Pillow Talk 2

By Casandra Charles

In book two, Secrets Revealed, and book three, Pillow Talk, you meet Mike, a younger man who stole JR’s heart. He struggled with growing up as he battled the thoughts in his head and the passion in his heart for JR. Fast-forward a few years later, Mike now faces the biggest decision of his life as he stumbles to find inner peace after he meets Mary.

Mary is seven years older than Mike, and she was just looking for a good time, but then she met Mike, and her world is turned upside down as she hides a passionate secret that may end the life she worked so hard to deceive Mike into believing.
They say karma’s a b-- but when your relationship is built from Pillow Talk, they will have to live with their past, present and future selves, as both Mike and Mary battle decisions that can change their lives forever, but was it all just too good to be true?
Mike and Mary both will have to make permanent decisions from their short-term feelings for one another, but can this twisted love affair be a solid relationship built from a broken foundation based on lust and lies as secrets are revealed in the Mike and Mary saga.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Casandra Charles
• Release date: Sep 2, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463312797

Casandra Charles

Originally from Brooklyn, New York, with parents from Trinidad and Tobago, Casandra graduated college with a BA degree in Mass Media Arts at Morris Brown College in Atlanta, GA, where she resided for many years and now has her master’s degree in Adult Education.Casandra is an avid reader and always wanted to write a book but hesitated for many years, as she suffers from adult dyslexia. She never allowed her disability to hold her back on anything, and she finally completed her first book, Jamie Reynolds Chronicles: Lust and Lies, in 2015, Secrets Revealed in 2016, Pillow Talk and Too Good To Be True in 2018, Tinder, Love and Care in 2020, Thank You, Next in 2021 and Joy Ride in 2022.​Casandra loves to travel and explore and has a bucket list of places to visit a mile long as she slowly begins to check off a new destination every few months. She lives by many mottos, but her favorite one is “Live Laugh Love,” which is also tattooed on her left arm to remind her every day to Live today, Laugh often and Love always.

Book preview

Dedication

To all my readers who lived through a broken heart… keep your head up and continue to live your best life; it’s their loss.

Prelude from Pillow Talk 1

Hey, babe, welcome home. I missed you. J ran over and greeted me at the airport.

I’m not going to lie. I was still hungover and was still trying to recover from the weekend, but I was glad to be home.

Hey, babe, I said as I hugged J but really didn’t feel like answering a bunch of questions, as I just wanted to catch up on sleep. Thank goodness I took Monday off.

Oh, sorry, honey. I get it. Well, just relax, and we will be home in no time, J said, catching my hint.

Gotta love New Mexico because Sunday was no traffic, and we would be home in less than twenty minutes.

I cooked dinner. Do you at least want dinner?

Nah, I’m good, I said as I just stared out the window.

You seem so out of it. It’s a good thing you took off Monday, J said as if she were reading my mind. We drove in silence for a few more minutes until we made it home.

Home sweet home, J said as we pulled into the garage.

I forgot how much energy she has. After spending the whole weekend with a bunch of cats who didn’t care much, their energy level reflected it.

Babe, you not even going to grab your bag? J said as I just walked out of the car and into the house. Okay, I’ll just grab it for you, I heard her sarcastically say right before the door closed.

I was out as I made it upstairs and passed out in the guest room. The next morning, I woke up and noticed J was off to work. She’d left the house without waking me up, thank God. I still really didn’t feel like answering questions. But she left me random notes around the house, which she would often do to not disturb me.

Thank goodness I also had my phone on silent because the group chat was on fire with conversations and pictures.

Thank goodness J didn’t see the chat because these pictures were the worst. It was truly like the Hangover movies as I played catch-up on all the pictures and chat.

Yo, I got home and passed out. But you bugging, we need to delete these pictures, man. Come on, what happened to whatever happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

Mike is right. My vote is to finish posting pictures so we can all see what we missed because we were drunk as fuck; then let’s delete the chat altogether and just let the Hangover Three be a thing of the past.

Bet, I agree with Conrad.

