Baby Momma Saga, Part 2

by Ni'chelle Genovese

  “Boy, stop. It ain’t gonna be that bad.” I smacked his ass.

  Biting my nail, I grinned at that bad boy as it bounced in the matching bottoms to my top. I was about to reach over and smack it again.

  “Stop smackin’ my ass, woman.” His voice was muffled under the pillow.

  “Huh? What did you say, baby? I can’t understand you when you’re speaking ostrich,” I teased him.

  He threw the pillow and snatched me down in its place and I yelped. Giggling, I stared up and him through my lashes.

  “Guess we need to work on that language barrier then. ’Cause, I can understand yo’ ostrich perfectly fine.” He mocked me, “Harder, baby, get it, get it, choke—”

  What in the hell, is that what I sound like? Good Lawd.

  Slamming my finger up against his lips I shushed his ass. “What I say or don’t say in the heat of the moment is not to be repeated. Ever. I made a list of stuff you need to get before our date night. So we need to get up.”

  There was too much on my to-do list today and ass was not one them. At least not now, definitely after, but now we had shit to do.

  “But a double date though?”

  “What’s wrong with a double date? It’ll be fun and I like Nurse Denise.”

  “How you even know she swing that way? She might just be shy or a late bloomer or something. I know you can’t tell because I’m so ruggedly sexy and shit now, but I too was a late bloomer. You might mess around and have her out there embarrassed and shit.”

  “Look, I think Denise is cute and I also think she and Towanna would make a cute couple. Besides when’s the last time you took me out on a date, Devon?”

  “Um. The, uh. We go on dates,” he eventually sputtered.

  I gave him the side eye. “The secret agent hotel doesn’t count, bae.”

  I’d had lunch with Towanna at least once a week since the night I took a bullet for her. I’d told her that she was gonna have to let me shoot her for GP now. It was only fair. We couldn’t be best friends otherwise. She’d laughed her ass off that day, reminding me that I’d already shot her. Not sure how on earth that little detail had slipped my mind. I never told Devon about losing the baby. There was no point in upsetting him over something he couldn’t have controlled or changed. He would have been hurt for no reason, banning Towanna from our lives, when I still would have gotten over it as I did.

  The Feds finally caught up with Big Baby. Turned out he did have that concoction that connected Lacy to all five of those deaths. He’d been remaking it up in his shop in Miami. Shiree was taking it the hardest. Devon said she’d actually miscarried not long after finding out Rasheed was her brother, and I was hoping my manhandling her ain’t have anything to do with it. He said it was stress related, but on second thought I think she might have gotten rid of the baby all together. She’d only come by the house once, and that was to say good-bye. She said she was staying in Miami, and then possibly going to Cali.

  Trey didn’t bat an eyelash, pout, or anything when I’d dropped him off at Denise’s nephews on Friday evening. It felt good to have some little boys around his age he could play with. He’d been so excited and it was all he’d talked about all week.

  Mommy was excited too. This was going to be the first night in I couldn’t remember how long that I was going to have a grown-up dinner and dancing date night with no drama and no bullshit.

  I’d gone to at least three different stores and finally ended up around the corner, spending around $450 at Pier One on candles, wine glasses, and vases. I wanted to have a real nice evening before we went out with wine and talking. It would give Denise and Towanna a chance to warm up to each other. I figured given the rare chance they didn’t like each other, they would have an escape before we got to the Melting Pot.

  “Look, I don’t want you hookin’ me up with none of your dude’s Nurse Ratchet friends,” Towanna complained, moping into her Cobb salad.

  Reaching over I smacked her elbow.

  “This one ain’t ratched, trust me. She’s cute, thick, an’ Towanna wanna thicky, dimpled, hippy girl . . .” I bobbed back and forth, singing to her in my seat.

  “Yeah, all right. What’s her Facebook?”

  That was all I needed. She started grinning sheepishly into her plate. Clapping my hands, I tapped my feet on the floor squealing in delight like I’d just scored myself a touchdown.

