Chapter 5 #4
“You wanna talk about it?” he offered.
My brows knitted together. “With you?”
He sucked his teeth before finally stepping aside to let me in. “Nah, by yourself. Yeah, me, Lex. Who else is here right now to stop you from committing murder?”
I paused for a second, debating whether to spill my piping hot tea with the man who took my virginity or wait for Liv to arrive. After all, she was the keeper to my secrets, but in a way, he was too.
“How long will she be?” I inquired.
His broad shoulders rose and fell. “I don’t know.”
I let out a swoosh of air. “Fine,” I said, pulling my phone out of my back pocket as I walked toward the couch. “But I’ll warn you, it’s . . . graphic.”
He immediately held up his hand to stop me. “You know what, I think I’ll pass.”
“What? Why?”
“You know I’m crazy, Lex. So don’t play me no shit that’s gon’ make me wanna run down on yo’ nigga.”
He was right about that. Oakland was a certified alpha male, dripping in chocolate and emotional intelligence. He didn’t play behind his family or the people he cared about, and he never was the type to play games.
I drove out a harsh sigh. An ass-whupping for Pat sounded like a good time to me. “Fine. I won’t play it.”
“Just tell me what happened.”
“If I played you the voicemail, you’d know exactly what happened,” I muttered.
“What? He was on there fuckin’ or somethin’?” he assumed. We traded silent glances, and his eyebrows rose toward his crisp hairline. “Oh shit. You forreal?”
“Got the pornstar screaming on my voicemail to prove it.”
“Damn. You talk to him?”
“Nope. Not yet. I came here to talk to Liv first to make sure I don’t do nothin’ that’s gon’ land me behind bars for fuckin’ his toxic ass up.”
“That nigga don’t sound toxic. He sounds fuckin’ stupid. I could’ve told you that the night I met him. Somebody like you only belongs in the hands of a real nigga.”
I swallowed hard. There was something about the way he spoke that had me staring at his lips. Suddenly, I wanted to do more than vent. But before I could respond, he spoke up again.
“You heard him on that voicemail?” he inquired.
“No. Only a woman.”
“And you sure it was him?”
“I mean, it was a call from his phone,” I answered sarcastically. “What else am I supposed to think, Oak?”
“I’m just sayin’, maybe you should hear him out before you throw your whole relationship out the window.”
I scoffed as my eyes rolled. “Figures you’d take his side.”
“I’m not taking that dumb-ass nigga’s side, Lex, because a real one would never have you out here wondering. Like I said, hear him out before you jump to conclusions. If the shoe was on the other foot, wouldn’t you want him to give you a chance to explain?”
My eyes narrowed. “This would never be me.”
“You wouldn’t cheat?”
“No. But if I did, I damn sure wouldn’t get caught like this.”
He cocked his head to the side before chuckling. “Yeah, aight.”
“What?” I snapped with a frown.
“You sure yo’ ass wouldn’t cheat? Because back in the day—”
“Back in the day, what? Say it! I fuckin’ dare you,” I growled, ready to pounce like a predator on prey. I had nothing but time today.
My threat only made Oak laugh harder. He tossed his hands up in surrender as if he were waving his imaginary white flag. “Yo’ lil chihuahua ass needs to take a chill pill.”
“No, because you think shit is funny, and I’m not trying to smile right now,” I whined while trying to stifle a smirk.
“All I wanted to do was make you laugh.”
“Well, thanks, I guess. But I’m not in the mood to laugh or smile. All I wanna do right now is crack skulls.”
The room fell silent for a few seconds before his baritone voice filled the void. Y’know, I still think about that night sometimes,” he admitted.
My brows started to slowly uncurl. “What night?”
He shot me a glare without having to say a word.
I rolled my eyes before dropping my facade. “What about it?”
“Everything.”
“Y’know, you were the only person I ever cheated with,” I admitted, spilling my tea to him.
“Does that make me special?”
My shoulders rose and fell as I glanced up at him. “It makes you dangerous.”
My attraction to Oak had always been undeniable. After all these years, his presence still had the power to make my pussy tingle.
“Can I ask you somethin’?”
“What?” I quizzed, stopping myself from going even further down memory lane.
“Why you marrying this nigga in a few months with all this doubt in your heart?”
Air jetted through the crack in my lips as I looked away from him and stared at the carpet. “His grandfather is sick. He’s got dementia, and it’s progressing quicker than everyone expected. So, Pat wanted him to see him get married before things get even worse.”
