Page 69 of Love Letters From Memphis

forty-nine

Later that Afternoon

As excitedas Lei was to be with Simone and Destiny, she couldn’t focus for anything. Her mind kept drifting back to Regal and the hopeless look on her face. To Royalty and how happy she appeared to be. Lei couldn’t imagine how much of an expense Regal was paying to raise a happy, healthy daughter with Steven. Though Londen promised not to handle Steven until Regal reached out, a part of Lei wanted to have him take care of it now and just bless Regal with enough money for a fresh start herself. If she did that, though, Regal would be the one carrying hate in her heart for Lei, and Lei didn’t want to be on the receiving end of that.

Unfortunately, a woman wouldn’t leave until she was ready to. All Lei could do was hope Regal made that decision before Steven made the decision for her to leave this world.

“Hey,” Simone called softly, squeezing Lei’s hand. “Are you okay? You look like you have a lot on your mind.”

“Yes, and I do, but I’m good. Just… can’t get Regal’s face out of my head.”

Simone’s eyes rolled and Destiny chuckled. “Fuck her and whatever she’s going through. She deserves it for what she did to you.”

Lei hadn’t mentioned what transpired because she wasn’t the kind of woman to spread another woman’s business. “That’s not true, Simone. She deserved to be punished, but not like this and not this long.”

That caused Simone’s smile to fade while Destiny asked, “Uh oh. Is she going to be okay?”

Lei’s mouth twisted to the side as her head shook. “Honestly, I don’t know. I’m trying not to worry about her, but that’s hard to do. I’m a fighter and advocate for those who can’t defend themselves. She’s asking me to do nothing and it’s driving me crazy.” Lei chuckled. “Okay, so maybe the first way I offered to help was a bit extreme, but I want to help, nonetheless.”

“If you’re offering to help her, it must be something serious,” Simone decided.

“Right, because when she said she was coming, she made it clear she didn’t want to have anything to do with them.”

“It’s… definitely serious. I wouldn’t be able to face myself if I didn’t dosomething. Even if I can’t do anything right now, when she’s ready, I’ll be there.”

Releasing that did help lighten Lei’s load. The conversation shifted, and she was able to stay focused until they were done eating. When Destiny asked if they were going to go shopping or to grab drinks, Lei declined.

“I would love to, but I’m so drained, y’all. I really just want to go to the hotel and nap before we get back on the road.”

“That’s understandable, I’m sure you’ve had a long day,” Simone said.

“Well, at least we can look forward to hanging out again when y’all move back to Memphis. That’s exciting,” Destiny added.

“I know, right? And I’ll be back before then too. Now that I’ve stepped foot in the city and faced them, I feel a lot lighter. I can handle it now.”

“Good,” Simone said before hugging Lei. After Destiny did the same, Lei called Londen to let him know she was ready to go.

While she caught up with the girls, he’d done the same with a few people from around the way. Though she insisted one of them could take her back to the hotel, Londen wasn’t having that. He told her he’d be at her in about fifteen minutes, and that gave Lei enough time to decompress. Though Simone and Destiny wanted to stay with her until Londen arrived, they also knew she loved her solitude and needed time to herself after engaging with people. As close as they were, her oldest best friends weren’t immune to that.

“Aye, lil mama.” At the sound of Londen’s voice coming from behind her, Lei’s eyes closed as she grinned. “You sexy as fuck. You got a man?”

“I might, but what that got to do with you?”

“I’m just tryna see what obstacles I might have to get to you.”

Lei pulled hair behind her ears as Londen sat next to her. Between his lustful glare and how sexy he looked licking his lips, Lei was tempted to give it to him in the bathroom of this restaurant.

“Babe, I missed you too much for all this roleplaying bullshit. You can have my pussy right now.”

Londen’s laugh was hearty as he stood and helped her do the same. “I’d love to be inside you, but you look a little tired, honestly. You sure you feeling okay?”

Lei shrugged as their fingers connected. As they walked out of the restaurant, she said, “It feels like I’m about to start my period but it’s late. I’ll just be glad when it comes so this will be over.”

His steps slowed as he looked down at her. “Your period is late?” The grin that spread his lips caused her to playfully roll her eyes. Londen’s hand lowered to her stomach. “Baby got a baby in here?”

“I considered if that could be the case, but I don’t want you to get your hopes up.”

“Why wouldn’t I get my hopes up?” Londen asked as he opened the door. “This is what we want, right, or have you changed your mind?”

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