Chapter 43

43

A manda

Thanksgiving

The party had been going exceptionally well. A lot of people who received baskets and gift cards had gotten together to do a special video to thank Elias and Neko. Everyone was genuinely having a great time until Declan showed up. My man had been on a cloud because his brother was back, but as soon as his eyes landed on Declan, I immediately felt the shift in his spirit.

At first, I thought Fiona had set him up, but she quickly came over and made it clear that she didn’t know her father was going to come. Because he wasn’t on the list, he wasn’t able to come in. However, he caused a scene with his yelling. When Elias couldn’t take it anymore, he downed the rest of his champagne and headed toward the double doors with Neko and the rest of their friends behind him. Even though he told me to stay back, he should have known I wasn’t going to do that. I stayed behind the men but close enough to see what the hell was going on.

I covered my mouth to avoid laughing when Michael stepped in front of Elias and Neko. That man didn’t play about his sons.

“Is all of this really necessary?” Declan asked, putting his hands on his hips. “After all we’ve been through, Elias?”

Head tilted, Elias cupped his hands in the center of him. Even with his family and friends more than ready to fight his battle, his stance made it clear that he was ready for whatever. Elias didn’t do the back and forth. He gave one warning…and then he attacked.

“You don’t hear me talking to you?” Declan continued.

“I don’t have anything to say to you,” Elias replied. “Whatever you need to get off yo’ chest, you can, but you ain’t getting no words from me.”

His tongue rolled over his cheek before Declan scoffed. “You wouldn’t have none of this if it wasn’t for me. You couldn’t be satisfied with my money, so you wanted to have my daughter too? She was too pure to be stained by your bloodline. I won’t ever apologize for that.”

“Daddy, please.” Fiona stepped between Declan and Michael. “You’ve already ruined my relationship with him. I’m not going to let you stand here and disrespect him too…especially when I know you’re only saying these things because you’re hurt and miss him.”

Elias sucked his teeth. “Miss me with that toxic masculinity. That’s a bullshit ass excuse. If he wanted to work things out between us, there was a proper way to go about it. Tossing his money at me and then showing up at a private party talking out the side of his mouth was not the way to go about it.” Elias directed his attention to Declan. “You got about five seconds to get the fuck up outta here before I have you forcibly removed…and that’s if I don’t beat yo’ ass first.”

“I’m the force, and I’m knocking it down to three,” Michael said. “Two,” he counted, bypassing one.

Lowering my head, I covered my mouth as I snickered.

“Let’s just go, Daddy. Please.” Fiona tugged at his arm. For a minute, I didn’t think Declan was going to leave, but eventually, he retreated.

There were a few tension-filled seconds before Neko broke through it by telling everyone the cash bar was free for the next five minutes. Elias ran his hand down his face as Naomi, his mom, asked him if he was okay. He nodded, eyes scanning the space. When they landed on me, he smiled. He bobbed his head for me to come to him, and I walked down the few feet that separated us.

“You good?” I checked, wrapping my arms around his neck.

“Yeah. I had a feeling his ass was going to show up. Men like him don’t take rejection well of any kind.”

“I’m proud of you for standing on business when it comes to your morals and principles. It takes a lot to cut someone off because you don’t agree with their way of thinking or living. That shows the pride you take in your circle, because at the end of the day, everyone attached to you is a reflection of you. You did right, baby.”

His lips covered mine for a sweet kiss. “Thank you, bae. I needed that.”

“And I need you to come over here and have a drink. You’re tense, and I don’t like that.”

A quiet chuckle escaped him as he took my hand into his and led me to the bar. “I’ll be cool. My body just needs to relax now that he’s no longer in my presence, but I’m good. I promise.”

I eyed him and didn’t get the feeling that he was holding back, so I left it alone and was determined to make sure he enjoyed the rest of his night.

“Sis, welcome back to the family officially,” Neko said, wrapping his arm around my shoulders.

After the party was the after-party, and it was just for our friends. The hard liquor had been brought out, and the weed was in rotation. Hors d'oeuvres had been replaced with bar food, and I was having the time of my life partying with my people.

