Can't Be That Other Woman

by Ambria Davis

  * * *

  After leaving the shop with Tracy, we decided to head to the mall to do a little shopping. Thanks to the money that Aqura had given me for doing his hair and the five hundred that Onijae had sent for me, I had enough to buy something for all of my siblings and myself. Once we were through with shopping, I headed straight home to get ready for work. I was happy that I didn’t have to close the store tonight, because I was in no mood to stay late.

  When I got to work, I was thankful that the place wasn’t pack. There were a few people and that was including staff. I spoke to everybody, before I walked straight to the back to get myself together. I was ten minutes early, so I didn’t have to worry about being late for work.

  I’d been sitting in the break room for the past five minutes, when I heard the door open. My head was down, so I had no idea who it was.

  “What’s wrong, Delaney?” I heard someone ask. I looked up and saw Heather standing there. Heather was the other manager at the store, she and I were friends, but we weren’t close friends.

  “Nothing is wrong, I’m good,” I told her, before I placed my head back down. The truth of the matter was that I wasn’t all right. My head was killing me and I couldn’t get Onijae off my brain, but I wasn’t going to tell her that.

  “You know if you need to go home, you can. I can always work myself, besides, there’s not too many people shopping here today,” she suggested.

  “Thank you, but I don’t need to go home. I just had needed a minute to get my thoughts together,” I said getting up from the table. She looked at me with questionable eyes, but before she could say anything, I did. “Honestly, Heather, I’m really okay. I’ve just been through a little bit, but I’m good now. Nothing is going to stop me from clocking in and making this money.”

  “Okay, but if you need to talk, or need to go home, you can come and tell me. I’m always there for you if you need me to be,” she said, grabbing me into a hug.

  Thanks boo, I really appreciate it,” I replied, hugging her back. “Now come on and let’s get up out of here, before people be looking for us.”

  “All right,” she said, laughing. Together, we made our way to the front of the store, which was a good thing, because just that fast, plenty of people were coming in. I walked over to the register to clock in, before I place my nametag on and began helping the customers. With any luck, that could keep my mind from off everything that was going on.

  I was helping this mother find her daughter a pair of shoes, when my phone chimed. Ignoring it, I waited until I finished helping them, to pull it out. To my surprise, I had a message from Onijae.

  Him: “What time do you get off?”

  I looked at the message and read it, before placing it back into my pocket. I wasn’t about to entertain him. Then I remembered that had my iMessage thing on, which let him know the exact time I looked at his message. I know he was going to feel some type of way about me not responding, but that was all on him. He needed to know that he wasn’t going to be playing with me. If he wanted a toy to play with, they had too many toy stores around here for that. He could easily grab him up a few toys, and then sit around and play with them, because he most definitely wasn’t going to be playing with me.

  A few minutes later, my phone chimed again. I knew that it was Onijae, so I didn’t even bother to pull out my phone this time. Instead, I continued to do my job.

  It was around five in the evening when I finally decided to take my lunch break. I wasn’t that hungry, but I needed a break, so I walked to the food court and found a table in the corner to sit at. I pulled out my phone to call Tracy, when it began ringing. Looking at the caller ID, it was none other than Onijae himself. Ignoring his call, I placed the phone on the table and sat with my head back. Lord, why must he be so difficult? I thought, as I sat at the table. I wanted him, but I didn’t want the baggage that came along with him, nor was I trying to be a nigga’s sideline forever.

  I mean, he already made it clear that he loved Bianca. So why should I waste my damn time getting into something, that was going to be hard getting out of? I’d rather just not get into it at all, well, that was what I kept trying to tell myself.

  “I know damn well you saw me calling and texting that phone, Lay Lay,” I heard him say from behind me.

  “Of course I did,” I replied, not even bothering to turn around to acknowledge him.

  “Don’t go getting smart, Delaney. I’ll turn this mall the fuck up.”

  “Do what you please, Onijae,” I replied nonchalantly. I know he wanted me to be scared or worried, but I wasn’t. He needed to be worried about his old lady, because if someone happens to see him sitting at this table talking to me, I’m pretty sure she would flip her top on him.

  “Why are you acting like this?” he had the nerve to ask me.

  “Look Onijae, I’m not trying to get into all of this right now. So I would like it if you would just drop it, okay?”

  “Delaney, I don’t know what I did to you, but I’m honestly sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel the way that you’re feeling right now,” he explained, but all of that shit was going through one ear and out the other. He knew damn well what he did to make me feel like this, but since he wants to act crazy, I’m going to act crazy right along with him.

  For a while, we didn’t say anything to each other. We just sat there lost in each other’s eyes. In my mind, we were together. This was the man of my dreams, but I knew it was only a figment of my imagination. This man was never going to fully be mine and mine only. No matter what he said, how he said it or what he did or how he did it, he still belonged to someone else. Which is what I was saddened about.

  “Are you going to tell me what time you get off or not?” he asked, breaking the silence.

  “I get off at eight, why?”

  “Because I want to come and pick you up, Delaney, that’s why.”

