Talk a Good Game (18 page)

“
Hurry your ass up!” Kaleb was
practically screaming.

Damn I shoulda brought my phone with me so I could
have called 911 for an ambulance, possibly two.

There was no way I could stay in the bathroom all
day. I stuck the file in my sleeve and slowly turned the knob. I
expected to find Kaleb waiting on the other side of the door.

“
Babe!” he called.

“
Yeah?” I said, cautiously, then
stuck my head out.

“
Bring yo ass over
here!”

Kaleb was lying across the bed,
butt-naked with his dick standing straight up.
What the fuck?

I crept out the room and glanced
out into the hallway. “Sweetheart, who was at the door?” I
questioned and searched his face for some kind of
reaction.

He waved his hand. “Those damn
Jehovah Witnesses! I gave ‘em a five dollar donation and sent her
on her way.”

Her?

“
C
’
mon babe. I
’
m
horny as hell!” He started shaking his dick at
me.

I started chuckling and shrugged
out of the robe, dropping the file to the floor then climbed on for
a French kiss and a nice long ride. I’ll worry about Alphonso
later. Right now I had to take care of my man.

NYREE

I heard a horn blow. I reached for my purse and
stepped out onto the porch.

“
Hooker, hurry up!”

I tossed a dismissive wave in the
air. Janelle can be such a drama whore
. I don’t
know what the rush was but I didn’t have anything else to do
on a Saturday afternoon. Jeremy was at choir rehearsal.

“
So you went and got yourself a
church boy,” Janelle teased as she pulled out the
driveway.

“
Girl, whatever,” I said. “I got
myself a good man.”

She looked away from the road long
enough to give me a weird look. “Aren’t they all in the
beginning?”

I leaned back on the seat and
changed the subject. “So what do you need me for?”

“
Alphonso snatched the space
beside Foxtrot.”

My head whipped around. “Really?
For what?”

Janelle frowned. “To open one of
those tacky clothing stores of his.”

She forgot about the hot royal blue pantsuit she had
bought at that tacky shop. In fact while they were dating she had
been raving about his inventory.

“
Anyway,” she began dismissively.
“I want you to go with me to his real estate office and convince
him to give me the space.”

My head whipped around.
“
What
?
He
’s
not gonna listen to me!”

Her eyes were all but studying me.
“Why not? You used to date him.” She was trying to sound as
convincing as possible.

“
You
’
re right. I
used
to date him.”

What gets me is, as friends we’re
supposed to have an unspoken rule—don’t date your best
friend
’s
ex-boyfriend. I
mean sure,
Alphonso and I had dated for a brief time in high school and never
had sex but still dating is dating. Janelle thinks since
it
’s
been a decade the statute of limitations is
over.
Wow! Really?
At first I had been pissed but then I decided, who cares? The
three weeks Alphonso and I were together was barely a
memory.

“
But he respects you as a friend,”
she stated firmly.

“
And he doesn’t respect
you?”

I caught her eyebrow inching up
before saying, “Hell no. Ever since I saw him lapping his soup like
a puppy dog and dumped him, he’s been on some psycho
bullshit.”

“
I
’
m not getting involved in your
crap!”

Janelle sucked her teeth. “Okay,
whatever. Then stay in the car as a witness. If I don’t come out in
fifteen minutes then you need to call the police.”

Like I said,
she
’s
a drama queen. She pulled onto Ash Street into a
small strip mall and climbed out then sauntered inside with her
wide hips swinging in a short yellow dress that was perfect for her
curves and lime green pumps. One thing she knew was
fashion.

I watched as she swung open the glass door to his
office and went inside.

I leaned back onto the seat,
sulking. I could be at Sam
’s
Club doing some bulk
shopping. Instead I was about to be an accessory to who knows what.
Since I’ve been ignoring my mother all morning I decided to give
her a call. She too could be a drama queen.

“
Hey Mom.”

“
About time you
call me back. For all you know I could have fallen and can’t
get
up.
”

I
laughed.
“Mama, I’ve seen the commercial.
How are you this afternoon?”

“
Blessed. I just left church.
Everyone is talking about that wonderful new man of
yours.”

I shifted on the seat and brought
the phone closer to my ear. “What are they saying?”

“
That Jeremy is truly a child of
God! I was happy to see him at choir rehearsal. Why weren’t you
there?”

“
Because I can’t sing.” Although
neither could Jeremy, but that didn’t stop him. With that squeaky
voice of his, hopefully the choir director had stuck him way in the
back. I was crazy about him but I was gonna keep it
real.

“
Whether you can
sing or not doesn’t matter. Chile, you
’
re singing
for the Lord.”

“
Trust me,
Mama
. The
Lord doesn’t
want to hear
me.”

She released a long sigh of
disappointment. “
I don’t
know what
I
’
m going to do with
you.”

I couldn’t help but smile.
Mabeline Dawson was something else. “
Just keep loving me M
ama. That
’s
all I ask.”
That
’s
all I’ve ever wanted. Being the
middle child was tough.

“
Your father and I would love to
have you both for Sunday dinner tomorrow.”

