305 Lovin’
by
Diamond Johnson
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© 2016
Published by Leo Sullivan Presents
www.leolsullivan.com
All rights reserved.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. Unauthorized reproduction, in any manner, is prohibited.
Acknowledgments
First off I would like to thank God for even giving me the ability to have the talent of writing. I believe in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens me.”. This journey of writing has been a tough one, having to deal with school and work but it was all worth it in the end.
To my amazing parents, thank you for believing in me as well and for not doubting me when I came to you guys with the idea of writing my very own book. I love you guys so much.
Also, to my readers, I would like to say thank you from the bottom of my heart. You guys constantly keep my motivated with the positive feedback. I appreciate the love that you all offer in the book reviews and even on Facebook. Without you guys, this journey wouldn’t even be possible, so I thank you.
Lastly, to Mr. Leo Sullivan himself, I thank you for believing and me and pushing me so that I could know my worth. In the beginning, I was writing just to have nothing to be but you made me take it seriously and I appreciate all the words of encouragement that you have given me these past few months.
Chapter 1: Toya
I understand that Charlie and Monae called themselves trying to take me on a trip to help me feel a little bit better, but honestly, the shit wasn’t working. I was going through depression and I was back to feeling lost. In a matter of months, I had lost my job, was raped, and the baby in my stomach is a constant reminder of the rape. Even though I can’t remember much of the day that James abducted me, it still lurks somehow in the back of my mind, and I haven’t had the will to smile since then.
No one could relate to what I was going through. These are the times in my life where I needed my mother to be here with me because she would know what to do or say to make me feel better. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciated Monae and Charlie for everything that they were doing for me as I’m going through these changes, but it wasn’t making me feel any better.
As I sat in the backseat of Charlie’s Range Rover, I thought about the events that were happening in my life right now, and it was funny to me that none of this shit started happening until I started fuckin’ with Dre. I’m in no way shape or form blaming him for the shit that James did to me, but I will admit that my life was very peaceful before I got with him. Of course, I’m not going to throw away what we are trying to build because I love Dre way too much to even think about walking away. Yes, he can come off sometimes as this asshole who tries to boss me around and run my life, but I know without a doubt that man loves me. It’s just that I’m tired of the constant drama in my life and I just need a break from it all. I am a strong woman, always have been, and it kills me that I am walking around this bitch depressed.
Yeah, I may have lost my job, but best believe that as soon as I got back home, I was hopping on a laptop to find me another one. I wasn’t some lazy bitch who was going to just sit around and spend my man’s money. No! I was going to go out and get mine as well.
I released a soft sigh as I continued to stare out of the window and enjoy the sounds of Monica’s voice on the radio as Charlie played her new album, Code Red.
“Toya, where you want me to drop you off at? Your house or Dre’s?” Charlie asked me, turning down the radio from the steering wheel.
“Just drop me off at Dre’s house. His ass been texting me all day,” I said, pulling my hoodie over my head.
She went in the direction of Dre’s house, and ten minutes later, we were pulling up. I sucked my teeth as I saw the other four cars that were in the parking lot of Dre’s complex. I knew they were his homeboys because whenever they came over, they always parked their shit right in front of the damn building. I hated when Dre had his damn homeboys over, but I felt like it wasn’t my place to say shit since it wasn’t my house. What annoyed me was the fact that he had been texting and calling me all day, telling me to come over when I got back, and when I do come over, he has all these niggas in here.
“Alright y’all, I’ll catch up with y’all later,” I said to Charlie and Monae as I opened the door.
“You want me to help you with the bags?” Charlie asked, taking off her seatbelt.
“I got it, sis. Just pop the trunk,” I said.
I went over to the trunk and retrieved my Louis Vuitton luggage and all of my shopping bags with stuff that I had bought from the outlets in Orlando. After saying goodbye one final time, I headed toward Dre’s condo. I walked up to the door and unlocked it with the key that Dre had given me. As soon as I walked inside, I was hit with the smell of weed and loud ass voices that sounded like they were coming from the living room.
“Toya, that’s you?” I heard Dre ask and assumed he had heard the alarm chirp in the mix of all that yelling they had going on.
“Yeah,” I said, very much annoyed.
A few seconds later, he rounded the corner and met me at the door. I wanted to be annoyed with his ass right then, but staring at him just wouldn’t let me. My baby looked so fine in a pair of navy blue polo sweats and a white polo tank top. He had his sweats sagging off of his ass, showcasing his blue polo boxers, with a pair of slides on his feet. His tattoos were on full display and he looked like he had gone to the barber this morning, judging from his fresh shape up. His cocky ass was just too fine for words.
“Damn, a nigga ain’t see your ass in three whole days. I was expecting you to be jumping all over a nigga,” Dre said, trying to fake sound like he was hurt.
I quickly dropped my bags on the floor, went over to him, and jumped in his arms. He lifted my body up and held me by the bottom of my ass while I wrapped my arms around his neck and engaged in a full out kissing session, right in the middle of the house.
