Sugah & Spice (20 page)

             
“I know Coff but it’s hard. I think about that shit every day that passes by,”
Espresso
said with sadness in his eyes. “Oh well, everything does happen for a reason, right. I am very fortunate to have the life that I have. There are many people who aren’t so blessed, Coff. I thank God daily for giving me a brain wit
h all of this finest,” he
s
hrugged
, rubbing his hands down the front of his body.
Coffee couldn’t help but crack up laughing. Dex was a fool. They watched the rest of the game and when the game was finally over, they both felt like stuffed turkeys. Coffee looked up at the watch on the wall and sighed
to himself. It was getting late
.
H
e knew that the time had come for him to tell Espresso about seeing Simone. He set up and took a deep breath. “Man, I am so full. I am going to have to hit the gym hard in the morning to work off all these calories I done put down this evening.” 

             
“
Hell y
eah, I hear ya. I am still sore from my workout this morning but I will be down in the gym in the morning too. I love having my own gym. That way I don’t have to wait
f
o
r
a damn machine, watch all the wannabe’s try too hard
, worry about getting all those damn germs from the sweat and shit people leave behind
or
get distra
cted by all the fine ass honeys
us
ing
that damn thigh machine. Man, they know what the hell they
be
doing, opening and closing their legs, revealing all that pussy. I used to be in there hurting
like a mutha
because my dick was so hard.”

Coffee knew exactly what Espresso was talking about. He too had had his share of hard-ons from
watching
women us
e
that particular machine.
“What a beautiful thang”, Coffee said.
They laughed again. Coffee got up and went to use the restroom. Before he returned to join Espresso, he threw cold water on his face, looked himself straig
ht in the eyes in the mirror for a much needed pep-talk. He was finally ready to have the conversation.

             
Coffee took his seat and got serious. “Hey man, I need to rap with you for a minute. It’s serious!” That got Espresso’s attention. He turned down the surround system and looked at his boy. “What’s up, Coff. Speak on it.”

“Yo
u are not going to believe who w
alked into my class today, bro. That conniving bitch acted as if nothing happened. I could have sl
a
pped the hell out of her.
She lucky I don’t hit women.
” Espresso was interested. He waited on Coffee to finish. “Simone, dude. She is in one of my classes and
get
this, the same one that Sugah is
in
. They had a stare off today and I could feel the tension and hatred they have for each other
,
and
they
don’t even know another. I wanted to let you know because if she’s back, Mya may be also.” That last statement sent a wave of emotion over Espresso. The mere mention of her name made him want to wring her damn neck. She was a dirty, scheming bitch. If
he saw her, she would be sorry.

“Did Simone say anything about her? Those two hoes just won’t stay away, huh. I bet not see Mya
’s ass
. She has a lot of explaining to do, Coff. I want answers. Hell, I need answers.
Nigga, I gotta know!” Coffee burst into laughter, thinking about Espresso’s comment. That was something Eddie Murphy’s character on the movie “Life” said to Martin Lawrence’s character. It was funny as hell
, even though
it wasn’t a laughing situation at the moment
.

“Man,
what
the fuck so funny? This here is so
me
sick shit.
Maybe then I can move the hell on with my damn life. That
broa
d fucked me up. Coff, Imma
be honest with ya, br
uh
. There is no telling what I would have done if I had
run
into her
trifling ass
. Thanks for letting me know that she may be back. I really appreciate that. I wonder why Simone
registered in one of your classes
.
Those bitches are sick, scandalous, and I just don’t trust their asses.
”

There was silence for a minute before Espresso went on. “
Yeah
, I
do
know. Because she wanted to see the reaction on your face when you saw her, to see if you still have feelings for
her and shit
. Bitches ain’t shit, man!
So, what now? We need a plan. If they show
up on some other type shit, Imm
a be on one, fa real! I don’t know what the hell
“
on
one
”
is but I will definitely be on
t
hat shit, bruh
.” Espresso got up and paced the floor. He shook his head from side-to-side, trying to figure out where he and Mya went wrong. He gave her everything she wanted, plus some but that hadn’t been enough. She played him like a fiddle in a redneck bar.

             
“I know
Dex, man
. We have to think of something. The fashion show is this coming weekend and if
Mya
is in town, I know that they
both
will be there. Those two like to be in the lime
light, fucking attention whores!
” Coffee was pissed beyond the level of pisstivity. “I can’t deal with this
shit
right now. Let me sleep on this and get back with cha tomorrow. I need to go clear my mind and get some rest. I have to teach all day tomorrow and this is just too
damn
much.”

Espresso nodded. He didn’t want to deal with it either but they both knew that if they didn’t,
Simone and her evil ass partner in crime, would do more damage to them than hurricane Katrina did to the people of New Orleans
and the Gulf Coast
. They were just that damn scandalous.

