***
“Dang auntie, you and Amber need to go into business. Y’all got these sandwiches looking like they came from a deli,” Rylee complimented.
“I told her that, but she’s too lazy,” Amber said about her mother.
“I’m not lazy. I work a full-time job and help out with your grandma when she needs it. I don’t have time for anything extra,” Susan replied. She couldn’t depend on her other siblings to be there for her mother, so she never even asked. Aside from her and Amber, Rylee was the only one who made sure that Sara was straight.
“Well I appreciate y’all for doing this on such short notice,” Rylee replied.
“You know it’s not a problem,” her aunt replied with a genuine smile.
“What are you doing today Amber? Come chill with me for a while,” Rylee said to her cousin.
“Her ass ain’t doing nothing. If you don’t get her out of the house she’ll be sitting in here with me all day,” Susan complained.
“Don’t listen to her Rylee. She always wants to get rid of me since she got a new man. She waited until she got divorced from my daddy to get a black boyfriend. I told her she should have done that in the beginning and then maybe I would have some junk in my trunk like you,” Amber laughed.
“You got you some chocolate auntie?” Rylee teased.
“No honey, I got me some dark chocolate,” Susan smirked.
“I ain’t even mad at you girl. I already know what’s up, so you don’t even have to explain. Let’s go, Amber,” Rylee said to her goofy little cousin.
She and Amber put the sandwiches in the car with the rest of the food and headed to the Freedom Riders Bikers Club to drop everything off to Mekhi. Rylee had been to the Biker’s club several times, but she felt uneasy about going there now. Since being released from jail, Zyrian was back in the club, and she didn’t want to run into him. She’d been trying her best to stay away from him, and she hadn’t been to Zyra’s house in about two weeks. She had Zyra thinking that she was busy with her grandmother, but the truth was she was scared to be around her brother.
“I’m staying in the car,” Amber said when she and Rylee pulled up to their destination.
“Don’t do me like that Amber. Get out with me, please,” Rylee begged.
“Why can’t you just call Mekhi and tell him to send someone out to get it?” Amber questioned.
“That’s a good idea,” Rylee agreed as she fumbled around in her purse for her phone.
Rylee was scrolling through her phone contacts trying to locate her husband’s number when her car door was pulled open, scaring her momentarily.
“What’s up wifey?” Zyrian smiled down at her.
“Boy move,” Rylee laughed nervously as she got out of the car. “How can I be your wifey when I’m already somebody else’s wife?”
“Fuck your husband,” Zyrian shrugged like it was nothing.
“Ok, now that you’ve gotten that off of your chest, what is it that you want Zyrain?” Rylee questioned.
“You,” he replied while licking his full sexy lips and staring her in the eyes.
Amber looked just as uncomfortable as Rylee about Zyrian’s flirting, but she played on her phone like she was unaffected. Zyra told her that her little brother had a crush on Rylee, but Amber had never heard him speak about it so openly.
“I… um, I have some food for the meeting. I need somebody to bring it in for me,” Rylee stammered unintentionally.
“Do I make you nervous Rylee?” Zyrian asked with a cocky smirk on his face.
He walked up to her and closed the small gap that separated the two of them. Rylee tried to stop herself from staring at his lips, but every time his tongue ran across them her eyes seemed to follow. She wasn’t shy at all, but Zyrian made her nervous for some reason. Maybe it was because she was a married woman who was secretly lusting over another man. A man that she tried hard to avoid at all cost. A man who damn near had her standing in a puddle of her own juices. Trying to stay away from him was one of the best decisions that she ever made.
“I didn’t know that you were out here baby,” Mekhi said as he walked over and broke up the intense stare down that Zyrian was having with his wife. He was pissed but decided not to make a scene in front of everyone. He was sure that the other club members witnessed the encounter, and that was just as embarrassing as seeing it himself.
“Yeah, I was just about to call you,” Rylee replied in a shaky voice.
