Page 43 of That Fire

“I love you so much, Liyah. You the only woman I crave. I swear to you, no other woman will feel your dick without you being a part of the action. If you ever decide you want it to only be you, it will only be you. I don’t have to fuck nobody else. Why do I even need to with a woman like you? If you want us to keep seeing Nikki in the future, that’s cool. If you don’t, that’s still cool.”

I was full on sobbing now. Royal was so fucking perfect. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed my head repeatedly. When he pulled away, I said, “I love you so much too, baby.”

He nodded and stood with a smile on his face and began wheeling me out again. We stopped and got the appointment card and paid the co-pay.

“I texted my mama. She’s going to come to the house and cook. Ashanni, Asad, Jayceon, and Azariah will be there too.”

“What about Crew?” I asked.

I heard their conversation about him when they thought I was asleep. I really wished he could gather himself and be happy for his brother. It had to be more than him being jealous that Royal was with me. It just seemed like he was doing the most.

“I don’t know. I haven’t spoken to him since the day we went to dinner at your parents’ house. I honestly don’t feel comfortable with him being around you. If he can’t respect you, he need to stay away from me. I will fuck his ass all the way up if he can’t. Honestly, I believe my dad would help me. He already pushed that nigga down the stairs once.”

My eyebrows lifted, but I didn’t say anything. He helped me out of the chair and into his Escalade.

“I wonder if it will be better if we drive your car to the next appointment, since this is high.”

“I think this is better. My car is low, and it would be more of a struggle to get out of it.”

“Okay.”

He kissed my lips and closed the door. I wiped my eyes as I thought about his relationship with Crew. I hated that it came to this. I felt like I was the reason for their severed relationship. For some reason, I felt like Crew felt that way too.

Chapter 15

Royal

“Y’all come on in,” I said to my mama and Ashanni.

They had come a little early to start cooking. When they left work, they went to my parents’ house and got the groceries, then came straight here. My mama kissed my cheek and Shani did the same.

“How are y’all, baby?” my mama asked.

“We’re good.”

“Royal, Mister Red been talking about you since the other day. He is so impressed by how you treat Liyah. I knew you would be great in a relationship once you settled down, so I expected it.”

“Thanks, Shani. What are y’all cooking?”

“I’m gonna smother some chicken thighs with rice, snap beans, Hawaiian rolls, and potato salad.”

“That sounds good, Mama. You cooking the rice in the pot with the chicken?”

“Yep. That’s why we won’t need a bean or gravy. It will have all the seasonings the chicken does.”

“Mmm. I can’t wait for that. Sounds good. You’ve cooked it that way before though, huh?”

“Yeah. You just never asked.”

I nodded. “Y’all need anything?”

“Nope. Your dad, Asad, and the kids will be here in a little while.”

“Is Crew coming?” I asked.

She slowly shook her head. “I don’t know, baby.”

I nodded and headed upstairs to be sure Aaliyah didn’t need anything. I didn’t go to work today, because I wanted to be home to cater to her and make sure she didn’t want for anything. The minute she felt like she wanted a snack, I wanted to be here to get it for her. I was gonna go ahead and take my paternity leave now. It wasn’t like they needed me to function anyway. I was extra help, basically.