Chapter 19 Persia
PERSIA
Tesha was having a small get together at her house.
She wanted to have a housewarming, but she didn’t want to have it until she was settled, and the house was fully furnished.
That took some time, but she had finally gotten around to it.
I got her a bunch of her favorite candles which were as expensive as heck.
I didn’t mind too much because Tesha was bougie like me.
I also got her a Ninja and a gift card. When she invited me to the gathering my stomach churned because she said it would be coed.
Tesha didn’t tell me if she’d invited Kastian, and I didn’t ask.
Honestly, I didn’t want to see him. It had been one month since the Miami trip, and I was still sad but trying to get over him.
After thinking long and hard and going back and forth with myself I decided to stand on business.
I missed him like crazy, but all I could do was hope that I’d get over it sooner rather than later.
Since blocking Omar, I wasn’t talking to anyone.
In fact, when a man tried me, it didn’t matter how fine he was or how paid he appeared to be, the answer was always no.
I didn’t have the energy to keep dealing with various people.
I didn’t possess the mental capacity to date. And I was okay with that. Tesha asked if I could show up a little early to help her, and I said of course.
“I have good news,” she sang as I arranged deviled eggs onto a platter.
“I’d love to hear it. Good news is the only kind I want to hear these days.”
“I got flowers delivered this morning from Qua. You didn’t see them since you came in through the garage. They’re in the living room. But he remembered the date of the housewarming and when I called to thank him, I invited him, and he said yes.”
“I told you he’d come around. I love that for you, boo. Now, don’t mess it up again.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice. I just knew it was over for me. I’m not taking that risk again. Ryder wasn’t even worth it,” she frowned. I could tell that whether she had slept with him or not, Tesha was over Ryder. I was glad that Qua decided to stop holding what she did against her.
“You think you two are going to make it official anytime soon. Or do you think he’s going to come back in taking it slow?”
“Honestly, there’s no way to tell. I’m just going to go with the flow.
I can’t expect him to come back in acting the same way he was before I slept with Ryder.
It might take him some time to fully trust me again, and I get it.
If his guard is up, I’m just going to be patient and wait for it to come down. ”
Using my hip, I playfully bumped her. “That man done scared you straight,” I laughed.
“And did!”
“Okay the deviled eggs are done, what should I do next?”
Tesha grabbed two glasses and a bottle of tequila. “I’m about to go get dressed. I already showered, so it won’t take me long. Everything is done except the brownies. They just need to be cut.”
“I can handle that for sure.”
I took the glass that Tesha extended toward me and took a sip.
While she went to get dressed, I removed the foil from the pan of brownies on the stove and began to cut them into perfectly even squares.
I took sips in between and by the time I was done cutting the brownies, I was feeling warm and fuzzy.
Tesha’s house was huge, and her uncle was going to cook on the grill.
If Kastian did show up, it wouldn’t be hard to avoid him.
I didn’t want to make Tesha’s gathering weird.
She knew Kastian before she knew me, and I didn’t want him to be the reason I didn’t show up for her.
I also didn’t want her to feel like she had to choose between inviting me or him.
Just as I was about to refill my cup, the doorbell rang. I rushed to answer it, and it was an older gentleman with a salt and pepper beard. Homie was fine as hell and since he had a bag of charcoal and grocery bags containing meat, I assumed he was Tesha’s uncle.
“Hi, I’m Persia. Tesha is getting dressed.”
The way his eyes lit up, I could tell he appreciated what he saw. Make no mistake about it, he was fine. But if he was one of those horny old geezers that ogled every younger woman he saw, that would be an immediate turn off.
“Okay. I’m going to go ahead and light the grill and get this food going. I’m Brian, and I hope you’re hungry.”
“I’m always hungry,” I giggled as I followed him to the kitchen.
I fixed my drink as Brian washed his hands, put gloves on, and began to wash and season the meat. “You from around here?” he looked over at me.
“Yeap. Diamond Cove born and raised.”
“You and Tesha been friends for a long time?”
“No. Actually, we met when she was looking for a house. I’m a realtor.”
“Oh okay. This place is nice. I’m proud of her. You married?”
“I’m newly divorced. What about you?”
“Single as a dollar bill.”
