“Niggas do that all the time, so what. Not like it’s raw with either of you.”
“Yeah, well I like you, and I’m not trying to be thinking about if he fucked you before you came to me or not.” Nehemiah yanked his hoodie back down after he had his jeans back on. He then shook his head in disappointment.
“Just know I’ve never cheated on him with anybody; you’re the first.”
“So.”
“That means something. I don’t just sleep with niggas I find attractive.”
He finally turned away from the window to peer into my eyes.
“Oh, fabulous.” He responded sarcastically, looking off again and shaking his head. He was so cute.
“I like you, but I can’t just leave him so quickly. I need time, time to get to know you better too.”
I moved closer to him, touching the opposite side of his face to make him look at me so I could kiss him. He brought me into his lap, making our kiss get heavier.
“You got like one month to choose.”
“Yes sir.” I smirked, liking the fact that he was still going to fuck with me.
I loved Vernon, but I really, really liked Nehemiah. Wasn’t love supposed to be worth more than a like? If so, it didn’t feel like it. But even then, me being married was a huge roadblock.
Shanece
The very next evening…
The lawyer that had been hired to help figure out the details of Paul’s will had finally called me so I could come to his office and find out what I was supposed to receive. I didn’t understand why he couldn’t just tell me over the phone.
I was Paul’s wife, and the only one he’d ever had, so all his assets and shit needed to go to me. I knew Paul had typed up his will when his diagnosis had started to worsen some time ago, but I’d never read it. I assumed everything would be mine, just like if I had typed one up, everything would go to him.
“Mrs. Porter, you can go back now.” The middle-aged Black woman smiled at me softly.
“Thank you.” Rising from my seat, I tossed my purse over my shoulder and headed through the glass door to Mr. Kanonbaum’s office.
“Good afternoon, Mrs. Porter. Have a seat.” He greeted me before I even got to his door.
“How long will this take, if you don’t mind me asking? I have some work to tend to.”
I was pissed he had me come down here, and pissed he’d taken so long with all of this, but I was telling the truth. My new position at work was definitely more… work, despite what I thought when I was first promoted.
Before the promotion, once I got in my car to head home, I was doing my own thing. Now, it seemed like even when I was at lunch with my friends, work was always needing to be done. Either some artist’s manager was hard to get in contact with, demanding crazy shit, or someone working under me was being dumb.
“It shouldn’t take long. We’re just waiting for one more person.” He checked his Breitling watch.
“Who exactly are we waiting on? Paul’s parents don’t live out here, and I’m sure they don’t need to be here.”
I was panicking, hoping his mom and dad hadn’t showed up to start any mess. We got along, but money always made people’s true colors show.
Plus, lately his mother had been a bit standoffish toward me. She didn’t even speak to me at his funeral, which I chalked up to her being sad since she was sobbing hysterically the entire time. However, his father was nice and consoling to me as always, so I figured nothing was wrong.
“No. I did get a call from the other Mrs. Porter though, but she’s not to be here today. I’m waiting on a Miss Keira Brown.” Mr. Kanonbaum sat down behind his desk.
Laughing, I replied, “Excuse me, who? And for what?”
“Well Miss Brown got in contact with Mrs. Porter, the other one—”
“You don’t have to keep saying the other one.”
“Yes, my apologies. Anyhow, Mr. Porter’s mother let me know that Keira was having his child.”
The way he was looking showed how confused he was as to why this woman was pregnant by my damn husband.
“We don’t know if that’s true. Also, his will doesn’t list anything about children, so even if she is pregnant, whatever is in that will still stands.”
“Very true, Mrs. Porter. However, Paul did mention that if any children were to be born unbeknownst to him, either after death or should he become a vegetable, he wanted them to have fifty percent.”
“No. Let me see where it says that!” I hollered, just as a knock on the door sounded off.
When Mr. Kanonbaum yelled for them to come in, the middle-aged Black woman entered with ugly ass Keira behind her. My leg began to bounce because I was ready to whoop her stupid ass.
“Miss Brown, have a seat please.”
Happily, Keira sat down next to me, glancing my way with a smug expression on her face.
“As I was saying, I need to see the will. I am his wife, and whatever he’s left behind goes to me. You’re a fucking lawyer, so I shouldn’t have to tell you this!”
“I understand, Mrs. Porter, but I’ve already explained what your husband put in his will. I’m not saying all of it will go to the child, or any of it, but it’s on hold until the baby arrives and is tested again. Now I am sure he was referring to a child with you when he wrote this but—”
“Of course he was! Why the hell would he wanna give his money to the child of some hoe!” I was fuming.
Paul knew damn well we hadn’t planned for children until thirty years old. I understood he most likely thought he’d make it until then since his health was so up and down, great one day and on the decline a month later, but shit! Him being precautious had fucked me over.
“Hoe? I am no hoe! I have a college degree and a very good job!” Keira shouted.
“What the fuck does your education and former job have to do with you opening your legs to married men? You’re a hoe. I don’t give a fuck how many degrees you’ve obtained and how much your annual salary is, hoe!” I felt like Tony Wacko at the moment.
