“Fries if they have them. Make sure they’re fresh.” He reached down into his jeans pocket for his wallet.
“I got it.” I rose up.
“Oh shit; aight.”
I chuckled as I walked out of the section we were in and across the lounge to go order the food. Stepping up to the bar, I took one of the menus to look it over and see what I was in the mood for.
“Hi. Johnny Bills.” Some man walked up. He was behind the bar counter, however, with his hand stuck out to me.
“Alivia.” I shook it.
“We have this one night coming up, and I would love for you to deejay it. I’m the owner.”
“Oh wow, okay. Well, let me give you my card, and you can email my manager. She squares away any deals.” I reached into my purse and handed him a business card.
“Nice. How much do you usually charge for something like this? I know your name is pretty hot, so I’m not expecting anything cheap.”
“It depends, but for one night of just me spinning, it’s forty-five thousand dollars. You’re paying for the job and my name.”
Johnny nodded then replied, “Well cool. Thanks. Looking forward to working with you.”
“Sure.” I diverted my attention back to the menu and finally decided on the turkey burger with fries. I placed my order, along with some extra fries for Yono, and then paid for it.
“I knew it was you.” I heard a voice as I signed the receipt.
Looking to my left, I saw Manny, sitting down on the stool next to the one I was standing by. He looked so good in a scoop-neck sweater, jeans, and I couldn’t see his shoes because it was too dark. His cologne was nice and subtle, and I could tell he’d gotten his facial hair lined up recently.
“Did you?”
“Yeah, you were glowing from across the room.” He looked me up and down for a moment. “You look beautiful, Alivia. But that’s nothing new.”
“No, I guess not. Thank you.” I checked over my shoulder to be sure Yono wasn’t watching.
“You here alone?”
“I’m not, no. Hey, I have to use the restroom, so I will be back soon, okay?” Before he could even answer, I rushed off to the back where the bathrooms were to take a moment. I counted to sixty, and when I came out, Manny was right there. “Excuse me.”
“Wait.” He slipped his hands around my waist, tugging me closer to him. “I know the situation you got going on with Yono, but I don’t give a fuck. I love you.”
“What?” I tried to laugh it off. “What are you even talking about? We—”
“I’m talking about the fact that I don’t care if you’re pregnant by him, I want you. I love you, and that shit is not gon’ stop me from doing so.”
Was this really happening right now?
“Manny, we can talk later, but right now—”
I couldn’t even finish because his lips were against mine. I hadn’t kissed him in a minute, so I fell right into it, letting his tongue enter my mouth and vice versa. Once I realized what I was doing, I snapped out of it and turned my face.
“Clearly, we’re on the same page.” He tried to kiss me again, but I moved.
“Aye nigga, back yo’ ass up off my girl!” Yono barked, charging toward us down the hallway.
“Troy, nothing happened,” I pleaded, lying like hell.
Yono grabbed my hand to pull me behind him, still mean mugging Manny.
“You missed out on this one, my nigga. Let it go.” Yono glared at Manny.
“I ain’t miss out on nothing. She still wants to be with me, nigga, you just can’t see it.”
“Muthafucka, she don’t want shit to do with you. What kind of a nigga gets a female pregnant and don’t step up?” Yono hissed, making my stomach drop to my knees.
No, no, no, please!
Confused, Manny asked, “What? Fuck are you talking about? You don’t know shit about me.”
“I know you’re a deadbeat ass nigga. But it’s cool because that’s what I’m here for. You can go on living yo’ bachelor life, and I’ll take care of Alivia and yo’ kid as if it were mine. Neither one ’em needs yo’ ass.”
Manny’s eyes left Yono and focused on me. He was still puzzled, I could see it, and I had nothing to say. His mouth opened and closed as if he wanted to speak, but no words came out.
Yono shook his head at Manny, disgusted, before taking my hand to walk off. I glanced over my shoulder to check on him once more, and he still had the same look on his face, like he didn’t even know who I was.
