“Hear ye, hear ye, the tardy nigga who’s the apple of Ma’s eyes has finally shown up. Give it up for Alijah ever tardy Dawson.” Aaron’s words trail off as he runs away when I flinch at him, ready to punch his aggy ass.
Ma’s eyes momentarily meet mine before she returns to focusing on Tiny, who’s at the food table. I chuckle and shake my head before I move toward the grill Pops stands behind on the back deck. Kids run around happy to be with their cousins. I nod at various family members who sit around the yard either eating, mingling, or dancing. I momentarily stare at the table where a few of my aunts and uncles are as they hover over what looks to be a Jenga game. I can feel the intensity from where I am.
Jenga for my family is like spades to other families. One wrong pull and my aunts and uncles will temporarily forget their lineage as they shamelessly threaten one another.
“I ain’t stepping in when that shit goes bad this time. I told them old niggas not to bring out that damn game. But they allclaimed to play fair and nice,” Pops says as I disconnect my gaze and climb the steps of the patio.
“Now you and I both know their asses lied with the first word about playing.” I chuckle as I take in the man who has always given me an example to mimic.
Darren Dawson is that nigga. He’s the man who has taught me how to be an upstanding citizen in every way that matters. Darren is the reason I went from high school to college with plans for some type of financial security, although he teases me about missing a part of his instruction since all I do is sit on my ass all day. My response is to show him my hefty bank account. I’m a remote data analyst, and I get paid great money to sit on my ass as Pops claims.
“It’s good to see you, Son. But I almost sent a search party for your ass. You know your mama likes everyone to arrive at the same time.”
I laugh at that comment because Gwen Dawson runs a tight ship. She likes her events to start and end on time. I can only imagine how much she complained to Pops about me being tardy. My eyes disconnect from Pops as they bounce around the yard before I speak.
“I don’t see Gigi. How did she escape Ma’s wrath and constant calls?”
“I’m right here.” My sister Gianna steps outside, effectively ending my attempt at disputing being the only person not in attendance.
All I can do is nod slowly as Pops snickers, and I pull Gianna into my arms. I kiss the top of her head as she runs her hands up and down my back. I release Gianna and then mingle with my family. Even though my body is physically with my family, my mind is back at the apartment with Monika. I only last forty-five minutes before my thoughts and guilt refuse to release me, and I sneak out of the backyard without being detected.
Fifteen minutes later, I’m back at the crib and climbing the stairs to our third-floor apartment. My brows hike and forehead wrinkles when I enter the living room as R&B flows at a tempo that will prevent me from being heard by Monika. The hairs on my arms stand at attention as apprehension rises from my toes, slowly up my body. When a whimper sounds from the direction of our bedroom, I walk that way. My steps are unhurried as my heart drums in my ears with every second it takes to reach the room. The door isn’t closed, and my steps halt as my eyes balloon like one of the characters in an acme scene.
I thought she was sick. What happened to all the pain she was in before you left?
“What the fuck?” Those three words tumble from my lips without preamble as I take in the sight of my woman in a threesome.
The act is damaging, no matter what, but shock surges through my body upon seeing two other sets of titties. Monika is between the legs of one woman as another woman hovers over that woman’s mouth with her head thrown back and her eyes closed. It takes the three women a second to feel or sense the shift of sexual energy in the room. But when their eyes land on me, no one stops what they’re doing. I mean no fucking one. Monika slurps the woman’s pussy with her lust-filled eyes on me, and I glare at her.
“What the fuck are you doing?” My question is rhetorical, but my fucking brain spins as I fight to process what I see.
The love of my life. The woman who has my heart in a vice grip. The woman my family adores. The woman who’s currently cheating on me with two other gotdamn women.
“Alijah.” Monika must take my silence and stares as something like temptation as she purrs my name around a mouth full of pussy.
Our future goes up in black smoke instantly as I back into the nearest wall, unable to slow the betrayal that wraps in an anaconda-like grip. My chambers in my heart splinter the longer I’m unable to move or disconnect my gaze from the scene in front of me.
“I’ve been waiting for you, ba—mm—join us,” Monika purrs, and something within me snaps.
“You’ve got me fucked up.” I stand to my full height and march to the closet and snatch my clothes from the hangers.
Heat fuels my actions as my mind tortures me with a constant loop of Monika and her women. With each garment that hits the ground, my thoughts swirl. None of the women stop or pause their actions when they realize my presence, which tells me this isn’t their first rodeo. That thought boils my blood as the desire to punch something slowly enters my mind.
“I’ve gotta get the fuck out of here,” I grumble.
“Don’t go, Alijah.” Monika’s voice makes me growl in an inhumane way as I continue removing my clothes.
The words I want to release will only cause me to spiral and potentially land in jail, so I say nothing. It takes me ten minutes to remove my stuff from the closet and another ten to toss everything in trash bags. I do all of this while Monika tries to talk to me with the women still engaging in oral sex like nothing is amiss.
“Baby, please don’t go. I want us to be together,” Monika says after she walks in my path, temporarily halting my progress toward the door.
A gut-pulling yet painful round of laughter escapes my mouth when Monika motions between me, the women on the bed, and herself.
“You must have inhaled more than pussy before I got here.” I step around Monika as I remember my home training and my desire to be a man in every aspect of my life.
When the front door slams behind me, the first tear slides down my cheek. Every step I take toward my vehicle brings more water, and my stomach clenches and releases when I enter the driver's seat. I send a message to the one person who can handle me in my current state.
Me: Aye, you at the crib.
