The Present,
Dieon drifted her attention from the flooding emails on her phone to Gianna. She decided on still keeping with her responsibility of being a mother to Gianna even when she and Carson were at odds.
"Jesus Dieon, how much attention do you pay that phone?" Jhenea asked. When Dieon asked her to come out with the kids, she thought it was a mistake. Dieon usually never had the time or the patience to do personal things as such. She usually stayed home when breaks like this came around. Right now, she couldn't even stomach the thought of staying home the entire day. Everything in her home reminded her of Carson and it annoyed the living hell out of her. After their dispute, Carson called to break things off. He granted her permission to continue to be a mother to Gianna, but their family unit had now split.
As of lately, the two had been coparenting pretty well. The most awkward run in they had to endure was when Gianna's school had a parent breakfast and absentmindedly, Dieon cleared her agenda and showed up. Carson was also there, but for the sake of their daughter, they remained cordial and sat through the entire breakfast. Gianna's teacher was still under the impression of them being together, so she asked to take a picture of Carson, Dieon, and Gianna all together. There was an awkwardness, when Carson put his hand on the small of Dieon's back, but the photo turned out beautiful nonetheless.
"Honey, do you know how much money this phone makes me?" Dieon eyed Jhenea as if she were crazy.
Jhenea scoffed. "Honey, do you know how devastated you would be if someone God forbid, snatched Gianna up while you was on that thing?" Snatching the phone away from Dieon, Jhenea placed it into her purse.
Dieon let out a stressed out breath. She knew she should have never called Jhenea up. She was just so—Jhenea! "She's pregnant and not in her right mind Dieon, let it go," Dieon coached herself.
Jhenea chuckled beside her. As mean as Dieon was, she was great company. Jhenea like her bluntness and her non filtered mouth, it was also cute seeing her censor herself to be a mother to Gianna. "I'm in my right mind Dee, I'm just always on mommy mode,"
Dieon scoffed. "Of course you are, you got like what—ten kids?" She laughed at her own dramatics.
Jhenea rolled her eyes playfully with a light laugh. "Four kids," Jhenea corrected. "And I'm willing to have some more if it's in God's favor,"
"Girl slow the hell down, you're pregnant now," Dieon waved her off.
Jhenea looked down at her stomach and felt a light kick causing a smile to gravitate on her face. "I like being pregnant. Everyone's so nice to you, you glow, you get a pass to over eat, and not to mention you don't get that monthly visit form Mother Nature," She spoke highly of pregnancy.
Dieon who was hardheaded and stubborn wasn't buying a thing Jhenea was saying. Every other woman she has spoke to, associated pregnancy with horrible morning sickness, swollen feet, tender breast, and a horrible labor and delivery story. "You have fun with your starting line up,"Dieon said causing Jhenea to laugh.
"You don't want to have kids—y'know of your own?" Jhenea asked.
Dieon shrugged her shoulders. "Gianna is pretty cool, bad as hell, but she's cool, I don't think I'll need anymore," That, and because Dieon simply couldn't have anymore. Her endometriosis was intense and painful. Any pregnancy that were to come, would be extremely painful and unsuccessful.
Jhenea completely understood. Although Gianna wasn't biologically Dieon's daughter, Dieon was her mother. Jhenea had that same relationship with Payton and she was sure if she couldn't successfully conceive and have kids with her PCOS, being a step mom to Payton would suffice. "You're great with her, she loves you," Jhenea smiled.
"Thanks, I do what I can," Dieon shrugged.
A silence rendered between them both as they kept their attention on the kids. Junior was managing the younglings well by pushing them both on the swing. Artist managed to jump off once the swing got high enough. Dieon noticed Gianna was about to do the same. "Gianna your little bad ass bet not jump off that darn swing!" Dieon stopped her daughter from following Artist's lead. "Try me if you want to, I ain't your nice ass daddy!"
Jhenea tried her hardest not to laugh too loud to draw more attention to them, but she failed miserably. "You just embarrassed her," Jhenea came down from her laughter once she noticed Gianna slowed down the momentum of the swing.
Dieon shrugged. "Which is more embarrassing, her busting her ass in front of all these kids, or me giving her an order?" She raised a questioning brow.
Jhenea nodded. "You're right, I like your parenting style, reminds me of Anthony,"
"Speaking of the devil," Dieon motioned towards the walkway from the parking lot to the actual playground area. Anthony was making his way over and to Dieon's dismay, Carson was right behind him.
Jhenea quickly tried her best to play as if she didn't invite Anthony and Carson over. For the past couple of week, Carson has been confiding into Anthony about what went down between he and Dieon. He openly admitted that he wanted things to revert back to normal, but he knew it wouldn't happen unless the two talked. When Jhenea got the invite from Dieon for a play date, she thought it was perfect to arrange Carson and Dieon for the talk that was needed. So far, everything was going as planned.
Upon catching sight of Carson, Dieon let out a groan. "Your pregnant ass set me up, after all I've done for you,"
Jhenea gasped, it was definitely exaggerated and couldn't be taken seriously. "What are you talking about? I would never do such a thing,"
"Jhenea I'm a lawyer, I know you're lying," Dieon reminded her with her usual stale face.
Jhenea's oblivious expression, transitioned to a pout. "Please be nice, he misses you,"
Dieon rolled her eyes just as Anthony and Carson arrived.
Anthony leaned down and pecked Jhenea's lips, greeting her, before greeting Dieon.
Although Jhenea has advised her to play nice, Dieon simply shot daggers with her eyes to Anthony, Carson, and Jhenea. "Well we'll leave you two alone," Jhenea giggled. "Mase you have my food?"
Anthony nodded his head as he held up the bag from Shake Shack. "Duh, cause I'm really the best at this whole husband thing," He arrogantly replied as the two walked away hand in hand, leaving Dieon and Carson alone.
Carson stood before Dieon with his hands buried into the pockets of his Kappa tracksuits. The way he had the zipper, zipped down show casing his white wife-beater underneath, had Dieon's mouth watering. His hair was pulled up as always, but instead of allowing a few curls to carelessly fall onto his face, the out grown length allowed him to put it into a thick bun on top of his head. Under the beaming sun, his rich deep umber skin radiate, showcasing how flawless and smooth his skin was. Dieon missed him physically, but emotionally, she wasn't sure.
Carson on the other hand, was surveying her entirely. From the last time he seen her, she changed her hair style. As always, her baby hairs was laid and was complimented perfectly by her gold hoop earrings. She was looking more like Dieon, rather than Attorney Underhil. It was nice seeing her dressed casually in an oversized neon t-shirt and shorts that showcased her beautiful legs. "You look nice," Carson complimented.
Dieon rolled her eyes. "So I've heard,"
Carson took a seat next her. It was a bit alarming to Dieon since Carson was known to hold grudges. She was expecting to fight fire with fire, but he was playing nice. "Should I start with apologies, or tell you how much I miss you being around. I never really done no shit like this,"
Dieon let out a sigh. She knew how sorry he was, and she also knew how sorry she was. Things got a bit out of hand and it shouldn't have. "Neither," She shook her head causing Carson to furrow his brows. "Let's just start fresh and we'll talk about it when we're both emotionally stable,"
Carson nodded, liking the sound of that. "You coming back to my spot?" Carson smirked as he kept his eyes on Gianna who was enjoying her time with Junior and Artist.
Dieon sighed. "I think you should ask me to be your girlfriend again before I go back to your place,"
Carson chuckled before glancing over at her. "Be my girl again?"
Dione dramatically tapped her chin as if she were deep in thought. "I mean, I guess,"She muttered as if she never cared in the first place.
"Smooch?" Carson puckered his lips leaning his head closer to Dieon.
Dieon tried her best not to cave in, but he was persistent by locking his arms around her waist and repeatedly placing kisses on her cheek. Finally, Dieon granted Carson the kiss. They heard cheers and claps coming from Anthony and Jhenea causing them both to laugh. "Those are your weird as friends," Dieon disclaimed with an amused shake of her head.
***
Ashton adjusted the tie around his neck as he walked along the mahogany hardwood floors of the fully renovate home.
"This house is really my favorite. It offers the modern touch you guys are looking for, but also keeps the warm and welcoming feeling you guys want," Ashton continued to work his mouth piece the best way he could to have the newlywed couple before him close on the house. This was their final house he would be showing Mr and Mrs Ruiz and he wanted to get their approval on this one.
"How many rooms and baths?" Mrs.Ruiz asked as she kept one of her hands clung into the palm of her husband while the other free hand rested on her poking stomach.
"This one is three bedrooms and two and a half baths. All bedrooms have natural sun light, great closet space, and the walls are pretty thick," Ashton was miserable in this new career pursuit. It was evident, this was not how he imagined he would be be making income. Real estate isn't bad at all, it just wasn't for Ashton, but this was the closest thing to dealing drugs that could get him almost as much as money he use to get while doing illegal activities.
He was great at what he did, and managed to dominate the real estate industry in the matter of months. Multiple relators tried to bring him down by exploiting his past, but that never stopped the traffic of clients and his ability to sell a house just how he use to sell drugs.
Ashton was sure that he could sell anything with a purpose, he just so happened to be selling houses instead of drugs this time. "We'll take a look around so we could make our decision," Mr. Ruiz told Ashton.
Ashton nodded his head letting the couple roam the home freely without him breathing down their necks.
He sauntered towards the kitchen or the home where he leaned against the island and checked his phone. He had set it on silent throughout the day of going from listing to listing with his clients. Now that he had a bit of a break, he was free to check a few messages that came in while he was working.
Parker 💕
— Your dogs drive me insane!🤬 Really second guessing this whole moving in together thing.
Received 2:29 PM
Ashton furrowed his brows in an alarmed manner. Parker was a lot to handle, but he liked her. Others may say she came off like she complained a lot, but Ashton, he always just claimed that she was extremely expressive. She said whatever that came to mind, especially if it bothered her. There had been talks about moving in with each other, mostly from her more than Ashton quite honestly. Ashton never accepted the offer or rejected it, he usually just let her talk herself out if it, because she eventually would.
Parker was a nice girl and Ashton really did like her, but everyone around him knew that she wasn't the right fit for him. Parker was a controlling female. She liked things going her way or no way at all. A man like Ashton, simply couldn't deal with that. He took the fact that he was a grown man extremely serious and didn't feel the need to explain anything to anybody. Parker, she felt like Ashton had to go through her to do certain things. This is where a lot of their arguments stem from.
Ashton scoffed before replying to her text.
— Just go back to your place then...
Delivered 4:46 PM
The three little gray dots appeared almost instantly after his text was delivered. Ashton knew he would be in for an argument since Parker would deem what he said as disrespectful.
Parker 💕
— That's rude. I put your dogs outside. Just get rid of them and everything would be better. 🙄
Received 4:47 PM
Ashton screwed up his face. "This bitch is crazy," He murmured to himself as he typed up a response to Parker.
— It's due to rain in an hour, bring my dogs inside. You can leave if they're that much of a bother. You're tripping. I never asked you to stop by anyway.
Delivered 4:48 PM
Parker 💕
— You're putting me out for two mutts? You're a fucking unappreciative asshole!!
Received 4:50 PM
— Yes. I am.
Delivered 4:50
Ashton decided not to even argue with her. She could go all day if she needed to and he didn't have the energy to do that. Seeing that she was in the midst of typing up her slick rematch back to him, Ashton just decided to beat her to the punch by blocking her number. Whatever response she was set to make wouldn't be delivered to his phone.
This had become a repetitive pattern, and Ashton was bored of Parker. He didn't want to let her go yet, because she was the closest thing he had to building a family of his own. All around him, his boys were elevating and prospering with a woman at their side. Anthony and Jhenea were inseparable with their growing family and now unproblematic marriage. Even Carson had a family unit going on with Dieon. Although Lamont was still playing games, he always had Jai to fall back on. Ashton had no one aside from his mother. He had yet to find a girl that was worthy enough to get the world from him.
He wasn't craving to get married within the next year, but he did want something stable. Someone he could be happy to come home to. Someone he could see a future with. When Parker wasn't on her bullshit, she was that someone, but all that vanished as soon as she copped an attitude.
Ridding his thoughts of Parker, Ashton decided to check his messages some more.
He sighed once he seen a text from Morgan.
Morgan
— So are we watching the finals together or what? Or are you gonna watch it with Parking Lot?
Received 3:17 PM
— 😂 I'll come through. Have food when I get there or I'm out.
Delivered 4:57 PM
Morgan
— Am I not a whole meal? You must've confused me for little Miss Parking Meter.
Received 4:59 PM
Ashton chuckled. Everything with Morgan was just so organic and chill. She knew how to make him laugh, and never stressed him out. However Ashton knew it it would never work if he wasn't willing to get hurt again. Morgan was sporadic. One day she'll wake up and tell you she loved you, the next she'll act as if everything that she admitted never was said. She liked having her freedom. Her relationship with Nicky screwed her up mentally for the long haul.
— I'm talking real food. I'm serious Mo.
Delivered 5:00 PM
Morgan
— Mo to the E to the....Up in the morning. A new day is starting. It's me, it's me. Am I realizing my responsibility?
Received 5:02 PM
Ashton laughed at her reciting the lyrics to the old TV show, Moesha.
— Man get the fuck outta here 😂😂😂 I'll hit you when I'm on my way. Gotta get back to work.
Delivered 5:03 PM
Morgan
— See you later clit sucker ✌🏾
Received 5:04 PM
After reading Morgan's final text message, Ashton let out a light laugh as Mrs, and Mr Ruiz approached him with smiles on their faces. "Well take it," They both announced in unison.
"Great!" Ashton reflected the smiles on their faces. "We can just head back over to the office and close,"
The married couple trailed Ashton to his office where they were taken cared of and signed the papers. Ashton's assistant Terrence assure that he could head home and he could wrap up the deal. Ashton didn't have to hear anything else before he got in his car and headed over to Morgan's apartment instead of his place where he was sure Parker was awaiting in him to blow up in his face.
Upon getting to Morgan's apartment he knocked on the door. She opened up topless with a smirk on her face. "Dang, I thought it was the pizza guy, I let my titties out for no reason," She scoffed.
Ashton chuckled as he entered the apartment shutting and locking the door behind him. "Keep playing with me like I won't knock your stupid ass out," He shook his head as he watched her slip a tube top over bare breast.
"I actually wouldn't mind that. You've gotten soft after prison, which is backwards as hell," Morgan teased as she headed back to the kitchen to check on the fried chicken she had just dropped in oil.
Ashton followed her, watching as she moved around the kitchen. She wasn't wearing much which was bold for her since she was playing with hot grease in the kitchen, but that was Morgan she did things like that. "I ain't get soft," Ashton disclaimed.
"I was joking, no need to put your convicted felon panties in a bunch," She assured as she turned away from the fried chicken to check on whatever was baking under the oven.
Ashton laughed. "You're aggravating, you know that?"
Morgan shut the oven to let her mac and cheese, and cornbread bake some more before facing Ashton. "You tell me all if the time," She nodded her head.
Ashton leaned against her counter, opposite of her. A smirk played on his lips as he trailed his eyes from the top of her head down to her feet. She only had on a tight pair of cotton shorts with a tube top. If he knew Morgan as well as he thought he did, he was sure she didn't have on a pair of panties under those shorts. "You look tense," She pointed out.
Ashton let out a sigh as he unbuttoned a few buttons to his dress shirt. He had loosened his tie and took it off along with his blazer in the car. He didn't have anything comfortable to change in, so he would just have to deal. "You could tell?"
Morgan walked over to him as she nodded her head. She draped her arms around his neck and leaned up and kissed his lips. "When's the last time she sucked your dick?" She sporadically blurted out.
Ashton chuckled. "The last time we had sex,"He shrugged, answering truthfully.
Morgan raised her brow. "And when was that?"
Ashton sighed before trying his best to recall when was the actual time he and Parker last had sex. "Two weeks ago, I think,"
Morgan shook her head as if it were a disgrace to hear that. She knelt down to his crotch area with a sigh. "My poor baby," She cooed at Ashton with a sympathizing tone lacing her words.
Ashton laughed finding Morgan amusing, like he always has. Reaching into his pocket, Morgan extracted a condom from it. He always came with a supply whenever he stopped by Morgan's place. "Parking Garage oughta be ashamed of herself," Morgan muttered as she rolled the condom onto Ashton shaft before taking him into her mouth completely.
Ashton exalted out a deep sigh of relaxation and relief as he watched Morgan bob her head back and forth with her eyes gazing into his.
This is what he wanted to come home to. Not nagging. Parker was just a pain in the ass sometimes. Morgan, she was different—extremely different.
He cupped her face into his hands. He wanted to tell her he loved her right then and there, but he decided against it. Loving Morgan was him setting himself up for a disaster. He rather not.
***
Anthony took an uneasy look around as he sat at one of the metal tables. It was nostalgic to be back in this room again, but not in a good way. Anthony recalled seeing his kids for only an hour before they went back out to regular civilization. He recalled arguing back and forth with Jhenea a numerous of times. He also recalled the tears in his mother's eyes whenever she came to visit and saw him in that horrid blue jumpsuit.
Today however, he was sitting on the other side of the table. He could go home after an hour and never have to think about this place again. His ability to do that made him feel like somewhat of a sellout. His freedom was granted back to him, yet he wished he could have one more person back at his side.
"King of the South came to visit me?! I must've prayed extra hard last night!" Anthony could her Matthew howled in excitement as he shuffled over to the table Anthony was awaiting him. He had shackles around his feet, waist, and handcuffs around his wrist.
Anthony stood up with a laugh as the guard unchained Matthew. The two shared a short hug before they took a seat at the table opposite of each other. "Man, how you been. You ain't been doing no fuck shit to get you in trouble have you?" Matthew asked. He had known Anthony for the entire duration of Anthony's prison sentence. He studied him and learned him. The first thing Matthew found out about Anthony was that the boy had a temper on him. He was a hot head who reacted now and thought later. He tried his hardest to get Anthony out of that habit and he did for a while, but the days Anthony would miss his family the most, he would blow up like a fire cracker on the Fourth of July.
Anthony shook his head no with an amused smirk. "Nah, I been on my law abiding citizen shit, my boys have too," Anthony assured.
Matthew liked the sound of that. He may be serving more time than he had left in him, but he'll be damned if Anthony ended up back in here with him again. "That's what I like to hear. How's the family?"
"Growing," Anthony chuckled with a shake of his head.
"Damn! You only been gone for about seven months!" Matthew's larger than life personality was in full display in front of Anthony. This was about the only thing he missed about prison, Matthew's company.
Anthony let out a laugh. "I know man. I got her pregnant within the first month and a half of me being out. Plus I found out some other shorty I was going in on before I got married, had my son,"
Matthew screwed his face up in shock, cocking his head back in disbelief. "Your son?" He questioned. "Please tell me you Maury Povich that bird,"
Finding Matthew hilarious, Anthony practically doubled over in laughter as he nodded his head in confirmation. "Hell yeah. He definitely my son though," Anthony lightly smiled at the thought of Junior. He was now seeing the true personality of his son and he was just as bubbly and out going as his other kids.
Matthew scoffed. "She got alotta' nerve trying to break up a happy home like that. Simple ass thought she was getting over, huh?"
"Hell yeah. She looked shook as hell when she saw my wife welcome him with open arm," Anthony turned his lip up at the thought of Blessing. He thought he could never be more upset with his child's mother, than he was when Beylan had Hendi around Payton, but then Blessing came along with her half ass mothering.
Matthew shook his head in distaste. "Sound like a bird,"
Anthony agreed. "Kinda look like one too," He added causing him and Matthew both to laugh hysterically.
"Nah, but on a serious note, how you been holding up?" Anthony asked. He was sure Matthew could spend the duration of this entire visit just listening to how Anthony's life was going on the outside and be content with that, but Anthony didn't want that. He needed to make sure Matthew was good mentally, emotionally, and physically, just as Matthew would do for him.
He eyed Matthew rub his stomach with a light laugh. "I been eating good as hell since you got out, that commissary been running me nothing but blessings," He extended his hand out to Anthony so the two could dap each other up. Anthony made sure to hook Matthew up with enough commissary as he needed. He knew Matthew didn't have much family left and wasn't as fortunate as he was with money, so Anthony always took care of him. While he was locked up, he always made sure Matthew was good, whether it was food or basic necessities. Even when he was out, Anthony vowed to continue to do the same thing. Matthew was a great guy who just got dealt the wrong set of cards.
"That ain't nothing man, anything you need, just say the word,I got you," Anthony asserted.
"That's love man," Matthew commended. "But shit here been the same honestly. Just counting my days down. I got my parole hearing in a few months so I'm just praying everything go good,"
Matthew was set to go to this parole hearing before Anthony even had a chance of getting out. They kept pushing the date back later and later. It seemed like they were on the same bull shit causing Anthony to let out a sigh. "They pushed it back again?"
Matthew nodded. "Yeah, but I ain't tripping. If there's a will, there's a way, you feel me?"
Anthony was always blown away by Matthew's hope and persistence. Sometimes he use to want tell Matthew to be fucking realistic, but knew better than to kill a man's hope. "I'll look into that for you. You got a lawyer right?"
Matthew chuckled finding the fact Anthony thought he had the money to get an actual skilled and qualified lawyer. "More like public defender,"
Anthony was shocked to hear that, but he quickly masked his face of shock once he realized that everyone's situation was different than his. Not everyone had a Dieon Underhill in their corner, or aSwiss bank account. "Why you never told me this? Nigga I could of been got my lawyer to hop in your case. You would've been out way before me,"
Matthew waved Anthony off with a laugh. "Ant, y'know I'll sit in this bitch until my last days if I have to. I don't have much waiting for me outside of these gates,"
"I feel played," Anthony shook his head. "I thought we were family?"
Matthew shrugged. "We are, but I can't depend on you for everything,"
"I know you know this about me, my loyalty runs deep. When I tell you I got you—I really got you. Im gone get you outta here, you got my word," Anthony promised.
"C'mon man, you ain't gotta do that," Matthew shook his head.
Over the course of Anthony's prison sentence, Matthew has become more than a friend to Anthony. He was family. Not to dim the light on Anyul, but Anthony felt like he learned way more from Matthew than he did from Anyul.
Anyul taught him how to maneuver the game, how to hustle smarter not harder. Matthew, he taught Anthony the importance of happiness and faith. "It's already done. We gone get you that parole hearing Matt," Anthony was confident that Dieon could pull strings for Matthew. He was coming home now that Dieon and Anthony was in his corner.
"You ain't half bad son," Matthew chuckled whiles the two slapped hands.
Anthony laughed. "I can't be grumpy all the time," He mocked Matthew.
After a few minutes, the visitation was over. It felt odd not going back to a cell with Matthew, but Anthony knew that soon Matthew wouldn't be returning back to his cell either.
Upon getting into the car, Anthony dialed Dieon's number. He rolled his eyes when Carson answered. "What bitch?"Carson jested, this is how they answered the phone for each other.
"Give the phone to a Dieon, stupid looking ass," He could hear Carson laugh a bit before the phone got traded off to Dieon.
Dieon let out a groan. "It's the weekend, I cant be a lawyer right now,"
Anthony smacked his lips. "Check this, I need you to represent someone for me. You can send their invoices to me," Anthony told her as he exited the gates of the prison.
Dieon sighed. "Fine, who is it and what has he done?"
"His name is Matthew Brown," Upon hearing that name, Dieon raised a brow.
"You're old cell mate?" She asked.
Anthony nodded. "Yeah, he's been in prison for fifteen years, they keep pushing his parole hearing date back. You think you can help with that?"
"Yeah, I know a guy on the parole board. I'll get his files from his other lawyer and we can just go from there," Dieon assured.
Anthony smiled a bit. "Thanks Dee, I appreciate it,"
"Mhm," She rolled her eyes. "You know how to pay me,"
Anthony laughed. "Of course,"
________________________________________
Yes Morgan and Ashton still have sex. No he can not contract what she has because her status is now undetected with the medicine she takes. IM TIRED OF EXPLAINING IT!
Now, I hope you guys enjoy❤️ catch you guys in 2 months 🤣🥴