I felt like shit for some reason but proceeded to pick up my food from the bar then go enjoy it in our section.
Maybe this was for the best.
Two days later… a little after 7 p.m.…
I was lying on the couch, looking homeless as I watched TV. I felt horrible after Yono exposed my secret to Manny, and I couldn’t get that look he had on his face out of my mind. I could tell he was devastated and very angry. It would be too soon if I never saw him again. I was way too damn ashamed.
Just as I shoved more popcorn into my mouth, my phone started ringing. I knew it was probably Yono because Blaise and Priscilla had just left after trying to cheer me up and make me feel better. Priscilla didn’t even know I was pregnant until today, making me feel even worse. I wasn’t embarrassed of my baby, but the way I was going about things sure seemed like it.
“What the fuck?” I mumbled, seeing it was Manny calling.
Why? Why couldn’t he just hate me and choose to never talk to me again? I wasn’t prepared for a tongue-lashing. I was sad enough as it is, and praying I didn’t throw up on top of that. Swiping my phone up, I hit decline, only for him to start calling me right back. Giving in, I tapped the green button and waited for him to speak.
“Hello?” he inquired with a skeptical tone.
“I’m here,” I replied very lowly.
“Alivia, can you come see me?”
“Uh…” I looked around my living room as if someone was here and ready to give me a good excuse. “I can’t, I have to—”
“I’m asking nicely. I think I deserve for you to come see me, please.”
“Why?” I whined.
“Can you come? If you can’t come tonight, I’m gon’ call tomorrow and every day after.”
“Why can’t you come to me?”
“Alivia… please.”
“Fine! But don’t expect me to look all cute because I was relaxing, nigga! You decided to bother me, so I will not be dressing up!”
It was silent before he chuckled a tiny bit.
“Is this what the baby has you on?”
I gasped, baffled that he would say such a thing before I hung up on his stupid ass.
Standing up, I slipped my feet into my UGGs, keeping on my tights and t-shirt as promised. Since it was cold out this evening, I threw on a crewneck sweater then grabbed my purse and keys.
On the way to Manny’s house, I was damn near panicking, wondering what he was going to say. He sounded calm on the phone, but that could’ve been just to get me over there. He was probably going to tear me a new one, and I would have to fight him. This would be my first physical fight and with the father of my child.
As I made my way up Manny’s walkway, Yono started calling me.
“Hey, can I call you back?” I paused, looking around the area to see if anyone was watching.
“Yeah, you aight?”
“Just a little sick per usual, but I was napping.” Thank God Manny’s neighborhood was eerily quiet all the time, so there were no cars or loud ass neighbors here to ruin my fib.
“Okay. Hit me when you wake up. I hate being so far from you.”
“Yep. Okay.” I quickly hung up since Manny had opened his front door. Either he saw me out here or heard me talking.
“Who was that?” He pushed the screen door outward.
“Look, just tell me what you invited me…” I had pushed past him to get inside, but the sight of roses and lit candles caught me off guard. I listened as he sh
ut the door, locking it, before coming around to take my hand.
“Sit down,” he instructed, and I did so with him joining me.
“What is all this?” I started sniffing the air because I smelled food.
Chuckling, Manny replied, “This is for you.”
“Don’t you hate me?”
“Unfortunately, Alivia, I don’t think there is shit you can do to make me hate you, and trust me, baby, I have tried.”
I laughed, wiping the tear that had traveled down my cheek.
“I’m sorry. I was going to tell you, but then I saw you had a woman over. Then when you said you didn’t want any more children, I thought it was best to keep it a secret. I’m sorry.”
Manny nodded, holding my hands still.
“How far along are we now?”
“We?” I giggled.
“Yeah, we.”
“Umm, like three months. My stomach hasn’t changed really, so that’s why it’s so easy to hide.”
