Sixty-Nine (19 page)

Neal told him, “No, I don’t.” He pointed to the guy, speaking to the bartender. “You need to kick his ass out.”

The guy continued, “Man, I’m telling you, with all due respect I’m sorry.” The guy readjusted his expression. “Listen, let
me buy you two a couple of drinks to apologize, and anything else you guys want is on me.” He glanced behind Neal, at Magnolia.
“And you lady. I’m sorry.”

Magnolia frowned, staring him down.

Neal nodded, still frowning, too, but telling him, “Okay then, that’s what I’m saying. You need to watch your ass.” He took
one step away. His tone downshifted. “A brotha can get shot over some shit like that.” Neal headed back to his seat.

The guy said to the bartender, “Alonzo, man, whatever they want.”

The bartender stepped to Magnolia and Neal, taking away both empty glasses, still looking concerned, “What can I get you?”

Neal asked Magnolia, “What do you want, Mag?”

Magnolia cut her eyes at him. “Nothing.”

“You sure?”

“Yes.”

He said to the bartender, “I’ll have a Hennessy. Make it a double.”

“Got it.”

Neal looked the guy’s way and then up at the TV screen. “Damn fool.”

Magnolia scooted her body to face him with her hand on her hip. “If he’s such a damn fool, then why are you willing to drink
his liquor?”

“What?” Neal looked like he had to have been hearing things.

Magnolia asked with hot focus, “So you’re telling me that being protective over a woman can be bought with a drink? Hell,
I’ll bet if I was Keyonna you wouldn’t have backed off like that.”

Neal looked amazed. “Oh, so what do you want me to do? You want me to kick his ass. You were just telling me to stop a minute
ago, but now you’re saying you want me to get in a fight with the man. And possibly go to jail?”

She looked self-assured and impatient. “What I didn’t want was for any man I’m with to let an action like that be bought,
exchanged for a glass of liquid. Is that what I’m worth to you? About eight to ten dollars? All this talk about us, and how
you’re not done with me, and you basically took a drink in exchange for my virtue. You’d have been better off just telling
him ‘fuck no. I don’t want shit from you.’ You should have told him what you wanted was some respect.”

Neal looked through. He dug in his pocket while he spoke. “Oh hell no. Fuck it.” He spoke to the bartender. “You know what,
Alonzo, forget it man. I’m cool.”

“You sure?” the bartender asked while holding the glass of cognac, prepared to set it down.

“Yeah, I’m good, dude.” He said to Magnolia, “Good-bye. And here’s my money for the bill.” He slammed a fifty down on the
bar and turned to walk away.

Magnolia said ultra-loud, as if she was way past insulted, “Where are you going?”

Neal was just as loud. “You haven’t changed. You’re still a trip.”

“Oh, and you aren’t? Don’t you walk away from me. And hey, I still need my car keys from you.”

He waved his hand back at her. “Good-bye.”

“Dammit. Neal come back.” Her voice shrilled.

Magnolia stood from the bar and ran after him. And just like old times, Magnolia and Neal were in the parking lot arguing.
With vigor and with volume and with passion. Proving she hadn’t learned to love him less and herself more. Or so it seemed.

One hour later, Magnolia and Neal were at his place, fucking like triple-X stars on a mission to win an AVN porn award. Only
this time, Magnolia was the director, and she called all the shots.

In the intimate dark, she demanded with the voice of an adult star lead. She straddled Neal’s face while he grabbed her round
ass cheeks with each hand. She held on to the slats of the walnut headboard, looking down at him. Her voice was scolding.
“Look at me. See. Got my hairy pussy on your mouth, fucking your face like you’d always asked me to, but I wouldn’t. So this
is what you wanted all that time, huh? You wanted me to come in your mouth while you lie on your back and suck the sweet cum
out of my pussy like this. Oh yeah, dammit. This mess feels so good, the way you pull on my clit like it’s a damn sucker.”
She looked up. Her mental zone was on high. Beneath her turn-on, she remembered her experience at the swinger’s club, and
decided it was time to mimic the ride. “Yes. Neal. Shit. Umh, dammit.” Her forehead sweaty, she tossed her hair back and grunted
like she was either in the middle of a good come, or fighting one off. She then told him, still sounding mad, crawling off
his face as she fussed, “Gimme a damn condom. I saw you fucking that whore without a condom. You made me stand there and watch
you stick your naked dick inside of that bitch. Put that shit on. Now.”

