CheckMate 4: Winner Takes All

by Tiece

  “She wants to have lunch later tomorrow.” Kina responded. “Should I go?”

  Brendon shrugged his shoulders then said, “Hell yeah go, we need to keep an eye on this broad. I just want her to go back to Texas, yet she is focused on staying. Now that she’s walked in on that incident earlier tonight with Monty, Candy and myself no telling what that lil mind is thinking or trying to come up with.”

  “You’re right.” Kina agreed while text messaging Trina back that she’ll be there for their lunch date the next day.

  “Well, get out of my room. I got a few calls to make.” Brendon said.

  “Oh, you’re kicking me out now. You’re such a buzz kill.” Kina said getting up and grabbing her purse. “And let’s not kid ourselves. You only have one person to call and we both know who that is.” She grinned.

  “Maybe, but you’ll never know for sure.” Brendon said as he jumped up from the bed and quickly made his way to the room door. He opened it up for Kina. “Now bye.”

  Kina laughed. “Damn, you’re an asshole.”

  “I know,” Brendon grinned as Kina walked passed him. She couldn’t resist hitting him on the arm again. “Call me tomorrow.”

  “Will do,” Kina said.

  Brendon closed the room door shut and looked over at his phone on the nightstand. He wanted to call Candy, but he felt somewhat disappointed that she hadn’t attempted to call him first. She had to have known that he had gone to jail, because she was still there when they were hauling them off. Had she stopped liking him just that fast? Was she somewhere trying to work things out with Monty? As his thoughts rambled on, he picked up his phone.

  “Fuck it,” he said about to dial her number, but there was no need since his phone rang at the same exact time of him picking it up showing that the incoming call was coming from Candy. A smile spread across his face as he looked at the caller ID. Just knowing it was her had him beaming on the inside. Apparently, she still cared and before the phone could stop ringing he quickly answered it.

  “What’s up, Boo?”

  “Hey babe,” Candy spoke in a soft tone. “I’m so sorry that happened earlier.”

  Brendon took in a deep breath feeling good to just hear her voice. “You have nothing to be sorry for. It wasn’t your fault. I didn’t even expect Cuz to come over or I never would’ve invited you.”

  “I know,” she said. “Look, I guess we have to come clean with him at some point. I hate it, because I wasn’t prepared. However, now I have to be honest with him. I need to be honest about my feelings for you.”

  “And what are those feelings?” Brendon questioned definitely wanting to know where he stood.

  “I like you. I like you a whole lot.” She confessed. “You bring out that spark in me. I’ve not smiled around my house like this in a long time.” Brendon smiled inside from hearing her say this. “But I can’t lie to you, either. I also still love him.” Brendon was taken aback as the wide smile across his face quickly disappeared.

  “I can’t lie. I already knew that; which is why I didn’t want to have sex with you right away.”

  “I appreciate you holding out, because had you gave in,” she said taking in a deep breath then letting it out. “Good LORD! I was going to give it to you.” Brendon grinned at her comment. Candy was glad to be able to still have that connection even after revealing her real feelings.

  “So,” Brendon said clearing his throat. “Where do we go from here?”

  Candy sat quietly on the phone for a moment as she thought things through in her mind. “Well um,” she said with hesitation. “I still wanna see you. I like what we have, but at the same time I don’t want or need to put labels on us. We’re good friends, really good friends.”

  Brendon nodded his head. “Yeah, I can agree.” he responded.

  “We’re the kinda friends that kiss and comfort each other.” She said almost wanting to laugh.

  Brendon grinned to himself. “Yep, I can agree with that too.”

  “I like our touchy feely friendship,” she added with a smile.

  “Un-huh, I actually do too.” He agreed while also smiling.

  “You silly,” she teased already knowing that he’d go along with it.

  “So where does that leave you and Monty?” Brendon questioned.

  “Honestly, I don’t know. I can’t call it. I sent him a text message and told him that we needed to talk, however he hasn’t responded yet.”

  “He’s probably still upset. Right now he might not know what to think.”

  “You’re right, but that’s why I want to talk to him.”

  Brendon sat quiet for a moment then he thought he should fill her in on some other things. “Well, Aunt Cat was the one that brought me back to the hotel to pick up my things and I told her.”

  Candy’s eyes widened. “Told her what?”

  “I told her about us.” He confessed.

  “You did what? Why’d you do that?” Candy asked now feeling embarrassed.

  “Because that’s my aunt and it hurt her to see me and cuz fighting like that. I had to tell her the truth.” He sincerely responded.

  “And what was the truth?” Candy nervously asked. She admired Catherine. Catherine was like a mother to her and she had so much respect for her.

  “I told her that I liked you. I also told her how we connected in the beginning. So, she knows that we didn’t plan these feelings.”

  Candy cleared her throat. “So, she knows that I have feelings for you?”

  “She knows now. I hope you’re not mad at me about that.”

