Chapter 7
SIN
Ipaced the floor of our warehouse while looking at Zoo and Brooklyn like they were two bad-ass kids. They both sat there with an equal expression of them not giving a fuck about shit and was only ready to get back out there to fuck up the streets some more.
“The deacon, though, Brooklyn?”
“You lucky he wasn’t attached to the pastor.
” He shrugged off. “All I’m saying is, rightfully, I give ‘bout as much of a fuck as Teddy did when he did the dumb shit. You can be upset but what did you really expect? You let me and Zoo loose without any proper supervision. Shit is bound to go left before we ever get it right.”
Running my hand down my face, I took a seat in front of them then gave them my attention.
“I get everything you are saying, but this reckless shit y’all been doing is gon’ get all of us fucked up.
It’s bad enough that you found this nigga grandma and jacked her teeth”—I pointed over to the jar of water with perfectly placed dentures inside—“but you didn’t stop there, you found his mama, sister, and now the deacon.
I’m starting to think both of y’all were adopted because ain’t no way two Smith men can’t find one crackhead. ”
“Don’t even play us like that,” Zoo spoke up.
“Nigga probably couldn't figure out life, but he mastered this fucking crackhead hide and seek game. Just be cool and know that we have everything under control. We are working our way down his list of kin, friends, shit I’on care if they rode the bus with this nigga, they are connected and they gon’ have to see us. ”
“While y’all are pretending to be Grim and his lil’ cousin, Reaper, have y’all checked on y’all women?”
“Of course, mine is at home snuggled under the covers waiting on me,” Zoo stated.
“Bronx ain’t said shit to me in a few days, so I don’t even know where we stand right now. I just know getting my hands on Teddy will give me that peace of mind I’ve been searching for. My baby don’t want shit to do with me, right now.”
“She’s still mad about the night we were there?” I asked Brooklyn, surprised that they hadn’t worked that shit out yet.
“Hell yea and my sisters Saran wrapping her truck didn’t make the situation any better.”
“I know you lying. You know how hard it is to get saran wrap to not cling to itself and they managed to wrap it around a Range Rover,” Zoo said what I was thinking.
“I’m aware, I had to take that shit off as much as I could and it wasn’t easy at all.”
“Shiiid, you betta’ than me ‘cause I would have hurt they little asses for playing with my girl like that.”
“Zoo, they were only doing what my mama asked. She told them not to let her leave without talking to me first.”
“Naah, ‘cause they could have just took her keys,” Zoo added.
“That’s the same thing I said, cuz.”
While they had their moment, I stood to leave. I had to get back to my woman so I could rub on her stomach and pray over it.
What they had going on wasn’t gon’ stop until they found Teddy so there was no need in even talkin’ to them right now. The anger that shot off in Brooklyn’s eyes, let me know that he was about to break and if he didn't catch Teddy now, then later it wouldn’t be a pretty sight for him at all.
NAOMI
“Sin stoopp!” I dragged out still half-sleep. His wet tongue slid across my face in one swipe. “Eww, nasty.” My eyes popped open when a glob of slob dripped on my eyelid. I screamed when I saw this fluffy white dog being held up to my face.
“Happy anniversary to the first time I saw you mug me on the elevator.”
“Aww, really, Baby? What month did that happen?”
“I’on know, but I feel like it should be now. Plus, I thought the dog was cute and I needed a reason to buy it for you.”
I sat up in the bed and took the puppy out of his hands.
“You are such an ass. You could have just got the puppy regardless because it’s super cute. Do you think this is what we need right now, though? We have a baby coming, now you just added another one for me to take care of. Do you plan on being here cleaning up baby poop and dog poop?”
When he broke eye contact, I had my answer.
“You better put it in some puppy classes or something because although she is very cute, I can’t take care of her, too.
Like right now, I have to get up to shower and eat something really quick so I can meet the girls.
We have to try on these dresses to make sure they fit.
So that means, you and Little Bit, will be out in these streets together. ”
“I guess I can get started on learning how to be more than yo’ daddy.”
“Shut up.” Pausing, I jumped out of bed when I felt something wet and warm hit my side. “Sin, she pissed in the bed.”
He grabbed her up and ran down the hallway. “She’s going back right now.”
Yanking the sheets off the bed, I threw everything on the floor before stomping into the bathroom and stripping Sin’s T-shirt off me.
