Even though it was almost midnight when I got home, the first thing I did when I got in the house was pick up the phone to call Jasmine. I’d just returned from a two-day business trip to Atlanta, and the entire time I was there I couldn’t get my mind off her. She was everything I’d ever wanted in a woman: smart, funny, loyal, educated, and of course, beautiful. Basically, she was a hell of a lot of fun to be with, and I was falling for her more and more every day. It was getting to the point that I couldn’t hold back my feelings much longer.
Only problem was, I was scared I would get hurt if I revealed my true feelings to her. The last thing I wanted to do was have my heart broken again. It still hadn’t healed from my breakup with Monica. But no matter how nervous I was emotionally, I couldn’t wait to talk to Jasmine. I dialed her number.
“Hi, this is Jasmine. I’m not home right now, but if you leave your name, number, and a brief message, I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.”
And just what did she mean by “as soon as possible”? I’d been leaving messages for her all day on both her home and cell phone, and she hadn’t returned one of my calls. I was trying not to take it personally, but it was bothering me that she was probably up in Roanoke at that jail, visiting Derrick. She always went up to see him on Saturdays. Now it was way past visiting hours, so I would’ve expected a call back.
With my luck, she’d probably decided to spend the night up there so she could go see him on Sunday, too. She’d done that a few weeks ago when Derrick laid some BS guilt trip on her about her not spending enough time with him. Shit, if he’d really wanted to spend time with her, he wouldn’t have got caught selling drugs in the first place. It was his own damn fault he was in jail, not hers. If she was my woman, she wouldn’t have to worry about me doing anything stupid that might separate us.
“But she’s not my woman,” I thought out loud. “And it’s not my place to be jealous.” Not yet, anyway.
Beeeeep!
“Hey, Jazz, this is Dylan. I just got back in town and I wanted to see if we were still on for church tomorrow. I’m gonna be up pretty late tonight, so don’t hesitate to call. Talk to you later. Peace.”
I was pretty disappointed when I hung up the phone. I’d really wanted to talk to her, even if it was only for a few minutes. These last few days away from her, I had just felt a little less complete. She was really becoming a part of my world, and I liked it that way.
I picked up my bags and headed upstairs. Despite the message I left on Jasmine’s machine, I was tired as hell and in need of some serious sleep. The six-hour drive from Atlanta had worn me out. The only thing that was going to stop me from getting a good eight hours’ worth of rest was if Jasmine called back. And it looked like the chances of that were about as good as my chances of hitting the lottery.
Well, when I walked in my bedroom, I decided I should run down to the store and play Lotto, ’cause I was either the luckiest man in the world, or dreaming. I turned on the light to behold the most beautiful sight. Jasmine was there! Lying in my bed with a smile a mile wide.
“Hey, handsome, was the traffic bad? I was expecting you hours ago,” she purred.
I never answered her question. Once I got past the shock of the fantasy right before my eyes, I asked a question of my own.
“Jasmine, what’re you doin’ here?”
She yawned and stretched her arms as she sat up. The covers slipped lower to reveal an incredibly sexy negligee. There was no way she was here for a chat with her buddy. That was quite evident by the thong she was wearing.
“Take a guess.” she laughed. “What do you think I’m doing here?”
I didn’t answer. She shook her head and grinned.
“It’s your birthday, isn’t it? I’m here to give you your birthday present.” She smiled wickedly, crawling catlike across the bed toward me. When she reached the edge, she wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me like I’d never been kissed before. It was even better than I’d imagined our first real kiss would be. Sure, we’d kissed before at Joe’s, but this was different. This was no heat-of the-moment kinda stuff that could happen between virtual strangers after a night at the clubs. This was a kiss that told me I was special to her. Our friendship had grown into something beautiful, and Jasmine’s kiss told me she felt it, too.
I placed my hands around her hips and pulled her as close to me as humanly possible. I’d been waiting for this day for over two months. I wanted to savor every second.
“Happy birthday,” she whispered seductively, her breath warm against my neck.
“Thanks,” I murmured between kisses, “but can I ask you a question?”
“Sure.” She nibbled on my ear.
“Not that I want you to”-a few more kisses-“leave or anything…” She gave me a long, passionate kiss before I finished. “But how’d you get in here?”
“I used the key under your flowerpot.” Jasmine was kissing her way down my neck as she spoke. “Smartest thing you ever did was tell me where you hide your key.”
