Read Love, Lies and Scandal Online
Authors: Earl Sewell
Tags: #Fiction, #Romance, #Contemporary, #General
JESSE
J
esse and Trina were spending their Sunday visiting museums along Chicago's Lake Shore Drive. They visited the King Tut exhibit at the Museum of Natural History, they saw the dolphins at the Shed Aquarium, and now they were at the Museum of Science and Industry about to exit the U-505 Submarine Exhibit where they got to see what it felt like to be inside submarines from the First and Second World Wars. Jesse and Trina decided to head over to another exhibit called Yesterday's Main Street for ice cream. It was a section of the museum made to look like a city street from the year 1910. The cobblestoned thorough fares were designed to take visitors back to an era when silent movies played and children waited in line for old-fashioned sodas and fountain drinks.
"Do you remember when I used to bring you here?" Jesse asked.
"Barely," Trina said. Her father draped his arm around her shoulder. "I'd bring you here because you got a kick out of me chasing you around the exhibits. And when we'd visit the caveman exhibit, I'd pretend that the cavemen were talking to you and you'd talk back." Jesse laughed.
Trina was perplexed and said, "I don't remember."
They finally arrived at their destination and looked over the ice cream menu mounted on the wall behind the countertop. Trina ordered a strawberry sundae and Jesse ordered a banana spilt. Jesse located a booth and claimed it before another customer had a chance to.
"Daddy, I remember you making my Mulan and Mushu dolls talk," Trina said.
"I almost forgot about how I used to do that." Jesse laughed.
"I got a kick out of that," Trina admitted.
"So did I. I loved coming into your room and sitting on the floor with you. I'd make Mulan ride her horse and make her dragon friend Mushu chase her. It was a joy watching you talk to your dolls as if they were real people. When we got bored playing with your dolls, I used to tickle you. You'd beg me not to and I'd act as if I wasn't going to, but then the moment you got close to me, I'd grab you and tickle you until you started farting."
"Dad!" Jesse had embarrassed his daughter.
"Well, it's true. You'd laugh so hard you'd fart."
"Okay, that was like, so long ago, and can we not talk about that?" Trina asked, then ate more of her sundae. There was a long pause as Jesse studied his daughter. She had beautiful eyes, high cheekbones and his smile.
"What?" Trina asked. Jesse didn't respond, just looked at her and smiled. "Okay, you're really acting weird, Dad," Trina said.
"You've grown into such a beautiful young lady." Jesse's heart had begun to swell with love and pride.
"Can I ask you a serious question?" Trina asked.
"Sure," Jesse said, as he corrected his slumping posture.
Trina paused for a moment. "Okay, it's like this. Ever since you and Mom returned from Las Vegas, I've been feeling as if something isn't exactly right. You guys are acting differently."
"In what way?" Jesse wanted to find out exactly how his daughter was feeling. He didn't think that she'd picked up on their marital problems--at least not yet.
"I don't know. It's hard to explain. It's more of a feeling that I get. I feel like you guys are going to tell me you're getting a divorce."
There it was. The power of the word plunged a dagger deep into Jesse's heart. He took a few deep breaths and concealed his pain before speaking.
"Sweetie, your mom and I are having a difficult time right now," Jesse explained carefully.
"But you guys are going to try and work it out, right?" Trina asked. Jesse knew it was not the time to tell Trina the whole truth, so he sugarcoated his answer so that her heart would be at ease.
"I always try," Jesse whispered and smiled at her reassuringly.
"Good. I don't want to be in the middle of a divorce. I have two friends at school who are going through one and it's not pretty."
"Divorce never is," Jesse said as he scooped up more of his dessert. "So how is volleyball coming along?" Jesse needed to change the subject.
"We'd be doing much better if the other girls on the team would stop trying to look cute and hustle for the ball. It seems like they just stand around and wait for me to serve and score all of the points."
"Well, do they?" Jesse asked.
