Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
Cadence
a week later…
We’ve been back from St. Laurent for about a week, and I was just now feeling somewhat normal again.
I don’t know what they cooked their food with, but I don’t think I’ll be going back anytime soon.
I having lunch with Janae and Lani today, and I was getting ready to leave so I could meet them.
I’ve been at Titan’s place since we came back, and he was still mentioning me moving in.
Every time he brought it up, I countered with I’ll think about it and he would catch an attitude like I told him we were breaking up.
Once I got dressed, I grabbed the keys to my new truck and headed out.
By the time I was pulling into the parking lot of Magnolia & Main, I saw Lani getting out of her car. She met me halfway, and we walked in together.
“Hey, sis. You look good and refreshed.” She smirked as we walked inside.
“Chy, please. I could say the same about you. You’ve been looking real glowish lately. Let me find out you’re hiding a boo,” I countered.
“Please don’t say that shit out loud to my brother. I’ll have to beat his big ass,” she pleaded as we made our way to the table where Nae was already waiting.
“It’s about time y’all showed up,” she stated. “I know Cady’s excuse… Titan was probably up her ass as usual, but what’s yours?” She asked Lani.
“She got a secret boo,” I blabbed.
“Bitch, who you sneaking and freaking?” Janae whispered loudly.
“I wish you would stop that. I’m not sneaking and freaking nobody,” Lani countered.
“Mhm, I know a lie when I hear it, but we’ll let you live, boo.” Janae sipped her drink and smirked.
“What you drinking?” I asked because it looked good.
“It’s a lavender lemon drop… you should try it,” she suggested.
I looked over the menu and decided I was going to try that and get the Magnolia chicken sandwich.
“So, how was your trip? Did you let that fine ass football playing boyfriend slut you out on every corner of that island?” Janae questioned with a tongue stuck out while she twerked in her seat.
“It was so nice and relaxing. I wish we could’ve stayed longer, but the time away was well spent, and I indeed let my fine ass football playing boyfriend slut me out in every inch of that island,” I countered with a smirk, causing Lani to gag.
“Y’all are ridiculous.” She frowned. “My brother is not all that.” She waved us off like what we were saying wasn’t important.
“Oh girl, bye. You know your brother is fine. Hell, y’all look like twins,” Janae voiced.
“Oh please. That nigga wished he looked good as me,” Lani responded.
We enjoyed our lunch and catching up. While we ate, I tried some of Janae’s shrimp tacos and immediately regretted it. I felt my stomach get queasy and spit them out before I had a chance to throw them up.
“Are you okay?” Lani asked.
I took a drink of my lemon drop to settle the funny taste in my mouth.
“Yeah, bitch. If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear you were pregnant,” Janae mentioned, causing me to snap my head toward her.
“Pregnant? Janae, please don’t piss me off.” I waved her off.
“I’m just saying. You never get sick like this, and didn’t you say you were sick on the trip?”
I gave her a look, then Lani, and they both had their eyes pinned to mine.
“Y’all are overreacting. That was some damn bad shrimp, that’s all.” I waved them off.
“I’on know,” Lani started. “You been letting my brother have his way with you… a lot, so it’s possible.” She shrugged.
“Y’all are delusional,” I stated. “I’m not pregnant. I just had some bad food and stressed.”
“Stressed about what?” Janae asked.
“Titan asked me to move in with him,” I blurted. Lani didn’t look surprised because Titan had mentioned it around her a few times.
“And why is that stressful?” Janae questioned. “You’re always over there anyway,” she admitted.
“Right. Trust me. If my brother is asking you to move in, he wants you there. He doesn’t let people into his space all kinds of ways, especially females.
It doesn’t matter how much he slept with…
he still had stipulations. Hell, you practically live there now, so I’on see what the point is. ” Lani shrugged.
I sat and thought about what they were saying, and they both were right. I was always at his condo anyway, or he’d come to my apartment. We’re rarely apart at night, so moving in wouldn’t be so bad.
“I guess y’all right. I just don’t want to move in, and he switches up, then I’ll be back at my mama’s house until I can find another place to stay,” I voiced my concern.
“Girl, please. I’ll go buy you a condo with that nigga’s money if he ever tried you like that. Just tell my Bubby you’re moving in so he can stop whining about the shit.”
I laughed after Ailani’s rant. She loved her brother, but I knew she meant everything she said about buying me a condo with Titan’s money. Shit, she never spent her own, so I knew she wasn’t lying.
By the time we finished lunch, I was full and tired. Lani had to meet Titan for a meeting, and Janae was going back to work, so that left me to myself for a few hours. On the way back to Titan’s, my mama called.
“Hey, Mama,” I answered.
“Hey, baby. What you doing?” She asked.
“I just left from having lunch with Nae and Lani. You home?”
It was Wednesday so I knew she was off, but that didn’t mean she was home.
“No, I just left from getting a pedicure. I was headed home now. I was just calling to check in on you.”
“I’m fine, Mama… just tired. I’m about to go and take a nap before I go in to work tonight,” I responded.
“Okay, baby. Call me later. I love you.”
“I love you too Mama.”
I hung up just as I was turning into the lot to Titan’s building.
He got a parking permit for my truck so I could park in the resident’s parking garage instead of up front in the visitor’s one.
When I got inside, I headed straight to the bedroom, took my shoes off and stripped down to my tank top and slipped on a pair of shorts before climbing in the bed and prepared for a much-needed nap.
***
I don’t know how long I was asleep before I felt Titan’s lips on my neck and his hand caressing my butt.
“Tink…” I heard him call my name, but I was too sleepy to move. “Tink,” he called a little firmer this time.
“What… damn,” I snapped as I rolled over to look at him.
I watched as he stood to his full height and peer at me.
“Damn, Tink. The fuck I do to you?” He frowned.
Sitting up, I stretched and got up. I went to Titan and wrapped my arms around his waist and looked up at him and smiled.
“I’m sorry,” I simpered. “But was in the middle of a good ass nap and you came in here disturbing my peace,” I explained with a smile.
Titan stared down at me but didn’t say anything.
“Why you looking at me like that?” I questioned.
“Lani said you got sick at lunch, and I come home and find you in here sleeping in the middle of the day, then your little mean ass snapping at me for no reason. You got something you wanna tell me, Tink?” He eyed me as if he just caught me in a lie.
“I’m fine and I was tired,” I reasoned, but internally I was trying to remember when the last time I had a period.
I had one last month, but I just realized I hadn’t another one yet.
I wasn’t worried about it because I tend to skip a period when I’m stressed, and with school and graduation, I was beyond stressed.
“The look on your face lets me know that you don’t believe that shit yourself, Tink,” Titan countered, bringing me out of my thoughts.
“I’ve missed periods before when I’m stressed, and with school and graduation, I was beyond stressed. I’ll be fine and it’ll show up in a few days,” I muttered, not even believing myself.
“Were you fucking when you missed them before?” He asked, not taking his eyes off of me. “Listen, Tink. We’ve been careless as fuck and I rarely make it in time to pull out so you being pregnant can be very possible,” he voiced.
I sat on the bed and thought about all the times that I let this man cum in me. Sometimes I even wrapped my legs around him so he wouldn’t. I wasn’t trying to get pregnant… I was just caught up in the moment.
I looked back and Titan was just staring at me with an unreadable expression on his face, then suddenly he snapped out of it.
“I’ll be back,” he said in a hurry as he trekked back out the room.
I sat there for a moment in shock because I wasn’t expecting him to bolt out of here like he was on the field.
What the hell just happened?