When Loyalty Dies, So Does Love

by Dorothy Brown-Newton

  Lecia

  This nigga came strolling through the doorway after midnight, like shit was sweet. I didn’t have shit to say to his ass until his dumb ass spit that dumb-ass question out of his mouth.

  “So you still mad about nothing?” he asked.

  “Rellz, did you really expect to come in here after midnight and think I wouldn’t have a problem with it?” I said from my spot on the couch.

  “You know I helped Tasha move today. That took half the day, and then I spent time with my kids until they fell asleep. After I left them, I stopped by the club to make sure shit was good, and then I came home.”

  I really didn’t feel the need to say anything else, because he just didn’t get where I was coming from or how I was feeling. I felt like I had turned into his roommate and was no longer his girlfriend. He was never home anymore, and he walked around liked he didn’t care for me the way he had in the beginning. I couldn’t have an adult conversation with him, because all he was going to say was that he was grown and that I shouldn’t question him. So at this point I didn’t know what to do about it.... And let me not speak about our sex life, because it didn’t exist. Between Tasha, the kids, and his many clubs, there was no time left for Lecia. I understood that he was a business owner, a father, and a provider, but I hadn’t signed up for being neglected. Even when RJ was home and Madison was visiting, which meant there were lots of chores to do, he never included me. He did it all on his own. Sometimes I wondered if I was here just to fill a void, because he’d changed so much over the past few months. I needed to do something to get the relationship back to where it used to be. Saturday was our one-year anniversary, so I was thinking about preparing a romantic dinner for the two of us at home.

  “So you’re going to sit on the couch and pout all night?” he asked.

  “I’m rushing to bed for what? Are you going to bless me with the dick?”

  “Lecia, does everything have to be a fucking argument with you?”

  “No, Rellz. No argument. I’m good. I’ll be up later.”

  Rellz

  I laughed to myself as I walked upstairs. Lecia was a drama queen. I knew I’d been neglecting her lately, but it was not like I’d been doing it on purpose. Between managing my clubs and spending time with my kids, I really had no energy left to do anything else. Spending almost every day around Tasha for these past few months hadn’t helped, either, and it was starting to get to me. I was feeling things I shouldn’t be feeling, because I was in a relationship with Lecia. I had been doing good with “out of sight, out of mind,” but given that I had been seeing her more frequently, it was getting harder and harder not to have these feelings. Sometimes I found myself making excuses just to be around her, like asking her to keep RJ during the day for me, despite the fact that Lecia who would love to keep him at home all day, was doing nothing.

  I decided to get some sleep, because I had to leave early tomorrow if I was going to pull off getting Tasha everything she needed by Saturday. When I awoke the next morning, I realized that Lecia had never come to bed last night, and I felt bad. Before I left the house, I went into the kitchen to make her breakfast. I made her a club omelet and home fries and poured her a tall glass of orange juice to wash it down.

  “Lecia, baby, wake up. I made you breakfast,” I said, lightly shaking her.

  “You made me breakfast?” she asked, looking like she didn’t believe me.

  “I did. Go upstairs and brush your teeth, because you killing a nigga right now. Wash your face. And hurry up, so we can get our grub on.”

  “My breath is not that bad,” she said, smiling while covering her mouth.

  I went back into the kitchen and fixed our plates. She came back down, smiling like the kid. I placed our plates on the kitchen table, and we sat down and dug in. When we were finished eating, I leaned back in my chair, feeling content. One thing I knew how to do was right a wrong. But the goodwill I reaped from that gesture didn’t last long when I told her I had to go handle some business.

  “How much more of this bullshit do I have to endure? Let me guess. Something for the baby mama again, right?” she barked.

  “Lecia, do you ever get tired of arguing? I just made you breakfast. We had good food and good conversation, but leave it to you to find a reason to fuck it up.”

  “You didn’t answer the question, so let me rephrase it. What do you have planned for today?”

  “It never fails. I’m not about to sit here and do this with you again.”

  “Do what? It’s a simple fucking question. You’re the one who is always taking it somewhere else because you refuse to answer the question,” she yelled.

