“Yes, French toast. You can have some before you leave.”
Sitting up, I let my brows dip before asking, “Before I leave? You got somewhere to be?”
“No, not necessarily. I do have to put together a list for this party I’m working in a couple days, but other than that, I’ll just be getting my place in order.”
“Oh, well shit, I can help. Belly has to meet with a psychologist today, so no training until the late evening.”
“Psychologist? What the fuck?” She stopped moving shit around for a second, making me laugh.
“It’s something he has to do before and after every fight to make sure his mental is in place. It’s standard procedure in a sense.”
“Oh.” She nodded. “Well no, I don’t need any help. You can eat and then go home.”
Climbing from the bed, I walked over to her.
“We good? Did I forget something?”
“No, you didn’t. I meant what I said yesterday. I do love you, and I want to be with you, but I need to see proof that you’re going to do as we agreed with Jasiel.”
“Alivia, I am. Come on, man. It ain’t been twenty-four hours.”
“When you start and have something to show me, we can resume our relationship. But you’re not going to trick me into believing you’re doing right.”
“Who put you up to this? Blaise?”
“What?” Her top lip turned up. “Blaise didn’t put me up to anything. I have my own brain, you know.”
“I ain’t mean it like that.” I watched Alivia continue to straighten shit up as I stood there like an idiot. “She’s just feisty and got a mouth on her.”
“Eat then go, Manuel.”
Sucking my teeth, I left the nice ass bedroom, then headed to the kitchen. It was my first time actually being in it, because yesterday we went straight from fucking in the living room to fucking in the bedroom. And when we did take a break, Alivia made me a sandwich, bringing it to me.
I ate the French toast along with the bacon and eggs she’d made, before downing two glasses of orange juice. I guess it was fresh squeezed because it was in a pitcher and tasted organic.
“Okay, I’m leaving.” I peeked into Alivia’s second bedroom after I’d gotten dressed.
“See you later. I’ll be waiting for that proof.”
“Yup,” was all I said as I left.
I headed straight home so I could shower, brush my teeth, and check with Belly’s manager, Carson, about next week’s schedule. Once I had everything written down, I texted Jasmine.
Me: Can you meet me for lunch in an hour?
Friend: Jasiel’s in school.
Me: I know. I wanna talk to just you. No funny shit I promise.
Friend: Fine. Just tell me where.
I figured out a spot, this cool lunch place in the heart of LA. After I texted Jasmine the address, I put some clothes on then bounced.
I made it to CRAFT LA about twenty minutes later since traffic was fairly light. Jasmine let me know she was close by, so I went in to secure our table. I’d only ordered my drink, and by that time, she was walking in.
“This place is way too nice, Manny.” She sat down.
“It’s nothing. How you been?”
“I’ve been great, actually. I got a new job, almost done moving, and—”
“Wait, moving? When the fuck did you start moving?”
“I got a new place. You haven’t really been by to see Jasiel, so you didn’t know. I’ve been texting and calling, but as usual, you ignore me.”
“Where is this new place, Jasmine?”
“It’s in Torrance. It’s a beautiful condo with three bedrooms.” She beamed, and I couldn’t even return the same excitement.
“What kind of job affords you to live in a nice ass spot in Torrance? You selling drugs?”
“Nigga, no. My man gave me a job. He bought me the place too because he felt it was too dangerous having Jasiel and I live in Inglewood.”
“Siggy you mean.” I laughed in an irritated fashion. Guess he was blowing his advance from the record label. Dummy. “Why are you letting this nigga act like he’s Jasiel’s daddy or some shit? He don’t decide what’s too dangerous for my fucking kid.”
“Is he your kid? You haven’t seen or talked to him in a couple weeks. Hell, you didn’t even know where he was sleeping at night.”
“That’s yo’ fault.”
“Oh right, because I spilled the beans to your sweet little princess Ali V.” She shook her head, filling her wine glass with the flat ice water they had on the table. “I’m actually glad you asked me to come here today, because I’ve been meaning to talk to you.”
