Authors: Brenda Hampton

Jaylin's World (8 page)

BOOK: Jaylin's World

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Nancy's husband walked up, stumbling right in front of us. He was drunk, like always, and his glasses were tilted on his face. As drunk as Nancy was, she had the nerve to cut her eyes at him. “Come on, cupcake,” he said, “let's dance.”

She smiled and snapped her fingers as she danced away. They were such an interesting couple to me, and were always blunt. Knowing how much money her husband had, I was sure she would make that horrible sex she mentioned work out.

The dinner party wrapped up about two o'clock in the morning. Shane drove to Tiffanie's house with her, and Jaylin and I went home together. He was borderline tipsy. As I stood on the balcony, outside our bedroom, Jaylin snuck up from behind me. He wrapped his arms around my waist. Like always, he placed passionate kisses on my neck.

“Why you out here?” he slurred. “Why don't you come inside so I can show you what I'm workin' wit.”

I continued to gaze out at the ocean. “I already know what you're working with, and a sista getting a little bit bored with the same ole, same ole,” I joked, but kept it real.

Jaylin halted the pecks on my neck. “Say it ain't so, Mrs. Rogers. Did you just try to say being with me was boring?”

I shrugged. “If that's how you want to put it, then yes, maybe so.”

Jaylin stepped a few inches back; then he peeled the top part of my dress away from my shoulders. He rolled it down past my breasts and tightened his arms around my waist. His lips touched my earlobe.

“Let's go inside and make love
all
night long. I can almost promise you a baby tonight, and you know what? As anxious as I am to dip into that pussy, you don't even have to do any work. As soon as I pop my dick inside you, bam! We gon'make our baby.”

“Hmm.” I smiled. “Are you sure about that? I get to have
another
one of your babies, huh?”

“Yep. And being the loving and beautiful mother figure that you are, how can I go wrong?”

“You can't,” I replied. “There's not a chance in hell.”

Jaylin lowered the rest of my dress and I stepped out of it. He lifted me and carried me to our bed. Carefully laying me on it, he looked down at me. I couldn't believe when I saw that strange look in his eyes again. I held his handsome face with my hands.

“Please tell me what's wrong,” I begged. “I can tell that something is troubling you, and I need to know what it is.”

“I just have a lot on my mind. There's nothing for you to worry about, okay?”

“Are you sure? Your problems are always mine too.”

“Positive” was all he said.

He knelt to the floor, taking off my shoes and tossing them aside. After he removed his clothes, he eased on top of me and made love to me in slow motion. Our bodies rocked in rhythm together. I gave him my juices, while sucking in a heap of his. There were plenty of juices to exchange, and one load after another swam into me. Just like the last time, Jaylin had exhausted himself with telling me how much I meant to him. Whether I was willing to admit it or not, he meant a lot to me too.

JAYLIN

Making love to Nokea was truly the best. She knew how to make me feel as if I had not a worry in the world. She provided me with the love and care I so desperately needed. She made me feel whole and feel as if I could conquer the entire world. Her touch was like a security blanket, telling me that I could hold on to it forever and never let it go. After the lengthy lovemaking session last night, I realized one simple thing about myself. I was one selfish motherfucker, and why did life always have to revolve around my needs? It was so hard for me to consider other people's feelings. After marrying Nokea, I thought I'd gotten beyond that shit. Obviously, I hadn't. I had to work hard on my selfishness, or if not, I knew I would lose everything.

The dinner party last night was an eye-opener too. I couldn't keep my eyes off Nokea, and there were many times that she didn't even notice me looking at her. She was so beautiful, sexy and classy at the same time. I loved the fact that she felt so confident in herself that she could dress as she did. The men couldn't keep their eyes off her, and her aura was lighting up the room. That's the kind of woman I loved to call my wife. After all of the dust settled, I intended for her status to stay that way.

On another note, Shane and I had settled our differences. He was a little uptight about Scorpio, and I truly understood how he felt. The only thing he asked of me was that I not use him as an alibi to see Scorpio. I promised him that I wouldn't. His other advice was for me not to tell Nokea. He felt as if it would devastate her, and he didn't want to see me lose out. I thought about that too, but I also knew how much Nokea loved me. Yes, she would be highly ... severely upset, but walk away for good? I wasn't sure about that. We had a lot to lose if she did, and a part of me didn't think she'd be willing to lose so much.

For the first time, I got to sit down, relax and play with my son. Mackenzie was in physical therapy, and I had spent at least an hour with her earlier. Justin was a happy child, and I couldn't believe how much he looked like me. I couldn't wait for LJ and Jaylene to meet him. Once I broke a few things down to Nanny B, things would eventually come together.

