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Nyla could feel things changing in her relationship but never imagined it was this... |
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NYLA The pulsating beat of Sisqo's Thong Song bumped throughout the small room as she wiggled her ass from left to right and every time he asked to see that "thong, th-th-th-thong" she would remove a piece of clothing until she had nothing on but the white lace g-string and was grinding all over the stage in it. Most of the men leering at her and holding out their money was older than dirt and reeking of Ben-Gay. There were two young men sitting to the right of the stage, practically leaning on the stage and drooling as she hypnotized them with her ass shaking to the beat of the music. The bouncer had to literally stand to the right of them with his arms folded across his burly chest as he stared at the two overly excited men. I was sitting off to the side at the rickety bar on the wobbly stool, one leg firmly on the sticky hardwood floor and the other foot on the stool that I was sitting on. Earlier in the day, my best friend, Jenna had asked me to accompany her to work at some sleazy strip club called Loose Lips in Long Beach. The club left a lot to be desired. It was what you would assume a seedy strip club to look like. It was dimly lit with black lighting and there were several small tables around the five-foot by ten-foot stage. Immediately to the left and right of the stage were two identical booths that were separated from the tables by a velvet rope. I assumed that was the VIP section, although no one was sitting there. Smoke billowed throughout the room as the perverted old men drooled over the woman on the stage. The stage had a mirror against the back wall and a pole right in the middle of the stage. Two topless women walked the room, taking drink orders from the men and several women scantily clad walked the room in stilettos that were too damn high to walk in. It was Jenna's first night, so I told her that I would be there, and here I was, sitting off to the side, watching her entice the crowd of old geezers and two gawky teens. A long-legged woman wearing black stilettos and a black dress that covered just barely enough skin slinked over to me. Her large, fake breasts were the first things that I saw. As she approached me, I looked her over. Aside from her barely-there clothing, she had on a deep crimson lipstick that made her lips appear fuller than what I assumed they were. She had long, fake eyelashes and her eyes were darkly lined. She had long, cascading curly blond hair that fell way past her shoulders. She leaned against the bar in the spot right in front of me and ordered pineapple juice and grey goose. She turned towards the stage and smiled. "She's pretty good, huh?" she said. I assumed she was talking to me because the bartender had moved on to one of the topless waitresses that had come to place an order for one of the men. I nodded my head. "Uh-huh." "It's her first night," she leaned back a little but didn't take her eyes off the show. "She looks nervous, but she's doing pretty well." The music stopped and some burlesque type music came on and the dancer pulled a chair that was against the mirror onto the middle of the stage, right in front of the pole. She only had on her g-string and a pair of those damn killer stilettos. She walked over to the gawky teens, which started laughing like Beavis and Butthead as they looked at her. One held out some money as he laughed. She smiled as she shook her head and grabbed the bouncer's hand and pulled him on stage. She pushed him onto the chair and leaned over and whispered something in his ear before giving him a lap dance. That seemed to get all the perverted men excited because money started flying all over the stage. The blond nodded her head in approval as she watched. I sipped my drink and watched. After the show, the dancer kissed the bouncer on the cheek before hurrying off the stage - leaving her tips scattered throughout the stage. The lights went off on the stage and I turned towards the bar. The blond turned towards me. She leaned her head to the side as she looked at me. "I'm Missy," she extended her hand to me. I cleared my throat as I shook her hand. Her acrylic nails scratched the back of my hand as she shook my hand. "Nyla." "You're Jenna's friend, right?" she nodded towards the stage. I nodded my head as I pulled my hand away and wrapped it around my glass. "I am." "I saw the two of you when you walked in. She's really good," Missy nodded her head. "She keep this up, she'll start dancing on the weekends, which is when you make the real money." All I could do was nod. Missy leaned over the bar. "Morris, let me get another one and one of whatever my friend here is having," she raised her empty glass. "You got it, Missy," the bartender didn't even look up from the drink he was making. Missy leaned against the bar as she looked at me again. "You're not a dancer, are you? You should be." She looked me up and down and nodded her head. "Yeah, you'd be a really good dancer." I shook my head. The bartender gave us our drinks just as Jenna came over to me. She was wearing jeans and a halter top that she had on when we first arrived, which told me that she was ready to go home. She had wiped her face clean of the makeup that had been packed on. The only thing she still had on was the hair clips that she had put in her hair to make it appear longer and fuller. Her pink duffle bag slung over her shoulder and her clothes peeking out. "Are you ready, Nyla?" Jen came up next to me and bounced up and down on her toes. "I told Jessie that I'd stop by tonight." Jessie was Jenna's little sister. I stood up. "I've been ready, Jen." "You were great," Missy stepped up next to me and smiled at Jen. "You should stay for a little while and network a bit." "Network?" Jen looked at her confused. "Yeah, walk around and talk to some of the patrons and some of the dancers. A lot of the dancers dance at other clubs as well. Damon, the bouncer you were gyrating all over works at another club out in the Hamptons and I'm sure he'd be able to get you some work out there," she sipped her drink. Jen shook her head. "That's okay, I'm good." "Yeah, you were," Missy licked her lips as she looked Jen over. The bouncer came over to Jen and held out a wad of money bound together by a rubber band. "You ran off the stage so quickly, you left your tips." Jen laughed a little as she took the money. "Thanks." "Damon," Missy touched his arm. "I was just telling her that she should stay and network. Talk to the other dancers and see where else she could get some work going." "I'm getting off in an hour," the bouncer looked at Jen. "I could introduce you to some good people if you're interested." Jen smiled as she looked at me. I sighed as I sat down on the rickety bar stool. Jen turned back to the bouncer. "Okay, I can wait at least an hour." She shrugged her shoulders as she looked at me again. "It's a school night, anyway, Jessie will probably be in bed by the time I get there." "Come with me," he nodded his head and headed towards one of the booths. Jen grabbed my arm and we went to one of the booths. Missy ordered us some food and a bottle of Grey Goose before disappearing. I sat back in the booth - which was a putrid green color and the seats were slightly ripped - and crossed my legs. Jen sipped her drink as she looked around the club. The stage lights came on and the announcer came over the loudspeaker. "Tonight we are proud to have grace our stage our weekend headliner, Missy!" he sounded excited. Some music started and Missy slinked onto the stage wearing an even kinkier outfit than she had on originally. She slithered around the stage before making her way to the pole and working her magic. I looked over at the two boys who looked like they were about to burst. I looked around the room and saw the bouncer talking to a man who was wearing a dark suit. The man looked over his shoulder in our direction and then turned back to the bouncer. The two talked for a few more seconds before the two of them made their way to us. "I hear you were the star of the night," the man looked at Jen, who was sipping another glass of Grey Goose. Jen looked up at him. "I wouldn't say the star. Your star is up there working the pole." The man laughed. "This isn't my club, oh no," he shook his head. "No, this is a bit too seedy for my taste. My club is a few blocks over, X-Posed," he handed Jen a card. "Damon here works the weekends for me and he called me and told me about the star of the night over here. When do you work again?" "I work Tuesday and Wednesday nights," Jen held the card. I reached over and took it out of her hands and read it over. There was a huge x across the card and beside it was a woman posing in some provocative position. He had every contact number on the card in addition to a website. His name was Keith Barnes. "Maybe I can stop by tomorrow and see your act," Keith puffed out his chest as he looked around the room. He watched Missy for a few seconds before shaking his head and turning back to Jen. "Yeah, sure," Jen nodded her head. "I'd love to." "Great. Then I will see you tomorrow and we'll take everything from there," he looked around the room again, making a face, before turning and heading towards the bar. Damon winked at Jen before heading back towards the door. Jen giggled and sipped her drink. We waited until Missy had finished her set before we finally left. Jen thanked Damon and said that she would see him the next day and we left. We went to Jen's house - where my car was parked - and I headed home. When I got home, I saw my boyfriend's car in the driveway, and his best friend's almost identical Escalade parked right behind it. I frowned as I got out of my car and walked towards the front door. I couldn't stand his best friend - Moreno. He annoyed me. Mostly because it felt like I was competing against him for my own boyfriend's attention! If Moreno and I were both hanging from a cliff and Moses could only save one of us, I'm really not sure who he would pick first. My gut told me it would be Moreno, but my heart said he'd try to save both... but would go for Moreno first. When I walked in the front door, I saw Moses and Moreno sitting in the living room going over some papers with Moreno's older brother, Diego. Diego was wearing a pair of black slacks and a blue linen shirt, which told me this was more of a business meeting than personal. Diego was a lawyer and worked at Moreno's father's law firm. I dropped my keys on the top of the entertainment center as I walked over to the couch and sat down next to Moses. I leaned over to kiss him and he leaned away from me. "You reek," he didn't even look at me. "You smell of liquor and smoke." I moved away from him and sniffed myself. "Tonight was Jen's first night at that strip club I was telling you about, baby." I did stink, I had to admit that. I wouldn't want to kiss me, either. "Loose Lips." "Yeah, you smell like you've been in some cheap strip joint," he looked at me. "It's permeated all throughout you." "I get it," I stood up as I held up my hands. "I'll go take a shower." He exhaled as he looked up at Moreno and said something that I didn't understand before he turned back to some blueprints that were in front of him. "So, this is going to be pretty big, huh, Diego?" Diego nodded his head. "Yeah, and all your permits should be in working order soon. You guys just need to come up with a name." Moreno cleared his throat and started talking in Spanish, in which Diego and Moses responded back - in Spanish. I turned and went into the bedroom. They were talking in Spanish because they knew that I didn't understand what they were saying and Moreno didn't want me to be a part of the club. Ever since they were young, Moreno and Moses wanted to own their own club and now, their dreams were becoming a reality. The guys had grown up together. Their mothers were best friends and they lived literally down the street from each other. They were so close that Moses called Mrs. Zamora, Moreno's mother, Mama Cami, and Moreno, in turn, called Moses' mother Mama Terri. They even had keys to each other's houses and cars. I didn't even have the keys to Moses' car! They even favored each other, which bugged me because I didn't like Moreno too much. Moreno was a mixture of Cuban from his father and Black from his mother. He actually got his nickname from his brother and sister because he was the darkest of the three of them, being brown-skinned. His real name was Cristian and only his mother called him that. Diego had a different mother, his mom was Dominican and he looked like your typical Latin boy. Their sister, Lexie also had a different mother and was fair-skinned. Her mother was White. Both of Moses' parents were Black. His mother was dark-skinned and had the most beautiful features that I had ever seen. She had high cheekbones and these beautiful, almond-shaped eyes that were always dancing. I was envious of her full lips because mine weren't quite that full. His father was brown-skinned and quite handsome. Well, according to the pictures I had seen anyway. Mr. Reyneso had passed away when Moses was just five. I took a shower and washed my hair, making a point to shampoo it several times. I hated washing my own hair because it took forever to dry. My hair was naturally thick and curly and even though I had just had it relaxed two weeks ago, it was still getting unruly. But I knew that if I went to bed with my hair reeking of smoke, Moses would sleep on the couch. The smell of alcohol on me, he could pretty much stomach and would sleep next to me. But he abhorred the stench of smoke. When Mr. Zamora would smoke his cigars, Moses would actually leave the room. I pulled my hair into a ponytail and then put a scarf on. I would call Jen in the morning and have her do something to my hair because I didn't want to be bothered with it tonight. After I tied up my hair, I went into the kitchen to grab something to eat. The guys were talking in English again, this time about a name for their club. "What about Aquarius?" Diego sighed as he sat back and looked at the two men. "You two are both Aquarians and this is an incorporation of the two of you. You can't combine your names to create anything." They looked at each other. "A tentative name," Moses said. "If we think of something else, we'll change it," Moreno agreed. "Are you guys almost done?" I walked into the living room and put a hand on my hip as I looked at the three of them. "Almost," Diego didn't even turn around to look at me. He was usually very cordial and nice to me, so I assumed that his rudeness right now was due to work. Someone's cell phone rang and all three men reached for their hips. I shook my head as they all removed the same exact phone and looked at it. Diego put his phone back on his hip. Moses placed his on the table and Moreno sat back on the couch and answered his call. He kept his call brief. "Call me when you get home, then. All right," he disconnected his call and put his phone back on his hip. "Yasmine went to the gym tonight with her girl," he said. "I'm supposed to be meeting up with her later on." Moses looked at him briefly before turning back to the paperwork. I lingered in the living room, making it clear that I wanted some time - alone - with my man. Moreno looked up at me and exhaled noisily as he started scooping together his papers and began talking in Spanish again. The other two men responded and then all three stood up. Moses walked them to the door and everyone said their goodnights. The only thing I understood was 'mañana' which I knew meant tomorrow. Once the guys were gone, I asked Moses what they said. "It's about the club," he cleared the cups that were on the table. "I get that," I followed him into the kitchen, carrying the plates that he had left behind. "I want to know more." Moses shook his head. "Just boring legal stuff about the club that wouldn't interest you. Tomorrow we are going to finish up some paperwork. I'm going to be late tomorrow after we go to the site and check out the add-on that they're building, I'm having dinner with Pop and them and then I'm going to the gym and then back to the club to start getting ready for the grand opening." Moses looked at me. "So, don't wait up," he kissed me before heading off to the bedroom. I stood in the kitchen, a little offended about the blow-off. I placed the plates in the sink and turned off the lights and followed him to the bedroom. Moses was taking off his shirt when I walked into the room and I smiled. I loved my man's body. It was beautiful and I admired it every chance I had. I walked over to him and ran a finger down his arms. "You know, baby, seeing all those women dancing tonight got