Chapter 6

 

            “Jaylen.” Bailey called me. My eyes sprung open. I’d fallen asleep and hadn’t realized. “It’s Andre’s weekend?” She asked. I shrugged. 

            “I don’t know.” I answered sleepily. I stretched, I’d fallen asleep in the window seat, disregarding how unpleasant it was to sit in for extended times. “Why?”

            “He called. He said it’s his weekend.” Bailey tried to maintain her normal good mood, but Andre always put her in a bad mood. He and Bailey didn’t get along, which was odd, because Bailey got along with everyone. Their relationship was the polar opposite of the one he and Desi had. He treated her with an aloofness that bordered on rudeness. I stood up and grabbed my phone.

            “Sorry if he was rude. I’ll call him back.” I took the cell phone in the bathroom with me. 

            “Dre? It’s Jay.” I said. He sighed.

            “Why did you tell me it was cool to call the house if she was going to be the one always answering?” He sounded petulant. I made a face.

            “Dre, at some point, you’re going to have to get over it. Bailey and I are getting married. We live together. She’ll, most likely, always answer the phone. She’s like that. Anyway, it’s your weekend?” I asked him, starting to brush my teeth. 

            “Yeah, Jaylen. Why can’t you keep up with this stuff?” 

            “You act like I forget all the time. I don’t. I just have a lot going on.” I could almost hear him rolling his eyes on the other end of the line.

            “Yeah, with this wedding stuff, right?” He sneered. “Look, can you just bring Jada over? And possibly leave your bodyguard at home? I don’t feel like trying to be nice.” 

            “Dre, seriously. It’s ridiculous. What did Bailey do to you?” I snapped at him. He sighed.

            “You want to know what she did? Really, Jaylen?” Dre sounded as if he had a laugh in his voice. 

“Of course I do. Have you ever known me to ask a question I didn’t want to know the answer to?” It was times like these when I would just reminisce about what attracted me to Andre in the first place. How he was always cool under pressure but such a jerk. I’d loved that about him. 

“She’s marrying you, Jay, that’s what she did. Be here in an hour, please.” And with that, he swiftly hung up in my face. I rolled my eyes and went to dress. 

 

“I just need to get a few things, so hurry up and come back.” I was dropping Claud off at the market down the street from Andre’s. It was her favorite grocery store. 

“Why wouldn’t I? I don’t have to do anything but drop Jada off. Tell Aunt Claudia bye, baby.” Jada blew kisses from her car seat.

“Bye Auntie!” She crowed. Claudia opened the back door and swooped in with kisses for Jada.

“Bye angel. Be bad for your daddy, give him hell, okay?” She said and Jada laughed as if she knew what Claudia meant. I shot Claud a look.

“Try to behave yourself, ma’am.” I drove off. 

Andre had upgraded. When I stayed with him, back when the whole Desi debauchery went down, he lived in a condo. He now owned a small house in the WestUniversity area, not far from where he lived before. He was an eternal bachelor, and had a new girlfriend probably on a weekly basis. I saw a car in the driveway and pulled up to the curb instead, rolling my eyes and grinning a little. He ran outside to meet us at the curb. 

“Daddy!” Jada yelled. He grinned and walked up to the passenger door. I rolled the window down, suspicious. 

“I can’t bring her to the door, Dre? Geez. You told me to come.” He smiled, a little too brightly. 

“No, that’s not it, Jay, I wanted to invite you in. Why don’t you bring her in, come in, have a glass of wine, or something?” Something was definitely up. 

“No, Dre.” I responded slowly. “I can’t. Claud’s waiting.” 

“Waiting where?” He was still overly cheerful. 

“Central Market. Andre, what’s up? You’re being weird?” He smiled the too-bright smile again.

“Am I?” He asked. “I just want us to talk and chill. Why don’t you take Jadakiss inside, I’ll go get Claud from the store. I needed to get something anyway. Plus, you haven’t seen the house! I redecorated.”  I frowned. 

“You know that you and Claudia barely get along.” They fought like siblings. “And I need to go.” He opened the door and leaned in, deftly turning the car off and retrieving the keys. 

“I’m sure Bailey can live without you for a little while. Nice car, by the way.” I figured I wouldn’t argue anymore. I reluctantly got out and followed him into the house. The house was nicely decorated; it looked like one of his new girlfriends had gotten in there and showed him the true potential of his little house. It smelled divine too; he was cooking. I hadn’t realized I was hungry.  Andre went into the kitchen, and Jada grabbed my hand. 

