by K NICOLE
She wanted to eat at her favorite restaurant, Sweet Georgia Brown. I was in the mood for some soul food myself, but would rather it be her cooking. Damn I miss her cooking. I missed holding my wife at night, and her kissing on my neck which led to me pulling her hair back and fucking her doggy style. I missed eating her juicy ass pussy. Man, I just missed her.
I pulled up to Sweet Georgia Brown, glanced over myself once more, and then stepped out of the car. Diah was always on time to everything, so I was pretty sure she was already sitting down and with a drink. When I entered the building, my stomach growled instantly. I could smell the greens...the candied yams…
My eyes landed on her sitting in a booth on her phone. Diah was wearing a sundress with a little cleavage showing. It was white with blue flowers all over. Her tattoo with my name over her heart was showing and it damn near shattered me seeing it knowing the demise of our marriage. I cleared my throat as I approached her.
“Good afternoon,” I smiled, sitting down across from her. “How are you today?”
She smiled, and that alone gave me hope.
“Good afternoon. I knew you wouldn’t be on time so I went ahead and ordered a drink. The waiter should be back soon,” she spoke, eyes trained on me.
“Good thing you didn’t order it while I wasn’t here because I’m sure you still know what I like. You probably would have poisoned it,” I joked. “Not that I would have blamed you,” I added, seeing that she didn’t find it funny.
“Why haven’t you signed the divorce papers?”
Diah sat across from me with her arms folded on the table and tight lipped. She appeared annoyed. I thought she had wanted to have lunch to work through our problems. I was fucking wrong. The divorce papers were burnt to a crisp in my fireplace. Diah knew damn well I wasn’t signing them.
Waving her off I grunted, “I’m not signing that shit. I want my marriage to work, ma. What the fuck can I do?”
The waiter appeared and took my drink and our food orders. The conversation started back up once he stepped away.
“Not a damn thing, Roman. You fucked up. You cheated. You couldn’t keep your dick in your pants,” Diah leaned over and gritted. I’ve never seen my wife this angry before. This was new to me.
“I’m sorry and I did fuck up. I’ll admit it…”
“You have no choice. I wanted you here to let you know you can move back home. I found a nice house for me and the kids.”
Snorting, I told her, “Yeah, I saw the charges.”
“That’s how you know I’m serious about this divorce. All I want is that house and I won’t bother you again,” Diah said, leaning back in her seat.
I sighed.
“Diah, I don’t want a divorce,” I spoke, feeling drained.
“You should have thought about that.”
The waiter reappeared with our food, and suddenly I wasn’t hungry even though everything looked and smelled delicious. My stomach was doing flips and tricks at the sound of Diah pressing the divorce issue. I knew she was watching me so I took a few bites of my fried chicken and yams.
“I would still of course like to co-parent. Our kids deserve both parents, but I cannot be in a marriage for the kids.” Diah took a sip of her drink and then continued. “I’m not happy. Knowing you stepped out on me, I just can’t forgive you. If I stay in this marriage, I will hate you. Counseling will not save us. I want to be free. Please sign the papers or I will go further.”
Before I knew I was shaking. Angry. I stood up with balled fists. The frightened expression Diah wore calmed me instantly. Without saying shit else, I dug out my wallet, placed enough to cover the bill and tip, and left - defeated.
__________
I found myself at the bar. Drinking my life away it felt like. I tossed back shot after shot, trying to mend my damn heart and it wasn’t working. My head was pounding, and the bartender stopped my tab.
“Whoa,” a woman’s voice rang out. “Are you okay?”
“Fuck no,” I muttered, standing to my feet.
“Yeaaah… you’re gonna need an Uber. You are swaying from side to side and you’ll kill yourself and maybe someone else if you get behind the wheel,” she spoke. I glanced at her direction, but my vision was so blurred, I couldn’t tell if she was fine enough to fuck or what.
“I got this, Trice. I know his brother. I called him and let him know what was going on. Zeus is on his way,” a dude said. The mention of Zeus had me ready to fight.
