I was kind of surprised that his library consisted of mainly R&B. There were a few white groups like Nickelback, Maroon 5, Fall Out Boy, and Crude. But besides all of that, he practically had everything I would have on mine.
“You ready?” I heard from behind me.
When I turned around this time, my pussy walls started contracting on their own.
Damn, was all I said to myself. If a man can look even better with his clothes on, I don’t know how I’ma survive fucking with him.
Instead of engaging in another sprout of friendly banter, he walked over to me, grabbed my hand, and led me out of the loft.
We walked down the hallway for what seemed like ten seconds and stopped in front of a door I didn’t notice when I walked past it earlier.
He typed in a code on the keypad, and the door cracked opened a little.
“Toby, where are we—”
He shushed me by pressing his big finger against my lips, then walked us all the way in.
The fear that was starting to build up instantly turned into awe as I looked at the beautiful setup before me.
“Perfect timing, sir. Your dinner is just about ready,” some Alfred-looking dude said.
Toby led me over to a small table that was in the middle of the room. The red silk tablecloth looked beautiful as it flowed down to the floor. The stainless silverware shined bright as the flickering candlelight caused it to sparkle. There was a chilled bottle of some expensive wine in an ice-filled bucket accompanied by two long stem flute glasses. The beautiful floral centerpiece that sat in the middle of the table had the whole room smelling like fresh-cut roses. “Toby, this is . . . oh my God.”
He did his little signature smile and pulled out my chair. After I sat down, he walked over to the white baby grand piano that was sitting beautifully in the corner.
“Did I ever mention to you that I play a few instruments?”
I shook my head.
“Well, my mom thought it was a good idea for me to learn how to play this little thing here, the violin, the saxophone, and the guitar.”
At that moment, he pressed his fingers against the piano’s keys and started to play a melody that sounded somewhat familiar. “Do you mind if I play a little something for you?”
Silently, I nodded my head.
I was shocked when I realized that the song he was playing was one of my favorites, by Jon B. Toby. He was a natural and could play the piano quite well. When he opened his mouth and started to sing the words of the song to me, I almost lost it.
“All that you need is a little bit of tenderness, stability in your life. Pull a star out of the sky and place it on your hand . . .”
I sat there with misty eyes as he continued to serenade me. No one has ever done anything for me this romantic.
The lyrics to the song really had me thinking too. My ex-boyfriend Will would never do anything like this for me. The closest he’s ever come to being romantic was buying me a slow jam’s CD from the DVD dude and taking me to dinner at Black Angus when they had the two for thirty-five-dollar deal. I don’t know why I kept this on-again, off-again thing with him going. The love I used to have for Will went out the door a couple of years ago and never came back.
I looked over at Toby and could only imagine what going to bed with him would be like. I’ve never dated a white man, but so far, it was going great.
Once he was done playing around with those keys and entertaining me, he came back to the table and joined me for dinner. We enjoyed the rest of the night with good food, more great music, and a multitude of drinks before we both decided to call it a night, and Toby dropped me off at home.
JaNair
I didn’t even turn off my car when I pulled into Jerome’s driveway. For some reason, I had the feeling that some straight bullshit was about to pop off.
I walked up to the door and rang the bell a couple of times. While I was waiting for him to answer, everything that Tangie and I talked about earlier started to replay in my mind.
Who doesn’t tell the person they’re in a relationship with about their kids? We’ve been together for some time now, and he’s had plenty of time and opportunities to tell me about his son. Unless . . . Naw, Tangie said they haven’t had sex in a minute, and she wasn’t interested in him like that anymore. Then again, their “minute” could possibly be a month ago.
Yeah, I needed answers, and since I already got one side of the story from Tangie, it was now Jerome’s turn to give me his.
I looked down at my watch. It was still early, so this nigga should be here. I walked to the edge of the porch and saw that his car was parked where it normally is behind the security gate. When there was still no answer after the second time I rang the bell, I started to bang on the door.
