Never Again, No More 2

by Untamed

  “What are you doing?”

  “I don’t need to wait and go through this dating process to know that you’re supposed to be my wife. When you move to New York, please move as my fiancée. Charice, will you marry me?”

  Without a moment of hesitation, I whispered, “Yes.”

  My immediate answer must’ve thrown him for a loop. He repeated my answer for clarity. “Yes?” he asked for reassurance.

  “Yes!” I exclaimed.

  He stood up and hugged me. “Um, I’m going to say goodbye to Charity for just a little bit because I have to go ring shopping,” Ryan said excitedly as the elevator doors opened.

  * * *

  Everyone was ecstatic about our engagement, from our parents to our children. I won’t lie. Even though I loved Ryan, I still had lingering feelings for Lincoln, but life is about making tough decisions. Never again, no more would I be any man’s doormat. The father of my children had proven he was a fully grown man capable of loving me the way I needed and wanted. He wasn’t faking it, and he wasn’t doing anything for show. He stood by me through my ordeal with Lincoln, and he’d been beside me through our ordeal with Charity every step of the way. He did his dirt in the past, but he’d more than made up for any wrongdoings. I figured if he could still love me after I was blinded by Lincoln, then I could do the same. We were a family, and now it would finally be official.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Trinity

  It was beyond time for Terrence to figure out what he planned on doing about us being together, because I sure as hell couldn’t take no more of Pooch. It figured that now that he acted the way a real man was supposed to, I would loathe him. Like right now, I was trying to leave the house, and he kept rubbing and kissing on my belly as if I were even showing. All I had was a firm little pouch, and he acted as if I was ready to give birth. Negro, please. Part of me wanted to yell right in his face that the baby he worshipped wasn’t his.

  “What’s up, little man?” Pooch said, breaking my thoughts.

  “It could be a girl,” I said plainly.

  Pooch shook his head. “Nah, babe, he is definitely a boy. I can feel it,” he said, gliding his hand across my belly.

  “Can you please leave me alone so I can go and get Brit and Terry?”

  Pooch pulled back hands in the air. “A’ight. Dang. I was just trying to bond with our baby and shit.”

  Feeling bad about my rough outburst, I softened my tone. “I know, but I just want to get there so I can come back.”

  Hearing that I was in a rush to leave Terrence’s and get back to our house brought out all thirty-two of his pearly whites. “Yeah, do that, because I need some of that special attention,” he said, rubbing on his dick.

  That was another thing I was tired of: giving hand and blow jobs. “I thought you had some things to get together for the Crown brothers,” I said, hoping he’d be too busy to remember.

  “I do, but I always have time for you.” He kissed my cheek.

  “A’ight.” I turned, rolling my eyes as I grabbed my purse and phone. “I’ll be back.”

  This sentimental Pooch was on my last nerves. It’s funny how I would’ve welcomed this just a few short months ago. Now I loathed everything about him. I swore it pained me to see him breathe in my direction.

  My soul literally felt lifted the moment I parked beside Terrence’s truck. I wished I were coming home over here every day. As I made my way to his apartment, I noticed right beside Terrence’s truck was a tight-ass black pearl Cadillac Escalade sitting on at least twenty-sixes. I wondered who the hell had rolled up in this area in some shit like that. Dope boys, I thought, shaking my head. I swore them types of niggas were everywhere. I swore on my life I was gonna teach Brittany and Princess not to get caught up with niggas like Pooch.

  “Hey, baby. What’s up?” Terrence greeted me as soon as I stepped into his apartment. We kissed, and then he kissed my belly.

  “Same ol’ shit, different day. I was meaning to ask you . . .” My conversation stalled when I saw some dude I’d never seen before standing in the kitchen. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know you had company.”

  “He was getting ready to leave. This is my cousin Thomas from Illinois. Thomas, this is my babies’ mother, Trinity. He’s the one I was telling you about who wanted our kids to go up to Illinois and spend some time with his kids.”

  Thomas eased from his seat on the barstool in the kitchen, came over, and shook my hand. “It’s nice to finally meet you. I’ve heard so many good things about you.”

