salon last week about men having needs and if I wasn’t taking care of him, I better believe that someone else was. When Kimbel stormed out the house the first thing that came to my mind was that he went to see someone who was willing to give him what I wouldn’t.”
I wouldn’t put it past a man, but that wasn’t what she needed to hear. “You can’t be thinking like that. If he loves you, he’ll wait.”
“Yeah, but we’re talking about a man. Come on, Candace. You know they think . . . with their dicks.” She gave me a serious look.
I crossed my arms in front of me and shook my head. “Yes, but you have to stay true to yourself. You said you were holding on to your virginity for your husband, then that’s what you do. Hell, I wish I had waited for the right man. Nothing worse than giving a man some and hating his ass later.” Speaking of men . . . I hadn’t heard from Tyree in almost a week.
“I don’t know. I love him so much. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to keep my man.”
“Does that mean you’re thinking about giving him some?”
Tiffany looked around as if someone might hear our conversation. “Yes, and then I pray about it and remind myself to stay strong and wait.”
“Then do that. I wish I had your strength. If I could do things over, I might have done things differently. Don’t get me wrong; I love Miasha and I wouldn’t trade her for the world, but it would have been nice to have gotten married first before I had a baby.” I stared at her cocoa brown face and hated that she looked so sad. “You’ve waited this long, I think you can wait four more weeks. Kimbel’s just frustrated, but he’ll be fine. Trust me.” I was trying to encourage her to be strong, but Tiffany didn’t look convinced.
“I hope so. I’m just not sure anymore. I love that man and part of me feels that it’s all right to go ahead and do it since I am planning to spend the rest of my life with him, anyway.”
“Tiffany, don’t say that too loud. Your mother might be listening.”
I swore she flinched. “Yeah, that’s the problem, every time I think about going ahead with it, I hear her voice in my head screaming at me to wait.”
I would never say it to Tiffany, but her mother was a fruitcake. “Tiffany, you are a grown-ass woman with grown-up needs and desires. We all have weak moments. Don’t let nobody dictate your life for you. Stay true to you; but if you can’t, then do what you feel like you gotta do.”
She smiled. “Thanks, Candace. I knew you would know what to do.”
“Nah, ’cause a chick like me would have been riding that dick a long time ago.”
Tiffany laughed and I gave her a hug. “Everything is gonna work itself out. Four more weeks and you can freak yo man
all you want!”
After she left, I showered and dressed in this slamming blue jean halter jumpsuit that hugged my childbearing hips and showcased my breasts. I was looking too cute. That med student didn’t stand a chance. Shortly after seven, the door bell rang and I looked at the clock. He was right on time. I looked through the peephole, wanting a glance at him up close and personal, and what I saw caused the pulse at my temple to pound. Damn! I swung the door open and had straight attitude. “What do you want?”
“Is that any way to greet your baby’s daddy?” Tyree didn’t even wait for an invitation. He walked in and headed straight to my kitchen and took a beer out the refrigerator.
“Excuse me . . . but this is my house.”
“I’m thirsty.” He popped the tab and gulped down half the can in one swig. I had bought those beers just in case my date wanted to come in later for a nightcap.
“What do you want?” I asked, looking impatiently at my watch. Deon was due any minute now.
“I came to see my daughter.”
“She’s at Mama’s.”
I guess Tyree finally noticed what I was wearing, because his eyes traveled all the way down to my stiletto heels back up to my chest. The hungry look actually made me feel naked. “Damn, baby, you wearing the hell outta that outfit! Where you think you going dressed like that?”
“None of your business. Now get the hell outta here.” I needed to get him out fast. The last thing I needed was for that crazy fool to know I was seeing someone else, because there was no telling how he was going to act. I wasn’t afraid of Tyree, but the last thing I needed was a scene.
Tyree moved into the living room and took a seat on my couch. “We need to talk.”
“About what?” I glanced over at the clock on the end table. Tyree did, too, like he already knew what I was up to.
“I told you before, I want to talk about us.”
“There is no us. Now go.” Just in case he didn’t believe I was serious, I moved to the front door and held it open. It was at that exact moment I spotted my date coming up the steps. “Oh shit!” I mumbled. I glanced from left to right. This was not at all how to start a first date.
Deon took one look at me and smiled. “Wow! You must be Candace.”
He moved to the door looking every bit as fine as his picture. Not as good-looking at Chauncey, but gorgeous in a classier kinda way.
“And you must be Deon.” I smiled at him, but it was short-lived. Tyree picked that moment to jump off the couch and move to the door like he was ready to start something. “This is my daughter’s father and he was just leaving.” I tried to push Tyree out into the hall, but he wouldn’t budge. He just stood there inside the door mean-mugging my date.
“What’s he doing here?” Tyree hissed, and moved beside me like we were a couple and this was our place together. I stepped away from him.
“Not that it’s any of your business, but we’re going out tonight.” I smiled over at Deon and pulled him inside my apartment. “You need to leave.” I was practically pleading with my eyes for him to get the hell out, but Tyree wasn’t paying me any attention. He was too busy staring at Deon. I’ll give it to med student, he was holding his own and didn’t look like he was about to run off with his tail between his legs, like some of them other punks I had dated. “Tyree, I’ll talk to you later.”
“I ain’t going nowhere.” He took a step forward like he was about to get in Deon’s face. I stepped between them, then pushed Tyree hard against the chest.
“I said get out! Don’t make me call the police.” As soon as he heard me mention the po-po he came to his senses and stepped out the door.
“Candy, we’re gonna talk about this later.”
I rolled my eyes at him, then slammed the door in his face. Immediately, I put a smile on and swung around to face my date. “Sorry about that.” I spent the next minute trying to apologize. Deon yawned like he was suddenly bored and then had the nerve to scroll through his BlackBerry. No, he ain’t ignoring me.
