Chapter 22

22

D ali

Mid-September

I’d come to Atlanta to film a brand commercial and decided to stop by the mall and get Kas a few gift cards to some of her favorite stores. Chanel was the last place I stopped at, and after getting her a ten-thousand-dollar gift card, I got Mama two purses. It wasn’t my plan to leave so early, but Germany and Twila were having a dinner tonight before their wedding tomorrow. As much as I’d been praying that he decided to call the wedding off, it didn’t seem like that was going to be the case.

Once I had the gifts for my two favorite girls, I booked the cigar lounge Pops liked so he and I could have a guys’ night with Dynasty and the rest of the crew next weekend. Every time I did something for Mama, I tried to do something for Pops too, though he told me that wasn’t necessary. After his heart attack, he didn’t care about anything but taking it easy, appreciating his second chance at life, and giving Mama whatever her heart desired.

After my short flight into Memphis, I drove the distance to Jasper Lane. The whole time I drove, I grinned. This was the first time since Kassadee and I got together that we hadn’t seen each other for three whole days. I couldn’t wait to feel up on my lil baby.

I barely put my truck in park before I was hopping out and briskly walking into my home. Kas had parked her car next to mine, surprising me with her presence. I thought I’d have to drop my things off then go to her spot, so I was happy as hell to see that she was already here.

As I eagerly took the stairs by two, music coming from the game room told me where she was. It wasn’t a surprise to find her in there dancing and singing along to the music she was listening to. I swear this woman would listen to music all day every day if she could. At the sight of me, she released a quiet, “Ah!” then ran into my arms.

My laugh was hearty as I picked her up.

“Babe! I didn’t know you were on your way home!”

“I wanted to surprise you.”

“I missed you so much.”

“I mis—”

Her cupping my cheek and kissing me silenced me, and I was more than okay with that. If this was the welcome I came home to, I’d need to travel without her more often.

A Few Hours Later

I didn’t realize my leg was shaking until Kassadee squeezed it and rubbed it. “You okay?” she checked, leaning forward slightly to look into my eyes.

Twila’s mother had secured the party room at what was probably the most upscale five-star restaurant in Jasper Lane. That was amusing within itself because Germany was a chicken tenders and Long Island iced tea type of man, yet the menu included a five-course meal that started with a wine tasting.

“You still don’t think they should get married?” Kassadee continued.

“No, but it really doesn’t matter what I think. I just hope Germany knows what he’s doing.”

When the servers began to serve dessert, Germany stood. “I just want to thank y’all for coming out to celebrate with us. I also want to say, when the pastor asks if anyone objects tomorrow, keep ya fuckin’ mouths shut. Y’all know I keep that thang on me and I won’t be afraid to use it.”

“Germany!” Twila whispered loudly, standing and tugging on his arm as he flashed the gun on his hip.

While quite a few of us laughed, her parents looked offended by his joke.

“I’m just playing, Twila, damn. Lighten up.”

“I want you to have that same energy toward yourself,” her father, Harold, said. “You make sure you respect and honor my daughter, and if you don’t…”

“You don’t have to worry about that, sir. I got her. She’s good with me.”

“Is she?” Keisha, her mother, asked.

“Shit,” Kas whispered, sitting up in her seat.

“Why wouldn’t she be?” Germany asked, lifting his glass and taking a sip.

“Ma, please,” Twila begged. “Now is not the time or the place.”

“When will be the time, honey? You haven’t come to your senses yet.” Keisha stood as she chuckled. “I’ve been waiting for you to realize Germany is not the man for you, yet you’re bound and determined to prove me and your father wrong—even at the expense of your own heart.”

“Twila’s right,” Auntie said, standing and putting her hand on Germany’s back in an attempt to keep him calm. “This isn’t the space for this conversation.”

“That man has cheated on you literally your entire relationship, and you’re still going to marry him? Are you really that desperate, Twi?” Keisha continued, ignoring Auntie.

“What goes on in my relationship is my business, not yours.”

“You make it our business every time you come to us crying over what he did to you,” Harold said, standing.

“It’s only so much disrespect I’ma take,” Germany said. “Twila ain’t as innocent as y’all think. I might have my character flaws, but trust me, she has hers too.”

“Oh, so that justifies you being a habitual cheater?” Twila asked, turning slightly to face him. “What character flaws could I possibly have to make the way you treat me okay?”

“So now you got a problem with how I treat you?” Germany scoffed and ran his fingers down the corners of his mouth. “If I treat you so bad, why in the fuck are you about to marry me?”

