Chapter 24
Restart
Iwent from waking in a penthouse looking out of big windows, to standing in my big ass backyard smoking my morning blunt.
It has been a lot of changes going on for me, hell, Islah and Amir too, and I swear it’s like a nigga hasn’t had a chance to breathe.
As I was standing outside, thinking about all the shit I have overcome in the last few weeks to months, my phone rang. Keith was calling.
“Wussup, my nigga,” I said as I picked up.
“What’s good for you, my guy? You’ve been ducked off for a lil’ bit.”
“I am good, just been with the family. I’ma have to come in soon, though. I have worked, I’m almost finished.”
Keith was quiet for a second, like he was doing something in the background on his end.
Then laughed. “Man, you done turned into a house nigga, I never thought I’d see the day.”
I laughed. “Nigga don’t try me.”
Keith laughed.
“But like I said, I’ma slid through the store later.”
I hung up with Keith and stared off, looking at my house. I smiled to myself and shook my head as I started to walk back inside.
When I got inside, Islah was sitting on the couch watching some show, talking to her girls on FaceTime.
I walked in and laid my head on her lap, and she started to rub my head as she talked to her girls.
I was high as hell, and her soft hands were putting me to sleep, but Kenya’s loud as fucked that up.
“Aye, Love,” she yelled through the phone.
I sighed before I responded. “What girl?”
She laughed. “When are you having a housewarming party? We haven’t been there yet.”
I opened my eyes and looked up at Islah.
“Housewarming party?” I asked.
“Yeah, they were asking me if we were gonna have one. I told her maybe after the wedding and some other things.”
I knew she was talking about the baby. We were still keeping that between her and me.
“Shit, why don’t we do that shit today?”
“Hell yeah,” Kenya said.
“I’m down,” I heard Deja ghetto ass say.
“Somebody better pick me up, I’m already drinkin’,” Renee said.
“What you mean today?” Islah said. “I have to cook and shit.”
I shook my head. “No, you don’t. I have to go to the store today. I will pick up some catering from a Jamaican spot or something.”
I went quiet, waiting on her response. Her girls even went quiet.
“Okay, I guess that’s cool.”
I got up. “Cool, I’ma go get dressed.”
I went upstairs and threw on some sweats, a new white tee, my Forces, and my chains, and walked back downstairs, stopped in my office grabbing my work.
Islah was still on the couch talking to those girls, Renee ass sounded like she was trying to come over early. I walked over to her, leaned down, and kissed her.
“I’ll be back in a few.”
She smiled with a nod and walked outta the house.
On my drive across town, I called a few places that I knew food was hitting and asked them to put different shit together for me to pick up in a few hours.
After all my calls were made, I rolled my windows down a bit to feel that bout to be fall breeze through while I smiled to myself thinking about what Keith said.
I was becoming a house nigga… but Islah, Amir, and our baby in her stomach were worth it.
After dipping through traffic for what felt like hours, I made it to the store, and from the outside, my shit looked busy.
I hopped out, spoke to some niggas on the block that were cleaning windows, and made my way inside.
The whole store damn near stopped in to greet me, some customer I had never seen before, but they knew me, and a few of my niggas that were talking to Keith while he cleaned their shit.
“Wussup with you nigga,” Slime said.
I handed the shit I worked on to one of my employees and told them to get them ready for pick up before I turned my attention to him.
“What’s good with you, Slime?” I asked.
“Same shit, different day,” he responded. “Keith told me you’ve been doin the family shit.”
I nodded with a slight smirk. “Yeah, I got my son now, getting married…been doin big shit.”
“That nigga finally moved outta the penthouse,” Keith added before Slime could respond.
I nodded, agreeing.
“That’s what it is, when you gonna break it in with a party like you did the penthouse, or your ol’ lady won’t let you,” Slime asked.
“We are having a slight housewarming party tonight. Her girls were asking her about one and shit. We didn’t have anything else to do for the day.”
“I fuck with that,” Slime added. “Me and my people will slide through.”
I pulled out my phone and sent him the address before turning toward Keith.
“Tell the gang about the housewarming shit, nothing too big tho, you know we got the wedding in a few months.”
Keith understood. “And ya bachelor party nigga, you know we gonna act a fool for that shit.”
I shook my head. “I don’t need too much for that shit, I am good with a few drinks, poker night or some shit.”
Keith smirked. “Yeah, iight nigga. But I will tell the gang about tonight.”