me a little excited," I squeezed his forearm lightly. Moses looked at me with his left eyebrow raised. "Don't do that," I reached up and rubbed my thumb against his raised eyebrow. I hated when he did that. "Stop, Ny," he pulled his head back as he grabbed my wrist. "You know I hate that." I looked at my hand for a few seconds before turning my gaze up to Moses. He let my wrist go and sat on the edge of the bed and started to remove his shoes. I hated when he would grab my wrist. He usually only did it when I was bothering him, but still... he didn't have to touch me. I sighed as I held my hands out in front of me and admired my manicure. "What did you do today?" he placed his shoes at the foot of the bed under my stool. "Went with Jenna to the club, as I told you," I walked over to the dresser and leaned in close to the mirror as I checked out my face. "I need a facial so badly. My pores are ridiculous." I groaned. "I should call Alma in the morning and schedule a full spa treatment with her." Moses moaned a little. I looked at him through the mirror. "Is that a problem?" "Didn't you go to the spa last week, Nyla? Because my credit card says that you did and that you got a manicure and a pedicure and a full body massage and some seaweed bullshit and at least $400 worth of crap." I turned around and looked at him. "Well, it takes a lot to look this good, Moses. And all good things cost money." "Not all," he muttered. I glared at him. "Fine, I won't go and I'll just get really bad skin and huge pores and look horrible." He shook his head. "Why don't you get like a part-time job so you can afford these things, Nyla?" I turned back to the mirror. At least once a month, Moses complained about the fact that I didn't have a job. But I didn't really need one. He paid all the bills and took care of basically whatever I needed. It wasn't until recently that he started complaining, anyway. The past three months, now that I thought about it. It was like the New Year came, and suddenly it was a problem that I didn't work. That damn Moreno was probably putting things into his ear. Moses climbed into the bed and turned his light off. I frowned at my reflection before getting into the bed beside him. I scooted next to Moses and wrapped my arms around him. "Is it really that much of a problem, Moses? Me pampering myself the way I do?" "It is when I have to foot the bills and then you complain about me working so much," he kept his back to me. "Well, you need to learn to balance it, sweetie. You can't spend 20 out of 24 hours working. Where does that leave us? You come home and you're always preoccupied with work and all these little details." "When you stop spending my money like it's going out of season, I'll stop preoccupying myself with work." I sucked my teeth as I rolled over and moved away from him. Moses was preoccupied with his club for the next two months. It was like we were roommates. I would see him maybe once or twice a week, but that was usually in passing. At night when he came home, he would be on the phone until all hours. I busied myself with Jen. She had started dancing at X-Posed and was actually one of the top billing girls. Missy had followed her to the club and the two had some freaky little lesbian routine that they did on Thursday nights that generated a lot of women patrons. X-Posed was more... high class... club, if there was actually such a thing. Thursday nights was Lipstick Night, which basically meant it was for women only. Missy suggested that they do something together for one night and Jen agreed. Now, they were regulars on Thursday nights. Friday and Saturday nights, Jen would dance alone and the other days of the week, she would pick the nights she wanted to dance. She was loved at X-Posed. About a month after they met, Jen started dating Damon. She said she felt safer when he was around and on some occasions, she would lure him onstage and give him a lap dance that made many of the other patrons jealous. I would sit in the VIP booth, sipping on some champagne and eating the fresh fruit bought my way. Jen told everyone I was her manager, so the bosses actually treated me very well, especially Keith Barnes, who wanted me to convince Jen to work on Monday nights as well. I was sitting in my regular booth, enjoying my fruit and sipping my champagne when a tall, slender woman slid into the booth next to me. I looked over at her. I had never seen her before. She was wearing a pair of maroon straight-legged pants and a black button-down shirt. Her hair was pulled back into a tight bun and every hair was in place. She sat back and made herself comfortable before raising her left hand in the air and, ever so slightly, lifting her forefinger. By the time her hand lowered to the table, a waitress was at my booth. "Good evening, Ms. Brown. What can I get for you?" she asked. "A Manhattan," the woman barely looked at the cocktail waitress. She waited until the waitress was gone before turning to me. "You must be Jenna's friend," she rolled her eyes as she said the word 'friend." "I am," I sat up a little. "And you are?" "Keith's wife," she turned back to the stage. "Erin Brown." I didn't even know that Keith was married. "I'm Nyla..." "Nyla Walker, I know," she nodded her head a little. "My husband mentions you frequently." "Oh," I frowned a bit. "No worries, dear. I'm not here because I think anything is going on. If you want my husband, you are more than welcome to him," she looked at me and flashed a quick smile. "If he's unfaithful, he pays me more in our divorce settlement, so by all means - cheat away." I shook my head. "I'm okay." She shrugged her shoulders. "Whatever. No, I'm here because I heard that Jenna is performing tonight. She is the talk of the clubs. I wanted to see her for myself." "There's a circuit?" "Of course, darling," she flashed a smile at me again. Her drink was placed in front of her. She picked it up and sipped it as the waitress waited. Once the glass was placed on the table, the waitress hurried away. I nodded my head. Jenna took the stage and Erin watched intently. When Jenna was finished, she nodded her head. "That girl is good. I can see why she's talked about." Two months later, I was sitting in my booth, sipping my champagne, and eating my cantaloupe pieces when Keith came over to me. He slipped in the booth beside me and cleared his throat several times before finally speaking. His eyes were on the girl on stage that was leaned over, holding one of the two poles that were on the stage, and showing everyone how to make her booty clap. "I never tire of her doing that," he smiled as he shook his head and removed a cigar from his breast pocket and stuck it in his mouth. Keith loved smoking cigars. He had made his club a smoke free environment but loved to have an unlit cigar dangling from his lips. He said that when he went into his office at the end of the night, he would light the cigar and take in the aroma as he went over the night's revenue. After a few minutes, he looked at me. "Nyla... my favorite girl is backstage crying her eyes out and my best bouncer is outside smoking a cigarette, not keeping these Poligrip men out and the pimple-faced freaks away. That's a problem for me," he removed his cigar and smacked his lips and looked it over before putting it back in his mouth. "Why would your favorite girl be crying?" I sipped my champagne. He laughed. "Because backstage has turned into the Young and the Restless. My mom used to watch that show, that's how I know the name of it," he added quickly. I crossed my legs as I looked at him. "And what, pray tell, Keith, would you like for me to do?" "Go backstage and find out why she's so upset. You're her manager, right? I need her onstage and with her mind right tonight. Some of my best patrons are here tonight and they are here to see Brownie." Brownie was Jen's stripper name. I don't know how she came up with it, but it seemed to work for her. I put down my glass as I stood up. I told him I'd be back and went backstage to go check on Jen. She was in her dressing room, trying to apply her makeup as her bottom lip quivered. After three failed attempts at putting on her eyeliner, she threw the pencil down on the table and sat back in her chair. I sighed as I walked over to her and picked up the pencil. I leaned on the table in front of her and bent forward and began putting on her eye makeup. "This can't go on, Jenna," I lined heavily under her left eye. "Keith came up to me and he sounded a little worried. You're crying and Damon's not doing his job." "He's breaking up with me," she sniffled. "He said that he doesn't think that the show Missy and I do on Thursdays is a show. He wants me to stop dancing with her." I shrugged my shoulders, not really seeing the problem. "So, stop." "It's good money, Nyla," she whined. "Women tip a hell of a lot better than men." I sat back and looked at her carefully. Jen dropped her head as she put her hand in her lap. About a month ago, Jen had begun an affair with Missy. She didn't want to tell me, but when she finally did, she said that she would end it immediately if Damon asked her to, but what man would want his girlfriend to stop sleeping with another woman? Apparently her man did. Damon didn't know about the affair until a week ago. Jen and Damon had walked into the club, proudly displaying their brand new, matching tattoos. On his arm was the silhouette of a woman giving a man a lap dance with the stripper pole right behind them. On her hip was the same silhouetted woman giving the man a lap dance with the same pole behind them. Jen was proud of her tattoo and showed everyone at the club. Three days later, Missy came into the job with the same exact tattoo on her wrist. Damon saw it and just blew up. Tonight things apparently came to a head and now Jen was crying hysterically and Damon was talking about getting another tattoo over his. I went to Damon and talked to him for a little while. Somehow, I managed to convince him to come with Jen and me over the weekend to my mother's house in New Jersey. I then cleared it with Keith, claiming that Jen was just overworked and needed a weekend away. He wouldn't let them take the entire weekend, claiming he needed them both by Saturday night. But he was willing to risk Thursday and Friday, so I arranged for them to spend Tuesday through Saturday afternoon at my mom's house in Jersey. My mother was in Texas visiting her sister, so I knew I had the house to myself. I told Moses that I was going to see my mother for a few days since he was finalizing everything for his club. He didn't like Jen, so if I told him the truth, he would have something smart to say. I was packing my things when Moses came into the bedroom. He sat down on the bed next to me. "How long are you going to be gone?" he reached over and took my hand. "Late Saturday night," I looked up at him and smiled. "I'm going to miss you," he pulled me onto his lap and put his arms around me as he kissed me on the cheek. "But, by the time you come back, everything should be in order." I smiled at him. "Really? Do I get my man back?" He kissed me. "My mom invited us to dinner tonight." "Then I will leave after dinner. We'll each take our cars," I stood up. "I need to finish packing." Moses slapped me on the butt playfully and I smiled at him. I loved it when he was playful with me. It reminded me of all the reasons I loved him. After I packed, we drove in our separate cars to his mom's house. When we got there, Mrs. Reyneso was in the kitchen with Mrs. Zamora, cooking. Moses smiled as he walked over to both women and put his arms around them. He kissed each one on the cheek. "How are two of my favorite women doing today?" he asked cheerfully. "Better now that you're here," Mrs. Reyneso smiled up at her son. I smiled to myself. If I wanted to have children, I would like for my relationship to be like theirs. She loved her son entirely and Moses felt the same about his mom. "Teresa, don't leave that chicken in too long, now," Mrs. Zamora pointed to the oven. "Five more minutes and then it should be done." She turned to Moses and kissed him on the cheek. "Enjoy your dinner with your mom, she worked very hard." "I always do, Mama Cam," he said. "Oh, Manny wanted me to tell you that the lunch is on Sunday this week," she turned and pointed to Moses. He nodded. "I will be there." "Good, because when you missed last week's dinner, he acted like a little child the entire night. Poor Cristian was grilled the entire night on whether or not he told you the right time and place," she shook her head as she looked at Mrs. Reyneso. "When he told you that he'd treat Moses as his own, he really meant it, huh?" Mrs. Reyneso laughed a little as she turned her attention to what was on the stove. Mrs. Zamora told everyone good night and left. Moses set the table and I helped him. I sat down while he helped his mother put the food on the table. Once Mrs. Reyneso blessed the food, we began eating. "I always wondered," I looked up at Moses. "What's the big deal with these lunches? Mr. Zamora is kinda strict on the rules." Moses shrugged his shoulders. "It's important to him. It's time to spend with his kids... and me." "Its tradition," Mrs. Reyneso looked at me. "Before Manny got custody of Diego, Diego's mother used to keep him away from Manny and Cami. She hated the fact that he had chosen this beautiful black woman over her. Marisol was Manny's first love and she thought that they would be together forever and always forgave him when he cheated. After Cami and Manny were married and Marisol realized that she couldn't get him back, she kept Diego from him because everyone knew how much he loved his children. At first, he only had two hours a week with his son and it was important to Manny for his children to know each other, so he would take Lexie, who was about 2 and Cris, who was a few months, to Chuck E. Cheese's with Diego and they would spend two hours there. That lasted for about three years and then he was given joint custody. "Once he got joint custody, he tried to stop the lunches and the kids didn't really like that too much because that was their time to spend with their dad, so he started them again. As the kids got older, they didn't want to do it anymore and Manny made them and now, it's just routine." I nodded my head. When he was around ten was when Moses started joining the Zamora's for the lunches. He was the only one not related that was there, but they always treated him like family. He said that Mr. Zamora took an intense interest in everything that he did. He said that sometimes he'd forget that he wasn't one of Mr. Zamora's children. "You seem happy lately, Moses," Mrs. Reyneso looked at her son. "I've noticed that about you. You seem more... alive." "Yeah?" he picked up his glass and took a gulp. As he put his glass down, he exchanged looks with his mom before picking up his fork. "This is really good, Ma. You cooked this?" "No," Mrs. Reyneso laughed as she waved her hand at him. "Cami did. I made the sweet potatoes, though, but she cooked everything else." "You and Mrs. Zamora have a really great relationship," I looked at Mrs. Reyneso. "It's like the two of you are sisters." "Yeah," she smiled at me. "Cam and I have known each other since we were six-years-old. She is my best friend in this world. She's my baby's godmother and when I lost Anthony, she really stepped it up and took him in and raised him like he was her own right along with me." "Were the two of you like Moses and Moreno growing up?" I pushed the food around my plate. "Maybe," she looked at her son. "I think Moses and Cristian are closer. They remind me of brothers." I looked at Moses, who was quietly eating his food and listening to me and his mother. "The club is coming along," he looked up at his mom after a few seconds of silence. "Moreno commissioned Lexie to be an interior designer and we've pretty much given her free reign. We told her what we want our offices to look like and the rest... it's all Lex." "That's great," Mrs. Reyneso's eyes lit up. "I am so proud of the way that the two of you are keeping it in the family. You've hired Diego as your lawyer and now Lexie as your decorator." "She's good at what she does, Ma." He put his fork down as he sat back. "I met her assistant and talked to her briefly." Mrs. Reyneso looked at her son but didn't say anything. Instead, she made a face as she stood up. "I've met the assistant, too. She's a very nice girl," she looked over her shoulder at her son. "Do you work with her?" "I will be," Moses picked up his plate. I stayed at the table and watched Moses and his mother in the kitchen. They were standing right next to each other and they were talking to each other in a hushed tone. I liked watching the two of them. Seeing mother and son together made me want to have