Unfaithful Ties (9 page)

“He says that as long as I maintain good grades there is no limit to the type of future that I’ll have.”

“Coach Donahue knows exactly what he’s talking about. That’s why I’m so strict when it comes to you getting your lesson.”

“Mom, do you think that dad will be able to come to my next game?”

“I’m not sure. But I know that I’ll be there”

Now Lena was jogging through the parking lot, and out of all days, it was today that she couldn’t remember where she’d parked her car. After strolling around the parking lot three times she finally spotted her midnight blue Jaguar. She pressed the alarm system deactivator button on the keypad and once the parking lights flashed she opened the car door and plopped down into the seat. “Tell coach Donahue that I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.” She was lying, but right about now a lie sounded better than the truth. What kind of parent would he think she was if she’d told him that she was just now leaving?

“Alright mom, I’ll see you when you get here. I love you”

“I love you too boo!”

He hung up and Lena hurried to the schoolhouse. On the drive there she thought about her actions that evening. A smile grew on her face from simply reminiscing about her guilty pleasures. She’d tried something different and she loved it. Even if she were to never see or hear from Chris again she’d never forget her, the evening that they’d shared, and the incredible way that she made her feel.

****

Guilt settled in Lena’s nerves the moment she and Mckhi walked through the front door of their home. She’d prayed the entire ride home that Kenneth wasn’t sitting in the living room awaiting their arrival. Her prayers had been answered when she heard the running water ringing from the shower. Knowing that Kenneth wasn’t sitting on the loveseat with a barrage of questions as soon as they walked through the door enabled her to let her mind relax and hopefully by the time she was forced to face him her nerves wouldn’t be so jumbled up.

“Sit down at the table and finish eating your food?” She told her son. “And when you are done go ahead and shower. Make it quick because I’m sure that you have homework”

“Okay mom” Mckhi said, and walked into the kitchen. She was disappointed in herself as he dragged by her. The boy was exasperated. Lena watched her son, until he’d sat down at the table. He was growing up so fast. He was probably going to surpass his father’s height because he was already 5 ft. 9. His football cleats were covered with grass stains and red dirt. The stains on his knees and buttocks proved he’d played hard. He was passionate about everything that he participated in, especially sports. And she was proud of him. She was raising a fine young man.

Infidelity flooded Lena’s memory as she iron-pressed
McKhi’s Khaki’s. By the time she’d snapped out of the wrongful desires she’d seduced earlier, steam was lingering from the motionless iron and she’d burnt a hole in his uniform. When the bathroom door cracked open Lena hoped that the guilt didn’t weigh her down, at least not right now.

“Hi” She said.

“What’s up!” Kenneth said, his skin was still damp and a white towel was wrapped around his waist. This man put the S in sexy. “Those new houses has you pulling in long hours night every night, huh?”

“Yeah, it’s wearing me down too” She lied, and then walked closer to him. Suddenly, she felt so damn guilty, so she ran her hands down his toned chest hoping she could ease her mind away from what she’d done. “I’m sorry for the way I behaved earlier. Will you forgive me? Even though I’ve been nothing short of a jerk.”

“I think the term that fits you is asshole” he joked, and then pulled Lena into his arms.

“I’m sorry”

“I guess I can forgive you”

She smiled, waving her wrist across Kenny’s face. “Thanks for the bracelet it’s beautiful”

“So you decided to keep it after all. Did you read the inscription?”

“I didn’t know there was one”

“It says” Kenneth said kissing her fingers. “To the woman that I love more than life itself.”

“
Awww…I love you too” She smiled. Now she felt even guiltier than she did when she’d walked into their home. Which was the reason she’d just detached the towel from his waist, forced him to the foot of the bed and dropped to her knees.

“Lena what are you doing?”

“Baby I want to please you”

“Stop it Lena” He said.

She continued trying to give him oral sex.

“Stop it woman” He shouted and pushed her away.

