Cedric and I followed Netta into the great room, where Bryson and his father were sitting. They stood as we entered, and all I could say to myself was, Lord, have mercy on me. Daddy was fine as fuck. It was no secret where Bryson and Keith had gotten their good looks from. I loved a dark-skinned man, especially one with a goatee that suited his chin and had a hint of gray in it, as did his wavy hair. His build was slim, but he was fit. His slacks fit him just right, and the silk shirt he rocked looked as if it had cost a fortune. I didn’t even want to talk about the numerous diamond rings on his fingers. Was he some kind of king or something? He was tall, but just a little shorter than Bryson, who towered over all of us. There was a mean-ass mug on his face, and he looked at me as if he wanted to tear me apart. I ignored him.
Netta turned to introduce us. “Charles,” she said, speaking to her husband, “this is Evelyn and her uncle, Cedric.”
Charles politely extended his hand to me. When we shook hands, his soft touch sent chills up my spine. I was too ashamed to admit what effect it had on my pussy.
“Nice to meet you,” he said. “Have a seat. Please.”
He shook Cedric’s hand too, and then we both sat in white plush chairs that looked as if they had just been purchased yesterday. Everything was so tidy, spotless, and clean. I hoped that the juices leaking from my pussy wouldn’t ruin the chair, but looking at ole Charles just did something to me.
Charles sat on a sofa on the opposite side of the room, next to Bryson, while Netta made her way to another room.
“I’ll be back with some drinks,” she said. “Go ahead and carry on without me.”
Drinks? I didn’t think it was that kind of occasion. I also didn’t know if that bitch would try to poison me, so there would be no drinking for me.
Charles rubbed his hands together while looking directly at me. “I’m glad your uncle reached out to us about discussing this little situation. Bryson has already informed us of his side of the story. My wife and I would like to hear yours.”
Bryson placed his hands behind his head and pursed his lips. He then yawned, as if it was a waste of his time to be here. The smug look on his face irritated me. I hated to be in his presence, though the only thing it took me back to was the day I saw him getting screwed by that tranny, and the day he came to my apartment to hurt me. Nonetheless, I appeared relaxed and started to answer Charles.
“I’m not exactly sure what Bryson told you about what happened, but I’ll start by saying that my encounter with him was one of the worst experiences of my life. I thought I was going to die, and there is nothing that a woman could ever do to a man to deserve a beating like the one I got.”
Netta came back into the room, carrying several drinks on a tray. After she placed the tray on a table, she took a seat in a chair to listen in. I described what had happened, starting from the moment Bryson banged on my door, then kicked it down to get inside my apartment. I wasn’t even sure if that was how it happened, but I made sure that what I told them was more dramatic than ever. Everyone was tuned in, and it wasn’t long before disgust washed across Charles’s face. Netta kept nodding her head, and there were a few shrugs here and there. As for Bryson, he kept biting down on his lip. His fists tightened at one point; then he released them and wiggled his fingers.
Tears rushed to the rims of my eyes as I spoke about how he had had his hands wrapped around my neck and how I had been unable to breathe. “He was too strong for me, and there was nothing that I could do to get him off of me. My vision was blurred, and after he removed his hands from my neck, all I could see were his fists pounding me over and over again in my face. My whole body felt numb. I—I kept choking on a bunch of blood that had filled my mouth. My head hurt so badly, and he was yanking my hair and beating me in the head at the same time. I didn’t—”
Bryson slammed his fist down on the table in front of him. “Stop fucking lying, bitch!” he shouted. Spit flew from his mouth, as he was unable to contain himself. “You know it didn’t go down like that, and if I had wanted you dead, trust me, you would be.”
Charles’s face twisted, and there were numerous thick wrinkles visible on his forehead. “Calm the hell down!” he yelled. “Don’t you ever speak that way in front of your mother and me! And the last time I checked, we do have guests.”
Bryson cut his eyes, then looked over at his mother, who was shaking her head. She didn’t say a word. I was ready to continue, but Charles sent me in another direction.