“Don’t call that nigga!” I barked...well slurred. “Fuck him and that bitch Perri.”
“Watch yo’ self.”
I spun around too fast because I landed on my ass. I despised that nigga’s voice.
“Watch how you talk about my fiance.”
I jumped up so fast and lunged at Zeus and was knocked down just as quick.
“Fool, I ain’t about to fight you. Mama told me to get your ass over to her house so you could sleep this shit off. You drunk as fuck man. C’mon.”
“Fuck you!” I spat, spitting at him. I don’t know where it landed, but I was knocked out cold after that.
ZEUS
“I almost forgot he was my damn brother when he spit on me,” I called out to Perri.
I was in the shower and since she had already had hers, she was sitting on the closed toilet seat. Roman’s spit landed on my shirt and I hit his ass in his eye and knocked him out. He was likely to wake up with a black eye. Mama was pissed that I hit his ass that hard but shit, he disgustingly spit on me and that was the only way I could get his ass in my car.
“So nasty,” she smacked.
After I rinsed my body off, I walked out of the shower, wrapping a towel over my mid section.
“I’m gon’ try to reach Diah tomorrow. Pop up on her ass and force her to talk to me. I owe her an apology. All that stress. Mama told me she had lost their baby.”
Perri gasped and her hands covered her mouth.
“Oh my gosh. That is so sad. I feel like I played a big part in that!”
I saw the tears that fell from Perri’s eyes and pulled her up and into my arms. Squeezing her gently, I told her, “My brother played the biggest part. Don’t be so hard on yourself. Don’t stress and have us losing ours, aight?” Perri nodded into my chest. I kissed the top of her head and let her go so I could brush my teeth and put some clothes on.
She left the bathroom and I handled my business. I was kind of fucked up about mine and Roman’s relationship, but he was taking shit a little too far. I kept telling him he was gon’ lose his family. Perri wasn’t the only female he was fucking on the side, but she was the one he cared about enough to put her up in her own house, buy her a car...shit you did for your main lady. At the end of the day, she wasn’t his so she was really free game. I couldn’t help how my heart felt when I laid eyes on her. It was as if I had imprinted on her or some shit. My heart wanted her.
My mama wasn’t sleeping well, she says, because her boys were at odds. Honestly, I didn’t know how to fix this. Perri was going to remain in the picture. She was about to be the mother of my kid and my wife. She wasn’t going anywhere. Roman was gon’ have to just get wit’ it and get use to it.
I finished up in the bathroom and then reentered the room to put on my briefs and basketball shorts. Perri wasn’t in the bed so once I had my clothes on, I went in search of her.
She was in the kitchen digging in the refrigerator. Her ass I noticed was getting a little fatter and her hips were spreading all thanks to the baby. My hands found their way to her ass as I pressed up behind her, dick already hard.
“Hungry?” I questioned.
“Very. This baby has me eating all damn day,” she mumbled. “Get your nasty ass off me.” I smacked her ass and chuckled, moving out of the way as she stood up with cheese in her hand. “I’m about to make some grilled cheese sandwiches, you want a few?”
“I just brushed my teeth, I’m good. I’ll watch you eat.”
I jumped up on the counter and watch
ed Perri get to work at making the grilled cheese. She was focused and it was hilarious to me. Her stomach now had a pudge due to the growing baby. Man, I couldn’t wait until it was fuller and rounder. I couldn’t wait to find out the gender. I couldn’t wait for a lot of shit. I was just excited.
“I see you like your shit damn near burnt,” I frowned, waving the smoke out of my face. I was pretty sure the smoke alarm was about to go off.
“Only way to eat it.” Perri reached over the stove and turned on the fan. We were at her crib, and that was something that had to change. Now that she was my fiance, I needed her in the same space as me all the time. I know she had just gotten this house, but we could find something together. I could put my shit on the market right now.
I let her eat her five sandwiches and wash them down with a glass of apple juice, brush her teeth and then hop in bed with me before discussing it.
