"Niecy, I can't believe you really don't know how to play spades!" Carl shouted annoyingly loud as he sat down next to Lex with a beer in his hand. He offered her some but she declined it. It had been damn near a month, if not that & she still hadn't told him she was pregnant.
It seemed out of character for her, especially since she was so excited to tell us on Thanksgiving. So I made a mental note to ask her about it whenever we got a chance to be alone. Hell maybe she was saving it for a Christmas present, whatever it was my nosey ass was gonna get to the bottom of it.
"I'm taking your black card, cause how?!?!" Carl continued as he sipped his beer. "Maurice how you let your wife be out here not knowing how to play?"
"Hey man, she's good at a lot of other things, so I let it slide" he laughed as he sat back. He was laughing a little too much & too hard, it wasn't that damn funny. So I hit him with my elbow to shut his hyena sounding ass up.
"Ouch! Damn bae, chill" he complained as he rubbed his chest where I hit him. I gently grabbed his chin & kissed his full lips as an apology. He kissed me back & I wanted to deepen the kiss but held back, so our company wouldn't complain about our PDA.
"We can play dominos" Lex suggested & I shook my head looking down as I pinched the bridge of my nose.
"I don't know how to play that either" I admitted & they all laughed again while Carl threw his arms up. "Fuck y'all ok! I was into board games & shit. Not none of this" I waved my hand over the table as they kept laughing.
"Damn, well can you play Uno, Old Maid, hell Gold Fish?" Carl asked & again everyone laughed at my expense. I just flicked them off as I got up to go get me a drink, while they talked amongst themselves.
"Aw c'mon Niecy, it's just jokes" Carl called out behind me, I just kept my middle finger up until I disappeared down the hall, leaving them to cackle & crack jokes.
While in there I called my mom to check on & talk to Vaeh, who was spending the night. I hate to say it but Sheryl had been M.I.A. ever since her & Maurice got into it. She would call or Facetime me so she could see & talk to Vaeh & lowkey check to see where Maurice's head was, but we haven't seen her physically in almost a month. With Christmas being around the corner, I hoped that it would change soon.
The phone rang & rang then went to voice mail so I called Earl's phone & my child answered it, with a bunch of commotion going on in the background.
"Hey, Pooberry. What you doing answering ya Papa's phone?" I asked putting my weight on one hip while I waited for her reply, grabbing a banana to snack on. I listened closely trying to see who voice that was in the background. It sounded so familiar but my baby talking distracted me as I now listened to her.
"He went in the backyard to feed the dogs, then he said we gon have some ice cream with sprinkles and cherries and and..." she went on until I interrupted her.
"Alright now Nevaeh Grace Howard, don't eat too much of that & be bouncing off the walls & running your grandparents up them" I joked & like I knew she would, she laughed. "Where's Nana?" I continued with my fifty lem questions & I heard her laugh in the background while also hearing the faint sound of the TV & two men talking. Sounded like it was getting a little heated too.
"Never mind. Mommy was just calling to check on you. I love you, be good & have a goodnight."
"I love you too Mommy. Goodnight" she replied, then we both hung up. I sighed & started eating the rest of my banana, thinking about nothing in particular as I looked around. Maurice came into the kitchen to grab him a beer & kissed my forehead before he reached the refrigerator.
"Y'all done laughing at me?" I asked with my mouthful.
"Been, we decided to watch a movie in the theater room since SOMEBODY doesn't know how to play shit. Just waiting on you" he smirked as he grabbed the beer & opened it. "What's on ya mind? I seen you in here lookin' like you were thinking of something" he asked as he leaned against the counter.
"Nothing" I sort of lied, because even though I wasn't particularly thinking of one specific thing, I was in my head.
"Lie" he said quickly. I smiled as I rolled my eyes at him knowing me too damn well & he smiled back in return.
"For real it's nothing...It's just...You still haven't talked to your mom & Christmas is coming up" I said as I looked down at the ground before looking at him again. His demeanor changed as he sighed & sipped more of his beer.
"She's the one that hasn't been coming around. She chose that Pickle Rick lookin' ass nigga over us, so it is what it is" he shrugged as he sipped some more and of course our goofy asses laughed at his joke before we got back serious.
"You don't mean that, baby. You're just upset still, which I get, but you gotta talk to her sometime Bae. It's almost Christmas."
"You're right & I'm not gonna lie, it hurts like hell. But I gotta live with the choice she made" he shrugged again.
