22. Lisa
CHAPTER 22
LISA
When I pulled up at Capri’s house, he was sitting outside on the porch. I had worked, gone home and taken a shower, and I was at his house to bring him food and help him out. He had been out of the hospital for six days, and his healing was coming along nicely. I was tired, but I would only be at his house for an hour and a half or so, and I had the next day off. I was no longer picking up extra shifts. I worked when I was supposed to and nothing more. I had the money from the insurance that Sin and I had on the house, and my savings account looked decent enough for me not to push it with all the overtime.
“Hey,” I walked up on the porch and passed Capri the bag of food I brought him.
“Thank you.”
“How you feel?” I asked surveying him.
“Today has been pretty cool. I’ve only taken pain medication once this morning. I might need something to help me get a good night’s rest, but I’ve been maintaining. What about you?”
“I feel pretty good. My back has been hurting some, but it’s not anything Tylenol can’t handle.”
“Did you eat?”
I nodded. Since Capri decided to stop smoking and drinking, he was much more pleasant to be around. He was less grumpy, and we were talking more and getting to know each other. The times that he wanted to open up and talk about Caprice, I was more than happy to listen. And when he didn’t want to talk about anything too personal, that was fine too.
“I done probably sat here too long. I bet I’m stiff as hell,” he stated as he leaned forward and prepared to stand up.
“You need some help?” I moved closer to him, and he drew back.
“You better not pull on my big ass. I got it.”
I stepped back, and Capri grunted and groan as he stood upright.
“You better not be at work pulling on people either. Tell them to put you on light duty or something,” he fussed.
“Ummhmmm,” I pretended to be listening.
The sound of a car pulling up made me and Capri look in the direction of the driveway. It was dark out, so I couldn’t see who was in the red Camry. The car door opened, and Capri and I were both watching. Robin emerged from the car with a frown on her face. She was wearing sweats, an oversized shirt, and a Gucci scarf was wrapped around her head.
“What is she doing here?” Robin asked Capri with fire blazing in her eyes. “Do you know who she is?”
Capri protectively stood in front of me. “Yes, I know who she is, and she’s pregnant. You better not touch her.” There was warning in Capri’s tone. His words made Robin’s face crumple.
“She’s pregnant?! By who? You?!” she screeched. “Capri please don’t tell me you got this bitch pregnant,” she cried. “Please don’t tell me that shit.”
“Why are you here? You need to leave.”
“You a bitch ass nigga! You really fucked the opps and got her pregnant!” Robin raised her fist as if she was going to hit Capri, and he grabbed her wrist roughly.
“It’s barely been two weeks since I was in a bad ass accident, and I’m still sore. If you hit me, I won’t be responsible for what the fuck I do to you. Lisa is pregnant. She didn’t do anything to you or me, and she can’t help what her ex did. You and I have been over for months. Please get the fuck off my porch.” Capri’s tone was low and calm, but it was also filled with malice.
“You can’t forgive me, but you can fuck with her? Fuck you, Capri. I wish you would have died in that car accident, bitch. I hope this bitch has another still born baby.”
I lost it. I forgot all about the empathy that I ever felt for Robin, and I reached around Capri and punched her in the mouth. Before she could react, Capri grabbed Robin gently by the neck to keep her in place and moved me back with the other arm.
“No!” He barked at me. “Lisa, I don’t have the physical ability to break y’all up, and you already know I’m not letting you fight. Fuck this lying, miserable ass bitch.”
As she struggled to get away from him, Robin’s scarf slid back some revealing laid edges. It didn’t appear that her hair was falling out at all.
“What the fuck did I lie about, Capri? Huh, you bitch ass nigga?!” Tears ran down Robin’s face.
Capri snatched the scarf off, and her eyes bulged out of her head. Full, thick hair was slicked back in a ponytail. “I thought you lost your hair. Looks like the same amount you’ve always had. So, you lied about having cancer for one. Robin, get the fuck off my porch. You a silly ass hoe.”
She snatched away from Capri and turned to walk away. I stood there stunned. I would never be bold enough to lie about having a terminal illness. That was some next level craziness.
“Come on man.” I could tell that Capri was pissed as we headed inside his house.
I sat down on the couch and tried not to let Robin’s words bother me. It didn’t matter how hateful she was. Her words couldn’t stop what God had planned for me. If it was in God’s plans for me to have a healthy baby, then I would. I should have let her words roll off my back, but they bothered me, and Capri could tell.
He stood in front of me and reached for my hands. He pulled me up and once I was on my feet, he placed a soft kiss on the corner of my mouth. My heart rate increased as he placed another kiss on my chin. Capri pecked my lips twice before parting my lips with his tongue. His hand found its way around my neck as our kiss deepened. My clit pulsated as his tongue probed my mouth. He dragged his mouth over my cheek and placed a kiss on my ear. “Fuck that bitch,” he whispered in my ear before pulling back to look in my eyes. “Okay?”
