NOKEA
At last, Jaylin was home. He made it in late Wednesday night, and for a second there, I had gotten kind of worried. He kept calling with one explanation after another, telling me why he wasn't going to make it home that night. When he got home, though, his conversation put me at ease. He seemed excited about the numerous properties he'd seen, and said that he was considering purchasing two of them. It was good to see him throw himself back into work. He said that at the end of the day, there was nothing wrong with making more money. I wholeheartedly agreed. I wanted to make sure Jaylene and LJ didn't want for anything when they got older, and the money Jaylin had been making was very much starting to be large enough for generations to come. I started paying much more attention to our bank statements. Every time Jaylin cut a new deal, he kept me posted. I did have a bank account of my own, and every time I looked up, Jaylin was throwing all kinds of money in it, just to make sure I had enough to do whatever I wanted. He had me spoiled. Maybe not as much as he had the kids, but I appreciated him always looking out for me.
On Thursday afternoon, Jaylin and Shane came in, talking loud about an issue with work. The kids were in their study room, being homeschooled by their teacher, Mrs. Mahoney. Nanny B was resting, and I was in the kitchen being nosy, listening to Jaylin and Shane's conversation.
“I told you he was wasting our time,” Jaylin said, opening the refrigerator. “I could tell he didn't have any money by looking at his shoes.”
Shane laughed and slapped his hand against Jaylin's. “Next time, I'll know better. If a brotha's shoes ain't right, that says a lot about him.”
Jaylin pulled out two bottles of water, tossing one to Shane. They gulped it down; then Jaylin cleared his throat. “Movie night is tonight,” he said. “Are you and Tiffanie going to join us?”
“I'm going to join y'all, but Tiffanie isn't. I invited Joy to come overâthat's if the two of you don't mind.”
Jaylin looked at me, waiting for me to say something. We had movie night in our theater room on Thursdays, and Shane always invited Tiffanie. I shrugged, having nothing to say.
Jaylin left the kitchen to go take a shower and change. Shane stayed in the kitchen, so he and I could talk.
“I hope you're not upset with me, Nokea. I know Tiffanie is your friend, but I don't want to rush into anything with her right now. I hope you understand.”
“I do. And you don't have to explain anything to me. I just want you to be happy, and I know what you've been through in the past. My only hope is that it doesn't stop you from recognizing a good woman when you have one.”
“I'll do my best.” He smiled and gave me a hug; then he thanked me for being concerned about him.
Shane went to the lower level, and as soon as the phone rang, I answered. It was Joy, implying that she tried to call Shane's cell phone, but he didn't answer.
“He's here, but let me go to the lower level to see if I can find him for you.”
With the cordless phone in my hand, I headed to the lower level. Since Shane had the majority of the basement to himself, I rarely went down there. I wanted him to have as much privacy as ever, and when I opened the door to his bedroom, I understood why. I could see him in the glass shower, standing with his eyes closed, with water dripping down on his face and stallion-like caramel body. He, too, was a very sexy man, and this was the third time I'd walked in on him when he had no clothes on. I knew why Tiffanie couldn't let him go, and he was packaged up quite well. I closed the door, telling Joy that he was in the shower. She asked for our address and I gave her directions to our house, even though I didn't want to do that. After all, Tiffanie was my friend, but I also didn't want any of the others to be upset with me for interfering.
Afterward, I walked around downstairs, straightening the pillows on the pit couch, which sat in front of a wall-to-wall entertainment center. I went to the weight room and put the weights, which Jaylin, LJ and Shane had all over the place, back where they belonged. Next I went into the sauna and removed a few towels that needed to be washed, and then I searched in the wine cellar for a bottle of wine that Jaylin and I could drink tonight. I found the red wine that I wanted; then I went into the spacious theater room, which had six rows of comfortable black leather chairs. I checked the thermostat, making sure the room would be cozy.
The thermostat was set at seventy-two degrees, so I was cool with that. I left the theater room, and just as I was getting ready to go back upstairs, I heard Shane laughing. I moved closer to his bedroom door, eavesdropping on his conversation.
“I told you I got you,” he said. “I enjoyed myself last night too, and you set it out there for a brotha. I look forward to seeing you tonight, and you can chill the night with me, if you want to.”
I rolled my eyes, somewhat anxious to see what this chick named Joy looked like.