“I know you never left,” he added, “but I’m glad y’all are back together. He’s happier than I’ve seen him in a while, and I know that’s because of you.”

“Maybe any other day, but he’s as happy as he is right now because you’re back.”

Neko grinned before taking the bottle of Hennessy he had to the head. I wasn’t usually a brown liquor girl, but when he offered it to me, I opened my mouth so he could pour it inside.

GloRilla’s “TGIF” started playing, and my girls and I immediately made our way to the center of the VIP section. I snatched the blunt from West’s mouth on the way and put it between my lips. As we danced against each other and rapped along, I allowed the alcohol and weed to flow through my system. I was truly grateful for the progress made in me as a woman and in my relationship. If God stopped blessing me today, I still had enough to thank Him for every day.

The feel of a hard body pressing against me caused me to smile as my lazy eyes lowered. His arms wrapped around me, and he kissed my neck, eliciting a moan.

“You know this Hen gon’ have me fucking you all night, right?”

“When can we start?”

“Shit…right now if you want to.”

Without waiting for me to agree, because he knew I would, Elias grabbed my hand and led me away from the VIP section.

“Aye, gimme my blunt, sis,” West said, and I was so anxious for some alone time with my man, I almost forgot I had it.

The past week had gone by in a blur in preparation for the party. Outside of Declan’s random pop-up, it had been a complete success. When we made it outside to the town car, Elias told his driver to get out and go inside until we came back in. Already knowing what type of time we were on, he chuckled and told us to enjoy ourselves.

“You and my son are what I’m most grateful for,” Elias muttered, closing the door behind us. “I’m grateful that he’s thriving and that we’re in a better place. I love you so fucking much, bae. I hope I treat you in a way that shows that.”

My eyes misted as I sat down and stared at him. “I wanted you to fuck me, but when you say stuff like that, I feel like we should make love.”

Elias laughed as he used my arms to stretch me across the seat. “Nah, I can be romantic and still fuck this pussy. That’s what you want me to do?”

His palm smacking my ass kept me from responding immediately. “That’s exactly what I want you to do.”

“Say less.”

He lifted my dress and slid my panties to the side as I arched my back and pressed my chest against the seat. The feel of him pressing his way inside of me had my eyes fluttering. I was already wet, so the moment he began to fill me with fast, hard strokes, the sound of my cum slathering his dick immediately filled the car. My nails scraped the seat as I rocked against him, taking each forceful stroke.

“You feel me?” he asked, voice low and husky. My mouth hung open, but nothing would come out. “I hear this pussy. She smacking. But I don’t hear you. You feel me, Mandy?”

“Mhm,” I moaned, planting my palm on the window for support.

“Tell me you feel that dick.”

I opened my mouth, but instead of words coming out, strangled breaths did. Squeezing my right nipple, I released a sizzling breath before biting down on my bottom lip hard.

“Tell me you feel it, or I’ma stop,” he taunted, slowing his pace.

“I-I feel it. Please don’t stop,” I begged, crossing my ankles as my toes curled.

His pace quickened, and my body tingled. I heard my wetness puddling and knew what was about to happen.

“Where you feel that dick, bae?”

“All over me,” I moaned.

“How does it feel?”

“Can I show you?”

“Show me. Make this pussy squirt.” As soon as the words left his mouth, I squirted. His arm wrapped around my waist, and he kept me bent as he filled me with deep strokes that had me gasping and cursing all in the same breath. “Yesss, Mandy. Give me that shit, bae.”

I reached between us and pushed him out to stop the liquid from pouring out of me. He sat down, and I straddled him. Our arms wrapped around each other, and he buried his face in my neck.

“Finish me,” he commanded.

“Yes, baby.” I agreed, squeezing my walls against him as I rode him, not stopping until we both came.

Two Weeks Later

My mama was mad at me. When she came to get my baby, she barely spoke two words to me. She’d found out Elias and I were back together, and she was upset I didn’t tell her. It wasn’t my intention to hurt her feelings, but I did what I felt was best. The last thing I wanted was for her to say something to make me doubt my relationship.

