Gills
Natii was the last person I expected to see.
Back in the day, she accused me of dealing with somebody I had no idea even existed.
It all made sense now that I knew it was Journei.
Natii was on my neck about mama so much I ended things and never looked back.
There’s power in the tongue, and what she spoke up came into existence.
I sat on the bed waitin’ for mama to come out the bathroom. She was aggravated, and I knew how women need to count to ten or whatever to regroup. I wasn’t about to interrupt her moment.
She was a firecracker for sure, and I saw I was goin’ to need to keep her under me to make sure she didn’t harm my son.
Mama had me waitin’ longer than I expected. I thought she was goin’ to give me a quick five to ten minutes, but it was goin’ on twenty minutes, and she had yet to come out, so I went to see what the problem was.
I made my way to the bathroom door, and of course it was locked when I turned the knob. I did a light tap on the door and waited for her to open it. Instead, she ignored me and left me standing there.
“Mama, I’m not about to talk to you through this door.”
It took her a minute, but she eventually let me in. When I waked in, she was sitting on the side of the tub with tears flowin’ down her face. A lil’ confusion was setting in ’cause she had no reason to be in tears.
I took a seat on the toilet and pulled her into my lap. Whatever she was thinkin’ needed to get up out of there. We were in a good space and didn’t need the extra drama on top of what Alexis threw our way already.
“Talk,” I said.
“In a matter of months, I went from livin’ a stress-free life to fightin’ ova my wife and my fuckin’ baby daddy. The fuck do y’all want from me?” She sobbed.
“Stop cryin’ ’cause you ain’t had to fight a soul over me. You had me from day one lil’ do you know. I can’t control what people say or do, but I can control how I protect you. As long as you’re with me, you will go untouched. Believe me on that.”
She probably felt like she was competing for what was hers, but as far as I was concerned, couldn’t nobody get close to me the way she had. I was hers through and through. My heart belonged to her, and she knew it.
Alexis might’ve fucked her head up, but I hadn’t switched my feelings since I let them be known. When I told her I loved her, I meant every word. There was no room to second-guess what I said or felt.
“Your son got me out here lookin’ like a wimp. Cryin’ and carryin’ on like this shit is normal. Why you get me pregnant in the first fuckin’ place?” she snapped.
Journei went from being down and in her feelings to catchin’ an attitude toward me. She hopped up off my lap and went to the sink to clean her face. I watched with a confused look. Somehow, she managed to make this my fault.
“So, you blamin’ me for your emotions bein’ unstable?” I asked.
Just as soon as I asked the question, her head snapped in my direction. Her eyes were dark, and I could almost see her blood boiling. My choice of words seemed to tick her off even more.
“Damn, my bad. It was me that ran up in me raw and sprayed my walls down. Way to go, Journei. You fucked yourself.” Her response said a lot.
A smirk found its way upon my face. Her attitude needed to be adjusted, and I was a specialist in doin’ so. I stood and took slow, subtle steps toward the mother of my child. Her glare never softened.
The simple connection of my hand cuffin’ her neck relaxed her whole body. Her natural fumes were invading my nostrils and arousal had set in. Two weeks had gon’ by, and Journei’s juices had yet to coat me.
Turning her around, facing the mirror, our eyes connected. My hand was still around her neck as the other began to hike her sundress above her waist. She occupied her hands by reachin’ behind her to pull my joggers as well as briefs down.
“If you wanted to feel me in you…” I stopped midsentence to place her leg on the counter and insert myself into her canal before I continued. “All you had to do was say that.”
I slow stroked the one place that seemed to ease all my pain. The way she felt originally had been magnified. Her waves were crashin’ against my manhood, and I was fallin’ deeper between her folds.
“I didn’t wa—”
Her words were cut off by a stroke that made her body jump and her teeth penetrate her bottom lip. Our eyes were no longer connected due to her havin’ hers completely shut. Enjoyment was written all over her face.
“Oh, you didn’t… my bad,” I responded.
I started to slide out of her tunnel when she used her muscles to pull me back in. Never had I had a woman do me the way Journei did. She was the only addiction I would proudly brag about.
Grabbin’ the sides of her waist, I drilled her from the back. Her enjoyment wasn’t the only thing evident. All men did this thing where we look up to the ceiling to gain some composure. That was what I had to do ’cause watchin’ how her cheeks moved was sure to cause a premature reaction.
Her walls were closing in on my manhood, letting me know she was seconds away from creamin’. Speedin’ up the pace, I decided to release with her. From now on, she wasn’t doin’ nothin’ alone.
“Baby, I’m cumminnn’!” she screamed and grabbed onto the edge the sink.
“I know, mama. I’m with you.”
She gave me everything I had been missin’ within those last couple of weeks. The joint feeling felt too good to disconnect, so I stayed planted inside her canal as my high came down. Her moisture mixed with her warmth was how we managed to create a being sharing both parts of us.
