by Saundra
The mention of food must have turned Keisha’s stomach. The moment I said wings, she bolted from the couch like lightning, toward the bathroom. I raced to the closed bathroom door and listened as she seemed to throw up her entire gut.
“Can I do anything to help?”
I heard the faucet running. Keisha didn’t answer, but the door to the bathroom swung open. “Yes, just don’t bring up food,” she requested with the look of death all over her face.
“Sorry.” I hunched my shoulders and apologized.
“Just the mention of food has been making me sick. Oddly though, I have been craving Snickers bars and Sprite. And even though I throw it up, I still want it. But I can’t keep eating that shit; it’s gone make me fat and you know I can’t have that.”
“Hey, what’s the fun of being pregnant if you can’t eat what you crave?” I added.
“And that’s true.” She wasted no time agreeing with me. “Matter of fact, I sent Quincy to the store to stock up on them. Can you grab me one of each out of the kitchen? The Snickers are in the refrigerator with the Sprite. I like them super chilled.”
I laughed. “I will get whatever you want as long as you don’t blame me being the reason you’re fat when this is all over.”
I gladly went to the kitchen to grab Keisha’s order. I was going to enjoy her being pregnant. And I loved babies, so I knew I would spoil her baby rotten.
Chapter 15
“Wake up, sleepyhead.” DaVon kissed me gently on my right shoulder.
Slowly opening my eyes, I smiled at the sweet touch of DaVon’s lips; they were so sensual. His hand roamed my body and I squirmed from the pure pleasure of his touch.
“It can’t be morning already,” I said. But the bright sun that was beating its way inside proved I was wrong.
“And you are right. It’s not morning; it’s afternoon. You snored the morning away,” he teased.
Had my body not been so tired, I would have jumped straight up. “I do not snore.” I pouted playfully. “What time is it?” I slowly rolled over to face him, to find that he was fully dressed.
“After twelve o’clock,” he announced.
“Bae, why you let me sleep so long? I got things to do.”
“I figured you needed to get some rest. I know your night was long.” He grinned, then kissed me on the lips. We had been up most of the night jumping each other’s bones. And he was right, I was tired as hell. My limbs felt too heavy to lift.
“Yes, and I have you to thank for that.” I smiled. I may have been tired, but I was completely satisfied. DaVon didn’t hold back anything in bed and I made sure to match him.
“But listen, I brought you something.” He went under his shirt and pulled out a handgun.
“What’s that?” My eyes bulged at the black steel in his hand. That was the last thing I expected him to pull out.
“It’s a Ruger GP100. Just a small piece that I want you to keep on you at all times. It’s a must you stay strapped.” He was serious.
“DaVon, I don’t do guns.” I shook my head in disagreement at his comment.
“Babe, this is not up for negotiation; you have a new lifestyle now. Shit has changed. I been thinkin’ about this for weeks. You my girl, and shit out here can get real and fast. Now I know you ain’t no killer. But it’s a fine line out here in these streets. And if the time comes you might have to bust, and if that means taking a motherfucker’s life, then it’s just that.”
I just stared at the gun in his hand. He was so blunt and nonchalant about what he had to say. Was this what my life had come to? Being with him?
“These niggas out here thirsty in these streets, and anytime they see what they think is an easy score, they’ll try it. You from LA, so I know you ain’t blind to the way shit work out here.” As much as I hated to admit it, he was right. But I couldn’t stand to think of the harsh reality. Somehow, I thought evil couldn’t strike in my life again.
“You’re right,” I admitted. “I just don’t know if I’m ready for this.” I had never considered even holding a gun, much less owning one.
DaVon approached me and gently stroked my right cheek, and looked me in my eyes. “The moment you accepted me and my life, you were ready. You took on this life. With that came risk, and you can’t ever be vulnerable . . . Now you take this and use it to open and close doors, if and when you have to. And never think twice about it, because this holds no hearts.” He gently placed the black and silver steel into my hands.
