11. Royal
Royal
Aaliyah had gone to Beaumont to enjoy a day of pampering.
She needed it. I’d been wearing that pussy out.
She seemed to enjoy every minute of it. My sex drive was extremely high.
That was why I fucked around so much. I knew she was tired though, so I called Nikki to join us later.
She loved being with Nikki too, so hopefully, I was doing us both a favor.
She was getting a pregnancy massage, facial, mani/pedi, and her hair done.
While she was doing all that, I was at home setting up for a night of celebration.
Bali told me to expect the results of our paternity test sometime today.
I had a lot of nervous energy, so I was doing my best to exert it positively. I wanted to fuck so bad though.
My dick had been hard for at least an hour.
I wanted to wait for Aaliyah instead of jacking off, but I was starting to throb.
That shit was getting painful as hell. His ass was greedy as fuck.
Taking a deep breath, I started thinking about my babies.
Ravi and Rasha Henderson. I could imagine just how beautiful they would be.
We both had nice hair. I just kept mine cut low.
It grew fast though. I was in my dad’s chair once a week.
We both had flawless skin, and nice smiles. I had a nice smile. Aaliyah’s smile was stunning as fuck. Our kids didn’t have a choice but be gorgeous, even if they got more of one parent’s genes than the other.
There was a loud knock at my door as I placed a bouquet of roses on the table in the foyer. I frowned as I went to it. When I saw Kingsley, I opened it. “What’s up, man?”
“Nigga, they just went to the diner and fucking snatched niggas up. They took Seven, Ace, Jacob, Christian, Kane, Ryder J, Brix, and Crew.”
“Where was Watchful Eyes?”
“Man, they were there, but the government had a fucking army when they went there. I’m sure they will all be out before the day is over but still.
Those muthafuckas ain’t got shit to do but fuck with us.
Had Uncle Marcus, my dad, yours, or Uncle Storm been there, they probably would have taken them too. ”
“I’m surprised they weren’t there.”
“They were in a meeting with Uncle WJ at the accounting office. They almost took Jess’s ass too. Brix had to holler at her to get her to chill out.”
“Fuck, man. I’m gonna assume Shy and Missus Taylor are already on their way.”
“Yeah. Shy brought a couple of lawyers from his firm to help out. I think one of them is his sister-in-law. Of course, our dads and uncles went up there too. Lennox said he was going to meet them there.”
Lennox was Nesha’s husband, and he was a detective.
Hopefully, he could find out what the fuck was going on.
He tended to stay out of our bullshit, so he didn’t fuck around and lose his job, but this shit was unjust. They had no evidence of wrongdoing.
I knew that. They probably were only after Seven and everybody else got involved and ended up in cuffs too.
“They definitely been watching how we move if they came with a fucking army. They came to the clinic the other day and got told to get the fuck out . . . with plenty of artillery reinforcement.”
“This shit is crazy, man. All this shit boils down to them not being able to see Black folks prospering. They need to get that muthafucka out of office. If he died today, it wouldn’t be too soon.”
“Nigga, this minute.”
“I just wanted you to know. How’s Aaliyah?”
“She’s good, man. How are things with you and Treasure?”
He shrugged his shoulders. I stepped back, and said, “Come in, Kingsley. It’s too fucking hot out there.”
He chuckled, then walked in and smiled tightly at the flowers.
After sitting on the couch, he said, “She needs to go back to counseling. She so fucking traumatized and has been that way for so long until it’s become her new normal.
I hate that shit, man. She’s second guessing everything, including why I want to be with her.
I love her so much. I feel like I’m losing my mind without her.
I dropped my classes for the second summer session.
My mind ain’t focused enough for no graduate classes. ”
“Have you talked to anybody in her family?”
“Naw. I feel like they gon’ tell me to respect her wishes. I’m miserable, so maybe I should. I thought I had won her over. Then when PJ got killed, it knocked her all the way back.”
“Damn, man. I hate that. You’ve been everything she needed during this process. I wish she could see that.”
“She sees it. She just doesn’t think I’m sincere about it . . . that I have an ulterior motive. It’s been over a year. I just want her to be able to let go of the trauma and move on, but I can’t dictate when that should happen.”
I nodded and lowered my head. I didn’t know what to tell him. “Did she go to lunch with Cachet, Aaliyah, and Kambel the other day? Aaliyah had said she was supposed to, but I never did ask her if she made it out.”
“I don’t know. I’ve backed off. I haven’t talked to her since Wednesday morning, the day they were supposed to go.
I’ve been waiting to see if she would reach out.
It’s Friday, and I haven’t heard from her since.
I just have to move on because this shit ain’t healthy.
I’m just spinning my wheels and destroying my own mental health.
I love her, but I can’t continue doing this to myself.
I can’t make her better. She has to want it. ”
“You’re right. Have you told her that?”
“Yeah, a while ago. I haven’t told her that recently. She thinks I’m trying to manipulate her into doing what I want her to do.”
“That’s crazy as fuck. You’re the sincerest person I know. You always say what you mean and mean what you say. How could someone that has known you for over a year think you’re running game?”
“It ain’t her, Royal. Her trauma is speaking loudly. The only person she trusts completely is Mythic. I find that to be crazy because it was his actions that got her in that situation. Even he doesn’t understand it. He fully expected her to damn near hate him.”
“Yeah. I think you’re doing the right thing by falling back. Maybe that will prompt her to reach out.”
