Nobody Can Love You Like Them Roughnecks Do 3

by Shvonne Latrice

  “Maybe she’s a fan. Look, Nichole, calm down before you have the baby too early.”

  “You don’t fucking care about me or this baby, so stop acting like it!” I was sobbing so violently that I couldn’t make out a thing due to my blurry vision. “You don’t care.” I dropped onto the couch.

  I felt pathetic. All the bitches I used to laugh at when I saw them hurt over a nigga, and now I had become one of them. I used to not care about fucking a man that was taken, as long as he wasn’t married, because I felt like a girlfriend or fiancée meant nothing. But here I was, just a fiancée, and the pain from knowing Ian was cheating on me hurt badly.

  “Baby, I do care. It’s just, I got a lot of shit going for me, and to make the money I make, I can’t always be there. Any nigga that can lay up under you all day is broke.”

  “I have to go.”

  “Nichole!”

  I hung up the phone and just cried. On top of all this pain, I had no friends to vent to. Helen was too much of a bird to understand.

  Feeling desperate, I grabbed my iPhone from my lap and tapped Blaise’s name. She’d followed me recently after unfollowing for a while, but I knew it was to find my location.

  I’d been friends with Blaise for a minute, so she couldn’t fool me. She wanted to catch me slipping. Thankfully, I didn’t go many places now that I was walking around with a belly full of human, so I’d been safe. But right now, I needed her, and if she wanted to punch me then I’d let her. I just hoped my sob story would convince her not to, because the bitch hit like she had the same occupation as her man.

  “Yes?” she answered.

  “Hi, are you busy?”

  “Why?”

  “I wanted to know if you could come over to talk. I’m really sad, and I need a real friend, even though I haven’t been one to you.”

  Silence.

  “When?”

  “Umm, right now, if that’s okay. I know being pregnant, it’s hard to just get up and go, but I’d appreciate it. I will make it worth your while. I’m cooking dinner. It’s steak, sweet potatoes, and green beans.”

  “Hmm. Okay, I can come.”

  “Great! I’ll be waiting!”

  She hung up without replying, but I didn’t mind. I went to check on my food, and since it still needed time, I started to make this non-alcoholic sparkler that I’d been loving. It felt just like you were having a cute cocktail on the beach in Miami, which I wouldn’t be able to do for a while, so I was obsessed with these.

  By the time the sparkler was finished and the food was cooling, I heard my doorbell. I checked myself out in the mirror out of habit, but then stopped when I remembered who it was.

  “Hey, wow, you look beautiful.” I smiled, allowing Blaise in.

  She did look nice; I wasn’t just ass kissing. She had on some blue one piece that was tight around the body and off the shoulders. She carried her belly well, much better than when she was pregnant with Island. She was just a tub of butter with that child.

  “Where is the food?” she immediately asked.

  “Right. Sit down, and I will make the plates.”

  Blaise said nothing as she took a seat, so I hurriedly fixed the dishes and drinks, before wheeling them out on this cute wooden cart I’d purchased on Amazon. I set everything down, and then joined her on the couch.

  “I’ll take this one.” She took the plate that was in my lap and then swapped our drinks.

  “Seriously? I may be a bad friend, but I wouldn’t poison you.” I mean, yeah, I would fuck your nigga, but I wouldn’t kill a bitch.

  Again, she said nothing as she sipped the drink.

  “What is this?”

  “A fruit sparkler. Good, huh?”

  “It’s okay,” she lied. I knew she was lying because that shit was bomb! Why else would she ask? “What did you want to talk to me about?” She began eating, so I did the same.

  “I found out that Ian is cheating on me.”

  “So what. You’re possibly having another man’s baby. Be happy he even proposed to you.”

  Dumbfounded, I began to stutter. “No-I-I’m not having anyone else’s baby but his. Will thinks it’s his, so I’m sure that’s what he told Priscilla and what she told you, but it’s a lie. Ian is his father.”

  “Humph.” She ate some more. “So either dump him or shut up about it. What do you want me to do?”

  I felt like crying, hearing Blaise talk to me this way.

