𝟹𝟶𝟶𝟻

"Nah, real shit. We tryna understand what you mean when you say you gonna leave just because she is not ready ta' have a baby" Tech said, passing ManMan the blunt.

Makai always thought it was funny how their smoke sections were always serious conversations and venting time for them. What was said in the section, stayed in the section.

"It's not about ha' not bein' ready. Say she is pregnant and then boom she gets the abortion. What happens after dat? Are we supposed to go on and live happily after dat? I'm supposed ta' act like I'm happy wit' ha' when I'm not?" He said and they could hear the hurt in his voice.

"I'm not sayin' she shouldn't do it. It's ha' body at the end of the day but I can't act like I'ma be happy in our relationship afterward" He explained, ManMan passed him the blunt.

"I don't want ha' be unhappy and pregnant and I don't want to be unhappy knowing how badly I wanted a baby. It's not fair to make her carry a baby she isn't ready for but it's not fair to her to expect me to just deal with it. Then y'all should have heard the way she said it, it was like she wasn't even giving me a say so." Lu took a long pull from the blunt.

"I mean, he has the right to do it. His happiness counts too. Just like hers" ManMan said, and everyone nodded in agreement.

"But he ain' gon' be happy if they break up," Jae said.

"I'm not gon' be happy if I stay knowin' she kills something that I wanted badly"

"So what, say she does do it. You really gonna leave ha'?" Jae asked as they watched Lu blow the smoke out of his mouth.

Lu looked up at the sky "Manneee, everyone knows how much I love Ash more den I love myself. But I don't think I can" His voice cracked.

"Aight so says she doesn't do it and keeps it to make you happy? Then what?" Tech asked.

Lu immediately shook his head "I'm not gonna let ha' be unhappy like that. Cuz ha' happiness is damn sholl important when you are carrying" He said.

"You still gonna leave if she did it after you tell ha' that?" Makai raised his eyebrow.

Everyone looked at Lu as if he was stuck. "Yeah....No? Fuck, I'on know" He took another pull from the blunt.

Makai felt bad for both of them. They both had a right to feel how they felt and make the decision they want to make for their own happiness.

Everyone knew how crazy Ash and Lu both went for each other. Especially, Lu, he killed, set up anything when it came to Ash. He even killed his own dad because he tried to plot on Ash. That's how Lu met her. His dad sent him to set her up because of some beef but Lu fell in love with her and his dad made him choose and Lu chose Ash.

Makai knew this was hitting deep for the both of them right now.

"When was the last time you talked to her?" Tech asked, rolling up another blunt.

"The day she left. She blocked me on everything so I can't call and I don't know' where she is or if she is even safe cuz I can't track ha' phone" Lu took another pull from the blunt.

Makai sucked his teeth "Ha' ass upstairs in my damn guest room all week. I haven't been able ta' cuddle with my baby all week cus of ha' " He grumbled, very annoyed about that part. Then it clicked that Ariyah told him not to say anything about that.

"Fuck" He mumbled, knowing Ariyah was going to get on him. Lu snapped his head in his direction.

"What?! She been hea' dis whole time and couldn't even say she was straight when I been fuckin' worried sick 'bout ha' ass?!" Lu snapped, about to get up with anger rushing through him.

"Woahhh, chill befo' you do sumthin' you'll regret bruh" ManMan quickly stopped him, Lu was turning red as his chest was rising higher and higher.

"Nah, fuck this shit. A week?! She could pick up or unblock me just ta' know she good fa' a week bruh? Wit' everythin' goin' on wit' dis Sasha shit bro" He said angrily.

Jae gently leaned over to take the blunt from him before he dropped it, making Makai chuckle a little.

"I understand dat bro, I do. I'll be pissed too but think before you go in thea' tryna argue wit' ha' when y'all already goin' thru it right now" ManMan advised, Lu, smacked his teeth.

"Fuck dat. I say go cuss ha' ass out cuz she dead ass wrong fa' dat, especially with everything goin' on" Tech, shook his head. Jae and ManMan both mugged him.

But Makai silently agreed. He wished Ariyah would pull something like that. He would snatch her up too quickly.

Lu smacked his lips "Fuck all this shit. I'm out" Lu shook his head, stood up, and went into the house. ManMan stood up and followed him, they all knew too well how Lu's anger got.

"Damn, I didn't even get ta' say how me and Kassy made it official" Jae shook his head. Tech and Makai busted out laughing at him.

_________________

Charlotte, NC
March 12th
Saturday

Makai sucked his teeth when he walked into the living room and Ari and Ash were cuddling on the couch with Lucky. Where he was supposed to be not Ash and he was fed up.

"Yo' Ash, Ima keep it real witchu'. You gotta bounce" He mugged her, pointing his thumb backward.

Both of their eyes widened "Zahi!" Ari yelled, calling him by his middle name and looking at him crazily. Makai waved her off "I'm deadass. Over here cuddlin' in my spot and shit wit' my family when you needa get yo' grown ass up and go talk ta' yo' nigga" He fussed.