“I’m not going to wait forever though. I can’t put my life on hold like that. I’m twenty-five years old. There are no guarantees in this world. I refuse to waste time pining after someone that may never come around.”
He stood, so I stood too. “I’m sorry, King.”
“Yeah, me too. I see you setting up for a romantic evening, so I’m gon’ get out your way. I’ll talk to you later, man.”
“Talk to your dad about it.”
“They got enough on their plates right now.”
“He will definitely push some shit off that plate for you. Talk to him.”
“We’ll see.”
He slapped my hand and headed out the door. I watched him walk to his house next door. I hated he was going through that bullshit. After closing the door, I texted my dad to see what was going on with everybody. This shit was ridiculous.
Aye, Dad. What the hell happened at the diner?
I sat on the couch with my phone in my hand, waiting to hear back from him.
I supposed all the drama served at least one purpose.
My mind was no longer on fucking. I wanted to make sure my people were cool, even my brother.
That muthafucka was still on my last nerve.
That was why I hated getting that angry.
It took me a while to come back from it.
I loved my brother, but he was wrong as fuck and had yet to admit to that shit.
When my phone chimed, I thought it was a text from my dad, but it wasn’t a text at all.
It was an email. It felt like I immediately started sweating.
When I opened my email, I realized it was from the first clinic we’d gone to.
I frowned slightly, because they had no reason to be emailing me. I skimmed through it until I saw:
. . . DNA sample was contaminated. We do apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. Please call the office to reschedule another test, so we can provide accurate results at no cost to you.
“No shit,” I said aloud. I rolled my eyes as I thought about all the bullshit that caused. Thankfully, I didn’t allow that shit to cause me to let Aaliyah go permanently.
When my dad’s text came through, I got nervous.
They are keeping Seven for whatever reason.
They won’t say. Sidney and Shy are back there setting it off.
I heard Shy yell once. Crew, Ryder J, Jacob, Ace, Brix, Kane, Christian, and Crew were all arrested for interfering.
They’ll probably be getting released in a lil bit.
Your uncle mayor may get arrested next. That nigga acting a fool up here.
I slowly shook my head. They refused to just leave Seven alone. I didn’t know what they thought they had on him, but it was plain to see they just wanted to fuck with him.
Me: Did Uncle Marcus go up there with y’all?
Dad: Naw. That nigga know he gotta stay out them people way for right now.
Me: Okay. Keep me updated.
I stood and went to the kitchen and poured a glass of Crown. Whenever I looked at the shit, I rolled my eyes and chuckled. Once I took a swig, I started working on the recipe post I found on TikTok. It looked simple enough. I wanted to cater to Aaliyah. She deserved that.
After seasoning my chicken breasts and browning them, I was about to work on the sauce, but my phone chimed again.
I went to it to see if my dad had something else to say.
It was an email. I needed to change the alert sound, so I would know which was which.
When I saw the email from a clinic, my hands started trembling. I was nervous as fuck.
I was planning this romantic evening with my baby not only to just cater to her, but to celebrate me being the babies’ biological father.
I felt like God would reward my faith if I did.
It didn’t erase my nervousness, but I was doing it anyway, praying for the best. Whatever the outcome, I had to believe that it would be what was best.
My thumb trembled as I hovered it over the email, causing me to accidentally hit it before I was ready.
I quickly closed my eyes and took deep breaths, trying to get my nerves under control.
Just that quickly, I’d stressed myself into a headache.
I set my phone down and took another swig of Crown and decided to get my sauce started for the pasta.
I sauteed the vegetables, spinach, and broccoli in butter, then added seasoning and flour to make it nice and thick. After adding the heavy whipping cream and mozzarella, pepper jack, and parmesan cheeses, I stirred it, then went back to the email.
I awakened my screen and scanned it to see Royal Henderson is a 99.
9% match to the DNA of the unborn babies of Aaliyah Anderson.
I dropped my phone to the countertop and literally cried.
This was what we’d been hoping and praying for.
I couldn’t wait until Aaliyah got home. She was busy relaxing so I knew she wouldn’t see the email.
Plus, she had her notifications off for email.
I wiped my face as a smile emerged on my lips.
I couldn’t wait to celebrate all over her body.
Nikki would be sure to make sure Aaliyah was more than satisfied with her performance as well.
I honestly believed Nikki preferred women over men anyway.
With the way these niggas were cutting up these days, I couldn’t say that I blamed her.
My phone chimed, so I looked at it to see a text from Bali.
Congratulations, nigga. We already knew that shit though.
I chuckled. I swore, they were definitely Uncle Storm’s kids. They had his mouth and attitude, especially Seven’s ass. I hoped they figured out what was going on with him. I couldn’t lose PJ and him. Our crew wouldn’t be complete without him. Glancing back down at Bali’s message, I responded.
Me: Thank you, nigga. I appreciate you for having faith along with me.
Her: That wasn’t faith. It was facts.
Me: Well, whatever it was, thank you.
I smiled and went back to my sauce before I burned the shit.
After adding the noodles and the chicken breasts I diced, I put it in a baking dish and added shredded cheese and sliced chicken breast on top.
My mama would be proud. I set the oven to 375 degrees and slid it in the oven to bake for twenty-five minutes.
I sent a text to Nikki to make sure we were still on for tonight, and she assured me that she would never miss an opportunity to be in our company. I smiled at it and just like that, my dick was hard all over again.