Jayson Winston. A stranger she’d never met. She shouldn’t have been thinking about him; shouldn’t have been wondering where he lived, what he was doing, or what he looked like. She shouldn’t have been at all, but she was.
She took another breath, let it out as a sigh, and said, “I’m not in the mood to argue, Esias. I have too much to do.” Without waiting for him to reply, she opened her laptop, flipped open her textbook, which really was useless, and pretended to get back to work.
Jayson Winston.
He shouldn’t have been, but he was on her mind.
Chapter 2
Tell me why I took this class again?
Jess chuckled. I’m still tryn 2 figure out why I did.
It was Wednesday night. Seminar night for PHP class. Usually it was a seminar she dreaded. Now it was an hour-long session she thought about and looked forward to.
All because of Jayson.
Their first chat had occurred during class. The second time they spoke had been during seminar as well, but when the professor said, “Good night,” and all of the other students logged off, she and Jayson continued to converse. Only when she finally gave in and looked at the clock to see just how little sleep she was going to get before she had to get up for work did she go to bed. Their third conversation started one hour before class, went through it, and lasted for three hours after. Each time they spoke, Jess smiled more, and the more she smiled, the more she wanted to speak.
Technically, there wasn’t anything wrong with what she was doing. She was just chatting with a friend; a male friend; and for far longer than she should have been.
But it was just chatting.
At least, that’s what she told herself over and over when her conscience mouthed off in her ear about how she was betraying vows she’d made five years ago. Just chatting. Talking. They were two classmates helping to keep each other afloat when they both felt as though they were going to drown.
Jess smiled as Jayson’s reply to what she’d said popped into the messenger window.
We met. Maybe tht’s why we took it?
She looked at Jayson’s words. They’d met. Two people in a class that neither of them wanted to be in. Strangers walking toward each other from opposite ends of the same road.
Destiny. Could it have been?
She shook her head. Destiny had led to a happy hour hangout after a long, frustrating week at work, where her coworker introduced her to her good friends who’d just recently moved to the city. Destiny had her and her coworker’s tall, slender, and very attractive friend talking to each other easily, as though that hadn’t been the first time they’d met. Destiny then took them on several dates, that evolved into a two-year relationship, which then morphed into marriage a year later, that was now going on five years with two demanding little girls.
Destiny. Fate. Meant to be. She’d never experienced a connection like the one she had with Esias. Now she was sitting in front of her laptop, staring at words that had far more truth to them than they should have.
They’d met.
She didn’t want them to, but her fingers typed, Maybe, anyway.
And then her heart began to beat heavily and, again, she tried to ignore the words of her conscience. Nothing wrong. They were just two friends chatting as there’d never been a time when they didn’t speak.
Where’s ur hubby?
Wild horses ran beneath Jess’s chest as she took a breath and held it. Esias was at the studio again, trying to make his dream happen. He wanted to be the next top producer. The man behind the scenes raking in all of the real money. Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays were his nights to go to the studio right after work during the week. These were the nights Jess didn’t have to cram to get assignments posted by midnight. Two of the three nights—Wednesday and Thursday—were the nights she had seminar. The schedule was too convenient, and she knew what her reply needed to be.
He’s not here.
Her conscience screamed in her ear.
R ur grls in bed?
Jess thought about how she’d mastered the art of getting them fed, bathed, and in bed a half hour before her seminar began. Sleeping soundly, she typed.
So essentially it’s just u and me?
Heart thumping, temperature rising, conscience yelling, Jess replied, Essentially ... yes.
Being alone ... it’s an interesting concept.
Jess took a slow breath. Is it? she typed with an exhale.
Very.
Jess raised her eyebrows and breathed out again. This is crazy, she thought. You don’t even know what he looks like. She typed, Hmm.
Truth or dare?
Jess stared at the question, surprised by the words. Leave it alone, her conscience begged. Don’t play this game. Put your focus back on your schoolwork. Be smart and safe. Avoid the puddle-and-the-ripple effect that would spread if you make a choice. You have a good marriage, despite the widening distance, despite the lackluster routine. Don’t be foolish!
Dare.
She hadn’t meant to type the word, but somewhere in-between her conscience’s warning and a desire that she couldn’t seem to quell, the word had appeared as her response.
Wow! I didn’t expect tht.
What did u expect?
I don’t knw. I guess 4 u 2 b safe and either not answer or just pick truth.
Jess thought about her response for a moment, then typed. I play it safe all the time ...
So r u saying playing w/ me is dangerous?
Jess smiled. She couldn’t remember the last time she had flirted with someone. Hmm ... I get the feeling it could b, she responded.
Lol! U hvn’t gotten the feeling yet.
Jess felt a tingle between her legs, which she knew was just ridiculous, since she’d never even seen Jayson before. Just words, she thought. Calm down.
She cleared her throat and typed.
So wht’s the dare? And should I b scared?
Lol! Defntly nothing 2 b afrd of.
We’ll see. So ... my dare?
Ur dare.
Yes. My dare.
