The California Saga (45 page)

 

 

As soon as I finished masturbating, I called Jewel. I needed to speak to her about Jamie. She was so strong the way she dealt with Touch that I wanted her to help me through my ordeal. I wanted her to counsel me on how she got her strength, to give me the confidence she had. When Jewel didn't answer, I figured she either didn't hear the phone or wasn't able to get to it in time. I called right back, and the outcome was the same. I continued to call back to back with the same result. The last time I called, instead of ringing, it went straight to voice mail. I didn't want to believe that she had ignored my calls, so I told myself that she must be in a poor signal area.

I got concerned that perhaps something was wrong with Jewel. I turned on the local news station to see if there were any reports of accidents. After sitting in front of the television for an hour listening to the same stories over and over, I turned it off. I was satisfied that Jewel had not been harmed. So then why didn't she answer? We had such a great night together, and the morning was so special. It couldn't be that she was avoiding me.

I didn't have much time to stress over Jewel's actions as Jamie texted me the address of where we were meeting. I was so consumed with thoughts of Jewel that I had completely forgotten about Jamie and our meeting. I took my time getting ready to go out, stalling for as long as I could. This was the last thing I wanted to do, but I wasn't going to back down. I always faced my problems head on and tackled them, and I wasn't about to change. I slung my purse over my shoulder and headed out the door, hoping it would go easy.

 

 

Jamie was already waiting at the restaurant when I arrived, which didn't surprise me, since I was a half an hour late. That was done on purpose to try and piss Jamie off. My new plan was to try and get him to want to break it off with me. I figured the bitchier I was, the less likely he would want to be with me.

“Hey, sorry I'm late. I took a nap and slept a little late,” I said as I approached.

“No problem. I'm just happy you got here. You must have really needed the extra sleep.” He smiled and went in for a hug.

I kept my hands at my side and didn't reciprocate his affection.
Damn, that didn't work!
He was acting like it was fine to be kept waiting. This wasn't going to be easy.

The hostess sat us at a small booth with a nice view out the window. If I had been there with Jewel, I would have thought it to be a romantic spot, but since I was with Jamie, it was just another place to sit and eat. I saw Jamie slip the hostess some cash and give her a look. He must have requested a romantic table when he arrived and rewarded the hostess for a job well done. Jamie was pulling out all the stops to try and woo me. I was going to have to counter his politeness with some downright dirty-ass bitch.

“This place doesn't look very expensive,” I said as I sat down.

“Does it matter?”

“It just kind of shows how you think of me. Taking me to a mediocre place.” I frowned as I looked around the room.

“Let's go somewhere else,” he said, staying upbeat.

“Wherever you want.”

“No. I don't feel like driving all over town. Let's just get this over with.”

Jamie either didn't hear what I said or chose to ignore it. He just shrugged his shoulders and said, “Okay, whatever you want.”

Seriously this was not the way I thought he would be reacting. I mean, I was acting disinterested and bored the second I met him, and he seemed immune to it. Damn, he was going to make me work for this breakup.

“It smells funny in here. Are you wearing cologne?” I scrunched my nose and sniffed the air near Jamie.

“I'm wearing my usual CK One.”

“Can cologne go rotten?”

“I don't know.” He shrugged his shoulders again.

Not even a direct insult was doing anything to upset him. Inside I was going crazy. I wanted this to be quick and easy and make Jamie feel like he was the one doing the breaking up. Nothing was working, but I was going to hold steady with my plan though.

I looked at the menu and decided on a chicken salad. You know I needed to look fit for Jewel, so my diet had started. After deciding, I just sat there and stared out the window, looking as bored as I possibly could. I even sighed a few times to draw Jamie's attention away from his menu.

Jamie placed the menu on the table in front of him and folded his hands together. “So did you see anything you like?” he asked.

“Yes.” I continued looking out the window.

“Good. I'm going to have their burger and fries.” “Keep eating like that, you'll get fat.”

He chuckled. “I suppose you're right.”

I was now furious inside. He wasn't getting offended by anything I was saying.
What is up with this guy?

Was he that in love with me that it didn't matter what I said?
I might need to rethink this situation. Maybe I should stay with this guy if he was going to let me act how I wanted. He could fund my life, and I could have Jewel on the side.

The waitress came over and took our order, and I went directly back to looking out the window. I was now thinking about living my life with Jamie and having Jewel on the side. Could I make that work? As I was fantasizing about that life, Jamie interrupted.

“You said earlier that you wanted to talk about us.”

“Yeah. Until you so rudely kept me waiting on hold.” I couldn't help being rude now. I had come in with that mindset, and now I couldn't drop it. Damn. I wanted to feel Jamie out and see if he would be up for my arrangement.

“I'm sorry about that.”

