Page 53 of Desire

When the call ended, he took his personal phone from his pocket, opened the Flikstagram app, and searched for the gossip page. After reading the post, he gave me his phone.

“Tammy tends to exaggerate. The pictures and comments aren’t that bad. I didn’t read all of them, but most of the ones I saw were positive.”

The pictures were similar to the ones sent to my inbox but from different angles, and I wondered if the same person had sent them.

KIITC: Onyx City mayor Aziel Harris took a little break from the office today and spent some time with his family, having a picnic in the park. If you recall, Mayor Harris shocked us all when he was matched with his bride through Arranged Hearts. Many speculated that the marriage was only to gain votes, but I don’t know. The couple looks like they’re in love.

I clicked on the comment section, and as Aziel stated, most comments were positive. Overall, people enjoyed seeing the mayor with his family and especially loved the representation of Black Love.

“Yeah, Tammy definitely exaggerated. Clearly, she focused on the negative, not the positive, which doesn’t surprise me.”

“I’m starting to give up hope that you two will ever get along.”

“You may as well. Hell, Ria’s known her for three years, and she still doesn’t like her. That’s really all I need to conclude that Tammy’s on some bullshit, and her spirit ain’t right. You’d better get on board before she finally exposes her true colors to you.”

Kids had the best discernment and were rarely wrong. When an innocent child didn’t fuck with you, your heart wasn’t in the right place.

“I can admit, for the past month or so, she’s been doing too much.”

“You mean, since the wedding?”

He thought about it for a moment before saying, “Yeah, I guess so, but me getting married was her idea. I don’t understand why she’d be mad.”

“You were supposed to get married to win votes. She didn’t think you’d match with someone you’d been checking for. She surely didn’t think you’d fall in love.”

“I guess the joke is on her. I’m about to win the votes and ride off in the sunset with the woman I love, the daughter she loves as her own, and the babies we create together.”

“Let her ass know wassup, baby,” I told him with pride, wearing a cheesy grin.

We exchanged a kiss as we entered the gate to our home. He carried Azaria inside and laid her on the little couch in her bedroom because we didn’t want her to get sand in her bed. When he returned downstairs, he passionately kissed my lips, squeezed my ass, and was out the door as quickly as he entered.

Once I was sure he was gone, I called my sisters on three-way. Neither of them had worked full-time or outside their home since they’d had children. Destinee was an accountant for small businesses, only taking on a few clients. Dream used her marketing degree as a virtual assistant and had a few famous clients, like Onyx City’s own NBA player, Dakari Bentley, and his wife, Jahzara, a world-renowned artist and photographer.

“I see y’all made it on KIITC. I guess the picnic is over,” Dream teased lovingly.

“It is, and it was a beautiful surprise. Are y’all busy?”

“Not really.”

“I’m not.”

“Good. I need to run something by y’all.”

I had a few meetings run over, so I arrived home after Azaria’s bedtime. I was thankful I’d spent a part of my afternoon with her. My dinner was in the microwave, and after inhaling it, I checked on Azaria before heading to our bedroom.

“Hey, beautiful,” I greeted Desire before we kissed.

“Hey, handsome. Did you eat?”

“Of course. Can you believe this was the first time I’ve had stuffed bell peppers? That shit was good.”

“Thank you. Ria liked it, too. How was the rest of your day?”

“Full of meetings. I talked to Tammy, though.”

“And?”

“This probably won’t be the last conversation we have. If her attitude doesn’t change, she’s gotta go. I have companies and a city to run, and I don’t have time for her nonsense.”

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