"Duh, yeah!" Trina said sarcastically. "We're still learning how to work as a unit but some of the girls are too stupid to understand the concept of teamwork. And Ms. Green, our coach, has to remind the girls constantly to stay focused because their minds will drift to the left in a minute."
Jesse laughed.
"I'm serious. They have trouble focusing on one thing. I can't wait to get into high school so that I can get around some kids who want to
play
the game instead of being in the game."
"Maybe I need to talk to the coach and give her some tips on team-building," Jesse said.
"Oh, no. Don't do that, please. Ms. Green hates it when parents try to tell her how to run her team. It drives her up a wall."
"Okay. I'll let that one go." Jesse finished off the last of his dessert. "Do you want to look around some more when you're finished?" Jesse asked.
"Not really," Trina said. "What I'd really like to do is go see that new dance movie about fraternities and black colleges."
"All right then, that's what we'll do," Jesse said, accepting the fact that his little girl was rapidly turning into a young woman.
JoAnn wasn't home when Jesse and Trina arrived late in the evening from their outing at the museum and movie theater. Jesse hung his jacket in the closet near the front door while Trina galloped up the stairs and into her room.
"Don't leave your clothes in the middle of the floor, Trina. Make sure they make it into the laundry basket," Jesse shouted.
"Okay," she answered back.
Jesse walked into the family room and sat down on the chocolate leather love seat and turned on the television. He flipped through the channels until he reached the Spike Television Network just in time to catch an episode of
The Ultimate Fighter.
"Damn, I can't believe that guy is still standing after a hit like that," Jesse said as he turned up the volume. He sat and watched the fight, which, in his opinion, was better than boxing and wrestling combined. Once the program finished, he walked into his office and opened up a stack of mail that had been sitting on his desk for a few days. He decided to boot up his office computer and pay a few bills online. Just as he was typing in his password, Trina appeared in his doorway.
"Have you heard from Mom?" Trina asked.
"No," Jesse said. He hadn't thought about JoAnn much, especially since he'd told her he planned to divorce her. He honestly didn't care where she was or whether she came back. But for Trina's sake, he thought he should sound concerned.
"That's odd that she hasn't called." Jesse supported Trina's concern.
"I called her cell phone but she won't answer."
"She's probably with your aunt Jackie. You know they're like two peas in a pod. Are you hungry?" Jesse asked.
"Yeah. Let's order some Chinese food," Trina said, forgetting all about her concern for JoAnn.
"Well, go get the menu and place the order."
"Should I get the usual? Fried rice, egg foo young and egg rolls?"
"That sounds good to me," Jesse said, beginning to input his account information so that he could pay a bill.
"Should I get a large order so that Mom can eat when she gets home?" Trina asked.
"That's fine, honey. Tell them that I'll come pick it up," Jesse said as he focused on the account information before him. No sooner had he paid his bill than Trina walked back in with the mail.
"Here's the mail that was still in the mailbox." She placed the mail on Jesse's desk, gave him a quick hug and then went to order the food.
Jesse searched through the stack of mail and noticed that he'd received a letter from the university he'd graduated from. It was a request for him to make a donation. Jesse chuckled. "I just paid off my student loan." Inspired, he decided to pull up Trina's college fund account. He and JoAnn agreed to place a certain amount of their income into the account. As Jesse checked the online statement, he was baffled by the information.
"That amount doesn't seem right," he said aloud, clicking a link to check the account's activity history. "What the hell!" Jesse grew angry as he discovered a withdrawal of four thousand dollars.
"Oh, no, she didn't!" Jesse's blood began to boil as he continued to punch the keyboard, demanding more information. "JoAnn, you didn't have to rob our baby!" He quickly checked his business account, their checking account and their savings account to make sure she hadn't attempted to drain them.
Jesse began to think. He knew that he needed to separate their accounts immediately so JoAnn didn't have direct access to them. But he'd have to wait until morning before he could do that, since the banks were now closed.
