30
Tiffany
I headed over to gym feeling like one vindictive bitch. I don’t necessarily believe in all that eye for an eye crap, but after what Kimbel did to me, my reasons were justified. As soon as I pulled into the parking lot, I drove around until I spotted his Jaguar that he always parked on an angle so it took up two parking spaces. He was such a vain bastard. I was just too stupid at the time to realize it.
Before I climbed out, I slipped on a Cardinal’s baseball cap and dark sunglasses, and grabbed my gym bag like I had every intention of hitting the elliptical machine. The college student at the desk was too busy sending a text message to notice me walking by his desk, which was good because I didn’t want anyone to know I had been here. I walked down toward the weight room, peeked inside, and spotted Kimbel on the leg press machine. Good. That gave me plenty of time to put my plan in action. He always worked on his legs first, then moved to arms and abs. I frowned at his back. Asshole. Yesterday, the Allerton Hotel slapped me with an $8,000 bill for a wedding reception that never happened. When I contacted Kimbel and begged him to cover the debt, and in exchange I would return his ring, he had the nerve to laugh in my face and tell me he wasn’t paying for shit. Yeah, okay . . . in a few minutes we’ll see who laughing.
In an oversize sweat suit and with my hair pushed under the cap, I walked down to the men’s locker room, knocked twice, then stepped inside. Water was running, so someone was in the shower, which meant I needed to work fast. I scrambled toward the back and moved down through the rows of lockers until I spotted Kimbel’s locker. I knew it was his because I had given him the blue combination lock. I had used it for years before buying another one and given him my old one. I gave it a twirl, remembering the combination by heart; I had it opened in no time. Sucker. Men can be so dumb. They’re always trying to get over on someone, but forget that some women are just too smart for games. I reached inside his gym bag and removed his wallet, then snatched out both the Visa and Mastercard. Each had limits I could only imagine having. After a second of hesitation, I removed his debit card as well. Last month I was driving when Kimbel had me pull up to the ATM drive-thru and gave me his PIN number (4-5-8-1) because as he said, we were engaged and there were no secrets.
As I was returning the wallet, his cell phone vibrated. I couldn’t help myself. I reached down deep in his bag and removed it. Tricia popped up on the screen. I stared down at it for a moment while I tried to calm my nerves, then stuck it in my pocket along with his credit cards. I was almost to the door when I heard someone coming. The shower had stopped and whoever was in the locker room was about to discover me if I didn’t act fast. Quickly, I slid under a small table in the corner.
My heart was pounding like crazy. The door opened and a dude stepped in wrapped in a towel and moved to the locker in front of me. Damn! Now I was trapped until he dressed and left. When he dropped his towel, I forgot all about being trapped under a table. Everything they ever said about white boys was a lie. This one was hung and gorgeous. I watched him slap lotion on his body, then slip into a pair of boxer briefs that hugged his thighs. He was gorgeous and I was enjoying the show.
“What’s happening, dude?”
I almost let out a scream when the door flung open and Kimbel stepped in. “You got it.”
“You playing ball with us this weekend?” he asked.
“Nah, man. I’m going to Georgia to do some recruiting, and taking this honey with me.”
White boy shook his head with envy written all over his face. “Man, I want to be like you when I grow up.”
“Yo, milk does a body good.” They gave each other dap, then shared a laugh.
He-he-hell . . . Kimbel thought his ass was funny. I guess he was taking Tricia with him. There was no telling how long he and the skank had been seeing each other. I sat there thinking about how long he’d been playing me until I was tempted to slide out from under the table and scratch his eyes out. The sexy white boy finished getting dressed then swung his bag over his shoulder and left. I waited until Kimbel grabbed his towel and headed to the shower before I climbed out from under the table. As soon as I heard water running and him singing off-key to Jodeci’s “Forever My Lady,” I hurried over to his locker and took his clothes—drawers and all—and stuffed them in my bag. Next, I switched his combination lock with the one in my bag. After taking a deep breath, I pulled my hat low over my eyes and headed toward the exit just as a lanky dude stepped through the doors. I jumped back in panic and waited to get busted. Thank goodness he was too busy wiping sweat from his eyes to notice.