Ari picked up a pillow and threw it at him "Shut up! Now" She gritted. "It's okay Ash," She said softly and rubbed her arm as Ash just held her head down.

Makai threw the pillow back at her "Stop babying her. She has been here for a week when she needs to go talk to him and stop being selfish, Ashlynn." He fussed, and Ari shook her head.

"How is she being selfish because she isn't ready Makai?" Ari straight-faced him.

Makai smacked his lips "Suga be for real. When she took that pregnancy test and it came out positive, what did she say? You only don't wanna have dat baby cause you're scared Lu won't marry you in the future. Not cuz what pregnancy does ta' yo' body, not cuz you are scared of how risky pregnancy is but because you are scared he's not gonna marry you. That's why she's being selfish" He threw his hands up.

Makai kept his opinions and stayed quiet most of the time but this was triggering him. He couldn't stand how selfish she was being and was thinking about marriage instead of the baby and Lu. He didn't say anything to Lu yesterday about her being pregnant because it wasn't his place but now she was really pissing him off.

"He's right" Ash mumbled, wiping her face.

Makai sighed "Ash all you have ta' do is tell him you're scared about him not wantin' you after the baby. You got him thinking you don't want them because you aren't ready and got him wantin' to make crazy decisions when you needa just tell him" He said.

"You laid down to have that baby now take responsibility and stop worrying about if he's gonna marry you when we all know he is." He huffed, walked over to the couch, and pulled her up by her arms.

"Now go call him, bye" He gently pushed her before sitting down in her spot and smiled at his girlfriend who was already mugging him.

"You didn't have ta' be like that," She said, he gave her a look "So you sayin' you weren't thinkin' it?" He asked.

"I was but you said it so mean" She laid on his chest, pulling the cover over them.

He shrugged, everyone needed a little tough love every once and a while and she would be about to talk to Lu right now if he didn't give it.

_________________

"Thank you for being here for me Suh, I really appreciate it" Ash hugged Ari.

"It's no problem, Suh. How mad was Lu tho?" She asked, pulling away from the hug and started helping her pack her things up.

Ash sighed sadly "He said he wasn't but I know him and I know he's pissed about it. Especially how I went about it. He's probably gonna be ignoring me for days or weeks and only wanna talk about the baby." She shook her head, putting her clothes in the duffle bag.

Ari nodded "But Ashlynn forreal, you want this baby right? Not just to make him happy right? Because if you aren't honestly ready then that's okay" Ari assured her. She didn't want her to do something she wasn't genuinely ready for, especially over a man.

Ash started smiling " I am, I should've known this was gonna happen. I tell him to nut in me every time" She giggled. Ari gasped "Ash! You nasty bitch" She started cracking up.

The more she thought about it, Ash was wrong. She didn't think it made sense to want to end something when you didn't stop it from happening. But she was going to mind her business and keep it to herself.

"Girl it's just something about that 'Nut in daddy' that just flows so smoothly off my lips" Ash laughed, Ari was in tears now.

"You crazy as hell. Aw, we're gonna have a niece or nephew running around soon. I'm so excited" Ari clapped excitedly. She couldn't wait to go shopping.

"You think he's still gonna think I'm pretty while pregnant?" Ash frowned.

"Ash" Ari sighed. Ash had never been insecure, she was always confident in herself but in the past week, she has been lacking confidence in herself.

"I'm sorryyy. This got my insecurities comin' out but I know I'm not gonna have my cute little figure anymore" She sighed, rubbing and looking down at her flat stomach.

"Cus you gotta have the cute ass pregnancy and mommy figure" They heard a deep voice say. Ari jumped and turned around to see Lu standing in the doorway with his hands in his front pockets, slightly smiling at Ash.

Ash started blushing "Aww yall so cute and Makai ass doesn't even call me pretty anymore" Ari dramatically sighed, and they both laughed at her.

"Amoura! Bring yo' ass in hea' and leave dem alone!" She heard Makai yell, instantly rolling her eyes.

"He gets on my nerves. Don't be havin' sex in hea' now. I haven't even have sex in this house and I'll be damned—"

"Ew! can you not" Lu scrunched up his face in disgust while Ash laughed. Ari waved him off before leaving the room to give them some privacy. She was glad everything with them was going to be okay.

She walked into her and Makai's room and smiled at him laying across the bed with his arm over his eyes and his other hand in his sweatpants. She took off her socks before climbing in and laying beside him.

She tapped his shoulder, and he hummed in response "You think I'm pretty?" She asked quietly.

"What?" He asked, moving his arm from over his eyes to look at her.

She shrugged "I was just thinkin' ya know you haven't called me pretty in a long time and I just wonder do you still feel the same. About me being pretty" She twisted her lips to the side. She felt ashamed that she was acting this but she just needed that little reassurance that he still thought she was pretty. Like anyways normal women in a relationship.

"Yes, baby you are very pretty." He chuckled. Her eyes lit up and she laid on his chest "For real?" She asked, smiling up at him.

"Yes. Your beautiful Suga" He chuckled. "Thank you" She giggled, wrapping her arms around his body.