“Alright, ladies, please!” Mr. Kanonbaum attempted to interject. I could hear his voice trembling.
“Call me a hoe one more time, Shanece.” Keira got up, prompting Mr. Kanonbaum to reach for his phone and call security.
“This is bullshit! She did nothing to help with his funeral, and she was not the one who had to sit by and watch the man she’d loved, since her teen years, perish! I don’t give a fuck how much you cared for him as his nurse or as his sidepiece, I loved him! He was mine, and God took him from me, not you! I was supposed to have his baby, not you!” I was crying by now, and security had come in to hold me back. “Hoe!” I hollered.
“I’m the hoe, but you fucked another man while the so-called love of your life was dying! Paul knew, and he hated you for it. He died hating you for being an adulterous, slutty wife—”
POP!
While she was talking, I’d grabbed Mr. Kanonbam’s thick clear nameplate and hocked it at the bitch, popping her in the mouth. Blood immediately seeped out as she began screaming like a banshee about her tooth being in her hand.
“I’m gonna kill you, bitch! And if you give that hoe a dime, you’re next, Ashford!” I called Mr. Kanonbaum by his first name, as security carried me out. “Let me go. I’m leaving!”
Begrudgingly, the big man let me down, and I stormed off. I’d been ignoring Keira, putting her out of my mind, but now I was gonna catch up with her ass again and knock her other teeth out.
I’d never been so enraged in my life. It was to the point where I was speeding home, dipping through traffic as if I were on a high-speed chase with the police.
As I stomped to my apartment door, I heard someone running after me, so I dug for my pepper spray, before turning around to see Rahim. This had to be a damn joke. I hadn’t talked to this nigga since I ran his good for nothing ass off for trying to still date me, now here he was.
“Whoa, chill.” He put his hands up.
“Whatever
you’re selling, I’m not interested.” I turned back around to keep walking.
“I’m not trying to bother you; I just have a favor to ask.”
“Ha!” I bellowed. “A favor? What makes you think I’m in a giving mood? Do I look like I wanna be nice right now?”
“Nah, you don’t.” He backed up some. “Are you okay? You know I’m here if you wanna talk, Shanece.”
“You just don’t quit, huh?” I looked up into his eyes, shaking my head.
I unlocked my door, and like always, the nigga followed me in. I went right to my kitchen to pour me a glass of wine. I downed it, then refilled the glass, bringing the bottle with me to sit on the couch that Rahim was standing near.
“Shanece, I’m serious. You aight?” He sat down.
“No I am not, Rahim.” I gulped the wine, then put more in my glass again. “What do you want?”
“I was wondering if we could talk.”
“About?”
“I was in the process of making up with my wife, but she found out some things, so she’s for sure done with me.”
“Okay… and?”
“I don’t know what to do. I was thinking maybe you could give me some advice on how to get her back.”
“What the fuck.” I added more wine to my glass. “Was she violent when she broke it off this last time?”
“Violent? Nah, not really. She shed some tears, but she was more like a chill angry.”
When he said that, I laughed.
“She’s done then, Rahim, I’m sorry. When we yell, scream, cry, and hit you, you have a chance. But if we’re relaxed, it’s because it’s over for good.”
He looked away momentarily, licking his lips.
“Shanece, I want you to know that I really did, shit, still do like you. Yes, I had a wife, who I love, but I swear my intentions with you weren’t malicious. I was attracted, damn near obsessed with you from the day I first saw you. I didn’t know how to go about the shit, because I’d never been attracted to somebody like that other than my wife.”
“Phoebe too.”
“Phoebe was only a physical thing. I’m a man, so I’m gon’ always find other women attractive, but with you, it was more than that.” He got quiet then said, “I know you always praised me for not being jealous of Paul, but I was, more than you know. It’s hard to explain because I’m super in love with my wife, but I want you badly.”
“Thanks, I guess.” I chuckled, feeling slightly tipsy already as I let my head fall back onto the top portion of the couch. “I liked you too. It was cool to have a man be nice to me and look at me a certain way. Paul used to do all that back in the day.”
“Liked?”
“Yes… liked.” I turned my head some to see his face. “Maybe if things had been different, we could’ve tried.” I shut my eyes, sighing. “Rahim, no!” I jumped up when I felt his lips on mine.
“You just said if things had been different—”
“Different meaning if when we met, neither of us were married! On top of that, you just admitted to still loving your wife! What makes you think I want a man who loves me second?” I let my brows furrow. “I was just married to a man who, for most of our relationship, saw me as a prize and his number one priority. Why would I then move on to a man who would see me as a settle?”
“You wouldn’t be a—”
“Rahim, leave, and get some counseling.” I stood, waving for him to do the same. “I don’t know what your issue is, but it’s big. One minute you love Amara and want advice on winning her back. Then ten minutes later, you’re trying to make it work with me. You need to figure it out, alone.”
Nodding, he walked to my door, with me trailing him before I unlocked it and let him out.
That nigga was unbelievable.
I drank one more glass of wine and then set the bathroom up for a bubble bath. I lit my banana split candle and then put my wooden bath tray across the tub so that I could prop my iPad up on it to watch Netflix, with another glass of red.
