New Title 1 (20 page)

“
Damn,” he mumbled as his eyes adjusted to the light. “Yeah, again,” he added. “I aint gonna be able to sleep right until-”

“
You're in your own bed,” Jordin finished for him, turning and facing him. He nodded, but he really wanted to say until he laid Freddy in the dirt.

“
Exactly,” he lied. He decided to change the subject. “More flowers?”

“
Yeah,” she smiled, taking out a vase from a brown Bloomingdale's bag and going to the small sink to fill it with water. “Some people believe that the essence from flowers can heal emotions, and maybe even the body. They make you feel like a new person.”

“
Yeah, well they make me feel like a female. I feel like you trying to hit it, all that's left is dinner and you asking to come up to my spot for a drink... or asking if you can use the bathroom or something. Then you gonna move in on me.”

Jordin giggled.

“
Oh, so that's how it works.”

“
Something like that,” Julez smirked. “Thanks though.”

She only smiled in response. As Jordin arranged the flowers, Julez thought of how he had seen more of her in the past week than his own wife. And Noelle didn't even work.

Sure, she went to classes, but the times when she wasn't in class, she was shopping, and pampering, and doing all of these other miniscule things, visiting Julez way less than he felt she should have been.

Jordin on the other hand, came before work, sometimes after work, and was now here on her day off.

“
I brought you something else,” Jordin said, reaching down into her brown bag again and pulling out a Tupperware container. Julez instantly recognized it as some home cooked food, which looked like a million bucks to him.

“
Yeah, you definitely trying to hit it,” he joked again, reaching for the container in haste.

Jordin chuckled but something about the joke kept making her uncomfortable. She swallowed hard.

“
You want me to heat that up?”

“
Nah, I'm good,” he replied, his mouth filled with chicken. After he swallowed that forkful he continued. “Thank you.”

She turned around and faced the window, wondering if she should bring up Noelle. She didn't want him to think about the fact that she should be there though, so she decided against it. As she turned back around, she caught Julez reaching for a napkin on the nightstand.

“
No, Julez. I got it.”

“
Nah, I'm ….ah shit!” He yelled, as a sharp pain went through his shoulder before he could grab the napkin. He was tired of asking everyone to do everything for him, but now he understood why he had to. “Fuck,” he spat in discomfort.

“
Julez,” Jordin whined, making her way to him. “Why did you try to do that? I would have gotten it.” She picked up the napkin and came and sat next to him on the bed, worried about the pain he may be in. “Are you okay?”

He rotated his shoulder and sucked in air every time he hit a nerve.

“
Yeah, yeah I'll be alright.” He reached his right hand over and started to rub his left shoulder, but Jordin could tell it was a difficult task for him. She felt an inward battle at that moment of what would be appropriate or not. Should she offer, or was it too much? The awkwardness of his position as he tried to rub away his own pain caused her to just ask.

“
Do you.... want....
me
to rub it?”

“
Would you?” He asked, sounding relieved. She looked him in the eyes but they were innocent, free of any hidden lusts or anything.

“
Uh...s-sure.”

Jordin scooted behind Julez and sighed before she slowly brought her hands to his strong shoulders. She rubbed gently at first, but then began moving her thumbs in small steady circles, working away Julez's tension and pain. He grunted softly in pleasure and Jordin felt her heart quicken a bit. Julez closed his eyes as Jordin continued to work his muscular upper body with her soft hands.

“
Damn Jordin,” he moaned, sucking in air. “Sssss, that shit feel good.” His voice was low, sexy, reminding Jordin of a dream she had. Against her willpower her clitoris jumped at the sound of him calling her name. She instantly stopped and stood up.

“
All better?”

She had broken the intensity of the mood and Julez knew she had done it on purpose. A part of him was glad, a part of him was not.

“
Yeah, definitely. Thanks ma.” He looked up at her as she paced lightly across the floor, something seeming to be on her mind. “What's up? How's work?” He asked.

Jordin smiled, glad that he had followed her on the path back to acceptable interactions and conversations.

'Um, it's good I guess. They want me to write my first big story. They want something edgy, yet extremely relatable. I've been racking my brain trying to come up with something.”

“
It'll come to you,” Julez assured her.

“
I sure hope so,” she answered. “So how's everything here? Any news from the doctor?”

Julez made himself comfortable in the bed again and nodded.

“
Yeah, he said I should be able to come home soon. Maybe a week, maybe even days.”

Jordin gasped with a smile.

“
That's great! Aw, Julez. Noelle is going to be so happy.”

He nodded but didn't reply to that as he flipped the channels. The only thing he said was, “Ah shit,
Cooley High
is on.”

Jordin giggled.

“
Aw man, I love this movie!”

Julez looked over at her as she stared up at the TV, all into it. Her face was lit up and she was so happy, she was always so happy it seemed.

“
Me too,” he answered lowly as he refocused his eyes back to the television. He brought his hand to his chin and rubbed as he thought to himself.

