Talk a Good Game (30 page)

CJ turned on the seat. “He did?
What happened?”

I kept my gaze on the traffic
light as I said, “My father was a cop. One night he was called to
check out a burglary and was shot. He died on the way to the
hospital.”

“
Do you miss him?”

Every damn day
. “Sometimes, but I don’t know why,” I replied and felt the
need to explain as I put my foot on the gas again. “My dad was
mean. He used to beat my brother and I all the time.”

He gave me a knowing look. “Like
my
dad.
”

I slammed on the brake and swung
around on the seat. “
Your dad doesn’t
hit
you!” I didn’t mean to snap but I wasn’t about to have him telling
lies about Kaleb. What if someone found out the way someone did
with my dad?

I moved into the flow of traffic
again. To this day I still blamed myself for his death which was
crazy since I wasn’t the one who shot the bullet, yet I spent years
wishing I had a gun so I could have shot him myself.

“
Dad yells all
the time and blames me for stuff I didn’t
even do!
”

Nodding, I muttered, “Yeah,
that
’s
what dad
’s
do.
”
That
’s
why it
’s
a
mother
’s
job to protect her children.
Only mine had been weak. For years, I had wished my mother had been
strong enough to protect us. I guess that
’s
hard to
do when you
’
re being beaten as
well.

NYREE

“
Let me get an amen!”

“
AMEN!”

I shouted along with the rest of the congregation
then glanced over to my right as Jeremy squeezed my hand. We were
attending my family church and every time we sat on the same pew
with my parents, I had this warm feeling inside. I was a firm
believer that a family that prays together, stays together.

I crossed my legs and sat there smiling as I
listened to the minister talk about faith and believing. That was
me on so many levels. I truly believed the Lord had put this
together and spirituality was important for any relationship to
succeed.

“
How are you feeling?” he asked
with that goofy grin of his. Service was over and we were going out
to lunch.

“
I
’
m
feeling good,
” I said and was swinging my
arms then we started skipping, like kids, all the way to his
Tahoe.

Laughing, I waited for him to open
the door then I leaned in and kissed him. The way his eyes lit up
was something else. I loved making him happy. And it didn’t take
much. A few hugs, kisses, and words of affirmation—his primary love
language.

Jeremy climbed in, put the key in the ignition but
before he pulled off he turned and looked at me.

“
Angel…, I love you with my every
breath. You just don’t know how many times I prayed for a woman to
fellowship with me, and make God the foundation of our
relationship.”

I stared in his eyes. I was
bubbling with so much joy I felt tears burning the corners of my
eyes. “That
’s
exactly how I feel. I knew
something was missing from my past relationships, but I never knew
what those qualities were until I met you.” Overwhelmed by emotion,
I paused long enough to push back tears. “Now that I know, I will
never accept anything less.”

Jeremy nodded, and looked pleased
by my answer. “You don’t have to because you now have
me.”

After lunch at Denny’s we went
back to his place and kicked off our shoes at the door.

“
What do you wanna do for the rest
of the afternoon?” he asked.

I flopped down on the sofa and
rubbed my stomach. “Right now, I think I
’
m gonna
take a nap,”
I laughed.

He sat beside me and wrapped his
arms around my middle. “
Poor baby. Why don’t
you
go on up and get comfortable?”

Jeremy didn’t have to tell me
twice. I went up to the room and clicked on the television then
laid across the bed. Jeremy cleaned up the breakfast dishes, and
came up just as I was dozing off.

“
Hey Angel, if
you don’t mind, I
’
m gonna go run off some of this
food while you
’
re relaxing.”

I yawned. “Run? How can you run
with all that food on your stomach?”

“
That
’s
why I
’
m running.
I never lie down after eating all those carbs.”

“
Now
you
’
re
making me feel guilty,
” I said around
another yawn.

Leaning forward, Jeremy kissed my
lips. “Nah, you look good just the way you are.”

I watched as he changed into a
pair of shorts, t-shirt, and running shoes.
All that soft smooth skin.
Jeremy
told me he shaved because he hated to sweat, but damn. I didn’t
know too many men who shaved not only their pubic but also the hair
from their armpits.

“
I’ll be right back,” he said then
leaned over the bed and kissed me.

I laid there for a while dozing
and watching
Everybody Hates Chris
when I heard something vibrating. I sat up on the
bed and slid over to the edge and looked down. Jeremy had left his
pants on the floor near his dresser. I reached inside his pocket
and looked down at the screen.

Alexis Samuels.

My eyes were nearly popped out of my head.

Alexis Samuels? Who the hell was that?

I sat there staring at his phone trying to talk
myself out of doing what I was about to do, but oh well. Sue me. I
typed in the passcode I had seen him use to unlock his screen, and
on the first try, it unlocked.

My hand was shaking as I took a
seat on the end of the bed and scrolled through his phone history.
Alexis Samuels had left a voice message. Lord knows I shouldn’t,
but I did. I listened to it.

“
This is the
last time I
’
m calling your sorry ass. Send me
my damn child support or I
’
m calling my
lawyer.”