  “Oh yeah, that’s right.” It finally dawned on me who he was from a previous conversation with Terrence. We shook hands. “Now I remember. Please forgive me for being rude. I didn’t know Terrence had family visiting. However, it is good to finally meet some of his kinfolk from Illinois who he brags so much about.”

  He stretched his arm out with the palm of his hand raised, letting me know that it was cool. “You’re fine. I was just passing through and stopped by to check on my big cuz.” He turned back to Dreads. “Well, bruh, I’m about to head back to my side of the country.”

  “A’ight, man. I appreciate the love.” Terrence hugged him.

  “That’s what family is for. To make sure everybody is straight.”

  Terrence and he moved back from their one-armed embrace, nodded at each other, and slapped hands together, forming a fist. “Be easy out there.”

  “No doubt,” he said as they walked to the door. “See you later, Miss Trinity.”

  I waved my goodbye as Terrence saw him out the door. He stepped out with him, and a few moments later, Terrence returned inside, then walked back over to me as he packed up the kids’ overnight bag. “I’m almost done getting their things together.”

  “You planning a trip or something?” I asked, getting upset.

  “I’m thinking about planning one for the kids.”

  Frustrated, I threw my hands up. “What happened to what we got going on here? You’re supposed to be making a way for us. How you gon’ do all that and you jet setting around the country?”

  “I got that under control. Don’t worry.”

  “That’s easy for you to say. You don’t live with Pooch,” I whined, crossing my arms.

  He wrapped his hands around my waist and pulled me close. “Don’t I always come through?”

  I nodded. “Yes, but—”

  “But don’t worry. When I say I got you, I got you. Just hold out a little while longer, and I promise you that everything you want is going to happen.” Terrence palmed my cheek.

  “What’s your plan?”

  “Baby, let me worry about the plan. You worry about taking care of yourself, the baby inside your womb, and our other children. That’s all you need to worry about. But I will tell you this: the day I call you on your cell and tell you it’s time to make moves, don’t question it. Don’t drag your ass. Just get moving.”

  Suddenly, my stomach lurched, and I sat down. “Okay, you’re making me nervous.”

  “Don’t be nervous. Just keep Pooch thinking everything is everything between you two, and when that time comes, just do exactly as I’ve told you,” Terrence said as he finished packing the bags. “Okay?”

  “Okay,” I agreed, unsure of what the hell was really going on.

  “I’ve got to go down the street and grab the kids from Skeet’s house. They are playing with his kids.”

  Grabbing his hand, I gently pulled him back with a seductive grin. “Well, wait a minute before you do that.”

  Returning my gaze, he whispered huskily, “I know that tone in your voice.”

  “Uh-huh. It’s feeding time.”

  He patted his stomach and licked his lips. “Daddy is kinda hungry,” he said as I lay on his sofa and spread my legs.

  I didn’t know what the hell Terrence had up his sleeve, but for some reason, regardless of the fact that I had no clue what was going on, I felt everything was truly going to be all right. I figured that I was probably better off
the less I knew. As of now, I was going to lie back and enjoy the hell out of my Dread’s head game.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Lucinda

  I’d never thought I’d see the day that I was financially stable, in college, and had the man of my dreams all at the same time. But I did, and it still didn’t seem real to me. I’d watched the movie The Pursuit of Happyness, and I had to admit I felt when Will said, “Maybe happiness is something that we can only pursue, and maybe we can actually never have it. No matter what.”

  After the catastrophe at Aldris’s mom’s house, he tried to reassure me that everything was kosher, but how can you reassure someone who’d always fallen short of having all the things they wanted? It wasn’t from lack of trying, because besides being my man, he was my best friend. He made me want to be an all-around better person, and we fit hand in glove, but I still had difficulty believing that all of this was completely mine. It was like I was in a dream, waiting to wake up to my reality.

  All of this was on my mind as I sat up in my bed, trying to do my homework. Obviously unfocused, I decided to take a break. Checking my mail, I nearly pissed my pants when I opened a letter with regard to Raul’s child support. After a three-month stint, he’d been released, and a total amount of $2,950 had been deposited into my child support account, which included his arrearage and the last three months’ pay.

