Naughty by Nature

by Brenda Hampton

“Hi. How are things going?”

  “Cool, cool. Craig should be finished in a lil bit.”

  “Okay. And, thanks again for staying there. I know you had some work to do at home.”

  “Naw, I’m all right. Like I said, he’s just about finished, and afterward, I’m gon’ head back home.”

  “So, what’s the play for later? Is it okay if I spend the night with you again?”

  “It should be. What time are you coming by?”

  “I guess around eleven. Is that too late? I want to make sure Mackenzie’s asleep before I leave.”

  “Naw, that’s fine. Besides, I’m supposed to meet Felicia for dinner. We need to work out a few things pertaining to Davenports.”

  “Well, why don’t you just call me when you get finished ?”

  “Most definitely,” I said.

  She said good-bye and hung up.

  Now, I was feeling a bit guilty for reading her journal, but it was too late because the damage had been done. If anything, I knew it made me look at her in a slightly different way. I understood her pain, but some of the stuff she did was taking shit to the extreme. As much as I enjoyed making love to her, I had to seriously consider condoms. I’d always been one to protect myself, but stupid me wanted to feel the real deal.

  When Craig knocked on the door and told me he was finished, we both headed out and I locked the doors. I called Felicia on her cell phone and told her to meet me at Cardwell’s. She said she was on her way, so I headed to Forsyth Boulevard.

  While in the car, I called and made reservations. I arrived shortly thereafter and the maître d’ sat me at a table. I was pleased that he sat me near the door because as soon as Felicia started to make a scene, I would be on my way out.

  I waited for her, and almost thirty minutes later she strutted in, talking on her cell phone. She was nicely dressed in a lavender pants suit and her braids had been removed. Her hair was styled with a short layered feathered cut and she wore it well. Her makeup looked as if it was freshly painted and so did her thin eyebrows that had a thinly trimmed high arch.

  I interrupted her phone call and called her name so she could see me. She smiled and ended her call.

  “That was Frick,” she said. I stood up and pulled her chair back so she could take a seat. “He’s pleased that we’re having dinner to talk things out.”

  “Felicia, I didn’t come here to talk things out. I came here to make peace with you so that this transition can go smoothly for us.”

  “Yeah, well, I don’t know how smoothly you expect it to go. If you think I’m going to let you have the Major’s Group, you’re sadly mistaken.”

  “It’s Mayor’s and not Major’s Group. That’s just how much time and effort that you put into the project. So little, that you can’t even get the name right.”

  “Whatever the hell it is, you owe me something for my time.”

  “Realistically, I don’t owe you nothing. Jaylin was the one who landed that account and it now belongs to me. If you get anything out of the deal, it will be minimal. Jaylin said he’s going to direct the Mayor’s Group elsewhere.”

  “You must have told him about the CD, didn’t you?”

  “Yes, I did. And, he’s not too happy about it either, Felicia. Simply because he don’t understand, neither, how you can be so devious after all he’s done for us?”

  “Again, Shane, I’m not being devious. Don’t blame me if you two got caught with your pants down. If you never—”

  “Look, I didn’t come here to talk about that. We need to stick to business and not focus on shit that really ain’t none of yours.”

  Felicia rolled her eyes and picked up a piece of bread from the table. She broke it in half and put a tiny bite in her mouth. While chewing, she looked suspiciously at me.

  “What?” I said.

  “You haven’t told me how gorgeous I look.”

  I laughed. “That’s because you haven’t given me a chance. As a matter of fact, I love the hair. It looks nice, as well as the outfit.”

  “The one thousand, seven hundred, and fifty dollar outfit—that is. I picked it up at Saks yesterday.”

  “Okay . . . and, it looks nice. So there.”

  She continued to look suspiciously at me.

  I laughed because her stares were funny. “What is it?” I said again.

  “You get cuter by the day. Your flawless skin, your thick lips, and I must say that your bedroom eyes make me sick. I hate that, once again, the Playboy Bunny has yet another victim wrapped around her finger. She needs to package-up her pussy and put it on the market.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh. As I was cracking up, my phone rang. I looked down to see who it was, and to my surprise, it was Jaylin.

