For the Night (Sun)

by Rae Lyse

You’ve gone and slept with him and started a relationship. Now what?” “A…a relationship?” she choked out. “You’re crying over him on a random Friday morning before work. What else could you be in?” “It was a fling—nothing else.” “A fling, huh?” He scoffed. “So how are you gonna handle him for the rest of the school year?”

“Stupid would be not even recognizing that I played you. Naïve just means you ain’t lived enough life to know better to stay away from opportunistic men like me.”

“Can you at least tell me if he respected you didn’t wanna fall in love again?”

“Thank you,” she replied instead. “For?” “For caring so much.” Venus smiled, thinking about Vaughn and the moniker he’d given her. “Venus—the girl who cared too damn much.” She did care too much and if Anthony was there, he’d tell her it was nothing wrong with that.

“You need to check that bitch, Venus, because he ain’t got nobody else in his life that’s gon’ do it and do it right.”

“I wasn’t trying to be. I was being compassionate to a single daddy who doesn’t quite have it all figured out yet.”

“Y’all ain’t been an ‘us’ in a long time. It don’t matter how many times you get on your knees and beg for his forgiveness.”

“Now, after all this, the least you can do is let him have his child—let him have his peace,” Venus uttered as Tori rounded the classroom’s doorway.

“What’s wrong, Mama?” she asked, tilting her head. “I came right back…and you said you weren’t mad at Ms. T anymore ‘cause you know she’s my favorite.”

“A’ight, Deeanna. What…what you need me to do for you? Because you want something, right? That’s why you called. You

need me to fix something, because that’s all I’m good for.”

“Baby.” He grunted, turning his head to the side. “I called…and…and I texted you, but you ain’t answer. I’m tired of fighting, for real. I ain’t even a fighter.”

While he followed her inside, she kept space between them so their bodies wouldn’t touch because she just didn’t trust herself when she was in love.

“What did you do?” He murmured, pushing his tongue into her skin. “What’d you say to her?”

“Talk to me,” he whispered hotly. “Tell me what the fuck is going on in your head, Venus.”

“You don’t want me no more?” he asked, staring down at her. “You wanna separate for real?”

“You gotta want me if you convinced her to let me have my baby. You…you got⁠—” She pressed her lips against his and pushed her tongue into his mouth. Wanted him?

Didn’t he know he made her feel the most alive? He didn’t need to mull over whether she wanted him when she already belonged to him.

“Fuck it. It don’t matter if you want me or not because I love you. You know that, Venus? I’m fuckin’ in love with you. You can learn to love me like I love you because I ain’t leaving you again. I…I let you go on your lil’ rant and let you have your space, but fuck this fightin’ shit. We not separating no more.” He blinked up at her through his long lashes before he buried his face between her legs.

“You for real? You not gon’ run from me again?” She shook her head as if he could see her in the dark. “I won’t run again. I swear.” “Mhmm. You not a runner no more. Remember?”

She didn’t remember rolling over one morning and thinking to herself, “fuck, I can’t live without this man,” but she’d done it so many times after meeting Anthony that she lost count.

“No. You just told me you not a runner no more. So stop running from it. Don’t ever run from me again.” “Anthony!” she sobbed.

now you know I’d do anything for you. I never left you, baby. You know I can’t do that.” He closed his eyes.

“You don’t need to know what I told Deeanna. That’s between me and her. You just need to keep being the man I fell in love with and being the bestest daddy in the world for Tori. I know we don’t have all the answers or…or everything neat and put together, but we gon’ work it out, Ant.”

When Venus Thibodeaux was in love, her eyes dilated like she’d taken a hit of some forbidden shit and a dewy glow illuminated off of her skin that made her look ethereal.

had seen better days. “Okay…fine,” she said, throwing her arms up in exasperation. “Do whatever it is you do and sell that Benz, then. We…we can figure out another car situation.” “You not figuring out nothing.”

I…I need to fix this permanently. Let me fix it. Let me be a man. I ain’t Trey. I don’t need you to hold my hand.”

