Page 26 of Bricked Up
Saadiq nodded, then quickly ran down the story that was told to him. Repeating the shit hurt just as much as it did the first time he heard it.
“I should’ve known,” She shook her head. “I should’ve fucking known. I can see the shit clear as day now. But back then, I was so fucking livid and hurt that I didn’t even realize I was being played. How could he do that shit to us? To you, after all the love you had for that nigga. You were the only support he had back then. You paid for him to go to school, and it wasn’t a day you didn’t show up for him.”
Saadiq shrugged as their waiter approached. All blood ain’t blood. Sometimes we have to learn the hard way that the people we love and call family may not feel the same way.
“Will you all be ordering dessert tonight?” Their waiter, Greg, inquired with a warm smile.
“Yes, I’ll have the strawberry crunch cake cheesecake, and may I please get another ice water?” Zia asked as she pulled her napkin up on her lap.
“Sure,” Greg then turned to Saadiq. “And you, sir?”
“I'll have the fried brownie ice cream bowl.”
“All right, coming right up.”
“You said you should’ve known when you were referring to Jabari. What was it that you should’ve known?”
“The chick that came by the house and dropped the bomb on me that ended our relationship. I’d seen that girl with Jabari a few weeks before everything went down. They were at Donnie’s Donuts around the corner from the apartment at the time. I only saw them because I was running late for work and got stuck at a red light in front of the shop. It was just for a quick second, though. But I was so angry you hurt me that it never crossed my mind that we were being set up when all the shit hit the fan. In the picture she showed me, you were wearing a necklace with these big ass diamond earrings I’d never seen on you before. When Jabari saw me a month later at a bar in East Lake, and I told him I broke up with you, he seemed overly shocked. Before I left, he asked me out. When I told him I wasn’t interested, he apologized and blamed it on the alcohol, but then asked me out a few nights later over Facebook. Between that time, Jabari started commenting on and liking a lot of my old posts and everything. I declined again, and I went on to try to gently explain why to spare his feelings, but he’d blocked me. I haven’t spoken to him since. Damn, so Jabari set you up because he saw me first and thought that you took me from him. That’s crazy. He’s not even my type, and I never looked his way that night, other than to say excuse me to smile at you.”
“Yeah, it’s fucked up. And his ass been plotting to do some fuck shit for a long ass time. I hate that I ain’t see that shit coming.” He explained just as the waiter approached with their dessert.
“Something had to have triggered him, or maybe he was pissed that he still didn’t have a chance after all these years. Have you talked to him?” Zia asked as she slid the fork through her cheesecake and eased it between her lips.
“Not yet, the nigga been dodging me. I got a homie tracking him down, so I should hear something soon. As heated as I am, I ain’t gon’ kill him I’on think, but I’mma definitely lay hands on that nigga. Let me get a taste?” Saadiq eyed her cheesecake as he scooped a spoonful of fried ice cream.
“Okay, but please don’t kill him, he’s not worth it, and you’ve got better things to do than rot in prison. Saadiq,” She quickly explained as she held the forkful of the cake out to him. Just as he opened his mouth, the strawberry sauce dripped off the edges and bottom of the fork. He caught the topping with the tip of his tongue, then swirled it across the bottom of the utensil, and opened his mouth to receive the small chunk of dessert.
Zia gasped and clenched her thighs together to stop the sudden but extremely relentless throbbing between her legs. Several flashbacks of Saadiq’s doing the exact same tongue movements against her clit hit her all at once, which caused her to temporarily zone out for a few moments. The pulsating was so strong, she was ready to tell Saadiq to take her to his ride and sit her on his face. But because their current vibe reminded her of their earlier days as a couple, she chose to bask in the moment instead. She took a few slow, deep breaths to get herself and sampled his dessert. She’d hoped the coolness of the ice cream would calm her hot ass down while they were still in this restaurant.
“Zia?!”
“Huh?’ She smiled up at him as she took another bite of her cheesecake.
“I said, what better things could I be doing?” Saadiq repeated with a chuckle before he ate another spoonful of his ice cream. He knew exactly why she’d zoned out and was enjoying watching her squirm.
“A ton of things. Me, for one. I love you, but I ain’t coming down to prison just to get no dick. And with the way we like to fuck each other’s brains out, I wouldn’t be able to anyway.”
“Mmm,” He licked his lips, then licked a drop of sauce from Zia’s chin and bottom lip. “We do like to fuck a lot, huh?”
“Yeah,” She grinned, “We sure do.”
“You talkin’ like we back together, officially. Are we?” Saadiq asked as he skimmed his fingers up and down her thighs.
“I don’t know,” Zia sighed with a smile. “Do you still want me?”
Saadiq cupped her chin. He gently pressed a kiss to her lips. “Of course I do. I’ve never stopped wanting you, Zia.”
“You don’t think we need more time, Saadiq?”
“What the fuck do we need more time for?” His brows shot up in annoyance. “I haven’t seen you in three years. Even though this is the first time I’m actually admitting it, I’ve been waiting for you to come to ya senses for a long ass time.”
“I just want you to be sure, be absolutely positive that you still want me, Saadiq. If you’re sure, then let’s do it.”
“A’ight, it’s done. You’re all mine.”
“I always have been,” Zia blushed as a small moan escaped her when Saadiq kissed her again. “Saadiq, I’m so sorry I walked out without coming to you first. I just figured what more did I need when it appeared that you fucked up.” Her shoulder slumped slightly. “It’s all my fault that we broke up when we could’ve been?—”
“Stop, Zia, even though I was hurt. I get why you walked away,” He shrugged. “As much as I don’t wanna admit it, I probably would’ve done the same thing. So don’t beat yaself up about this shit.”