Neal looked extra turned on and hustled to reach over to the nightstand for the clear package. She snatched it from him, bit
it with her teeth and ripped it open, yanking out the red Nigerian condom and securing it fast.

She scooted down and straddled his pubic area, reaching back to insert his straight-up, mushroom-tipped dick into her wet
and ready vagina. She moved in a circle until it eased all the way in, and then rocked from side to side, working it. “Ooooo,
I hate you, shit. Ummmmmm.” She roared with eyes half closed, words half true, heart totally confused.

He started to follow her lead and pump back. “Oh yeah.”

Her voice pointed in his face. “No. Don’t move. Shit. And shut up.”

He stopped.

“You just lay there, and don’t say a damn thing. Be still just like when you’d complain I’d just lay there like, how did you
say it, like a dead fish? Now you let me work it and see how long you can take this pussy fucking you.” The sound of her bangle
bracelets clinking matched her sex motions. Her juices were sloshing.

He licked his lips like LL Cool J, looking down at the sight of his dick swallowed by her hunger. “Damn, this pussy is tight.
I forgot how tight this pussy is. Fuck it feels good. Wear it out. That’s the way daddy likes it. Look at you riding that
dick like you had lessons. What the hell?”

She bucked as she fucked and talked even more. “I told you to shut up. Yeah, look at me. Look at your ex-missionary woman,
who you had the nerve to cheat on just so you could get a freak. There was a freak inside of me you never even took the time
to get to know.” She kept working it with precision. “Uh-huh. You had this. You threw it away with your horny, greedy, freaky,
pussy loving, lying, serial cheating, big dick having, fine ass, curly headed, pretty faced, white teeth having, nice car
driving, Mexican food eating, CÎROC drinking, clit sucking expert mother fucking ass. You like to fantasize about me with
your woman when you fuck her, huh? Then imagine her licking your balls right now while I ride this long dick. You feel that
shit? Huh? You feel her breath against your ass right now? You feel her tongue? You feel her hair along your legs? She’s licking
the shit outta you. I can hear her slurping while I’m bouncing. Yeah, you’ve got it all right there in your head, imagining
all that. Your old freak and your new freak, freaking. Now come for us right now. Come right fucking now, dammit.”

Neal’s eyes were closed, and then he looked up at her doing her energetic dick ride and made an inaudible sound. “Uuuggghnhh.”

“That’s it. That’s it. That’s the sound you would make when you’d cream all inside this tight pussy when you had me all to
yourself. But, since you wanted a freak, you got a freak. It just ain’t me. Dammit. Fuck you.” And Magnolia crawled off. “Punk
ass.”

Neal lay on his back, watching her get up, coming down from the depths of his expulsion, and also looking like she’d completely
lost it. “Baby, wait. Baby. Mag.”

“No. See, I don’t want your woman to show up and catch me here and then I’ll have to beat her crazy ass.”

“No, wait. Please.” He sat up, holding on to his condom-covered dick. His cell rang along the nightstand. He looked at the
nightstand and then down at the floor and grabbed his pants, which he’d tossed in the throes of their feverish passion play.

Magnolia walked to his phone and read the display. “Awwww, your Keyonna’s looking for you. Maybe I should answer it for you.”
Her face said,
Dare me
.

“No.” He carefully pulled off the full condom and placed it in the trash can next to his dresser, keeping an eye on Magnolia.

Her hand was one inch away. “You sure you don’t want me to?”

“I’m sure.” He stepped into his pants fast.

“Oh, so you do care about her. Good.” She leaned toward him. “Then don’t you ever fucking call me or bother me again. Otherwise,
I’m telling her about tonight. I’ll show her your note about meeting you tonight, and tell her the exact time she called.”
His phone rang again. Same caller. “I’ll be the one showing evidence this time. Try me.”

“Mag.”

She stepped to her pile of clothes and bent down. “Neal. Leave me the hell alone. It’s time for me to get back to my life.
Without you.” Magnolia snatched her jeans and squeezed into them, then her blouse, buttoning it fast, and then grabbing her
shoes and purse. She faced the bedroom door and walked as Neal had on only his pants, following her.

“Don’t go yet. Wait.”

She kept walking down the slick white stairs and he was right behind her.

