The Girls 2

by Kenni York

Genres: Sports Romance

Synopsis

Some secrets will kill you. No one knows that better than Jada, Alex, Miranda, and Candace, who’ve previously lost one of their friends, Stephanie, following a heartbreaking betrayal. Now Stephanie’s boyfriend, Corey, is hitting the streets of Atlanta with a vengeance in an effort to get the haters that took his girlfriend’s life, all while trying to take back his title as the king of the hood.

Stephanie may be dead now, but the secrets lingering between the rest of the crew seem to just keep piling up and coming to the forefront. What happens once the farce becomes too difficult to keep up? Whose secrets will be exposed, who will find themselves forced to make a deadly decision, and who will be the one to change everyone else’s lives forever? Friendship isn’t supposed to be this hard, but the moment that first betrayal occurs, no one’s feelings are safe.

Release date: November 1, 2015

Publisher: Urban Books

Print pages: 288

Sample

Six Months Prior

People always say that you should be careful what you ask for. Jada was beginning to understand that more and more with each day that passed by. Pregnancy was kicking her ass. Now, in her second trimester, she was grateful to be getting over the all-day sickness but was struggling to find clothes that fit, foods that didn’t disgust her, and a mood reminiscent of the way she used to feel on good days. As much as she wanted to have this baby, getting used to the changes was quite an adjustment. Standing there looking at the profile of her newly protruding belly in the dressing room mirror, she smiled. She was growing a person.

“Damn, girl, can you hurry up? It didn’t take them this long to make the damn dress.” Candace was growing impatient as she waited in the cramped maternity boutique surrounded by waddling women. She was glad that her maternity days were over and had no intentions of reliving them.

Jada rolled her eyes at her reflection and began to peel off the floral dress she’d picked out. “Just a minute. Geez.” She didn’t know why she’d even bothered to invite the girl shopping with her in the first place. If only Jordan hadn’t had to go into work for a few hours this morning. Thinking of her husband, she pulled her phone out of her bra and sent him a quick text.

She quickly tucked her phone back into her bra and hustled to redress in her blouse and khakis before Candace could voice her impatience yet again. Things had been pretty strained among all of them since the day she’d announced her pregnancy. In fact, it was the last time the girls had all been together. Alex was living a new life given her relationship with Clay, Miranda was in rehab, and Candace was being Candace. Since having her daughter, she’d been dating a series of guys, none of whom seemed particularly special to her. But Jada was willing to bet that her friend had been doubling back to her former habits and sexing her baby’s father. To avoid listening to her lie, Jada chose not to ask the girl about it. The last thing she needed right now was to be caught up in any of her homegirls’ drama at this point in her life.

Walking out of the dressing room, she noticed that Candace had stepped out of the store to make a call. It was just as well. At least it gave Jada an opportunity to pay for her purchases in peace. She decided to get the floral dress as well as a maroon dress and a pair of blue jeans with the belly panel. A few minutes later she walked up on Candace as she was finishing up her call.

“Are you sure your folks won’t mind?” Who the hell was she talking to? “Okay. I’ll call you when I’m on my way. It won’t take long.”

“What? You’re about to ditch me?” Jada spoke into her friend’s ear, nearly scaring the life out of her.

Candace quickly flipped her phone shut and shot Jada a look. “Girl, you know that’s how folks get shot, right? Just rolling up on someone like that. You better watch it before you and mini-you gets got.”

“I ain’t scared of you, chica. Now, who you ditching me for?”

“Nobody’s ditching you. But after we leave here I’m going to stop by my homeboy’s house for a minute.”

Jada’s eyebrow rose as the two of them began to walk toward Macy’s to exit North Lake Mall the way they’d come in. “What homeboy?”

“He’s like my best friend from high school, girl. I’ve known him forever, but we lost touch after I hooked up with Quincy. I ran into him a week ago when I was over at that strip mall off Rainbow where my sister works. Man, we go way back.”

Jada looked away. She’d known Candace for a minute now and never once had she heard any tales about some long lost best friend that happened to be a male. It was all sounding like some bullshit to her. “What’s his name?”

“Rico. And he’s so sweet. He’s good with Zoe too.”

“You’ve had that man around your baby?”

“Yeah. What’s wrong with that?” Candace turned her nose up as if Jada had said something completely out of line. “I’m telling you, me and Rico used to be inseparable, girl. He’s like my brother. I trust him with my daughter.”

“Y’all used to be inseparable. That was in high school.” Jada stated high school with as much sarcasm in her tone as she could muster up. “But the real is that you’ve obviously not been in contact with this dude for a hot minute, so you don’t know who or how he is now.”

“True friendship transcends time and is not affected by distance or lapse of time.”

