Between My Thighs: An Urban Erotic Tale (8 page)

“Troy, what are you talking about? I just told her ass not to call me again. You’ve been speaking to Dallas, why?”

“Yes. She called me with some bullshit about how you had been talking about her to this girl. I told her she needed to think about what she was saying and she would realize that didn’t make any damn sense. The two of you have been friends for too long for the foolishness she was ranting about.” Troy said Loren was a lesbian and she’d fucked Dallas. Loren was trying to make her jealous and thought she could turn me out. Evidently, she was bisexual because she’d been dating dude who played ball in Miami from what she told me.

“What are you saying, Troy?”

“You heard correct. She’s trying to fuck you. She’s planning to invite you out to Miami, and if you go, her and this butch bitch who lives out there are planning to turn your ass out,” Troy said.

When Troy mentioned Miami, I knew he wasn’t lying. Loren had already asked me to travel with her to Miami and we’d made arrangements that I didn’t intend to keep. Now, I understood that comment she made about her girlfriend Charla who lived in Miami, saying she was the male version of herself.

• • •

My new client Kristie was coming in. I had cramps out of this world and started to cancel my appointment but pulled myself together and went into the office. By the time our session ended, I wished I stayed at home.

“How are things with your husband, Kristie?” I asked.

“Well, he has improved, but I’m no longer interested in making this relationship work. I’ve been talking to Darnell, and he said I should just kill his ass.” She chuckled.

“Who is Darnell?”

“He’s my lover,” Kristie replied. She was a mysterious woman. She went back and forth from someone who seemed like the victim to the victimizer.

“You never mentioned you were being adulterous as well,” I replied.

“I wasn’t here to talk about me,” she said.

“Oh, is that so? You only wanted to talk about your husband never fully intending to reconcile and save the marriage. So, again, I ask why is it that you see me? Seems you have all the answers.”

“I see you because I find you fascinating, Dr. Howard.”

“Why?”

“I can’t explain it, but I came to you hoping you’d convince me not to leave my husband. For some reason, I didn’t think your counseling was helpful. Unexpectedly, things got better at home.”

“You haven’t seen me enough to conclude my services aren’t helpful. Further, you don’t seem to be serious at all when you come in here. You’ve told me your lover’s name, but you’ve never mentioned your husband’s. When you first came here, you acted as if you were the one trying to hold the relationship together, but from what I can tell, you’ve abandoned the relationship, just like you claim your husband has.”

It felt like Kristie was watching for my reaction. The whole time, I wondered if she knew who I was, about my relationship with Dorian. My mind was congested with thoughts, like if she was really planning to hurt Dorian, if she knew the extent of our relationship, what her next move was, and why she continued visiting my office, but I maintained my cool. I already had cramps. The news she communicated pushed them right out. I felt both relieved and uneasy at the same time.

“Well, perhaps you should go to couples counseling to decide what’s best for both of you and the children involved,” I replied, abruptly rushing the session. “You should make a decision, Kristie. Either you make your marriage work, or divorce and live your life with Darnell. Whatever you decide, you should do so immediately and stop dragging this thing out. As for us, there is no need to move forward in this relationship.”

Kristie had ruined my day with the ball she’d dropped. My head hurt, my back ached, and my throat felt clogged, like I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t erase her comments from my memory. It was as if her words haunted me, lingered around. Because of patient confidentiality, I couldn’t even discuss the matter with anyone, except Kevin since he was my shrink. I told my assistant to hold my calls and called Kevin on his cell.

“You should speak to the guy, let him know what’s up. That could be a dangerous situation, especially if she knows about the two of you. I’m curious why she didn’t mention it. So, call your boy and fix this.”

• • •

Relocation became a frequent thought. Detroit was getting smaller to me. I’d contemplated moving to New York for years. I finally felt like I had a reason and place there. Part of me wanted to be there for Troy, but I wasn’t naïve. I knew the only reason Troy and I were still going strong was because of the distance. He could say anything to me over the phone and be getting his dick sucked at the same time and I wouldn’t know.

I hadn’t built up the nerve to call Dorian, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to say. I pulled out my laptop to do some freelance work. I had a few clients who were in need of media kits and flyers for upcoming events. I usually turned off my ringers when I was trying to concentrate. That night I forgot, and the phone rang loudly, disengaging me from my thought. I had an old-school answering machine in my home office so I could hear the message as it was being left. Just as the machine picked up, someone knocked on the door. It was Dorian. As he stepped into the foyer, the person left a message: “I’m watching you, bitch.” It was Kristie. Dorian stood emotionless as the sound of his wife played on my answering machine.

Chapter 8|

“Why didn’t you tell me you were married?” I asked.

“We’re going through a divorce. I didn’t want to say anything until it was final. I know how niggas say they’re leaving but really don’t. I wanted to tell you when it was a done deal.”

“I can’t believe you would jeopardize me in that way. Did you know she was coming to my office?”

“No, it wasn’t until I overheard a conversation of hers today that I suspected something was up. That’s why I came here without calling.”

“What kind of person are we dealing with, Dorian? She knows where I live. She’s calling my house.”