children, just so I could witness Mrs. Reyneso interact with her grandchild. But, I didn't want children. I didn't want to gain weight and lose my incredible body just for a child. I also didn't want to give up my me time for someone else. "Ma...I got this," Moses sighed as he turned around and leaned against the sink. "You said yourself I'm happy and this is why." Mrs. Reyneso exhaled as she shook her head. "Just..." She looked up at her son and smiled as she took his chin into her hands and kissed him on the cheek. "Are you ready for dessert?" "Always am," Moses seemed to light up like a child. "You are so much like your father," she shook her head as she went over to get a cake. "Now this I made," she carried the cake to the table. "It's a lemon cake." "Lemon?" I made a face. If looks could kill, Moses would have struck me down right then and there. I cleared my throat as I sat up. "But I would love to try it." "Moses likes my lemon cakes," Mrs. Reyneso put her hand on her son's shoulder. "I like when you bake, Ma," Moses looked up at her. "I know," she picked up a knife and cut him a big piece of cake. She cut a sliver for me and a piece a little bigger for herself. "So, Nyla, are you working?" she looked up at me as she sat down at the table. "No," Moses answered before I could say anything. "Unless you count working my credit cards to their limits a job." "I don't really work," I ignored Moses. "I support my best friend. She's a dancer and I'm kind of like her manager." "She goes to a strip club every night and drinks incessantly and gets free food while her slutty ass girl shakes her ass for money," Moses looked at his mother. I exhaled as I looked at him. "That's not all I do, Moses. I support Jenna and I make sure that they don't take advantage of her." He looked at me. "Does Jenna pay you for supporting her?" I rolled my eyes as I looked at his mother. "But, no, I don't have a paying job." She nodded her head but didn't say anything. An awkward silence fell among us that seemed to last forever. It was broken when the house phone rang. Moses stood up and went to answer the phone, leaving me alone with his mother. I looked up at her and opened my mouth to say something, but no words came out. Instead, I tasted a piece of cake. The lemon cake was actually really good. "Ok, I'll let her know," Moses walked into the dining room on the cordless phone. He nodded his head. "Okay. Ok, we'll see you soon." He pushed 'end,' and placed the phone on the table as he sat down at the table again. "Mama Cam's on her way over." "It's girls night," Mrs. Reyneso giggled like a schoolgirl. "We're leaving," Moses stood up. "Oh, you don't have to leave," his mother shook her head. "What's Girl's Night?" I asked as I finished my last piece of the cake. "Ma and Mama Cami take turns spending the night at each other's houses and do all those things girls do," Moses looked at me. "They talk into the wee hours, watch movies, all that girly stuff. They've done that for as long as I can remember. Usually, I was on my way to Moreno's on Ladies' Night. Lexie usually joins them." "She'll be here," Mrs. Reyneso nodded her head. "She's just working late today and she needs to make sure that her twins are situated with their grandfather before she comes over." "That's cute," I smiled. "Baby, maybe I should have a Girl's Night." "You can have that at Jenna's house. I don't want her stripper ass sleeping in my house." I exhaled noisily as I rolled my eyes. "Ma, we do need to go, though. Ny's heading over to her mom's house for a few days and I need to work on more details about the club." Moses stood up. "I'll clean up the kitchen while you get ready for your Ladies' Night." He turned to me. "You don't want to leave too late, Nyla." "Are you kicking me out?" I looked up at him. Moses just sighed as he looked at me. He cleared his throat as he picked up my plate and walked into the kitchen. "That man can be just like his father sometimes," Mrs. Reyneso shook her head as she looked at me. "Just... ignore him." "I already do," I smiled at his mother as I pushed my chair away from the table and stood up. "But, I do need to get going. I'm driving out there and I don't want to be on the road too late." Mrs. Reyneso stood up. "Thank you for coming over, Nyla." "Thank you for having me," I looked over at Moses. "Are you going to walk me to my car, Moses?" He turned around and opened his mouth to say something to me. His mother nodded her head. "Yes, he will," she looked at her son. "Go ahead, the dishes will still be here." Moses turned the water off as he turned around and walked with me outside to my car. His mom thanked me again for coming and told me to make sure that I called Moses when I got to my destination. I told her that I would and then thanked her for dinner. "Why are you being so mean to me?" I looked up at Moses as we stood outside next to my car. "You want to sit there and not say anything to my mom when I just said that Mama Cami is coming over for Ladies' night," he looked at me as he shook his head. "I don't get it." "I like listening to her," I pouted as I folded my arms. He exhaled as he looked down at his hip and removed his cell phone. He looked at it for a few seconds before placing it back in its holder and looking up at me. "Have a good trip," he leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. "Do you have somewhere to go?" I got a little annoyed that he was looking at his phone. There was some movement coming from the house behind us. Moses turned around and looked at the house diagonally behind his mother. A man walked to the gate, his head down. The garbage cans must have been there because it sounded like he was putting the garbage away. He turned around and headed back to the house muttering, "Where the fuck is she?" Moses looked at his watch and then me. "Have a safe trip," he leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. I nodded my head as I got into my car. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, that's what everyone said. Maybe with me going away, he'd miss me and start paying more attention to me and stop looking so bored with me. I headed to Jen's house to pick her and Damon up. To my surprise, Missy was sitting on the couch, her bags packed and ready to go. Friday night things seemed to finally come together for Jen. Damon said that he loved her and wanted to make things work, but he couldn't handle Missy always being there, especially since he felt like Missy was throwing the affair in his face. The tattoo had been the last straw. I don't know how, but Jenna had somehow convinced Damon to stay with her and for her to keep her thing with Missy - as long as it wasn't thrown in his face. She told me that Friday night when Missy and Damon went to get some Chinese food together, to show that they were working on being cordial to each other. Jen and I were in the den, watching TV. "I wish I could convince Moses to keep seeing me while I had a thing on the side," I rolled my eyes. "He'd drop me like that," I snapped. "Well, you and King aren't open like me and Damon are," Jen shook her head. "Your man can't stand for you to have some fun at the club with me." "It's the atmosphere, Jenna," I quickly defended my man. "He thinks it's sleazy. You're on the stage shaking your ass for money. In the beginning, I used to come home reeking of smoke and liquor, and most times, I would just be sitting and watching you." She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, okay. Once his little dumb ass club opens, he'll see what the atmosphere is like, and then he can't judge me." "He's not opening a strip club," I shook my head. "It's a nice place, according to the blueprints. They've decided that the grand opening is going to be in January and it's going to be huge. He says that there are three distinct parts of the club and that's gotta be cool." "See, his club will be a success because Moreno is behind it and he's an intelligent man. His father and brother are lawyers, so it's not like he's going to suffer. It's Moreno's money that got him this far." I huffed. Jen and Moses disliked each other immensely. Actually, I think Moses disliked Jen more. He never had one good thing to say to her or about her and would never stay in a room with her - even if I was right there. Jen would always say that he didn't understand and then go on rampages about him being broke and that Moses was just the hanger on friend to Moreno with no ends. But I didn't work and Moses supported us just fine. He had two cars and was letting me use his Infiniti as my own car, so I really couldn't complain. He had a trust fund that he didn't touch. His father had set it up for him when he was just born and Moses said that he didn't want to touch the money, but if ever he needed it, it was there. He called it his safety net. I never told Jen about that, though. Damon and Missy returned soon. I couldn't stomach the three of them trying to make nice, so I went into my room and closed the door and called Moses. It was ten o'clock and I figured that he'd be out somewhere with Moreno - which was more of a reason to call. The phone rang a few times before he answered. He greeted me with his usual. "What's up?" "I miss you," I sat down on the bed and propped my feet up. "Oh, I miss you, too, baby," he laughed a little. "How's your mom?" "She's good," I nodded my head as I looked around the room. "Great, actually." I would have to call her in the morning to find out how she really was. "That's good, tell her I said hi." "Will do. So, what are you doing? It's really quiet over there?" there wasn't any sound coming from his end of the phone. "I'm getting dressed. Moreno invited me to play poker at Joel's house tonight and I figured why not? It'd be nice to take Joel's money," he chuckled. Joel was Moreno's cousin - and Moses' nemesis. I had never met Joel, but I had heard of him and he wasn't Moses' biggest fan. He felt like Moses was taking his rightful place in the Zamora family. Joel felt like he and Moreno should be best friends because they were first cousins and they should be opening the club because they were family. "Leave that man alone," I shook my head. "He just wants his time with his cousin and you're hoarding in." "Whatever," Moses laughed. "I miss you so much, baby," I lay down across the bed. "As soon as I get home I'm going to show you how much I missed you." "Are you?" I could tell that he was smiling. "Oh, yeah," I put on my best seductive voice. "You know what you should do?" he cleared his throat. "You should let me imagine exactly what it is that you're going to do to me instead of telling me and then tomorrow when you come home, just do it." I smiled. I liked that idea. "Yeah? So, I should just leave you wanting me?" "It's better that way," I could hear him moving around. "That and I do have to get over to Joel's and the last thing I need is to be at attention when I get there." I laughed. "True, true." "So, you enjoy your night with your mom and I will see you tomorrow night, Nyla." "Okay. I love you, Moses." "And you," he disconnected the call. He always said that 'and you.' I tried to call Moses three more times during the night, but his cell just went straight to voicemail. I left him a message on the last try and then went to bed. The next morning, we were all up early. Damon took everyone to IHOP for breakfast and then we headed home, a few hours earlier than expected because Jenna's little sister had called her, wanting to spend time together. I always thought that Jen was a great big sister to Jessie. She made sure that she spent as much free time as possible with her sister - who was almost nine - and the two spoke on the phone every single night. By the time I got home, it was a little after one in the afternoon. Moses had cleaned the house and was in the room putting on new sheets. He had the music on and was so into cleaning up the room that I just placed my bag inside the door and went to the kitchen to grab something to drink. As I got a bottle of soda, I heard the music turn off and I knew that he had noticed my bags. I walked back to the bedroom and leaned on the archway of the door. "Hey, baby," he put the last pillowcase on a pillow and put it on the bed. "You cleaned the house," I smiled at him. "I should go away more often." He laughed as he shook his head. "I need to go put the clothes in the dryer." He walked out of the room. I went over to the bed and plopped down on my side. As I put my soda on the nightstand, I noticed something blue beside my light. I reached over and picked it up. It was a Tinker Bell key. I flipped the key over in my hand as I looked it over. Moses came back into the room as I was looking at the key. "Baby, what's this?" I held the key up. He looked at it. "Looks like a key to me, Nyla." "Well, duh," I looked at him. "But whose is it? This looks like something Jen would have. She loves Tinkerbelle" He sighed as he looked at me. "I don't know, let me see," he held out his hand. I crawled to the end of the bed and put the key in his hand. He looked it over once before placing it on the dresser across from the bed. "I think it is Lexie's key to the office. You know how she likes these character keys." "Lexie was here?" I slipped off my shoes. "She was by the house the other day, yeah," Moses went into the closet. "She's our decorator for Aquarius. She was here going over some plans for my office." I just nodded. Lexie was an interior designer with an office in Garden City. She had started out as a one-woman show, but now she had expanded to an office with several designers working for her and two assistants. "So, when do I get to see Aquarius?" I asked. "Soon, baby," Moses emerged from the closet and smiled at me. "I promise I will bring you there, soon." I nodded my head. Over the next few weeks, Moses was very easygoing. We barely argued and he rarely mentioned me getting a job - which was great for me. I was able to pamper myself without worrying about hearing Moses bitching about how much money I spent. He also worked a lot, so I rarely saw him. A lot of his time was spent at Aquarius and when he wasn't there, he was "in meetings," with Moreno. But it was also a little lonely because I missed being with my man. I missed spending quality time with him and I missed him. Around the beginning of October, I went to the spa to get myself together so that I could surprise Moses with a special night together. After my full body massage and manicure and pedicure, I went to pay for my services and was told that my card had "reached its limit," and was "declined." My jaw dropped. Moses only gave me one credit card and I didn't have the $400 to cover the expenses. I put a hand to my head as I tried to think about what to do next. "Let me call my boyfriend," I felt so embarrassed. "Uh... one second," I laughed uncomfortably as I took out my cell phone and dialed Moses' number. The line rang four times before he answered. "Yes, Nyla," he sighed heavily. "Baby," I turned my back on the lady at the register. "I'm at the spa and your card was declined. I... I don't have the money to cover it." "My card was declined?" he repeated. "Nyla, what the hell have you been doing? There's a $10,000 limit on the damn card!!! How the hell do you run that up?!" "I... please don't yell at me," I looked down at my brand new Manolo Blahnik ankle boots that I had bought the day before. "Did you use the card?" "It's my fucking card, Nyla, I can use it if I want! You don't have the right to ask me if I used my money," he exhaled. He said something to someone that he was with, but it was muffled and I couldn't understand what they were saying. He talked to them for a good minute before he got back on the phone. "Put the fucking masseuse on the phone," he barked at me. I turned around and looked at the lady. "He... he wants to talk to you." She took the phone. "Hello?... It's $416." She started working on the register. "No, the tip isn't included. Well...she had a Nourishing fassage for two hours, a Clarifying Facial and Lip Treatment for an hour and fifteen minutes, a complete manicure and pedicure and a Cool Cucumber Hand and Foot Refresher for two hours and..." she let out a chuckle as she looked at me. "Well, Ms. Walker is a regular, so we gave her a slight discount." She did whatever she had to do and then handed the phone back to me. "Baby?" I said into the phone. "I'll be late - don't wait up," he said before hanging up on me. I looked up at the girl at the register. "Are we good?" She gave me the fakest smile I had ever seen. "We're good. I take it we won't be scheduling your next appointment today?" I made a face as I picked up my bags from the shopping spree I had gone on earlier and turned and walked out of the spa. I scrolled through my phone for Jenna's phone number. I was so busy paying attention