Later that night, Jaylin and I put the kids to bed, and after we had a few drinks, we all headed to the theater room to watch a movie. We'd all heard that
The Hangover
was pretty funny, and the moment it came on the screen, we were all cracking up. Shane and Joy sat cuddled up in one of the leather chairs, and Jaylin and I sat right behind them. The chairs were indeed big enough for two people, but for comfort, one person would do.
To me, Joy had nothing on Tiffanie. She seemed very materialistic and had a Gucci bag, purse, belt and shoes. A Gucci watch was on her wrist. The way her voice squeaked, it drove me crazy. She was slender and tall, like a runway model, and had no assets whatsoever. Backside had a small curve to it, and her breast size couldn't have been no bigger than a 32A or B. Shane was known for liking very plain women who resembled runway models. No wonder when Scorpio was dating Shane to make Jaylin jealous, she was capable of blowing Shane's mind.
“Hell nah,” Jaylin said, slapping his leg and cracking up at the movie. “These muthafuckas are crazy.”
“I could see us doing some shit like that,” Shane suggested. I popped him on the back of his head and told him that wasn't possible.
As the movie went on, everyone was tuned in. We kept filling our glasses with wine, Rémy, and Patrón. I was getting pretty sick from eating so much buttered popcorn. I was so glad when the movie was over, and as soon as it was, Shane couldn't wait to get Joy into his bedroom. Jaylin and I headed to ours, and he fell across the California King bed, lying on his stomach. We hadn't made love since he'd returned from his trip, so I went into my closet to change. I put on a lime green stretch-lace nightie that hugged my curves and barely covered my meaty breasts. Since it was lace, he could see right through it. I was so sure he would love it. I sprayed a dash of perfume between my breasts and couldn't wait for Jaylin to make love to me.
When I left the closet, I sauntered his way. He sat up on his elbows, eyeing me as I lit some candles and turned off the lights to darken the room. I slithered my body on top of his, and as we kissed, his hands roamed my backside. He carefully rolled on top of me, placing passionate kisses on my neck and shoulders.
“Nokea,” he whispered. “Baby, God as my witness, I love you more than anything and anyone in this world. You know that, don't you?”
“Yes,” I whispered back. “I feel it every single day of my life, and you know how much I love you too.”
Jaylin pulled the top part of my nightie aside, exposing one of my wobbly breasts. He began to pluck my nipple with his mouth; and with each pluck, my nipple stiffened even more. He massaged my other breast in circles, caressing it with his soft, strong hand. I was so into his performance, until he whispered something to me that stung.
“Why in the hell can we not make any more babies? I want some more babies, Nokea. Damn, I want another baby.”
My entire body went limp. He knew darn well why we possibly couldn't have any more babies, and did I have to remind him that I'd fallen down the steps because of the tape I'd seen a few years into our marriage with Scorpio seducing him? I kept my cool, but his words hurt like hell. It was as if he was blaming me, and I wasn't feeling that at all.
“We just have to keep trying,” I said. “That's all we can do. You don't mind if we have to keep trying, do you?”
He kept sucking my breasts, ignoring me. When I lifted his head to stop him, I saw something peculiar in his eyes, which meant trouble. The disturbing look shocked me, and I did not know my not getting pregnant was troubling Jaylin so much. Talk about a mood spoiler, this was it.
“Why didn't you say anything to me about how you were feeling?” I asked, letting out a deep sigh. “I thought you were okay and you know how difficult this-”
Jaylin reached over and held the sides of my face; he sucked my lips into his. “I know, baby, and I am so, so sorry for coming at you like that. Sometimes I get to thinking about another child, and we don't really know if or when it will happen. I'm hopeful, though, so no worries.”
I rubbed my fingers through the curls in his hair. “I'm hopeful too. But please don't hide your feelings from me. You haven't said anything about a baby in a while, and that look in your eyes scares me.”
“I'm okay. As long as I got you with me, I'm fine. You're my strength, Nokea, and I could never make it through life without you.”
“Same here. I can promise you this.... You'll never be without me.”
“You promise,” he repeated.
“Never,” I assured.
For whatever reason, that night, our lovemaking session felt different. I mean, Jaylin was always so into making love to me, but his strokes were not on point, like they had been. He stopped several times, just to talk to me.
“I love you, love you, love you,” he said, tickling me to change the mood. “You know I've been the best husband I could possibly be, right? And I apologize for getting at you like that about a baby.”
“Apology accepted, and I know you're the best, Jaylin,” I said, feeling so unsure about where all of this was coming from, afraid to dig deeper.
“I hope so, because I would never let you go in a million years. We have the best connection ever, and you were definitely made for me.”
