"Alright, go ahead!" The lifeguard said.
Diving in the ocean without a lifejacket, Melissa popped out of the water and waited for Jionni to join she and the 12 others aboard for snorkeling. While the boat bobbed in the center of the ocean, Jiomni held onto the rail.
"Jump in!" Melissa laughed.
"Da' fuck was I thinkin'?" Jionni mumbled under his breath.
"What?"
"Aye uh, i'ma watch y'all swim."
"Jionni, you have a lifejacket on!" Melissa laughed. "Get in!"
"Nah."
Suddenly, Melissa sank to the bottom of the waters.
"Quit fuckin' with me, Lissa. I know what you doin'."
Staring, he noticed bubbles forming.
"Lissa?"
"Lissa!"
Quickly jumping in, he grabbed her hand and tugged her to the top.
"Lissa what da' fuck!" Jionni yelled frantically. "You good?"
"Yeah. I just wanted you to get in."
Not amused by Melissa's laughs, Jionni bobbed in the deep waters with his mask and goggles.
"I should whoop yo' Phillipine ass."
"Aint it nice?" Melissa laughed, gazing out at the sunset. "Its like the WHOLE world is surrounded by water."
"I bought a' underwater camera." Jionni flexed, clutching it in his hands. "Lemme' get some pics of dat' ass in the sea."
Swimming, the two took many photos to add to their collections. After swimming and taking pictures with other people, the two enjoyed another drink and baked in the sun. Lying on a towel top of the deck, Melissa lied on her stomach and tanned as best as she could.
Jionni, again, was staring at her.
"Yo' body look like a bomb ass glazed donut." He admired.
"Oh?" She smiled, taking her glasses off and adjusting her body.
She gave him a flirty look, placing her glasses on and lying back down.
"Lissa, don't do dat' shit." Jionni said. "Thank I won't fuck you on dis' deck."
"You won't fuck me on this deck." She repeated, taunting him.
"You tryna push?"
"There's people right below us. You're not that bold." Melissa laughed, patting the towel beside her. "Now come tan with me."
Jionni smiled, also lying flat on his stomach.
"I'm 'bout to go back lookin' like Akon."
"Haha!"
Sparking conversation again, the two went back to their current go-to.
High school memories.
"Remember Chase?" Jionni smiled.
"Chase? AHAAAAAH." Melissa blurted over the sound of the boat, sitting up. "That guy was so nice, though."
"Dat' dude was a fuckin' square! Did allat' nice shit just to lose you to a nigga who can barely speak english!" Jionni laughed, poking fun at himself.
"You punched the kid in the mouth so much that I swore he was gonna come back and shoot you or something!" Melissa said, also laughing as she leaned on his shoulder.
"I told yo' ass Lissa he was tryna kiss you on prom night! Nah I ain't give a fuck what you was doin' but once he tried to do THAT, I was through."
"He was still nice! I checked his Instagram the other day. He has a girlfriend and all!"
"Tryna say "He's more interestin' than you." like Lissa I woulda' cussed yo' ass out if I knew yo' ass well back den!" Jionni scoffed.
Unable to stop laughing, Melissa snorted and thought about
"I just thought about when you kept trying to spark that blunt and I kept taking it out of my mouth, and you yelled "What the fuck is you doin?" She laughed, holding her side. "You were so fucking mad!"
"YO, Lissa you was pissin' me off so fuckin' bad! I'm like "If you 'ont smoke dis' shit and quit playin!" Jionni said.
"Remember my alter ego?"
"MELROSE!" Both chanted at the same time.
Leaning on one another, both struggled to stop laughing.
"I took you out from hidin' in dat' office to beatin' all them hoes up n' dat school. Das' when I knew you was mine f'life." Jionni bragged.
Lying back down, Melissa asked
"So what else are we gonna do?"
And for a week and a half, they lived. Waking up around sunset, they enjoyed breakfast, swam, and partied with many others that were their age. The two zip-lined, swam again, enjoyed dinner on the beach, and revisited memories. No stress on their minds. They shut out social media and others around them, just to enjoy a once in a lifetime vacation.
Eventually, they had to return back to reality.
Back from her trip, Melissa had to pack and prepare to go back home. Her relationship with Maria, Louis, and Rodrigo remained strained. Upon her return, she barely acknowledged the three. She packed her three-months worths of bags, spent her last day with Jionni, and headed to the airport.
But Rosa, she knew she would miss.
"Sweety, you call me as soon as you get home." Rosa said, holding her cheeks.
Crying, she hugged her grandma as the flight hours were announced.
"I'm gonna miss you, Grandma." She sniffed.
