The sisters added me to their group chat a few days after Dana started watching Promise. You would think they were her real sisters by the way they treated her. She bounced between all three of their rooms whenever she spends time over there, and they gave her free rein to do what she wanted.
Since I would be having a kid-free night, I decided to take a long, hot shower, put on some pajamas of my own, and have a movie night by myself.
It took forty-five minutes for me to get settled, and my stomach growled loudly. I forgot all about dinner when I realized I only needed to feed myself. I grabbed my phone and looked up a few restaurants I wanted to try when someone knocked on my door. Dreaux usually lets himself in with his key, so I wondered if it was one of my neighbors.
“You must have thought I was playing when I told you we were gonna pull up on you,” Ciyani exclaimed. I smiled the moment I realized it was her and Janae. Both of them held bags in their hands as I moved over to let them in.
“Well, hello to you, too.” I giggled, following them into the kitchen.
“Yeah, whatever. I’ve cussed Dreaux out a million times this week because you’ve been ignoring us. I don’t appreciate being left on read, ma’am.” Janae chimed in.
“I’m sorry, ya’ll. All of this has been rough on me. I’ve been trying to get my thoughts together, but I don’t even know where to start.”
“I can’t say that I understand how you feel because I don’t. I—” A knock interrupted her thoughts. Rising from my chair, I headed over to the door. When I saw a few of the other ladies I met at Sunday dinner, I hugged them and let them in.
“Hey, y’all.” Tyeis greeted the other ladies, followed by Miyana or Yaya, as they called her.
“What’s up, sis? I’m shocked, bro, let you leave the house with the way the two of you are glued to the hip.” Ciyani teased.
“Oh, hush. My man might be a little clingy, but I love him. Plus, the dick is superb, so when big daddy tells me to lie back down, I’m lying back down,” Tyeis replied.
“We grabbed some liquor and chasers. I don’t plan to get too fucked up because I have an early morning appointment.” Ciyani informed us.
“I’m so glad I adjusted my availability. It’s getting harder and harder to get out of bed now. Going from one kid to two has been more of an adjustment than I thought it would be.” Yaya spoke.
“I agree. Orion is self-sufficient, but Tru gives me a run for my money every morning. She isn’t a morning person at all, and Loyal is no help because he gives her whatever she wants.” Loyal sounded like Dreaux when it came to Promise. The more time she spent with him and the girls, the more spoiled she became.
We sat around the table talking about everything under the sun. When I finally told them the story about Chop and Samara, Ciyani acted as if she wanted to ride out and beat them up herself. It was nice to have people in my corner who genuinely cared about me.
“There goes the food!” Ciyani jumped up and headed towards the door. I heard a man on the other end as she thanked him.
“I’m telling y’all now, I’m about to demolish this food. I took back-to-back appointments with no lunch breaks today.” Ciyani announced, setting the food on the counter.
We all agreed on wings, burgers, and fries to soak up the liquor. I hadn’t had a real drink since before my stint in jail, so I made sure to take a BC powder. We fixed our plates and immediately dived in. Since moving back to Jonah Hills, all the food I’ve tried exceeded my expectations. If I didn’t stop eating out so much, I was going to burst out of my clothes.
“I’m the only person single in this group. That’s crazy.” The realization stung a little as it was the first time that I had been the only single person in my group of friends.
“You’re funny. Do you see the way Dreaux stares at you? I’m surprised the two of you haven’t hooked up yet. I’ve never seen him take an interest in anyone the way he has with you.” Ciyani remarked.
“Dreaux has been a lifesaver, but I don’t see anything romantic happening with us. We’re friends. Well, we were.”
“Oh, so you’re delusional. I understand, boo.”
I nearly spit out my drink when Ciyani called me out. Everyone else at the table laughed in agreement.
“I’m being serious. He has been a godsend to Promise and me, but that’s it. Besides, he seems like the type to have a brothel of bitches, and I’m not interested in fighting for anyone’s attention. I certainly don’t want to share after what I’ve been through.” Chop scared me from wanting to date or put my trust in another man.
“Are you attracted to him?” Ty questioned.
“Dreaux is one of the finest men I’ve ever met. A little too fine if you ask me.” I quipped.
“Girl, bye. There is no such thing. Have you seen our men? Everybody in their circle is trappable.” Yaya chimed in.
“Trappable?”
“Hell, yes. Every time I look at Messiah, I want to get him pregnant.”
Laughter erupted around the entire table. Every single one of them possessed a unique personality, and I loved them all.