  “I— I don’t want you to do anything. I just thought you’d understand because of Five-Star.”

  Blaise laughed. “Girl, Ian is a saint compared to Jelani. You wanna feel some pain while pregnant, have a baby with him. You’ll be wishing you had Ian back, flaws and all.”

  “True. Is Five-Star’s dick even good? I mean all the shit he puts women through, I would hope it is.”

  “It is. Fucking is the only thing I have no complaints on with him.”

  I laughed, nodding my head.

  We ate some more of our food for a couple minutes in silence.

  “I’m having a girl,” I blurted. Blaise nodded, staring down at her food as she forked it before stuffing it into her mouth. “I’m sorry about all the things I’ve done. I don’t know what was wrong with me, but this baby is changing me. The thought of a friend of mine purposely trying to sleep with Ian would break my heart, so I really want to apologize.”

  “Soon as you drop your baby, girl, you’ll be on the same shit.”

  I had nothing else to say, so we finished our food and drinks without speaking a word. I took our plates and glasses into the kitchen, and since she agreed to a donut, I brought out two.

  “Thanks for coming, Blaise. I know you didn’t want to, but I’m happy you did. I hope that eventually I can earn your friendship back because I need it. I feel so miserable with all this going on.”

  Shoving the last piece of donut into her mouth, she smirked and replied, “You know what I used to do when Jelani would have me depressed and crying while pregnant?”

  “What?”

  Please don’t say anything bitchy.

  “Take a nice, hot bubble bath. Do you have any bubble bath here?”

  “I have a LUSH bubble bar.”

  “Even better.” Standing, she said, “I can run it for you… to make up for how I was a few moments ago. I was just trying to be mean.”

  “I know and it’s okay. But yeah, sure, you know where the bathroom is.”

  Smiling, Blaise turned on her heels to head to my bathroom. I sat back smiling as I polished off my donut, before grabbing another. About ten minutes later, Blaise called out for me, so I rushed to my bedroom to undress and put on a robe.

  “There you go. Let me get out so you can enjoy.” Blaise stepped around me.

  “Once I’m in the tub, you can come back in.”

  “Okay, let me know when.”

  When Blaise left out, I dropped my robe and then submerged my body into the warm bubbly water. She was right; this felt so nice and relaxing. It made me wonder why I didn’t use this luxurious bathtub for all it was worth.

  “Come in, B!”

  Blaise entered and then sat down on the closed toilet top.

  “We’ve been friends for a long time.” She stared at the wall across from her.

  “Yep. That’s why I don’t want to let it go.”

  “And I’ve never been one to really fight over a man, until I met Cortez. I just love him so much, and I don’t want anyone trying to touch him, let alone fuck him.” She finally looked my way.

  “I hear you. I was into him before you even paid him any mind, so I think that’s what I got caught up in.”

  Rising up, she replied, “When I came over here, I thought of beating your ass as soon as you opened the door.”

  “Well I’m… happy you didn’t.” I was starting to get scared because she was inching closer to the tub.

  “It’s because I’ve realized that you’re not the type of bitch to learn her lesson with an ass whoo
ping, are you, Nichole?”

  “I don’t—”

  “No, you’re not.” She shook her head. She was super close now, her belly about to poke my forehead. “I think someone would have to kill you for you to learn.”

  “Blaise! Blaise!” I hollered when she picked up my radio nearby. “Ah!” I screeched, jumping out of the bathtub just as she dropped it in.

  This bitch was a psycho!

  “Told you Cortez was off limits.” Her voice was calm as she chased my naked ass out of the bathroom. I heard her snatch a knife from my bar counter, and when I glanced over my shoulder, she had sure enough drawn one.

  “Ah!” I cried out in pain when she sliced across my back.

  Collapsing onto the couch back first, I grabbed my belly, aching in pain.

  Standing over me as I felt blood seeping from my back, Blaise clenched her perfect teeth. “Let me find out you’ve done anything or have been a part of trying to or convincing someone else to fuck my man. From this day forward, you’d better cancel any plans or schemes you have that involve Cortez Khalil, or I will perform an emergency C-section on your ass then bury you alive. You got it?”