to my phone, that I didn't notice the man that was coming my way until I walked into him. My bags fell into the street. The man bent down and helped me pick up my bags and then helped me up. "You okay?" he looked at me. "Yeah," I nodded my head as I looked up at him. "I'm just a little distracted is all." "I can see that," he held my phone out to me. "Thanks," I took my phone and looked at it for a few seconds before looking up at the guy. "My boyfriend just treated me like I was a child. He snapped at me and then hung up on me," I frowned. "Is it wrong for a woman to want to pamper herself?" "Of course not," he shook his head. "Every woman deserves a little 'me' time." I looked up at him and smiled a little. He was actually kind of cute. He was the same brown-skinned color as Moses and had a similar look. He had an incredible body wearing a pair of Sean John jeans and a white polo shirt. "I'm actually trying to buy my girl a gift certificate so she can have a little 'me' time and relax," he exhaled. "She's been a little snippy lately and I figure maybe a little 'me' time would help her." "Ahh," I put my hand on his forearm. "You're so sweet." I liked the idea of a man out looking for a gift certificate for his woman. Moses had never given me a gift certificate to the spa and he knew how much I loved to pamper myself. A gift certificate would have spared me the embarrassment of a few minutes ago. "Is it bad that, after almost four years together, I don't know what she would like," he sighed. "She's changed." "All women do," I looked at my watch. "You know what... I can help you." I extended my hand to him. "I'm Nyla." He gave me a look of familiarity before smiling and shaking my hand. "Emmanuel," he said. "Emmanuel Turner. You don't mind helping me with this?" "Nah," I shook my head. "What does your girlfriend like?" "Lately...Blue Pearl," he rolled his eyes. "But... she's one of those women that like little things. I could give her a card and some of her favorite ice cream and she'll be in heaven. I just want to do something extra for her. I noticed the other day that she came home with these studded, strapped expensive ass boots from Neiman Marcus. Manny Blah -something or other." I smiled. "Manolo Blahnik," I corrected. "She has good taste, that's a plus. Maybe a nice day at the spa would be what she needs. It's very relaxing." "She's ticklish," he looked at me. "She'll get over it," I turned towards the salon that I had just been in. I took a breath as I held my head high and walked into the salon with my new friend beside me. The lady behind the register looked at me with one of her snooty looks. I took Emmanuel's hand and led him to the register. "He wants to get a gift certificate." "Giving you a limit to eliminate the embarrassment you just suffered?" she had the nerve to look down on me. I shot her a look as I folded my arms. "You'll want to get the full day special. It's a massage and a manicure and pedicure and a light lunch, too," I looked at Emmanuel. "It's four hours of pure bliss." "Four hours is a full day?" he frowned. "This is why I'm a man," he shook his head as he got out his wallet. "How much is it?" "$350," the woman answered. "Can someone else ring him up?" I looked at her. "No one is available," she looked at me. "Then we'll wait until someone is," I turned my back on her. "The massage therapists get a commission on their work and they," I nodded my head towards the woman, "get a commission on the gift certificates and the customers they ring up. Unfortunately, she was a little rude to me when I left earlier, so..." "I wasn't the one that rang up over $400 worth of things and then had to call my man to bail me out," the woman put her hands on her hips. "And it didn't sound like he wanted to do it." I looked over my shoulder and glowered at her. "I'll come back," Emmanuel shook his head as he looked at me. "I appreciate you helping me out here. Do you have time to maybe catch something to eat?" I smiled as I stood up a little taller. "Sure." "Your man wouldn't mind?" "He's so busy with work and everything that he'll never even miss me," I shrugged my shoulders. He took a step back and let me pass. We went to a Japanese Restaurant on Franklin Avenue. We sat in the front and ordered something to eat. As we ate, Emmanuel and I talked about our respective others. His girlfriend worked in Garden City, not far from where we were eating. He didn't say what she did, just that she worked with a friend and loved her job. I told him about Moses - what he did for a living and that we lived together not too far away from Garden City in Uniondale. I mentioned that we had been together for five years. Emmanuel nodded his head as he turned and looked out the window. Two women were walking past the restaurant, talking. His attention shifted to them. I leaned forward and looked at him. The woman had his complete attention. I looked at the two. They were about the same height, but one was... fuller than the other. The fuller one had on a shirt that showed all her cleavage - and there was a lot of it to show. She had on a pair of dress pants that tamed her bottom half. The other one had on a pair of light brown pants that flare at the bottom and a dark brown tank top that she wore under a brown sweater. "Someone you know?" I asked. Emmanuel looked at me and smiled. "Sorry, my mind went away for a second. So, your man doesn't seem to appreciate exactly what he has in front of him." I smiled a little as I giggled. "Someone needs to tell him that." "I'd tell him," he nodded his head. "It's just work, though," I waved off the compliment I had just received. "He's wanted this club for as long as I could remember. The opportunity came for him to do this and he jumped all over it. He's working with his best friend and doing what he's dreamed of. When this club gets off the ground... he'll be my King again." "So, while you wait for your King, he gets to treat you any way he wants? If my girl had my credit card and it was declined, I would be embarrassed. I would pay the bill and then take her out to dinner to make up for the embarrassment that she felt." I looked down at my lap. "He's... just stressed." "And you're just making excuses," Emmanuel looked at me for a few seconds. "You know what?" he reached in his pocket and left a hundred dollar bill on the table. "I should go because I feel myself sitting here getting upset as you defend your man and the fact that he's not treating you like the princess you are and I barely even know you." The smile spread across my lips before I could stop it. It had been a long time since a man had shown any type of jealousy with me. I asked Emmanuel to stay and promised to not talk about Moses anymore. I spent the entire day with Emmanuel... and the majority of the night. He went back and got the gift certificate for his girlfriend. We walked around Garden City a little longer before heading back to my house. We had originally gone so that I could drop my things off. I carried my bags into the bedroom while Emmanuel looked around the living room at the pictures. When I came back into the living room, he was holding a picture of Moses, his mother, Mrs. Reyneso, and Moreno. When he heard me walk into the room, he turned around and smiled at me as he put the picture down. "The one to the left is King," I put my hands on my hips as I looked around the living room. "He's not coming home for a while. He said he was going to be late, which translates into he's going to be with his best friend, so..." I shrugged my shoulders. "You want me to stay at your house?" Emmanuel had a sly smile. "Why not?" I sat down on the couch. "Well... you share this place with your man. I don't think he'd approve of this. I know I'd try to kill my girl if she had another man up in my house." "Are you going to tell him?" I looked up at him. Emmanuel laughed as he sat down on the couch next to me. That night, I cheated on Moses with a man that I had just met... and I cheated on him in our house. Moses came home two hours after Emmanuel left. I had every window open in the living room, trying to air out my dirty deeds. I was Febrezing the couch when Moses walked in. "Your stripper friend was here?" he asked as he crossed the living room and went into the kitchen. "Huh?" I didn't know what to say. "The Febreze," he stood in the archway between the kitchen and the living room. "Oh... yeah," I laughed a little. "I don't want you madder at me." He looked at me for what seemed an eternity. It felt as if he were analyzing me - like he knew that I had had sex with another man a few hours ago. He took a sip of his soda as he turned and walked down the hall to the bedroom. I let out a breath as I finished spraying the living room. I was putting the spray away when Moses came back into the living room carrying a box. "Happy Birthday," he said. "I know your birthday is tomorrow, but I figured I'd give it to you now. I made reservations at that damn Japanese restaurant you've been harassing me about in Garden City." All I could do was swallow as I looked at him. "I'm not going to work tomorrow, so I'm all yours for the day," Moses sighed as he looked at me. "I guess the spa was a part of your birthday gift." He turned and walked back into the bedroom, leaving me alone with my birthday gift. I smiled at my gift, my indiscretion completely leaving my mind. I placed the box on the table, choosing to open it on my actual birthday. I went down the hall to the bedroom, where Moses was sitting on the bed, working on his laptop. His cell phone rang and he reached over and picked it up. "Hey you," he said. Moses laughed as he stood up. "I'm in my room right now, let me go look in the car," he looked at me. "Lex's assistant needs something from me." "Okay," I nodded my head as he walked out the room alone. I leaned over and looked at his computer. The bill for the credit card that I used was up on the screen. I scooted over to take a better look at exactly what I spent money on. I had several shopping sprees to Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdales. My trip to Sak's Fifth Avenue three days ago was on the bill as well. My spa appointments were on there in addition to my hair appointments. But the one that stood out was the trip to Manolo Blahnik online. I turned the computer towards me. Someone had paid $1600 for a pair of size 6 boots. I was a size 8, but I always told Moses I was a 6. I got excited as I clapped and bounced up and down on the bed. My mind instantly flashed to the box that he had given me for my birthday. I hopped up off the bed and rushed into the living room and ripped open the box. My smile faded once I saw the Burberry boots that were looking back at me. Tall, brown leather boots looked back at me. They were nice enough, but they certainly weren't $1600 Manolo Blahnik boots that the bill said were recently paid for. I was standing by the couch holding the boots when Moses walked back in the house. "...mi Corazon," he said as he walked into the house. He stopped and looked at me. He cleared his throat as he ended his call. "I take it you don't like your birthday gift." "I... it's nice," I nodded my head. "I just... did you see the new ankle boots I got?" Moses exhaled as he headed towards the bedroom. "You were looking at the computer, weren't you? Well... my dear, when you run up $10,000 on a credit card in a little over a month, some things have to give... such as $1600 boots." I followed him into the bedroom. "You returned them?" I sounded so deflated. "How do you think I paid your spa bill, Nyla?" he sat down on the bed. I pushed out my bottom lip in a pout. "We can't return that, can we?" "I don't think they take returns," he put his computer on his lap. I plopped on the bed, feeling bad. "I didn't know you used the card, Moses. You never told me." "Didn't realize I needed to tell you when I used my own money." I didn't say anything. There wasn't anything left to say. I went to take a shower and got ready for bed. Moses was sitting up in bed on his laptop, quietly working. The next day, Moses took me to breakfast and then on a mini shopping spree. I wore my new boots as we went shopping. The two of us walked into a store and my eyes lit up as I saw all of the clothes inside the little boutique. The prices on the clothes by the door brought a smile to my face. I went to the racks and looked through the clothes. I picked up a shirt and looked over my shoulder at Moses to get his reaction and saw him busying himself by texting on his cell phone. I rolled my eyes as I turned around and picked several shirts. "I'm going to try these on," I held the clothes up to him. Moses just nodded his head as he sat down in a chair and continued busying himself with his phone. I went into the dressing room and tried on all of the clothes that I had. I decided not to show them to Moses. He seemed too into his text messaging, so I would just show him at another time. After I selected the six pieces that I wanted, I headed out to the store to let him know that I was ready, and saw Jenna and Moses talking to each other. Their conversation looked pretty tense. "Do you have to look at me with so much malice?" Jenna asked as she put her hands on her hips. "I remember a time when you didn't look at me like that." "I remember a time when you weren't a lying stripper," Moses looked up at her and sighed. Jenna exhaled as she shook her head. She looked down at the shirt that she had and held it out as she admired it. "I didn't know you were here," I walked over to my friend and smiled as I gave her a hug and a kiss. "What are you doing out here?" "You talk about these little boutiques so much I decided to pop out here and check them out," she draped the shirt over her arm as she looked up at me. "I'm here picking up some clothes for... for Jessie," she cleared her throat. "My mom took her school shopping in August and I told her that I would take her now, but she wasn't feeling well today, so I decided to go without her." She looked down at the shirt. "What grade is she in now?" I turned around and looked at some of the racks behind me. "Fifth," Jenna said quickly. "I think I'm just going to take these pieces and when she's feeling better the two of us will go together." "Who's Jessie?" Moses looked up from his cell phone. He actually lowered his phone long enough to look up at Jenna. Jenna rolled her eyes as she shook her head. "I'm just going to buy these and I will come with her when she's feeling better." My friend smiled as she hugged me. "Happy Birthday, Nyla. Enjoy your day and make him take you someplace nice to eat," she looked over her shoulder at Moses, who was giving her a questioning look. She cleared her throat as she turned back to me and smiled again before walking over to the cash register. Moses looked at his phone as he stood up. "So, you're ten when you're in the fifth grade. Nine or ten." He looked up at Jenna. "Oh, baby, leave her," I hit him on the arm. "I'm ready to pay for these." "You mean I'm ready to pay for these?" He reached into his back pocket and removed his wallet. "Ten years ago we were, what - seniors in high school, Jenn?" he called out to her. That was the first time that I had ever heard Moses call her "Jenn" as opposed to "stripper" or "Jenna" when I asked him to stop calling her stripper. "Perhaps," Jenna cleared her throat. Moses nodded his head as he looked at her. He exhaled as he looked down at his phone again. He said something in Spanish that made Jenna whip her head around and look at him. Her nostrils flared and her eyes glassed over. She ran a hand through her hair as she turned back to the saleswoman and asked her to please hurry. I looked up at Moses and frowned up at him as I elbowed him. "I don't know what you said, but stop it," I whispered to him. "Jenna understood you." Moses looked down at me. "The woman doesn't speak a lick of Spanish... ever wonder how she knows certain things I say?" "Some sayings are just universal." "Then what did I say?" "I have no idea," I exhaled. Jenna finished purchasing her things and hurried out of the store without another word. Moses paid for my things and didn't say anything when the $328 price tag was given to him. He simply handed his credit card over. We went to the Japanese restaurant for dinner and I enjoyed a drink called the Sayonara, which consisted of sake, plum, and wine. I had several of those. Moses put his phone away during dinner and we actually had a conversation. "Do you ever think about getting married?" I looked up at him as I held my cup of delicious Sayonara. He exhaled as he sat back in his chair and looked at me. "Lately... yeah. I feel like I may have found the person I want to spend the rest of my life with." I smiled as I sat up and giggled. "Really? Oh... baby." He exhaled as he drummed his left hand on the table