"Because of You" Part 1

[Sweet Meat aka CC]

[glow=yellow,2,300]Thanky, Peaches! [/glow]

Because of You

[glow=red,2,300]"I'm so glad that I got at you/I'm so glad you chose me"[/glow]

“Nell! Where are you? Daddy Pop keeps askin’ about ya!”, Lynella’s younger sister, Dora exclaimed into her phone’s receiver.

“I’m down the road from the house now! Tell Daddy Pop I’ll be there in juss a minute, girl!”, Lynella chuckled with a shake of her head.

“Well hurry up before he starts actin’ up in here! Besides everybody else is here except you with your slow self!”, Dora huffed.

“Look, heffa, like I said, I’m almost there…bye!”, Lynella sighed as she ended her call. Dora had long possessed the gift of getting on Lynella’s nerves from the time she was born.

However, Lynella kept a grin on her face while thinking about her good ol’ Daddy Pop who was actually her grandfather. He was a handsome, full-blooded Blackfoot Indian who had a head full of long, straight, white hair that used to be jet black and he always had a solid build to his body. The family was gathering at her parent’s house to celebrate Daddy Pop’s 86th birthday. He had been living with her mother and father for the past 15 years after his wife of 53 years, Joy, died.

Although Daddy Pop was suffering from Alzheimer’s, the only one he ever asked about was Lynella whom he always called Joy since she was the only one out of all of the grandchildren that looked exactly like her grandmother. And because of his health condition, he always confused Lynella for his wife.

Within five minutes, Lynella was pulling her ride up in front of her parent’s home that was already surrounded by numerous cars that were parked in the driveway and across the front lawn of their farmhouse.

“Here I come Daddy Pop!”, she giggled as she climbed out of her car to pull his gift from the backseat.

As she was bending over across the seat to grab it, she heard a car pulling up behind hers. However, she didn’t have time to look up because she was going through his gift bag to make sure that her card to him was inside of it. But as soon as she stood up, she heard a male voice call out her name.

“Nelly Nell! W’sup cuz!”, her aunt’s former foster son, Jarrell, grinned when she turned around to face him.

“Oh my God! Hey, Rell!”, she smiled as the two of them headed towards each other for a hug. “It’s been a long time!”

“Yeah, I know. But damn, you lookin’ good for someone as old as you are lookin’ like a broke-ass Macy Gray with that ‘do! ”, he slyly grinned as he stepped back to take a good look at her. He noticed that she was dressed in a black sweater, a pair of jeans, and a pair of black high-heeled boots.

“Whateva!”, she chuckled with a shake of her head. “But you’re lookin’ right nice too with your young, wet-behind-the-ear self!” He was too adorable standing before her dressed in a white warm-up suit with a black t-shirt on underneath and a black and white headband pulled down on one side of his head. However, she noticed that he had cut his spiky ‘do down to a close haircut that were filled with waves.

Although no one else in the family had ever actually taken a liking to Jarrell, Lynella was the only who had a soft spot in her heart for him considering the type of environment he had come from when he was younger. He had been in and out of foster homes from the age of two. When he was 11-years-old, one of her aunts took him into her home as her foster child although he stayed in and out of trouble for misdemeanor crimes ranging from shoplifting, skipping school, and being expelled from school the year before for fighting. He was a very intelligent young man, but his problem was hanging around the wrong crowd. However, he had recently received his G.E.D. through the local community college and was now enrolled in an electrician course through the same school.

“Hi.”, Lynella smiled when she noticed the good-looking…no, foine guy that was leaning on the hood of Jarrell’s ride.

“Hey, how ya doin’?”, he smiled back with a nod of his head while continuously looking at her.

“Oh my bad, nigga! This is my play cousin, Lynella. Lynella this is my cousin, Marques.”, Jarrell stated while introducing them.

“Can I carry that in for you?”, Marques asked as he stood up from the hood of the car. But before hearing an answer from Lynella, he had already taken the gift bag from her.

“Thanks.”, she smiled.

“You want me to hook yall up?”, Jarrell quietly teased as he and Lynella walked in front of Marques.

“Shut yo’ silly ass up!”, she giggled as she grabbed him by the arm.

“’Bout time!”, Dora huffed when she opened the door several seconds later for Lynella, Jarrell, and Marques.

