No Justice No Peace (20 page)

            When I pulled into a parking spot, I could see Jada standing inside of the door at IHOP waiting for me.  She smiled as I headed towards the door and hurried to open it.

            “You’re late,” she said, holding her arms out for a hug.

            “Have you ever known me to be on time?”

            “I guess not.”

            I held her with a tight embrace and kissed her forehead as I let go. The waiter walked us to a booth so we could take a seat.  As soon as we did, Jada looked over at me with a big smile on her face.

            “If you don’t mind me saying…you look fine as ever.  I mean damn good,” she said. I always did my best to look good for my ex, just so she could see what she had given up on. And if my pressed jeans and button down casual shirt was working for her, so be it.

            “Thanks.  You look good too.  With the exception of the black eye you’re sporting.”

            “I can’t help the eye.  I’m just glad to be getting a divorce from that crazy ass nigga.”

            “You didn’t know he was crazy before you married him?”

            “A little.  This ain’t the first time he’s put his hands on me.  He did that shit two weeks after I met him.  He told me he’d never do it again, and for the most part, he hadn’t.”

            “So, he did it this time because he found out about you and me, huh?”

            “Actually, he didn’t find out, I told him.  I got angry with him and told him what went down between us.”

            “Jada, that was so damn stupid.  You can’t tell no man no shit like that.  You should’ve remembered from our previous relationship that a man will kill over his pussy.  Now, you got me all tied up in the bullshit.”

            The waiter came over and interrupted us.  After Jada gave her order, I ordered a stack of pancakes and some cheese eggs.  The waiter placed our drinks on the table and walked away.  I took a sip from the glass of water and placed it on the table.

            I cleared my throat. “Again, I’m not sure what you want from me.  I feel for you baby, but you know it’s not in my best interest to intervene.”

            Jada reached her hand across the table, placing it on mine. “How can you just let go of what we shared?  We were together for years Kiley, and you always had my back, as I had yours.  Even while you were in jail, I still came to see about you.  You just can’t give up on me—on us that easily, can you?”

            “This ain’t about giving up.  I’m always gon be your friend, but I really don’t see much else going on between us, baby.”

            Jada’s phone rang and when she looked at it, she excused herself from the table.  She walked off towards the bathroom and spoke softly to someone on the other end.  No doubt, baby-girl still looked good to me.  Ass and thighs were thick, breasts were meaty, and her round full face was still pretty enough to bring back good memories of our relationship.  Sadly, though, it wasn’t enough to make me want to take her in my arms and embrace her again, especially after all the wrong she’d done.

            Jada ended her call and walked back over to the table.  She told me the phone call was from her cousin who informed Jada that her husband was looking for her.

            “Why is he looking for you?  I thought the two of you were separated?”

            “We are.  I stopped by his place last night and got the rest of my things.  He told my cousin I took his expensive watch.”

            “Did you?”

            “I took what was due to me.  That nigga didn’t give me one damn dime when I left and he took all of the money out of my bank account.  He lucky that his watch is all I took.”

            At first, I didn’t say a word.  What she’d said took me back to the time when I kicked her ass out and she took shit from my place as well.  It amazed me that after all these years, some things just never change.  History had a way of repeating itself, I guess for her and me as well.

            Soon after conversing for a while, the waiter finally brought our food.  Since I was hungry, I dived right into it and listened to Jada tell me how badly she wanted our relationship back.  I continued to tell her how I thought it wasn’t a good idea for us to see each other again, but she insisted on having her way.

            “I’m not giving up on us, Kiley.  There’s got to be something inside of you left for me.”

            I smiled, as the thought of fucking her had crossed my mind.  I knew it would lead to something I couldn’t handle, so it was certainly just a thought. 

            By the time we finished, it was almost eleven o’clock.  I paid for breakfast and walked Jada out to her car. 

            “Take care of yourself,” I said. “And the best thing you can do for me, and for yourself, is to stay the hell away from that fool.  I’ll be upset with you if you go back to him and something happens to you.”

            She touched the side of my face and softly spoke. “I’m never going back to him, especially since I know how you feel about me now.”

            I removed her hand from my face. “Look, I told you…”

            “Yeah, you told me a lot.  But what you said don’t jive with how you’ve been staring at me.  I know that look, Kiley.  I know you want to taste me like you used to and I can see the desire still burning in your eyes.”

            I snickered. “What you see is a man who hasn’t seen his ex in a while.  Of course I’m gon look, and of course, I thought about hitting that. I’m a man.”

            “Then hit it.  Make arrangements with me to hit it—soon.”

            “Naw, that’s—

            Before I put down my rejection, a car skidded on the parking lot right next to us.  A tall and medium built brotha hopped out of a Lexus SUV with a brown short leather jacket on. He quickly slammed the door, and by Jada’s reaction, I could tell he was her husband.

            “Dwayne, I don’t want no shit…”

            He walked up to Jada, pointing his finger in her face. “Bitch, shut the fuck up! Don’t open your big mouth unless I tell you to!”

            “Nigga, you better get your finger out of my face,” Jada yelled back in her defense.  “You know damn well you don’t talk to me like that!”

            Knowing that the shit was going to get deep, I slightly backed up.  Before I could take two steps backwards, Dwayne turned to me.

            “You want my bitch, nigga?”

            “Naw, man, I don’t want your bitch.  I thought her name was Jada, though. In the meantime, I’m Kiley.  You don’t have to refer to me as a nigga, so for future references my name is Kiley.”

            He smirked and looked back at Jada. “You couldn’t wait to call this muthafucka, could you?”