  “I need to get this,” I chuckled and placed the phone on my ear. “Hello.”

  “Negro, are you sitting down,” he yelled.

  “Uh, yeah. Why?”

  “Because I am the luckiest man in the entire world!”

  “Okay. Now, calm down and tell me why.”

  “’Cause I am finer than any motherfuckin’ body you know, I got just as much money as Donald Trump—not quite,” he laughed. “I have the most beautiful children in the world, my nanny loves me, and my wife . . . boy, do I thank God for my wife! She’s having my baby.”

  “She’s pregnant?”

  “Yes, fool, yes!”

  “Well, congratulations are in order, again.”

  “Thanks, man, you just don’t know how I feel! My legacy is in the works once again!”

  “I’m happy for you and I know how anxious you were to have another child. I’m gon’ have to come down so we can celebrate.”

  “Yeah, you do that. As a matter of fact, since you’ll be the godfather again, why don’t you make arrangements to come down this weekend? Besides, you haven’t visited in awhile and LJ and Jaylene are always glad to see you.”

  “I most certainly will do that. Is Nokea around?”

  He spoke anxiously. “Yeah, she’s sitting on my lap. Hold on a second.”

  “Hi, Shane,” Nokea said.

  “Congratulations. Jaylin tells me that you gon’ be a moms again.”

  “Yes, I am taking my final journey. I’m not looking forward to picking up all this weight again, but I know it’s all worth it, especially to see my husband with such enthusiasm.”

  “Yeah, he sounds pretty excited.”

  “Him and Nanny B, both. I don’t know which one of them will turn flips first. You’d think we’d just won a three hundred million dollar lottery over here.”

  “It’s better than the damn lottery,” I heard Jaylin yell from the background. “And, this journey is just beginning.”

  I heard lips smacking. “Trust me, Shane, you won’t be getting this phone call ever again. Three children are enough for me. Thanks for the congrats, and from what I hear, I guess I’ll be seeing you soon.”

  “Yes you will. Until then, stay sweet and tell Jaylin I’ll give him a call later.”

  Nokea said that she would and hung up. I apologized for being rude to Felicia, as her ears were wide open and her arms were folded in front of her.

  “Don’t tell me that bitch is pregnant again?”

  “No, I don’t know of any bitch pregnant, but Nokea is.”

  “How many times is she going to lay on her back! It’s ridiculous how stupid some women are. I’ve heard of being barefoot and in the kitchen, but she’s running out of kitchens. It angers me that Nokea has spent damn near her entire life trying to please Jaylin. It must be nice to lay on your back, twenty-four–seven, get pregnant, and pop out babies for a man who’s a player. How lucky she must feel?”

  I shook my head. “You are a cold person, Felicia. Jaylin and Nokea love the hell out of each other. This ain’t got nothing to do with her laying on her back for him. She is his wife and I’m sure that having their children is the best feeling she could possibly have.”

  “Of course it’s the best feeling ever. I’d be hap
py, too, if I was sitting on a gold mine by having three babies by his ass. She knows damn well what she’s doing. If she walks today, tomorrow, or any other day, her ass is set for life. Her and them rug rats. If I’d had my head on straight, as much as he’d put me on my back, I should have popped out a baby or two for him. I would’ve taken him for every dime he got.”

  “Well, thank God for condoms. Besides, ain’t nobody cutting into Jaylin’s finances but him. So there.”

  Felicia’s mouth hung wide open. “Are you telling me that . . . that stupid—I don’t even know what to call her if she signed a prenuptial agreement.”

  “I didn’t say that, you did.”

  “Shane, she didn’t, did she?”

  “No. As a matter of fact, I don’t know because it ain’t none of my business. Now, either we gon’ get back to discussing Davenports, or else, I’m taking off.”

  “I know she did because I could see her with a pen in her hand going, ‘It’s okay baby—anything that makes you happy.’” Felicia dropped her head back and rolled her eyes. No doubt, I’d had enough.

