Two's Enough Three's a Crowd

by Brenda Hampton

  “Well, I’m glad you asked me to come along. I never imagined the Bahamas being so beautiful. And Paradise Island, it’s to die for. Just amazing.” She leaned back and I put my arms around her waist.

  “I’m glad you had a good time too. Next time, though, I’m going to take you somewhere even better.”

  “Jaylin, please, it doesn’t get any better than this. I don’t care where I am, as long as I’m with you.”

  “Aw, trust me, it gets a whole lot better than this. There are places we can go that are more beautiful than you’ve ever imagined.”

  “And I’ll still say anywhere is great as long as I’m with you. It’s just so funny how well I’ve taken to you. I thought I was in love with you before, but now I definitely know I am.”

  I looked away, wanting to change the subject. I was feeling Scorpio too, but it was too early for us to be talking about falling in love. I had no control over her feelings, but they were making me a bit uncomfortable.

  Scorpio noticed that I hadn’t responded so she continued. “I know you didn’t want to hear that, but what else am I supposed to say? If I feel a certain way in my heart, why should I have to hide it because those words frighten you?”

  “Scorpio, I didn’t say that I didn’t want to hear it. All I’m saying, as I said before, is love complicates things. I’m just not ready for that kind of relationship, baby.”

  “You also said you haven’t had a woman in your life that has made you love her. If I’m not making you love me, then you tell me what else I need to do. I’m trying, but eventually, my energy is going to run out.”

  She had touched a nerve. This was one subject I didn’t want to delve into on our vacation. “Baby, please. We’re having such a good time. Don’t spoil it talking this nonsense that don’t really matter right now. Can I please just enjoy my last day here with you?”

  “Sure. But since you don’t want to talk about that, can we talk about what happens when we get back to St. Louis? I really would like to know where things stand between us.”

  “What do you mean, where things stand? I thought things were cool just the way they are.”

  “They are, but... but I want to be in your life at all times. In fact, I’d like to move in with you. Be with you around the clock to take care of all your needs.”

  I fell silent again. I hadn’t given much thought to allowing any woman to move in with me. Scorpio was really pushing it, and I was concerned about her urgency. I tried not to ruin our vacation, so I remained calm and spoke truthfully. “I don’t know if I’m ready for that. When we get back, we’ll talk about it then, okay?”

  Scorpio laid her head back on me and closed her eyes.

  When we got back to the room, I guess she was a bit upset because she went right to sleep without upping no booty. I couldn’t sleep, so I slid on my sandals and some shorts and went for a walk on the deck to clear my head. The wind blew a strong breeze, and the high waves splashed against the boat, making it rock.

  I rested my arms on the rail and thought about what I planned to do about my situation. I loved being with Scorpio better than anybody, and I knew that giving up my relationships with Nokea and Felicia would give me a fresh start. Still, I had to be careful about my approach because they had always been there for a brotha—up until lately.

  Nokea talked about all this time she needed to get herself together, and as far as I was concerned, time wasn’t on her side. I was the one who called the shots, so by now, if she hadn’t figured out what she wanted to do, then fuck her.

  And Felicia? I just wanted to make sure I had some back-up booty if things weren’t going cool with Scorpio and me. They were, and even though she was currently upset with me, I knew our problem could be resolved.

  I had to seriously think about Scorpio moving in, and not just her, but her child as well. How would I be able to deal with a woman and her child in my home? The downsides would be not having my privacy, not having female company when I wanted to, having a junky house, more mouths to feed ...my list went on and on. On a positive note, she wasn’t a nag, she cared about my needs, and she hadn’t forced me to be with only her. Her daughter could possibly help ease some of the pain I still had about not being with my own daughter, but I wasn’t sure how well she’d take to me.

  Was a man like me ready for this kind of change? This... this was too premature, I thought. But then I asked myself, If not now, when?

  If I didn’t like how things were going, I could always just ask her to leave. We could part ways and I could at least say I gave it a try. She couldn’t be mad about that.

