7. Ivo #2
“Girl, nothing to be ashamed of,” Cambrie spoke up.
“We ain’t encouraging this shit, Cam.” Brick put his arms around Six and held her tight.
“I am. She shouldn’t do it until she is absolutely sure. That’s not something she can get back. And whoever she gives it to better be deserving of it.”
Six reached up and grabbed the back of Brick’s head and drew him down to her.
Their lips met in a soft kiss at first until he cupped her chin and slipped her his tongue.
I had seen Brick with women before, but never like this.
He talked shit to most of them and treated them like an afterthought.
One time, he left a chick at the club and forgot all about her.
He just didn’t do attachments, not even when he was in high school.
My little brother valued his independence and not having to answer to anybody more than anything.
“Dinner should be ready in about thirty minutes,” Cambrie announced.
“Bet. Brick, you want to ride with me to the store? I want to grab some beer.”
“Can you get a bottle of red wine too?” Cambrie requested.
“Yeah. I got you.”
“Staten almost got the whole vanity together,” Brick declared. “You gon’ make me carry that shit upstairs, ain’t you?”
“Let’s go, fool.” I grabbed his shoulder and turned him to the door. “We’ll be back.”
By the time Brick and I got back, dinner was almost done and the condo smelled like home.
Staten had finished putting the vanity together, and with Brick’s help, we all carried it upstairs to Emerald’s room.
We sat around the table in the dining room, talking shit, drinking, and eating until Piaget and Rogue passed out on the couch.
Cambrie and Staten decided to get them home, leaving Brick and Six behind.
After we smoked a blunt, the two of them headed out too.
Since Cambrie cooked, Emerald decided to clean the kitchen, but I went in to help her.
“You look like you enjoyed yourself tonight.” I pressed my back against the counter as she ran the dish water.
“Yeah. I exchanged numbers with Cambrie and Six. They’re pretty cool. Both hilarious. Not judgy like a lot of females would be knowing our situation.”
“How you feel about having a sleepover tonight?” I asked, placing my arms around her.
Pausing, she craned her neck to view me over her shoulder. One of her perfect brows lifted, and she searched my eyes.
“How are you going to pull that off?”
“I’ll just tell her some shit came up and I’ll be home in the morning.” I shrugged.
“I don’t know, Ivo. Sapphire’s also going to be home, and I don’t know how to explain any of this to him. All he knows is I’m going to be your surrogate. I really don’t want him to know about us right now.”
“He’s not a kid, Em. I don’t think he’s as naive as you think he is either.”
“Maybe not, but with this dinner coming up and everything, I just don’t think it’s a good idea. At least not right now.” I didn’t like it, but I wasn’t going to argue with her either.
Swiping my beard, I nodded and looked her up and down in the tight pants and t-shirt she’d changed into.
“Okay. I guess I’ll head out then.”
“Ivo, it’s not like that.” She faced me with pleading eyes.
A heavy sigh slipped off her lips, and she shook her head.
“This is so fresh, and as much as I want to scream to the world that we’re together, I can’t. We have to be discreet until I don’t know when, and it’s hard. I don’t want to get used to you being here because I know that’s not going to happen. Jordan is your wife. I’m just?—”
“You just what?” I asked, daring her to speak her mind.
“I’m just the other woman,” she responded in a low tone.
“What else I gotta do to show you what you mean to me, Em? Damn! A nigga trying, and it’s like nothing I do makes you feel secure.”
“It’s kind of redundant, isn’t it? How can I possibly feel secure knowing you’re going home to her, living a whole other life, while I sit here and wait for you to carve out time to spend with me?”
“I told you this shit is temporary!” I hissed. “What I’m not about to do is keep having the same fucking argument.” I backed away from the counter and studied the shock displayed over her face.
“Where are you going?” Tears glistened in her eyes.
“I’m going to use the bathroom and then I’m leaving. That’s what you want, right?” Shaking my head, I pivoted on my heel and ambled to the doorway.
I decided to use the bathroom in the front hall so I could just leave. Emerald really had me fucked up. I thought I heard voices when I flushed and washed my hands. By the time I exited, it was obvious that Sapphire was home.
“You should have seen it, Em! Nobody could hold me!” His voice was filled with excitement.
