“Please, even if I wanted to get with you last night, I couldn’t. All you did was talk about your fiancée and how you wanted to go home but she was cheating on you. I don’t know what she’s got between her legs, but I sure as hell wish she’d share her secret, ’cause your ass is whipped.”
“Yeah, I know,” I agreed. “That’s part of my problem. I’m totally whipped.”
“Hey, that’s not necessarily a bad thing,” she smiled. “Stephanie’s a lucky girl. She just has to wake up and figure it out.”
“I don’t know, Brittany. I’m starting to think she’s never gonna figure it out.”
“Yeah, you told me that last night.”
“What didn’t I tell you?”
“I got the
Reader
’
s Digest
version of your whole four-year relationship. From your first date to her ex showing up Christmas Day to—”
I cut her off. “Damn, I really gotta stop drinking. Shit makes me talk too much.”
“It sure does.” She smiled. “Look, I’m about to make breakfast. You not no Muslim or anything, are you? ’Cause I don’t cook breakfast unless it’s got pork.”
“No, I eat pork. But I’m gonna pass. I need to get home and straighten a few things out before I head to the base.”
“Well, if you need somewhere to stay, you can stay here for a few days. But from now on, you get the couch.”
“You know, Brittany, you’re all right. Thanks.” I gave her a sad smile. “Who knows? The way things are going, I might need to take you up on that offer.”
“My door’s always open.”
“Travis,” a weak voice called from the living room when I got home a little after nine. I wasn’t looking forward to the confrontation I was sure was about to go down. Still, I went into the living room to deal with our problem like a man. Stephanie was sitting on the love seat, looking nothing like what I expected. I had expected her to be ready for a war of words. Instead, she looked like she’d already been defeated. Her hair was wrapped in an old scarf and she was wearing baggy sweats. But her face was the most surprising. Trails of black mascara started at her puffy eyes and streaked all the way down her cheeks. She looked like she’d been crying all night.
“Travis, I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. I know I shouldn’t have lied to you. Please don’t leave me.”
“Don’t worry.” I stepped closer to her. “I ain’t going nowhere. This is
my
house. But shit’s about to change around here. Do you understand me, Stephanie? Shit’s about to change or you can get the fuck out.” She jumped up and wrapped her arms around me as soon as I was within reach.
“I know. I understand. You didn’t mess with no woman last night, did you?” During the ride home I’d convinced myself that I should tell Stephanie the truth about getting drunk and winding up at Brittany’s. Hell, it was completely innocent. But now that I was looking at her tear-stained face, I didn’t think it was such a good idea.
“I had a few offers, but no, I didn’t mess with any—”
Before I could finish my sentence, her lips came down on mine and we were kissing like it was our first date.
“I want you, baby. I want you right now,” she purred like a sex kitten.
She let go of me and pulled her sweatshirt right off. Two seconds later she was standing in front of me naked as the day she was born. She grabbed my hand slowly and backed up until she was sitting in the love seat with her legs open.
“It’s all yours, baby. Any way you want it.”
But I wasn’t as enthusiastic as she was. I took a step back.
“What is it? What’s the matter?”
“I can’t live this way, Steph. I can’t be paranoid all the time. Worried about where you are or who you’re with. As much as I love you, it’s not worth it to me. So you do whatever you have to do to get your boy Malek straight. ’Cause you got one more chance and only one chance. You screw it up and we’re through. And you can try me if you want to.”
“I’m not gonna screw up, baby. Now, come here so I can show you how much I love you.”
“Where are the kids?” I whispered as I unbuttoned my shirt.
“I already took them to day care. We’ve got till five o’clock this afternoon.” I smiled at her answer as I unbuckled my pants.
“Well then, back that ass on up.”
