Complicated 3

by Chenell Parker

  “I know that y’all are right, but I just can’t help theses tears. I’ve been praying for them both, and that’s about all I can do. Ms. Sara gave me a book, and I’ve been using it every night,” Nakia replied.

  “Ms. Sara is always giving somebody a prayer book and be cursing people out too,” Zyra laughed.

  “I know, but that’s really been helping me,” Nakia sniffled.

  “That’s good, but enough of your pity party. I need to talk,” Zyra said as she emptied her glass and refilled it.

  “What’s wrong with you now?” Amber asked as she rolled her eyes to the ceiling.

  “You know Amber, ever since you started getting the dick regularly, your attitude has started to change,” Zyra said giving her the side eye.

  “No, it hasn’t. I’m only joking,” Amber replied.

  “Well shut up and listen,” Zyra demanded. “I think I’m in love.”

  “Girl bye,” Nakia said as she grabbed a glass and filled it up. Her tears had dried up quickly, and she was ready to get wasted.

  “I’m serious y’all. I know that I play around a lot, but not this time,” Zyra swore with a serious face.

  “What’s his or her name?” Rylee asked her.

  “It’s not a her it’s Jeremy. Honestly, since we’ve been spending so much time together, I don’t even have a desire to be with a woman. I don’t have a desire to be with anybody for that matter. I could kick myself for trying to push him away before. It must be serious. I invited him to spend this weekend over here,” Zyra rambled.

  “Girl you must really be in love. You’ve never ever invited anyone to your house,” Rylee laughed.

  “I know, I just hope I’m making the right decision,” Zyra responded.

  “You are Zyra. Jeremy is good to you. No matter how many times you tried to push him away, he always came back. He treats you right, and he’s a gentleman. I hope everything works out for y’all,” Rylee said sincerely.

  “Thanks sis, but that’s not all,” Zyra noted.

  “Oh Lord,” Nakia laughed. “What now?”

  “I had lunch with Tommy yesterday,” Zyra confessed.

  “What! Why the hell would you do that?” Rylee questioned.

  “He called me for two weeks straight asking me to meet him. I finally agreed, but I suggested a busy place and had Jeremy sitting at a table across from us. I watched Snapped enough to know how crazy some people can be,” Zyra said.

  “What did he want?” Amber inquired.

  “He wanted to apologize,” Zyra shrugged.

  “Really?” Rylee asked with raised brows.

  “Yeah and I didn’t know how much I needed that until it happened. He basically apologized for making me feel like less than a woman. He said that he ruined our marriage the day that he decided to bring another woman into our bedroom. He said that he regretted that.”

  “I still don’t trust his ass. He was trying to help Mekhi buy Rylee out of the business, and he’s still in business with Mekhi now,” Nakia yelled.

  “He talked about too. He said that teaming up with Mekhi was one of the worst things that he’s ever done,” Zyra replied.

  “I’m sure it was,” Rylee spat.

  “I just feel like I got closure, and I’m finally ready to move on with somebody new,” Zyra went on.

  “Sometimes closure is all you need,” Rylee agreed.

  “What about you?” Nakia asked her cousin.

  “What about me?” Rylee countered.

  “Do you ever feel like you need closure with Mekhi?” Nakia replied.

  “Girl hell no. I got all the closure I needed from his ass. Some things just don’t need to be explained. Mekhi is a hoe, and that’s all there is to it,” Rylee shrugged.

  “Kendrick said that he got another baby on the way by that chick that we saw with Carolyn,” Zyra said.

  “I heard. I feel bad for her, and I don’t really know her,” Rylee replied.

  Rylee saw Kendrick a lot since he worked at Zyrian’s body shop. She was so happy to see that he had gotten himself together and was doing well. He’d recently purchased another car and was expecting his first child with his girlfriend. Kendrick said that both of his sisters left home and moved back to the projects, and Carolyn was still looking for a handout. She had a job for about a month before she quit. She was always claiming that something was wrong with her, but she was just lazy. Kendrick had washed his hands with her, and Mekhi had apparently done the same. If she didn’t find a job soon, she would be out on the streets right along with Leslie. Not much had changed with Mekhi. He still wasn’t in his daughter’s life and had the nerve to have another daughter on the way. He was truly a poor excuse for a man.

