The Lessons We Learn (FWB Book 2)

by Alexandra Warren

  “See, that’s the thing. People always assume when someone cheats it’s because their partner isn’t doing something they want at home. When really, cheating is just a shitty, personal choice. Could I have done a few things differently? Maybe. But ultimately, his decisions were all him,” she replied in a way that told me she had already found peace with the situation. Though I was still surprised when she leaned into my shoulder to add, “And Jason doesn’t know Natasha like you do. He didn’t deserve to know her like you do.”

  “I’m flattered,” I told her with a little kiss to her forehead that made her give me a real smile before she rested her head against my shoulder. And while I would’ve been perfectly content staying just like this for the rest of the afternoon, I shouldn’t have been surprised when Jayla had questions of her own.

  “How’d you turn out like this, Khalid? So sweet, and caring, and honest, and all that?”

  The answer to that was easy, a mix of emotions coming with it when I replied, “My grandmama. She mostly raised me while my mom and Shaq’s were out doing who knows what. When we were little, we used to wait by the window together for them to “be right back” knowing good and well they weren’t coming. And since my grandmama knew it too, she started doing more and more for us; keeping extra pajamas for us to sleep in overnight, buying us the Christmas and birthday presents neither one of our moms took interest in getting on time, picking us up from school and taking us to all of our after-school activities. And eventually, we became hers; until she passed away.”

  It was something I hadn’t talked about in a while; not since Londyn and I were first getting to know each other all those years ago. But it honestly felt good to be able to brag on the woman I loved most to the woman I wished she could’ve met, allowing a little smile to push through once I continued, “Even though her daughters had issues, my grandmama was always a sweet soul, always wanted the best for them and everybody, a giver by nature. So I guess I got it from her.”

  Snuggling a little closer to me, Jayla quietly replied, “She sounds like a wonderful woman.”

  “She was. Passed away a little after my high school graduation, but was so proud to know I was going off to college. Kinda sucks that I didn’t finish it out, though.”

  Jayla was quick to peek up at me and insist, “You still have time.”

  “Yeah, I do. And I’m sure she would like that,” I told her, giving going back to school some thought for the first time in… shit, ever. But leave it to Jayla to have me really considering it, her ambitious demeanor already rubbing off on me in a number of ways.

  Exactly what I needed.

  In fact, I was just about ready to grab my phone and get my Google on for more info until she blurted, “Being pretty much abandoned by your mother couldn’t have been easy.”

  Something about her use of the word “abandoned” made it all sting a little more than usual, mainly because I had never even thought to tie the word to my upbringing since it never felt like I was lacking anything with my grandmama in my life. And it wasn’t like my mother had skipped town, or died, or anything like that, so I did see her sometimes. She was just… inconsistent, never able to really get a grasp on the whole mom thing, almost like her maternal instincts had never shown up.

  And once the drugs got involved…

  Shaking my head, I answered, “Nah. And it still isn’t, especially when I go visit and see her still struggling with some of the same demons that kept her away in the first place. But I can either put my energy into living out my grandmama’s legacy, or I can do what Shaq does and try to self-medicate my mommy issues away.”

  Mommy issues.

  Ain’t that a bitch.

  The smile on Jayla’s face caught me by surprise since it didn’t exactly fit the somber vibe of my story. But it made sense once she said, “I see it in him too. That sweet, caring side you guys got from your grandmama. You two are both the cutest.”

  Her teasing only made me playfully tackle her into the couch as I muttered, “Oh, I got your cutest…” The hearty laughs she let out feeling like a refresh button in my head, even when she squealed, “Quit it! I’m trying to watch Martin!”

  After a few tickles and kisses, I let up, tossing my arm over the back of the couch as I agreed, “Fine. Turn on the surround sound so we can hear the live audience dragging out their laughs. The remote is in the side table drawer next to you.”