“That’s what I’m talking about, T! Show your nigga that you missed him,” he said to me and I laughed.
“I see you carrying all them damn bags, what you got in there for me?” Dre asked, still holding me in his arms.
“Those Nike bags and True Religion bags are yours. How long are your friends going to be here?” I asked, hoping that we could get some peace and quiet in the house.
“Why? You trying to get some dick up in you or something? Let me know and I’ll put them niggas out right now,” he said and I laughed.
“No, I’m just about to take a shower then lie down,” I said, kissing him again.
He put me down and I went to pick up my bags, but he stopped me, by pulling me into him by my waist. “I got the bags, just go upstairs and take a shower. I’ma put these niggas out and I’ll be up there in a few minutes,” he said.
I nodded and took the stairs to his master bedroom.
I walked into the room and kicked off my Ugg boots then placed them in the corner. After that, I went into the bathroom to start water for my bath. I looked at myself in the mirror and I couldn’t help but notice that I wasn’t the same woman I was a year ago, hell even a five months ago. The image that faced me was of a woman who felt like she had her back against the wall.
This week, I would to be forced to do something that I never in my life believed in. I knew one day that I wou
ld want to have kids, and I have never been too keen on abortions, but there is no way that I could bring this baby into my life because I would be stuck with the constant reminder of the events that happened that day. It would all be a lie, and I didn’t want to live with that type of feeling in my heart. I just knew without a doubt that the baby was indeed James’.
I really didn’t plan on telling Dre about the pregnancy because I knew it would crush him, that’s why when I make my appointment this week, I have to make sure he knows nothing about it.
After my water was high enough in the tub, I turned it off and walked back over to the mirror to pull my hair up into a high bun. When I finished doing that, I stripped out of my clothes and set them on the counter. Stepping into the water, it was scorching hot, just the way I liked it. I swear, it was nothing like a good ass bubble bath because it seems to relieve all the stress, if only for a temporary amount of time. I laid my back against the edge of the tub and pulled my knees up, tucking my hands underneath my thighs.
“What you in here thinking about?” Dre said, scaring the hell out of me because I hadn’t even heard him come in.
I brought my legs back down and looked him in his eyes. It was killing me to hold in this secret from him, but for some reason, I was just too scared to see what his reaction would be. All my life, I had been afraid of rejection, and that’s what I thought I would receive from him as soon as I told him that I was carrying a baby that wasn’t his.
“Nothing much. Are you going to join me?” I asked, reaching my hands out to him, hoping that he didn’t catch on to the stress that I had written all over my face. I was able to manage it while I was downstairs with him earlier, so hopefully I would be able to do the same thing again.
“Nah, I took one before you got here, but I will watch,” he said, walking over to the tub and taking a seat on the edge of it.
Him sitting there reminded me of the very first time that we had sex. The intense stare that he would give me used to draw my eyes away from him because it made me nervous. Now, I was able to concentrate on his eyes and give him that same intense glare right back. I knew what Dre was doing right now, though. He was trying to read me, but I was making it hard because I wasn’t showing him any signs of weakness. I was his woman, and he knew when something was bothering me, but he just couldn’t seem to put his finger on it.
“Pass me your sponge and the soap,” he said.
I passed him my pink sponge with my Paris Hilton, Can Can shower gel. I watched as he applied the shower gel onto the sponge, then he brought the sponge to my breast and began to clean my body. I lay back and relaxed as my man bathed me. After he repeated that process three more times, he set the sponge on the edge of the tub.
“Stand up,” he said.
I put both of my hands on the edge of the tub and stood myself up. He picked back up the sponge and rinsed all the soap studs on my body. When we were finished, he held out a big, red oversized towel open for me to step in. I stepped into it and he wrapped it around my body then carried me into the bedroom.
“Thank you, baby,” I told him when he lay me down on the bed.
“No need to thank me, T. I’m just doing my job as your man. How you feeling, though? Because before you went on the trip, I know you were having nightmares and shit about your mom,” Dre said and I could see just how much he cared for me in his eyes.
I lay on my back and looked up at him. “I’m better, baby. It’s just that last week marked the anniversary of her death, and I often find myself dreaming about her more than I normally would whenever her anniversary approaches. I swear the dreams always feel so real sometimes,” I said and my voice choked up.
I would never be okay with the fact that I lost my mother, but I would have to learn how to cope with it. Over the years I’ve gotten stronger because there was a time when I was crying myself to sleep just every night, begging God to bring her back, even though I knew that it was impossible.
“Alright, just making sure. I don’t like seeing you that way. You need a strong female in your life, that’s why tomorrow, I’m going to take you down to meet my grandma. I would never try to use her to take the place of your mom, though. I’m just doing it because it’s something that’s been on my mind for a little while now,” Dre said and I smiled.
“Okay, baby, that’s fine with me. You’re always talking about your grandma, so I know I’ll love her,” I told him.