“Mommy, come see my room.” She said. She dragged me back to her bedroom, which was actually one of the larger rooms in the small three bedroom. He’d also had her room redone, painted lavender. It didn’t go without notice that Jada’s favorite color was a shade of Desi’s favorite. Jada had asked about ‘Ray’ for months afterward, until, she finally just stopped.   

“It’s lovely, sweet pea.” I said to her. She walked inside and started to unpack her things, and I went back to the front of the house to see Andre. “Dre. What are you up to?” I called out to him. I heard him laugh.

“Nothing, damn. A n***a can’t have a drink with his baby mama? Go fix you some wine, I’ll be out in a minute.” He called. I rolled my eyes and walked to the kitchen. Every burner on the stovetop was going, and things were bubbling over. Typical Andre. I ditched the idea of the wine and started to help him cook. 

“Jay, good Lord. You can’t follow simple directions. Here.” He arrived in the kitchen and poured the wine, sliding the glass in my hand. I smirked.

“You’re about to burn your house down, I’m just trying to help.” He finally smiled, a real smile this time, and kissed my cheek. 

“Always taking care of folk. Just relax. I want to talk to you.” The weirdness was starting to overwhelm, so I took a big gulp of the drink and walked into the living room. 

“Daddy!” Jada yelled from her room. 

“Just a minute, princess!” Andre yelled back. Their relationship was completely endearing to anyone lucky enough to partake in it. I swigged the wine again, almost finishing it with the second gulp. He grinned as he walked through the living room to go to Jada’s. 

“Dre, I’ve gotta go get Claud.” I complained. He shrugged.

“She hasn’t called so she’s not done, Jaylen. Chill out.” He disappeared into the back of the house. The doorbell rang. “Jay, can you get the door for me?” I thought I wasn’t supposed to be doing anything but drinking wine and chilling, I harrumphed silently, and went to the door and opened it. I almost fell backward, and I wasn’t sure if it was the wine or her. 

Desiree stood there, dressed in a men’s button down shirt, mini-skirt, and colorful high top sneakers. Her hair was shorter, styled fashionably as expected, and she was accessorized to the hilt. Her fragrance wafted in to me. After two years, of course, the perfume wasn’t the same, but in some strange way, she still smelled like Desi. She offered me a careful crooked smile. 

“Hi, Jaylen.” She said softly. I thought she’d sound different, for some reason. She sounded the same and the sound of her voice shocked and melted me. I backed away from the door. 

“Dre!” The only thing I could manage to say. Andre came up and then stopped in the doorway.

“Hey, Des.” He said casually. So, this was planned. Clearly this had been planned. When had Dre ever wanted to have a drink with me? My mind was whirling. 

“Ray?” Jada came to the living room. “Ray!” She said, and threw herself into Desi excitedly. Desi scooped her up. 

“I can’t believe she remembers me.” I couldn’t look at it; look at her holding my daughter, or even, just look at her. I pushed Andre back into the kitchen, and he grinned like the cat who ate the canary. 

“Andre, what the f**k is this?” I asked pointedly. He shrugged.

“Look, kiddo. You’re getting married to the Amazon. I mean, you still love Des, and you know you do.” I shook my head vehemently. “Jay, I know you. You do. You should talk to her, see her.” I pushed Andre into the refrigerator angrily and he laughed. Spotting my keys on the kitchen counter, I snatched them up, yanked open the back door and without another word, walked out. I waded through Dre’s muddy backyard and made my way around to the front. My cell started ringing. 

“Jay, I’m ready, where are you?” Claud sounded a tad irritated. 

“On my way.” My voice was steady even though I was shaking. It was almost 80 degrees outside and humid, and I was shaking. I hung up without another word. 

“Jaylen.” Desi’s voice accosted me before I got to my car. She was running up to me. I could hear her, but I couldn’t turn to see her. She sounded pained. “I just want to talk to you, do you have to leave?” I got to the car and fumbled with the key until I realized that I could just get in the car. I opened the door, and got in. She caught with her hand before I closed it. “Jay.” She was too close to me. I could almost reach out and touch her. I hated this. 

“I do have to go.” I said quietly. I tried to close the door but she pulled it open again. 

“When can I talk to you?” I forced myself to be strong, to look at her. I was overcome with emotions to see those eyes, her eyes, staring at me intently. Eyes that I never thought I’d see again. Eyes that I’d never thought I’d be affected by again. 

“I don’t know.” I sounded like a robot. I wanted nothing more than to leave there.

“Can I call you?” She persisted.

“Desi. No.” I opened the door and stood up. “You can’t call me. I’m engaged.” Her face twisted.

“Yeah, I know. To Bailey. Liz told me.” She leaned against my car, shaking her head. “Bailey, Jay?” She questioned. “Really?” Her voice went up an octave. She was hurt. I remembered that sound. I got back in the car. 