It wasn’t long before I was clean and walking out the bathroom.
My phone was already blowing up, and I knew it was my sister getting ready to fuss about me being late.
“Yes.”
"We are about to pull up in a few minutes. Are you ready?”
“I will be by the time you get here. Putting on my clothes now and don’t be rushing me, this is about me, not you.” Peeg sucked her teeth like she wanted to say something else to me.
“I put yo’ little bitch outside in the backyard. I’ll go and buy a new mattress today because I ain’t having no yellow-ass mattress on my bed.”
Laughing at Sin, I slipped my feet in my boots and left his ass sitting right there. PJ was already blowing like she was on a time schedule. Luckily, only family stayed right there or I would have cursed her ass out for acting country.
“Aye, calm that shit down out there before I go get Zoo.” Sin came down the stairs with the phone pressed to his ear. “Yea aight, just calm down. She’s on her way out the door now. Next time you do that shit, yo’ lil’ ass Benz gon’ be missing a horn.”
Sin kissed me on the forehead and then the lips. “Have fun and that dress better not be tight on my baby either. If she come out blue, we gon’ have a serious problem, Lil’ Baby.”
“I love you tooo, byyyye!” I ignored his comment about the dress because who was ‘bout to get married in a loose neck ass dress? Not me!
“Come on, Mama,” Bri teased me for walking slow as hell. I wasn’t even that big to be wobbling but a bitch was tired. Plus, Sin liked to wake me up in the middle of the night for sex, talking about he was getting me prepared for when the baby came. Yea right.
“I’m coming. This little girl be moving, and right now, it feels like she sitting on my bladder.” Gently, I pushed my stomach on the side where she was to get her to move.
“That’s right, little baby, give Mommy hell. She should have kept her legs closed like she always told me to do.”
I rolled my eyes at PJ before walking inside of the dress shop.
“Heey, welcome to Pretty Little Gowns by Gianna.”
“Hey, Love, you called to let me know that the dresses were ready to try on.”
“Yes, Mama. They are right here. I loved making your gown. Had me wishing I could do it all over again myself. Just to feel pretty one more day.”
“You are gorgeous, now, what are you talking about?” Bri interjected. I had to agree, Gianna was very cute.
“Aww, aren’t y’all sweet.” Gianna beamed before walking to the back.
“I tried to make this one fit but not too fitted.
We as women still want to feel beautiful and sexy on our big day but with being pregnant, comfortability is a must. So, I made sure to give you a little stretch around the tummy area.
Also, per your fiancé's request when he called up here two weeks ago and said and I quote, His baby better not be blue, so yea, I had to make some adjustments.” She giggled, meanwhile I looked crazy.
“He did not call up here!”
“Yes, ma’am, he did. Something about make sure you were the most beautiful woman in the room but still let the room know that he not gone play bout chu’.
” My mouth was on the floor when Gianna said that but apparently, to Bri and Peeg, the shit was funny.
I couldn’t wait to get home to chew him out.
“I’m so embarrassed.”
“Don’t be. My husband, Grey, would move the room behind me, too.”
“Oh, you got yourself a fool, too?” Peeg spoke up. “Seems like we are all some fools in love.”
“Girl, shut up,” Bri told her and moved her back out the way.
“Especially you, since you wanna talk.”
Bri waved her off. She knew if she kept talking then so would Peeg. Sometimes, she didn’t know when to stop.
“Please don’t tell me you did that to our dresses, too? I like to flaunt these tiny curves.”
“PJ, please hush, and if I say you are getting a maternity dress then that’s what it is. Because who’s wedding is it anyway?”
“Yours, Bridezilla.”
I drew in a breath when she said that to me. I’d been bad, but not that damn bad to be called Bridezilla. “Gianna, do me a favor and sew a hood on her dress for me, please.”
“You guys are so crazy. I’ll be right out here. Let me know if you need help getting them on. The backs can be a little tricky.” Once she left out, we all stepped behind a curtain to change into the dresses.
“Soooo,” Bri broke the silence but only added more to it by not saying anything after.
“Soooo what, boo, what’s wrong,” I asked her because the silence was deafening right now.
“You know Brooklyn and I were having a little lovers’ spat after hearing what he said to Sin and Zoo.
