Suspicions (22 page)
Authors: Sasha Campbell
31
Candace
I'm in love. Can you believe that shit? I said I wasn't going to let another man steal my heart, but by the time Monday rolled around, I knew there was no denying my feelings.
Chauncey pulled up in front of the free clinic. I was reluctant to get out of his car. He had taken me to Wisconsin Dells for the weekend. We stayed in a cabin, rode the water rides, and had a romantic dinner for two. The entire time we left our cell phones off because we didn't want any interruptions. The weekend was about me and him. Last night while he was making love to me, Chauncey whispered in my ear the words I have been waiting for.
I love you
. By the time I told him I loved him, too, tears were streaming down my face. I never felt like this about a man before. Not even with Tyree. With Chauncey, I had let my guard down and allowed myself to love and give love and that was so scary, but I knew it was the only way; otherwise, I would never know what true love was.
I love you
. By the time I told him I loved him, too, tears were streaming down my face. I never felt like this about a man before. Not even with Tyree. With Chauncey, I had let my guard down and allowed myself to love and give love and that was so scary, but I knew it was the only way; otherwise, I would never know what true love was.
“Thanks for a wonderful weekend.”
“You welcome, boo.” He flashed the sexy smile of his. That man did things to me.
Glancing down at my watch, I frowned. It was almost eight o'clock. Time to clock in. “I hate having to go to work today.”
“Don't go. Take the day off and spend it with me. Our weekend doesn't have to come to an end.”
I stared up into his beautiful gray eyes. His words were so enticing. My Aunt Brittany had taken Miasha to Indianapolis, so I had the house to myself for the next two days. I would love to tell Chauncey to drive off and we spend the rest of the day and night at my apartment; but as much as I wanted to spend every moment with this dude, I knew that was the quickest way for a man to grow bored. The chase was important in a relationship and no matter how fine he was, I could not lose sight of that. Even though I had fallen in love with Chauncey, I wanted to be with him for longer than six months or a year. I knew deep in my heart I wanted to share my life with him, hopefully as his wife. And acting too eager and desperate for a man was the quickest way to run him away.
“Yeah . . . right. Sorry, but I need my job.”
He shrugged. “Just a thought.” I could tell he was disappointed, but I was glad he didn't push the issue. “Then, how about I take you to dinner tonight?”
“Dinner sounds wonderful.” I leaned in and he pressed his lips to mine and kissed me like I might never see him again. There was no way I was letting that happen. Not now. Not after I had waited all my life to meet a man like him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and opened my mouth, and his tongue slid inside. I met every stroke, loving the way he felt and tasted. This was my man and I wasn't letting anything mess up what we had. I was almost tempted to tell him, to hell with work, to put that sucker in Drive, and to go back to my place, but I had time. Plenty of time. We're taking it slow, I had to remind myself. I pulled back and stared down at him. What I saw startled me. I've never seen Chauncey look that serious before.
“Tonight I need to talk to you about some heavy stuff.”
My heart fluttered. “Okay.” I was going to go crazy the rest of the day.
Damn, at least give me a hint.
Damn, at least give me a hint.
“You have a good day,” he said before I had a chance to pry. “I've got a schedule full of pedicures for the afternoon. I'll be by around seven.”
I held my breath as I thought about all those women coming in to have my man play with their feet and felt a tinge of jealousy. Memories of him doing the same to me came burning to the forefront. “You make sure you get them heifers to back the hell up, because you're taken.” I tried to say it like it was a joke, but I was dead serious.
Chauncey chuckled, then signaled for me to come closer and pressed his lips to mine again. “I will. Now get inside before I peel away from the curb and take your fine ass hostage.”
I laughed, then reached for my purse and climbed out the car. As soon as I shut the door, I leaned inside. “Thanks, baby.”
“I'll see you tonight.”
I sighed and backed away as he pulled away from the curb. He had barely made it down the street and I was already missing him. “Candace, girl, you got it bad,” I mumbled under my breath.
I moved inside the building and hurried into the bathroom. If I didn't go to the bathroom now, there was no telling when I would get another chance to go before lunch. I was coming out the stall when I ran into Coco. Damn. She's my girl and all, but she was going to want to ask a lot of questions about Chauncey and I was late enough as it was.
“Hey, girlfriend. You just getting here?” she said with a curious smile.
I nodded and put my purse down on the counter while I washed my hands. “Yeah, I had a little trouble getting out of bed this morning.” I was smiling so hard my face hurt. Coco didn't miss a beat.
“I know that's right. If my man was as fine as yours, I wouldn't have gotten out the bed either. I saw him at the picnic. Gurrrlll, where in the world did you find him?” she teased.
