“Call and let me know when you’re coming. I’ll help you drive back. And maybe you’ll come over for dinner before you leave? That’s if you’re finished boycotting and egging my place.”
Jada laughed. “Cheap shot. Anyway, the last time Chef à la Wellington charcoaled steaks into brittle bits, we ended up eating out.”
“If I recall correctly, my Nubian—”
Covering her free ear, Jada screamed with laughter. “Don’t say it!” Jada didn’t want Wellington to remind her how her quasigourmet meal had been so horrid she washed her food and his down the garbage disposal. The salmon croquettes had been harder than hockey pucks, so Wellington had dropped one on the dining room floor, grabbed the broom, and handed her the sponge mop.
After Wellington’s first bite of her pecan-orange bundt cake, he’d said, “Um, you’ve got to taste this. Close your eyes and open your mouth.” Then he’d promised, “You’re going to love this.” When the dessert hit her palate, each of her five senses had protested. Jada had darted her eyes in search of a place to quickly spit it out because she definitely wasn’t going to swallow a lump that tasted worse than earwax. They had then fallen to the kitchen floor laughing until their insides cramped, their saliva exchanged between hungry lips, and their knees became sore from making love on the linoleum all night long.
Jada pictured Wellington’s dazzling smile, bald head, thick eyebrows, goatee, and his eight pack. Soft hairs outlined his chest and every crevice in his abdomen. His perfectly erect nipples were five shades darker than his caramel complexion. His gentle touch, sensuous lips, passionate kisses, and orgasmic lovemaking were unforgettable. His firm ass, two-hundred-and-twenty-pound, six-foot-four physique, and seductive mannerisms were etched in her brain forever.
Breaking their silence, he said, “Call me in the morning, ba. I’ll talk with you later.”
Melting at the hearty sound of his voice, Jada felt the words “I love you” suspend in air and surround her spirit. “What are you wearing?”
Wellington whispered, “A smile and a hard-on that’s begging for your affection.”
“Wet your fingers and massage the head for me.” Jada eased her fingers into her mouth and did the same to her clit.
“Ooh, yeah. I’m stroking The Ruler. He’s growing an extra inch just for you, ba. Open your chocolate thighs wide so I can taste you.”
Jada missed how they used to role-play. Her fondest memory was when she’d dressed like a Jamaican and flirted with Wellington in a Caribbean accent at the Farmers’ Market. She convinced him to buy exotic fruits that she’d feasted on, off of his succulent flesh outside by his swimming pool during sunset.
“I’m pulling your face in closer, Big Daddy. Trace Mama’s rabbit ears with your juicy tongue. Nice and slow.” Jada moaned into the receiver as she enjoyed the external orgasm continuously seeping from her clitoris.
“Damn, ba, all of this cream is for you. Your hairs are marinating in my cum. Rub it in,” he commanded.
“I’m flowing with you. Sip in my last drops.” Jada caressed the moisture between her inner lips and slid her index finger into her vagina, welcoming the strong pulsation accompanying her internal orgasm.
Deep inside, her pussy knocked hard like an out-of-control, overloaded washer machine on a fast spin cycle. That was the results of her daily vaginal weight lifting. The gold ben-wa balls were no longer a challenge, so one day while visiting the pleasure store, the owner had introduced Jada to the ceramic and smooth wooden eggs. Jada had charged both sets and the instruction manual to her VISA. At first learning muscle control to simultaneously move the ceramic eggs in opposite directions, left and right, and up and down, was difficult. But after Jada started stringing the one-pound weight into the bottom opening of the wooden egg and lifting and holding it with her vaginal muscles, rotating the ceramic eggs was a cinch. Jada’s clenching drove Wellington so nuts his orgasmic groans intensified, sounding like The Rock lifting and then body slamming Stone Cold Steve Austin during a WWF Championship match.
“Say you love me.”
“I love you, Wellington Jones.” More than he’d ever know, and at the moment more than she was willing to admit. Her soul magnetically absorbed his spiritual energy.
“I love you, too, ba. I’m gonna go clean up this wonderful mess you’ve created. Don’t forget to call and let me know when you’re coming to get your car. Good night, my Nubian queen.”