“Mmm, I’m starting to believe you.” I rolled my neck so that she could kiss the other side. She was making my nature rise. “So what brought all this on, anyway?” I knew why I wanted to be with Jasmine, but I wanted to hear her reasons for wanting to be with me. I hadn’t expected this. I figured I’d be the one to seduce her, not vice versa. I had to know what she was thinking.
“Well, I did a lot of soul-searching while you were out of town, and I realized that I don’t wanna lose you, Dylan. I just had to stop fighting what my heart had been telling me all along.”
“And what’s that?”
“That I want you, Dylan. And that I want to be with you.” She stopped kissing me and lifted her head so that we were eye to eye. “I have wanted you since the first night we were together.”
I stared at her, processing everything she’d just said. This seemed like such a quick change from the woman who could only talk about her love for her man in jail.
“What about Derrick?”
“What about him?” She took my arm from around her waist and placed a condom in my hand. “I’m not gonna lie. I still love Derrick. But I love you even more, and you’re the one I wanna be with.”
“I’m the one you wanna be with, or I’m the one who’s available? Would you feel this way if Derrick wasn’t locked up?” I had to ask.
She looked me straight in the eye and answered, “Look, we can discuss this all you want later. Right now, you’re gonna have to trust me when I tell you that this has nothing to do with Derrick. Even if he wasn’t behind bars, you would still be the man I want to be with. That’s why I’m here.” She kissed me again and gestured toward the condom I was holding. “Now, are you gonna use that thing, or what?”
“You’re serious, aren’t you?” I still couldn’t believe this was happening.
She nodded, and it finally sunk in. Everything I’d been hoping for was coming to fruition. I wanted to pinch myself to make sure it wasn’t all a dream.
“Hey, you. What does a girl have to do to get a kiss around here?”
Jasmine snapped me out of my fog with her question. She gave me a beautiful smile, and I responded with a long, passionate kiss. I felt like I just couldn’t get close enough. I’d been waiting for this moment for so long, and it was even more powerful than I’d imagined. I didn’t ever want to let this girl go.
She pulled me onto the bed. We rolled around that bed kissing and feeling on each other for the better part of half an hour, and I enjoyed every last sensation like it was my first time. My hands roamed up and down her satin nightgown, and every touch made me want her more and more. Finally, I just couldn’t take it anymore. I had to have her.
I slipped the strap of her nightgown over her shoulder, exposing the most perfect breasts I’ve ever seen. I kissed my way down until my lips could caress her nipple. I sucked gently and she moaned with pleasure, but to my surprise she grabbed my head and pulled me away.
“Stop”
She didn’t have to tell me twice. My hands went to my side right away. We’d gone down this road once before, that first night at Joe’s. I was not about to go there again. I cared for Jasmine, but the last time this happened, she tried to accuse me of rape, so I wasn’t taking any chances.
“Look, Jasmine, maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. I mean, maybe we’re better off as friends.” I tried to get out from under her, but she placed her finger over my lips.
“Please, don’t get up. I didn’t mean it that way. You’re just moving a little too fast. I kinda had the night planned out. Just let me do things my way. I promise you won’t be disappointed.”
“Are you sure about this?” I was still a little hesitant after her Dr. Jekyll and Mrs. Hyde act. One minute she’s with the program, the next she’s not; then all of a sudden she’s with the program again.
“I swear, Dylan. I’ve never been so sure about anything in my life. Just bear with me and everything is gonna be fine.” She crawled off the bed and walked to my night table. She gave me a nervous smile and picked up a box of matches to light some candles. I guess we were both feeling a little strange now that this was finally happening. I know I was nervous like it was my first time.
“Turn the radio on,” she whispered as she turned out the light
I did as I was told and watched her sway to the smooth rhythm of Usher’s “U Remind Me.” I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more erotic sight than Jasmine dancing in that candlelight. Ever since that night at Joe’s, I knew she had a nice body. But the way things went down, our clothes never fully came off. So I didn’t know just how nice it really was till then. She did a slow, seductive striptease that had my heart racing and my brow sweating. When she finished, she was wearing nothing but a thong, and I was rock-hard.
“Come ’ere,” she called. “I wanna show you something.”
I stood up. She reached for my collar and started unbuttoning my shirt. When the last button was undone, her fingers went to my belt buckle. My pants fell to the floor. I closed my eyes and let out a soft moan when her fingers reached into my boxers and wrapped around my manhood.
