CHAPTER 29 #2
Jackie fiddled with the diamond pendant that hung from her necklace. She’d never shied away from telling her girls about her casual exploits. But this time, she was unsure if she wanted to share the details. Maybe because, despite her attitude, it had meant something to her.
Bronwyn, noticing Jackie’s hesitation, decided to chime in.
“I did a little recon on Antonio. Not that you asked, but I was curious.” She pulled out her phone.
“I took some notes. He’s a Sagittarius, with his moon in Pisces.
And you’re an Aries, a double ram born in the month and moon of the sign.
You’re compatible on so many levels, especially sexually.
Your natal charts can’t be wrong about that. ”
Jackie bit her lip. Fuck. Bronwyn was right. The whole table erupted, as everyone started to talk over each other.
“Hmmm…it was amazing, wasn’t it? I knew it!” Bronwyn declared. “Stars don’t lie!”
“Spill,” Tanika said, nearly bouncing out of her seat.
“We need details, girl,” Mya encouraged. “Start from the beginning!”
“I can’t explain it,” Jackie typed. “The whole trip had been kind of rocky. But after we went out dancing, things took a turn.”
“Hold up,” Tanika said. “You all went on a date?”
“And you danced?” Bronwyn asked, surprised. “Like, as a couple?”
“Yes. Kind of.” Jackie shrugged as the app read her words, “I wouldn’t call it a date, though.”
“If there were drinks, dancing, and food, it was a date, girl!” Tanika laughed. “I know you’ve been out the game a minute, but we would definitely classify that as a date.”
Jackie swore that Tanika was repeating verbatim what Jackie had said back when Tanika was in denial about dating Gideon. She didn’t like when her own words were used against her.
“Well, I don’t care nothing about no drinks and dancing. You got put through the damned mattress, didn’t you?” Mya asked, her hand on her chin as she eagerly awaited an answer.
Jackie raised a brow as she typed. “More like a table…then a shower…then the floor…. I mean, the bed was the last resort. Especially after we broke the frame.”
“Damn,” Mya exclaimed. “You lucky bitch! A sister has been dry over here.”
“I sure do appreciate a generous lover,” mused Bronwyn. She looked at Tanika with a smirk. “Pay up, girlfriend!”
“Well, damn! That was more than two times it seems.” Tanika reached into her purse, then paused. She slid two crisp fifty-dollar bills across the table to Bronwyn, who folded them neatly and stuck them in her clutch.
“Thank you,” Bronwyn smiled. “I’m going to donate this to the women’s shelter rehousing fund on your behalf.”
“Good to know Jackie’s sex life is going to a good cause,” Tanika remarked.
Jackie shook her head and typed. “That’ll be the last cash you win off of a bet about my sex life. At least with Antonio. He wasn’t happy when I told him I don’t do relationships.”
Mya sighed deeply. Tanika folded her arms and grunted her displeasure.
“Oh Jackie,” Bronwyn sighed. “Why are you hiding behind that lie?”
“It’s not a lie! For duck’s sake!” Jackie rolled her eyes at Honeysuckle’s app settings. “You know what I mean.”
“So, how did Antonio respond?” asked Tanika.
Mya held up her hand. “Hold on, if we going to get into the thick of this, we need food.” She signaled for the server so she could order for the table. Mya was never one to discuss anything serious on an empty stomach.
Jackie typed while Mya put in the order, determined to get this part of the story over with. “He was pissed at first. And now he’s sort of cold.”
Or maybe I’m the one being cold?
“Ah, he’s putting up a…what’s the sports term, Tanika? A debilitating strut?” asked Bronwyn.
“A defensive stance,” Tanika corrected, amused at Bronwyn’s attempt at sports jargon. “That’s exactly what he’s doing. But Jackie makes it so easy for people to do that, especially after they get vulnerable.”
Mya and Bronwyn were nodding and humming in agreement.
Jackie’s eyes widened. “What does that mean?” she typed.
Tanika reached out for Jackie’s hand. “I get it, Jackie. You’ve had some really sucky relationships, personal and otherwise.
People who claimed to love you hurt you in the deepest ways.
So, when new people open up to you, you think it’s a game.
And now you’re stuck playing offense, avoiding love because you think it’s going to hurt. ”
Jackie scoffed. “You’re tripping.”
“Is she?” Bronwyn countered. “Katrice did you so wrong. And now you think every partner is going to do the same. You are quick to jump to conclusions, just like you did in Vegas. Did you and Antonio ever talk about Vegas? I hope all those couples’ exercises brought some closure.”
