Tatiyonna walked in with Detective Cole. I was putting two and two together now. He always spoke of how proud he was of his daughter and how successful she was. The resemblance between the two was evident. I waited until they were seated before I headed their way.
“Old man, what’s going on?” I greeted Detective Cole.
“Ah man, what’s good?” he got up to dap me up. “You’re not at the gun range this time, which means you’re levelheaded.” He raised his eyebrow.
“Yeah, for right now,” I stared at Tatiyonna.
“Oh, this is my precious daughter Tatiyonna.”
“Nice to meet you.” I held my hand out.
My jaw clenched when she reached out, and she had that nigga ring on. She caught on and shook my hand quickly.
“You want to join us?” Her dad asked.
“Oh, no! I have my sister at another table. I noticed you and wanted to come and speak. Listen, Tatiyonna, your dad saved me back in the day. You should let him tell you the story. I was a wild boy. Y’all enjoy your breakfast.”
When I made it back to the table, Lonni’s ass had a smile on her face.
“Ms. Muthafuckin’ Cole got your nose wide open.”
“Who said that?” I asked.
“Nigga, the way you got up from this table when she walked in told me all I needed to know. Y’all kinda cute together, though.”
“Shut up,” I told, as I paid the bill.
I let another week go by to make sure the twins had acclimated to school well before I booked a trip. When the tickets were secured, I picked up the phone and called Tatiyonna.
“Hey, I was just about to text you.”
I cut straight to the point. “You remember that trip you owe me. Just me and you and no distractions?”
“Umm, I guess.”
“Pack your shit, and I’ll be there to get you in the morning.”
“Wait, I can’t just drop shit when you want me to. I have to plan and move things around.”
“Move it around then. You asked me last week if I was okay? I’m not, and I want to talk about it out of the country.”
“Like, how am I supposed to pack, Jah? You’re not giving me details.”
“Bikinis, dresses, and no panties. Shit like that. And keep that fucking ring at home.”
“Let me see what I can do,” she told me.
“Tatiyonna, right now, I don’t need you to see what you can. I need you to make this shit happen for me, please.”
“Okay…okay. I’ll be ready.”
“And tell your husband don’t fucking bother you while you’re with me. I need this time with you.”
“I got it, Jah.”
“I’ll text you when I’m on my way to pick you up.” We both ended the call.
I walked into my closet to pack. This was going to be the first time I was going to be vulnerable to any woman. My heart was telling me to let the shit between Tatiyonna and me be. Just keepfucking her and staying in my place. My mind wouldn’t let me keep going on with life like this. Shit was affecting my mental health, not having her here with me all the time.