  Candy sat quietly thinking about it for moment then she finally said, “No, I’m not mad. Just a bit caught off guard, but I guess it’s for the best.” Damn, now I gotta explain this shit to her too, she quickly thought.

  “I wanna see you,” he said feeling like he missed her.

  “I wanna see you too, but not tonight. I have so many thoughts running through my head and I honestly just need to figure things out on my end. I don’t want to move too fast with you and we both know that can easily happen with the chemistry we share.”

  “You’re right.” Brendon disappointedly said. He was somewhat bothered that things had happened the way they had earlier, but maybe it was all for the best. He really did like Candy, but maybe this is what it would take for her to realize who she really wanted to be with.

  “You’re not mad are you?” She asked feeling like the bad guy.

  “Nah,” he said. “I’m good as long as you’re good.”

  “You sure?” she questioned.

  “I’m positive.” He said. “We’ll talk tomorrow. I’m gonna lie down and get some rest.”

  “Yeah, you do that.” Candy said. “Tomorrow it is,” and with that she ended their call.

  Chapter 4

  A couple of days had passed and Monty was sitting at his office desk looking out of the window at the downtown traffic. Not only was it Monday, but the start of his week was already fucked up. The thoughts that had transpired days earlier had him walking around in a blur. He was certainly in his feelings so much so that he’d moved into a hotel room just to be alone and get his mind right.

  Candy had sent that one text message and hadn’t messaged him since. He was thinking that maybe he should’ve messaged her back, but what would he say? He was still in awe over her betrayal in seeing his cousin behind his back.

  MiKayla, on the other hand, had been calling and messaging so much that he turned his phone off and hadn’t turned it back on yet. He just wanted her out of his life ASAP. She had pulled a fast one over him and he didn’t even want an explanation. Even if she didn’t know about Chad being back from the dead, he wasn’t in love enough to fight over her. It was sad that it took something this drastic to make him open his eyes and see that things weren’t what he was thinking they’d be.

  He disappointedly shook his head as the rain started to thump lightly on his window. “Damnit man,” he whispered. He could hear the doors downstairs open as R
ico entered the building and instantly yelled out upstairs.

  “You up there, Bro?” he asked.

  “Yeah,” Monty called out. Minutes later he could hear Rico making his way up the stairs and straight to his office door. “What’s up, Bro? You a’ight?”

  “Nah,” Rico answered. “I’m sick, man.”

  Monty looked over at him and shook his head. “Hell, you look sick. I guess Mona hadn’t come back yet, huh?”

  “Nah,” he answered. “She won’t even answer my calls. I just wanna see Caylin.”

  “Quit lying nigga. You wanna see my sister, too.” Monty stated. “You ain’t gotta lie to me. I kept telling you to keep your face clean, because my sister ain’t no fool for a man. My mama taught her better. Plus, she’s stubborn as fuck; much worse than me.”

  “I know man. It’s my fault. I should’ve just kept it real with her and myself. I don’t even know why I’ve done those stupid things. Mona completes me,” he admitted. “I should’ve known better than to try and play her. It’s crazy though,” he said now sitting down like he was about to pour his heart out for an ample amount of time. “Just when I’d decided to leave these women alone, she catches me in some bullshit.”

  “So, who called your phone?”

  “Huh?” Rico questioned not realizing that he hadn’t cleared that part up yet.

  “Don’t huh me, nigga. Who the hell did you get caught up on the phone with?”

  Rico sat there with his head hung low and shook it from side to side like he hated to even admit who it was. Then he looked back up at Monty and said, “Karen. It was Karen.”

  Monty just stared at him with a blank face. Finally he said, “You still fucking with Karen? You ain’t got enough of fucking with that bitch, yet?”

  “I don’t even know what I was thinking, but it only happened once.”

  “Once was enough for your family to leave you.” Monty told him with a disappointed shake of the head.

  “Tell me about it. I should’ve listened to you.” Rico said, and with that his eyes began to water. He held his head down and wiped his eyes. Monty felt bad for him even though he was dead ass wrong and had hurt his sister. He and Rico had a friendship and a bond that no one could understand, regardless of what they’d gone through. He didn’t care to see his best friend down. Plus, he was feeling the same way. He just didn’t want it to show.

  “Man, clean yourself up and dust yourself off. If it’s meant to be, it’ll be.” Monty told him.

  “That’s easy for you to say. I can’t even sleep at night. I’m so used to her and Cay being there that it’s driving me crazy that they’re not. Man, I miss my daughter and I miss my fiancé.”

  “Did she give you the ring back?”

  “No,” Rico said through a muffled tone.

  “Well, that’s a good look. Most women that leave you will also leave the ring as a show that they mean business. So, maybe she just needs this time to think about things and cool off. You know my sister though. You have to be honest with her. She will always know when you’re lying and she cannot stand a liar. You can’t expect her to want to be with you if you’re continuing this bullshit.”

  Rico sniffed like a big baby. He was indeed hurt and feeling some type of way. “I know.” He said wiping his eyes.