Mike, I know you got some pics, so post your pics, nigga?

Yo, I’m still playing catch-up, but I got y’all.

I had no idea why I even entertained this group about pictures. I had been careful as hell during this trip not to take any incriminating pictures. So I really didn’t have anything to post like that. Also, Mary took the pictures, and I trusted her, as she wouldn’t be posting them, so we good. I didn’t trust these petty guys like that because I ain’t stupid. If I were single, then why would I delete the pictures or the chat? James, Conrad, Alex, maybe Ed and I would probably delete it, but the rest of the guys would most likely save it to show everyone the highlights of this trip.

The rest of the day, I was trying to get my life together while J was at work, but I was glued to the chat as the pictures were still rolling in. These guys were stupid for taking certain pictures and even posting them anywhere. They’d even taken videos, and I was pissed they’d caught me in a few of them, as I didn’t even remember some of these videos.

Yo, man, I thought we said no videos.

Come on, Eric, man. We said no videos.

What the fuck, Eric, did you record us?

Bro, not cool.

The whole group was pissed to know Eric had made a few videos and caught pretty much everyone all twisted. I couldn’t even watch some of the videos, as this could destroy marriages, hell, even engagements.

Yo, son, that’s enough. It’s time to delete this chat, guys. No one needs to see videos and shit.

I agree with Conrad. That’s enough. Let’s get rid of this chat.

Facts.

I’m good. Let’s delete.

Agree.

One by one everyone started deleting, and their profiles were disappearing. But ain’t no telling who saved what to where before they deleted it. Not to mention who shared what with whom already. The thoughts of these pictures and videos started to make me nervous, not just because of my behavior, but all these guys had careers, and these kinds of pictures and videos could straight fuck up some shit.

I had to clear my head, as I knew J was coming home soon, and I hadn’t done shit. I at least wanted to unpack. So I just threw my clothes in the laundry room and called it a day. J would be pissed to know I seriously stayed home all day and did nothing because in J’s mind, she always said there was something to do in the house at any given time. So I swept the floor and at least made sure the guest room was cleaned up.

I knew J would be home soon, and I knew she would hit me with a ton of questions about my trip.

Hey, honey, I’m home. You still sleeping? J yelled as she walked in the house.

No, I’m upstairs. Be down soon, I said as I changed my phone’s password because J knew the old password, and even though she never went through my phone, I didn’t even want her to see anything because I hadn’t deleted the chat yet. I needed to check in with each person to make sure everyone was on the same page before I let go of this ammo.

Okay, how was your day? J yelled from downstairs.

Why doesn’t she just wait until I get downstairs? I thought. I’m not going to lie, it felt weird being around J after my weekend away.

Day was good, I said as I finally made it downstairs.

Man, I missed you. Did you have fun? she asked, giving me a peck on the lips.

Yeah, it was cool, but you know it was a bachelor party.

So, this meant ass and titties, she said, laughing. I hope you just looked and not touched?

J’s comment had me nervous because I knew she was joking like she usually was, and I knew she always said she got nervous when a man changed his pattern, which meant something was up and he was probably up to no good. I was trying to act like everything was normal, but it wasn’t, and I didn’t know how long I could keep up this front, and J ain’t stupid and would call me out quick.

J and I had an awkward dinner with very little communication. I knew her mind was going a mile a minute as she was noticing my demeanor change. This same thing had happened when I went to Tennessee, and J bugged me for a week to tell her what had happened. In Tennessee nothing had happened, really; it was just good to be away from this life. But Vegas was the icing on the cake, and I didn’t really know what to do or where to go from here.

J leaned over and gave me a kiss, but again I could tell her mind was all over the place, so she just said, I’m heading upstairs to take a shower. Maybe we can talk if you are up to it when I get out?

There’s really nothing to talk about. I’m just still tired, I guess. But I knew she wasn’t buying that. Maybe it was the guilt of it all, but I needed to snap out of it and fast.

