My Man's Best Friend II

by Tresser Henderson

  Uncertainty seized me. “I’m not sure. I don’t know if it’s a good idea for us to be around each other.”

  “Why? Is it because of what happened between us the other night?”

  “Yes, you can say that.”

  “Do you regret it?” he asked.

  “Yes. No. Yes.” I twisted in confusion. “Derrick, what happened the other night cannot happen again.”

  “Are you saying this because you are thinking about taking Jaquon back?”

  “Whoa! Where did that come from?” I asked, wishing Derrick would stop coming at me with all these complicated questions.

  “I saw him in the video store the other day and he didn’t hesitate to tell me how you two are getting back together.”

  “He said that?” I asked in amazement.

  “In so many words, yes.”

  “Derrick, we are not back together.”

  “He seems to think so.”

  “I have nothing to do with Jaquon’s thoughts. He’s a grown man,” I explained.

  “When was the last time you saw him?”

  “On my birthday. He sent me flowers and cooked me dinner.”

  “Did he spend the night?”

  I didn’t like this line of questioning and I could tell Derrick didn’t like asking them. Those two had to get into a deep conversation and knowing the both of them, it couldn’t have gone well. I knew Jaquon. He probably went into details letting Derrick know his chances were great. And to be honest, maybe they were. Especially since Derrick and I couldn’t go any further until we got this second set of results. But I was not about to put my life on hold to see.

  “What’s wrong with you, Kea? It’s that easy to get back with you? All he has to do is buy flowers and cook dinner to get back in good graces with you?” he asked angrily.

  “Don’t talk to me like that, Derrick,” I said, perturbed.

  “You need to open your eyes and see he’s not good enough for you.”

  “Am I not supposed to be flattered he’s trying to get me back? Because I am. I find it kind of cute.”

  “You shouldn’t. The brother did cheat on you constantly.”

  “And if I recall, you supplied his alibi. What does that say about you?” I retorted.

  Derrick shifted uneasily.

  “Don’t go condemning Jaquon when you were an accomplice to his wrongdoing. And let’s not forget about the fact that you forgot to tell me he also slept with Zacariah.”

  “I didn’t tell you because I knew it would hurt you,” he said angrily.

  “Hurt me. Derrick, I was already hurt. Don’t you think that was information I needed to know? But I guess it was bros over hoes, huh.”

  “Don’t be stupid, Kea. He’s just going to hurt you again.”

  “Stupid. You calling me stupid,” I said heatedly.

  “Yes, if you are thinking about taking him back. Yes, I’m calling you stupid.”

  “You know what? I’m not doing this here with you,” I said, throwing my hands up. We were on the sidewalk. Individuals were noticing our squabble. “I’m going to meet my dad,” I said, walking past him to my car.

  Following me, Derrick said, “You know you are all I think about, Kea.”

  I paused, turning to him. “Where do you expect for this to go?” I asked, pointing at him and me. “We cannot have a relationship.”

  “Yes, we can, baby,” he said, walking up to me. He draped his arms around my waist. “I love you so much and it kills me that I can’t have you and he can.”

  Pushing him away I said, “Hear me loud and clear, Derrick. We will never be together again as long as I know we are siblings. I’m tired of beating myself up for having feelings for a man I know I can’t have. You are constantly on my mind and seeing you only complicates things for me.”

  “That’s because you love me too.”

  “That may be the case but I can’t be with my brother.”

  Those words caused Derrick’s face to contort into a fractured soul. He said, “The results were wrong. I know it,” he said confidently.

  “And until it’s proven, I can’t be with you anymore. Not even as your sister. So please stay away from me,” I said remorsefully.

  “Is that why you are thinking about going back to Jaquon, so you can use him to forget about me?”

  “If that’s what it takes, then yes,” I said regretfully. “My life must go on, Derrick. Maybe you should considering doing the same.”

  He was speechless now and shock was present on his face. I hated what I was saying to him but I knew it had to be said. I had to cut my ties or I would fall back into bed with him again and that couldn’t happen. There were too many emotions building within me and seeing him only intensified my love for him. I needed to sort through them without him being around me. If he was right and we were not siblings then we could see where our relationship took us. But until then we had to go on with our lives and leave each other alone.

  Chapter 24

  Derrick

  We had never argued before and it didn’t feel good to do it now. I could not believe she was thinking about taking him back. We were so close to getting what we wanted but she was going to allow him to come in and ruin things before we had a chance to hash things out. I was so frustrated. I woke up excited about my day for the first time in a long while, only for it to end with the possibility of me never getting her back and losing her to Jaquon. Should I listen to her? Should I go on with my life and move on to the next one?

  The smell of her herbal scents escaped her sanctuary as I waited for the door to swing open. This was unlike me to drop by unannounced but I needed to see her. My morning had started out rough and caused a domino effect on the rest of my day. It could be that my mood wouldn’t allow me to enjoy the sunny day that awaited me but my happiness was eclipsed by Kea.

  I knocked again since no one answered, and I was surprised that when the door opened, I was greeted by a man.

  “Can I help you?” he asked somewhat rudely.