  “I didn’t answer the question, because I’m tired of the same question every time I have to leave the fucking house.”

  “Okay, so I’ll rephrase it again. Can I go with you? Maybe if you include me sometimes, I wouldn’t have to bitch.”

  “Lecia, I promise I will take you with me on my next run. This is really business with a potential partner.”

  “Okay, Rellz. Next time is fine.”

  She started cleaning up the kitchen, slamming shit around. It was time for me to go before she started throwing shit at me and I fucked around and caught a case.

  Kane

  I knew Tasha was upset with me for not helping her move, like I had agreed to. Rena and I had been going through it. She was two months pregnant. She didn’t want anyone to know, and it was pissing me off. Why wouldn’t she want to share that she was pregnant with my baby? I had a feeling she didn’t want Rellz to know. I didn’t understand why she was still stuck on Rellz. Once things hadn’t worked out with him and Tasha, she’d broken up with me, thinking she still had a chance with him. Rellz had rejected her and had started seeing someone else, someone he was still with, so she really needed to get a clue.

  Every day was an argument with her. One day she was keeping the baby, and the next day she was not, and I was getting sick of the back-and-forth with her ass. I had given her my all, yet she still compared me to Rellz on a daily basis. She had been telling me I was not capable of providing for my child, and I felt some kind of way about it. I worked every day, busting my ass to keep a roof over our heads.

  Without exchanging any words with her, I got my car keys and left the house to meet Rellz. She had pissed me off to a degree that I had never before experienced, so I had to get out of there. This dude Rellz had me laying tile and putting up curtains, and now he had my ass going to the grocery store with a fucking list to do shopping for Tasha’s new place. He was lucky she was my sister, and I loved her. His ass needed to get back with her because it was clear he still loved her.

  By the time we were done, Tasha’s new place looked good, but my back was killing me. I was tired and hungry too. It was definitely time for me to get up out of there. I called out to Rellz, letting him know that I would get up with him soon, and I was out. I got home around eight that night. Raina was up watching television, but Rena’s ass was nowhere in sight. I searched high and low for her, but she wasn’t in the house. I went to check to see if she was out back, on the deck, and sure enough, she was out there smoking a blunt. I almost knocked her out of the chair she was sitting in when I slapped that shit out of her hand.

  “What the fuck is your problem?” the dumb bitch had the nerve to ask.

  “Are you fucking serious, asking that stupid fucking question? What the fuck are you doing, smoking while you’re pregnant?” I yelled.

  “One fucking blunt isn’t going to hurt this baby, and I told you I don’t even know if I’m keeping the fucking baby.”

  “You silly bitch. I’m going to walk away like I didn’t hear your dumb ass. This shit is getting tiring, so if you don’t want to keep my baby, then fucking get rid of it. I’m done.”

  I didn’t even bother going back inside. I walked around to the front of the house, jumped in my car, and bounced. Lately, she had been trying to get under my skin and had been pushing me away. Well, she had got h
er wish. As much as I wanted to have the baby, I hoped she did get rid of it. My baby would be better off. I should have listened to everyone who had said she was nothing more than a trick. She had really pulled the wool over my eyes.

  Rellz

  I picked Tasha and the kids up at about ten o’clock on Saturday morning. She was worried about who was going to bring her car to the new place. I told her to relax. I had it covered. I kept catching Tasha looking at me, but every time I looked at her, she would turn her head.

  “Tash, what’s up? You got something on your mind?” I asked.

  “No, I’m just nervous about seeing what you’ve done with the place.”

  “Oh, you must’ve forgotten who you’re talking to. I know when something is on your mind.”

  “Well, you’re wrong this time. I’m good.”

  “Yeah, okay. Well, you can stop being nervous. We’re here.”

  She jumped out of the car like a two-year-old and forgot that she needed to help me get the kids out of the car.

  “Hey, Tash, give me a hand here,” I called as she headed toward the front door. She doubled back.

  “My bad. I just got excited,” she said, smiling.