As soon as Lynella stepped inside, she was greeted by her large group of family members. She was happy to see everyone, but the one she really wanted to see was Daddy Pop. And as soon as she saw him, she ran over to his wheelchair.

“Happy Birthday, Daddy Pop!!!”, she squealed as she bent down to wrap her arms around his neck. She proceeded to give him a big kiss on the cheek.

“Joy!”, he called out while placing one of his arms around her.

“Daddy hadn’t said one word until now!”, Lynella’s father, Thomas, chuckled with a shake of his head.

“Uummph!”, Dora grumbled as she sat back down next to her fiancé, Carter.

“Not today, sweetie.”, he sighed as he placed his arm around her shoulder.

Dora was always used to having attention on her since she was the youngest, but she had become somewhat jealous that her grandfather who used to remember her name from years ago seemed to only respond to Lynella and she couldn’t stand it.

In the meantime, Jarrell was greeted by most of the family members as well as Marques before everyone headed out to the backyard to eat.

“Go say somethin’ to her man.”, Jarrell grinned as he sat down next to Marques at one of the tables. He had been talking to Lynella and Dora’s mother, Lynn, when he noticed Marques sitting alone while watching Lynella who was talking to one of her many uncles.

“I’ono, man. I’m sure I’m not her type.”, he faintly smiled although he kept looking at her.

“What makes you say that?”, Jarrell asked with a puzzled look. “Because you found out that she’s a couple of years olda than you are?”

“Nah, it ain’t that. I’m juss sayin’…she looks like she’s used to upscale type of niggas approachin’ her. Not an ex-con like my ass.”, Marcus replied with a shake of his head while finally taking his eyes away from her.
“You got it all wrong, man. She’s nothin’ like that! She’s real with hers because she’s the only one in the family who has actually cared about me in spite of some of the stupid shit I’ve done.”, Jarrell stated.

“Well, I’ll think about it.”, Marques sighed although he knew he wasn’t about to step to Lynella like that.

When the family finally sat down to eat, everyone who was sitting near Lynella and Dora began to go on and on about Dora and Carter’s wedding date that would be coming up in a few months.

“So Lynella what happened to that guy you used to date?”, her nosey Aunt Lorelei asked.

“Ummmm…it juss didn’t work out.”, she quietly replied with a shake of her head while glancing downward at her plate.

This caught Marques’ attention. He and Jarrell had been sitting across from each other while talking and eating. However, he shushed Jarrell so he could take a closer listen although they were sitting several seats down from Lynella.

“But weren’t yall supposed to be getting married at one time too?”, Lorelei went on.

“Yes, but like I said…it didn’t work out!”, Lynella snapped while glancing over at her aunt.

Thomas quickly interjected. “My baby’s young. She still has plenty of time to find her perfect someone like Dora has.” He then proceeded to reach over and pat Lynella’s hand.

“Thanks Daddy.”, Lynella bashfully smiled.

“Daddy Pop aren’t you gonna eat?”, Lynn asked as she turned in her seat to look at him. She noticed that he hadn’t touched anything on his plate.

“No!”, he replied with a shake of his head. He then pointed in Lynella’s direction. “Joy!”

[Sweet Meat aka CC]

“What is it Daddy Pop?”, Lynella smiled when she saw him pointing at her.

“I think he wants you!”, Dora sighed with a roll of her eyes.

Lynella proceeded to shoot her a don’t-mess-with-me-look before turning her attention back to their grandfather.

“Do you mind?”, Thomas asked Lynella in regards to her seeing if her grandfather would eat if she helped him to do so.

“Nah, I don’t mind. I’m not that hungry anyway.”, she smiled as she began to stand up. For a moment, when she glanced down at the opposite end of the table, she saw Marques looking at her. She smiled at him and he proceeded to throw a small grin her way before talking with Jarrell again.

“C’mon, Daddy Pop!”, she smiled as she wheeled his chair towards the closest end of the table where he was seated to make room for herself. The minute she sat down next to him, he began to eat although she had to help him every now and then.

“I don’t know why she just won’t stay down here and help yall. She sees the only time he does anything is if she’s around!”, Dora stated with a shake of her head while talking with her parents. Because she lived with her parents, she was always the one that they called on to help with Daddy Pop.

“Yeah…like I can juss up and move from where I’m stayin’ now to come back here and travel 42 miles back and forth to work everyday!”, Lynella snapped while glaring at her sister.