  “I’m out. Call me when you get all of this out of your system.”

  I did the usual and dropped a fifty dollar bill on the table. After that, I left Felicia there to discuss her issues with herself.

  SCORPIO

  21

  Shane called and said he’d made it home. Mackenzie was sound asleep, so after I gave her a kiss, I went downstairs to tell Leslie I was outtie.

  During my drive, I had the top down on my Thunderbird and listened to “Again” on Faith Evans’ First Lady CD. Her song surely hit home, as I sung the lyrics out loud. By the time I arrived at Shane’s place, I sat in the car and finished the final verse. I must have replayed it at least five times before heading to his door.

  I heard Shane coming to the door, and when he opened it, he was on the telephone. All he had on was his gray jockey shorts and a pair of white socks. I could tell he’d just gotten out of the shower because his body smelled awfully fresh. He leaned down and gave me a quick peck on the lips. I followed him to his room, and he stood by his dresser.

  “Yes,” he said to the person on the phone. “I’ll be paying by credit card.” He read off the numbers, wrote something on paper, and ended his call.

  “Sorry about that,” he said. “I’m, uh, going to Florida this weekend. I had to make arrangements.”

  “Florida? Why?”

  “I, uh . . . I’m suppose to meet Jaylin so we can take care of some things with Alexander & Company.”

  “By the way you hesitated, I would assume that was a lie. Besides, you told me Jaylin wasn’t going to be as involved with your company. If you are making plans to go see another woman—”

  Shane put his arms around me, seeing me get upset. “Look, I didn’t want to tell you the truth because I didn’t want to upset you, okay?”

  “Upset me how?”

  “I’m going to Florida to visit my godchildren, and . . . to celebrate the new baby they’re expecting.”

  My heart dropped to my stomach. “Nokea’s pregnant ?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, good for her. I hope you have fun.”

  “I’m only going to be gone for the weekend. I’ll be back late Sunday night.”

  “That’s fine,” I said, quickly changing the subject. No doubt, my feelings were hurt. “How much do I owe you for Craig’s work?”

  “I told you that you didn’t have to repay me.”

  “I know what you said, but I don’t mind paying you back. Besides, I learned a valuable lesson about letting a man take care of everything for me. It’s best that I do things for myself.”

  Shane could tell I was a bit on edge so he tightened his arms around me. “Hey, I got an idea. Let’s go to this li’l jazz club down the street. It’s nice and quiet and they don’t close until 2:00 A.M. It’ll give us a chance to listen to some soothing music and relax.”

  I took his arms from around my waist. “Baby, I really don’t feel like it. I’m kind of tired from running around with the kids all day and this vandalizing stuff is working my nerves. Can we just cool out tonight? We’ll go some other time.”

  “If you insist. I’ll run your bath water and find you something to change into.”

  “Thanks,” I said.

  While Shane got my water ready, I sat on the edge of his bed and slowly removed my clothes. I couldn’t help it that my thoughts were right back on Jaylin. Why did him and Nokea have to be so happy together? I couldn’t have his baby for nothing in the world, but Nokea was popping them out like crazy. I wished like hell that Shane would have never told me, but stupid me, I had to know the truth.

  I finished removing my clothes and went into the bathroom where Shane sat on the edge of the tub testing the bubbling water.

  “I hope it’s not too hot,” he said.

  “I’m sure it won’t be.” I placed my foot in the water and it was perfect. I sunk down in the tub and leaned back until the water touched the edge of my chin. Shane kneeled down next to me.

  “Can I get you anything else?” he asked.

  “You can give me a kiss.”

  He leaned forward and sucked my lips into his. We kissed for awhile and then he backed up.

  “I’ll be in the bedroom. If you need anything else, just holla.”

  I nodded. Shane dimmed the lights and turned on some light jazz on the intercom. He then closed the double doors to the bathroom and left me at peace.

