Heartbreak And Past Mistakes

by Chenell Parker

  Jena couldn’t believe that Sabrina was actually screwing one of the security guards. She hadn’t known the other woman very long but Sabrina’s standards weren’t very high. Jena’s ultimate goal was to get a man with money but Sabrina obviously didn’t care. She just wanted a man and she didn’t care about his financial status. She had a crush on Jared but he didn’t seem to be interested. He was handsome and made decent money, so that was a step up from what Sabrina had at the moment. Jena had struggled long enough and she was tired of going without.

  “Good morning everybody,” Nova said when she walked into the office followed by Jared.

  “Good morning,” Sabrina spoke back while Jena remained tight lipped. Jena didn’t fuck with Lyric, so Nova could kiss her ass, right along with her cousin.

  “Who do these flowers belong to?” Nova asked as she stooped down and picked up the vase. She looked for a card to see if someone’s name was on it, but there was none attached. Jared sent her flowers once to ask her out, but she was sure that the newest arrangement belonged to her cousin.

  “They’re for Lyric. That’s why I sat them by her door,” Jena replied, like Nova was asking a stupid question.

  “Where is the card that’s always attached?” Nova questioned.

  “There was no card. The security guard gave them to me and said that they were for Lyric,” Jena answered.

  Nova looked at her skeptically but she didn’t speak on it. There was always a small or large card attached, so it was strange that the newest arrangement didn’t have one. Jena and Sabrina looked on as Jared carried Nova’s things to her desk before they walked away together.

  “I guess being a hoe runs in the family,” Jena said with a frown.

  “Do they mess around or something?” Sabrina inquired.

  “They probably do. Maybe she’s the reason why he’s been turning down all your advances,” Jena replied.

  “Fuck him then. It’s his loss.” Sabrina shrugged uncaringly.

  She went to her cubicle and sat down while Jena grabbed her coffee mug and headed to the break room. She was hoping to catch Spencer before he had to leave out for court. They were waiting for the jury to return the verdicts on their case and he had been out of the office more than usual. As wrong as he was, Jena just couldn’t let him go. He was the best man that she’d ever had and she wasn’t willing to be without him.

  ***

  “Are you trying to say that you didn’t have fun?” Lyric asked Bronx as she pulled up to her assigned parking space at the office.

  When Bronx asked her out again the night before, she started to turn him down since it was a work night. Being that she was trying to keep her options open, she agreed, but only if he let her pick the place. Lyric wasn’t into the club scene so poetry night at a local jazz club was what she suggested. Bronx had lived in New Orleans all his life and he never knew that the place that Lyric took him to even existed. It was something new for him but he wouldn’t go there on his own.

  “It was straight but not a place that I would have picked. I’ll choose the spot that we go to next time,” he replied.

  “What makes you think there will be a next time?” Lyric challenged.

  “You fucked up when you gave me your number. It’s gon’ always be a next time. I’m feeling your pretty ass too much to even front,” he said,, making Lyric blush.

  “Stop trying to sweet talk me,” Lyric giggled.

  “It must not be working. Nigga can’t even get a kiss,” Bronx said.

  “I told you that if you make it to date number three, then I got you,” Lyric replied.

  “Well, shit, what you got going on tonight?” he asked her.

  “Why? What do you have in mind?” she countered as she sat in her car like she wasn’t already late for work.

  “Besides that boring ass poetry shit, what else do you like to do?” he countered.

  “First off, poetry is not boring. It’s like a painting with words. But, I like to do other stuff too. I like bowling, movies, concerts, and a lot of other stuff,” Lyric noted.

  “Damn girl. That shit is sexy as fuck,” Bronx moaned in her ear.

  “What’s sexy?” Lyric inquired.

  “Everything about you is sexy. You on some grown woman shit. It’s over for you if I fall in love with you, though. I’m warning you now,” Bronx said.

  “Who says shit like that?” Lyric said as she fell out laughing.