  So... I’d let her move in with me. I hoped like hell that I wouldn’t regret my decision.

  As I stood and watched the water rock the ship, Scorpio came up from behind, wrapped her arms around me, and rubbed my chest in a circular motion.

  “I guess I know what you’re thinking about,” she said.

  I turned around and held her in my arms.

  “I’m sure you do know. First, I want to apologize for snapping at you earlier. You didn’t deserve that, and I know exactly where you’re coming from.” I kissed her nose. “Second, when we get back to St. Louis, I want you to move in with me. I know I still have some unfinished business to take care of, but I’ll work that out when I get back.”

  “Jaylin, are you sure? I mean, I do have a daughter, too, you know. She’d have to move in with us as well.”

  “Yeah, I know. I thought about that too, but it’s okay. I can hire a nanny to come in and take care of her during the week. She can have the room I fixed up for my little girl before she moved away with her mother.”

  “Again, are you sure you want to do this? It’s going to be a big change for you, and I don’t want you to do this unless you’re ready.”

  “Scorpio, it’s time for me to make some changes. I can’t make you any promises about being faithful, but at least I’ll try.”

  “I’m not worried about you being faithful to me. I’m going to make you so happy that you’re not going to have enough time to think about another woman.”

  I picked her up and laid her on one of the recliners behind us on the deck. I covered my ass with a towel and gave her insides a tickle, not even caring if other people were around. There were only a few other couples on the deck, but they seemed to have the same idea as we did at four o’clock in the morning.

  I hoped I hadn’t made a bad decision by telling Scorpio she could move in with me. The worst thing that could happen was I’d fall in love with her—but I had my guards up, and there was no way for a brotha like me to slip.

  19

  FELICIA

  After not hearing from Jaylin, I tried to move on and put my plans on hold to get him back. I left him a few messages just in case he decided to return my phone call, but then decided to stop. I’d become banging buddies with Damion and was making the best of it. After all, he wasn’t that bad. I pretended he was Jaylin, and everything was cool.

  Because Damion didn’t completely fill the void, I’d gotten so lonely that I also made a connection with this white man name Paul from work. He was fine and had entered my life at the right time. I invited him over to my place on Saturday night and he was good company. Our conversation was interesting and flowed like we’d known each other for years. He was such a gentleman and treated me with a lot of respect. Unlike the way Jaylin criticized me for every little thing, Paul paid me many compliments. He talked about how he’d had his eyes on me for a long time, but he wasn’t sure if I was interested in dating white men. Told me many of the white men who I worked with wanted to get to know me, and I laughed because I never thought none of them would be interested in me.

  After dinner, I thought Paul would try to lay me, but he didn’t. He walked himself to the door, gave me a kiss, and said he’d call me the next day.

  And that he did. I admired a man who kept his promises. He even had five dozen yellow, pink, and red roses delivered to my house the next day and thanked me for such a wo
nderful time. I was flabbergasted. The only thing I worried about was rushing things with him. I’d heard the rumors about white men not being as competent as black men in the bedroom, and I was a little afraid of taking our relationship to the next level.

  One thing about me: a man must be able to display talent in the bedroom. If not, he’d eventually be history. That’s what I liked so much about Jaylin. There was no way a woman would leave his bedroom unsatisfied. He went above and beyond the call of duty. Did whatever he had to do to make sure a woman’s needs were met. And if you did go home feeling unfulfilled and he knew it, he’d be sure to make it up to you the next day.

  I just couldn’t understand why things had to change between us. Our sex life was off the chain until that bitch Scorpio came into the picture. If he hadn’t met her, we’d probably be sexing each other up right now. Just the thought of him being with her upset me, but I knew for the time being, I had to keep myself occupied elsewhere.

  For lunch, Paul and I went to Café Calimino not too far from work. We tried to keep things on the down-low so no one would find out about us. People always seemed to make a big fucking deal about mixed relationships, and I wasn’t prepared to answer any questions. Seemed like everybody and their mama from work came in the café and spoke to either Paul or me. They didn’t question us, but we could see and hear all the whispers going on.

