Talk a Good Game (5 page)

“
Nyree,
gurrrrrrl
, check this shit
out.”

What did I tell you?

“
You know the Walmart heirs that
invested all that money in the new basketball stadium at
Mizzou?”

“
Yep.” Everyone has heard of the
local family. They invested in several projects including the
University of Missouri-Columbia, and owned a huge mansion south of
town. My mother was best friends with one of their housekeepers.
“What about them?”

“
Well, Kaleb manages their money.
Can you believe that shit? My man has his hands on Walmart
stocks!”

Oh Lord
.
“Your man?”

“
Hell yeah
I
’
m claiming his
ass.”

Can you believe this chick?
Janelle has always been materialistic. Clothes, cars, men, I could
already hear the greed in that chick
’s
voice.

“
Money, money, money…
MONEY!”

I shook my head.
“That
’s
all you care about.”

“
You
’
d be surprised, but it ain’t just
about money with Kaleb. I really like him.”

“
But having money
helps.”

“
Hell yeah it helps,” she
laughed.

“
Is there anything about this man
you don’t like?” Because there always has to be
something.

“
Hmmm. Well, I guess it would be
his fucked-up walk.”

“
What?”
I
chuckled.

“
Girl, he walks
like he
’s
broken his ankle or some shit
in the past. He waddles like a pregnant woman,” she
laughed.

“
You
’
re wrong for
that.”

“
I
’
m serious. I told him he reminded
me of Fred Sanford the way he walks.” She was laughing so hard, I
joined in.

“
So no swag, huh?
’

“
Uh-uh, don’t get it twisted.
Kaleb has plenty of swag.”

I sucked my teeth. “You mean
money?”

“
Yeah, that too!” She howled and
had me in tears. The older she got, the crazier Janelle
became.

“
So what are you going to do about
Q? Aren’t you supposed to be flying to Vegas at the end of the
month?”

“
Oh shit.” She stopped whatever
fantasy was conjuring in her brain and sounded shocked. “I was so
caught up with meeting Kaleb I forgot all about Q.”

What else was new? Quincy Austin
was the spare Janelle kept in her hip pocket. He used to live in
Columbia and moved to Dallas three years ago. Ever since then
they’d been traveling every other month to see each other. Q was
fine as hell, made decent money, was single and had no kids. The
problem is Janelle thinks he
’s
a freaking doormat and
according to her, his dick wasn’t all that.

“
Damn, I forgot all about Q.” She
had the nerve to sound disappointed.

“
I don’t
know why you keep
stringing that man along like that.”

“
You know why.
He
’s
good to me, looks good on my arm, and we have a
lot of fun together.” The fact that she could laugh at this
situation irritated me on so many levels. Mainly because he was the
type of man I
’
d love to meet.

“
Yes, but you know Q loves you and
wants to spend his life with you.”

“
True.
” He really
did
want to spend his
life with her. “I
’
m just not willing to settle just
yet,” she replied. “Hey, I
’
m honest with the dude.
He just doesn’t want to hear it. I
’
m not ready for
a committed relationship.”

“
Yeah, but Q
thinks that when you do, he
’s
gonna be the
one.”

“
Then
that
’s
what he gets for thinking. I’ve
got more important things to worry about. I just need to figure out
how I
’
m going to get away for a weekend
without Kaleb finding out the truth.” It was always about what
Janelle wanted, when she wanted it. To her it was that
simple.

I blew out a breath. “Why can’t
you just be honest? After all, this is something you had planned
long before this dude came into the picture.”

There was silence for a moment.
“Yeah, you
’
re right.
There
’s
no point in starting off a
relationship with a lie. I just liked him so much I don’t wanna
ruin a chance at being happy with a man who
’s
everything I want in a man.”

She meant money. I gave a rude
snort. “
I
guess.
”

“
Anyway… have you set up your
personal ad yet?” she asked, totally ignoring my
response.

“
Yes, and I’ve
received several flirts but nobody I
’
m interested
in.”

“
That
’s
because you
’
re too damn picky!
”

She thinks she knows me.
“I
’
m not picky. I
’
m
just getting too old for all the games. I want something
meaningful.”

“
Like your relationship with
Rock,” she said and then had the nerve to laugh.

Leave it to her to go there.
Janelle hated the idea of me settling down, and having a family.
She wanted me single, partying, and dating a new man every week
like her. Part of me thinks she
’s
afraid some
man would become more important in my life than her. What she
doesn’t understand is she was the closest thing I have to a
sister.

“
Girl,
I
’
m not playing second to nobody. I
am a helluva woman and I make sure everyone knows it. You need to
do the same. Trust me Ree. Respect is earned and you have to make a
man respect you or he’ll think he can do whatever he wants to you.
And then after a while, you’ll stop even respecting
yourself.”

Janelle was independent and
impatient. Love and family weren’t her top priority so she would
never really understand. “I
’
m not rushing into
anything. Just taking it slow. In fact we
’
re going to
St. Louis tomorrow for the weekend.”

