Chapter 13
Since agreeing to meet with Calil, nervous energy flowed through me.
I had no idea what he planned, but I was kind of excited about it.
Roy had been staying at a hotel. At least, that’s what he told me.
I really didn’t care where he was as long as he was out of the house.
Technically, it was his house as well, but he wouldn’t dare try to put me out.
He might have done the bullshit he did, but he wouldn’t want me to be homeless.
Putting me out would mean putting the boys out, too.
We hadn’t had the chance to tell them what was going on.
As far as they knew, their father was away on business.
It had been a while since he’d gone away for work, but it wasn’t unusual.
I wasn’t sure when we would tell them, but we would have to soon.
They were both old enough to know that something was going on.
So far, neither of them had asked any questions.
Blake seemed to ask me how I felt more than he normally did. Maybe he already picked up on it.
I watched Calil’s last game with the boys, and I had to admit that Calil was good.
I already knew he was, but it was different watching him as an adult.
The boys were just happy that I watched with them.
It was our way of spending time together.
They explained some of the rules to me and answered questions whenever I had them.
I still hadn’t told them that I knew Calil.
I was in my bedroom getting ready for work when I received a text message from Calil.
Calil:
Good morning, pretty girl. I hope we are still on for tonight. I was thinking about seven. I’ll send you an address, and you can meet me there unless you prefer to have me pick you up. It’s up to you.
Me:
Good morning, Lil. Yes, tonight is fine, and you can send me the address.
He replied, telling me to have a good day and that he would send me the address later in the day.
I didn’t think it was a good idea for him to pick me up.
It was bad enough that I agreed to see him, but his coming to my house would be worse.
Legally, I was still married, and I had no idea if Roy would come by since he still had clothes in the house.
I also didn’t want the boys to see Calil picking me up. Driving myself was the better choice.
After telling him to enjoy his day, I finished getting ready. I had to take the boys to school, and I wanted to stop at the coffee shop on my way to work.
“Boys, let’s go!” I stood at the bottom of the steps, waiting for them.
I thought they would have been downstairs already, but I was wrong.
“Coming!” Blake yelled from the top of the stairs before he and Brooks came running down.
“You don’t have to run. We still have time, but I don’t want y’all to be late.”
“Yes, ma’am,” they both responded as they got their bookbags from the hook in the foyer.
While they walked to my car, I set the alarm and locked the door.
I texted Kendyll on the way to the car because I needed to call her as soon as I dropped the boys off.
I hadn’t talked to her in a few days because she and Infinite went out of town for a couple of days.
She had no idea about Roy or that I had been talking to Calil.
She confirmed she was free to talk and anxiously waiting for my call.
I got in the car and took the boys to school. Roy was supposed to return from his work trip , so he would pick them up in the afternoon. As soon as the car door closed, I called Kendyll. I stayed to make sure the boys got inside the school and pulled off.
“I know you are about to spill some hot tea. You don’t usually text or call me this early in the morning,” Kendyll voiced as soon as she answered the phone.
“I am. Are you alone?”
“Oh, shit. I am.”
I could hear the excitement in her voice, and I laughed.
“Well…”
I went on to tell her everything from Roy cheating on me and how I found out to him leaving the house and me talking to Calil. I also told her he wanted to spend time with me.
“Hold up! Did you say multiple strippers?”
“That’s exactly what I said. Girl, I took that ring off so fast and told Roy to get out of my house.”
“As you should. What about Calil, though? Are you going to see him?”
I pulled up to the coffee shop and placed my order at the window. It was a good thing it wasn’t crowded because I didn’t feel like waiting. I almost forgot I had a patient that I had to set up discharge for, so I needed to get my tail to work.
“I mean, I do want to see him,” I admitted. “Do you think I’m wrong?”
I had been debating with myself whether spending time with Calil was a good thing or not.
I was vulnerable, and anything could happen.
The way he looked at me the other night while we were on the phone had my middle throbbing.
I tried my best not to take care of it, but I couldn’t go to sleep if I didn’t, so I did what I had to do and slept like a baby.