  I asked Paul if we could leave and invited him over to my place for dinner that night. He didn’t seem the least bit bothered by all the attention we got and asked me to stay.

  I stood up and left my tray of food on the table. “No, I’m ready to go. I don’t like to be watched when I’m eating.”

  “Felicia, would you please take a seat. Who cares what other people think? I’m enjoying our lunch together, and wish you were too.”

  “I am too, but would you mind if we take it with us? Maybe be can go to a park or something, but I don’t feel comfortable being here.”

  Paul didn’t seem pleased by my actions, but instead of putting up a fuss, he got our to-go boxes and we left.

  I left work early so I could go home to prepare a scrumptious dinner for us that night. I stopped by Save-way on Broadway and picked up some coleslaw and catfish nuggets. Everything was perfect. I set the table and put on some reggae music to set the mood. I changed into a red silk thigh-high dress and left off my panties just in case Paul decided he wanted some action.

  As I lit the peach-scented candles on the table, the phone rang. I knew it was probably Paul calling to tell me he was on his way, but when I answered, I heard Jaylin’s voice.

  “Surprise, surprise,” I said, filled with excitement just to hear his voice.

  “Hey, Felicia, I need to see you tonight. Do you mind if I come over?” He sounded like it was important.

  “Uh... sure, why not? What time should I expect you?”

  “Give me about an hour and I’ll be there.”

  “Okay, I’ll see you in an hour.”

  I hung up and rushed to call Paul to cancel our dinner plans. Before I could, he rang the doorbell. I had to get rid of him. I missed Jaylin too much to turn him away. I’d make it up to Paul some other time, but tonight, my ass belonged to Jaylin.

  “Pauuul,” I said, smiling as I opened the door. He had a red rose in his hand and gave it to me as he entered.

  “Hello, Felicia.” He kissed me on the cheek. “You look wonderful.”

  “Thanks. You look nice too,” I said, trying to think up a lie to tell him so he could leave.

  “Dinner smells delicious. What are we having?” He took off his jacket and hung it up.

  “Some fish and slaw, but I ...I just got a call from one of my girlfriends. She had an argument with her husband and asked if I could come by and talk to her. She’s one of those emotional-type women, and I’m afraid if I don’t go, she might try to do something to herself.”

  “By all means, Felicia, go. Would you like for me to wait until you come back?”

  “No. I’m not sure how long I’m going to be, and I’d hate to have you here waiting for me all night. Can we make plans another time?”

  “Sure. No problem. I hope everything works out for your friend. She’s very lucky to have a friend as caring as you are.”

  “Yes, she is. I tell her that every day,” I said, handing him his jacket so he could hurry up and leave.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow at work.”

  “Okay, Paul. Thanks for being so understanding.”

  I waved good-bye, shut the door, and ran upstairs to change into something more sleazy for Jaylin. What I had on hid all my good body parts, and if I wanted to compete with Scorpio, I had to reveal something. I put on my purple see-through nightie with a purple silk bra and thong underneath. I sprayed myself with a dash of the Chanel No. 5 that Jaylin bought me a while back, and put the food on the table so we could talk over dinner.

  When the doorbell rang, I grabbed the phone and pretended as if I were in deep conversation with somebody important. He walked in looking out of sight. Had a deep tan that made his gray eyes glitter even more. I could tell he was coming from work because he still wore his navy blue tailored suit and multi-colored silk tie.

  As he waited in the hallway for me to end my call, I saw him check out the five dozen roses Paul bought me that were all over the living room. I turned and walked toward the kitchen so he could get a glimpse of my butt that he could see so well through my nightie. When I turned to face him, I could see the come-fuckme look in his eyes. I gave a few more laughs on the phone and told no one on the other end that I’d have to call them back because I had company.