“You’re looking out into space with your lips tucked in. What’s on your mind,” she queried, as she scratched at my chin, something she did before she fell asleep.
“I was just thinking about putting my house on the market, you letting your shit go and we find a nice house together. I can’t stand us living apart, especially knowing you’re carrying my baby and we’re getting married soon,” I let her know.
“Are you ready to be around me all the time?”
“Aren’t we already?” I rebutted, squinting down at her.
“Yeah but we have our own space if we get mad at each other,” she giggled.
“We’ll have extra rooms. Take yo’ ass on the couch or pick a room.”
“If anything, it’ll be your ass on the couch! I’ll cuddle with the baby!”
I shrugged. “Fine with me. As long as your ass doesn't leave the damn house.”
It got quiet. I could literally hear the crickets outside.
“You’re serious huh?” asked Perri, after a while.
“As a heart attack,” I answered, placing a soft kiss on her temple. She squeezed me.
“Then let’s do it. Can we see tomorrow?”
“Hell yeah, let’s start tomorrow.”
“If I wasn’t so tired, I’ll let you fuck the hell out of me.”
Smirking, I said, “Get some rest. I’ll wake you up in the morning so I can follow through.”
DIAH
My leg just wouldn’t stop shaking.
I was meeting up with Perri now and promised myself I wouldn’t fight this girl. I couldn’t since Roman’s mama let me in on her being pregnant by Zeus and they were engaged. How ironic that I lost my child only for her to be pregnant. Crazy how some shit worked.
I had reached out to Perri via Facebook and asked her to come to my shop. I was closed today to restock and work on my website. What did I want to discuss with her? I wanted to hear from her mouth how her and Roman’s relationship started and if she knew about me. I guess I needed some type of closure even though my marriage was over.
It was three in the afternoon. I asked her to meet me around 3:15. Now I was nervously waiting for her arrival. I wondered how it would feel sitting across from her knowing I wanted to smack fire from her. She felt my husband’s dick. His mouth was on her. Just thinking about that shit had me angry!
Time flew by because there was a small knock on my shop door. With shaky legs, I stood from where I was sitting and sauntered over to the door to answer it. It was her. Closing my eyes, I braced myself for this convo that me and Perri were about to have. She knocked again and I finally unlocked my door and opened it. Of course Zeus was sitting outside waiting. That was the type of man he was. Protective. Especially with her being....my eyes landed on her stomach which was starting to show.
“Hi,” Perri smiled weakly, stepping inside my once peaceful space. Now it felt like I was suffocating. Like I could no longer breathe. She was glowing and I couldn’t stand it.
“Um...hi,” I forced out. “Have a seat.”
“Zeus had planned on popping up on you today to talk to you.”
“Oh.”
I sat down in my chair and we stared at each other. Since I had asked her to come meet with me, I decided to speak after the long silence.
“How did you and Roman meet?” I crossed my arms over my chest.
“At one of my cousin Reek’s gatherings,” she said.
“When did y’all first start having sex?”
Yes, I was interrogating her ass.
Perri cleared her throat.
“Um...At the party.”
My eyes widened and my jaw dropped. I didn’t know why I was surprised but I was.
“Did he wear his ring around you? Did any of that matter that he was married and had kids?”
“Diah he did wear his ring but Roman also lied and said he was unhappily married and that y’all were having a lot of problems at home. He lied and said he was going to leave you and that we were going to be together. I wasn’t aware that he was actually happy and did not have plans on leaving,” she explained, and I still thought it was bullshit.
“He kept telling you he was leaving me but never did… what does that tell you?” I spat.
“That he wasn’t trying to leave you with four kids.”
It took all the willpower I had not to reach over and smack her naive ass!
“What did he do for you?” I calmly asked.
“He set me up in a house, bought me a car, took me on a business trip with him, for my birthday we flew to Dubai, and I had access to a bank account.”
