Riding Until The End

by A'zayler

  On his way to the bar stools she had along the mini bar, he flipped the big light in her living room off and turned on the lamp. He took a seat on the stool and watched her move around the kitchen.

  “What you making?”

  “Some fried chicken wings and rice. It’s the quickest thing I could find.”

  Chicken was Zay’s favorite food, so he had no complaints. “That’s cool with me.”

  Arizona seasoned the chicken in her sink and looked up at him. “I don’t know why you call yourself wanting me. I’m a mess right now.” She smiled.

  “I don’t call myself nothing. I’m a grown ass man, Arizona. I know what I want.”

  “And it’s me?”

  “It’s always been you.”

  That remark caught her off guard, but that was just him. He spoke what was on his mind, no matter what. If she was about to be with him, she would have to get used to that.

  “Well, why you go all these years not talking to me?”

  “Arizona, I love you baby, I swear I do. But I’m not going to make a fool of myself for nobody. You was with Toro and you made that clear. What you wanted me to say?”

  She shrugged.

  “You wanted me to confess my love for you and have you shine on my ass because you was with Toro? Hell nah, baby. That ain’t me. I don’t even move like that.”

  “So why now?”

  “Because you’re fair game now. That nigga fucked up.” He laughed to himself. “That day you walked into the shop with Honey and you was crying, I wanted to run up on your ass right then and see what was up, but I just couldn’t. When Honey’s ole innocent ass asked me to check on you, I almost took off running.”

  Arizona giggled to herself as she battered the chicken in the flour.

  “I’m for real. You’re my baby. You always have been. Even when we used to just kick it on my mama’s back porch smoking weed and shit. You’ve always been my girl.” Zay grabbed her wrist, causing her to look up at him. “Even when you was with him, you belonged to me.”

  Arizona stopped messing with the chicken and just looked at him with a look he couldn’t describe. It wasn’t even one he could interpret, but he could tell she appreciated his words.

  “I would have never done no shit like this to you, Arizona. I know it’s easy for me to say because I’m not the one you’re involved with seriously, but that’s on my mama. You wouldn’t ever be crying behind me ’bout no other bitch.” Zay shook his head. “We might fuss and fight and shit, but you better believe that’s as far as that shit would go. I ain’t fucking off and making no babies with bitches from my past. Fuck no. Not if I had you every single fucking day of my life. Hell, it ain’t no reason to fuck off. I’d have it all.”

  Zay wanted to ignore the water in her eyes, but it just bothered him when she cried. Probably because he knew she was still so deeply affected by Toro’s infidelity. He could tell she was crying when she turned to face the stove. The subtle movements of her shoulder’s told on her.

  “Arizona, I know this shit may be hard right now, but it’ll get easier day by day. That nigga fucked up, baby. He did this shit, and he knew you knew about it, then when you did find out he made shit worse by impregnating the bitch. You need to just let go. That shit ain’t worth it.”

  “I just keep trying to understand what I did wrong. Maybe I complained too much about having a baby. It’s just I wanted one so bad, I couldn’t help it.”

  Zay stood from his seat and walked around the counter and leaned against the one next to the stove so that he could see her face.

  “That ain’t have shit to do with it. You was about to be this nigga’s wife. If he couldn’t take you wanting a baby, then he was weak as fuck. What woman doesn’t want a baby? That was his job to make sure you got one. That shit ain’t on you.”

  “I feel like it is. It’s something because whatever it is, he can’t leave Keyona alone.”

  “Man, he was dumb over that hoe in high school. I don’t know what it is either, but shit, I ain’t trying to figure it out. As crazy as he is about her, that’s how crazy I am about you. I’m glad he fucked up, now I can have you all to myself and show you what being with me is like.”

  Arizona smiled at him. “Being with you, huh?”

  “Hell yeah, girl, you been missing out.” Zay playfully rubbed his face and chin.

  Arizona grabbed a handful of his dick through the front of his pants. “I sure have.” She kissed the side of his mouth and went back to frying the chicken.

