Never Again Once More Read Online Free Page A

believe how much I paid for my home ten years ago and what it’s worth today.” Maybe she was testing him to see if he planned on moving to L.A. Wellington wanted but refused to ask Jada for a chance to make things right between them. “How close are you to completing your business and operating plan?”
    “Not very. In fact, I haven’t even started. I’ll work on it next week.”
    “You think your mom is going to let me in?” He hadn’t seen Jada’s mother since their breakup. Their separation wasn’t completely his fault. But Jada acted as if her contributions were less important. Adam didn’t pick the apple from the tree, but every Christian in the world knew he was just as guilty as Eve. So what if Jada hadn’t initiated the threesome. She’d participated.
    “Why wouldn’t she?” Jada bypassed the Beauty of the Week. “Ah, ha. Gotcha.”
    Wellington smiled and nodded. “That’s all right. You’re sexier than all of them put together.” He turned on 106.1 KMEL and passed the time with sporadic Dyad until he parked outside Mrs. Ruby’s house in San Leandro. “Does Robert still sleep across the street?” he asked as they walked toward the front door.
    Wellington envied how Jada’s mother and her second husband had separate residences. Robert courted Ruby as if they were high school sweethearts. He bought Ruby flowers every week, ran her bathwater, and massaged her feet. She cooked his dietetic meals, watched his intake of carbohydrates, pricked his finger three times a day to test his sugar level, and clipped his toenails to make sure he didn’t get an infection. Every story Jada shared about her mother had a happy ending, but she never talked about how her father had died.
    Unfortunately, Wellington had never known the love, joy, or touch of his real mother. So he lived vicariously through the stories his older sister, Jazzmyne, shared about their mother, Katherine. Jazzmyne told him how Katherine had visited Cynthia every week for an entire year after he was born just to hold him in her arms. After Wellington’s first birthday, Cynthia had insisted Katherine discontinue her visits, fearing Katherine might steal him away. Since Cynthia had become infertile during adolescence, she didn’t want to risk losing Wellington to anyone, especially the sister who had supposedly stolen her man.
    Wellington was pulled from his thoughts when Jada answered.
    “Only when they have a disagreement, because they don’t argue. Or when Robert is watching a game with his friends. Can you believe every room in Robert’s house has a Raiders theme? His welcome mat, electrical plate covers, towels, and plates, you name it. Mama cooks for every game. Sets up the food at his place. Then goes about her business. She calls it his sanity time.”
    “That’s a great arrangement.” Wellington rang Ruby’s doorbell, then softly kissed Jada’s lips, remembering the intimacy they had shared last night. That was the first time Jada had slept in his bed since their ménage à trois with Melanie.
    When Robert opened the door, the buttons on his Raiders cardigan sweater were unevenly matched, so one side hung longer than the other. “Hey, look a here. It’s Homeo and Diamonette. What’s up cat and catette? Come on in. Jada, Ruby in the kitchen. Homey, you can have a sit down with me. I spoke with your stepdad Christopher yesterday. We went to dat Super Bowl Mardi Gras down in New Orleans . Man those ‘Who Dat’ cats party way harder than they work. You’d think they won the Super Bowl. And I could have sworn this woman at The Bottom Line was tryin’ ta put a root on me, but Ruby wasn’t havin’ it. So y’all gettin’ ready to hit the road, huh?” Robert smacked his hands together, dashing the right one in the air.
    The Bottom Line. Wellington laughed. They really did get around. “Yeah, I didn’t want Jada driving by herself.” Wellington’s cellular phone rang. It was Melanie, so he hit the end button to