I had gotten my test results back, and everything was good. I was relieved that my nasty-ass husband hadn’t given me anything.
“I don’t think you are wrong at all. Roy’s nasty tail didn’t think about you when he was out here fucking with Diamond and them.”
I cracked up at her crazy self.
“How do you know one of them was Diamond?” I asked to mess with her.
“Because it’s always a stripper named Diamond. That’s beside the point. I think you should go and enjoy yourself. Whatever happens, let it happen. Just make sure you are safe. Did you get tested after Roy confessed his dirty sins?”
I paid for my items at the window and pulled off when I got them.
“You know I did. I don’t plan on having sex with Calil, Ken,” I told her.
“Well, if you do, you are well within your rights.”
“I don’t know.”
The coffee shop wasn’t far from the hospital, so I got there in no time. I found a parking spot and gathered my things. I switched the phone to my earphones so I could talk to Kendyll a little longer.
“Don’t worry about it right now. Just enjoy yourself.”
We talked for a few minutes until I made it to my office.
I promised I’d keep her posted throughout the night, especially because I wasn’t sure where I would end up.
I made sure my location was on just in case.
I also stopped sharing my location with Roy because he no longer needed to know my whereabouts.
At 7:00 p.m. on the dot, I arrived at a big gate at the address Calil had given me.
I ended up leaving work early to get pampered and to buy a new dress for the night.
I didn’t need it, but it felt good buying myself something.
I felt and looked good as hell. Roy had picked up the boys and had taken them out.
As far as I knew, he would bring them home and stay with them until I got back.
I didn’t like the idea of him being in the house, but I didn’t want the boys to be there by themselves.
I reached out the window to press the button on the speaker box, but the gate opened.
My jaw dropped as I drove through the gate and up the circular driveway.
The lawn had lights surrounding it, and it was perfectly manicured.
There were too many windows to count. The house was huge for one person or two if I counted Calil’s grandfather.
I was in complete awe of its size. As I parked the car, I wondered how many bedrooms it had.
The front door opened, and Calil walked out looking fine as hell. His locs were pulled up into a messy bun. He had on pants and a white tee.
“You didn’t have any trouble finding the house, did you?” he asked as he helped me out of my car.
“How could I? I mean…” My eyes looked around at Calil and at the massive house. “This house isn’t hard to miss.” I laughed.
He chuckled and closed my door. We walked up the steps hand in hand.
When we entered, I felt like I should remove my shoes because I didn’t want to scuff up the beautiful black-and-white marble floors.
“This is — wow.” My eyes stretched when I looked at the dual staircases and the big flower vases on each side.
Everything about the house was extravagant, and I felt a sense of pride. Calil was living out the dreams we discussed on the nights when we weren’t supposed to be outside.
“Let me give you a tour. Grandpop is here, but he’s asleep again. He wanted to see you but couldn’t stay awake. He did want me to tell you hi.”
“Aww, I would have loved to see him. Make sure you tell him I asked about him.”
“I will,” he said, leading me further into the house.
Calil showed me the entire house, upstairs and downstairs. It had eight bedrooms and nine bathrooms, a basketball court, a theater room, and a gym. Even the garage was big as hell. It held six cars and one of those three-wheeled bikes.
Once the tour was over, we ended up in the massive kitchen, where there was a table with candles lit on it.
All the appliances were state-of-the-art and stainless steel. The fridge had some fancy ass screen on it, but I didn’t know what it did.
“Have a seat,” Calil offered as he pulled the chair out for me.
I was sure he had a dining room in a house this large, but the kitchen table was probably used more. I didn’t care either way. I was ready to eat because the food smelled so good.
“Did you cook?” I asked as I got comfortable in the seat.
“I did.” Calil winked, walked over to the counter, and grabbed the two plates on top.
After putting one in front of me, he sat across from me and poured each of us a glass of wine.
“What is this exactly?” I asked after he blessed the food.
“Smoked salmon pasta with crispy capers.”
“Sounds fancy,” I teased.
I twirled a little of the pasta on my fork and stuck it in my mouth. I moaned a little at the robust flavor of the smoked salmon, but I was pleasantly surprised by how good it tasted.