Co-cheese and the gang joking on the screen caused Jordin to laugh out loud, and as Julez glanced back over at her, they made contact and held it for a second before looking back to the movie.

“
Me too,” he whispered again as they enjoyed the old film together.

***

“
This can't be. Oh...oh shit. Oh my fucking god.”

Noelle stared at the pink stripe as if it would suddenly vanish if she grilled it long enough. Sitting on the lid of the toilet in her bathroom, she found the need to whisper in disbelief, even though she was the only one in the house.

“
I can't believe this shit.”

The first thought that went through her head was how quick she could get an appointment down at the clinic and if she could get it all over with before Julez was released from the hospital and back at home. Keeping the baby was not even an option.

Besides the fact that Noelle was not really interested in having another child, taking a chance at losing her bomb figure and becoming even more tied down, another dominating factor was that the baby had a fifty percent chance of belonging to Slim. Shit, come to think about it, it would be more like a ninety-nine percent chance, being that she didn't have sex with Julez nearly half as much as she did with Slim. No, this baby could not happen, it would be a disaster.

“
This is so fucked up,” she whispered as she ran her hands through her hair and felt tears coming to her eyes. Noelle felt like shit, the type of woman that most people would call trifling and she knew it. She couldn't help but wonder how she had come to this. She knew she had to tell someone, someone had to help her through this.

I can't tell Julez. He wants a baby so bad,
she thought to herself.
He'd never let me get an abortion... And I'd feel like utter shit if I told Jordin. She would want to fucking come along and support me, and how could I let her be apart of me aborting a baby by her own man. That's fucked up. Plus I know she wants kids and shit, she's so sensitive about the issue. There's only one person I can tell. I have to tell Slim. Yeah...I just have to. Later though, whenever I get an opportunity. Not now...

“
Noelle!”

Shit.

“
Yo mami, where you at?”

Noelle recognized Slim's calling for her, but she couldn't respond. Lately they had become so comfortable in the house together with Julez being gone and Jordin working so much, they often would call for each other when they saw the other's car outside. It was as if
they
were married. She could hear his footsteps getting closer.

“
Yo what's up baby, what you...” Slim's words trailed off when he walked through the half opened bathroom door and found Noelle on the verge of crying holding the white plastic stick. His brain took a second to register what it was and he ran his hand over his mouth before he spoke. “Yo, you...you pregnant Noe?”

She didn't look up at him, but she nodded her head and Slim shut his eyes in disbelief.

After a few seconds, he opened them and spoke lowly.

“
You alright, how you feel about it?”

She looked at him like he was crazy.

“
What do you mean how do I feel about it? I feel fucked up, Slim!”

He sighed and sunk down onto one knee, bringing himself face level with her. He cupped her pretty head in his hands and looked into her eyes.

“
It's alright, ma. It's gonna be okay, I got you. Just tell me what you need, and I'm gonna make it happen.” Slim was in love with Noelle, he couldn't deny it if he wanted to. Whatever she wanted of him, no questions would need to be asked. He would oblige.

“
I love you mami, I'm gonna make this okay.”

Noelle smiled lightly, relieved that she had Slim to depend on. She puckered her lips and he pecked her softly, and then she spoke.

“
I don't need any money or anything papi, but...I...I want you to come with me.”

“
Come with you where?” Slim asked sincerely. Noelle furrowed her brows.

“
You know...to handle this.”

Slim's forehead crinkled in confusion as he stood up and stared down at her.

“
What? Fuck you mean handle it? You thinking about getting rid of it?”

Noelle was in awe of his question.

“
Thinking
about it? Slim, I have to! I can't have this baby. You expect me to have this baby and you're with my best friend?” She didn't even mention the mere fact that she was married, Jordin was reason enough.

“
No, I don't expect that,” Slim said rationally. “And I don't expect you to have it and stay with dude either. Just like I don't expect you to abort my seed. I expect us...” He put emphasis on
us
. “I expect us to grow a set, tell them what the fuck is going on, and deal with our responsibilities.”

Noelle couldn't believe her ears.

“
That simple, huh? You make it sound so easy. We can't do that Slim! That will kill Julez. It will destroy Jordin!”

“
So let's just kill our baby, huh? Destroy what we made together for some other mothafuckas?”

Noelle couldn't believe him, this was not apart of the plan. She always thought her and Slim were on the same page, since when did he become so brazen about them? She loved him, she knew that she did. But tell Julez and Jordin, have Slim's baby, she wasn't ready for all of that.

“
Slim, I can't. Listen to yourself. Julez just got shot, Jordin just got that new job. You guys are getting back on your feet, it's just...it's just not right.”

Slim shook his head and chuckled.

“
Since when have we done what's
right
? Damn, mami...if you woulda done this much rationalizing in the beginning, we wouldn't have never gotten here. It's too late for the right thing, Noe. Now, we just gotta do what we gotta do.”

“
And getting rid of it is what I gotta do!” She yelled standing up. “I mean, what if it's not even yours-”

“
Oh, it's mine,” he cut her off.