Page 32 of Bricked Up
A few minutes passed with heavy labored breathing before their heart rates finally began to settle. Zia was the first to speak as Saadiq slowly slid out of her and pulled her close.
“Saadiq, I just found out I was pregnant yesterday after taking a test once I realized my period was late. I wasn’t trying to keep anything from you, but I was scared to tell you.”
“Why, though, Zia?” Saadiq grazed his fingers up and down her arm. “You can tell me anything. I’m not mad; I’m excited to meet my baby, and I hope it’s a girl. But you should’ve told me the second you found out.”
“I’m not sure what the sex is yet. I didn’t know how you’d feel about me being pregnant. I don’t even know how I feel about it. I have a doctor's appointment in a few days. I would love for you to go with me,” She admitted as her thoughts raced a mile a minute. “I know I’m scared, though. My mother just left me, and I’m not sure I know how to love this baby when I feel so muchpain from my birth mother. And I have no idea who my father is. Do you still wanna marry me even though I’m pregnant?”
Zia, the night you left me, I’d planned to propose. I rented out that same bookstore because it was your favorite place. I was gonna ask you to marry me on the rooftop. I paid Saraha, the owner, to get the place done up just for you. There were rose petals, champagne, and candles. I had a chef come out, a violinist, and had booked a horse and carriage ride through the park. I’ve always wanted to marry you. You always had my heart, Zia, and even after all these years and all my frustration and frustration toward you for leaving me, and after I tried to fuck you out of my mind with other women, I still only want you. It’s always been you, Zia. I’m not an expert or no shit like that, but you’re not your mother. You’ve got me, and we’re gonna be great fucking parents. I’d love to come to the doctor’s appointment with you.
Zia couldn’t do shit but burst into tears. She’d always wanted a fairytale typa love, and Saadiq had been trying to give it to her all along.
Kissing her tears away, Saadiq scooped her up, slid out of bed, and carried her to the bathroom. After sitting her on the countertop, Saadiq asked Siri to play his wind-down playlist as he ran her a bath.All Iby Jill Scott filled the room.
“Saadiq, I’m so sorry. I?—”
“Zia, it’s a’ight, baby,” he said, walking back over to her and pecking her on the lips. “We good. I won’t act like the wound ain’t still healing from what went down, but we gon’ build from right here and focus only on the present and the future. A’ight?”
Sighing, Zia nodded as she dried her eyes.
“A’ight, cool. Now you come get ya fine ass in this tub,” Saadiq slipped her hands in his and guided her to the tub and turned off the water. “While I go make you some breakfast before I head out for the day.”
“I forgot how much you used to randomly pamper and cater to me. I didn’t realize just how much I missed it until now,” Zia smiled up at him after easing into the tub. “You were also the first guy to ever teach me about aftercare when it comes to sex. You’ve been ten toes down for me since day one. Thank you for always speaking life into me and loving me when I didn’t love myself. My heart has and will always belong to you.”
“Shit, I know it will. You’re welcome, though, gorgeous,” He chuckled as he opened the linen closet and handed her one of the Kindles that he kept at his place for her, along with a tub pillow. “But remember, all of you belong to me, Zia. From ya head to ya toes, baby, and everything in between.”
Blushing Zia shook her head. Saadiq’s blunt ass was going to remind her that she belonged to him at every turn. And that shit was such a turn on even when she didn’t want to admit it. “See if I tell your blunt ass anything else.”
“Aye,” Saadiq said over his shoulder as he approached the door. “Yo’ fine ass is entitled to feel that way. It’s cool. But I know you and every inch of yo’ body better than you, so I’ll know regardless.”
“Whatever,” She giggled. “I swear I can’t stand you.”
“Yeah yeah, I love you too.”
A big smile curled Saadiq’s lips as he approached the kitchen. He was beyond happy that Zia was back in his life and having his baby. Life was good, and he wanted it to stay that way. He couldn’t wait to make her his wife and spoil the fuck out of her and all their babies. He didn’t care what anybody said, soulmates were definitely a thing in his book. And he was so thankful to have finally spun the block to snatch his up.
Saadiq whipped up French toast with powdered sugar and fresh strawberries, along with sausage patties, breakfast potatoes, and scrambled eggs, in no time. After he served Zia breakfast in bed, he headed to work. He jumped right intofinishing up the flooring when he arrived. With renovations coming along nicely, he was finally ready to start looking at possible grand opening dates. As he worked, he pondered asking Zia again if she wanted to merge their businesses together.