Justin and I sat on the floor, stacking some of his plastic Lego blocks as high as they would go. I let him kick them. When they came crashing down, he laughed. I pulled him in my arms, kissing his soft cheeks.

“You think that's funny?” I said, tickling him. He cracked up and fell back on the floor while kicking his feet on me so I would stop.

“Okay,” I said. “Let's put this train set together so you can see this bad boy do its thing. Will you help me?”

“Yes,” he said, sitting down next to me.

After a while, all Justin did was watch me put the train set together. We were both excited, watching the trains roll quickly around the tracks.

“I told you, you would like that. Now, what else would you like to do?”

Justin stuck his finger in his mouth and looked around his room. He then pointed to his bookshelf.

“You want me to read a book?” I asked.

He nodded. I removed his finger from his mouth. “Don't nod, say yes. âYes, I want you to read a book.' Always be clear about what you want.”

“Yes. Read!” Justin shouted.

I laughed, knowing that he liked to read because of Mackenzie. As much as I used to read to her, she now loved to read books. She told me she read to Justin every single day. As he sat on my lap while I read to him, he seemed tuned in. It impressed me how much Mackenzie looked after him, just as LJ looked out for Jaylene. I was so lucky to have all of them in my life. Even though I felt bad about what I'd done, this was one of the things I hadn't yet regretted.

It was getting close to dinnertime, and Loretta had the whole penthouse infused with the smell of Italian food. The four-layered cheesy lasagna almost smelled as good as Nanny B's, but not quite. I carried Justin out of the room, flying him like an airplane, causing him to laugh his butt off.

“Jaylin, please be careful with him,” Scorpio said, standing in the kitchen with Loretta. “He's not one hundred percent yet, okay?”

I put Justin on the floor and he ran up to Scorpio. She picked him up and he squeezed his arms around her neck.

“Hi, baby,” she said, kissing all over his cheeks. “Did you have fun?”

He nodded and Loretta gave him a Blow Pop he was reaching for. Scorpio unraveled it, and Justin put the sucker in his mouth.

“Are you staying for dinner?” Scorpio asked me.

“Nah, I'm getting ready to go. I'll stay for dinner some time next week.”

Scorpio walked me to the door with Justin on her hip. I leaned in to kiss both of them.

“Be good,” I said. “I'll be back sometime tomorrow.”

Scorpio waved good-bye and so did Justin. Spending time with him truly made my day. I headed for home, seriously on cloud nine. I was anxious to spend time with my other two children. When I got home, no one was there. That kind of surprised me, because it was rare that we had a peaceful home. No one had left me a note, text or anything. I called Nokea's cell phone, she said that she was en route home. She said the kids were with Nanny B at the mall and they were going to a 3-D kiddie movie afterward. When I hung up with her, I called Shane. He was in a meeting with a potential client, who wanted to purchase one of our properties. I told him to hit me back later, to let me know how the meeting went.

Wasting time until Nokea got home, I changed clothes and headed to the lower level to shoot some hoops on my half-court. I kept thinking about playing ball with my sons, imagining them as they got older. When I started to sweat, I took off my wife-beater and played in my hanging basketball shorts. Time was flying by. I heard Nokea call my name on the intercom, I rushed over to it, pushing the button.

“Yeah, baby,” I said breathing heavily.

“Where are you?”

“I'm on the court. I'll be upstairs in a few minutes.”

“Hurry,” she said.

I took two more shots, missed one and made the other. When I got upstairs, I stopped by the fridge to get a bottled water. I drank it halfway down, then poured the rest over my sweaty face. I caught the dripping water with a towel, then rubbed it on my chest. I saw Nokea leaning against the arched kitchen's doorway with her arms folded, I walked up to kiss her cheek.

“What's up?” I said. “I can't believe we're all alone. If you want, we can definitely take advantage of the time.”

Nokea smiled, but she took my hand and led me into the great room. I didn't want to sit on the leather couches with my sweaty body, but she asked me to have a seat. She sat across from me, crossing her legs.

“First, let me say that we're alone on purpose. I asked Nanny B to take the kids out for the day, and Shane already told me that he had an appointment. IâI've known you since I was six. I think after thirty plus years, I have gotten to know you pretty well, Jaylin. Even when you were a little boy, I knew when you were troubled, and I did everything in my power to help ease your pain. As we grew up together, that never, ever changed. When we became a couple, I knew the kind of man you'd grown into, and I accepted that because of your past. In time, I figured all wounds would heal, and eventually they did. With that, I am requesting that you tell me what is going on with you, right here and right now. I will not accept you telling me ânothing,' as I know that is not the truth.”