I groaned. An afternoon with my
family grilling him, I wasn’t sure if Jeremy was up for the task.
He always seemed to get nervous when there were a lot of people
around. For such a good looking man, he sure had insecurity issues
but it wasn’t anything I didn’t think I could work with. I don’t
know what it was but I always liked a challenge. Not like that
bullshit Janelle get off on but the challenge that came with being
with a good man with a great deal of potential. I always believed
that behind every great man was a woman pushing him to be the best
he could be.

“
Sure Mama.
We
’ll
be there.” I glanced up to see Janelle storming
out of the office. Oh shit, she was mad! “Mama, I’ll see you in the
morning.” I hung up just as she hopped into the car.
“What
’s
wrong?” I asked even though I
already knew. Janelle didn’t get her way.

“
The bastard. No problem. I have
something for that ass!” She hissed then threw the car in reverse
and peeled around to the side of the parking lot, where she brought
the car to a screeching halt.

“
Why
’
re you stopping?” This whole
situation just spelled trouble in too many ways.

She didn’t bother to answer me as
she reached into the glove box, and what I saw her pull out made me
gasp, “Janelle, where the hell are you going with that
switchblade?”

“
Watch,” was all she said before
she rushed out of the car.

“
What is that crazy chick about to
do?” I mumbled under my breath as I watched her walk over to a
black Lexus and stab the rear tires with the blades. Laughing, she
hurried back over to the car and jumped in.

“
Are you
crazy
?”
I squealed.

She put her Honda into Drive and
hurried out the parking lot then headed down Ash Street.
“That
’s
what he gets!” she screamed
with laughter.

I tightened my seatbelt and shook
my head. “You have lost your mind.”

“
Nope. Not yet
but if he moves in next to me you
’
re going to see
just how crazy I can get.” She held up her finger to emphasize her
position.

I couldn’t believe this shit. Not
only did she vandalize his car but she took me along as an
accomplice. “What if he calls the police?”

Janelle shrugged and didn’t bother
to look away from the road as she said, “Call them for what?
I
’
m with you shopping at the mall.
Besides, the plates are illegal on that vehicle so he ain’t calling
nobody.”

“
Illegal? I don’t
want to
know.” Her cellphone started buzzing.

“
No, you don’t.”
She was laughing like a crazy woman now. “Speaking of shopping…
let
’s
go to Macy
’s
right quick. They have
this new UGGS purse I want you to see.”

Her phone was ringing again.
“Aren’t you going to answer your phone?”

“
Nope.
It
’s
just Kaleb
’s
needy ass trying to
keep track of me. I
’
m playing possum for the next
hour.”

See, I told you
she
’s
crazy.

Sometimes I think my life must
really be boring because I keep hanging and living vicariously
through Janelle. Seriously. I
’
m in the military so
there is no way in hell I
’
m risking my security
clearance smoking weed or dating shady dudes like Janelle. Instead
I get to listen to her stories and watch the crazy stuff that she
does. It
’s
the next best thing to real
life.

* * *

I had made it back home and was
lying on the couch watching reruns of Martin when Jeremy called.
“Hey Angel, whadda you want for dinner?”

He was so thoughtful. “How about
Tony
’s
Pizza?
”

“
No problem. Text me what you want
on it and I’ll go get it.”

I hung up and sat there half watching the sitcom
while I was thinking about this wonderful new man in my life. He
was definitely something special. And my parents liked him which
made it even better because Deacon Charles Dawson was a hard man to
please.

My daddy was retired military. We
traveled around most of my life before he finally returned to his
roots in Missouri. He was actually from Sedalia but we moved to
Columbia. Thank goodness he didn’t return to that little-ass town.
My parents met in grammar school and have been together ever since.
Growing up I’ve always wanted what they have, commitment,
dedication, something I never had with my ex-husband
Shane.

Sometimes I think I move too fast
thinking every man was that special guy in my life. I get so caught
up in the moment that all I can see is right now. I’ll admit that
I
’
m flawed. I wanted so desperately
to stop meeting Mr. Right Now and finally find my Mr.
Right.

With Jeremy I was already
imagining a long relationship. I just had to keep reminding myself
to take it one day at a time and not rush this time. I already had
a feeling that wasn’t going to be easy.

By the time I went and got sodas
and plates from the kitchen, Jeremy was knocking at my door. It was
crazy how excited I was to see him, especially since we’ve been
together almost every day since we’d met.

“
Hey sweetheart,” I said as I
opened the door and met his smile. He leaned in and kissed me
soundly on the lips before stepping into the living
room.

“
What are you watching?” he
asked.

“
Nothing really. Just waiting for
the game to come on.”

I took a seat on the couch beside him and took in
his faded jeans and button up shirt he was wearing. It looked like
another one of those George brand shirts he bought at Walmart. I
really was going to have to start shopping for him.

“
I brought over something I want
to show you after we get done eating,” he said with the nervous
smile of his again.

I smiled and reached for his hand
as we prepared to say grace. “Okay.”

We bowed our head and I listened
as he blessed our food. “…And Lord thank you for bringing this
beautiful Angel into my life. Amen.” Before releasing my hand he
kissed it then let it go. I felt special. This was our thing—his
and mine. And I enjoyed every second of it.