"Okay."
"Stay beautiful," he said, and hung up.
When she sat back next to Anthony, he was in the process of slipping his cell phone back in his pocket.
"This movie isn't as good as the previews, is it?" Anthony asked.
"It's been all right so far. Just a little slow at the beginning," she mumbled.
Throughout the rest of the movie, she contemplated what would happen if she went to the Car and Bike show with Jordan. She knew that she could trust Jordan to respect the fact that she was in a relationship. But at the same time she didn't think that she was being fair to Jordan because she knew that he wanted more than a friendship. She didn't want to get Jordan's hopes up and prevent him from moving forward with his life. And she wasn't being fair to Anthony, because he would never consent to sharing her with another man, even though they were just friends. She was so confused that she didn't know what she wanted anymore.
Annette had gotten off from work early and decided that she would go shopping on her own. She hadn't remembered the last time she had gone shopping for herself. Now as she walked through the mall parking lot to her car with all the shopping mall bags, she felt fulfilled. She even thought of Anthony and bought a new hat for his collection. As she was placing the bags in her trunk, she noticed that Anthony had left a box of mixed cds in a duffle bag from this past Sunday. She was sure that he would need those cds for promotions tonight at a local club. She didn't want to be the blame for him not having his music when he needed them.
Anthony should have been home by now, so she would just stop by and drop them off at his house, along with the baseball cap that she just bought him. As she was driving to Anthony's house, Jordan called her cell phone. She didn't pick it up this time and let it go to voicemail. She had called him back Monday night and told him that she wouldn't be able to make it to the Car and Bike show that he had invited her to. She knew she was making the right decision by staying true to her relationship with Anthony. Jordan wasn't pressuring her or anything but he wasn't giving up on her at all either.
She pulled up in front of Anthony's father's mansion. There were three cars in the driveway. His father's familiar Lexus, Anthony's new Mercedes, and a Honda. The Honda wasn't familiar and she wondered if they had company. Since his father was home, she rang the front door bell instead of going straight to the guesthouse where Anthony lived first, so she could say hello to his father. When she visited Anthony, she seldom went through the main house. They always walked around to the back, where Anthony lived in the guest house. She hadn't seen Anthony's father in a while now. It was almost two, maybe three months, since she last saw him. He answered the door with a smile on his face.
"Annette. How are you doing?" Anthony was the spitting image of his father. Even though Anthony's father had a few grey hairs, here and there, he was still good looking. Anthony's father was never married and never kept a steady girlfriend.
"Mr. Wright," she greeted him, as he gestured for her to come him.
Sure enough, a lady was sitting on the couch when she walked in. That was probably her Honda sitting out in the driveway. The lady looked very young, maybe even around her age. "Hi," the lady greeted her from the couch.
"Hi," Annette said back, and then she turned to Anthony's father, "Is Anthony around?"
"He was walking around here earlier. He's in the guesthouse right now, I think. You want me to call him up to come get you?"
"No, I'll just walk back there."
"Okay. Nice to see you again, too."
Annette used the back entrance as a short cut to the guesthouse where Anthony stayed. When she walked outside, she heard very loud music coming from inside the guesthouse. Anthony always played music really loudly in the house and in the car. She knocked on the door and felt a little foolish for doing that. He couldn't hear her anyway. She turned the doorknob and was surprised that the door opened freely. She pushed the door opened to allow more room for her and the bags she was holding. She looked up and all the bags dropped out of her hands, when she saw the sight in front of her.
Anthony was standing up in the middle of the living room naked except for his jeans bundled at the bottom of his ankles, with his head held back and his eyes closed. Knelt down in front of him was a girl, who was also buck-naked. Her lips were wrapped around his erection and she was sucking him off. Anthony was moaning so hard that he was almost growling. The girl was also moaning despite having a mouth full of dick. They were so into each other that they didn't notice the door had swung open or that she was standing there until she yelled out. Annette felt like someone had shot an arrow straight through the middle of her heart and it felt as if she was going into cardiac arrest. She reached up and grabbed her chest.
"What the fuck is going on here?" Annette screamed
The girl pulled her mouth off Anthony's dick and Anthony's eyes popped wide opened. He pushed the girl so hard that she almost fell back on the floor. He leaned down and pulled up his pants.
"Annette!"
The girl was shocked, hands going up to her mouth, and she ran in the direction of Anthony's bathroom.
"What are you doing?" Annette shrieked.
"Oh, baby … It's not what you think?"
"Not what I think … " She began walking towards him. "Not what I think! Then, what is it, huh?" She reached up and slapped him across his face as hard as she could. He reached out and tried to touch her and she smacked his hand away. "Don't touch me, you fucking bastard!"
"I-She … " He was so shocked that he couldn't say a word.
Annette felt the tears well up in her eyes, but she did her best to hold them back. "Is that what you want?" she yelled, pointing in the direction of his bathroom. "Is that the bitch you've been fucking around with on me?"
"No! I mean … I didn't fuck her."
"You expect me to believe that?" She looked around and saw their clothes scattered over the floor. Her panties were on the couch, a box of condoms beside them.
"Annette, calm down … this is not what it looks like." Anthony was standing there looking like a sick puppy dog trying to explain himself.
"What the fuck do you think it looks like? Huh? How long has this been going on?"
"Look, you know I love you and only you. No other girl can take that away from you. It's just … it happened … and … ," he began talking, but all Annette heard was a bunch of crap coming out of his mouth.
At that moment, the girl came out of the bathroom, fully dressed, except for the dingy pair of panties remaining on the couch. The nerve of her! She stayed a far distance behind Anthony. That was good. Annette knew that it wasn't that bitch's fault that her man was cheating. But, Annette was so mad that if that bitch even so much as said a word to her she would run over there and slap the shit out of her too.
"Is that what you want, Anthony?" Annette asked, pointing at her. "You been fucking her behind my back and taking me for a goddamn fool!"
"No, Annette. I want you. Please … I'm going to tell you what happened if you just calm down."
"This is disgusting. You are disgusting," Annette reached up, and wiped away a tear that escaped from the corner of her eye. "You know what? I'm not having this shit anymore because it's over … we're through."
"No!" Anthony grabbed her arm and pulled her to him.
She snatched herself away and slapped him again. "Don't touch me!" She reached up and pulled the diamonds dangling from her ear out. "Take your shit!" She threw them at him and they scattered on the hardwood floors and disappeared. She yanked off the necklace and threw it into his chest. "It's fucking over between you and I. I won't be needing any of this cheap shit and she can have them!" She slid the diamond ring off her finger that he had given her a couple weeks ago threw that as hard as she could into his chest, trying to throw a whole through that muthafucka. "Fuck you!" She turned around and stormed out. But, he was running after her. She bust into his father's mansion and stormed through the lobby. The door slammed shut behind them.
"What the fuck?" Anthony's father had come out of the living room and was looking at the spectacle in front of him. Without saying anything, Annette burst out of the front doors with Anthony fast on her heels.
"Annette, I made a mistake. I'm sorry. That bitch back there doesn't mean anything to me. Please … "
Annette jumped in her car and cranked up the motor, put the car in reverse, and started backing out of the driveway, out of the gates, and onto the streets. Anthony was keeping up along side her car, pleading with her like a lost puppy dog, but she couldn't hear him because she had rolled up her windows and had Rihanna's hit single blasting from her speakers. She sped off and didn't look back. When she was out of the subdivision that was when the tears she had been holding back flooded down her face. Her hands and her whole body began shaking and that is when she prayed that she would make it home without running off the highway.