  “Onijae, I don’t need you to come and pick me up. I’ve been catching the bus all of my life and I’d continue to catch it.” I told him. His ass wasn’t slick. He was not about to get me to be alone with him, nor was he about to get me in his car.

  “I don’t want to hear all of that shit,” he said, raising his hand up at me. “I’ll be out in the front of the mall at quarter to eight, don’t make me cause a scene, ma.”

  “I told you that I didn’t need to you give me a ride.”

  “You heard what I said,” he said, getting up from the table. “I gotta go take care of some business, I’ll see you later.”

  I opened my mouth to speak again, but I was hushed when he placed his lips on mine. I quickly pulled back and looked around to make sure that no one we knew was around. “You can’t be doing that, Onijae,” I told him.

  “I’m not doing anything, Lay Lay,” he said, flashing me a bright smile that warmed my heart. “Remember what I said. I’ll be waiting on you outside at quarter to eight.”

  “Yeah whatever.” I waved a hand at him. He smiled again, before he walked off. I continued to sit there and watched him disappear. The minute he left, I pulled out my phone to call Tracy, but she didn’t answer. I was about to call her again, when she sent a message saying that she was with her boo. I understood, but told her to call me when she had some time. After she replied, I got up and headed back to work, hoping that the rest of the day would fly by. I didn’t want to admit it to myself, but I was excited about Onijae picking me up from work today.

  * * *

  Before I knew it, the next few hours had zoomed by. It was now dark outside and I was just about done with my shift. All I had to was fix the bins in the front, which I did immediately and I was out of there. Before fully leaving the store, I made sure that everything I had to do was complete. Once I was sure, I grabbed my purse and made my way outside of the mall.

  As I made my way out the door, I spotted Onijae’s truck waiting by the sidewalk. My heart started beating so fast that I thought that I was going to have a panic attack for sure. I don’t know why, be
cause I’ve been alone with him before. Somehow, I knew this time was going to be different though. Him getting mad, because I didn’t want to answer him, but then turning around and picking me up, I know he was just trying to be territorial.

  “Hey little lady,” he said, getting out of the truck and opening my door for me. He moved in and placed a kiss on my cheek, before he stepped back and I got in, with him closing the door behind me. He then walked back over to his side and got in. I don’t know what he had in here, but it smelled good as hell. We gazed at each other, before I reached over and placed a kiss on his lips. I know I surprised him, because I surprised myself. I pushed back, preparing to sit back in my seat, only to have him pull me back. “Stop running from me, ma.”

  “I’m not running from you,” I mumbled against his lips, as we engaged in another kissing battle. He was kissing me so much that I almost couldn’t catch my breath, and when he finally did pull back, I didn’t want him to.

  “You ready to go home or you want to come with me?” he asked, looking at me with those gorgeous brown eyes of his. Of course, we both already knew the answer to that question, so I really didn’t know why he even asked it.

  “I’m coming with you, boo,” I said, which caused him to smile a huge grin.

  “Okay then,” he said, before he started the car and pulled off. Since I was not going home, I texted Daija to let her know. I sat back in the seat and waited to arrive wherever it was that we were going. Honestly, I was nervous as shit, but I was excited as well. I could not wait to see what he had in store for me.

  * * *

  Chapter 15

  Onijae

  I know Delaney was probably wondering what I was doing. Shit, truth be told, I was wondering what I was doing my damn self. You see, after I left the store earlier, I made it my business to come up with something to make it up to her. I was going to get her a gift or two, but then I thought about it. Gifts were not going to be enough. I really needed to show her that I wanted her. Therefore, I booked us a room, ordered some food, and still bought her a few gifts, so that I could make her feel special.

  When we pulled up to the hotel an hour later, shorty was fast asleep. She looked so peaceful sleeping there, that I hated to wake her up. I really hoped that she was not going to flip out on me because I took her so far, but I had to go somewhere where no one would notice us. Running into anyone and them going back and tell Bianca, would probably fuck with my chance of being with her, and I could not let that shit happen. I know I probably had a lot of work to do, but I was going to try like hell to get it together.

  After finding a parking spot, I pulled in and parked. Turning over, I lightly shook her, trying to get her to wake up. She did not wake up right away, so I shook her again. This time she sat up and looked around. I noticed the confused look on her face, so I spoke.

  “We’re at a hotel in Austin,” I slowly said, trying to gauge her reaction.

  “Okay, well why we are still sitting in the car then?” she asked, taking it much better than I thought she would.

  “Because we just got here, ma,” I said, smiling.

  “Well, let’s go,” she said, taking her seatbelt off. “Hold up, wait. Damn, I don’t even have any clothes to put on and I desperately need to take a bath.”

  “Don’t worry about all that,” I said, reaching into the backseat and I pulled out a purple and pink night bag. I sat it on her thighs and she began to open it. “While you were at work, I asked Tracy to do a little shopping for you. I hope you don’t mind, shorty.”

  “Aww, that’s so sweet of you, Onijae,” she replied, reaching over and kissing my lips. “Now come on and let’s go inside. I need a bath and a few hours of sleep.”