What the fuck? I sat there
dumbfounded and clearly confused. His ex-wife
’s
name was Delaney. Not Alexis. My mind started working
overtime, and no matter how I tried to spin it, I still came up
with the same conclusion.

Jeremy had another child by a woman named
Alexis.

I was so angry I scrolled through his text messages
and started reading them. There were several with his children in
Chicago and I saw one Jeremy had sent to his sister telling her how
much he loved me and my heart flipped. But then I saw a series of
text messages that made me gasp.

J: Tracy I need my ring
back.

T: I’ll be in town next
week.

J: Call me and I’ll meet you at
our spot.

I gazed down at the date of the text messages. It
was less than a month ago. Around the same time he had
proposed.

By the time Jeremy had returned from jogging, I was
packing my stuff.

“
I had a good run.” Jeremy stopped
when he saw my duffel bag. “Where you going?”

“
Home. You are a damn liar!”
I hissed as I tossed my things inside.

He grabbed my arm, and swung me
around. “What? What are you talking about?” He took on a serious
tone.

I snatched my arm away then
reached over and grabbed his phone and handed it to him. “Alexis
called.” The horror on his face was all the answer I needed. I
shook my head in disgust then reached for my bag and pushed past
him.

“
Angel, let me
explain.”

I glared at him through narrowed
eyes. “Explain what? Another ‘adopted’ daughter!” I yelled. “Oh and
by the way, who the fuck is Tracy, and is this her recycled
engagement ring?” I held up my hand. While he played dumb, I
slipped off the ring and tossed it onto the bed. I was so tired of
this mess. I swung the bag onto my shoulder and kept on walking
until I was out the house and heading toward my Lexus. I should
have known things were too good to be true.

“
Nyree, wait. Can you please give
me a chance to explain?”

I shook my head. “No dammit! Not
now. I just need to go home and just clear my head.”

Jeremy hesitated then finally nodded his head and
got the fuck out of my way. I finished loading my car and wasted no
time driving off.

I was barely down the road before I called
Janelle.

“
What
’s
up girl?” she sounded too
damned giddy.

“
You will not believe what just
happened?” I was too stunned to know what to feel.

“
What?” Of course she was all
ears.

“
That bastard has another child!”
I said bluntly.

“
What?” Janelle
sputtered and then started laughing. Sometimes I hated her ass.
“
Hell nah!
He
’s
got more kids. What
’s
this make it,
five?”

I sighed as I turned the corner.
“Yeah.”

“
Damn girl! So how did you find
out?”

I told her about finding his cellphone.

“
Hell nah! That mothafucka is
fertile! You better start using protection before your ass ends up
pregnant.”

I know this sounded crazy but I
felt this tingling at my stomach at the thought of carrying
Jeremy
’s
baby. I didn’t want to lose my
fiancé. I had hoped he would be the father of my children. Now I
just didn’t know anymore.

“
That
’s
not all,” I began and paused
for dramatic effect because I knew Janelle was going to have a
field day with this one.

“
What?”

“
Jeremy was engaged with someone
else. He…” Goodness this was painful. “He gave me the same ring he
gave that chick!”

“
What the
fuck?
” Janelle howled then was laughing so
hard I had to drag the phone away from my ear. “How the hell you
find that shit out?”

“
I don’t
know for sure. I
saw some text messages so I just
assumed
the rest.”

“
What did he think you were, stuck
on stupid? Niggas ain’t shit!” she snorted. “Hey, meet me at the
mall. We can talk there.”

“
Okay.” I hung
up and hopped on Interstate 70 for three exits then pulled into the
Columbia Mall parking lot. We always parked near
JCPenney
’s
.

There was no missing the red BMW
as it pulled into the lot or Janelle as she climbed out. I came
around my car as she wiggled her hips in my direction in black
leggings and a blouse that was so tight her titties looked ready to
pop out. “What are you buying today?”

“
My stepson
needs some new clothes.” She rolled her eyes but she wasn’t
fooling
me.

I couldn’t resist a grin.
“He
’s
starting to wear on you, huh?”

She shrugged and then smoothly
changed the subject. “You okay?”

I kept walking toward the door,
glancing around to see if anyone noticed how miserable I was.
“
I
don’t
know how I feel.”

“
What did Jeremy have to say when
you confronted him?”

“
I didn’t give him a chance to say
anything. I just left and told him I needed some space.”

“
Space is
probably a good thing.” Janelle reached for the door and searched
my face. The last thing I wanted was pity.”
Damn girl, five
step-kids?
”

“
Don’t remind me,” I mumbled under
my breath as I walked into the department store. Five definitely
sounded like a lot, and maybe that was because I didn’t have any.
When Jeremy told me he had a big family, I had no idea he was
talking about his own.

I followed Janelle over to the
boy
’s
department.

“
You know his size?”

Her brow rose. “I know
everything.”

It was strange watching her shop
for someone other than herself. “How are you and Kaleb doing?” I’d
rather talk about anything other than me.

“
Apparently
better than you and Jeremy,” she said with a wink and without the
sarcasm. “And that ain’t saying much.” She moved over to the next
rack. “Look over there for a pair of Levi
’s
in size
twenty-eight.”