This Could Be Us But You Playin' 2 Read online

  “My car isn’t here,” she responded. “Kaleb picked me up from grandma’s house.” Dominique’s heart was beating a mile a minute. Her car was actually parked at Kaleb’s property, but of course, she couldn’t tell Deondre that because then he would know that she was lying.

  Deondre twisted up his face. “So, he came to pick you up from the house that Peanut lives in, so y’all could go shopping for her a birthday present?”

  “Yeah,” Dominique answered. She glanced quickly in Kaleb’s direction. When she saw how upset he looked, her heart dropped.

  “That shit don’t even make sense to me,” Deondre snapped, looking at her like she was stupid.

  “Well, I don’t know what else to tell you because that’s what happened.” Dominique pursed her lips and stood her ground. She was sick of him questioning her. Either he believed her or he didn’t, but she wasn’t going to allow him to further embarrass her, especially in front of Kaleb. “Wait a minute.” She took a step backwards, “Are you accusing me of something, Dre?” she asked, now turning the tables on him.

  Deondre shrugged. “No, I ain’t accusing you of shit. I’m just asking a fucking question. You getting real defensive for somebody who ain’t got nothing to hide.” When Dominique didn’t speak up about his shot at her, he looked at Kaleb up and down before he continued, “Alright, let’s get the fuck outta here.” Deondre waved her over. “I’ll take you to get your car and DJ, and we can head on home. I’m tired and think that we should spend the entire day in bed.” He smirked.

  “Umm, okay,” Dominique responded. She peeped that he was trying to be funny because he knew damn well that they had never spent all day in bed before. He was doing the shit for Kaleb’s benefit.

  Dominique looked over at Kaleb and when she saw the look on his face, she instantly felt bad. She knew that he was upset about her leaving him and going with Deondre, but she didn’t see any other way. It wasn’t like she could tell her fiancé no, especially after almost getting caught. What else does he expect me to do? Dominique asked herself, as she handed him the Victoria Secret bags she was carrying. Kaleb added it to the other bags in his hand before he passed her the things that she’d purchased for her son. Dominique couldn’t even look him in the face any longer because she knew that if she did, she would see nothing but disappointment, and she didn’t want that. Instead, she continued to stare down at the Children’s Place bags she was now carrying.

  “Thanks,” Kaleb said sarcastically when Dominique turned and walked away. It made him sick to his stomach when he saw her interlock her hands in Deondre’s. “I really appreciate it.”

  “You’re welcome,” she responded over her shoulder, before she turned to look at him with apologetic eyes. As Dominique walked out of Victoria’s Secret hand and hand with Deondre, she hoped that he believed her lie about shopping for NiChia, because she knew that if he didn’t, things could get ugly.

  *****

  Before the car was put in park, Dominique jumped out and went to the backseat to grab a sleeping DJ. Once she removed him from his car seat, she slammed the back door and proceeded up the stairs and into her house. She was ready to get the hell from Deondre and his questioning ass. He had gotten on her damn nerves the entire ride home, and she was sick of it. After they left the mall, he asked her over and over again why she was there with Kaleb, as if she hadn’t told him right there inside the store. His questions continued while they rode to her grandmother’s house, but Dominique was too busy texting NiChia to really pay him any attention. She was telling her sister, if she was home, to hide so that Deondre wouldn’t see her. Dominique planned to lie and tell him that NiChia must have taken her car, which would explain why it was not parked in the grandmother’s driveway. She knew that if they pulled up and NiChia was there, she would have to explain where it was, and she sure didn’t want to do that. NiChia just happened to be spending the night with Desmond, so her plan worked out perfectly.

  “Why you acting like you got a fucking attitude?” Deondre asked, as he took off his jacket and hung it in the closet. “If anybody should be mad, it should be me after catching yo’ ass all friendly at the mall with that nigga.”

  Dominique frowned when she looked up from the couch where she was sitting and removing DJ’s clothes. “First of all, I’m not acting like shit. I do have an attitude,” she snapped. “Second, I’ve already told you why I was there, so you can calm the hell down. You’ve gotten on my damn nerves for the last hour and a half, and now I gotta fucking headache, damn!”

