Chapter 16 Dreka #2
“Um, yes, I know,” I shivered as a December chill passed through my bones.
She tapped my arm lightly. “Good. Xyleek is very serious about getting married to you, Drek. I know you guys have had your fair share of ups and downs, and that’s to be expected for as long as the two of you have been together.
However, whenever he pops the question, I want you to be 100% sure in your heart that he’s who you want to be married to for the rest of your life.
You are the only woman that boy has ever wanted to make his wife.
I remember when he was 14, 15, 16 years old, running around the house talkin’ ‘bout, ‘Ma, Drek gon’ be my wife, Ima take care of her, we gon’ have a big house and ten kids’,” she chuckled at the memory as we slow strolled to the parking lot.
“He was so sure that I never questioned it. I know he’s made his mistakes, but he’s never been anything besides madly in love with his angel, and I know the same is true for you.
Just…be extra sure that, when he asks for your hand, that’s what you want to do. ”
When we stopped walking, I curiously peered at her. “Are you telling me that because you don’t want me to get married to him?”
“Xy is right, you don’t listen,” she laughed, shaking her head.
“I just said I’d be honored to have you a part of our family.
I’m telling you this so that you get married to him for the right reasons.
I don’t want you to get married because of the history you have with him.
I want you to get married because you know that you will continue to stand by his side, even when people say you shouldn’t.
He doesn’t ever plan to get married twice, so if you say I do, know that you are his end game, Rahdreka. You always have been.”
I nodded slowly, soaking in her words. Miss Jewel had my best interests at heart since me and Xy were teenagers, long before we even knew what love really was.
She treated me better than she treated Xy for real, which was why it was so shocking that she lied for him.
The fact that she did let me know there wasn’t any ill intentions behind the lie.
It was just a mom tryna protect her son and his relationship, and a man tryna protect the only woman his heart beat for.
“As bad as this is going to sound…when I married Akil, I thought that we’d be together forever, even though I knew I still loved Xy.
I wanted my marriage to Akil to work because I knew there, I was appreciated, loved, and thought of.
Our marriage was stable, and he was so good to me,” I teared up again, looking her directly in the eyes.
“He was so good to me, but I was never going to be able to give him the version of me that loved deeply because that version of me still belonged to your son. Even with all the messy, wrong shit that Xy does, he’s the only person that my soul responds to,” I swiped away a tear that tried to flee from eye.
“And I hate that because it scares me, but I love him.”
She placed a calming hand on my arm. “That’s why you two always end up right back here,” her index finger pointed at the ground.
“Together. I’ll leave you with this question to think about.
Does your soul respond to him because of history or because it’s home?
” She cupped my cheek as tears bulldozed their way down my face anyway.
“Really think about that, Drek, and then you’ll know if the two of you should be married or not. ”
“Why are you crying?” Xy quickly approached with a look that said he’d knock his momma out if she was the reason for my tears.
Jewel tapped him on the chest while sucking her teeth. “Carry yo protective ass on somewhere. We were just having a lil girl talk, that’s all,” she hugged and kissed my cheek. “I love you, Drek.”
Dabbing at my tears, I smiled slightly. “I love you, too.”
“See you later, son,” she hit him in the chest again before leaving us alone.
His frown deepened while thumbing my tears. “What the fuck she say to you, Angel?”
“Nothing,” I laughed a little and pushed his hand away. “She was just being sweet, and I’m emotional because of my period.”
He fell silent, his eyes roaming my body before squinting. “You pregnant?”
“What?!” My eyes ballooned and my neck jerked forward. “Fuck no. I’m on birth control, remember?”
“Yeah, and that shit only ninety-nine-point nine percent effective, and my swimmers are probably that point one percent,” he smirked before smiling.
“When your period is about to start, you cry for two reasons. If you can’t eat the second you want to, and if the place you want to eat at doesn’t have what you want.
You don’t ever cry because my momma being sweet… she’s always sweet to you, Angel.”
My nose twitched at how accurate that nigga was regarding my moods.
The worst part was that he wasn’t even being cocky, that was just how well he knew me.
I didn’t know how to respond, so I didn’t.
There wasn’t a chance in hell I was pregnant because I took my birth control religiously, for one, and for two, I wasn’t ready to give Xyleek a baby.
He’d take that as a legally binding lifelong contract, and I couldn’t subscribe to that.
At least not until he had been on a not cheating streak for longer than a few months, so having his kid was absolutely out of the question.