Venus was a honeymoon. Trey just ain’t appreciate that shit. “Shit, I trust you with my life,” she finally muttered.

I trust you with mine, so I’m taking your advice and being resourceful where it matters—now come on.”

“When Lynn brought me to your office, and I told you to interview me, you asked me a question,” Anthony said.

Vaughn nodded, sitting his glass down on the table in front of them. “Yeah…and then you told me you were living. You said that was what you did best—lived, and I said ‘okay, will you live long enough to start on Monday?’”

Vaughn nodded. “You should promote Mona. Bring her up to Chicago with you and then leave me here to run midtown and Sandy Springs.

“I want it. I want that job you keep asking me about… but I need a signing bonus. Mona said it’s not common in our industry but you did it for Chef Torrence. She said you only give ‘em if the person is worth it.”

“I…I fell in love and decided I ain’t wanna survive no more. I got a family to live for.”

“So, what you want out of life now, Ant?” she asked breathlessly. “To be happy with you and Munch while I collect that steady, predictable paycheck you always talking about.”

“Ain’t nothing wrong with that. Slow motion is always better than no motion, remember?” She sighed again, leaning against him as they rocked back and forth, staring at the sun. “Ain’t nothing wrong with it at all. Us grown folks do it every day, baby.”

“They subpoenaed the school records, too. I don’t have any advice to give about that. Sometimes you have to do what’s needed to take care of home—so do it.”

Even though Vaughn was being a smart-ass, he was right, in a way. Venus had turned Anthony into that family man he never thought he’d live long enough to be, and she’d done it as effortlessly as she’d testified on that stand.

“I hope you’re as happy as you told me you wanted to be. You should only wanna marry a woman that does her best to make you happy like I do.”

she said the baby didn’t ‘feel like his.’”

Deedee don’t pmo

you two still have those types of arguments in front of Tori?” “No.” “Can you tell me what changed?” DeeDee shrugged. “He’s got a girlfriend now and I’ve accepted that it’s okay for him to move on and…and I work now. I can take care of myself.” His shoulders lightened, even though he didn’t need her approval to move on. He didn’t need anything from her anymore except the help she’d promised.

He didn’t choke or stammer over his answers like Brian did, because Venus had taught him not to run from his history. “Own it,” she’d told him one night in bed, stroking her fingers across that scar on his arm. “Get up there and own it. Michole says it’s how you take your power back.”

“I’m sorry,” DeeDee called out before he could walk off. He stopped and turned around. “I’m sorry, Anthony,” she said again. “I really am. You were really good to me.”

“Yeah, me too, DeeDee.” Her apology didn’t feel as satisfying as he used to think it would, because it was just another thing he didn’t need from her anymore.

Valid.

“Mr. Nunez and Ms. Wheeler, I understand you’re both young…and you’re trying. You both have jobs. You’ve created a good life for Toriana according to the evidence presented and the testimony from the other adults in her life. There’s no doubt in my mind she loves you both equally and that you both love her a lot. I could hear it in your voices when you were on the stand and let me tell you, I’ve come across some lousy parents in my day, but one thing I’ll never do is punish parents who’re trying.”

“Mr. Nunez and Ms. Wheeler will continue to have sole physical and legal custody of Toriana

ALL I NEEDED TO SEE! Let’s go

But the one thing that did come easy with her was keeping her right where she was supposed to be.

“Brothers fight and make up just like me and you fight and make up,” he’d said, shrugging. “Makes the relationship stronger.”

“Do you love him?” Ginny blurted out of the blue. She’d skipped right past the shallow questions they asked when they had new flings, but maybe she saw it on Venus’ face, just like Lynn had. Love?

Yea she loves him

“Does he love you?” Venus smirked, shrugging. “He says he does—says he wants to marry me. I’ve never been proposed to so much in my life.” Ginny laughed hard, falling into her side. “Like them proposals you moan out while making love?” “No.” Venus shook her head. “Like them get on two knees in the middle of the kitchen while I’m trying to cook proposals, them ‘let me run your bath water and bathe you while I