  Once Dominique knew that she was in the clear and hadn’t been caught, she spoke her mind. She had allowed Deondre to say all of the smart shit he wanted while at the mall, on the way to her grandmother’s house, and even on the ride home, but that shit was dead now. Deondre had her fucked up if he thought that he was going to keep throwing up her being with Kaleb in her face, as if he actually knew something. Granted, Dominique knew she was dead wrong and could have been caught if Deondre had walked up a few moments earlier, but he hadn’t.

  “You having a headache ain’t got nothing to do with me. What I’m trying to figure out is why are you so mad, if it was nothing. If you were actually shopping for Peanut, why all the attitude?”

  “Are you stupid or something?” she asked, picking up DJ and placing his sleeping head on her shoulder. “Why the hell wouldn’t I be upset about being accused of something that I haven’t even done?” Dominique grabbed their son’s clothes and overnight bag and headed towards the stairs.

  “I never accused you of anything,” Deondre told her, following behind her.

  “I can’t fucking tell! You have asked me at least thirty questions since we left the mall, and I keep telling you the same thing, and that’s that Kaleb is Peanut’s boyfriend, and we were shopping for her something for her birthday,” Dominique continued with her lie. She laid DJ down in his bed and turned around. “I don’t know what else you want me to say.”

  “What I want is to make sure that you ain’t fucking around with another nigga.” Deondre watched her as she went into their son’s closet and emptied his dirty clothes into the laundry hamper. “That’s all I want, Nikki.”

  Well, I guess you see how I feel when you bring yo’ ass in here at the crack of dawn, or when you don’t answer your phone for hours at a time, Dominique thought to herself. Now the shoe is on the other foot and you scared. She smirked as she walked past him and out the door. The fact that she hadn’t said a word ate him up inside, and she knew it. When she entered their room, Dominique took a seat on the bed and kicked off her shoes. Once she was finished, she looked up and almost burst out laughing when she saw how scared and annoyed Deondre looked. She was about to say something about it when a thought hit her.

  “You know what?” She asked, even though she wasn’t looking for a response. “It’s funny that you questioning me about shit and trying to act like I’m guilty of something, but you never even bothered to mention why the hell you were at the mall in the first place. Last I remember was you were going to Louisiana for a few days.” Dominique peered at him. The more she thought about him being caught in a lie, the more it pissed her off, especially when he was coming at her crazy. “I’m wondering how you ended up at the mall…in Morrow of all places.”

  Deondre just stood there for a moment. He really didn’t know what to say because he didn’t expect Dominique to bring up the fact that he wasn’t where he was supposed to be. Deondre was so caught up with interrogating her that he never stopped to think about the fact that his shit wasn’t looking good either. With his head now threw back, he laughed, even though there wasn’t anything funny. Deondre was using the extra time to come up with some sort of lie because he knew that if he didn’t, Dominique was going to go the hell off. The sound of her exhaling loudly let him know that he had just about run out of time. Lifting his head back up, he looked her directly in the eyes.

  “Well, I was about three hours from home when I got a call from the coach’s secretary. She
said that he had to cancel due to a family emergency,” Deondre told her. “After that, I turned around and brought my ass home.”

  “So, why didn’t you call me and let me know that your plans had changed?” Dominique asked with her lips pursed. She didn’t buy the story at all and wanted to see just how far he would take it.

  Deondre licked his lips before he replied, “It was supposed to be a surprise. I knew that I had been fucking up lately, and I haven’t been the easiest person to deal with, so I wanted to sneak back and do something special for you. I had already grabbed a few things and my last stop was the mall, where I went in to pick up something that I’d ordered a few days ago.”

  “Dre, you are so full of shit!” Dominique yelled. She didn’t remember seeing anything in his hand when he approached her and Kaleb. With her face twisted up, she looked up at him and rolled her eyes; he was definitely reaching. “Why do you have to lie so much? Just say that you were never really going out of town, and you got busted trying to sneak over one of your hoe’s house.”