"I should've transferred all of my money and other assets before I told her that I wanted a divorce," Jesse mumbled.
"Why are you mumbling?" Trina had come back. "The food is probably ready for pickup now. They said that it would take twenty minutes."
Jesse inhaled deeply and released it slowly.
"Are you okay? You don't look so good."
"I'm fine, honey," Jesse said. "I'll run out to get the food in a moment." When Trina left, he continued to check their financial records before getting dinner.
At two in the morning, Jesse heard JoAnn pull her car into the garage. He'd been sitting in the dark, thinking about what she'd done and what he planned to do to her once she confirmed his suspicions. He planned to beat her again. This time with a leather belt which was already coiled around his fist. JoAnn quietly entered the house and tried to creep away to the bedroom, but Jesse startled her when he flipped the light switch.
"Hey!" JoAnn said. Jesse noticed that her eyes were wide with fear and guilt. "What are you still doing up?"
Jesse stood up and approached her. "Where have you been, JoAnn?" he asked.
"With Jackie." JoAnn offered little information. "Why do you have that belt coiled up in your hand?"
"I'm sick and tired of your bullshit, JoAnn!" Jesse yelled at her like a madman. He even whacked the belt against the nearby wall to let her know that he meant business.
"Okay." JoAnn held up the palms of her hands. "Let me explain. Let me tell you the truth." JoAnn cleared her throat. "I was thinking about what you said about divorcing me and I got very upset about it. When I got up first thing this morning I just went for a long drive. I was trying to clear my head and figure out what to do next. I drove all the way to Carbondale in Illinois before I realized how far I'd gone."
"And?" Jesse asked.
"That's it, baby. There is nothing else to tell." JoAnn stood straight before her husband.
"You want me to kick your motherfucking ass, don't you!" Jesse whacked the belt against the wall again. JoAnn flinched when the sound vibrated through the room. "You're a backstabbing liar and a thief, JoAnn, and right now, at this very fucking moment, I want to kill you."
"What are you talking about!" JoAnn hollered back.
"You robbed our own daughter, JoAnn!" The expression that blanketed JoAnn's face was riddled with guilt and proved his words.
"Yeah, I checked the damn account today. How did you spend it this time, JoAnn? Huh? Did you give it away? Gambling again? Or did you pay off some gambling debt that I didn't know about?" Jesse moved closer to JoAnn, who was now walking slowly backward up the staircase.
"Answer me!" Jesse slapped the belt against the banister.
"I can explain!" JoAnn yelled as she lost her footing and fell backward on the steps. She began to crawl away from Jesse as he raised the belt high above his head. He was about to beat her until her skin was black and blue, but he stopped himself.
"I'm not a monster," Jesse said as he uncoiled the belt and dropped it on a step. "I don't hit women. I've never been that type of man. You're the first woman I've ever beaten up and I feel awful about it." Jesse turned to leave and added, "I need some air."
"Don't go, Jesse," JoAnn pleaded.
He glared at her for a long moment and then left without saying anything further.
Jesse drove himself across town to his cousin Regina's condo. He rang her bell several times before she buzzed him into her building. Regina was standing in the hallway waiting to greet him when he arrived on her floor.
"I need to crash at your place for the night," he said.
"You're lucky I don't have any company over here," Regina said jokingly.
Jesse didn't find her comment too humorous. He was so emotional that he couldn't even bring himself to speak. He could only look at Regina and speak through his tortured eyes.
"Oh, it's that serious, huh?" Regina asked. "Come on in. You know where the spare room is."
WILL
W
ill, along with the mayor of Oakland, other city officials and several families, was standing at the entrance of the newly completed public-housing development. Will had helped to move it along through his hard work, dedication and commitment to the poor and disenfranchised. They were having the ribbon-cutting ceremony, and all of the local media had converged on the new development to listen to speeches given by public officials.
