First Love

Chpt. 61

|Z A C H|

I woke up and snatched the comforter from over my head, squinting my eyes at the bright sunlight peering through the blinds of the bay window. I looked down to see Alyssa wasn't in my arms or anywhere else in the room. I reached over and grabbed my phone from the night stand and checked the time, seeing it was after 9 in the morning.

I got up from the bed and threw on some sweat pants, then made my way out of the bedroom into the hallway where I heard noises coming from the direction of the kitchen.

As I got closer to the kitchen, I could hear the sounds of pots and pants clashing together and the water running from the faucet.

Stepping into the kitchen, I stopped in my tracks seeing how trashy it was. There was shit everywhere. There was egg yokes and flour footprints all over the floor, a mountain of pancake batter on the counter, butter on the walls, spilled mik near the stove... the whole nine.

I saw Alyssa strolling through her phone, looking like she was reading through ingredients, as she stood over the stove frying bacon with a hell of alotta oil in the pan. Not taking her eyes off the phone, she sprinkled some seasoning salt over the sizzling bacon.

I looked towards the other side of the kitchen to see a plate of nasty looking ass half-cooked food seated on the counter---runny eggs, dry lumpy grits, undone biscuits, toast and some burnt up strips of bacon. The fuckin toast was the only thing that looked appealing and I'm surprise she didn't fuck that up.

I prayed to God that she wasn't planning on askin me to eat none of that shit. I mean, damn, if she knew she couldn't cook why she ain't just make a nigga some frosted flakes?

                                   
   
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|A L Y S S A|

I dropped my phone and backed away when I felt my skin being popped by the grease from the stove where I was frying bacon.

I looked up surprised to see Zach walking over towards me. He turned off the stove and sat the pan of frying bacon on another eye.

I was so engrossed in preparing breakfast for him that I had no clue how long he's been in the kitchen.

"Shawty, what happened in here?" He asked, looking around at all the mess I made before eyeing the dirty stains all over his expensive Givenchy sweater that I was wearing over my naked body. He then looked over at the plate of breakfast I worked so hard to make for him. My heart dropped as he looked every bit of displeased by it, giving it the most grossed out eeeew face I've ever seen. He pointed at it, "and what's that?"

I slumped my shoulders, defeated and embarrassed. "I was trying to do something special for you but that failed misreably." I sighed, picking up the plate. "I know it looks awful, I'll just throw it away and clean up the rest of my mess...Let's just eat out for breakfast."

I avoided his eyes as I began walking over to the other side of the kitchen to put the plate in the trash but he pulled me back by the waist with one arm.

"Nah, it look good ta me", he said in a tone so sincere that it could've fooled me had I not known any better. "I wana eat it."

He grabbed the plate from my hands and left me standing there as he walked over to the kitchen island and took a seat on one of the stools.

He looked at me and patted his knee. "Come sit and feed it ta me."

I slowly walked over in his direction and stood infront of him. I looked down at the disaster of a meal on his plate, feeling embarrassed all over again. I sighed, looking away from him, wishing I hadn't even bothered. "You don't have to eat that. I know what you're trying to do and you don't have to, you're just trying to make me feel better...let's just go out somewhere else to eat."

"Come here." He grabbed me by the waist and pulled me into his lap.

"I want ta eat it", he assured me but I could tell he was lying straight through his teeth, "it looks good as fuck." He picked up his spoon and scoped up some eggs, putting them in his mouth. I could hear the egg shells cracking against his teeth as he chewed. He swallowed. "Hmmm...that was good as fuck!" He smiled, smacking his lips as if it was really that good. "Betta than ma dukes."

I giggled as he nibbled on my neck, tickling me. "Feed me some more", he said.

I picked up the spoon and did what he asked.

"I aint tell you my moms coming down here soon?" He asked, chewing on lumpy grits I just fed him.

"Oh my gawd...she is?" I asked excitingly.

He nodded his head. "Yepp. She spose to be comin down here some time in like anotha week or so."

I scooped up some more grits in fed it to him. "So how is she coping with being clean?"

"She been coping real good..and doin alotta gardening. It's like some form of therapy they taught her in rehab."

"Wow...I'm so proud of her...I gotta see her when she comes down here. I miss her so much."

Zach was quiet for awhile, looking to be in deep thought over something. Whatever was on his mind was clearly bothering him.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

He sighed, rubbing his temples. "I talked ta my pops the other day."

"Really?"

He nodded. "Yea."

"When? Where? How did that even happen?"

"My moms gave him my number like a year ago", he chucked in disbelief. "Took a whole ass year for him ta hit me up. I aint even know who the fuck he was. 26 fuckin years done passed and now you wana call me? Fuck outta here."

"Well, how did the conversation go?" I asked. "Did he want to meet up and build something with you?"

"I was tryna hear him out, you know? Have an open mind about the shit...but everything went left when he started askin me fa money."

"I'm so sorry", I said, unsure of what else to say. All I knew was that it hurted me to see him this way. He was trying to hold it all in but I knew he was upset.

"Nah, don't be. I never had a fatha and I'm cool with that."

I took his hand in mine. "But what about Marlo? He taught you everything you needed to know about being a man. I might not have liked him but he taught you how to survive in the best way he knew how. He's always cared about you like you were his own. If you ask me, I'd say he's your real father. It doesn't take blood to be a father, it takes responsibility."

He smiled gently at me. "I never saw it that way...you right ma." He brought my hand up to his lips and kissed it.

I playfully smacked my lips. "Aint I always?"

He laughed. "I guess so...but I'm happy you here with me, you know that?" He rubbed my hand against his cheek as his blue eyes stared into mines. "Rememba the other day when I came back home and you greeted me naked at the door?" He asked, referring to the morning where he left me breakfast in bed and surprised me with Tupac's journal.

I smiled. "Yea."

"I loved the way you welcomed me at the door." He smiled, picking me up from his lap and sitting me on top of the table. "And the way you kissed me...it reminded me of them times you use to wait at my ol girl's house fa me till I got back from runnin the streets and shit---you use ta kiss me just like that, long and hard, like you thought you was never gonna see me again... I use ta couldn't wait ta get home, just so I could see your face cause you was the only light I had in my life." He held my waist and kissed my neck. "I use ta not give a fuck about whether I ended up dead in them streets---I felt like I aint have shit ta live for--- but all that change when I met you. Ta know I had you waitin fa me back at the crib was what made me care more about my life cause I aint wana die and not see you again. You saved my life. Without you, I wudda been dead." He brushed his lips against the crook of my neck. "Marlo always told me how important it is ta have a Black queen to bring out the best in you, and thats what you was ta me all along."

A/N: What are your thoughts on this chapter? I don't know how I feel about it...might work on it again