Checkmate 3: Playtime's Over

by Tiece

  “But what bitch? Don’t just leave me hanging.” Symone quickly stated.

  “Rico was so damn sexy girl. I couldn’t help myself. I fucked him and it was good as hell. So, another long story short, we kept fucking until I told him that I was pregnant.”

  “Huh, I’m lost.” Symone commented.

  “First I said the baby was Monty’s, but he wasn’t going for that shit and he asked for a blood test off top.”

  “Stop!” Symone said.

  “So I decided to come clean and I told Rico that Aiden was his. It was too late though for damage control so I packed my shit and I moved back to Florida. However, I did come back to have Aiden so Rico could be a part of his life.”

  “Damn!” Symone commented.

  “I need for you to find a new vocabulary.” Monica said making Symone laugh.

  “Did Rico know that you tried to put the baby on Monty?”

  “Yep, I guess Monty told him. Nevertheless, I didn’t make it any better when I explained to Rico that the baby was his. I kinda snapped on him and shit because I was upset that Monty treated me the way he did after knowing the past we shared.”

  “Girl I’m speechless.” Symone said.

  “That’ll be the first.” Monica commented with a grin. “I had to learn that Monty didn’t belong to me anymore and that he’d moved on. Sad thing is that once I wrapped my mind around that fact then I realized that the person I was using was the person I really wanted to be with.”

  “Girl you got your work cut out for you.” Symone responded.

  “You telling me,” Monica sighed. “So, I came back here hoping that Rico and I could settle our differences and make amends since I was having his baby. Needless to say, he was already in a relationship with Monty’s little sister. Yep, close your mouth.” She said to Symone who was stunned at all the information she was getting. “Anywho, she was pregnant with his baby and this nigga wanted a blood test from me for Aiden. And let’s just say that I’ll never have to worry about him denying that one. The truth of the matter is that I didn’t get far with him at first, but you best believe I’m doing my best to wear him down.”

  “Do what you gotta do my girl!” Symone commented. “But, I do see where you’re coming from though. All this shit is just too much for me.” They laughed.

  Monica poured her another glass of champagne. “Do you wanna… uh you know another… some of this shit.”

  Symone frowned. “Now what kind of language is that?” They laughed. “Are you sure you wanna drink that?”

  “Girl, I had to stop drinking for a while and especially when I was pregnant. Mind you my baby is only two months old.”

  “No wonder you’re feeling this shit already. Hand me the bottle. I’ll pour my own troubles.” She grinned as the doorbell rang.

  “Who is that at my door?” Monica asked.

  “I’ll get it girl, just relax.” Symone walked to the door and peeped out the hole. She opened up the door and smiled. Rico was standing there holding Aiden.

  Damn, he is sexy as hell. She thought. “So this must be lil Aiden,” she said reaching for him. “I’m sorry come on in.”

  Rico followed behind her. “Is Monica home?” He asked.

  “Here I am baby daddy,” Monica called out. Rico stepped into the living room and Symone walked down the hallway playing with Aiden. Rico looked down the hall at Symone shrugging his shoulders like, who is that?

  “Oh she’s my best friend. Her name is Symone.” Monica said brushing it off like, don’t worry she’s cool.

  Rico smiled. “I see you’re feeling pretty good.” He said looking at the bottle of champagne on the table.

  Monica grinned. “Just a lil bit.” She said.

  “I only bought Aiden home because mama had an appointment and I have a few things to wrap up at the office.”

  “That’s cool babe.” She sat there staring at him. He looked so good to her rocking just a white-t on top of a white-t, a black leather jacket, a black pair of Rocawear jeans with his black Polo boots.

  Rico grinned. “Why you looking at me like that?”

  “Do you really wanna know the answer to that?” She asked.

  Rico shook his head. “Not today,” he responded. “I got things to do.” He smiled because it felt good to see how Monica wanted to get with him so bad but before she had Aiden, she was selfish and treated him like shit.

  She stood up and walked over to him. He admired her strapless short print party dress.

  “Were you planning on going to the club or something?” He asked.

  “Why do you care?” She whispered in his ear. It was definitely a turn-on but he wasn’t about to take the bait.

  “Naw, I didn’t say all that. I was just gonna tell you that you might wanna wrap a scarf around your neck and take off those stilettos for some boots.” He grinned. She laughed at his comment.

  “You got jokes today, huh?” She asked. He turned to leave.

  “I’ll call you later or better yet call me if my boy wants to talk.” She laughed shaking her head. His sense of humor was something she loved about him. How could she pass on him for Monty? Then she thought about Monty. That was gonna be a hard question to answer.

  She walked to the door locking it behind him. Symone came walking down the hallway with Aiden since she’d been eavesdropping the entire time.

  “Girl, Aiden is adorable.” She said.

  “I know. I just love my little man.” Monica smiled.

  “Rico is hot.” Symone quickly added.

  “Who you telling girl? The nigga is hella sexy and look good as hell.” Monica said.