  “Don’t worry ’bout all that. I already showed her your picture. She’s all in. It’s a double date. We goin’ to the Melting Pot. Saturday, fool. So dress cute, pretty please. None of this T-shirt business,” I warned, waving my hand over her with my face all furled up.

  “Damn. I ain’t give her the stamp of approval or nothin’. And what the hell’s wrong with my T-shirt? Makes my arms look good. Gun show all day, baby.”

  Everyone was supposed to be at the house at six p.m. and I’d made our reservations at the restaurant for a late dinner at nine. That would be more than enough time for the two of them to sit around, chat, and play the interview game. Since this was Denise’s night and I didn’t wanna upstage her date night, I kept my attire simple with a fitted, above-the-knee cream-colored dress and yellow pumps for flair. I pinned my hair up because Devon always liked to call himself messing something up. This was just for him. I’d told Devon if he played nice tonight, I’d let him have his fun losing all my damn bobby pins between carpet and the bed later.

  I turned the TV on to one of the Music Choice channels that played a variety of R&B. The entire house smelled like the crisp bamboo and citrus cilantro candles I’d gotten earlier. He did it on purpose, and my head almost rolled off my shoulders. Devon zipped past me into the kitchen. Dolce & Gabbana all over his baahdy, probably even on the top of his freshly shaved head, knowing him. My nose followed my favorite smell until he came into my line of sight, and I damn near jumped the man.

  “Negro, where the hell are your clothes? They’re gonna be here in a few minutes and you ain’t even dressed?”

  He bopped over, smiling wickedly. “You have to give me something if you want me to wear clothes tonight. I just said I’d shower and be nice.”

  I smirked at him. “Fine then, walk your ass around naked. They ain’t gonna care. I’m the one getting the show.”

  Why I thought I’d get away with that answer, I had no idea. I was trying to take the wine out the fridge . . . and then I was pressed hard up against the fridge. My eyes narrowed impishly. Devon was already hard up against my stomach. He was being so bad. But getting so, so good. He started off licking every inch of my pussy. I alternated between holding his head and the top of the fridge for balance.

  The doorbell rang and I swear I wanted to cry in frustration. He slid me down, sitting me on the floor, and we butted foreheads. My eyes instantly watered as I fought a sneeze. Pinching the bridge of my nose, I glowered at him, trying to figure out where he was even bending to in the first place. He chuckled and I climbed back into my heels . . .

  When the hell did he take off . . .

  “See, I told you they’d be here; where the hell is my thong? You couldn’t have just pushed it to the side? When the hell did you even take it off? Go get me one out the laundry room!”

  When the doorbell rang again, I hurried to answer it.

  “Hey, y’all. Sorry, I was trying to open the wine.”

  You know how people come in and sit at your counter in the kitchen or your kitchen table, Well, that’s what I’d planned for the start so we could have finger foods and chat. Bruschetta with tomato and cheese was laid out, different kinds of dip to pair with different kind of wine. I turned to get the wine and wine glasses and ta-da, there’s my wonderful thong sitting in the kitchen sink! Hoping that neither of them had seen it I took a plate out the cabinet when . . .

  Devon’s still in the damn laundry room!

  “Excuse me for a second,” I said politely, “I just need to go in here and see if Devon’s shirt is dry.”

  “Um, Chelle. You ain’t wa
sh our glasses in the sink with them thongs, did you?” Towanna asked with a sarcastic grin on her face.

  I could feel the red creeping up my neck. Oh, that was so embarrassing. Sliding my hips through the smallest crack I could possibly make in the door, without letting in any light, I exhaled when I was finally all the way in the room.

  “Took you long enough,” Devon whispered from directly behind me before picking me up and sitting me on top of the cool laundry of the washing machine. I was struggling with every shred of self-control to maintain my composure and be the adult.

  “We can’t, they are gonna hear us. You need to get your ass dressed.” I grabbed a mismatched sock and shirt from under my butt, handing them to him. “We gotta go out there. This is rude; stop being rude.” I slapped his arm.

  “They gonna hear you making all that damn noise, not me. They can have their date and we’ll have ours. You done already took your panties off for me remember?”

