New Title 1 (7 page)

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“
So when you start working at the magazine, are you going to leave me?”

Jordin put down the Windex and stared at McKenzie seriously before responding. She grabbed her little chin lightly with her finger and her thumb and smiled.

“
Listen sweetie, I will leave this house, when I get enough money…and get my own house. But I will never, ever leave you. Okay? You hear me?”

McKenzie nodded understandingly, holding the paper towels in her hand and then she grinned at Jordin.

“
Good. Now back to work,” Jordin said with a smile. “I spray, you wipe.”

The two went back to their cleaning act and after a few more minutes, McKenzie spoke her mind again.

“
That girl, Aisha, she don’t like me no more.”

“
Doesn’t like me anymore,” Jordin corrected. “And why not?”

McKenzie shrugged but her face was instantly filled with sadness.

“
She tell everybody because I’m fat and I’m ugly. Because I have dots on my face.”

Jordin was furious and hurt for her, but tried to not let it show. She recalled going through similar situations in grade school, and she knew that the girls were probably just jealous of McKenzie. McKenzie had light brown eyes, long hair, dressed nice, and was smart. Jordin sighed.

“
Kenzie, come over here for a second.”

McKenzie walked over to Jordin with a solemn look on her face and Jordin grabbed her small hand and led her to the wall where the mirrors were.

“
Look in the mirror, tell me what you see.”

McKenzie stared for a few seconds before responding, feeling like it was a trick question or something.

“
I don’t know…I see me.”

Jordin nodded.

“
Exactly, you. McKenzie Brielle Louis. Nobody looks like you, nobody smells like you…” Jordin leaned over and sniffed her and they both laughed. “…Nobody else in the world is like you. We’re all different. And that’s what makes us beautiful.”

She grabbed McKenzie’s face and brought her close.

“
Look at you. You’re gorgeous. Those are not dots on your face Kenzie, those are your freckles, and they are so pretty. And you’re not fat, baby. Look at me…is Auntie Jordin fat?”

She was hoping McKenzie would say no, or her speech would have to shift. Fortunately McKenzie shook her head no.

“
Well see. Some people call me fat, they call me names, but I don’t believe them. You know why?”

“
Why?” She asked innocently, truly wanting an answer for this cruel behavior.

“
Because deep down inside, deep in here,” she said pointing to McKenzie’s chest. “They really don’t like something about themselves, and they wish they were more like me. And that girl wishes that she was more like you.”

McKenzie just stared, understanding most of it, while some of it was a little too deep for her. Jordin smiled and enveloped her into a hug.

“
Don’t worry sweetie. I know it may seem really bad right now, but you can’t let them see you sweat. They’ll move on to someone else soon. And you know what else?”

McKenzie raised her eyebrows in anticipation and Jordin leaned in and whispered.

“
I think Aisha is a really stupid name.”

They both cracked up laughing, but noticed they weren’t the only ones. Jordin looked up and saw Julez standing there, sharing a chuckle with them. She stood up and smoothed out her sweats and tank top as McKenzie ran over to him.

“
Julez!”

“
What’s up Kenz! Huh? What’s up lil’ mama?” Julez was tickling her and she was laughing and finally he picked her up and gave her a sloppy kiss on the cheek.

“
What’s going on? Those stupid girls bothering you?” He asked kissing her again and then putting her down.

“
Yeah,” she answered, still holding onto a laugh. She adored Julez.

“
You want me to beat ‘em up? Huh? You want me to knock ‘em out?” He was throwing fake jabs and McKenzie was laughing so hard, her little chubby cheeks were flushed. Even Jordin had to giggle.

“
No,” McKenzie finally answered, almost out of breath from excitement.

“
You sure? I fight kids…I don’t know if you know that.”

“
Yes!” She said, still grinning and giggling.

“
Alright,” he said, subsiding his jokes. “Go get your homework, let me check it.”

McKenzie raced up the stairs and Jordin watched her. It was a ritual of theirs. Julez always checked her homework and went over it with her. He turned to Jordin when McKenzie was out of sight.

“
Hey Jordin, what’s up?”

She shrugged and went back to wiping down the table.

“
Nothing much.”

Julez went and took a seat on the couch, turning on the television to CNN.

“
Where’s Noelle?” He asked.

“
Oh, she called and said she was going to get a pedicure and a massage. She’d be in afterwards.”

Julez nodded, wondering what else was new.

“
House looks nice…you did all this?” The house was spotless. Julez hadn’t seen it this clean in ages.

