Chapter Fourteen
The rest of the week dragged by slowly. King and Breezy tried to act normal like nothing had happened between them but the kiss they’d shared was present on both their minds throughout the entire week. Every time that they made eye contact, they’d blush but neither of them brought it up.
Saturday finally rolled around and King was more than happy because he had the day off. It was the first Saturday that he’d had off in quite a while. When he woke up that morning Breezy and Annette were already gone, leaving him and Curtis alone. After taking a bath and getting dressed, he went into the kitchen and found Curtis at the table eating. Annette and Breezy had cooked breakfast before leaving. There were pancakes, eggs, turkey bacon, and grits. King fixed a plate and heated it in the microwave.
“Morning, Pops.” He greeted Curtis as he moved around the kitchen.
“What’s good, son?” Curtis asked as he chewed on a slice of bacon. He glanced at the TV that sat on the counter and then at King.
“Ain’t nothing. How long ma and Breezy been gone?”
“They left about forty-five minutes ago. This food was so good, I’m on round two.” He laughed. “To my understanding Breezy has the day off so her and your ma decided to turn it into a girl’s day out.”
King chuckled as he placed his food on the table and took a seat. “Ma thinks that Breezy is her daughter. I’m glad that they get along so well.”
“Well daughter, daughter-in-law, same difference.” Curtis laughed giving him a knowing look.
King tried to play like he didn’t know what Curtis was getting at. “Pops, what are you talking about?”
“Boy, don’t play dumb. You know exactly what I am talking about. We are both men here. Don’t get me wrong, I like Vita but we both know she ain’t the one. Breezy on the other hand . . .” He nodded his head. “That right there is a keeper. I am so proud of that girl I don’t know what to do! She is gonna be somebody. That girl is gonna go places. You watch and see what I tell you. Son, Breezy is destined to do amazing things.
“Look at what that child has been through and look out how far she has come. Yes, we helped her but look at the moves that she has made on her own. She is a straight A student, works, and she has a gift when it comes to writing. Last but not least she has the voice of an angel. I walked through the house the other day and heard her singing.” He shook his head remembering how good Breezy had sounded. “That girl is going to be somebody! Makes an old man like me so proud to see a young person do good things.”
The way Curtis spoke about Breezy brought a proud smile to King’s lips. “Yeah, she is special.”
“Yep, so special that one day she is going to be Mrs. Collins.”
“Dang, Pops, you done planned a wedding and everything!” King laughed.
“Shit if you know like I know you’ll be planning one.” Curtis leaned over and playfully hit him in the shoulder. “I sure hate that you went and got Vita pregnant but we make mistakes, son.”
“Yeah, I care about Vita a lot though. Even if she did lie to me about being on the shot, I am going to take care of my child and do what I have to do to make sure that she is straight. I told her that I still plan to play ball though. I feel like I can be a father and live out my dreams.”
“You sure can. I know that I ain’t your real daddy but you feel like mine and you know that there ain’t nothing that I won’t do for you. I want you to play ball because you are extremely good and I can definitely see you going pro. Your mother and I will make sure that baby is taken care of until you get on your feet.”
King felt tears sting the back of his eyes because Curtis’s words touched him. “Pops, get outta here with that ‘you ain’t my real daddy’ mess. You the only daddy I know! Thanks for everything.” He got up and gave Curtis a hug and he hugged him back.
“You don’t have to thank me, son. I would do it all over again with no hesitation.”
King smiled. “That’s what’s up, Pops. Enough of this mushy stuff now.”
They both laughed. With the women out of the house, the two men decided to kick it and watch sports. Something that they hadn’t done in a while. Vita came over around 3:30. She wanted to go out to eat.
“We can go later on. I’m chillin’ right now. You welcome to chill too,” King offered.
“I guess I have to since you don’t want to go out.” She smacked her lips and flopped down on the sofa next to King. She had on a pair of skin-tight jeans.
“Vita, why do you have on those tight jeans? I know that you ain’t big yet but you still don’t need to have those pants so tight on your stomach, I don’t think.”
“Chill out, King, they ain’t even that tight. I’m not going to hurt our baby.” She kissed him on the cheek. “Okay?”
“Yeah, okay but don’t come back over here in no more tight jeans because if you do we are going to have problems.”
“Okay, daddy.” Vita pouted.
They both turned their attention to the TV. A few hours later, Annette and Breezy came in. They had so many bags that it was ridiculous. They’d even bought food. King and Curtis helped them get the bags out of the car. They looked so happy, talking and laughing nonstop. Vita looked like she was a little jealous of how Annette was so into Breezy.
“Dang y’all bought everything you saw didn’t you?” King teased.
Annette walked over and gave Curtis a peck on the lips and then gave King a peck on the cheek. “We found some sales.”
“Sure did. Don’t worry we didn’t forget about you. I got you something and I bought the baby some stuff. I know it’s early but I couldn’t resist!” Breezy squealed.
“Yeah, we really outdone ourselves,” Annette added. “Oh and some girls from the shop are coming over later. Kendra and Tamara coming over to play spades.”
“Is that why y’all bought so much food?” Curtis teased.