“I trust you, so I’ll keep it close. I promise,” I added to reassure him. Relief was carved on his face. He had probably worried I would flat out refuse. “But I do have one question. Who’s going to teach me to shoot this thing?”
“I took care of that too. I set you up for lessons at the shooting range. And I plan to show you my skills as well.”
“Ohhh okay.” I glared at the gun, full of uncertainty.
“Well, sit up and eat.” He reached to the foot of the bed and picked up a tray that held buttermilk pancakes, eggs, bacon, sliced Polish sausage, sliced watermelon, strawberries, grapes, and orange juice. My stomach growled at the sight of it.
“Aw, bae, breakfast in bed.”
“Yep, I had Maria fix you up a spread. So I want you to eat before you get moving.”
“Thank you.” I continued to smile.
“A’ight, I’m about to be out. I got to hit these streets, but I’ma hit you up later.”
“Okay,” I puckered up for a kiss and he delivered.
After breakfast, I lazily climbed out of bed and strolled into DaVon’s massive bathroom, opened the shower door, turned on the water and allowed it to heat up. Sliding the straps of my silk night gown, I let it slide to the floor, then stood under the hot water. The water felt so good as I allowed it to soothe my muscles and wake me up.
Turning off the water, I climbed out, dried off, put lotion all over my body, then walked into the closet and picked out a romper and a pair of sandals. Dressed, I headed downstairs with my tray, found Maria, and thanked her for preparing me a wonderful breakfast. After grabbing the keys to my truck I was out the door.
I didn’t have any classes so I headed over to the dry cleaners.
“Hey, Katrina,” I said once inside.
“What’s up, Precious? I was wondering when you might come by today.”
“I wanted to come by earlier, but I overslept.”
“Them schoolbooks be kickin’ your ass, huh?”
“You already know. But I’m handling it.”
“That fine-ass DaVon got you tired too, I guess.” She grinned.
“He straight,” I replied.
“Good, you need to let loose. I’m glad to know you finally tapped into that fun I used to tell you about. You’ll be glad to know that business has risen another forty percent since last week alone. Precious, the cleaners kickin’ straight ass.”
“For real?” I guess the advertisement was paying off. I had invested in advertisement hoping to boost sales. I never really thought it would work.
“People been piling in and the machines are the best. People been coming back saying they stuff was on point. You should be proud.”
“I am. Just trying to take it all in. Thank you so much for coming back, Katrina,” I replied, full of gratitude. “I know it was hard when Dad had to let you go.”
“It was okay though. The business had been struggling for a while and I knew it was coming. I was really surprised he had been able to keep me on that long. But he’s smiling down on you. I bet he’s saying My daughter is a boss.” She tried to mimic my dad.
I couldn’t help but laugh because she actually had his body language down. “You do that quite well.” But I hoped she was right; having him proud of me would be the icing on the cake.
Heading back to the office, I counted the cash from the day before and got the deposit ready for the bank. I had to stop by and drop that off. The ringing of my cell interrupted me. I started to ignore the call so that I wo
uldn’t get off track, but it was DaVon. “Hey, babe,” I answered. I was always in the mood to hear from him.
“What’s up, babe? I was just checkin’ to see if you good.”
“Yes, I’m over here getting the deposit ready for the bank and I’m telling you, business is great. Katrina says the people are piling in, business up forty percent, and from the looks of the deposits, she is right.”
“That’s what’s up, and it will only get better. I gotta wrap up a few things, then I’m free. Let’s meet up downtown and have dinner.”
“Sounds great. I need to get this deposit dropped off, then check the house out while I’m out this way.”
“A’ight, I’ll see you soon. I’ll text you the address to the restaurant once I decide where. Unless you have someplace in mind.”
“Whatever you pick is fine with me.”
“Cool.”
After hanging up the phone, I finished the count, filled out the deposit bags and slips, and bid Katrina goodbye. As I pulled up to the bank, Keisha’s name lit up on my phone. “What’s up, Keisha?” I answered, but the phone line was dead. The phone lit up that the call had ended. Assuming Keisha had butt dialed me as she has done several times before, I decided not to call back. Turning up my radio, I got into Tamar’s “Love and War.” Keisha’s name lit up on my phone again. I turn down the music.