J went upstairs, and I knew I needed to make it through the night without going all the way to the left, so I texted Jordan. Hey, man, can I hit you up tomorrow? I need to talk. I guess he was expecting my call, because he said, I was expecting this. I’m available tomorrow morning.

Thanks. I knew talking to him was going to be helpful, so I was looking forward to it. I just needed to make it through the night.

J screamed.

Yo, J, what’s wrong? I ran upstairs to see why J had screamed. I was speechless as I saw J standing in the laundry room, crying as she was holding one leftover condom I had left in my pocket.

Babe, let me explain. That’s not even mine.

The look on J’s face killed me, but she was at a loss for words.

Baby, I swear it’s not mine. The guys must have been playing a game on me or something and placed it in my pocket.

J didn’t say anything, and she just continued crying then ran into the bedroom and closed the door. I was stuck. Do I give her space and allow her to cool off? Or did I go after her and try to explain myself? I knew I’d lied already, and maybe I needed to clear my own head and come up with a better explanation on the matter.

1

—

MIKE

Fuck, was all I kept saying to myself as I paced the hallway, every so often placing my ear to the door to see if she was still up. I swore she cried most of the night, and when she finally got quiet, I assumed she fell asleep, so I wasted no time trying to figure out what to do, which I was clueless, so I texted Jordan.

Hey, man, can we talk?

Yeah, what’s up? Jordan texted back in a matter of minutes as if he was expecting my text.

Can I call now? I replied, as I knew Jordan would know it was bad since it was almost midnight in Florida, and I couldn’t wait until the morning, as I’d just promised him a few hours ago.

Give me a minute, Jordan texted back. My guess was he probably was sleeping and might have excused himself from bed and maybe went in another room or something. I hoped his wife ain’t trippin’, but I needed to talk, like, really bad. Within minutes my phone was ringing, and I answered quickly since I forgot to place it on vibrate and I didn’t want to wake up J. If she was even sleeping.

Hello, I said.

How bad is it? was all Jordan said.

Man, shit is crazy. My bad, I quickly apologized for cursing on the phone. I did respect Jordan kind of like a father or big brother.

It’s all good. So what’s going on?

Man, shit got crazy. I cursed again but didn’t apologize as I kept on speaking. I don’t even know where to start?

Start from the beginning, man. I don’t have to be at work for another six hours, Jordan joked, but I believed he was serious.

Okay, so please don’t judge me, I said then took a deep breath. So after the conference, I stayed in contact with the group.

Hey, I heard Shayne, Alex and Ed, right?

And Mary, I added and waited to hear what Jordan would say next. He remained quiet, so I continued. Well, everything was cool; we had that group chat going, but then everyone started to fall off, but Mary and I kept on talking. It was kind of harmless at first. She was cool, seemed down to earth, and we have a lot in common. She lives in the Bronx, so it wasn’t like she was living in the same state or anything. She even helped me out at work if I had an issue or anything. We kind of got close, so I invited her to Vegas. She was kind of like one of the guys in Tennessee, so why not, right? I added as if I were trying to convince him and myself.

Was she the only female there? Jordan finally asked.

Yeah, she was.

So, let me stop you here. So I guess you didn’t know of her reputation back at the conference. Did you know she hooked up with Ed?

No, she ain’t hook up with Ed, I said, kind of losing my cool and respect for Jordan.

Yo, calm down, son. I am just telling you what Shayne told me. You know we also talk, and he works with Ed, so I just assumed Ed told him. You know Ed, Jordan said, trying to laugh a little and lighten the mood.

Whatever, man. I almost didn’t want to finish my story especially now knowing he talks to Shayne.

Look, Mike, I mean no disrespect, but I have a pretty good idea what’s going on, but I guess it’s best for you to continue.

I hesitated for a second, but I had no one else to talk to who would give me real sound advice. Hell, James and Conrad would give me props and ask for graphic details, so I couldn’t call them.

Well, to make a long story short, she’s different. I know I am engaged, and I love J and all, but there’s just something about Mary. As soon as the words left my mouth, I had to laugh because I knew J liked this movie, she got a kick out of it, and now I found myself a character in the movie.

