Mya snorted. “This was never about you, Maurice. Lauryn was selfish, and she played both of us. Just let it go.”
“Where did you say she had this DVD made?”
Mya rattled off the address of the videographer.
Maurice dashed out the door, ready to give Kenya the proof that she needed to see Lauryn was a liar.
Kenya crossed her legs and leaned closer to James as they sat on the sofa, watching the news. She’d told him that she didn’t want to be alone after finding out that Maurice had cut her so deeply for a second time and that she really wanted him to stay. The truth was, he’d be the knife she planned to cut Maurice with. When Maurice got wind of what happened with her and his brother, he would feel the same pain that she had felt when he pressed PLAY on that DVD player.
Two wrongs don’t make a right, her voice of reason said to her. Kenya ignored that voice and looked over at James. Sleeping with Maurice’s brother wasn’t going to change the fact that her heart was broken again. Inching closer to James, she made up her mind that it didn’t matter what the consequences would be: she was going to make her move. After all, James was there for her all of those years ago. Maybe he had feelings for her that she could squeeze out of him.
James had stayed with Kenya because he felt as if he owed her something. It was déjà vu. They could just as easily have been in Atlanta nine years ago, sitting on her mother’s porch, with her head buried in his arms.
He’d promised himself that he wouldn’t let Maurice hurt Kenya again. Yet that was exactly what had happened. How could Maurice be so stupid as to take up with Lauryn again? Hadn’t she embarrassed him enough by leaving him at the altar after turning their wedding into a media circus? His heart broke for Kenya as he put his arm around her shoulder in what he meant to be a brotherly show of affection.
Kenya turned her head slightly. Their lips were inches apart. Feeling that she’d lose her nerve if she didn’t do it now, she leaned in and kissed him. However, as she slipped her tongue in his mouth, she imagined that she was kissing Maurice. When she eased her hands between his legs, she thought about all the times she’d made love to Maurice. James’s body wasn’t as muscular as Maurice’s or as lean, but that didn’t matter to her as she unbuckled his belt.
James pulled back from the kiss, eying Kenya as if she were a stranger. “What are we doing?” he said, running his hand across his face.
“I need you,” she said. “I just want to forget.” Kenya cupped her hands around his face, trying to coax him into kissing her again. She could tell that he was weak when he closed his eyes and leaned into her.
She closed her eyes, too, imagining that Maurice was sitting beside her, getting ready to make love to her.
James pulled Kenya’s hands from his face. “This is wrong. You’re hurt and angry and . . .”
Rising to her feet, Kenya wiped her hands on her thighs. “Maybe when I got back to Atlanta, I should’ve looked at you as more than just a friend. Maybe you and I should’ve been together, and this wouldn’t have happened again.”
James crossed over to Kenya and wrapped his arms around her waist. “You don’t mean that. I know you’re hurt, and you’re not thinking clearly right now. Anything that we do right now, we’re going to regret when it’s over.”
Turning around to face him, Kenya knew James was right. Having sex with him wasn’t going to make her any happier. She’d still be hurting over the fact that Maurice had betrayed her again.
“I don’t know what I’m doing right now,” she whispered. “I shouldn’t try to pull you into my mess. Maybe you should go.”
He nodded, then kissed her on the forehead. “And just so you know, if things were different, if I knew you wanted me for me and not as a means to get him back, nothing would stop me from making love to you. But you and Maurice have to work this thing out. Put some closure on your relationship or something. I don’t want to stand by and watch him hurt you again, and I don’t want you to do something that you’re sure to regret.”
When James left, Kenya buried her face in one of the pillows on her sofa and sobbed until she drifted off to sleep.
It must have been after midnight when she heard the banging on her door. Initially, she wanted to ignore it. But as it continued, Kenya knew whoever was at her door wasn’t going away. Pulling herself up off the sofa, she ambled to the door, looked through the peephole, and saw Maurice’s face.
“Kenya, I know you’re there. Please open up,” he said as if he could see through the door.