I nodded, and he led me to his bedroom. Capri undressed me before he laid flat on his back and instructed me to sit on his face. His command shocked me, but I followed his orders. Gripping his headboard with both hands, I lowered myself so that my mound was inches away from his mouth. My eyes closed as he sucked my clit into his mouth. I bit my bottom lip and dropped my head as he slurped and sucked on my kitty. Capri alternated between sucking my clit softly and dragging his tongue down my center. He gripped my ass cheeks as I held onto the headboard for dear life.
“Fuck, baby,” I whimpered as he moaned into my vagina. The way Capri was lapping up my juices, my pussy had to taste divine. “Shit,” I cried out and my body jerked as he sucked on my clit faster causing me to release. My mouth hung open but no sound came out as my pussy muscles spasmed.
“Got damn you almost drowned me. Sit on my dick,” Capri demanded as I came down from my orgasmic high.
This sexual episode felt different than all the other times that we had sex, but I didn’t want to assume that it meant anything. I slowly eased down on his member, and he groaned. I rode Capri at a slow pace as we stared at one another.
“This my pussy?” he asked.
“It’s been yours,” I confessed breathlessly.
Capri’s gaze intensified. “If you say that shit you better mean it.”
I didn’t respond with words. I leaned in so that we were chest to chest, and I snaked my tongue into his mouth. With a deep arch in my back, I twerked on his pole at a slow pace while we kissed passionately. His fingers caressed my scalp as our kiss got sloppier and deeper. I moaned into his mouth and trembled as orgasm number two rocked my center.
“Fuuucck,” Capri groaned as I came. His moans made me twerk harder. I placed sensual kisses on his lips, and he gripped my ass cheeks harder. “Got damn, this pussy is good, baby,” he moaned as he released into me with a low grunt.
When I tried to ease off him, he held me in place.
“No more fucking and running off. You and my baby can stay. And when I’m at your place, I’m staying.”
“Where did this sudden change of heart come from? We haven’t even gotten the test results back yet.”
Capri’s eyes darted back and forth over my face as if he was searching for some kind of clue before he answered the question. “I don’t know man.” He finally answered. “There’s just something about you that my ass can’t shake, and that’s saying a lot because I told myself I’d never trust another female.” Anger flashed in his eyes, and it was easy to see that Robin had done a number on him. “I don’t want to play myself. I swear I don’t. But something is just telling me that’s it’s okay to trust you. Don’t make me regret that shit.” His voice held almost a pleading tone.
I kissed Capri before peering into his eyes. “If I’m not happy or don’t want to be with you anymore, I’d leave before I cheated or played games. That’s never been my thing.”
He gave a simple head nod. Only time would tell if we’d be able to heal enough to love one another correctly and be in a healthy relationship.
I worked three days in a row and on my first day off, Capri and I went out on our first official date. He wouldn’t tell me where we were going, but he told me it was fancy. I elected to wear a black loose fitting dress with black puffy sleeves. It was kind of like a bubble dress, and it hid my belly very well. Being pregnant always made me feel off balance, so heels were a definite no. Instead, I rocked some cute black sandals that I got from Steve Madden. I put loose curls in my long weave and put strip lashes on since I hadn’t found a new lash tech. I had just finished spreading gloss on my lips when my doorbell rang. I opened the door and found Capri standing there looking good as hell in a black button up shirt and black slacks.
“You look handsome,” I smiled.
“Word?” he eyed me seductively.
“Word. So much so that I don’t even want to tell you that your cologne is making me gag.”
“You serious?” his brows furrowed, and I nodded.
‘Don’t take it personal though. I didn’t put any perfume on because lately I can’t stand the smell of some of my favorite scents.”
“Damn. Maybe I can change our reservations. That will give me time to go home and change my clothes.”
“No, you don’t have to do all that. I’ll be fine. We can just ride in the car with the windows cracked.”
“You sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure.”
“Okay.” Capri placed one hand on my belly. “He been moving a lot today?”
“Yeap. Feels like he’s doing back flips straight onto my bladder.”
Capri grinned before removing his hand and opening the door. I liked the new side of him, but a part of me was afraid that it would go away. I was still healing myself, so I knew that every day was different. Capri was doing better, but he wasn’t healed. And now, he wasn’t smoking or drinking. There would be a time when he’d be sad, and I wasn’t sure how he would cope. I wanted to suggest couple’s therapy, but I wasn’t sure how he’d take it. Of course, we got the paternity tests results back, and they proved he was the father. There was never a doubt in my mind that he was.