“Mag, wait a minute.” His words had warning and authority.

She jerked her body back toward him just after taking the last step. “What?”

He said, with a calm voice but his face looked alarmed, “You’re bleeding.” He pointed down near the back of her thighs. “A
lot.”

She looked down between her legs at the vivid red blood that had soaked her jeans just that fast. “Dammit.”

He stood behind her. “Baby. It’s just your period coming down. All that bed movement brought it on.”

Magnolia looked as though she doubted it, intense fear in her eyes.

“Here, let me take you to the doctor. Let me finish getting dressed.”

Magnolia’s cell rang. A call from Miller. And before Neal could get back up the stairs to his room, Magnolia was gone.

A trail of blood led from his living room to his hallway, and beyond.

Evidence of Magnolia Butler’s continued sins.

T
he musical chime of Rebe’s doorbell rang on a Saturday afternoon.

Extra hyper, Randi barked from a deep space, as though she thought she was a vicious Great Dane, twice her actual size.

Rebe had called Magnolia that morning to check on her, and Magnolia insisted she was well enough to keep their date. Also,
Magnolia told her she had something for Trinity, who had now moved back home. But Rebe had something to tell Magnolia anyway.

The sound of the alarm keypad deactivation was loud.

“Just a minute,” Rebe yelled at the door before opening it.

More barking.

Rebe calmed Randi by shushing her, grabbing her by the collar and moving her to the side while Rebe opened the front door.

Magnolia held a gift bag and her purse, and said as soon as she saw her buddy Rebe, “You look good. Look at you, all boobalicious,
filling out in all the right places.”

Rebe wore a black, low-cut baggy shirt and spandex pants. “Thanks. Believe it or not, I feel good.” Randi made a whining sound
and Rebe let her go. She jumped all around Magnolia.

Magnolia leaned over to pet Randi’s dark brown, shiny coat. “Hey Randi. What’s up? Pretty baby. Hey.” Magnolia walked into
Rebe’s home and Randi ran ahead of her, anticipating her next move as though she might be able to get more affection. “I see
she’s a house dog now, huh?”

Rebe again pressed the buttons to reset the alarm. “She is. She earned her stripes.” Rebe said to Randi in a baby voice, “No
more backyard for my Randi, right baby?” She then pointed. “Go lay down, baby. Go.” Randi tucked her tail and headed over
toward her large doggie bed in the kitchen. “Good girl.”

Magnolia sat on one end of the sectional in the family room.

Rebe sat on the other. “This is nice. Just the two of us.”

“It is. Very nice.”

Rebe said, pointing toward the kitchen, “I’ve got sparkling apple cider and some chip and dip if you want some.”

“Oh, that’s sweet. I’m fine. I had an early lunch already.”

Rebe crossed her legs and glanced at Magnolia’s midsection. “So, you’re pregnant. Still can’t believe it. Expecting suits
you well.”

Magnolia adjusted the waistband of her palazzo pants. “Crazy, huh? Who would’ve thought I’d end up being a mother, especially
at the age of forty. Not to mention Miller a father. I would’ve sworn every one of my nine-thousand eggs we talked about would
have been fried by now, and that Miller was shooting blanks anyway.”

Rebe gave a mild chuckle. “True. It’s just plain old meant to be, I guess. And so the bleeding was normal?”

“The doctor said it’s common in the first trimester. Especially at my age, and especially after intercourse.”

“Oh, you’d just had sex?”

“Yeah.” Magnolia blinked fast.

“How far along are you?”

“Just about five weeks.”

“Nice.”

Magnolia took a moment, and then looked distracted by her thoughts, shifting back to what she was saying. “My doctor said
thirty percent of women have bleeding like that after sex since the cervix is so tender. Just making sure I take it slow.
Making sure I don’t have any cramping.”

“You won’t. Let’s just hope you’re better at the mom thing than I am.”

Magnolia gave an easy laugh. “You’re fine. Where is Trinity anyway? Is she home?”

“Out with friends. She’s been a doll.”

“Good.” Magnolia reached over for the bag she’d placed on the floor. “Here. I brought this for her. It’s just a black angel
charm like I wear. She’s always liked it. And I admit, I haven’t been the best godmother.”

Rebe took it and placed it on the side table. “Pretty pink bag. You know what? Honestly, you’ve been just fine. That’s sweet.”

