Chapter 24
SHUT UP & GO TO SLEEP
“Y'all get home safe now,” Uncle B said with a snort as he, my dad, and AJ finished loading up a drunk as fuck Chase and an only slightly less drunk Tahmir into the back of Tahmir’s truck.
“I told them niggas not to drink that moonshine,” Mona huffed with an attitude as she climbed into the driver's seat.
I hopped my ass in the passenger seat so she could drop us off at my house.
All in all, the day had been a huge success.
The guys fit right in with our people, and despite a little bit of harmless teasing, everyone had a good time.
So much so, that Tahmir and Chase got tore up off moonshine and had to be carried out of the place.
“You gotta admit, the dance battle was funny as hell,” I said, laughing all over again at their big asses trying to ‘You Got Served’ us in the middle of my parents’ backyard. We won, of course. Them niggas couldn’t do nothing with us.
“That was funny, but that was only a couple drinks in.
Why did Tah think he could win a foot race against a professional football player?
! And then busted his ass—he's gonna feel all that shit tomorrow, and I ain't rubbing him down with Icy Hot!” she lied, and we knew she was lying because once you put a nigga’s toes in your mouth, the limit did not exist.
“Sweets!” Tahmir slurred from the backseat, “You know I can hear you, right, baby?”
“Good! Because you had no business!” she said with a laugh.
I looked back to check on Chase, and he was sleeping like a newborn baby after a good feeding.
I had never seen him take so much as a sip, and after seeing what his drunk ass looked like doing the Chicken Head, I understood why he tried to stay away from the bottle.
“Whatever,” Tahmir said, sucking his teeth. “It was fun, though.” He hiccupped, then leaned back and closed his eyes. I couldn't fully tell, but it looked like his ass immediately fell asleep too.
“It was fun,” Mona whispered under her breath. We both sighed into the silence as she drove, and the boys had a competition for World's Loudest Snorer.
“Y'all seem really happy,” she said softly. Because I had known her ass since before she could speak, I immediately caught the sadness in her voice.
“We are, but why did you say it like that?” I asked with a raised brow.
“No reason!” she chirped back quickly… too quickly.
“Mona,” I fussed. “Bitch, you know we don’t do that. Spill it.”
“Do you think you’ll be moving out to L.A. full time now that y’all are official?”
“Mona!” I started to tell her that I wasn't, but then I really thought about it. No, I didn't want to completely move to the West Coast, but I wouldn't mind spending a lot more time there to be with Chase. Just like I read her like a book, Mona knew what I was thinking before I even thought it.
“Girl, I have a job! No, I’m not running off to California behind that man!”
“You don’t even like that job!” she said making me shake my head. At least once a week, she was talking me out of quitting or doing some shit that would get me fired. I liked the fact that I was good at it, but I hated everything else about that place and had for a while.
“I mean…” My voice trailed off as I looked out the window. “You’re not wrong.”
“So you are thinking about it?” I could hear the gloominess in her voice. Her ass was so sensitive. She knew no matter what coast I was on, she would always be my other half.
“It will be fine. You know I can’t stay away from home for too long, and you can come see me whenever… Girl, I don't even know if he would want me in his space like that.”
“Amaya.” She turned completely in her seat to give me a deadpan. “Girl, be for real! That man looks at you like your pussy is made of vibranium. He is head over heels for you.” I quickly whipped my head back to the two sleeping giants in the backseat before turning to shush her.
“Mona, relax. It’s not even like that. We’re really started.”
“It’s okay to have feelings for him, Amaya. It’s okay to want love. I know after everything that happened, you play it off and act like it’s not a big deal, but I know you.” I flared my nostrils, taking another peek to make sure Chase hadn’t woken up while she was cracking me open like an egg.
“I really like him, MoMo,” I sighed.
“That’s okay,” she promised, grabbing my hand gently. “I’m not saying that you have to get married tomorrow. Just don’t run from it.”
“You sound like his ass,” I grumbled.
“And you know I’m right,” she said, giving me a warm smile. I squeezed her hand as we rode in silence. Our cute, heartfelt moment didn’t last too long because by the time we made it to my house, we were faced with the dilemma of trying to get Chase’s drunk ass inside.
“Babe,” I called, trying to sweet talk him back awake. He was conscious enough to swing his legs to the side, then he was out again. Tahmir was no help, because he was currently slumped over, drooling on his window. “Wake up, please, we need to get you in the house.”
“I’m asleep,” he mumbled with his eyes closed. “I’ma sleep right here.”
“Baby,” I huffed again. “You gotta get up so we can go inside. Don’t you wanna sleep in the bed?”
“I wanna sleep with youuu,” he whined, falling forward and burying his face in my titties.
“Okay, well come on so we can go in the house and go to bed.” I slung his arm over my shoulder and pulled, getting absolutely nowhere.
Mona grabbed his other arm and with a lot of effort, and even more cussing, we managed to get him to his feet, then damn near dragged him like a corpse into the house, dumping him on the couch and watching his head bounce off the pillow like a big ass basketball.
“These niggas are paying for my next chiropractor appointment,” Mona fussed as I walked her back to the door. “They are too damn big to be carrying!”
“Shit,” I sighed. “Do you need me to ride home with you to help Tahmir get in the house?” I asked.