  “What are you smiling about?” Aldris asked me as he put down his copy of Black Enterprise magazine.

  “Raul is out of jail, and I am $2,950 richer,” I laughed.

  “What? For real?”

  “Yep,” I confirmed.

  “Well, it’s about time that fool made a move. He honestly thought he was getting out of jail without taking care of his responsibilities. He is a damn fool. I just don’t understand it. Nadia is a beautiful little girl, inside and out, and I would love the honor of calling her my daughter,” Aldris said.

  His warm words immediately tugged at my heartstrings. “Aww, baby. You know just how to melt me.” I kissed him.

  Still with his lips grazing mine, he spoke, and his lust was evident. “Are you done with your homework yet? Because I don’t know how much longer Mandingo and I can wait with you looking all sexy in those shorts and kissing me like this.”

  “And I can’t wait for Mandingo either, papi. He whips me good every time. But if I don’t finish this homework, my professor is going to whip me too,” I joked.

  He groaned and kissed my neck. “I love it when you call me daddy. I guess I can hold out a little while longer. I don’t want to interfere. I remember how it was when I was in college.”

  “So, that’s why you won’t do my assignments for me?”

  “Uh, yeah. Once was good enough for me,” he joked.

  “Oh, you got jokes,” I laughed. “Yeah, but seriously, I better hurry up. It won’t be too long before I have to get Nadia from Ms. Ana’s house. I’m going to the kitchen to get a bottle of water. Do you want anything, baby?”

  “Just you,” he said, kissing my shoulder.

  This man knew just how to make me blush. “You’ll definitely have that. Just give me about thirty minutes,” I teased before I got out of the bed and headed for the kitchen.

  On my way back, there was a knock on my front door. Doubling back, I answered it, and lo and behold, it was Raul. “I hope you got what the fuck you wanted,” he spat.

  “Yes, I did. Just like you got what the fuck you deserved,” I spat back, crossing my arms. “Why are you here?”

  “The court said I couldn’t apply for a reduction of child support right now. Seeing as how I don’t have no job, I don’t see myself paying child support until I get one, so you need to work something out with me,” he said boldly.

  No, the fuck he did not. I was flabbergasted for a moment as he stood there looking like the epitome of “if ‘you got a nerve’ had a face.”

  “You ballsy muthafucka. You got yourself fired for that bullshit you pulled at my job, and you know what? You got me fired too, so on the real, I ain’t hearing nothing you saying!”

  “You better hear me, or you won’t get nothing,” he mouthed off.

  “Oh, so you looking for more jail time, huh? That can be arranged. You must like being Pedro’s puto because that’s where you’re headed if you don’t pay me. You better get it the same way you came up with it the first time. ’Cause you gon’ run me my coins,” I fussed with one hand on my hip and the other in his face.

  “Shanaya got her moms to cop it for me. She is a real chick. She’s down for me like four flat tires. I should’ve left you alone and dealt with her from the start. She knows how to be a good woman,” Raul blasted.

  “And just how does a no-good-ass man know when to recognize a good woman?” I laughed at him. “You need to get yourself together, but as far as the child support goes, I want every penny of my $350 next month and right on time.”

  Raul grabbed my arm. “Dios maldita! Now, you listen here, you bitch—”

  Suddenly, I was pulled backward. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Aldris yelled in Raul’s face. The next thing I saw was Raul flying backward. Aldris had knocked the hell out of him.

  “Who the fuck are you?” Raul asked, stumbling to his feet as he held his eye from the blow.

  “Don’t worry about who the fuck I am. Just know this—your days of harassing Lucinda are over. The only contact you need with her about Nadia can be done through the courts,” Aldris said to him.

  Raul laughed. “Who the hell died and made you God?”

  “Nobody, but I suggest that if you don’t want to see God before your time, you leave Lucinda alone.”

  “Is that a threat?”

  “No, muthafucka, that’s a guaranteed promise.”