“Yes, it is a very good night.” Jada recharged her cell phone on the nightstand and continued lying sideways across the jumbo-sized mattress. She cried hard into her pillow so the people in the adjacent room wouldn’t hear her sobbing. Why did she keep crying over Wellington when she didn’t want him? How long would her head and heart remain out of sync? The old man on the plane had given her a lot to think about. Should Jada abandon her pride in order to salvage their love? Or give up Wellington and maintain her dignity?
Chapter 2
W
ellington loaded Jada’s trunk with a portable battery charger, flares, a first aid kit, and an empty gas can. He double checked the spare tire and made certain his AAA roadside card was in his wallet.
All of his life was neat and orderly. Preschool. High School. College. Cynthia had overruled his plea to play football and enrolled him in golf lessons. On his first date with Jada, he’d thrown on his new rags, sagging his denim shorts and wearing his baseball cap backward. To impress Jada he’d adjusted his attitude to his attire and played it cool. He was always smooth, but seldom cool. Not as in calm. Slick. He wasn’t the type of guy who could get caught fucking another woman, then convince his woman she was to blame or it wasn’t his fault. If confronted, he told the truth or opted not to respond.
“We’re all set.” Hopefully this wasn’t his last chance to spend time with his Nubian queen. “Did you phone your mother to make sure they’re not
busy?”
Wellington recalled when Jada told him how she dropped by unannounced and saw her mother dressed in a bustier, garter, and G-string, waiting for Robert to come over.
“Yeah, she’s packing. Robert is taking her to Las Vegas tomorrow. Those two are always traveling some place.” Jada reached for the handle.
“Oh, no you don’t. We may not be a couple, but some things haven’t changed.” Wellington opened and closed Jada’s door. He checked the pressure in each tire. Then he adjusted the steering wheel and the mirrors, and pulled away from the curb.
“Thanks for driving my car to L.A.” Jada affectionately rubbed her thumb aside his mouth.
Instantly he licked his lips, asking, “What was that?” He sucked her pointing finger into his mouth.
“Oh, toothpaste or something. Don’t worry. It’s gone now.” She smiled, intertwining her legs until both feet rested atop opposite knees.
“Umm, I should have gotten it myself.” He glanced at her feet. “Isn’t that uncomfortable?” Wellington cruised Highway 1 South toward the San Mateo Bridge. He liked her new purple stonewashed unitard. Stretchable. Flexible. Sexy. The outline of her crotch stalked him, so he scratched the back of his neck. “Um. Would you please unfold your legs? You’re distracting me. I’ve never seen you do that.” He tucked in his lips to moisten them.
Placing her bare feet on the off-white mat next to her slip-ons, Jada answered, “After you abandoned me at the restaurant at Pier 39, I decided meditation wasn’t enough, so I enrolled in yoga. It’s the best mental and physical exercise I’ve done. You should try it.”
Wow. Maybe he should. In fact, he’d enroll as soon as he got back, because if all the women in the class were that limber and peacefully centered—forget the church house—yoga class was where Wellington wanted to find his next mate. He thought about last night when Jada’s iridescent-polished toenails had been cotton candy in his mouth.
“You think you’ll ever relocate from Half Moon Bay?” Jada opened the
Jet
magazine, reading the last page first. Eddie Murphy was on the cover without his wife and kids.
Wellington would sneak a peep when Jada turned to the centerfold. “Are you kidding? Never. The San Francisco Peninsula is one of the best places to live in America. You wouldn’t believe how much I paid for my home ten years ago and what it’s worth today.” Maybe she was testing him to see if he planned on moving to L.A. Wellington wanted but refused to ask Jada for a chance to make things right between them. “How close are you to completing your business and operating plan?”
“Not very. In fact, I haven’t even started. I’ll work on it next week.”
“You think your mom is going to let me in?” He hadn’t seen Jada’s mother since their breakup. Their separation wasn’t completely his fault. But Jada acted as if her contributions were less important. Adam didn’t pick the apple from the tree, but every Christian in the world knew he was just as guilty as Eve. So what if Jada hadn’t initiated the threesome. She’d participated.
“Why wouldn’t she?” Jada bypassed the Beauty of the Week. “Ah, ha. Gotcha.”
