Her So Called Husband

by Chenell Parker

  “Look at how Ty keep looking at Lex on the slick,” Jada laughed.

  “Girl, you gon’ be our new sister-in-law!” Trina chimed in laughing.

  “No ma’am,” I replied. “I got enough on my plate.”

  “Yeah, she got her own real live stalker,” Jada said. We all laughed at her statement, but it was the truth. Dre had either called or texted me every half hour since I left home. He wanted to know what I was doing or how long I was going to be out. After a while, I stopped answering for his insecure ass.

  As the time passed on, most of the guests started to leave, but a few family members were still hanging around. I was having fun so I wasn’t in a big rush to go. It felt good being with someone other than Dre. It was dark outside so everyone was scattered throughout the house doing different things. We were in the kitchen playing cards when Tyree came in and sat down at the table with us.

  “What?” Tina asked him.

  “What you mean what?” he replied.

  “Why you in here?” She countered.

  “I can come in here if I want to,” he laughed.

  “You think you slick,” Jada said. “I know why you in here.” The twins started laughing.

  “It’s about time you made your move,” Tyra said walking in the kitchen.

  “You’ve been asking about her all day.” Tyree put his head down, embarrassed.

  “Can I talk to you for a minute?” he asked me.

  “Outside,” he countered. I got up and followed him outside as Jada and the twins clapped and laughed loudly.

  “What’s up?” I nervously asked once we were in the yard.

  “I just wanted to get to know you, that’s all. Tell me something about you.” I told him a few things about me, leaving out the part about Dre. I knew he would ask me that soon enough.

  “So you got a man Alexus?” I knew that question would come up. I don’t know why, but I felt comfortable enough to tell him about my situation with Dre. I just hoped he didn’t judge me or look at me differently.

  “What about you? You got somebody?” I asked.

  “Not really. I mean I do have a few female friends that I chill with, but I’m not in a relationship at the moment,” he replied. Tyree and I stayed in the yard and talked for over an hour before Jada came out and said she was ready to go. It was after eleven and she had things to do the next day. I wasn’t ready to go, but she was my ride.

  “Can I get your number?” Tyree asked before we left.

  “I’ll get one of my sisters to ask for you or something. I don’t want your man to get mad,” he smiled.

  I took his phone from him and programmed my number in. I then called my phone and stored his number in under his sister Trina’s name. He laughed at my gesture and told me to make sure I use it. Tyree hugged Jada and I after he walked us to the car. We said our goodbyes and were on our way. I was not looking forward to going home. I know Dre was going to be pissed. He called me non-stop for the last two hours, but I didn’t answer any of his calls. I was enjoying my night and I didn’t need him to ruin it.

  When Jada and I pulled up to the condo, Dre was out front waiting for me. I was sacred as shit, but I wouldn’t dare show it. Jada asked if she should wait, but I told her I was good. As soon as she pulled off, he started with his bullshit.

  “You really got me fucked up Alexus!” Dre screamed.

  “I know you saw me calling your sneaky ass!” He grabbed my arm and pulled me inside. It pissed me off when he called me sneaky. After all, he was the one who had a wife.

  “I was playing cards Dre. I couldn’t answer the phone every time you called,” I replied.

  “Your ass is lying! You were probably with a nigga!” I tried to break free from his grip, but it was too tight.

  “Dre, let me go,” I cried. He let me go and threw me on the bed. When I tried to get up, he pulled me back down and held me in place with his forearm. I panicked when he started trying to remove my clothes with his free hand.

  “You fucked him?” he yelled.

  “What are you talking about Dre?” I was scared of what he was going to do, so I started swinging wildly, trying to push him off of me. The blows I delivered had no effect on him at all. He reached between my legs, unsnapped my romper, and removed my underwear. Is he trying to rape me, I thought to myself. I was terrified.

  “You probably still have that nigga’s scent on you,” he said as he sniffed my underwear.