He held me tightly in his arms, and after an odd situation, he made passionate love to me throughout the night. I was a bit unsure about the whole thing. Why was he saying all of those things to me, and did they, indeed, mean anything?
Like any wife who knew her husband well, and could feel it in her gut that something wasn't right, I started to pay more attention to Jaylin. He had been spending more time with Jaylene and LJ. Whenever he went to the office, he started taking LJ with him. He didn't seem to mind if Jaylene wanted to sleep with us at night. As a matter of fact, for the past two nights, he'd slept in her room with her. He had been taking more business calls than usual, and there were several times that he walked into another room to take a call. I saw him looking spacey a few times; sometimes when I called his name, it was as if he didn't even hear me. Then there were our intimate moments. Ever since the other night, Jaylin hadn't pursued sex with me again.
Now, only four days had passed by, but he always used to be saying something revolving around sex, every single day. He barely laid a kiss on me since that night, and if he did, I initiated it. Yesterday evening, I saw him outside on the hammock, staring off into the sky, looking as if something heavy was on his mind.
During dinner he was known for cracking jokes and keeping everyone at the table laughing. Lately he hadn't said much at all. Nanny B even asked what was wrong with him, and when Shane asked, Jaylin replied, “Nothing.” He played it off. Afterward, he and Shane went to the lower level to play basketball on the half-court. I wanted to cry myself to sleep that night, knowing that the man I loved so much was starting to change. Why? I couldn't put my finger on it just yet, but it wouldn't take me long to figure out what was going on.
SCORPIO
I said that I'd do anything for Jay Baby, and I meant every word I said. He was a serious businessman, and when it came to my move, he had every
single
i dotted
and
t crossed. According to the letter he'd sent me, he hired a round-the-clock nurse for Mackenzie and his son. He told me not to bring any furniture, as our new location would already be furnished. He hired a nanny to help me out, and said her name would be Loretta. He also gave me a new bank account number that was set up for the personal needs of the kids and me.
I took care of things on my end too. I turned over ownership of my hair and nail salon, Jay's, to one of my closest friends and stylists who worked there, Bernie. She was disappointed that we were leaving, but she definitely understood why I had to go. As for my sister, Leslie, I gave my house to her. Bruce's name wasn't even on the deeds, and I had purchased the house with my own money. Pertaining to him, I already had filed for a divorce, and I knew there was no way in hell he would contest it. Almost two weeks after Jaylin suggested the change, the kids were out of the hospital and I packed up our belongings. We were on our way to Miami Beach, Florida. The man whom Jaylin hired to help us, his name was Ebay. He was a tall, skinny African dude, with short beaded hair. He seemed to be about business too, and he made the transition go very smoothly. The kids, of course, had gotten very irritable in the car, but we made plenty of stops. For now, Mackenzie still had to be moved around in a wheelchair. According to Jaylin's letter, her therapy would start right away. My son was doing much better. He even recovered faster than Mackenzie had, and I was extremely happy about that. I had all of the necessary paperwork needed to change his name, and I decided to rename him Justin. Justin Rogers, but I wanted to run it by Jaylin before I proceeded to do anything.
As for me, I was ready for a new start, but I wasn't sure how this thing between Jaylin and me would pan out. I definitely wasn't up for a bunch of drama, and in an effort to avoid that, all I had to do was give him everything he wanted. To me, he was so deserving, and he had already done so much for me and my family. I knew much more was to come and I couldn't wait to see what living in a new city would offer.
The ride to Miami was long, but Ebay kept me busy with conversation. When he pulled in front of a tall white stone building with glass windows, I thought he was just making a stop. Jaylin said we'd be moving into a house, but Ebay said it was a seacoast penthouse. All of the buildings in the vicinity were beautiful, and I couldn't believe people could afford to live like this. Ebay helped me get Mackenzie situated in her wheelchair, and I carried Justin in my arms. The moving truck that had been following us drove around to the back, and Ebay directed the driver to park. The inside of the building was even more stunning than the outside. Shiny marble floors were everywhere. Glass mirrors and modern paintings covered the walls, and the elevators were polished with gold. I was in awe, and I saw Mackenzie's eyes getting bigger and bigger. Ebay inserted a card in the elevator to make it go up. The elevator read the card, and spoke to us. “To the twenty-first floor,” it said. “Correct?”