“Go away.”
“Not until you hear what I have to say.” He placed his hand on the knob and turned it.
Kenya sucked her teeth. “Do you think you’re getting in here tonight after what you’ve done?” she hissed. “Why aren’t you with Lauryn?”
“Because I don’t want to be with her,” he said. “Kenya, do you really want all of your neighbors to hear this?”
“Go away.”
“Open the door.”
She started to walk away from the door, and Maurice called out, “I’ll wait here all night if I have to.”
“Then have a good night, jerk,” she snapped but didn’t walk away from the door. Peering at him, she saw that he had what seemed to be the infamous DVD in his hand. This man’s insane. Or I am because I am still in love with him, and it’s so obvious that he can’t get Lauryn out of his system.
Maurice banged on the door again. “I’m not leaving, Kenya. And you got people opening their doors, wondering why I’m out here begging you to open this door.”
She could imagine the spectacle of Maurice banging on her door and waking her neighbors. It wouldn’t be long before someone called the police, and then this would be another media event. Kenya opened the door.
“You have five minutes,” she hissed.
Maurice walked in and handed her a DVD. “Watch this.”
She threw the disk in his face. “You think I want to see you and Lauryn having sex?”
“I can tell you all day that I’m not the one on this DVD, but until you see the truth, you’re not going to take my word for it.”
Turning her back to him, she glanced up at the purple clock on the wall. “You have two and a half minutes left.”
“Damn it, Kenya, if I wanted Lauryn, I would’ve forgiven her when she left me for that woman and married her. But I didn’t. I got another chance to be with you, and that’s what I want. This DVD is a lie. She had it made by a videographer on Central Avenue. Mya saw her leaving that shop this morning. She’s been stalking us since she saw us in the Blake Hotel, and she knew how you’d react if you thought that we were sleeping together behind your back.” Maurice dropped to his knees and grabbed Kenya around her waist, forcing her to look at him.
“I don’t believe you. I don’t trust you, and I want you out of my house,” Kenya said coldly.
Standing, Maurice grabbed her hand. “If you think I’m going to let you run from me again, you’re wrong.”
Yanking her hand away from him, she shot him an icy glare. “The only thing that I was wrong about was thinking that you’d changed. Everybody was right about you. He has more money, but Mo is just the same ass that he’s always been. Why don’t you, Lauryn, and her lesbian lover go somewhere and make another DVD?”
Maurice walked over to the television, ignoring the angry look that Kenya shot at him. “This DVD was faked. Lauryn had my bedroom superimposed as she and some man had sex. Then my face was put on his body so that you would think this was me.”
“Do I look like I was born yesterday?” Kenya snapped. “For all I know, you could have taken this in and had it doctored yourself. Maurice, why don’t you just go out and find one of those mindless groupies and marry her? We’re done. Now get the hell out of my house.”
He grabbed Kenya, roughly pulling her against his body. “If you want more proof, then come with me to the videographer. He’ll tell you everything he did for Lauryn.”
She pushed against his chest, but
Maurice didn’t release her. “Like you didn’t pay him to say what you want. I’m not falling for your lies again!”
“I’ve never lied to you. And I haven’t lied to you about this DVD or being with Lauryn. When did I have time to do that? Kenya, can’t you see that I love you and I want to be with you and only you?”
“Well, seeing you having sex on DVD isn’t really convincing me that I’m the only woman in your life.” She punched him in the chest until he dropped his arms. “I want to hurt you, make you feel the pain that you’ve caused me. But I’m not that kind of person.”
“I didn’t do anything,” he said.
“So you say.”
Maurice closed his eyes and dropped his head. “What do you want to do? Do you really want things to be over between us?”
“Yes,” she said in a voice barely above a whisper. “I want you out of my life, out of my head, and out of my heart.”