My entire body was hot as she spoke on the things my husband did for her. This man had a whole bank account that I wasn’t even aware of! All the sneaky shit he did! Took her to Miami on his business trip and that meant Zeus had met her while she was fucking on Roman….and Dubai! If there was any chance of me ever giving him another chance, it was fucked up now.
I bit down on my bottom lip to keep myself from letting tears fall. Roman was living a double life. I can’t even remember the lie he had told me when he was actually in Dubai. It was probably so many damn lies.
“I… I don’t think I was the only one he has slept with. When we were in Miami he had brought a woman to our room thinking a threesome was going to happen.”
I closed my eyes because I was fuming. The nerve of Roman. Me and him never used protection so to think of how many women he had slept with and then come home to me, had me ready to kill his ass. First 48 type shit.
“I...I just want to apologize. My mom always put it in my head since I was a young girl to always fuck with a man that had bank. No matter the cost. He could be single… married…” Perri snorted. “I know I’m goin’ to get my karma. Some fine ass bitch might be able to pull Zeus.”
I rolled my eyes.
“That’s where you’re wrong. Zeus and Roman may have flocked together, but they’re not the same. He does single shit when he’s single. You would never have to worry about him while in a relationship,” I stated, eyeing the rock on her hand. “I see he did good.”
Perri snatched her hands and placed them in her lap. She put her head down and then it shot back up when my door opened. In walked Zeus with a worried expression on his face.
“Everything good?” his deep, raspy voice boomed out. He was making sure his pregnant fiance was straight just like the caring person he was. Zeus’ eyes shot from me to Perri and they remained on Perri.
“Yeah babe. We’re just talking,” she answered him. Zeus ambled over and took a seat as well.
“I want to apologize while I’m here, D. I just want you to know I wasn’t on any messy shit, but I fucked up by bringing my girl to your house knowing the situation she had with Roman. I made her uncomfortable because she didn’t want to come around you because of that…”
Yeah, that explains why she used to act weird around me, I thought to myself as I listened to Zeus talk.
“...You a good person and I wanted her to be around someone who was positive and had something goin’ for herself, plus at the end of the day, she was g
on’ be in the family. It’s a fucked up situation, but shit, it is what it is. I don’t regret falling in love with this girl.”
I nodded as he watched me. I took a few deep breaths. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.
“Me and Roman are done. I’m over this shit. What is done is done. Me and Perri most likely won’t be friends, but she didn’t owe me loyalty. Roman did. This shit is behind me. Y’all have a great day and congratulations on the baby and the engagement,” I told them, standing up because they were now dismissed.
Zeus stood and reached out for me but I pulled away. I didn’t want to be touched. To be held. I wanted them to get out of my space because I had the answers I needed. Roman was a grimy ass nigga who obviously had no kind of respect for me. I wasn’t his little ass girlfriend. I was his wife. How dare he treat Perri as if she held the same weight as I did. After today, I was certain that I was making the right choice by leaving his ass in the dust.
PERRI
“I told her everything,” I exhaled, as I buckled my seat belt inside of Zeus’ ride. My body was still shaking. I wasn’t scared of Diah, but knowing how hurt and angry she probably was, I was prepared for her to lash out, but surprisingly she was rather calm. I could tell she was annoyed by me being there, but she was the one who contacted me.
My head turned towards Zeus who appeared a little zoned out. Reaching out, I rubbed his leg. He was bothered. Not sure by what, but I could tell he was in a mood.
“What’s wrong?”
He shrugged it off, but whatever it was would bother him unless he got it off his chest. I hoped he wasn’t thinking about our relationship and wanting to break things off. In the emotional state that I’ve been in, I wouldn’t be able to handle that.
As he drove, my hand went to the back of his neck, lightly massaging it. Zeus was tense. His jaw was clenching. I frowned because something was really wrong and he wasn’t speaking on it.
“Bae…”
“I need to chop it up with my brother,” he spoke, softly. “Make shit right and at the same time, make shit clear. My mama’s heart is broken, and I’ll be the bigger person and fix it.”