  “You laughing, but I’m dead ass serious. But, I know you at work and shit. Hit me up when you get some free time. And let me know what you want to do tonight. It’s date number three and I’m ready for my kiss,” Bronx replied.

  “Okay, I’ll call you on my lunch break,” Lyric said before they disconnected.

  She walked into the building and went straight to her office. As soon as she sat down, Nova knocked on her door and was granted entry.

  “These came for you this morning cousin. That bitch Jena claimed there was no card attached but I don’t believe her,” Nova said, making Lyric’s head snap up from her computer screen.

  “How did she even get them?” Lyric questioned. The last thing she needed was for Jena to know any of her business. Being that they had been friends for so long, she already knew too much.

  “She said that the security guard gave them to her,” Nova replied.

  “Girl, forget that for right now. How was your date with Jared?” Lyric asked her cousin.

  “It was nice. We went out to dinner and walked in the French Quarters for a while. He’s really sweet,” Nova blushed.

  “Alright bitch. It sounds like date number two to me,” Lyric replied.

  “Number three. We went out again last night,” Nova corrected.

  “Aww, I’m so happy for you, cousin. Jared is cool and he’s a gentleman.”

  “Yeah and he’s smart too. I’m not trying to rush into anything. I told him that I want to take it slow and see what happens from there. The new mailman that delivers in my area asked me out too. I don’t want to seem like a hoe, but I’m thinking about it.”

  “How does that make you a hoe? Society got us so fucked up these days. There is nothing wrong with dating more than one person, as long as you’re not in a committed relationship with anyone. That’s really what you’re supposed to do. How else are you going to get to know a person? I wish I wouldn’t have jumped into my first two relationships so fast. Maybe things wouldn’t have ended the way they did. People equate dating to fucking but it is not the same,” Lyric pointed out.

  “You got a point there. Maybe I’ll give him a chance too.” Nova shrugged.

  “I think you should. You never know how things will turn out,” Lyric replied.

  “Thank you, cousin. I needed to hear that. When do I start sitting with Martha? I’m so excited to be getting away from Jena and Sabrina. I appreciate you so much Lyric. My daddy says he owes you a pot of gumbo for always looking out,” Nova said.

  Her parents ran a catering company and they were both great cooks. Thanks to them, Nova would probably never get out of a size sixteen and she was okay with that.

  “Yeah, and I’m calling his ass to see when I’m getting it too. But girl, I don’t know when you’ll start training with Martha. She’s been going to court with the attorneys and she still hasn’t given an official retirement date yet.”

  “That’s okay. I got the job and that’s all that matters,” Nova replied.

  “Yeah, the job is yours so don’t even worry about that. I know they’re gonna die when Mr. Malone makes the official announcement,” Lyric chuckled.

  “Honey, they’re really gonna die when they find out that you’ll be over the receptionists. Jena might quit,” Nova laughed.

  “I’m not even looking forward to that. I would never want to be the reason for anybody losing their job. Even though I tried to get Spencer’s dog ass fired, I’m happy that things worked out for him. I was hurt at the time and acting off of emotions,” Lyric admitted.

  She felt
bad after shredding one of his important case files, but God was on his side that day. Lyric felt guilty after the fact but she was fueled by anger when she did it.

  “Jena is dumb as fuck. That nigga is a straight up dog. He been looking at you like you’re a piece of candy and he don’t even try to hide it.”

  “Girl, fuck Spencer. His tongue game was vicious and that’s the only thing I miss about him. She keep playing with me and I might let him get another taste.”

  “That bitch would die if she heard you say that. Let me get back out here and do some work. I’ll talk to you later cousin,” Nova said right before walking out of her office.

  Lyric checked Mr. Malone’s calendar and saw that he was going to be in court the entire day. Javier was going to be there too, along with most of the other attorneys. She hadn’t seen much of him lately outside of the office. They all had a lot of long nights and early mornings since they were preparing for another high profile case. Javier acted as lead attorney for most of the cases, so he stayed busy the most.