Does ur cell hve a camera?
Doesn’t everyone’s?
True. OK ... so ur dare.
My dare ... is?
Tke a pic and snd it 2 me.
A pic? Of wht?
Of u.
Me?
Yes.
Hmm. I don’t knw ...
U pckd dare, rmembr?
Jess chuckled. I do.
OK thn.
Hmm ... wht exctly do u wnt 2 see?
Lol! Tht’s a loaded qstn.
Mmm-hmm. I see where ur mind is.
I jst said it was a loaded qstn. U took my words and gve thm a diff meaning. Maybe ur mind is the 1 tht’s somewhere else.
Jess smiled. I don’t thnk so.
LOL! So ... my pic?
Wht did u want 2 see again?
U and these qstns. Lol!
Jess laughed and shook her head. Funny.
Ha-ha ... OK 4 ur dare ... I wnt a pic of ...
Of?
Ur ...
My?
Face.
My face?
Yes. I wnt 2 put a face wth the name.
Hmm I like my anonymity though.
I’m sure u do. But u chose dare.
Grr ...
LOL! So r u gng 2 do it?
Jess’s conscience screamed NO! Told her to close the window, to think about school. She was still behind, though she had caught up considerably. She needed to stop chatting, because it was just wrong on too many levels!
Her conscience yelled, begged, cursed. Jess typed. OK.
So after I tke ths pic ... wht exctly r u gng 2 do wth it?
I’m gng 2 admire it.
Admire, huh? And wht if I’m ugly? I bet u won’t b admiring it thn.
Something tells me I won’t hve 2 worry abt tht.
O really? U seem pretty confident abt tht.
Jst a feeling I hve.
Jess thought about h
is response to her very similar reply. She smiled—a devilish grin—and then typed.
U hvn’t felt anything yet.
LOL!
Jess looked around her living room as though the walls were paying close attention so that when they gossiped they would be able to recount every detail of her conversation accurately like someone pressing record on a tape recorder. She shook her head. So wrong. She knew.
Sor u g ng 2 send it?
Wht if I tell u tht the camera on my phone jst broke?
Hve u ever seen back to the future?
Who hasn’t?
Well in that case ... thn I’d hve 2 call u a chicken!! LOL!
Jess laughed and reached for her cell phone sitting beside her laptop. She ran her thumb across the screen. A picture. Of her face. “Harmless,” she said aloud. A response to her conscience’s insistent warning. “It’s just my face.”
She looked at her MacBook’s monitor. Jayson had typed another message.
Jess ... r u still thre?
Don’t reply. It was the right thing to do. She looked at her phone and wiped fingerprint smudges away. “Just my face,” she said again. She leaned forward in her chair and used one finger to type. B rght bck.
She rose from her chair, took her phone, and went into the bathroom. She had pictures stored already. Her with the girls. Her with Esias. Some with her girlfriends. If she was going to do something like this, one of those was what she should send. Particularly one with her and her husband.
So knowing that, why was she sprucing up her hair with water? Why was she applying foundation and putting on her lipstick?
Her conscience spoke.
She drowned out the sound by turning on the fan.
Minutes later, she was posing, yet insisting that she wasn’t at the same time, and taking a series of five shots. When she was finished, she scrolled through the photographs. She hit delete on the first, not liking the way her slender nose looked. The second picture was gone just as quickly. Drunk wasn’t cute. The third picture was OK, though the freckles on her cheeks were a little too noticeable. The fourth photo never had a chance. Her full lips looked like they’d been stung by bees.
The fifth and final shot ...
She stared at it. Her brown eyes were focused, staring into the camera, a hint of seduction in them. Where had that come from? She didn’t know, since she hadn’t been going for that. Her lips looked ... inviting. The strands of her hair were in place. Her forehead didn’t shine. The angle of the camera on her good side was just right.
She went back to the third picture, scrutinized it momentarily, and then hit delete before turning off the fan, giving her conscience’s voice its volume back, and going back to her laptop.
Bck. R u still thre?
Absolutely!
She smiled.
Did u tke the pic?
I did.
R u sure u wnt 2 see me? U might b disappointed.
I highly doubt it.
OK. Don’t say I didn’t warn u though.
Lol. OK.
So ... where do I send it?
Jayson typed his number.
Jess’s conscience begged her again to turn away from the path she was about to walk down.
Instead, she attached Jayson’s number to the picture.
Don’t do it! Nothing good is going to come of this.
She took a breath, exhaled, and hit send as goose bumps rose on her skin.
And then there was a noise at the front door. The doorknob being turned.
Jess’s heart dropped into the pit of her stomach, and before she even realized she was doing it, she exited out of the messenger and put her phone down. Thirty seconds later, Esias walked into the living room with his guitar hanging over his shoulder, a smile spread wide on his face.
“Hey.”
Jess took a short breath and said, “Hey, babe.” Her eyes went down to her phone and instantly she regretted what she’d done. Please don’t reply, she thought.