  I watched Tasha’s reaction when she walked inside the house. She put her hand up to her mouth in awe as she put Madi down on the floor. She went from room to room on the lower level. I had painted the living room brick red, with a brown outline. I had decorated the room with a chocolate-brown set of furniture and had adorned the sofa with big cushions and red and brown pillows. The floor featured red and brown swirled tile. The kitchen was lime green and brown, with all lime-green appliances. The dining area to me was the best part of the downstairs. It was a burnt orange and brown. Yes, I loved the color brown; it mixed well with any color. The chandelier that hung over the dining-room table had burnt orange and clear crystals that hung down like icicles. It and the bar area were the highlights of the room.

  The twins’ bedroom was decorated in keeping with The Princess and the Frog theme, and Madi’s room had a baby Minnie Mouse theme. I had purposely turned the guest room into RJ’s room, where I had done a car theme, just like in his room at home. Now it was time to see her reaction to her bedroom. I had put an extra effort into making sure she would love it. Her bedroom was furnished with a European king-size bed with a sand-colored leather headboard, matching nightstands, a matching dresser, and a wardrobe with six doors. It also had a full stone fireplace with glass doors and a sixty-inch television on the wall above the fireplace mantel. It was beautiful.

  Tasha stood there with tears in her eyes. I walked over to her to hug her. I knew she hadn’t expected me to do all of this, but I would do anything for her and my kids.

  “Rellz, I’m speechless. My place looks beautiful. How did you pull this off in such a short time?” she asked, wiping away her tears.

  “If I tell you, I will have to kill you,” I joked.

  “Yeah, okay. Well, let me thank you by making dinner for you—if you can stay.”

  “I can stay, but it’s not even noon. That means I will have to stay all day.”

  “That’s cool. That means you can spend time with the kids and not worry about my mom putting you on a time limit.”

  “True. I’m not going to know how to act since I won’t be on a time limit anymore. Oh, I almost forgot. Go grab the twins and check out the backyard.”

  The backyard had a jungle gym in the middle of it and a bunch of backyard toys. On the patio was a built-in grill and patio furniture. I grabbed Tasha’s hand, and then I walked her over to the garage. The twins trailed behind us. I told Tasha to open the garage door with the opener I handed her. When she opened the garage door, she started with the tears again when she saw a black Chrysler Town & Country with a big red bow sitting there, looking pretty. I had thought she would trip about me buying her a minivan, but I knew once she saw it, she would know that I was thinking of her and the kids. I was right. She jumped into my arms, hugged me, and thanked me over and over. I had to remind myself that she no longer belonged to me as I fought the urge to kiss her. I grabbed the twins’ hands and walked them back into the house to check on RJ and Madi.

  Tasha

  I couldn’t stop smiling. Rellz had really outdone himself. I stood in the garage, trying to get my emotions in check. I swear, I loved everything about this man. He had always been thoughtful, but he had really done the damn thing this time. I was going to cook dinner for sure to show my appreciation to him. I walked back into the house, and he was sitting on the couch with the kids, watching the Disney channel. I went into the kitchen and noticed that he had gone food shopping as well. This man here . . . I tell you, he would have been the perfect husband. I called my mom up to tell her about all the wonderful things Rellz had done, and even she was impressed.

  I prepared lunch for the kids, and Rellz helped me feed them and then put them down for a nap. I was used to my mother’s help, and I really didn’t know how long it would take me to get the full-time child-care routine down again. When I had lived with her, she had been a big help. She had done most of the cooking and had looked after the kids a great deal, so doing this solo was going to be a challenge.

  Dinner turned out well. Afterward, we put the kids to bed and then settled on the couch in the living room to watch a movie together. Since the kids were all in bed, we decided to watch Salt, with Angelina Jolie. It was a really good movie. When the movie was over, I noticed that Rellz had dozed off. I knew he was tired from all the work he had put in at my place. I had to remember to call Kane to thank him, because Rellz had told me he helped. I went into the linen closet to see if they had bought any sheets and blankets, and sure enough, it was stocked with all that I would need.