  That’s the Z he liked. Zay smiled because he already knew piece by piece he would help her put herself back together, and when she finally did, she would be in love with him.

  “Don’t be touching my dick, girl; this shit don’t belong to you yet.”

  “And why it don’t?” Arizona laughed.

  Zay walked back to his seat at the bar and sat down. “I need to taste this chicken first. If yo ass can’t cook, I ain’t fucking with you. I’m a big nigga and I like to eat.”

  Arizona turned around to face him. “That’s cool because I like to cook. You gon’ eat, baby. Believe that. If I don’t do nothing else, I’mma feed you.”

  Zay couldn’t even stop himself from smiling. Spending time with Arizona was all he’d wanted since the first time he came to her new spot and helped her with her groceries.

  “We gon’ see.”

  “Yeah, we will.” She walked to the cabinet and pulled out the orange bag of Uncle Ben’s rice. She bent over and grabbed a pot from beneath the cabinet and walked to the sink to rinse it out.

  “Yeah, bring that body to daddy, baby girl. I got some shit I want to do to it.” Zay’s deep voice was filled with lust.

  “Where that come from?” Arizona asked, with a smile on her face.

  He laughed because his tone had drastically changed. They went from joking to him wanting to fuck again.

  “When you bent over, your shorts rose up around your thighs and shit and got stuck in your butt. It made my dick hard, so I said what was on my mind.” Zay licked his lips.

  “You have to stop it, Zay.”

  “No, I don’t either. I say what I feel. You might as well get used to that. I don’t care what it is or where I’m at, I’m saying what the fuck I gotta say.”

  She smiled and nodded at him. “I got that.”

  “Well, have it, baby. Come give me a kiss.”

  Arizona paused for a minute before walking over to him and kissing his full lips. He grabbed her chin and kissed her deeper before letting her go back to the stove. When she was in the kitchen and at the stove again, Zay laughed.

  “I’m about to fuck up your world and you don’t even know it.”

  “I hope you fuck it up in a good way.”

  “Oh, most definitely, queen.”

  Zay sat in the kitchen with Arizona until she finished cooking. She fixed their plates and grabbed the carton of Simply’s lemonade and took it into her bedroom with them. Zay stripped back down to his briefs and got into bed with her following him. She removed her shorts and kept on her shirt and panties. They lay in bed together, turned on Netflix and ate their late night/early morning snack. They took turns passing the juice between the two of them and talking until they fell asleep. Needless to say, both of them were happy for now.

  Chapter Four

  Don’t expect to get treated like number one when you’re playing the role of number two.

  The sounds of “It Seems Like You’re Ready,” by R. Kelly played through the speakers of Keyona’s dimly lit room. She had just gotten back to her sister’s house and was trying to set the mood for Toro. He had been acting really shady with her since Arizona found out about them, and she was getting tired of it. She was ready for him to go back to the fun, loving man that he had been since she’d been back in town.

  More days than not, he was angry or never really in the mood to do any real talking and playing like they normally did. Her sister had gone out of town for the weekend with her boyfriend,
his friend, and Virginia. They had left earlier that morning and weren’t due to return until sometime Sunday night. Keyona had cleaned up Kayla’s entire apartment and was now laying out the little outfit she’d bought from Victoria Secret.

  She grabbed her body wash and towel before going to take a shower. When she got out, she dressed in her outfit and rubbed lotion all over her body. The song had changed to “Sex Me” by R. Kelly by the time she got back into her room. She looked at herself in the mirror before checking the clock. It was going on six o’clock, so Toro would be walking through the door at any minute.

  When she was completely dressed and ready, she lit the candles she had lined up around the room and sprinkled the rose petals around the floor. Everything had come together nicely and she couldn’t wait for him to see it. She needed Toro to see that he hadn’t made a mistake by picking her. Or staying with her for that matter because she hadn’t really given him a choice to choose once she announced she was pregnant.