  “No, I didn’t. You did that—”

  Devon knew I’d have argued with him all night in there if he let me. He shut me up the best way he knew how, and I answered with my teeth all in the side of his neck.

  Chapter 31

  Which Witch is Which?

  We were seated at the restaurant, having our first course of fondue. The waiter stood beside the table, mixing everything in the little broiler on the tabletop burner. It was everyone’s first experience except for Devon. I shot him a look, daring him to compare my night to another date and he’d be reliving the laundry room experience with his hand. He clammed up quick.

  From what I could tell, Towanna and Denise were or weren’t getting along. They were both kind of take-charge, so it was like watching a couple of rams go head-to-head. Devon started getting annoyed around the third course, but I thought it was hilarious. I was digging around in my oversized purse, trying to find my phone so I could take a picture. I felt like the worst parent in the world when I found Trey’s iPad. He’d specifically asked to take it and I’d forgotten to give it to him. He was obviously having a good time if my phone wasn’t getting blown up about it though.

  Speaking of phone, I couldn’t find it anywhere. There was so much going on I prayed I’d just put it down somewhere at the house. I must have hit something, because the iPad came on at a screen called notepad. It was the screen where Rasheed typed to Trey before he’d died. I shut it off and stuffed it back into my purse. My appetite was instantly gone, and I sat there rigid as a board.

  “Bae, you okay?” Devon put his arm around my shoulders, looking over at me concerned but I couldn’t speak past the lump in my throat.

  “You’re cold, here.” He took his jacket off, draping it around me.

  Towanna tried to get my attention. “Chelle, what’s the matter? We can leave if y’all ready to go.”

  I didn’t want to leave, and I didn’t want to stay. I felt feverish, but the minute I went to remove the jacket I felt cold again and pulled it back around me. I nodded. I was ready to go.

  Denise was trying to call and check on Trey for me since I didn’t have my phone. When she couldn’t get a call to go out with a full signal, my favorite friends, fear and trepidation, paid a visit.

  “Towanna? Remember when we were in that hospital?” I barely whispered my question.

  She was sitting behind Devon on the driver side of the SUV, and I barely looked over my shoulder to acknowledge her response. Devon and Denise looked back and forth, trying to figure out what was going on. Towanna nodded ever so slightly.

  “I had all these questions. There were so many things I didn’t understand. I asked those people question after question. Lania and Keyshawn, they weren’t on your agreement, were they?” There was so much sadness and regret in my voice.

  Devon frowned over at me in between glancing anxiously at the road. “Michelle, what’s all this about? What the hell has gotten in to you all of a sudden?”

  We were slowing to a stop at a red light, and I saw the only chance I had. I grabbed the syringe I’d felt in Devon’s jacket pocket at dinner, and pulling the top off, I reached back, stabbing Towanna in the leg.

  The pistol in her hand fell to the floor, and Denise screamed at the sight of the gun. I was surprised the glass didn’t shatter. Devon stomped on the brakes. Towanna stared at me in shock, her eyes taking on that drugged, glazed look.

  Grabbing the pistol from her lap, I turned it on Devon. Denise continued screaming like the gun was actually pointed at her.

  “Denise, I’ll shoot you to shut you up at this point so please . . .” I threatened her, thankful for the immediate silence.

  “Devon, you’re a psychiatrist with a damn chemistry lab in your asylum. You have people come and go at all hours of whatever on that floor. Rich people who could actually afford cocaine if they wanted it. You keep no record of who comes or goes or when they come or go. I’ve already dealt with one dealer. I’m not doing this shit again.”

  The light turned green and he looked at me, hesitating. I pointed the gun, instructing him to drive.

  “What you want me to do, baby?” he asked quietly.

  I almost didn’t know what to say. My throat got this scratchy feeling like I was growing a baby cactus in it, and for a second I couldn’t speak.

  “You’re gonna have to turn yourself in. They’re not gonna stop until they have you.”

  He nodded, but of course it couldn’t have been that easy; he wasn’t nodding at me.

  Do all of these motherfuckas’ carry emergency knockout needles in their damn pockets?