What’s so different about her? Jordan asked, snapping me out of my daze.

I found myself sitting on the hood of J’s car as I really thought about his question.

To be honest, she’s more my type, we have a lot in common, and I think I have feelings for her, I said, downplaying what I really felt for Mary because I didn’t want Jordan judging me for what I was thinking of doing.

So you don’t think J is your type anymore?

I don’t know, man. My head is super confused, and I have no clue what to do.

So how is Mary feeling about you and all?

Well, it’s kind of mutual. I’m not gonna lie, Vegas was not really planned. Yes, I invited her. Well, she kind of invited herself, but I was cool with it. I didn’t tell any of the other guys, and at first it was just cool to hang with her. We spent time together as a group on the first night. Then the next couple of mornings we found time to spend more and more time with one another. The last night in Vegas was all a blur, but I know what happened, and the next morning Mary and I spoke.

***

My head was spinning as I woke up with a massive hangover. Thank God I made it to the room safely; I had no clue how I even got here. As I looked around the room, I noticed it didn’t look like my room, and moments later, I realized I didn’t dream any of it. I heard the shower turn off as Mary exited the bathroom, walking over to me and kissing me.

Hey, babe. I ordered room service, hope this is cool.

Yeah, it’s cool. My heart was racing and I kind of went along with the morning. Mary was only wearing a T-shirt, which was ironically one of the ones J bought before I left for the trip, saying she wanted me to be extra fresh as she threw a new pack of Hanes into my suitcase. Just as I was about to ask Mary what the hell happened last night, there was a knock at the door. Mary must have seen the look in my eyes.

It’s cool, babe. It’s probably just room service. No one knows what room we are in.

She was right.

Good morning, Mr. and Mrs.— The attendant stopped to look at the bill to get the correct name to address us.

It’s cool, thanks, just place it over there, Mary said, stopping the attendant from saying anything else.

As he rolled the cart over, I was kind of embarrassed, as he had to walk past her underwear and one opened and two unopened condoms on the floor. Not to mention two dime bag baggies and a half-smoked blunt on the desk.

Mary must have sensed my nervousness as she signed for the bill; then she said, What happens in Vegas, right?

The attendant just laughed and wished us a good rest of our stay as he exited.

Okay, I have to ask, I said, looking around the room for more clues. Everything is a blur. Can you fill in the details? I said, holding my head as if I could beat the thoughts back inside my head.

Well, what do you remember? Mary asked as she carried the tray over to the bed and placed it next to me as she made herself comfortable.

For a second, I forgot I was engaged to be married and this was my bachelor party. Mary and I had been secretly talking a lot over these last six months. We started off slow, maybe a few texts here and there; then it led to calls during work; then that led to calls after work; then it led to calls before work; and now thinking about it all, we often spent on average four to five hours per day communicating. I even felt bad about lying to J, saying I was on a service sometimes and couldn’t talk, just to finish up talking to Mary. I loved every minute of it; it was so refreshing to speak to her compared to J. Mary was just so down to earth and super chill. She wasn’t uptight at all. She also was in the same profession, so she understood this line of work, which was really helpful in a stressful job, unlike J, who found herself crying because someone was crying due to losing a loved one. Mary and I had something special, and I think this trip probably sealed the deal.

Well, I remember getting dressed for dinner, going to dinner, and then leaving to go party. I remember Ed and Alex talking, and then Ed handed something to Alex, and then Alex giving me condoms before we hit the first club. I even remember everyone kind of separating at different times, hooking up with random people. As soon as I said the last statement, I realized I actually remembered a lot more, but before I could even say another word, Mary noticed I was hard again.

