Chapter 25
Carter had just gotten home from a day of pampering with her favorite girl in the world. Her daughter and her father were her best friends. Their love had been through hell and back but that only made their love for one another grow.
“Daddy, look at my nails!” Niamh ran up on Nautica, who walked downstairs to greet them.
“Let Daddy see.” He picked her up and she forced her hand in his face.
“They’re just like Mommy’s. Show him, Mommy!” Niamh turned around, looking at Carter, who was watching them with a smile on her face. She walked towards them. Nautica wrapped his free arm around her as he kissed her lips.
“Mommy!” Niamh fussed. Carter had gotten sidetracked.
“Nimo, why you so bossy?” Carter held her hand up for Nautica to see. Niamh held her hand up as well making Nautica snicker as he examined their French tips.
“I love them! Did you get your hair down too, Princess?”
“Yes, it’s like Mommy’s too!” She beamed. Carter smiled. She was honored that her daughter thought so highly of her. They both had silk presses. Their hair cascaded down their backs.
“You and Mommy look so pretty. I’m going to have to make y’all dinner. What you want to eat, Nimo?”
“Ouuu, I want French fries, steak, and mmm pasta,” she replied.
“Okay you and Mommy want to come help me?” Nautica kissed her forehead.
“Mommy, can you help Daddy? I’m going upstairs. FayFay said she’s going to help me wash my Barbie hair.” She took off, not waiting for Carter to answer.
Carter followed Nautica to the kitchen. She sat down as he began dinner.
“How was your day, my love?”
“It was good, you know it’s never a dull moment with Nimo. How was yours?”
“Who you telling? It was cool. I missed y’all. I made us something in the backyard.”
Carter stood, walking towards the backyard.
She stepped outside onto the graveled walkway.
At the end of the walkway was a wood table that was made out of a tree.
Carter ran her hands along the beautiful wooden finishes.
There were four wooden chairs pushed against both sides of the table.
On top of the table were three vases filled with an assortment of pink and red roses with an exaggerated amount of baby breath in them.
“You like it?” He startled her as he quietly walked up.
“I love it, baby, you’re so talented. I keep saying you should open a furniture store.” He’d built the bed they slept in every night. He lit the torches around the table.
“I’m thinking about it. Come on so I can check on the food.” He grabbed her hand as they walked back in.
“Why are you peeling potatoes instead of just getting a bag out of the freezer, crazy?” Carter grabbed a bottle of wine and a wine glass.
“Because I want to cook the best for my girls.” He smacked her ass. Carter sat down in one of the orange bar stools. She snapped photos of Nautica, posting them to her Instagram story.
“You still going out of town tomorrow?”
“Yes! I’m excited. I feel like we haven’t had a girls trip in a while.”
“Yeah, don’t have too much fun.” He looked back at her over his shoulder.
“Whatever, Nautica. Is this what I get to look forward to when you’re retired ‘cause if so, I can’t wait.”
“I cook for you and Nimo all the time.”
“Stop lying, Nautica, Faith be cooking. You be in the way. You act like we don’t have cameras in here.” He laughed, causing her to laugh.
“I be cooking, then whenever I ask her for help, she just comes in and takes over. That ain’t my fault.” He shrugged while she shook her head at him.
“You be acting like you made the food and I just let you ‘cause you be so passionate about it.” He turned around, throwing the dish towel at her.
“So, I’m a joke to you, Nala Carter Dlamini?” He laughed. She got up, walking towards him. He picked her up, sitting her on the countertop. He stood in between her legs with his hands on her thighs, he kissed her.
“Y’all just keep on being fast in here, he gone burn the house down.” Faith walked into the kitchen.
“Chill, Fay-Fay, I got this. Don’t I, baby?”
“I hope so, Fay, maybe you should take over like you always do,” Carter teased and Faith cracked up while Nautica mugged them.
“It ain’t that funny.” Nautica huffed. Niamh ran into the kitchen with her Barbie doll in hand.
“Mommy, look, she has her hair like ours. FayFay helped me.”
“It’s so pretty just like you,” Carter cooed.
Faith walked into the kitchen and washed her hands. “Move, son,” Faith demanded while Carter laughed.
“Man, y’all get on my nerves,” Nautica fussed.
“Come on, baby, come sit with me at the table while Niamh plays on her jungle gym.”
“Ouuu yes! Come on, Daddy!” Niamh grabbed his hand, pulling him to the door.
“He’s gon’ get us!” Carter said to Faith, who was still laughing.
“Honey, food too high to be playing with him,” Faith fussed.
Carter poured her another glass of wine. She made Nautica a drink and took it to him. They sat at their new table, enjoying each other’s company while getting tipsy.
Greer was seated with her girls in the sky box, watching her man play basketball.
She was flawless. She was dressed in a denim skirt that had Flash’s number on it.
She had one of his jerseys customized into a tube top.
Her 613 wig was styled with a part in the middle it hung past her ass to her calves.
She had on the plain Jane AP he’d gifted her.
Her nails had his numbers on them as well. She looked and felt good.
“You’re glowing, bitch! You know my brother was hotter than fish grease after seeing that video.” Promise laughed while Greer rolled her eyes. Flash posted her a lot but nothing to indicate they were sleeping together.
“I ain’t gon’ lie, I’m glad you giving him a taste of his own medicine.” Carter was happy for Greer. They had watched her barely survive the heartbreak.
“We’re not having sex,” she admitted out loud to her friends, who all looked at her in shock.
“What do you mean?” Ace asked.
Greer looked around, making sure nobody was ear hustling even though it was just them.
“We do other things but we haven’t had sex. I told him I want to wait till we get married.” She looked down at her ring. Then, she looked up at her friends' judgmental faces.
“You’re still in love with Mari?” Promise accused.