“Well, either way, I should’ve been closer.”

“Anyway. So, what’s the due date? Has the doctor given you one yet?”

“Yes. December 19. Can you believe it?”

“Wow. A blessing.”

“It is.” Magnolia’s nerve was as high as it was going to get. “Rebe. I just want you to know, I didn’t bring it up at church,
but I’m really sorry about what happened, with the guy who broke in here.”

“Yeah, well, the girls at the club warned me to always watch out, you know, make sure to literally look in my rearview on
the way home. I didn’t. But, he plead guilty. No trial to go through. Having to testify against my mother was enough court
for me. For now, we’re going to victims’ counseling together, me and Trinity. It’s been tough.”

Magnolia looked around. “I still can’t believe that happened in here. I was wondering. Don’t you think you should move?”

“I’ve thought about it.”

“I mean, I don’t want to scare you, but his people know where you live and, for Trinity’s sake, too, I think you need to start
looking for a new house.”

“I will. You know, I haven’t slept in that room ever since. I sleep in the guest room next to Trinity’s. For now, I’ve got
my 9 millimeter, fully loaded, and we keep the alarm set, even if we head out to dump the trash, we reset it again.”

“Good. Still, you know, just the energy.”

Rebe looked sure of herself. “We’re working through it.”

“Good. I’m proud of you both. And I’m glad you’re getting counseling.” Magnolia uncrossed her legs and crossed them again.
“No word from Randall? After all that happened, I would think he would’ve been supportive.”

Rebe’s face was nonchalant. “They sent a card. Trinity tells me he sends his best. He talks to her a lot more now. Took her
out to dinner. They’re cool.”

“Good.” Magnolia nodded long after her one word. Then she said, “Listen, I know a lot’s been going on, and I’m glad you’re
better. But there is something I’ve wanted to talk to you about. It’s been weighing heavily on me, and I just can’t keep pretending
it didn’t happen. I have to tell you.”

“What is it?”

“I want you to know I did something that was totally fucked up. But, I also want you to know I’m telling you because I love
you. I want your forgiveness.”

“What the hell is it? All this preliminary set up shit is scaring me to death.”

Magnolia had an expression like she was trying to carefully decipher her words. She managed to say, “Rebe. You know I was
online doing the dating site stuff, well, no it wasn’t a dating site, but you know what I mean.”

“It was a booty call site. So?”

“Right. For sex. Well, one night I went to meet a couple.”

“You did?”

“Yes. When I got there, I didn’t stay long. I just kind of stood there while they played.”

“Damn, Magnolia. That’s brave. Okay. But what the hell does that have to do with me?”

Magnolia just spit it out. “Rebe, it was Randall.”

“It was who?”

“Randall. The guy was Randall. It was Randall, and Kandi.”

Rebe spoke each word with a slow, distinct, flow. “You have got to be kidding me.” She uncrossed her legs.

“No. I’m not. I wish I was.”

“And you got with them?”

“I watched them.”

“Magnolia, please tell me you’re kidding.”

“I’m not.”

Rebe’s nostrils flared. She scooted to the end of the sofa cushion. “Hold up. So you were blindfolded, right? No. Don’t tell
me. You had to be drugged, right?”

“No.” Magnolia looked ashamed.

Rebe stood up fast. “Then what the fuck was it?”

“Rebe, I just got caught up.”

Rebe walked away from Magnolia and then turned toward her to speak. Loud. “Caught up? That sounds like a man’s excuse when
his dick ends up in some woman’s pussy. Caught up? Like to the point of no return? Oh you could have returned all right. You
just didn’t want to? And you end up in a hotel room with Randall’s ass, knowing the way that man fucked me over. You know
he’s my ex. He’s your best friend’s ex, Magnolia. And you played with him and that bitch, Kandi? Is that what you’re telling
me?”

“I didn’t know it was them until I got there.”

“Oh, but once you got there, you saw his big goofy ass, right? Like I said, you weren’t blindfolded. And you still stayed?”

“Yes.”

“And he still wanted to once he saw it was you?”

“Yes.”

Rebe heard her heart speed up. She swallowed hard. “Dumb ass question.” The visual in her head was stabbing. “Why don’t you
just tell me what the hell happened? I’m asking the questions here and you’re just giving me these short ass answers. What
fucking happened?”