“Lay down, Dylan,” she whispered, still holding onto the elastic of my boxers. I gladly did as I was told. She removed my boxers and my socks, and I was completely naked, ready for whatever she had to give me. Jasmine crawled on top of me and rubbed her hands over my chest as she placed long, slow kisses around my face. The kisses went lower and lower until she had covered every inch of my torso and found her final destination.
“My, my, my. Aren’t you a big one?” She smiled. Of course, I was beaming with pride. If there’s one thing we men like to hear, it’s a compliment about the size of our dicks.
Jasmine wasn’t just down there to compliment me, either. She had other things in mind. Very pleasurable things. And without giving it a second thought, she swallowed half my manhood. I moaned my appreciation. That shit felt so good. It had been a long, long time since someone had done this for me, and I’d forgotten just how good it could be. During the six years we’d been together, Monica wouldn’t even discuss the subject. She always complained that it was nasty and unsanitary. Although she never seemed to have a problem when it came to me doing her. She was just selfish that way.
“Oh, God. Oh, God. Ohhh, my God.” I was gasping for air as I held onto the sheets with all my might. I was making a conscious effort not to grab hold of Jasmine’s head, because someone told me once that women hate that. That was easier said than done. My natural instincts were telling me to hold her head and make sure she didn’t stop.
“Damn, baby, if you’re trying to get me open you’re doing a damn good job. You really got skills.”
I think my words must’ve invigorated her, because she started to work even harder. If she kept it up, it wasn’t gonna be long before I erupted. At least until I heard the doorbell and lost my concentration. I tried my best to ignore it, but whoever it was kept on ringing.
“Hold on a second, Jazz.” I lifted her head.
“What’s the matter? Was I doing something wrong? Don’t you like it?” She sounded disappointed.
“Oh, no, baby, I liked it. Shit, I loved it.” I told her with excitement.
“Then, why’d you stop me?” She looked confused. “Sounded like you were enjoying it.”
“I was. Trust me. The only reason I stopped you is ’cause someone’s at the front door. Didn’t you hear the bell?”
“The doorbell? You stopped me from going down on you because you heard the doorbell ring?” Now she was definitely insulted. “Just pay attention to what I’m doing. They’ll go away.”
She lowered her head to finish what she’d started and I lay back to enjoy it. She was right. Whoever was at the door would go away. All I had to do was concentrate on her and the phenomenal job she was doing down there.
Unfortunately, it was almost impossible to concentrate. The unknown visitor didn’t seem to be getting the hint. They’d stopped ringing the doorbell and started banging.
“Goddamn it!” I yelled. “Let me go see who the hell that is. It’s probably Joe’s stupid ass. He’s the only one who’d come knocking on my door at this time o’ night.”
“Whatever,” Jasmine whined as she lifted her head. She rolled her eyes at me and I knew I was in trouble. She was obviously losing her enthusiasm quickly.
“I’m sorry. I’ll be right back.” I bent over to kiss her, but she backed away with an attitude.
“Just hurry up, okay? My jaw’s starting to hurt. You seem to forget I don’t do this very often, Dylan.”
“I know, I know. Please don’t be mad. I’ll be right back. I promise.” I got up in a hurry, grabbed my robe, and headed down the stairs. Joe was about to get cussed out, even though I couldn’t wait to tell him who was upstairs waiting for me.
“You know Joe, you got the worst fuckin’ timing in the world,” I swore as I swung the front door open. When I saw who was there, I gasped, immediately closing the door without a thought. It wasn’t Joe at my door. Oh, no. Not by a long shot. It was Monica, and she had the nerve to be holding a suitcase. I was so puzzled by her sudden appearance that I just stood there like a fool until she knocked again.
“Monica, what’re you doing here?”
“Freezing my ass off. Can I come in?” She was clutching her suitcase and shivering. Just looking at her made me tighten my robe to protect myself from the cold.
“Why? What d’you want?” I eyed her suspiciously.
“I wanna talk to you, Dylan. It’s important.” She tried to step around me, but I blocked her. For the first time in five months, I was eye to eye with the woman I thought I knew better than I knew myself. That is, until she abandoned me for Jordan. I studied her. She looked the same except for a slight weight loss and a fucked-up do. The Monica I knew never went anywhere without every hair being in place.
“To be honest, Monica, tonight really isn’t a good time.”
“Well, make it a good time. What I’ve got to say is important.” Her demanding tone hadn’t changed a bit, and it made me cringe a little to remember just how often she’d used it on me.