“I’m supposed to be upset with you, not fuckin’ you,” she said with a slight chuckle as she slowly dragged her leg from the countertop.
Easing out of her, she let a low moan escape her lips. I had an idea how she felt because it sent a jolt of electricity through me as we detached our bodies. Now that Journei was mine, sinning became that much easier.
For the rest of the evening, Journei played nice and kept her hands to herself. However, there were times where I didn’t know if she was gon’ pop off or not. Natii kept her distance, but Journei’s death threats were felt by everyone. I prayed my son didn’t have her temper.
&
A knock sounded off the door before it was opened, and in walked a slim, caramel woman with hazelnut eyes, and a brush cut. She wore a white coat with the name Dr. Pascal embroidered on the left side.
“Hello. I’m Dr. Pascal. You must be Journei Evans and dad, am I right?” she questioned with an extended hand.
Journei giggled while shakin’ her hand and answered, “Yeah. That’s us. How are you?”
“I’m great. Thanks for asking. The real question is how are you?” she countered and went to wash her hands, then put a set of gloves on before taking a seat in front of a monitor beside the table.
“Pretty good actually. I have a hard time keepin’ food down, but otha than that… perfect!”
“Oh, we can fix that with no problem. We have to go over some basic questions, but I promise they’re not questions that’s going to have you wanting to slap me for being in your business,” she said with a smile.
The appointment wasn’t bad at all. I took a mental note on everything Dr. Pascal said to Journei. Come to find out, Journei had just completed her first trimester of her pregnancy. She had been carryin’ my son from the very first time I entered her.
When I heard his heartbeat, I wimped out. A tear or two that I couldn’t control fell. That wasn’t the way I wanted to become a father, but nobody was perfect. I engaged in temptation and got a blessing from it two times over.
“Alrighty, you two. Next appointment, we can find out the sex of this little angel. Remember, take the pills once a day. If you have any side effects that bothers you, don’t be afraid to call me directly.”
She handed over her card and left the same way she entered. Helping Journei off the table, I was more in love with her then than I was before. To actually hear what we created hit different on so many levels.
“It’ll be late when we get back to Nashville. Can we just crash at your granny’s crib? I’m ready to eat and relax,” Journei asked.
I simply nodded and proceeded to lead her out the building altogether. That appointment alone had me on an unexplainable high. I regretted no actions leading up to that moment.
We rode in a comfortable silence to Granny’s house. Pandora was playin’ some ’90s R&B through the car speakers, placing a soothing vibe around us. We were happy and unbothered—just how I wanted it.
It took us twenty to thirty minutes to reach our destination. Annie Mae had an empty driveway, so I assumed she was free from any extra company. I parked, then walked around to let mama out afterward.
Granny didn’t know we were stoppin’ by, yet she was preparing a meal. We could smell it outside. Curiosity struck me.
Entering the house with my key, I walked into the kitchen with Journei on my heels. Diego was takin’ a bowl of punch out the fridge while Kégo was pickin’ up a pie.
“It’s y’all havin’ the audacity to eat this good without me and my woman for me. I mean not a phone call or text was made. Baffling,” I said and shook my head.
“Mijo (My son),” Diego answered with a smile on his face.
“Wassup, Papa? How you feelin’?”
“I’m good. Abuela finna feed me, so you know I’m straight.” He looked at Journei and said, “Estas brillando (You’re glowing).”
My son definitely had her glowin’. Her curls even held a natural layer of shine to it. She dropped her head and blushed from his words.
Jealousy swept over me for a brief second before I shook it off. I was selfish and didn’t want anyone makin’ her smile other than me.
“Thank you, Diego,” she said shyly. A wink was thrown from him as he passed by us to the dining area.
“Kégo, if I hit Papa with a two piece, you follow suit,” I jested.
“You know he think he hot shit.” He walked over with the pie in one hand and dapped me up with the other. “What you doin’ this way?” he asked, then placed a kiss on Journei’s cheek.
“I was coming to check on abuela, but I see she doin’ just fine,” I responded and headed into the dining room to take a seat.
Journei occupied the same seat as the last dinner we shared with Granny. Galleria wasn’t present, so I was happy about that. The night would consist of good vibes and genuine laughs. That was somethin’ mama, and I needed lately.
Granny prepared a classic soul food meal. I wasn’t a fan of meatloaf, but when Annie Mae Gills cooked it, it got gone within minutes. Journei was able to keep her food down for once. The pills the doctor prescribed must’ve worked.
We had just finished stuffing our faces when Granny spoke up with a poor choice of wording.
“Oh, Christian, I’m so glad you decided to stop by. Them darn twins are drivin’ me crazy, and Persephone is in her mood. They miss their daddy.”
If looks could kill, Kégo would’ve been readin’ my eulogy right then.