Wellington smiled and nodded. “That’s all right. You’re sexier than all of them put together.” He turned on 106.1 KMEL and passed the time with sporadic Dyad until he parked outside Mrs. Ruby’s house in San Leandro. “Does Robert still sleep across the street?” he asked as they walked toward the front door.
Wellington envied how Jada’s mother and her second husband had separate residences. Robert courted Ruby as if they were high school sweethearts. He bought Ruby flowers every week, ran her bathwater, and massaged her feet. She cooked his dietetic meals, watched his intake of carbohydrates, pricked his finger three times a day to test his sugar level, and clipped his toenails to make sure he didn’t get an infection. Every story Jada shared about her mother had a happy ending, but she never talked about how her father had died.
Unfortunately, Wellington had never known the love, joy, or touch of his real mother. So he lived vicariously through the stories his older sister, Jazzmyne, shared about their mother, Katherine. Jazzmyne told him how Katherine had visited Cynthia every week for an entire year after he was born just to hold him in her arms. After Wellington’s first birthday, Cynthia had insisted Katherine discontinue her visits, fearing Katherine might steal him away. Since Cynthia had become infertile during adolescence, she didn’t want to risk losing Wellington to anyone, especially the sister who had supposedly stolen her man.
Wellington was pulled from his thoughts when Jada answered.
“Only when they have a disagreement, because they don’t argue. Or when Robert is watching a game with his friends. Can you believe every room in Robert’s house has a Raiders theme? His welcome mat, electrical plate covers, towels, and plates, you name it. Mama cooks for every game. Sets up the food at his place. Then goes about her business. She calls it his sanity time.”
“That’s a great arrangement.” Wellington rang Ruby’s doorbell, then softly kissed Jada’s lips, remembering the intimacy they had shared last night. That was the first time Jada had slept in his bed since their ménage à trois with Melanie.
When Robert opened the door, the buttons on his Raiders cardigan sweater were unevenly matched, so one side hung longer than the other. “Hey, look a here. It’s Homeo and Diamonette. What’s up cat and catette? Come on in. Jada, Ruby in the kitchen. Homey, you can have a sit down with me. I spoke with your stepdad Christopher yesterday. We went to dat Super Bowl Mardi Gras down in New
Orleans
. Man those ‘Who Dat’ cats party way harder than they work. You’d think they won the Super Bowl. And I could have sworn this woman at The Bottom Line was tryin’ ta put a root on me, but Ruby wasn’t havin’ it. So y’all gettin’ ready to hit the road, huh?” Robert smacked his hands together, dashing the right one in the air.
The Bottom Line. Wellington laughed. They really did get around. “Yeah, I didn’t want Jada driving by herself.” Wellington’s cellular phone rang. It was Melanie, so he hit the end button to silence the musical tone. Then he leaned over to see if Jada was headed in his direction. “Man, Melanie won’t stop calling me.”
“You know the best way to stop a woman from calling you?” Robert burped. “Don’t excuse me. More room out than in.”
Shaking his head, Wellington asked, “Naw, what’s that? I sure could use your insight, man.”
Ever since his last visit to the hospital, Melanie was relentlessly blowing up his cell and home phones. And when he did answer, she acted as if the triplets she miscarried after her car fell from the cliff had never existed. If he hadn’t read the doctor’s report Christopher delivered to him personally, Melanie wouldn’t have told him he had been framed. He wasn’t the father. The ultrasound proved Melanie had been into her second trimester—fourteen weeks—when her body involuntarily aborted the kids. Less than eight weeks had passed between their first encounter and her automobile accident. Jada would have slapped fool all over his forehead if Wellington had told her. So he didn’t.
“Sometimes you can’t treat a woman like a lady. That’s why Christopher left Cynthia. I don’t know how he stayed with her as long as he did. Cynthia is half beast, half bitch. Says he’s filing for his divorce, too.” Robert reclined, elevating his feet. His black slip-on corduroy house shoes with Raiders patches sewn on the top fell to the floor. “Tell the bitch to quit calling you. Then block her numbers. She’ll stop directly. Now, if you haven’t asked her to stop, that means you still want her around. Eventually, she’ll getcha at the right time when you’re horny and bored. Then you’ll get caught up in the moment. Next thing you know, you’re rolling around in the hay with her again.” Robert shuffled through the Sunday morning
Oakland Tribune
, retrieving the sports section. “The sports section isn’t as exciting when my Raiders aren’t playing. Let me see what these Warriors are doing.”
