It's Always The Pretty Ones (5 page)

“I don’t know.”
 
She pulled her hand away.
 
“I don’t need any charity.”

“Aww, come on.”
 
Anton joked.
 
“I know you’re hungry.”

“I am.”
 
Dazzy smiled slightly.

“Okay, well come on.
 
I hear they have the best chocolate cake in the city.”
 
He held out his hand for her.

“Okay.”
 
She said as she placed her hand in his.
 
“But I’m only going in for the cake.

”

Romeo’s horn startled Krystal as she briskly walked to her car from the restaurant.
 
“What’s wrong with you?”
 
She shouted holding her chest.
 

“I’m sorry.”
 
Romeo chuckled as he stepped out of his car. “I just wanted to catch you before you jumped in your car.”

“I’m tired, Romeo.
 
What do you want?”

“I just wanted to see if you wanted to hang out for a while and maybe have repeat of a few months ago.”
 
He said as he gave her body a raking gaze.

Agitated by his boldness, she pulled her hand away.
 
“Romeo, I don’t have time for this tonight.
 
I’m tired.
 
Why don’t you go find one of the dozens of hoochies you deal with and
hang out
with them?
 
I’m going home.”

No wait.”
 
He grabbed her arm as she started to walk away.
 
“Why do you give me such a hard time, huh?”
 
he smiled.
 
“I’m just trying to get to know you better.”

“Please Romeo!”
 
She pulled her arm away.
 
“You don’t want to get to know me!
 
You just wanna hit the sheets.”

He raised his eyebrow.
 
“This is true,” he laughed. “But I also want to get to know you better Krystal.
 
Besides, what’s wrong with two consenting adults having a good time with one another?”
 
He grabbed her around her waist, pulling her body into his.
 

“Not a thing.”
 
She answered in a flirty, sexy tone.
 

“Okay, well, why don’t we get out of here and get this thing started?”
 
He kissed her gently on her neck.

“Okay.” She giggled.
 
“Find me another adult and I’ll be there.”
 

Romeo laughed aloud.
 

She pulled herself away from his grasp.
 
“You are a sort of nice guy Romeo, but you just have too many doggish qualities for my taste.
 
I’ll have to admit, what I remember of our night together was very nice, but as long as you stay the way you are when it comes to women, it won’t happen again.”

A hopeful smile erupted on his face.
 
“So you’re saying it can happen though?”

Krystal rolled her eyes.
 
“You are totally missing my point.
 
I don’t want a
roll in the sack
, I want a relationship.”

“Oh Lord!”
 
Romeo took a step back from her.
 
“Why is it women always have to bring up the ‘R’ word?”

“Well, I don’t know about other women, but I know for myself, I am ready for a commitment.
 
I have done the casual relationship thing and I am ready to move on.
 
I’m ready to settle down.”

“Well, I’m not there yet.
 
I’m just trying to have some fun.”

“I know and that’s your choice and I respect that.”
 
She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on his cheek.
 
“Like I said, I am exhausted.
 
I’ll see you around okay?”
 

Romeo stood quietly as he watched her get in her car and leave.
 
Just as he sat in his car and started the ignition, his phone rang.
 
He smirked as he looked at the number that came up on the screen and answered.
 
“Hey babe, so we on for some action tonight or what?”

Chapter 4

Anton laid in his bed thinking about the prospect of even attempting to be a dad.
 
Over the past 7 months, he had thought about it almost daily and now that Dazzy’s due date was approaching, it was on his mind constantly.
 
Yes, he knew all the basic things a dad was supposed to do, but had never really experienced
having
a “dad”.
 

He had never known his dad and at this point, he really didn’t want to.
 
He knew that he lives somewhere in Chicago now, but he hadn’t really tried to look for him.
 
His mom would always try to speak highly of him because she believed that no matter what, he was still his father.
 
In many ways, Anton blamed his dad for the death of his mom.
 
He felt that if his dad had been a man and stood up for his family like he was supposed to do, his mom would have been able to get the treatment she needed and she would still be around.
 

The smell of his favorite sausages filled the air around him as he stood up from bed and stretched.
 
He smiled as he let the sweet smell of maple-flavored goodness pull him into the kitchen.
 

“Good morning, sleepy head.” Dazzy greeted him with a welcoming smile as she placed his plate down on the table.

It made him happy to see her in the mornings…and evenings for that matter.
 
Over the past 7 months as they spent more and more time together, as their feelings deepened.
 
He was even thinking about taking the “next step” in their relationship; he was just amazed at how perfect she was.
 
He had never fallen for anyone this hard before.
 
Of course, Romeo almost flipped his wig when Anton told him that he planned to propose to Dazzy.
 
