by Charae Lewis
Jessica Watkins Presents
Summer of ’16:
Dinero’s Dilemma
Charae Lewis
Copyright © 2016 by Charae Lewis
Published by Jessica Watkins Presents
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. Without limiting the right under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form by means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.
Baby, you're so different than those fuck boys that I've known.
-Teedra Moses
Chapter One
Dinero winced as the sun shined brightly in his face. He stirred a bit before waking from his slumber. Dinero sat up and was hit with a splitting headache that caused his vision to become blurred. He didn’t remember much from the night before as he grabbed his phone. He checked the time and saw that it was almost one o’clock in the afternoon. He looked over and saw that Asia’s side of the bed was empty. Dinero fell back on the bed feeling dizzy and nauseous.
Asia walked into the room wearing a short silk robe. She smiled at him as she made her way over to him. Her hair was still tied up as she climbed into the bed.
“How are you feeling?” she asked him.
“Fucked up,” he groaned as he turned on his side.
“So no regrets?”
Dinero looked back at her. “Regrets? Why you ask that shit?”
“Because we did something last night and I'm hoping that you don’t regret it now that your ass is sober.”
He looked at her with a perplexed look on his face. “What did we do?”
Asia flashed a ring and smiled. “We got married last night.”
Dinero looked at the diamond ring that shined brightly on her finger. He swiftly sat up and grabbed her hand. He looked at the ring once more hoping that Asia would tell him that she was just playing a joke on him. When she didn’t say anything, Dinero could feel the contents of his stomach coming up. He hopped up and raced to the bathroom where he vomited all over the toilet. Asia got up from the bed, walked over and stood in the doorway of the bathroom. She watched as Dinero threw up what looked like his entire stomach.
While still planted over the toilet, Dinero looked at Asia and said, “Aye, are you playing with me right now? Please tell me we didn’t get married last night.”
Asia released a sigh. “I'm not lying. We went to The Little White Chapel last night. It was your idea.”
“What?” Dinero spat as he gave her a screw face.
“You're the one that suggested it. Don’t be looking at me all crazy and shit like I made your ass marry me.”
Dinero got up and walked over to the sink. He rinsed his mouth out and then walked past Asia. He began to slowly pace back and forth. He wasn’t ready for marriage. Hell, he didn’t think he would ever be. Yes, he loved Asia, but he wasn’t ready to build a life with her just yet. He was young and reckless, and the last thing he wanted to do was hurt Asia.
Dinero glanced over at Asia, who held a disappointed look on her face.
“So tell me what happened last night?”
“We left the club, and you asked me to marry you. I thought you were playing, but you kept asking me, so I said yes,” Asia explained.
Dinero shook his head not believing her words. He would never slip up and suggest something so stupid. Dinero determined that Asia had taken advantage of him being under the influence.
“Listen, I'm not trying to hurt your feelings but that marriage shit ain't the move for me right now,” he explained.
Asia took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself down. “I see you're about to piss me off.”
“I don’t give a fuck. Why would you take me serious if I did say let’s get married? That shit doesn’t even make sense,” he ranted.
“Well, your stupid ass shouldn’t have suggested it. I was very reluctant to marry you, but you begged me to do it. Now you're looking at me like I trapped your ass or something,” Asia snapped as she grabbed her clothes.
“Man, I was drunk and high. You should’ve known better than to take me serious.”
Asia shot him a furious glare. “No, you should’ve known better! Don’t blame me for your foolish behavior!”
“Aye, we’re gonna have to have this shit reversed or something.”
“Don’t even trip,” Asia spat as she put on her jeans. “I’ll look into an annulment, and you’ll never have to hear from me again,” she said as she stormed out of the room.
Seconds later, Dinero heard the hotel door slam. He wiped his hands over his face and fell back onto the bed. The look on Asia’s face created a guilty feeling for him. He honestly didn’t remember asking her to marry him. Dinero knew deep down that he wasn’t husband material, and he didn’t want to let Asia down. He liked that they were dating and getting closer without the title of husband and wife.
Dinero needed someone to talk to, so he grabbed his phone and walked out on the balcony. The cool Las Vegas breeze swept across his bare chest as he took a seat on the chair. The weather in Vegas during the winter months was always cool and tolerable.
Dinero dialed his brother Keece’s number and waited for him to answer. Whenever Dinero got himself into a jam, Keece was always the first person that he called. Keece always knew what to do when his back was against the wall, so Dinero figured he would know what to do to get him out of this situation.
“What's up, bro?” Keece answered.
“Shit, what your ass on?”
“I got some tats to do in a minute. Why what's up?”
“Man,” Dinero said and then paused. “I got myself into some shit, Keece.”
“Aw shit. What did you do?” Keece asked, chuckling.
“Bro, this shit ain't even funny. I'm sick to my stomach with the shit I did.”
Keece smacked his lips. “What the fuck you do? I hope you ain't get into no crazy shit.”