I was just about to head back to my car to get my phone when I heard the door crack open.
“Nigga, it’s about goddamn ti—” was all I managed to get out before I was stopped in my tracks by the last person I expected to see answer the door.
We stared at each other for what seemed like forever. Him trying to figure out who I was, and I just amazed at how his parents made something so adorable.
My heart instantly melted when he started to smile back at me.
“Hey, li’l man, is your dad here?”
He nodded his head shyly.
“Can you go get him for me?”
He was on his way to turn around, but Jerome’s loud voice met the door before he could.
“JJ, what I tell you about opening the door for strangers? You’re supposed to come get Daddy when you hear someone knock or ring the doorbell,” he chided.
After ruffling his head and sending him to his room, Jerome finally turned back to the door.
“I’m sorry about tha—JaNair? What . . . What are you doing here?” The shocked expression on his face almost made me laugh.
I stared at him for a minute. I was still trying to figure out why he’d keep something this important in his life from me. I was actually starting to feel hurt. Did he not trust me enough to take part in this chapter of his life?
“I just wanna know why, Jerome.”
He wiped his hand down his handsome face.
“Can you come in and have a seat so we can talk about this for a minute?”
I shook my head. I could feel my eyes starting to get wet, but I kept telling myself not to cry.
“C’mon, JaNair. I was just getting dinner ready. I would love for you to join us.”
“For what? How many other dinners have you had where you didn’t think to invite your girlfriend to meet the son she never knew you had?”
“I’m sorry, baby. I shoulda . . . I mean, I wanted to tell you, I just didn’t know how.”
“You didn’t know how? Well, how about when I asked . . . Jerome, do you have any kids? Why not answer with . . . Yes, JaNair, I have a son instead of answering with that bullshit about wanting a daughter in the future?” I said mocking him.
“I know, and I understand what you’re saying, but in all fairness, I never said that I didn’t have a child. I just never came straight out with it.”
I had to laugh at that lame-ass response. It was just like a nigga to try to twist that shit around.
“On some real shit, what you did and or didn’t say makes me wonder what else you haven’t come straight out with, Jerome.”
The look he had on his face after that statement was one of repulse and guilt. I thought for a second, What else would he need to feel guilty about? At that moment, a certain face flashed into my head, and like a dog in heat, I was on it.
“Are you still fucking Tangie?” I said a little louder than intended.
“What? No! Unique, I mean, Tangie and I haven’t slept together in a long time,” he stuttered. I didn’t know if he was trying to convince me or himself with that lie. “Can you please come inside so we can talk about this some more, JaNair . . . please?”
I looked into his eyes and shook my head. This nigga couldn�
�t possibly 196 be serious about me coming into his house still, especially with baby boy being here. His poor little ears didn’t need to hear any of the slick shit I was about to say to his father.
“Jerome, you gots to be a dumb-ass muthafucka if you think I’ma step foot in that house to talk to you about some shit you should’ve been up front with in the beginning. Then when I ask you if you still fucking Tangie, you try to come up with some whack ass long time ago line.” I stepped back from out of his face. This nigga had me hot as hell. When I looked down at my itching palm, I knew it was only going to be a matter of seconds before I slapped the shit out of his ass. I needed to leave, and I needed to leave now.
“Wait, JaNair, where are you going? We need to talk about this!” he said as he started to walk behind me. “Please, baby, just give me five minutes.”
“Your five minutes passed them three hours we were on the phone the night I met you, so you can go fuck yourself with that. I don’t wanna hear shit you gotta say other than ‘What will be a good time for me to come and get the rest of my things from your house, JaNair?’”
“So it’s like that? You ain’t even gon’ give me a chance to make this right?” he asked, sounding defeated.
“What can you possibly do to make this right, Jerome?”
We stood there staring at each other as I opened up my car door and got in.
