Page 65 of If I Gave You My Heart
I looked in Javier's direction.
"What, bruh?" I asked.
"Man, call Joy right muthafucking now. I got accepted into Ohio State on a full ride!"
I pulled my phone out fast as hell, gave Joy a call, and then handed him the phone. He had given her the news all in one breath. I could hear her screaming her head off in his ear.
"I'm proud of you, bro. You did that shit," I congratulated him.
"Nah, we did that. You were the first person to put a basketball in my hand."
I just smiled because I never thought about it like that. This was the kind of news that I would have rushed to share with Nyoka. I missed her. I missed her badly, but I was trying to stand on business. When I left Georgia, she had reached out for the first two weeks, all attempts I blocked. Eventually, I stopped hearing from her.
Everything that Joy and Javier were saying was playing in my head. Even Adira chimed in on how I was wrong to forgive Joy and not her. Everybody's advice was loud as fuck in my head. I was just going to sit on my thoughts. I had two months until the baby shower to make a decision on whether I wanted to go or not. The thought of possibly seeing Nyoka gave me a crazy feeling in the pit of my stomach. I quickly shook it off when I realized I didn't know where she currently was in the world. I didn't even know if she would show up for the baby shower. Considering how we ended with the possibility of me going, she probably wouldn't.
"Joy, why can't I drink? This is a celebration." Javier's voice pulled me from my thoughts.
"Man, I'm drinking," I watched him say into the phone.
Without saying a word, I opened the bottle of Espolòn on the kitchen counter, grabbed a glass from the dish rack, and poured a bit into it before sliding it his way. I placed one finger on my lips, and he just smiled at me.
"And Adonis better not give you shit!" I heard Joy yell loud and clear just as Javier took the shot.
We both fell into laughter at her fussing. My business was good, which meant that so was money, and my family was straight. The only thing that was missing was that one person at my side.
Nyoka
Two Months Later
I pressed the button on the remote in my hand and watched as the curtains slowly opened. Something about the view of the Manhattan Bridge and East River got to me every time. I had blown a bag on the luxuries that I had because I fucking deserved it. As a little girl, I always dreamed of living in a penthouse. Besides my current residence, the closest I had come to a condo of this caliber was when I was fulfilling contracts for the wealthy. With me being second in command of The Heart Mirage, I could have relocated anywhere in the world, but after having my heart broken, home is where I needed it to heal.
At the beginning of my healing stage, some days were worse than others, but in the end, I realized that Adonis had stopped treating me like God had handed me to him personally. It was obvious I was brought into his life to show him genuine love, and he was brought into mine to show me to put myself first. I loved him but for a while, I was ignoring and recoloring the red flags that I was presented with. Healing became easier when I came to the realization that the entire relationship wasn't shit but some dope ass memories with a muthafucka that could go straight to hell.
Talia wanted me to stay in Georgia to help her with her pregnancy and then the baby, but we both knew that I wasn't cut out for that shit. Her crossing my mind pushed me to peel myself away from my Egyptian cotton sheets. I had a flight to catch and didn't want to be late. I had to at least show my face at her baby shower. The following Monday, I had to be at the boarding house because a new class of assassins needed to be taught. On my way out the door, I grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator. When I closed it back, I straightened out the baby shower invitation I had placed under a magnet and rushed out of the door.
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The two-and-a-half-hour flight was quick, but waiting for a damn rental wasn't. When I had reached my destination, I stepped out of the all-black Durango that I had rented and placed my Timberland boot onto the concrete. I loved fall in Georgia because it was never too hot or too cold. Pink and gold balloons filled the driveway. Many memories came back to me once I pushed the front door open. I walked throughout the house, following the bass of the music. The backyard was the perfect place for an event. When I used to live here, I had pre-planned barbecues and game nights.
"God mommy in the houseeee!" Talia screeched as soon as I stepped out the door and into the backyard.
I had to push my hair out of my face because of the wind. I had paid for one of thetop hairstylists in Atlantato come to me to install a middle part bust down.
Moving back home was one of the best things that I had done because it taught me that the soft girl era that I was expecting a nigga to provide, I could give to myself.
"God mommy is in the houseeee!" Talia said again once I was closer to her.
She was dressed in a soft pink and gold long-sleeved gown. I smiled brightly because the round belly in front of her was poking, and the weight looked good on her. Dom looked over the shoulder of the man he was talking to.
"See, bae, I told you she would come."
When I got within arm's reach, I touched her stomach. I stopped rubbing the round basketball when the breeze blew, and I smelled him. That damn Baccarat Rouge had that certain scent on his skin. I looked to the right of me, and we locked eyes.
"Hey, pretty lady."
Adonis
Nyoka looked up at me. There was this awkward silence between the four of us: me, her, Talia, and Dom.