Jackie nodded, then typed. “We cleared things up. It was a misunderstanding on my part. We are cool about that.”
Mya munched on an eggroll. “What was the misunderstanding?”
Jackie swallowed, wanting to guard Antonio’s privacy. “That morning, the phone call I overheard? Family stuff. He was working out some family stuff.”
“Good,” said Tanika. “Like Bron said, you tend to see the worst in people. Even when they’re trying to show you their best. Everyone isn’t grimy, Jackie. One mistake, and you just are done with folks. Out the door. Now, who does that sound like?”
Well, ouch. Jackie winced. She was usually the one dispensing the tough love. She didn’t like being on the receiving end. Being compared to her trollop of a mother wasn’t something she ever wanted.
Tanika shrugged. “I know that look on your face. But I had to keep it real, cousin.”
Jackie smiled at that. Tanika had been family to her for over twenty years, and after the wedding in a few months, she’d be her family in a whole new way.
“So, do you like him?” Mya waggled her brows. “Do you want to take him for another spin at least?”
Jackie sighed, then typed quickly. “Doesn’t matter what I want. We work together now.”
Bronwyn took Jackie’s hand again. “I know our feedback is hard to hear. But ask yourself this: Why pretend you don’t care about this man? So what if you work together? Kenny and I run an entire business together. That’s not unusual, nor should it be a deterrent to your happiness.”
“So true. Antonio isn’t Katrice,” Tanika added, sipping her martini. “Now that bitch was grimy….”
“If I ever saw her in the streets, I’d put a hex on her,” Bronwyn said.
“I’d call up the ancestors to make sure she misses every single basket she shoots, and that her locs are never freshly retwisted.
They’d unravel on sight! Matter of fact, let me put a reminder in my phone to do that when I get home. ”
Jackie chuckled. She knew Bronwyn was deadly serious. She didn’t play around when it came to hoodoo or hexes.
“Hexes and stuff aside,” Tanika laughed. “Mexico was supposed to be about signing Mo. Did that happen? Or did you just get distracted by fine-ass Antonio?”
Jackie made the “so-so” gesture with her hand.
“What does that mean?” asked Tanika.
Jackie typed, then hit SPEAK, bracing herself for Tanika’s reaction. “I made a big promise. I said I could get him a title fight with Ramón Rodriguez. In Atlantic City.”
Tanika’s eyes widened. “Jackie! How the hell are you supposed to do that? Mo hasn’t fought in two years.
Granted, he’s in excellent shape. I’ve seen his videos on Instagram and some of the exhibition fights.
And he probably could give Ramón a run for his money, but Guzman has a tight rein on who he fights.
I don’t know if he’d be alright with Mo, even if he’s the only real competition Ramón would have. ”
“You know me. I swing big. And I rarely miss,” Jackie winked.
“Well, if anyone is going to get the job done, it’s Jackie,” Bronwyn said proudly. “She’s a shark.”
“More like a relentless, nagging mosquito,” Mya said. “But in a good way.”
Jackie narrowed her eyes at Mya, stabbing her beef with her fork for good measure, but Mya just continued to slurp her ramen noodles. This was the second time in less than a week someone had called her a blood-sucking insect.
“As relentless as Jackie is,” Tanika began, “how is someone who fearlessly confronts star athletes, whole teams, and massive corporations scared shitless when it comes to falling in love?”
Jackie hated when they talked about her like she wasn’t sitting there, but something in her told her to listen.
Bronwyn took a bite of her brussel sprouts, then pointed her fork in Jackie’s direction. “That’s why her throat chakra is closed now! Paralyzed by fear. I’m not saying it’s in her head, but—”
“Speaking of getting head,” Mya sang. “Jackie better call Antonio. Apparently, he has some kind of magic juju that makes her talk. Isn’t that what you said, Bronwyn?”
“Well, I didn’t say that, exactly,” Bronwyn clarified. “But Jackie, it wouldn’t hurt to see if, uhm, certain circumstances are the common denominator when it comes to your voice. Think of it as an experiment!”
“One that ends in multiple orgasms,” Tanika added. “Oh, and your voice back too. Obviously.”
“I kinda like Jackie not talking,” Mya said. “Makes for a much more peaceful lunch.”
All three of them snickered as Jackie fumed.
“You better hope I never get my voice back,” Jackie typed. “Because I really want to curse you all the duck out.”
Tanika, Bronwyn, and Mya howled with laughter. Dammit Honeysuckle! Some tech whiz you are!