“Exactly what I thought. Not a motherfucking thing,” I said as I put my car in gear and drove off. When I got to the stop sign at the end of his street, the floodgates that I was trying so desperately to keep under control finally decided to burst open.
* * *
“You know, sooner or later, you’re gonna have to answer his phone call and talk to him.”
I blew out the smoke I’d been holding in my lungs for the last couple of seconds. “Says the nigga who can’t even stand him.”
He smirked. “But this ain’t about me and fuck boy’s beef. This is about you and how this can impact your future relationship.”
I handed him back the blunt. “What do you mean?”
He placed the fiyah-filled, tightly wrapped swisher back into his mouth and took a pull. I couldn’t help but to lick my lips as I watched him do what I’ve seen him do so many times before. For some reason, at that particular moment, I got so turned on at the sight of his juicy lips wrapped around the tip of the blunt like that. I guess memories of our little bathroom episode and the way he sucked on my clit started to flood my mind.
“Yo, JaNair, did you hear anything I just said?” Semaj snapped, breaking me from my freaky thoughts.
“Huh . . . I mean, what? I mean . . . what . . . What did you say?”
He chuckled. “If you’re not going to pay attention to me or any of this free advice I’m giving you, maybe you should go home.”
I playfully nudged him in his arm and snatched the blunt back. We were in Semaj’s man cave/garage getting high, listening to his music and just shooting the shit like we’ve been doing for the last couple of weeks. After I left Jerome’s house from confronting him, I came home and cried my eyes out. For two days I stayed locked up in my house not answering the door or phone for anybody. I was even ignoring Mya’s ass when she dropped by. And, yes, I do mean dropped by seeing as she no longer lived with me. I changed the locks and everything on that ass. When the gas got cut off last week because of nonpayment, I couldn’t do it anymore. That was the last straw for me. Besides, she hasn’t stayed at the house in a minute, so it was like she was already gone.
Anyways, I guess Semaj wasn’t feeling me closing off the world at all. So one day, he came to my house and banged on the door for damn near an hour straight while yelling my name. I got so tired of hearing the loud-ass noise and his big-ass mouth, that I finally opened the door. As soon as he saw the state that I was in and the mess that I’d made, he came into the house, cleaned it and me up, then rolled us a fat blunt of that loud. We’ve been smoking and chilling ever since.
Semaj
“I was saying that you need to at least hear what he has to say. He may have a good reason as to why he didn’t say anything about his son.”
She rolled her eyes. “And what about Tangie?”
“What about Tangie? You said yourself that she told you they haven’t had sex in a while, so maybe that part is true.” I got up from the couch JaNair and I were sitting on and went to the fridge. “What’s this really about, Jay?”
She shrugged her shoulders and got up. “It ain’t about nothing. I just don’t know if I can trust him anymore. If he could keep something so important like his son a secret, ain’t no telling what else he’s been up to and isn’t telling me.”
I took the fifth of Hennessy I had out of the freezer and grabbed a couple of cups. Dealing with JaNair and her ongoing bullshit with Jerome’s ass had me drinking and smoking a little bit more than normal. Plus, I was kind of nervous about telling her I’d be leaving for Texas in a week.
“Look, Jay, as far as Tangie goes, I believe her. I mean, I met her a couple of times this past week, and she seems like a real genuine person. Even after finding out that Jerome was your boyfriend, she didn’t trip like most baby mamas would. If they were still messing around, she would have told your ass that day, just to rub it in your face.”
She nodded her head. “Yeah, I guess.”
“And as far as Jerome goes, just give him a chance to explain. After you get all of the facts, then decide whether you wanna call it quits.”
I really didn’t want to give her that advice, but what type of nigga would I be if I didn’t. I handed her a shot of the Henny, then poured me one. On second thought, I poured me a double. I needed to get buzzed a little bit faster if I was going to be giving her advice on getting back with fuck boy.