  I looked around to see if I had the right place and came to the conclusion that I wasn’t sure. With one fist clasped I said, “I think I may have the wrong place.”

  “Who are you looking for?” the man asked and I was unsure if I should say her name. Maybe this was her boyfriend. Not really caring, I told him.

  “I was looking for Trinity.” I knew I told her I didn’t want to do names but on my way out from being with her the last time, I saw some mail on the table. My curiosity got the best of me and I saw that her name was Trinity Gordon. I thought, what a perfect fit for such a unique woman.

  “She lives here,” the guy said audaciously and not budging. I stood there in silence wondering if the six-foot-five giant was going to let me in, but he just stood there. Was he dense? Did he know to let me in or go get her for me? Was she even here? What?

  I raised my eyebrow, hinting to him “what’s next” but he never budged, gritting on me. My inner cockiness emerged. I bristled up, thinking who this punk thought he was thinking he could attempt to scare me? Fear was not in my vocab, especially when it came to another man. As much aggression as I had to relieve, I wanted to fight. All he had to do was jump wrong and it would be on.

  Breaking the stare down I asked, “Okay, is she here?” pushing the conversation further. If this was her man we were already busted, so why walk away like I didn’t know her? It was clear he was upset I was standing at the door but it was something he had to deal with, just as long as he didn’t come at me stupid. I hoped he knew better. At this point I didn’t care. I had already summed this dude up to the type who battled so I knew I had to bring my forcefulness forward also.

  Right then Trinity came around the big, burly man. “Steven, I know you are not trying to intimidate my guest,” she said, punching the man in the chest playfully. “Come in, Derrick,” she said cheerfully. “I hope you weren’t out there long.”

  I walked in, still watching the man who was eyeing me like he wanted to rip my he
ad off. Looking into Ms. Bohemian’s face made the situation worth it. Dressed in some ripped jeans, a white tank top, and those wooden bracelets, with her hair pulled back from her face by a white wrap, she looked striking.

  “Please excuse my brother’s manners. I don’t know where he gets his impoliteness from but Mama didn’t raise us like this,” she said, trying to lighten the air which was filled with two men’s testosterone reaching peaks to clash if need be. Just the fact that she said he was her brother made me breathe a sigh of relief. I understood the nature of his threatening position now. He was a brother trying to protect his sister and I had to admire that. I knew if I had a sister, I would react the same way. And come to think about it, I do have a sister, Kea, or that’s what the test proved.

  “Steven, this is Derrick. Derrick, Steven,” she said, introducing us.

  “Nice to meet you,” I said, not bothering to extend my hand to shake his.

  “Likewise,” he said unconvincingly.

  “I’m sorry to just stop by like this,” I said. “I would have called but I didn’t have your number.”

  “It’s not a problem,” Trinity said. “We were about to sit down and eat some dinner. Would you like to join us?” she asked in this happy-go-lucky manner that made me feel right at home.

  I looked at her brother, who looked none too happy at her invite, so I said, “I don’t want to intrude.”

  “Come on, Derrick. I have more than enough. I made some chicken breast with a basil and garlic cream sauce, which I’m serving over pasta with a side of seasoned asparagus,” she said, trying to convince me to stay. Really she didn’t have to say anything because the smell of the food was alluring.

  “Please stay. I really do have enough. Don’t let my bully of a brother deter you,” she said, swinging at him playfully again. “He’s a big teddy bear underneath all those muscles.”

  And boy did he have muscles. Looked like he lifted houses for a living. His arms and shoulders were so big it looked like he walked intentionally pushing his shoulders to his ears. Dude was huge. He could play the black Incredible Hulk. Standing about six foot five I knew he had to weigh a good 300 pounds and it was all muscle. I wanted to ask him if he competed in those weightlifting competitions but I didn’t want to offend him.

  I ended up staying and dinner was great. In the beginning it was a little awkward with her brother trying to interrogate me.

  “So where did you meet my sister?” he asked, stabbing at his food.

  “I met her at a bar.”

  “Were you there to pick up women?” he asked, slicing at his chicken and tossing it into his mouth.

  “Steven, don’t be rude,” Trinity said.

  “I’m trying to figure out what this man’s intention is with you.”

  “How do you know I’m not the one with the intention?” Trinity retorted.

  “You know how I am, Trinity. I’m just looking out for you.”

  “I’m a big girl who can take care of herself,” she said. The phone rang and Trinity excused herself from the table, giving her brother the evil eye to leave me alone. Once she was out of the room, he began speaking again.

  “Derrick, right?” he asked.

  “Yep.”

  “I love my sister and I’m going to always be here to protect her.”

  “I wouldn’t expect anything less,” I commented.

  “She’s special to me and I stay in her life because”—he paused, looking at the doorway Trinity exited through, before continuing to speak—“I’m involved because Trinity has some issues and I need to be here to look after her.”

  He said “issues” like she had something more serious than the problems we have in everyday life. Hell, I had issues. But I didn’t comment, and continued to listen.

  “She’s been through a lot. I don’t want anyone to hurt her in any way. If you are not serious about being with her then you need to leave her alone. I don’t think Trinity is strong enough to deal with another heartache.”

