Chapter Thirteen
Jakiyah
Two weeks has passed, and my brother was still locked up. We went on a visit yesterday, and he was stressing. My mother didn’t make it any better by crying, after we had all agreed to be strong for him, but I understood that it hurt her to see her son locked up like that. The lawyer was confident that he could get Ty bail at the bail hearing next week, and I was praying that he could, because we all knew it was better to beat a case on the outside.
Today I was on my way to meet Qua at Yessenia and Keem’s place. We were going to have drinks and play cards. I really needed this, because sitting in the house, doing nothing, was becoming very depressing. The highlight of my days had been talking or texting with Qua. When I got to Yessenia’s house, I parked behind Qua’s truck, then checked my hair in the rearview mirror to make sure that not a strand was out of place.
“Hey, girl. Sorry I’m late. I had to put Andrea down before leaving as she was giving Mom a hard time,” I explained to Yessenia once I was inside.
“What’s up, Keem?” I asked, walking over to him. I gave him a hug.
I then approached Qua and kissed him on the lips. That turned into us sharing a passionate kiss, letting me know that he had missed me just as much as I had missed him.
“Eww, get a room,” Keem said, causing us all to laugh.
“Stop hating over here and get the drinks so that we can get this game started. Jakiyah and I want to show you and Yessenia how it feels to get your asses spanked,” Qua said to Keem, laughing.
Yessenia put a bottle of Hennessy on the table for the guys and a bottle of Apple Cîroc for us women. I wasn’t much of a drinker, but I’d been feeling stressed lately, and I just wanted to let loose tonight and enjoy myself. Needless to say, Qua and I were the ones getting spanked in spades. The shit was hilarious because Qua didn’t like to lose, so he was wearing his sexy frown, the one that always had my juices flowing. I was tipsy, which had my hormones going crazy, and I gave Qua a certain look, letting him know that I wanted to fuck.
“Hold up, Jakiyah. You just reneged. You cut diamonds in the last hand.” Yessenia laughed, breaking my nasty thoughts and pissing Qua off even more.
I looked at the last book I took down, and sure enough, I had cut diamonds. As bad as I felt, I couldn’t help but to laugh.
“Game over. My partner’s drunk and fucking up,” Qua said.
“I’m sorry. Do you forgive me?” I said, apologizing. I got up and sat on his lap, wrapping my arms around his neck, and kissed him.
“It depends. Are you coming home with me?” he asked me.
“Only if you’re going to make it worth my while,” I answered him, flirting.
“Have you ever known me to disappoint?” he responded, placing my hand on his very hard and ready dick.
“Never.” I smiled, hopping up to let Yessenia know that it had been real, but we were about to be out.
“Really?” Yessenia said.
“Yes, girl. It’s time to go,” I said, winking at her.
“Thanks for coming. And, Jakiyah, I will talk to you tomorrow. Oh, and make sure to get up on a room and go half on that baby,” she joked.
We always used to joke about getting up on a room and going half on a baby whenever one of us was going to chill at a dude’s crib. Her ass was tipsy and was laughing like Kevin Hart had told a damn joke, causing me to do the same. Qua and Keem were looking at us like we were crazy as we walked to the door, holding each other up, still laughing.
“It looks like Jakiyah will be leaving her car here tonight and riding with you,” Keem told Qua, laughing.
“No doubt. Her ass isn’t about to get behind the wheel tonight,” Qua said. We walked outside, and he helped me down the porch steps.
“I got it,” I told him as I walked over to his truck.
“Get home safe, and I’ll holla at you tomorrow,” Keem said, giving Qua dap.