Magnolia gave a nervous-sounding ramble. “I was online and kept getting all these instant messages from someone named Lean
and Jean, and I thought Lean was Neal’s name backward. See, I checked Neal’s banking account and found out he’d been paying
for a GFF membership, too, so when I kept getting the messages over and over, I just thought it was him and Keyonna. But when
I got there, it wasn’t. It was Randall.”

Rebe walked toward Magnolia, flailing her hands. “Magnolia, you sound crazy. That is some real fucked up shit. With all the
shit going on in my life and you… You know what? I’m about to snap. Fuck! You need to get, you need to step away from me for
a minute. Please. ’Cause I’m trying my best to not beat your ass. I mean, I am so damn mad right now. This is way fucked up.
When in the hell was this?”

Magnolia looked up at her. “Back in late February.”

“That long ago and you’re just now telling me?”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

Rebe turned again and took a few steps. “Oh hell no. You can be as sorry as you wanna be. Your sorry isn’t important. My pissed
is what’s important, and I’m hella pissed.” She turned back to Magnolia. “That’s what matters. Me. Your ‘friend.’ ” She made
quotation marks in the air. “And I’m fucking embarrassed that Randall would even think you’d betray me like that. Damn. I
mean, he probably thinks you believe I’m a piece of shit like he does. Not even worthy of your trust because of some dick
and pussy in a hotel room. Does Darla know?”

“Yes. I told her the other day. She warned me to go ahead and tell you.”

“See, I look like a dumb ass fool, still letting him and her pull shit on me. Damn, girl. You’re a trip, you know that? A
real trip. We’re forty now. We’re not back in college.”

“Rebe, I’m so sorry. Truly sorry.”

Rebe rubbed her hands together and took a few more steps away from Magnolia. “My fucked up mind sometimes dares me to take
the low road. It has for a long time now. I’ve got my mother’s gene, you know, her sick-ass temper. I take pills to keep me
from doing all the shit that a bashed-in head does. You know all the hell I’ve been through, and you know how I’ve been trying
to get past all my shit, Magnolia. You know. I’ve been trying to listen to what we heard in church. Trying to not let the
shame of my past dictate my destiny.” She was now just below a shout.

“Yes, I do know.”

“To go through all this when I’m at an age where my life should be getting calmer, not crazier, is so hard. My daughter caught
me with my legs wide open. She saw her mother two seconds away from an orgasm served by a woman’s mouth, at a damn swinger’s
club that my ass had no business being in. But my daughter forgave me. I got raped by a man who’s locked up for life, who
I’m working to forgive in my own head. And here you are, my best friend, telling me she did the same thing to me, that I did
almost twenty years ago.”

“What?”

“I guess payback is a dog, huh? I crossed the line and got with my best friend’s guy and I even got pregnant. You’re not pregnant
by Randall, are you?”

“No. What are you talking about?”

“My senior year, I was out at a bar, depressed about my life, and about raising Trinity alone, about her dad’s drug problem,
and I saw Aaron, Darla’s husband there. An hour later, we were in a motel, having sex, unprotected. Two months later I had
an abortion. So, I guess all this is my turnaround, huh? You and Randall. You saw Randall’s dick. Me and Aaron. I saw Aaron’s
dick. I fucked up. You fucked up. Who knows what the hell Darla’s hiding from us. Some best friends, huh? If that’s the best
I’d hate to see the worst.”

“Rebe. You’ve kept that to yourself all these years?”

“I have. Funny how Aaron picked the most broken one to creep with. But he was no saint, either. He was deep into the freak
closet. ”

“Darla knows that.”

“Well, she doesn’t know this.”

“And you’re not going to tell her?”

“No.”

“Rebe. Darla’s the one who’s always been so protective of you.”

“Oh please. Don’t shift to righteous woman now. Just because you did your shit and needed to get it off your chest, doesn’t
mean I’m the same way. I come from the school of not every damn thing needs to be told. That was part of the way I lived when
I was young. What happened in our house stayed in our house. Besides, it was too long ago for all that talk about the shit
that went on in college. I’m dealing with today and that’s enough. And today, in spite of what you think of me, I think you,
Magnolia Butler, are a stank ass bitch.” Rebe pointed at Magnolia’s very being. Her eyes were red. No tears. Just heated emotion
with a tiny hint of sisterly love.