My Redemption: Second Chance Series Read online

  And I didn’t like it.

  It wasn’t too much to ask for one day to myself to enjoy the best sport ever created. I let him work all hours and ignore me for days on end, so he could give me this, right?

  Last year during the end of football season, to my horror and chagrin, Sebastian had foolishly tried to get me out of the house and away from the TV on the weekends during football season. To his disappointment, I refused to move. We argued and argued. He even turned off the television in the middle of the game just to get me to move. He even cut off our electricity, hoping that would deter me. It didn’t. I merely left the house for the nearest sports bar and continued to watch the game.

  Now, it was football season again and from the look on Sebastian’s face when I walked in a few minutes ago, he was picking up where he’d left off in January. I wasn’t having it this year, especially since he’d been ignoring me for the past few weeks. No way was I going to let him take away the only thing that kept me from going off on him. We were playing the Browns in Philly, a home game to kick off the season. I definitely wasn’t missing that. I hoped Sebastian was ready to be disappointed. There was no way I was leaving this house. No way in hell.

  I made my way back down stairs to find my husband standing in the same place I had left him when I walked in. I sighed when he narrowed his eyes and walked right past him into the kitchen. I pulled out my six pack of Corona from the fridge and grabbed a large mixing bowl from the cabinet underneath the countertops. I placed the beer inside the bowl then filled the bowl with ice to keep the beer cold during the game. I wasn’t a fan of beer, but for some reason, I loved drinking them during football games. After the drinks were set up, I grabbed a paper plate for my hoagie from Giorgio’s, a pizzeria I frequented located around the corner from where we lived, and headed to the couch.

  Sebastian folded his arms and watched me the whole time, which was another thing that was driving me freaking crazy. He acted as if he was my father or something.

  As soon as I sat down, he lit into me.

  “What are you doing?”

  Without looking up at him I replied, “What does it look like I’m doing?”

  He sighed again. I opened a beer and I turned on the TV.

  “Lauren, don’t be like that. You know what I’m asking you. You said you would come with me,” Sebastian argued, his face sporting a petulant frown.

  “Come with you where, Sebastian?” I looked up at him, truly lost as to what he was talking about.

  “Next door. You said you’d come with me next door to meet the people I’ve been hanging out with the last month. And don’t you dare say you forgot. I reminded you this morning.”

  I rolled my eyes, faintly remembering him mentioning something about us going next door when I got back from church. Honestly, I wasn’t listening. I was too busy trying to get to church on time. I took a healthy swig of beer and started flipping through channels to find the Red Zone channel.

  “Yes, yes… I remember.” I looked up at him and pointed to the television. “I’ll be over after the game, okay? You know this is the first game of the season and I don’t want to miss it.”

  “Come on, Lauren. They’re expecting you. I told them you were coming and I said we would be there around 3 o’clock.”

  “And, as I said, I’ll be there. I just have to see the game first.” I stood and walked over to him. I lifted on my tippy toes and kissed his cheek. “I promised I’ll be there and I will, just as soon as the game is over.”

  Three weeks before I had made the move to Jersey, my husband told me he had made friends in our new neighborhood. I wasn’t surprised. Where I lacked social skills, my husband made up for it big time. He had told me on many occasions that he and a few of the couples he’d met got together at this house next door to ours every Sunday. They did things like have dinner together, played various board games or cards, and got wasted on alcoholic beverages.

  However, since my arrival to the great Garden State, I hadn’t met these lovely people yet, including our next-door neighbors. It could have been my fault. Once I moved in, I had been so busy learning about all of the places around me I could shop, the bars I could get drunk at, and places I could eat, I was rarely home. Also, some of the couples were out of town and their infamous get-togethers had been placed in hold.

  According to Sebastian, the get-togethers were back on and I was invited. Oh joy! I inwardly rolled my eyes as Sebastian shook his head at me. I didn’t see what the big deal was about meeting these people anyway. He talked about them as if they walked on water or changed water to wine or something.

