“I’m starting to think Shio could fuck all the women if he wanted to, except mine. He ’bout can even fuck Don’s.”
Instead of arguing against what Ezio said, I flashed a smile and winked. I had no desire to fuck anybody’s wife, but I enjoyed seeing these goofy-ass niggas nut up about something. For so long, these three had no plans to be one-woman men. Now, they cried and complained about their significant others all fucking day.
“Yo’ ole Gerald Levert-looking ass. I wish the fuck you would try Pia.” Nel stuck his middle finger up at me.
I laughed while pocketing my phone. “You been talkin’ a whole lot of shit to be a nigga that let a gay man plan his gender reveal party. I cannot wait to see this shit.”
“Yeah, Twin. You slipped up on this shit,” Vello added.
“Fuck yo’ boring-ass-event having ass. What the fuck was yo’ shit? A baby shower slash engagement? Well, I did both,separately!Lazy, cheap-ass nigga. Yo’ bitch came with a whole dowry, and you still took the basic way out.”
Ezio and I were laughing hard as fuck, but Vello must’ve had enough because he finished his water bottle and scowled at his brother. “You got the cheapest ring of us all. Fuckin’ costume jewelry. Got Pia walkin’ ‘round like she Bell fromBeauty and the Beast.One last rose petal-ass boi! Don’t be mad that Daylani did ours. You know… rich nigga shit. We didn’t need adaddyor a brother, bitch. I’m the daddy.”
“Nigga, that’s cuz you engaged to Little Orphan Annie. She ain’t got no fuckin’ daddy.”
“You ain’t got no daddy neither, nigga,” Vello countered.
“And may his bitch ass rest in hell. I know what Discover do got, though.”
“Nigga, what?” Vello challenged.
“Baby daddies. Several, and we standin’ on the turf of her ex-husband. Yous a strong fella, Twin. You competin’ with a rich mobster and a rich rapper. Shits tough for you, my boy.”
Ezio had fallen onto me, laughing through a choke, while Vello seethed at his brother. He hated for anyone to bring up his Lil’ Chef being Essex’s child. Discover didn’t have any kids by Rio, but since he had financed her life so she could raise Discovery with no worries, he was just as much of her dad as Essex and Vello.
Before anyone could say anything else, the crowd had quieted, and when I shifted my attention to see what was the cause, Rio Mecanio was standing on his doorstep with Patty.
“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.”
He was team boy, dressed in a black linen set, and Patty was matching him with the same set but form-fitting to her body. Pia was a perfect mix of both her parents. Just like Nel had his fingers intertwined in Pia’s earlier, Rio held Patty’s hand the same way. I didn’t care to know their business or what they did behind the walls of his mansion, but she was always smiling, and so was he. The jokes were never-ending because we’d all seen that nigga get gobbled up by men, but we let them be.
“Children—that includes you, too, grandson—please board the train. You will be escorted to the guest house on the west side of the property,” he said into the mic. “Parents, the west side is properly staffed.”
A kiddie train, like the ones at amusement parks, rolled up on wheels, pulling six individual carts, all a different color of therainbow. I watched Neltz mumble some shit under his breath as he climbed onto the last cart. He was in a brown Jordan hoodie with khaki pants, standing clear on wanting a baby sister. Auntie Erni boarded, too, with Little Ezee. Vello’s twins were still too small to be outside, so Auntie Irie had stayed at Vello’s house with them. Once Pearla and her crew piled on, including Bella—although she was considered an adult—the train honked and pulled off. It was deep as fuck with kids since other members of the mob had brought theirs too.
“Now that that’s settled, I must say you all look beautiful in your brown, black, and white. Daughter, you look amazing. My heart is overfilled.” Rio pressed the hand that was holding Patty’s hand to his heart and kissed.
Pia fanned her eyes, and the ladies consoled her as she became emotional.
“This is my first time hosting a gender reveal, but I had the most fun putting this together for my favorite couple.”
“Fake-ass nigga!” Don’s childish ass yelled out, sending laughs across the yard.
He’d been standing off to the side with Big Zan, Matteo, Rut, and Lorenzo. He hadn’t come over to fuck with us, and we made no moves to walk over and chop it up with them. I wasn’t running from the nigga or no shit like that, but there were only a few days left before my thirty days were up, and I was about to tell that nigga to go fuck himself. I’d had two failed DNA tests, no answer on if Bahati could be trusted, Solana was still detoxing, and his ass hadn’t said shit about making a move on the Rodríguezes.
Giving in to my desire for Solana had fucked my head up. I was texting Italian more than usual because I couldn’t watch Solana on the camera anymore. It was powered on so I could hear her, but she had something covering it now. I should’ve been thanking her mad ass for forcing me to stop watching her.The lack of access would help me make my decision on who to marry based on pure strategy rather than lust. I couldn’t see myself loving either one of these women, but thinking back to that night, I knew Solana could definitely feed my sexual appetite if we were married. I’d only tasted her pretty ass and was fucking obsessed with the pussy. But, that shit wasn’t enough.
Then, when Essex hit me and showed me the burned-down apartment building I’d just spent close to ten thousand on for Bahati’s rent and utilities, I was frustrated as fuck. I hadn’t mentioned her shit being burnt up, but she hadn’t inquired about trying to get her and Shya’s belongings either. The whole situation had me uneasy, and coincidences never felt like coincidences to me. Humans were the coincidental factor in everything, so the apartment building burning down days after I had inquired about Bahati being a tenant felt intentional. But Bahati had somewhat proven the way life would be with her being a wife. She would be a wife and mother, and nothing more. I kept telling myself that she would be enough, but I didn’t trust her. I had to trust the woman whom I would be tied to for the rest of my life.
So, I wasn’t ready to choose a wife, and Don would have to deal with that shit.
“Demise, you and the lovely Dasani are my second favorite couple. No worries, my friend.” Rio faced the crowd again. “Welcome, everyone!”
The door to his home opened, and black and brown balloons spilled onto the walkway, followed by smoke.
Ezio clapped his hands. “Aw shit, Nel! Daddy-in-law did the damn thing.”
Nel held his middle finger up as he walked over and grabbed Pia’s hand. The crowd parted for them, letting the two walk in first. Once they disappeared within the fog, I let a few peoplego ahead before joining the end of the line. My phone vibrated in my pocket, and I pulled it out to see that Bahati was calling me. Silencing the screen, I placed it back in my pocket. Just as I got to the threshold, it was ringing again, and this time it was a FaceTime. I slid my thumb across the screen, and she appeared instantly. I’d be lying if I said she didn’t look good, but Bahati always looked good. Looking good wasn’t the issue I had with her.