  I never felt so hurt and degraded before in my life. Tears filled my eyes as I jumped up from the bed preparing to pack my belongings. I was leaving and I had no plans to return.

  “Where the fuck are you going?” Dre asked, following me to the closet.

  “I’m leaving,” I cried.

  “I’m done with you. I swear I regret the day I met you!” I could barely see as the tears clouded my vision. Dre pulled me out of the closet and hugged me tightly from behind.

  “You not going nowhere. You know I’m not letting you leave,” he whispered.

  “This is not working Dre. I need some space. You are too insecure.” He still didn’t let me go. I could barely move because he was hugging me so tight.

  “I’m sorry baby. I know I’m insecure sometime. But I promise to work on it. Just give me a chance to get it together,” he pleaded.

  “I think we need a break from each other Dre. This is all too much for me. I don’t think it’s meant for us to be together.” I was trying to get him to see things my way. He turned me around to face him and I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. He was actually crying. I don’t know why, but a part of me felt sorry for him. Dre never cried about anything.

  “Don’t do this to me, Lex,” he cried. “I love you to death baby. I promise I’ll do anything to make this right with us baby.”

  As much as I wanted to push him away, I couldn’t do it. I really did love him even though he drove me crazy at times. When Dre noticed that I was no longer putting up a fight, he led me over to the bed and laid me down. Before I could protest, he kneeled down, pushed my legs back to the headboard, and buried his face deep inside my treasure. I grabbed his head and pulled him in deeper as I rotated my hips. And just like every other time, Dre had me under his spell and all was forgiven.

  Chapter 12: D’Andre

  I was so happy that things were back to normal with me and my baby girl. I couldn’t lose her over any foolishness. That would kill me. Alexus was my heart. Hell, she was the only female that has ever reduced me to tears. That shit still shocked me sometimes. I was never one to cry over a female. I would just move on to the next one. Our last argument was the biggest one we’ve ever had. I spent over a month making it up to her and we were better than ever. I know I was a little insecure at times, but I was trying to work on it. I don’t know what kind of hold she had on me, but I couldn’t imagine her with anybody else.

  I took Alexus’s advice and had Drew retested. Just like the first one said, I was not the father. I confronted Cherika with the second set of results, but she still denied sleeping with someone else. She was still trying to get me to come back home, but that would never happen. The only time I went there was to get my kids. I still treated Drew like he was my own. I was the only father he knew. Besides, it wasn’t his fault that his mama was a hoe. I lost count of the number of times I asked her for a divorce. She acts crazy every time the conversation comes up.

  That nigga Troy was locked up, but I was going to see him as soon as he got out. I wasn’t salty about him sleeping with Cherika at all. I could get pass that. I couldn’t get pass the way he just cut me off after I treated him like a brother. For some reason, I felt like Keanna had her hand in all of this too. It had to be somebody close to me in order for them to make this happen. She had access to Troy and Drew, so she was suspect number one in my book. I tried calling her a few times, but she never answered. In my eyes, she was guilty until she could prove me wrong. Lex didn’t think she had anything to do with it, but I wasn’t convinced. She played the
role of friend to Cherika and was stabbing her in the back at the same time. She knew I would leave Cherika if that info ever got out. The thing that pissed me off was how she did it. She could have come to me like a woman and told me what she knew. It was all good. I knew I would run into her sooner or later.

  “What you want to get into today?” I asked Lex as we lounged on the sofa. We hadn’t really spent any time together for the past few days. I had the kids for a few days and she was hanging with Jada a lot lately. I wanted her to stay home, but I couldn’t do her like that. I was trying to get better with my trust issues. I know it wouldn’t be fair for me to keep her inside with me and my kids all day.

  “I want a tattoo,” she said, shocking the hell out of me. Alexus was scared to death of needles. I had so many tattoos, I lost count, but she didn’t have any.

  “What kind of tattoo you want?” I asked.