  She already knew that he was going to choose her after that. The look on Arizona’s face still made her giggle. That bitch had looked so dead when she blurted out how many weeks she was. If she could, she would do it all over again. She hated Arizona. Always had. She hated her because of the way Toro loved her. He acted like she was the best thing since sliced bread, and she didn’t see why.

  Arizona had no real shape, she would call her average in the looks department, but that would have been a lie. Arizona was pretty as hell. She just had a slick ass mouth and no body. What nigga wanted something small like her when he could have a thick, voluptuous woman to cuddle with? Knock off Gabrielle Dennis looking bitch. Keyona rolled her eyes and sprayed on some more perfume.

  She stopped in her tracks when she heard the front door slam. She ran to the mirror, fixed her hair and clothes, before standing next to the bed. When the knob to the room turned, and the door opened, she smiled. Toro walked in with his work bag in his hand and he looked tired. He dropped the bag on the floor before looking at her. He gave a simple smile and looked around the room.

  “What’s all of this for?”

  Keyona walked to him and rubbed the front of his shoulders. “I just wanted to put you in a good mood. You’ve been so grouchy lately.”

  “My fault. Just stress.”

  “I know, baby. It’s okay. Let me make you feel better.” Keyona began unbuckling his pants. She helped him undress before leading him to the shower.

  Once he was showered and clean, he walked back into Keyona’s room and closed the door. He sat down on the bed with a frown on his face. Keyona looked at him and wondered what could have happened that fast. He had just been enjoying his shower, now he looked pissed off again.

  “What’s the matter, baby?”

  “I’m tired of coming over here to this little ass room. I’m a grown ass man with my own house. I don’t have to be cooped up and confined to this small ass room.”

  Keyona wanted to roll her eyes, but checked her attitude instead. “Toro, I tell you all the time we can go to your house, but you never want to go.”

  He looked down at her like she was crazy. “That’s me and Z’s house. I’m not taking you over there like that. That’s Arizona’s shit. What I look like letting another woman come up in there taking over and shit?”

  That was all it took to piss Keyona off. She stood in front of him with her hands on her hips. “Nigga, I’m not some random ass bitch. I thought we were together. I am the mother of your child in case you forgot.”

  “I ain’t forgot shit. I know all of that. You make sure to remind me every day. I just still don’t think that shit is right.”

  “Well, what are we supposed to do? Are we going to keep living like this? You keep your house and I have mine? When the baby gets here, don’t you think we all should be under the same roof?”

  Toro looked down and sighed before nodding his head. “I’ll figure it out by then.”

  “Let’s figure it out now, baby. If it makes you feel better, I can help you clean everything out of your house and we can get new stuff.”

  Toro didn’t say anything, he just looked up at her.

  “You want to do that?” She straddled his lap and rubbed his head.

  “What about Arizona?”

  “What about her? You and her are over, right?”

  Toro was quiet for a minute. Keyona could tell he was still going through about Arizona, but oh well. It was about time for him to recognize what he and her had started and know that Arizona had no place there.

  “I’ve been here just as long as she has.”

  “Nah, you haven’t. You remember when you left me for all that time? Then repeatedly after that? Well, she was there during all of that.”

  Keyona hopped up and pushed away from him. “Well, you knew all of that when you chose to be with me this time. If this is what you’re going to do the rest of the time we’re together, then I’ll just leave again and we can set up some type of visitation rights for the baby.”

  “You’re a gotdamn lie. I’mma be there for my baby every day.”

  “Well then act like it. I’m tired of playing, Toro. You made the conscious decision to be with me. You knew what would come along with it and now that shit has hit the fan, you want to blame it all on me. I’m not going to let you do that. This was both of our decision. You may not like it, you may not even be ready for it, but we have to deal with the mess we’ve made. It’s time to make the best out of what we’ve started.”