“You accept my apology?” I asked, then struck a sexy pose, sticking my twins out so he wouldn’t miss the cleavage. Unfortunately, he didn’t look at all interested.
“Listen . . . I’m sorry, but this isn’t going to work.”
Ewww! Was that his breath? I sure in the hell hoped not. “Why’s that? I told you I was sorry about my baby daddy’s behavior.”
Deon gave an amused laugh. Damn! That was his breath. “See, that’s the problem. I can’t do the baby daddy thing. That’s just too much drama for me. I also noticed that disconnection notice sitting there on your coffee table. I’m a struggling medical student, so I need someone to help me pay my bills and it’s obvious that you can’t even pay your own.”
No the fuck he didn’t.
“Thanks for wasting my time.” Then Deon shook his head the way Papa did when he was disappointed in me.
I was tempted to pick up my phone and tell Tyree to come back and beat his ass; instead, I brought my hand over my nose. “Actually, Deon, you saved me from wasting my evening with some fool with stank breath.” When he first came to the door, I thought that smell was Ms. Bridges across the hall, cooking a pot of chitlins, but now that he was standing in my apartment, I knew for a fact that was the dude’s breath. “What you need to do is invest in some Altoids, because with breath like that, ain’t no woman going to be interested in taking care of your narrow ass no matter how much money you have the potential to make.” He opened his mouth, prepared to say something, but I held up a hand, cutting him off. “Trust and believe, if you were worth anything, your aunt wouldn’t be wasting time trying to hook someone up with you and your tart breath. Now, get the hell outta my house so I can go grab a can of Lysol because you funked up my place.”
As soon as I slammed the door, I went into the kitchen and reached under the sink for the can and sprayed the whole apartment. I was so pissed because instead of wasting my time with halitosis, I could have spent the evening with Chauncey.
I went to my room, changed out of my clothes, then put my pride aside and reached for the phone.
10
Noelle
“Hey Mom. What’s up?”
What’s up is that it took a week for Scott to return my call. Here I’ve been pulling out my hair, and had even pissed Grant off a few times.
After Grant’s weird behavior about the baby, he had me thinking, and I couldn’t help it, but I started acting suspicious. Smelling his underwear. Checking the incoming calls on his cell phone while he was asleep. I even went online and logged in to his cellular phone account and scrolled through his bills for the last six months, looking for any numbers that looked out of the ordinary. I was particularly looking for one that would have come from the hospital on the labor and delivery floor, on or about two months ago. Unfortunately, Grant just so happened to walk in and caught me, and I had to justify my actions by lying and telling him I was checking his telephone bill averages to see if maybe it was time for us to switch to another wireless company. Naturally, he wasn’t buying it. Well, I had no choice but to start an argument about him not trusting me, and with the way he’d been behaving lately, if anyone should be suspicious it should be me. You better believe I reminded him that I wasn’t the one hanging out at the bars and too tired for sex. I then stormed off and slammed the door. He had sense enough to come find me lying on the couch and apologize.
“What the hell took you so long to call me back?” I barked in the phone. “I’ve been calling you all week leaving messages. For all you knew, someone could have died!” Like his father, for instance, if I found out he had been messing around on me.
“I thought you were just calling to check up on me. Mom, I’ve told you before if you need to talk to me right away just send me a text message.”
I don’t know what it is with kids and the need to text all damn day. Whatever happened to two people having a phone conversation?
“How’s Dad?”
That depends on how you
answer my question. “He’s fine. Everyone’s fine. Can’t a mother just call and see how her son is doing at college?” It was his first year away from home, and it was hard not having my baby around. “By the way . . . I was in the grocery store the other day and ran into Alissa’s mother. Whatever happened to you and Alissa?” They had dated for almost a year. I hadn’t really run into her mother, but it was the best I could come up with.
“She broke up with me for some nerd,” he replied with a rude snort in the phone.
“Hmmm . . . I thought that was the reason you broke up with Teresa?”
“No, we didn’t have anything in common. I stopped dating her and started seeing Clarice, remember?”
Clarice. How could I have forgotten about her? Quickly, I checked my memory bank. That relationship would have been about . . . thirteen months ago. “How’s she doing?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t talked to her since I left for school. Look, Mom, several of us are getting ready to go to this coffee shop so I’ll—”
I cut him off with a huff. “Before you hang up, answer one question for me. Do you have a child I know nothing about?” There, I said it.
Scott sputtered with laughter. “What did you just say?”
Did I stutter? “You heard me. Did you get one of those chicks pregnant?”
“Hey . . . I’m sure anything is possible,” he replied.
“This isn’t funny!” I snapped. I hated raising my voice to my son, always have; but he was testing me and today was not the day.
He was laughing now. “Mom, if I had a baby, I don’t know anything about it. Why you ask?”
“Because someone dropped a baby off on my doorstep.”
He was quiet. “Uhhhh . . . if that chick Aisha says her baby’s mine, she’s lying.”
“Aisha? Who’s Aisha?” There were so many I couldn’t keep up.
“Uh . . . this chick I was banging my senior year.”
I hated the way he talked to me like I was one of his friends. Reminding Scott how I felt was a waste of time. I know what the problem was. I spoiled him too much. Always tried to make sure my son never went without. Never made his rotten ass work for nothing, and now I was paying for it. Nobody’s fault but my own. I couldn’t even blame Grant, because every time he tried to pull off his belt to discipline Scott, I had come to his defense. After a while Scott knew whenever he wanted his way, all he had to do was run to me for help, which was why I couldn’t understand why he hadn’t bothered to tell me he had gotten some girl in trouble. We’ve always talked about everything, including the first time he had sex.
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