“Hell no! His big grown ass is walking, or he can sleep in the truck! I'm not doing this twice in one night!”
“Thank God! Because I’m gonna be the one needing Icy Hot tomorrow,” I huffed.
“Girl, you and me both,” she laughed.
By the time I watched her drive off and locked up, Chase was on the couch once again sleeping like he just finished an eighteen-hour shift on the farm.
I let out a low cackle before deciding to leave his ass there, turning off the lights, and heading to the bathroom.
I had just wrapped my hair up and got my clothes off when a dark looming figure in the doorway scared me so bad that all I could do was scream at the top of my lungs.
Once I was done waking up everyone within a hundred-mile radius, I realized that it was just Chase’s ass standing there with a huge pout on his face.
“Why didn’t you wake me up so I could come get in the shower?”
“Nigga!” I fussed, “You scared the shit out of me! You were out! I tried to wake you up ten times to get you in the house. Now you got all the energy to get up and walk!” He didn’t reply, instead undressing so he could join me in the shower.
He was still half gone, so I ended up bathing him and me too, but I didn’t mind it one bit.
Once we were showered and finished the rest of our nightly routines, his ass flattened me before I could even process what was happening.
My weighted blanket was back, and I couldn’t have been happier.
“Are you mad at me?” he mumbled into my neck.
“Why would I be mad at you, Chase?” I chuckled, rubbing my hands over his waves through the du-rag he had on.
“Because I’m drunk. Did I embarrass you? You know I don’t get drunk. I think they slipped me something!”
“They didn’t slip you nothing,” I laughed. “I told you that moonshine wasn’t nothing to fuck around with, but you didn’t listen. It’s okay though, baby. You work really hard. You deserve to let loose for one night.”
“See, that's why I love you, Toni,” he whined as he buried his face in my neck and planted a kiss there.
“Shut up, Chase!” I shot back out of instinct. My brain immediately went into panic mode because why the fuck would he say that to me? I tried to wiggle out from under him, but he just held me tighter.
“I do, and I know you love me too, baby. Even though you try to act all tough and shit. I know it.”
“Shut up, Chase!” I snapped again, but he was already asleep again. I laid there, staring at the ceiling, trying not to think about what just happened for at least an hour before I fell asleep.
Two days later, June, Laila and I worked diligently, pulling videos for a social media giveaway that Laila was hosting for her celebration of reaching five hundred thousand followers.
She had over five thousand worth in prizes, so the turnout was insane.
We were tasked with making sure everyone who was considered was qualified, and that they’d never talked shit about my girl on social media before we gave them these prizes.
I had no problem pulling up to repossess this shit if I found out they were on some bullshit.
“So, the man told you that he loved you, and you said what?” June asked.
“I told him to shut up and go to sleep!” I said with an awkward shrug.
“Amaya,” Laila cackled. “Bitch, why would you do that?” The two of them howled like a full pack of hyenas. I frowned, unable to find anything funny.
“Because I wanted him to shut the fuck up and go the fuck to sleep… I don’t knowww!” I whined. “And he’s leaving for training camp next week and the house is all awkward. I don’t want it to end like this.”
“Well, do you love him?” June asked with an annoying ass smile on her face.
“Girl, he just became my man like two seconds ago, no!” I fussed.
“Yes, but you’ve been in his face since February, getting to know him. It’s not too soon,” June said. I just mugged them. They wanted me to be soft so bad.
“It is too soon, so no,” I asserted this time. “Next subject.”
“So, how do you feel about him leaving soon?” Laila asked. I rolled my eyes, because this was the same damn subject.
“I mean… I made it thirty-four years without his ass, I’ll be fine when he leaves,” I mumbled, ignoring the lump forming in my throat.
At that point, I had to sit and reflect on whether or not he had ever made me spaghetti because the thought of him getting on a plane and flying away again had my stomach hurting.
Malcom was so busy all the time, and I never really cared because I enjoyed my free time and independence.
With Chase, I wanted to be on his hip at all times like a pistol.
It was gross.
Just when I thought I would make myself sick with the grief of him leaving me, I got a text.
Chase
Hey, I just got notified that the training camp facilities flooded, so they’re pushing camp back a week. I guess that means we get a few more days. If that’s okay with you?
Me
Yes! That’s fine with me!
I couldn’t even try to play it cool and wait to text back, and I couldn’t hide the smile on my face at the thought of having in my space a few extra days.
“Girl, did you win the lottery or something?” Laila joked.
“It was Chase. He said he can stay an extra week because their facility flooded or something,” I said, trying to shrug it off.
“Okay,” June said with a smirk on her face.
“Bitch, why are you looking at me like that?” I raised my brow at her.
“No reason,” she said, glancing over at Laila who wore a similar expression.
“What?” I asked with a frown. “I don’t love that nigga! I do not!” I pouted and picked up my laptop to get back to work as they continued looking at me like Thing 1 and Thing 2.
“I don’t love him!” I said, giving them the stankest of stank eyes when I realized how ridiculous I was being.
“We didn’t say anything!” they both yelled back. I had to work on my poker face, because they swore they knew me. Even though shit was a little weird, I couldn’t wait to get back home to him.