Romeo still felt Anton was an idiot for even falling for her, and letting her move in nonetheless!
 
His sister, Jamelah even had her doubts about her.
 
He just told them to give her a chance and they will grow to love her just as much as he did.
   

“Good morning.”
 
He said with a smile and he walked over to her and gave her a kiss.
 
“Good morning to you too!”
 
He rubbed her belly. “How are you feeling, this morning?”

“I’m okay, I guess.
 
I feel like a blimp.”
 
Dazzy frowned as she wobbled over to the counter to get her plate.
     

“No, you look beautiful.”
 
He smiled.

“Yeah whatever.”
 
She scoffed.
 

Just as Anton took a bite of his sausage, there was a knock at the door.
 
“Who could this be this early?”

“Romeo.”
 
They both said in unison.
 

Anton opened the door and smiled ear-to-ear when he saw it was his younger sister, Jamelah.
 

“What’s up big bro?”
 
She said as the embraced.

“Hey girl!”
 
Anton smiled as he gave her a kiss on the cheek.
 
“What are you doing here?”

“Oh, I was in the area for a conference and decided to stop by and visit my big brother.”
 
She turned around and pulled her suitcase in behind her.

Anton smiled and raised one eyebrow.
 
“No you wanted to save on hotel fees and stay here.”

“Well, that too.” She chuckled.

“Anton, who is it?”
 
asked Dazzy as she waddled into the room.
 
He smile slowly dropped as she saw Jamelah.
 
“Oh, hey Jamelah.”
 
She said with a forced smile.

“Oh, hey Dazzy.”
 
Jamelah said as she turned up one side of her mouth.

Anton quickly picked up on the tension and walked over to Dazzy with a smile.
 
“Jamelah is in town for a convention.”
   

“Oh, that’s just super!”
 
Dazzy said through clinched teeth.
 
“She’s staying here?”

Anton was so nervous whenever Dazzy and his sister got around one another.
 
There was always tension and arguments.
 
Jamelah had never liked Dazzy from the first time she met her.
 
To this day, she didn’t believe that the baby Dazzy was carrying was Anton’s, and she made sure that Dazzy knew it.
 

“If my brother says I can, yes I am!”
 
Jamelah said with a raised voice.

“Well, your brother isn’t the only one that lives here!”
 
Dazzy shouted, her neck rolling,

Anton stepped in between them.
 
“Okay ladies; let’s not do this, okay?”

Jamelah tilted her head and raised her eyebrow. “What the hell is she talking about Anton?”
 

“Just what I said!”
 
Shouted Dazzy.
 
“He isn’t the only one that lives here!”

Jamelah just looked at Anton in shock.
 

“Dazzy, why don’t you just go back in the kitchen and finish your breakfast while I talk to my sister, okay.”
 
Anton whispered as he gently turned her.

“Fine, but she is not staying here.”
 
Dazzy said as she rolled her eyes at Jamelah and headed back into the kitchen.

Anton walked back over to his sister with the same look he would always give her when he was caught.
 
“I can explain.”
 
He reached for her hand.

“You bet you will!
 
How is it that this bitch is living here with you, Anton?”

“Well, first off, she’s not a bitch.”

She put her hands up in front of her.
 
“Oh, excuse me!”
 
She said in a very sarcastic tone.

“Come on Jamelah, don’t act like this.”

“Act like what?
 
Like I don’t want some sneaky, conniving trick to bamboozle my brother into taking care of not only her, but a baby that isn’t his?”

“It’s not like that, Jamelah.”
 
Anton answered trying to keep his voice down.

       
“Oh really?
 
Well, what is it like then, Anton?”

“We’ve gotten closer over past months and I care about her.”

Jamelah just looked at him, pulled out her cell phone and started to dial.
 

“Who are you calling?”
 
Anton asked baffled.

“I am calling an ambulance to come pick you up and take you to the closest mental institution, because you have truly lost your mind!”

He pushed her hands down as she dialed.
 
“I understand how you feel, Jamelah; trust me you let me know enough, but you seem to keep forgetting that I am a grown man and I don’t need you trying to control what I do, or who I have living in my house.”

“So, I’m not allowed to care about my brother?”

“That is not what I said.”
 
He led her over to the sofa and they sat down.
 
“I know you love me and want to protect me, but I got this.
 
Besides, once you get to know Dazzy, you’ll like her.”

She just leaned back on the couch with her lip turned up.
 
“I seriously doubt it.”

“No, I think you will.
 
Once you get past her tough girl exterior, she is really a sweetheart.”

“I find that hard to believe.” She added with a slight smile of defiance.
 

       
“Why is that?”
 
His lips puckered with annoyance at her disagreement.