Will stood at the podium. "Thank you all for coming out to witness this joyous and wonderful occasion. Today, we are opening the doors to a better future for some of this city's most deserving citizens--citizens who will no longer have to deal with substandard living conditions or with gangs and drugs destroying their community. Today begins a new chapter in the lives of our citizens. Today, they will begin their journey toward achieving the American dream. Today, one hundred and thirty families will know what it is to walk with their children on streets that are safe. They will know what it is to have a sense of pride and purpose as they move toward a brighter future. Ladies and gentlemen, I want to thank all of you for your hard work and dedication to making this monumental project a reality."
There was a chorus of applause and whistles for Will's speech as he took a pair of scissors and cut a yellow ribbon symbolizing that the new housing project was now ready to receive its new tenants. After the ceremony, Will remained to speak with reporters about upcoming projects to help teenagers in underserved communities build a community center, as well as fight for funding for more computers and books in their schools. Will also spoke with several new tenants who had grievances about certain public-housing policies.
"How do you expect tenants who have small children to find a job as well as pay for day care?" one woman asked.
"Why do senior citizens get bigger apartments than other tenants?" asked another woman who had five small children.
"How come single mothers can't let their boyfriends spend the night?" asked yet another woman.
"Can you get tickets to your wife's television show for me?" asked yet another person from the rear of the crowd. Will laughed at that request. He graciously addressed as many concerns as he could and then left the rest up to the public-housing staff and other officials to answer, and set off to drive across town to pick up his new mistress.
He loosened his necktie and thumped the steering wheel with his thumb as he listened to Snoop Dogg. As he merged with highway traffic, he began to daydream about the threesome he'd had a few days ago and how mind-blowing it was for him. After he, DaNikka and Shantel had got out of the shower, they'd made their way over to the bed. He'd enjoyed lying flat on his back while Shantel straddled his face and suggested that he feast on her warm and moist pussy, and DaNikka had glistened his baldheaded champion with her succulent lips. The very image and memory of the experience caused Will to get an erection so hard that he had to unzip his pants and drive with his manhood exposed.
"Damn, that shit was good," he said, squeezing himself while changing lanes. Another image flashed across his mind--he was licking the folds of DaNikka's honeypot. He was flicking his tongue around her clit and driving her crazy. Shantel was kissing and nibbling on his back and shoulders. The sensations that Will felt then were like none he'd ever felt before. Then, in a surprise move, Shantel had squeezed her cheek next to his and, in unison, they'd devoured DaNikka's pussy. The tips of their tongues ran the length of her pussy and together they took turns flicking her clit back and forth. DaNikka was twitching and screaming and cradling the backs of both of their heads. Then Shantel and Will had begun kissing each other passionately. The tips of their tongues danced with each other in passionate circles. He wanted to do Shantel first. She was the true freak in his mind. He commanded her to get into the doggy-style position. With her caramel ass perched in the air before him, Will gave DaNikka some instructions.
"Put it in for me." DaNikka took Will's manhood and inserted it into Shantel's paradise. The moment Will entered Shantel, her love box gripped and squeezed his penis so firmly he felt as if she had the strength to milk him completely dry. Shantel screamed out with pleasure as Will glided rhythmically in and out of her, while simultaneously spanking her caramel ass.
"Give it to me," he told her now that he'd taken control and gotten accustomed to her strong grip. Shantel obeyed and pushed back against him harder and faster. Will was working up a sweat. DaNikka rubbed his shoulders and watched as he enjoyed himself.
"Get it ready, DaNikka. You're next," Will said, feeling as if he'd been blessed. He felt masculine, powerful and unashamedly lustful all at the same time. When he commanded DaNikka to get into position, he took a moment to admire her chocolate ass.
"You like her ass?" Shantel was filled with lust, as well. Will could see it in her eyes and hear it in her voice.
"She does have a nice one, doesn't she?" Will answered.
