CHAPTER 4
DOMINIC
When I heard the music in our room go off, I knew Kennedi had to be home. As much as I loved rap music, she hated it. She damn near hated everything. She was always saying that something was hood or ghetto. Since I grew in the hood, I didn’t see things the same way. I was born and raised in the projects along with my brother David and our younger brother and sister, Ivan and Nyla. Our parents worked and saved until they were able to afford a nice home on the west bank of New Orleans in Algiers Point. Kennedi was born with a silver spoon dangling from her mouth, but I wasn’t as fortunate. My brother and I had to work hard for what we wanted and that’s exactly what we did. My brother David had a Bachelor in Business Administration from the University of New Orleans. I hated school so going to college for four years was never an option for me. Instead, I went to Coastal Truck Driving School and obtained my CDL license. Together, David and I opened up a trucking company that now had a total of twelve employees. With his knowledge of business and my knowledge of trucking, Robert’s Trucking makes us some very good money. We did everything from local air freight to pickups and deliveries. Our parents were very proud of us and that meant the world to me. I was also happy that we could afford to give them and our little brother and sister anything and everything they wanted. My mom and dad never asked for anything, but Ivan and Nyla more than made up for that. We were living proof that where you came from didn’t determine where you were going.
After drying myself off, I walked into the room with only a towel wrapped around my waist. Kennedi was seated on the chaise that was located near the window.
“What’s all of this?” I asked referring to the clothes that were spread out all over the bed.
“You need to find something else to wear,” Kennedi said like I was her child.
“I already have what I’m wearing.”
“Dominic you can’t be serious. You have a closet full of clothes and this is what you choose to wear. What’s wrong with this?” She asked holding up a button down shirt and some slacks.
“Kennedi we’re going to a backyard cookout, not church. I’m not trying to dress to impress nobody,” I replied.
“It’s not about impressing anybody.”
“That’s exactly what it’s about. You’re always worried about what other people think, but I really don’t give a damn. I’m wearing my Levi’s and my J’s,” I said with finality.
It was bad enough that I was going in the first place. I hated going to her cousin Tiffany’s house. I knew for a fact that my ex-girlfriend Nadia was going to be there and I wasn’t looking forward to seeing her. Every time I saw her I felt guilty about doing her wrong. Nadia was one of the sweetest people in the world and she really didn’t deserve it. I met Kennedi when Nadia and I were still together. Nadia’s best friend, Candace was the first cousin of Tiffany’s boyfriend Bryce. We were all at their house one night and Kennedi and I started talking. At the time, David and I were just trying to get our business off the ground and she offered to help. Her mother owned a loan and finance company and she offered to help us out. In the beginning Kennedi kept it professional, but that all changed after a while. Nadia noticed it before I did and she tried her best to intervene. She wanted to be present every time I met with Kennedi, but she wasn’t always able to be there. Even after I started seeing Kennedi behind Nadia’s back I refused to end our relationship. When I found out that Nadia was pregnant, I ended things with Kennedi altogether. Unfortunately, she didn’t just go away like I expected her to. She drove Nadia crazy with all of her foolishness and eventually she lost our baby. Nadia didn’t want to have anything to do with me after that and I didn’t blame her. Unlike my brother David, I always wanted to be a father. He was twenty-eight years old and still didn’t have any kids. I wanted to have my kids while I was young so I could enjoy watching them grow up. Kennedi and I have been trying for a while, but we haven’t had any luck yet. She’s been pregnant twice, but she can never hold the baby for long. The last time was the hardest because we found out that we were having a boy.
“We need to talk,” Kennedi said walking over to me. She sat on my lap and rested her head in the crook of my neck.
“What’s up?” I asked giving her my undivided attention.
“We’re going to have a baby,” she said picking her head up and smiling at me.
My heart dropped to the pit of my stomach when she said it. It’s not that I wasn’t happy. I just automatically assumed the worse. We’ve been down this road so many times. It was hard for me to get excited.
