Chapter 5
Navy ‘Nay’ Prescott
It had only been one day since I’d officially labeled myself a damn criminal and I tossed and turned all night because I couldn’t get it off of my mind.
It was a good thing that today was my day off, but I hated how Rome took me to lunch like we were just a normal couple right now.
I thought of everything I could to get out of it, but he wouldn’t take no for an answer, and it really wasn’t worth me starting an argument then getting bruised up again because at this point playing nice was the only thing keeping me from snapping on him in public and making a bigger mess than the one I was already in.
I couldn’t understand how men did whatever they wanted but always had that one they didn’t want to let go.
He pulled up in front of the restaurant acting real husbandly, opening doors and asking if I was okay every five minutes while touching the small of my back like he hadn’t been the same man who had my face covered in makeup just to hide what he did.
I smiled when I needed to, and I gave him short answers as I kept reminding myself that none of this was real.
We sat near the window, and Rome ordered appetizers for both of us before I even got a chance to open my mouth.
That used to make me feel taken care of but now it irritated the hell out of me.
Everything with him had always looked sweet from the outside until you realized it was just another way for him to be in charge of something or feel like he was paying the cost to be the boss.
I picked up my water and took a sip, pretending to look around the restaurant while my mind stayed on the money sitting in the hiding spot I had made for it in my purse.
Fifty thousand dollars, I thought to myself.
I had counted it twice after work, then one more time this morning just to make sure my eyes hadn’t been playing tricks on me.
I had three big ass knots of cash that didn’t belong to me but felt like the first real chance I had at getting away from him.
Rome’s phone started ringing on the table before the appetizers even came.
He glanced down at it, and I didn’t have to see the name to know who it was.
His whole demeanor changed in a way that only a woman would definitely notice.
I knew every version of Rome’s lying ass so he damn sure couldn’t hide it from me.
He flipped the phone over like that was supposed to make it disappear, then he looked back at me and smiled like I was stupid.
“You okay baby?” he asked.
I stared at him across the table and gave him the same kind of smile he had been giving me all morning. Fake as hell. “Yep, I’m good. I’m just fine.”
He reached across the table and picked his phone up like he was about to silence it, but before he could, it started ringing again.
I looked down at my menu and didn’t ask one question because I didn’t care.
At least that’s what I wanted him to think but then it just wouldn’t stop so I finally broke.
“You gone answer that?” I asked casually flipping the page more interested in deciding between grilled salmon and shrimp pasta.
He glanced at the screen, frowned, then hit decline. “Nah.”
“Oh.” That was all I said and I didn’t question him further about anything. The waitress walked over, smiling at us both as she sat fresh bread and appetizer on the table before asking if we were ready.
“I’ll do the salmon,” I told her, handing her back the menu.
“And I’ll take the ribeye and make it medium,” Rome said before closing his menu. The waitress nodded and disappeared, leaving us alone again. Rome reached for a piece of bread and broke it in half. “You been real quiet.”
I shrugged. “Ain’t much to say Rome.” I told him, because hell, it wasn’t.
He studied me for a little bit before leaning back in his chair. “So, you still mad?”
I looked up at him and furrowed my brows. “What you think?”
His tilt his head staring me in the eyes. “I already apologized.”
I almost laughed because an apology without changed behavior was just another lie like any other time. I removed my Dolce and Gabbana shades and sat them on the table. It was so hot, I was glad I sleeked my hair back into a long ponytail.
“I hear you.” I replied instead of saying something slick.
“Hearing me and forgiving me two different things Nay.”
“I know.”
He took a deep breath before reaching for his drink. “I’m trying, Nay.”
Trying? I thought shaking my head inside at how fine he was.
I had truthfully never run into a man finer than him or maybe I felt that way because I had been blinded by love for so long.
A man’s word was all he had and that word would’ve meant something if I didn’t know who I was dealing with.
Trying didn’t erase all of the bullshit.
Right on cue, his phone started ringing once again.
He looked down, irritated as hell, snatched the phone off the table, and stood up. “I’ll be right back.”
He walked toward the front of the restaurant before answering.
I didn’t need to hear the conversation because I already knew exactly who it was and my bet was it was the chick saying she was pregnant.
I leaned back in my chair and slowly exhaled.
Good, go entertain your other life. That gave me a few seconds to actually think while my mind drifted right back to the fifty thousand dollars.
Every time I thought about it, I went back and forth with myself.
One minute I felt guilty as hell. The next minute I remembered why I took it.
Yeah, that money wasn’t mine, and I knew that.
The problem was neither was the money Rome stole from me but somewhere in the middle of all that wrong, my life had become one big gray area.
I pulled my phone from my purse and opened my messages under the table:
Me: Call me in exactly two minutes and make it sound bad.
Three dots appeared almost immediately.
Lulu: What happened?
Me: Nothing! Just trust me.
I locked my phone and slid it back into my purse just as Rome started walking back toward the table with his face was all balled up like whoever had called had gotten on his last nerve.
Rome slid his phone into his pocket before taking his seat like nothing had happened, but I clearly knew he was irritated and trying to play it off.
His jaws were tight as hell, and he grabbed his glass and took the rest of the shot.
“You okay?” I asked keeping my voice in a neutral tone.
He shrugged. “Yeah man, it’s just people always wanting something.”
I nodded like I believed him because that was probably the most truthful thing he’d said all afternoon.
The waitress came back balancing our plates before carefully setting them in front of us.
The smell alone would’ve normally had me digging in, but my appetite had been off, and it was probably from stress.
My mind was moving too fast to enjoy food as well.