“So what?! I have to go back and forth to work each day as well as try to get my future life in order with my soon-to-be-HUSBAND and I’m always called on to do everything!”, Dora snapped back.

“Whateva!”, Lynella huffed as she turned her attention back to Daddy Pop.

“That’s enough you two!”, Lynn warned while looking back and forth at her two daughters.

“Yeah, honey. This is supposed to be a happy occasion.”, Carter agreed while taking Dora’s hand in his. She proceeded to roll her eyes and look upward with a shake of her head before eating again.

As the party came to an end, several members of the family began to leave. However, Jarrell and Marques decided to hang around a little while longer since Marques was working up enough courage to talk with Lynella for a little while.

“Look at those two. They can’t be up to no good comin’ in here with their clothes all half off their asses.”, Dora stated to Carter with a suck of her teeth as they watched Jarrell and Marques play ball with Thomas and a few other male members of the family.
“Actually, I know Marques.”, Carter replied as he removed his glasses. “One of my co-workers is his probation officer.”

“Probation Officer?!”, Dora gasped in surprise.

“Shhhh…yeah, he served 36 months upstate for possession with intent to sell weed a few years back. But he’s on the right track with his life now.”, Carter replied.

“Damn! I guess it runs in Rell’s family.”, she sarcastically stated with a shake of her head.

“That’s not fair, Dora. People change.”, Carter sighed.

“Yeah, anyway…”, she huffed.

“Whew! Your pops ain’t no joke!”, Marques joked as he came and flopped down in a chair at the table where Lynella was standing while making her grandfather two long braids.

“I know you ain’t lettin’ ol’ school whip on ya like that?!”, she chuckled while glancing at him. “Look at Rell. He’s not givin’ up on Daddy!”

“Well, he’s got a lot more energy to burn off than I do!”, Marques grinned.

“True!”, she agreed with a nod of her head. “There ya go, Daddy Pop!”, she smiled after finishing up his braid. She leaned down and wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Thank you, Joy.”, he smiled while patting her hand with one of his.

Marques smiled at the both of them. “You did a good job.”

“Thanks.”, she replied as she made room to sit in between him and her grandfather’s wheelchair.

“So ummm…I was wonderin’ if I could ask you somethin’ before Rell and I leave in a lil’ while.”, he stated while looking at her.

“What is it?”, she smiled while looking at him.

“If it’s okay…could I call you sometime? You seem like a pretty coo’ person from what Rell has been tellin’ me about you.”, he half-smiled out of shyness.

“Oh, so yall been talkin’ about me? Mmmm-hmmm.”, she chuckled. “But yeah, that’s fine. That way we can get to know each otha a lil’ more.”

“Aight…I’d like that.”, he grinned. “Yo, Rell! We can be out now if you’re ready!”

“So you stayed here long enough to get the digits and run?! That ain’t even right!”, Lynella joked as she stood up along with him.

“You should give me some credit since I stuck around until I was brave enough to ask you!”, Marques grinned.

“True! I ain’t mad at’cha!”, Lynella giggled.

“No wonda she can’t find a good man! She keeps runnin’ into these nobodies!”, Dora thought to herself as she watched her sister and Marques converse with each other.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Sweet Meat aka CC]

Although Lynella and her longtime friend, Aysia, were sitting together in Lynella's living room several nights later, Lynella was trying her best to pretend to concentrate on watching tv while Aysia became involved in a heated argument with her ex-boyfriend, Dru, on her cell phone.

"Look, why do you keep callin' me with the same tired shit?! You said this baby can't be yours so you need to lose my damn number with your punk ass!", Aysia yelled.

"Aysia, listen...what do you expect me to do when I know we used somethin' every time?! Shit, I ain't ready for all this yet! But I do think we need to talk about it!", Dru huffed.

"Yeah, nigga...whateva! Like I said, since you still actin' like yo' ass don't wanna claim this baby, juss get lost!", Aysia snapped before abruptly ending the call.

"So he's still denyin' it?", Lynella asked as she glanced over at Aysia.

"Yeah. But I don't know what makes him think that I want him back after his stupid ass called me a ho because he doesn't believe my baby is his.", Aysia angrily replied with a shake of her head.

Lynella was about to say something when her doorbell rang. When she answered it, it was her neighbor, Jerome.

"Hey, Nell! W'sup?", he smiled as she stood to the side to let him in.