  “I want a butterfly,” she said smiling. My baby was so pretty. I couldn’t tell her no even if I wanted to.

  “Alright, we can do that, but you better not be in there crying. You know you’re scared of needles,” I told her.

  “Just hold my hand and I’ll be alright,” she said.

  “I got you, baby,” I replied. I scrolled through my phone and called my boy who did all of my tattoos to make us an appointment.

  We pulled up to the shop a few minutes later than our appointment time, but it didn’t seem to be too crowded. I stopped at the daiquiri shop and got Alexus something to drink for her nerves. I could tell she was scared, but she was the one that asked for it. We walked into the shop and I wanted to turn my ass right back around. Of all the days, Charde had to be in here today. She was sitting at the counter with some of her ratchet ass friends. She looked Lex up and down then started whispering to her friends. I grabbed Lex’s hand and hollered at my boy.

  “What’s up Joe?” I spoke.

  “Ain’t nothing. What you getting done Dre?” he asked me.

  “I don’t know yet, but my baby wants a butterfly on her back,” I told him pointing to Alexus. I could feel those bitches staring at us, but I ignored it.

  “Y’all can look in the books and see if it’s something she likes in there,” Joe told us. “Damn Dre, you can’t speak?” Charde asked louder than she needed to.

  “Nope,” I simply replied. This junkyard dog looking bitch was about to piss me off. We sat down and looked through the books that Joe gave us until Lex saw a big colorful butterfly surrounded by smaller ones that she fell in love with. When she got up to show it to Joe, Charde got up too and purposely bumped into her. I jumped up just in time as Alexus pushed Charde back into the counter. “Damn!” Joe laughed as he put a covering over his client’s new ink.

  “Dre, you better control your bitch,” Charde yelled.

  “The only bitch I see in here is you,” I said as I mean mugged her and her flunkies.

  “Yeah, I’m a bitch until you want some head,” she replied with a smirk on her man looking face.

  “No this bitch didn’t put me on blast like that,” I said to myself. It was no secret in the hood about Charde’s mean head game. Niggas from everywhere got at her to get some of it too. Everybody knew that was my weakness so I let her swallow some of my babies from time to time.

  “Yeah, you speechless now, huh?” she laughed. Her friend who Joe had just finished working on laughed loudly as they prepared to leave.

  “Fuck you, Charde,” was all I could say as they left. She won this round. I could tell that Lex was mad even though she maintained her composure. It wasn’t even that serious to me. It wasn’t like I hit it. Oral sex wasn’t cheating in my book.

  When Joe was ready to start on Lex, I sat in the chair next to her. I reached for her hand, but she pulled away. I knew right then that I was back in the doghouse. We’ve been doing good for over a month and now this shit had to happen. She didn’t flinch at all when Joe was inking her up so I know she had to be heated. I sat there flipping through the books and decided to get me another one while I was there.

  Joe finished with Lex. Her tat was bad as hell. She was looking at it in the three-way mirror while he went to get more supplies to cover it.

  “You like it,” I asked her.

  “Fuck you Dre,” she said angrily. “I knew you were a dog, but your wife’s sister though?”

  “That shit happened a long time ago,” I lied. If she knew it happened since we’ve been together, she would leave my ass for sure. That was a chance that I was not willing to take.

  “But you were still married to her sister Dre,” she said while shaking her head.

  “I was young and stupid Lex. I messed up. What else you want me to say?”

  “I guess I need to prepare myself for whatever with you,” she replied.

  “Don’t do that Alexus. I never gave you any reason not to trust me. I show you more respect that I show Cherika or anybody else.” I can’t lie and say that I never messed around with nobody else since I been with her, but she always came first. I made sure of that.

  Joe came back in and was ready to get started on me. I guess Alexus didn’t want to watch so she went to the front of the shop to sit down. I had to straighten this out and fast. I couldn’t stand when she was mad with me. Joe and I made small talk while he drilled ink into my neck for my latest piece of art. I was happy that Alexus didn’t stay to watch. I wanted to show it to her and see the look on her face. Joe was adding some color to it and we would be on our way.