I took a sip of my drink as Tesha entered the kitchen. “Hey late ass. I’m glad you finally made it,” she joked.
“Sorry. Tyler had to go to baseball practice, and his mother’s car is in the shop. They waited until an hour before practice to ask me if I could take him. My ass was still in the bed when he called.”
I wanted to ask him how many kids he had, but I didn’t want to seem too interested.
I honestly was just curious but being too nice to people and asking too many questions could send the wrong message.
So, I elected to stay quiet. Brian went outside to start the grill, and Tesha went to answer the door.
As I drained the liquid from my cup, I decided to wait at least thirty minutes before I had another drink.
I was tipsy and didn’t want to be dumb drunk before the party even started.
Brian stuck his head in the door and asked me if I could grab him a fork and some aluminum foil. Tesha wasn’t in the kitchen, so I had to look around for it. It didn’t take me long to find the items.
“Thank you. So you’re newly divorced. You have kids?”
“No not yet. What about you?”
“Yeah, I have five kids. I have three sons and two daughters.”
My brows hiked, but I didn’t say anything. Brian saw my nonverbal reaction and chuckled.
“That’s a lot, right? Well, I had my first at eighteen and my second at twenty. I made it all the way to twenty-eight before I had twins, and I had the last at thirty-two.”
“That’s not too bad. How old is the oldest and the youngest?”
“The oldest is twenty-eight, and the youngest one is fourteen.”
At least he didn’t have small kids. It didn’t matter anyway. It wasn’t like we were going to be a thing.
“And I only have two baby mamas. My first two are by the same person, and the last three are by a woman I was with for eight years. We were together for six years before I proposed. She said yes, but it took us three months to set a date. We never got married.” He shrugged.
I had questions. I certainly had questions, but I decided not to ask them.
I wasn’t sure I could be with a man and have kids with him and he not propose sooner.
Then again, I didn’t care to ever get married again, so I honestly wouldn’t care.
I thought it was a flex that David wanted to marry me quickly.
I mean, in a way I guess it was. If I did have the desire to get married, there was no way I’d let a man play with me for eight years and put three kids in me with no ring in sight.
Tesha and four more guests trickled out into the backyard.
The door opened and out walked Kastian. He was staring right at me and still as fine as he had been the first time I saw him.
If I was being honest, he was even more handsome than I remembered.
The thirty minute rule was out the window, and I needed more tequila expeditiously.
I heard Brian talking to me, but I couldn’t process his words.
“I’m sorry. What did you say?” I directed my attention toward him.
“I said do you see yourself getting married again? Do you want kids?”
“Definitely not interested in getting married again.” From my peripheral I saw Kastian go over and hug Tesha. “I do want kids, but if I’m not getting married again, I’m not so sure. I made it this long without being a baby mama. No need to go backwards in life.”
“I get that. It’s good to keep things traditional.
Have two parent households and all that, but as you can see, you can do it the right way and things still not work out.
Some baby mama and baby daddy relationships are better than ex-husband’s and ex-wives.
It just depends on the people. In my opinion, how the parents raise the child and get along is more important than if they’re married or not.
Marriage doesn’t always mean unconditional love and healthy relationships. ”
“I can agree with that. I can’t predict the future. I just know that whatever is meant to be will be. Excuse me. I want to refill my cup.” I could feel Kastian staring at me, and I needed to get some alcohol if I was going to be dealing with him.
The door opened as I was pouring chaser into my cup, and my heart fell into my behind. I was afraid to look up, but Tesha spoke, and I was relieved it was her.
“I almost didn’t invite him, but he really is a good friend. I hope you’re not uncomfortable.”
Hell yes I was uncomfortable with fine ass Kastian standing only a few feet away staring at me. “It’s fine. As long as he doesn’t bother me, I won’t bother him. He doesn’t have anything to say to me anyway,” I forced a smile before taking a sip of my drink. “And on that note, I have to pee.”
I went to the bathroom and relieved my bladder.
When I went back into the kitchen, Tesha was gone, and Kastian was pouring himself a drink.
Tesha had an array of liquor present. There were at least seven different kinds of alcohol to choose from.
I attempted to walk really fast by Kastian, but his deep voice stopped me in my tracks.