Esias walked over to her and planted his lips firmly against hers. He kissed her deeply, parting her lips deftly with his tongue. His kisses were always something she loved and responded to without fail, but at that moment, guilt held her back. Esias pulled away and looked at her. “You still have your makeup and lipstick on?”
“I never wiped it off,” Jess answered quickly.
Esias nodded with a slightly cocked eyebrow. “OK ... so how was your seminar?”
“Frustrating.”
“Are you getting a grasp of things at all?”
It was wrong, but the word “grasp” brought Jayson to her mind. She shrugged. “Maybe a little.”
Esias moved behind her and began to massage her shoulders. “Don’t stress too much,” he said kneading her tight muscles. “You’ll get it just like you always do.” He leaned forward and kissed the side of her neck. It was her erogenous zone. He knew it well.
She wanted to respond, but the guilt she was feeling wouldn’t allow it.
She stiffened her back and said, “So how was the studio?”
“Great,” he replied, working the kinks out. “I have a couple of local rappers who laid down some verses to one of my tracks. They can really flow. As soon as I finish mixing it, I want you to hear it.”
Jess tried to breathe as evenly as she could as she looked at her phone, praying again for Jayson to not send her a reply.
Esias worked his thumbs into the muscles of her shoulder blade. Any other night she’d close her eyes, drop her chin to her chest, moan and tell him that if the music didn’t work out for him, he had a future in massage therapy. But tonight wasn’t like any other night. She shifted in her seat. “Are you hungry?”
Esias let go of her shoulders. “Yeah,” he said moving from behind her. “Did you make anything?”
Jess nodded. “It’s in the fridge in Tupperware. Rice and chicken.”
“Sounds good. I haven’t eaten since lunch. Do you mind warming a plate for me while I go to the bathroom ?”
Jess shook her head. “No.”
Esias leaned forward and gave her another deep, loving kiss. “I love you,” he said as he pulled away.
Jess smiled. “I love you too.”
Esias gave her another kiss, and then headed to the bathroom. When the door closed, she quickly grabbed her phone and powered it down. Jayson hadn’t replied yet, which meant he must have known it wasn’t safe to. Jess exhaled a breath of relief and got up to fix her husband’s plate. As she did, her conscience repeated over and over again: I told you so. I told you so.
Chapter 3
Jayson smiled. He’d hit the jackpot. The mother load. She was the one. The ultimate catch. The kids were only a slight negative, but that could be taken care of.
Jess.
Jayson closed his eyes momentarily, leaned his head back against the leather of his chair, and exhaled her name away.
Jess.
Whispering it was like sweet relief.
Jess.
He opened his eyes, raised his cell phone, and stared at the face of an angel. Beautiful, he thought. Stunning. The gods had truly been smiling down upon him, for they’d delivered the one he’d been searching for all his life.
Jayson smiled again as he stared at Jess’s soft doe eyes. She was looking at him with want, with desire. Her eyes gave him the chills. So did her lips. Full, pursed, eager. They wanted his lips on hers; he knew it. He felt it. He felt her.
He forced himself to look away from her inviting photo and looked over to the monitor of his laptop. Jess had logged out of the messenger without a good-bye again. Her husband must have come home. Esias. A pencil pusher/wannabe Dr. Dre.
Jayson twisted his mouth into a sneer. Jess deserved better. A woman of her caliber deserved more. A man that would be there to take care of her every need, her every desire. She should never want for anything. But she did have wants because she was a neglected woman. And that pissed Jayson off. He would never leave Jess alone. Ever. He would sacrifice whatever d
reams he had to ensure that Jess would feel safe and secure, because that’s the type of man he was. That’s the type of man his mother raised him to be. One who gave his all for the woman he loved.
Esias did nothing of the sort.
He left his wife, the woman he supposedly loved, alone after a hard day’s work to deal with the house and the kids by herself. And then somehow, after exhausting herself holding things down, she was supposed to have the physical and mental energy required to tackle her schoolwork?
Bullshit. That’s what Esias and his supposed love for her was full of. Bullshit.
Jayson ground his teeth together. It was hard waiting, but soon, Jess was going to be his and only his because she was going to come to the realization that she couldn’t be without him. Soon. In due time. It was inevitable.
Jayson and Jess sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love. Then comes Esias and the kids’ nonexistence. Then comes the happily ever after.
He wanted to send Jess a reply. He wanted to tell her how beautiful she was. How she was the figment of every desire he’d ever had. That Halle, Rihanna, Be-yoncé, and Alicia had nothing on her. But he couldn’t. He didn’t want to cause her any unnecessary drama, so he would wait until they talked again, which they most certainly would.
Jayson smiled again, then took a deep breath and exhaled as he stared into Jess’s gorgeous face again. Absolutely and impeccably flawless. His temperature rose as he looked at her. His blood flowed. It was a good thing he was naked.
As Jess looked at him, her hands stroked his manhood and sent ripples through him—jolts of electric stimulation that culminated in orgasmic waves at his nerve endings.
Truth or Dare Page 2