“Fine” Lena hissed moving away from him. She walked back into the kitchen, scanned Mckhi’s homework assignment, and quizzed him for his algebra test.

That night she dreamed of Chris while lying in her husband’s arms. She wondered how in the hell was she going to forget about the feelings floating through her? And she wasn’t so sure that she wanted to
.

Chapter 4

Malik...Jacksonville Florida

Malik Shaw was standing at the blackboard quickly jotting down the daily task before his fifth period Trigonometry students came barreling through the door.  Melancholy was the word that he would use to describe the mood he was in. For some reason sadness had concealed his heart as soon as he stepped out of bed that morning and never in his life had he been so frustrated. He was man enough to admit that the decision to let Stacy slip away all those years ago was a mistake and it was the only reason he’d stomached the woman that he’d chosen over her, Jennifer, his wife, opprobrious ways for so long.

Six letters, REGRET, impaled through him as he thought back to his past actions. Apathetic actions. Actions that hurt the only woman he’d ever truly loved. Stacy.

Back in the day Malik’s mystique could archetype him as an arrogant man, one that was
hotheaded, conceited, overly attractive and could enthrall any woman’s attention. During his prime he could’ve definitely used a vacation away from the ego-trip he’d been on since he’d learned of his ability to possess women to wobble at their knees by simply smiling at them. Now that same model-perfect smile, charisma, dark low fade haircut, melted vanilla skin, towering height, or the two hundred and sixty pounds of toned heftiness that hovered over his limbs wasn’t enough to make Stacy even think about giving him a second shot. Getting a second chance with her was challenging, a challenge that he was willing to inspire if the time was right.

As he continued to scribble the assignment on the board, he remembered how terrible he felt on the day that Stacy pulled up on the side of him as he boasted the perks of Jennifer’s juices engulfing his manhood in the backseat of his ride. He’d been caught
midstroke and couldn’t lie his way out of it. The doleful gaze he saw alighting in Stacy’s eyes on that day has remained a constant in his memory to date and somehow still seared his heart. How could he have been so heartless? And for a woman that he’d learned over the years doesn’t come anywhere close to being worth it.
The grass is never greener on the other side
, he thought.

He met Jennifer during his sophomore year at Florida State, back when he was a wide receiver for the Seminoles. Jennifer was a seductive, single, and very sexy cheerleader that had easily beguiled him the moment he laid eyes on her. Within the blink of an eye she’d stolen him from Stacy, and it wasn’t like Stacy had made it very hard. Stacy was disinterested in attending parties or simply just having a little fun. She was endlessly driven to become a successful entrepreneur, which to her meant all work and no play, limited sex, and absolutely no interest in entertainment. Her philosophy was that students should focus on their education and their education only, and once they’d excelled in their studies they’d have more than enough time and money
for social gatherings. Stacy had a zero tolerance for failure, and in her eyes partying, bowling, or taking part in any type of activity that didn’t involve learning was destined to set you up to do just that, fail. She basically tossed Malik into Jennifer’s arms, and being that Jennifer was as sexy as Lisa Raye with the brains of Professor Clump didn’t hurt.

And then there was Jennifer’s face, a diamond shaped piece of art, with a velvety smooth like satin touch. Colorized with the perfect mixture of coconut and milk chocolate.  She’d been blessed with the most ambrosial combination of skin shades that one could be born with.
A mixture of Barefoot Indian and African American.  Wide cheek bones, long dark lashes, exotic colossal eyes and the long thick jet-black hair that she’d inherited from her ancestors hung down to the clasping of her bra. And her smile! Every time those dimples deepened inside her jaws and that ethereal grin hugged her lips, his heart fluttered. It would literally skip a beat. To that day her physical features were still very alluring, but her attitude was horrid, and definitely unattractive.  Jennifer had the heart of the Grinch, the soul of the devil, and she was even dirtier than Diana.