“You barely eating,” Rome said, cutting into his steak as I frowned. I didn’t like a steak if it was well done. I hated to see any pink or blood at all in mine. Meanwhile his ass was eating like it was his last meal.
“I will.”
He raised a brow. “You sure?”
“Mhm.” I nodded my head.
He briefly studied me before going back to his food.
If there was one thing Rome loved, it was believing he had everything under control.
As long as I wasn’t arguing, crying, or asking questions, he convinced himself things were getting back to normal outside of me being a little quiet.
The calmer he got, the sloppier he’d become, and that worked in my favor.
My phone started ringing inside my purse and it was right on time. I didn’t even have to look at the screen to know it was Big Mama Lulu. I pulled the phone out and frowned on purpose when I saw her name then answered it without hesitation.
“Big Mama?”
Her voice came through so loud that I had to pull the phone away from my ear. “Navy! Baby, where you at?”
I scrunched my nose. “I’m out. What’s wrong?”
“I need you to come over here right now!”
“What happened?”
“I’ll tell you when you get here! Just come.”
My stomach turned in knots in a funny way from trying to hold my laughter because Lulu deserved an Oscar. If she ever got tired of cooking Sunday dinners, she could’ve made a career out of acting.
“I’m on my way,” I said before rushing to end the call.
Rome looked up from his plate. “Everything okay with her?”
I grabbed my purse and forced wore a look of worry on my face really trying to sell it. “My big mama sounded upset and she don’t never call me like that.”
He frowned. “You want me to come over there with you?”
“No.” I quickly shook my head before slowing myself down. “I mean… it’s probably just some family shit. You know how she is.”
He sat there thinking about it while I held my breath on the inside hoping he was going for it because one wrong answer and he’d insist on coming. The last thing I needed was Rome anywhere near Lulu’s house.
“You sure?”
I reached over and lightly squeezed his hand, playing the role I’d been forced to play for days. I was playing straight Hollywood. “I’m sure, just drop me off and I’ll call you later.”
He studied me a little longer this time before nodding. “Aight, finish eating first.”
I looked down at my plate, then back at him. “I can’t eat right now. If she called me sounding like that, I’m already late.”
Rome was staring at me so hard, I almost folded before he finally tossed his napkin on the table and dropped his fork in his plate. “Aight, c’mon.”
I blew a light sigh of relief. “Thank you.”
He waved me off like it wasn’t nothing before signaling the waitress over. “Can you box this up?”
“Of course.” She smiled looking at him a little too friendly but whatever.
While she packed our food, I put my purse over my shoulder and glanced down at my phone, shooting Big Mama Lulu one last text under the table:
Me: Rome is bringing me so just play it cool.
Lulu: Baby, I got you.
I smiled to myself because one thing about Big Mama Lulu, she didn’t ask a thousand questions when you needed her.
If she felt like something was off, she’d help first and fuss later.
By the time we made it outside, the Miami heat was whooping our ass, literally.
He opened the passenger door to his truck for me, and I climbed in without putting up a fight.
Every now and then he’d glance over while we drove, reaching over once to squeeze my thigh and shit like that in true narcissist fashion.
I fought every urge in me not to push his hand away.
Instead, I looked out the passenger window watching Miami fly by while counting down every red light between us and Lulu’s house.
“I know I be in the streets, but I notice shit you think I don’t notice like how different these last couple months,” Rome finally said.
I turned my head. “Different how?”
“I don’t know.” He shrugged, keeping one hand on the wheel. “I ain’t figured that part out. I just know I’m not letting you leave me. You can try to run Nay, and every time I’ma find you.”
I sarcastically laughed. “You beat on me, stole my money, and got another woman talking about she pregnant, and even more blowing your phone up through lunch. How much talking you expect me to do? What exactly am I supposed to act like?”
He stroked his beard with the palm of his hand and exhaled. “I told you that ain’t what you think.”
I looked back out the window again. “Yeah I know.” I mumbled.
He frowned. “You know what?”
“Nothing.”
“So, you don’t wanna know who was calling?”
I shrugged. “If you wanted me to know, you would have told me.”
The truck got quiet again until Rome finally cleared his throat, adjusted the gun on his waist, lit his joint and turned the music up.
Meanwhile, all I cared about was getting out this truck.
When we finally turned onto Big Mama Lulu’s street, I spotted her before we even made it to the house.
She was standing outside on the front porch with her hands on her hips wearing one of her flowered house dresses and a pair of bedroom slippers like she’d been waiting on me all afternoon.
When she saw the truck; she started waving both hands in the air.
“There she go,” I mumbled muffling my laugher.
Rome looked over. “She look alright to me.”
I smiled to myself cause Lulu rode for her grandkids. By the time he pulled into the driveway, she was already marching toward the truck before either one of us could even get out.
“Navy!” she hollered, throwing her hands in the air. “Girl, hurry up! I’ve been calling you all damn day.”
I climbed out before Rome had a chance to say anything. “What happened?”
Big Mama Lulu dramatically grabbed both my hands. “I’ll tell you inside.” She said and then she finally looked over at Rome. “Oh… hey, Rome.”
The way she said it let me know she hadn’t forgotten a damn thing I’d told her yesterday about all the shit he did, and yet and still I wasn’t coming to stay with Big Mama Lulu either because I didn’t want my damn burdens on her.
Rome spoke back and told me to call him when I was ready right before he turned the music all the way up again and pulled off.
Lulu and I wanted until he disappeared down the street.
I had to make sure his ass was really gone before we went inside, and I took a deep breath knowing he was out of my damn hairs for a few hours.