I so wanted to tell her about when we first met and how good Chauncey treated me. I've known Coco since I started working at the clinic. We've hung out a few times, and she had always been someone I could talk to about my problems with Miasha's deadbeat daddy. But I knew the moment I opened my mouth and got to talking, I wouldn't be able to stop and my ass would really be late. The last thing I needed was for my boss to be trying to write me up. All I could do was suck my teeth and say, “I didn't find him. He found me.” There was so much excitement in my voice. I just couldn't deny how I felt.
Coco leaned against the wall and gazed at my reflection in the mirror. “I'm really happy for you, Candace. You deserve to be happy.”
“Thanks. I'll talk to you later. If you want, we can go to lunch.” She worked in the WIC office across the hall, but we both had lunch at the same time.
“That sounds like a plan.”
I reached for a paper towel and dried my hands. Coco was still standing there and I could tell she wanted to say something. “What's wrong?” I asked.
Coco leaned in closer and whispered, “I don't know what you did to Gloria, but she was hating on you. I heard her in the bathroom whispering about you to this bald-headed chick this morning. As soon as she saw me, she shut up.”
I rolled my eyes. “Probably because I'm late.”
She shook her head. “No, I think it's more than that. You might wanna watch your back with that one.”
I learned a long time ago, Gloria wasn't someone to be trusted. I looked down at my watch. “Thanks for the warning. I better get in there.” I grabbed my purse and hurried down the hall and entered the clinic. The second I walked in, I saw Gloria, who was on the phone, drop her head, whisper something, then hang up. The lobby was already filled with folks coming in for birth control and whatever else. I went to the back and felt like everybody was looking at me. Damn, I know I'm late, but it ain't like none of them haven't ever been a few minutes late before.
One of the nurses was sitting in the break room when I went to clock in. She smiled, then went back to reading her book. I reached for my time card, clocked in, and moved to the front desk. Gloria was whispering with Claudette, our medical coder. Jealous asses.
They're just mad because their men ain't nowhere near as fine as mine
.
They're just mad because their men ain't nowhere near as fine as mine
.
Claudette struck a pose and smiled my way. “Hey, Candace. You must have left the picnic early because I came looking for you.”
No, the person she was looking for was Chauncey. “We had other plans.”
Gloria looked at Claudette, then started smiling. “Where did you say you met him again?”
“I didn't.” I rolled my eyes and headed to my desk. I would be damned if I told that skank where he worked because I guarantee you before the day was out, she would have scheduled an appointment to get her feet done. Evidently, she was single again; otherwise, she would be sweating me and mine. As soon as I slipped my purse under the desk, I checked in the next patient, then logged in to the computer.
Brenda came up front to get the next patient's file. She glanced nervously over her shoulder, then whispered to me, “Sylvia wants to see you in her office right away, but you might wanna check your e-mails first.” She then called back the next patient to see the doctor.
I gave her a puzzled look, then opened Microsoft Outlook and scrolled through my e-mail, looking to see what was so important. I noticed an office-wide e-mail that had been sent out this morning from a Tameka Dash. The name wasn't familiar, but since it was sent to the entire office I figured it had to be important. I clicked on the link and read the subject line: Do you know this man? She definitely had my attention. I clicked on the hyperlink below and was navigated to a different Web page. What appeared on the screen caused me to gasp.
Hell no!
There was no way. It had to be some kind of mistake. But sure enough, there he was. Chauncey. Several years younger, but still just as fine, even on the Internet. As much as I wanted to think it was some kind of joke, there was no denying the proof that was right in front of me on a legitimate Illinois government Web site.
Hell no!
There was no way. It had to be some kind of mistake. But sure enough, there he was. Chauncey. Several years younger, but still just as fine, even on the Internet. As much as I wanted to think it was some kind of joke, there was no denying the proof that was right in front of me on a legitimate Illinois government Web site.
Chauncey was a registered sex offender.
32
Chauncey
Smiling, I rose and went to retrieve a towel and caught a glimpse of someone coming through the door and cringed.
“Hey, Chauncey! I'm your ten-o'clock appointment.”
“Whassup, Octavia! Go ahead and have a seat in the second chair. I'll be right with you.” I smiled and waited until my back was turned before I groaned. Octavia weighed a good three hundred pounds and came in every two weeks for a pedicure. She was a loyal customer with a beautiful personality. The problem was her feet had a smell that no amount of soaking could cure. Even with gloves on my hands, that scent somehow found its way onto my skin and I could still smell it lingering in the air even hours after she was gone. I wonder how long I could hold my breath today? Damn! I guess there was a flip side to all jobs. There was no getting around it. I would just have to cuddle up close under my girl this evening. That smell would be the last thing on my mind. Candace had a natural scent I couldn't get enough of.
Tonight, I planned to tell Candace something she had a right to know about me. I had tried several times over the weekend, but things had been just too damn perfect to ruin the mood. But I couldn't wait any longer. I was ready for us to take our relationship to the next level, but if we were ever going to have a real chance together, I had to first keep it real.
