~Imani's POV~:
I'm not entirely sure how it happened but Jay ended up on top of me and we were making out. Somewhere along the line, his lips trailed down my neck and I reached for his pants. He pulled away and grabbed my wrists. "I don't want to take advantage of you." I blinked and sat up.
"You wouldn't be. I'm not drunk or anything." He smiled faintly.
"But you're hurt. I'm gonna go home.. do you want me to drive you to Jerome's?"
"You would do that?" He shrugged.
"It's nothing really. I don't think I'm the person you should be hanging around at the moment but I don't want you to be alone so why not?"
"Alright."
~
"Goodness, look at you! We have so much to talk about girl get that ass in the house right now." Jaerre kissed me goodbye and I watched from the doorway as Jerome said something to Jay. I don't know what the hell Rome said to that boy but it had him grinning like the Cheshire cat.
I shook my head and wandered into the house. Marcus' Audi was sitting in the driveway so I knew he was home. "Marcus!"
"Who the fuck," a deep voice grumbled. I smiled as the heavyweight guy walked into my view. He was sipping some Kola Champagne and eating a piece of chocolate cake. "Imani?"
"Hey." He smirked and hugged me.
"I haven't seen you in ages. How've you been?" I shrugged.
"Could be better. I know you been holding Jerome down," I paused to wiggle my eyebrows, "but I gotta steal him for a little while. I deeply apologize."
He rolled his eyes. "As long as you return him." Marcus turned and walked to their bedroom. I kicked my shoes off and got myself comfortable on the living room couch. Then Jerome walked in.
"You want some food? How's the baby?" I rubbed my stomach consciously.
"She's fine but hell yeah I'm starving. Do you guys have fruit?" He clapped his hands together with excitement.
"You want some pineapples and strawberries with chocolate cake? That shit is the bomb diggity. Come to the kitchen with me girl." I giggled at my friend and followed him to the kitchen.
I watched as he opened the fridge and began to get my snack. "Wait, did you say she? Are you having a girl?!"
"No, no, Rome, calm your tits. I just have a feeling its a girl." He smiled, slamming down the ziploc bags with the fruits on the counter.
"When are you supposed to go to the doctor to find out the sex?" I shrugged.
"I don't know, like a week or so. You know.. I really think I should call Damiun so we can sort things out. Plus I want him to be there when I find out the sex of the baby." Jerome's lips straightened out into a flat line, a sign he disagreed.
"Babe, I don't know if that's such a hot idea." I took a deep breath.
"Rome, I have to. The way Damiun and I ended just doesn't sit well with me. Maybe he was scared.. why the fuck would he cheat on me? Besides my feelings, we have a baby to worry about. We. And we need to talk about this whole thing." Jerome stopped what he was doing and took my hands.
"Imani, listen to me. You don't need that poor piss son of a bitch. Have you looked in the mirror lately? You're beautiful, gorgeous, and you have an amazing personality. Honestly, if I was straight, I'd go straight for you. But you really don't need Damiun, he's a cheater. There's me, Marcus, Jaerre and your family. We're all here to help you with this baby." Tears started falling out of my eyes as Jerome's words settled themselves in my head.
"Jerome.. I was engaged. I know I have all of you and I am so thankful but this is her father we're talking about. I don't want to raise a fatherless child." Jerome ran a hand through his unruly hair.
"Okay, Immy. You're kind of right so go ahead and call him. I'm still here for you, always will be." I smiled and wrapped my arms around his neck.
"I love you so much Rome. Thank you." I could feel his smile as he patted my back.
"I love you too Immy."
~
~Reese's POV~:
The car ride was peaceful with occasional conversation. I played with the radio stations and either commented on or sang along to every song I heard. Finally, we arrived at the restaurant. I smiled, realizing where we were. "Nando's?"
His eyebrows creased with confusion. "What? Did you want to go sonewhere else?"
"No, no, it's fine. I love this place." He sighed with visible relief and turned the engine off.
"Alright then, come on."
~
About 20 minutes later, we got our food and dug in.
"So.. Reese." I smiled, not looking up from my food.
"Yes?"
"I really like you." I bit my lip and looked up at him. He was blushing rather hard. I set my fork down and tilted my head to the side.
"What exactly do you like about me?" He grinned and looked down.
"Okay well for starters, you're beautiful. You have an amazing personality and I know this is the real you. You're not fake; I like that. I know we've slept together already, that, was amazing but there's just something about you. I can tell you've been hurt, I wanna fix you. You just seem like the girl." My mouth went dry.
"You think I'm the one? Broken old me?" Ro sighed and gripped my knee under the table.
"Reese, I really like you. So I'm asking.. will you be my girlfriend?" My heart started hammering against my rib cage. This is going too fast.
"I can't.." His face fell.
"Why not? I won't hurt you, I swear." I shook my head and took a deep breath.
"That's not it. It's just my last boyfriend.. we jumped into it too fast and everything went to hell. I can't do that again. I'm into you, I am.. I just wanna take things slower. I need to get to know you a little better." He gave me half a smile.
"Okay, I understand. We're going to hang out a lot these next couple of weeks then." I smirked and picked up my fork.
"That's cool with me."
xx.