"Yes, she does." Shantel began to kiss DaNikka's ass.
"Oh, damn. That's what I'm talking about. Get nasty with it!" Will told Shantel. Shantel ran her tongue up and down the valley of DaNikka's ass.
"You like watching me fondle your girl, don't you?"
"Yeah, you know I like that." Will was panting. His lust was matched by Shantel's ways. Will entered DaNikka, slightly disappointed that her pussy didn't have the same clutch that Shantel's did. However, DaNikka did have an orgasm immediately upon his entry. The moment DaNikka's orgasm came down, Shantel removed his manhood from her friend's wet cave and stroked and sucked on him until she got the prize she'd been seeking.
"Yeah!" Will cried out. "Damn, girl." Will was exhausted for the moment but he wasn't done. "This party is far from over," he'd announced. Will remained with DaNikka and Shantel the entire night.
Will's immoral desire for a threesome came at a price. After he'd taken DaNikka and Shantel back home, he had to deal with Angela, who was completely pissed off with him. As he drove home that morning, he checked his cell phone and noticed a number of phone calls from Angela as well as several nasty voice mails from her.
"Will, where in the hell are you?" Angela asked on the first voice mail.
"I can't believe you're being such an asshole. You're supposed to be supportive of me. You were supposed to be in the audience at my show. You're just a selfish, arrogant bastard, and you only care about yourself and your own needs," she said on another voice mail. Will decided to stop listening to her messages because her anger was messing up his sex high. Will wasn't too concerned with Angela's anger because he was supremely confident that she'd get over it and fall back in line with what he wanted.
"After all, she'd better remember how good a catch I am. I can have any woman and do anything that I want to and there isn't a damn thing she can do about it, so she'd better remember that fact like remembering her ABCs," Will had mumbled to himself as he drove home. As soon as he parked the car in the garage and entered the house, Angela started barking at him.
"Where the hell have you been?" she demanded to know.
"Out!" Will said.
"Do you know how much you embarrassed me? Do you know how humiliating it was to have you throw money at me and walk out? Who in the hell do you think you are?" Angela picked up a pillow from a nearby sofa and tossed it at him. Will caught the pillow and tossed it onto another sofa.
"Angela, look. I'm not in the mood to fight. I'm very tired and I just want to get some sleep. Can you let me do that?" Will said, as if he were the victim.
"Hell, no!" Angela screamed at him. "Where in the hell have you been?"
"Don't ask questions you don't want to know the answers to, woman!"
"Who in the hell are you talking to like that? I'm your wife and I want to know where you've been?"
"I told you, I was out!" Will snapped at her.
"Doing what?" Angela continued her demand for information.
"Look, if you want to take a vacation, fine. We can take one. Just make the arrangements and I'll pack my bags."
"Are you using drugs, Will?" Angela asked, her anger tamping down. "Because your behavior lately has been very odd."
"You know damn well I don't use drugs."
"Then what is it? You don't talk to me. You act as if I'm invisible half the time. You don't really listen to me and every time I try to have a decent conversation with you we end up arguing. I'm tired of walking around this house feeling like I'm on pins and needles. I want to know what's going on? Where is our marriage going? Do you still want to be married to me or do you want to get out?" Angela's voice trembled more out of anger than sadness.
"You know that I don't want to get a divorce. You know that I love you. Sometimes I just feel like you push too much," Will lied, hoping that Angela would take the bait and question what he meant by his statement. He was about to turn the tables on her.
"What are you talking about? I don't push you at all."
"You do. Maybe you don't realize it, but you were hounding me about taking a vacation when you know that I'm stressed out trying to navigate my way through this public-housing project."
"Will, just because you're stressed it doesn't give you the right to treat me like shit."
"I'm sorry about that. I truly am. I just felt boxed in and I lashed out at you. I'm sorry," Will said, moving closer to her to try to hug her. He was supremely confident that she believed every word he said.
