Nobody Can Love You Like Them Roughnecks Do 3

by Shvonne Latrice

  “Both, Blaise.” I got off the wall as she sat down on the pretty pink couch, placing her Fendi purse to the side of her.

  “That’s not true; well, the latter isn’t true. If Rafi won’t change, you can find a new man.”

  “Can I? One who will be different? I was fucking with Will, and look where that got me. And he’s actually a nice guy, yet and still, he was doing dirt. I really believe all men cheat and you just have to find the one who hides it best.” I sat next to her, crossing my legs and fixing my dress.

  “Whether that’s true or not, you at least deserve someone who will make you believe he’s faithful, not a man who makes you deal with his infidelities.”

  “Yeah.” I rubbed over my fresh mink nails then asked, “Do you believe Belly is faithful? Or do you just love him?” I turned to look into her pretty face. Blaise had really nice pigmented brown skin.

  “What I can say is that I do believe he’s faithful. If he’s not, I better not ever find out.” She took my hand into hers. “My point, Priscilla, is that you shouldn’t have to take whatever a man gives you just because you love him or don’t want to start over. The least he could do is go out of his way to make you honestly believe he’s not cheating.”

  I nodded because I agreed.

  We talked for a little bit longer, before going back out to join the ladies. I chuckled when Alivia sighed out of relief upon seeing us. I was sure Leni and Rima had been annoying.

  “No, move, bitch.” Blaise turned toward Belly’s table to say, and when I saw Yesenia pause dead in her tracks then turn to leave his table, I broke out into laughter along with Alivia.

  “How did you even see her?” Alivia questioned.

  “I have eyes everywhere when it comes to my nigga, especially when there is a known hoe in the room.”

  I giggled, and even Leni and Rima joined in.

  The rest of the night was pretty okay. The food was good, and the conversation between my friends and I flowed nicely as well. Leni and Rima chimed in here and there, but mostly the table was split.

  About half past midnight, everyone was leaving, so Rafi and I held hands outside as we waited for valet to bring his Wraith around. We shared coy smiles before he brought me in to kiss my temple.

  I loved him, but I couldn’t help but think about what the ladies said inside, including Blaise. I couldn’t see myself turning a blind eye to Rafi’s actions, especially with no ring on my finger. And Blaise was right in the sense that if a man couldn’t be faithful to you, it was painfully clear that his desires were the most important thing in his life, not you.

  I may have said she was living in fairytale land, but seeing Belly do a 180 for her showed that it was possible. And even if he wasn’t being faithful, he was doing a damn good job to make it appear that way, as he should.

  Hell, Belly was way worse than Rafi could ever be as far as fidelity, so if he could do it, surely my man could. Shit, any man could if Belly could. It all came down to how much that man loved you, and how much you meant to him.

  “What you thinking about?” Rafi glanced my way with his fine ass. We were in his car now, headed home as the jazz station played softly.

  “I had a nice time.” I looked out the window. “Leni and Rima were kind of a buzz kill.”

  “Oh yeah? Why?”

  “They were trying to tell me that I shouldn’t get upset about women that come into your life. They basically said I should accept that sometimes you’ll stray.” Since he didn’t say anything, I looked at him. He was staring straight ahead, driving. He wasn’t wearing an expression I could read. “That’s crazy right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Yes? That’s all you have to say?” I chuckled.

  “What am I supposed to say, Prissy?”

  “You’re supposed to say that, that’s crazy and that there will never be another Yesenia.”

  “Prissy, I love you. I love you more than I could ever love any woman. No matter who comes into my life, they will never be able to take your place.”

  “Oh my gosh.”

  “What?” He frowned, making a left.

  “You’re saying it’s possible. You’re saying you may cheat on me again and possibly give me a disease again.”

  “No, no, that’s not what the fuck I’m saying. What I’m saying is, I don’t know the fucking future. Shit, you may cheat on me. Any nigga walking around here talking about he gon’ be faithful forever has no right to say the shit. But what I’m telling you is that if some shit does pop off again, just know that you’ll always be number one. That’s more than what a lot of niggas are saying.”

