Page 19 of Forbidden Fruit

“You okay?”

“I’m just tired, baby.”

I pulled her to me and kissed her head, wishing I could tell her to just stay home and rest today, but I didn’t make nearly enough money. The room I reserved at the Eleganté was gon’ be free. One of my homegirls from school was gonna hook me up. She always did that when my name came across the desk, not that I was there often.

After this escapade, I would have to start saving money. I still couldn’t believe I was gonna be a father. After letting my mama go from my embrace, she headed toward the door, but not before turning to look at me. “What’s going on with you, Drek. You seem excited about something.”

“Well, I’on know for sure yet. I should know by this evening how everything will play out. I’ll let you know something then.”

“Okay. If you say so.”

I smiled at her, then we left out to start our day.

After dropping her off, I went to the store and got a small bouquet of flowers. I couldn’t wait to see Vashti today. It had been a month since I’d last felt her, and this time we would have a bed. This shit was gon’ be way different than the last time we had sex. There wouldn’t be a choke hold on either of our emotions. We’d already expressed how we felt about each other, so there wouldn’t be nothing to hide this time.

I checked in our room, then put her flowers in the fridge and lay across the bed, awaiting her call. Vashti said she was gonna get to St. Elizabeth early, so we would have more time together. I took my mom to work at nine, so hopefully Vash would be calling me soon. I rolled to my back and stared at the ceiling.

Being a dad was gonna be scary as fuck. I was going to have two extra people I’d have to look out for. That shouldn’t be a problem at almost twenty-seven dollars an hour. However, I was almost sure that Vashti would be making more money than me, so we should be fine. I was trippin’ for nothing.

The hardest part would be right now, though. We were only at the end of June. I wouldn’t be making good money until December, a little over five months away. Although she would be working soon, it was my job to provide for us. My dad had shown me how to take care of a family before he got sick. He didn’t make much money, but he did his best to make sure we had what we needed.

The ringing phone pulled me away from my thoughts. It was Vashti. “Hello?”

“Hey, Gray. I should be done in the next ten minutes.”

“Okay. What entrance should I pick you up at?”

“I’ll be at the front.”

“A’ight. I’m on my way.”

I ended the call happy as shit. Having my own family wasn’t something I ever really thought about, but now it wasallI could think about. Within ten minutes, I’d arrived at the hospital and Vashti was walking out of the automatic doors. She smiled at the sight of me, then quickly made her way to my car. I got out and opened the door for her, then kissed her. Before I could get back in the car, I could see a man in a white coat staring at us.Shit.It was probably someone that knew her father.

I got in the car, and Vashti looked so happy. “I start next week! I’m so excited!”

“Congratulations. I’m proud of you,” I said as I drove away. “Let’s go celebrate.”

She giggled as she grabbed my hand. “Can we stop to get something to eat first?”

“Of course. What my baby mama wanna eat?”

She playfully slapped my arm and rolled her eyes. “I want some fried chicken from Popeyes. Oh my goodness, I can taste it!”

“Vash, it’s only ten.”

“They open at ten, Drek. There’s one down on Phelan. Pleeeeeaaaase?”

I shook my head slowly, then went to Popeyes. And the cravings had begun.

When I say this chick ordered a big ass meal, I ain’t nowhere near lying. She ordered a five-piece, spicy, chicken strip dinner, with fries, and a biscuit. Then she ordered some red beans and rice on the side and two extra biscuits. I thought she was ordering all that to share with me until she turned around and asked, “You ain’t hungry?”

My eyes had widened. I had to see this shit for myself. She was gon’ have to sleep that off before we did anything else. We took our food to go and headed back to the hotel. Before we could even get there good, this girl had already killed those red beans and rice and two biscuits. “You gon’ be on that toilet later, watch.”

“Shut up, Drek! I will not. I like Popeyes.”

“You may like them, but we gon’ see how much they like you later.”

She laughed and slapped my arm as I got out to open her door. I grabbed the food from her, then helped her out. Walking inside hand in hand made me feel amazing, like she was mine forever. When we got to the room, her phone was ringing. She looked at it and rolled her eyes. “Everything okay?”

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