Her So Called Husband

by Chenell Parker

  “Damn Dre!” she yelled as I pulled her hair, backing her up into me. I hope she didn’t think we were making love. We were straight up fucking.

  I felt my release building again, but this time Cherika didn’t move. I gripped her hair tighter as I came hard, making both of our bodies shake in the process. I was drained, but Cherika was just getting started. She got up and pushed me back into a chair. My pants were still around my ankles so she removed them and my underwear, leaving me with nothing but my shirt. She got down on her knees and started sucking me until I was hard again. When she was satisfied, she stood up and lowered herself onto my hardness once again. I held her hip firmly in place as she bounced up and down to her own rhythm, never missing a beat. I don’t know why, but I had a feeling that I was making a huge mistake.

  I woke up the next day feeling hung-over. I adjusted my eyes to the brightness of the room and then it hit me. I was still in Cherika’s bed. I looked over at the clock on the nightstand and realized it was after one in the afternoon. My mind replayed the events from the night before and I started to panic. Cherika and I went at it for about three hours and I didn’t use protection one time. What the fuck was I thinking about? I got up and went to the bathroom to relieve my bladder. When I got back in the room, Cherika was coming in with a tray of food in her hand.

  “Good morning,” she said happily. “I made you some breakfast.”

  She sat the tray down and my mouth started watering. She made me a huge steak, breakfast potatoes, and an omelet. I knew it was good since Cherika could burn in the kitchen. I really didn’t know if Alexus could cook because I always took her out to eat.

  “Thanks,” I said dryly.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked with concern in her voice.

  “Nothing, I’m good,” I lied. I didn’t want her to think that what happened between us last night meant something because it didn’t. It was just sex. I needed it and from the way she reacted, she needed it too.

  “Ok, well I’ll come back when I think you’re done,” she said as she left. I ate my food and watched TV, deep in thought. I know I made a mistake by going backwards with Cherika, but fuck it, I couldn’t take it back. After I ate, I gathered up my dishes and took everything downstairs. My kids were on the sofa watching TV, fully dressed.

  “Daddy can we go somewhere today?” My daughter Denim yelled.

  “Where you trying to go?” I asked smiling down at her.

  “We can go to the zoo,” she replied.

  “Alright, I need to go home and take a shower first. I need some fresh clothes.”

  “How you feeling lil man?” I asked Lil Dre.

  “I feel good,” he replied smiling.

  “You know you still have clothes here right?” Cherika asked me. I just looked at her. I knew what she was doing. I guess she thought that if I left, I wouldn’t come back.

  “Daddy, you can take a shower and change clothes here,” Denim said.

  I just shook my head as I headed upstairs for the shower. Cherika knew how to play the game when it came down to my kids. It was sad that she would stoop so low, but that’s just the way she was.

  Once I took my shower and got dressed, I grabbed my keys and went downstairs. Cherika and the kids were scattered around the living room doing different things.

  “Mama is coming with us,” Denim announced as I walked in. I stopped in my tracks when she said that. This bitch was doing too much now. I guess she saw the look on my face because she spoke up. “They wanted both of us to bring them so I told them I’ll go with y’all.” I wasn’t in the mood to argue and my kids had seen too much of that already.

  “That’s cool,” I replied. I made a mental note to check her ass about that later on.

  Monday evening found me in Cherika’s bed once again. Actually, I never left. I had been there since Thursday when I went to bring my son the medicine. Cherika and I were still having sex like crazy, but I made sure to strap up every time. I made up my mind that I was going back home today if I caught up with Alexus or not. I could tell that Cherika was getting use to the idea of me being there and I couldn’t have that. I never lied to her about what it was. I kept telling her that we were not back together and I meant that. Every time I made plans to do something with my kids, she somehow included herself in it. She really wanted us to be a family again, but I couldn’t do that as long as my heart belonged to somebody else.

  My phone started ringing, snapping me from my thoughts. I didn’t recognize the number so I sent it straight to voice mail. It started ringing again displaying the same number, but I still didn’t answer. After the fourth time, I decided to pick up to see who was blowing up my line.

  “Yeah,” I yelled into the phone.

  “Is this Dre?” A female voiced asked. I tried to remember if I had met anybody in the past few weeks, but nobody came to mind. Not too many females had my number so I didn’t know who the hell this could be.

  “Why, who is this?” I replied.

  “This is Nicole. You told me to call you if I saw Alexus,” she said sounding nervous. I instantly perked up when she mentioned Alexus’s name.

  “Yeah Nicole, what’s up?”

  “Well she’s in class right now, but you better hurry up. We have an exam and we can leave as soon as we’re done. I don’t know how long she’s going to be here,” she whispered.

  “I’m on my way. good looking out,” I said before hanging up. I forgot all about shorty calling me, but I was happy that she did. I jumped up and put my shoes, shirt and hat back on. I took the steps two at a time trying to get to my truck.

  “Where you going?” Cherika asked me from the kitchen.

  “I’m out. Tell the kids I’ll see them later,” I replied hurriedly.

  “You don’t want to eat before you leave?” she yelled out the door.