I didn’t want her to have that kind of power over my mind, but I’d been taking what she said as law for years, and that was a hard habit to break. When I felt like enough time had passed for her to have made it home, I called her. It took her so long to answer I thought her voicemail was going to pick up, but eventually, her dry voice came blaring through.

“Why do you have an attitude?” I asked, keeping my voice light.

“Because I had to find out you were back with your baby daddy through the grapevine. Why didn’t you tell me you and Elias were back together?”

As I stepped into my furry Crocs, I released an annoyed breath. Even though I knew that was why she was upset, to actually have to have this conversation was blowing me.

“Honestly, Ma, because I didn’t want to hear your mouth. You always have something negative to say, and I’m really happy to be back with him.”

“And you couldn’t just say that, Amanda?”

“If I would’ve, what would have been your response?”

She didn’t respond right away. After sucking her teeth, she said, “I would have told you if you had to hide it to be happy, it wasn’t going to last.”

“And that’s exactly why I wasn’t going to tell you,” I said before laughing, and she joined in.

“Do I make you feel bad about your life?”

Her question caught me off guard as I walked down the hall. Elias and I were going shopping for Christmas decorations to put up whenever EJ’s grandparents let him come back home. I’d been spending so much time at his place that I was considering selling my home. I wanted to keep my penthouse for weekends though.

“Sometimes, most times…yeah. I know it isn’t always intentional but that doesn’t make it easier to swallow. You can be very pessimistic, Mama.”

“I’m not a pessimist; I’m a realist.”

I rolled my eyes because of course she would say that. Since I didn’t feel like going back and forth with her, I just remained quiet.

“I took pride in us having the kind of relationship where you could come to me about anything,” she continued. “I’m sorry if you felt like you couldn’t share this with me because you thought I would rain on your parade. That’s never my intention. I’ve always wanted to prepare you for all outcomes—good and bad.”

“I know, and I appreciate that. It just seems like most times you only focus on the bad. It’s like you talk negative stuff over me. If I come to you hopeful, you drain that. So many good things have been happening in my life lately that I wish I could share with you, but I haven’t because I don’t want you to make me feel like they can’t come to fruition or like I don’t deserve them.”

She released a shaky breath. “Wow. I don’t know what to say.”

“That’s a first.”

That made her laugh, lightening the mood. “I love you, Ma, and I know you and Daddy love me too. Can you just agree to not give me advice unless I ask for it, and if I do, can you try to be more positive?”

“I can do that.” She agreed just above a whisper, which was different for her. Usually, her voice was loud, hard, and firm. Hell, everything about her was loud, hard, and firm. She was one of the strongest women I knew—the kind who commanded attention whenever she walked into a room. Seeing the shift in her demeanor made me feel like she was being genuine, which I appreciated.

“Thank you, Mama. I love you, and I’m sorry if me keeping this from you hurt you.”

“I love you too. I know I probably didn’t raise you in the most conventional way, but I did what I felt I needed to do to protect you, Manda. These men will drain you dry and then leave you because you’re empty. They’ll use you, manipulate you, drive you crazy, and then leave you because you’re insane.” She sighed. “The things I went through before I met your father changed me, and I guess I just wanted to help you avoid that if it be at all possible. I wanted you to know their ways and their games so you could play.”

“I know, Ma. And it did help a lot. I will never forget what you’ve taught me, but not all things apply. Going forward, I just want to give and receive love freely. I don’t want to always have a guard up, because the same guard I used to keep pain out was also making it impossible to let love in.”

“Look at you sounding all wise.”

I heard the smile in her voice, and it made me smile.

“You helped with that. Even if I had to sift through some stuff to get to what applied to me. I’m forever grateful for you, and I hope I can use some of the things you gave me to help others in a positive way.”

We continued to talk for a while longer before she surprised me by telling me to bring Elias down for spiked hot cocoa. He surprised me even more by agreeing to go. I felt like a kid in a candy store, and I prayed the visit went smoothly.