Mr. Wrong After All (6 page)

Chapter 11

Shannon

For months, I stayed as far away from Nikki as possible. She was getting on my fucking nerves. All she wanted to do was ask me a bunch of stupid ass questions about where I was going, what I was doing, and whom I was doing it with. She acted like I was a child and she was my goddamn mama. The last time I saw her was when she and her girl, Sabrina, asked me to go with them to some bullshit book signing. But I soon realized what the two of them really wanted was to get all up in my business and I wasn’t having it. Nikki claimed to care so much about what happened to me one minute and then the next minute, she just sat there and said nothing while Sabrina practically threw me from a moving car. From that moment, it was perfectly clear that Nikki didn’t give a shit about me. I should have realized that fact when she left home.

Nikki knew what Daddy would do to me when she left.

My first couple of semesters at Howard had surely taught me one thing. College wasn’t for me. Although I enjoyed the party scene, I just couldn’t get into the going to class thing. When I was living at home, going to school wasn’t an option. It was a requirement. My father didn’t care whether it was rain or shine or whether we were sick or well, we
had
to go to school. It was one of those
as long as you live in my house
rules. Well, good thing that I’m no longer living in his house now because I have had enough of rules, books, class and all of the other shit that goes along with it.

Besides, it is not as if I had a choice in the matter. The university had placed me on academic probation because of my less than stellar grades. My first semester’s report card was filled with three D’s and an F and not a lot had changed since then.

When I found out that I was pregnant, I figured that it was just the confirmation I needed to finally quit school and find a job. I definitely planned to stay in DC. There was no way in hell I was going back to Alabama to live with my parents. I wasn’t going to have an abortion this time either. Been there. Done that. Unlike with the other pregnancies, this baby’s daddy could actually be worth millions. I knew exactly who I was going to pin this one on even if the baby was not his. My baby and I were going to be set for life.

I knew that sooner or later my parents would find out I

wasn’t in school and about the pregnancy. Hell, Nikki’s
007
friend, Sabrina, had probably printed up press releases already. I realized that I had to get a job to insure that my father wouldn’t insist that I come back home. A husband would be better but a job would satisfy him.

Finding a place to live wasn’t going to be that hard. I had already practically moved out of the dorm and in with my man, Bone. I knew that Bone wouldn’t have a problem with me living with him full time. He barely lived there himself.

Bone was the real deal and had it going on unlike these lame ass college boys. He had two houses, one here in DC and another

5

one in New York. Bone drove a BMW and always, always had plenty of money to spend and didn’t mind spending it on me.

For a minute, I thought that something serious might happen between Ahmad Jacobs and me. He would call me sometimes, usually when he wanted some pussy and I was fine with that. Hell, I was even gracious enough to fuck a couple of his boys on occasion if it meant getting hooked up with a moneybags ballplayer. I did whatever he wanted me to do. I knew that Ahmad didn’t have money now but the potential was worth millions. Everybody around town was talking about Ahmad being drafted into the NBA. I’d even heard some people say that he might play for Detroit. I was glad that I’d snatched one of the condoms from the trash when his ass left the room.

He was so stupid. Always wrapping his little shit up before we fucked like that would make any difference.

It never occurred to him that I could take his sperm home with me and squirt it in. A turkey baster from the dollar store is a gold digger’s best friend.

One thing was for sure, I needed a man with some money. Some real money. Right now. None of the brothers that I’d met had anything like that until I met Bone.

I met Bone at a party a few months ago and, even though he was seven years older than I was, we had a connection. We left the party and went to Waffle House for a late dinner and have been into each other ever since.

Bone was not the type of man that my parents would approve of at all. He was not a college man and he was hard. My father would call him a thug because of his big diamond stud earrings and saggy pants. I knew what Bone did for a living wouldn’t win him any brownie points with my family either, but I didn’t care because I knew Bone was a good man regardless of the fact that he sold drugs. It could have been worse. He could have been a drug user.

“Bone, can I ask you something?”

“Yeah.”

“I need a place to live. Can I crash with you for a minute?”

“Why? What happened to school?”

“I don’t know. I just ain’t feeling it anymore.”

“You know you can stay with me as long as you want, baby girl.”

“I have something I need to tell you. I’m pregnant.”

“What the fuck? Pregnant? Bitch, it ain’t mine ‘cause I ain’t fucked no crackhead. You sucked my dick but I ain’t fucked you. Naw, bitch, you ain’t fixin’ to stick me!”

“Chill out, Bone. I know it ain’t yours. I have a pretty good idea who the father is. I just need some time to get my head together,” I explained. “I need to find a job to tie me over until I can figure out the right time to tell the father. I’m thinking that I should put in a few applications at Wal-Mart and check into some restaurants.”