"I'll miss you too, sweety. You know i'll be back in the country in the next few months. Don't be a drama queen." Rosa smiled.
Standing behind, were Louis and her parents. Melissa eyed the three, giving each of them a half-hearted hug.
"I'll call you guys when I get back home..." She groaned.
"We're gonna miss you, Melissa." Maria implied.
Not saying anything back, Melissa waited until Jionni walked out of the bathroom. Like the first time she left, the two hugged one another and kissed for a long time, ignoring who was around them.
"I'm gonna miss you." Melissa wept, both eyes closed as they locked foreheads once again. "I love you."
"I love you." Jionni repeated, kissing her once again. "Yo' ass call me as soon as you get back, aight?"
"I will. Oh, don't forget."
Taking the golden chain out of her bag, she placed it around his neck. Right where she put it 5 years earlier.
"Bye." She said, pinching his nose.
"Bye Lissa."
"Bye biii......boo!" Trina waved, not wanting to cuss.
"I'll text you when I get back boo!" Melissa waved.
After watching her walk on her plane, Jionni and Melissa's parents locked eyes. The two didn't speak. As they and Louis walked off, Jionni stopped Rosa.
"Grandma?" Jionni said.
"Yes Jionni?" Rosa sighed, giving him a disappointed look.
"I just wanted t'say dat' i'm sorry for breakin' yo' trust.....I...I thank about it everyday..."
Noticing the tears that was building in his eyes, Rosa quickly hugged him for comfort. Rubbing his back, she supported the boy that she called her own.
"You're the only one for my grandbaby." Rosa whispered. "I forgive you, Jionni."
It was back to a reality that Melissa didn't want to face.
Arriving at her apartment after a 18-hour flight, Melissa left her things in the car to prepare to return to what once belonged to her and Ray. Inside, photos of the two were splashed everywhere. His clothes were still laid on their bed. His cologne still smelled in her bathroom. Breaking down, she bawled silently on her couch.
Her life was no longer the same.
Getting back into the groove of work, Melissa kept in touch with her grandmother and Jionni since she was there. Jionni, of course, more than the others. The two facetimed as much as they could. A month into work, she still wondered how everything was for him.
"I'm lovin' dis car job, Lissa. I met a pimp who had like 50 hoes fa' his. He come in like every other month for a new style!" Jionni bragged.
"That's good."
"You 'ont sound good, Lissa. You fine?"
"Yeah. I'm just.....I gotta get in the gist of living here. It's like Ray is haunting my ass." Melissa sighed. "They say its showing when I work with children and stuff..."
Jionni knew that there was nothing he could do to ease her comfort. Changing the subject...
"Kat asked if we could get back togetha."
"You say yes?"
"Nah."
"You don't have to lie, Jionni. I'm a billion miles away."
"I really didn't. Fuck her."
Melissa sighed, rubbing her stomach.
"I feel so sick. I think it's stress..."
Jionni stopped, immediately smiling.
"You pregnaaaant. You gon' have t'come back to dadddyyy." He sang.
"I'm not pregnant, Jionni."
"When da' last time yo' ass started?"
Pausing...
"I'm five days late, but that means noth-"
"Dat' yo ass is pregnant n' you can come back to me." Jionni laughed.
Growing nervous, Melissa made up a lie.
"Let me call you back. Louis is blowing up my phone."
Hanging up, Melissa gulped nervously.
She had to make a doctors appointment.
A week later, Melissa went to the doctor and took a test. Her doctor walked in with papers, placing them beside her.
"Well Melissa, you're not pregnant. You may have eaten something that messed up your stomach."
"I'm not?"
"No. Tests came up negative and there's no fetus in our ultrasound tests."
Melissa stared into space, smiling again.
"Thank you."
Back home, Melissa called Jionni as she always did after work.
"You pregnant ain't you?" Jionni laughed.
"No."
"You lyin'."
"I swear. I took a pregnancy test and went to the doctor. Both are negative, Jionni."
Jionni's silence let her know that he was bummed. However, she didn't want children at the moment.
"I did erthang in my power to trap yo' ass, Lissa." Jionni laughed. "Das' some fucked up shit but I forgot you got a bulletproof room."
"Shut up. Oh my gosh."
"By da' next time we see each otha, we probably gone have our own families. Wit' somebody else though..." Jionni shrugged.
Melissa sighed, running her fingers through her hair.
"Can I call you back, Jionni? 5 minutes."
"Aight."
Hanging up, Melissa gazed at every picture the two took in Louisiana and in Bora Bora. She was overwhelmed with emotions. Even with her job and friends, this no longer comforted her.
Making a rash decision, Melissa called someone else.
"Hi, Property Market? Yes, I was interested in the ideas on selling my apartment..."