“I’m glad you had a good practice.”
“What’s wrong? You been crying?” I heard Sapphire question.
“You know those damn hormones got me all over the place. Go shower and get settled. I put a plate up for you so you can have dinner.”
“Bet. Thanks for the ride, Coach. See you at the game tomorrow,” Sapphire said before his footsteps moved away.
Frowning, I hadn’t realized there was anyone else here, so I stayed in the entryway eavesdropping as Sapphire went to his room.
“You sure you good?” the deep male voice checked with Emerald.
There was silence, some sniffling, and then a pause before she spoke.
“It’s just a lot. My emotions are all over the place right now. Ignore me.” She laughed lightly, and I heard movement, so I peeked around the corner.
There she was, hugged up in the arms of another man, whimpering and weak. My quickening pulse and blinding rage had me resting a hand on my pistol. His hands stroked her back, and Emerald just sat there accepting that shit like it was cool.
“It’s all good. Ever since you told me about this surrogacy stuff, I got curious and started looking it up. I thought you was just having a baby for somebody, but I see a lot goes into it. Sap told me y’all moved, and I just wanted to make sure I knew where you were in case you needed something.”
“Thank you, Blaine. It’s a lot, but I’m not trying to burden anybody else with my shit.” Emerald pulled back.
“It ain’t a burden. Trust me.” He reached out and pulled her closer by the bottom of her t-shirt
Shit was way too intimate for me, and she was allowing it.
“I want to be there for you. It’s obvious you need somebody in your corner. Your brother is just a teenager, and I get you taking care of him, but he don’t know what’s really going on and how everything is about to change once you go through with this.”
Emerald paused, and a soft smile graced her lips. She was giving this nigga way too many flags to keep up his supportive shit.
“I don’t think I’m ready for it. I’ve got an appointment to check all my levels and everything next week to make sure we’re still on track. But I’m really sitting here planning to carry life for someone else, and it’s starting to low-key fuck with me,” she admitted.
It was some shit hadn’t expressed to me.
With all the shit I was doing and the work I was putting in, how the fuck was it so easy for her to open up to the next muhfucka and not me?
All I got was the doubts and fears. We only enjoyed ourselves half the time together because the other half was spent arguing about some irrelevant shit.
“That means you’re human.” He reached up and touched her face.
Emerald didn’t turn away when he leaned forward, ready to kiss her.
From where I stood, she had no intention of rejecting him.
That was my queue. Clearing my throat, I stepped into the foyer where they both could see me and picked up my phone and keys off the accent table beside the door.
Emerald looked like she was ready to piss on herself as all the color drained from her already light face.
Confusion lined his features when his hands slipped away from her and he took a step back.
“I thought you were gone,” Emerald whispered, lips remaining parted in shock as her hands fell against her stomach.
“I am now. Didn’t want to interrupt.” I kept a stoic expression as my gaze drifted over to Sapphire’s coach.
“If you have any more problems out of that toilet in there, just hit Jordan up and let her know. I think she should handle all the details going forward.” I looked her dead in her eyes, watching something flicker behind hers as she blinked back tears.
“Ivo, wait?—”
“Goodnight, Emerald. See you around.” I gripped my keys in my hand and let myself out.
She damn sure wasn’t about to have me sitting around looking like some stalker behind this shit.
She didn’t want me in her life, that was fine.
I’d have to live with that. I still had Jordan to deal with, and this was going to give me the time I needed to focus on her and our marriage.
Emerald was still confused on what she wanted, and it was obvious she didn’t trust in my feelings for her.
I didn’t know what else to do. I couldn’t keep sitting around trying to convince her what was what.
I could be spending that time trying to figure out what came next for me and Jordan.
Either way, I had made it up in my mind that she wasn’t my forever.
Now I just had to figure out how to break that shit to her.
Sunday night dinner . . .
“Brick, I swear to God if you post that, I’m kicking your ass!” Six screamed, running down the stairs behind my brother when me and Jordan stepped into Rossi’s house.
“Gotta catch me first, mama.” He took off toward the kitchen, and she was racing after him barefoot.
“Oh look, he found someone just as immature as he is,” Jordan drawled, rolling her eyes and closing the door behind her.