"My mouth fuckin' hurts" He complained. She chuckled a little "I told you about not wearin' yo' retainer now look at'chu" She said.

She always told him if he didn't wear his retainers like he was supposed to, he was going to end up with his braces again. This was the second time, now he's been mad at everyone because he got them to put back on.

"Shut up," He grumbled. She poked his side making him jump a little and laughed.

"Why are they so quiet?" Ari questioned as they laid there not hearing anything.

"I'on know but dey betta' not be havin' sex. I'll be damned if someone had sex in hea' befo' me" He scoffed and started rubbing her back.

She gasped "That's what I said!" She laughed.

_________________

"Hi, Simmy!" Ari greeted her when she walked into the kitchen from the backyard. Simone mugged her, shifting her weight to one leg and putting her hand on her hip.

"Didn't I tell you I was mad at you and ain' wanna see you?" She raised her eyebrow asking. Ari started laughing while putting her computer bag on the table and her purse. "Simmy! I said sorry" She frowned, shifting her weight to one leg and putting her hand on her hip.

"I'on giva' rats ass Amoura! You know I wanted ta' be there!" She fussed, throwing a drying cloth at her as Makai walked into the kitchen.

"I didn't know I was gonna like the place! I thought it was going to be another viewing." She laughed, trying to hug her but Simone pushed her away, making her laugh even more.

"Then you just let ha' do it without me," Simone mugged Makai when he gave her a side hug.

He started laughing "We didn't know she was gonna like dat play. She has been picky like every other place" He said.

Ari sucked her teeth "No I haven't, I just didn't like them because they don't go with my vision," She said. Ari has been having this certain vision for how she wanted her bakery to look since she was 13. She was determined to get it since she waited this long, she was going to get what she dreamed of and even bigger than her dream.

"Can you help me with the menus and applications?" She asked, pulling the seat out from the table and Makai went back outside where Dom was on the grill.

"Of course. What type of menus tho? Are you going for a bakery with servers?" Simone asked, wiping her hands on her apron before going to sit with her.

"No, so I guess I don't need little hand menus, just a big one huh?" She asked, taking her computer out. Then she looked around, not seeing either Egypt or Promise. "Where is Honey and E?" She asked.

"Upstairs sleep. They needed a nap because they were both doing way too much earlier" Simone shook her head, and Ari chuckled while typing in her password.

"But with the menus, I say get little small ones so people could wait in line and if they can't see the big one," She said, Ari nodded taking in all her advice.

"You also need an assistant," She said, looking over at the computer as Ari typed up the application that she started doing earlier. Ari furrowed her eyebrows "And assistant for a bakery?" She asked.

"Every business owner needs an assistant. You can put too much stress on yourself and drain yourself. An assistant takes a little of the load off of you. I have a recommendation if you want" She explained.

"Who?" She asked, sliding the computer over so she could read over the application.

"Her name is Gianna. She used to work back at my restaurant until she moved 2 years ago. She just turned 20 in March. She moved back here after something happened with her ex-boyfriend and tryna get back on her feet" She explained, looking over the information on the computer.

Ari nodded "Is she weird? I don't wanna bring someone around that I have ta' second guess, especially with the rest of the group" She asked. Ari still didn't have good trust issues but she was starting to give more of a le way to them because instead of thinking negatively of them.

Simone chuckled "No, she was a quiet thing. Sometimes I could barely get two words out of her. She reminds me of you in a way, quiet and to herself," She said.

Ari chuckled "I'm not quite"

"Yes, you are. Maybe not around us because you're out your shell more but around others your mute" She explained. Ari never really noticed that but she could see it. She never was one to talk to people unless she honestly had to. She learned early on in life, you can't just talk to anyone, a lot of people will do anything to tear you down, etc.

"But I would hire her back but I'm already over staff at the restaurant." She said like she was reading her mind because Ari sholl was thinking about why she didn't just hire her.

"You can give her my number and I'll see," She said. She was going to talk to Makai more about it. She didn't want to bring the wrong crowd around but an assistant didn't sound too bad.

___________________________________

Heeeeeeeeeeeeeyyyyyyyy

Thoughts?

Ash is preggosssssss😃

Okay I want to say, if this book one disappeared out of y'all library..... sorry, y'all pushed my last button. My number one pet peeve is ignorant people. Some of y'all not all but good amount of y'all are very ignorant and annoying also very negative. Especially at the beginning of the book, I always delete the comments but I'm getting tired of it and about to delete the whole book as a whole.

I hate that I've become this author that does nothing but complain. I like writing because it helps with my mental health in my real life but some of y'all are truly negative for not reason and very much dick ride A lot, mostly in the beginning. but i just had to say that because it's starting to get annoying and under my skin.

But i love y'all and the support on this book💕 I didn't think y'all would like it honestly. When I saw it on tik tok it really made my day. Y'all my besties❤️

Don't forget to vote and comment!!

Anyways 680 votes for and update!!!!!

BYEEEE UNTIL MY NEXT UPDATEEE🦋