“Yeah, I don’t want nobody at my house getting hungry.”
Annette and Breezy started putting their stuff away. After they were done Breezy walked back in the living room and handed King two Rocawear shirts and a little mint green baby Rocawear shirt. “I figured a girl or boy could wear mint green. It was just so cute; and I got this too.” She handed Vita a navy blue Old Navy diaper bag. “I hope y’all like it.”
“Yeah, thanks,” Vita said dryly, taking the diaper bag from Breezy and placing it down on the floor next to the sofa by her feet. She didn’t want anything from Breezy except for her to get the hell out of her face.
Breezy ignored Vita’s obvious attitude and the fact that she’d sat the diaper bag down on the floor. “I can’t wait until Kendra and Tamara get here! They were talking mad smack about how they were going to whip us in spades!”
“Child, they can quit that yapping because ain’t none of that popping off in here. All I know is we are fixin’ to get our nails done for free for the next four months,” Annette bragged and high-fived Breezy. “See they bet us that if we win we could get our nails done for free for the next four months but if we lost their lunch was on us for the next four months.”
“Dang y’all done got real tight with those women down at the salon haven’t you?” King asked.
“I guess you could say that.” Annette laughed.
The doorbell rang and Breezy all but ran to get it. “I’ll get it,” she announced already on her way to the door. She opened the door and started screaming. King jumped up to see what was wrong and so did everyone else. He snatched the door open only to see four women. He looked at Breezy, who was still screaming, confused.
“Girl, what in the hell is wrong with you?” Annette snapped trying to figure out what the problem was.
Breezy finally spoke. “Oh my God, it’s Judy Richwood and LaToya Jones; they’re the owners of Urban Lit magazine! Oh my God!” she squealed jumping up and down.
“Yes, it’s them!” Kendra laughed at Breezy’s excitement. It had been her idea to surprise Breezy because she knew how much she loved their m
agazine and how much she wanted to be a writer. “Now let us in! It ain’t hot out here!”
Breezy was star struck! She backed out of the way with her eyes still glued to the ladies.
“Y’all come on in,” Annette told everyone. “Y’all done nearly gave my baby a heart attack.” Everyone came in and Annette made the introductions.
“Breezy, we ain’t nobody special, honey,” Judy told Breezy as she took off her jacket and sat down getting comfortable. She was a really beautiful older woman. The grey hair around the edges of her hairline hinted her age but didn’t take away from her beauty at all. “I am flattered by your reaction though.” She laughed.
Breezy was done. She felt like she was dreaming. She couldn’t believe that she was actually standing in the same room with Judy and LaToya. “I just don’t know what to say. I have every issue of your magazine. I love your magazine.”
“Thank you.” LaToya spoke for the first time. “We read over one of your submissions that you sent in not too long ago. We were both very impressed. We’re going to have to see what we can do about getting you a feature.”
“Really? Please don’t play with me like that.” Breezy looked like she might pass out. She was holding her chest like she really might have a heart attack.
“I am not playing. Not only are you a great writer but I have heard great things about you from Tamara and Kendra. I am always willing to help someone who is trying to help themselves. We need more young people like you.”
“Oh my goodness! Thank you so much.” She turned to Kendra and Tamara. “I don’t know what to say to y’all. Thank you so much.”
“That’s good enough,” Kendra told her.
“I am about to release my next book and I was thinking that it would be cool to give the readers a little treat by featuring a short story from you at the end of the book.” LaToya smiled at Breezy. “How does that sound?”
Breezy couldn’t hold it together any longer and broke right down. “Are y’all serious? I mean for real? Please tell me I ain’t dreaming.” She looked up at the ceiling. “Lord, you are truly good. All those times that I have cried myself to sleep praying for a break, a way out. I can’t thank you enough, Lord. After all of the pain and suffering. I guess my storm is finally over.”
There wasn’t a dry eye in the room after witnessing her breakdown and give thanks like that.
King looked at her and thought, My pops is right. She is definitely a keeper. He knew what he needed to do and he made up his mind that he wouldn’t allow another day to go by without doing it.
Breezy finally pulled herself together so that they could get the card game started.
Around 12:30, Vita started to complain about being tired and sleepy. “King, can you drive me home?” she asked. “My ma dropped me off earlier. I didn’t drive.”
“Yeah, I’ll take you,” King said rising from the sofa and helping her up. He walked into the kitchen. “Hey, Ma, I’m going to use your car to take Vita home.”
“All right, be careful and don’t be gone long,” she said, not taking her eyes off of the card game.
“All right.” He grabbed the keys off of the counter and he and Vita left.
As soon as they pulled out of the complex, Vita reached over and ran her hand up his thigh. “Baby, let’s go to the park before you take me home.” She never was sleepy in the first place. She was just tired of sitting at King’s house watching everybody play cards. “I know you didn’t really believe that I was sleepy did you?” She giggled.
“Yeah, because that’s what you said,” King snapped. “Damn all you do is lie, ain’t it?”
Vita looked at him puzzled by his attitude. He’d never gotten upset with her before when she’d suggested they go to the park and have sex. “What’s your problem?”