  She went to reach for it but took a moment to sit back upright, making me wonder had I given her bad directions until she finally returned with a pair of unfamiliar panties dangling from her fingertip.

  You would’ve thought she was holding a gun the way my eyes went wide when I asked, “Yooo, where’d those come from?”

  With a scowl, she challenged, “They aren’t mine, so…”

  “Londyn must’ve left them behind,” I reasoned, the words sounding innocent enough in my head.

  Of course they weren’t at all received that way, Jayla hopping up from the couch and crossing her arms over her chest with an attitude when she said, “I thought you and Londyn were just friends?!”

  “We are! I meant, she must’ve left them behind when this was her house. Technically, it’s still her house since I’m just renting from her. But she left me some of the furniture too, and… are you following any of this?”

  The more I babbled, the crazier it probably sounded to Jayla. But I was grateful to see her shoulders eventually sink as she dropped the random panties on the table with a heavy sigh. “I’m gonna give you the benefit of the doubt. But damn, that was quite a trigger.”

  “She can vouch for me if you need it,” I told her, already reaching for my phone to give Londyn a call.

  But Jayla talked me out of it, slowly making her way back to her spot on the couch as she said, “I believe you, Khalid. I guess my trust issues when it comes to stuff like this just aren’t as dead and buried as I like to pretend they are.”

  I completely understood, quick to grab her hands and assure, “You have nothin’ to worry about, shorty. I swear. I’m all about you. Only about you.”

  Being completely honest with myself, it had been that way since the first time I saw her, long before we were doing business together, spending real time together, being intimate with each other. And now that all of those things were happening, it only made my feelings intensify to the point where I couldn’t even think about another woman like that, let alone entertain the shit.

  If Jayla wasn’t on the same page yet, I knew she would be soon enough. And even if it took a little longer than I’d like, I’d always be down for the shit she had in mind during the interim, especially once she grabbed my chin to say, “Go get some of that food. You’ll need the energy.”

  Jayla

  Sending Khalid off for his trip was a lot harder than it should’ve been, the fact that I had started missing him long before he had even left catching me by surprise since none of what we had going on was ever supposed to be that deep.

  But it was that deep. And I knew the sooner I accepted that, the more of him I could have and the happier I would be.

  Exactly what I wanted.

  I was still on cloud nine from spending the day with him when I finally made it home after stopping by the grocery store on his insistence, locking the door behind me as my phone began to vibrate in the pocket of my hoodie. And while I pulled it out hoping it was a text from Khalid about how his hosting gig tomorrow had been canceled and he was already headed back - selfish, I know - I was more than disturbed to find it was only a call from my mother.

  “What does she want?” I thought, tempted to let the call go to voicemail so she could answer that question there without me actually having to talk to her. But against my better judgment, I picked up, closing my eyes as I pressed the phone to my ear.

  “Hello.”

  Her tone was as deceivingly pleasant as usual when she sang, “Jayla. Hi. How are you, my dear?”

  “I’m fine.”

  Taking a highe
r octave, she replied, “Great,” before getting to the real point of her call. “Well, I’m in town for the night visiting your sister, and I thought you might want to join us for dinner. In twenty minutes.”

  There were a number of things wrong with what she was presenting. One, she was already in town visiting Jamila and had never even thought to come visit me when I moved? Two, Jamila hadn’t had the good sense to warn me about any of this? And three… “Twenty minutes?”

  As if that was no big deal, she only giggled when she said, “Late notice, I know. But after I made the reservation, Jamila wasn’t answering her phone, so I wasn’t sure if we were still on until a few minutes ago. Right before I called you.”

  “Can’t say that I blame her,” I muttered away from the phone, bringing the receiver back to my mouth to ask my mother, “Where is the reservation?”

  In my head, I had already decided that the distance from my apartment would be the thing that kept me from having to attend on such short notice. But when she answered, “Perry’s Steakhouse,” I literally cringed since that was an easy ten-minute drive at most; something I wouldn’t be able to lie about with Jamila involved.

