I stared back at him, stone-faced.
“Baby?” Rae came over, handing him a plate, and Reina followed closely behind her with mine. His eyes softened as he looked down on her, taking the plate and kissing her on the forehead as she wrapped her arm around his waist. Reina looked between Reign and me and instantly felt the tension.
“Reign…” she dragged out slowly. “I just know you ain’t fix yo lips to say nothing crazy to Vasiah.”
He scoffed, then took a bite out of his rib. Rae’s eyes darted between all three of us, and she sighed, shaking her head. “I ain’t say nothing crazy.”
“You a fuckin lie! Vasiah, what did he say to you?” She whipped her head towards me.
“Words between men, Hayami. Ain’t nobody scared of yo brother.” I scoffed. Reign stilled, and inwardly, I smirked. I had gotten under his skin.
“Reign,” Rae commanded, her voice slicing through the tension. His stare didn’t waver as he scowled at me. I looked dully at him, every so often eating a bite of potato salad.
“Reign, get a fuckin’ grip and have some decorum when it comes to me and mine. Like I keep telling you, you ain’t my fuckin’ daddy. I didn’t treat Desiraè in any type of way when y’all started feeling each other. Please show me the same respect!” Reina snapped.
“You ain’t have to treat Rae no type of way because you already knew her. I knew how she was coming from day one. You been fuckin’ with this nigga for what, a month tops? La Reina,please. Don’t ever compare me and mywifeto whatever the fuck you got going on.”
Her head jerked back, and she got in Reign’s face. I grabbed her arm, but she shook me off.
“It's best if you don’t get in the middle of them,” Rae sighed. I frowned because brother or not, my woman wasn’t getting in a niggas’ face while I was present. I’d whoop Reign’s big ass.
“Reign. It seems to me that you forget that I’m a grown-ass woman – with hair on my pussy and I pay all my own bills, bitch! I don’t give a fuck if I only knew him for 24 hours; I ain’t never brought no nigga around you before, soobviouslythis one is vetted very well. You act like you the only one who can find love around this mufucka! Is Rae not sucking your dick enough or something?!”
“Wait, now why am I in it?” Rae’s head jerked up.
Reina softened. “Sorry, bestie. Your bitch ass husband is acting a fool though, and I hope you curse him the fuck out when you get home. And force him to sleep on the couch or whatever it is that married people do. Vasiah! Let’s go!” She spun on her heel and stomped away. Silently, I nodded at the couple and followed behind her.
We rode in silence for a while, my right hand gripping her thigh softly. Pulling up to my crib, I looked at her while she was deep in thought, typing angrily on her phone.
“Hayami.”
“Hmm?”
“I think that went well,” I smirked. She rolled her eyes and reached for the door handle, and I glared at her. She fell back in her seat, pouting.
“Trust me, baby…that went better than you think,” I assured her, but deep down inside, I didn’t give a damn if her brother liked me or not. LaReina did, and that’s all that mattered to me.
16
REINA
Vasiah: Have a great session, Hayami. I’m proud of you for taking this step.
Iresponded with a heart and sighed, deep in thought. Rae had pulled some strings and managed to get me my first in-person session with Dr. Love, the therapist that she and Mama Nicole see. It had been a week since Reign and I fell out, and I was so annoyed about it, on top of everything else. I couldn’t believe his bean-headed ass said what he said about me and Vasiah. I shoulda tripped his ass. The other side of me understood where he was coming from, though. In his own ridiculous way, Reign was very protective of me. Always tried to keep me outta trouble and somehow teach me right from wrong. But like… he was my brother, not my daddy. And at 31, it just gets to a point. I wanted Reign to recognize me as a woman with my own autonomy. I was capable of making my own sound decisions… kinda. I parked in the massive parking lot and felt my stomach drop to my toes. This was a big move for Elmo, and I didn’t know what to make of it. I knew I wasn’t a broken personwho needed to be fixed, but I definitely had some issues to work out.
The death of my father and his failure to show up for me versus Reign.
The distant relationship with my mother.
And finally, the way I avoided love yet desired it at the same time. Was I supposed to pick a side or just fall into the abyss of loneliness?
Was I even lonely, though?
I wasn’t sure. I just knew that the way I treated these niggas would surely land me in Lucifer’s lair.
Walking in, I greeted the warm Jamaican lady at the receptionist’s desk and followed her lead to Dr. Love’s office. Rae assured me that she was cool and unlike any other therapists out here.
“Hello, LaReina. Welcome to Love Rehab,” she greeted me as I walked in.My eyes darted around her office, taking in her artwork and the lavender chamomile smell of the room. She was barefoot, sitting criss-cross applesauce with an iPad on her lap, dressed in grey wide-legged pants and a matching fitted shirt. Diamonds adorned her ears, neck, and wrist.
