Sugah & Spice (17 page)

Simone followed
Khalil’s
eyes and wondered who the pretty girl was, who
clearly
captured his attention. She dug her nails into her arm to release her rage. Now was no
t
the time or place to make a scene
,
but she would get to the botto
m of it. Simone
came back to get her man and she wasn’t going anywhere without
ha
ving him in her bed and by her side forever.

             
As the class began to fill up, Coffee stood up in front of the podium. He was ready to get his lecture over with
,
so that he could get as far away from S
imone
as possible
. He also wanted to get away from S
ugah
before he was forced to make love to her in his office. That wasn’t such a bad idea, he thought. Maybe he could tell her he needed to see her in his office after class. What if she didn’t show up, he thought? He would be devastated.
He wasn’t used to rejection and didn’t want to start now.
Maybe after they spoke again,
but
right now
,
they weren’t really on speaking terms. He glanced at her one last time before he looked at his watch and saw that it was
way passed
time to begin.

Sugah smiled watching
Coffee
suffer. She saw the way he was trying to keep from looking at her, but he was failing miserably. Mark leaned into her personal space. “I think ole boy got a thing for you. Look at the way he keep looking up her at you, girl. You do have a way of making a brother wanna do something to you,” he laughed. Sugah put her hand over of mouth. She couldn’t believe those words had just escaped Mark’s lips.

“You are silly! I know you didn’t just say that. I am only being me. If you or any other brother cannot handle that, it’s not my fault. I
t is what it is.
And I think he is just admiring the dress like many of you are.” Sugah scanned the
room
and saw several other guys smiling in her direction. Damn, I must really look good, she thought.
Before she turned
back
to
l
ook at her book, she noticed the same woman speaking with Coffee earlier watching her. The look the woman gave her made Sugah’s skin crawl. If looks could kill, she would have dropped dead right then and there. That got
Sugah’s
attention even more. Who was this woman and what was her relationship with Coffee? It was definitely time
d
she asked questions. The call phone she received at home reentered her mind. She wondered if the woman had anything to do with it. Sugah would get answers. She gave the woman a look that said “I am not the one to fuck with and if you do, you better know how to dance
, I eat bitches like you for lunch
.
” Simone nodded at Sugah. She had to admit
,
the youngster had heart. No one gave her a look like that and got away with it. There was certainly more than meets the eye to the young brave soul seating only seats away from her.

             
Coffee saw the exchange between the two women and began to panic. He knew what Simone was capable of and didn’t want Sugah to get hurt. He needed to have a word or two with her. Sugah was
innocent in all this and she didn’t need to know of their past. When the time came to share his story with her, he would, Coffee thought. At that very moment, Simone looked in his direction. She saw the concerned look on his face and knew that she had competition. He cared about the girl. The look in his eyes also revealed to her that he was in love. Simone couldn’t handle seeing Khalil look at another woman the way he used to look at her. It was no one’s fault but hers. If she would have just stood up to Mr. X, she and Khalil could have been happily married, having the time of their lives.

Simone would get her revenge, one way or the other. He would pay for ruining her once happy life.
She suddenly realized who the guy was sitting next to her new enemy. It was Mark. When she tried getting his attention, he purposely ignored her. Simone was even more pissed. She had always cared about Mark. They had once been good friends, before she was caught in his father’s bed. Sugah
saw
the reaction from the mystery woman and Mark, wondering how they knew each other. It was apparent that they
di
d. She wanted to ask Mark but didn’t. Time would only reveal the truth and she would be waiting. S
ugah
also knew that she should keep a close watch on Mark and his true intentions of becoming her friend. He obviously had something to hide
,
but what?

When class was over, Sugah was impressed by Coffee yet again. He was awesome in his own rite. He kept their attention, using graphs, charts and slideshows. He even asked questions to keep them all engaged. He had a few people volunteer to act out a few roles in which he lectured about. Sugah couldn’t stop staring at him. She loved a man with intelle
ct
. She loved knowledge and anyone who sought to gain all that he or she could. She found herself stimulated, aroused by Coffee’s brain. Any man who could stimulat
e her mentally was her weakness and also trouble
. It appeared that both the mystery woman and Mark were deeply impressed with Coffee’s teaching ability. After the next assignment was given, class was dismissed.

Sugah walked out of the room without a second glance. She didn’t have the time or energy to focus on Coffee, Mark or the mystery woman. She had plans with her mother. Before she was able to pull off in her car, she saw Mark trying to flag her. Annoyed, Sugah quickly stopped and waited for him to catch up to her car. “Sugah, why are you leaving so soon? I thought that maybe we could grab a bite to eat or something,” he spoke slightly winded. Sugah looked at him for a minute.

“You cannot be serious right now! I told you before class that I was meeting my mother for lunch, Mark. Where you even paying attention to any word that I said earlier? I don’t have time for this right now. I have to go. I will see you on Thursday since we don’t have any classes together tomorrow. In fact, I don’t have to be on campus until
the evening. If you still want to get together, we could possibly do something before or after my class tomorrow. I’ll call you later, okay. I really have to go.” Sugah pulled off in a hurry, to meet her mother. She wasn’t late
but
if traffic was busy, she would be.
She became frustrated because she didn’t like to be late or keep anyone waiting, a trait she wished all people possessed. Time was something no one could get back
,
so Sugah made a conscious decision to never waste anyone
’s
or her own.