When we got to Qua’s condo, I was impressed. I had expected some man cave–type setup, but his place gave off a family home vibe. He had pictures of his family on a living-room wall, and there was a sixty-inch television on the opposite wall. A mantel held his trophies. The furniture matched the cream and black living room decor. He showed me the kitchen next, and it had all stainless-steel appliances. The dining room contained a china cabinet, and the table and chairs matched the bar that he had set up in a corner of the room. I didn’t get a tour of the upstairs, so I just took a seat on the sofa, since I was feeling just a little light-headed. He excused himself and went upstairs, and for some reason, I got kind of nervous at the thought of what was about to go down. I didn’t understand why I felt this way, because he was familiar territory.
When he came back downstairs, he was wearing basketball shorts and no shirt, and this sent my kitty into overdrive. I had to cross my legs to calm her down.
“So, you got comfortable, and I have to chill in these jeans?” I asked, pouting jokingly.
He took a seat next to me on the sofa. “I don’t have a problem helping you out of those jeans,” he retorted, rubbing my thigh.
Just as I was about to tell him that we should take the party to the bedroom, his doorbell rang, and I looked at him with questioning eyes. It was a bit late for somebody to be ringing his bell. I remained on the sofa, and he got up to answer the door. He was at the door for a little longer than I expected him to be, especially since he had no shirt on, so I got up. I wasn’t trying to be rude, but he was being rude by standing at the door and having a conversation, knowing I was waiting.
“So, you’re just going to leave me standing out here?” I heard a female voice say, and this caused me to two-step faster to the door.
“Hey, is everything okay, Qua?” I asked him, making my presence known.
“Everything is okay, Jakiyah. Just give me a few minutes,” he replied.
I really didn’t know if I wanted to give him a few minutes. Something wasn’t right with the way this chick was looking at me. She was a pretty chick, so that was another reason I was hesitant to remove myself, but given that Qua wasn’t my man, I excused myself. I returned to the living room and sat back down on the sofa. Fifteen minutes later he came back into the living room, with her walking behind him with a suitcase in her hand. He walked over to me and asked if he could see me in the kitchen. I got up to follow him into the kitchen, knowing I wasn’t going to like what he was about to say out of his mouth.
“Jakiyah, remember I told you I was seeing someone when I was away at school? Well, that’s her. I didn’t know that she was coming, and she didn’t know that I was dating. She visited about two months ago, and I was still single then. She apologizes for just showing up, but she needs somewhere to stay, just for tonight. She just drove twelve hours to get here, and I don’t feel comfortable sending her back on the road, tired,” he explained.
“Why can’t she stay the night in a hotel?” I asked him, not caring if I was being inconsiderate.
“I wouldn’t feel comfortable sending her to a hotel when she came to visit me,” he responded.
“So, you’re asking me to leave?” I asked, wanting him to confirm it.
“I’m not asking you to leave, but it would be kind of awkward having you both here,” he said.
“No problem,” I responded, disappointed with him.
I walked back into the living room, where she had made herself comfortable on the sofa that I had just sat on, with her feet up. I looked over at her. She just gave me a look, crossing her legs, as if to say that she was his bitch and had just laid down the law. I pulled out my phone, scrolled through my call log, and hit the call button when German’s name appeared. I could have called Yessenia to have her or Keem pick me up, given that my car was at their house, but I already felt stupid that Qua had put me out. I didn’t need to give German any details, so he wouldn’t even know what had happened and whose house this was.
“I’m going to make this up to you,” Qua promised, walking up on me.
I wanted to show my true feelings, but I couldn’t, because, like I said, he wasn’t my man, and I would be playing myself. Granted, we had been just about to fuck, but that was the extent of it, so I wasn’t going to try to make it something that it wasn’t. I had honestly expected more from him, but I guessed people changed. My phone alerted me that I had a text message from German, letting me know that he was outside. I walked outside, closed the door behind me, not offering Qua a good-bye. Walking to German’s car, I tried my best not to cry, because crying meant that I would have to explain what had happened. As I got to the car, I sighed deeply when I saw that Tamia was in the car with him. He could have given me the heads-up that his jealous girlfriend was riding with him, I thought as I opened the back door to get in.
