6
Robin
I was lying across my queen-sized bed, flicking through the channels trying to find something worthwhile. As much as I loved having my own crib, bedtime was a different story altogether. Every sound put me on edge and made getting sleep almost impossible without the television lullabying my jumpy ass to sleep. I'd lie there thinking someone was watching me, yet I was too afraid to lock my bedroom door for fear there would be someone waiting on the other side. I know that shit sounded crazy as hell especially since one of the first things I had done before I had signed the lease to my town house was ask my landlord if I could get a security system, and thank goodness he had agreed.
Most of my uneasiness was because of those damn cameras Halo had installed at his house. The only reason I knew he had been videoing my ass was because one afternoon I was looking for an umbrella. Halo had this small utility room that he kept locked. I found the key on a ring he kept on his dresser, and when I stepped inside, my mouth fell open. That was some high-tech shit up in there, with monitors that covered almost every corner of the damn house. Over his bed, and even in the bathroom. Hell, I couldn't even take a shit without him knowing about it. On a bookshelf were videos labeled and dated for years. I had this feeling like I had been violated all over again. I forgot about the umbrella and put that key ring right back where I found it. The last thing I wanted was Halo to know I knew he was watching me.
I flipped to
Good Times
on TVOne, then curled under my six-hundred-thread-count Ralph Lauren sheets. I was laughing my ass off at JJ's skinny ass when I heard the doorbell. I jackknifed upright on the bed. No one in their right mind would come to my place at two in the morning. In fact, hardly anyone knew where I lived, and I preferred to keep it that way.
I sprang from under the covers and headed to my walk-in closet. First person to come to mind was Halo. As far as I knew, he had no idea where I lived, but that man always had a way of finding out what he needed to know.
I reached for the aluminum bat I kept in the back of the closet and carried it down to the living room with attitude. I was all set to go upside his head if he even thought about getting physical with me. When the bell rang again, I leaned over and stared through the peephole. That was not Halo standing under the porch light. Instead it was some fine-ass dude with hazel-brown eyes, short wavy hair, and a diamond stud in his left earlobe. I had never seen him before in my life. Trust me, as fine as that brotha was, I would remember if I had.
“Who's there?” I barked.
“Yo, it's Trey ... is Robin home?”
Damn, so it wasn't no mistake. He was here to see me, but like I said before, I had no idea who the hell he was. “I don't know no Trey.”
I heard him clear his throat impatiently. “Could I holla at you for a moment? It's about your sister Deena.”
My first thought was to tell him to fuck off, but curiosity got the better of me and inquiring minds wanted to know. I disarmed the alarm, then turned the lock, and with the chain still securely in place, I opened the door slightly and stared up at the gorgeous man. He had a tapered mustache, and eyes so sexy, I felt my body swaying in his direction before I snapped out of the trance. Treasure doesn't fall for the looks, I reminded myself. It was all about the money.
“What about my sister?” I asked suspiciously.
Trey hesitated as if he wasn't sure he should tell me the truth. “Uh ... would it be possible to come in? This is pretty serious.”
I wasn't one for letting strangers into my house, but it was something I saw in his eyes that said he could be trusted. Still, I placed the bat behind the door just in case I needed it. I've been on my own long enough not to be no fool.
I swung the door all the way open, and that's when I noticed the little boy standing beside him, holding his hand.
Who the hell brings a kid out at this time of the morning?
But it wasn't none of my business, so I kept my question to myself and signaled for them to come inside. They moved into the living room and took a seat on my paisley-patterned couch while I preferred to stand.
“Trey, I don't know who you are, but I haven't spoken to my sister in years.”
He nodded. “I know. She told me, but unfortunately I didn't have anyone else to turn to.”
“Turn to about what?” He was wearing my patience. Even the little kid looked tired. He was resting his head against Trey's arm and had closed his eyes.
“I don't know how to say this, but ... your sister was arrested for murder.”
“Murder!” I shouted even though I didn't know Deena well enough to know what kind of life she was living. The day she walked out of my life was the day I wrote her out of mine.