I took a sip of my Diet Coke and proceeded. “About us. I was thinking that we could date but see other people as well.”

Jamie looked perplexed. I couldn't tell what his reaction was by the look on his face. He seemed to be thinking it over. He just kept looking at me and not saying anything, which was starting to freak me out.

“So? What do you think?” I asked.

Now it was Jamie's turn to stare out the window. What was this dude's problem? It was a simple question. This non-answer shit was annoying me.

“So?” I asked again.

Jamie snapped at me. “I'm thinking.”

“Chill, muthafucka. Don't snap at me.”

“I'm sorry,” he said.

The waitress came back over with our food and was about to say something, but she noticed the energy at our table and decided to keep her mouth shut and walk away.

As soon as she was out of range I resumed. “Whatever. Just answer me. Yes or no?”

“Is there someone else? Is that why?”

“No.”

“Then why would you ask that?”

“Let's just say, I'm keeping my options open.”

“Why can't it just be us and no one else? I want you to move in with me. If we both work, we can save up, buy a big house, and have kids.”

Jamie reached for my hand, but I snatched it away. His little pussy-whipped act was starting to wear thin.

“Are you trippin'? I have my own place, and I'm damn sure not about to move in with you or start saving money with you.”

“But the other night together was so special.”

“Oh, shit. You have got to be kidding me. If I wanted to live with a bitch I would.”

Those words made me realize that I was crazy to think I could make anything with Jamie work. My heart and soul were all for Jewel.

“In fact, I want to live with a woman. We have fucked, and I am in love with her, not you. You may be acting like a female right now, but you will never replace the real thing. There is room for one woman in my life. Later, bitch. Don't try contacting me ever again.”

Before I even had a chance to stand, Jamie shot up from his chair and screamed, “Fuck you,” at the top of his lungs, threw his plate of food through the window, and stormed out of the restaurant.

Everyone turned to stare at me sitting at the table alone and in shock. The whole restaurant was completely silent, stunned at what they just witnessed. I sheepishly looked around the dining room at all the customers. I was embarrassed, to say the least.

I tried to stand up and act like I wasn't fazed, but I'm sure I looked rattled. I was planning on walking out with my head held high and a little dignity, but that was stopped immediately. The restaurant manager came over with two waiters and blocked me from leaving.

“Ma'am, I'm afraid you can't leave. Your guest just vandalized our restaurant.”

I was snapped back to reality. Cops were going to get involved in this. It would probably be department gossip in a matter of minutes. I had to make sure I wasn't turned into a department joke.

“Yes, I understand. I'm sorry. I was just so stunned, I don't know what I was thinking. Let me pay for the damage and the meal.” I pulled out a credit card.

“It won't be that easy. There will be insurance involved, and I'm not even sure how much it is going to cost to fix. We'll need to call the police. I'm sorry.”

“No, don't. Please. Let's work it out on our own and not involve anyone else.” The manager thought about it for a minute and decided to not call the police. You know I was relieved. We went back to his office and got down to business. We decided that I wouldn't leave until it was all worked out. He called his contractor and explained the situation.

After several hours and several different quotes to fix the window, we came to an agreement. I gave the manager my credit card number to use after the work was finished. I assured him that I would be monitoring my credit statements, and if there was one odd charge, or I was charged one more dollar than the quoted price, there would be hell to pay.

As I was leaving, I spotted the waitress who had helped me earlier. Luckily she was working a double shift. I walked over to her and handed her a fifty-dollar bill.

“I apologize about earlier,” I said and walked out embarrassed but free. It was the most expensive breakup of my life.

 

 

I looked down at my ringing cell phone. This was the third time that my girlfriend Sylvia had called me.

Everyone knew not to disturb me when I was tuning into my reality shows, so I wasn't about to answer. This night I was watching
Basketball Wives
. Those were my girls.

I couldn't take the constant texts and phone calls one after the other, so I answered. Luckily, the show went to a commercial. “Hello?” I answered, annoyed.

“Did you get my texts?” she asked.

“No,” I replied.

“I figured that much. Because if you did get my texts, you would have been here by now.”

Now Sylvia had my full attention. I pressed pause on the DVR, so I wouldn't miss a second of my show. “Been where?”

“Okay, listen to me very closely. Touch is at the club, Tigerland, with some girl. I thought I should let you know. I would have busted him in the head with a bottle myself, but I'm on a date.”

“That's okay. Let me do my own dirty work. So is that chick better-looking than me? Is she light-skinned or dark? Is she ghetto or proper? I need details.” I wanted to know what I was up against.

“Don't worry. She's no competition. I've got to go. I've been in the bathroom too long blowing you up. I don't want Jarrod to think I ditched him,” Sylvia said before hanging up the phone.