  “Where is their club located?” Amber asked shaking Rylee from her thoughts.

  “I have no idea,” Rylee shrugged.

  “Okay, since everybody is confessing, I have one of my own,” Nakia spoke up.

  “Wait, let me pour myself another drink,” Rylee said as she refilled her cup. “Okay, talk.”

  “I’ve been sleeping with Buck for the past few weeks,” Nakia blurted out.

  Everybody in the room looked at her like she was crazy, but nobody said anything. Nakia didn’t know if they heard what she’d said so she repeated herself and spoke up a little louder.

  “I told you!” Zyra yelled while pointing at Rylee. “I knew something was up.”

  “You told her what?” Nakia asked.

  “I went off on his ass last week because I found a pair of underwear in his bed when I made it up. I thought he had that bitch Asia in my house, but he swore that he didn’t,” Zyra answered.

  “So how did you assume it was me?” Nakia questioned.

  “I can’t explain it, but I had a feeling. Y’all be looking at each other weird now. It’s like y’all are uncomfortable around each other, and it was never like that before.”

  “You and Buck,” Rylee exclaimed as she doubled over in laughter.

  “Shut up Rylee. That’s just why I didn’t want to say anything,” Nakia frowned.

  “Why? My cousin is a good man. He works hard, and he knows how to treat a woman. Asia’s trifling ass just wasn’t the one. What, you don’t like him like that or something?” Zyra questioned.

  “It’s not that. We vibe well with each other, and I do like him.”

  “Well, what’s the problem?” Zyra asked.

  “He just got out of a relationship. I don’t want to feel like the rebound person,” Nakia replied honestly.

  “I understand your feelings Nakia. Zyrian and I had the same talk before we made things official. You need to tell Buck how you feel and y’all can take it from there,” Rylee suggested.

  “Yeah, we’ll talk about it soon. He might not even be ready to get into something else so soon,” she replied.

  “Alright, enough about that. We need to find us a bad ass outfit to wear to the grand opening of the bar next week,” Zyra yelled excitedly.

  April was true to her word, and she delivered a new set of paperwork to Zyrian and Rylee the following Monday. The bar had no violations, and they were free to open whenever they were ready. The architect had done his thing, and the renovations came out better than Rylee had expected. Instead of having the party area upstairs, Zyrian had them to build an extension in the rear of the building to accommodate private parties. The upstairs area was now for VIP customers. Zyrian had a bar and bathroom up there now, so VIP customers didn’t have to go downstairs for anything if they didn’t want to. They had a full staff ready to work as soon as they opened. Rylee even rehired Frank as the manager, and he couldn’t have been happier. She was shocked when he reached out to her, but she wasted no time giving him the job.

  “I know girl. Your daddy is so happy. He’s more excited than me and Zyrian,” Rylee laughed.

  “You know he lives for that kind of stuff. He used to always talk about owning a bar when we were younger. Zyrina made his day when he got that one,” Zyra laughed with her.
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  “We need to hook up and go shopping very soon,” Nakia suggested right as Buck walked into the house.

  His eyes immediately landed on hers, and he knew that something was wrong. Nakia’s eyes were still red and slightly swollen from when she’d been crying earlier. She had been going through hell worrying about her mother and sister. He was sure that whatever had her so upset had something to do with them.

  “What’s wrong with you?” Buck asked Nakia while completely ignoring everybody else in the room.

  “Hello to you too Brandon,” Zyra said calling him by his real name.

  “My bad. What’s up y’all?” He spoke while keeping his eyes trained on Nakia.

  “Well, that’s our cue to leave Amber. Y’all call me when y’all want to go shopping,” Rylee smirked as she stood to her feet.