and just looked at me. "That's so reassuring to hear, baby," I placed my cup on the table as I reached across the table and took his hand into mine. "Lately I feel like you're pulling away from me and to hear that you've been thinking about spending your life with me..?" I smiled. "Hmm," he cleared his throat as he pulled his hand away from me and scratched his head. "I know that we argue a lot and lately I've probably driven you insane, especially after the whole spa debacle," I rolled my eyes as I sat back in my seat. "But I know that we can make this work and I would make the perfect wife for you." "You're going to get a job?" he asked. I laughed slightly as I picked up my Sayonara. "Of course not, King, why would I do that? I'm going to cut back on my spending though, and look into getting a maid service to clean the house and... I don't know, maybe we can get a puppy. Baby, we should get a puppy!" I clapped my hands as I looked up at him. "Oh, we should get a poodle or something little and cute and that can be our baby!" Moses licked his lips as he looked at me. "I'm not getting a poodle," he clasped his hands together on the table. "It doesn't have to be a poodle, but they are really cute and little and I can carry them in my purse everywhere I go. It would be like a baby, only - better because I don't have to sacrifice my body." He just looked at me. "We're going to be so happy," I smiled as I nodded my head. "Maybe we can even go pick the ring together and I can let you know what looks good on my finger." I held out my finely manicured fingers to admire my hand, picturing the huge pink diamond on my finger. I dropped my hand as I looked at Moses. "I love you, baby." His cell phone must have vibrated because he looked down at his hip right at that moment and got his phone. A slight smile tugged on the corners of his lips and he answered whatever call was coming in. "What's up?" he turned to the side a little and I wasn't able to see his face. "I'm finishing up dinner with Ny.... No, no, it's okay. We're really about to..." he cut himself off and nodded his head a bit. "Well, then I will call you later, okay?" He said something in Spanish and then ended his call. He slipped his phone back in its holder and looked up at me. "Ready?" I nodded my head as Moses signaled for the check. After he paid for our meal, I stood up and realized that I had a little too much Sayonara. I wavered a little and had to grab onto the chair to maintain my balance. Moses slipped his arm around my waist and had to guide me out of the restaurant and to the car. When we got home, Moses carried me into the bedroom and into the bed. "Why do you hate Jenna so much?" I asked as I looked up at him. I remembered their encounter in the boutique earlier. "It doesn't matter." "It does. You've always hated her so much. There's a deep-rooted hatred of her." "I don't hate her and I haven't always." "You love her, then?" I hiccuped as I sat up and looked at him closely. "There's a thin line between love and hate." "Nyla.. go to bed." "When can I see your club?" I sat up on my elbows and looked at him. "When you're sober and can remember what it looks like," he looked at me. "I want to see the place that has my man's attention," I moved my elbows and lay flat on my back. "You're cheating on me with that club." "Okay, Nyla," he chuckled. "You need to go to sleep." "Do you know what I need? My man," I yawned. "It's been... I don't know how many weeks since we've been together. You're so busy with that silly club." "Okay, Nyla," he picked up the blanket from the foot of the bed and put it over me. Moses leaned over and kissed me on the forehead. "Go to sleep and I will see you in the morning." "I want you," I held onto his arm. "Come on, Moses." "You're drunk. Why don't you sober up and we'll talk in the morning," he pulled his arm away from me. "I want to see your club," I turned onto my side as I closed my eyes. The rest of the night was a blur to me. "When can I see it?" "When you're sober," he said. I saw pictures of the club on Christmas when Moses and I were at the Zamora's house for the holiday. The two of them were excitedly showing pictures of their club to the family and I was sitting on the couch right next to him. "We're having the big opening next week," Moreno beamed from ear to ear as he watched his mother look at the pictures. "You have to come!" "We are not coming to a New Year's Eve party," Mrs. Zamora laughed as she looked at her son. "Terri and I will come that first week and have lunch there, but we will not be at a club for New Year's." "Are you going to bring in the New Year with Mr. Zamora?" I asked. "No," Lexie chuckled as she shook her head. "Ma and Mama Terri are going to bring in the New Year together watching the Twilight Zone marathon, sipping their Moscato and eating shrimp cocktail and a fruit platter." "It's their tradition," Mr. Zamora shifted in his seat. "I know better than to come between traditions." "They are just jealous that they don't have a true friend as we do," Mrs. Reyneso rolled her eyes as she shook her head and looked up at me. "But I always give mi esposo a kiss at midnight," Mrs. Zamora leaned her head back onto her husband's knee and looked up at him lovingly. He smiled down at her as he leaned forward and kissed her. I shifted in my seat, a little uncomfortable. Moses looked at his watch. "Are you expecting someone?" I noticed that he had glanced at his watch several times throughout the night. Moses just looked at me but didn't say anything. "Hola, mi familia!" a woman's voice filled the room. I looked towards the door and saw two women walking into the house. The older one was already removing her coat. The younger one was closing the door behind her. "Jolie! I was wondering when you were coming," Mrs. Zamora stood up and walked to the door. "Oh-ho," she laughed. "Where's Joel?" "He is running a little late," the older woman rolled her eyes. "He's spending the day with his father. Apparently father and son are bonding." "Hmmm," was Mrs. Zamora's response. "I left the kids' gifts in the car," the younger woman said. "You need help getting them?" Moses stood up. I looked up at him, a little surprised. "I'll do it," Lexie shook her head as she got it. "You can just get Ramon and Simona so they can be downstairs when we come back in." Moses opened his mouth to say something, but instead just said "okay." He went upstairs to get Lexie's kids, leaving me alone with Moreno and his family. I sat their uncomfortably for a few minutes before muttering that I was going to help him with the kids and stood up. "They are four years old, he's got it," Moreno's aunt, Ms. Jolie, waved her hand in my direction as she walked into the living room. "I thought bringing chica was a good idea," she leaned over and kissed Mr. Zamora on the cheek and said something to him in Spanish. "Jolie..." he exhaled as he shook his head. "It was a good idea, titi," Diego smiled at his aunt. "Who knew, right?" "This should be fine," she moved her hands in a circle. "It won't be if you continue talking in really messed up code," Moreno sat back in his seat. I looked from Moreno to Ms. Jolie before slowing sitting down on the couch again. Moses came downstairs a few minutes later with Lexie's twins. He was carrying her daughter, Simona, and holding her son's hand. "I thought Tia was here," Simona looked up at Moses. "She's getting something out of the car with your mom," Moses sat down on the couch across from me and sat Simona down on his lap. Ramon went over to Moreno and leaned on his uncle's knee. "Rey, do you want to sit back over here with Nyla?" Ms. Jolie asked. "Nah, it's okay," he shook his head. "Go ahead and sit." Ms. Jolie sat next to me. A few minutes later, Lexie and the younger woman came into the house carrying gifts. Simona became very excited when she saw the other woman and actually started clapping as she stood up. Ramon stood up a little, no longer leaning on Moreno, but didn't show much emotion upon seeing her. Apparently, everyone in the house knew who she was because she made her way around the living room, giving everyone a hug and a kiss. "You remember Moreno's other half, King, right?" Lexie touched Moses on the shoulder as she looked at the woman. "You say other half like I'm his girl or something," Moses shook his head. "You said it," Lexie shrugged her shoulders. The girl giggled as she extended her hand to Moses. "Nice to see you again." "Yeah, you too," Moses responded. I cleared my throat, waiting for him to introduce me to her. There was an awkward silence. Lexie turned towards me and smiled. "And this is King's..." "Tia, I have something for you," Ramon cut his mother off as he ran to the tree. "You do?" she looked at the little boy and smiled from ear to ear. She released King's hand as she placed both of her hands on her knees and turned around to face the tree. "Uh-huh," Ramon nodded his head as he looked around under the tree. He removed a small box and smiled as he held it up to her. "I made it." She gasped. "You did?" "Uh-huh. Well, me and Uncle King made it." "You made her a Christmas gift?" I looked at King with an eye raised. "You've never made me anything." "I helped my four-year-old nephew make something," Moses looked at me. I rolled my eyes as I sat back. "Do you have any eggnog?" Ms. Jolie stood up. "I have had a taste for your eggnog all day, Manny. Nyla, have you ever had Manny's eggnog?" She looked down at me. "Come on, let's go get a nice glass." I stood up and smiled. I always liked Ms. Jolie. She seemed like my kind of woman. If she were Moses' mother, I think she and I would have a great relationship. I followed her into the kitchen, where a bowl of the egg nog was sitting on the counter. She took a ladle and filled a cup for me and one for herself. "Are you enjoying yourself?" she sipped her drink as she looked at me. "I always do," I smiled at her. Ms. Jolie laughed. "No, you don't. You're always sitting and watching Cami and Terri in awe. Or watching the rest of the family open-mouthed." "Well, I always wonder if Moses and Moreno are going to be like their mothers when they get older and if they are... can I handle that? The two are pretty close already. I feel like I'm sharing my man with Moreno as it is. And every other time, the entire family is speaking Spanish, so I'm just waiting for the translation." Ms. Jolie sipped her drink. "We always translate. Cam doesn't understand Spanish, so Manny makes sure she understands everything we say." She exhaled. "Do you have any plans for the rest of the night?" "Well, I know that King wants to spend the rest of the night here, so I'm actually going out with my friend." I looked at my watch. Moses and I had driven to the Zamora's house together, so I had to convince Jenna to come to get me. She wasn't thrilled about it, but she did finally agree to come to the Zamora's house to get me. "She should be here soon." Ms. Jolie and I returned to the living room, where Ramon and Simona were sitting right next to the girl, opening gifts and smiling from ear to ear. Moses was sitting on the floor right next to them. If I didn't know any better, I would think that the four of them were a little family. As I was looking at the four of them over, my cell phone rang. I looked down at it and saw Jenna's name on the screen. "Where are you?" I didn't bother to say hello. "Outside. Come on out," she sighed. "Come in real quick. It's Christmas." "I have Jessie in the car," she sighed. "She wanted to ride with me, so...come out." "Well, bring her in, then. Just come in and say hello." "Nyla..." she exhaled. "Fine. Jessie is staying in the car and I'll be there in a minute... for one minute." "Then I will see you in a minute." We hung up. "Jenna's here," I looked at Moses. "I'm going to go spend some time with her." Mr. Zamora said something I didn't understand, but apparently every Spanish speaker in the house did because they all had crooked smiles as they looked at him. "She's not coming in?" Mrs. Reyneso asked. "For a minute," I looked at her. "She has someone waiting in the car." "But she's coming in, right?" Mrs. Reyneso stood up and went to the front door. She opened it just in time to see Jenna walking up the walkway. Moses pried himself away from the girl and Lexie's kids long enough to walk me to the closet and get my coat. I put it on and he walked me to the front door, where Mrs. Reyneso was telling Jenna that it was good to see her again and giving her a hug before returning to the family in the living room. Moses made sure that my coat and scarf were on as we stood by the door. "Are you coming home tonight?" he looked at me. "Yeah, but probably late," I looked at Jenna for confirmation. "Whenever you're ready," she shrugged her shoulders as she looked at me. "You don't have a coat?" Moses asked with concern in his voice. I looked up at him, ready to tell him that he had just helped put my coat on when I realized that he was looking at and talking to Jenna. He actually sounded cordial to her, so it had thrown me off. I hadn't detected any malice or sarcasm in his voice. He actually sounded concerned. "It... it's in the car," Jenna looked at him a little confused. Apparently I wasn't the only one confused. Moses just nodded his head. "You're coming home, right?" I looked at him. "I don't know yet," he looked at me. "I may stay at my mom's. It depends on how the night goes." Moses cleared his throat as he looked at Jenna again. "Listen, next week Moreno and I are having a grand opening of our club. It's a New Year's Eve party. You should come. You'll be on the VIP list and have a good time with your girl here. Maybe even get the DJ to play some Jodeci for you." Both Jenna and I looked at Moses as if he had lost his mind when he said that. His invitation actually sounded genuine, for one, and two: I didn't even know that he was going to invite Jenna to his club! I figured that I'd have to practically beg him to put her on the guest list. But instead, he actually gave her a verbal invitation, told her that she'd be on the VIP list, and said that the DJ would play one of her all-time favorite groups. "I...uh...well..." Jenna stumbled through her words before stopping and just looking at him. She cleared her throat before turning to me. "We get to see the club," I hunched my shoulders. "Just think about it. If you come... great. If not..." Moses looked at me. "Enjoy your night and I will see you tomorrow." "You, too," I leaned forward and kissed him before giving my man a hug. "Thank you, baby," I whispered in his ear. "Be safe," Moses put his hand on my waist as he took a step back. Jenna and I headed towards her car. As we walked down the driveway, Jenna looked over her shoulder at the house, the look of confusion on her face. Moses closed the door and disappeared into the house. "That was...different," Jenna opened the car door. "Yeah, but nice different," I smiled. "I think that's a good sign." "Huh," was my only response as we got into the car. Jessie was sitting in the backseat, playing with her Nintendo Switch. She mumbled out a 'hi,' but never stopped playing her game. Aquarius opened for a New Year's Eve party. Moses had left earlier in the day to get to the club and help set up. I was going to the club with Jen and Missy. Damon was supposed to be meeting us there later on. I was wearing a pair of black low rise leather pants and a pink shirt with a low cut V front and my ankle boots. It was one of Jen's outfits and she said that Moses would love it. She went into the bathroom to heat up my curling iron and Missy was doing my makeup. I could tell that something was on her mind because every now and then, she would stop and stare and me with her big sympathy filled eyes. After the fifth look, I finally asked her what was wrong. "Nothing, nothing," she shook her head. "Jenna said that I can't say anything." "Jenna said you can't say anything about what?" I looked at her. She shook her head. "Nothing." "Jenna!" I called. "Jenna, what isn't Missy supposed to be telling me?" Jenna came into the room and instantly cut her eyes at Missy. "Nothing," she said sweetly to me. "Nothing at all." "You are a horrible liar," I laughed. "What the hell is going on? She's giving me these puppy dog eyes." "It's nothing," Jenna shook her head again. "Nothing that we know for sure, anyway." I folded my arms as I looked at her. "Jenna." She sighed. "Missy saw Moses with some girl at the Nautical Mile the other day and she thinks they were kissing," Jenna laughed a little. "But she was pretty far away and it was foggy, so it's probably not him and she's getting all worked up over nothing." I raised an eye. "I didn't see her face," Missy frowned as she looked at me. "And Jenna did show me a picture of his friend, Moreno, so maybe it was him. I shouldn't have said