“What brought all of this about, Evelyn? What did you do to him, or what did he do to you, other than beat you up? Something had to bring the two of you to that point.”
Well, he asked, and I had already prepared an answer. I looked at Bryson’s mother first. There was a chance that she might not want to hear this. It was obvious that Bryson was a mama’s boy, and the last thing I wanted to do was hurt her little feelings.
“Miss Netta,” I said as politely as I could, “I don’t know if you want to stay in the room to hear this, but I came here to speak nothing but the truth.”
“Then go ahead and speak your so-called truth,” she said with a slight attitude. “We’re all listening.”
I figured that ole cockeyed bitch didn’t believe me. No matter what I said, she was Team Bryson. I ignored her comment about me telling the so-called truth, and I kept my eyes on Charles. Bryson was in my sights too. The look in his eyes dared me to tell his parents that I had caught him getting dicked down by a man. I guessed he didn’t think I would go into details, but I was prepared to.
“First, let me say that I have nothing against gay people,” I stated. “My best friend, Trina, is bisexual, and I love her to death. With that being said, Bryson lied to me. He made me believe that he was straight. Did all kinds of things to me sexually, and the things I did to him I’m too embarrassed to say in front of my uncle. Had Bryson just been honest with me about his sexual preferences, we wouldn’t even be here.”
Bryson jumped up and darted his finger at me. “Bitch, I will hurt you for lying on me! What in the hell is wrong with you? Wasn’t that beat down I gave you enough? You can’t come into my parents’ home and lie on me like this!”
He charged forward, but Charles stood and held him back. That was when Cedric stood up to protect me. I was surprised by his swift actions.
“None of that, so chill!” Cedric said to Bryson. “You’ve already hurt her enough, and you will not do it again.”
“Man, fuck you! She’s a goddamned liar! You don’t even know the half of it!”
“Sit down!” Charles shouted at Bryson. “Or get out of here. I thought you’d be able to handle yourself better than this, but I see you’re having some problems controlling yourself.”
“It’s hard to sit here and allow somebody to lie on me like this,” Bryson muttered. “If you want to talk to me when she leaves, fine. I’m out.”
Bryson stormed away. It was no surprise when his mother went after him.
“Sweetheart,” she said, trailing behind him, “everything is going to be fine. Calm down, and don’t you leave this house just yet. Go downstairs and cool off for a while. Your dad and I will handle this, okay?”
Bryson did exactly as his mommy had told him to. Babying a grown-ass man would do him no good. No wonder he wasn’t about shit.
After he went downstairs to cool off, Netta returned to the great room. Charles and Cedric sat back down, and I was asked to continue.
I wiped a slow tear that was sliding down my face. “I never meant to hurt anyone, and the truth is, I had some very deep feelings for Bryson. By not telling me his status, he didn’t give me a choice. I was upset about it, and I didn’t know anything until I caught him having sex with a transgender man. I told my best friend about it, and that’s when all hell broke loose. Bryson went on a rampage. He was determined to kill me.”
“You can stop right there,” Netta said, holding up her hand. “I don’t believe a word you’re saying, and shame on you for spreading vicious lie
s. You mentioned that your best friend, Trina, is bisexual, but isn’t she the one who is dating my son Keith? If so, I met Trina before. We speak quite often, and I know for a fact that she loves Keith and only Keith.”
Shit. Shit. Shit. I had totally forgotten about Trina being with Keith. In no way had I intended to mention her name or her past. I hoped like hell that this wouldn’t get back to her. If it did, I knew that she was going to be very upset with me. I attempted to clear things up, but doing so made me look like a for-real liar, when in reality, I wasn’t lying.
“Trina is my best friend, but a long time ago she expressed to me that she had a thing for women. I’m not sure if she was serious or not, but this isn’t about Trina. It’s about Bryson. Whether you want to believe me or not, your son needs to fess up and accept who he really is. His lies are going to hurt many more people, and from what I already know, he has already hurt plenty of the women he’s dated.”