“
Yeah,” she admitted while on her knees doing small circles on the glass. “I was in a pretty good mood…I got the job at the magazine.” She couldn’t help but smile wide at the thought.

“
Word?” Julez asked, sounding truly happy for her. “Congratulations!”

“
Thank you.” There was a moment of silence and then she added. “Hopefully soon we can be out of here. With this new job, the money should be flowing in good. I just thank y'all for letting us stay here for so long.”

Julez shrugged.

“
It’s cool.” He was glad to hear that they may be leaving soon though.

“
I know you and Noe miss your space, and I can see it’s causing…well, I know things are crowded, and tension builds…” She had heard Noelle and Julez fighting a lot more than she was aware of them previously doing. She felt like some of the blame for it.

“
Yeah well, trust me Jordin. A lot of that has nothing to do with you being here.” Julez knew it had everything to do with him and his wife.

“
Well either way, we’ll be going soon.”

She stood up and wiped the sweat from her eyebrow, and he looked up at her.

“
Yeah, but forget all of that. Let’s talk about the real reason you should be happy. This was like…your dream job or some shit, right?”

Jordin laughed lightly, surprised at how excited he was for her, and then she nodded.

“
Yeah, yeah I guess it was.”

Julez laid his head back.

“
Yeah…man, I bet that shit feel good.” He seemed lost in his thoughts. She stared at him curiously.

“
But what about you? Did you always want to…well, wait, what do you do again?” She crinkled her brow and he chuckled.

“
Sorry, that was rude.”

“
Nah, it’s cool,” he said. “I buy companies or real estate, from people that are in financial trouble, fix ‘em up, sell ‘em off. Not very exciting… and no, not my
dream
career.”

“
Well, what was?” She rested against the wall, standing up.

“
Never really had one.”

“
Sure you did,” she insisted with her smile. “You just don’t want to tell me.” Julez smirked and they locked eyes momentarily, and then McKenzie entered the living room carrying a pink folder. Jordin looked down.

“
You ready Julez?” McKenzie asked sweetly walking over to him. He looked over at her.

“
Yeah, yeah I’m ready.” And as they began to look it over, Jordin made her way past them and upstairs to give them some quality time. Julez glanced up briefly as she walked away, but then returned his attention where it belonged…on McKenzie.

Passions

The heavy pounding of the rain was the only sound that could be heard beating against the bedroom window. The fast rhythm of it reminded Noelle of a pounding heart…her heart.

“
Shit is getting real old, Noe. I don’t know what the fuck is going on… but…” Julez let his words fade out as he lay back in their King XL bed, forefinger and thumb on his temples.

“
Wait…wait papi.” Noelle knew it was getting out of control, the distance between them, the denying him of sex, the excuses and the fighting, all of it. She knew Julez was not the type of man that would put up with this for too much longer; she was surprised at how long he had already been dealing with it.
He must really love me
.

Julez was her life right now. He was her stability, he was her family, and out of the two men, he was the one that she could bet her last dollar on would be there in the end for her. But the truth was, Noelle craved excitement and Slim brought that to her life. At one time, Julez had brought the same level of it, and sometimes she regretted making him quit hustling.
Maybe I was a little more attracted to him when he was a street nigga, when he was so untouchable, so dangerous.

Now the sense of safety and security that he provided Noelle with, although she did love it, it also bored her out of her mind. However, she knew she was not ready to give him up. Her husband was a catch, a certified baller and she’d be damned if she saw another chick on his arm.

“
We can try again. Please…please Julez. Try again, I’m ready now. I won’t stop you.”

She could hear his frustration as he sighed but after a few moments, the amount of horniness that he felt must’ve brought him to the decision to make his way back over to her, slowly kissing on her and rubbing on her soft body. Noelle closed her eyes and tried to think about the times when Julez was all she wanted and all she needed. She thought about their first time making love, how he always handled her with precision and gentleness. Julez was a wonderful lover, an immaculate pleaser, so why was it so hard for her to jump into this mood?

She regretted then being a woman, knowing that it was her emotional attachment to Slim that was preventing her from enjoying sex with anyone but him. Had she been a man, she could very well separate the two. Slim did it all the time.

It sickened Noelle to her stomach when Jordin told her stories of him banging her back out, or how they were trying to be quiet so they wouldn’t wake Noelle, Julez, or McKenzie. ‘I hope you didn’t hear me last night Noe…I’d be so embarrassed.’ Noelle often found herself wanting to smack the shit out of her best friend at moments like those. Her mind wandered as Julez's skilled tongue danced all over her body.

Why is he trying to make this shit longer than it has to be? Why all the foreplay?