His Queen

Chapter 29

Simone

"You disappear for two whole days.
Where were you, and why didn't you answer your phone? I had to talk to you." Pamela says as she strolls through my front door, looking around. "Is hubby home?"

"This isn't his home, Pamela."

I quickly step before her, leading her to the front room to sit and talk.

Sebastian and I returned from our trip the day before, but I deliberately kept my phone in the room throughout the trip.

"When I'm with my man, I don't like distractions," I mumble while sitting on the couch and lying back on it. "I barely get any of his time as is." I bring my eyes to her as she sits next to me.

She sucks in a deep breath and shakes her head. "I'm done talking to Jamal." She looks around the front room before bringing her eyes to mine. "Is he here?" She whispers.

"Sebastian is most likely at work." I frown at how she is behaving. She's being incredibly weird. "He works every Saturday."

She clears her throat before exhaling sharply. "Jamal tried to get me to sleep with someone for money."

My eyes widen at her words in disbelief. "What?"

She takes another deep breath and closes her eyes briefly as she shakes her head. She opens her eyes, sinking into the cushion. "This is why I'm single. All men are assholes."

"What happened?" I ask her, hoping she was mistaken about the incident. If his brother made my friend feel that way, this could be a potential problem in the future.

Pamela chews on her bottom lip, contemplating her decision to open up to me. "He asked me if I would sleep with his friend for a hundred dollars. Of course, I didn't do it, and he said it was a joke, but it left me feeling weird about the whole thing."

My eyebrows furrow together at her words as my mouth drops open slightly.

"I've been trying to reach out to you to tell you to be careful about dating him. I've heard things about him." She stops shortly, meeting my gaze. I sit up on the couch, glancing in her eyes. "I heard bad things, Simone." She licks her lips, her eyes descending from mine. "He sleeps with different females. He sells drugs. Every day, I hear something new about the Hart family. Their sister, too."

I clear my throat, darting my eyes around, unsure how to respond to her allegations against him. "I'm being careful if that's what this whole conversation is boiled down to. You can't believe everything you hear, Pammy. I like the way I'm treated. And I'm sorry about Jamal."

She shakes her head sadly. "This isn't about Jamal. This is about you and him. I worry ---"

"We are not going to do this every time you think you hear something about him." I stand to my feet to walk away from our conversation. "He's not innocent, but I won't listen to rumors."

Pamela follows me through the hallway to my bedroom. "You don't have to get an attitude. I'm not trying to upset you."

I whirl around to face her, with anger setting in my eyes. "I'm so tired of your warnings, Pamela. How many times do I have to ask you to back off?"

Hurt flashes in her eyes as her lips tighten at my words. "Fine. You guys have only known each other for a couple of months. Been dating for how long?" My eyes turn to small slits at her words. "You don't know everything about him, and I think his money may tempt your judgment." She says quietly, her eyes darting around the room, avoiding making eye contact with me.

I cross my arms across my chest, inhaling a deep breath at her words. "I don't want to argue about this. If you want me to tell him what Jamal did, I will, but other than that ..." I shrug weakly. "What do you want me to do?"

"I just want you to be careful." She breathes out. "I see the way your eyes light up when talking about him. I want you to be careful."

I nod my head in understanding.

*****

Sebastian

Kim paced around our bedroom floor, angrily packing her bag to attend the club. I sit on the edge of the bed, watching her silently. Since returning from my trip with Simone a couple of days ago, she's been giving me straight attitude, barely saying more than two words.

"Are you interested in what the pregnancy test came back as?" She asks, darting her eyes to mine for a split second as she zips her bag up.

I hadn't thought much about her taking a test since the night I kicked Raquel out of our room. "What is it?"

She turns her body to face me as she stands by the bedroom door, her eyes glazed over in pain. "I'm not pregnant, and it would have been nice to have my husband here when I took the test."

"Well, then you should have waited for me."

She purses her lips together, shaking her head at my remark. "Where were you? Why was your phone off?" Her eyes search mine as she waits for an answer.

I shift my gaze downwards, unable to look her in the eyes. "Wanted some time away from all this shit."

She nods her head and turns away. "And why aren't you coming to the Castle tonight?" She inquires, bringing her eyes to me. "It's Saturday night."

"And I've told you I don't care to be there every Saturday night. You don't listen to me." My voice strains as I talk to her. "Go ahead, and I'll be here. We can talk more when you come home."

She sighs heavily, shaking her head as she adjusts the bag on her shoulder, her eyes staying steady on me. "Sebastian, what is going on? I've noticed your change and don't understand where it originated. It's like you're pulling away from me." She whispers, glancing out the door.

"Nothing is going on." I lie.

I've caught feelings for Simone, and I'm unsure what my following steps should be. Keeping her a secret is the only choice I have for now until I can figure things out. I know I can't logically keep Simone and my wife. Well, not forever.

"The reception was bad anyway. I just wanted a couple of days to myself. And since I only took a couple days, I'm taking a couple more away from The Castle. I'll go in Monday or maybe Sunday night."

"Here we go with this Sunday shit." She mumbles under her breath.

"It's one Sunday, and I'm coming back home."

Simone can have most of my time throughout the week if she is off. Spending time with her on the weekend is hard, but I'm trying to incorporate spending at least one or two Sundays a month with her.

Kim rolls her eyes, turning her lips up. "I can't deal with this shit right now. I just told you I'm not pregnant, and you want to discuss being out for more days? I'm trying to have a family." She sneers at me, stomping out the door.

"You're trying to have a family, Kim!" My voice echoes in the small, dark room.

She marches back into the room, bringing her icy glare to me. "Why are we arguing? You wanted the same thing I wanted. We sat in this room and talked countless times about our shifts and what worked for us. Suddenly, you want to work different days and expect me not to notice? And you wanted a baby too, Sebastian." Her eyes fill up with tears as she glances away, blinking the tears from her eyes.

Lately, I've been taking shit too far with her and Simone. Finding a balance between the two women is hard for me.

"I still want those things ..." I start carefully, avoiding eye contact. "We shouldn't discuss this before you go in." I drag my eyes back to hers, filled with hurt and anger. "I promise I'll be home when you come home. I'm not going anywhere tonight. I didn't want to be there tonight."

She glances at the watch on her wrist before glancing at me and exiting.

I sigh of relief as I temporarily escape the lingering question of my whereabouts. I hear her footsteps echo through the house as her heels click on the floors leading to the front door. I shake my head when I hear the front door open and close.

I hadn't lied to her. I planned to stay alone the evening in the house, away from both women.

*****

Thanks for reading!