  “If Cortez Khalil can promise Blaise, why can’t you promise me?” My voice began to shake because I was about to cry.

  “He’s telling her ass whatever the fuck she wants to hear! I just saw that nigga at the club with bitches all over him. I’m being honest with you! Do I plan to cheat? Hell no, but I can’t say it won’t happen. I don’t know for sure. What I do know for sure is that I will never wanna be with nobody else but you, no matter what happens. Accept that, Priscilla.”

  I said nothing as I peered out of the window, resting my forehead against it. Rafi kept quiet as well, and the silence continued all the way until we were in our bed fast asleep.

  Climbed up from the tailbone… Where the world don't want us… Plus your niggas be dumpin’… They shootin' from close like some elbow jumpers…

  At the end of every show Reddi did, she always had us do a dance sequence starting on J. Cole’s part of “Say Na” by Moneybagg Yo. For Moneybagg’s last verse, I was to come to the front and take the dance routine out.

  “What the fuck?” I mumbled, glancing over at Brittany because Dionne had slinked to the front, taking my spot. Brittany was frowning in confusion as well, but we kept dancing, not wanting to ruin the show.

  The curtain finally started to come down, just as we did our last steps.

  “Oh my gosh. That was lit! The crowd was hype!” Dionne screeched as we headed to the back.

  I jogged a little bit to catch up to her.

  Grabbing her arm, I waited until she looked at me before saying, “What the fuck was that?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Dionne.”

  “Nice job, ladies, but Dionne, next time, stay where you’re supposed to. I want Priscilla taking out the show.” Reddi walked up. Thank God.

  “I’m sorry, but the crowd was just as hype. I think maybe every night we should switch off.” Dionne grinned.

  “No, every night Priscilla will come to the front like I intended.” Without giving Dionne the option to respond, Reddi switched off.

  “Well looks like you’ll be back in the forefront, superstar. Everybody loves you.” Dionne turned from me to rush off to our dressing room, so I followed.

  “Do we have a problem? Last time I checked, we were fine,” I questioned, closing the door behind us so we could have some privacy. I didn’t mind Brittany being in the room.

  “Ohhhh, yeah, we were fine until I found out you were fucking Will behind my back.” Dionne cocked her head, raising one eyebrow and making it obvious that she knew what she spoke of. Still, I wanted to save myself.

  “What? Who the hell told you that?”

  “Don’t worry about it! Just know that I know you’re shady as fuck! I confided in you, and the whole time, you were fucking him!”

  Brittany quickly grabbed her bag, leaving the room.

  “I was not fucking him the whole time. We didn’t start until after, I swear.”

  “So when I asked you if you’d done anything with him, did you lie?” Dionne’s mouth was moving about, twisted all up.

  “Yes, but only slightly. We’d kissed and almost had sex, but we didn’t get that far because I thought about you!”

  “Ha!” Dionne leaned back to laugh. “You didn’t think about me! If you cared so much about me, you wouldn’t have fucked him!”

  I wanted to yell back at her, but she had every right to be
mad. I was her Yesenia, so me getting buck with her was out of line at the moment.

  “Dionne—”

  “No. You know what? I don’t even care anymore. Between you sleeping with him behind my back and Nichole having his baby, I want nothing to do with Will.”

  Dionne started to walk past me, but I blocked her from leaving.

  “Who is having his baby?” I felt big ass bald eagles seize my stomach.

  “Nichole.” Dionne surveyed my expression for a minute, before snickering angrily. “Wow, Priscilla. Not only did you fuck him, but it’s like you love him or something.”

  “No I do not!”

  “Look at your face. As soon as I mentioned Nichole having his baby, all the color left.”

  Shaking my head, I tried to stop her from exiting.

  “Dionne, it’s not like that. Dionne!” I called after her, but she paid me no mind.

  Closing the dressing room door, I locked it then sat at the vanity mirror.

  From Rafi basically admitting that he could never be with just me, to Will having a baby with Nichole, I was mentally drained. The only thing I could do was cry.