  “All right, come on,” I said, cutting the truck off and we got out. I opened up the back door to get my overnight bag and the food bag, along with two additional bags. When I had everything, I closed the door and activated the alarm behind me.

  “You need some help, boo?” she asked. Before I could respond, she removed my bag from my hand.

  ‘Thanks, ma.”

  “No problem,” she said, as we made our way into the hotel. We had to stop by the front desk to check in and get the keys to the room, so we did that. Once we were done, we rode the elevator to the floor and headed to our room, where I placed the bags on the table and took a seat.

  “I know your ass ain’t tired,” she joked.

  “Shit, you can laugh all you want, but I’m tired like fuck, shorty,” I said, lying back on the bed.

  “Uh huh, well I’m about to go take a bath,” she said, which made me to sit up.

  “You want me to come in there with you? I mean, do you need some help or something?”

  “Nah, I don’t need any help,” she said, poking out her tongue and laughing. “Stay your hot ass out here. Besides, what I do need you to do is have me something to eat, because I’m starving.”

  “I’m two steps ahead of you, shorty,” I said, getting up from the bed. I walked over to the table where the bags were and picked up the one that contained our food. “See, I thought about your hungry ass already.”

  “That’s a good boy,” she said, clapping her hands together. “Now have that ready by the time I finish taking my shower, or we gon’ be up in here fighting.”

  “I’d love to tangle with you, ma,” I replied, as she made her way towards the bathroom. She stopped right in front the door, turned and blew me a kiss, before she proceeded into the bathroom, making sure that she closed and locked the door behind her.

  An hour and some change later, I finally heard her coming out of the bathroom. She’s lucky I wanted to be bothered with her, because I almost fell asleep on her ass. I know she probably did that shit on purpose, but I was going to make her ass pay for that.

  “Damn you feeling me like that?” she asked, once she walked into the room. I was momentary distracted by what she had on. I gotta remember to thank my little sister for everything she’s done for me today. Delaney stood there in a two-piece short Pink pajama set from Victoria’s Secret. “Umm, hello, I’m talking to you, Onijae.”

  I chuckled a bit, before looking around myself. There were a few teddy bears, candles, candies, flowers, food and gifts hanging all around the room. I couldn’t take credit for all of that though. It was Tracy who helped me do all of this, and who deserved the praise. I had rented another room, which was next door. She brought all of this when she went shopping for the clothes and stuff. She left it in the other room on the bed, so all I had to do was lay it out and hope that Delaney would like it. I spent almost a thousand dollars on her and I hadn’t even sniffed her pussy yet. So yeah, she can definitely say that I was feeling her.

  “You can say that, shorty,” I said, walking over to her. I wrapped my arms around her and placed a kiss on her forehead. “I’m not trying to do anything with you. I just want you to know that I’m serious about being with you. I didn’t bring you here to have sex with you or anything, but if it happens, then it happens.”

  “I know and I’m not worried about that. I’m just glad that we’re actually spending time with each other. As I said before, I’m not into being that other woman, so don’t make me feel like it. The minute I feel as if I’m being that, I will politely go about my business,” she said which made me squeeze her a little tighter. I gave her one a stern look, before I placed a kiss on her lips.

  “You gon’ make me hurt your little ass. Come on, so we can eat and get us some rest,” I told her as I grabbed her hand. We began walking over to the table when my phone began ringing. I waited until I had her seated at the table to go and check it. I already had an idea of who it was, but I wasn’t too sure. The minute I picked up the phone, my guess was right. Bianca was calling, as if I didn’t tell her that I was leaving. I know she was only calling to try to ask me where I was, which was why I didn’t bother answering the phone. I ignored her, placed the phone in my pocket and went back over to the table.

  “My bad, shorty,” I s
aid sincerely.

  “It’s cool, boo,” she replied dryly. I know she was lying, but I didn’t push it. I wasn’t going to let Bianca spoil our night.

  “You want something to drink?” I asked her. We’d been sitting there eating for all of fifteen minutes in silence. I had no idea what was going on inside her head, and Lord knows how bad I wanted to know.

  “Nah, I’m straight.” She continued to eat her food. Placing my fork down, I got up and walked over to her. Grabbing her hand, I pulled her up from her seat, then sat down in the chair and pulled her on top of me.

  “Don’t act like that, shorty. If you got a problem, then speak on it. I don’t need you around her acting like somebody done stole your last piece of cake, and you faulting me for the shit,” I told her. I said that last part to try to get a quick laugh from out of her, but I didn’t get anything. She just sat there staring at me, without saying a thing. I turned her around preparing to go in on her, when my phone started to ring again. I felt her body stiffen, before she got up from my lap.

  “Answer your phone. It’s quite obvious that she needs you or something,” she said, before I heard the bathroom door slam behind her. I sat there with the ringing phone in my hand contemplating on whether I should answer it or not. I know this was why Delaney was acting the way she was acting. I don’t know why I didn’t put the shit on vibrate. Better yet, I could’ve just cut the shit completely off, then everything would’ve been fine. Now I got deal with this shit. I started to answer the phone in the room, but I know that wouldn’t have been the best thing for me to do, so I decided to take the call outside in the hallway.