Which made him miss Stacy more. How was she doing now and days? Had she fallen in love again? And did he ever cross her mind?  He inhaled then exhaled presuming that doing so would help clear his discontented mannerism and hide the discomfiture he’d been battling involving his mind and his heart. For years his mind had convinced him to accost his incompatible differences with Jennifer, even though it’d been proven to him time after time that their differences were irreconcilable. Day in and day out he dodged all the signs that they didn’t belong together because as long as blood continued pumping to his daughter Mackenzie’s heart, sticking it out with Jennifer would be worth every god-awful day.

Mackenzie was probably the only reason why he’d fault with every bone in his body to hold his marriage together. Just the thought of Mackenzie not living under the same roof as him or even worse being raised by another man tore his heart apart. He hated to conceptualize it. There were also those days where he was inquisitive about whether or not staying in the hell hold he called home, was causing Mackenzie more strife than happiness. All he and Jennifer did was argue, day in and day out. They no longer talked, they yelled. He couldn’t remember the last time they engaged in an conversation that didn’t end up being an argument.

In the beginning he was blindsided by the sizzling intimacy but now that the couple lacked any type of sexual activity and their lives were completely separate, they were in big trouble.
Trouble that was far from being called
going through a rough patch
. Due to their dissimilarities their marriage was near a climax. He had no recollection of the last time his wife ached for the tenderness of his touch, and he couldn’t remember the last time that he cared.

Malik turned away from the blackboard and swallowed the bitter pill of misery.  The murmurs of the loquacious energetic teenagers rang in his ear as they began swarming into the classroom.

“Happy Monday ladies and gentlemen as you all know, you will be taking your first test of the semester today. So please come up and grab your test and get started.” He said pointing to the stack of test papers on the corner of his desk. “There is no talking once the test begins. If you are caught talking I will assume that you are cheating and you will receive a zero. When you are done please remain quiet so that you will not disturb your classmates that may still be working on their test. Your homework assignment is on the board so if you should happen to finish your test early, please use your time wisely.”

             
“Mr. Shaw it’s raining outside I bet your wife just loves days like this?” Karina blurted. She was one of the most popular girls in her class. She had the looks and her dad had the money. “I mean especially since she gets to come home to you every day.”

“Karina that comment is out of line”

“I’m just saying if I were an adult I know that I would love to be able to come home to a man like you”

“Well we’re the same age and I’d love to come over to your house
” a teenage boy blurted out.

The students giggled.

“Quiet down” Malik’s voice roared. “The next time you make an outburst like that I’m going to send you to the office” He said and sat down at his desk.

Muteness covered the room as Malik surveyed the test papers of his previous class. His mind was in a million different places and within a matter of minutes he’d found himself drumming his fingertips against the desk and thinking about nothing other than what’d been bothering him lately.
Life at home.

Life for him had changed at the young age of thirteen when he walked in the kitchen right after he’d made it home from school. He was instructed to sit down at the wrought-iron kitchen table, and then told by his mother that she and his father were getting a divorce. A vivid memory that he’d never forgive his father for was of his mother crying, her eyes doleful and saggy like she’d been mourning that entire day. Leon Shaw was leaving his wife and their five children for another woman. Malik
, a scrawny teen at the time, sprang up from the kitchen table “Is this my fault?” He wanted to know. And without giving her the chance to answer his question he buried her with several more. “What does that mean for us? Are we going to have to change schools? Are we moving? What about my friends? Do you guys have any idea what you’re doing to me?” After the divorce the five kids were forced to visit Leon on the weekends, which was new to Claudette, his new wife, whom Malik had always believed never truly accepted him or his siblings. For a woman that didn’t have any kids of her own, having five kids over on the weekend was new and the prospect of having them over every weekend was unthinkable. His father chose Claudette over his children and then he sort of faded out of their lives. Eventually his now single mother moved him along with his other siblings to Montgomery. The job market was better. Moving didn’t turn out to be such a bad thing because he then met a few guys that became his best friends, Trae, Jason, and Kenneth.

