Ledge (The Domino Effect #1)

by Grey Huffington

Fuck. This isn’t helping. My thoughts dragged on as I found myself lifting Halo’s foot slightly higher and into my mouth. Every inch of her body, I wanted to taste. One by one, I rolled my tongue around and sucked on each toe.

“You have me now. I’m here. Forevermore. You can bet your last dollar on that. Whether it’s together or as friends. You can count on me, Halo. I won’t hurt you, pretty lady. I won’t let you down. I don’t want this to be our only child, either. I want more. As many as I’m given honestly; the chances of one of them being a girl is just as much as them being a boy. I need you to understand that and to trust that they’re safe with me.”

My baby needs friends, I concluded rather quickly.

“Who likes what he likes and wants what he likes. Girl you’ve got just what I like.”

“Sunshine lady, come on let your love light shine on me.”

“I’m the sorry one. I’m sorry that life has been so unkind to you. I’m sorry that you had to suffer for so long. I’m sorry that you’ve had to face this all by yourself. I’m sorry that your grandmother passed. I’m sorry that there was no one around to protect you. I’m sorry that you had such a shitty childhood. I’m sorry that the sickness of someone else forever altered your world and the perception of the world in its entirety.”

“I’m sorry that you’re afraid and always scared. I’m sorry that you haven’t become the girl that you’re yearning to be. I’m sorry that you spent most of your pregnancy alone. I’m sorry that I didn’t come sooner. I’m sorry, Halo.”

“When I think of you. When you’re near. It’s a never-ending pain that makes this feel real, makes you feel real. It’s so hard to believe that you are, but this pain reminds me. It’s as if my heart is actually hurting and I don’t know if I ever want it to stop. It hurts so good.”

“That’s love happening, Halo. I feel it, too.”

“Is it me or does she have a magic touch? Like, I’ve never felt so… nourished and refilled after a hug from a stranger in my life. You have a warmth about you that can’t be mimicked, love. I like that. Ledge, my brother, you’re stuck. I can see it now.”

Halo waiting up for me made going home hit much differently than ever before.

G, thank you for setting up my day to be full of blessings and surprises. There’s a girl just a few rooms down the hall that I’m really into. She’s having my baby. I want to do right by her. Help me. She’s the most precious thing I’ve ever seen or held in my hands. I don’t ever want to let her go. She needs a healing, a good one. It’s something I can’t do alone, so I need your help with that too. A nigga feels like he’s begging, but it is what it is. Help me help her. Show me the ropes. Show me the way. And, I promise, I’m going to put a ring on that pretty as— that pretty finger of hers. I’m out.

“Baby, why was that so hard for you to tell me? I thought some shit was really happening up here.” I tapped her forehead. “No, it’s happening here,” she explained, reaching up to grab my hand. She placed it over her heart and set my soul ablaze. There wasn’t room for question or doubt in my mind. She was it for me. This was it for me.

She’d asked for dick and that’s exactly what she’d get, but not before I ate. I was starved.

L, I swiped her pussy with my tongue. E, again. D, again. G, again. E, again. Etching my name on that motherfucker.

D. O. M. I. N. O.

Halo’s pussy was lethal and she had no idea how to use it. When she took control of her sexuality and learned how to work her pussy, it would be the deadliest weapon in the house and I wouldn’t stand a chance.

Waking up to her was like something out of a dream. I wanted to close my eyes and do that shit again, a million times over.

“I know. I just get in my head about everything. I’m trying to work on it little by little. I went with what my heart was feeling and not what my head was thinking and came up with that answer.”

“Na. You’re the dangerous one and have no earthly idea just how dangerous you are.”

“I’m not talking about them. I’m talking about the other niggas.” “Lyric, you love to play with that man when he’s not around. But, when he is, you don’t have much to say.” “Because he’s around, but when he leave, I be talking again.”

“I can see it in your face. That time almost near. Baby girl will be here soon. Here,” he said, digging into his pocket. “Put that in her savings account. I’m going to double that once she gets here and find her an investment property. We’re going to flip it and rent it out. When she turns eighteen, that’ll be her college fund if she decides to go. If not, she can use it to live out whatever dream she might have.”

I love you, I wanted to scream as I watched him follow behind his brothers. As if he’d heard me anyway, he turned around and pursed his lips together, sending me a big, fat kiss through the air. I caught it and placed it on my heart. I love him. Wholly and heavily. I love him widely and I love him deeply. Immensely. I love him. I admitted. So much it hurts.

“I forgot to get money from Ledge.” “I like how she thinks. Getting money from the man to buy his own gift. Keep that up girl and we’re going to get along just fine. But, don’t worry about it. Whatever you want, I’ll just put it on dad’s tab. It’s his son, not ours.”