I had to have been about ten when our parents were killed in a car crash, and since Grandma Jeanna had died of a stroke the year before, there was no one left to take care of us. Sometimes Deena and I were together and other times we weren't, so when Ms. Ernestine said she wanted both of us, we were so happy to finally be a family. But living in her house was no celebration. She beat us every which way while her boyfriend Floyd stood back and didn't do a damn thing. I remember one time she duct-taped me to a support beam in the basement and beat me with an extension cord. She left me tied up for almost two days before Floyd finally released me. I was so scared of being separated from my sister that I never told anyone. That was before Deena ripped my heart out.
I was sixteen, and a week before Deena's eighteenth birthday, she announced she was leaving. I was scared and screamed at her not to leave me alone and to wait until I was old enough to go with her, but when I woke up the next morning she was gone.
“Listen, I couldn't care less what happens to my sister,” I said with enough attitude to make the hairs at the back of my own neck stand up.
Trey shook his head and had the nerve to look disappointed. “Deena didn't kill anyone. She was framed. I'm trying to get her out on bail, but in the meantime she asked me to come over and talk to you.”
I took a long deep breath and shifted my body in agitation. “I'm sorry, but there's nothing about my sister I wanna discuss, so if you'll excuse me I would really like to get some rest.”
He hesitated a moment longer before finally saying, “Listen, if you change your mind, give me a call.” Trey pulled a business card out of his pocket and set it on the coffee table. He would be waiting a long time if he was expecting a call from me.
I watched him whisper something in the little boy's ear. The kid nodded his curly head, then he leaned back against the couch and closed his eyes.
Rising, Trey looked over at me, then smiled. “Kyle's a really good kid. He won't be any problem at all.”
“Excuse me? What did you say?” I couldn't have possibly heard him right.
“Kyle. I said he's a sweet kid.”
I shrugged because I obviously wasn't following what he was getting at. “I'm glad to hear you've got a good kid, because most of the ones I run across are badasses,” I said with sarcasm all up in my voice. “Now like I said before, I'd really like to get some sleep.”
Trey nodded, then strolled over to the door while I stood there with my hands at my hips. “Excuse me, but aren't you forgetting something?”
His head snapped in my direction with his brow raised. “Something like what?”
“That little boy in there on my couch ... your son.” Trey may be sexy, but something just didn't seem to be right upstairs.
He gave me a weird look. “That's not my son.”
“You brought him here with you.” I was sleepy, but I wasn't that damn tired.
“Yeah, I came over to drop him off.”
Was I missing something? “Lemme get this straight. You came to drop him off?” Hell, I was two seconds away from going off. “Okay, you need to start over, because I don't know what the hell's goin' on.”
Trey chuckled and shook his head, like he too was trying to figure out where this conversation was going. “I am Trey Armstrong, Kyle's big brother ... or mentor ... whatever you wanna call it.”
I raised my voice. “And who is Kyle?”
Confusion was written all over his face. Even before he opened his mouth, I could tell something wasn't right. “You're telling me you don't know who he is?” he asked.
“I just said that, didn't I?”
“Damn,” he said apologetically. The second he paused to take a deep breath, I knew I wasn't at all prepared for what he was about to say. “Kyle's Deena's son ... your nephew. And while she's in jail, you're his guardian.”
7
Monica
“Mommy, Mommy, Daddy's here!”
At the sound of Liese's voice, I closed the
Essence
magazine I was reading and rose from the chaise longue in my master suite. I could hear the girls running down the stairs, excited about spending the weekend with their father. I couldn't blame them. We'd been divorced almost a year, and not once had he kept the girls more than a couple of hours at a time. Anthony had been too busy enjoying the single life. But since last week, things changed. He was suddenly calling the girls in the evening to see how they were doing with their homework and to say good night. I'd heard more from that man in the past few days than I had in all the time we'd been separated. In the past, he would call me and only had to be cordial long enough for me to call the girls to the phone, but this was different. He wasn't being short or saying something condescending. It was weird enough to make me wonder, okay, what's really going on?
I walked down the stairs and Anthony was already standing in the foyer of my 2,700-square-foot home with the girls both yanking on his arms. As soon as he noticed me, his lips crept into that crooked smile of his. I remembered when I thought that shit was sexy as hell.
“Hello, Monica.”
“Hello,” I said, trying to sound as cool as possible while my eyes rolled over his body. Anthony looked so good it made me sick. Was it really possible for him to have grown more handsome since our split? But oh, he had. Sexy and more distinguished. He was six-one with a medium build. I always thought he had the prettiest coffee complexion. Anthony's been graying prematurely since he was twenty-one, and I remembered all the evenings I spent running my fingers through his salt-and-pepper curls. And he had the most succulent lips. I loved him kissing me. Now the only thing he could kiss was my black ass.