“Yes,” Ebay replied, and the elevator went up. It was surrounded by glass, so you could look down and see what was below. I was afraid of heights, but the scenery was hard to resist. Swimming pools and palm trees were everywhere. Restaurants were close by, and so were plenty of golf courses and ice-cream stands. When the elevator opened, Ebay rolled Mackenzie down the long hallway. I followed, with Justin still in my arms. Ebay stepped up to the dark cherry oak double doors. When he opened it, I was nearly in a state of complete shock. The open space was unbelievable. Had to be at least 5,000 or 6,000 square feet. The shine from the cream-colored marble floors lit up the place, but the glass windows that surrounded the spacious area were breathtaking. You could see the peaceful blue ocean, filled with exquisite yachts. As high up as we were, Miami could be seen from miles away.
An outside balcony stretched around the penthouse, and turquoise lounging chairs were placed out there too. Turquoise was one of my favorite colors, and obviously, Jaylin didn't forget. The paintings on the white walls had turquoise in them, and the modern kitchen, which sat in the middle of the floor, had both turquoise and white pendant lights hanging above the kitchen isle. In the living-room area sat a two-sided fireplace, which had plasma TVs on both sides. If you were in the kitchen, you could watch TV; and if you were in the living room, you could watch as well. A contemporary cream-colored leather sectional was in the living room, and a silver chrome table with glass sat in the middle. The decor was so perfect! When I looked at one of the pictures, I saw the name 4M2H Designs, based out of St. Louis, scripted on everything. Whoever those designers were, they had their shit together!
Ebay took us down the hall, showing us two of the modern bathrooms, which had sinks designed like blue ocean waves. The showers had buttons that slid the glass doors aside, and the numerous chrome faucets made sure every part of your body was clean. The children's rooms were too adorable. They were right next to each other, and Mackenzie's room was decorated in pink, green and white. Three fashion girls were painted on her walls: one black, one white and one Asian.
Diversity Girls
was scribbled above it, and again, the design was signed by 4M2H Designs. Justin's room was dark blue and brown. He had a modern bed with bookshelves and a computer desk inside. Comfortable beanbags were on the floor, and they sat right in front of a plasma TV mounted on the wall. In the corner of his room was a play area that had choo-choo trains, building blocks and race cars. The area was designed to build his motor skills and keep him busy. Needless to say, I loved it!
When it was time to go to my room, Ebay told me to take the spiral staircase to the upper level, directly above the kids' rooms. He, however, went to an elevator that went straight up and opened up to my room. The space was ridiculous, and right in the middle of the floor was a simple, neatly dressed king-sized bed that was raised off the floor. It had a white silk padded headboard, and tall crystal-like turquoise vases sat on each side of the bed. The bedding was white silk, and I simply couldn't stand to see any more. I sat on the bed, and put my hands over my face to hide my emotions. Jaylin had outdone himself, and it was ridiculous for anyone to live like this. A part of me was a little skeptical, only because I didn't know if I would become confined to this place, waiting for Jaylin to come by, only to take care of his needs. I didn't want to be classified as his sidekick. If it ever got to a point where I truly felt that way, I'd have to make some changes. For now, I was here and was eager to see how things were going to go.
Ebay held out his hand to me. “Oh, we're not finished yet. Come, come, you must see the outdoor view from your room.”
I choked back my tears and followed Ebay over to the glass windows. The view from my room was even better. I am very afraid of heights, and when Ebay suggested that I go outside on my wavy-carved balcony, which had lounging chairs, a personal swimming pool and Jacuzzi, I declined. Definitely, being out there would take some time to get used to.
When all was said and done, I had a bathroom that was almost the size of my whole house back in St. Louis. My roomy closet had no clothes in it, but that wouldn't be for long. And like it or not, this was going to be the place that my family and I called home.
Ebay let the movers in to place our things where they belonged, but there really wasn't much to do. I think Mackenzie had more than anybody, and all I had was a bunch of clothes. The nurse, Beatrice, had already shown up, and so had my nanny, Loretta. She seemed really sweet, and I could tell I would enjoy having her around.
Once things got settled, it was way after eleven at night. The kids had been put to bed, the nurse had left, but Loretta had a maid's quarter, which was on the other side of the penthouse. Ebay was on his way out. He told me about the twenty-four-hour security on duty and gave me his number to call him, just in case I needed anything. For now, I really couldn't think of anything. I thanked Ebay for his help, and he said he'd see me soon.
