Chapter 9 #3
“Why you don’t go over there to see your grandma, and the rest of your cousins on my side?
Every time I call ma, she be fussing at me, telling me that she wants to see you, but you won’t go over there, and kick it with him.
I ain’t asking you to go over there every weekend, but damn, you can’t go a couple of times out the month?
My side of the family loves you too. You spent a lot of time with them as a kid,” I already knew that he was going to get on me about this.
He always did whenever I talked to him over the phone, or when I came for visitation.
“Your family is so judgy, and I hate that about them. Your sister, and her kids are still living over there with grandma, and every time I used to come over in the past, they used to talk so much shit, saying that I thought that I was better than them. Then, grandma always talking shit about my mama, saying how she had all these kids, giving us different daddies. I just hate going over there to that kind of environment. I got a text the other day from Jaz, telling me that they were going to have a big 75th birthday party for grandma, so I’ll probably go over there for that, but I’m not staying long,” I was honest with him.
Jaz was my cousin. She was my dad’s sister’s daughter. Me, and her were cordial. I guess our relationship was much better than the one that I had with the rest of them on his side.
“I’ll take that. I can’t show up because of my circumstances, so just step in for me. You ain’t gotta stay long. I need them to see how pretty my baby is. You know I like to brag when it comes to my creation,” he boasted.
A lot of the confidence that I had came from my father.
I grew up, coming down to this prison to see him, and all I’ve ever heard were words of encouragement from him.
He always told me how I was the prettiest girl in the world, and you could just tell that I was that one thing in his life that he was super proud of.
“What’s your love life looking like? What duck ass niggas out here trying to get some of your time?” I knew that question was coming as well. That was always a question from him. It’s been a while since I’ve dated.
After that whole circus act between me, and Garrus, I’ve been putting dating on the back burner, so for the longest, whenever he would ask me this question, I would always tell him that I wasn’t seeing anyone.
This time, when he asked me that question, I was sitting here, fighting like hell to control the smile on my face, as I thought about Tank.
I’m not sure if that young man had put some kind of spell on me, but ever since last weekend when he pretty much kidnapped me from hanging with my sisters, and we shared that kiss, when his hands were exploring my body, or when he was whispering all kinds of nasty things in my ear, I couldn’t stop thinking about him.
It was to the point that I was almost embarrassed about how I thought about him so much.
I’ve played with my rose toy every day, up until yesterday when my cycle came on, and during my orgasms, all I could think about was him.
I know I told him that I was going to block him, and pretty much run away from him, but that was a damn lie.
“Still the same. I haven’t been seeing anyone,” I lied to him.
“You get your lying from your mama, meaning that you can’t tell a good lie, just like she can’t.
The second I asked you about your love life, you started with that goofy ass smiling.
Who this nigga is man? Who the fuck got my daughter smiling like this?
Fuck going on?” he asked it in a joking kind of way, which had me cracking up.
“It’s nothing serious, daddy. We’re just getting to know each other right now,” I only told him a little bit, but I knew that he was going to press and want more.
“Is he my age? I know those are the ones that you typically go for,” he said, knowing his daughter all too well.
“No. He’s actually younger than me. Two years younger than me. He’s friends with my sister’s husband, June. That’s actually how me, and him met,” I let him know, and he nodded.
“Free’s husband used to be in the streets, right? That means that the nigga your talking about is in the streets then?” he wanted to know.
“He used to be. Daddy, you know me well enough to know that I’ll never in my life date a man that’s in the streets, selling drugs.
He’s legit now. He owns a few smoke shops.
He makes his money the legal way,” I stated, hating that I was even here sharing these things with him because really, there wasn’t anything serious going on with Tank and I.
“Aight. Yeah, next time you talk to that nigga, tell him that he gotta come see me. Ima add his name to my visitation list. I gotta get in his chest a little bit,” I waved him off, not going to say anything else about it because I felt like I’d already said too much.