“Exactly because why would you even tell that man that knowing you’re still married?” Ace harshly whispered.
“I don’t know. I hate him but I love him, and I find myself missing him at times. I just can’t be with him anymore, but what if I am still in love with him? Is that crazy?”
“No you can’t help who you love. What is crazy is dragging this man along if you know you don’t want to be with him,” Carter replied, truthfully.
“I love him, too,” Greer admitted.
“Loving someone and being in love with someone is two different things, boo,” Carter said, and Greer sighed.
“I know. Promise, this is all your fucking fault! I was doing just fine until I saw his fine evil black ass.”
The audience went crazy. Flash had the ball. He dribbled ahead of his opponents. He went up and dunked and the whole auditorium went crazy. Greer’s eyes lit up in excitement as she jumped out of her seat, clapping and screaming.
“Can you believe this girl?” Ace asked Promise.
“No, I really can’t. She’s the one person I know that don’t back track on her exes,” Promise replied.
“I can hear y’all bitches. He’s still my husband. Come on, let’s go greet my man ‘fore the groupies get down there.”
“This girl.” Carter laughed. Greer walked out of the skybox first with her heels echoing off the floors. Unbeknownst to her, Promise was recording her.
“G?” Promise called out and Greer turned around. She noticed the camera. She started walking backwards.
“Yo nigga ain’t popping it like mine on no day!” Greer flipped her hair as she turned around. Promise ended the video, uploading it to her Instagram story.
“You wild, friend, but I missed you!” Carter laughed.
“I miss y’all too. Just ‘cause I moved on don’t mean y’all gotta act stank.”
“But did you move on?” Promise cracked. Greer cut her eyes at them while they laughed.
“I knew I shouldn’t have told y’all. Promise, you better not tell him either. He still texts me every day as it is.” She rolled her eyes.
“Aww saying what?” Ace asked as they approached the elevators.
“Bitch I don’t know, I don’t be reading that shit. He need to text Klover not me.”
“He do not fuck with that girl,” Promise said, and Greer rolled her eyes.
Greer ignored her because she didn’t want to talk about Amari anymore.
He would put her in a bad mood when she was headed to see her man.
They got off the elevators and headed towards the court.
Greer led them on the court. They approached Flash while Flash was talking to a reporter.
He held his arms out for Greer. She ran towards him, jumping into his arms. Ace held her phone in her hand, recording them.
She was happy for Greer. She was back smiling again.
She uploaded the video to her Instagram.
“Amari is going to kill us,” Promise said to Ace and Carter.
“That’s y’all, not me,” Carter argued.
“Aww shut up, Miss ‘I’m glad you giving him a taste of his own medicine,’” Ace mocked.
Amari was home with his kids, Amaya and Amari Jr. They were two and three years old.
His son had Greer’s light complexion, big bright eyes, and long lashes.
He looked just like her. She’d moved on.
For the first year she was gone, he was sick.
He couldn’t eat, sleep, hell he couldn’t think straight.
She was his world and without her everything had stopped.
He needed her, he didn’t care how long it took he would wait on her to come back to him.
Klover had also moved on. She was married with a daughter. He was happy for her. He didn’t blame her at all; their affair was on him. From the moment Greer caught him at her house, he never talked to her again.
“Heyyy, baby! What you doing?” Greer’s voice blared from Amaya’s iPad, gaining his attention.
“Heyyy, Mommy. I miss you! Where you at?” Amaya asked.
“I’m out eating with my friend, girl. Where your brother at?”
Out with a friend, Amari wondered if she was out with Flash star point guard for the Lakers.
He made a Instagram specifically to spy on Greer.
Every time he saw them in the blogs, he felt like he couldn’t breathe.
The engagement killed him but the only thing that kept him sane was she was still his wife.
She always would be because he would never sign the divorce papers.
It was stupid to invite Klover to the party but a twisted part of him wanted them to get along.
Greer wasn’t having it. All that did was make her suspicious.
“Okay, baby, I love you. Tell your brother I love him, too. I’ll see y’all in a few days, okay?”
“Okay, Mommy. I love you, too! Momma said her love you, AJ.”
“Momma!” AJ focused on the iPad for the first time as if he was just noticing his mother.
“Hey, my baby. I love you!” Greer cooed as he stared at the iPad, looking star struck.
He was a momma’s boy and Amaya was a daddy’s girl but she was crazy about her momma as well.
Amari was thankful that even though they weren’t together, she didn’t miss a beat with Amaya.
However, he knew her character and whether they were together or not, Amaya would always be her daughter. Greer adopted her.
He was sure nobody was rooting for him to get Greer back and that was his own doing.
He was willing to do whatever it took to get her to come back to him.
Promise flat out refused to help. He was desperate; he needed his wife back before her relationship progressed with Flash any further.
He watched basketball like anyone else. He was livid watching Flash hold his hands out for Greer.
He was even angrier as he saw her jump in his arms, looking at him the same way she used to look at him.
“Call me later, Moo. Take care of your brother. I love y’all.”
“Baby?” Flash’s voice unnerved every nerve in Amari’s body.
Greer quickly hung up as if she knew Amari was listening.
He was doing good at first or at least that’s what he thought.
He should have stayed away but he couldn’t.
The moment she left Flash’s side to go to the restroom, he was there.
He hadn’t seen her since she gave birth.
Thanks to his mother and sister, he was able to see his children.
“Come on. Y’all want to go see Aunt P?”
“TT P, ouuu yes!” Amaya squeaked.
“Me too, come on Daddy!” AJ walked towards him, standing in front of him.
Amari stood, picking him up. He kissed his forehead.
Then, he picked Amaya up. He walked outside, strapping them in the backseat of his G Wagon.
He went back in the house to grab their backpacks. He got in the truck, pulling off.