He was wearing a red polo shirt and a pair of loose jeans and brown Ferragamo loafers. I could tell he'd started going back to the gym because his chest looked swollen and his waist was nice and trim, which was a clear indication he had a new woman in his life.
“I've got something for you.” He reached into his pocket and handed me my child support check like I had just won the lottery. He was so cocky. I checked to see if he had given me a little extra, but it was the same amount he gave me every month.
“Mommy, can you go to Daddy's with us?” Arissa pleaded. “Pleeeease.”
I gazed down at her big, pretty eyes and shook my head. “No, baby. This is your time with your daddy.” And even if I could, I wouldn't have dreamed of going.
Arissa crossed her arms and pouted until her father came up behind her and gently tugged one of her ponytails. “Don't worry, we're going to have fun. I'm taking the two of you to King's Dominion in the morning.”
“Oooh!”
“Yeahhh! Daddy, you're the greatest!” Liese shouted.
The greatest?
Anthony had the nerve to stand there with a stupid smirk on his face. I wanted so badly to burst his bubble. Where was he all those months I was struggling to pay the bills? Where was he when I was letting some repo man feel all over my breasts so he wouldn't take my car? But as always, I never said anything to make him look bad in front of the girls. I just watched them jumping up and down, kissing their father and hugging him tight like he was the best thing since chocolate mocha ice cream. I was just happy for them because their dad was finally spending time with them. “The girls are looking forward to spending the rest of the weekend with you.”
“So am I,” he said, then sighed. “I need to start spending more time with them.”
Something was going on, because this was not the Anthony I knew. “Girls, go get your overnight bags,” I said. As soon as they were gone, I looked Anthony dead in his eyes. “What's up? All of a sudden you're taking an interest in the girls. What's really going on?”
“I'm their father.” He shrugged a broad shoulder. “I figure it's time I get
something
right in my life.”
It was obvious he was talking about our failed relationship.
He smiled and showed off his gap. “By the way, Monica ... I love your new hairstyle. How come you never wore it like that when we were married?” He batted his incredibly thick lashes innocently.
Was he for real? “Because you wouldn't let me cut my hair, remember?” How soon we forget.
“I guess I was wrong. That style looks really good.” He moved closer to me, then reached up and ran his hand across my spikes, and I could tell by the look in his eyes he was being sincere. Too sincere. What the hell was he up to? I stepped back away from his touch because it felt way too familiar and I wasn't even trying to go there. Thank goodness the girls came racing back down the stairs.
“We're ready, Daddy!” Arissa said and started pulling him toward the door. Now that he'd told them they were going to the amusement park, there was no way they were going to sit still for long.
“I'll bring them back tomorrow after we leave the park,” he said.
I nodded and kissed Liese and Arissa good-bye, then watched them walk out onto my large wraparound porch. As soon as I shut the door, I noticed how quiet the house was. Thank goodness I had something to do otherwise I would have gone crazy. I probably should have been studying, but Reyna had invited me over to her house for Mexican food and her delicious margaritas. I wasn't used to being by myself, so I went upstairs to grab my purse and keys. As soon as I stepped into my room, I heard Liese's laughter. I moved over to the window facing the front of the house, looked down, and spotted them standing at the car talking to some chick. She was wearing skinny jeans and heels and had long hair. Nothing worse than admitting a female is cuter than you. Anthony helped the girls into the backseat, then leaned over and kissed the woman passionately on the lips before they climbed into his Jaguar.
As I drove to Reyna's, I found myself thinking about Anthony and his mystery woman.
I wonder if she sucks dick better than me.
Trust me. By no stretch of the imagination was I jealous. Not anymore. I shed too many tears for that man. But you know how we women do. We always wonder what she had that you didn't. One of those things was being better at giving head than I was. It was one of those things that Mama said good girls just didn't do, and I wouldn't have even considered it, but after three years of marriage I don't know what came over Anthony because suddenly he wanted oral sex, and I'm not talking about sixty-nine and him going down on me. I'm talking about me dropping down to my knees in the kitchen or wherever he commanded and assuming the position. At first it was fun, but after a while it started to feel degrading. I could be on my way to pick the girls up from a Brownie meeting and there he was leaning against the counter with his fly open and his dick standing at attention. Mama married my stepfather when I was seventeen, and they were married eight years before he passed away. She always said a woman should do whatever it took to make her husband happy even if it meant being less than a lady. Anthony wanted a lady on his arm and a freak behind closed doors. The sad thing about it was no matter how often I sucked his dick, it was never good enough because eventually he found other women to do it for him.