“Hey, whassup.”
I mumbled “what’s up” under my breath and hurried out to my car. I had bought myself some time by changing the lock. By the time Kimbel figured out what was going on, the deed would be done.
The second I got to Candace’s, I got on the phone and, in a deep voice, paid all the wedding bills with Kimbel’s debit card. Wasn’t too much he could say since the bills were in both his and my name. And as far as the hotel was concerned, Kimbel had called, not me. I was laughing my ass off when my duffel bag vibrated. It took me a second to remember I had his cell phone.
First thing I did was listen to his voice mails, including the one’s he saved, and got pissed off all over again. I was right. He was planning to spend the weekend with Tricia. We would have been married two weeks and already he was planning to step out on me. It took me a second to think of a plan before I decided to send her a text.
Before we spend the weekend together I need to be honest with you. I have herpes.
I hit Send and was cracking up laughing. I finally felt like I was getting even. Five minutes later, she texted back:
What the fuck???
Then Tricia started blowing up his phone. I let it go to voice mail. As soon as his phone indicated he had a new message, I couldn’t resist listening: You sorry muthafucka . . . Lose my number! I was having so much fun I decided to share that important bit of information with everyone he had saved in his phone. He had a lot of numbers, so it took almost thirty minutes to reach everyone, especially since messages were coming in as fast as I was sending them. The comments were hilarious. After I was done, I pulled out his credit card, ordered six dozen roses, and sent them to Kimbel at his job. Then I ordered him some of those male enhancement pills and had them delivered to his job as well. I was having too much fun. After all, he was so self-centered, why shouldn’t he spend his money on himself? I then went and filled my tank with gas, bought groceries, and stopped by his bank and withdrew $500 from the ATM. As far as I was concerned, it was for pain and suffering. I went to bed that night with a smile on my face.
The next morning, I was in the bathroom at the salon when Debra came banging on the door. “Tif, Kimbel’s here!”
Oh shit! I almost peed on myself trying to hurry and get off the toilet. I washed my hands and made it out the room. The second Kimbel spotted me, he moved across the floor, practically foaming at the mouth.
“You stupid bitch! Why you do that shit?”
He was making a scene and had a large audience, but I acted like I hadn’t noticed.
“Do what?” I tossed the paper towel in the trash and pretended I had no idea what he was talking about.
“Don’t play dumb. You know what I’m talking about.”
“No, I don’t, so enlighten me. Enlighten all of us what your problem is.” Might as well include the entire salon, because as loud as he was shouting, everyone was listening. “Or would you rather I tell everybody myself?”
Kimbel glanced nervously around the room. I dared him to mention his little problem to the crowd. “I didn’t think so. I have no idea why you’re here, so unless you’re gonna tell me, I advise you to get the hell outta here. I’ve got work to do.”
“Tiffany, you a’ight?”Chauncey asked, as he moved over to my station mean-mugging Kimbel.
I smirked and signaled for my next client to take a seat. “I’m fine, Chauncey. Kimbel was just
leaving.”
My ex-fiancé backed away toward the door. If looks could kill, I’d be one dead chick. “This isn’t over,” he warned.
Kimbel better believe it wasn’t over. Not until I said it was.
31
Candace
I’m in love. Can you believe that shit? I said I wasn’t going to let another man steal my heart, but by the time Monday rolled around, I knew there was no denying my feelings.
Chauncey pulled up in front of the free clinic. I was reluctant to get out of his car. He had taken me to Wisconsin Dells for the weekend. We stayed in a cabin, rode the water rides, and had a romantic dinner for two. The entire time we left our cell phones off because we didn’t want any interruptions. The weekend was about me and him. Last night while he was making love to me, Chauncey whispered in my ear the words I have been waiting for. I love you. By the time I told him I loved him, too, tears were streaming down my face. I never felt like this about a man before. Not even with Tyree. With Chauncey, I had let my guard down and allowed myself to love and give love and that was so scary, but I knew it was the only way; otherwise, I would never know what true love was.