“You don’t got to look for no goddamn minimum ass wage job. You can’t survive on that shit. That bullshit will barely keep your belly full. And you going to have a baby, too? Shit, that’s why I do what I do. I make more money in an hour sellin’ rocks than niggahs working at Wal-Mart make in a month, maybe even a year. Shit, you’ve got to get yours where you can ‘cause these white folks is getting theirs,” Bone explained. “You can live with me. Hell, I need somebody to look after the spot when I’m in New York handling my business. I’ll take care of you until you get your shit straight.”

“When my daddy finds out that I ain’t in school, he’s gonna try and make me come home especially if I don’t have a job.”

“How is he gonna know what’s going on if you don’t tell him?”

“My bitch ass sister Nikki will tell as soon as she finds out.”

“You ain’t got to get no job. You can help me with my shit. That’s your new job. You ain’t got to worry about your daddy or your sister either. I’ll handle it if anything jumps off. I got your back, baby.”

“Bone, do you mean it?” I asked, excitedly.

“Hell yeah, I mean it. You know I love you, girl. Now, come here and show me how much you love me by giving my little bone a suck before I leave for New York. I got business to take care of and I need to relax.”

Hearing those words from Bone was all the reassurance I needed. I would live with him until I got my plan together and had this baby. After the child is born, it will be smooth sailing.

Chapter 12

Nikki

I had managed to stop worrying about Shannon so much. I took Sabrina’s advice and moved on. My sister thought she was grown and she flat out refused to listen to anything I had to say. After a couple of unreturned phone calls, I got the message loud and clear. When I spoke to my mom, she said Shannon had decided to move out of the dorm and into a friend’s apartment. She also said Shannon was going to take a semester off from school and work. I could smell that bullshit through the phone lines but if my parents bought it, who was I to object. I also knew it probably wouldn’t be long before this problem escalated out of control, but I continued to keep my mouth shut and mind my own business.

Business issue number one was Ahmad Jacobs and why he hadn’t called me yet. I could have sworn that we’d made a connection the night of the party but I hadn’t seen or spoken to him since.

“Girl, you know how ignorant some of these guys are. I wouldn’t worry about it too much if I were you,” Sabrina consoled.

I didn’t want to worry about it but I couldn’t get him off my mind.

It feels like I’ve fallen in love with a man that I really know nothing about. How childish is that?

“Let’s go get some dinner, Nikki. I’m starving,” Sabrina suggested, jolting me from my thoughts of Ahmad.

“Where are we going?”

“Let’s go to the mall and get some Sbarro’s.”

It was Saturday night and the mall was packed with teenaged shoppers and moviegoers. There was no place in the food court to sit. Why in the world Sabrina loved pizza from Sbarro’s so damn much was a mystery to me.

We could have stayed at the house and ordered Domino’s.

I’d hoped that as soon as she realized how long the line was, she would want to leave. I was wrong. We stood in line and waited for her favorite greasy ass pizza.

“Have you been hiding from me?” a voice asked from behind me. I turned to see whom the owner was and was pleasantly surprised to see Ahmad’s smile.

“I’m not the one who’s been hiding,” I answered as I turned back around. I was happy to see him but there was no way I was going to let him know that.

“Who are you talking too?” Sabrina asked, turning to see what was going on. “Well, well, well. If it isn’t the illusive Mr. Jacobs,” she sang.

“Hello, Sabrina.”

“Don’t speak to me. I’m not the one who’s been sitting by the phone for days, waiting for you to call,” Sabrina said as she turned to me and winked her eye.

I can’t believe you’ve just said that out loud, Sabrina Jackson!

I could have choked the life from Sabrina’s chubby body. Although she was right about me waiting for Ahmad to call, she was equally wrong for telling him about it.

“So, you’ve been waiting for me to call?”

“Not really,” I lied. I had to try to save at least a shred of my dignity.

“Yeah, right,” Sabrina chimed.

Will you shut your damn mouth? You’ve said enough.

“I’ll have to figure out some way to make it up to you.”

“I guess you will.”

“How about right now?” Ahmad proposed.

“What?”

“This place is packed full of Negros and I could definitely do without this greasy shit pizza. Do you want to go and have some real food with me and talk about why I haven’t called?”

“Don’t diss
Sbarro’s, Ahmad,” Sabrina turned and defended. “Some people like greasy shit pizza.”

“Well, I can’t just leave Sabrina. I mean I did ride here with her,” I said.

“Yeah, you rode with me. You didn’t drive. Go on with Ahmad.”

I really wanted to go and have dinner with Ahmad but I didn’t want to leave my friend hanging at the mall alone.

“Sabrina, will you be okay?”

“Nikki, I’m at the mall, not a Klan meeting. I’ll be fine. Go have dinner with Mr. Free Throw. He is paying, right?”

Sometimes, I couldn’t believe some of the things that my best friend would let escape her lips. I didn’t need Ahmad to pay for my dinner and I certainly didn’t want him to think that I was one of those gold-digging sisters just looking for a basketball playing sugar daddy.