  “No,” I replied as I jumped in my truck and pulled off.

  I felt bad because I knew she went through a lot of trouble to cook my favorite meal, but there was no way I was staying to eat it. I needed to talk to my baby and get us back on track. Cherika did a good job of keeping me occupied in the bedroom, but that wasn’t enough to heal my broken heart. I needed Alexus like I needed air to breathe. I was going to get my oxygen back.

  Chapter 16: ALEXUS

  I had just finished taking my exam and I was more than happy. I studied from sun up to sun down to make sure I got a good grade. My mind was all over the place lately. It had been a little over a week since I saw or talked to Dre. I would be lying if I said I didn’t miss him, but we needed this time apart. I stayed with my sister the first night, but I spent most of my time with Tyree. He had a huge house in the Lakeview area of New Orleans that I fell in love with it.

  Ayanna was still picking me up from class just in case Dre ever showed up. He didn’t know where any of my classes were, but that never stopped him before. Ayanna told me that somebody came to her and my mama’s house looking for me a few days ago. Judging from the description she gave, I knew it was Dre’s brother Eric. I knew that would be the first place he looked. Jada lost count of the numerous times he came to her house. He didn’t know where my brother lived so that would be my alibi if it ever came down to it.

  My sister sent me a text letting me know that she was almost there. I gathered my things and said my goodbyes to a few other students that I was cool with. I walked outside and my heart dropped at the sight before me. Dre was leaning on his truck looking right at me. I wanted to run, but it was too late for all of that. Besides, that would have been childish of me to run when he already saw me. He started walking towards me, but I was frozen in place.

  “Hey,” he said as he came up close to me.

  “Hey,” I replied. There was an awkward silence between us as we stared at each other. I don’t know why this felt so weird, but it did.

  “Can we talk?” he asked. I was just about to respond when Ayanna pulled up. She jumped out of her car with fire in her eyes when she saw Dre.

 
“You alright, Lex,” she asked me as she approached us.

  “Yeah, she’s alright,” Dre said with an attitude before I had a chance to respond.

  “I’m not talking to you. She can answer for herself,” Ayanna yelled.

  “Like I said; she’s good!” Dre yelled back. He and Ayanna hated each other with a passion. I had to intervene before things got out of hand.

  “I’m good, Ayanna,” I told my sister. She just stood there looking like she didn’t believe me.

  “We need to talk Lex. I’ll bring you home when we’re done,” Dre said while looking at me.

  I knew that was a lie. There was no way in hell he would bring me anywhere else but the condo if I got in that truck with him. Ayanna must have been reading my mind because she said what I was thinking.

  “You know he’s lying, Alexus. He gon’ bring you right to his house and beg like the dog he is,” Ayanna spat.

  “Fuck you Ayanna. You a hater just like the rest of your family. You know she don’t want for nothing as long as she with me and you hate that shit,” Dre said to my sister. This was getting out of hand, so I decided to end it before it did.

  “Dre stop. Go get in the truck and let me talk to my sister,” I said with pleading eyes. He looked hesitant so I gave him my backpack and purse to assure him that I was leaving with him.

  “You are so stupid,” Ayanna said as soon as Dre walked off.

  “He got you right where he wants you. You know he’s not leaving his wife for you. You got a good man that’s really feeling you and you keep wasting your time on his dog ass.” I loved my sister, but sometimes she went too far.

  “First of all I’m grown. I didn’t say that we were getting back together, but if we do, that’s my business. We are going to talk and that’s all.” I walked off after I said what I had to say, but I wasn’t done. I turned around and left my sister with a few parting words.

  “And just for the record, he already left his wife,” I said as I hopped in the truck with Dre.

  Ayanna was always so critical of me and my relationships, but she couldn’t keep a man to save her life. None of her children’s fathers stuck around past a year so she could never give me any advice.

  Dre grabbed my hand as we drove down the highway, but I snatched it back. I didn’t want him to think that everything was all good between us. We had a lot to talk about and some changes had to be made.

  “I know I fucked up Lex and I know you still mad with me, but I promise I’ll do anything to make it right between us,” Dre said.

  Usually I would fall for his lines and we would hit the sheets soon after, but today was not that day. He made a lot of promises when he wanted me back. Things were different for me now. I had somebody that I was developing strong feelings for.

  Tyree and I were never intimate, but we bonded on a deeper level than me and Dre did. I wasn’t ready to give up on the possibility of us being together. I still had a lot of love for Dre, but I don’t think it was enough for us to stay together. He would never let me be happy with anyone else so leaving him was going to be hard.

  “Dre, you always say what you think I want to hear, but you never make good on any of your promises,” I said.

  “I just feel like you suffocate me sometimes.” I needed him to give me some space. I was afraid to leave the house most of time because he would have a fit.

  “I know that baby, but I’m trying,” he said.

  “No you’re not,” I said cutting him off. He didn’t respond because he knew it was true. He was jealous, insecure, and possessive and lately he had a problem keeping his hands to himself.