  Alexus and I stopped to get something to eat before going home. I didn’t want to sit in a restaurant with a bandage on my neck so we got our food to go. She was quiet for most of the ride. I had to force her to talk and I was getting aggravated.

  “Talk to me. I hate when you’re quiet like this,” I said breaking the silence in the car.

  “I’m good,” was all she said.

  “You need to stop acting like a child,” I said getting mad. Alexus was so used to getting her way. I couldn’t get mad since I created the monster that sat before me.

  “So I’m acting like a child because I don’t agree with your whorish ways?” she asked sarcastically. “Man, like I said before, all of that happened before I even met you. You act like you looking for a reason to be mad. I can’t take back anything that happened in the past.” I reached over and grabbed her hand. I expected her to pull away, but I was happy that she didn’t. That was a start, at least. When we got inside, we sat down to eat and watch TV. I was just happy that my baby was talking to me.

  “So what kind of tattoo you get?” Alexus asked me when we finished eating.

  “Why?” I countered back while smiling at her.

  “Let me see it,” she replied. I got up to sit in a chair in our dining room. I pulled her down on my lap so that we were facing each other.

  “Take it off,” I told her, referring to the covering over my tattoo.

  “Don’t rip it off. Do it slow.” I held her around her waist as she gently removed the tape and gauze from my neck.

  “Dre!” she gasped.

  “You like it?” I asked her.

  “Yes, I love it,” she smiled while placing kisses all over my face.

  I knew she would, that was my reason for getting it. Joe put Alexus’s name on my neck in capital old English letters. He colored the inside of the letters red. It came out a little bigger than I thought it would be, but it was nice. I knew getting this tattoo was going to cause a lot of problems for me, but it was too late now. Alexus was a permanent part of my life just like the ink that was on my neck. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

  Chapter 13: KEANNA

  Dre had been blowing up my phone for the past few days. I didn’t know what he wanted with me and I didn’t care. I know he left Cherika’s conniving ass a few months ago and I was ecstatic. She called me a few times to cry on my shoulder. I had to put my phone on mute so she wouldn’t hear me laughing. She has yet to tell me why he left her as if I didn’t already know. She wants to make everybo
dy believe that he left her for Alexus. That was partly the truth, but that wasn’t his main reason for leaving. It killed her that he had their kids around Alexus.

  According to her, the kids loved Alexus and always came home talking about her. If she was looking for sympathy, she was dialing the wrong number. This was only the beginning for her. I had enough on my plate right now with Troy being locked up. His bail was $20,000 and I had no idea how I was going to get the money. I was working like crazy, but I would never be able to save enough to get him out, plus keep up with our bills.

  His family basically washed their hands with him, so calling them was not an option. If he was still on Dre’s team, he would have helped with no problem. Troy did a lot of people dirty, so his list of supporters was short. They arrested him for possession and some other charges that I wasn’t familiar with. Even though I was still mad about him and Cherika, I didn’t want to see him in jail. I know I was stupid for even caring, but I couldn’t help it.

  “Good Morning,” a male voice said from behind me. I knew that voice from anywhere. He was the owner of the building that the nursing home I worked for was in. He was also someone that I had my eye on for months. I didn’t know if he had a wife or a girlfriend and I didn’t care. I would gladly be the side chick.

  “Good Morning,” I replied sexily. This man made me nervous just looking at him.

  “What are you doing up this early?” I asked.

  “Me and my pops had to go over some paperwork with your boss. Looks like y’all might be in here for another five years,” he said holding up the new lease that my boss signed. He and his dad owned several professional buildings as well as some homes and apartments. He told me a while back that he had a MBA in business management and a real estate license. I was impressed since he was so young. I would swear he was a dope boy just by looking at him. As the old saying goes, looks are deceiving.