  Toro lay back on the bed and propped himself up on the pillows. He was quiet, but he was looking at her so she looked right back at him. She smiled when he used his finger to motion for her to come to him. She walked sexily to him and joined him on the bed, where they stayed for the rest of the night. By the time they’d completed their third session of sex, she was hungry. Toro was too, so they decided to grab some food.

  They showered quickly and threw on some clothes. She rode with him to the hot wing spot up the street from her house. She was chilling in her seat when his phone rang. She tried to peep the caller ID, but he moved it too fast.

  “What’s going on?... Oh yeah I’m out right now. Where you at?... Bet. I’m on the way.” He hung his phone up and pulled out of the parking lot.

  “What about our food?” Keyona asked.

  “We’ll come back and get it. I need to go scoop Congo up real quick. He caught a flat and his spare is at his parent’s house. We’ll grab something on the way back to your house. I don’t want the food getting cold.”

  Keyona nodded and looked out of the window. Congo was cool. He had been since she’d known him. She could tell that he wasn’t the biggest fan of her due to the show they put on at Arizona and Toro’s house that night, but fuck it. What was done, was done. She couldn’t take it back. She probably wouldn’t have if she could. He had just better get in the backseat and shut his ass up.

  When they pulled up to the KFC, she saw Congo on the side of the road standing next to his car.

  When he saw Toro’s car he waved his arm before turning around and leaning into the car. When he stood back up he was holding a pink and dark blue baby bag. His tall frame was sexy as fuck. Not to mention his black ass skin. Congo wasn’t wearing nothing but a dark gray sweat suit and he was still fine as fuck. She had to turn her eyes away before Toro caught her looking at that nigga. That baby bag on his shoulder added to the sex appeal.

  She loved a nigga that took care of his kids. That was a turn on all by itself. When Toro pulled up next to the car, Keyona’s whole mood soured. There was that little red bitch that had hit her that day. Virginia had told her all about her. She was Arizona’s little best friend or some shit. She had only been with Congo for a little while, but whatever she’d done had that nigga on lock. Keyona giggled to herself thinking about how he was about to go off in Kayla and Virginia’s shit for talking about what they were going to do to her.

  Toro killed the engine and got out. She watched him talk to Congo before Congo loo
ked her way. He didn’t mug her as hard as he had Kayla and Virginia, but he sure as hell wasn’t smiling at her ass. He looked toward his car then back at Toro and shook his head. Toro said something before they both started laughing. Congo walked to the passenger side window and started talking to Honey.

  Keyona smiled because she loved shit like this. She already knew they were probably trying to convince her to get in the car with Keyona. She hoped that Honey agreed because she owed that little bitch for hitting her that day at the restaurant. When Congo stood up, he walked to the backseat of his old school and opened the door. The pink and dark blue car seat matched the bag that he had been holding. She craned her neck to see if she could see the baby, but Congo pulled the blanket back over her seat.

  When he had the baby seat in one hand with the bag on his shoulder, he opened the other door for his bitch to get out. Keyona couldn’t even flex. The girl was bad. She had on a pair of blue jeans with the knee cut out and a white shirt. You would never know she was fresh off of delivering a baby. Her hair was pushed back with a headband and it was wavy as if she had just washed it. The large gold earrings complimented the simple outfit she was wearing.

  She didn’t even waste time playing around. She looked directly through the windshield at Keyona. Her whole face frowned as she rolled her eyes. Keyona smiled at her and situated herself in the front seat. Congo threw his arm around her shoulder and pulled her head to his lips. He kissed the side of her face and she smiled. It was sweet, but Keyona would never tell her that. What she would do though if Honey rolled her eyes again was have Virginia take Congo from her ass.

  Toro opened the back door for Honey and she just stood there. Keyona could tell that him and Congo were trying their best to diffuse the situation, so Congo leaned in and strapped the baby’s carrier to the seat before closing the door. Toro got in the front with Keyona while Congo and Honey walked around to Keyona’s side and Congo opened the back door again. He stepped to the side for Honey to get in, but she still just stood there.