Zyrian chuckled when he saw Mekhi grab Rylee’s small waist and pin her up against the car. He lowered his lips to hers and engaged in a deep kiss that almost took her breath away. Rylee knew that he was only behaving like that because Zyrian was right there, but she had to go with the flow. Rylee knew that she and Mekhi would probably be arguing later on that night, but she didn’t care.
“What did you need me to help you with Rylee?” Zyrian interrupted once he had enough of their face sucking. Rylee pulled away from her husband and wiped her lips before she replied. Mekhi looked like he wanted to say something, but he kept his mouth closed.
“I have some food for y’all greedy asses in the back of my car,” she joked.
Amber got out of the car and started grabbing food, along with Mekhi, Zyrian, and Rylee. They all walked into the house and put everything on the table before Rylee and Amber turned to walk back outside. Amber was scared out of her mind when one of the men grabbed her arm as she walked down the stairs.
“Who is your friend Rylee,” one of the bikers who was also Zyra and Zyrian’s cousin asked.
“That’s my cousin, and I need you to let her arm go. If you want to know her name, just ask her,” Rylee replied.
“Your cousin?” One of the other men questioned with a loud laugh.
“Yes, my first cousin actually. Is there something funny about that?” Rylee asked as she turned to face him. He must have been new because she had never seen him before. Just about everybody, there knew that she had both black and white family members, and none of them ever said anything stupid. When the unknown man kept laughing Rylee was ready to go off on him, but she never got the chance.
“Nigga you better go sit your fat ass down somewhere. You always fucking with somebody,” Zyrian yelled to the man as he and Mekhi came back outside. He never even gave Mekhi a chance to defend his own wife before she stepped up.
“I got this. I don’t need you to speak up for my wife,” Mekhi said as he mugged Zyrian.
“Shit, nigga you don’t act like it,” Zyrian replied while walking back to the house.
Mekhi shook his head in anger as he walked Rylee and Amber to the car. He waited until Amber got in before turning to his wife to speak his mind.
“I don’t know what the fuck is going on between you and that nigga, but this shit gon’ turn out bad,” Mekhi roared.
“What you mean you don’t know what’s going on between us? Ain’t nothing going on with me and Zyrian, and I’m tired of you saying that shit,” Rylee snapped.
“I came out here and saw you and that nigga staring each other down, and you want me to believe it’s nothing? That nigga is disrespectful as fuck, and you don’t make it no better. On God Rylee, you can try to entertain Zyrian and his bullshit if you want to. That nigga gon’ meet his maker and I’m knocking you the fuck out, straight up,” Mekhi swore.
“Fuck you Mekhi with your insecure ass! You put your hands on me and Carolyn gon’ bury your punk ass! Try me and see,” Rylee yelled as she got into her car and sped off, leaving him standing on the curb looking stupid. She couldn’t believe that Mekhi had the nerve to threaten her, especially knowing how touchy the subject of domestic violence was with her. Rylee had to admit that the situation didn’t look right, and she understood why he was upset. But to threaten to kill Zyrian and put his hands on her was going too far.
“His stupid ass better not even think about looking for me tonight. I’m going by grandma and turning my phone off,” Rylee vowed. She felt her anger rising with ever
y word that she spoke. She needed her grandma now more than ever to help her stay calm.
“You want me to drive Rylee? You’re kind of scaring me right now,” Amber spoke up after a few minutes of silence. She had to do something before Rylee ended up killing them both. She was cutting corners on two wheels and had just ran her second red light in less than five minutes. She was clearly out of it, so Amber had to step in.
“I’m sorry Amber. Let me pull over right quick,” Rylee obliged.
Amber got behind the wheel and drove with no known destination in mind. She ended up driving to City Park and stopping right near the amusement rides. She remembered her mother and Rylee’s parents bringing them there when they were younger, and they would stay for the entire day.
“This brings back so many memories,” Amber smiled trying to lighten the mood in the car.
“It sure does,” Rylee smiled back.
Since Amber saw that her cousin had calmed down, she used that as an opportunity to say what was on her mind.