Netta stood, then looked at Charles. “I’ve heard enough. You can do what you want to about this, but I’m not going to sit here and listen to all this craziness about my son.” She looked at me with the evilest gaze I had ever seen. Her pupils grew bigger, and then her eyes narrowed. “You are one deceitful woman. I’m getting all kinds of negative vibes from you. Hurry up and finish with your lies, and then get the hell out of here before the devil in you causes this house to burn to the ground.”
She walked off, leaving all of us stunned, even Charles, who sat wringing his hands together and looking down at the floor, as if he were in deep thought.
“I understand how your wife feels,” Cedric said, trying to get back to the business at hand. “She wants to protect her son. I want to protect my niece too, so what are we going to do about this situation? Do we want a jury to decide who was in the wrong? Or can we settle this once and for all right now?”
Charles looked up. He stared at me and Cedric with his light brown eyes, which resembled Bryson’s. He released a deep sigh, then sat back on the sofa with his hands behind his head.
“I love my son, and I am well aware that he has some issues. Issues that I don’t want to discuss with the two of you, but I will say, Evelyn, that I don’t believe everything you’ve sat there and told me today. I am, however, prepared to make you some kind of peace offering that will make this all go away today. And after today, we don’t want to hear anything else about it. A gag order will be included in our agreement, and if any word of this gets out, there will be major consequences. So, the next questions are, how much and can we make a deal?”
His words were like music to my ears. I had already thought about how much, and when I blurted it out, Cedric coughed, then cleared his throat.
“My niece is probably still feeling the effects of that beat down she got, because her head couldn’t be on straight if she’s requesting that kind of settlement. Add two more zeros to that amount for pain and lifetime suffering, and, we, sir, have a deal.”
Okay. Maybe I did short myself a little. It wasn’t until then that I realized just how important and helpful Cedric being here was.
Charles kept nodding his head, and then he stood up and extended his hand to me. “Deal,” he said, waiting for me to accept.
I stood and happily extended my hand to his. “Yes. We have ourselves a deal.”
Charles said he needed to call his attorney and would be right back. Within the next hour or so, I was asked to read over an agreement that would set me up pretty for the rest of my life. Needless to say, I was ecstatic. I thanked Charles before I left by wrapping my arms around his neck and pressing my breasts against his chest.
“I’m glad we could work this out,” I said. “I thank you for doing the right thing, and please tell your wife that I thank her for her time, as well.”
Charles patted my back, then backed away from the tight embrace. Cedric damn near had to pull me out the door to get me away from Charles. And when we got in the car, he chewed me out.
“Is that all you think about? Some goddamned dick? You almost blew it in there, and that woman wasn’t playing with you, Evelyn. She looked like she was about to cut your fucking throat. I’m warning you. If that pussy of yours can’t control itself, you’d better figure out a way to shut that shit down and stay the hell away from her husband.”
I rolled my eyes at Cedric, even though he knew me all too well. Charles was on my hit list, and I didn’t give two cents about his wife. For now, though, I had something else to be excited about.
“Forget all that mess you’re talking about right now. I am rich! Did you hear what I said? I. Am. Rich! All I’m thinking about is shopping. Ole Netta can keep Charles, but she’d better hope like hell that I never come face-to-face with him again and she’s not around. If not, I will fuck his brains out and send him back to her with my pussy juices all over his lips. Just like I may decide to send you back to your lover tonight. I’m in the mood to celebrate my new fortune.”
I playfully placed my hand on his lap, but he quickly removed it.
“I don’t know how to say this to you, but hell, fucking, no. You couldn’t pay me to tamper with that coochie again, and quite frankly, I’ve already had enough of it.”
We laughed, but Cedric quickly changed his mind after I lowered my head to his lap and damn near sucked the skin off his dick. It always tasted so good to me, and he could never resist my head game.
We arrived at my place several minutes later. He damn near broke the door down to get inside and have sex with me. I was so sure that Kayla wouldn’t approve of this, but little did she know that Cedric just didn’t move me the way he used to. As he lay on top of me, I stared at the ceiling, wondering how I was going to get rid of him.