Jada gave her friend the side-eye. “You read that on a greeting card or something?”

“Ha-ha.” Candace held the door open for her pregnant friend as they exited the mall. “But anyway, you know I wouldn’t have nobody around Itty Bitty that might click on stupid. I don’t play that.”

Jada smiled at the girl as she sauntered out of the door past her. What she knew was that Candace was likely to paint the prettiest picture of someone she had no business dealing with as long as she was caught up in them. But once the magic of the moment passed away and she was tired of them, Candace’s description of and references to them would become less than favorable. Jada wasn’t buying this homeboy that was “like a brother” story at all. But if that was the story Candace wanted to stick to at the moment, so be it.

“Well, all I’m saying is be careful, love.” It was the soundest advice she could give her without going into depth about her association with this dude.

“Of course.” They approached Candace’s car first, and the girl promptly turned around and embraced Jada in a heartfelt hug. “Let me get out of here so I can get home in time for my mom to get to her meeting tonight.”

“Oh, she kept Zoe today?”

“Yep. I’m trying to find a babysitter that I can afford and trust. I’m not ready to send her to a day care yet.”

Jada felt her phone buzz inside her bra. She had a bad habit of storing her phone there so that she wouldn’t have to fish through her purse for it. She pulled it out and saw that she had a text message from Jordan. “Well, you’ll find somebody. I’m sure it’s hard to leave your kid with a stranger, whether it’s a day care center or a private sitter. I think . . .” Jada’s voice trailed off as she read and reread the text that she’d been sent.

The message had nothing to do with the question she’d asked him earlier. She stared at the screen trying to decide how or if to respond. Candace was speaking, but she couldn’t make out what she was saying since she was lost in her own thoughts.

Candace slapped her arm. “Look, you and Jordan can go on and have you sex-text convo. I’m out, girl.”

Jada looked up and nodded. “Uh-huh. Okay, boo. Be safe.” She walked in the direction of her car without looking back. After getting inside and starting the engine she returned to the text message. Reading it again she shifted from confusion to annoyance. Her little voice was telling her that something wasn’t right. She didn’t know what the hell was going on, but one thing was for sure, that damn text message was certainly not meant for her.

It felt good to be away from home for a minute. Everything about home was a constant reminder of how their lives were about to change. The myriad of baby clothes and paraphernalia, the Atlanta Parent and American Baby magazines that covered the coffee table and the magazine rack in their bathroom, and the calendar in their kitchen which marked Jada’s doctor’s appointments and the number of weeks she was all served to taunt him. He was going to be a father, and it seemed as if he couldn’t escape the reality of that one thing. Even watching the way Jada’s body was changing was beginning to take a toll on him. Jordan knew that his personal hang-ups and gripes were selfish and wrong so he tried his best not to show any of his feelings to Jada. But in order to keep her at bay of his true emotions he needed a break.

He’d lied and told her that he had to go into the office just so that he could get out of going shopping with her for maternity clothes. He’d never been fond of trailing her around on her shopping expeditions, and he surely was in no mood to peruse maternity shops. Instead of going into the office he decided to hook up with one of his oldest buddies from college for a little one-on-one.

Jordan met Martin at Midway Park. As usual, Martin was late. Jordan had been waiting twenty minutes for his homeboy to show up and was just about to call it quits when the shorter, balding guy finally appeared across the court.

“Late as usual, nigga. You gon’ miss out on your own funeral, watch,” Jordan said giving his boy a pound.

Martin Hood was a portly, light-skinned dude who got much love from the ladies during college because of his loveable and quiet demeanor. His boys knew that that “quiet” business was just a front. Once you got to know Martin he was full of life and jokes. The thing that Jordan liked about him the most was that Martin, although chronically tardy, was one of the most reliable dudes he’d ever met. Jordan would go so far as to call Martin his best friend.

“Man, I had to go with Ashley to check out this bakery,” Martin stated tossing his gym bag to the ground and pulling out his baseball cap.

Jordan tossed his basketball at Martin. “What’s up at the bakery?”

“Trying out cakes for the wedding.”

Jordan stopped dead in his tracks. “What wedding? You never told me that you asked Ash to marry you, bruh.”

“Ahh, bruh, you haven’t been paying attention.” Martin dribbled the ball and smiled at his boy. “I posted that shit on Facebook, and I e-mailed all the homies an announcement.”

“You know I’m not on Facebook. I don’t even know nothing about no Facebook, and I ain’t seen no e-mail either, bruh. Not to mention Jada hasn’t said anything about receiving an invitation in the mail.”

“Come on, man. Bring some offense.” Martin began to run to the hole while dribbling the basketball. “Invites are going out next week. You gon’ get one. Make sure you text me your mailing address.”