“They say it’s going to be a rough year as far as the flu goes. At what point are you coming out of work?” he glanced over at me as he drove.
“Um, I planned to come out around thirty-eight weeks. The hospital is full of germs, but I wear a mask and wash my hands as much as I can. Thank God, I haven’t been sick. I rarely get sick anyway.”
Capri bobbed his head. “And how long are you staying out of work?”
“I get four months paid maternity leave. By the time I go back to work, I’m hoping I will have found a daycare that I love.”
“Nah,” he took his eyes off the road and glanced back over at me. “I don’t do daycare until my kid is old enough to talk. I’m my own boss, and I make my own schedule. We can get an in-house nanny to come by and watch him. At my house, because I have cameras. I can cut my work days short, so that she doesn’t have to stay with him for eight hours a day. Maybe five or six most days.”
“I would feel more comfortable with him being at home. We probably would only need someone maybe two days a week. I only work three to four days, and I know my mom wouldn’t mind keeping him sometimes. She’s retired and always looking for something to do.”
“That’s what it is then. We can start looking for a part-time nanny when you’re about eight months. She has to be over the age of thirty, have some kind of degree in childhood education, and be CPR certified.”
I nodded. “I’m with you when you’re right.”
I was already in love with the kind of father that Capri was going to be. I could tell he was going to be very hands on, and I appreciated that. I never wanted a partner that was stuck on gender roles. I didn’t want a man that paid bills but left being hands on with the kids up to the mother. I wanted a father that attended doctor’s appointments, missed work sometimes when the child was sick, changed diapers, gave baths, etc. Sintonio didn’t hesitate to tell me that he would leave the diaper changing and nighttime feedings to me.
There was a brief silence before Capri’s gaze landed on me once again. “I’m not an alcoholic or anything, but there are still times that I get triggered, and I want to drink. I want to smoke, and when I can’t do either one, I get mad. I’m irritable, and I get frustrated easily. I don’t ever want to lash out at you so all I ask is that, if you see that I’m in a mood, and I need my space, please give it to me without being offended.”
“You got it,” I nodded and gave him a reassuring smile. “We all grieve differently, but I understand the effects all the same. The only reason I’m not a blubbering mess seven days a week is because the anti-depressants that I’m on truly work for me. I saw a major difference when I started taking them. Do they stop me from being sad and crying? Absolutely not. But I’m able to be sad while still being productive. I get out of bed, I take showers, and I can go to work. Before the medication, when I was super sad, I would shut down and not want to do anything for days. So, trust me, I get it. And I know not everyone wants to take medication. You have to find what works for you. And that takes patience and trial and error.”
Capri didn’t respond with words, but he reached over and grabbed my hand. We held hands up until he pulled up at the valet stand. There were two valet attendants out, so one opened my door, and the other person opened Capri’s door. I rounded the car and waited for him while he gave the guy his name and phone number to log into the little handheld device that he was holding. After Capri passed his key fob, he grabbed my hand again and led me to the entrance of the restaurant.
Being that he made reservations, we were seated in no time. Once we were seated, I decided to make a confession to Capri because it was something that had been weighing on me heavily. “You know…” my voice trailed off a bit as I tried to gather the right words to say. “After I lost my son, it was hard for me to go in the room that would have been his nursery. We never even got to put his crib together or put his things away, so it didn’t bother me too badly when you did what you did. But had he had things in that room that I deemed to be sentimental, I’m not sure I could have forgiven you.”
I watched as Capri’s face fell. That was something that he’d never even though of. Or that he didn’t care about back then. “Fuck,” he whispered. “Lisa, I’m sorry. Fuck.” Capri sat back in his seat, and he truly appeared regretful as he stared at me. “I was so focused on ruining Sintonio’s life. Fuck.”
“It’s okay,” I reached for his hand across the table. “It keeps crossing my mind, so I felt the need to communicate that with you, but it’s okay.”
Capri shook his head. “I can’t ever let myself be consumed with that kind of anger and hatred again because it truly made me do some dumb ass shit. I was so pissed off and didn’t care about consequences. From snatching you to the house. I can’t even blame it on the alcohol or the weed. I was just consumed with so much rage.”
“And that’s understandable. You’re human. Thank God none of the things you did were things that you couldn’t come back from. You ever thought about therapy?” I asked. “I started going last month, and it helps. You can talk as much or as little as you want.”
Capri sighed. “I thought about it. It doesn’t really seem like my thing.”
“Just give it a little more thought.” I winked at him. “I don’t want to be invasive, but maybe you could do some solo sessions, and then we could do some couple’s sessions. Learn to be better for one another, so we can be the best parents we can be.”
A smile inched across Capri’s face. “I think I can get with that.”