“Of course, I’m paying. I asked her to join me, remember? And who are you, Sabrina? Nikki’s agent?” Ahmad joked.

“Yep. My commission is paid by knowing everything that goes on with you two,” Sabrina answered as she stepped up to the counter to place her order.

Ahmad and I left the food court and headed for Ruby Tuesday’s
located at the less crowded end of the mall. Once we were seated at our table, Ahmad began to apologize profusely for not calling me. He explained that he had to rush back home to New York to deal with a family emergency.

“A family emergency? Yeah right. You can’t come up with a more original excuse than that? I’m disappointed.”

I laughed out loud but I soon realized that I was laughing alone. Ahmad was dead serious. He didn’t go into any detail about what happened but sadness on his face spoke volumes.

“Ahmad, I’m so sorry. I was joking. Is everything okay?”

“Well, not really but I’m dealing with it.”

“Is there anything I can do?”

“You just did it by accepting my invitation to dinner,” Ahmad said, smiling.

Dinner with Ahmad was fun. We talked and laughed for hours. He was not the smug athlete I’d heard about. He really was easy to talk to and seemed genuinely interested in me. His caramel dimples made me want to giggle every time I looked at them.

Intermittently, the faint scent of his Polo cologne would dance across the table and tickle my nose. I hated to see the evening end.

“We must do this again,” he said as he pulled his car in front of the sorority house.

“Yes, we must. I had a great time. Thanks for dinner.”

“It was definitely better than Sbarro’s but don’t tell your girl that,” he joked. “Can I call you?”

“For real, this time, okay?”

“For real. I promise.”

I had barely got inside of the house and closed the front door behind me when Sabrina walked up on me like a night stalker in the dark.

“Well, how was it?”

“Damn, Sabrina! You scared me. Can I at least pee first?”

“Nope. You might forget something.”

She followed me to the first floor hall bathroom and leaned impatiently against the wall outside of the door.

“Did he say why he didn’t call?”

“Yeah. He had a family issue in New York.”

“Yeah, right.”

“No, Sabrina. I truly believe him. There was just something about the way he said it. He didn’t go into any real details about what happened but I don’t think he’s lying about it.”

“Humph, sounds like a lie to me but, okay, if you bought it.

Well, did he pay for dinner like he said he would?” “Yes, he paid,” I answered, flushing the toilet.

“You ordered anything you wanted or did he give you a cheap ass limit?”

“No. There was no limit. I ordered shrimp alfredo, a side salad, and a Coke.”

“What did he order?”

“A burger and fries.”

“When he dropped you off, did he try to kiss you?”

“No. He didn’t even look like he wanted to kiss me. We just talked about hooking up again soon and that was it,” I explained, drying my hands.

“He paid and he didn’t get a kiss? That’s a new one.”

“Yeah, I thought so, too. But, Sabrina, not every guy is after that. There are a few gentlemen out there, you know?”

I was actually glad that Ahmad did not try to kiss me. I don’t know what I would have done if he had.

Would I have kissed him back? It was like we were on an official date. I’m not sure if I’m ready for a kiss from Ahmad. I wanted us to be friends before moving into a serious relationship.

I opened the door and saw Sabrina still leaning against the wall, filing her nails.

“Honey, this ain’t Tara, Miss Scarlet. Gentlemen be damned. These fools around here are all after one thing and Ahmad Jacobs is no different. All I’m saying is that if he didn’t get a kiss tonight, your ass is indebted to him for one. He’ll get it next time y’all go out and maybe then some. Trust.”

As time went by, it turned out that Sabrina was right. The next time Ahmad and I went out, we shared a kiss. And what a wonderful kiss it was. The taste of his lips on mine was intoxicating. My body tingled all over as he held me tight in his arms. Our tongues snaked around each other as if we were fresh out of hibernation. When the weight of his kiss became more urgent and I felt his strong hands begin to crawl beneath my t-shirt, I knew we were on the threshold of going a lot farther than I was prepared to go. Sex with Ahmad, or with any other man, was something that I was definitely not ready to get into.

“What’s wrong?” Ahmad asked, as I broke our embrace.

“Nothing. I just think we should stop before we go too far.”

“What’s too far?”

“Ahmad, I’m just not ready to go there right now.”

“Okay. I can respect that,” he said. He then pulled me in for another kiss.

I was happy that he didn’t pressure me or ask questions as to why I wasn’t ready. The thought of having to tell him about my father’s abuse was frightening. Until now, I hadn’t told anyone about it. Not even Sabrina. It was hard to know whom to trust with something so personal and so embarrassing. I couldn’t handle the look of pity or the possibility of being avoided and seen as someone who was an emotional basket case.

“I can wait until you’re ready,” Ahmad reassured.

I was happy that Ahmad understood or that at least he pretended to.

I won’t be able to put him off forever if I want this relationship to go beyond the friendship realm. It is obvious that Ahmad wants more than friendship. My body is telling me that I do, too.