  “Yes, yes, I got it.” I nodded repeatedly, eyes darting from her to the knife that had some of my blood on the very tip.

  “Great.” She smiled, setting the knife down on the coffee table. “You have a goodnight, Nichole, and thanks for the food.”

  I was paralyzed as she left my house because I couldn’t believe her ass. She was right; beating my ass wouldn’t do the trick, but attempting to murder me the way she just had, had definitely worked. Belly was fine, but he wasn’t worth all of this crazy, psycho, murderous shit Blaise was on.

  Talk about what a bitch would do for the dick.

  Priscilla

  Now that Rafi had pretty much moved out, I felt confident enough to do me. Sly and I had been getting to know one another a little bit with texts here and there, plus a few phone calls.

  He seemed like a nice guy, and that surprised me because his demeanor on social media came off totally different. I thought he was an arrogant and flashy asshole, but he was chill and very sweet. Maybe he was just being that way to bait me, but I didn’t care; it wasn’t like I planned to marry his ass. He was cute, wasn’t broke, had no weird fetishes that I knew of, and was sweet, so I was going to keep talking to him.

  Tonight, he and I were going out on a date. The times we did talk on the phone, it was smooth and not awkward at all, so I wasn’t the least bit nervous tonight. The only thing about him that I was leery of was his status.

  I was so over men in the public eye, because they all felt like they deserved special privileges because of who they were. Not to mention, every little thing in your relationship was watched under a microscope then broadcasted for the world to see.

  For instance, it was hard enough having to hear Rafi’s songs every time I turned the radio on or went to the club. Then to make matters worse, I had to see every damn gossip page on Instagram, tagging us and reporting on our breakup, plus every move we made after. Shit like that made me wish I was a normal person that could break up with a nigga and not know shit he got into once I did. But hell, I’d known every little hoe Rafi had been linked to, thanks to the media.

  “Where you going!” I heard Penni’s little voice in my bedroom.

  Turning away from the mirror, I smiled seeing her adorable self in her onesie, pouting. She was a toddler but acted like she was my same age.

  “Excuse me, what are you doing awake?” I started toward her.

  “Not sleepy,” she replied as soon as I picked her up.

  “Yes you are. And your bed is so comfy. I wish I could have that bed to sleep in.” I tickled her, and she began giggling.

  “You leave then Daddy come?”

  “No. I told you daddy had to go on vacation. But Grandma Two is here to make sure you’re okay.”

  “I want my daddy.”

  I just stared into Penni’s perfect chocolate face before rubbing her curly hair back.

  “I know, baby. Soon, okay? If you go back to bed, we can go to the nail shop tomorrow.”

  “Promise?”

  “Of course. Don’t I always give you what I say I will?” I started walking back toward her bedroom.

  “No.”

  I laughed, surprised by her answer.

  “When did I not?”

  “Y-you say you let me drink when I get big.”

  “You’re not big yet.”

  “Yeah, huh! My party passed already.”

  I kissed her cheek and said, “Okay.”

  Taking Penni downstairs with me, I entered the kitchen then placed her on the counter top.

  “What’s going on?” My aunt Vivian walked in, seeing me pour some beer into one of Penni’s old small cups.

  “Just following in my mother’s footsteps.” I set the beer bottle down then handed the cup to Penni. “Here you go, baby.”

  Penni happily took it, gulped some beer, and screamed as she dropped it right onto the floor. My aunt Vivian and I began laughing, making Penni burst into tears.

  “Aww, come here, baby.” My aunt walked over, but I grabbed Penni myself to console her.

  “See, you don’t like drinks.” I kissed her round face until she stopped sobbing, lying her head on my shoulder. “You want another one.”

  “No!” Penni hollered angrily, making my aunt and I laugh again before I handed her over so she could go to bed.

  As my aunt put Penni to sleep, I rushed back up to my bedroom to finish getting ready. Sly said he’d be picking me up at 8:30 p.m., and it was already 7:15. By the time the clock read 8:20 p.m., I was ready and looking perfect, so I checked my phone. Sly said he was pulling up a couple minutes ago, so I quickly replied to let him know I was coming out.