“Thanks for coming, German,” I said to him once I was in the car.
“No problem. Give me the address where you left your car,” he said.
“Hello to you too, Jakiyah,” Tamia spat sarcastically.
“Hey, Tamia,” I said dryly, not in the mood to entertain her ass.
Chapter Fourteen
Jakiyah
When I got home last night, I was so pissed that I just took a shower and went to bed. That was the only way that I wouldn’t have sat up, dwelling on what had happened. Now that I was up this morning, I was trying hard to get rid of this stress headache that sat right in the middle of my forehead. I looked over at the clock and realized that it was no longer morning; it was almost one in the afternoon. I went into the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth before slipping on some sweatpants and a tank top. Then I decided to make a cup of tea and a sandwich so that I could take two Tylenols and pray that they worked. I went down the back stairs to the first floor. I didn’t feel like talking to anyone right now, as I was still in a fucked-up mood about what Qua had done to me last night.
I opened the refrigerator, pulled out the ham and cheese, and closed the door. When I glanced up, I saw Tamia standing there, leaning against the sink, a glass of water in her hand. She scared the shit out of me, causing me to jump and drop both the ham and the cheese on the floor.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you,” she said, taking a drink of her water.
“Why are you even here?” I asked, pissed, as I picked up the ham and cheese off the floor.
“Jakiyah, I’m here visiting, and I’m starting to get annoyed at the way you treat me every time you see me. I just can’t put my finger on what it is that you don’t like about me,” she said, smirking, letting me know that she really didn’t care if I liked her or not, and that she was just fucking with me.
“Tamia, do you ever stop to think that the reason you can’t put your finger on it is that it doesn’t exist? I have no ill feelings toward you. I just don’t need any new friends right now,” I said, reaching behind her to take the bread out of the bread box.
“I understand,” she responded before leaving the kitchen.
This chick was really starting to freak me out, and I didn’t understand why German or even my parents didn’t see that she had issues. I wasn’t trying to judge her—I didn’t know her well enough to do that—but something about her ass just rubbed me the wrong way, I thought to myself as I finished making my sandwich. After making a cup of tea, I took the back steps to go back up to my room. Once there, I plopped down on the bed, took a bite out of my sandwich, and took a sip of my tea.
I casually looked at my phone to see if I had any missed calls from Qua or even a text message, but the only text message was from Yessenia, asking me if I wanted to go to the movies later. She had added that Qua said that he would go, which caused me to respond quickly that I would go. She texted back a few minutes later, saying that everyone would be meeting at Loews for the 6:00 p.m. showing so that we could go out for dinner and drinks after. I really shouldn’t be hanging out tonight, because my mother’s doctor’s appointment was tomorrow, and I had agreed to go with her.
Not only that, but it was just so funny that minutes ago, I had been complaining about my headache and feeling some kind of way about what he did to me—and about the fact that I hadn’t received a call or text from him—but now I was smiling. As soon as Yessenia said he had agreed to go, here I was, hyped about seeing him. Before I knew it, I was inside my closet, looking for something to wear, feeling excited about him again, like nothing had even happened last night.
After taking a shower and getting dressed in black jeans, my black and red pullover sweater, and a pair of black four-inch shoe boots that I had purchased from Nine West, I was ready to go. I put on some lip gloss and checked my hair one last time before grabbing my keys, my bag, and my cell phone. I told my mom that I was going to the movies with Yessenia and would be back later. I was glad to see that the psycho had already left and had gone about her business.
I pulled up to AMC Loews Kips Bay movie theater and found a parking spot that didn’t require me to pay at a meter, which was a good thing. I walked inside to a waiting Yessenia and Keem, but I didn’t see Qua.
“Hey, girl. We’re just waiting on Qua to get here,” Yessenia said, hugging me.
“So, did you guys decide on what movie we’re going to see?” I asked.