  Amber followed her out while Zyra stayed behind and cleaned up their mess. She was only in the kitchen for about five minutes, but Buck and Nakia were gone when she got back to the living room. There was no need for her to ask where they went because the light in the bedroom that Buck slept in had just been turned off. Zyra chuckled to herself now that she knew the truth. She was happy to know that it was Nakia that he’d been having in his bedroom and not his ex-girlfriend. Hopefully, things worked out for them because they were both good people. As long as Asia’s ratchet ass stayed away, they wouldn’t have any problem if they decided to be together.

  Chapter 19

  “Man Rylee, I feel bad as fuck leaving you here with two sick babies. My daddy and his brothers can handle that shit for one night. You said yourself that Frank can run the place with his eyes closed,” Zyrian said to his wife.

  “That would have been cool any other time, but this is the grand opening. I’ll be fine Zyrian. Amber and Zyra will be here with me,” she assured him.

  After finding the perfect outfit and getting her hair cut and colored to perfection, Rylee would be unable to join her husband for the grand opening of their new business. Their baby boy had a head cold, and it wasn’t long before he passed it on to his sister. Both babies had been running a fever off and on, and Rylee didn’t feel right leaving them with anybody. Zyrian wanted to stay home with her, but she wasn’t having it.

  “Damn,” Zyrian sighed. “I’m not gon’ even feel right without you there.”

  “It’s not the end of the world Zyrian. We’ll do something together once the babies feel better,” Rylee promised with a kiss on his lips.

  He was about to say something else, but the ringing of the doorbell cut that short. A few seconds later, Zyra and Amber walked in looking just as depressed as he felt.

  “You look good Zyrian,” Amber complimented.

  “He looks too damn good to say he’s going somewhere without his wife,” Zyra frowned.

  Zyrian wore Gucci from head to toe including the cologne that he splashed on once he was dressed. His fresh cut and line up had him looking like he’d just stepped off the pages of a male model magazine.

  “Shut your ass up Zyra. And keep your thieving ass out of my liquor. If you want something to drink, grab a beer,” Zyrina ordered.

  “Aww, auntie’s babies are sick,” Zyra cooed as she stood over the playpen where her sleeping niece and nephew were at. At six months old, the twins looked like chubby little replicas of her brother. They both had a head full of curly black hair just like he did when he was a baby.

  “Their fevers finally broke, so I’m happy for that,” Rylee spoke up.

  “That’s good, but what do y’all have to eat in here?” Zyra said as she and Amber walked away to the kitchen.

  “You better get going,” Rylee said as she looked over at Zyrian.

  “Baby if you need me just call, and I’ll come right back. I’ll try to be back as soon as I can,” Zyrian promised as he kissed her lips.

  “Okay,” Rylee agreed as she walked him to the door.

  Once he was gone, she made her way to the kitchen and sat at the island with her cousin. Zyra was pulling meats and cheese out of the fridge, preparing to make them some sandwiches. She couldn’t even front she wanted to be by her husband’s side at the bar, but her babies came first. Hoes liked to push up on the nigga in charge, and she wanted to be there to let them know it wasn’t going down.

  “I’m bored already, and it’s still early,” Rylee laughed.

  “I know. Nakia should be on her way over. She just got off from work,” Zyra replied.

  “Y’all are so sweet for staying here with me when y’all could have been partying instead,” Rylee said.

  “Just know that I must really love your ass,” Zyra replied right as the doorbell rang.

  “I got it,” Rylee said as she walked away to answer the door. She peeked out of her side window and was surprised to see who was standing on the other side of her door.

  “Hey baby,” Sara said as she gave her granddaughter a tight hug.

  Her grandmother being there wasn’t the only surprise. It was who she was with that surprised her the most. Her mother-in-law and her aunt Susan stood behind her laughing at the shocked look on Rylee’s face.

  “Hey, what are y’all doing here?” Rylee questioned.

  “We came to make sure you got dressed and got the hell out of this house,” Glenda answered as all three women walked in and closed the door behind them.

  “I’m not going. Zyrian didn’t tell you that the twins were sick?” Rylee asked her.