“You are my problem,” he stated. It wasn’t just that she’d lied to leave his house but it was everything. The fact that she’d lied about being on the shot, her attitude, and most importantly the fact that she wasn’t Breezy. He glanced over at her. “This thing between us isn’t working out—”
“What in the fuck do you mean this isn’t working out?” Vita yelled in disbelief. “Oh so you trying to be one of those deadbeat niggas? Is that it? You fuck with me, get me pregnant, and then roll on to the next bitch? Is that what this is?”
“Are you done yet?” King asked calmly. He wasn’t about to waste energy arguing with her.
“No, I ain’t done yet! You need to explain to me what in the hell brought on this sudden change of heart? Is there another bitch? Is it Breezy?”
“If you would shut up then I could explain but you keep yapping so I can’t.”
Vita sat in the passenger seat glaring at him through anger-filled eyes. She was more hurt at the thought of missing out on being a baller’s wife than she actually was about losing King. She cared for him but it wasn’t love. It was the dream of sitting courtside wearing all of the latest fashions, walking the red carpet at different events, living in a big-ass house, driving the flyest whips, going out shopping, flying first class all over the world and vacationing in exotic locations. She knew without a doubt that King was going to be a professional ball player and she wanted to be right by his side reaping the benefits.
“No problem, I’ll be quiet.”
“Truth is, I haven’t felt the same about you since you lied to me about being on the shot—”
“I didn’t lie to you,” she cut him off.
“Yes, you did, Vita. You and I both know that you lied so cut the antics.”
“I did not lie. You can ask my mama.”
He ignored her continuing to lie. “Not only that but I’ve never been in love with you. I’ve always been in lust with you. I know that isn’t right and it may sound fucked up but it’s the truth.” By now they’d reached her house. He pulled up in front and put the car in park.
“So you are going to leave me while I am pregnant with your baby?” Her eyes filled with tears. “King, don’t do this,” she pleaded.
Seeing her cry bothered him but not enough for him to change his mind. He was ending their relationship before she got out of that car. “I am still going to be here for you and my baby. As a matter of fact, I still want to take you to all of your doctor’s appointments and anything that you ever need I will try to provide.”
“Fuck you!” She grabbed the latch on the door and opened it. Before getting out she turned to King and said, “I am going to make your life a living hell. I am going to put your ass up for child support the same day that me and the baby come home from the hospital! Don’t no nigga try to play Davita and get away with it.”
Her ignorance was pissing him off but he remained calm. “Cool.”
“Oh that’s cool?” His calmness only pissed her off even more. “You’d better watch your back, motherfucker, because I am going to get my cousins Mookie and Earl to beat your punk ass! We’ll see if that’s cool, too,” she said getting out of the car and slamming the door behind her.
King rolled down the window. “Tell your bitch-ass cousins that they can both suck my dick! I ain’t scared of either one of them niggas and I ain’t hard to find so whenever they get ready to do something tell them to holla at me.” He didn’t wait for her response. Instead he rolled up the window, put the car in drive, and left her on the sidewalk yelling after him.
When King got home, the house was empty, all of the guests had left, and Breezy was cleaning up the kitchen. “Where did everyone go?” he asked her walking into the kitchen and hanging his coat on back of one of the chairs so that he could help her with the mess in the kitchen.
“The ladies went home and your ma and Mr. Curtis are gone to bed. I told them that I would clean the kitchen for them,” she answered. She stopped washing the dishes for a second and looked over at King. “Wow can you believe what happened here today? LaToya and Judy were here and LaToya wants to use one of my stories in her book.” She smiled at the thought and shook her head. “God is amazing.”
She looked at him and laughed because the same thing had crossed her mind. “Oh well, she is going to be in for a big surprise. That chapter of my life is closed. I am looking forward to my future and she is nowhere in it.”
“Is that right?” King asked. “Well, I hope I’m in that future.”
“Stop trying to play me. You already know what time it is.”
He smiled at her. “Nah, I don’t. Why don’t you tell me?”
“It’s time for you to go and get my slippers out of the room because these heels are killing my feet.” She laughed.
“You know you ain’t right.” He swooped her up in his arms surprising her and carried her in his room and sat her down on the bed. He could tell she was wondering what he was about to do. She looked nervous. “Relax.” He told her and then reached down and unzipped her boots and took them off. He sat down on the floor and massaged her feet.
She looked down at him and thought about all of the years that she’d harbored a secret crush on him and how she’d always loved him but was too afraid to say anything. To know that he loved her back was a wonderful feeling. “I broke up with Montez,” she blurted.
King stopped what he was doing and looked up at her. “What do you mean? I mean, when?”
“After you kissed me the other night. I couldn’t continue being with him knowing how I felt about you. He deserves someone who only loves him and is not using him as a fill-in. I’m not the type of girl to use someone and I realized that is exactly what I was doing. So I broke it off.”
King was speechless. “Wow.”
“Yeah, well he took it pretty well. He told me that he respected my honesty and hoped that we could remain friends.”
“You told him we kissed?”
“Nah, I just told him that I had feelings for someone else and that I couldn’t continue a relationship with him knowing that I had these feelings for someone else.”
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