Games (20 page)

“What kind of question is that?” Shay raised her voice as if she were insulted.

“The kind that needs to be answered,” Brian pushed. “Stop stalling.”

Shay understood now. “You think Jason’s here, don’t you?”

“The thought did occur
to me,” he admitted to jealousy.

“Brian, I told you I was going to resolve that situation.”

Brian’s sigh came through as static on the line. “I know what you said, but sometimes a person can speak louder when they’re quiet. Like how you remained quiet about Jason for six months.”

“You don’t trust me, do you?” After all they’d shared the idea that she didn’t have Brian’s trust never occurred to her.

“Shay, I trust you, but sometimes you drive me crazy. Case in point, the stunt you pulled this weekend.”

“If I drove you crazy before, you’re going to be insane by the time we end this call.”

“Shay, I don’t want to argue with you. I just—”

She interrupted him. “Brian, since you insist on knowing, I’ll tell you exactly what I’m doing and with whom I’m doing it with.”

“I hate when you act like this.”

Shay spoke as soft and seductive as possible. “Brian, when you called I was sitting inside of a hot, steamy, bubble bath thinking about you. This very second, I’m standing in my bedroom, dripping wet, wearing nothing but the skin I was born with and a towel.” She paused
. “Am I driving you crazy yet?” Then she laughed in his ear.

It took Brian a minute to respond. “You were wrong for that. How am I supposed to go to sleep after that visual?”

“You wanted to know.”

“Next time just say it’s personal.”

“Next time trust what I tell you.” She was serious again.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart.”

“Apology accepted.” Shay giggled, but Brian bade her good night. “You’re dismissing me so fast?”

“Yeah. I need to take a shower, before I jump on a plane and fly to
Massachusetts to dry you off,” he flirted then she heard the dial tone.

Shay set the phone on her nightstand and skipped back to the bathroom. Her life was definitely taking a turn for the better.

Shay waited nervously inside the booth at Chevys for Jason.  Ending relationships was new territory. The casual dates in high school and college didn’t reach this magnitude. She’d been practicing how to break up with Jason most of the day.  She needed to be honest and straightforward, but she didn’t want to be brutal. This morning she prayed for the right words to soften the blow. She still liked Jason as a person and didn’t see why they couldn’t remain friends.

She’d just taken a bite of the warm tortilla chip dipped in the fresh salsa when Jason slid into the booth. She’d expected for him to be distant with her, like he’d been in class a few hours ago, but he wasn’t.  He actually smiled and reached for her hand.

“Hey, sweetheart.” He pushed his luck by kissing her hand.

“Hello, Jason,” she said and slowly withdrew her hand. She ignored the flicker of hurt she recognized in Jason’s dark-brown eyes.

“Have you ordered yet?”

“No, I was waiting for you.”

Jason raised his hand to signal for the waiter, but Shay stopped him. “Jason, we need to talk.”

Jason appeared to contemplate where this conversation was headed. “What do you want to talk about?”

“Us.”

Before he bit into his third chip, he asked, “What about us, LaShay?”

Shay swallowed hard. “Jason
, this past weekend I made some major decisions about my life.”

“Decisions like what?”

Shay maintained eye contact. “I’m getting my spiritual life back in order. I have been away from God far too long. I’ve also decided to end our relationship, but I would like for us to remain friends.” She quickly took a sip of water.

Jason looked at her incredulously. “You want to end our relationship, so you can be closer to God? We haven’t done anything that’s ungodly. The only token you offer me is an occasional kiss on the lips and you’ve made it perfectly clear that we’re not going to have sex. How much more godly do you want?”

“It’s not just the sex issue, Jason. I told you in the beginning you weren’t really my type,” she explained.

“Then why have you been leading me on for six months? And why did you invite me to meet your family?”

Shay lowered her head and sighed. “Jason, I told you in the beginning that we would take it slow and see what develops. So far nothing has changed for me and last weekend helped me to come to this decision.”

Jason sat back and stared at her
, then looked down at the silver heart around her wrist. “Is there someone else?”

“Huh?” She wasn’t prepared for that question.

“Is there someone else at home that helped you come to this decision?”

“Why do you ask that?” She wanted to be honest with him, but didn’t want to tell him about Brian.

“Because you were a different person in California.”

“What are you talking about?” she asked, although she knew.

Jason took a sip of water. “LaShay, I’ve never seen you as relaxed and happy as you were in California.”

“That’s because I was at home and in familiar surroundings.”

“Or was it because you were with the person who gave you that silver heart around your wrist?” he asked flatly.

Shay nearly choked on a tortilla chip. She drank some water and tried to come up with an excuse, but changed her mind.  She had rededicated her life to God and now she needed to take responsibility for her actions.

She looked him in the eyes. “Jason, there is someone that I have cared about for a very long time. But until last weekend I wasn’t sure anything would come of it.”

Jason looked hurt and angry. “Then what were you doing with me?”

“Like I said, I didn’t think anything would come of it. I’m still not sure, but I have to give it a fair try.”

Jason laughed in her face. “Now you want to be fair. What about me? Have you been fair with me?”

“No I haven’t, but remember you’re the one who insisted on this relationship. I am sorry, I shouldn’t have agreed knowing my heart is with someone else.”

Jason glared at her. “Sorry, I bet you are. Like I said before, I’m a grown man; I don’t need you to feel sorry for me.”

Shay turned away from his hot stare. Her head snapped back at his next question.

“Who is it?”

“Excuse me?”