I hesitated, but I spoke up. “Like I said, I just have a lot going on. I'm trying to close some of these deals I've been investing in. Even though I didn't want to go back to work to this extent, I'm finding myself getting more involved. My time away from you and my kids is starting to bother me. Yes, the fact that we haven't had another child is disappointing. I'm doing my best not to let all of this get to me. In due time, everything will be okay.”

Nokea stared at me and then cleared her throat. “Were you ever able to close the deal in Chicago? I know you've been working hard on that one in particular. I hope you didn't lose any money on that deal.”

“I'm still working on it. The properties were pretty decent, and Shane and I may shoot down there in a couple of weeks to see what's up.”

Nokea reached over to the table beside her and picked up several papers. She flipped through them; then she reached out to give one of the papers to me.

“Can you explain that to me? I printed it from your in-box, and there must be some kind of mistake.”

I looked at the paper, and it was the reservation confirmation for my trip to St. Louis, not Chicago. I couldn't even think fast enough. When I had no reply, Nokea got up and stood in front of me. She let me see the other papers, two of which were my cell phone records and some Internet confessions on Facebook. She pointed to a number on my cell phone bill.

“While you're thinking about your response, tell me who that phone number belongs to. Tell me why this paper shows you were at the Four Seasons Hotel the days you told me you were in Chicago. And just to be clear,” she said, giving me a money ticket from the casino, “how did you get this in your possession, when, according to you, you were in Chicago?”

She went back over to the chair, crossing her legs as she sat. “Think fast, as I have more questions for you, when you get finished answering those.”

I sat back on the couch, unprepared to lay all of my bullshit on the line. Yeah, it was now or never, and I really didn't have a choice, other than to come clean. My stomach was already turning in knots, and the deep breaths I'd been taking weren't really helping. I placed my hands behind my head, ready to tell the love of my life
some
of the truth.

“Several weeks ago, do you remember when a phone call came in the middle of the night?” I asked, but Nokea made not one gesture. “Well, the call was from Scorpio. She told me that Mackenzie had been in a terrible car accident and asked if I would come to St. Louis to see her. I did, and when I got there, Mackenzie was pretty messed up. I ... There was no way that I could leave her. She was happy to see me, Nokea, and I just couldn't turn my back on her again. I wanted to tell you, but I know how you feel about Scorpio and Mackenzie. There was no way you would understand what I was feeling, so I lied. I felt as if I didn't have a choice, and please forgive me for not being completely honest with you about this.”

“What would make you think I would be against you going to St. Louis to see about Mackenzie? Don't you know me at all? Am I really such a cruel and vengeful person that you think I would want you to say, âTo hell with Mackenzie'? You have only assumed that I have something against her, and I never have. What I am concerned about, however, is your ongoing connection with Scorpio. Did you spend any time alone with her, while you were in St. Louis?”

I rubbed my goatee and my eyelids lowered. My whole body was tense and I held my breath before blurting out, “No, I didn't.”

Nokea uncrossed her legs and sighed. “Have you forgotten that I can tell when you're lying? Yes, you did spend time alone with her. Do I need to share with you how I know what happened between the two of you?”

I wasn't sure if Nokea knew the truth or not, but since she was pulling out all of these papers and shit, I wasn't taking any chances on her pulling out photos, confirming the truth. I closed my burning eyes, rubbing them with the tips of my fingers. “Sheâshe stayed one night with me,” I admitted.

“Did you have sex with her?”

I couldn't even open my eyes to see Nokea's reaction. I waited before answering; then I came out with it. “Unfortunately, yes. Yes, I did, but it ...” I paused, not being able to find the right words to say.

Nothing but silence fell over our great room, and the only thing you could hear was a mouselike squeak that was coming from a hanging ceiling fan. When I opened my eyes, I saw a tear roll down Nokea's face. Her lips quivered as she spoke. “Was that the only time you had sex with her since we've been married? Be honest, Jaylin, and do not lie to me anymore.”

I nibbled on my bottom lip, trying to decide if I had the guts to go through with this conversation. When I noticed her eyes continuously fill with water, a tingling feeling rushed through my body. I regretted that I had to sit there and watch her next reaction.

“IâI had sex with her when we went to St. Louis for Pat's baby shower. She, uh, Scorpio”âI cleared the thick mucus from my throatâ“got pregnant that time, and I... I just found out the baby was mine. He almost died in the car accident too, and, uh ...” I paused, squeezing my eyes and rubbing them again.

“What!” Nokea shouted loudly, causing my ears to ring. Her voice was tearful and shaky. “Did ... are you telling me she has your baby?”

I had no words right now as I watched tears drip from her chin.

“Why,
Jaylin? How could you ever do something like this to me? What did I ever do to you, for you to continuously inflict pain on me?”

BOOK: Jaylin's World

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