I see you didn’t get enough. And within seconds, she removed the tray and we started kissing again, but I was wide awake to experience it all. Having sex when wasted was a waste because even though I probably came, I didn’t remember the details, but the last few hours in the morning Mary reminded me of what had happened last night, as she picked up the condom on the floor and placed it on me. We had sex in the bed, the shower, then smoked a blunt in between each round. It was amazing. She was even cool with me pulling her hair, unlike J, who hated getting her hair pulled or having sex in the shower without wearing a shower cap. Mary had my dick at full attention every time, and if it wasn’t, she made sure to suck it back to attention. I couldn’t remember the last time I bust so many times. So I knew last night had been crazy.

I can’t believe this all has to end in a few hours. Then I guess we go back to texting and calling, huh? she said.

I really had no words for her as I took another hit.

I know this isn’t the most ideal situation and all, but over this last month, I never felt anything like this before. You are an amazing man, and I don’t think your girl understands this. According to you, you guys argue all the time. She’s super bossy and judgmental towards you. You deserve to be with someone who allows you to be yourself. I love you and I want us to give us a fair try, Mary said with tears in her eyes.

I hated to see anyone cry, and I pulled Mary close to me and comforted her, which of course led to a final round of sex, but I didn’t have another condom, and Mary said don’t worry, so I made sure to pull out.

***

Man, Jordan, everything happened so fast. J is an amazing woman, but she doesn’t appreciate me like M does.

Is this what you really think?

Yeah, I do.

So now what, what are your next steps?

Man, this is what I was hoping calling you would give me.

Wait, you wanted me to give you your next steps? No can do, Jordan said without even allowing me to answer his question.

I love J and all, but I think I love M as well. Can I be in love with two different women at the same time?

Actually, no. I don’t think it’s possible for a man to love two different women the same way. You love your mom and you love your girl; then you can love your daughter. All three are women but all different kinds of love in the end.

Yeah, was all I could say because he was right, and I knew deep in my heart whom I loved more, but it was so hard to let her go.

You just need to figure out what type of love you have for J and M, Jordan said, pulling me out of my daze. It can’t be equal. Have you tried writing things down, maybe really looking at the bigger picture and figuring out your next steps? Because you know damn well you can’t lead these ladies on. Both of them deserve to have peace. If you want to be with J in the end, then you need to let go of M, and if you want M, then you need to let go of J, unless they down to share you, but you ain’t that cute or that rich, Jordan said, making a joke, but, man, I wished it were only that easy. Not me making enough money to keep them both, but having them both because they both added value to my life, which made the two of them the best combined.

2

—

MARY

Bitch, welcome back, Vanessa said as I threw my bag in the trunk and jumped into her car.

Hey, girl, I said, pretending to sound down.

So how was it?

It was alright, I said, still trying to downplay the past few days in Vegas.

Bitch, please, he turned your ass out. I can tell, Vanessa said, not believing me.

Girl, I turned his young ass out, I said with confidence after spending three days with Mike.

You’re such a ho, Vanessa said, holding up her hand as we high-fived.

Man, V, it was dope. His ass will be leaving that weak-ass fiancée in no time.

Damn, you’re cold-blooded, but is this what you want? I thought it was just for fun?

Cold-blooded, I repeated. Man, I’ve learned from the best. Making reference to the countless triflin’ things V had done over the years. Besides, you ain’t seen cold-blooded, because what we had in Vegas was the icing on the cake to what I was feeling these past few months. Mike is an amazing man, and according to all he has told me about JR, she ain’t taking care of his needs. This is both mentally and sexually, I said without answering the second part of her statement.

And you gonna take care of them? Vanessa paused. Well, sexually of course, she said with a wink.

Girl, you crazy.

Alright, tell me all about Vegas.

Well, we’ve been before, but this time was different. Well, for starters, it was a group of us instead of just the three of us. We partied mainly, but Mike and I had some real one-on-one time, so it was just different. I had my own room, but since guys are guys, they didn’t know I had already called the hotel and requested my and Mike’s rooms on the same floor and asked for the other guys’ rooms to be much farther away, and this is just what the hotel did. So everyone was clueless.

Alright now, Vanessa said, again holding her hand up for another high five, and we slapped hands, celebrating the level of plotting I did to make this the perfect weekend.