“Okay. Let me know how that goes if you don’t mind.” “I don’t. Besides Ledge, you’re the only person I have to talk to about the serious baby stuff. For everyone else, it’s just common questions and knowledge.” “Aww. Well, now I feel special.” “You should because you are. I was wondering if it’s possible for a child to have two Godmothers.” “Is this your way of asking me? Because, if it is then yes I will be the baby’s Godmother, and who cares about the rules? If you want her to have two then two she’ll have.”

I’d gone from feeling all alone to feeling as if I belonged with each member of the growing family that Ledge was now a part of. He wasn’t the only one who’d found his tribe. He’d helped me find mine, too.

“That’s what the fuck I’m talking about my nigga!” “This a father right here, ya’ll!” “Con-grat-u-motherfucking-lations, bro!” “On your fucking birthday.” “Nigga, you blessed!” “Welcome to the best hood of them all, my nigga.”

“Baby, do you see her? You did it.” “I did it,” Halo wailed. “I did it.” “You did it, baby.”

“She’s everything.” “She is and she’s ours.” “She’s ours,” Halo agreed.

Suddenly, the distance between us was too much to bear. My heart hurt at the cognizance of it all. I scooted closer until the hair on our legs touched and sent electricity through our bodies. Simultaneously, our tired skin stretched to accommodate the smile we shared alike.

“Trying and trying and trying again. For not giving up on me. For not being upset about the pregnancy. For not being upset that I didn’t tell you. For letting me into your home. For giving me room to grow, feel, discover, and heal.”

“I love you,”

“Nah. I don’t think you understand. Like, I really fucking love you, Halo. Deep, deep in here,” I explained to the best of my ability, pointing at my chest. “And, what’s worse is I knew. I been knew. I knew the moment I saw you in Target and I had this rush of emotions seeing you pregnant. I, immediately, felt like that was supposed to be my luck. That was supposed to be our future. I was salty as fuck, trying my hardest to smile through my frustration with our status… or lack of status.

I love you, Halo. I’ve never loved a woman in my entire life. My mother was the only woman I’ve ever truly loved and that love is nothing in comparison to this one. The thought of you not being in my world makes me sick to my stomach, physically ill. The thought of us never making this work the way it has leaves me repulsed.

I’m just happy that I found you when I did. I’ve been lost, too, Halo. It's you that’s helping me find my way and I love you for it. I love you on a scale so grand that not even I have the words to express it.

“I just know that you’re part of me, now. You’re embedded. Your name, etched right on my heart. And, for the rest of my life, I want to keep loving on you, keep falling in love with you. Soon as you’re all better and feeling like yourself again after giving me the greatest gift ever, I’m locking it down for life. I’m telling you now so don’t freak out on me, pretty lady. Tell ya’ nigga yes when he asks you to marry him. Alright?”

“I don’t want to leave this year an unmarried man.”

“Teaching you to drive and helping you get out more is on the list. I want you to learn independence and enjoy the freedom of just being.”

“I want to learn to love you better, harder, and with everything in me. I feel like I do already, but I know there are parts of me that I locked away. Hid. Burned. I’m ready to unveil them so that I can give my all to this relationship—just like you.”

Let’s just think of it as a quest and I’m on a mission to unlock doors that were shut a long time ago. Layers. Every love needs them. I’m not expecting access to them all at once. Experiences, trials, ups and downs, hardships… that’ll peel back a new one each and every time. I’m willing to wait as long as I know that you’re the prize in the end. Not some of you, but all of you.”

“See, how do you do that?” “Do what?” “Make me fall in love with you a little more with every word that comes out of your mouth?”

“The feelings are mutual. I don’t know how many times I’ve told you, but you’re wondrous tonight. I love everything about your whole vibe and look. You put that shit on and I’m trying to peel it right off.”

“I want to take you on this table,” I admitted, placing my glass in front of me. “Then what are we waiting for, Ledge,”

Why let me fall for you the way that I did knowing you wouldn’t catch me? Why take me through all this shit if you knew you weren’t ready for a nigga to love you down like I do? Why? Why you do that, Halo?”

“Halo, look at me right now and tell me I’m a monster. Tell me that you hate me and that you want nothing more to do with me. Tell me you don’t want this to work and you want me to stop trying. Tell me to give up. Tell me that you don’t want to love me anymore. Tell me to my face, because it’s the only way I’ll receive it. Look at me and tell me this is the end and I’ll do as you ask of me.”

“What I’m asking you is, have you ever been in love, pretty lady? The real kind. The deep kind.”

“Don’t make me live my life without you. I won’t make it.”