  Deondre’s eyes got wide. “You don’t believe me?”

  “Hell nah, and I ain’t even gone act like I do,” she told him, getting loud. “You must think I’m stupid.”

  “Okay, you don’t wanna believe me. Just give me a minute.” He told her, putting his finger up. Before she could say anything in return, he turned around, walked out of the room, and headed down the stairs.

  When Dominique heard the front door open and close, she rolled her eyes up in her head. I swear his ass will say everything but the damn truth. While she waited for Deondre to return, she leaned down to pick up her shoes. With them in her hand, she got up from the bed and carried them over to her closet before she sat them on top of one of her shoe racks. Now that she was finally alone, Dominique had a chance to really think. It was then that she realized just how close she and Kaleb came to being caught in the act. Not even a full minute before she turned and saw Deondre, she and Kaleb were in an intense lip lock. She knew that if Deondre had walked up a few seconds earlier, shit would have definitely gotten real in Victoria Secret’s. Dominique knew that both Deondre and Kaleb could have anger issues, and she was glad that things were settled without any real confrontation. Dominique was in the process of stepping out of the closet when she heard Deondre coming up the stairs.

  “What you gotta say now?” he asked, as he made his way into the bedroom.

  Dominique’s jaw dropped when she saw all of the things he was carrying. She walked over to him with a shocked expression because she couldn’t believe that he was actually telling the truth. He must have had all of this in the trunk, because it wasn’t in the car. There was a cluster of balloons clutched tightly in Deondre’s left hand. There were heart pictures on some, while others had writings that varied between, I’m sorry, and I love you. In his right hand was a bouquet of red roses. When Deondre handed them to Dominique, she immediately brought them up to her nose and inhaled. She loved the smell of flowers, and once she had a good whiff, she looked up at her fiancé and smiled when she saw what else he had clutched in his arm.

  It was a medium sized chocolate colored teddy bear. The stuffed animal wore a bright red shirt that had the word, sorry, in cursive across the front. Dominique walked over to the nightstand and laid down the roses before she turned and grabbed the bear. When she squeezed it, she heard something crumble. Upon inspection, she saw that it was a small piece of paper folded up tightly and tucked in the pocket of the front of the shirt. As she pulled it from the bear’s shirt to read it, Deondre quickly snatched it out of her hand. Dominique looked at him as if he had lost his mind, while he looked like he was spooked.

  “I was going to read it to you,” he said with a nervous grin.

  “No, I want to read it myself,” Dominique informed him, holding her hand out. “Give it here.” With the envelope now in her possession, she opened it up and began to read silently.

  I know sometimes I can be a pain in the ass, but my love for you is genuine, even though sometimes you don’t believe it to be true. I’m writing this to let you know that I feel bad when I hurt you, and I am truly sorry for all of the pain that I’ve caused, either intentionally or by mistake. I’m sure you won’t believe me, but I can honestly say that you cross my mind a few times a day. Your smile, your laugh, and just hearing your voice is something that I look forward to. I know to you this letter doesn’t excuse the things that I’ve said or done in the past, but I need you to understand that I am sincere and I promise to try to be a better man. Things aren’t perfect right now and I can’t guarantee that they will ever be. What I can assure of you is that I will always be here for you and our children, no matter what. Just keep riding with me. I promise that I’m worth it.

  Written with nothing but love,

  Dre

  When Dominique was finished reading the letter, she was filled with mixed emotions. She was happy and felt special because the words he wrote showed that he put a lot of thought into it. Anger came into play when she remembered him saying that he was sorry for hurting her. Does that mean that he’s cheated on me before? Dominique questioned herself, wondering if he was admitting to stepping out on her without actually saying the words. Deondre promising to be there for her and their children confused her because they only had DJ. With Dominique being who she was, she couldn’t help but speak on what she was feeling.

  “I’m glad that you wrote this, but I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t confused right now, Dre,” she told him honestly.