Before going to bed, I checked on the kids and they were sound asleep. I hoped that they'd enjoy their new place as much as I anticipated we would. To be honest, deep down, I felt Jaylin would be every bit a good father to them. I knew that he would give fatherhood his all. That made me so happy inside. Thinking about him, I took the stairs to my room. I tiptoed on the shiny marble floors and lay across my bed. My eyes looked at the coffered ceiling and the recess lighting that made the room so cozy. I rubbed my hands on the soft silk comforter, wishing that Jaylin were lying right next to me. I didn't know when he'd show up, but I hoped it would be soon.
I wanted to get comfortable, so I went into my closet and found a button-down silk pink pajama top. My feet were cold, but since I couldn't find my house shoes, I threw on a pair of clean white socks. I flipped on the TV mounted above the fireplace, watching for only a few minutes. I was thirsty, so I went to the kitchen to get something to drink. The wide stainless-steel refrigerator was loaded with bottled water, fruit juice, V8 juice and food. Some of our favorites, I might add; yet again, Jaylin had outdone himself. I wanted so badly to call and thank him, but I remembered what he'd said about not reaching out to him. I couldn't wait to call Leslie either, just so I could tell her about the place I now called home. I knew she wouldn't believe me. Hopefully, she and her kids would be able to come here and see how spectacular Miami really was.
Still thinking about Leslie, I leaned against the kitchen counter with the bottled water in my hand. I took a few sips; then I wiggled my fingers through my long, wavy hair that was a mess. I yawned a few times, and then I tossed the empty bottle in the trash can in front of me. The bottle missed; and when it hit the floor, I heard an alarm go off. It quickly silenced. I turned my head, a bit frightened, and wondered what the noise really was. As I stood still by the counter, I could hear heavy footsteps on the floor. My heart raced. When I saw Jaylin swoop around the corner, I felt relieved. He was a sight for sore and tired eyes. He looked out-of-sight in a red Ralph Lauren T-shirt, which tightened on his muscles, and dark black baggy jeans. He said not one word to me, and all I saw was him removing the thick black Polo belt from the loops on his jeans. The belt hit the floor; he stood in front of me, undoing the top button on his jeans.
“Thank you,” I said, searching into his eyes, which said he wanted me. “I love my new place.”
Jaylin had a blank expression on his face and he did not respond. He ripped my shirt apart, causing each and every button to fly off and bounce on the floor. His arms went around my waist and he lifted my body to sit on the edge of the double sinks. His jeans dropped to his ankles, and he gripped the back of my neck, bringing my lips to his. We sucked in a heap of each other's saliva. As he began to finger fuck me, my entire body was on fire. My hips were moving to the motion of his fingers, and I was barely able to keep still on the counter. My breasts were poked out right in front of him, and it wasn't long before he started giving them some attention. I could feel the heat coming from the tips of my toes, to the top of my forehead, which had already started to sweat. To cool myself, I reached back for the faucet to turn on the icy cold water. As Jaylin sucked my breasts and jabbed his fingers into me, I splashed and rubbed water all over my body to cool it. He sucked my wet fingers, and it wasn't long before he started sucking something else. I jumped down from the counter, pulling my shirt away from my body and dropping it to the floor. While holding on to the counter, I bent over and Jaylin inserted himself from behind me. His dick filled my slippery suction hole to capacity, and he was slamming it into me good. My firm breasts were bouncing around, and he extended his hands to massage them. He started massaging my clitoris with the tips of his fingers, and that
always
did it for me. I curled my toes, trying to shake off the tingling feeling that was taking over my body.
“Fuck me good, baby,” I shouted while licking my lips. “I love this big dick in me! I could live with it in me for the rest of my life! How about that? Would you like that, baby? I know you would.”
Jaylin said nothing, but he didn't have to. His grunts responded for him. As he picked up his pace, I exploded, covering his shaft like a heavily glazed doughnut.
“Gotdamn!” he shouted, then jerked backward. I felt his warm juices running down my legs and my pussy felt swollen from the beating it had just taken. We both remained in our positions, trying to regroup and taking deep, long breaths. Jaylin lightly smacked my ass and rubbed it. I stood up and turned around to face him.
“Why didn't you warn me that you were coming? Had I known, I would have been prepared.”
He hungrily licked around his lips. “You're always prepared, Scorpio. And I thought you liked spontaneous sex?”
“Oh, I do, especially when it's with you.”
Giving me a wink, he lifted his jeans, then zipped them. Afterward, he picked up his belt and tossed it over his shoulder. He walked toward the kids' rooms. Nearly ten minutes later, he came back out. Standing at a distance, he looked over at me still in the kitchen.
“I'll call you in a few days. I'm glad you like your place, and I hope the kids like it too.”