I thought back to two weeks ago. I knew something else must’ve happened between JaNair and Jerome the day I saw her run into the house crying with her head down. She doesn’t even know that I saw her, but I did. I was buckling Ta’Jae into her car seat when JaNair pulled up into her driveway. She was so busy trying to hide her wet face that she never looked up and saw me staring at her.
After Tasha cussed me out for some unknown reason and left, I started blowing Jay’s phone up. When she didn’t answer the first night, I didn’t trip because I figured she needed some space. But after the second night, I wasn’t going for that shit, plus I was starting to become concerned.
Looking back on how she looked when she finally opened her door, I had to laugh a little. Baby girl was looking bad as hell. Her eyes were puffy and red, and her hair was all over the place. Her skin was real ashy, and her face was without any makeup. Even still, in the messed-up state she was in, JaNair was still the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen.
“What you over there laughing about?” I heard her say as she came and stood next to me.
I looked down at her. “You.”
We stood and stared into each other’s eyes for a minute until I cleared my throat and went to sit back down.
“So, what do you want to get into now? We can stay here and chill, listen to some music and get fucked up, or we can do whatever it is you wanna do.” JaNair came and plopped down next to me on the sofa, snatching out of my hand the rolled up blunt I was about to put in my mouth.
“We can stay here, I guess. I’m tired of being at my house, and I don’t feel like going anywhere. I am starting to get a little hungry, though.”
I took the blunt back and lit it. “Me too. My aunt Shirley isn’t here so I guess I can go in there and whip us up something real quick.”
“Nigga, your ass can’t cook,” she laughed. “And I’m not talking about no bologna sandwiches, boiled hot dogs, or scrambled eggs either.”
This girl really had life and bullshit fucked up. I could throw down in the kitchen. Although my aunt Shirley cooked 90 percent of the time around here, she still taught me a thing or two about cooking. She felt that I needed to know how to fend for myself just in case I got with a girl who coul
dn’t burn like her or just couldn’t cook at all.
“I can show you better than I can tell you,” was all I said as I got up and headed into the house. I didn’t even have to turn around to see if JaNair was behind me. Her scent gave her away.
I grabbed everything I needed from the fridge, freezer, and pantry, and ended up making us my famous bacon stuffed cheeseburgers with the works, homemade fries, and cherry Kool-Aid. After we both were filled to capacity, we went to my room and lay down on my bed. JaNair was the first to doze off, and I couldn’t help but to lightly trace every gorgeous contour of her face with my finger. When I got to her lips, the urge to press mine against hers took over, and I did just that.
“What are you doing, Semaj?” she groggily asked with her eyes still closed.
“I couldn’t help but to kiss you.” She opened her eyes. At that moment, I knew I had to bring up the Texas subject. “I know you got the itis and everything right now, but I need to talk to you about something real quick, Jay.”
She looked at me for a second, then sat up and propped herself on her arm. Her hair that was in a loose ponytail fell over her shoulder and covered half of her face. I took a few pieces and pushed them behind her ear.
The look in her eye was so intense and sexy, my dick started to twitch.
“Look, JaNair, I just wanted to let you—” was all I said before my bedroom door busted open.
“Daddy!” Ta’Jae yelled as she ran to my bed and jumped in the middle of Jay and me.
“Hey, Daddy’s baby.” I hugged her. “How did you get here?”
“Mommy.” OK, I kind of figured that, but how in the hell did they get in the house? I distinctly remember locking the door, and I know my baby moms don’t have a key.
Ta’Jae giggling had me look over in her direction. Damn that girl moved fast. She was just on my lap, now she was on JaNair’s giving her kisses and hugs. It was crazy how attached those two have become since we’ve started hanging out. Anytime Ta’Jae was here and Jay wasn’t, she’d constantly ask where she was or ask if we could go next door to see her. Of course, Tasha had a problem with that, but I didn’t give a fuck. She couldn’t dictate who I chose to have my daughter around. As long as whoever it was wasn’t mistreating our child, she shouldn’t have shit to say.
What Bae Won't Do Saga Page 16