Mrs. Smith tricked me over there the other day, which is the day we did the vision board stuff.
I get there and Brooklyn is not missing like the lie his mom told me to get me to come over.
She said she hadn’t heard from him since yesterday, but sure enough, he was right behind me after I poured out my little heart to her.
Anyway, to make a long story short, his little sisters wrapped my truck in Saran wrap so that I couldn’t leave and had to talk to him. ”
“Now that’s some cruel ass shit,” PJ added, and I had to agree. I would have been whooping asses.
“I know but that’s not what I wanted to say, so after all of that, we got into this little tussle, nothing major.
Basically, a lot of him trying to make me stop walking and him tossing me over his shoulder like I was a little rag doll.
I go in the house and cry myself to sleep in his room while he gets the plastic off my truck so that I could leave.
When I was laying down, I heard someone coming into his bedroom so I played sleep.
He started touching my face then grabbed my hand. ”
“Girl, did he rape you?”
“Penelope, if you don’t sit down and shut up, please. Damn!” She was really about to piss me off. “Keep going, Bri.”
“He started praying for us. Asking God to make him a better man and how he wants to marry me later in life once he fully knows he can lead his family. If I didn’t love that man before, that definitely did it for me.
I’m always the one praying for someone or praying someone out of my life but to have a man genuinely pray for you is a top tier feeling.
I haven’t talked to him yet but I can’t wait ‘til I do. He really stole my heart away right then. When I woke up, I had a full tank of gas and my car detailed.”
“And he would have had his balls emptied, ‘cause girllllla!” PJ dragged out. “I’m so happy for you, Bri. You deserve this. Just hear him out and stop being so stubborn and most importantly, stop running from that man. You see where that got Mimi. Barefoot and pregnant.”
Even I had to laugh at that because it was all true. I had run from Sin until I just couldn’t run no more. He came into my life and I never want him to leave.
“I knew Brooklyn wasn’t as mean as Zoo said he was.”
“He is. Zoo is not lying. Brooklyn has his ways, but he’s really a great guy. It’s nothing like Teddy. I can see myself with him and happy. Without pretending like we are doing great around people but then come home to argue. That was Teddy all day and that shit got tiring.”
“Speaking of Teddy, have you heard from him?”
“Nope, Mimi, my brother said he knows where he’s hiding. I guess I’ll be telling Brooklyn so they can go find him.”
“How are the dresses?” Gianna broke our conversation, prompting all of us to remember that we were standing here in dresses having a whole conversation.
“We just out here chilling and ain’t thought twice about these dresses.” Bri stepped up on the round stand so that she could look at herself in the mirror.
“I love it, Brianna.” My hormones were doing something crazy because just by looking at how beautiful she looked, I started crying.
“Don’t do that, Mimi, you are going to make me cry,” Bri hissed while waving her hand in front of her face. “You really did a good job, Gianna. It’s not my wedding day but I’m going to be just as beautiful as my friend.”
Bri stepped down and helped me up on the round stand. Sin said don’t have the dress tight but Gianna made sure she accented my round stomach well without showing too much or too little.
“What’s wrong with you, Peeg?”
“I need my split a lil’ bit higher. This is cute but it stops at the knee. I need a sexy ass split that comes up the thigh.”
“Lord and she gon’ need a ride home because she won’t be able to attend the wedding if she come in there looking like a snack.
Zoo is not having that,” I told my sister and laughed.
She was serious about her split in her dress, too, because she did not want to leave until she heard Gianna promise to have her split high.
“Thank you again, boo. See you in a few weeks.” We all waved bye to Gianna as we headed back to PJ’s car. “I don’t know about y’all, but I’m starving and I need to eat something now.”
“Ok, Greedy, we can eat here.” Bri pointed at a Mexican restaurant, and I really got excited.
“You already know. The way I eat Mexican food weekly got me thinking that I gotta be part Mexican or something.”
“The only Mexican that you are a part of is the one that you had sex with, in college. Other than that, you are all nigga.”
“Peeg, you have really been on one today. Let me find out Zoo has turned my little sister into a bigger bitch than she already was.”
“Seee, I’ll let that one slide and blame it on you being hungry. Let’s go, Big Mama.”
Bri locked her arm into mine as we walked across the street. The smell of tacos had me doing a happy dance all the way inside of the building.