Manny sighed and looked off for a moment, then regained eye contact with me.
“Alivia, I think it’s time we cut all this extra shit out and just do what we really wanna do. I’ve changed, I swear. I can give you Jasmine’s number if you want it. My mama even knows about Jasiel. And I think this new kid will give me a chance to be even better but from the start. I don’t just wanna co-parent though; I want us to be together, be a family and shit. I wanna get married to you.”
“Okay.”
I could tell he was surprised by my answer because he just gaped at me as if I were a ghost.
“You serious?”
“Yes. I’m serious. Why would I be joking? And what about your women? I don’t know who you’re with these days.”
“Nobody important.” He reached to pull me into his lap so that we could kiss. “So the shit with that nigga Yono is gon’ be over, right?”
“Yes. I have to tell him, but I don’t know how.”
“Let me.”
“Absolutely not. You’re just going to be rude and rub it in his face, which I don’t want.”
“At least you know me because that was definitely what I was going to do.”
“I know, and I don’t want that.” I looked down into Manny’s eyes to kiss him.
“We won’t be breaking up again, right?” he inquired lowly.
“No.”
“And I don’t mind if you work with him, if that’s where a nice ass check is coming from.”
“That’s if he still wants to work with me after I break up with him. But if he does, I hope you know that nothing will happen. It only did this time because you broke up with me, then got a new girl extremely fast, and was acting an ass.”
“I’m aware.”
We tittered in unison before he helped me out of his lap to walk me to the table he had set up. He pulled the chair out for me, and we both snickered subtly because of how I looked at him, remembering the days when I had to tell him to be this chivalrous.
“What are we having?” I got comfortable in the chair as he rushed to the kitchen.
“Steak, macaroni and cheese, greens, and lobster tails.” He brought everything over as my jaw hit the floor.
“Where the hell did you buy this? You can’t cook!” I frowned, knowing damn well his ass didn’t make this.
“Nah, I hired a chef. Price wasn’t that bad to have him come whip this up.”
I chuckled, waiting for Manny to finish setting everything down. When done, he sat across from me, so we held hands to pray. We made our plates, then for the next hour or so, we just talked and ate a lot. It felt so natural, and unlike with Yono, no one else was on my mind while I was here.
Once I was officially stuffed, Manny took the dishes to the kitchen, then came back to help me up from my seat.
“I’m not even showing yet. I don’t need all this help.” I laughed before we pecked one another.
“I’m about to show you something.” He guided me to the back by hand.
We entered what was his guest bedroom, and when he hit the lights, I saw it had been decorated and fixed up for a little boy, even with a Nascar bed.
“Is this for Jasiel?”
“Yep. He stays with me every weekend now. I can’t turn up as much, but it’s cool.” He shrugged one shoulder as I grinned up at him.
“I’m happy you did this, Manuel. Can you believe that you didn’t even have a room for your son at your own home?”
“I know. Don’t remind me. But we gotta move anyway. I’m glad I didn’t have the walls painted.” He entered the bedroom, and I followed.
“Move, why?”
“Make room for the four of us, right?”
“Yeah, true.” I was elated on the inside, but I wanted to keep my composure. “I used to fucking loathe you, and now I’m having your baby! I can’t believe this!”
We cackled together as I put my hands on my face Home Alone style.
“I see why God told me to keep trying with you, even when you pretended not to like me.” He took me out of what was now Jasiel’s bedroom.
“I was not pretending; I didn’t like your ass.”
“Sure.”
He shut the door of his bedroom once we were inside, and we got right to kissing. It was heavy off the bat, and by the way we were stripping one another’s clothes off, it was obvious we missed having sex with one another.
Yono was great in bed, and so was Manny, but what made the latter better was that I had deeper feelings for him. I didn’t know if it was because I was a woman or what, but that improved the lovemaking tenfold.