“What’s the name of this person that you can’t let go of?” Jason clarified.

“That’s not important,” Shay answered, shaking her head.

“To me it is. I want to know who owns the deed to your heart. I want to know who I have been competing with all this time.”

“I am not going to answer that,” she answered with finality.

Without warning, Jason reached for her arm and snatched the silver heart from her wrist.

“What are you doing? Give that back,” Shay screamed, ignoring the stares from the restaurant patrons.

Jason read the inscription on the back of the heart. His concentrated facial expression left no doubt for Shay that mentally he was replaying the names of everyone he’d met over the weekend. There was only one that started with the letter “B”.

“Brian? You are in a relationship with Brian?” Jason threw the heart across the table at her. It slid off the table and landed in her lap. Shay sat speechless, looking at everything but Jason.

“It all makes sense now. He’s perfect for you, tall and dark. What kind of game were you playing with me in front of Brian? Were you using me to make him jealous? Hanging on to me while wearing his heart around your wrist?”

“Jason, I—” Jason cut her off and raised his hand as if he wanted to strike her. He slowly lowered it and clinched his fist. “You have worn this heart every day since Christmas. You could have told me then about you and Brian instead of parading me around like the village idiot to your family! This explains why your own mother didn’t know we were dating, but I guess we really weren’t dating. You were just using me.”

Shay wiped the tears that rolled down her cheeks at a steady pace. She wasn’t afraid of him hitting her, just sorry that she’d hurt him.

He looked at her with so much disgust; Shay figured he had more regard for a two-day-old wad of gum than for her. “I bet you’re not pure as the driven snow either. I bet you’ve slept with him. As deceitful as you are, you probably had sex with him while I was asleep in the guest room.”

“No I didn’t. Jason, I never told you I was a virgin, you assumed that.”

Jason shook his head and smirked. “I’m glad you’ve decided it’s time for you to have a relationship with God, because you definitely need Him.”  Jason stormed out of the restaurant and left her holding the broken chain.

With heavy steps, Shay returned to her apartment and phoned
Taylor and Leah on three-way and gave them a recap. They’d texted her three times already wanting updates.

“No he didn’t snatch the chain from your wrist!”
Taylor exclaimed.

“What else did he do?” Leah asked.

“He told me I needed God and left,” Shay answered, still remorseful for the unnecessary hurt she’d caused Jason.

“If he put his hands on you, he’s going to need the father, son and Holy Ghost to save his life.”
Taylor smirked.

“If I tell Brian about Jason breaking the chain he gave you and raising his hand
to you, he’d be on the next plane to Boston,” Leah added. “I should text him.”

“Don’t you dare!” Shay warned. There was no way Brian and her male family members would let Jason get away with what he’d done, even if she was the one in the wrong.

“Please don’t tell Brian. I got myself into this and I can get myself out of it. Besides, Jason is right, I do need God.” Shay attempted to extinguish the fire.

“I agree, but that doesn’t give him the right to destroy your property,” Leah instigated.

“He was angry and hurt. I can buy another chain,” Shay rationalized.

“True, but
—” The rest of Taylor’s words evaporated once her father bellowed behind her. “Uh—Shay, my dad wants to speak to you,” Taylor said cautiously.

Uh-oh
, Shay thought. Before she could respond to Taylor, her uncle, Attorney Jonathan Simone cross-examined her like she was on the witness stand in a case he was defending.

“What happened with Jason? Did he put
his hands on you? Is he there with you?”

Shay quickly told her uncle what had transpired and prayed he wouldn’t pursue anything. There weren’t any
gray areas for the Simone men on the subject of disrespecting and abusing women.

“Is that all?” Jonathan Simone didn’t sound convinced.

“Uncle, I promise everything is fine. If anything changes, I promise you’ll be the first to know,” Shay reassured him.

“I don’t like the fact that he raised his hand to you. It doesn’t matter that he didn’t hit you this time, he might the next time.”

“Uncle, there won’t be a next time. I’m not going to see him outside of classes.”

“Make sure you don’t.”

Shay acknowledged the statement for what it was, an order and not a mere suggestion, and quickly complied. “Yes, sir.” She hung up the phone without saying good-bye to Leah or Taylor.

Before the night was over, she received calls from three uncles and five of her male cousins. Each of them assured her they were only a telephone call away. Reggie called the next morning, after Julia left to take Josiah to preschool.

“Thank you for not telling my mother,” she said to Reggie.

“Shay, if this escalates any further, I’ll have to tell her and Brian. Someone will have to bail me out of jail.”

Shay laughed. “I love you, Reggie.”

“I love you, too. Be careful and young lady, no more games.”

Shay left for class a short time later, feeling really blessed. She enjoyed her morning prayer time and although she’d created a mess, God showed his love for her through her family and because of that she knew everything would be just fine.

Brian’s palm lingered on the horn longer than normal.
Shannon had better hurry; he only had twenty minutes to make it to Wednesday night Bible Study on time. Less than a week ago, he’d told Shannon to drive herself to church, but this afternoon she’d called and said her car had broken down and asked him to pick her up. He didn’t feel good about resending so quickly, but he didn’t want to be the reason she missed a word from God, so he agreed this one time. By Sunday her car should be fixed.

***

Inside of her apartment,
Shannon practiced her damsel-in-distress act.  Her Ford Focus had broken down numerous times, but today it was running just fine, except for the knocking noise underneath the hood. She’d deal with that later. Tonight she needed Brian’s company.