  After grabbing her coffee mug, she headed to the break room to get her fill of daily caffeine. She was surprised to see that Javier was in there because he rarely was.

  “Baby, I’m so happy to see you. How does this thing work? I need coffee in the worst way,” Javier said as soon as Lyric walked into the room. He looked drained and he really must have been if he was drinking coffee. Water and scotch were the only things that he ever drank.

  “You look exhausted,” Lyric said as she took the cup from his hand and started the machine.

  “You have no idea. I miss you so much baby. I feel horrible about not spending any time with you lately. I thought we were gonna have a little break in between cases but that was wishful thinking.”

  “It’s okay boo. I understand.” Lyric smiled.

  “I tried calling you last night before I went to bed. You must have turned in early,” Javier said, trying to fish for answers.

  “No, I went out for a little while,” she replied, making his heart skip a few beats.

  After pouring his heart out to Lyric about his love for her, she still felt the need to see other men. Working so much was killing him and it was putting a strain on their relationship. When he had to prepare for a new case, he barely had time to breathe. Spending time with Lyric was almost impossible. Javier didn’t want to be the lead on another case, but Mr. Malone insisted. That meant that the bulk of the work was his alone and it was very time consuming.

  “Don’t give up on me, Lyric. I don’t care if I have to take a few sick days, I’m going to make some time for us,” Javier promised.

  “What do you want in your coffee?” she asked him.

  “Nothing. Is something wrong Lyric? I feel like we’re drifting apart and I don’t like it.”

  “What do you want me to say Javier? We’re at work. This is a conversation for when we’re off the clock,” Lyric replied, right as Spencer and Jena walked into the break room.

  “Good morning beautiful,” Spencer said, making the veins in Javier’s forehead pop out in anger.

  “Spencer!” Jena yelled in shock.

  He was taking his disrespect to a whole new level now. They had just made up from the night before and he was trying to piss her off again. Spencer was getting bold with doing things in her face and she was getting sick of it.

  “What? I just said good morning. Are you ready for another win Javier?” Spencer asked as he looked over at the other man.

  “I’m ready for whatever,” Javier snapped with a double meaning behind his reply. He cast his angry glare at Lyric before he walked out of the break room. Spencer didn’t know that he and Lyric had something between them, but Javier was pissed anyway.

  “That nigga needs to lighten up a little,” Spencer said as he fixed himself some coffee.

  Jena was clinging to him like a spider monkey, so Lyric decided to mess with her.

  “Are you ever hot? You must be with all that extra baggage always hanging on you,” Lyric smirked.

  “He’s my man, so I can do whatever I want. He didn’t mind me hanging all over him in his office a few minutes ago. Did you baby?” Jena replied as she ran her thumb over his lips.

  “Don’t flatter yourself boo. I already know what that mouth do,” Lyric replied as she licked her lips.

  “Damn,” Spencer said as his eyes followed her tongue.

  “You better get going baby. You’re gonna be late for court,” Jena said, not liking the way things were going.

  “Uh, yeah. I can’t be late for that,” Spencer replied as he added sugar and creamer to his coffee.

  Jena grabbed his face and planted a wet, sloppy kiss on his lips. She kept her eyes on Lyric the entire time but the other woman didn’t seem to care. As soon as Spencer left, she turned to Lyric and smiled.

  “Javier looked kind of upset about something. I wonder what pissed him off like that,” Jena said with a sneaky grin.

  “I don’t know. Maybe you should ask him,” Lyric retorted.

  “He looked like he wanted to do bodily harm to my man when he spoke to you. I wonder why.” Jena grinned.

  She didn’t even have to say anything else because Lyric already knew what she was hinting at. There was a card with her flowers and Jena had obviously read it. Lyric was done playing with her and she was all out of passes now.

  “You trying to play with me, Jena? You already know what’s up with me and you really don’t want it. Playing dirty is my specialty and nobody knows that better than you,” Lyric replied.

