“Oh, I love a girl that ain’t scared to eat. Fix me a plate and make sure you give me a big bowl of lobster bisque.” I looked at her confused.
“Yall eat that with bbq out here?”
“Naw, it’s just my favorite meal, so Devin gets it no matter what he orders.” I smiled because it was one of my specialties to cook.
“Nobody makes it better than me, so let me know when you want me to make you some and I got you.” She smiled, so I thought I was starting to win her over.
“Okay, but I like lobster in mine, not crabs.” I looked at her confused, but Landon started laughing so hard he was crying.
“I’m lost.” Devin shook his head and grabbed a rib out of the pan.
“Twin, you doing the most. Don’t make me take yo ass to the shower like Helen did Charles.” They were continuing the conversation, but I was still clueless.
“I wish the hell you would. Brianna, bring my stuff over to the table. We can have girl talk over there.” She called for some lady, and she came and pushed her to the shade. I looked at Devin for answers, but he was trying not to look at me.
“What was the inside joke?”
“She talking about how that cat burning.” Before I could register what Landon said, Devin picked him up, took him to the pool, and dropped him in. When he walked back over, I was still stuck.
“You told her?”
“The news told her. You forgot; the shit was all over the blogs. She just trying to test you and make sure you got thick skin. If she didn’t like you, I promise you wouldn’t have made it this long before she put you out.” Landon ran over and tried to drag Devin to the pool. They were laughing and play fighting and I loved to see this side of him. I walked the food over to his mother before taking a seat.
“Are they always like this?”
“Yup. It’s eye opening ain’t it?” I looked over at her, but she took a bite of her food as if she didn’t just throw me for a loop.
“What you mean?”
“Finding out you were completely wrong about someone.” Looking in her eyes, I decided to be honest for the first time when it came to Devin.
“Girl, that was just me being bitter. I thought he played me in college, so I used my platform for my get back.” She stared at me for a minute before falling out laughing.
“Sometimes you gotta teach a nigga how to treat you.” She winked at me and the shifted the conversation the rest of the day.
It was finally time for us to leave, and I was no longer ready to go home. Me and Adrianne clicked, and I learned more than I needed to about Devin. He really was an amazing man, and that made my feelings for him much more complicated.
“Before you leave, can you put my hair in a ponytail. I’m about to sleep good, and I don’t have time for all of this hair getting in the way.” Smiling, I grabbed the brush from her dresser. Devin had already brought her to the room, and we were saying out goodbyes when she asked me to fix her hair. As soon as I pulled her hair back, my mouth fell open.
“What’s that?”
“My berry mark? All the women in our family have it.” My mouth went dry, but I played it off and continued to pull her hair into a rubber band. I always wondered where Mila got that from, but now I knew. There was no way he could ever see her, or he would know she was his.
17-GARRETT JOHNSON
Pulling up at Denise’s house, I walked in pissed. Not bothering to speak, I walked straight to the bar and poured me a drink. She pulled me to the couch and sat me down before removing my shoes. When she began rubbing my feet, I closed my eyes and tried to relax my mind, but I was too pissed.
“Rough day at work?” Her voice was annoying me, and I didn’t want to talk to her ass, but I needed to vent.
“No, the lil bitch think I’m stupid. She told me she’s on a girl trip, but it’s mysteriously in Miami. I checked her email, and I saw the flight itinerary.” She shrugged her shoulders as if it was nothing.
“So, fuck her. You don’t love her anyway.” Removing my leg from her lap, I took another swig of my drink.
“Doesn’t matter. Blaise belongs to me and if she thinks I’m going to sit back and watch her carry on with that hood rat, she has me mistaken.”
“Well, I went to the doctor today and the baby is growing. It doesn’t look like a little dot anymore. Are you going to come to the next appointment?” Choosing to ignore her dumb ass question, I kept going with my rant.
“I can’t believe her ungrateful ass lied right to my face.” Denise rolled her eyes, but that was my exact sentiment to her foolishness.