  I grabbed a blanket, took it into the living room, covered Rellz with it, and left him to sleep. Then I went upstairs to take a shower. As I walked out of the shower, wearing only a towel, Rellz was standing there. The sight of him scared the shit out of me, so much so that my towel fell to the floor. I had left his ass on the couch, sleeping, and I had had no idea that he had come upstairs.

  “I didn’t mean to scare you. I was coming up to tell you that I was leaving,” he said, handing me the towel.

  “It’s okay. If you have to go, you have to go.” I was disappointed because I didn’t want him to leave.

  He went to hug me good-by. Being in his arms, practically naked, had my body on fire. I felt his lips on my neck, sucking gently, and the towel fell back down on the floor. This time he didn’t pick it up. He looked in my eyes, and I looked in his. I tilted my head back, and he kissed me from my collarbone up to my lips. I had waited so long to be with him again, but I had to ask myself if this was what I wanted to do, knowing that once it was over, he would be going home to his girlfriend. It didn’t take me long to make my decision. I led him to my beautiful king-size bed, which he had paid for.

  I lay down on the bed, naked as the day I was born, and watched him undress. The anticipation was killing me as I waited for his touch. He climbed up on the bed and dived right in. He sucked on my clit, dipped his tongue in and out of my wetness. I grabbed his head as I lifted my butt off the bed to make love to his tongue.

  “OMG! Rellz, I’m coming,” I yelled as he sucked up every drop.

  He laid me down on my stomach and had me lift my butt in the air before he fucked me from behind. He was pumping into me nice and slow, and just as I felt another orgasm coming, his cell phone began blaring, “My bitch. My bitch. She’s that chick that no other bitch could fuck with.” I just knew the mood was going to be ruined, but I was wrong, as he continued, letting me get off my second orgasm.

  Just when I thought we were done, he turned me over onto my back and then put both of my legs on his shoulders as he was working my insides. I was screaming his name as I felt him. I wasn’t ready. I hadn’t had sex with anyone since him, so I was a little rusty. I took it like a champ, even though I knew I wouldn’t be able to walk a straight line tomorrow. He pick
ed up his pace as I felt his dick pulsating, letting me know he was about to bust. I tightened my pussy muscles and lifted my butt once again to ride this orgasm out with him, and we both came at the same time.

  Lecia

  I sat at the dining-room table and called Rellz’s phone again. Still no answer. I couldn’t believe that he had forgotten about our one-year anniversary. I had gone all out to make this a perfect night, and I felt like such a fool as I sat at the table in my lingerie. The candlelit dinner I had prepared hours ago had gone to waste, and I couldn’t help but be hurt. What the hell had happened to us? He used to be so attentive toward me and had never shown any signs that I was there to fill a void, and as a result, I had pushed aside my fears about being a rebound. But now I was not so sure.

  I picked up my phone and tried to reach him again, but to no avail. I even went as far as calling the club to see if he was there, but he was not. It hurt me to do that because I never wanted to be that chick. I hadn’t left him a single voice-mail message, because my emotions would have had me say all types of shit and call him all kinds of names. I felt defeated when I stood up, blew out the candles, grabbed the Alizé Wild Passion liqueur, which I had bought to enjoy with Rellz, and took it upstairs to bed with me.

  The next morning, I woke up with a banging headache and didn’t know why until I saw the empty bottle of Alizé on the nightstand. Rellz had never come home last night. This was a first. I started to panic because something had to have happened for him not to come home or even call. There was no one whom I could call to find out if they had heard from him. Well, there was Tasha, but I didn’t want to call her and get her all upset and worried until I tried other channels to reach him.

  Just as I was about to call Remy, I heard the front door open. I ran downstairs as Rellz walked in with this stupid fucking look on his face. He walked into the dining room and looked at the dining-room table, and I guessed that was when it hit him that he’d fucked up. Seeing that he was wearing the same clothes from yesterday, I tried not to go off. I was going to give him the benefit of the doubt and see what excuse he was going to hit me with.