“Well, Keem wants to see Creed, and I’m guessing that Qua is going to agree with him. I’m trying to see Daddy’s Home, and the only way we can pull it off is if you ride with your girl,” she said and laughed.
“You already know—” I didn’t even get to finish my sentence, as I saw Qua approaching with the female from last night. I put my game face on, but my feelings were hurt once again.
“Who the fuck is this, Qua?” Yessenia asked him.
“Yo, chill with all that. This is my friend Tamara, who is visiting from North Carolina,” he said.
All I could do was shake my fucking head, because this nigga had said that the bitch would be leaving today. I wanted to show my ass, but I thought about me not being his girl and about not putting claims on a nigga who didn’t belong to me.
“What’s up, Jakiyah? I didn’t know you would be here,” he said.
“Clearly,” I responded, then walked off. Yessenia followed behind me.
“Girl, I had no idea this nigga was coming with a bitch,” she said.
“Yeah, the same bitch that he basically kicked me out for last night to accommodate her ass. He was talking about she’s a friend, when he just told me last night that she was his ex-girlfriend,” I told her.
“Stop lying.” She looked at me like she didn’t believe me.
“Yessenia, I had to call German to pick me up and drive me to your house to get my car last night,” I said, on the verge of tears.
“No the fuck that nigga didn’t, and if Keem thinks that I’m staying to see a movie with the two of them, he’s wrong,” she said, pissed. She gave me a hug.
“I’m just going to go. I’ll call you later,” I said, trying to hold on to the tears just long enough to make it to my car.
“Okay, girl.” She hugged me again.
I held my head high as I walked out of the theater; I couldn’t believe that he didn’t come over and say something to me before I headed out. I wasn’t saying that he had to come over and stop me from leaving, but he could have come over to tell me that it wasn’t what I thought, but he didn’t. When I got to the car, the tears just fell. I just didn’t understand what it was about me that had niggas always trying to play me. First, it was Qua, who didn’t want to continue a long-distance relationship, despite the fact that I didn’t feel the same way that he did about this. Then it was German, who left me, with no real explanation, other than he had met someone else. And now this shit.
Just as I was about to start the car, my phone rang. I was hoping that it was Qua, but it was German’s number that appeared on the screen. Slightly disappointed, I decided to answer the call, just in case it was something important.
&
nbsp; “Hello,” I answered.
“Hey, are you okay?” he asked, triggering something in me that caused me to cry again.“Jakiyah, are you okay?” he repeated after hearing me sniffling on the other end of the phone.
“No, German, I’m not okay,” I cried.
“Where are you?” he asked.
“I’m leaving the AMC Loews movie theater on Second Avenue and heading home,” I told him in between sniffles.
“I’m going to meet you at your mom’s crib,” he said.
“Okay,” I replied, then ended the call.
No, I didn’t want to see him, but I needed to talk to someone, and my brother wasn’t here. Maybe I also could get German to tell me what I had done to push him into the arms of another woman. I was really thinking about moving back to Georgia, since this shit just wasn’t working for me. I really loved being here with my family and didn’t want to leave at a time when my brother was handling those criminal charges, but something had to give. Maybe it was time for me to get back to work. If I did that, I wouldn’t have so much time on my hands and wouldn’t be going backward with bullshit.
Chapter Fifteen
Jakiyah
Mom and I had just got back from the doctor, and he had put her on a new medication for her high blood pressure. I hadn’t known that she was dealing with so many health issues. I’d known that she suffered from asthma, but I hadn’t known about her being borderline diabetic and having high blood pressure.
German had come by yesterday, and I had to say that he really had made me feel a whole lot better. I didn’t tell him what had happened with Qua; I just asked him some questions about the relationship we had had. He told me that there was nothing that I had done in the relationship, and that it was just him. Like most men, he had got caught up and had believed that the grass was greener on the other side. He also apologized for hurting me, and I accepted his apology for the second time.
He Used to Love Me Page 6