The impact of coming from a divorced home had affected him severely. The change had been difficult, was hard to get use to and the situation brought long-lasting memories. It was the hardest thing for him to forget, because here he was a thirty six year old man still haunted by the damage of his parent’s mistakes. Since then, he’d always been against divorce even though he was walking on eggshells in his own home to prevent himself from repeating his past.

Did he love Jennifer enough to marry her in the first place
?

Hell no! The connection between the two of them was lust and he only married Jennifer because of their circumstances. He’d knocked her up.  He thought back to how he felt being raised by a single woman and how he thought his father was a coward for abandoning them. Malik didn’t want his child to grow up and think of him as a man afraid of responsibility so as a man he felt that marrying Jen was the right thing to do.

His biggest gaffe was spoiling Jennifer rotten and never saying no to anything that she just had to have, because now she felt like it was Malik’s obligation to provide her with whatever she longed for. Silly for her to think that the perks she’d received during their marriage was an entitlement not a privilege. 

Ideally both partners in a marriage would make joint decisions about their finances but in Malik’s home the budgeting was the sole responsibility of one person, Jennifer. Which turned out to be his second mistake. His payday was hers. He was allowed just enough cash for the basic necessities as if she’d dealt with the headache of teaching rowdy teenagers five days out of the week. She gave him an allowance from his very own money, like he was her child. So, he showed little interest in being involved with their financial status.  Jennifer handled the couples financial operations such
as the mortgage, the vehicles, the life insurance, vehicle insurance, home insurance, utility bills, groceries, and any other bill that their household consisted of. If Jennifer were to tragically become incapacitated he wouldn’t have a clue how to proceed with their monthly account of charges. Actually, in all honesty he was disinterested in their finances, as long as he had a roof over his head and enough money to eat with, he was as good as go. When you get right down to it, when it came to handling business he was lazy and would soon learn that his slothful ways were about to cost him everything.

Right about now Malik was willing to admit that he’d been Jennifer’s fool since day one. That he’d let her feminine crux wrap him around her finger. That he’d been a complete kook to let her steal him away from Stacy. That if he’d thought with his brain instead of his dick he wouldn’t be in this exigency now, because now that he’d grown older and wiser and no longer allowed his penis to be the decisive source accountable for his actions, all of his indiscretions were lucid, translucent like a motherfucker. He felt trapped. If he stayed he’d be miserable. And if he left he’d risk the possibility of another man raising his baby girl. The battle between his happiness and the
well-being of his seed felt like a war that he had no chance of winning. His battered heart had the scars to prove it.

Their love life was cold and so was their bed. Jen and Malik were pretty much roommates. Each new day only brought more difficulty, more pain, and more unhappiness. What Malik didn’t realize was that although he was doing the best that he could not to repeat his parent’s mistakes he was teaching
MacKenzie that marriage symbolized husbands and wives belittling and ignoring one another. That husbands and wives couldn’t agree on anything. That marriages were unaffectionate. That marriages were a disaster. Only a piece of paper. That marriage was a trap. Total unhappiness. The couple did a horrible job of hiding their frustration and even though Mackenzie was only a kid she could feel the tension between the two of them, and just like them she was uncomfortable.

Lust can make men do some unbelievable shit. Sometimes certain
hips, thighs, butts, and breast has the power to capture the sight of even a blind man. It’s called sex appeal. Some women mirror the description of the word, completely. A woman’s capability to cloud a man’s judgment when it comes to distinguishing the difference between love and lust, by simply using her charm, style, or appearance should be against the law. Not every man can fight temptation. Malik was one out of the million men that fell short of resisting seduction and now he had no other choice but to accept the consequences.

His consequences were, one, being stuck with a woman that did nothing for him emotionally, two, having to deal with a woman that never showed genuine interest in anything that she didn’t benefit from, three, marrying a woman that barely cleaned, couldn’t cook, and had nothing to offer but a beautiful face, and by now he’d learned the hard way that looks only keeps the interest of the eye.