Pointing his finger in her face and shaking his head, Maurice said, “I know that you don’t mean it, because if you wanted me out of your life, I wouldn’t be in your head and heart. You wouldn’t be trembling like a leaf.” Stroking her cheek, he brought her mouth level with his. “Kenya, this isn’t right. We can’t give Lauryn what she wants.”
“If she wants you, she can have you.” Kenya didn’t step away from him, because everything that he was saying was true. She loved him, and she wanted to be with him more than anything, but the DVD and the past, coupled with all of her insecurities, were keeping her from totally committing her heart and soul to him. How could she when the days changed but the questions remained the same? The pain never seemed to go away. Her mother was right, Imani was right, and her heart was wrong.
“Get out,” she found the voice to say. “I don’t want this anymore.”
He nodded. “I’ll leave now, but I’ll be back.” Maurice opened the door and found James standing on the other side. “What are you doing here?”
“The bigger question is what are you doing here? Haven’t you hurt her enough?” James said angrily.
“So is this what you’re doing? Swooping in to pick up my leftovers?” Maurice pushed his brother against the wall.
Kenya stepped in between them. “Stop it!” she exclaimed. “Maurice, leave.”
“Is there something going on with you two? From the moment we saw you at the resort, James has had some sort of fixation on you. What the hell is going on?”
James snorted. “You have the nerve to question her when you’ve been sleeping with Lauryn again?”
Shaking his head, Maurice turned to go down the stairs, convinced that James was trying to make a move on Kenya. Why else would he be there after midnight? Maurice vowed to get to the bottom of things, but not tonight. In the morning, when cooler heads would prevail, he, Kenya, and James were going to have it out. I can’t believe my brother is trying to do this to me, he thought. I’m pretty sure he’s trying to comfort Kenya, but I can’t help but feel like there’s something else going on here.
Kenya shook her head as she closed the door behind James. “What are you doing back here?” she asked him.
“I didn’t like the way we left things,” James said. “What does Maurice being here mean for the two of you now?”
“Nothing,” she said. “He was just telling more lies.” Kenya led James to the sofa. “Will you stay here tonight, on the sofa?”
“I guess I can. I don’t want what happened earlier today to hurt our friendship.”
Throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him tenderly, she said, “I’m sorry that I tried to put you in the middle of this thing with me and Mo.”
“You don’t need to apologize,” he said. “Maybe it’s time for me to stop trying to clean up Maurice’s messes. He’s a grown man, and it’s time for him to take responsibility for his own actions.”
She nodded. “And I need to do the same,” she said. “Maurice and I don’t belong together, and I’ve been trying to force this relationship, despite knowing that I didn’t trust him. You can’t have love without trust. And there was no way I could’ve married him.”
“Married?” James said incredulously. “When did this happen? Maybe you two need to talk, Kenya. If you loved him enough to accept his marriage proposal, then maybe it isn’t over.”
She rose to her feet quickly. “And I thought you were going to stop trying to clean up your brother’s messes.”
“I’m just being a friend, Kenya. You and Maurice can’t seem to get enough of each other. After all that time had passed, the two of you found your way back to each other. Maybe it’s destiny.”
She folded her arms across her chest and pursed her lips.
James continued speaking. “You love him. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t be in such pain, and he wouldn’t be trying to convince you that the DVD isn’t real if he didn’t love you just as much.”
“Sometimes love isn’t enough,” she mumbled.
“Then what is? If you and Maurice love each other, then you owe it to yourself to give it a chance or at least hear him out about this whole mess. What if Lauryn is just making trouble for you two because she’s trying to worm her way into Maurice’s pocket again?”
Rolling her eyes, Kenya said, “It’s funny that Lauryn’s trouble always ends up with Maurice between her legs. I can’t think about this anymore tonight. I’m going to bed.” She headed for her bedroom, trying to push James’s words out of her head. He was right, and she didn’t want to admit it.
As she eased into bed, she decided to call Maurice in the morning to see if there was anything left to work out.
