Prepped For Love: BWWM Pregnancy Romance Novel (8 page)

“What is it?” Tammy asked. She felt anxious immediately.

Victor replied, “Well it’s just that… I’ve enjoyed my time with you Tammy. I want to spend even more time with you. But there are things that both of us need to consider. There are certain risks that come with any kind of relationship developing between the two of us. People could get hurt… I know that if Stan Duffy found out I was dating the parent of a student I could lose my job. Jabari could lose his position at Willowcrest. There are quite a few things to consider. I know after making love isn’t the best time to bring it up but I had to... I don’t want to lose any of these things… But I also don’t want to lose you. So I think it should be up to you Tammy. How do you want this to go?”

Tammy hadn’t had a man be so up front with her in her life. Randall wasn’t the only jackass who had hoodwinked her. The others had just happened not to leave her with a child. To hear this
real
display of emotion from Victor made Tammy feel great. She hadn’t had anyone be quite so genuine with her. Victor wasn’t wishy-washy about his feelings. He made Tammy feel valued and important.

Everything Victor had said was right. There were people at risk. There were a large number of things to consider. Tammy took a moment to pause and think about what Victor wanted from her. What did she want to do next? Like Victor, she knew that abandoning their chance at being together was not the right move.

“I think we should keep doing this… I think we should keep this a secret but I don’t think we should deny each other the pleasure of company. I want to get to know you better Victor. If I decide that this is going somewhere, then perhaps we can figure out how to deal with the consequences. But for now… I just want to be with you,” Tammy said.

That was that. Her decision had been made. Victor felt a wave of relief wash over him. This was all he had wanted... All he wanted was the relative freedom to be with Tammy without her resistance.

“Do you have any idea why you want to be with me Tammy?” Victor asked.

It was a question that Tammy had been pondering. She had been wondering the same thing about Victor: why did he want to be with her?

Tammy answered, “I can’t explain this attraction Victor... When you were my teacher, I have to admit I had a crush on you. Back then, it was just because I thought you were the most handsome man I’d ever seen. I mean… I still feel the same. But today, there’s something more at play. I can sense that you have a generous spirit. I can sense that you’re caring. Your commitment to your students and your ability to empathize with me have meant the world to me. That’s all I can grasp. Besides that, this attraction just seems like destiny.”

Victor kissed her forehead and then pulled her close. He felt the same way that she did.

Jabari’s absence from Tammy’s house didn’t mean her evening activities were going unnoticed. Laura Jackson was an attentive next door neighbor with an eye for detail. Well, everyone else might have considered her “eye for detail” a hop, skip and a jump away from stalking. No matter, Laura Jackson made excellent observations; she decided what information to tuck away and what information to share with the ladies of the town country club.

Laura Jackson loved using the information she dug up to her advantage. There were many instances in the past where her “research” skills had become useful. Laura Jackson got away with breaching the rules of the Homeowner’s Association based on a little tidbit of information she dug up about the president, Melanie Salander. Laura found out that the president had been cheating on her husband (and in essence, her five children) with a young biracial twenty seven year old man who she claimed was her “gay salsa instructor”. Leveraging information was Laura’s talent.

And tonight, the information she found out was juicy. Former town whore turned chronically single mother of one Tammy Powers was having a clandestine midnight encounter with a vague white figure. Not only was this relationship interracial -- a scandal to a woman of Laura’s generation -- but Tammy Powers clearly didn’t want anyone else to know.

Laura watched from the living room as the white man anxiously scanned the neighborhood. Laura was sitting in the dark; there was no way she could be seen.
Silly silly… There are no secrets in this town even if you try to hide.
Laura thought to herself.

Laura figured this was information that her good friend Stephanie would be interested in hearing. Stephanie had mentioned feeling “threatened” by Tammy Powers new membership in the PTA. Stephanie Wagner would be
very
interested in this new development.

The morning after she had witnessed Tammy Powers’ affair, Laura called Stephanie up to let her know all the information she’d gathered. Although it wasn’t much, it was a great start.

“Good morning dear, how are the kids,” Laura began.

Stephanie huffed, “Well we just finished morning prayer and I just cannot get Jessica to stop whining!”

“Oh well try a little bit of whiskey in her cereal. That always helped my little ones,” Laura answered.

Stephanie responded, “I’ll try it… Is everything alright Laura? It’s not like you to call me bright and early like this. I know you enjoy your beauty sleep though God knows you don’t need it.”

“Well… I just found out the juiciest tidbit I thought you would be interested in. I saw a
man
approach Tammy Powers house last night. He went in and do you know what… It wasn’t Randall! It was someone
white
and I swear to God himself Stephanie he stayed the entire night. Now I’m no spring chicken, but I don’t think the meaning of a
man
staying overnight has changed since my younger days,” Laura answered.

This was too good to be true. Stephanie was looking for
something
to hold over Tammy Powers head. She remembered Tammy from high school. Tammy had been one of the few girls unwilling to accept Stephanie’s rank as Queen B. Stephanie was still holding on to her high school social status and she found this unacceptable. Finally she would have some dirt on Tammy to keep her in her place.

“Laura… Thank the Lord! My God is an awesome God! Did you get a license plate?” Stephanie asked gleefully.

Laura responded, “Well dear, you know my eyes aren’t the best. I can tell you the man was tall and his car was dark colored.”
 

“That’s fine! That’s fine! Thank you Laura! You know what, I’ll drop by later with some chocolate chip cookies. For now why don’t you rest up. You’ve helped me more than you know,” Stephanie finished before hanging up. She felt like Christmas had come early.