Oak dipped his chin out of respect. “Got it.”
“Yeah, so, here we are.”
“You love him, though?”
“Yeah, I do. But I think somewhere along the line I fell in love with the idea of being married and being a part of a real family unit, and I keep trying to convince myself that I’m still in this for all the right reasons, but I can’t help but feel like that voicemail was a sign.”
“A sign of what and from who?”
I suddenly became tired of talking about myself and changed the subject. “Enough about me, what about you? You got a girl?”
Oak chuckled. “Nah, I’m still a loner, just focusing on myself now that my military career is over. I’m looking to have some fun, y’know?”
“Yeah, I know exactly what you mean by fun. You wanna whore out all over Chicago.”
“Whore out? Nah. Never that. I’m stingy with my dick. Unlike yo’ nigga.”
“Shut the fuck up!” I hollered before tossing one of Liv’s throw pillows at him.
He caught it in midair and laughed, which only pissed me off more. “I’m fuckin’ with you. Relax.”
“We’ve only been together for a little over a year, so I already had my doubts about getting married so soon. Plus, he’s a friendly ass nigga. And you know me, Oak. I’m not for all that. I just want somebody who’s gon’ be real with me and make me feel like a choice, not an option.”
He dipped his chin in a nod. “Yeah, I know. That’s what we all want. But real ones are hard to come by these days.”
“I’m learning that.”
“So, what you gon’ do?”
“I haven’t decided yet,” I admitted. “I need to talk to Liv.”
He parted his lips to speak at the same time we heard the jingling of keys in the lock.
Seconds later, Liv walked through the door.
Water droplets splashed against the welcome mat as she shook her umbrella before closing it and stepping inside.
Her tired brown eyes lit up with surprise when she saw Oak and me sitting on the couch.
“Lex? What’s up? What are you doing here?”
I rose to my feet and gave her a serious look. “We need to talk.”
“What. The. Fuck,” Liv stated after hearing the voicemail for the second time.
“I know! And I still haven’t heard from him.”
“I can’t believe this nigga put a ring on your finger and is still passing his dick out like Halloween candy! I’m not promoting violence, but mothafuckas don’t learn till you stab ’em.”
I chuckled for the first time, somewhat thankful for the comedic relief. “Shut up.”
“I’m serious, Lex. Men ain’t getting beat with frying pans and scalded with hot grits no more, and that’s why they’re showing their asses like this, girl. And right before his wedding? He’s got some fuckin’ nerve!”
“Right! Now he’s got me feeling like I don’t want a man at all. I’m better off being single for the rest of my life if this is what I have to look forward to. Like, is there such a thing as a committed relationship anymore to these niggas?”
“As pissed off as I am for you right now, I gotta know what you’re gonna do. You gonna call off the wedding? Stay and test him?”
“What do you mean?”
“My mama always used to say a dog will always return to its vomit. So, if he fucked up once, he’ll do it again. The dumb ones always do.”
“I can’t lie and say this shit hasn’t planted the seed of doubt in my mind about this wedding. A part of me wants to call it off and throw the whole relationship away, but there’s something your brother said that I can’t get out of my head.”
“My brother? As in Oakland Amari Gray? Since when did you start going to him for advice, and what the hell did that blockheaded nigga have to say?”
“He basically said to hear him out first before making a decision since I didn’t actually hear Pat on the voicemail.”
She shrugged. “I mean, he’s not wrong. Try to call him again now. No need to beat around the bush.”
I sighed. “You’re right.”
I pressed his name and put the phone on speaker. Again, the call went straight to voicemail.
“You’ve reached Patrick Maxwell. I’m more than likely flying the friendly skies from coast to coast and can’t come to the phone right now. Leave a message, and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.”
*Beep*
Before I could end the call, Liv yelled into the receiver, “I hope a bird shits on your fucking face, you cheating beige bitch!”
I immediately ended the call. “Shit, Liv.”
“Sorry. I couldn’t help myself. And until we hear otherwise, it’s fuck that nigga for playing in your face like that.”
I huffed out a loud groan. “I hate life right now.”
“It’s going to be okay, girl. My birthday is this weekend. We’re going out, and we’re gonna drink all your cares away.”
The sound of drowning my sorrows and my liver in tequila brought a smile to my face. “That actually sounds perfect right about now. I need a ratchet ass night out. I’ve been a civilized bitch for far too fuckin’ long.”
Liv smiled. “That’s what best friends and tequila are for, to get us through the tough times.”