I swung around and was heading to take a seat in front of Octavia's smelly feet, when I spotted Candace walking into the shop. I stopped and grinned, only she didn't return the smile. Instead, she gave me an evil look and moved in my direction.
“Hey, Candy,” Tiffany called out, but Candace dismissed her with an open palm, not once taking her eyes off of me.
My smile fell from my lips. I didn't like her body language at all. She moved like a female on a mission.
“Hey, baby,” I said, hoping it would soften her mood. Only it didn't work. When she stopped in front of me, her eyes were practically bulging out her head.
“Are you a . . . a registered sex offender?”
She might as well have punched me in the chest, because that's how I suddenly felt. Someone had gotten to her. “I, uhhhh . . . Who told you that?”
“Answer the got damn question!” she screamed. I kid you not, the entire salon went on pause. Not even a hair dryer was humming. Someone had even turned off the radio.
“Baby, can we talk about this in private.” I was practically pleading with her. Everyone was looking at us and I was busted not only with my girl, but in front of my coworkers as well.
Candy's teeth clenched. Her fists were balled at her sides. “Answer me, dammit!”
It was clear she had no intention of keeping this situation private. Okay . . . here goes nothing. “Yes, baby, I am. But it's not what you tâ” Before I even had a chance to explain, she punched me in the mouth. And it wasn't a bitch slap either. She hit me the way a dude would have, and if it had been a dude, right now, he'd been fighting for his life.
She backed away and it hurt me more to see the look of pain on her face than the throbbing at my bottom lip. “I can't believe this shit. When were you gonna tell me?”
“Candace, please . . . I was gonna tell you. I was just waiting for the right time.”
“Really? And exactly what were you planning to tell me? That I was screwing a convicted rapist!” Her tone was confrontational. I couldn't believe this was happening. When she said convicted rapist it made me sound like I was dangerous . . . someone who had done something unforgivable. Only I wasn't that person. She should know that. We spent hours, days, weeks, months getting to know each other. All the time we been together, had that meant nothing to her?
“Baby, it was a mistake. You gotta believe me.” I was doing something I had never done before, begging, yet I didn't care.
“You promised to keep it real with me.” She looked so angry I didn't know what to say, because nothing would be the right answer. If only I could go back a week or even just the weekend. If only I had been honest with her in the beginning, then none of this would be happening. “Why didn't you tell me?” she demanded.
“Yeah, why didn't you?” mumbled some twig sitting to my right.
I ignored the questions and shook my head. There was nothing I could say to make this right. Not with all the women in the room shaking their heads and making
tsk
sounds with their lips. Tongues were gonna be wagging tonight. Octavia even gave me a nasty look before she reached for her shoes and slipped them back on her feet. She just didn't know it, but she was actually doing me a favor.
tsk
sounds with their lips. Tongues were gonna be wagging tonight. Octavia even gave me a nasty look before she reached for her shoes and slipped them back on her feet. She just didn't know it, but she was actually doing me a favor.
“I didn't know how to tell you. I was afraid that if you knew before you had a chance to get to know me, you wouldn't have given me a chance.”
Now her head started moving as her neck twisted and her hands flew to her hips. “So you decided to lie to me instead and pretend you were something you weren't. I deserved to know the truth!”
“If I told you, would you have still gone out with me?”
Her silence told me everything I needed to know. She gave me a look of disgust, then turned on her heels and stormed across the salon and out the door. As soon as the door closed it was like someone had put the needle back down on the record, because everyone was talking at the same time. The only good thing that came out of the situation was Octavia had gotten up and left.
I glanced over at Tiffany and as soon as our eyes met, she gave me a looked that said she was disappointed. She wasn't the only one. I was mad at myself because I loved Candace with everything I had. I saw a future with her that I thought would have lasted a long time. If things had continued to be good between us, before the year was out, I had planned to make her my wife. Now the only thing she wanted was for me to bend over so she could kick me in my ass.
I cleaned up my area and tried to figure out who ratted me out.
Don't let me find out who ran their mouth,
because when I do, they were going to have hell to pay for ruining my relationship with my girl. Was it Tameka? Maybe she had gotten to Candace. I stood there draining the foot tub and thought about banging on Tameka's door and demanding to know why she told. But I didn't have anyone to blame but myself. I should have been honest with Candace in the first place. Keeping secrets had lost me the best thing to have ever happened to me.
Don't let me find out who ran their mouth,
because when I do, they were going to have hell to pay for ruining my relationship with my girl. Was it Tameka? Maybe she had gotten to Candace. I stood there draining the foot tub and thought about banging on Tameka's door and demanding to know why she told. But I didn't have anyone to blame but myself. I should have been honest with Candace in the first place. Keeping secrets had lost me the best thing to have ever happened to me.
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