She gave me this innocent-yet-determined look that under normal circumstances would’ve melted me. But tonight was not normal circumstances. Tonight I was gonna make love to Jasmine, and there was no way I was gonna let Monica or anyone else screw it up. Sure, there were plenty of things I still wanted to talk to Monica about, but it would have to be another time. I’d waited five months to find out just why I wasn’t enough for her, so I could wait a little longer. I had better things to do tonight than dig up that past. Much better things.
“I can’t talk. I’ve got company.”
I don’t think she heard a word I said beyond “I can’t,” because all she did was suck her teeth as she dropped her suitcase on my foot. When I reached down to pick it up, she pushed her way past me and entered the living room.
“Goddamn it! Why the hell you playin’ games, Monica? You know I didn’t invite you in.” I said it loud, just in case Jasmine was listening at the top of the stairs.
She ignored me as she walked around the living room, sighing every time something nostalgic caught her eye. She was taking her own personal trip down memory lane. I almost felt sorry for her. It was actually looking like she regretted the day she walked out on me for Jordan.
“You haven’t changed anything since I left, have you?” she asked.
“Nah, not really.”
“I figured you would have gotten rid of all this stuff and moved some woman in here. I guess I was wrong. No woman would let you keep this.” She picked up the picture of the two of us standing in front of the house. “We really had some good times in this old house, didn’t we?”
“We sure did,” I smiled. “I thought we were gonna spend the rest of our lives in this house.”
“So did I,” she said sadly. “I love this house. I love you too, Dylan.”
“Monica, why are you here?” Her confession came totally out of the blue, and I definitely wasn’t prepared for it. My mind was still on Jasmine, waiting for me upstairs.
“Well, to start with, I wanted to say I’m sorry.” She walked up to me and touched my robe. I took a step back, trying to be subtle so I wouldn’t hurt her feelings. Sure, she’d ripped my heart out, but I’d loved this girl too much to do it back to her.
“I didn’t mean to hurt you, Dylan. I swear I didn’t mean to hurt you. I was just mad. I wanted to get married.”
“Oh, so you thought Jordan was gonna marry you?” I couldn’t help it. I had to laugh.
“Jordan’s an idiot.” She pouted. “He doesn’t care about me. He never cared about me. He was just using me.”
“You know, Monica, I hate to say I told you so, but I told you so.” There was silence between us for a few seconds. I guess Monica was digesting this huge slice of humble pie. I couldn’t believe I was actually hearing her admit she had been wrong.
“You were right. I was a fool to think I could have with him what I had with you.” She straightened out the collar on my robe. “I know I did you wrong, Dylan. I’m sorry about that. Can you ever forgive me?”
I sighed loudly.
“Yeah, I’ll forgive you, Monica, but I won’t forget. You don’t know how much you hurt me. How much you embarrassed me. We weren’t even broke up twenty-four hours and Jordan was driving by my store in your car, blowing the horn.” I was starting to get emotional and tears were welling up in my eyes. I needed to get Monica outta there before I started crying. “I was in love with you, Monica. True, deep love. I never felt that way about anyone else in my life. So yeah, I’ll forgive you, but don’t ever ask me to forget.” I handed her the suitcase. “I think it’s time for you to leave.”
Jasmine must have been listening, because at that moment she yelled down the stairs like she’d been cued. “Dylan, is everything all right?”
“Everything’s fine. I’ll be right up!” I turned to Monica, who was staring at me with a jealous, flabbergasted expression. Now she looked more like the Monica I remembered.
“Who the fuck is that?”
“I tried to tell you I had company.”
“Dylan, are you sure everything’s all right? You been down there an awfully long time.” Jasmine walked down the stairs. She was wearing only my shirt, and looking mighty good in it if I do say so myself. I just prayed she wasn’t gonna have an attitude when she saw Monica standing in the living room. I figured that was too much to expect, but she surprised me. When she got to the bottom of the stairs she placed her hand on my shoulder, all cool and calm, kissing my cheek and smiling at Monica.
“Hi. How you doin’? I’m Jasmine.” She extended her hand. I was so proud of her. What a classy way to handle a bad situation. Unfortunately, Monica didn’t show nearly as much composure.
“Didn’t I buy you that shirt?” Monica’s voice was cold as she glared at Jasmine, then at me.
“Oh, excuse my manners,” I said. “Monica, this is Jasmine. Jazz, this is Monica. My ex.” It was quite obvious by her expression that Monica did not like the way I introduced her. But that was her problem. My problem was getting rid of her and getting Jasmine back upstairs to finish what we’d started.