anything; I just thought that it looked a lot like your man." I just looked at the two of them. "I told her to keep an eye on him tonight," Jenna picked up my brush and brushed her hair. "He's never met Missy before and I was thinking that maybe we should get proof before telling you anything," she glared at Missy. "She's bringing a camera and is going to just walk around snapping pictures and if she sees King doing anything that he shouldn't be, she'll take the picture." "My man is not cheating on me," I shook my head. "I would notice something like that. He's been as affectionate as always and our sex life is still good. He's been involved in this club for so long, I don't think that he'd have the opportunity to cheat on me." I furrowed my brow as I thought for a second. "He told me on my birthday that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me." "As I said, she's probably wrong," Jenna smiled reassuringly at me. "She just loves to create drama." I looked at the two of them. "Let's not forget the tattoo incident," Jenna huffed. When we got to Aquarius, it was packed! There was a huge line of people trying to get in. I walked to the front of the line, where a man wearing black, was standing. I walked right up to him. "Hi, I'm the owner's girlfriend, so you have to let me in," I tried to step around him, but he didn't move. I stepped back and looked at him. "Hello? Did you hear me? I'm the owner's girlfriend." "I've heard that line too many times tonight to even count," he looked at me. "You're not on the list, you're not coming in." I laughed as I looked at Jenna in disbelief. "She really is," Jen stepped forward. "Her name is Nyla Walker. She should be on that list." "Jenna!" the bouncer looked at her and laughed as he removed his glasses. He was one of the bouncers at X-Posed. "Hugh!" Jen hugged him as she laughed. "Why aren't you at the club tonight? I would have thought that Keith would have asked you to work since Damon's not there." "Aquarius is paying more," he shrugged his shoulders. "I'm making double the cash tonight for fewer hours." "Well, that's a no brainer," Jen laughed. "Listen, Hugh, she really is the owner's girlfriend. She's dating King. They live together," Jen touched my arm. He looked at me and I nodded my head. He sighed as he stepped to the side and let the three of us walk in. I was slightly annoyed that my stripper friend had to get me access into my boyfriend's club. Had Moses brought me here before, I wouldn't have had that problem. Had he come to the club with me, I wouldn't have had that problem, either. The inside of the club was beautiful. There was a huge dance floor in the middle of the room that was packed with people, bumping, and grinding all over each other. On either side of the dance floor were two huge bars where people were practically lined up, ordering drinks. The DJ was on a raised platform in front of the stage and there were some scantily clad women gyrating near him. Off to the left was one room and to the right another. The tables were around the dance floor and in the back of the room; there was a VIP booth with a curtain around it. I nodded my head, impressed with what I saw. "You're here," Moses came up from my left-hand side. He put his arm around my waist as he kissed the top of my head. "Jenna," he smiled and nodded in her direction. Missy was already at the bar, so he didn't see her. "King," Jenna looked away from him. "I figured you didn't want to be on my arm all night while I mingled," Moses turned me toward the VIP booth. "So, this is your area, you are a VIP tonight. All your drinks are on the house, of course." "This is for me?" I stepped over to the VIP booth. He had bottles of Moet - one of my favorite drinks - on ice and several flute glasses on the table. There was a cute New Year's crown on the table that I happily placed on my head. "I'm going to be mingling, but I promise to come back and check on you," he kissed my cheek again. "So... enjoy and remember that anything you want, you can have." "You do what you have to do, baby," I smiled at him, completely impressed with the little setup he had for me. Moses made sure that I was comfortably settled before he disappeared into the crowd of people. Within an hour of being at the table, I was drunk. Jen and I had gone through at least three bottles of Moet, and we weren't sharing. I took my half-empty bottle and told her that I wanted to dance. I held onto her arm and stumbled to the floor, where Jen and I danced up a storm - as we drank. "It's almost midnight," Jen shouted above the music. "I need to find Damon so we can bring in the year together!" I nodded my head; I needed to find Moses. I surveyed the crowd, but all I could see were blurs jumping around. I swallowed the last of my Moet and went over to the bar and put my bottle down. I leaned over the marble top and asked the bartender where Moses was. "Probably in his office," he pointed up. I turned around and saw what looked like two huge glass cases above the VIP area. "The one on the left is Moreno's and the one on the right is King's." I nodded my head and turned towards the offices. I had managed to stumble my way across the floor and get to the stairs, but as soon as I got there, I forgot where I was supposed to go. I frowned as I tried to think about what the bartender had said. I stood in front of the staircase and looked up. I stumbled up the steps and stood in front of two identical doors as I struggled to think of what the bartender had said. The office on the left was his office. I nodded my head as I made my way to the office on the left and knocked on the door. There wasn't an answer, so I tried the handle and it opened. I looked around the office, but couldn't really make out anything. I stumbled over to the couch that was against the wall to the right. I figured I'd sit there and wait for Moses to come back, I was sure he'd return to his office sooner or later, that and my head was spinning and I knew I needed to lie down for a minute. I put my head down and closed my eyes. I came to a few hours later to the sound of rhythmic banging against the wall. I squeezed my eyes shut as I held my head. The banging continued for what seemed an eternity, but what turned out to be about forty-five minutes. I waited another ten minutes before placing my head back on the couch and closing my eyes. As soon as I did that, I heard talking, but I couldn't make out what they were saying, it was muffled. I closed my eyes again and wished they would just go away. Didn't they know there was someone next door with a fierce headache? "Happy New Year, mi Corazon," a male's voice said. My eyes flew open - his voice was familiar. I tilted my head to the side as I tried to place the voice. "Happy New Year," her voice was familiar as well, but I was way too drunk to place it. It sounded like another set of feet crossed by and then the office door opened and closed. I stumbled over to the door and cracked it open. There were a man and a woman standing in front of Moreno's office and he was closing the door. I tried to focus, but everything was still blurry, but I figured it was Moreno because they were leaving his office and he was built like Moreno. The girl was cute enough, I suppose. She was short - maybe 5'3" - and brown-skinned. Her hair was cut short and curled up but in a really cute way. She had on a denim skirt with a split a little past her knee and a pair of black, strapped studded boots. Her shirt was black with long sleeves. That was all I could make out. I knew for a fact she wasn't Moreno's sometime girlfriend, Yasmine. Her hair was too long and she wasn't dark enough... and she was shorter than Yasmine. "I know that we can't be together today because you have to be with your girl and I have to be with Joel," the girl went on her tiptoes and kissed him on the lips. "But can we meet up tomorrow? We don't have to do anything; I just miss you when we're not together." "Sure we can," he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer to him. He kissed her. She moved her hands up and held his head as the two of them kissed each other deeply. I heard someone coming up the stairs and tried to focus on who it was, but I couldn't. I crept back to the couch, leaving the door ajar. "Happy New Year!" the girl said. "Where's Nyla?" that voice I knew was Moses'. "I haven't seen her," Moreno replied. "She's probably passed out somewhere." "That's not nice," the girl said. "But it's true. Every time I saw her tonight she had her lips wrapped around another bottle." "I should go look for her," Moses sighed. "I haven't seen her in a while." "Yeah, I need to find Joel," the girl sighed, too. "Joel is in the break room hunched over the garbage can," Moreno cleared his throat. "He's been there over an hour. And King... Jenna has been looking for you." The girl groaned and Moses laughed. "Well, I should try to get him home. Cristian, I will see you later." There was some silence and then I heard feet descend. I waited another hour or so for Moses before giving up and heading downstairs to look for him. The party was still going strong and Jen was taking full advantage of my VIP booth. She was on the table dancing, a bottle in her hand. A few guys had made their way over to her and were watching her move, holding their glasses up in appreciation of her moves. I shook my head and went over to the bar. I didn't want another drink, but I didn't want to sit and watch Jen put on a mini-show in VIP. "Here you are," Moses came up beside me. "You look like hell, Nyla," he cleared his throat. "Doug let me get a bottle of water for Nyla here." The bartender nodded. "Yes, sir, boss." "I was waiting for you," I turned to Moses; at least one out of three that I thought was him. "I was in your office." He looked at me but didn't say a word. "The one on the left," I pointed to the glass case to the left, at least I think it was the one on the left. He still didn't say a word, he just looked at me. "I guess Moreno isn't with Yasmine anymore," I shook my head as Doug handed me a bottle of water. "I was napping on your couch when I was awoken by the sound of him banging some chick in his office... literally and figuratively. I guess they bought in the New Year the right way," I laughed a little. "It sounded like he was going to finally quit stringing Yasmine along and get with this new random chick, but I don't think she's so random. I think she's Joel's girlfriend and isn't Joel Moreno's cousin?" Moses opened my bottle of water. "Drink, Nyla, you need to hydrate yourself before you wake up with a ridiculous headache." I swallowed some water. When I looked up, I saw the chick that Moreno had been with walking out the door with Yasmine. My eyes lit up as I watched the two of them head out the door with a man beside her. I leaned forward as I pointed at the three of them. "No, that's the girl there, Moses. Moreno's fucking Yasmine's friend!" I stood up. "That's fucked up!" I felt my body surge forward. "I should get you home," Moses grabbed my arm to steady me. "You are about to keel over right here." I laughed. On the ride home, I told Moses about what I had heard and seen and also what Missy had told me about him and some random girl at the Nautical Mile. He didn't say much, just that I was wasted and needed to sleep it off. As he headed home, it started snowing. I looked out the window and smiled. "I like the snow. It's so pretty." "I really need to get you home, Nyla," Moses chuckled a little. "Because you hate snow. It's wet and cold and you hate those two things combined." I woke up close to four o'clock in the afternoon. I stumbled out of the bed and right into the shower. I tried to make sense out the night before. I dreamt about the night, but in my dream, Moses' office was the one on the right and I had been in Moreno's office - which meant that he was the one with the girl. That bothered me, so as soon as I got out of the shower, I called Jen to see what Missy had found out. "Nothing," Jen sighed. "He was with Moreno almost all night and he just mingled with the crowd. He actually came to the VIP booth several times looking for you just before the ball dropped. It was probably Moreno she saw; you know how they are built the same." I could tell that Jen was telling the truth, but my gut was telling me that there was something else. It was telling me that Moses was the man I had heard and not Moreno, but there was only one way for me to find out. I had to get to that office and really look at it, and I had to get there today. I thanked Jen for her time and hung up. Moses was lounging around the house in a pair of sweatpants, his feet propped on the table, and wearing a wife-beater. I went over to the window and peeked out, his car was in the driveway and a light blanket of snow-covered it, which meant he hadn't been out all day. That also meant today was the perfect day to get him to take me back to the club. Even though I was in a liquor induced daze, I did remember the office I was in and that the couch was on the right-hand side. I just needed to get back to the office and see exactly whose office was the one on the left. "I need to get my car," I turned towards him. "Can you take me to get my car?" "Now?" he looked up from whatever he was watching. "Yes, now," I put my hand on my hip. "Is that a problem?" He exhaled loudly as he stood up. "Why would it be a problem, Nyla?" Moses threw on a sweatshirt and some sneakers and I got my jacket. He drove to Aquarius and my car was parked exactly where I had left it. I scanned the snow and didn't see any fresh tire tracks or footprints leading to the door, but I wanted to get inside anyway. I announced that I had to use the bathroom, and he huffed as he unlocked his club to let me in. He leaned against the bar and waited while I went to the bathroom. I paced between the sinks and the door as I tried to think about how I was going to get upstairs. I needed to see that office on the left. I wasn't going to rest easy until I saw it. When I emerged from the bathroom, Moses was still leaned against the bar, waiting for me. "We're having a Super Bowl party here," he said as I walked over to him. "Moreno and I met some guys last night that always throw huge Super Bowl parties and they asked if they could use Aquarius for it." "That's exciting," I stopped a few feet from him and looked around. "You never saw this place sober, did you?" he smiled at me as he took my hand. "Let me show you around." Moses showed me all three rooms. The room to the left had a sort of mystique type feel to it. He said it made him think of belly dancers. The other room was more of a lounge-type area. He said Diego mentioned that there should be a lounge because most 30-somethings liked that atmosphere. I liked each and every room; I could tell that he had put his heart and soul into the place. After the tour, I asked if I could see his office and he asked me why. "Because I haven't seen it," I folded my arms, ready to start an argument. How dare he ask me why! I had a right to see his office and he shouldn't be questioning me as to why I wanted to. Moses rolled his eyes and led me up the staircase to the offices. My heart slowed its beat as he approached the identical office doors. I closed my eyes as I crossed my fingers and prayed he'd open the left door. Moses opened the door to the left and stepped back for me to go into. I looked at him over my shoulder carefully before entering the room. Directly across from the door was a large desk that overlooked everything that was going on downstairs. He had two computers on either side of the desk. To the left were a wet bar and the club's name. To the right were the couch, two side tables, and two chairs opposite the couch. Right above the couch was the one thing that let me breathe a little... Moses' nickname - King - was written in calligraphy above the couch. I smiled as I walked around the office. I went over to the couch and sat down. I spread my hands out across the couch and felt something scratch me. I instantly frowned as I turned and looked at what I had picked up. I laughed as I held up my earring from the night before. I hadn't even realized I had lost it! This was proof enough that I had been in this office the night before. "You want to see Moreno's office?" Moses sighed as he leaned on the door and watched me. I hopped up. "Sure, but I don't think I'll be sitting down on his couch." He went next door and opened that door. My heart stopped once I saw that room. They were identical offices. The only difference was that the couch was to the left of the door and Moreno's wet bar was to the right. I frowned as I surveyed the office. I hadn't really looked at the office the night before; I was too drunk to notice. I just remembered that I had to stumble to the right to sit on the couch. I folded