“You go first, I guess.”
“So since I’ve pretty much been a single mother, taking care of Jasiel on my own, I think you should pay me more monthly. You make significantly more money than you used to, judging by that new car.”
“I saved up for the car,” I lied. “And single mother? I buy him everything, not to mention I come over to spend time with him.” I looked up at the waiter who came to the table. “Give us a second.”
“Actually, can I have the scallops and the Manhattan? Thank you.” Jasmine handed off the menu to her.
As she talked and moved, I surveyed her, noticing the watch, the Chanel bag, her hair, just her whole shit had been upgraded. I’d bought Jasmine shit, but she was wearing none of it. She looked like somebody’s girl; it was obvious.
“You’re not a single mother, Jasmine.”
“I am. You buy him nothing that he needs unless I tell you to. You buy him toys, Gucci, and occasionally some fast food. I pay for his normal little boy clothes, his normal shoes, his daily meals, toys as well, things he needs for school, his medicine when sick; I could go on.”
“I give you eight hundred dollars on top of what I already do.”
“I want an increase, for you to put him on your medical insurance, and start taking him two and a half days out of the week, preferably starting Friday morning, bringing him back Sunday afternoon.”
“Oh, so you can have the weekend off? Fuck that. Plus, I work most weekends. Belly fights on the weekends a lot.”
“Jasiel is four; he can come to a fight. If not, pay someone to watch him. And the reason I chose weekends is because he needs stability during the week while he’s in school, which I now live by. Plus, yes, I do want to have some weekends to myself. I have a boyfriend, and I’m still young; there is no reason why you should be able to live how you want while I pick up the slack.”
“I’m not doing that, Jasmine. Now I will take him places when I can. That’s what I came to tell you. I’m gonna start bringing Jasiel out, attending birthdays, all the shit I wasn’t doing.”
The waiter brought her drink, so she sipped it.
“This must be because princess brought it up.”
“Nah, it’s just what’s right. I love my son, and I don’t wanna be fucked up like that with him.”
“Look, Manny, either you agree to five thousand dollars a month plus the two and a half days a week, or I’m gonna need you to sign your rights over.”
“What? Five thousand dollars? And sign my rights over, as in giving him up legally?”
“Exactly. That way I will be the only one responsible for him, and you will have no say-so in what happens with him.”
“He needs a father. Why would you even suggest some shit like that?” I frowned.
“He’ll have a father, trust me.” She sipped her drink again, then stared into my eyes.
Siggy must have gotten in her head, and I wasn’t feeling that shit. I was for damn sure gon’ step to his ass or have Belly do so.
Blaise
“Let me guess, you’re dropping me off at home? I have somewhere to be anyway.” I pouted as I rode in the passenger seat of Belly’s Range. Since he ignored me, I continued. “I better not find out no shit is going on over there, Cortez. I swear.”
He chuckled but kept driving in silence. He reached over to car
ess my thigh, but I knocked his hand off, making him titter.
To calm myself down, I got on my phone, scrolling my Instagram feed and checking emails. By the time we came to a stop, it was in front of a big, beautiful mansion. We were already in the roundabout driveway, and when I looked back, I saw there was a huge gate surrounding it.
“Get out, brat.” He climbed from the car, but because I was in awe, I hadn’t moved. Belly opened my door then placed his hand out to help me down.
“Damn, whose place is this?”
“Mine.” He led me up to the door, and I admired the cobblestone under my feet. I peeped the garage to the left of me that looked like it could hold about five cars.
“Baby, it even smells rich in here.” I let my head fall back to look at the high ceiling once we stepped inside. The marble floors were so clean I could see myself in them. “What do you need all this space for? It’s just you.”
“Nah, it’s you and Island too.” He hugged my body from behind, kissing the side of my neck.
“You mean like to spend the night?”
He let me go and then led me up the doublewide staircase. We went down the hall, and he opened the door to show me a room with a lavender, baby pink, and yellow color scheme.