“I want to say something Rylee, but I don’t want you to get upset. It’s just my opinion, but I still want to voice it.”
“What’s up?” Rylee queried.
“I’m not taking sides here, but I can honestly see why your husband is mad. You might not notice, but I pay attention to everything. Zyrian can’t keep his eyes to himself when you’re around, and he doesn’t even try to hide it in front of Mekhi. I actually thought that the two of you were about to kiss out there a little while ago. A blind man can see that he wants you. And do you want to know what’s even worse?” Amber questioned.
“What’s that?” Rylee asked.
“A blind man can see that you want him too,” Amber replied.
“God Amber,” Rylee sighed dramatically. “This is so fucked up, but you’re right. I’m attracted to him, and I can’t even lie. There’s no way in hell that another man should be making my coochie cream like that.”
“Ewe, that’s gross,” Amber frowned causing them both to laugh at her silliness.
“I know, but that’s how I feel. My emotions are all over the place right now. I’m mad with Mekhi. I want to fuck Zyrian. And I’m looking at these rides like I want to stay here for a while,” Rylee rambled.
“Let’s do it then,” Amber suggested.
“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Rylee said as they hopped out of the car and walked deeper into the park. They got a wristband for unlimited rides and ran around the park like two kids with no supervision.
Chapter 10
Mekhi paced back and forth from the living room to the bedroom with his phone glued to his ear. He’d been calling Rylee since the night before, but she had yet to answer. After his meeting at the biker’s club, he came home preparing to apologize, but she wasn’t there. He waited up all night for his wife to come back, but here it was Sunday evening, and she had yet to return. She turned her phone off, so there was no way for him to get in touch with her. He’d been calling Zyra and Amber’s phone for the past three hours, and neither woman answered. Mekhi knew that the two of them knew where Rylee was, but they would never rat her out. He felt like he was losing his mind and the quietness of his empty house wasn’t helping. He thought about driving around to find her, but he didn’t want her to come home and not find him there. He was conflicted, and he had a headache that just wouldn’t go away. When Mekhi’s phone started ringing, he got excited until he realized that it was his work phone. When he saw that the call was restricted, he already knew that it was someone that he didn’t want to talk to. He hit the ignore button and put the phone away. A few seconds later a text message came through with a picture of a naked woman. Any other time he would have been happy to see it, but he could care less right now. He quickly deleted the picture and sat down on the sofa. Although Rylee never touched his work phone, Mekhi still tried to be extra careful. Most of the numbers that called were restricted, and he erased all of the text messages and pictures right after they came through. The women who sent things through his phone did it with an app, so Rylee wouldn’t be able to know who they were if she did see it. He could easily lie and say that it was a wrong number if it ever came down to it.
“What!” Mekhi yelled when he finally answered the phone.
It rung six times within three minutes, and it was getting on his nerves.
“Did you forget about your daughter’s nursery bill?” Shay yelled over the phone. “You haven’t paid it in over a month, and she can’t go back until it’s caught up.”
Mekhi blew out a breath of frustration. Rylee had his stress level on high, and he didn’t have time for anything else at the moment. He could care less about the bullshit that Shay was spitting.
“I don’t know who the fuck you think I am, but you better keep it moving with all that squawking. I got too much on my plate as it is. I don’t have time for the added theatrics,” Mekhi replied.
“All I ask you to do is pay Mekhya’s nursery bill so that I can go to work to keep a roof over her head. You can’t even do that, but yet you’re on social media bragging about buying Rylee a ten thousand dollar purse and a Benz. Where they do that shit at Mekhi?”
“Bitch don’t worry about what I buy for my wife. What, you mad because a nigga don’t do nothing for your washed up ass? I’m trying to see why getting her nursery bill paid is my responsibility anyway. You’re the one who wanted her, so you should take care of her. You forced me to be something that I didn’t want to be. Fuck that nursery bill and fuck you too!” Mekhi snapped before hanging up the phone in her face.