“Man, listen, you know I came to Vegas last night with Asia, right? Since it was New Year’s Eve, I popped a pill and got fucked up last night. Why did I wake up today and she talking about we got married last night.”
Keece instantly started laughing hard as Dinero shook his head. He knew Keece would find his marital woes humorous.
“Keece, this shit ain't funny. You know I don’t wanna be fuckin’ married,” Dinero fussed.
“Aight man, chill. That shit is funny as fuck, though,” he said, still laughing.
“Asia’s ass got mad and stormed out when I told her I don’t wanna be married. She knows that I was fucked up, so I don’t know why she went along with the shit,” Dinero ranted.
“Bro, did you say some mean shit to her?”
“I told her I don’t wanna be married. If that’s mean then so be it.”
“Do you love Asia?”
Dinero paused before he replied. “Yeah, I do, but you know what kind of nigga I am. I’ll end up hurting her for real, and I don’t wanna do that.”
“Yeah, I feel you. So what y’all gon’ do?”
Dinero shrugged as if Keece could see him. “I don’t know. She said we can get an annulment, but her ass stormed out like I pissed in her cereal.”
“You probably hurt her feelings. Maybe that shit was supposed to happen between y’all, though.”
“Get
ting married?” Dinero asked with doubt in his voice.
“Yeah. I believe everything happens for a reason. Maybe she’s supposed to be the woman you settle down with. You never know,” Keece said.
“Nah, I do know and marriage ain't that deal for me.”
“Whatever. Hit me when you get back in town. You and my sister-in-law should come see me,” Keece joked.
“Fuck you,” Dinero spat and then hung up.
He sat back in his seat and released a deep sigh. He hoped he wasn’t too harsh with Asia when revealing his true feelings about their union. He didn’t mean to hurt her, but he needed her to know that he wasn’t feeling being married.
Dinero decided to call his mother Rochelle to get her take on things. She always kept it real with him and would never give him bad advice.
“Hey Dinero,” she answered in her sweet voice.
“What's up, Mama. I need to talk to you.”
“What's wrong?”
“I came to Vegas last night and got married to Asia on some drunk shit.”
“What?!” Rochelle exclaimed. “Are you telling me you're married?” she asked with laughter in her voice.
“Yeah, Ma. I told Asia I didn’t want to be married, and I think I pissed her off. She said I begged her last night to get married, but I was drunk,” Dinero told her, conveniently leaving out the part that he’d popped an ecstasy pill.
“Oh boy, I don’t know what to tell you. Your ass must have had a fifth of some shit,” she joked.
“I drank a lot last night. I'm scared that when we get an annulment, Asia won’t talk to me anymore. I really do love her, Ma, but I'm not ready to be responsible for someone else.”
“Aww baby, I know you care for her but you shouldn’t have asked her to marry you,” she said giggling.
“I know,” Dinero said somberly. “I don’t know what to do.”
“Why don’t you talk to her and see if y’all can come to an agreement. And be nice, Dinero. Don’t be talking to her all crazy.”
Dinero pinched the bridge of his nose as he listened to his mother’s advice. He didn’t want to have a conversation with Asia at that moment because he knew that she was upset. He really didn’t know what to say to her.
“Aight, Ma. I’ll call you when I get back home.”
“Okay, don’t forget to call me.”
Dinero hung up the phone and sat back in his seat. Reality was setting in that he and Asia were more than just dating each other. Although Dinero didn’t want to be married, he didn’t want to be without her either. He had grown accustomed to Asia being a part of his everyday life. She’d come in and changed his mind about being in a relationship. Even though Dinero never confirmed that they were together, he still considered Asia his leading lady.
Dinero grabbed his phone and sent Asia a text. He was hoping that she hadn't become too upset and left town. They needed to be on the same page, but the only problem was that Dinero didn’t even know what page he was on.
****
Asia sat in the hotel lobby, biting her fingernails. Her left leg shook vigorously as she attempted to calm herself down. Dinero had pissed her off to the max, and she didn’t appreciate his words toward her. She’d had a feeling that he would react the way he did, and that was the reason she’d denied his proposal a total of three times.
After leaving the club, Asia and Dinero had been way past the legal limit. They’d been on their way back to the hotel when Dinero suggested that they go get married. At first, Asia laughed it off until she saw the sincerity in his eyes. He asked her again, and Asia declined. When Dinero asked her for the third time, Asia wanted to say no, but she couldn’t. Something in her was telling her to go for it, and she did. She figured that he knew what he was doing, so the couple made their way to chapel to say “I do.”
When Dinero awoke that morning and told her that he didn’t want to be married, it crushed Asia. She was beginning to think that their relationship could possibly work out, but he’d thrown them ten steps back when he decided to blame her for them getting married. Asia had meant every word she said when she told Dinero that he would never hear from her again when they did get their marriage annulled. Since she was still fuming, Asia decided to call her twin sister, Aimee so she could calm her down.
“Hello?”
“Hi,” Asia said dryly.
“Eww, why are you sounding all ugly?”