"Nothin' much...juss the same ol' same ol'.", she sighed as she followed behind him.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know you had company.", he stated after his eyes fell on Aysia. He proceeded to smile at her and she smiled back.

"This is my friend, Aysia. I don't think you two have ever met. Aysia, this is my crazy neighbor, Jerome.", Lynella giggled while playfully punching his shoulder.

"Now why you gotta call me crazy for?", he chuckled while looking at Lynella.

"Anyway!", Lynella smiled.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you.", Aysia smiled as she waved at him.

"It's nice to meet you too.", he replied with a small grin. However, when he found himself beginning to stare at her, he quickly turned his attention back to Lynella. "Here's that cake plate back that you let my cousin borrow last week. She told me to tell ya thanks."

"Oh, no problem.", Lynella replied as she took it from him and placed it on one of her bar stools. "Have a sit down."

"Nah, I have to be goin'. I'm gonna meet up with Kel to hang out for a while. But maybe some otha time.", he grinned while looking in Aysia's direction.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Get up, man!", Marques yelled at his tv while he and Jarrell watched a boxing match between Oscar De La Hoya and Sugar Shane Mosley. Shane had just fell to the mat for a second time during the 7th round.

"I know right! That nigga betta man up!", Jarrell shouted while laughing.

The referee had counted to 6 when Shane finally managed to stand back up to his feet. As soon as a commercial came on, Marques decided to share something with Jarrell.

"Yo, I don't think your girl likes me.", he sighed.

"Who, Nell? Why you say that?", Jarrell asked before taking a sip from his beer can.

"Because she hasn't called me yet.", Marques replied.

"Well what your ass waitin' for?! If she ain't called you, call her!", Jarrell laughed with a shake of his head.

"I'ono.", Marques stated with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Nigga, you weak! Look…as soon as this fight is ova, you gon' call her and I ain't leavin' until you do!", Jarrell joked although he had a serious look on his face.

"Oh you'll leave if I have to pick yo' skinny ass up myself and toss you outta here!", Marques laughed.

"Not if I knock yo' ass to the floor!", Jarrell laughed back. "Oh hol' up, the fight's back."

After De La Hoya won, Jarrell sat and watched Marques who reluctantly picked up the phone to call Lynella.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Damn! If this is what you have to go through with younger niggas, maybe it's not a good idea to become too interested in Marques.", Lynella wearily thought to herself as she watched Aysia and Dru from her front window as they argued in front of her apartment.

"Look, nobody asked you to come ova here!", Aysia yelled in Dru's face as they stood close to one another.

"Yeah, well I decided that I'm gonna be up in your shit until you talk to me!!!", he shouted while pointing his finger at her nose. Aysia quickly smacked his finger away from her face.

"You betta get the hell away from me!", she warned.

"Nah...I ain't goin' nowhere until you listen to me!", he spat.

"Nigga, fuck you! You the dumb-ass who decided to call me a ho because you too stupid to take care of your responsibilities!", she yelled as she stood up in his face.

"Look, you betta gon' somewhere!", he replied while looking around her. He was trying his best to keep his cool.

"Hell no! You go somewhere! I can take care of this baby by myself! I don't have time to raise two kids!!!", she shouted as she took her hand and shoved his face back.

Out of reflex, he reached out and backhanded her which caused her to stumble backward off of the sidewalk.

Lynella quickly ran outside to hold Aysia back.

"Nigga what the hell is wrong with you?! You betta take your ass on somewhere before I call the cops!", Lynella shrieked.

"Fuck you bitch! This is between me and her, not you!", he shouted while glaring at some of the neighbors who were peeking through their curtains or boldly standing in front of their doors to watch.

"Okay...we'll see who the bitch'll be if I let Aysia go on your ass!", Lynella huffed while struggling to hold Aysia back who was cussing Dru out.

He thought about it for a moment before taking a deep sigh and heading back to his ride. "I don't need this shit!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Sweet Meat aka CC]

"She's not home, man.", Marques sighed after placing his cordless phone back on the coffee table. However, Lynella had accidentally missed his call since she was outside trying to keep the peace between her friend and her friend’s ex-man.

"Well, juss try back again lata.", Jarrell replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Aight...I will.", Marques stated with a nod of his head.

"Nigga quit lyin'!", Jarrell laughed. He had been around his cousin long enough to know when he was bullshitting him.

"I'ma call her back, man! I swear!", Marques chuckled with a shake of his head.