As this new show I found just started getting good, a FaceTime prompt popped up from Wade. Was he crazy? We texted maybe three times, and he thought he could FaceTime me? I reached to press decline, but being tipsy with wet fingers caused me to hit accept.
“Damn.” Wade’s face popped up.
“Ah!” I screamed, dropping the glass into the tub while trying to make sure my breasts weren’t exposed. “Why did you FaceTime me!”
He was chortling heartily at the moment.
“Because I wanted to see you, and I knew you wouldn’t come over.”
“No, I wouldn’t.” I looked down, fishing for my empty glass. “What?” I asked after finding it. He was staring.
“You’re so pretty, that’s all.”
“Thank you.” I felt my cheeks turning red a little bit as I got hot. “I’m not exactly made up right now. I look busted.”
“If this is busted, then we good!”
We chuckled in unison.
“You’re fine too— I mean, you’re nice looking. I’m sorry. I’ve been drinking.”
“It’s aight. I know I’m fine.” He gave me a cute smirk.
“Well, Mr. Bias, I have to wash off, so have a goodnight.”
“Nah, turn the camera away, do what you gotta do while we talk, and once you’re clothed, we can get back to face-to-face.”
“Talk about what? I have nothing to say.”
“Then I’ll just wait until I can look at you again.”
“So you’re not gonna get off the phone, huh?” I smiled broadly at him. From looking at his background, his place was nice.
“Nope.”
“Fine.” I turned the camera away so that he couldn’t see and began washing off.
We talked and talked, then continued once I was in my bed in my pajamas.
By the time we ended the FaceTime call, it was 2 a.m. I didn’t even know him like that, but he had surely helped end my bumpy day smoothly.
Eitan
“Fuck, shit,” I called out as my knees buckled from busting down Frida’s throat.
I was gon’ leave Frida’s ass alone at Rubie’s request, even though Rubie wasn’t fucking with me, but I couldn’t. Soon as she hit me up, I was telling her to pack an overnight bag and get over here.
That was earlier this week, and she hadn’t left since. I wasn’t tripping at all though because she was cool, laid back, and didn’t bug my ass. Not to mention she cooked for me all damn day, cleaned up, and was a big fan of my music. I assumed she just liked my shit because she was fucking me, but I saw proof from before I even met her on her social media page, of her working out to my song.
Only thing really holding me back from fucking with Frida for real was that I wanted Rubie. She was claiming she was done right now, but once she calmed down, I was 100 percent sure we’d get back together.
“Feeling energized?” Frida grinned before turning her back to me to start washing off.
I was frozen for a little bit, still dizzy from the head, but after a little bit, I followed in her footsteps. Once out, we both brushed our teeth at my double sink, and while I went to watch some television, she went to check on the food she’d been cooking all day in something she called a crockpot.
I didn’t even know I had one of them muthafuckas in my crib. I just told the lady I hired to source new furniture, to get everything she’d think I’d need.
“Damn, what the fuck is this?” I looked down at the bowl of what smelled like it came from a fancy ass restaurant.
Returning with something to drink for me, Frida replied, “Garlic parmesan chicken stew.”
“Do you like cooking or something? You went to school for it?” I frowned, realizing I didn’t know much about her other than the fact that she resided in the hood.
“No.” She smiled after putting some of it in her mouth. Swallowing, she continued. “I just learned to cook from living with my grandma. She would always ask me to help her; it was how we bonded, I guess.”
&nb
sp; “She raised you?”
“Kind of. I lived with her in Flint, Michigan until I was ten years old, and then my mama came to take me away to LA.”
“Where yo’ mama at now?” Frida laughed after I asked that. “What? I’m being nosy?”
“No. You just make me sound more interesting than I am. My mom is alive; we just don’t talk much. She put me out at eighteen, so I had to find ways to make money that she didn’t agree with, like stripping and topless waitressing.”
“I never understood that shit. Parents throw you out then trip when you resort to non-traditional ways of making bread. Maybe if you had let my ass stay with you for a little longer, I could’ve went to college or something.”
“Exactly! I’d started school, but eventually they dropped me from my classes for nonpayment. In the past, I used the financial aid check they’d send me to get an apartment, so I still owe for student loans.”
“That’s some bullshit.”
“I know right!”
We cackled in unison before eating a little more. The shit was good.
“I guess I was blessed. My parents let me stay with them until my music got me enough money to get my own apartment. I wasn’t rich or nothing, making a couple grand a month, so that was enough for me to bounce.”
“Now you got way more!”
“I do. So of course, I had to give back to ’em.”
“That’s sweet of you.” She ate some more. “Sweet for you to take me shopping all the time and stuff too.”
“Anytime.”
“So are you in love with Rubie?”
“Where that come from?”
“Camarih, Tony’s girlfriend, let me know I was temporary when you got up to get dessert at the event.” She giggled. “She said it wasn’t me, I was cute, it’s just because you were in love with Rubie.”
Camarih’s ass was nice even when she was being messy.
“I don’t know about being in love.” I’d never thought about the shit. “I do like her a lot though.”
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