  4

  Manny

  The next week… Wednesday afternoon…

  I’d lied and told Alivia that today was the appointment for the DNA test. I’d gone so damn far with this shit but had thought of no damn endgame. Now here it was an hour before this so-called testing, and the shit wasn’t even real. And even if there was an appointment, I already knew the fucking results. It would be the fifth DNA test I took, so I knew it would come back 99.9 percent like the last four.

  As I inhaled on the blunt, my phone buzzed. I wasn’t a heavy smoker, usually only at parties and functions, but lately, I’d been needing something just in my everyday life.

  Alivia: Text me when you’re on the way. I’m ready.

  Me: Coming now.

  I dropped my iPhone into the cup holder, then started my whip to head to Alivia’s spot. She’d texted me her new address last night with her well-prepared ass. I was hoping she’d forgotten about what today was supposed to be, mainly because she’d been ignoring me, but nope. Her ass hit me up around 8 p.m. last night, ready as a muthafucka to accompany me to the doctor’s office.

  I got to the apartment building off Crescent in Beverly Hills and parked along the sidewalk. The place was nice as fuck, so I guess them deejay gigs had been paying Alivia well.

  Taking my time, I walked far as fuck to get to her door, then rang the bell. As I waited, I slipped my hands into my pockets, feeling nervous as fuck.

  “Hey, let me just get my purse.” Alivia opened the door, leaving it wide for me to walk in.

  She looked good in a red dress with no straps, showing off her sexy legs. Her hair was in a ball at the nape of her neck, showing off how beautiful her face was. As usual, she smelled good as hell.

  “Alivia, hold up.” I closed her door, locking it. I licked my lips at the sight of her pretty feet in the heels she had on. She and her friends stayed in heels. It was rare if you saw them in sneakers or sandals, but it was sexy. I could always count on Alivia to show up and make niggas wish they had my girl.

  “What, Manny?”

  “Sit down. I low-key forgot this was yo’ spot, so may I sit as well?” I chuckled as she lowered onto her nice ass couch.

  I’d peeped that she had it furnished nicely as fuck already. And the inside was just as luxe as the outside.

  “Yeah, sit down.”

  “How much you paying a month for this place? It’s nice.” I couldn’t stop looking around. My crib was dope too, but this shit had that feminine flair.

  “A little over four thousand.”

  “Damn! You must be making bank, baby. I see you be working a lot, and some pretty prestigious events, so it makes sense.”

  “I do well. Plus, having to live with my parents for damn near forever gave me time to save up. I was saving 75 percent of my check every month.”

  “Damn, that sounds nice. Shit, that’s what the white folks do; let their kids stay up in their crib until they get rich. Black folks need to do the same.”

  “True, just not like my parents did it.” She got quiet then sighed. “Manny, shouldn’t we be going? It’s only half an hour until the appointment.”

  “Alivia, there is no appointment.”

  “What? What the fuck do you mean? And if there’s no appointment, then you need to leave right now.” She scowled.

  “Listen to me, just for a second, please.”

  “Hurry up!” She wound her hand to accentuate her statement.

  “Jasiel… that’s my son.” I intertwined my fingers and momentarily stared down at the carpet. “Me and his mother, we were never in a relationship or anything like that. Just like most of the niggas in the hood, I was fucking her here and there. For a few months, I was sleeping with her heavily, and she got pregnant. Deep down, I felt like it was mine, just out of paranoia, but I was praying to God that it wasn’t.”

  “Why? Just because she wasn’t your girlfriend?”

  “No.” I chuckled, but only because I was frustrated. “Because her reputation was fucking horrible. She was a bop, and not an undercover one, a known one. When the name Jasmine came up, it was always about some hoe shit she was doing. So the thought of her being the mother of my child, my first child, I couldn’t have that.

  When that DNA test came in saying I was the father, I was angry. I was angry with myself for being so muthafuckin’ reckless that I got someone like Jasmine pregnant. And I was angry that I couldn’t do shit to change it. I thought of being a deadbeat, but I couldn’t go through with that.” I shook my head. “I couldn’t just act like he didn’t exist, so I did the next best thing in order to stay sane.”