  “I see why you wanna be with him.” Symone commented.

  “And it’s so much deeper than looks. I mean I really like him, a lot.” Monica said walking over and kissing Aiden on his cheek.

  “I can tell.” Symone said. “As long as your plan is tight then you’ll get him.” Monica was quiet because she didn’t want to get him by force. She actually had started wanting him to take interest in her on his own. She was determined to continue to peel the ugly layers of herself off until she was the caring, fun-loving Monica Hunter she used to be. Maybe then she could win him over.

  Chapter 9

  Monty and Brendon sat in his office. Monty was flipping through the forms for Brendon to sign them.

  “Hey Cuz, I love what you did with the place. This shit is sweet.”

  “Thanks Bruh, it was hard work getting here.” He said then thought about it. “But, then again I was having the time of my life.”

  Brendon grinned. “I’m really feeling this, man. I can’t wait to get my spot up and running. I appreciate you talking to Rico’s mama for me. She called me today and I asked if we could meet this afternoon sometime and she said that four was good for her. So, four it is. I’ll already be there anyway. I’m visualizing my ideas and then I’ll have her bring those visuals to life.”

  “And trust me, if anybody can do it its Mama Mack.” Monty said.

  “I believe you. This place speaks for everything you’re saying.” Brendon commented.

  “You’re gonna like her too because she’s a cool ass lady and she’ll probably adopt you before she leaves. She treats us all like we’re her children.”

  Brendon grinned. “I could remember her back in the days bringing us them glasses of grape kool-aid and chocolate chip cookies.”

  “Hell yeah,” Monty commented. “I miss those days.” They laughed.

  Monty slid his chair up closer to his desk laying the papers in front of Brendon. “Just sign wherever the highlighted pink sticker says, sign here.” Brendon grinned. “See this helps keep my paperwork from having unnecessary marks on them and it saves me time from having to point everywhere you need to sign.”

  “Smart thinking,” Brendon said. “But, you need a secretary or a personal assistant for that shit.”

  “I agree. I was actually going to put an ad in the paper next week stating that I’m hiring for a personal assista
nt.”

  “That’ll be good.” Brendon agreed. “I’ll need to hire a few people myself.”

  “I also know someone who can hook you up with that too.” Monty said.

  “Boy, it feels good to know the right people.” They laughed.

  “Her name is MiKayla and she’s good with helping you out with all that and advertising your business.”

  “Hell yeah, hook me up.” He said.

  “Only one thing about this girl; it was her house I was at when Candy caught me.”

  Brendon shook his head. “Enough said. Just have her call me as soon as possible.”

  “Will do, Cuz.” Monty responded. In the back of his mind that gave him an excuse to talk to MiKayla. He did miss her a little bit too.

  Brendon slid the papers across the desk over to Monty. “Okay I’ve finished signing all this shit and I already have the keys to my place.”

  Monty looked up at him and smiled. “I’m proud of you boy.” They laughed.

  “That makes two of us.” Brendon commented.

  Monty shook his hand. “It’s good doing business with you.”

  “You know I’m gonna name a drink after you, right?” Brendon said.

  “I feel special,” Monty joked.

  “If that makes you feel better,” Brendon clowned as they laughed. “I’m going on over to my place of business. The newest social spot on the block with drink specials and good food.”

  Monty laughed. “Aye, you better tell MiKayla to use that for the hook. That shit made me wanna get up and go with you.”

  Brendon laughed. “I’ll think about it.” He walked out of the office.

  “I’m tryna tell you,” Monty yelled. Brendon smiled, but kept walking down the stairs and out the door.

  Rico was just getting out of his car.

  “What’s up, Bruh?” Rico asked slightly hugging Brendon.

  “Ain’t nothing, but I’m ‘bout to head over to my new place of business. I don’t know if Monty told you, but I’m opening a sports bar over on Washington Road.”

  “I know exactly what property you got too. That spot have a lot of traffic passing through there. Your business should definitely be successful.”

  “Thanks, Bruh that’s what I was thinking when I did my research on the property.”

  “I wish you the best, man. I’m disappointed that you’re not working with us, but you’ll have the place for us to relax and get our drink on after a hard day’s work.

  “Exactly,” Brendon said. “I’m meeting your mama over there this afternoon round four. I like how the décor looks on the inside of Banks Realty so I have no worries.”

  “You’re in very good hands with Moms. Please believe that.”

  “Oh I do,” Brendon said hitting the unlock button on his key chain.

  “Oh yeah, your truck looks good as hell.” Rico said.

  “I appreciate that, but I might wanna trade it in for something more laid back and low key.”

  “I feel ya,” Rico commented. “Same thing I was thinking.” He said looking at his Impala. “Well, be careful, man. I got work to do myself.”

  “We’ll holla later,” Brendon responded and got inside his truck. He headed toward Washington Road to his new place of business.