Sylvia was a loyal friend, so it was no surprise to me that she'd made this call. She knew how bad I wanted to fuck with Touch. She even tried to tag along and help, but this was my deal and my deal only.

This was one time I had to put
Basketball Wives
aside. I hurried to put on a cute top, jeans, and stiletto heels. I was going to be the shining star of the night, so I needed to dress the part. I grabbed my co-star, my gun, and put it in my purse. If things went as planned, my gun would end up inside Touch's mouth. I was about to take this game to a whole new level. My mouth started to water, thinking about him pleading for his life.

I was happy that Sylvia had called me. We had just talked about how I was aggravated because the past few days, Touch's house was deserted, and that chick, Jewel, was nowhere to be found. I knew doing something to her would have definitely caught Touch's attention and possibly pushed him over the edge.

Every time I thought about how he spat on me and beat on me, I got angrier and angrier. Repressed rage and aggression was taking a toll on me. My hair was thinning out, and most days, I felt jittery. Getting revenge had become crack to me, and I was an addict. I wasn't sure what my end game was with Touch, but I just knew how much satisfaction I got out of harassing his ass.

After getting dressed, I hopped in my car and rushed to the club. Since I arrived so late, the club parking lot was half-empty. Knowing Touch very well, I knew he would be the last to come out of the building. That nigga loved his drink and would always close bars down.

An hour passed, and cars continued to leave the lot one by one. I watched the club door, patiently waiting for Touch. The waiting was making me tired, and I started to doze off when he finally came out with this mysterious girl. They stumbled across the parking lot to Touch's truck. He had her pressed up against the truck while he felt on her ass and managed to feel up her dress. With the way they were going at it, I thought they would have fucked right in the parking lot if so many people weren't around. It made me disgusted to watch them go at it like they were. I had reached my boiling point.

I quietly but quickly got out of my car, took my gun out of my purse, and fired one shot in the air. Instant chaos erupted in the parking lot. People started scattering and ducking to the ground. Women were screaming, and their boyfriends were trying to hush them up.

My second shot was aimed at Touch, but I missed and hit his car window. My third shot, I had a good aim at him. He was splayed out on the ground in plain view. My eyes got as big as saucers. He was going to die this night, and I would finally be able to move on with my life.

I calmly aimed the gun right at his head and started taking steps closer to make sure I hit his ass. Right as I was about to pull the trigger, something hit me like a ton of rocks, knocking the gun from my hands and forcing me to hit the ground.

I scrambled to turn around to see a two-hundred-pound police offer coming at me like a raging bull. Before I knew it, he was on top of me.

“Officer, that man has been trying to kill me,” I screamed, spitting bits of dirt out of my mouth.

“Lady, you're the one with the gun!”

“It's for protection.”

“Man, y'all just don't know what this girl has put me through. Justice is finally going to be served. I ain't never been a fan of the police, but I'm sure glad you're here tonight!” Touch said, after running over to me.

The cops flipped me on my stomach and handcuffed me. Touch was taunting my ass the entire time. Like he was the one responsible for me getting arrested. That shit pissed me off too.

When the cops helped me to stand up, I tried to go right at Touch. I was kicking like a donkey, just trying to inflict any sort of pain I could on him. I hit him in the leg, but all he did was laugh.

“See, officers? You see what she is like? This bitch is crazy,” Touch said, pointing at me.

Meanwhile, the bitch that Touch was messing with before I interrupted them was crying hysterically on the arm of some other dude. I guess that guy saw an opportunity to swoop in, and he took it. Served Touch right to lose that bitch. I got some satisfaction out of seeing that.

The cops put me in the back of the car and slammed the door after me. I started kicking the cage that separated the front from the back. Then I tried to kick out the windows, and when that didn't work, I went back to the cage. All the while, the cops were talking to Touch, no doubt getting his version of the events between us. Which was fine with me, because when we saw each other in court, it would be my word against his. If I was a betting woman, I would put money on me to convince the jury that I was innocent.

The crowd around the parking lot had dispersed by the time the police were done talking to Touch. His little hussy left with the other dude, which made me so happy. I had tired myself out with all the kicking I had done. My right foot was killing me. I was kicking so hard, I had actually broken a bone in it. I would make Touch pay for that when I saw him again. I figured if he caused me to break a bone in my body, he needed to have a broken bone in his body as well.
Which bone would it be?
I thought.
I think I'll break his back. Lay his ass up in bed for a few months. That'll teach him.
I smiled as the cops got into the car.

Touch came up to the car window before they pulled off and said, “You getting what you deserve, bitch. You going to jail, psycho.” Then he started laughing at me.

“You stupid muthafucka. I got my revenge on you, when I snuck in your house and beat the shit out of you. I had you scared for days.” I laughed as the car pulled away.