  Jamila. Ugh.

  With a sigh, I used the last weapon in my arsenal, telling my mother, “I may be a little late.”

  I knew how much she valued punctuality, so I was hoping that would be the thing to get my invitation canceled, or at least a reschedule. But to my surprise, she easily brushed it off. “Oh, that’s no problem. I’d rather you put a little time into your appearance than for you to show up looking all homely.”

  “Of course,” I thought with a roll of my eyes before rushing her off the phone with claims that I was going to do just that. But really, I was only rushing her off the phone so I could call Mila and threaten, “I’m going to whoop your ass,” the second she picked up.

  “Well, damn. Hello to you too, big sister,” she replied with a little laugh, clearly not too concerned with what I had said.

  But I was concerned enough for the both of us when I angrily asked, “Why didn’t you tell me mom was coming to town?”

  “Because I didn’t know mom was coming to town until like, ten minutes ago,” she replied in an annoyed tone that told me she was being honest. But it was her honesty that only made me angrier since that meant my mother hadn’t at all practiced those same principles during her phone call.

  Since that wasn’t really Mila’s fault, I did my best not to take my attitude out on her when I explained, “She was talking like her visit was something you two had planned together, like this little dinner she just invited me to was the two of you plus me tagging along.”

  Instead of being angry like me, Mila only laughed again. “You know your mom, Jayla. She’s always been deceptive as hell. I mean, do you really think I’d be jumping to have dinner with her because I want to? No. I’m only going to keep her from pulling some dramatic ass stunt that ends with us visiting her in the hospital.”

  I knew my mother wasn’t above going all out to get our attention, so I could appreciate Mila being willing to take one for the team even before she knew this was a team situation. But now that we were both aware of what was really going on, it only made sense for us to come up with a game plan.

  “Well, if we’re really doing this, we need to have a united front. Don’t let her talk you into anything you don’t want to do.”

  “Uh… how about you go and give that advice to yourself in the mirror a few times? Cause she’s never had that kind of pull over me. That was all you,” Mila replied, her words stinging a bit since I really couldn’t deny them even though things were so much different now.

  I was so much different now.

  Instead of defending myself, I pushed out, “Anyway. I’ll have your back, and you’ll have mine. Deal?”

  “When has that ever not been the case, Jayla?” she asked with another little laugh as if I was being completely ridiculous. And maybe I was, overthinking what could easily be an innocent dinner with the woman who birthed me.

  Yeah right.

  “I still think you could’ve given me a heads-up about her being within a fifty-mile radius. Sent me a text, a Bat signal, something,” I expressed, glancing at the clock to see those twenty minutes were already zooming by. And as if she could feel my anxiety brewing, Jamila rushed me off the phone the same way I had done my mother.

  “Next time, sissy. See you in a bit.”

  &

  Stepping into the restaurant only brought back the pleasant memories of the last time I was here when Khalid and I had shared our first business dinner that I left with a file of ideas for his brand and drenched panties.

  Knowing how much his career had taken off since then, and how far we had come since then, I could only smile as if he was accompanying me right now. In fact, I wished he was accompanying me right now; especially once Jamila strolled in a few moments after me with Shaq in tow, both of their eyes red as hell as if they had hot-boxed in the parking lot right before they walked in.

  “Really, Mila?” I whispered, catching a whiff of the marijuana smell she had clearly tried to cover up with some sort of cheap body spray.

  Thanks to her elevated state, she wasn’t at all bothered by my question, only shrugging with a grin when she replied, “You’re outta your damn mind if you thought I was coming in here without some sort of aid. And don’t be rude to my guest.”

  “Her guest, as if I had never met Khalid’s cousin before,” I thought with a roll of my eyes before giving him a little wave. “Hi, Shaq.”