“I’ve gotta go.” I said. She grabbed my wrist and I snatched away from her. The skin where she touched me felt like it was burning. I closed the door, and this time, she let me. I drove away as fast as I could. 

 

“Jaylen, where are we going?” Claudia asked. I hadn’t said anything to her since picking her up. I hadn’t said anything at all. I had the music on, but I was ignoring it. “You’re driving in circles, Jay. What’s wrong?” 

“Desi was there.” I answered quietly. I pulled in to park in front of a Mexican restaurant. Claudia gently put my car in park and took the keys out. 

“Let’s go have a margarita and talk.” She said, and I followed her in. 

 

“What did she say?” Claudia asked as soon as the waiter left with our drink orders. I shrugged.

“Nothing really. I mean, I didn’t stay. I kinda bolted as soon as I saw her. It was crazy.” Claudia nodded.

“It was bound to happen, Jay. You know Liz told her as soon as she saw you.” 

“I know, but damn, I wasn’t really .. ugh. I guess I just didn’t want to see her. I didn’t know I would see her, so I wasn’t in the right frame of mind to see her. Anyway.” I said and glanced around the almost empty restaurant. Loud music somewhat imposed upon our conversation, and I was uncomfortable in the sticky vinyl booth. The waiter arrived with the drinks and I sipped mine. It was strong. 

“She’s called me a million times.” Claudia confessed. “I never told you.” My eyes widened and met hers.

“Why?” I asked.

“Because, Jay, she hurt you. She was with that Mike guy.” A flash of pain stung in my head, in my brain, where the memories were buried. I’d heard that Desi had stayed with Mike, told him everything and they were together.  I had heard that in very unintentional ways, some unknowing associate of ours coming up and saying haphazardly, ‘Girl, Desi was wrong. She’s with that dude, but you were the one, you were so good for her, girl.’ It was enough to rip my heart out. “She started calling just to see if you were okay. Then she kept asking where you were, what your new number was.” I’d changed my number a week after the breakup. “So, then I stopped talking to her. But she called earlier. After we saw Liz. I didn’t answer.” I nodded. “How do you feel?”

“I don’t know how to feel, Claud.” I answered. “Please never give her my number or any information about me.” She sipped her drink. 

“I really wouldn’t have to, Andre’s got it covered.” She quipped and I made a face. “Seriously, Jaylen, I know better than to do that. I would tell her if you were okay. Or if you weren’t. I wouldn’t tell her where you were or what you were doing. I didn’t tell her about your new job or your new number. I just told her how you were. She really does love you.” Claudia’s words hit me like a ton of bricks. I shook my head, trying to force them out of my mind.

“No. She doesn’t.” I responded firmly. “She never did.” 

 

An hour and a half later after four insanely strong margaritas a piece, and Claudia and I were stumbling into each other into the house. Bailey sprung up off the couch. 

“Jaylen. Where have you been?” She asked. “I’ve been calling your phone like crazy, I even called Andre’s. I was worried.” Her eyes were pensive. 

“You called Dre? Did Desi answer?” A drunken Claudia burst into peals of laughter. “Did she, Bails?” She tripped up the stairs without waiting for an answer, and Bailey slowly turned to face me. 

“Desi?” Bailey repeated slowly. I sobered up a little. 

“Yeah, babe. She was there. Dre told her to come, I think. I just left, I didn’t talk to her. Me and Claud went to have drinks.” Bailey’s jaw was tight, she was silent. She looked furious. Then her face calmed and she looked normal again. 

“Do you want something to eat?” She was normal sounding although her eyes looked, well, different. I suppose it could be that I was drunk, though. “You haven’t eaten since this morning.” I rolled my eyes and shrugged.

“I know. I ate at brunch. I’m not hungry. I drank my dinner.” I laughed. I started up the stairs. “I’m going to check on Claudia.” I got upstairs and down the hall to Claudia’s room, where she was snoring and stretched out across her bed, fully dressed. I laughed and called out to her, but she didn’t budge. I pulled her shoes off, tossing them to the side, and pushed her into the bed. I stumbled back out of the door and closed it. As I walked down the hallway, I heard noise, talking in a loud voice, but I assumed it was the television. As I walked into our bedroom, I discovered it wasn’t. The booming sound I’d heard was Bailey, and she was on the phone, in the midst of a full-throttle rage. 

“The thing is, you had no reason to have her come over there. If Jay wanted to talk to her, she would.” Bailey yelled into the phone. I started to sober again. 

“Bails.” I said, reaching for her arm. She snatched away from me and moved away, walking toward the bed. I followed her. I heard Andre yelling back at her.  