But it wasn't like he had ever gone down on me. I used to douche and practically scrub my pussy raw trying to make sure it was fresh, but it didn't matter. Nah, he said he couldn't get past the smell. Can you believe that shit? Said he never liked seafood so he wasn't about to start. And looking back, that was probably the craziest shit I had ever heard. I was young and naïve and so damn in love I would have done anything to keep my man happy.
However, according to him, I couldn't suck or ride a dick the way he wanted me to. Doggy style hurt like hell because my husband had more dick than a woman should have to handle. Reyna used to say I was crazy for complaining because a woman would give anything to get dicked to death. I guess that's why Anthony eventually got bored and found a woman who was able to give him everything I could not.
I don't know why I was even wasting my time thinking about him. I spent enough months crying and wondering what had gone wrong. After a while I had to stop hitting myself over the head because deep in my heart, I don't think anything would have saved our marriage. Anthony wanted out and that's what he did. He got the fuck out.
Â
“Maybe he's serious about this one,” Reyna said with a shrug. “Girl, why you worrying about Anthony? I know you're not jealous,” she said suspiciously, keeping her eyes locked on mine.
“Hell no ... just curious,” I said, trying to shake the thoughts from my head, which seemed impossible. There was something going on, or maybe I was just being paranoid.
“Just be glad he's spending time with the girls. Maybe
she's
the reason, and if so that's a good thing.”
“Mmm-hmm, I guess you're right,” I replied, but even as I said that something still bothered me. Call it a woman's intuition, but something just didn't feel right to me. Anthony was way too eager to be with Liese and Arissa.
“Come on, Monica. I've got something to show you.”
I followed Reyna through her cute little Cape Cod house, toward the basement. “What's down here?” She knew I hated surprises.
“Just wait and see,” she said with a laugh.
Reyna waited until I reached the bottom step before she turned on the light. I liked her place. It was the kind I would have if I didn't have girls. She had renovated the basement a year ago with hardwood floors and a wood-burning stove. I stepped into the room, and it took me a few seconds to realize what she wanted to show me. My head snapped in her direction. “You've got to be kidding.” In the middle of the room were two stripper poles. “Where the hell you get those?”
Reyna started laughing. “I bought them at this adult store last night. They're the Carmen Electra brand. I figure if you're going to audition, then you need to practice a routine.”
I chuckled and shook my head. She couldn't be serious. “I'm not about to practice in your basement.”
“Yes, you are,” she confirmed with a nod. “And I'm going to practice with you. I even bought you a present.” She walked over to the side of a beige couch, and a pink gift bag appeared in her hand. “Go ahead, open it.”
I may not like surprises, but I love getting presents. I was like a kid on Christmas Eve. I reached inside the bag and pulled out a pair of five-inch black platform shoes. I started cracking up. “Whoa! I can't wear these.”
“You can and you will. I got me a pair as well, and a DVD.”
Okay, she was taking this whole thing way too seriously. Like I've said before, I thought she was trying to live vicariously though me. “Reyna, this is ridiculous.”
“Girl, we've got the rest of the weekend to ourselves. The girls are with their daddy, and Shana can take care of the boutique for me. By tonight, we're going to learn how to dance. This video is really good. Watch ... I was practicing before you got here. Let me show you what I've learned.” She turned on the stereo, and while I strapped on my shoes, I watched her do a routine that made my bottom jaw drop. Reyna may be a big girl, but she sure knew her way around that pole.
“Damn, you looked good!”
She grinned and strutted around a bit. “Thank you, mami. I've been practicing all morning.”
I was so jealous. With rhythm and grace, Reyna made those moves look easy. She had always been able to pick up dance moves and had this walk that drove men crazy.
“Come on, grab your pole and I'll start the video.”
I rose and did as she said and sighed. My mother used to say if you're going to be something, then be the best that you can. I spent years taking gymnastics and jazz classes. I might as well put that training to use.