  Okay, honestly, they didn’t sound like bad people. It was just the idea of sitting around and playing games and cards just seemed a bit boring. Let’s not bring up the fact that they sat around playing cards on football Sunday too. I don’t know about you, but that didn’t sound very appealing to me at all. Sebastian, of course, was excited that I would finally get to meet who he had described as “a great group of people”.

  Well, I’d be the judge of that.

  Sebastian placed his hands on his hips and was about to say something that would undoubtedly be the beginning of an argument, when his cell phone rang.

  “Hey, Sabrina. Yeah, I’m bringing the lasagna and homemade bread in a minute. I’m trying to get Lauren away from the TV. Yeah, I told you it would be hard… Uh-huh… No, I haven’t told her yet. I was about to… You think that would work? And are you sure he wouldn’t mind?”

  I sat back down and continued to watch Sebastian as he talked on his cell. One other thing that I loved about my husband and that kept me around was his cooking skills. He was a master chef and enjoyed cooking whenever he found the time between working and traveling. Sometimes, when he knew he would be gone for a lengthy period of time, he would cook different dishes for me and freeze them, so I wouldn’t have to cook. It almost made up for him leaving so much—almost.

  Hey, now that I thought about it, I did smell something delicious when I walked in from church. But I was so focused on getting ready for the game and my hoagie that I didn’t ask him about the smell.

  “Alright, we’ll be over in a few.” He ended his call then looked at me. “That was Sabrina. She said she can’t wait to meet you.”

  “Well, I can’t wait to meet her either, but just not right now.”

  I shifted my attention back to the TV. I punched in the channel for CBS. The early game against the Jets and Bengals was just going into halftime. I smiled and leaned back in the cushion of the couch.

  I heard Sebastian sigh exaggeratedly before he said, “Look, Sabrina’s husband has a huge, 60-inch flat screen TV downstairs in his man cave. As a matter of fact, he has three televisions. I’m sure he and his friends are downstairs taking shots, belching, and watching the game as we speak.”

  Now, that caught my attention. My eyebrows rose to my hairline.

  “Three televisions… Really?”

  He nodded. “Yes. I’ve seen it. So, I guess I’ll see you after the game? About what time do you think you’d make it over? Seven o’clock, right?”

  I stood, thinking about seeing the game on a TV that size and I had to admit I’d been hooked like a hungry fish. I looked at our lonely ole 32-inch and smiled as my excited eyes met his.

  “Well, I guess I can stop over and meet everyone really quick. Also, the game doesn’t start for another hour, so I have time.” I shrugged, trying to be nonchalant, but I knew he saw right through me.

  To Sebastian’s credit, though, he didn’t say a word about my flip-flopping. He grunted knowingly as I grabbed the lasagna and bags of rolls, from our chair table and headed out the door, forgetting my hoagie completely.

  4

  Lauren

  We arrived at the impressive-looking house next door to ours. Sebastian rang the doorbell and a pretty, petite, girl with dark hair came to the door. She smiled brightly and I knew instantly this was the woman of the house.

  “Hey, Sebastian. Oh, that l
ooks so good.” She leaned forward and kissed my husband on his cheek. Now, I wasn’t the jealous type, but it did rub me the wrong way that this woman had established a relationship with my husband before we were even introduced. I knew it was my fault, however, which was why I plastered a wonderful smile on my face as Sebastian introduced us.

  “Sabrina, this is Lauren. Lauren, this is Sabrina.” He grabbed the food from my hands and I reached out my hand for a friendly shake, but Sabrina hugged me instead.

  “Lauren, it’s so good to finally meet you.” She looked over at Sebastian. “Wow, Sebastian, you didn’t tell me she was beautiful.”

  I smiled slightly, embarrassed under the watchful eyes of this hot-looking white girl. Sabrina moved back from the door and allowed us to enter her home. She had a very large living and dining room area across from each other, which was decorated in earthy colors with a touch of bright-colored pillows and light-colored curtains. We followed her to the back of the house into a huge kitchen. There were two other women sitting at the kitchen table. One was black and the other Hispanic.