As soon as we hit the bed, naked, Manny went right down to put his face between my legs. Gripping the sheets, I arched my back as he sucked my clit, massaging my thighs as he did so.
“I missed you so much,” I called out, enjoying the feeling of his mouth between my hips.
He toyed with my bud for a little bit, before getting back to sucking it passionately, and before I knew it, I was releasing. I was already soaking wet as Manny continued to eat me out, making me sweat and move about as the euphoric feeling traveled throughout my body. My eyes shot open before my body jerked about, experiencing a powerful orgasm.
“I missed doing that.” He whispered against my lips before kissing me deeply.
He flipped me over onto my stomach, parted my legs some, and then slid inside from behind. Pinning my hands to the bed while sucking my neck, he began gliding in and out of me slowly, making me close my eyes to enjoy it.
“Oh my gosh.” I whispered as soon as he started to go faster, fucking me so hard I came twice back to back.
My body was weak already, and I could feel Manny’s hands rubbing down it, squeezing certain parts as he sucked my ear. After he felt I’d recouped enough, he sped back up, going hard until we both released.
I was too happy to be here… with him.
Two days later… back at Alivia’s home…
Yono had gone out of town the day after that fiasco with Manny, and since I didn’t want to be technically dating two people at once, I decided to call him. I wanted him to be aware of what was going on, and I couldn’t wait because he told me he’d be there for two months.
“Hey, baby,” he answered, sighing. “Sorry I haven’t been that available. I’ve been trying to get these records done with Rich so I can get back home. I miss you.”
I chuckled nervously.
“Troy, I want to be honest and get right to it. I can’t be with you right now… actually, ever, I guess.”
“What? Why?”
“I want to give my relationship with Manny another try since—hello? Troy?” I pulled my phone away to see he’d hung up on me.
I tried calling him twice, but when he didn’t answer, I said forget it.
7
Nichole
Now that my baby was here, I was happy to see my stomach going down. I’d been losing my mind having to stay off Instagram for this damn long. I couldn’t wait to post a new picture to show off how great I look
ed after being a balloon for forever.
Coming out of the shower, I spread lotion all over my body, then brushed, flossed, and rinsed with mouthwash. Today, I was about to go out because I wanted to get some good photos of myself. It was time I return back to the world; I missed myself. Also, I needed to go get my hair done.
Once I was dressed up in some black maternity jeans since they were still more comfortable than my normal ones, I threw on a Gucci t-shirt and some Gucci combat boots. Once my makeup was on, I gave the mirror a smile before throwing on some expensive jewelry then leaving the bedroom.
“Hi, beautiful.” I scooped my daughter Iliana up out of her crib.
She’d already had a warm bath earlier, so I put her into a fresh diaper and then dressed her up in Gucci to match me. Her father had gotten her so many things, I guess trying to make up for missing her birth. I was still pretty bothered by it, but day-by-day, I was forcing myself to get over it. I had to. I refused to start over with another man, especially when I loved this one and already had his baby. Plus, he was balling.
After putting Iliana in her carrier, I grabbed up my big Gucci purse then left. It didn’t take me long to get to the salon, and I was happy my stylist Reen granted my request to make sure no one was here. I didn’t want a bunch of gossiping hoes breathing over and waking my baby up.
“Wow. You look so good, Nichole.” Reen stepped back to look at me before we hugged.
“Bitch, I know.” I made a face, prompting her to laugh and shake her head.
“You’re so conceited but the shit is funny. And you are bomb, so.” She shrugged before looking down at the carrier in my hand.
Placing it in one of the salon chairs, I pulled the blanket back from being over it and said, “This is Queen Iliana.”
“Queen? Already?”
“Yep. She’s too high up to be a princess.”
“Then what the hell are you?”
“The Queen mother, which is a very important role, might I add.” I batted my eyelashes as we cackled.
“Well she’s so beautiful. She looks just like you, which I know you’re happy about.” Reen patted the chair, letting me know to sit in it.
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