"That you basically pushed her to..." I added & he cut his eyes at me before he downed the rest of his beer. He twisted the top back on before discarding it in the trash can near the back door.
"I don't see you talking to Senior" he pointed at me as he stood next to the refrigerator again, opening it & taking out another beer.
"That's different" I rebuttal, because it was.
"Oh really, how so? He pissed you off just like my mom did me & we're both not talking to them because of it. Seems the same to me" he replied as he opened the beer with a loud pop. He took a few sips & closed it, putting it back into the refrigerator. He walked closer to me & leaned onto the counter right beside me, his arm brushing against mine.
"No, it's not because your mom was always there. Y'all don't have...Well, didn't have a strained relationship" I grabbed his hand & looked at his finger nails, using my acrylic nail to clean the dirt from under them as we talked.
"Senior & I on the other hand always have. So this is on par for us. Not for you & Mama Sheryl" I took the napkin he ripped from the roll & cleaned off my nail, the both of us looking at his now clean ones. I watched him look up at me, kissing my hand. He didn't say anything else as he grabbed both of my shoulders & kissed my lips.
"C'mon. Carl & Lex are probably wondering what the hell is taking us so long" he chuckled as he grabbed my hand pulling me up from leaning as we started walking out of the kitchen
"Maurice" I stopped & he looked back at me and shook his head before he let out a huff, dropping his head.
"I know Babe. I'll talk to her or whatever...Let's just go enjoy a movie with our friends & deal with this parent bullshit later...Maybe later, later cause there's something else I wanna do later on" he sunk his teeth into his bottom lip & looked at me with nothing but pure lust in his orbs.
"Cause the way your ass is sitting in these tights" he exclaimed as he took my hips into his hands, dropping them down to squeeze both of my ass cheeks "And Vaeh ain't here either...Wooo! Gotta a nigga wanting to send them home" he joked while nodding his head in the direction of the theater room that housed our guest.
"Stooop" I whined trying to get out of his grip that seemed to get tighter the more I tried to pull away "Why do you always wanna fuck & why do I always want to, too?" we laughed as he popped my ass.
"Cause you a big ass freak like me Adina Howard" he winked & we cackled some more, my hand gently caressing his strong chest.
"It's no wonder why I'm always getting pregnant" I finished & it got awkwardly silent between us, just realizing what I said. The lust that once took over his gaze was quickly replaced with sadness. Way to kill the mood. "I mean..." I tried to correct but he put his index finger up to his lips & shook his head.
Not saying a word, he just grabbed my hand and lead me to the theater room, where Lex was all cuddled up with Carl. He had the remote & was scanning quickly through the movies & that shit had my stomach sick. I guess the same could be said for Lex, who immediately got up & ran to the nearest bathroom.
Carl looked around confused & shrugged his shoulders as he kept scrolling.
"Bro, how can you even see shit?" Maurice asked as he took the reclining seat next to him, pulling me onto his lap. "You're scrolling fast as fuck, making me dizzy."
"I've been on vaction for almost a week & when Lex is at work, all I do is watch shit. In short" he paused as he turned to look at Maurice before a smirk grew on his face. "I know what's where & what I wanna watch."
"So search the title, shit. It's quicker, cause that shit is doing something to my stomach" I interjected as I covered my mouth feeling like I was gonna throw up too. Just as I made the mental decision in my head to go check on Lex, she had returned & apologized before cuddling back up under Carl.
They decided to watch some movie with Halle Berry in it, I didn't catch the title but I laid up under my man, my head resting on his chest, thigh over his leg as his hand rested on my ass. Just comfortable & sleepy. It was still early-ish when the credits rolled & the guys decided to play dominos in the den.
That meant the opportunity presented itself for me to speak with Lex about her pregnancy that a week after Thanksgiving she just stopped talking about completely. That was off & weird to me. So as I scrolled to find us something else to watch, she sat quietly beside me, which again is unlike her. She's been off this whole night.
"So you're saving your pregnancy announcement for Christmas?" I quizzed without ever removing my eyes from the screen, but I could see her glare at me in my peripheral. She scoffed and readjusted in her seat.
"No..." she trailed & her hesitation caught my attention & finally gained my eye contact. I raised my eyebrow and waited for her to finish. She looked at the doorway of the theater room before she spoke again.
"I have an appointment scheduled for Monday morning...For an abortion."
"Bish whet? An abor...Lex why?" I asked, dropping the remote as the words left my mouth like vomit. She stalled more making me even more anxious.