“So, Dylan,” Monica hissed, “I guess Jasmine’s your new girlfriend now, huh?”
I placed my arm around Jasmine to reassure her. We hadn’t discussed where our relationship was going or what our status was, but I wasn’t about to make her look like a fool in front of Monica.
“She’s here, isn’t she?” I shot back with a little sarcasm of my own.
“Yeah, I guess she is. Look, Jasmine, is it?” Monica eyed her competition from head to toe with a sneer. “You don’t mind if I talk to Dylan alone for a minute, do you? I have something very important to tell him.”
“Sure. Go right ahead.” Jasmine gave a condescending smile, like Monica was some beggar off the street. “I’ll be upstairs if you need me.” Jasmine kissed me, then patted my butt, her eyes on Monica the whole time. “Try not to be too long, Dylan. You haven’t finished unwrapping your birthday present yet.” She winked at me before she turned to the stairs. I grabbed her wrist before she could take a step.
“Hold on, Jazz. You don’t have to go upstairs. Whatever Monica has to say she can say in front of you.” I wasn’t sure this was the best move. God only knew what Monica was about to say to me. I just figured it would be better to have Jasmine witness it, so there would be no misunderstanding later. I turned to Monica and yawned.
“It’s getting late. If you have something to tell me, spit it out. I don’t keep secrets from Jasmine.”
“Oh, isn’t that special?” Monica cooed sarcastically. She stood up. “Don’t worry, I’m leaving. I just need some money.” She stuck her hand out.
“Money! I’m not giving you no money. You better go ask your boyfriend Jordan.”
“I would, but I’m not with Jordan anymore. He kicked me out when he found out I was pregnant. So I need some money to get a hotel room if I can’t stay here. I’m also gonna need some money for an apartment.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I knew Jordan was a lowlife, but this was worse than even I expected of him.
“You’re carrying his child and he put you out on the street?”
“No, Dylan. I’m not carrying his child.” Monica spoke as if she were explaining something to a first-grader. “He kicked me out because I’m pregnant with your child.” I could feel Jasmine’s fingers wiggling free from my hand.
“What do you mean, my child?” I took a step back and eyed her from head to toe. She didn’t look like she was pregnant, but even if she was, it couldn’t be mine. Could it? “How can I be the father? I haven’t slept with you in five months,” I protested.
“Gee, what a coincidence. I just happen to be five months pregnant.” Monica didn’t even look at me, but she gave Jasmine a nasty smile.
“Well, maybe it’s Jordan’s baby,” I shot back. “Ain’t no way for me to be sure you wasn’t sleepin’ with both of us back then.”
“I doubt it. He had a vasectomy five years ago. That’s why he kicked me out. He can’t have kids.”
“Well, who else were you messing with?” Now I was grasping at straws.
“Don’t play yourself, Dylan. It’s your baby. And if you don’t believe it, you can have a blood test.” She folded her arms across her chest, but then her tone softened a bit. “Look, I could’ve gotten rid of this baby. But I remembered how much you love kids and wanted to be a parent. I didn’t wanna deprive you of a chance at fatherhood.”
Maybe it was her tone of voice, or the fact that she volunteered to let me have a blood test, but I believed that baby she was carrying was mine. All of a sudden, a flood of emotions came over me. A flood of electrifying, positive emotions.
“Oh, my God. I’m gonna be a dad. I’m gonna be a dad!” I kept repeating.
I jumped up in the air and I felt like I could fly. In my euphoria, I turned to Jasmine and repeated the words again with even more enthusiasm.
“I’m gonna be a dad!” She took a step back to avoid my attempted embrace. Her icy-cold stare made it obvious she was not ready to share in my excitement. So instinctively I reached out and wrapped my arms around Monica, kissing her right on the lips.
“Oh, no, you didn’t! No, you didn’t just fucking kiss her.” Jasmine’s shout snapped me back to reality. But by the time I let go of Monica, she was already halfway up the stairs, yelling more obscenities. I had really fucked up, and Monica’s next comment summed it all up perfectly.
“Uh-oh, Dylan. Looks like trouble in paradise.”
“Shut the fuck up, Monica,” I spat, glaring at her.
It took me a few minutes to gather enough courage to follow Jasmine up the stairs. It wasn’t that I didn’t wanna talk to her; I just didn’t know what the hell I was gonna say. I left Monica standing in the living room. Of course she protested, tellin’ me I didn’t need “that bitch” making my decisions for me, but fixing things with Jasmine was my first concern. Monica and her mess would have to wait. I’d be dealing with her for the next eighteen years.