“Dinero pissed me off, Aimee. I'm not fucking with him when we get back home,” Asia declared.
“Wait, where are you and what happened?”
“We’re in Vegas right now. We came here to bring in the New Year together. But long story short, we had a good time last night, got drunk, Dinero asked me to be his wife, and I accepted. But…”
“Wait, hold up. You actually got married to Dinero?” Aimee asked, cutting her off.
Asia smirked as she watched patrons walk in and out of the hotel. “Yeah, I did.”
“Oh my God!” Aimee yelled and started laughing hysterically. “How the fuck did that happen?”
“He asked me to, and I agreed, but now that this bitch is sober, he wanna talk about he don’t wanna be married, which is fine by me. But he made it seem like I lured him into marrying me when I didn’t,” Asia ranted.
“Well, he was drunk when he asked you, though.”
“And so what? You know what Mama used to say, ‘a drunk man don’t tell no tales.’ ”
For a brief moment, Asia thought about her late mother and wondered what she would think about her surprise union if she was still alive. Her mother, Jovelyn, was killed by Aimee and Asia’s father, Russell, and her best friend, Dillon, for insurance money. After everything was revealed, Dillon killed Russell and went on the run. He was captured months later and is currently serving time for Russell’s murder.
“Yeah, Mama used to stay dropping some gems on us. I miss her,” Aimee said sadly.
“I do too, but whatever,” Asia replied trying to change the subject. She didn’t like to talk about her deceased mother.
“Well, Asia, are you sure when you guys end your marriage that you're going to stop talking Dinero?”
“I’m sure because I didn’t like the way he fronted me off. He’s blaming me and shit for his drunk ass requests.”
“Y’all are so cute together, though,” Aimee teased.
“Cute my ass. He’s not the one for me,” Asia spat, not believing her own words.
“That’s what your mouth is saying. You know you love Dinero,” Aimee taunted her.
“Anyways, how are you feeling? Any sickness today?” Asia asked Aimee, who was five months pregnant with her first child.
“Actually, I feel good today. I sent Big to get me some ice cream since the flavor at Robert’s today is caramel cashew.”
“Don’t be running Big around like he’s your servant,” Asia kidded.
“Girl, please, I'm going to milk this pregnancy and act so helpless. He shouldn’t have gotten me pregnant in the first place.”
“Shut up because you know you're happy. I know I am, and I can’t wait to meet my nephew.”
“I know Big is so happy he’s having a son. I’m just praying that he comes out healthy.”
“He will; don’t worry. But look, I’ll call you when I get back home. Oh and do me a favor and go feed Nero for me please,” Asia begged, referring to her dog.
“Okay, I will. Bye.”
Asia hung up and immediately started researching ways on how to get an annulment. If Dinero didn’t want to be married, then Asia had no problem giving him what he wanted. She promised herself that after this entire fiasco was resolved, she would write Dinero out of her life and move on.
Chapter Two
Asia walked back into the hotel suite after hours of being away. She needed some time to get her thoughts together, so she went and had a couple drinks. Her anger seemed to somewhat cease, but when she spotted Dinero sitting on the couch smoking a blunt, she became furious all over again. It didn
’t help that he was looking sexy with his dreads hanging loosely. His full lips were on display, begging Asia to devour them. Dinero’s wife beater clung to his pecks while his basketball shorts hung off of his waist, exposing the waistband of his boxers.
Asia caught chills when Dinero looked at her as he blew smoke out of his mouth. She hurried and looked away not wanting to fall victim to his sexy gaze.
“We can go get the annulment tomorrow when the place opens,” she announced then began walking back to the bedroom.
“Come talk to me, Asia,” Dinero requested.
Asia shook her head. “Nah, I'm good.”
“Man, bring your ass over here before I get up,” he barked.
Asia looked back at Dinero, who held this demanding glare in his eye. She could tell that he wasn’t playing with her, so she slowly made her way back over to him and sat on the sofa opposite him.
“Come sit next to me,” he said as he patted the spot next to him.
Asia got up and sat next to him without giving him eye contact. She hated that Dinero had this kind of power of her. She didn’t want to give in to his demands, but his dominant personality always pulled her in.
“You mad at me?” he asked her.
“No.”
“Then why is your face all tight and shit?”
“Look Dinero, stop trying to feel me out. You and I are not cool at the moment, and when we get this bullshit ass marriage annulled, I want you to stay away from me.”
“I'm sorry, I can’t do that.”
Asia sucked her teeth. “You don’t have a choice. You fucking fronted me off like I was trying to trap your ignorant ass and I didn’t like it.”
“Look, I was shocked when you told me what we did last night. I was fucked up by the news, damn. You got an attitude because I didn’t react the way you wanted me to,” Dinero shot, tired of her attitude.
Asia shot up from the couch and attempted to storm off, but Dinero caught her by her arm and yanked her back down.
“Do you want me to whoop your ass today? When I'm talking to you, don’t get up and walk away. What the fuck?!”