“What?” Jordan said reaching for the ball and missing by an inch. “You not gon’ have your boys be in the wedding?”

“Naw, we keeping it as simple as we can. Just me, her, the preacher, and family and friends can watch as we do our thing.”

“Can’t see how I missed this, man. Ole baby-face-ass Martin getting married!”

Martin shot the ball from the three-point line and was amazed that he actually made it. “Yeah, you been so caught up in baby-land you probably missing a whole lot of shit.”

Jordan ran for the ball. “Man, it’s a little overwhelming. It’s like the whole relationship just shifted. Everything is about the baby. I mean, everything. From the food she cooks ’cause the doctor put her on a diet to control her blood sugar . . . right down to the way we have sex, if we have sex, so that she can be comfortable.”

Martin laughed. “It can’t be that bad, man. Y’all both getting what you wanted, right? You wanted to have a baby.”

Jordan shrugged. Martin wasn’t even married yet so he didn’t have a clue how crucial this whole thing was. “Yeah, man. I’m excited about the baby and all . . . It’s just a little overwhelming.”

Martin knocked the ball out of Jordan’s hand. “You’ll be all right, man. You need to go ahead and shake it off ’cause it’s affecting your game.”

“Nigga, you wished you had game,” Jordan countered.

“Bring it then.”

“Man, shut up and run me that ball.”

Once their friendly game of 21 was over and both men were exhausted and sweaty Martin reached for his water bottle while Jordan reached for his cell phone. He checked the time. 2:30 p.m. He wondered if Jada was home or if she was still out shopping. The thought of going home right away didn’t appeal to him much. He checked his Yahoo! Messenger mindlessly and saw that he had an instant message from one of the interns at the radio station where he worked as a DJ during the week.

Jordan liked it when she called him that. At first he thought it was sign of respect, but then he realized over time that she was really doing it flirtatiously. The attention he was getting from her was enough for him to entertain her random instant messages and e-mails.

It was the furthest she’d ever crossed the line with him. Feeling that they were just engaging in harmless banter, Jordan didn’t feel compelled to put an end to the direction their conversation was going in.

Jordan’s phone buzzed in his hand as a text message came through. As he clicked to read it Martin pulled him out of his daze.

“Whatever you over there talking ’bout sho’ got you grinning like a dang Cheshire cat,” Martin joked. “Jada musta said something you like.”

Jordan glanced down at the text that had just come from his wife asking about his dinner choice. Figuring he could just call her in a minute to let her know, Jordan pressed a button and looked up again at Martin. “Don’t worry ’bout what’s going on over here with my phone. You just worry about making sure you get my invitation to me on time. Next time some important shit happens with you try picking up the phone.”

“Like you ever pick up a phone,” Martin argued. “You stay more busy than anybody. Between work and being booed up with Jada you don’t never have time for jack. Shoot, I’m surprised you even called me up to ball today.”

“Sometimes you need to get out with ya’ boys,” Jordan said as he struggled to send his reply to Mona while keeping up with the conversation with Martin.

“A’ight, man,” Martin said rising from his seat on the concrete. “I gotta get back to the house. We have plans, and I don’t want Ashley to get pissed with me for being late. You know how that goes.”

Jordan pressed the send button quickly, rose from the ground, and stuffed his phone into his pocket. “Yeah, bruh. I know exactly how that goes.”

They gave each other a half hug and a pound before each headed toward their respective cars.

“Aye, congrats, man,” Jordan called out to Martin. “If I ain’t tell you, I’m happy for you. I know you and Ashley been through a lot. It’s good to see y’all hanging in there.”

Martin nodded. “Yeah, you and Jada are our inspiration.” He laughed.

Jordan shook his head. It wasn’t the first time someone had referred to him and his wife as such. Especially in Jada’s circle, they were the only couple that was able to sustain. On the outside looking in, it probably seemed as if they had it all. But on the inside just trying to make it, Jordan was starting to feel more and more like he’d made a mistake in marrying so young. They had their whole lives ahead of them. They both were at the beginning of lucrative careers. As much as he loved Jada, the thought of the dynamics of their relationship changing when they were still so newly married scared him.

“A’ight, man. Be safe,” he told his boy as he reached his car. What else was there for him to say? The moment he admitted to anyone that maybe he wanted out he’d seem like the biggest asshole in the world. Perhaps it was just best for him to continue to suffer in silence. Jordan realized that relationships went through stages. Maybe they were just in an awkward stage that would soon change. In the meantime, he was content with using his disappearing acts and increasing mindless flirting habits as his defense mechanism.

He hadn’t gotten a response back from Mona. After the game with Martin Jordan drove to his mom’s and chilled there for a bit. He was stalling for time because he knew that once he got back home to Jada there was no way he was going to be able to get away should Mona decide to resurface. He wasn’t completely sure that he wanted to get up with her, but the possibility of it excited him. The shit-talking was giving him life. It helped him escape the routine he and Jada had fallen into, which was driving him crazy.