“She doesn’t know where you live,” he replied.

“How can you be sure? She probably followed you here. Don’t you think it’s strange she was ringing my phone as you knocked on the door?”

“That’s an odd coincidence, but I wasn’t followed. I’m sure of that. I’m sorry you found out this way.”

“So am I. What else haven’t you told me?”

“I know it looks bad, but we don’t even live together. We’ve been separated for a few years.”

“A few years? Why the hell you just getting divorced?”

“We were trying to hang in there for my daughter, but it just wasn’t worth it. My daughter didn’t need to be exposed to our violence.”

“Violence?”

“Yeah, Kris had people believing I was hitting her. I got into it with her lover one night, and she jumped in the fight. She got hit, and I spent the night in jail.”

“This is too much, Dorian.”

“I know it is. There has been so much going on. Well, you know I’m trying to get in this fraternity. I’ve just been so busy. I didn’t recognize what Kris was up to.”

“Dorian, you have to leave. I can’t have you in my house right now. I need some space.”

“Don’t be like this. I’m in love with you.”

His words sounded rehearsed. It was like he knew his private life was unfolding and he ran to my house to patch things up, but he was a day late and a dollar short.

“Get out. If you loved me, you would have taken the chance and been honest and straightforward with me from the beginning. If you loved me, you would have told me about your fucking wife and not exposed me to this bullshit. You don’t love me. You just got caught.”

I felt disgusted. The thought of being with Dorian irritated the hell out of me. I did a lot of things, but sleeping with someone’s husband wasn’t one of them. My mother always told me growing up that whatever I did in relationships, to stay away from married men. I never knew why she felt so strongly about the matter, but she insisted not to fuck with them, and I obeyed. She really didn’t have to convince me. I was selfish and never would knowingly stay in a relationship with a man who belonged to another.

I was in deep thought, trying to figure out how Kristie obtained my number at home. Then it hit me, Lisa, my assistant, always forwarded the calls to my home answering service in case someone called with an emergency after hours. She would cancel the call forwarding in the morning when she came in. If that was the case, Kristie didn’t really have my number and possibly didn’t know where I stayed. Either way, I was on alert.

• • •

Kendra, the girl I mentored, called asking if I could take her roller-skating. She was in a program similar to Big Brothers, Big Sisters. I’d signed up as a volunteer with the organization, but they had a shortage of girls in the program. That’s when I found a local program at the county’s prosecuting office, which they’d started for troubled youth in the area.

Working with Kendra had its challenges. She was a money-hungry child. Every time we went out, she wanted to spend my dough. The kids never had their own cash, so any time spent with her was at my own expense. I didn’t mind taking her skating. She’d gotten a B on her calculus exam, and I was proud of her.

I grabbed a couple of my younger girl cousins, picked up Kendra, and headed to the roller rink. I laced up my skates while the girls ran to their little group, cackling and whispering about some boys who were looking in their direction. Girls nowadays were built like grown-ass women. Whatever was being injected in the meat and milk had these girls growing tits and ass for days. I kept a close eye on them. They would let those boys talk them right out of their panties. Their minds weren’t as developed as the packages they carried.

Seemed like each time Kendra and I hung out we’d run into Dontae, my ex-boyfriend. He was with his little sister, and I assumed his daughter. I was on the floor skating when he rolled up on me.

“Hey, we meet again,” he said.

“Yeah. How are you?”

“I’m alright. We should sit down and chat,” he said.

“Why is that?” I asked.

“We never talk anymore.”

“No need to change that,” I said, smiling.

“Come on, let’s go sit down. I’ll buy you some nachos with cheese,” he said. When we were in high school, he’d buy me nachos for lunch every Friday. We were so cute. Everyone knew we were a couple, and even after we graduated people still mentioned our names in unison. It must have bothered the heck out of his baby mama at our class reunion. We were the talk of the night. I agreed to meet him at the food court.

I didn’t waste any time. I finally asked the question I’d wanted to for years. “Why did you hook up with that girl?”

“Who, my baby mother?”

“Yes.”

“You already know the story,” he said. He was right. I knew the tale but wanted to hear it again.

“I waited for you while you went away to the military. I was faithful to you all those years. You couldn’t wait for me to finish undergrad, you had to go fuck that girl, and a nasty tramp at that.”

“Don’t do this.”

“Do what? The truth hurts?”

“Yeah, but it wasn’t like that.”

“Yes, it was. You got that girl pregnant. You didn’t even know her. You ruined my life.”

“Raquel.”

“You did. I got pregnant for you when I was a junior in college. You fucking avoided me like the plague. It was me, Dontae. We’d been screwing for years. You were the first man I hooked up with. You should have been the last, but you left me hanging.”

Dontae appeared heart broken. I’d never told him how I really felt about the whole ordeal. He was the reason I didn’t want children. I refused to raise a kid by myself. He always said he would be there for me, but when I got pregnant, he wasn’t.

“I’m sorry. Please forgive me. You think a day doesn’t go by that I don’t realize how I messed up? Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful for my daughter, but I know you had my firstborn. I can’t look at my daughter without thinking about you.”