19
Jasmine
It was a little after noon and Dylan and I were sitting in the Red Lobster on the West End having lunch. We’d been spending most of our free time together and I must say I was really enjoying it. I was getting more and more attached to him with each day. Sure, I still loved Derrick, but after the incident with Wendy at the prison, things just hadn’t been the same. Especially after I refused to bring him the drugs and Wendy started visiting him every week.
In some ways Dylan had taken over in Derrick’s absence. I actually relied on him so much more than I’d ever relied on Derrick. As much as I loved Derrick, and as well as he treated me when he was free, he never listened to me the way Dylan did. Whenever I’d had a bad day at work, or another fight with my sister, Derrick always acted like he didn’t have time to hear it. His so-called business was much more important to him. He always made me feel like my concerns were so trivial. Not so with Dylan. He had a business of his own, too, but it seemed like he could listen to my problems and my stories for hours. And the most beautiful thing was, he never judged me. There was this unconditional acceptance from him that I barely even got from my own family. Besides, it was nice having someone around to spoil me for a change.
In the few months I’d spent with Dylan, he’d learned more about me than Derrick had in all the years we’d been together. Dylan was so understanding, I couldn’t help but want to tell him everything. And because of that, we had no secrets. Well, almost none. I wasn’t about to tell him I was sexually attracted to him and that the two of us were just one kiss away from getting in between the sheets.
Every once in a while, I’d think about just forgetting Derrick and admitting my feelings to Dylan. But he kept telling me about this woman named Tonya he was messing with, so I kept myself in check. Of course, I wasn’t sure I believed Tonya was more than a figment of his imagination. Sometimes I suspected he was making her up to keep some distance between us. When we were together, he’d hug me a little tighter or stare at me a little longer than he would if everything were truly platonic. Besides, as much time as we spent together, there was no way in the world he could have another woman in his life. She’d have to be stupid. Whatever the case, we were both making an effort to keep things friendly and avoid another night like we had at Joe’s. My greatest fear was that we’d end up having some frivolous spur-of-the-moment affair that would ruin our friendship, and I didn’t think I could bear that. So with Derrick’s release date getting closer and closer, I was torn.
But no matter how much we tried to be just friends, most people who’d seen us together took it for granted that we were an item. To be honest, I didn’t discourage it. Other than the fact that we weren’t having sex, we might as well be a couple. Even the grocery store clerk got so used to seeing me there with Dylan that she commented one night when I was shopping alone. She told me she hoped we hadn’t broken up, ’cause he sure was a nice young man.
Yep, Dylan had that kind of effect on people. Unlike Derrick, everyone seemed to like him, especially Big Momma. I swear, if she were a few years younger she’d have pushed me to the side and gone after him herself. I couldn’t believe the way she acted when I brought him over to her house for Sunday dinner a few weeks ago. The minute we walked in the door, she started acting the fool. I never dreamed she would embarrass me like that.
“Lord have mercy, Jasmine! Who is this
fine
young man?” Big Momma asked the second Dylan and I walked in the door. She looked Dylan over from head to toe and nodded her approval with a wide grin. “Well, Jasmine, aren’t you gonna introduce us? I know I taught you better than that.”
“Yes, ma’am. Big Momma, this is Dylan Taylor. Dylan, this is my grandmother, Mrs. Washington.” I had to keep from rolling my eyes at all the formality. When she met Derrick for the first time, Big Momma had barely allowed herself to make eye contact with him, and she made it clear from the start she was watching his every move. But as much as she hated Derrick was as much as Big Momma seemed to love Dylan, and she didn’t even know the guy.
I had no doubt, though, that she’d done as much checking on Dylan’s background as she could with all her connections in the community. After Derrick had us all believing he was a lawyer, Big Momma wasn’t taking anyone’s word on anything. She probably learned Dylan was a legitimate business owner, and that was enough to make him worthy in her eyes. Big Momma’s biggest concern was getting me to end things with Derrick. She probably thought Dylan was a pretty good prospect to help her reach that goal. And Dylan, with his polite self, was making Big Momma’s eyes light up right about now. He reached out to take her hand in his.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Washington.”