“Thanks for a wonderful weekend.”
“You welcome, boo.” He flashed the sexy smile of his. That man did things to me.
Glancing down at my watch, I frowned. It was almost eight o’clock. Time to clock in. “I hate having to go to work today.”
“Don’t go. Take the day off and spend it with me. Our weekend doesn’t have to come to an end.”
I stared up into his beautiful gray eyes. His words were so enticing. My Aunt Brittany had taken Miasha to Indianapolis, so I had the house to myself for the next two days. I would love to tell Chauncey to drive off and we spend the rest of the day and night at my apartment; but as much as I wanted to spend every moment with this dude, I knew that was the quickest way for a man to grow bored. The chase was important in a relationship and no matter how fine he was, I could not lose sight of that. Even though I had fallen in love with Chauncey, I wanted to be with him for longer than six months or a year. I knew deep in my heart I wanted to share my life with him, hopefully as his wife. And acting too eager and desperate for a man was the quickest way to run him away.
“Yeah . . . right. Sorry, but I need my job.”
He shrugged. “Just a thought.” I could tell he was disappointed, but I was glad he didn’t push the issue. “Then, how about I take you to dinner tonight?”
“Dinner sounds wonderful.” I leaned in and he pressed his lips to mine and kissed me like I might never see him again. There was no way I was letting that happen. Not now. Not after I had waited all my life to meet a man like him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and opened my mouth, and his tongue slid inside. I met every stroke, loving the way he felt and tasted. This was my man and I wasn’t letting anything mess up what we had. I was almost tempted to tell him, to hell with work, to put that sucker in Drive, and to go back to my place, but I had time. Plenty of time. We’re taking it slow, I had to remind myself. I pulled back and stared down at him. What I saw startled me. I’ve never seen Chauncey look that serious before.
“Tonight I need to talk to you about some heavy stuff.”
My heart fluttered. “Okay.” I was going to go crazy the rest of the day. Damn, at least give me a hint.
“You have a good day,” he said before I had a chance to pry. “I’ve got a schedule full of pedicures for the afternoon. I’ll be by around seven.”
I held my breath as I thought about all those women coming in to have my man play with their feet and felt a tinge of jealousy. Memories of him doing the same to me came burning to the forefront. “You make sure you get them heifers to back the hell up, because you’re taken.” I tried to say it like it was a joke, but I was dead serious.
Chauncey chuckled, then signaled for me to come closer and pressed his lips to mine again. “I will. Now get inside before I peel away from the curb and take your fine ass hostage.”
I laughed, then reached for my purse and climbed out the car. As soon as I shut the door, I leaned inside. “Thanks, baby.”
“I’ll see you tonight.”
I sighed and backed away as he pulled away from the curb. He had barely made it down the street and I was already missing him. “Candace, girl, you got it bad,” I mumbled under my breath.
I moved inside the building and hurried into the bathroom. If I didn’t go to the bathroom now, there was no telling when I would get another chance to go before lunch. I was coming out the stall when I ran into Coco. Damn. She’s my girl and all, but she was going to want to ask a lot of questions about Chauncey and I was late enough as it was.
“Hey, girlfriend. You just getting here?” she said with a curious smile.
I nodded and put my purse down on the counter while I washed my hands. “Yeah, I had a little trouble getting out of bed this morning.” I was smiling so hard my face hurt. Coco didn’t miss a beat.
“I know that’s right. If my man was as fine as yours, I wouldn’t have gotten out the bed either. I saw him at the picnic. Gurrrlll, where in the world did you find him?” she teased.
I so wanted to tell her about when we first met and how good Chauncey treated me. I’ve known Coco since I started working at the clinic. We’ve hung out a few times, and she had always been someone I could talk to about my problems with Miasha’s deadbeat daddy. But I knew the moment I opened my mouth and got to talking, I wouldn’t be able to stop and my ass would really be late. The last thing I needed was for my boss to be trying to write me up. All I could do was suck my teeth and say, “I didn’t find him. He found me.” There was so much excitement in my voice. I just couldn’t deny how I felt.