my arms as I walked around his office. As I surveyed Moreno's office, I noticed that the club's name was above his wet bar and his name - Moreno - was above his couch, written in the same calligraphy. I walked over to the wet bar and stared up at the writing. It looked wet. I reached my hand up ran it across the cool wall and then held my fingers up for me to look at it. My fingers were dry. I still scowled. "Cool effect, huh?" Moses was leaning against the door, still looking at me. "Lexie knew this guy that does calligraphy and he can make the paint look like it's still wet. She has that in her office." I looked over my shoulder and smiled, feeling foolish. How could I possibly think that my man would cheat on me? Moses loved me; he would never do that to me, especially on New Year's Eve. I walked over to him and threw my arms around his neck and kissed him. He laughed a little as he gently pushed himself away from me. "My phone," he reached down and pulled his phone off his hip and looked at the person that was calling. "It's Moreno, let me take this," he walked out the office. "Moreno, what's up?" I turned back towards the office and walked around, feeling completely stupid. I went over to Moreno's desk and sat down, leaning back in his chair. I looked at the two computers he had on his desk and was curious as to why they had two computers on their desk. I sat up and moved the mouse to the one on the left and a picture popped up... of Mrs. Reyneso and Moses has taken on Christmas day. I frowned as I moved the mouse to the bottom of the screen, where three windows had been minimized. I maximized the first window, which was a computerized guest list for the party last night. I minimized that window and moved to the next one, which was an itemized breakdown of Lexie's decorating bill. I minimized that window and moved to the next one, which made my breath get caught in my throat. The next one was an instant message conversation between someone named Heaven's Dew and Moses, or King Moses as his screen name said. I heard Moses' voice, so I quickly clicked the email emblem at the top of the screen and emailed the complete message to myself and then quickly minimized the window. I sat back in the chair quickly and folded my hands in my lap as I pretended to be looking around the office. Moses came back to the door a few minutes later. "You ready to go?" he looked at me. I nodded my head. "I'm ready." When we got back to the house, Moses sat right back on the couch and watched football. I sat in the kitchen and just glared at him. Why was there a picture of him and his mother on Moreno's desk? I knew they were close, but it didn't make any sense. Moreno would just as soon put a picture of him and Moses on his desk before he put the picture of Moses and Mrs. Reyneso. And why was Moses instant messaging someone from Moreno's office? I wanted to read the instant message, but I knew that I couldn't with him in the house. He moved around pretty quietly and I couldn't count the number of times he had snuck up behind me while I was on the computer. I would just have to wait for him to leave. "Are you going back to the club?" I sat back as I looked at him. "Not tonight," he didn't look up from the TV. "It's New Year's Day, Nyla, it's a holiday." I leaned my elbow on the desk as I rest my chin in my hands. He had called me just Nyla for a few weeks now. He used to call me 'babe' or 'baby.' I'm sure that was a sign that he was cheating on me. "That's right," I nodded my head as I bit my nails. "Are you going to Moreno's tonight?" "Nope." "Why not? You two are usually inseparable." Moses sighed as he finally turned and looked at me. "Why are you trying to get rid of me, Nyla? What is it that you need to do that requires me to be out of the house?" I shook my head as I dropped my hand. "Nothing." He looked at me with an eye raised before turning back to the TV. I drummed my fingers on the table. "Are you going to see your mom?" "Not today, Nyla," his voice displayed his complete annoyance. "Ma is in Atlantic City with Mama Cami today. They are coming back tomorrow morning, so tomorrow is when I am going to see my mother. Moreno is home and I'm home. I'm not leaving my home until I'm good and ready." That didn't happen until the next day when he had to go to work. He left the house around ten-thirty. I barely slept all night. I would toss and turn and every couple of hours, I would sit up and just stare at him. He was sleeping so peacefully that it just pissed me off. I finally fell to sleep around three in the morning but was up by seven. I got up and took a shower and just shuffled around the house in my robe, waiting for him to get up. He got up at nine and took a shower and grabbed something to eat. I was sitting at the kitchen table when he left. Moses took his keys and told me to have a nice day before he walked out of the house. I waited until his car had driven off before rushing to the computer and opening my email. I scrolled down until I saw the one I was looking for and opened it. I printed it out and went to the couch to see what Moses was saying to this Heaven's Dew. Moses: r u busy 2day? Heaven's Dew: not like yesterday. Lexie is out the office 2day Moses: Yeah, she's @ Aquarius w/Moreno 'n me all day. Decorating Heaven's Dew: yea, there is calligrapher coming to paint walls 4 u - he is great. Moses: how great? Heaven's Dew: I was impressed. We still on 4 2nite? I miss u Moses: of course we r. Heaven's Dew: I told Joel I was going out w/the girls Moses: I'm leaving straight from the club, so Nyla won't kno. She's going 2 the strip club w/her girl n e way. Heaven's Dew: at our spot, right? Moses: of course. Heaven's Dew: Joel n I r cumin' 2 ur New Year's party. U kno n e thing 4 his fav cuzn n he's the first on board Moses: Joel has u cumin? : ) Heaven's Dew: U're the only 1 doin' that, papi Moses: I betta be - nuthn worse than u cheatn on me w/ur man. Heaven's Dew: lol - brb. K - im back Moses: I have to run down n talk 2 Lex n Moreno. I'll call u b4 I leave Heaven's Dew: okay Moses: Lia... Heaven's Dew: wat's up? Moses: I love you, mi Corazon. Heaven's Dew: I love you, too, papi My heart dropped. Moses had never - in the five years we had been together - told me that he loved me. I would say it first and he would always respond "And you." He never, ever told me that he loved me. He never wrote it down on a piece of paper of text it to me or anything. Yet, here he was, telling this damn hoochie over an instant message that he loved her and what the hell did 'mi Corazon' mean?! I was fuming. I grabbed the keys to my car and stormed out of the house. I didn't know where I was going, but I just drove. I drove to Garden City, to Lexicon of Style, Lexie's office. I slammed my car door and marched to her building, the print out of the instant messages in my hand. I opened the door and was greeted by a smiling receptionist who just looked happy to have a job. "Is there a... uh," I looked at the printout. "A Lia that works here?" "Aaliyah?" the girl looked at me confused. "Like the singer?" "No, Lia," I shook my head. "L-I-A." She groaned softly as she looked at something on her computer. "I don't see... uh..." I sighed as I placed both hands on the desk. "Is Lexis Zamora in?" "No, she's out of the office today," the receptionist looked up at me. "But her assistants are here, well one of them, anyway." "Okay, can I speak to them?" She nodded her head and pushed some buttons. After a few seconds, she started talking. "Carmen? Hi, there's a woman here to see you. She was asking for Aaliyah and then Lexie and then you. I don't know. Oh," she laughed as she looked up at me. "What's your name?" I drummed my fingers on the desk in annoyance. "Nyla Walker." "Nyla Walker," the receptionist said into the phone. She nodded her head and said 'uh-huh' twice before ending the call. She smiled up at me. "She's coming right out." I faked a smile as I nodded at her. Not even a minute later, a little round Hispanic woman came to the front. She looked familiar to me, but I couldn't remember where I had seen her before. She smiled at me as she extended her hand. "I'm Carmen Santos. You must be Nyla Walker." She spoke fast. "Yeah," I shook her hand briefly. "I don't know if you can help me, but I'm looking for someone named Lia that works here. I know she works here, or at least she did two weeks ago and I just need to talk to her." "Uh, well, we don't have a Lia, but I'm sure I can help you," she smiled brightly. "Are you looking for interior design or something? We have several highly qualified decorators and of course, there's Ms. Zamora, but she is hard to book, she's very select on whom she works with," the woman pulled a calendar out and opened it and she clicked her pen and poised herself to start writing. "No," I shook my head. "No, you're not hearing me. I don't need a designer or anything like that. If I want to work with Lexie, I can call her at home or have my man ask her to do something. He's her godbrother, so I'm not worried." She closed the calendar book and looked at me. "I don't understand how I can help you then." I huffed, annoyed. "Look, I am looking for some fucking trick named Lia that works here!" The receptionist looked up wide-eyed. "You really don't have to use that language or tone with me," the Carmen woman put her hands on her hips. "No one here is named Lia, so you either have the wrong name or the wrong location. I suggest you get the correct information and then come back." "I know she works here. She's some skank that is fucking my man and she works right here," I folded my arms. "Well, I'm telling you - as the owner's personal assistant - that we do not have anyone here by that name. Now, I would appreciate you taking this little scene that you are creating outside these office doors. Godsister or not, I don't think Ms. Zamora would really appreciate this scene you are creating." I banged my left hand against my leg as I tried to think about what to do next. She was right, Lexie was very professional and I'm sure she'd be pissed off if she walked in and saw me having a fit at her job. I cleared my throat twice. "Okay. Okay. Thanks for nothing," I turned on my heel and stormed out of the building. I got back in my car and tried to think about what to do next. I looked at the office and saw that Carmen hadn't moved from where I had left her and she was staring at my car. I huffed and turned the engine over and drove off. My next stop was Aquarius. There were workers there from New Year's that remembered me and told me that both Moses and Moreno were in a meeting in Manhasset. I told one of them that I had forgotten something in Moses' office, and he told me to go on up. I went to the office where Moreno's name was and went straight to the computer on the left. When I moved the mouse on that computer, a picture of Mrs. Zamora and Moreno came on the screen. I frowned as I sat back, then it clicked: they had switched computers. So I got up and went to the other office. I messed with both computers and the one on the right in the other room showed the picture of Mrs. Reyneso and her son. I shook my head - these guys were more alike than I thought. I pulled up Moses' datebook and saw that he did have a meeting with Moreno in Manhasset. After that, he was having dinner with the Zamoras. I closed that and went on the internet and pulled up his cell phone company. I tried to gain access to his account, but he had changed his password and I wasn't able to get into it. I sat back and stared at his screen, trying to figure out what to do next. Then it hit me. I typed in white pages on the internet and then typed in the name Joel Turner - Moreno's cousin. In the instant message, she had mentioned that Joel was Moreno's cousin. I got results - he was listed. I picked up the phone and dialed the number. The line rang three times before it was answered - by a man. "Hello?" he said. "Hi," I stared at the screen. "Is this Joel Turner?" He groaned. "Is this some solicitor? Look, lady, whatever you are selling I'm not interested in." "I'm not selling anything," I looked down at the paper that was crumpled in my hands. "I just thought that maybe you should know that you're slut of a girlfriend has been fucking my man for who knows how long." He got quiet. "Hello?" his silence bugged me. I wanted him to be angry. I wanted someone else to feel what I felt. He cleared his throat. "Who is this?" "My name is Nyla Walker. My boyfriend is your cousin's best friend, Moses Reyneso and the tramp that you call your girlfriend, Lia, yeah, she's fucking him!" Again, the silence. "Damn it, say something!" I started clicking the keyboard mouse repeatedly he was making me so annoyed. "How would you know this, exactly?" he cleared his throat again. I must have clicked some folder because something opened on the computer. I sat up and opened a folder and wanted to cry. Sitting in some fancy restaurant, all wrapped around each other was Moses and that slut. He had his arms around her shoulder, holding her close, and her head was on his chest and they were both smiling at the camera. I clicked the green arrow key and another picture appeared on the screen. This time, they were standing and his arms were around her, pulling her body right up against his and they were looking into each other's eyes as they kissed each other. There were several more pictures of the two of them together, and the last three were taken in Aquarius! My nostrils were flaring and my eyes started burning. "Hello?" Joel's voice boomed in my ear. "I know this exactly because I'm looking at the pictures of the two of them together and I read an instant message that they sent each other." Joel made some clicking sound. "I, uh, I gotta go." He hung up before I could say anything. I placed the phone in its cradle as I sat back and stared at the computer screen. Moses was really cheating on me. I was looking at the proof, and judging from the pictures, it looked like he actually had real feelings for this tramp. I left the pictures up on the computer so that Moses would know I was there. I reached into my purse and pulled out my tube of lipstick and in deep pink wrote across his computer screen: Busted! I left the club, but I didn't want to go home yet because I wasn't ready to deal with him, so I went to X-Posed. Neither Jen nor Missy were working, so I just went to the bar and had a drink... or two... but probably more like six. Keith saw me drinking and refused to let me drive myself home. Instead, he had one of his bartenders follow as he drove my car home. I cursed him and stumbled into the house. Moses still wasn't home. I planned on waiting up for him but passed out on the couch as soon as my butt hit it. I woke up the next morning and Moses wasn't home. I was pissed. I picked up the phone and called his cell phone, but he didn't answer. I left him a message to call me back as soon as possible and hung up. I walked over to the computer and did the white page search of Joel Turner. He lived in Amityville. I stared at the screen for a few minutes before getting up and throwing on some clothes. I got the keys to my car and took a drive to Sunshine Lane in Amityville. I knocked on the door and waited. After a few minutes, a light brown-skinned man came to the door. He was attractive... and familiar. He glowered at me. "What the hell do you want?" he finally asked after looking me over. "I take it you know... I know you," I looked up at him. He was an attractive man. I didn't see any reason why his tramp would cheat on him. Oh, yeah, that's right, she was a tramp. He turned and walked into the house, leaving the front door open. I assumed that meant that I could come in, so I did. I closed the door behind me as I looked around the house. They had a nice home. Joel went to the couch and sat down. He hunched over a laptop that was on the coffee table and began clacking away at the keys. I slowly walked around the house, taking in her decorating style. I slowly walked over to a chair that was to the left of the couch and sat down, holding the arms of the chair as my eyes continued to take in the house. I noticed a pair of black, strapped studded boots by the door and I got pissed off, remembering that I had seen those same boots New Year's Eve. But for some reason, staring at those boots reminded me of my own ankle boots at the house. And the ankle boots reminded me of the day before my birthday in the spa. I looked at Joel, remembering where I had seen him before. "You lied to me," I said. "You told me your name was Emanuel." He looked up at me. "It is. Joel Emanuel Turner." "You knew who I was that day, didn't you?" He sighed as he turned to the computer. "I knew the name. There can't be that many Nyla Walkers in the world. But that's neither here nor there. What we had was a one-time