Girl, it was too easy. Guys don’t know how to plan shit, so I wasn’t even worried. Anyway, they kept calling me M in the chat, and I knew Mike did this on purpose because he didn’t want anyone judging him for inviting me. Or should I say, my ass inviting myself to the bachelor party.

***

Hey, what’s up? I said to Mike during our usual morning chat.

Whad up, homie? Mike said back; then there was an awkward silence. I hated when he called me homie when I was starting to have real feelings for him, and he stay be confusing me as one of his boys because we speak for hours a day, he sneaks off on the weekend to chat, we video conference one another a few times a week, and he tells me way too much personal stuff about his life, including about his relationship with that bitch JR. So we are more than just homies.

I’m good, I said sarcastically. What you up to?

Oh, I’m good, just chilling, Mike half-assed said.

There was an awkward silence and I could tell Mike was preoccupied.

You busy?

Well, I am at work, Mike sarcastically said.

Ha ha. Well, so am I, and that never stopped us before.

Then Mike laughed, but since I didn’t say anything funny, I was getting upset.

Alright, what gives? You haven’t said much this morning, and now you laughing at me.

Oh, my bad, I’m not laughing at you, I’m laughing at my stupid friends.

Oh, Lawd, what they talking about now? I said, pretending to care.

Well, we finally narrowed down the bachelor party plans.

Oh, really, so Vegas or New York? Deep in my heart, I was hoping they picked New York, but come on, it was a bachelor party, so it was gonna be Vegas.

It’s Vegas. Sorry, I pushed New York on the guys, but they weren’t feeling it.

It’s all good, thanks for trying, I said after spending a week trying to sell Mike on having his weekend in New York and hoping he could have convinced his wack-ass friends to come to New York instead of Vegas.

Again there was an awkward silence as Mike bust out laughing yet again.

These guys are stupid. They trying to come up with a cover story to tell the girls, Mike said, volunteering because he must have known I was getting upset he wasn’t paying me much attention.

You’ll be doing the most, just tell the girls what it is. I don’t understand how y’all stay in these relationships. Shit, I’ll just tell my situation—I’m going to Vegas and see you when I get back, I said, laughing.

Man, you crazy.

And you love this about me, I said, hoping he would say something to move his attention back to me.

All true, all true, he half-assed said.

I could tell by Mike’s tone he was back in the chat again with the boys.

So, here, tell the guys the best way around Vegas is to invite people of balance. This way the women ain’t trippin’. Invite a few squares who care about their relationship, and also invite maybe, like, J’s brother, didn’t you say y’all were cool, right? I continued without allowing him to answer. "Low self-esteem women need balance in a guy’s trip. They need assurance shit won’t pop off, so you guys need to downplay the trip and maybe make it about the guys reconnecting, maybe catching a lame-ass show and whatnot. You also need to keep the girls in the loop with the basics. Maybe get their input on where to stay, places to eat, etc. This way, it’s not a total secret because we all know what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas," I finally said, allowing him to process everything.

Again, there was silence.

Alright, Mike, I’m gonna let you go, I said in frustration, trying not to sound upset.

Wait, wait. I’m seriously typing in the chat all that you just said. That shit just might work.

And just like that, I fed Mike things to say in the chat and then dropped a few hints. I have never been to Vegas before, I lied, and the guys’ trip sounds cool, again another lie. And just like that, I was then added to the group chat under M.

The chat, later named Hangover Three, was all over the place. It started off with just Mike and his two best friends, James and Conrad, but after my suggestions he added maybe twenty other guys. One by one they all started to drop out of the chat, mainly because their girls weren’t feeling it, they ain’t have no money, or they just didn’t want to go, which no one bought that, and we all assumed it was because their girls was trippin’. In the end, I was cool with the numbers going down—fewer people to worry about. I didn’t say much in the chat outside of voting for whatever dumb-ass ideas they were suggesting. I was kind of over it all, but Mike was so into the group chat, and if I wasn’t a part of it, I felt like we would not talk as much since we now spent most conversation on Vegas, so I was glad to be a part