  Sabrina laced her arm through mine and said, “Ladies, this is Sebastian’s Lauren.” The women looked me over before offering smiles. I took in the two women, sizing them up just as much as they were doing me before I returned their smiles.

  The black girl was very pretty with high cheek bones and an angular jaw line. Her makeup was flawless. She should give cosmetic seminars or something. Her hair, which was a wig, hung down to her cheeks in a flattering Chinese bob. The woman was thin with minimal curves and small breasts, but beautiful toned arms and legs. I mean her legs looked so good I was almost envious. The short dress she wore only accentuated with her legs.

  “Hi! I’m Amy,” the woman said, still smiling at me. Her voice was velvety, smooth, and matched the warmth in her eyes. I shook her hand, making sure I kept my smile in place. “And this is Melissa.”

  The Hispanic girl sitting next to Amy had long, black, curly hair and hips for days. She was quite stunning but more moderately dressed than Amy with light-color skinny jeans and a form-fitting white, long-sleeve shirt. She wore red heels that added something to her outfit, a flare of naughtiness, if you will. Melissa wore minimal makeup as did Sabrina. They didn’t need it; not to say Amy did. The two had that natural beauty. Amy probably didn’t need makeup either, but it just enhanced what she had, know what I mean?

  “Hi. It’s nice to finally meet you.” Melissa said smiling. We shook hands in greeting. “Sebastian talks about nothing but you.”

  “Well, don’t believe everything you hear,” I told Melissa.

  “Oh, it’s always good things, I assure you,” Amy chimed in and looked at Sebastian. I followed her gaze and found Sebastian blushing slightly.

  Well, what do we have here?

  I laced my arm through Sebastian’s and got close to him. I wanted to remind her exactly what my place was and at the same time put her in hers.

  Sebastian, who hated being in the middle of anything, said, “I’m sure Lauren would love to chat, but I want to take her downstairs before she starts getting beside herself.”

  “Oh, honey you know me so well.” I kissed his cheek.

  Sabrina laughed. “Well, I know what that’s like. If Paul misses any basketball or football games, he has a fit. Go and show her where the boys are and introduce her.” I waited for Sebastian to put the food down and he guided us to a door off to the side of the kitchen. When he opened the door all I heard was surround sound heaven.

  I smiled and fidgeted with anticipation.

  “Are you okay?” Sebastian asked, looking at me concerned.

  I nodded my head. “I’m more than okay, Sebastian. We are about to enter through the gates of heaven. Can you hear the trumpets sound?”

  Sebastian strained to hear then shook his head. “All I hear are screaming people, a whistle blowing, and bodies colliding.”

  “Exactly! Trumpets.”

  I closed my eyes and held on to the rails as I listened to the sounds of the game on the TV. The moment I heard sexy-ass Carson Wentz’s name being called, I smiled with anticipation. What I wasn’t ready for was the setup of the basement I’d just stepped into.

  There were three TV’s mounted on the wall exactly as Sebastian had described. In the center of the wall was a huge TV that looked to be more than 60 inches wide. On each side of the monstrosity of a TV was a smaller TV, each with its own game playing on the screen. There were comfortable-looking lounge chairs strewn all over the room, a loveseat behind the chairs, and a nice-size bar in the back corner stocked with bottles of white and brown liquor. Hung on the walls were all types of sport memorabilia, framed pictures, and posters of old baseball, football, and basketball players. There were signed helmets mounted on floating shelves in various locations around the space and a huge poster of Muhammad Ali.

  A beautiful dark-wood floor covered the entire basement. And surround sound speakers had been strategically placed all around the room, which was literally music to my ears. I loved the atmosphere. It was a true man cave in its glory. I looked over at Sebastian and tried to contain my excitement. I would never admit that I was glad I’d come with him, but the look in his eyes told me he already knew.

  As I turned back to the room, I noticed three men occupying the lounge chairs in front of us, chatting away. Two of the guys were sporting football jerseys and I couldn’t help the shit-eating grin when I realized what teams they represented.