hookup. Apparently, these two have been fucking the hell out of each other for months. They are having a full-blown affair." I looked at her boots. "And he's buying her $1600 boots." Joel kept clicking on the keys, but I could tell that what I said had made him even more upset. "I can't access her email," he looked up at me. "How did you get into Moses'?" "It was at work and he hadn't locked anything," I looked at him. "Did she password protect it?" Joel nodded as he turned back to the computer. "Try... Corazon," I remembered that she was called that New Year's Eve. "How do you spell that?" Joel began typing. I shook my head. "I have no idea. I don't even know what it means." "Heart," he looked up at the ceiling as he quietly mouthed the spelling of the word. "Just Corazon? I've heard her say mi Corazon before," he looked at me. "Is it a-z or o-z? I'll try both," he turned back to the computer. "It's a-z," he mumbled. He sat back and stared at the computer. I was curious as to what he was seeing, so I leaned over. He looked up at me and for a few seconds, he just stared at me. Finally, he scooted over a little and patted the seat next to him. I slowly got up and sat next to him. There was a picture of Tinker Bell on the computer screen. I scowled as I tried to think where I had seen Tinker Bell before. Joel leaned forward and looked at everything on her desktop. He clicked on a folder that requested a password to gain access. He tried several, but couldn't gain access, so he moved on to her email. He skimmed through all of her emails and came across one from King. He opened it and I leaned over to read it. King wrote: This weekend we should go to Rockefeller Center and see the tree I know that you said you wanted to go there bcuz you've never been. Pop takes us every year - me, Moreno, Diego, and Lexie - & we all get to bring someone and I want to bring you. Joel groaned and I shook my head. "Every year I ask Moses if I can go with him to see the tree and every year he says no," I folded my arms. "I don't get why Uncle Manny brings him. Moses isn't his child, but he treats him like he is!" Joel shook his head. I pointed to another email from King. Joel opened it. He wrote: It was good seeing you today - I love you, Lia. "It seems they've been at it for a minute," I looked at Joel. "It seems," he pressed some buttons that sent the emails to his printer. He closed her email and searched through every file on her computer. I had to give it to her; she hid her things pretty well. Many things were password protected and Joel couldn't figure out her password to save his life. He accessed her instant message history and I couldn't believe it. They had been IM'ing each other since Memorial Day! I made Joel open that one to see if they had been sleeping together since then. Heaven's Dew: I've missed you the past 2 weeks King: I missd u 2, Lia Heaven's Dew: thanx again 4 my key - Joel refused to make me a copy of his so I was on his schedule and that sux King: now u have ur key back Heaven's Dew: where was it? King: my dresser, prob fell out ur pants when I put them there Heaven's Dew: prob. R u going to cris' bbq sat? King: come on, what do u think? Heaven's Dew: lol - what am I thinkn - course u r King: im hostn the 4th of july bbq Heaven's Dew: Joel wants to go to Cris' 2moro nite - I think I may get sik King: y? Heaven's Dew: not smart 4 us to be 2gether like that King: y? Heaven's Dew: Joel may pik up on sumthin or ur girl may King: nah, she's not going - its at moreno's n she hates him. Shes going to her strippr friend's cookout, so I'll be all alone Heaven's Dew: but im cummin' w/Joel King: I thought he stopped makin' u cum 3 months ago Heaven's Dew: hahaha - he stoppd touchn me 3 mos ago King: ah - my bad. But u should cum. I want to 2 c u Heaven's Dew: im going to b w/joel, tho. U kno he'll hav me all up under him King: ok, but I still wanna c u, Lia Heaven's Dew: I'll c - no promises King: no promises Heaven's Dew: y do u n joel hate each other so much? King: he hates me - I cud care less Heaven's Dew: y? King: don't know - don't care. Heaven's Dew: of all the people in the world - how is it u n I found each other? King: I don't kno Heaven's Dew: after the bbq, u shud try to get away. I have these cute boy shorts that I bought. King: U kno I luv the boy shorts! Heaven's Dew: I do King: wear them to the bbq and I'll def make sure I get away. We can go to my club at least - the making of it Heaven's Dew: maybe King: not to have sex at - I want u 2 c it, Lia. I want ur opinion. We can go 2 a nice place Heaven's Dew: Not ur place King: I kno - but I do own that house. I bought it Heaven's Dew: yeah, but... King: u don't want 2, I get that and I don't want u 2 do n e thing u don't want Heaven's Dew: I need to get ready to go shoppn. Call me later King: c u at the q! Heaven's Dew: ...c u at the q "He bought her to my house?" I was disgusted. Moses had actually bought that tramp to my house in my bed! My mind raced back. Moses was changing the sheets when I got back from Jersey that day and I had found that damn key on the dresser. Moses had the whore in my house the night before! I felt sick. How could he disrespect me like that? Joel sent that message to the printer as well as every other one he found. He sat back and stared at the screen. I didn't know what to do or say. My chest hurt. My heart hurt. Joel sat up and double-clicked on an e-card that she had saved. It was a simple card with a gift box with a big bow on it and right above the present were the words: This Christmas, - Talia S. Hunter, Mi Corazon. I wanted to scream and yell and break things. Instead, I just folded my arms. I couldn't take it anymore. I stood up and told Joel that I needed to go home. I hurried out the front door. Once I was outside, I held the knob and just broke into soft cries. It took me a few minutes to regain myself, and once I did, I got in the car and drive straight to X-Posed. I slipped into my usual booth and ordered my regular. Keith came over to the booth and frowned as he looked at me. "Not that I mind you gracing us with your presence, Nyla, but usually when you come Brownie is here with you and she's not on for another week, so I'm wondering why are you here?" I picked up my glass and swished the contents around. "I don't want to be home, Keith," I looked up at him. "My boyfriend is cheating on me with some damn slut. But not just any old slut off the street, no," I looked at my glass, concentrating on one piece of ice as I remembered the messages Moses had shared with this hoochie. "She's his best friend's cousin's girlfriend." Keith made a face. "Ouch." "And apparently he seems to be in love with her," I sat back as I stared at the glass. Keith tapped the table. "It's on the house tonight, Nyla." He gave me that 'I'm sorry' look before he turned and walked away. I sat alone in that booth, watching the amateur girls grinding all over the floor as I sipped my Red Bull and vodka. I was on my third drink when my fourth came to the table. I didn't even look up at the waitress; instead, I just slid the glass in front of me and stared at the newest girl that was wriggling around the stage. I made a face as I downed the rest of my drink and wrapped my fingers around the new one. The dancer wrapped a leg around a pole and tried to spin around and I chuckled to myself as she stumbled a little. I picked up my glass and sipped the drink. I made a face as I put it down - apparently, they had forgotten the vodka. "You don't need any more alcohol in your system," Jen slid in the booth next to me. She placed a bottle of water on the table in between us. I looked up at her. "What are you doing here?" "Keith actually called me," she frowned as she leaned her head to the side. "You found out that King is cheating, huh?" I nodded my head as I picked up my glass and took a gulp. I made another face as I placed the glass on the table. I forgot that it was just straight Red Bull. I pushed the glass away from me. "Yep. Apparently your boy has been with this whore for several months and thinks he's in love with her." Jen shook her head. "That bastard. What are you going to do?" I shook my head. I really wasn't sure. "I'll tell you what. Why don't you come with me tonight? You can stay in the spare room and really think about what it is that you want to do. You don't need to see him, especially tonight. Your emotions are too raw and you may say things that you regret. You need to go home and really try to figure out what it is that you want to do." "You hate him, Jenna," I sighed. "You can barely stand to be in the same room as him. I would have thought that you would be anti-Moses right now and telling me you said so and ready to move me out of the house." "But I love you, Nyla," she shrugged her shoulders. "You are my best friend and right now, you don't need me telling you 'I told you so.'' Right now, you need me to take you home and give you time to think and figure out what you want. And, if what you want is to be with him, then I will support you and we can go beat a bitch down together." I laughed. It was days like this that I loved Jenna. I went with Jenna to her house. I was expecting either Damon or Missy - or both - to be there, but they weren't. Jen said that she told them that she needed to spend some alone time with me and that she would catch up with them later. I really appreciated her doing that, especially since she loved being with both her boyfriend and her girlfriend. I took a shower and when I got out, Jen had a bottle of water for me by the bed and a garbage can. "Keith told me how big your bill was," she stood by the door as I climbed into the bed. "Water may not be enough for you. You may need to throw up a little." I laughed - but she was right. "Can you lay with me?" I patted the bed beside me. "I really need someone to hold me tonight and it can't be the one man I love, so I'll go for the one woman." She smiled as she walked over to the bed and sat down beside me. I leaned my head on Jen's shoulder as I sighed. She played with my hair. "Do you want him, Nyla?" she asked after a while. I nodded my head. "I do." "Because you love him or because he takes care of you?" "Because I love him." She heaved a sigh. "You don't believe me, Jenna?" I raised my head to look at her. "Not entirely, Ny. I mean Moses has supported you this entire relationship. You have not worked one day since you two got together. He gives you money when you ask, he gave you the car you drive, and he pays all the bills in the house and... Nyla, if he leaves you, you have nothing. It's not like you're married where you can get a judge to make him pay alimony. You two don't have children and you would lose everything should he walk out the door today." I lowered my head as I thought about what she said. She was right. Should Moses choose to leave me, I would have nothing. But, I did love him and I didn't want to lose my man - especially to some little tramp who had been in my home with my man... in my bed. After a few seconds, I cleared my throat and reaffirmed that I loved Moses. "But do you love him enough to have his children?" Jen asked. "I don't want kids," I shook my head. I didn't want to gain weight or carry another person inside me for 9 months and I didn't want to give up my 'me-time' for some little rugrat. I liked coming and going as I pleased and manicures and pedicures and the luxuries that I had right now. Moses completely took care of me and if a child entered the picture that would change. I shook my head again. "No, I don't want kids." "But what if Moses does?" I knew where Jen was going with her questions, but I loved Moses - not what he gave me. "He doesn't want them right now, so we're both in the same place," I responded. "But he may want them one day, Nyla. He is going to want to have a family. " "Then I guess I'd have his baby," I sighed. Jen groaned a little but didn't say a word. The next morning, I was up early. I took a shower and borrowed a pair of sweatpants from Jen and a t-shirt and she drove me home. Moses' car was in the driveway as she pulled in front of the house. I sat in the car and just stared at his car for a few minutes. I had expected him to be at work by now. I frowned as I looked at Jen. "What do I say to him, Jen?" "I don't know," her eyes drifted to the left of me. I knew before she said it that Moses was at the door. "But he's waiting for you." I exhaled before thanking my friend for picking me up and getting out of the car. "I'll make sure your car gets to you today," Jen leaned across the passenger's seat and looked up at me. "I'll get Keith or one of the guys to follow me and I'll drop it off in front of the house and put the keys in your mailbox. Call me." I nodded my head. "Thanks, Jenna." She winked at me before I closed the car door. She drove off as I turned around. Moses was standing in the doorway, his hands in his jean pockets. I took a deep breath as I looked at him and slowly walked towards the house. I wanted to reach up on my tiptoes and kiss him, but I had no idea where his mouth had been. Instead, I just walked right past him, into the house. I heard him suck his teeth as I walked to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water. When I turned around, Moses had closed the front door and was standing in the living room, facing me. "Why are you staring at me?" I finally asked. He shook his head. "I can't look at you?" "I don't know, can you?" He shrugged his shoulders and I huffed as I slammed the water on the counter. "Damn it, Moses! How could you bring her into our home?" The tears that I didn't want him to see me shed welled up in my eyes and began rolling down my cheeks before I could stop them. "So, you did go to her job yesterday?" he scratched the back of his neck as he walked to the threshold of the kitchen. He leaned against the archway as he looked at me. Anger and hurt built inside of me. His first words were essentially about this little tramp instead of apologizing to me and begging for my forgiveness! "That's all you have to say to me, Moses? Question on whether or not I paid your little hoochie a visit at her job? What, did she call you the second I left?" He shook his head. "No, Lexie called me - screaming on me, basically. You see, that was her company that you walked into making a huge scene. That was her personal assistant that you were calling names in front of the entire company. So, your scene made all heads turn to Lexie. Apparently, before you even pulled away, her brand new - fresh out of high school - the receptionist was already telling the entire company about it." I folded my arms. "Well, she should have just sent the slut out to confront me woman to woman." "She wasn't there, Nyla. She was out in the field. You don't feel bad about embarrassing my god sister like that?" "Yeah, I do and I'll call Lexie and apologize to her," I squeezed my eyes shut as I ran a hand through my hair. "But, I'm not about to let you off the hook on what you did to me," I opened my eyes as I looked at him. "Moses, you cheated on me for at least 6 months! You bought the whore into our home. Into our bed!" "I did," he nodded his head. "I did. But you should have come to me instead of going to my job and her job and making scenes. That's my business and my god sister's business. Those antics can destroy our businesses. Especially since mine is brand new!" "I didn't make a scene at your job," I shook my head. "No, you just snooped through my computer files and wrote on my screen in lipstick." "Well, obviously you weren't going to tell me! You were with her on New Year's and sadly, I had to hear the two of you, and then, you go through great lengths to hide it from me by switching offices with Moreno!" I put my hands on the counter as I looked at him. I knew him well enough to know that an apology was going to come, but only after he was able to figure out exactly where my head was. It was either going to be an apology followed by us breaking up or an apology followed by him leaving to go to work. At this point, I preferred the latter. I lowered my head and looked at the floor as I took several deep breaths. I lifted my head and looked at him. "I don't think we should discuss this right now, Moses. I'm too upset and hurt and I don't want to say anything that I may later regret and you're angry at me for upsetting Lexie, so I think that... I think you should go to work and I am going to lie down and later on tonight we can talk." He gave me a look I had never seen before. I wasn't sure where his head was. He made a clicking sound with his tongue twice before turning and walking out the kitchen. He got his coat and keys and left, saying that he'd be at Aquarius and walked out the door. I lowered my head as I allowed my tears to fall. |
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