  “I understand,” I said, not knowing what else to say. Trinity and I were just friends at this point. She knew I was serious about another woman so right now we didn’t have anything serious going on. I didn’t think her brother needed to know all the details so I decided to keep that to myself.

  “I don’t ever want to see Trinity go down the rocky road she’s already traveled. It was not pretty. It has taken her a long time to get back to this normal state.”

  Normal state. There he went again hinting around like something wasn’t right. I wanted to ask what he meant by that, but Trinity came walking back into the kitchen. She was smiling and I couldn’t help but think, this beautiful woman couldn’t have anything wrong with her, could she?

  “Who was that?” her brother asked.

  “Some guy trying to offer me a credit card. I can’t stand these telemarketers calling with all these bogus offers to get me in debt. If I wanted a credit card then I would go get one.”

  The rest of dinner went on without a hitch. I guessed Steven got what he wanted from me and told me what I needed to know. I was still a little curious as to what he meant by normal but I left it alone. He seemed to loosen up a bit. The rest of the conversation pertained to sports, politics, and reality shows.

  Once it was time to clear the table, both I and her brother Steven jumped at the duty with the reasoning being, “It’s the least I can do after such a wonderful dinner.”

  Steven backed off once he saw I offered too. He let me do the honors while he escorted his sister out of my presence to the next room. It didn’t take me any time to get everything cleared away. Once every dish was loaded into the dishwasher, my job was basically done. All I had to do was wipe down the table, stove, and counters and it was a wrap.

  When I entered the living room, I saw Steven wasn’t there. She could tell by me looking around that I was searching for him.

  “He had to leave,” she said, sitting in the Indian position on her sofa.

  “And he left without saying good-bye,” I said, walking over to sit next to her. She laughed. “I guess I made a wrong impression on him, huh.”

  “Sort of. Stopping by unannounced is what threw him off. And it didn’t help that I never mentioned you to him before. My brother and I are very close. I usually tell him everything. So seeing you standing at my door stunned him.”

  I didn’t know whether to take that as an insult or her just being cautious. I mean we did only have one night together and that was also on the basis of us not knowing each other’s names. Speaking of names I asked, “How did you know my name?”

  She smiled and said, “When we left the bar the other night together, the bartender said your name.”

  I thought back and couldn’t remember. Then it hit me. When I passed the bar with Trinity in front of me, my man Boe, who owns the place said, “Take care, Derrick.” I smiled at the memory and looked at Trinity, thinking how observant she was.

  “You acted like you didn’t know my name that entire night but you acknowledge me today.”

  “I couldn’t introduce you to my brother as the man whose name I didn’t know. He had to know we were together somehow because you knew where I lived. Not saying your name would have sent my brother over the edge,” she said, laughing. “You are sitting there acting innocent. I can’t recall ever telling you my name.”

  She had me there and I felt embarrassed. I explained how I found out what her name was.

  “That’s pretty slick for a man who didn’t want to make things official,” she said, placing her hand on my knee, showing me her beautiful smile. “So what brings you by? I knew you had to be going through something in order for you to come by like this.”

  My entire time here I didn’t once think about Kea. That was until now.

  “This is about her again, isn’t it?” she asked.

  “Yes. We had a big fight today and it got to me.”

  “Does this woman not want to have anything to do with you?”

  I no
dded again, wondering how this woman could read me so well.

  “It’s her loss,” Trinity said sincerely.

  “It’s more complicated than that. She wants to be with me too but she feels like we can’t.”

  “She loves you, doesn’t she?”

  “Yes, and I love her.”

  “Is she involved with someone else?”

  “Not really,” I said.

  “Then what’s the issue?”

  I looked at her, wondering if I should spill my drama on to her. Her eyes were so calming and welcoming as they made me settle into a comforted state of mind. My spirit led me to release the agony I had been going through.

  “We are siblings,” I said, not realizing how outlandish it sounded. Her expression never changed. I was expecting her to gasp or leap across the room in disgust but she just smiled. Her eyes accompanied by a smile made me want to explain further and I told her everything that transpired over the past few weeks. From our partners cheating on us to Kea being my best friend’s girl. To how we got together one night after I kicked my longtime girlfriend Zacariah out, to us sneaking and getting caught. To getting ousted by my ex Zacariah in front of a crowd as she informed Kea and me we were brother and sister. To the death of the man I knew nothing about but was supposed to have fathered Kea and me. To the results ending a love I wanted to continue.

  Trinity listened intently, never once interrupting me as my past soap opera inundated her serene world. A couple of times she gripped my hand, consoling me. Once my mouth stopped moving and no more words could be spoken, we both stared at one another. I wondered what she was thinking.

  “Sounds like you have been through a lot,” she said.

  “That’s an understatement.”

  “You will be guided in the right direction. Don’t give up so easily. True love usually happens once in a lifetime and I don’t think fate would interfere with the love you all have. I think it’s more there. You just have to be patient and wait on it to reveal itself.”

  “But how long am I supposed to wait?”

  “However long it takes. And don’t get upset with Kea because she’s protecting her heart. Remember we were not raised to procreate with a sibling. She’s trying to stick to that belief.”