“To live, Blaise. This room is for Island.” He followed me in.
My mouth had been open since we pulled up. I took in the furniture he already had in here, and it was so cute. I knew Island would love it, especially the baby pink recliner that was in the shape of a teddy bear. This was why I couldn’t come over; he must have been furnishing the place.
“Cortez, you want us to live with you?” I finally looked up at him, not knowing why I was about to cry.
“Yeah, I do. Fuck you think? We just gon’ be raising a baby together but living separately? For what?”
I shook my head and shrugged because I didn’t have a response.
“I guess I didn’t think about it,” I finally whispered. Priscilla’s aunt Vivian always said it was a great sign when a man thought about the future.
Belly crouched down some to be my height, then pressed his lips against mine a few times until I was smiling.
“You ready to see our room?”
“Wait, we’re sharing? I need my own bedroom,” I joked as we held hands, walking out of Island’s.
“Nah, I need to be able to roll over and fuck. I don’t know what you thought this was.”
I chuckled softly as we entered a huge bedroom. There were two walk-in closets on each side and a bathroom on the right. We even had a fireplace in our room. The bathroom had double sinks, double mirrors, and a humongous shower-bath combo.
“This is so fucking plush!” I exclaimed, looking over at Belly’s sexy ass leaning in the doorway with a smirk.
He walked out to sit down on the chaise, so I followed, still standing and surveying.
“You like it, Miss Cansino?”
“I do. No man has ever asked me to live with him before.” I twiddled my thumbs as I looked down into his unbelievably handsome mug.
“Well…” He grabbed me to pull me down into his lap. “…I ain’t never asked a female to live with me.”
When we made eye contact, we kissed, and I breathed deeply, enjoying the scent of his Chanel cologne traveling up my nose while his large hands caressed my butt and hips.
“That means I’m special?” I damn near moaned because his dick was super hard in his basketball shorts, making me horny.
“That’s a muthafuckin’ understatement.”
“Then what am I?”
“Special with good pussy.”
“Cortez! I thought you were gonna say something sweet and romantic!”
“Baby, where a nigga like me comes from, saying you’re special with fire pussy, head game too, is romantic as fuck, aight?” He nuzzled his face into my neck and then added, “You know I love you.”
Like a fool, I was smiling hard and wishing I didn’t have to be somewhere.
“No, Cortez, I have to go,” I whined when he started moving my panties to the side.
“I’m hard as fuck. It won’t take me long to bust, especially with that pregnant pussy.”
I wanted to decline, but he was already toying with my clit, and I was sopping wet that quickly.
I reached down into his basketball shorts and boxers, then exposed his already hard dick. It was lengthy and thick, making my mouth water, but I had no time to suck it. I would do that later.
Lifting my dress over my hips, I turned my back to Belly, and he flattened out on the chaise, gripping my hips.
“Mmm,” we moaned in unison as I forced myself down onto him.
I started to ride him, but in the reverse position, so he was gripping and groping my ass. The feeling of his dick so deeply inside of me while his big hands assaulted my body had me releasing down on him in seconds.
“Fuck,” he groaned in his sexy voice, turning me on. His hand rubbed up my back before coming back down. The goose bumps on my skin were very prevalent.
“Oh,” was all I could get out as I started to ride him harder, bouncing on his dick.
His grip on my hips tightened, as the sound of him penetrating me bounced off the walls.
“Blaise, fuck,” he grumbled, as I kept going until I came so hard my body went limp.
Belly sat up, bending me over the other end of the chaise while kissing on the exposed parts of my back. He was still inside of me, so I came again for no damn reason at all.
“You said it’d be quick,” I whimpered, licking my lips. My body was tired, but my pussy was happy.
Leaning down, Belly sucked on my neck seductively for a little bit then said, “Shut up.”
Straightening back up, he pulverized my middle, making our skin clap so hard I knew I would be bruised.