The only thing Stephanie had to find out was who exactly this white man was. If Tammy wanted to keep it a secret, it must be someone married or
something.
Stephanie needed to get to work on the town’s rumor mill ASAP. This was information she couldn’t go without.

Stephanie wasn’t the only person who was starting to get curious about what Tammy Powers was up to. She had spent years avoiding the spotlight of her tiny town, but the second a new man popped up, everyone seemed to be interested in Tammy all over again. Randall was becoming interested in what his “baby girl” was up to. Unlike when Tammy was a teenager, her guard was all the way down. She didn’t expect to be gossip fodder ever again.

Tammy seemed distracted recently and all too eager to leave Jabari in his care without putting up a fight. Randall could read Tammy well enough to know something was going on.. He knew Tammy’s diminished fighting spirit meant something and he suspected that she was dating another man. The idea drove Randall crazy. He didn’t want to be with Tammy but she was
his
baby mama and the idea of her dating someone else offended his sensibilities. Plus, every once in awhile Randall needed his “male urges” satisfied and when Tammy wasn’t available, that made him angry. She had thrown some pussy his way once or twice over the years and Randall didn’t want that to go away.

Randall knew he would have to fix this little problem and keep bratty little Miss Powers in line… Even if he didn’t want to be with her, that didn’t mean she could step out of line.

Jabari was at school when Tammy went out to run a few errands. Bank, DMV, groceries… The usual boring stuff that most people are forced to squeeze into their already limited free time. When Tammy arrived home, something felt off. Her door was locked though, so she figured everything was fine.

Tammy walked into her living room and heard a voice call out to her.

“Good afternoon babygirl,” Randall called to Tammy.

Tammy jumped out of her skin.

“JESUS CHRIST! RANDALL! WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY HOUSE!” Tammy screamed.

Randall smiled like a Cheshire cat.

“I’m waiting for you babygirl,” He continued.

Tammy couldn’t tell if he was drunk or high or something. If he were here, that meant he was up to no good. How the hell did he even get in? Jabari wasn’t home. She needed to figure out an escape plan. Randall stood up, eliminating some of the distance between them. Dashing out of her house into the street would be decidedly unhelpful.

“What do you want Randall,” Tammy said. She tried to make her body language as big and imposing as possible. She needed Randall to know that if he came here for funny business he wouldn’t be able to avoid her kicking and screaming.

Randall looked Tammy in the eye like she was his prey.

“Babygirl, I thought you should know that I’ve been spending a real nice amount of time with Jabari. I’ve been a real daddy to him these days. I thought you’d wanna know that he seems happy with all of this. I’m stepping up. I’m the man you want me to be,” he said.

Tammy wasn’t impressed.

Randall continued, “I’ve been thinking about taking Jay to the strip club this weekend. You know… I want him to be a real man, real familiar with how to treat pussy.”

Bile rose to the back of Tammy’s throat.

“You aren’t taking my thirteen year old to a strip club. Randall I swear to God…” Tammy began.

Randall saw that he was losing ground fast. He interrupted Tammy, “Fine, fine, no strip club. But I gotta ask Tammy… Speaking about pussy… You seeing anybody?”

Tammy rolled her eyes. The last thing she wanted to do was tell Randall a damned thing about her personal life.

“Yes… I’m seeing someone,” Tammy replied. On some level, she was still afraid to lie to Randall.

Randall asked, “Well who is it? I have a right to know who the hell is going to be around my son.”

Randall’s righteousness was laughable. Tammy couldn’t believe that he was really playing that card. He didn’t give a shit about his son! All Randall wanted was to make sure his prize remained his.

“I’m sorry Randall but that’s none of your business,” Tammy said. She didn’t want things to escalate; she kept her voice smooth and calm. Perhaps politeness would cause him to back off.

Randall got closer to Tammy and boomed, “HE’S MY SON! I DESERVE TO KNOW WHAT KIND OF NIGGAS YOU’LL BE BRINGING AROUND HERE.”

Hoping to scare the crap out of her, Randall punched the wall behind Tammy’s head. But Tammy knew this song and dance. She ducked down and sprinted to her kitchen as fast as she could go. Randall Combs wasn’t going to scare the living daylights out of her again. Randall was shaking out his fist, preparing to follow Tammy.

She opened the door of the cupboard under her kitchen counter and pulled out her baseball bat. Tammy didn’t know a damn thing about baseball, but she knew that swinging one of those things at Randall’s head would get him out her house. She was prepared for Randall to try something.

By the time Randall arrived in the kitchen, Tammy was ready for him.

“Take one step closer to me Randall and I swear to fucking God I will bash your head in,” Tammy growled.

Randall wasn’t used to “bad bitch” Tammy. He’d made the mistake of thinking that she hadn’t grown since their relationship had ended.

“Now Tammy… No need to get crazy,” Randall said, trying to calm her down by lowering his voice. Randall wasn’t such a strong man once he knew Tammy would fight back. Tammy knew she had won.

Tammy yelled, “GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY HOUSE RANDALL COMBS!”

She took a step towards Randall and hoisted the bat over her right shoulder to let him know she
really
meant business.

Randall didn’t need to be told a second time. He turned around and briskly walked away. Once Randall was out of her house, Tammy rushed the door and locked it. Not like that would have any effect… Somehow Randall had gotten in when her door was locked before. But the lock added a sense of security, no matter how false.

Once Randall was gone, Tammy fell to the floor shaking in fear. She had chased Randall off this time, but she knew he would be back.

Randall always came back.