  “That’s why we’re here. I talked to him earlier, and he told me that you were staying home with the babies. This is a big night for y’all, and you need to be there. We can handle the twins until y’all come back,” Glenda replied.

  “That’s so sweet of y’all, but I’ll have to pass,” Rylee smiled.

  “We weren’t asking you. You need to go be with your husband before one of them club hussies get to him first,” Sara replied.

  “I just don’t feel right leaving them with anybody while they’re sick,” Rylee said.

  “Rylee we’re three grown ass women. I’m pretty sure we can handle two sick babies. And my sister is on her way over here too,” Glenda informed her.

  “Yeah, now go get dressed. We got this,” her aunt Susan demanded.

  “Okay,” Rylee finally agreed excitedly.

  “Yes!” Zyra yelled. “Let me go home and change my clothes.”

  She called Nakia and told her about the change in their plans. Amber left to go get dressed right as Rylee was getting into the shower. She thought about calling Zyrian to let him know that she was coming, but decided to surprise him instead. He was going to be happy to see her because she was happy that she was going.

  ***

  “Got damn boy. They got hoes for days up in here,” Grim shouted over the loud music to Zyrian.

  The grand opening was jam packed to capacity and it was more than Zyrian expected it to be. His pops was excited, and he couldn’t sit still if he wanted to. He had all of his brothers in attendance, and they had VIP on lock. Zyrian was skeptical about it at first, but the money was coming in all kinds of ways.

  “Hell yeah, but what made you made you name the place that?” Snake asked him.

  “Fuck you mean? That’s my wife nigga,” Zyrian replied as he continued to observe the crowd. He wished that his wife could have been there with him, but things didn’t work out like he planned for them to.

  “I can’t wait until we start working the front door. I’m smashing everything that comes through here,” Grim spoke up. Grim and Snake would be working security, but Zyrian had hired security guards from a local company just for the night.

  “Look at them dusty hoes,” Snake frowned making Zyrian look towards the door at a group of women who had just walked in.

  He shook his head when he saw Dedy and her entourage walking in looking like they’d just stepped down from a stripper’s pole. Dedy had three kids, but she didn’t look like nobody’s mama at the moment. Her tight white jumper left nothing to the imagination. It was cut so low in
the front that her pierced belly button was revealed. She didn’t have on a bra even though she needed one, but nobody could tell her that she wasn’t the shit. Zyrian frowned when he saw Dedy making her way over to where he was.

  “What your nasty ass doing here Dedy?” Snake said as he looked at her and her girls who were standing there with her.

  “I’m here to support my friend,” she replied while smiling at Zyrian.

  Word had spread quickly about the grand opening of his new spot and Dedy refused to miss it. Although she knew that his wife would be there, she still wanted to be in the building. She was shocked when they pulled up to the place and saw the sign that said ‘RYLEE’S’ in bright lights out front. If she didn’t know that Zyrian loved his wife before, she damn sure knew it now.

  “That man don’t want to see your hoe ass,” Grim replied.

  He hated Dedy for the way that she did Zyrian when he was locked up, and he didn’t try to hide it. Dedy was an opportunist who gave it up to any nigga who looked like he had money. She was never like that before, but she got addicted to the lifestyle that Zyrian provided for her. When he went to jail, she was willing to do anything to get it.

  “But anyway,” Dedy said while rolling her eyes. “I like what you’ve done with the place Zyrian. I would have chosen a different name, but that’s just me.”

  “Stop hating. You just mad because ain’t no nigga naming his club after your nasty ass,” Grim responded making his brothers and cousin laugh.

  Zyrian ignored them going back and forth and turned his attention towards Buck. His cousin looked like he had a lot on his mind and he’d been kind of quiet the entire night.

  “You good fam?” Zyrian asked his cousin.

  “Yeah, I’m alright,” Buck replied.

  “Why you just standing here looking lost and shit? You’re a single nigga now. Go out there on the dance floor and snatch you something new,” Zyrian suggested.

  “Nah man, I’m good on that,” Buck said waving him off.

  “Yeah nigga, Nakia got that ass on lock already,” Zyrian laughed.