“I-don’t-give-a-F**K, Andre. You can dislike me all you want but she loves me. That’s what matters. She loves me; she doesn’t love you and she doesn’t love Desi.” Bailey’s voice was strong, assured, cocky. He was responding to her latest statement, no longer yelling. I could hear him speaking. Bailey’s face changed, the anger melting away. Without another word, she sat the phone down. 

“Did he hang up on you?” I asked after a long silence. It appeared that Bailey was looking at me, but she wasn’t seeing me. I walked closer timidly. “Bailey, I’m so sorry. I’m sure Desi asked him, he was just doing her a favor, and he thought he was doing what was right.” Finally, Bailey snapped to.

“What was right?” She repeated, and sat down on the bed. She looked at me with a coldness that I’d never seen before, one that would I have seen even in my intoxicated state. “What would be the right thing in his eyes, Jaylen? To get you and Desi back together?” I shrugged and sat on the bench at the foot of the bed. 

“I guess, Bailey. I don’t know. I am not in the mind of Andre Bush.” 

“Okay. You’re not in the mind of Andre Bush. Is he in the mind of Jaylen Wallace?” She asked. “Because he seems to think that he knows you and what you want better than anyone. Better than me.” I inched up closer to her. 

“But you know he’s wrong.” I soothed. “Bailey, come on.” She stood up and looked down at me. 

“Do you still love her, Jaylen?” The words crashed over me one by one, only to reverberate throughout my mind. Do you still love her? “He thinks you do. He thinks you’re just marrying me because you want to get over her. You rebound in a relationship. Not in a marriage, Jaylen.” Bailey was pacing, more like stalking through our bedroom. Her feet hit the floor hard, as if she were stamping her feet in the midst of throwing a tantrum. I took a deep breath.

“Bailey.” I started.

“No! I’m sick of this. I’m sick of not talking about it, goddammit, Jaylen, I’m sick to death of this. You seen her, he brought her over there because he thought you wanted it, do you f*****g love her? Answer me!” Bailey roared. I was frightened. I hadn’t ever seen Bailey like this. But I could only be scared of her voice, because her face, although it was twisted in rage, held those soft eyes where the tears welled up and spilled from. 

“Bailey. I love you. I’m in love with you.” I grabbed her hand to stop her from pacing, and pulled her close to me. “I said I’d marry you. I meant it. I want to marry you. I want to spend my life with you.” She softened a bit, but then pulled away from me. 

“Why does he think you want her, Jaylen?” She continued. I shrugged.

“Bailey.  I honestly don’t know.” Now on her knees in front of me, her eyes searched mine, peered into mine for meaning and understanding. 

“Is that why you’re always trying to be alone, why you have these nightmares at night? You sound like you’re crying sometimes, Jay, is she why? Is it because you want her and not me?” Bailey berated me with questions, they fell upon me and I turned to not face her anymore. I shook my head.

“Bailey, stop, please stop.” She grabbed my face and turned it to hers.

“Look at me, Jaylen.” I had my eyes shut tight. “Look at me.” She said, more insistently. I looked at her. I studied the lines in her face. I addressed her eyes, her lovely eyes that would spill the tears that gathered only to have them gather and spill again. The last time Bailey had been on her knees crying to me was the time she asked me to marry her. I never wanted to see her cry; it was the saddest thing I’d ever experienced. I hugged her tightly. 

“I love you, Bailey.” She wasn’t hugging me back. I pulled her closer. “I love you, Bails. It’s you and me.” I felt her arms fly up and she almost crushed me, she held me so tightly. I was breathless. My blouse was wet with her tears.

“Do you promise, Jaylen? You promise it’s me and you? You love me?” Her face was buried into my chest, and I nodded although she couldn’t see.

“I promise, Bailey. I promise you.” Her hug loosened and she looked at me. 

“I know you love her. I can accept that you love her. I can’t accept that she might get you back. I could never accept that because she never deserved you. Ever since I met you, I wanted you. I always have. I never cheated on you, Jaylen.  I never will. I’m not Desi. I would never risk losing you. It would kill me. It really would. You’re the one, Jay.” Bailey leaned back in and held me. She began to kiss me and make love to me, and while I was there, and the moonlight now illuminated the dark bedroom, I thought of her words. She never deserved you.

Reviews

[D1218]

I
AM
LOVING
THIS
STORY :D

[Brjden (Bridge-Den) Cre..]

Jaylen is such a spoiled little queen that does nothing for anyone! Everyone does for her! I can't stand Jaylen!!!!!!!!! Love the story though! Let's keep these chapters posting Dana!