SugarCOAT

106. Room for Recovery 💔

I sipped on my lemonade until the cup was half empty. I didn't even realize I was staring at my cup until Deonte asked if I wanted more. "No, thank you."

He said, "If you're tired, you can go to sleep. I'm sure your cousin wants to see you."

I nodded my head. "I'll go check on her."

Deonte took me to the guest bedroom.

Monica was snoring like she just worked a 12-hour shift.

Deonte and I caught ourselves before laughing too hard. 

He said, "She's gonna wake up early and hungry, but Cha Cha will take care of her."

I looked at Deonte. "Deonte, if you didn't catch me, I'd probably have an injury and be in the hospital right now."

"And your cousin would be in jail. Did you see how fast she was? She almost took Aja's neck off."

We both chuckled as we went back to the living room.

"Monica doesn't play. I do wish she would think a little more before taking action, but it might take having kids to slow her down."

Deonte disagreed, "Becoming a parent, sometimes makes people crazier. She'll end up having the strength of two men as a mama bear."

"True," I smiled at the thought.

Deonte and I ended up back on the couch. "What about you? Do you want kids?"

"Me? I used to fantasize about being married and having kids, but not since becoming an adult. Realistically, kids are not on my mind. By the way, I just got my first royalty check."

"Word? Congrats!" Deonte held up his hand.

I gave him a hi-five. "Thanks. I told my parents to take it. I'd be glad if my dad could retire so he and my mom could spend more time together."

Deonte said, "You're smarter than me. I bought a car, jewelry and clothes with my first check. I lived in a hotel for a few months, telling my family I had an apartment. Zeke found out and offered me a room at his place."

"Zeke? No one from your group gave you a place to stay?" I inquired.

"I just told you what I spent my money on. My group members didn't do any better. We were all fakin' it. They ended up staying with their friends, too."

"Wow" was all I could say.

"Zeke hasn't changed one bit, though. He normally keeps his cool, doesn't say too much, and just does what's right while trying to keep the peace," Deonte stated.

When I thought about it, I started to feel bad for how I criticized Zeke. I misunderstood his actions. He really is a caring guy. "You stayed at the Rivers' mansion?" 

Deonte nodded his head. "I was on the second floor in this room that overlooked the pool."

I bucked my eyes. "That's the same room I'm in."

"Really? Man, that's the best room in that entire house. When girls used to come over, we would..." Deonte dropped his smile when he looked at me.

"What?" I asked him.

Deonte did the most fakest yawn I ever heard. "I'm a little tired."

I narrowed my eyes at him. 

He asked, "Ready to go to bed?"

"No. Right now, it's kinda hard for me to sleep," I admitted.

Deonte was quiet.

"Sir, you were just talking."