“That’s what the hell I’m trying to figure out,” Vincent, Germany’s best friend said as he stared at his glass of wine. “It for damn sure ain’t the baby because it’s mine.”

“The fuck you just say?” Germany asked as Dynasty and I stood. If I heard him correctly, shit was about to hit the fan.

“You heard me, nigga. Twila ain’t pregnant with your baby; she’s pregnant with mine. I guess her guilt made her say yes to your proposal, but that ain’t your baby. And I don’t think I can stand around and let you be in my child’s life.”

“Okay, that’s eno—” Before Auntie could finish, Germany had leapt across the table at Vincent, who was seated directly across from him.

I couldn’t react as quickly as I normally would out of disbelief. All this time, I was worried about the harm Germany had been causing Twila… and it never crossed my mind that she could be out here doing the same—with his best friend of all people. When I finally processed what was happening, I helped Dynasty and Kennessy pull Germany off Vincent. Damage had already been done, and blood was seeping from Vincent’s nose and mouth.

After we got Germany outside, I went back in for Kas. At the sound of Twila’s mom talking about the police being on their way, I headed out and told my people we needed to move. As Kas and I followed the line of cars out, my mind swirled with one question after another. I wanted to know how long they’d been fucking off and how they could have kept that from Germany, but it really didn’t matter. I couldn’t imagine how my cousin was feeling. Was he hurt, or just angry? Did he care about Twila’s betrayal, or was he more concerned with Vincent’s actions? Would he eventually feel relief, or would this make him even more toxic? Only time would tell, and I could only pray this didn’t make Germany treat women even worse.

The Next Morning

All eyes were on Germany as he ate breakfast as if he didn’t have a care in the world. What was supposed to be the morning of his wedding turned into the morning my cousins and I had an adult sleepover to make sure he didn’t become unhinged. Everyone crashed at my home since it had the most guest rooms thinking Germany would need to be kept on a tight leash but that hadn’t been the case. He did get drunk as fuck last night but that was it.

Mona came over this morning, and she and Kas had created a breakfast buffet with Journee. We were all seated at the twelve-person dining room table as he hummed and sliced into his pancakes. His eyes lifted and looked at us before he chuckled.

“Will y’all stop worrying about me? I’m good.”

“How?” Dynasty asked. “Your best friend got your fiancée pregnant. How are you okay with that?”

Last night, we got the full story out of Vincent after he woke up from the slumber Germany’s fists had put him in. Apparently, Twila seduced him as payback the last time she had proof Germany cheated on her. He fell for the trap, and it was supposed to be a onetime thing, but they continued to fuck off. When Twila found out she was pregnant, she told Vincent it was a possibility the baby was his, but she felt so guilty about cheating on Germany after he seemed so happy about the baby that she made Vincent promise not to say anything. That dinner was the end of Vincent’s rope.

A part of me hoped the baby wasn’t Germany’s so he could wash his hands of them both for good. I expected it to take some time for him to get over what had happened, but he was sitting up here as if he was over it already.

“What y’all want me to do? Cry?” He chuckled. “A playa got played. It’s a part of the game.”

I sucked my teeth as my head shook. “Nah, fuck all’at. Your girl cheating on you and getting pregnant by your best friend ain’t a part of the game. Tell us how you really feel.”

His knife and fork clinked against the plate, and he sat back in his seat. “I was marrying her because of the baby. I don’t care about her cheating, but it did hurt to learn the baby might not be mine. As fucked up as I am, I was looking forward to having a baby. So I’m a little bummed about that.” He shrugged.

“And Vincent?” Ken asked quietly.

“It’s war every time I see him. He broke my heart. I expected better out of him. I’m beating his ass every time I see him. We can be at church and I’m lifting my finger while I walk down the aisle to be off with his head. He’d be better off just moving to a different city to avoid me.”

Silence filled us. I wanted to be the reasonable cousin and tell him not to go after Vincent, but I imagine my reaction would be the same.

“Well, you know we got you,” Journee offered. “I’ll beat Twila up after she gives birth if you want me to.”

Germany smiled. “It’s really not worth it, cuz, but I ’preciate you. She’s dead to me.”

He stood and headed out. To my surprise, Mona was the one that followed behind. Me and Kassadee locked eyes, and she shrugged, seemingly as caught off guard as I was. I wasn’t sure if they’d been seeing each other secretly or if she was just being a good friend. Either way, I was hoping Vincent would lay low and keep his distance. I may have been the only professional boxer in our family, but none of my cousins were to be fucked with. Vincent now had a target on his back, and there was no doubt in my mind that Germany would go after him every time he saw him like he’d said.