  I kissed my now sleeping kids goodbye, and then let my aunt know I might possibly be home late.

  When I got outside, I saw a Wraith that I knew housed Sly. Before I even got to it, he’d exited the driver’s side to come around and open my door.

  “Hi.” I gave him a closed mouth smile as we hugged.

  “Sup. Damn you look… perfect.” He stepped back, holding my hands as he surveyed me.

  My dress was white, very tight, and short. I wore some white Louboutin sandal heels to match. I’d decided to get my curly hair pressed to switch things up, and I guess Sly enjoyed the alternate version of me.

  “I don’t know about perfect, but thank you.”

  He chuckled before opening the door to his very expensive car for me. I waited for him to join me, and once he did, we pulled off.

  “Any type of music you enjoy specifically? You seem pretty open.”

  “How do you know? We’ve never discussed music.”

  Glancing at me with a smile, making his hazel eyes light up, he replied, “I’ve watched your dance videos that you post on the gram.”

  “Oh,” I groaned. “I don’t always get to pick the songs, but I do like most of the ones I dance to, so I guess I am pretty open.” We laughed together. “So the night in the club wasn’t the first time you saw me?”

  “Nah.” He shook his head, entering the freeway. “I’d seen you a few times on those gossip Instagram pages, and just on the explore page dancing. I knew you were a friend of Five-Star’s baby mama too.”

  “Oh, okay, and her name is Blaise. You know that.”

  “I do. My apologies.” He smiled, and I returned the gesture. “She got a whole new man too, so I’m really out of line, huh?”

  “Yes, you are.” I chuckled, and he joined me. “Especially because he does not play about her.”

  “I already know. That nigga Belly is wild.”

  Again, we snickered together and then continued on with our conversation for the rest of the ride. We decided to eat at CUT, this restaurant inside of the Four Seasons hotel in Beverly Hills. I’d never been before, but according to Sly, it was owned by the chef Wolfgang Puck.

  “This is such a pret
ty place,” I whispered to him as the hostess took us to our reserved table.

  “Pretty place for a pretty girl.”

  I felt myself blushing, just as Sly pulled my chair out for me to sit down. He was so handsome and sweet, that there had to be something wrong with him. The waitress approached soon after, and Sly ordered a bottle of wine, my choice, which she brought back along with some glasses.

  “So what’s wrong with you? Do you have any crazy exes? Psycho baby mamas? A wife?”

  Laughing, Sly placed his wine glass down and shook his head.

  “I only have two exes; one lives in France with her husband, and the other definitely doesn’t want me.”

  “The ending of those relationships were your fault then.”

  “Yeah.” He nodded. Intertwining his fingers and placing them under his chin, he added, “The one who is in France, she wanted the whole marriage and kids thing, but at the time, I wasn’t in a place financially where I felt like I should be starting a family and taking a wife. She didn’t understand that, so we broke up. The other one was just a high school girlfriend that I cheated on constantly, but I was a kid.”

  “I see. So now do you want a family?”

  “Definitely now. I have money and the means to do all that. I got property, CD’s, all that stuff to make sure no matter what happens, my family will be taken care of. Back then, I was barely making $1,000 a month, so I wasn’t about to be getting married and having babies and shit.”

  I nodded, listening.

  “That’s actually pretty smart. I have two kids, as you know, and I was very young with my first, but it was an accident and their father was rich, so it was fine.”

  “Fine financially, right?”

  “Yeah. I mean, I would have liked to have kids when I was a bit older, like this age, but I should’ve thought about that before I climbed in that bed.”

  “You wanna have more or are you done?”

  “Not done. I think two more is my max.”

  “Okay, cool. If you said you were done, I was gon’ leave yo’ ass at this table.”

  We cackled, just as the waiter returned with our appetizer and to take our orders. Dinner was really good, great actually, and surprisingly, I wasn’t ready for it to end. So when Sly asked me if I wanted to chill at this lounge to have a cocktail, I quickly agreed.