“Aye, Keisha,” I answered again. I heard what sounded like crying on the other end. “Keisha?” I repeated her name. I could hear that she was trying to speak, but I couldn’t make out what exactly she was saying. But I thought I heard her say something about pain and that she tried to call Quincy.
“Keisha, where you at?”
“Home.” The word came out but it was very weak.
“I’m on my way.” Ending the call, I tried to call Quincy but got no answer. I tried DaVon but got the same result. Jumping on the interstate, I drove eighty all the way to Brentwood. Thankfully, the front door was unlocked when I arrived. Inside, I found Keisha balled up in a knot on the floor with her cell phone tightly gripped in her hand.
“Oh my God, Keisha. What’s wrong? What happened?” I asked as I dropped down on the floor beside her.
“I’m in so much pain, Precious,” she cried.
“Listen, I’m going to call the ambulance for help.” I pulled out my cell phone but Keisha grabbed at my hand.
“No,” she cried. “Don’t call anyone to this house. Just take me to the hospital. I can walk to your car.”
“But that might not be safe, Keisha. We don’t know what’s wrong and we could harm the baby. The paramedics will know what to do.” I tried to reason with her. The last thing I wanted to be responsible for was something happening to her unborn child. These types of things could be sensitive. “Please let me call for help.”
“Precious, no!” She yelled this time and sat up, holding her abdomen. “Quincy would not want any law enforcement of any kind in this house.”
“But it’s the paramedics.”
“They the same damn people in our world. Now help me up.”
Against my better judgment, I stood and helped her up. Time was wasting and the last thing we needed to do was waste any more time. I just hoped that Keisha and her baby were okay. I didn’t see any blood so that gave me hope. But I thought it was some straight bullshit that she had to risk her baby to please Quincy. However, it was their house and their business; now was not the time for me to figure it out.
Chapter 16
Almost a week had passed and I still could not believe Keisha had lost her baby. I felt so bad for her, and to make it worse, the doctor said if we had been able to get her to the hospital at least thirty minutes earlier, they might have been able to save the baby. The doctor went on and on about something rupturing, therefore causing Keisha to miscarry. She had to stay in the hospital for two days for them to get her straight. She was trying hard to be strong though, and even though she was only three months along, I knew she was still experiencing a sense of loss. And for that I felt bad for her, because I knew that feeling all too well.
Lying in bed, I thought about the emptiness she might have been feeling from her loss. It brought on my emotions about the loss of my dad. People say time heals all, but I still was not convinced how true that was. Nothing about my loss had healed; in fact, it was stronger than ever.
“Babe, when you gone get out this bed?” DaVon strolled in the bedroom and sat down next to me. I had gotten up, taken a shower, and climbed right back into bed. I really didn’t feel like doing much.
“I don’t think I am. I just want to sit here and relax. Can you have Maria bring me a turkey sandwich?”
“You know I will. Are you feeling okay?” he looked me in the eyes.
“I’m fine, babe. Nothin’ for you to worry about.”
“A’ight. Well, I have to go out to Miami on business.”
“When are you leaving?”
“Tonight, but I should be back in a day or so.”
“Aww, babe, I’m going to miss you this time. I don’t feel like being alone. Can I come with you?” Normally I didn’t trip about him being away. But that empty feeling was back and I needed him around me. He made me feel whole.
“Babe, it’s business.”
“I know, but I can’t be without you right now.”
He smiled. “A’ight, pack your bags. I’ll call and book your flight.”
“Thanks, babe.” I smiled, feeling relieved. Climbing out of the bed, I didn’t waste no time packing my things.
* * *
Arriving in Miami had been just what I needed to pull me out of my rut. It was beautiful from the time we drove out of the airport. Palm trees were everywhere; the air even felt different. Either that or I was just amped to be away from Los Angeles. I loved home, for sure, but being in a new city seemed to just give my life a boost that I craved. And the hotel was to die for. DaVon had booked the Four Seasons, and it was grand. Upon arrival our room was filled with fruits, wine, and chocolates.