  I cringed, waiting for the pinch and paralysis that never came. Thank sweet baby Jesus in a manger, even after threatening her with a pistol Denise stuck Devon instead of me. I straddled his lap and pressed the brake, putting the car in park.

  “Find Towanna’s phone. I know they called or sent her a text. I need to know where to take him.”

  Just like my phone the day Devon checked it, there were no missed special agent calls or texts. I cursed silently.

  “How long does that stuff last, Denise?”

  “It depends. It could be twenty minutes, up to an hour.”

  I did the only thing I could think of. Hell, it worked last time. I hauled ass toward the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. It wasn’t super early a.m. like the last time, but there was barely a car out there. I stopped in the middle, and Denise helped me drag Devon, out and then we got Towanna.

  “Okay, now you get back in and stay down. I got my ass shot last time.”

  Her eyes got huge and she went MIA inside the truck.

  I pulled out the pistol and fired into the air three times and waited.

  Squad cars came rolling up with the lights on, sirens blaring and I was beyond relieved. Devon was still out, but Towanna was moaning. A spotlight turned on, blinding me, and I shielded my eyes.

  “Drop the gun. Get down on the ground, with your hands behind your head.”

  “I need to see Agent Harper.” I called out nervously, dropping the gun, and the spotlight immediately shut off.

  I was grabbed and thrown into the back of a car. I could see police officer’s going to Devon and Towanna. They yanked Denise out the truck ass first. I slammed my head back against the seat and waited impatiently.

  “You were relieved, Roberts; what in God’s name are you doing here?” Harper blasted his question at the side of the car I sat in. The windows possibly rattled.

  “Rasheed left a note on Trey’s iPad. Then you guys sent Towanna the message; when I figured it out, I brought him in.”

  Harper exhaled loudly, leaning up against the side of the car. He was staring at the flurry of activity across the bridge where they had Devon. He’d finally come out of his stupor and was being put into the back of car across the way. Harper opened my door, letting me out the squad car.

  “Don’t discharge another damn firearm in public. You’d better go make up with that man, ’cause he look some kind of pissed off right now. You were relieved, Michelle, and we meant it
.”

  If I wasn’t mistaken, either Harper had given me tender smile or a vexed scowl. It’s not like there were varying degrees of emotion to the man’s face.

  Chapter 32

  An Equal Sign

  =

  Ain’t Nothing but Stacked Up Minuses

  Devon wouldn’t speak to me let alone look at me after the officers released him from the squad car. He’d stood there with his eyes mysteriously hooded by his dark lashes, feeling withdrawn and distant. In the entire time we’d been together, I’d never seen him so angry and cold. I just kept waiting for him to turn around and blind me with that disarming boyish smile or wink at me, but nothing happened. Standing in jaw-gaping wide-eyed disbelief, I watched as he got in the Land Cruiser and with a stony voice suggested that one of “my girls” drop me off at the house. It was as if my best friend had sped off and left me holding the sack on the day of the championship three-legged race. I’d just felt the other end of betrayal’s double-edged blade.

  Denise had called one of her nieces to pick up her and Towanna, and they’d agreed to let me ride with them. The girls had all decided that drinks were in order after what they declared from beginning to end as “the official hell date of the year.” I was outnumbered and outvoted. As bad as I wanted to curl up in a ball and cry, it would just have to wait until later. Of course they’d pick a strip club of all places.

  I was sitting in Liquid Blue all the way out Newport News far from where I really wanted to be. My head hurt and my eyes hurt. I was squinting against all these bright blue neon lights that just followed me and magnified whenever I close my eyes. Towanna’s buying, so of course the shot of the night was her signature drink, Pixy Stix. After about four of those things I just felt like I was gonna be Pixy Sick. All I could think about was how mad Devon looked and how horrible I felt for trying to turn him in. I mean, in the time I’d known the man, granted, he did put me in his asylum, but he still took really good care of me. It was more than Rasheed or Ris or anyone had ever done for me. He’d never cheated on me or lied to me, and the one time that I should have trusted him, I took him to the Feds and straight up turned his ass in.