Page 8 of The Love Dealer

I sat on the edge of the bed and patted it for her to do the same. Reka sat next to me, and the smell of her perfume combined with weed instantly invaded my nostrils. True enough, I had a specific type, and that’s what kept my ass in trouble. Bre was the complete opposite.

When we first started dating, she was a normal good girl with plans for the future and shit. She took her classes seriously, didn’t really party, didn’t smoke or drink, and actually had a good relationship with her parents and sister.

I was a wild card back in the day and her parents really didn’t think I was good for her. I loved to party and bullshit, and Reka and the rest of my baby mamas were more my speed. They didn’t really have shit going for themselves, but they were a good time. Bre was kind of boring, but her heart was pure, and she was safe. I would have stayed out of trouble with her, but I craved it. Been paying for it ever since.

“Zo…”

“Do you want to be with me or not?”

Scratching her arm, Reka looked everywhere but at me. “Yeah, I do. I just feel like we’ve changed. Well, you’ve changed. And I haven’t. I’m still the exact same woman I’ve always been, but that doesn’t seem like it’s good enough for you anymore.”

Sighing, I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to me. I thought about what I wanted to say next. Usually, I didn’t give a damn what I said to her. She’d never been the vulnerable type. I didn’t have to worry about how my words would affect her because it didn’t seem like she cared. We were never the kind of couple who had heart to hearts. Just like I would be on my bullshit, Reka would be on hers, too. Now, a part of me felt like I had to be gentle with her. This was the woman I’d just spent the last few years with, and now, we were about to be over.

“You’re right, I have changed. The things I want in my woman and my home have changed, too. It’s not fair of me to punish you for not giving me what I want and need. I just need to find someone who will.”

Reka lifted her head. “This is about Sabrina, isn’t it?”

Sighing, I grabbed her thigh and shook my head. “No, it isn’t. This is about us. Me.”

“Yeah, you wanting her. That girl is never going to take you seriously, Zo. You would be a damn fool if you split up our family for her.”

“First of all, I’m not discussing what I will or will not do with her with you. Secondly, if anyone is splitting up our family, it’s you. I give you everything you want and need to make your life comfortable, and you can’t give me the simple shit I ask for in return. So, like I said, it’s time I find someone who will.”

Reka’s exhale was hard as she nodded. “So you want me to leave?”

“Nah, you can stay here. I don’t want to separate the kids.”

I stood to go back in the closet and pack a bag, and the sound of her chuckle made me stop. “You know how many niggas want me? And I’ve been wasting time with yo’ ass. I’m glad I started talking to a new nigga, too, because I felt like you was about to be on some bullshit when I went through your phone and saw the videos you exchanged with that ho over the weekend.” She stood and walked over to me, getting in my face as if that would make me stand down. “Unlike yo’ scary ass bitch, my nigga ain’t afraid to pull up on me. He had his face all in my pussy yesterday. And I let him cum in me since you don’t want to give me a baby no way, with your lying ass.” She scoffed and mushed me. “Talking about you don’t want a baby right now. Ha! You don’t want a baby withmebecause you tryna get back withher!”

The louder she got, the more I realized she was about to try to make me the bad guy so she could play the victim. My situation with Bre was no surprise to Reka or any other woman I fucked with over the years. Reka knew Sabrina had my heart, that’s why it was never hers to take. She knew I was keeping tabs on her and waiting for the chance to get her back. She knew we would talk from time to time and that I would flirt with her, too. Our relationship wasn’t necessarily open, but we both did our own thing.

“Keep your hands to yourself,” I warned as calmly as I could.

I didn’t give a fuck about her admitting to cheating; I just didn’t want things to get physical between us. Her sleeping with other men was another reason I always wore a condom with her. Reka was the kind of woman who went where the money did. If she had the chance to be around a man who had thick pockets, I wouldn’t be surprised what she did to get a few bills off him. That’s why I’d long ago stopped kissing her ass, too. Our relationship had become one of convenience over the years… wasn’t no love here.

“What you gon’ do if I don’t?” she taunted. “You already broke up with me. You gon’ put your hands on me, too?”

She followed me into the closet, and I felt my anger rising. “Get the fuck away from me, Reka. That’s your last warning.”

My tone must have let her know I was serious because she made her way out of the closet. For now, I would leave like I said I would. Since she made it clear she had another nigga lined up, he could take care of her bills. She could keep the house as long as she could maintain it, but the second she couldn’t, her ass was going to have to go.

five

Bre

Alonso Jackson:Can you talk?

I’d been staring at Zo’s message for I don’t know how long. I hadn’t seen him online or heard from him in days and was worried about him. Even if he didn’t post anything, Zo would get online just to talk to me. After the fourth day passed, I texted his cousin to make sure he was straight. LaLa told me she would have him reach out and he did. I asked him was he okay, and that was what he sent in response.

I hadn’t heard Alonso’s voice in years. Maybe six or seven. Releasing a shaky breath, I sent him my number so he could call me. Me and Trin were chilling in her playroom while we waited for Nick to get off work. Things had been weird between us. He seemed happier, but more distant at the same time. I considered him finding a new woman, but I felt like if he did, he would have told me. There was no point in me going crazy, trying to figure out what was going on with him. When he wanted me to know, he would tell me.

Shit, I was happier, too. After talking to my mom, I finally worked up the courage to prepare to put Trinity in daycare after her first birthday so I could return to work. I graduated from Christian Brothers University with a degree in Organizational Psychology, and I thoroughly enjoyed my career until I got pregnant and stopped working. A part of me thought I would love being a kept woman who didn’t have to work, but it was boring as hell. Maybe if I had more hobbies or friends to hang out with throughout the day, it wouldn’t be so bad. But damn. I needed school, work,somethingthat provided an escape and adult communication beyond a phone.

While I loved talking to Trinity, it was always nice talking to someone I could actually understand. Kissing Trinity’s temple, I turned the page of the book she swore she was reading. My little baby had a fascination with books and animals. She hadn’t started talking yet, but she could make several animal noises. At the sight of an elephant, Trin gasped and pointed at it. I gasped and gave her faux excitement that matched hers and she burst into a fit of giggles. It didn’t matter how things were with me and her father, Trinity was a happy baby, and I couldn’t ask for anything more.

I had gotten so engrossed with looking at the book with her and making animal noises that the sound of my phone ringing in my room completely caught me off guard. I grabbed Trin and went to get it, and at the sight of the unsaved 901 number, my heart skipped a beat.

Alonso.

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