The Reunion Show (9 page)

“I respect that. From now on, I don't want to hear yo mouth about us havin' sex again, all right?”

She nodded and smiled. I got up from the bed to hug her, but she quickly jumped away from me. “No, siree. Back it up, back the fuck up. I don't want that thing nowhere near me. It's nice to look at, nice to dream about, but that's it!”

I backed away with my hands in the air. Jada's eyes searched me again from head to toe.

“I'm gon' put on some clothes,” I said. “But would you please go redo my breakfast? If you don't want to, let me know so I can go make some kind of magic happen for myself.”

“I've seen your magic and it ain't pretty. I got you. Just give me thirty minutes or so to hook you up.”

I thanked her. She had no idea how much respect I had for her, but unfortunately, that respect wasn't going to stop me from doing what I had to do.

I was known for talking a bunch of mess, but when it came down to sex, I was a big ol' wuss, especially if I didn't really know who I was dealing with. If I did know him, it would be on. I meant every word that I'd said to Roc, even though seeing him naked like that made it so hard for me to walk away. It was best that I did. I could never see myself letting all that he had inside of me. Unfortunately, my little hopes and dreams about what could have been had to remain a fantasy.

I left the bedroom feeling much better. Roc was sweet. There was a part of me that wanted to tell him about what Chase had been up to. Maybe he and I could somehow work this out. Maybe I could get him into the bathroom where nobody would see us and tell him how I thought the remainder of this challenge should play out. The only problem with that was I didn't have a plan. I didn't know if he would be willing to split anything with me or if he would be upset about all the backstabbing that had gone on. Then there was the trust thing. Could I trust him and would he trust me? I struggled with what to do, and I still didn't have any answers when I finished cooking his food.

“Roc,” I yelled out. “Yo food is ready.”

This time, I made him some waffles, sausages, and eggs. I poured him a tall glass of orange juice and put his food on the table. Couldn't nobody tell me that Jada Mahoney didn't know how to take care of a man. I had messed up with Kiley, but I had promised myself that I would do better.

Roc came into the kitchen without a stitch of clothing on. He glanced at the food and then planted a kiss on my cheek.

“Thanks, ma. When I win this challenge, I'mma do somethin' real sweet for you.”

“You can do something sweet for me now and go put on some clothes. I don't understand how you can walk around like that. Baby, you are brave.”

“Brave and confident. You should try this too. I promise I won't bite.”

“I don't want to spoil your appetite, so stop talkin' crazy and eat your food.”

I playfully slapped his back and watched him eat. I kept thinking that there wasn't a chance in hell he would win, unless I changed things up a bit. I thought about it all day, and as we sat outside playing cards, I tried to get a feel for where his head was with all of this.

“I'm ready to go home, ain't you?” I asked.

He observed the cards in his hand and nodded. “You ain't said nothin' that I ain't been thinkin'.”

“Then, let's just call a truce and be done with it. Let's call Jeff up in here and tell him that we both win and this mess is over.”

He laid a spade on the table, taking my spade. “I don't think he would be down for anything like that and neither would I. You and me like each other, no doubt, but it's every man for themselves.”

“I know that, but I don't think it would be a bad idea for us to end this right now. Ain't no tellin' how many more days and nights we'll have to stay here. You don't seem like you're givin' up, and I don't want to either. But we both can walk away with fifty grand in our pockets. What's so wrong with that?”

“That's not how you play the game, ma. It's either you win or you lose. Besides, I'm confident that I can win this thing. I prefer to have a hundred g's in my pocket, instead of fifty.”

He was pissing me off. I was trying my best to save this fool, but his ass was being greedy. “I don't get why you're so confident. Do you need the money that doggone bad where you're not willin' to end this and share? I think it's the right thing to do. This is the last time I'mma put my offer on the table.”

He looked at his cards and then scratched his head before responding. “I'm not goin' to accept your offer, so don't bother to swing it my way again. This will be over with soon enough. Then you can pack your bags and get back to whatever you were doin' before you came here.”

My brows rose. I was shocked to hear him say what he did, but I should've known that a street Negro would be in it for self. All of my thoughts from today went out the window. This wasn't about us coming together to win anymore. It was back to me and that crazy heifer, Chase, who was behind the scenes calling the shots.

My slight attitude was back. I tried not to let it show. I continued to play cards with Roc, and after he won the game, I asked if he would show me some tips in the workout room on how to shed pounds. I had asked Jaylin to help me, but all he did was yell and insult me. I was serious about losing weight. Although I loved my curves, I still wanted to be in better shape. Some people believed that eating the right foods was key. Since I wasn't going to change up anything in the kitchen, I had to seek other options.

“I don't mind helpin' you, but you gotta stick with it,” Roc said. “You can't expect to be in the gym once a month and see results.”

“I already know that, Roc. When I get back home, I'm gon' join a gym. I may even get a personal trainer, but for now, I need to start somewhere.”

He got up from the table. I followed him to the workout room. Since I was already dressed in a pink T-shirt and black stretch pants, I didn't have to change clothes. It was a little after six o'clock, and I still had a couple more hours before
Scandal
came on. I missed it last week because Jaylin's ol' picky self wanted to watch something else.

Roc told me before we got started that he wanted me to stretch. He showed me how, so I followed by doing everything that he did.

“You don't have to do this for long,” he said as we stood side by side on the rubber mats. “Just stretch as many muscles as you can before workin' out.”