“Are you sure?” I asked skeptically.
“Yes, I’m sure Dominic. I took two tests yesterday and one this morning. I’ve missed my cycle for the past two months, but I didn’t think anything of it. I’m never regular anyway, but all three of the test were positive,” she said.
I was quiet because I really didn’t know what to say. I hated to get my hopes up only to be let down in the end.
“Aren’t you happy?” Kennedi asked. She was looking at me for my reaction, but I didn’t have one.
“Yeah, I’m happy. You need to make an appointment to see a doctor,” I replied nonchalantly.
“You damn sure don’t sound happy,” she spat angrily.
She got off of my lap and stormed into the bathroom. I hated to ruin her good mood, but I couldn’t help it. Maybe if things had been different in the past I would have been happy. I grabbed my clothes from the bed and started putting them on. Once I was dressed I grabbed my phone and went downstairs. I needed to talk to somebody and only one person came to mind. David was not only my brother, he was also my best friend.
“What’s up lil brother?” He said when he answered the phone.
“Nothing man, I just need to talk,” I replied.
“What’s wrong?” He asked. I heard the concern all in his voice.
“Nothing’s wrong, but Kennedi just told me she’s pregnant,” I said.
“Again?” He asked. “You need to make her ass take some birth control or something.”
“You know that’s not happening at all. She knows how bad I want a baby and she’s trying to make it happen.”
“But apparently she can’t. You keep getting your hopes up high for nothing.”
My brother was not a big fan of Kennedi’s and he didn’t try to hide it. He really liked Nadia and he thought Kennedi was foul for pushing up on me knowing that we were still together.
“You know what I think the problem is?” David said.
“What?” I knew he was about to say something stupid, but I took the bait anyway.
“She had all them damn surgeries and the baby doesn’t have any room to grow. She had her stomach cut, her breasts and ass bigger. Hell, you might be about to marry a man and don’t even know it,” David laughed.
“Man you say some stupid shit,” I said laughing with him.
“I’m dead serious though. Do you even know what she looks like underneath all that weave and makeup?”
“Man, I’m gone. I hope you’re still coming over.” I didn’t tell Kennedi, but I invited my brother to her cousin Tiffany’s house too.
“Yeah, I’m still coming. I want see my girl Nadia,” he replied.
We disconnected our call just as Kennedi came downstairs. It didn’t surprise me at all when I saw the outfit she had on. She was all about appearances and trying to outdo everybody else. I was ready to go and get this day over with as soon as possible. I shot David a text telling him to be on his way. His presence was needed.
CHAPTER 5
CANDANCE
“Let’s go Co-Co,” I yelled to my slow ass brother. He was forever the diva and he took forever to get ready.
“Honey you cannot rush perfection. I would have been finished if I didn’t have to do Brooklyn’s hair,” he replied.
I loved my brother to death, but he was a pain in the ass sometimes. Co-Co and I were the only two kids and we are very close. We are also close with our family, mainly
my Aunt Pam, and her kids. Our father, Cordell, Sr. and Pam are brother and sister, but she’s always been like a surrogate mother to us. Our mother died of breast cancer when Co-Co and I were younger. Our father was devastated. He was a widower trying to raise two young kids and he didn’t know how. My Aunt Pam and her husband Bryce stepped in and took care of us like we were theirs. Words could never express the love I have for them because of that. With the help of my father, they made sure we finished school and found an occupation that suited us best. Both Co-Co and I loved to do hair so the decision was easy. We both enrolled in cosmetology school and became licensed cosmetologist. I started out doing hair, but I found that I liked braiding even more. We both work in my cousin Bryce’s shop and business is great. Since our father became a man whore when our mother died, he got himself an apartment. Co-Co and I lived in the four-bedroom, two-bath house that we all lived in when our mother was alive. My dad said he would never feel right bringing another woman into his late wife’s house and I agreed. He came over all the time until Co-Co did something to run him off. My brother was twenty-eight years old and very openly gay. When he told us ten years ago none of us were surprised except for my father. My Aunt Pam said that he was in denial and I totally agreed. My brother has been a diva ever since I can remember. He’s always dressed to perfection and a hair is never out of place. My father had a hard time accepting that his only son and namesake preferred men over women. As for everyone else, it was cool as long as Co-Co was happy.