  Raul laughed. “Oh, I get it. You’re supposed to be her new man. Lucinda wants to run into some nigga’s arms now like that shit is supposed to help. Let me put you up on game, nigga. I don’t give a fuck who you are—”

  “No! Let me put yo’ ass up on game,” Aldris boomed, and Raul shut his mouth. “Lucinda is my lady, and I ride for mine. You don’t know me, and I don’t really give a fuck about you. But what I do need you to know is that I have connections everywhere. Your child support judge, Judge Cutliff, he’s my cousin, and I have plenty of friends down at the jail, including your arresting officer.”

  Raul got extremely quiet and swallowed the lump in his throat.

  Aldris scoffed and clapped his hands one time. “Yeah, I thought that’d shut you up. So this is what I’m saying to you, pa’ner. Make your payments, be on time, and most importantly, leave Lucinda alone, or that bid you did in county will be a cakewalk compared to what will be done to you if you have to go back. So, nigga, are we clear?”

  Raul looked at him nervously and then back at me. “Yeah, whatever, man.”

  “Good. Now get the hell away from here,” Aldris said.

  “Fine. But there is something I think Lucinda should know.”

  “No, you should know that you gon’ need something to put on the shiner that my man just blessed you with,” I snapped, standing beside Aldris with my arms crossed.

  Raul huffed loudly and felt his eye, then looked at me with a smirk on his face. “When I go back in a few months for my reduction, I’m adding all of my children. Expect to get your money reduced.”

  “You’re stupid. Judge Cutliff already accounted for Doodlebug and Raulina.”

  Raul’s sinister laugh told me that I was about to be hit with some news I wasn’t expecting, and he most definitely delivered it.

  “Well, the joke is on all of you, because I have two more kids. I have another five-year-old and one on the way. I plan on including them too and taking care of them.”

  “Shanaya is pregnant?”

  “Nope, the new baby and the five-year-old in question have the same mama, but it ain’t Shanaya, and it ain’t Boop.” He smirked. “Oh, and the next time you talk to your pops, tell him I said congratulations. Y’all b
e easy,” he said and walked away.

  Aldris shut the door. “Can you believe that fool?”

  Before he could turn around good enough, I was in his arms kissing him. “What’s that for?” he asked, staring down at me.

  “For being my man. The way you handled Raul was so, so . . . sexy. I loved it, papi,” I said, holding him about his waist.

  “I told you that you’ll never have to worry about a thing anymore. I’m going to take care of you because you’re my baby.”

  “I see. I’m just wondering where this thug came from. I’m so loving your gangsta right now.”

  “Don’t let the degrees, the GQ outfits, or the sex appeal fool you. I’m a man, Lucinda, and if anybody tries me on that, they get dealt with. You’re my lady, and it’s my duty to protect you and Nadia. And that, my baby, is exactly what I’m gonna do.” Immediately, I slid out of my shorts. He rubbed his hands together. “What are you doing?”

  “Saying fuck homework. I got some other kind of work to put in,” I said while I slid his boxers down.

  “Ay, mamacita,” he moaned as I began to massage him down below.

  We kissed passionately. Then, Aldris said the one thing to me that made our relationship complete. “I love you, Lucinda.”

  Instantly, I melted. Confirmation. For the first time, I knew without a shadow of a doubt that this was where I was supposed to be. Regardless of Raul, our different upbringings, or his friends’ opinions, this was where I was supposed to be. All I could think about was Will Smith’s line in The Pursuit of Happyness: “This part of my life . . . this part right here? This is called ‘happyness.’”

  Chapter Seventeen

  LaMeka

  Ever since Misha confessed that she knew she was HIV positive, I had been a nervous wreck. I still didn’t know if I had the virus. I hadn’t slept or eaten right over the past couple of months, but I knew I had to pull myself together for her and my kids’ sakes. In order to keep my mind off of it, I plunged headfirst into bettering myself, helping Misha, and raising my boys. You’d think that by being around my sister, it would further remind me that I may be suffering the same fate, but actually, it didn’t. My concern was so much for her and learning how to battle this disease that I didn’t have time to worry about myself.