  His grin was just as goofy when he gave me a nod to say, “What’s up, Jayla? Where’s Khalid? I assumed if she was bringing me along, that he’d be your plus one. But I guess since he’s not here, that means he’s your plus… none.”

  The two of them started cracking up laughing at that corny ass joke, only making my anxiety skyrocket now that it was clear Mila was going to be useless when it came to that whole, “united front” thing.

  She had her partner. And it wasn’t me.

  “He’s traveling to the city for a hosting gig tomorrow night,” I finally answered once they settled down, peeking around the restaurant to see if I could spot my mother.

  But even with my attention elsewhere, Shaq still acted offended by my response when he put a hand to his chest to ask, “And he didn’t invite me? He’s fake as hell for that.”

  Maybe he was, but I couldn’t invest too much thought into that, instead grabbing Mila by the shoulders to ask a much more important question. “You ready to do this?”

  With a little giggle, she replied, “I was born ready…” Biting back her grin as she peeked over to Shaq to add, “And I was already on fish and spaghetti.”

  My face instantly scrunched, but Shaq took that as his cue to start Harlem shaking like he was an extra in the, “Let’s Get It” video with G-Dep and Diddy, his dance making Jamila bust out laughing as I used a hushed tone to scold, “Pull it together, you two.” But just when I thought I had the situation under control, my mother appeared from the back of the restaurant with her pageant-ready smile and her arms extended.

  “I didn’t know we’d have extra people joining us,” she sang excitedly, pulling Jamila and I into quick hugs before turning to introduce herself to Shaq. “Colleen. Colleen Mitchell-Brooks.”

  “Wait, what?” I thought, Jamila wearing the same expression on her face as Shaq happily replied, “Shaquille minus the O’Neal, the height, and the random endorsement deals.”

  My mother squealed a laugh at that before finally giving our reaction to her name drop the attention it deserved. “I’m only practicing, girls. Ernest is getting ready to propose soon. I can just tell.”

  Ernest.

  Her latest millionaire conquest.

  During the single time I had interacted with him - right before I left town - he seemed like a decent guy; far too decent to be dealing with someone so shallow like my mother who I knew only saw him for his checkbook. But that was their bu
siness, Jamila on the same wave according to her muttered, “Godspeed to that nigga…”

  My mother didn’t pay her any mind as she led us to the table she had gotten, my eyebrow piquing when I realized there was space for a lot more than just the two of us she expected. And instead of letting my suspicions linger, I flat out asked, “If you didn’t know we were having extra people, why are there extra chairs?”

  With a wave of her hand, she insisted, “Oh, don’t worry about that. Sit, sit, sit.” But that response only made me worry more, even when Mila and Shaq happily plopped down into their chairs.

  Now that I was the odd man out, I really had no choice but to join them, something that made my mother’s smile grow even wider when she gushed, “So… how are my girls? Tell me all about this place.”

  “It’s a town. With people. Just like the one we came from,” I replied plainly, her sudden interest in what I had going on completely rubbing me the wrong way since I had no idea where it was coming from. But instead of being bothered by my cold shoulder, she kept her smile intact as she directed her attention toward Mila and Shaq.

  “Well I’m not one of the girls, and I only live here part-time. But I must say this town is quite exquisite, Mrs. Mitchell-Brooks.”

  My eyes squinted at his unusually proper language while Jamila only started giggling, mimicking his tone and pinching her fingers together when she repeated, “Quite exquisite.”

  I shouldn’t have been surprised to see my mother had completely bought in to Shaq’s faux-bougie, leaning a little further into the table to ask, “And what is it that you do, Shaquille?”

  Of course that was her question, the answer giving her an idea of how much money he made which was really the only thing that mattered to her. But considering I truly had no idea what it was that Shaq did for a living, I was listening just as closely when he answered, “I’m in the pharmaceutical business. A… tester, if you will.”

  Now I was chuckling like Jamila, especially once I saw the perplexed expression on my mother’s face. “You test… the drugs? Like, all of them?”