We spent the rest of our visit talking about a little bit of everything.
It’s like my dad would make a mental note of the questions that he wanted to ask me because all throughout the visit, he was firing questions at me back-to-back.
With all the talking that we’d done, time had gone by super-fast.
Just as emotional as I’d gotten when I saw him, is the same way that I handled it when it was time for him to line up on the wall with the rest of the inmates, so that they could go back to their cells.
I had no idea what the hell was wrong with me because I hadn’t carried on this bad in a couple of years but just knowing that I had to leave this place without him was a pain that I didn’t think I would ever get used to.
I watched my dad from across the room, as I stood up, using my hands to wipe my eyes.
He threw his hands up, making a heart, and he mouthed to me that he loved me.
I made the heart with my hands as well, letting him know that I loved him too, and my heart shattered watching him as he was led out of the room.
I dried my tears as best as I could, and I stood in the line with everyone else, so that we could leave too. This trip that I was getting ready to take with Blake was coming right on time. I needed the distraction from the way that I’d just gotten my heart broken at this prison.
9:36 P.M.
New York
“That shower was so good. My God. I didn’t even want to get out,” I said to my best friend, as I made my way into the living room area, where she was waiting for me.
We’d made it to New York. As promised, whoever Flex and his team were, they hooked us up with a nice private jet getting here. Blake and I had gone through two bottles of wine on the jet, taken a couple of shots, so you know that I was feeling more than good right now.
Blake owned a one-bedroom apartment here in Long Island City.
I loved this area in New York for her because it was modern, and a lot of other wealthy professionals like herself typically stayed in this area.
One of the things that sold me about this apartment was the amazing skyline view that she had of Manhattan.
I loved a beautiful view. I loved something cozy, where I could chill in my living area, or my bedroom, open the patio door, and enjoy some TV time, with an amazing view looking back at me like this.
This was a brand-new building, and even though it was a one-bedroom apartment, it was huge, with a lot of open space, looking like a luxury condo. The condo that Blake had back home in Miami was just as amazing, so my girl literally had the best of both worlds.
“You came out just in time because I was getting ready to knock on the door and see if everything was alright. The food came. That’s yours right there on the table.
What movie you feel like watching? I want to watch something romantic, and cry at the end of it,” Blake offered the second that I flopped down on the couch, sitting right next to her.
I sat my phone down on the arm of the couch, and I pulled my legs up, sitting Indian style.
I was so exhausted, so I knew that I was going to barely finish my food, and whatever movie that she decided to put on, I’ll be lucky if I got through the first thirty minutes of it.
I’ve been up since four this morning, and hit the road super early, so that I could visit my dad.
Once the visit was over, I took the 4+ hour ride back home, packed a bag, showered, and I really only had time to sleep for about an hour.
Bagel was dropped off to the pet concierge service that was offered at my condo, and once he was off, I had an Uber pick me up and take me to the airport.
“Put on anything. It don’t even matter because whatever you put on, it’s going to be watching me,” I blurted, as I reached over, and I grabbed my container of food that was sitting on the table in front of me.
Blake ordered Chinese take- out for us. I’ve never had food from this Chinese restaurant, but Blake always did, and she claimed that it was the best Chinese food that she’s ever had, and she hyped up the shrimp Lo Mein, so that’s what I had her order for me.
“Here you go about to be on that grandma shit. I’m trying to watch a movie with my best friend and crack open another bottle. Don’t start that boring ass shit, Dionne,” Blake fussed, popping me on my leg, and then she stood up from the couch.
I took my eyes off the food that was in front of me, so that I could glance up at her.
Blake put the B in bad ass bitch! I tell my best friend all the time that in another lifetime, if I was ever into girls, that she would be the first woman that I took down.
The body on her was sickening! It was the kind of body where the most faithful man could be out with his woman, and Blake would walk by, and he would still break his neck to glance over at her.