  Warm water and bubbles was one way to put me to sleep. When I woke up, the water was cold and the bubbles had dissolved. I wiped my face with my hands and stepped out of the water. I reached for the fluffy cream towel on the counter and went into Shane’s bedroom. He was lying in bed sound asleep. He looked so peaceful that I didn’t want to wake him. However, since I wanted him to make love to me, I had to make him aware.

  I quietly crawled on the bed, until I was face-to-face with him. I pecked his lips a few times and then pecked my way down his chest. That wasn’t enough to wake him, so I slid my hand inside of his jockey shorts and rubbed the smooth hair above his dick. It flopped out of his shorts and I couldn’t wait to taste him. I covered his goods with my mouth, knowing I was in business when I felt his fingers roam through my hair. I couldn’t see his eyes because my head was low and my long hair was spread out on his stomach.

  “Mmmm,” he softly moaned. “Come . . . come here for a minute.”

  I gave him a few more licks and eased up to him. “Yes,” I said. He cuffed my face with his hands.

  “You are not required to have sex with me every time we get together. Some times, I don’t mind just chilling.”

  I stared down at Shane. “Put your hand between my legs,” I politely asked. He hesitated, so I took his hand and placed it between my legs. “Does that feel like I want to chill?”

  He cracked a tiny smile and his fingers went to work. Just so he didn’t feel cheated, I turned my body around, which put us in a sixty-nine position. I let him finish his business, and as always, continued on with mine.

  The loud sounds of my cell phone constantly ringing awakened us. I reached over Shane and looked for my pants on the floor. When I found them, I pulled the phone out of my pocket and yelled into the phone.

  “What is it?”

  No one responded. Soon, the heavy breathing started. I quickly closed my phone. “I don’t have time for this shit this morning.”

  “Who was it?” Shane asked, while rubbing my ass that was clearly in his view.

  I lay back down next to him. “It was somebody playing on my phone. I know it’s the same person who’s been causing me grief. They’ve been doing it for quite some time now.”

  “Then, get your number changed. Have you talked to a private detective yet?”

  “I had planned to get around to it today.” Just then, my phone rang again. Shane reached for it this time.

  “Hello,” he said. He said hello again. After that, the caller must have hu
ng up.

  “Yeah, you need to get your number changed. How long has that shit been going on?”

  “Since all this crazy stuff started happening. I don’t want to get my number changed because so many people have it. It would be a real inconvenience.”

  “Baby, you gotta do what you gotta do. Don’t just sit back and let nobody harass you like that.”

  “I know. And, trust me, I’m going to find out who is responsible for all of this mess.”

  I had to use the bathroom, so I got up to go tinkle. Shane watched me as I walked to the bathroom, handled my business, and came back. I got back in bed and cuddled with him.

  “I have a confession to make,” he said.

  “What?”

  “You have one of the nicest, plumpest, well shaped asses that I’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing.”

  “Damn, how many asses have you seen?”

  “Plenty. Trust me, there’s been plenty. And that’s what lets me know I’m working with something original.”

  “Well, thank you. And I must say that you have a nice chocolate ass, too. It’s one that’s soft as a baby’s bottom and squeezable as Charmin. And boy, can that sucker go to work.”

  We both laughed.

  Shane rubbed his hand on my ass again and I could feel exactly where his fingers were at. They were scrolling across Jaylin’s name tattooed on my butt.

  “You got a problem with that, don’t you,” I asked.

  He nodded. “It kind of throws me off sometimes. I be in the middle of doing my thang, and bam, his name flashes right before me. I’m puzzled . . . why’d you go do something like that anyway?”

  “Because I was stupid. And, I thought we’d be together forever. I’ve been thinking about getting it removed, but I heard that it hurts.”

  “If it hurts, I’ll help it heal.”

  “I’m sure you will.”

  My phone rang and Shane and I both reached for it. He got to it before I did, but this time, he said it was Bernie.

  “Hello,” I said.

  “What time are you coming to the shop?”

  “I’ll be there shortly. I kind of got myself into something I don’t want to get out of right now.”