2
Trina
I was exhausted from my trip to New York with Keith. We had attended an art expo, and it had let me know I had major work to do if I wanted to get serious about my art career. I’d seen artwork from some of the most famous artists in the world. Pieces that had me in awe and that I couldn’t get off my mind. Some of Keith’s work was comparable, but even he too felt as if his work wasn’t up to par. He had discovered his gift when he was in his teens. His parents had sent him to some of the best art schools to learn more, and he worked almost every single day to perfect his skills. I, on the other hand, saw it as a hobby and a way to make a little cash here and there. That was until my trip to New York. I had realized how much love I had for art, so I intended to indulge myself much more, as well as to step it up on my interior decorating. I used to go that route, as well, but not so much lately.
While Keith was upstairs in the studio, I was in the kitchen, cooking breakfast. Things between us had been only okay, simply because Keith had been worried about the situation between Evelyn and Bryson. I had found myself caught in the middle. Evelyn was my friend; Keith was my man. I knew Bryson was guilty of doing what he’d done to her, and he continued to lie about what Evelyn had said when she caught him with another man. Just the other day, Keith and I had got into another disagreement about Bryson putting his hands on her. I couldn’t believe that Keith condoned it and that he’d said that Evelyn deserved everything she got. I had a problem with that because I had seen her in that hospital bed, clinging to life. No one deserved that. The bottom line was Bryson needed to come clean.
We had gotten to the point where I didn’t want Bryson over here and Keith didn’t want Evelyn here. Keith had every right to be angry with her for trying to get him in bed with her, but that issue had been resolved. I had handled it, and Evelyn now knew that Keith was mine and only mine. She had apologized for what she had done, and even though a part of me still did not completely trust her, I was glad that we all considered ourselves friends again.
Mending our friendship had taken work. Faced with this work, most people would have said, “To hell with it.” I had had a lot of convincing to do with Kayla, and we both had had to dig deep in order to forgive Evelyn. I thought about how I would have felt if she had died that day. If Bryso
n had killed her, how would I have handled it? We all had had unresolved issues, and I would have felt horrible for not working things out with her. We had been friends for too long. There had been ups, as well as downs. But thankfully, we had been able to focus on the true meaning of forgiveness and had pulled it all together and had remained friends.
I was just about done with preparing breakfast when I heard my cell phone ringing. It was on the kitchen table, so I walked away from the stove and went to answer it. I didn’t recognize the number, but the voice sounded familiar.
“It’s me, Sasha Bolden. One of the artists you met while in New York. You gave me your number to call you. Remember?”
I snapped my fingers, then smiled. “Yes. I remember now. How are you?”
“I’m doing well. Thanks for asking. I’m glad you made it home safely, and I wondered if you gave more thought to what I mentioned to you while you were here.”
In New York Keith and I had been in an art class together, learning new things, and there we’d met Sasha. I had mentioned to her that I originally saw my art as a hobby, but after observing a portrait I’d done, she’d felt that I had major potential, and she’d encouraged me to do more. She’d insisted that she could help me. She’d also said that she could get my paintings in front of some serious art buyers and help me make money. I’d told Keith about it, but he hadn’t seem as enthused about it as I was. New York was definitely a place where I could make a lot of money if I wanted to, but I wasn’t up to traveling there more than once or twice a year. Sasha had mentioned that I should travel there more to showcase my work.
“I’ve given it some thought,” I said. “But I’m not sure what I really want to do yet.”
“Would that be because of Keith? If so, let me say this to you. You can’t let anyone hold you back. If you have an opportunity to get your work out there more, jump on it. I can help you out a lot. Just give it some more thought and then let me know what you decide.”
“I’m not letting anyone hold me back. If I believe this is going to be a good opportunity for me, I will definitely jump on it. I need time to think about it, though. I’ll let you know something soon, and thanks for calling me.”
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