Coco leaned against the wall and gazed at my reflection in the mirror. “I’m really happy for you, Candace. You deserve to be happy.”
“Thanks. I’ll talk to you later. If you want, we can go to lunch.” She worked in the WIC office across the hall, but we both had lunch at the same time.
“That sounds like a plan.”
I reached for a paper towel and dried my hands. Coco was still standing there and I could tell she wanted to say something. “What’s wrong?” I asked.
Coco leaned in closer and whispered, “I don’t know what you did to Gloria, but she was hating on you. I heard her in the bathroom whispering about you to this bald-headed chick this morning. As soon as she saw me, she shut up.”
I rolled my eyes. “Probably because I’m late.”
She shook her head. “No, I think it’s more than that. You might wanna watch your back with that one.”
I learned a long time ago, Gloria wasn’t someone to be trusted. I looked down at my watch. “Thanks for the warning. I better get in there.” I grabbed my purse and hurried down the hall and entered the clinic. The second I walked in, I saw Gloria, who was on the phone, drop her head, whisper something, then hang up. The lobby was already filled with folks coming in for birth control and whatever else. I went to the back and felt like everybody was looking at me. Damn, I know I’m late, but it ain’t like none of them haven’t ever been a few minutes late before.
One of the nurses was sitting in the break room when I went to clock in. She smiled, then went back to reading her book. I reached for my time card, clocked in, and moved to the front desk. Gloria was whispering with Claudette, our medical coder. Jealous asses. They’re just mad because their men ain’t nowhere near as fine as mine.
Claudette struck a pose and smiled my way. “Hey, Candace. You must have left the picnic early because I came looking for you.”
No, the person she was looking for was Chauncey. “We had other plans.”
Gloria looked at Claudette, then started smiling. “Where did you say you met him again?”
“I didn’t.” I rolled my eyes and headed to my desk. I would be damned if I told that skank where he worked because I guarantee you before the day was out, she would have scheduled an appointment to get her feet done. Evidently, she wa
s single again; otherwise, she would be sweating me and mine. As soon as I slipped my purse under the desk, I checked in the next patient, then logged in to the computer.
Brenda came up front to get the next patient’s file. She glanced nervously over her shoulder, then whispered to me, “Sylvia wants to see you in her office right away, but you might wanna check your e-mails first.” She then called back the next patient to see the doctor.
I gave her a puzzled look, then opened Microsoft Outlook and scrolled through my e-mail, looking to see what was so important. I noticed an office-wide e-mail that had been sent out this morning from a Tameka Dash. The name wasn’t familiar, but since it was sent to the entire office I figured it had to be important. I clicked on the link and read the subject line: Do you know this man? She definitely had my attention. I clicked on the hyperlink below and was navigated to a different Web page. What appeared on the screen caused me to gasp. Hell no! There was no way. It had to be some kind of mistake. But sure enough, there he was. Chauncey. Several years younger, but still just as fine, even on the Internet. As much as I wanted to think it was some kind of joke, there was no denying the proof that was right in front of me on a legitimate Illinois government Web site.
Chauncey was a registered sex offender.
32
Chauncey
Smiling, I rose and went to retrieve a towel and caught a glimpse of someone coming through the door and cringed.
“Hey, Chauncey! I’m your ten-o’clock appointment.”
“Whassup, Octavia! Go ahead and have a seat in the second chair. I’ll be right with you.” I smiled and waited until my back was turned before I groaned. Octavia weighed a good three hundred pounds and came in every two weeks for a pedicure. She was a loyal customer with a beautiful personality. The problem was her feet had a smell that no amount of soaking could cure. Even with gloves on my hands, that scent somehow found its way onto my skin and I could still smell it lingering in the air even hours after she was gone. I wonder how long I could hold my breath today? Damn! I guess there was a flip side to all jobs. There was no getting around it. I would just have to cuddle up close under my girl this evening. That smell would be the last thing on my mind. Candace had a natural scent I couldn’t get enough of.
Suspicions Page 20