Chapter 21
Maurice’s first instinct when he woke up at six in the morning was to head over to Kenya’s house and try to talk to her about everything that was going on. Instead, he picked up the engagement ring that he’d given her and stared at it. He thought that he’d done everything right this time. He’d remained faithful to Kenya, he’d put her first, and he’d been honest about his feelings. But in the end he was still alone.
Sitting up in bed, still holding the ring, Maurice stared into the stone, wishing it were a magic ball that could show him the future he’d dreamed he and Kenya would have. He thought their meeting at the Bahamian resort had been destiny giving them another chance. Maybe this isn’t destiny, he thought. Kenya doesn’t trust me, and there’s nothing I can do to change that. But I’m not going to let her think that I betrayed her again with Lauryn. She has to know that I won’t be the same fool twice.
Maurice hopped out of bed and took a quick shower. All the while he thought about how he was going to make Lauryn pay for interfering in his life. After dressing, Maurice headed to Kenya’s place. He wanted her to be with him when he confronted Lauryn with the evidence proving she’d faked the DVD. Maurice couldn’t help but smile sarcastically as he thought about Lauryn. She had had him all to herself, but she’d chosen to be with Mya, and now that he was trying to move on with his life, she seemed to miss what she had.
As he drove, Maurice decided that he was going to let the chips fall where they may. If Kenya didn’t want to believe him, then he wasn’t going to force the issue. He was tired of fighting with her and trying to convince her that his love was for her and her alone. Nothing he did or said made a difference.
Maurice knew, however, that if things didn’t work out, he wouldn’t be fortunate enough to find another woman like Kenya, and if he couldn’t have her, then he wouldn’t spend his life looking for a replacement.
As he pulled up to her complex, he prayed that she’d be ready to listen to reason and give their love another try, one last try, because nothing was going to come between them again. That is if Kenya believed him. He got out of the car, dashed upstairs to her place, and knocked softly on the door, hoping not to have a replay of last night’s drama.
When the door opened and he saw James standing there, his blood boiled. “What the hell? Did you spend the night?” Maurice snapped.
“I did, but it isn’
t what you think,” James explained. “Kenya needed—”
Maurice, unable to control his rage, punched his brother in the face, forcing him backward. “You’ve been planning this all along!” he hissed.
Kenya ran into the living room when she heard the loud crash. Since she’d just stepped out of the shower, she only had on a short terry-cloth robe. Maurice’s eyes stretched, owing to incredulity.
“Are you two sleeping together?” Maurice demanded.
James rose to his feet and stood toe to toe with his brother. “You’re an idiot. I spent the night here telling Kenya how much you two needed to work things out, and you come here accusing me of sleeping with her?”
“Besides,” Kenya snapped, “you’re the one with the sex tape.”
Before Maurice could reply, James punched his brother, nearly breaking his nose. “That’s just for being stupid,” he said.
Holding his nose, Maurice fought the urge to retaliate. “Is there something that you two need to tell me?”
Kenya walked into the kitchen and grabbed a dish towel. “Mo, we need to talk.” She handed him the towel so that he could wipe his bloody nose.
James looked from Kenya to Maurice, then headed out the front door.
“Maurice,” Kenya said, “you have a lot of nerve.”
“I have proof that this DVD is a fake. All you have to do is have an open mind about it. There’s no way that I’d sleep with Lauryn again when I have you. You’re the woman that I want, Kenya. I just can’t keep trying to prove myself to you over and over again. I need you to trust me.”
“How can I? Trust is a two-way street, and the barbaric way you acted when you came in here shows me that you don’t trust me, either,” she said, then abruptly stopped talking. “Then again, maybe seeing your brother in here this morning made you feel an eighth of what I’ve been dealing with.”
“But I haven’t given you any reason not to trust me,” he said. “Since we found our way back to each other, I’ve been bending over backward to prove to you that I’m not the same selfish bastard I was in college. But at every turn, you’ve distrusted me.” He took her hands into his. “Do you want to fight for us?”
Let's Get It On Page 19