  There was one guy, a rather large black man with muscles everywhere. He wore a red London Fletcher jersey, representing the Redskins. The other guy, who was tall and thin with light skin, wore a blue Tony Romo jersey. Both men were heavily engrossed in the televisions in front of them and didn’t notice us right away.

  The only one that realized they were no longer alone was the third guy in the room. He was a white guy, average build with black hair cut short on the sides and the top slightly long.

  This guy looked bored. He was positioned further away from the TV’s but closer to us. I noticed his good looks and great smile when he swiveled his chair to look at me.

  When the white guy rose from his chair and walked over to us, the others saw him move and followed him until their eyes fell on me.

  Sebastian cleared his throat and said, “Gentlemen, I’d like you to meet my significant other, Lauren. Lauren, this is David.”

  I stretched my hand out to the white guy who had walked up to us. “It’s nice to meet you,” I said pleasantly.

  “His girlfriend is Amy upstairs,” Sebastian added.

  My eyebrows rose slightly at that news. I wasn’t used to seeing interracial couples wherein the guy was white and the female was black. I wasn’t one of those types who felt if you were black you had to only date black. I didn’t see anything wrong with dating outside your race, except when it was rich black guys marrying white women. I mean why can’t a sistah get a break and come up a little?

  Anyway, I applauded black women who dated white men. On the rare chance I saw a couple mixed like that I smiled. I then would scrutinize the guy. For me, if I were to jump the fence and date outside my race, the man would have to be worth it. He would have to be hot as hell and have a better credit score than mine. And mine was pretty high. He would have to be sympathetic to the plights of black women and most importantly, he would have to be a boss in the bedroom. None of that nice stuff. He would have to be a beast and I just didn’t think white guys had that in them.

  I took in David as I smiled up at him, wondering if he fit the bill in my head. From first glance, I had to say the jury was out.

  “And this right here is Tyler.” Sebastian pointed to the black guy wearing the Cowboys’ jersey. “His wife is out of town at the moment, but her name is Tonya.”

  I walked over to Tyler, meeting him halfway. “Nice to meet you as well,” I said simply, accepting his outstretched hand.

  He smiled at me. “You too. We’ve heard a lot about you.”

  “Y
eah, but Sebastian didn’t say how attractive you were. What the hell are you doing with him?” asked the big guy behind Tyler. The man had a welcoming smile on his handsome face as he approached me.

  “And this right here is Tank,” Sebastian announced, rolling his eyes but smiling too.

  “Samson,” the big guy dressed in the Redskins’ jersey corrected and then took my hand. His voice was very deep and full and it reminded me of the late actor, Michael Duncan, from “The Green Mile.”

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he added as he released my hand. “We were wondering if you were real or just a figment of Sebastian’s imagination. He talked about you so much.”

  I laughed and shook his hand. “That’s my Sebastian!”

  “Where’s Paul?” Sebastian asked Samson.

  Samson pointed behind him. “He’s in the garage getting more beers from the truck.” He then looked me up and down and started laughing. I squinted at him, questioningly and he shrugged and provided, answering my unspoken question. “Can’t wait until Paul gets a load of you.” Samson looked over at Tyler and they both laughed.

  “Why?” I asked, but got my answer when I heard “Oh Shit!” It came from the far corner of the basement.

  I shifted so I could see past Samson and I saw this tall white guy with short black hair wearing a number 56 Lawrence Taylor jersey.

  This was crazy. I looked around the room and noticed that the whole NFC East division in football was represented.

  I shook my head and said smiling, “Oh shit is right.”

  “What?” Sebastian asked, confusion evident in his voice. I didn’t reply. I walked up to who I assumed was Paul and started to introduce myself but stopped dead in my tracks. I gasped in surprise, unable to breathe.

  I looked at the man up and down and couldn’t help but blurt out the same greeting he’d given in return. “Oh shit!”

  It couldn’t be!

  That amazing smile... The muscular body and those dark, intense blue eyes… It had to be him. It was him!