I stretched my arms in the air and did lunges to stretch my legs. Roc also told me to do a few squats, so I knocked out ten of those. I didn't want to let him know that my calves were already burning, but by the time
Wheel of Fortune
came on, he told me to get on the treadmill next to him.

“Start off slow and walk for at least twenty minutes. And whatever you do…” He had a smirk on his face. “Don't fall off.”

“You act like I tried to fall on my ass before. I didn't. That thing was goin' too fast and that's why I fell.”

“That's because you made it speed up. Raise your incline settin' to about two or three. Then hit quick start and set your speed at a slow pace.”

I did as he told me to. He put his treadmill on the same pace as mine so we could walk side by side together.

“So, what we gon' do after this?” I asked while keeping my eyes on
Wheel of Fortune
. I was trying to figure out the puzzle. So was Roc.

“After this, we gon' do twenty minutes on the elliptical machine and then twenty minutes on the bikes.”

“Are we gon' work the weights? Jaylin said not to mix this kind of exercisin' with weight liftin'. He said do cardio one day and weight liftin' on another day.”

“That's what a lot of people do, but I think people need to figure out what works for them and stay on that path.”

“So, tomorrow, you think we should do the weights or what?”

Roc didn't respond right away. He looked at the TV and shouted out the word puzzle. Unfortunately, his answer was wrong. I cracked up and almost fell again. My laughter, however, halted when he answered my question about us lifting weights tomorrow.

“I can't predict tomorrow. There is a possibility that we may not even be here.”

Did he know something that I didn't? Roc was too sure of himself, but he didn't know that his wake-up call was coming.

“I don't want to predict tomorrow either, but I will predict tonight. After I get done with all of this, I'mma take me a hot shower, pour some white wine, and chill on the couch to watch
Scandal.”

“What's
Scandal?
”

I almost fell off the treadmill again when I snapped my head in his direction. This time, I caught my balance by holding the rail. “Are you serious? You mean you don't be checking out
Scandal?
You watched it with me the week before last, didn't you?”

“I probably paid it no attention, but I think I remember somethin' y'all were watchin'.”

“Well, it's a TV drama series that got me hooked. On one episode I watched, Kerry Washington, she plays a lawyer named Olivia, she checked the shit out of her boyfriend. She was like…five, nigga get some balls; four, you don't gotta trust me 'cause I damn sho don't trust you; three, I'm cheatin' with the Prez 'cause you can't put it down like he do; two, kiss my ass; and one, get yo crusty-lipped tail out of here. Her lips be twisted, and the way she be workin' her mouth and switchin' be havin' me like
daaaamn, this chick is bad!”

Roc didn't seem impressed. All he did was shrug. “Sounds interestin', but I don't think they doin' it like that on TV.”

“She didn't exactly say it like that, but that's what she meant.”

We conversed back and forth, and before I knew it, twenty minutes had gone by. Surprisingly, I wasn't that tired, but my crack sure did feel greasy. My whole body was sweating, but for some reason, more sweat was in the area of my privates. I dabbed my forehead with a fluffy towel and then tossed it on one of the weight benches. Roc waited for me to get on the elliptical machine next to him, so I did. Five minutes in, my legs were burning and sweat spots were all over my clothes, particularly in the crotch area. When I glanced at the mirror in front of us, it looked like I had peed on myself.

“Hang in there,” Roc coached as he looked over at me. “Don't slump down and straighten yo back.”

I straightened my back and forced myself to continue. Roc cheered me on the whole time, and once the twenty minutes were up, my legs were numb. My arms were sore and my sweaty clothes stuck to my body. I bent over and put my hands on my knees. While taking deep breaths in and out, I eyed Roc. He went over to the bikes. He wasn't breathing hard or nothing. There was barely any sweat on him and he looked ready to go.

“Come on, ma. We're almost done. You're doin' good. Real good.”

I straightened my back and stretched it. While holding my waistline, I dragged my feet across the floor, making my way over to the bikes.

“You said I may not be here tomorrow because you tryin' to kill me, right?” I said.

“Exercisin' will not kill you, so stop complainin' and let's get done with this. Start off slow and then work your way up to level nine or ten on the bike.”

I got on the bike; level one was already enough. If Roc thought I was cranking this thing up to level nine or ten, he was crazy. Maybe to level two or three, but that was all he was getting out of me.

“Faster,” he shouted while turning his legs so fast that his bike shook. I tried to go fast like him, but after awhile, I started to feel like a heart attack was upon me. My ass was so wet that it was sliding off the seat. My wet palms could barely stay gripped on the handles and sweat was dripping from my forehead onto the floor. I had never been worked this hard in my life. It felt good, though, until my stomach started rumbling and cramping up. Gas was trying to find an escape route. I tightened my butt cheeks and took several deep breaths to calm my stomach. A few minutes later, the cramps went away. I was thankful. I didn't want to embarrass myself anymore than I already had.

“Five,” Roc shouted. “Five more minutes, and you, Miss Jada Mahoney, are done. Pat yourself on the back. I may have a few glasses of wine to help you celebrate.”

After helping me like this, Roc was now back on my team. I was upset with him earlier, but I liked how he inspired me. Without him around, I never would've been able to pull this off. I watched the timer go from one minute left, to one second. Exhausted, I removed my feet from the pedals and dropped my head back.

“Lord, have mercy,” I said, sighing from relief. “I am so glad that this is over.”

“Almost.” Roc sat on the floor mats in the middle of the room. “Now all you have to do is a few sit-ups. You need to work your stomach area like this.”