Not only did he think it would be great for business, but he figured he’d kill two birds with one stone by giving her what she wanted and honoring his grandmother. He had already had the thick plaster wall that separated their business inspected and had the necessary paperwork available for her to review. His contractors and engineers would do the job, so he just needed to see if she was down. Deciding to bring it up to her again tonight, Saadiq put everything out of his head for the time being and focused on the task at hand, getting the floor together.
Saadiq spent the rest of the day working on the floor and only stopped temporarily to eat a late lunch that Zia surprised him with. He tried to fuck on her a little bit in between some heated kisses, but she was adamant about getting to some kinda meeting on time, so he let her be.
By the time he decided to call it quits, it was just past ten thirty. Saadiq loved what he did for a living, but he was always excited when a job was close to being complete or nearly completed. He had another week or two before he’d have the floor done. However, if Zia wanted to merge, he was looking at a total of about a month.
A wave of sadness washed over him as he headed to turn out the lights. Turning around, he took a deep breath and slowly scanned the store. He was working hard to ensure that the shop would look exactly like his Grams wanted. Down to the furniture, appliances, and what she wanted the outside sign to look like. Gwen could draw really well, so he sort of had a blueprint to how the finished vision would look. She’d sketched it out two weeks before she passed and signed her name and the date on the bottom of the design.
Saadiq couldn’t wait to have it blown up, framed, and hung in the lobby of the store. He wished she’d lived long enough to see her vision come to life. Saadiq didn’t know how he was going to install flooring for a living and run this place, but he planned to figure it out. A heavy sigh slipped from his as he finally turned off the lights, locked up, and headed to his ride. He couldn’t wait to get home to shower, eat, and relax. Since he’d been craving pizza for the last couple of hours, he had already decided to stop by Mega Pizza Oven on the way home. But not before making a detour to go handle Jabari’s ass first. About thirty minutes before he closed up, Saadiq had finally gotten word of his cousin's whereabouts.
It had been nearly a week since Saadiq found out that Jabari was behind his breakup, and he’d been ready to kill that nigga ever since. Saadiq figured the constant work on the shop and spending the majority of his free time, wining and dining, and sucking and fucking on Zia would distract him from wanting to yank his cousin's throat out of his neck, but it had only fueled it even more. Though he’d never forget the part Zia played in their demise, the fact that Jabari set the shit in motion, a nigga he loved like a brother, burned him to his core.
After linking with one of his college homies, Ryan Sikes, who recently opened a private investigation firm, Saadiq was able to get any and everything he needed on his cousin’s bitch ass. Between Ryan and Jabari’s gossiping ass, twin exes, Marlena and Marley, Saadiq found out that Jabari had been staying at the Rhinehouse Hotel by the airport.
Apparently, he moved some hoes in with him, who he thought he was in a poly relationship with, and them bitches robbed him blind. Not only did they take ten thousand dollars from him that he kept in his home safe, and somehow managed to run up his credit cards into the thousands in less than a week without him knowing, but they stole everything of value in hishome while he watched, tied to his bed. He had to move out of his condo and into a friend’s basement until the nigga beat his ass and kicked him out for fucking his girl in the nigga’s bed. Which is how he ended up living out of the hotel for the last few months. Saadiq was pleased that the nigga was getting what he deserved, but he refused to let karma get all the fun.
Pulling into the hotel parking lot, Saadiq killed the engine and headed inside. Passing the service desk, he kept down the long, wide, marble-hued hallway and turned left into Montiguel bar and grill, the hotel restaurant. Spotting his cousin at the end of the bar, right where his P.I. told him Jabari would be at this time, he slid into the stool next to the nigga.
“I see ya muthafuckin phone is working just fine, my nigga, huh? Which means, you know I’ve been looking for you and why,” Saadiq’s tone was even, but he was heated. He wanted to bash this nigga’s head in, blood be damned. But because he didn’t want any unnecessary attention, he kept it together for now. Jabari’s mustache and bald head, which he now sported, made him look old and worn down. He also looked like somebody had literally beaten his ass very recently, and he was still trying to heal from the shit. Bruises were all over his arms, neck, cuts under his eyes, and the side of his face. Normally, seeing Jabari like that would’ve instantly got him hot and ready to throw hands with and on his cousin’s behalf, especially since Jabari couldn’t fight as good as Saadiq could, even though he stayed talking mad shit to muthafuckas, knowing he couldn’t always back his shit up.
But now, after the shit he did, Saadiq ain’t give a monkey’s nuts who fucked Jabari’s big-mouthed ass up. Far as he was concerned, the nigga got what he deserved. “I always knew you had hoe in ya blood, but you don’ reached an all-time low, ain’t ya?”