“The pleasure’s all mine, Dylan. And around here all the young people just call me Big Momma, because we family.” This time I did roll my eyes, but I made sure to turn my head away first. Big Momma never let Derrick call her anything but Mrs. Washington.
“Big Momma, huh? Well Mrs. Washington, that’s kinda personal.” Dylan let go of her hand. I held my breath, ’cause for a second I thought he might say something insulting, and then Big Momma would have to show her true self. “But if you want me to call you Big Momma, I’d consider it an honor. But you better come over here so I can give you a big kiss like we really are family.”
Well, Big Momma looked like she could just about melt. Her face got two shades deeper after Dylan planted a huge, wet kiss right on her lips. I just stood there in shock. I’d never seen my grandmother blush before.
“Lawwwd have mercy! I ain’t had a man kiss me like that in thirty years!” Big Momma grabbed her chest, pretending to have a heart attack á la Fred Sanford. She knocked over a few chairs and fell over onto the sofa. Poor Dylan was so confused by her apparent heart attack that he looked as if he were about to bend down to perform CPR. It was a good thing my look stopped him, too, ’cause Big Momma probably would’ve had a real heart attack if he’d pressed his lips up against hers again. It was one hell of a show, and we’d just barely walked in the door.
The rest of our visit with Big Momma was more of the same love-fest. Big Momma’s eyes lit up every time Dylan spoke about himself. I could see her taking mental notes about all his good qualities, and I just knew once she got the chance, she’d be doing her best to sell me on him. So it was no surprise when she woke me at six the next morning tryin’ to play matchmaker. I wasn’t about to tell her she was preaching to the choir, that I’d been sold on Dylan since that first night at Joe’s. I just had too much invested in Derrick to drop him. So I just let her get it off her chest.
“Now, Jasmine, baby, he sure is a good man. Don’t you let him get away, you hear? Men like that don’t grow on trees.”
“Big Momma, I know he’s nice. But he’s just a friend. You seem to forget I’ve already got a man.”
“Shoot. That boy ain’t no good. He ain’t nothin’ but a drug dealer. A convicted one at that. He ain’t brought you nothin’ but grief since the day you met. Now, men like Dylan, or your sister’s man, Travis? Good men like that don’t come around but so often. You’d better jump on Dylan like your sister did Travis. Otherwise you’ll end up being a bridesmaid at his wedding tryin’ to figure out what the hell happened.”
Big Momma kept me on that phone nearly two hours telling me what a fool I’d be to let Dylan go. She couldn’t have made it more clear how much she despised Derrick and how much she loved Dylan. It was enough to make my already confused emotions even more jumbled.
“What’re you thinking about?” Dylan interrupted my thoughts.
“You and Big Momma,” I laughed. “You know y’all getting married one day, don’t you?”
“Well,” he smiled, “the way things have been going, I guess I could do worse. Only problem is, she probably don’t wanna have any more kids.”
I reached across the table and touched his hand as I laughed. “You really wanna have kids, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I’d love to have a family.” He stared at me momentarily before changing the subject. “So, miss, you got any plans for tonight?”
“None that I’m aware of. Why?” I wondered if my face revealed how much I was hoping his next words would be an invitation to spend some more time together. Thankfully, he didn’t disappoint me.
“Well, you know my birthday is Saturday, but I’m gonna be outta town most of the day. So I was wondering if you and your girls would mind celebrating with me and Joe tonight at Joe’s club in Petersburg.”
“I can’t speak for Becky and Sabrina, but I’ll be there. So, birthday boy, what do you want for your birthday?” He smiled wickedly, raising both eyebrows as he looked off into the distance. I was about to press him for more details when my cell phone rang. “Damn it, hold that thought.” I reached for the phone in my purse.
“Hello,” I said sweetly, smiling across the table at Dylan.