Robert had a little OG, original gangster, in him. Wellington had never heard him cuss. “I guess you’re right. I’ll wait until she calls back. Then I’ll tell her.” And he would. He just wouldn’t curse her out. What would using profanity prove? When he returned from L.A., Wellington would call his sister and confidant, Jazzmyne, for a second opinion. He already knew and was happy Christopher had walked out on Cynthia. The grapevine gossip had the facts twisted, claiming Cynthia kicked his stepfather out of the house.
“I know I’m right.” Robert continued reading, shaking his head. “The Warriors are giving an appreciation party. What for? I should have brought back some of them brown paper bags the Saints fans wear to give them.”
Robert stopped talking because Jada was heading his way.
“What are you two talking about?” Jada asked, lowering Robert’s newspaper. Hugging his neck, she said, “Don’t get up. We can see ourselves out.”
“Be careful on the highway and call us as soon as you
tweetie birds
get in.” Robert whistled like a bird.
“Bye, baby.” Mama’s eyes swelled with tears. “I sure wish you weren’t moving so far away.”
“Bye, Mama. I love you.” Blowing her mother a kiss, Jada paused in the doorway.
Mrs. Tanner was a fox. Her silver precision cut was striking. Considerably shorter than Jada, she was five feet, four inches; almost average height for a woman. Maybe she’d shrunk an inch with age. The emerald green casual pantsuit accented her slender figure.
“Bye, Mrs. Tanner. Mr. Hamilton. Thanks for the advice, man.” With the eighties, nineties, and new millennium, more and more women were maintaining their last names. Wellington was proud Jada had once wanted to carry his last name. No hyphen. No Jada Tanner-Jones. She was going to be Jada Diamond Jones.
“It’s cool. But the next round will cost ya. Ya know what I mean?” Robert pointed his finger at Wellington’s privates and said, “Bang!”
Walking to the car, Jada asked, “What was that all about?”
“Guy stuff. You know how Robert is. Relax. Take a nap. I’ll get you home safely.” Wellington reset the trip mileage to zero.
Jada retrieved her latest issue of
Upscale
magazine. “I’m not sleepy. I just woke up.”
The sunrays dissipated behind the dusky gray clouds. Small raindrops beaded on the windshield. Wellington turned the wipers on low and merged out of the fast lane. “When was the last time you changed your blades?”
Defensively, Jada answered, “I never change my blades. The dealer—”
Boop! Boop!
The cop couldn’t be signaling him to pull over, because he was driving the limit in a fifty-five mile-per-hour zone.
Boooop!
Wellington merged again, and the patrol car followed.
“What’s wrong? What’d you do?” Jada asked.
Wellington cut his eyes at Jada and gritted his back teeth as he pulled over, praying he wasn’t a victim of Driving While Black. “I didn’t do anything.”
The Highway Patrol officer flashed his spotlight as if it was eleven o’clock at night. “Let me see your license, registration, and insurance.”
Wellington remained silent and handed him the information.
“What did he do wrong?” Jada asked.
“I told you I didn’t do anything wrong,” Wellington grumbled angrily.
“Miss, be quiet. This is official business. You were traveling sixty-five in a fifty-five mile zone. I’m going to have to run your driver’s license.” The officer walked around the car twice with his hand steadily on his gun.
When Jada opened her door and stepped out of the car, he swiftly drew his pistol from the holster and aimed directly at her heart. “Get back in the car! Now!”
Jada eased into her seat and closed the door. She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths. Wellington’s chest rose and fell, but he kept his eyes on the dirty cop, contemplating his next move. The officer resumed his walk. He zoomed in on the front bumper while suspiciously peeping over the hood at them. After about three minutes, he strolled to his car.
Pounding on the steering wheel, Wellington said, “I hate this shit! He knows damn well I wasn’t speeding, so why is he treating us like fucking criminals?”
Jada buckled her seat belt and remained silent.
The officer returned and gave Wellington his license, registration, insurance, and a speeding ticket for doing seven miles over the limit. “I suggest you drive fifty in this area, boy. A person fitting your description was identified in a pedestrian hit-and-run.” He slapped the roof of the car and said, “Have a nice day.”