No Letting Go [Completed]

Ninety

A few weeks go by and Ricardo and I are going strong. It sucks we can't see each other as often as we'd like, but texting throughout the day and nightly phone or FaceTime calls make up for it. I haven't told Riley about him and I don't know when, I'm aiming for soon.

It's no surprise that someone spotted Colin in New York with ol girl, a week after coming over that night. It's whatever, I'm not really worried about it. It just tells me that the decision I made was the right one. I simply shrugged it off and went on about life.

I'm really excited and bummed at the same time right now. Excited because I'm going back to Atlanta for the holidays, we're gonna be there almost a month. I'm bummed because that's a month that I definitely won't see Ricardo, and it would have been nice to see him during the holidays. Our flight is scheduled for tomorrow, bubba's already down for the night and when I went to check on Riley, she was watching movies in her room. I take this time to FaceTime Ricardo..and during the call, Riley walks in, and I hurry and end the call.

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah." She says before climbing in bed with me. "Do we have to go to Atlanta tomorrow?"

"Well, we don't have to..but people are expecting us to be there, so they can see you and bubba."

"What about daddy?"

"What about him?"

"He can't come with us. I wanna spend Christmas time with him too."

"How about we call him tomorrow, and see if he'll fly to Atlanta for Christmas Eve and stay till Christmas."

"I guess." She shrugs her shoulders. "You can go back to talking to your boyfriend again." She says hopping off the bed.

"What?"

"Your boyfriend."

"Ummm how do you know I have a boyfriend?" I ask with a confused look on my face.

"I just heard you talking to him..and you called him babe...you used to call daddy that."

"Nothing gets by you.......yes, I do have a....boyfriend."

"Do I get to meet him?"

"You will, one day."

"Can you just call him again. I wanna talk to him." She says with her hands on her hips.

I smile. "Come here little girl." She climbs back on the bed and sits in my lap.

"I won't be mean, I promise."

"Well, that's good to know."

I call him and after a few rings, he answers.

"Hey babe." He says with a smile.

"Hey...I have someone that I want you to meet..."

"I know who this is...Riley right?" She nods. "Your mommy talks about you a lot!"

"She does?" She looks back at me then back at the screen.

"Yup. I'm Ricardo...it's nice to finally meet you."

"Nice to meet you too...okay so here's the deal." She says getting serious.

"Uh oh." Ricardo says. "I'm listening."

"You have to treat my mommy right. She's a good person and she deserves to be happy. I don't like seeing her cry."

"I won't make your mom cry, Riley. I promise you that. She's always gonna be happy and I'm gonna make sure of it."

"Okay. Oh and since Christmas is coming up, my mommy likes shows, necklaces, earrings.."

"Ooohhhhkay, that's enough." I say covering her mouth and he laughs.

"Whaaaat. I'm trying to help you out!"

"I don't need help Ry. I got this."

"Okay."

"So how about you let me talk to Ricardo alone for a little while."

"You always talk to him alone. I want my turn." Oh boy. She talks his ear off the rest of the night and he seems to enjoy it. She asks what seems like a hundred and one questions. I notice that she begins to yawn.

"Look at that, someone's getting sleepy."

"I'm not." She says.

"Mhhm..sure. Say goodnight to Ricardo so you can go to bed."

"But I'm not tired." She says while letting out a yawn.

"Goodnight Ricardo. We'll talk to you soon."

He laughs. "Goodnight you two."

"Night." Riley says, half asleep.

"I'll call you tomorrow before our flight."

"Okay." We hang up and Riley is out. I go put her in bed then come back to my room and watch tv until I fall asleep.

***********************

Touching down in Atlanta, I get even more excited to see my family. My dad is outside waiting for us. After going through baggage claim, we make our way through the airport.

"Mommy, there's grandpa!!!" Riley says and runs over to him, leaving her luggage bag behind. I stand by it, waiting to her to come and get it. I have Nate in one arm and the handle to my luggage bag in the other.

"Hey sweetie." He says as they both walk over.

"Hey daddy." I give him a hug.

"Hey lil man." He pinches Nate's cheek making him smile. "Let's get out of this cold weather. We load up in his car and he takes us to Granny G's house, where we're staying while we're here. I suggested a hotel, she insisted that we stay with her.

On the way there, I take a selfie of us all in the car and post it.

"ATL for the holidays❤️ #AlwaysMySecondHome"

Scrolling through my comments, one catches my eye. Akasha Williams.

@AkashaGiselle: Aaliyah!!

@AaliyahNicole: @AkashaGiselle KASH!!!!! Hold on, I'm gonna DM you.

Akasha is someone that I sort of grew up with. Before all hell broke loose with my dad when I was pregnant with Riley, I use to come down here for summers and holidays. Whenever I would come, Kash is who I'd be with 24/7. We haven't talked in years, but somehow, I know our friendship is still there.

Me: KASH. Oh my god. Long time, no talk!

Kash: I knooowww😫 I've been so busy! How long are you in town.

Me: A whole month! Are you here👀

Kash: I will be, in a couple weeks! We have to link up!

Me: Yes, it's long over due! You can meet my babies😊

Kash: YUHHSSS!

Me: How's your baby sister. She probably doesn't even remember me😫

Kash: she's good. She's somethin else!

Me: I can't wait to see her. What's your number? We have so much to catch up on...too much to explain for instaDMs.

Kash: 404-365-7684 Text me boo!

I exit out of Instsgram and send her a quick text so she could have my number. I'm really excited for this reunion. If there was one person that I could tell any and everything to, it's Kash.