  On the way over, his thoughts kept reflecting on Candy. It had to be just his luck that Candy was off limits. He couldn’t go behind his cousin’s back and fuck with his ole lady. Plus, he knew that Monty was crazy about her.

  Who wouldn’t be, he thought. She was hella cute with nice hips and thighs. Her ass was plump just like he liked them. She was witty and held her own. She seemed intelligent and obviously didn’t take no shit if she’d broken up with Monty.

  The fact that he’d only been there a good day and had met her on three separate occasions had him thinking hard. The mystery of it all was fascinating and he craved for more. He didn’t know how he’d pull that off and if she was even still gonna be interested in him now. The only thing he knew was that he wanted to get to know her better. All he wanted was her company from time to time if she would allow it, but he didn’t wanna go about it the wrong way.

  **********

  Monty leaned back in his seat. He locked his fingers behind his head with thoughts running one-thousand miles per hour. Candy was heavily weighing on his mind. He kind of hated seeing her earlier because it made him realize what he was missing. She was so beautiful and had a grace that was like no other. She was hood and classy at the same time. No other female could pull that off as well as she did. He loved her and she knew it, but his cheating behavior was inexcusable.

  He hadn’t even told her that MiKayla wasn’t pregnant. He just didn’t see a moment where it was the right time, but he did want to tell her and he promised himself that it would happen the next time he spoke with her. He sighed because losing her felt like losing a part of him.

  He did have thoughts of telling her that there was no baby after all with MiKayla, in hopes that getting back with her would be greater. He knew the whole baby thing really was what added the salt to her open wound. He thought back to saying I Love You to her and her not responding. Damn, were things really this bad? He thought. It seemed to be, but he wasn’t going to give up just yet. He picked up his phone to call her, but he was undecided if she’d even answer his call.

  Disappointment mixed with sadness wasn’t something that he wanted to feel at the moment. He turned on Pandora from his computer hoping that this would ease his tension. Just his luck Mario, How do I breathe, was playing. Even though listening to this kind of music was depressing he still wanted to hear it. The lyrics resonated in his head.

  Don’t know why I let it go too far; Starting over it’s so hard. Seems like everywhere I try to go I keep thinking of you. I just had a wake-up call; Wishing that I never let you fall…

  “Damn,” he said. “I’ll just wait ‘til later to call her.”

  **********

  Candy walked into her house with MJ. She pulled his jacket off along with his small fitted Atlanta logo cap. She rubbed her hands through his soft curly hair as she walked through the house. Dee hadn’t made it back yet, so she decided to sit MJ in his swing while she fixed him some Gerber single grain cereal. She turned the TV on changing the channel to MTV Jams. She looked back at the TV and Usher; Confessions Part two was just coming on. She paused.

  The words that Usher was singing were the exact thing that she and Monty were going through. The lyrics stained in her mind.

  These are my confessions. Just when I thought I said all I could say my chick on the side say she got one on the way.

  “Damn,” she said wanting to change the channel, but her love for the song allowed her to tolerate the lyrics. She walked into the kitchen grabbing the box of Gerber cereal. Her thoughts reflected on Monty and how much she loved him. She was deeply hurt because of his actions. A part of her wanted to take him back, but another part of her just wanted out.

  She walked back into the entertainment room holding a bowl with MJ’s food in it. She noticed that he’d gotten quiet so she called his name.

  “MJ,” she called out. “Is mama’s baby ready to eat?” She kneeled down in front of him. “Aww, my sweet baby sleeps.” She kissed him softly on his forehead. “Boy, you look just like your daddy.” She whispered.

  The sweet memories of what they shared flooded her mind. He had always been a part of her life even while she was growing up so this was indeed a big deal to her. The break-up was hard, but she felt strong enough to let it go this time. One thing about it, she could take some shit from him, but her mama didn’t raise no fool. She loved him, but she had lost herself in loving him more than she loved herself. She began to accept the fact that at the rate he was going, their relationship would never work. So it was best for her to get out now. She didn’t want to end up like her mother. She knew that right now in her sane mind she could never do anything as horrendous as to take Monty’s life, but she didn’t ever want to be put in that situation
again either. Somebody could seriously get hurt.

  She sat down on the sofa and picked up the remote. Nothing was on the TV good to watch. She flipped through the same channels over and over again. She felt like maybe in doing this it would scramble her thoughts a little so they wouldn’t reflect on just one thing. She’d rather for her thoughts to be all over the place because when they were in one place she felt vulnerable, sad, and confused. And when her thoughts were busy there was no time for her to feel vulnerable, sad, or confused. It would be too much going on for that shit.

  She ended up putting the TV back on MTV Jams even though a commercial was playing. She sighed and felt tired of feeling this way. She was so in the dumps and didn’t know what to do. The one time she thought she had a reason to smile was when she met Brendon and he was too good to be true. How could the one man she was feeling, other than Monty, be her baby daddy’s first cousin? What kind of fucking luck was that?