More on this book
Community
Kindle Notes & Highlights
Carlotta told me everything. This trifling ass hoe supposed to be teaching my kid, but she fuckin’ you! You fuck every nigga at that school or just mine? I hate bitches like you!”
That was the nasty thing about swimming again. Nobody was ever there to save her from drowning. Trey never offered a life vest or even bothered calling for help while she flailed around, trying to come up for air.
“You know…it’s not even her or me. It’s you. You’re the problem,” she babbled out. “You love too fuckin’ hard and…and me and you are existing in two different universes, but we keep trying to pretend like we’re not. We weren’t meant to last anyway, so I don’t even know why I care so much.”
Girl
Venus hadn’t even been gone for an hour and he already wanted her back, but she was right. It was him.
“What you keep texting her for, huh?” she growled, frowning. “What you need her for, Anthony? I’m right here.”
He don’t want you boo
“My fuck up?” She shook her head, chuckling to herself. “You still in your feelings about what happened?”
“I did what you told me to do and asked him to sign his rights away. He said ‘no.’ I asked for split custody like you told me to. He said ‘no.’
What else you want from me, Anthony? You want me to go back in time with a magic wand and rewrite history? I can’t do that! He wants his daughter and I can’t do anything about it! You decided to risk everything and pay all this money for that expensive ass lawyer with no guarantee. You did that when I told you the odds were slim!”
You shouldn’t of cheated let’s start there
“I told you to just enjoy the time you had with her—not run off with her and hire a lawyer!”
Do you love her, Anthony?” Love?
“She doesn’t care abou—” He yanked his head out of her hand. “Nah. You don’t care about me.” His skin burned where her fingers scraped. “You don’t give a damn about me.”
“If you cared about me, we wouldn’t be here, but you don’t get that—do you?” “Don’t start this shit again, Nuney,” she spat.
“We can work this ou—” “Work what out?” He scoffed. “Ain’t nothing between me and you to work out.” “You so damn delusional that you got me delusional, you know that? I’m spending thousands of dollars on a family attorney to fight for another man’s baby, Deeanna—another nigga’s seed. Do you hear how crazy that sound?” he rasped. “And you think I don’t deserve better than you? You actually think I still love you? You really think that low of a nigga?”
Who is he?” “There is no ‘he.’ I got a new vibrator.”
Girlaaaa
“You…” Logan whispered. “You…you…slept with him, huh? He got in your head, didn’t he? That’s why you sitting up here lying for his ass.” “Logan, I didn’t mean to. It just happe—” Logan held her hand up to stop her impending ramble.
How’d she go from hating this man to making love to him in only a few weeks? “Do you care about him?” she asked. “Because he ain’t nothing like what you wrote on that paper in my office, and ain’t nothing wrong with that, but just know he’s a package deal and the rest of that package is very problematic.”
“I—” “And your job, Venus. Does he know how much you love teaching? That conflict of interest policy ain’t there for decoration.” “I—”
“I can’t,” Anthony gurgled back. “I told you that.” “Whatever it is ain’t real. It’s in your head. Just relax.”
“Love, nigga,” Josiah replied, clapping him on the chest. “You used to living off Happy Meals, that’s all that is.”
“I’m ‘rescribing you a kiss and a nap, Noni,” she’d declare, patting his head. “Let’s cuddle.”
“What you think, Nuney?” Josiah asked, leaning forward to look at him. “Still think I’m a dumbass?”
“Nah, JoJo,” he croaked, eyeing the ring again. “You was never a dumbass—just a nigga in love, that’s all. I’m proud of you.”
“So, what you need from us, baby boy?”
“Tell me what I’m supposed to do next.”
“Then you gotta ask Terry,” Dre’ replied.
“Shit, you gotta pray before you ask, Terry. That’s a scary ass lady.” Zeke sighed.
“When you picture forever, what you see?”
“The fuck you mean you don’t know?” Anthony asked. “How you don’t think about forever and you about to get married?”
“You marry my sister to divorce her and I’ll beat yo’ ass. I swear to God.” “Hold up, she was mine before she was ever your sister,” Josiah replied. Zeke belted out an obnoxious cackle, even though there wasn’t shit to laugh about. “Since when Nuney understand so much about marriage? V must got that lethal pillow talk.”
“My bad—thought you was in love, my boy. I figured you’d found life after DeeDee.” He had and DeeDee had snatched it away as soon as he got a taste of it. “Shut the fuck up talkin’ ‘bout my business,” he replied, closing his eyes. “So it’s true?” Zeke muttered. “That’s why you out here looking all sad and throwing up.”
“I heard DeeDee got out.”
“That’s why it ain’t no more V?” Josiah asked.
“Yeah. When we got back from Detroit, she was at my crib,” he rasped. “And?” Dre’ tried to coax the rest out of him, but it hurt to even think about it, let alone say it out loud.
“She took her—DeeDee took Munch again and she won’t give her back.”
“She won’t even pick up the fuckin’ phone for me. None of ‘em will—not even her mama or her brother. I been calling for a week. I even pulled up to her mama’s, but they wouldn’t answer the door even though I saw her mama’s car in the driveway.”
“That’s good, right?” Zeke asked. “Zeke…” Dre’ warned. “That’s his baby. C’mon.”
Don’t pmo Zeke
“What you mean ‘go live my life?’” “It mean—keep your money and let that doctor deal with your headache. That bitch ain’t brought nothing but havoc to your life. You fighting over a baby that ain’t yours, every six months.
“What the fuck you just say to me? You ought to be worried about whatever fucked up shit you got going on with Kristen thirsty ass.” “C’mon, y'all…” Josiah groaned, but it was too late. “Don’t do this.”
“Let that man have his kid. You done missed how many birthdays and Christmases? DeeDee don’t want you to be a daddy—she don’t even wanna be a mama. She just wanna control you.”
“You talking too much, Zeke,” Josiah warned. “That ain’t your place.”
“Then who goddamn place is it? Y'all niggas scared because you know he gon’ crash out, but I’m tired of seeing him go through this.”
That’s valid
“All I’m sayin’ is, you diggin’ in new pussy, my boy. Put a baby in V if you want one so bad,” Zeke added, shrugging.
“He already went there,” Anthony murmured through the haze. “He tellin’ me to give up my baby that I did skin to skin with! He telling me to forget her like he don’t see the way she look at me! Fuck him!”
“It’s love—that’s all, twin. You just in love with her and…and with Tori, and sometimes that shit hurts because life happens. It’s okay to feel them feelings and if anybody ever tell you it’s wrong, fuck ‘em,” Dre’ gritted in his ear. “But you gotta stop running from it.” Love?
I been frying eggs for twenty years now. I know I’m supposed to oil the freaking pa—” “Who is he?” She flipped the egg and nudged Pepper away with her foot. “Who is who?” “The man,” he replied in exasperation. “You ain’t fried an egg in years, Venus, and you sound…sad.”
“It wasn’t real, you know?” “What wasn’t? The man?” Daddy asked. “You still talking to that therapist lady, right?” “Daddy, yes…I mean, I missed my last couple of appointments…but…but…” She huffed. “He’s not imaginary. I just messed up like I always do with men.”
“Take the damn egg off the stove,” he grumbled. “We can’t afford a fire and a heartbreak.”
She wasn’t even hungry. She’d just forgotten how much love fucked with her appetite.
“I … I think I’m falling in love again,” she blurted. “But I’m scared.”
“Not this again. I told you it’s no such thing as being so afraid of falling in love that you forget how to do it. It’s made up. It’s in your head. It’s just like…like riding a bike or swimming. You never forget how to do it.”