  “Okay, what are you confused about?”

  “When you say that you’re sorry for hurting me, does that mean that you’ve cheated on me before?”

  Deondre chuckled because he was relieved that she wasn’t asking about something else. “No, I’m just speaking in general. I know that I’ve hurt you and made you question my love on a few occasions, but you never have anything to worry about. There is no one in this world that I love more than I love you.”

  “I love you too,” Dominique replied, looking down at the letter once again. “What about the mention of our children? We only have DJ.”

  With his mind thinking quickly, Deondre looked down at the love of his life with a smile. “I’m speaking about the future and letting you know that even if we have ten kids, I’ll always be there.”

  “You crazy.” Dominique laughed as she reached out and softly smacked him on the chest. “I ain’t having no damn ten kids.”

  “Shit, I don’t want you to,” Deondre admitted, “I was just saying if we did have ten. I’m good with two or three.”

  “We’ll see about that. I may be good on one.” She laughed again.

  “Yeah, alright. Anyway, I got something else for you,” he told her.

  He went into the Zale’s bag he was holding and pulled out four boxes. Deondre handed them all to Dominique, who took them and sat down on the bed. The first box she opened brought a bright smile to her face. It was a Vera Wang necklace. The chain was made of white gold, and there was a rose shaped diamond pendant that hung from it. Excited to see what else was in the other three boxes, Dominique laid that one down and picked up another one. The second box was the matching charm bracelet. By the time the other two were opened, Dominique saw that she had the entire set, which included the ring, as well as the earrings.

  “Thank you, Dre!” she squealed, jumping up from the bed and rushing over to him. Wrapping her arms around his neck, Dominique pulled him closer to her and planted a juicy kiss on his lips. “I love everything.”

  Deondre smiled and kissed her again. “I’m glad, and I am sorry for everything,” he told her, even though she had no clue just how much he had done.

  “It’s okay. I forgive you. Just work on being a better man like your letter said, and we will be good,” Dominique voiced taking a step back. “If we both work at being better, this thing here will work,” she told him, pointing back and forth between the two of them. “Wait a minute? Where did you have all this stuff? Yo
u weren’t carrying anything when I saw you in the mall?” Dominique asked when curiously got the best of her.

  “I had already picked up the stuff and taken it out to my car. When I ran into you, I was headed to the bathroom. I knew I had a nice drive before I made it home, and didn’t want to stop at one of those nasty ass gas stations.” He replied never missing a beat.

  “Oh, okay.” She smiled. “I really appreciate everything.” n

  Deondre nodded his head before he scooped Dominique up and carried her over to the bed. Sitting her down, he lifted her shirt over her head before he unclasped her bra. Dominique’s breasts sprang out at attention, and as soon as the cool air conditioning hit her nipples, they immediately hardened. She moaned when Deondre placed the right one in his mouth and started to suck. After a few moments, he removed his mouth and stood up to take off his clothes. While Deondre did that, Dominique scooted backwards on the bed and laid down. By that time, Deondre was finished and assisting her with removing her pants. Thank God I took a shower before I left Kaleb’s place because, if not, this would have definitely been some shit. There ain’t no way he wouldn’t have smelled another man on me, she thought to herself.

  “Ahhhh,” Dominique exhaled when Deondre pushed her legs back and slipped his tongue between her southern lips. “Mmmm.”

  Hearing her moans of satisfaction, Deondre went to work. He parted her lips with his fingers and started to devour her. The sound of his tongue flicking at her juices turned him on. Although he wasn’t the best in bed, Deondre could eat the shit out of some pussy. Dominique was the first and only person that he had ever ate out, and along the years, he had learned what she liked and stuck with it. Dominique loved it. She actually preferred oral sex with him more than she did being penetrated, but of course she would never tell him that because she knew that it would hurt his feelings. Deondre slid his arms under her thighs and pulled her closer to him, never once missing a beat. With her legs now locked and unable to move, Dominique laid there squirming from the extreme sensations she was feeling. Crying out, she lifted her head and looked him right in the eyes.