"Promise you won't judge?"
"I won't....I promise" I said with my hands up, watching as she turned in the recliner to fully face . I repeated the action as I waited for her to spill all of the tea.
"Ok so, you know how when you found out your were pregnant with Vaeh & the conception date was iffy..."
"Wait" I paused her immediately getting what she was getting at. "Bitch you cheated on Carl?!?!" I asked at a slightly higher octave and she quickly shushed me, turning to make sure the coast was clear before she continued.
"No judgement, remember...Look, I ran into an ex while out shopping one day. We did some catching up & one thing lead to another. I think you know where this is going...I was Gucci on being pregnant until I seen my conception date" she rolled her eyes as she shook her head. I could just feel the disappointment she was feeling, being that I had been in those very shoes she was wearing.
"I'm not gonna lie to you Niece...I judged the entire fuck outta you when you didn't know who Vaeh's dad was. Not in your face obviously but I did. I'm like, how could you not use a condom? How could you be so reckless, so careless? How could you even be in a situation like that when you have a fiance? Now in my case, Husband. Well, I fucked around literally & found out...I get it now. Y'know the not wanting to lose your man shit. I get it."
I just sat there with my mouth on Venus flytrap before I spoke when she bucked her eyes at me waiting for me to say something. Anything.
"Did abortion ever cross your mind? I mean if it meant keeping Maurice?" she asked and I shook my head.
"No...I was perfectly fine raising my baby alone at that moment. I mean, yeah I hated the situation & losing Maurice again but I never wanted to get rid of my baby. That wasn't an option for me, but it's ok that it is for you...See that's where our situations differ" I got comfortable & stared into her eyes with a serious intensity that made her uncomfortable.
"I wasn't married when it happened & I was done with Dre, the engagement was off. Darius was just a good guy with a mean stroke & Maurice & I were working on rekindling so though it was hard to let him go, it wasn't that hard. You see what I'm saying? But Carl is your Husband...No judgement but your shit is slightly a little more shittier than mine. You have more to possibly lose. So, no judgement again but I understand your decision & I'm with you one hundred percent on it" I said as I grabbed her hand as she wiped tears away with the other.
"So was it a fuck 'em all in one day type deal or?..."
"Yes" she chuckled as she wiped more tears away & we ended up in a full blown cackle fest just as our husband's returned.
"Hey Lex, you ready? It's getting a little late" Carl said innocently in the doorway & I could see the shame, guilt & regret that cloaked her features. She got her emotions in order as best as she could before facing him.
"Yeah boo. I'm ready when you are" she answered him as she stood from her seat, glancing as me as I mouthed a "you got this" to her. She gave me a small smile before taking his waiting hand. My hunk of a man stood beside them with his arms folded across his broad chest as he turned on his heels to let them out. I followed close behind to bid our friends adieu. Once the front door closed Maurice raised a brow at me.
"What?"
"Lex pregnant?" he asked without hesitation and my heart bungee jumped straight to my asshole thinking that he may have heard our conversation.
"Uh, what, why would you ask that?"
"She threw up randomly & wasn't drinking at all tonight & we both know she drinks alcohol like it's going out of style" he joked & I had to think of something quick to throw him off track because he was on the right one. I forgot how observant he was sometimes. He knew I was pregnant before I could ever tell him based solely on my change of habits & behavior.
"Nah, she had a toothache and is taking antibiotics so she can't drink. She took them on an empty stomach & it made her sick" I lied & I guess he bought it as he grabbed me, picking me up, wrapping my legs around his waist. I could feel him getting harder in his basketball shorts & rolled my eyes
"Maurice!"
"What? I told you earlier I wanted them skins & now our company is gone. Help me put this fire out & empty these balls" he made his dick jump & it awakened the freak in me as I said less, taking his bottom lip into my mouth & tonguing him down.
After Maurice rearranged my organs & we laid comfortably in bed, his light snores was all that you could hear until the air popped on. A vibration from my cellphone on the nightstand, indicated that I had a message. So I gently moved over to get it without waking up my big baby who groaned when me moving made him uncomfortable. I opened the message from Lex asking me to go with her Monday & to take what was said to my grave. I texted her back to let her know her secret was safe with me like Alicia Keys Diary & that I would go with her. I received a crying laughing emoji in return & put my phone down to get back comfortable. Maurice wrapped his arm around my midsection & put his head on my bare chest & my hand caressed his back. Without knowing it at the moment, shit was about to get hectic for us in the future....