  Monty could tell that he loved his sister. He couldn’t come down hard on him because the truth was that he was no saint either. He’d fucked up also and probably had lost Candy for good. He just hated that it was probably to his cousin, somebody he had yet to talk with as well.

  “Man, you gon’ be okay?” He asked Rico as he dried up his tears.

  “Yeah, I’m gon’ be okay. I just gotta get my thoughts together.” He said.

  “I feel you,” Monty said. “So maybe you need to throw yourself into work. Just take this time to set up some new deals and make some good money. Making money is always a good distraction. That’s why I’m here so early. I need that same distraction.” He said with a sad shake of his head.

  “So, what’s going on with you? Why did Mona have to pick you up from jail?”

  Monty shook his head. He still wasn’t ready to talk about that situation, but he decided to say a little something in hopes that it might make him feel better to get it off of his chest.

  “Man, Bren and I got into a fight.”

  Rico frowned in disbelief. “A fight? What the hell happened?”

  “Candy happened.” He responded with a shake of the head.

  Rico raised a befuddled eyebrow with a serious frown on his face, and then he said, “Candy? Baby mama, Candy?” he pondered.

  “Yup,” Monty disappointedly said. “Apparently, they’ve been getting quite cozy behind my back.”

  “Noooo, that can’t be right, Bro. Bren wouldn’t do you like that.”

  “Well, from what I’ve heard, he has and he will.”

  Rico shook his head. “Nah, I won’t believe that one.”

  “You may as well. Shit, I’ve had to bite the bullet, too.”

  “Have you spoken to Bren? I mean, how did you find out about this foolishness?”

  “I walked in on them at the hotel.”

  “What hotel?” Rico asked as he scratched in his head. Confusion was written all over his face.

  “I go to Bren’s hotel room to tell him about MiKayla’s ol’ sneaky ass and find my baby mama in his room with her ol’ sneaky ass.” He informed Rico with an unpleasant expression on his face. “Damn Bro, I thought I was bad, but these girl’s ain’t loyal either; not my girls anyway.” He added.

  “Damn man. It can’t be what you’re thinking. You need to talk to your cousin and get the scoop.”

  “Oh I’ve gotten the scoop,” he said thinking about his conversation with Catherine.

  Rico shook his head in disbelief. “Have you talked to Candy since then?”

  “Nope,” Monty bluntly stated. “I don’t wanna talk to her right now. I don’t know if I can face the fact that she’s moved on. It hurts just to think about it. Man, I really do love her. She ain’t been nothing but good to me and I’ve did nothing but run her over. Now she might be moving on and with my fucking cousin. Damn, did I push her that far?” Rico couldn’t even answer. He was still stunned to be hearing what he was hearing as Monty continued. “My mama hit me with some real shit, man. I’ve had no choice, but to face the music and see my faults for what they are.”

  “Mrs. Cat don’t sugar coat shit.” Rico commented.

  “She sho’ don’t and she let my ass have it.” He said looking pitiful. “I didn’t wanna hear it, but when she’s talking you’re going to listen.”

  “Trust me; I know what you’re talking about.” Rico said thinking about the many conversations that Catherine had with him over the years. “She’s just like mama, too.”

  “Yep, they are two of a kind.” Monty said with a light chuckle. “They don’t mind giving us the business.”

  “So, what are you going to do? I mean, if you love Candy the way you say you do then you should fight for her.”

  Monty just looked at him. “I may not want to fight for a woman that wants my cousin.”

  “Yeah, but what if she only wants your cousin because you’re not there? She may be attracted to him, but it’s all because of you.”

  Monty frowned. “Have you been talking to my mama?”

  Rico laughed. “Hell naw. I’m scared to talk to your mama right about now.”

  “Yeah, you better be.” Monty responded.

  Rico laughed, but thought about Monty calling MiKayla sneaky. “Well hey,” he started. “Last I can recall you were thinking about making MiKayla the main chick. However, that has quickly changed and now you’re realizing how much you love Candy. It’s amazing how the table turn.” He said thinking about his situation. “What happened with you and MiKayla, anyway?”

  “Her dead husband or fiancé or whatever the hell he is to her, is actually alive and well and is probably at her place as we speak.”

&nb
sp; Rico frowned. “Huh?”

  “You heard me.” Monty said just as the office doors downstairs could be heard opening.

  “That may be Maurice coming in.” Rico said. “You think he’s gonna want to discuss his problems, too.” He joked knowing all about Maurice cheating on Dee with a man.

  Monty grinned while shaking his head. “I don’t wanna hear about that shit.”

  “Me either,” Rico said as they laughed.

  “Nah, but he’s not coming in this week.” Monty informed him. “He messaged me late last night. I told him that it was cool. I’m not going to fire him because of his preference. That wouldn’t be ethical. Plus, I have nothing against gay or bisexual people. I just don’t want the gays hitting on me unless it’s a woman. Who don’t want a lil woman on woman action?”