I shook my head and walked into. I did some slight work, checking numbers, ordering some shit I needed. After that, I went out and fucked with some customers, showing my team how to take one sale and make it two, maybe three.
Keith shook his head at me.
“You love this shit, don’t you?” he asked.
I shrugged. “Who don’t like guaranteed money than doubling it?”
I spent a few hours fucking off with them, then left to pick up the food and some flowers for Islah. Once I got back to the house, Islah’s car was already parked in the driveway.
I grabbed the food and walked into the living room to see that the girls had put up some decorations. I shook my head. I loved the shit they did for my girl. I took the food into the kitchen to find them standing around the island, already talking and drinking wine.
“Hey, Love,” they all yelled at the same time.
I placed the food on another counter as Islah walked up to me.
“Hey, ladies,” I said to them, while giving Islah a kiss and handing her some fresh flowers.
“Why you got my girl on a liquor fast?” Deja asked.
I looked at Islah, confused.
“You remember, boo?” she asked. “I’m not drinking until after the wedding.”
I smirked, picking up on her lil’ story she told.
“Oh yeah, some shit she saw online that she said she wanted to try, that’s not on me.”
They laughed.
I let the girl go on talking about anything and everything. How work had been since Islah had been gone, my niggas, the wedding, and went upstairs to check on Amir.
As I opened the door, I saw that he was glued to the game. He looked at me slightly and threw me his other controller.
“I have been waiting on you,” he said, eyes still locked on the TV. “Let’s run it.”
I checked my watch and had some time to kill, so I went in and ran a few games with him. We got as loud as Islah and them downstairs, yellin at each other in the game.
That lil’ nigga must have been practicing every night in his room, cause that nigga ran the score up on me a few times. But I had to let him know he was still the runner-up.
We was bout to run another one, but then I heard the doorbell ring, and I paused the game.
“Come on, the gang here,” I told Amir.
“What is going on?”
“We are having a lil’ housewarming party, Islah girls are here, and I called the gang to come through.”
“Ooou, that’s Wussup, Try to play 2K with Keith, that nigga is no good.”
I laughed and followed Amir down the steps. He opened up the front door, and my nigga Slime came through with a few of his people. Keith came through, too, along with Sammy and Ricky. They walked in, dapped Amir and me, and I walked them into the kitchen to link with Islah and her girls.
Her girl’s eyes were locked on Slime niggas, I laughed, cause they didn’t know them fools as I did.
Everybody was talking a lil’ quiet. Islah was moving around the food when Kenya yelled out.
“I just want to say congratulations to Mr. And Mrs. Mayer to be! y’all have been doing it big!
From the engagement to the house, y’all are showing us that real love and true love are still out there.
It’s still a thing, and I hope y’all don’t mind when I say we all love y’all and we want nothing but the best for y’all! ”
The whole room lifted its glasses to Islah and me. I looked over at my mamas and kissed her.
“Now let’s make this a party!” Kenya continued.
She turned up the music, and we moved to the living room.
Smoke and conversation filled the air. Keith called a few more of our niggas to come through with their ladies.
I stood in the back with Sammy and Keith, watching Kenya, Deja, and Renee convince Islah to dance with them.
“Ya girl looks happy,” Sammy said.
I nodded. “She does, and I’ma make sure she stays that way.”
My niggas nodded, understanding where I was coming from.
“What if that nigga isn’t gone?” Keith asked.
I took my eyes off her for a second and stared him down.
“It’s no fuck way him or his niggas survived that shit. Watch, that shit gonna hit the news tomorrow!”
Keith nodded, and I turned my attention back to Islah. A smile came over her face as she moved her fine ass body around, and it took me back to when I first saw her at the art exhibit walking around, and all the peace I wanted to bring her.
I couldn’t take my eyes off her then, and I damn sure couldn’t take my eyes off her now.
Since I handed her those bullet shells, she seemed to smile brighter, laugh longer, and with my baby growing inside her, she was glowing even more than she normally did.
I felt like I was meeting a side of her that was scared to come out.
Islah must have felt my eyes on her. She turned and walked over to me with a soft smile on her face and wrapped her arms around my waist.
“What is on my husband-to-be’s mind?” she asked me.
I took a puff from my blunt and stared at her while I was thinking.
“I was looking at you and thinking about the first time I saw you.”
“What about it?” she asked.
“About how I thought to myself that you were mine. And how I was gonna keep you.”
Islah tried not to blush, but I always made her.
“What am I gonna do with you?” she asked me.
“Love me like you have been, and I will take care of the rest…I promise.”