He was already in a bad mood, and Shay wasn’t helping. She called back a few times, but Mekhi kept hitting the ignore button. When he got tired of doing that he turned the phone off altogether. Shay and none of the other women he dealt with had his personal number, and he wanted it to stay that way. If they couldn’t get in touch with him on the work phone, then they didn’t need to talk at all. Mekhi walked to his bedroom to put the phone on the charger right as the front door alarm sounded, letting him know that his wife had finally returned home. He was happy that she was back but pissed that she had the audacity to stay out all night.
“So that’s how we’re doing it now Rylee? You get mad at me and stay out all night?” Mekhi asked when she walked into their bedroom.
“It was either that or kill you in your sleep. You should be happy that I didn’t come home,” Rylee replied without a hint of anger in her voice.
She was upset the day before, but she had calmed down a lot since then. Talking to her grandmother helped, but going to church with her that morning really did the trick. It seemed as if the sermon spoke directly to her spirit and she needed to hear it.
“Look, I admit that I was wrong for what I said, and I apologize. That still doesn’t justify you sleeping away from home though Rylee. We’re married, and that’s something that you just don’t do. I get upset all the time, but I’m always home no later than midnight.”
“Here you go with that midnight shit,” Rylee complained.
“Unless we’re out together I don’t see a reason why we should be out past midnight. Anything after that is the start of a brand new day. Why is that a problem now? It was never a problem before.”
“I never said it was a problem Mekhi. I’m sorry for staying out all night, but I just couldn’t be around you for a while. For you to threaten to put your hands on me was just going too far. I stayed with my grandma last night to calm myself down and not do anything that I would regret later on,” Rylee confessed.
“Rylee, I love you more than I love myself. You should know that I would never put my hands on you,” Mekhi promised.
“Yeah, that’s probably the same shit Cedric said to my sister before he put a bullet in her head.”
“Seriously Rylee?” Mekhi asked incredulously. “You threaten me all the time, but you get all bent out of shape when I do the same thing to you. I’m not saying that it’s right, but don’t dish out what you can’t take.”
“But you of all people should know that certain subjects are touchy for me. Domestic violence and racism are two things that hit very close to home, and you know that. Mad or not you need to be mindful of what you say.”
“You’re right baby, but the same goes for you.”
“Agreed,” Rylee nodded.
“I just hate when you’re mad at me. Come here,” Mekhi said holding his arms out for Rylee.
Rylee melted in her husband’s embrace and the anger that she had for him the day before disappeared almost instantly. Mekhi could be an asshole at times, but he was a sweetheart underneath his arrogant exterior. When he let Rylee go and dropped to his knees in front of her, she already knew what time of day it was.
“Wait Mekhi, don’t rip my underwear,” Rylee whined when her husband reached under her dress and forcefully pulled at her lace boy cuts.
“Take all that shit off then,” he replied.
Rylee assisted him with removing her clothes before he picked her up and threw her in their huge king sized bed.
“What are you doing?” Rylee asked when she saw him going into the drawer right next to their bed.
That was her toy box and Mekhi never went in there for anything. He didn’t answer, but Rylee smiled when he came out with her fuzzy leopard print handcuffs. Mekhi smiled as he cuffed both his wife’s wrists to the headboard of the bed.
“You better not kick me either,” he warned before he licked his lips and dove in head first. Rylee arched her back and prepared for the ride that her husband was about to take her on.
***
“Hey baby,” Rylee said when she answered the phone for her husband.
A few weeks had passed since she stayed away from home all night and things were back to normal with them. Mekhi was hell bent on having a baby, and he was doing everything in his power to get Rylee pregnant. When her cycle came down a week ago, he was disappointed, but he was determined to make that her last one for a while. Rylee had been trying her best to avoid Zyrian, and she was doing good so far. She still visited Zyra often, but she made it her business to go during the times that Zyrian wouldn’t be home. She confessed to Zyra how she was feeling, and her friend understood her dilemma. She would forewarn Rylee if her little brother was home or not to make sure that they had minimal to no interaction with each other.
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