  “Jaylin, don’t just stand there. Come have a seat. I fixed you a little something because I figured you’d probably be hungry by the time you got here.” He stepped into the dining room and took a seat.

  “Felicia, how did you cook dinner that fast? It only took me an hour to get here.”

  “Please. It don’t take me long to cook. When you called, my fish was almost finished. All I had to do was prepare the slaw.”

  He shrugged his shoulders. “If you insist. But look, I really didn’t come over here to eat dinner—”

  “I know you didn’t. It was supposed to be a surprise. I’ve missed hearing from you. Not only that, I miss being with you. Do you ever think things will be the way they were before between us?”

  “Felicia, that’s what I came over here to talk to you about. I just got back from the Bahamas, and when I got home, I got all twenty-nine of your messages. Baby, this gotta stop. If a brotha don’t return your phone calls, that means he doesn’t want to be bothered.”

  “Ya see, I had no other choice. You kept telling me you were going to call but you didn’t. I guess it was because you were in the Bahamas. And I guess I don’t have to ask you with who, do I?”

  “And I guess I don’t have to feel any shame when I tell you I was with Scorpio.”

  “So, what is it with you and her? Don’t I mean anything to you anymore?”

  Jaylin looked sternly into my eyes. “It’s over, Felicia. I can’t continue to see you because it just ain’t enough of me to go around. I’m tired of being pressured by you, and I need to start making some sense out of my life. More than that, I need a woman who understands me. You used to be that woman, but lately, you’re starting to create too much drama. Drama I can’t and won’t deal with.”

  “You mean drama that you’ve brought on yourself? I can’t believe that just like that it’s over for you. Do you really think you can go without being with me, Jaylin? Every time you meet somebody else, I get set aside like a week-old piece of bread. Do you think I’m going to let you continue to do this to me?”

  “This time is different. I’m with a woman who I have a good feeling about. I didn’t feel that way about the other women, and I’ve never come to you before and asked you to end this either. So, if we end this tonight, then no, I won’t continue to do this to you.”

  I shook my head from side to side. “I c
an’t believe your sorry ass. This bitch got your mind all fucked up and you have the nerve to come over here and tell me it’s over? Just tell me one thing: are you in love with her?”

  “I ain’t in love with anyone. I’m just trying to live decent for one time in my life, that’s all. Scorpio gives me something you or Nokea have never given me, and that’s a peace of mind. She don’t nag, she don’t bitch, and anything I ask her to do for me, she does it. She’s been patient with my situation and has never forced me to choose. You, on the other hand, are the opposite. Your mouth...it’s been good for some things, but it’s foul. I don’t like for my women to use the type of language that you do, and it irritates the hell out of me.

  “For now, Scorpio’s the kind of woman I need in my life. Will that change? I don’t know. But if it does, I won’t be coming back your way any time soon. We’re done.”

  I was lost for words. Here I had spent four years of my life putting up with this son of a bitch and his bullshit, and he had the nerve to step up in here and brag about another bitch? And as for my mouth, how dare he complain when my mouth was responsible for making his eyes roll to the back of his head! I had been nothing but patient with Jaylin, and who in the hell was he to toss me aside like I wasn’t nothing? I felt like getting a gun and killing his ass right then.

  As I felt my emotions about to take over, I took a deep breath and tightly clinched my hands together. “So, I guess you’ll be having this same conversation with Nokea? That’s provided you haven’t already.”

  “Yes, I will. I haven’t seen or heard from her in a while, but I’ll be sure to let her know as soon as possible where things stand between us.”

  Jaylin didn’t seem to be bullshitting this time. I was desperate to somehow make things right between us. I knew that pussy was his weakness, so I stood up and removed my lingerie. I walked over to his side of the table.

  “We can end this, but only after you make love to me. Just this last time, please. If you do, I promise you I won’t interfere with your relationship with Scorpio. And whenever she fucks up—because she will—I’ll be here for you.” I placed my ass on his lap and leaned in to kiss him. He rubbed my ass, but avoided my kiss.