After he finished drying me off, he went over to his drawer and pulled out one of his tank tops for me. He walked back over to the bed, pulled me up and put the shirt over my head. “You hungry?” he asked, as he got on his side of the bed.
“No, I’m just tired,” I said as I cuddled up to him, leaving absolutely no space between us.
I had been away from my man for three days, and I had missed him so much. I watched as he turned the TV on and then turned on the XBOX One that was hooked up in his room. I lay up on him and watched him as he played Madden 15 until eventually I fell asleep.
Chapter 2: Dre
“Toya, come on, now. We going to go see my damn grandma, not to damn church. Hurry your ass up, man,” I fussed, as I sat on the edge of the bed, waiting for her to come out.
Toya’s ass had been back and forth from her closet and the bedroom, changing into different outfits because she wanted her first impression with my grandma to be a good one. Shit, as long as she didn’t come over there looking like a damn hoochie, then everything was good. The past ten outfits that she had changed into were all nice, but Toya kept taking her ass back into the bathroom to change. All she had to do was dress casual because the only thing that I was wearing was a Jordan set, with the matching sneakers and snapback.
I grabbed my phone off the bed and checked my Instagram. Now, since people knew who the hell Dre was, I swear my social media pages had been popping. Toya would kill my ass dead if she even got a glimpse of what my DM’s looked like. I didn’t pay that shit any mind though, in fact, I found it to be quite comical.
Five minutes later, she finally brought her ass out of the bathroom. I had to admit that what she had on now was the best out of all of the outfits. She was dressed in a denim, long sleeve shirt from Guess, with the matching denim jeans. Her shirt was tucked in, and on her feet were a pair of those new, red Giuseppe Zanotti heels that made her tall, slender body look perfect. Toya’s shoe game was damn near better than mine, and fuckin’ around with her ass, I had to keep up. She had her long hair parted down the middle with curls that stopped just above her ass. I swear to God, I lucked up when I pulled her, and I never planned to let her fine ass go.
“I’m ready, let me just get my purse and then we can go,” she said and walked over to her closet.
She came back out holding her red Louis Vuitton Alma GM bag. We were at her house right now because she claimed that she didn’t have enough clothes over at my house, even though her ass had a whole section of shit in my closet. I stood up from the bed and let her lead the way downstairs.
“What’s that you got on?” I said, referring to her perfume. That shit smelled too damn good, and I don’t think that I’ve ever smelled that one before.
“Oh, this is Coco Chanel Mademoiselle,” she said, turning around and smiling at me.
“Yeah, whatever that fuckin’ means. Shit smell good though,” I told her and we walked outside together.
After getting into the car, we finally pulled away, and lucky for us, it was only about a twenty-minute drive. For the duration of the ride, I had Future’s “Purple Rain” mixtape on full blast. I swear that was one of my favorite mixtapes from him. Finally, we pulled up. My grandma was expecting us. I had given her a call yesterday after Toya had fallen asleep, letting her know that I wanted her to meet my girl.
“You nervous?” I asked Toya as she sat in the passenger seat, playing with her fingers.
“No, I’m good. I mean, should I be?” she asked me.
“Nah girl, you gone love her. Come on,” I said, turning the car
off and getting out.
We walked up to the door hand in hand and I used my key and let us in. “Diandre, is that you?” I heard my grandmother yell.
“Yeah, it’s me, ma,” I said and walked into the house, closing the door behind us. Toya grabbed my hand tighter and I led the way.
“Hey, my baby,” my grandma said, walking over from the stove to give me a hug.
I bent down and wrapped my arms around her then planted a kiss on her cheek. When we pulled apart, she looked next to me and her eyes landed on Toya.
“And who is this beautiful young lady that you have with you?” my grandma said, causing Toya to blush.
“Hello, I’m Latoya, but you can call me Toya. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Dre talks about you all the time,” Toya said. She extended her hand for my grandma to shake, but instead my grandma pulled her in for a hug.
“It’s nice meeting you too. Diandre talks about you to me all the time too. I knew it had to be serious because I barely see his ass anymore,” my grandma said, causing Toya to laugh.
“It’s smelling good in here, Ma. What you cooking on?” I asked her as I walked over to the stove and picked up the top to one of the pots. She quickly popped me on my hand.
“Don’t play with me, boy. You two go wash up, and dinner will be ready,” she said.
I showed Toya the way to the bathroom and we went to wash our hands together. When we finished, we came back out and my grandma was fixing our plates. I sat down and she set a plate in front of me filled with honey ham, mac and cheese, collard greens, peas and rice and a slice of cornbread. Toya sat down as well, and my grandma placed her plate of food in front of her. After everybody had a plate in front of them, grandma said grace and we all dug in.
“So, Ms. Toya, tell me a little bit about yourself,” my grandma said.
I looked up from my plate at Toya, letting her know to relax because I could tell that she was nervous.
305 Lovin' 4: The Finale Page 1