"I don't believe a fucking word coming out of your mouth," she said firmly. "You're a bastard, Will. On the eve of the biggest night in my career, you couldn't think of anything better to do than fuck up my head."
"That's not true, baby."
"Yes it is, Will. You're becoming jealous of my success. Your ego can't take the fact that I might be in the spotlight more than you."
Will laughed on the inside. He couldn't believe that Angela had actually provided him with an excuse. He laughed even harder because she had no clue that he had other women.
"You're right, baby. I got jealous." Will confirmed Angela's false suspicions.
"I know you are, and your jealousy is ugly, Will. It's pulling us apart."
"I'm going to work on it, okay? Now can I please go to bed?" he asked.
Angela glared at him for a long moment. "You've lost the right to sleep with me for a while. Sleep in the guest room," Angela said, marching off toward their bedroom.
Will smirked. "Don't worry," he whispered. "I've got more than enough backup pussy to tide me over."
Will was now exiting the highway. Thinking about his argument with Angela made his dick go soft. He tucked it inside his pants and pulled into a service station to fill up his gas tank. As he pumped his gas, he began to think about how much more sexually open Shantel was than DaNikka. After sampling Shantel's passion, Will yearned for more of it. After only one night, he found himself longing for the taste of her young, luscious pussy on his lips and tongue.
The morning following his threesome, he'd awakened to find that Angela had already left the house to go tape her show. He'd contacted Shantel and asked to see her again. She agreed. Will picked her up and took her to another hotel room.
"You can't get enough of this pussy, can you?" Shantel said, as she stepped inside the room and sat down on the bed. Will noticed how sexy she looked in her Apple Bottom jeans, tennis shoes and T-shirt.
"What's your story?" Will asked before he answered the question about how he desired her.
"You don't want to hear my tragic story," Shantel said.
"Where are you from?" Will asked.
"Nowhere special," Shantel answered.
"How old are you really?" Will asked.
"All you need to know is that I'm old enough to do it," Shantel said, approaching Will and dropping to her knees to unzip his pants. "Damn, your dick is as big as my head," Shantel said as she placed her lips on the mushroomed head of his manhood and began sucking.
"Wait a minute." Will stopped her. "Damn, girl. How in the hell did you get so experienced at such a young age?"
"Do you want to ask silly-ass questions or do you want to get fucked? Make up your mind." Shantel had become irritated. At that moment, Will adored her for her aggressiveness.
"You're just an untamed hellcat." Will smiled.
"With some damn good pussy. Now, the question is, what are you going to do with it?" Shantel stood up and sat back down on the bed. A sinister smile dawned on Will's face.
"Listen, I'll make you a deal. A girl like me has to survive. You know what I'm saying? Now, I'm not trying to be a street-walker with a pimp, but I do want a man who can take care of me. Shit, DaNikka doesn't know what she has in you. But I know what a man like you needs."
Will laughed at her boldness. "Oh really? Do tell." Will encouraged her to continue.
"I'm bisexual. I like pussy and dick equally. Make me yours and I'll supply us both with a variety of girls who like to get down like that."
Will loved every word coming from Shantel's mouth.
"But you've got to drop DaNikka. She's a boring fuck. I licked her pussy and ass and she refused to return the favor. I like a girl who knows how to get down the way that I do."
Will smiled. "I want you to be my mistress. But you have to do what I tell you to do. If you screw up, I will bury your ass. You keep your damn mouth shut, you don't see any other man and you keep yourself clean. I don't fuck crackheads, and I damn sure don't plan on being your baby's daddy."
"And I don't plan on having any baby for your old ass," Shantel fired back.
"I like your spunk. But make sure that your mouth doesn't write a check your ass can't cash. Understood?" Will placed Shantel's cheeks within the clutches of his fingers.
"Yeah." Shantel submitted to his demands.
"You will travel with me from time to time and I'll make sure you always have money in your pocket."