            “Don’t worry about who the fuck I called. You…

            As Jada spoke, he took his hand and slammed it hard across her face. Stunned by the blow, she held her cheek and dropped her head.  Before I could do anything, he quickly turned around and lit my ass up with a punch to my jaw, catching me off guard.  I must admit, the son of a bitch had some power that caused my face to turn. I staggered a bit too, but when he reached up to punch me again, that’s when I grabbed his fist with my hand.  I tried to break it, and after twisting it far back, I heard it crack.

            Jada moved away from the car because she knew what was about to go down.  Dwayne screamed out loudly from the pain of his wrist, and feeling as if my job wasn’t complete, I twisted his arm behind his back and slammed his face against the trunk of the car.

            I leaned my body against his and spoke calmly to him. “See, I was gon let you and your woman handle y’alls business, until you put yo gotdamn hands on me. Now, not only am I going to break your damn arm for punching me, but also, I’m gon take your wife somewhere and fuck the shit out of her for you.  While you’re in the hospital getting all taken care of, you be sure to remember my name, muthafucka, and remember the pain.” 

            I pulled his arm back and I’ll be damn if it didn’t crack.  Dwayne screamed out loudly again. Spit ran from his mouth and so did blood from me slamming him into the trunk. I backed up, and he fell to the ground on both knees. 

            “You…you dead,” he stuttered, as he couldn’t get the words to come out of his mouth.

            I leaned down to him. “I…I…I’m what?  I’m dead? Naw, I ain’t dead, nigga.” I pulled my glock from the back of my pants and aimed it at him. “You are.”

            “No, Kiley!” Jada screamed.  She ran up and grabbed my hand. “Baby, no!” 

            I heard the police sirens coming and saw all of the people from the inside of IHOP looking out of the window. “Go get in my car,” I yelled at Jada.  She ran to my car and I placed the gun down inside my pants.  I leaned down and spoke to Dwayne again.

            “Today was your lucky day.  If you ever put your hands on her again, it’ll be the last time you breathe.” 

            He didn’t respond so I took my fist and slammed it against his face.  His head hit the back of the trunk and the blow sent him plunging to the ground.  I gave him one swift kick in the ribs and hurried to my car, as the sirens got closer.  I sped off the parking lot and hit the nearest highway.

            Jada sat on the passenger’s side in a panic.  I was beyond livid and didn’t say shit to her.  I knew some good Samaritan had gotten my license plates number and it was just a matter of time that they’d be looking for me.  The car was registered in Al’s name, so before I did anything, I called to give him a heads up.  After I ended my call with him, Jada turned to look at me.

            “I’m sorry for getting you involved,” she sobbed. She wiped the tears from her eyes. “I didn’t think he…”

            “Well, you thought wrong!” I yelled. “I got enough shit to worry about and now this!”

            “What are you so worried about?  Dwayne’s not gonna tell the police shit!”

            “Fuck Dwayne!  Fuck you and fuck your damn man, Jada!  I wish you’d just leave my black ass alone!”

            “And I wish you’d stop driving this car like a bat out of hell.  If you want to get arrested, just keep on driving like you’re driving.  I apologize for what happened, but I didn’t tell you to go break his damn arm.”

            I looked at Jada and wanted to punch her in her damn face for being so stupid.  Instead, I kept quiet until I pulled over at a gas station to get some gas.  As I pumped, I watched Jada as she looked in the mirror at her face.  It had bruised up even more and she dabbed some makeup over the bruise to cover it up.  When I got back into the car, I slammed the door and looked over at her.

            “Where do you live?” I asked.

            “Why?”

            “So I can take your ass home.”

            “I don’t want to go home.  I want to stay with you.”

            “Well, you can’t stay with me.” I drove off.

            “Then, take me somewhere and fuck me like you told my—

            I shook my head. “I can’t believe you, Jada.  After what just went down back there, that’s all you can think about is getting a dick inside of you?”

            “Hampton Inn is right down the street.  I promise I’ll make it up to you if you stop.”

            I drove down the street and when I saw Hampton Inn I passed it up.  Jada placed her hand on the steering wheel and I slammed on the brakes.

            “Would you stop playing?” she said. “Let’s just go inside and chill, alright?”

            “I’m not playing, Jada! My damn pressure is up because of your bullshit!”

            “I said I’m sorry.  Now, calm down, back up and let’s go inside.”

            I hesitated, thinking about how I was in no condition to drive. I did need to calm down, so I backed up the car.  When I pulled into a parking spot, Jada had a look of satisfaction written all over her face.

            “I’ll get out and pay,” she said. “And please don’t be mad at me.”

            “Whateva. And when we get inside, I don’t want to hear your mouth.”

            We opened the car doors and got out.  After the clerk gave us a keycard to our room, we walked to it without saying one word.  As soon as we made it inside, Jada put her purse on the dresser and I walked up behind her.  I turned her around and grabbed for the button on her tight jeans.

            “Damn!” she said. “Can’t we—

            “Didn’t I tell you not to say anything to me?” I yelled, as I continued to remove her pants.  She stepped out of them and pulled her shirt over her head, as I eased her black silk panties down to the floor. She stood naked, and before I took off my clothes, I back her up against the wall and held her breasts in my hand.  I placed her healthy left breast in my mouth and squeezed it as if I was a baby looking for some milk.

Feeling my touch, as I’d lowered my hand to fondle her insides, Jada reached for my belt and removed it from around my waist.  She unbuttoned my pants and reached her hands down inside to massage my ass.  When my pants dropped to my ankles, I stepped out of them and pressed my body against hers up against the wall.  I dug deeper with my fingers and lifted one of her legs to hold it in my arm.