“
Uh-huh. Why is it you have to go
outta town to spend time together?” She actually sounded
upset.

I didn’t know what to
say.

“
Don’t you get tired of being the
other woman?”

I looked outside my office door to
see if anyone was close enough to overhear before I said, “He left
his wife.”

She had the audacity to raise her
voice. “He
’s
left her before and for how
long?” She blew out a breath. “Ree, life is too short.
It
’s
about to be summertime. Have some fun. Live a
little. We
’
re barely in our thirties so
we’ve got plenty of time for husbands and those got-damn two and a
half kids you wanted so badly.”

She didn’t understand. I was sick
of dating and being in dead-end relationships. I wanted something
with substance. I was sick of wasting time. And I was crazy about
Rock.

“
I just care
about you, that
’s
all.” She almost sounded
sincere. Don’t get me wrong. There has never been a time when
Janelle hasn’t had my back. She was just so self-absorbed that you
didn’t see it as often as with regular people.

“
You heard from Gloria?” I asked
changing the subject.

There was a brief pause and I know
she was sitting there rolling her eyes. Too bad. I was tired of
talking about me. “Yeah girl. She and Pierre are back from the
honeymoon. You know he took her to Cabo San Lucas, right? I hate
that bitch,” she added with a hint of jealousy.

“
No you
don’t.”
I
laughed.
“You just hate to see anyone have
what you want.”

“
That
’s
true.” She giggled. “But
it
’s
now my time to shine. You’ll
see.”

* * *

I left National Guard headquarters
and headed out and across the parking lot for a dental appointment,
feeling good. I hadn’t spoken to Rock all day, however, we were all
set to head to St. Louis tomorrow evening for the weekend and I
couldn’t wait.

It was still hard to believe he was finally
mine.

After the night of the wedding, Rock had moved into
a hotel. He worked as a recruiter for the School of Engineering and
traveled a lot during the week and sometimes over the weekends, but
at least I had him at home in my bed several nights this last week.
There was nothing like a man who could stimulate your mind and your
body. And that man was Rock.

By the time I had gotten done with
my six-month dental cleaning, I decided to drop by
Rock
’s
office and surprise him. I
climbed off the highway at the Stadium exit and made my way across
the University of Missouri campus to the School of
Engineering.

My mom called as I was turning into the garage.

“
Hi Mom,” I said as I pulled up
the ramp.

“
Hello Nyree, I was calling to see
if you were coming to dinner this Sunday.”

“
No Mom
.”
I
’m sure
I’ll
never hear the end of it.
“I
’
m going to St. Louis for the
weekend. Why?”

“
Because I have someone I want you
to meet.”

I groaned. There was no way I was
going through that matchmaking BS again. “Mom, no.”

“
Ree,
it
’s
just a friend
’s son.
”

“
Definitely not.” I pulled into
the garage and cussed under my breath.

“
How do you
expect to meet anyone if you
’
re not even trying?
He
’s
really a nice guy.”

Her nice guy meant he was boring
as hell. “Mom, I
’
m seeing someone.”

“
You are?
” There was no
mistaking the excitement in her voice.

“
Yes. I’ve been
seeing someone for quite a while. He
’s
amazing.
”

“
Really?” Mabeline Dawson didn’t
sound like she believed me. “When are you bringing him home for
your father and I to meet him?”

I blew out another long breath as
I pulled into a parking spot. “I’ll bring him to dinner on
Sunday.”
We
weren’t
planning on being back until late
Sunday evening, but I was sure if I told Rock how important it was,
he would agree to dinner.

“
Excellent. I’ll see you
then.”

I hit End and climbed out the car
and made it almost down to the end of the hall, before I heard
someone say, “Thank you for your service.”

I smiled at the man with silver
hair. “Thank you. I
’
m proud to be of service.” I
nodded then continued to walk down the long hall already regretting
my decision not stopping long enough to change first. That was the
problem with wearing my battle uniform. People always wanted to
stop to thank me or shake my hand. I should feel proud but some
days it could be quite annoying.

Straight ahead was a pair of double-glass
doors
, leading to the Dean’s office. I
walked through and as soon as I turned the corner toward
Rock
’s
office I stopped in my tracks.
There was no way in hell I was seeing what I thought I
saw.

Rock holding hands with his skinny-ass wife.

I stood there witnessing the intimate exchange
between them before I decided to make my presence known.

“
Hello, may I help
you?”

I stopped staring long enough to
glance over my shoulder at the young girl sitting behind the
reception desk. “No, you may not,” I snapped and swung back around
to find him staring dead in my face. I walked over to the couple
and watched as Rock bit his lip nervously as I approached. “What
the—”

“
Master Sergeant
Dawson,” he blurted, cutting me off. “I thought our
meeting
was tomorrow.” There was no mistaking the
desperation in his voice for me to play along.