When I got to my room, Jasmine was fully dressed, tossing all the trappings of our romantic evening into a small black duffel bag. All that was left to remind me now was the wax that had dripped from the candles onto my nightstand.
“Jazz? Jasmine?” I called, but she didn’t answer me. I stepped in front of her, hoping to at least make eye contact. I wanted to explain, to get back some of the closeness we’d felt just minutes before. But she never even glanced my way. Out of frustration, I grabbed her arm.
“Jasmine, you gotta listen to me. This is all-”
“Get off me!” Even if I’d wanted to hold on, I couldn’t. She slapped me so hard across the face, I had to take a few steps back, and I let her go.
“Don’t you fucking touch me, you bastard!” she yelled. “How could you do this shit to me? I was ready to give up everything for you!”
Her expression was a mixture of ferocious anger and genuine hurt. I wanted to say something to her, to make her understand I felt just as strongly about her. But for a man who always has something to say, I was speechless. Monica’s announcement had totally floored me, and I could barely think straight to make my next move. All I could do was watch Jasmine pick up that duffel bag and head for the stairs.
“Jasmine, where are you going? Please don’t leave,” I pleaded.
“I’m going to Roanoke to be with a man who really cares about me. It’s pretty obvious you don’t.” Her words cut me.
“That’s not true. I do care, Jasmine. This is all just a misunderstanding.”
“You know what, Dylan? You can save that ‘misunderstanding’ crap for your baby’s momma. I know what I saw. That shit wasn’t no optical illusion. You kissed that bitch!”
“Yeah, okay. You’re right. I did kiss her. But it wasn’t a kiss of passion.” I pleaded with her to understand. “I was just excited by the news, is all. There was nothing sexual about it.”
“You expect me to believe that shit? You were going with that woman for six years. Anything you two do has to be sexual in some way.” She moved toward the door, but I tried to block her exit.
“If you don’t let me out, I swear we’re gonna be fightin’ up here.” She tried to shove her way past.
“So that’s it?” I sighed. “You’re just gonna forget about us?”
“What do you want me to do, Dylan? Go downstairs and sit down so the three of us can talk about raising the baby? We ain’t got nothing to talk about.” She started to cry. “She’s having your baby, Dylan. I can’t compete with that. Shit, I don’t wanna compete with that. I know how much you want a child.”
“Why do you have to compete, Jasmine? Why can’t you be a part of it?”
“You just don’t get it, do you?” She let out a faint laugh.
“What?”
“If you had to choose between Monica and the baby or being with me, which would it be?” I hesitated, and she folded her arms across her chest like she’d just made her point.
“Why can’t I pick the baby and you? Monica doesn’t have to be part of the equation.”
“What are you, stupid? Monica comes with the baby. You can’t get around it. Trust me, I’ve tried.”
“But I don’t love her, Jasmine. I love you.” I thought these words might help, but she seemed unfazed.
“Oh, you love her. You may not want to, but you love her. And you’ll love her even more once she has that baby. That’s just the way you are, Dylan.”
“I don’t believe that. If we care about each other, we should be together. Can’t we just look at this like a minor setback? We were just starting out.”
“Maybe that’s the point, Dylan.”
“What’s the point?”
“Have you ever heard of kismet?”
“Yeah, it’s like fate or destiny.” She had me totally confused now.
“Well, I’m starting to believe that your destiny is to raise a child with Monica and my fate is to be with Derrick. Maybe it was kismet that she showed up here tonight before we could really do anything.” She took a step toward the door, and I sadly let her pass.
“I’m not mad at you, Dylan. I just wish I hadn’t taken a chance on you.”
I was about to protest, but she raised her hand and headed down the stairs. When she reached the front door, she glanced over at Monica, who was on the couch, all spread out like she owned the place.
“You leaving?” Monica gave a satisfied smirk.
“Yeah, I’m leaving. He’s all yours.”
“He always was.”
Jasmine took a step toward Monica but stopped. I know she wanted to run over there and smack the shit outta her like she’d done to me in the bedroom.
“You know, bitch, you just ain’t worth the energy.” Jasmine shook her finger at Monica as she headed for the door.
I called out to her, hoping there was still a chance to make things right. She didn’t even turn around, just raised her hand to wave good-bye as she walked out my door and probably out of my life.