Mark watched Sugah drive off. “Awe, what’s the matter, she left you hanging,” he heard a voice behind him say. When he saw Simone, he sighed. “When did you get back? I thought my father told you to leave and never come back. You know when he learns that you are back, he will be pissed,” Mark said in a corky tone. “I don’t give a damn what he gets. He ruined my life once and that won’t happen again. Besides, who is going to tell him I’m back?
” The look that appeared on Simone’s face was sure to give him nightmares. “
I hope we can still be friends, Mark. I really missed not having you in my life. I know what happened was foul but I lost everything. What more do I have to lose in order for you to see that I genuinely cared about you?
I still care for you.
Can we please just put this all behind us and become friends again? I can really use a good one right now.”

Mark wasn’t prepared to forgive Simone but he found his heart betraying him. She was once his best friend. When she left, he was lost without her. True, she had slept with his father and gotten pregnant but he missed her. When his father found out about the baby, he threatened Simone, gave her
money for an abortion and
told her
to get as far away from them as po
ssible and to never look back. 
Simone walked closer to Mark. She needed him. Tears began to kiss her cheeks. She turned to get away from him but was stopped by his hand grabbing her own. He pulled her into his arms and consoled her. They stood there in front of everyone, making up for lost times. Mark’s heart pounded. He had always been in love with Simone but placed that love on the back burner when she left.
The only person who even captured his attention longer than her was Sugah. He wanted to get to know Sugah better but when Simone walked back into his life, those feelings changed. When he saw her enter the classroom, he wanted to run and pull her into his arms but didn’t. She played him. She played him big time wi
th his father but yet
he loved her. Mark quickly pushed Simone away to keep her from feeling his protruding erection. He wanted to make love to her, to take all of her pain away but now was not the time. If she was being honest with him, they would have their time. If not, he would make sure she never broke his heart again.

“I am so sorry, Mark. I never meant to hurt you. I promise to never do that again. Can you ever find it in your heart to forgive me?” Mark held Simone closer, kissing her on the forehead. “Shh, I have already forgiven you, silly. Let’s go get something to eat. Where are you staying?” Simone smiled. Mark was her best friend but she didn’t love him the way she loved Khalil. If only her heart and mind could agree, she thought. Maybe she would grow to love Mark like she loved Khalil
, but deep down
she
knew that could never be true
. She shook those thoughts out of her mind.

“Sure, where are we going,” she said to Mark. “And I don’t have anywhere to stay at the moment. I have been living in a hotel downtown for the past few days until I can get something more permanent.” It was Mark’s turn to smile.

“I have the perfect spot,” he said and grabbed Simone by the hand, leading her to his car. Coffee watched t
he
interaction between the two and wondered just how well they knew each other
,
and for how long
?
Something weird was going on and he didn’t like the feeling that it was so close to home. He also had a funny feeling that something terrible was about to transpire. The fear concerned him that Sugah’s back was the target and a knife was about to stab it
beyond repair.
 

C
hapter 13

             
Coffee dialed Java’s cell. When she answered
,
he didn’t give her a chance to say hello. “Sis, we have a big
ass
problem. Simone is back.
Sis, s
he showed up in one of my classes today and the same one that Sugah is in. I just saw her talking to a guy who appears to be close to Sugah and there
i
s no telling what
Simone
is cooking up.
”
Coffee didn’t know it at the moment but the guy with her was also his nephew, whom he didn’t know and hadn’t seen since he was a few days old. “
I don’t want to alarm the others but we have to formulate a plan before he gets wind that she is back. I wonder if he already knows
!
” The “he” that Coffee was referring to was Mr. X.

Java caught her
chest. Her
heart
pounded as if it were about to jump out at any minute
. She felt sick suddenly. The very mention of Simone’s name made her temperature rise. She despised Simone for what she did to her. Java knew the day would come that they would meet
again
face-to-face
,
but she wasn’t prepared right now. She was still figuring out a way to get back at Xavier for taking her child away from her. He was a coldhearted snake, who couldn’t be trusted.
He had slithered his way in and out of her bed, ruining her life miserably.

             
“Coff, this is serious. Xavier will do anything to protect his business and reputation. The man is heartless. Who takes a woman’s newborn child away from her?” Java was speechless. “So what are we going to do?” Java would stand behind her brother in whatever decision he came up with. She had a plan of her own but would keep it to herself
for now
. When the time came, she would get her revenge on Xavier, get her child back
even though he was all grown up now,
and say goodbye to the organization. It wasn’t fun for her anymore. She was older now, much older than the others and she didn’t want to spend the rest of her life living it through others. Sugah was special but
Java knew that
helping her wouldn’t turn back the hands of time for her. Java sighed. Tru
e she wasn’t an old maid but fo
rty
was
cre
e
p
ing
up on her like a thief in the night, stealing her youth foreve
r. Now that she was nearly thirty-eight
, she wanted to do something different with her life. The only thing she wanted now was to ha
ve a relationship with her son wherever he may be. Java suddenly wondered how he looked now that he was twenty years old. She wondered if he was attending college, if he had a girlfriend, what his favorite color was a
nd if he looked like his father.