“Oh hell no!” I heard Co-Co yelling from down the hall.
“What?” I asked when I walked into the room.
“Look at what this bitch is trying to wear,” he said holding up a pair of jeans and a t-shirt Brooklyn planned to put on.
“What’s wrong with that?” Brook asked innocently.
We were at my Aunt Pam’s house helping Brooklyn cook the food for Jaden’s gathering. Brook is a beast in the kitchen and just like my Aunt Pam, everything she makes is good. My baby cousin is the sweetest person in the world. Thanks to her brothers she’s also the most naïve person in the world. They have her so afraid of everything. She has a beautiful shape and an even more beautiful face. With the help of Co-Co and my Aunt Pam, her wardrobe is anything but ordinary, but she keeps on jeans and t-shirts. Co-Co had washed and curled her long honey blonde hair to perfection, but she’s about to ruin it with her choice of clothes.
“Bitch you could have worn a ponytail if you planned on wearing jeans and a dingy t-shirt. Got me wasting my time curling your hair and shit,” Co-Co spat angrily.
“She is not wearing that. Help me find her something else,” I told him.
“I’ll be happy to,” Co-Co said pushing me out of the way. “We’re about to make that ass pop out.”
Co-Co found her some low-rise, hip hugger jeans with a cute fitted racer back tank that showed a small portion of her flat stomach. When she put on her Gucci wedge tennis shoes and matching belt she looked like a totally different person. Co-Co rummaged through her jewelry and found some earrings and bracelets and her look was complete.
“You look so pretty Brook,” I cooed as Co-Co added some Mac gloss to her lips.
She looked at herself in the mirror and smiled at her reflection.
“This is how you’re supposed to dress. I don’t know why you keep trying to hide your shape. A bitch like me would walk around naked if I had a body like yours,” Co-Co said.
“Bryce is going to have a fit,” she said shaking her head.
“Don’t worry about Bryce, we’ll deal with him,” I told her.
“Alright, let’s go because a bitch is hungry,” Co-Co said grabbing his clutch.
We loaded the food into my car and headed over to my best friend, Nadia’s house. She was riding to Bryce’s house with us. I wanted that bitch Tiffany or her fake ass cousin Kennedi to play with my girl. I was going to tear Bryce’s house up.
“Hey y’all,” Nadia said when she got into the car. “I know that’s not Brook looking all cute and stuff.”
“Yes honey, we gave Molly the Maid a makeover,” Co-Co replied.
“You are too pretty,” Nadia said to Brooklyn.
“Thank you,” my cousin replied shyly.
Ten minutes later we were pulling up to Bryce’s house. I called him to come outside and help us bring the food in. He did a double take when he saw Brooklyn and I saw the veins in his forehead pop out.
“Baby, what the fuck do you have on?” He said angrily.
Brooklyn looked scared so I jumped in and replied for her.
“Leave her alone. She’s wearing what girls her age are supposed to wear. Y’all can’t keep treating that girl like a damn baby,” I yelled in her defense.
“You picked a fine day to play dress up with my little sister. All these niggas running around here and she got all her ass on display,” he fumed.
“And what a big ass it is,” Co-Co replied making things worse.
“Cordell shut up,” I yelled just to piss him off. He hated when anyone referred to him by his real name.
“No, you didn’t just call me that. Don’t get your ass whipped out here Candace.”
I was about to reply until I saw Dominic’s truck pull up with that hoe Kennedi sitting in the front seat. He hopped out and walked around to open the door for her. When our eyes locked, she looked away like the scary bitch she is.