“Uh…” was all I got out.
“That’s the only fucking thing I wanna hear you say.”
Grabbing my hair, he held it tightly and pounded my pussy until we both exploded. Turning me over after pulling out, he sucked my lips, then went down, doing the same to my inner thighs.
“You see those bruises on my thighs from last time?” I panted, caressing the back of his head just as he started to French kiss between my hips. “Baby, I have to go.” I arched my back.
He spread my legs wider and had me cumming in less than a minute. Rising up, he grinned widely with his cute ass, then kissed me.
“Stop acting like you don’t love it when a nigga pull it out and eat it.” He got up, fixing himself.
“I do.” I smiled, allowing him to help me to my feet.
“Damn, baby, I ain’t know I be bruising you up though.” He laughed, carrying me to the bathroom once he saw my legs were trembling too much for me to walk.
“Yes you do. I don’t notice until the next day though, because I’m so into it during.”
I loved that Belly could make love to me, being all nice and slow one night, then fuck me hard the next. And he stayed leaving hickeys on my upper, inner thighs.
I cleaned up, and since he’d bought me some new things that he placed in my closet, I changed, then he took me home.
I agreed to move in, so he’d have someone collect Island’s and my things tomorrow afternoon. Belly said he didn’t mind if I kept my condo, but a part of me wanted to get rid of it since it tied me to Five-Star. I didn’t need anything outside of my daughter attaching me to his ass.
Speaking of him, as soon as I got into my car to leave, he called me.
“What?” I answered, only because his mother had my baby.
“I’m throwing a party this weekend, and I want you to come.”
“A party for what, Jelani?” I wasn’t going but I was curious. His birthday had passed.
“You ain’t seen the shit yet?” He guffawed, making me roll my eyes as I pulled onto the street. “I came out number one on the richest niggas in music.”
“So that means I shouldn’t hear any more complaints about the child support you pay.
”
Laughing, he groaned and said, “Nah, I just be fucking with you. You know twenty-four thousand dollars is chump change to a nigga like me.”
“Keep bragging, and I’ll drag you back to court. Enjoy your party, but I won’t be there.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t want to! And I’m moving, so I won’t have time anyway.”
“Moving where?”
“To a new spot, dummy, where else? I may give you the address and then again, I may not. It’s not like you ever pick Island up anyway. Karen will have it.”
“I could’ve bought you a new spot, Blaise. You ain’t mention—”
“I have a man!” I hollered so loudly at the screen in my car, that I bent toward the steering wheel slightly. “Anything I need, Cortez will give to me. If I want a new bag, he’s gonna get it! If I want a watch, he’ll buy it! If I want to move, he will handle that! The only thing you need to be worried about is your daughter, nigga. And so far, Cortez has been handling that too!”
Click.
I was baffled when he hung up on me, but it just made me laugh.
The rest of my drive was smooth, especially after I dialed up his mom Karen to check on Island.
I arrived at my destination about half an hour later, and after letting the parking attendant know what I was here for, he allowed me in for free. Whipping my brand-new Mercedes truck into a park, I switched gears then shut the engine off. Before I could even pull my duffel from the back seat, I heard someone approaching.
“Hey, beautiful. I’m so happy you came!” Cydney approached me.
She owned an online boutique and had asked me to model the clothes. She’d always hit me up to get me to do it, but I was usually too busy. Lately, I’d been working nonstop still; however, I wanted to do this to help her and dispel those pregnancy rumors since she promised to edit my tummy.
My body was already changing, and I knew I had about a week before that rapid growth started. I hated that I would slowly grow for the beginning of my pregnancy, then once I hit that 60 percent mark, I seemed to grow every hour.
“Yeah, no problem.”
We hugged, and then she led me inside to show me where I’d be changing and such. She had one other girl here, only because she had a lot of outfits and didn’t want to make me change constantly. Plus, the longer I was here, the more she would have to pay me, and I was sure my fee was higher than this other girl’s.
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