  “This is crazy.” Alivia covered her face. “I don’t see how you pretending you don’t have a son is any better than being a deadbeat, Manuel.”

  “And I know from the outside looking in, it may seem that way. But as long as I was there for him, provided, and spent time, I didn’t see the problem. I didn’t have half of that from my pops growing up. Nigga didn’t come over, didn’t call, didn’t buy me shit; nothing. He was just quick to tell people I wasn’t his fucking kid. He didn’t give a fuck who was around to hear him say that shit either.”

  “Manny, you’re doing the same thing. Yes, you take care of him, but ignoring him in public and saying you’re childless is the same thing your father did.”

  “It’s not.”

  Alivia came and sat next to me. By this time, I was staring hard at the magazines on her coffee table because I couldn’t give her eye contact. This was the most I’d told any female, and now I was regretting it.

  Turning my face so that we’d have eye contact, she nodded. “Yes, it is the same. Are you telling me that if your father bought you gifts on the low, and hung out with you in secrecy, you would have been fine with him denying you?”

  Snatching my face from her tiny hands, I looked off. My chest rose and fell because I was infuriated as fuck. As soon as I shut my eyes, tears began to trail my cheeks, pissing me off even more.

  “Aye, I gotta go.” I was about to get up, but Alivia palmed the sides of my face, stopping me.

  “No, you don’t have to go. It’s okay to cry, Manny.”

  “No the fuck it ain’t! What’s wrong with you?” I shot up off the couch, ashamed as hell.

  “Don’t treat your baby the same way you were treated. You’re not like your dad, Manny. You’re a sweet guy, and Jasiel is lucky to have you. But he won’t know that unless you stop acting this way. Do you want him to grow up, angry like you, and treating his son this same way? Or worse, his daughter?”

  Dropping down onto the couch, I let my face fall into my hands as I sobbed. I felt like shit, but I was also still angry at my pops. And I surely didn’t want Jasiel growing up to be like my ass.

  Alivia’s perfume intensified, so I knew she was moving closer to me. I felt her soft hands caress my neck before
she brought me into her, hugging me like a bitch.

  I cried for what seemed like way too fucking long, as Alivia rubbed my head. Finally, I was able to straighten myself up, so she loosened her grip on me.

  “My bad.” I wiped down my face.

  “It’s okay.” Her voice was low as she turned my face toward hers before pressing her lips against mine. “You have to do better.”

  “I know.”

  She crawled into my lap, straddling me, before slipping her tongue into my mouth. Rubbing her hands under my shirt, she waited until I lifted my arms before pulling it over my head.

  “Immediately, Manny.”

  “I know.” I nodded before our lips crashed back together. “I love you, Alivia.”

  She quickly pulled away to look into my eyes.

  “Are you drunk?”

  “Nah.” I chortled. “I’m a little high but cognizant.” I nodded to assure her then added, “I love you.”

  “I love you too. But that doesn’t mean I will be with you if you don’t change.”

  I nodded in response before we resumed French kissing. Reaching under her dress, I pushed her panties to the side as she unbuckled my jeans. As soon as my dick was out, I gripped her ass in my hands, before sliding up inside with no cap.

  The next morning…

  When I woke up in Alivia’s bed, I touched the spot next to me only to realize that she wasn’t there. Closing my eyes back for a second, I remembered yesterday, so a smile spread over my face.

  The last thing I thought would happen when I came over was us getting back on good terms, but shit had worked out for ya boy.

  The only thing I had to do now was start letting the world know that I shared a child with Jasmine’s ass. The thought of people’s reactions bothered the fuck out of me, but it had to be done, especially if I wanted to keep Alivia.

  “Damn, it smells good. You cooked?” I frowned when Alivia walked into her bedroom. She was wearing a nightgown, but I could tell she’d taken a shower because of the towel laid across the chair and the smell of her soap in the air.