Reluctantly, he returned home in the early evening. Part of him hoped that Jada would already be asleep even though it was only 5:00 p.m. That pregnancy fatigue was real, and it seemed to strike Jada more often than the nausea. He let himself into their quaint little cottage home apartment and knew he was going to be in trouble the moment he closed the door behind him. He could smell the scent of onions and garlic and could hear the sizzling from the doorway in the quiet of the house. Although the smell was pleasant, Jordan’s stomach wasn’t ready for it.

He threw his gym bag on the ground and walked into the kitchen where Jada was placing a large juicy steak onto a platter surrounded with baby potatoes, tricolored peppers, and broccoli sprouts. She was barefoot and dressed in a simple blue slip dress. Her hair was pulled away from her face as the sweat beads formed around her forehead and the nape of her neck. She had a look of intense concentration on her face as she worked.

“Hey, you,” Jordan greeted his pregnant wife. He leaned in to kiss her and she offered her cheek instead of her pretty pink lips. “How was your day?”

Jada placed the cast-iron skillet she’d sautéed the steak and veggies in into the sink and ran warm water into it. She shrugged her shoulders as she poured dish detergent into the pan. “Typical Saturday. Went shopping with Candace. Came home and washed clothes. Watched a movie. Cooked dinner.”

“Eventful,” Jordan joked as he pulled a bottle of water from the refrigerator.

“You know what I didn’t do?” Jada asked turning off the water and beginning to scrub the skillet clean.

“What?”

“Receive a return text or a call from you.”

Jordon guzzled his water before responding to her. Judging by the tone of her voice she was in a bad mood, and he didn’t want to escalate it into a horrible mood by starting a petty argument. Her emotions were raw these days due to the pregnancy. She bugged out over every little thing, and he wasn’t in the mood to go there with her today.

“My bad, babe. Martin was hating ’cause I whooped him so we had to run it back,” he lied. “Then we got to talking ’bout him and Ashley getting married. I got your text, and I meant to hit you back, but I was talking to bruh and I just forgot.”

“And when you left the park?” Jada asked in a scarily calm-before-the-storm-type of tone.

“I rode by Mom’s place. Hadn’t seen her in a minute and I just wanted to see my mom. Is that okay?” He shouldn’t have caught an attitude at the end, but the interrogation was grating his nerves.

“That’s fine,” Jada said picking up the skillet to dry it with a dish towel. “But I’m just wondering if ol’ girl actually did swallow whatever you put in her mouth or was that something that was going on at your mom’s house?”

Jordon tossed his water bottle into the trash and frowned at his wife. “What you talkin’ ’bout, babe?”

Jada took her time wiping dry the skillet as she looked at Jordan with piercing eyes. Her nostrils flared as she spoke. “You know, today actually was a little more eventful than I put on. You see, you did text me, asshole. Only I’m quite sure that the text you sent me wasn’t meant for me. Your question was ‘if I do will you swallow’ and I’m asking you now . . . Did the bitch who the text was meant for actually swallow whatever the hell you put in her fuckin’ mouth?” Her tone grew louder as she finished her question.

Jordan’s heart pounded. He remembered the text all too well, and now he understood why Mona hadn’t responded. She’d never gotten the message. He wanted to kick himself for getting their messages mixed up and creating this entire mess. Now he stood there watching his wife basically caress a cast-iron skillet like some psycho. He was pretty sure that there wasn’t going to be any happy ending from this.

“I’m sorry.” He didn’t know what else to say. He couldn’t possibly tell her that he hadn’t sent the message because she had the proof sitting in her inbox. “I was just messing around online . . . talking trash. I guess I got your message mixed up with whoever I was talking shit to. It was nothing.”

“You’re sorry?” Jada asked, narrowing her eyes.

“I’m very sorry,” Jordan replied sounding pitiful.

“You were just messing around online?”

Jordan nodded.

“It was nothing?” Jada asked, tossing the towel onto the counter and grasping the handle of the skillet tightly.

“Yeah, babe. It wasn’t shit. Just talking shit on somebody’s Facebook wall. That’s it.”

Jada nodded and remained silent for a moment before moving closer to him with a scary smile on her face. “Do I look like I’m stupid?” The second the word stupid escaped her lips she swung the skillet with all of her might.

Jordan ducked in the nick of time and quickly backed out of the kitchen.

Jada kept swinging the skillet, all the while ignoring the horrible pain she was feeling in her wrist. “You stupid son of a bitch! You think I’m stupid? Or are you actually that dumb to be putting this type of . . .