  “I’m tired of fighting with you, Dre. I just think we need to go our separate ways,” I said while looking away. I could feel him staring at me as we pulled up to the condo, but I wasn’t backing down this time. I really wanted this to be over between us.

  “I can’t do that Alexus. If it was that easy to let you go, I would have done it a long time ago. Maybe we need to talk to somebody about our problems.”

  “Dre, we can’t go to counseling!” I yelled. “We are not married. You trying to make a relationship work with your side chick and there is no counseling for that.”

  “I wish you stop with that side chick stuff. I hate when you say that shit,” he replied annoyed.

  We got out of the car and went into the house. I sat on the sofa clutching my purse, while Dre sat on the arm of the love seat.

  “You got somebody else, Alexus?” Dre asked me out of the blue.

  I hated when he did shit like that. He made me nervous because I thought he already knew something and was trying to catch me in a lie.

  “I’m not messing with nobody Dre,” I lied.

  “I asked you that before and you lied to me “he replied.

  “Well I’m not lying to you now,” I said with an attitude. He got up and sat next to me on the sofa, grabbing my hand.

  “Look, I know we got a lot of shit going on between us, but we need to figure out a way to make this work. We’re not going our separate ways so that’s not an option. Don’t even bring that up again,” Dre said.

  “Just tell me what you need me to do and I’ll do it.”

  I hated myself for falling for his lines again, but that’s exactly what I was doing. I don’t know what kind of hold this man had on me, but I couldn’t break free.

  “Talk to me, Lex,” Dre said, pulling me on his lap. “You can’t keep running away from all of your problems. That’s not solving anything.”

  He was right, but that was the only way I knew how to deal with my problems. I was always pacified so I didn’t know any other way to be.

  “I just don’t think this is going to work Dre,” I finally said.

  “You keep saying that, but why don’t you think it’s going to work?” he asked.

  “I have a million reasons why. You hate for me to go anywhere without you. You can’t control your temper. You can’t keep your hands to yourself. I can go on and on, but it won’t change anything,” I said out of breath.

  “You right, but at the same time you’re real sneaky Alexus. You do a lot of shit that I don’t know about. That’s why I go off when I do find out because I always ask you to tell me the truth.”

  He was right again, but how do you tell a crazy man that you’re cheating on him. I was far from stupid.

  “I know you’re young and I have to give you some space. I’m willing to do that, but you have to be honest with me about where you go and who you go with.”

  “This all sounds good Dre, but after a while you’ll be back to your old self again.”

  “No I won’t baby, I promise. You have to at least give me a chance to show you. Please,” he begged.

  He sounded so sincere and my heart melted with every word he spoke. As crazy as it was, I really believed him. I just didn’t want him to think that I was giving in too fast.

  “Baby please, I’m begging you to give us another chance. I love you too much to live without you,” Dre said while kissing my neck.

  I don’t know if it was his sweet words or his sweet kisses, but I was all in. no more talking was needed when he picked me up and carried me to our bedroom. When he laid me down on the bed, the look in his eyes told me how much he really loved me without a doubt. Dre did things to my body that night that he’s never done before. Even still, I couldn’t get Tyree off of my mind.

  I didn’t know if I was making the right decision or not, but I decided to ride the wave until I crashed.

  Chapter 18: CHERIKA

  Almost two months had gone by and I hadn’t seen or heard from Dre since he left my house that Monday night and once again, I felt like a damn fool. I tried to do everything right while he was there and I really thought we were making progress. I cooked a hot meal every day and made sure that the house was cleaned from top to bottom. He was served breakfast in bed every morning while I tended to his sexual needs every night. Before then, Dre and I hadn’t had sex in months so I was enjoying every
minute of it.

  My daughter told me that Alexus was back at home so I knew that she was the reason for him pulling a disappearing act. I guess he didn’t want to see me because he sent Eric over to get the kids when he wanted to spend time with them. All of my calls went straight to voicemail so I assumed he had my number blocked. My weight was down again since I was too depressed to eat much of anything. Lately, I always seemed to be the one to get the short end of the stick when it came to my so called husband. Even still, I was not ready to give up on Dre and my marriage.

  I was on my way to Santa Fe Bar and Grill in Uptown New Orleans to meet my sisters for drinks. They were pissed with me because they felt like I put them on the back burner when I thought Dre and I were getting back together. It was true, but I would never tell them that. Dre and my sisters didn’t get along so I stopped answering the phone for them when he was there.

  When Charde came over unannounced one day, I didn’t let her in. I didn’t want to risk Dre leaving under any circumstances so I met her outside and talked to her on the porch. It took me over a month of apologizing to get them to meet with me today. I already lost Dre; I couldn’t lose my sister’s too. That would kill me for sure.

  When I pulled up, I saw that Cherice was still sitting in her car so I parked right next to her. Charde pulled up a few seconds after I did and parked next to me. We all exited our cars and made our way to our usual seats on the patio.

  “Hey ladies,” I spoke as we took our seats.

  “Hey,” they both said dryly. I knew they were still pissed and they had every reason to be. I pretty much said “fuck you” to them both when I thought Dre and I were getting back together. They didn’t deserve that when all they ever did was try to help me.