“Babe, this is so nice.” I bit into a chocolate-covered strawberry. I couldn’t resist.
“Nothin’ but the best for you. For me I just would have stayed at the Hilton or some.”
“You’re so good to me.” I reached up and kissed him deeply.
“Ummm, that chocolate tastes good on you.”
I smiled and took another bite of my strawberry.
“Real talk, babe, I could get used to this hotel.”
“Well, I’m glad you happy.” He reached in his suitcase and pulled out two stacks and passed them to me. They were ten thousand apiece. “I got to make a few runs. I got you a driver-slash-bodyguard downstairs waiting to take you wherever you want to go. So you shop and get you something nice. We got a social gathering to attend tonight.”
“A’ight, what time should I be expecting you?”
“Probably around nine, but I’ll text you. I have to get back to get dressed.”
He didn’t have to tell me twice; shopping was second nature. I had always liked to spend money. Daddy always teased me about marrying someone rich. And now that I actually had money to spend, I did. DaVon made matters worse when he specifically dropped money on me and said shop. Neiman Marcus was my destination. I loved that store with a passion. There wasn’t nothing inside that I didn’t desire. I could spend ten thousand dollars easy, and I did.
DaVon’s jaws dropped when I stepped out of the bathroom and I knew my choice for the night was a winner. “Babe, you so damn fine.” He complimented me and I blushed. “Turn around, let me get a good look at all that.” I slowly turned around and modeled my outfit, and I had to admit I was bad in my Badgley Mischka ivory jumpsuit topped with a stunning pair of Gianvito Rossi Portofino velvet ankle high-heel sandals. It was my first pair of shoes by Gianvito Rossi, but it would not be the last; they were comfortable. In fact, I had picked up another pair while shopping. “Come here, let me touch you.” DaVon tried to wrap me in his arms.
“No, babe, yo
u’re going to mess up my ivory.” I took two steps back from his reach. “I can’t be going nowhere dingy,” I joked.
“A’ight, I don’t want to mess you up. But tonight, I’m ripping it off.” He laughed.
“You do that.” I blushed again.
“Let’s jet.” He reached for my hand.
* * *
“Who was it you said that lived here?” My eyes bulged at the sight of the mansion we pulled up to.
“One of my business partners.”
“It’s beautiful.” I was mesmerized and it was clear that everyone inside must have been laced. The driveway was lined with Maybachs, Ferraris, Bentleys galore. So there was no question that there was some majors inside.
We made our way up the massive steps that led to the front, where bodyguards secured the door. DaVon gave them a code and we were inside like that. As soon as we were inside, a waitress carrying a tray of drinks approached us. We grabbed a glass. I needed it because I was suddenly nervous. The house was something to see; the mosaic tile that lined the floor was to die for. My eyes were glued to it.
“DaVon, my guy,” said a man with a neat accent that I could not describe.
“Aye, what’s good?” They shook hands. Whoever the guy was, he was fine. He was tall and he looked to be Hispanic. He had his long, dark, silky hair in a ponytail. He reminded me of one those guys off one of them mafia movies.
“Who is this beautiful young woman?” He smiled at me.
DaVon turned to me and grinned. “This my lady, Precious. And, babe, this my favorite Spanish friend, Pablo.” DaVon chuckled.
“Don’t pay this fool no mind.” Pablo laughed. With his accent it sounded weird when he said the word fool. But his words were just sexy, so it was easy to ignore. “Nice to meet you, Precious.” Pablo reached for my hand and kissed it.
“It’s nice meeting you too, Pablo.” I smiled.
“I can’t wait for you to meet my wife.” He glanced around the room. “Aye, baby. Come over here.” I loved Pablo’s accent. A tall Victoria’s Secret–type, clearly Spanish woman turned to face us. She wrapped up the chat she had been having with three females and headed our way.