  “How am I playing with you? I’m just talking out loud. I didn’t mean to insinuate anything. I mean, if you’re fucking Javier, that’s your business. You know that I can keep a secret better than anyone,” Jena laughed.

  “Oh okay, so you do want to play. I’m always down for a little fun. Let the games begin bitch. Just know that there are no rules. When I do play, I play to win,” Lyric warned before she walked away.

  The smile fell from Jena’s face because she knew that she had taken her hatred for Lyric too far. Truthfully, she was wrong, but her jealously didn’t allow her to see it that way. The look on Lyric’s face made the hairs on the back of her neck stand at attention. She didn’t know what she meant but she didn’t miss the underlying threat in her words. The only way for Lyric to hurt her was through her job or her relationship with Spencer. When she thought about it, Jena felt stupid for even saying anything. Now, she would have to watch Spencer like a hawk to make sure her former best friend didn’t sink her claws into him again. Lyric was way stronger than she was. She bounced back quick after her breakup with Spencer. Jena wasn’t so sure that she could do the same thing.

  Chapter 10

  “Stop putting all that greasy stuff on your lips. That shit be too hard to come off,” Bronx complained when he saw Lyric putting gloss on her lips.

  “Why do you care about how hard it is to come off?” Lyric questioned.

  “This is date number three my baby. I’m kissing your pretty ass before you leave tonight. I’m even letting you win to make sure of it,” Bronx replied, making her laugh.

  He and Lyric were at AMF bowling alley in Kenner and they were having a good time. They had been there for a little over three hours, but their time together was almost up. Lyric had to work the following morning but he kept prolonging their stay. The lane rentals were only for two hours but he wasn’t ready for her to go. He went and got the time extended, even though Lyric told him not to. She fussed about it but it was cool. She enjoyed their time together so she really didn’t mind.

  “Don’t get too excited. This cheap ass date will only earn you a peck on the cheek,” Lyric said as she threw the ball down the lane.

  “Don’t even try to play me like that. Coming here was your idea. I’m trying to wine and dine you but you won’t let me.”

  “I’m just messing with you, boo. This is good enough for me. I don’t really do the clubs and stuff so this is my idea of fun.” Lyric shrugged.
<
br />   “And that’s just why I’m feeling your lil sexy ass,” Bronx said as he looked at her and blew a kiss.

  He and Lyric bowled a few more games until their time expired. They sat down and had a drink at the bar and talked before they walked out to their separate cars.

  “And just for the record, you didn’t let me win. I’m a beast at bowling nigga. Just admit that I spanked that ass,” Lyric laughed.

  “Yeah, you did. Does that mean that I can spank yours now?” he flirted as he pinned her up against her car with his body.

  Lyric tried hard to not seem affected, but that nigga was too damn fine. Besides the last time that Javier went down on her in the conference room, she hadn’t had any kind of sexual activity in her life. He was working hard on his cases and she refused to give it up to anybody else. After the heated argument that they’d had earlier, she wasn’t even answering the phone for him right now. He was questioning her about Spencer and he thought she was lying when she told him that nothing was going on. Trying to get under Jena’s skin had Spencer thinking that it was more than what it was. Lyric was over him but she had to take the blame for his flirtatious behavior.

  She had gone out with Raymond a few days before but they had never even kissed. She hadn’t even known Bronx that long and he was getting further than Raymond ever did. Lyric already felt like a hoe and she hadn’t even done anything yet. She needed to pump her brakes before she did something that she would later regret.

  “As tempting as that sounds, I’ll have to pass,” Lyric replied as she inhaled his intoxicating scent.

  “I’m not ready for you to leave yet,” Bronx confessed.

  “I know but I have to work in the morning. It’s already after eleven,” Lyric said as she looked at her watch.

  “Come take a ride with me,” he requested.

  “How,, when we came in two separate cars?” Lyric pointed out.

  “I can follow you to bring your car home,” he replied.

  “Thanks, but no,” Lyric said.