Chapter 15

             
Sugah got back to her apartment still grinning from lunch with her mother. She thought about the wonderful gift she a
nd Mr. Blakemore had given her, but still wasn’t quite sure whether she could accept it or not. She
saw
the light flashing on h
er machine, indicating she had
message
s
. Sugah hit the
play
button and listened. The first message was from her old job wanting to know if she wanted to work the upcoming holiday season in a few months.
“
Hell na
wl”
, Sugah said rubbing the back of her neck. She was tired and sore. The tension of the day was taking its toll on her body. A hot bubble bath would do the trick and so would Coffee, Sugah thought slyly. The next message played. It was from the BMW dealership thanking her to for recent purchase
,
and
to see
just how well she was enjoying her new car. She smiled again. S
ugah
simply loved that car. When her mother and Mr. Blakemore walked
her
out as she was leaving, they were both stunned and excited for her. Her mother wanted to know how she could afford
such
an expensive gift to herself
,
but Sugah didn’t find the need to tell them that the car was already paid in full. Some things were just better off unsaid. They did love it, though.
She also didn’t want to have to explain her new place of employment or employers for that matter
since she was still in her trial phrase
.
What if things didn’t work out? Then what would she tell her mother.

             
The next message was from Espresso asking where the hell she was. They hadn’t seen or spoken to each other since the other night’s dinner meeting. Sugah missed talking to him. She made a mental note to return his call when she got out of her bath. He was hilarious. She would definitely be introducing him to her mother. Charlotte was sure to adore him. Sugah thought that Espresso’s message was the last but when she heard Coffee’s voice, her heart skipped a beat. He sounded so sexy. He was calling to check on her
,
to
see if she was okay from today’s class. Sugah blushed. He really did care for her
,
but their being together was complicated. The words Java spoke suddenly sounded in her ear.
“Bad timing,” Sugah said to herself with a disappointing sigh.
If it was meant for them to be together, it would happen.
“Nothing forced ever lasts
long
”
, Sugah heard her mother’s voice whisper in the empty room. She knew all too well the tru
en
es
s
of that statement.
What if they were only “friends with benefits”! What harm could that do? Sugah sighed and shrugged her shoulders.

             
Once all of her messages were retrieved, she stepped out of her shoes. Walking into her tiny bathroom, Sugah thought about how it would feel to have a nice
big
tub to soak in. She turned on the faucet, letting the water get hot before she placed in the stopper. Adding lavender and rosemary bath oil to the water, Sugah removed the rest of her clothing. She looked at herself in the mirror, admiring the beauty of her youthful body. Her stomach was flat, thighs were toned, her ass was firm and breasts were standing at attention. Her skin was smooth as buttermilk and flawless. Right before the tub was full, Sugah added in some bubbles. She loved bubbles in her bath, had always loved them since she was a little girl. Easing into the
tub
, she quickly removed her foot when she stuck it into the hot water but it was just the way she liked it. Finally able to sit all the way down into the steaming tub, Sugah relax
ed with her head up against the bath pillow she purchased when she first moved in
. She exhaled, enjoying the feeling the bubbles and oils had on her body. Closing her eyes, Sugah thought of Coffee again. Why was he constantly on her mind? Why couldn’t she just have one day, one hour, one thought that didn’t involve him? Then her heart confirmed what her mind didn’t want to hear, she was in love. She was in love with Coffee and everything about him.
Did he feel the same way about her, Sugah wondered. She closed her eyes and allowed the bubbles and oils to take her away to relaxation.

             
When Sugah finally emerged from the bath her skin was wrinkled, all clammy feeling. She felt invigorated. All she wanted to do now was drink some hot tea, complete her assignments and get ready for the next day.
Before drying completely off,
Sugah applied Shea butter all over her body.
She loved all of her H2BN products. The butter
made her
skin
feel like soft
cotton and also helped her relax even more, something she learned from her mother years ago.
She made a mental note to order more as soon as they got back to her laptop.
As
Sugah
dressed, she heard a knock on her front door.
It was just
passed six in the evening and she wasn’t expecting company, so who was knocking at her door. Sugah grabbed her “whipass stick” and softly walked toward her front door. When she looked out of the peephole, she saw no one. Carefully unlocking and slowly opening the door, Sugah looked out. No one was there. She looked from side-to-side, still seeing no one. Finally looking down, she saw a
huge
package sitting in front of her door. She bent over to pick up the package, quickly closing and relocking her door.

             
The box was
heavy
. Sugah set it on her dining room table to better access it. There was a small envelop with a card inside. She pulled the card out and was speechless. It read: