ALL TO MYSELF.

XVII - Pluto

"Come on, Liyah. They not even asking you questions and you taking forever."

I got invited to do a podcast and Liyah insisted she be there for support. I'm beginning to appreciate how she moves her plans around to make me feel like more of a priority in her life. I just wish she didn't take 5 hours to get ready.

"Okay, I'm ready," she said coming out of the closet. "How do I look?"

"Like you gone be on camera," I laughed. "Come on, you know I hate being late."

I held her hand as we walked downstairs out to the truck. Luckily my driver is from here so he familiar with how to move through the city to get me where I need to be.

"Can we stop by my apartment when we're done? I have to pick up a package," she asked looking at her phone.

"Yeah, that's fine. I wanted to talk to you about that."

"Talk to me about what?" she asked, locking her screen to look at me.

"I want you to move in with me."

"You serious?" she smiled.

"Yeah, why not? You already got stuff there and you been staying over more. Just move in."

"Are you sure? This is a serious step."

"And I'm serious about you," I said grabbing her hand. "I want you with me."

"Baby, I have a lot of stuff in my apartment."

"I got 8 extra bedrooms. Pick 2."

"You're really serious about this," she smiled. "Okay."

She called Tiffany to tell her the good news as we pulled up to the studio to do the podcast. I walked in and greeted the host, Sean, as they started mic'ing me up before we started.

"And on today's episode we have Atlanta rapper, Pluto. Glad to have you here, man."

"Glad to be here. Thanks for inviting me."

"You've been everywhere lately, doing features, dropping singles. Your professional life seems to be going very well this year."

"Man it's a blessing to be able to achieve all of this at this point in my career. I got a good team around me making things happen and we just gone keep it going."

"We're hoping for nothing but the best for you and your career. How do you think the success of your career is affecting your personal life?"

"You know, I really pride myself on being able to separate the two. I got kids and it can be challenging to live this type of lifestyle and be a father. I try my best to make sure they aren't negatively affected by my actions but through it all I do my best to provide for them above anything else."

"How many kids you got now?"

"4 man and they a handful," I laughed.

"Do you see yourself having more kids?"

"Not at the moment but eventually I want more. I had my kids young and it wasn't until I had my daughter that I knew I needed to slow down and be a better example. Every girl's first love is her father so I had to start moving different because I know I wouldn't want my daughter to end up with the person I used to be."

"I can honestly say as a fan we have noticed a difference in you lately. You've been in the house more and when we do see you, we see a lovely lady on your arm. In fact, she's here with us right now. Care to tell us more about that?"

"My girl Liyah," I smiled looking over at her off camera as she waved back. "That's my baby, man. She keep me together, keep my head on straight. She holding it down for real. I couldn't ask for anyone better."

"Sounds like you in love."

"I am. Truly. She's an amazing person."

"Now before she came along there was a fling with reality star, Draya."

"No comment on that. It's in the past."

"Well recently she announced that she was pregnant and it's been all over the internet. I'm sure you've heard."

"Yeah. Congrats to her and I hope she has a safe and healthy pregnancy. She's a dear friend and I want nothing but the best for her and her family."

He began picking up the vibe that he should move on and we continued the rest of the episode.

a week later

Asking Liyah to move in was like a huge weight being lifted off my shoulders but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't stressful. I'd been living alone for so long that I forgot what its like to actually share a home with someone else. I'd open a drawer to look for something, finding her stuff in there instead. She redecorated the entire house, not that I minded but she was serious about "decorative" towels and pillows. I thought she was gone have a heart attack when I used one of her lotions because she moved mine and I couldn't find it. It was a learning process but it was worth it to have her with me everyday.

I gave her 2 bedrooms to do whatever with. She turned one into a beauty room and the other into a guest room. I walked in the guest room to see how her progress was coming along, only to find her in the bed asleep. I laughed to myself, walking over to pick her up and take her to our bedroom.

"Where we going?" she mumbled against my shoulder, still half asleep.

"That's not your bed anymore. You coming in here with me."

I gently placed her under the covers before getting in on my side. She cuddled up against my chest, softly snoring as she drifted back to sleep. I turned out the lights, checking my phone for any messages before bed and saw one from my mama.

Ma

Hey, is she settled in?

Yeah she good

Are u sure about tmw? Do u think ur ready?

I think it's important she meet u and the kids

Ok my baby. We'll see u tmw ❤️ Love u

Love u too Ma

Moving in together was the first step. I needed Liyah to know I was in this with her forever and introducing her to the most important people in my life was the perfect way to do that. I tried my best to keep everything separate until I was sure, spending time with my kids when she was working, but with her moving in I knew they'd be over and I wanted them to be comfortable around her. I told my mama about her Day 1 and she kept my head together during the time we weren't together. Ever since she came back into my life she kept asking to meet her so I just decided to do it all at once. My baby mamas know what's up so they're cool with the kids being around her without meeting her off the strength of me. I wrapped my arms around Liyah, kissing her forehead before drifting off to sleep.