“How y’all doing?” Dominic said when they approached us.
We all spoke back with the exception of Nadia. He’d hurt my friend so bad that it was hard for her to even look at him. Kennedi was holding on to his arm like she was afraid that he would run away.
“I’m going to start warming the food,” Brooklyn said walking away. She walked up the stairs and disappeared into the house. Dominic’s body was here with us, but his eyes followed Brook until she was out of sight. Bryce wasn’t paying attention, but Kennedi surely was. She was looking at him the entire time that he was looking at Brook.
“Where’s Tiffany at Bryce?” Kennedi asked my cousin.
“She’s in the yard with everybody else,” he replied while walking away.
Kennedi and Dominic followed him to the yard while the rest of us stayed out front.
“Is it just me or was Dominic’s dog ass staring at Brook?” Nadia asked.
“No honey, he was most definitely staring. This is going to be an interesting day,” Co-Co said walking away with us following right behind him.
When we got to the yard, it was already full of people. My dad and Aunt Pam were sitting at a table and my uncle Bryce was on the grill. Jaden was on the card table with some of his friends. We walked over to congratulate him right when Brooklyn walked outside. Just like Bryce, his face showed his displeasure with what his sister had on.
“Got damn!” Some of Jaden’s friends said under their breath, but loud enough for him to hear.
“Nigga don’t get fucked up out here,” he warned while looking at them. “Y’all better stop looking at my little sister.”
“Damn bruh, I didn’t know who she was. She pretty as hell,” one of the men commented.
“Your ass is about to be on the outside looking in. I just told you stop looking at her,” Jaden warned again.
All of the men turned their attention from Brook and back to the cards that were on the table. I couldn’t even front, all eyes were on my baby cousin, but she was too dumb to notice.
“Look at my baby,” my Aunt Pam said admiring her daughter. “You look so pretty.”
“My niece is fine,” my daddy said already sounding like he had too much to drink.
“Man cut that out. I don’t know why y’all keep telling her that shit,” Bryce fumed.
“Boy sit your ass down and shut up,” my Auntie replied with a wave of her hand.
“Cordell, come here boy,” my daddy called out to my brother.
No matter how many times he told him not to, he still called Co-Co by his real name.
“Lord, why is this man s
o illiterate?” My brother said referring to our father. “I keep telling you not to call me that. Everybody calls me Co-Co except for you.”
“I didn’t name you Co-Co and I’m not calling you that,” he slurred. “Your name is Cordell, Jr.”
The party was just getting started and he was already wasted. I pulled my brother away before an argument started. We walked over to an empty table and sat down. I saw Kennedi and Tiffany sitting together whispering in each other’s ear. They were looking in our direction and I had a feeling they were talking about Nadia. Tiffany laughed out loud at something her cousin said and I laughed right along with her even though I know we were laughing for two different reasons. Kennedi was so busy trying to be messy she never even noticed that her fiancé was undressing Brooklyn with his eyes.
CHAPTER 6
BROOKLYN
I was so happy when Kevin and his brother Kyle arrived. I think I was happier to see Kyle because he would occupy some of Bryce’s time. He had been on me from the time I walked into the yard up until now. Some of my brother, Jaden’s friends were trying to flirt with me and that only made him watch me harder. Nobody here was cute to me so he didn’t have anything to worry about. Well, nobody except for Kennedi’s boyfriend. Well, her fiancé as she kept reminding us. I kept trying to steal glances at him, but it was kind of hard because he kept staring at me. He had the prettiest caramel colored skin that I’d ever seen. His eyes were beautiful, but not in color. They were dark with long full lashes and they squinted when he laughed. He was way taller than me so he had to be over six feet. He had a lot of tattoos and that turned me on even more. Kennedi clung to him like he was a trophy and I could see why. Unfortunately, looking was the only thing I could do. Not only was he already taken, a man like that would probably never be interested in somebody like me.
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