"Aight...well I'ma ask her at the first chance I get!", Jarrell slyly grinned.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After making sure that Aysia was okay before letting her leave, Lynella began to head for her room to get ready for bed. However, as she passed by her phone, she noticed the red light flashing which indicated that she had missed a call. She quickly picked up the phone to see who had called her up. She began to smile when she read Marques Houston on her caller ID. But she almost dropped the phone when it began to ring. She noticed that it was he again. She took a deep breath before answering.

"Hello? Can I speak to Lynella?", he asked when he heard the sound of her voice.

"Hey, this is she. Marques?", she asked as she began to head to her room.

"Yeah, w'sup?", he grinned. "I hadn't heard from you so I decided to call you up."

"You ain't decided shit!", Jarrell mumbled while watching tv. Marques proceeded to throw his finger up at him while smiling.

"Oh, well I’ve been kinda busy the last few days.", she fibbed. She had been too scared to call him and after seeing what Aysia and Dru were involved in, she began to have her own doubts after she found out that she was almost 7 years Marques’ junior. But the truth of the matter was that she felt her heart racing at the mere sound of his voice.

"Yeah, me too.", he chuckled.

"So how have you been since we talked the last time?", she smiled after sitting down on her bed.

"I've been pretty coo'. You?", he asked.

They proceeded to have a nice little conversation for a few minutes before he decided to let her go since he knew she had to go to work the next day. However, they agreed to meet at the local movie theatre in her city to catch the new Denzel Washington movie that everyone had been talking about. She thought to herself that there was no harm in just catching a movie with Marques.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On the next afternoon, Aysia was picking up a few things from the grocery store. However, she was feeling funny and had to stop in the middle of one of the aisles to try to gather herself together.

Jerome also happened to be in the store when he noticed her. At first, he was hesitant about approaching Aysia because even though she looked familiar, he couldn’t remember where he knew her from. However, when their eyes met at the same time, she smiled which made him remember that he had met her at Lynella’s place the night before.

“Oh no!”, she thought to herself as she felt an epileptic seizure coming on. She slowly lowered herself to the floor so she wouldn’t hurt herself if she suddenly fell back. Jerome quickly ran over to her side just as she began to experience a mild seizure. After taking her hand while lying her head in his lap and yelling out for help, he noticed a bracelet on her arm for the purpose of making others aware that she suffered from epilepsy.

Several minutes later after the paramedics were called to the scene by the store manger, Aysia slowly opened her eyes and saw Jerome hovering above her while one of the paramedics took her blood pressure.

“What happened?”, she asked in a surprised tone while looking up at him.

“You had a seizure. But you’ll be okay.”, he faintly smiled while continuing to hold onto her hand.

“Ma’am, are you able to remember what meds you’re taking for your condition?”, one of the two paramedics asked as he helped her to sit up.

“Ummmm…well I haven’t taken any in the last month after findin’ out that I’m pregnant.”, Aysia replied.

“Have you been to the doctor?”, the paramedic asked.

Aysia responded by shaking her head.

“You really need to go!”, Jerome anxiously replied. Just then his phone began to ring.

“Hello?”, he answered.

“Hey Romey Rome. It’s Nell. I tried callin’ you at home but obviously you aren’t there. But anyway, could you come by and take a look at my garbage disposal? It’s actin’ up again.”, Lynella stated.

“Now’s not a good time. I could probably take a look at it tomorrow.”, he replied.

“Oh, well…lemme let you go. I gotta hit Aysia up anyway to see how she’s doin’ today.”, Lynella stated.

“Well, now’s not a good time for her either. I’m with her down at the grocery store. She juss suffered a mild seizure. The paramedics are askin’ her some questions now.”, Jerome replied.

“I told her that she had to take care of herself! So I take it that she’s on her way to the doctor?!”, Lynella anxiously asked.

“She told us that she doesn’t need to go, but she also said that she hasn’t taken any of her medications for it since findin’ out that she’s pregnant.”, he whispered into his receiver.

“You take her ass on to the ER and I’ll meet yall down there! She can be so damn hardheaded at times, I swear!”, Lynella huffed with a shake of her head. “And if she gives you any trouble, you tell her that I said she’s goin’ and that yall betta be there by the time I get there!”

“Aight…well I guess we’ll see ya in a lil’ while.”, he chuckled. “Bye.”

After hanging up with Lynella, Jerome as well as the paramedics persuaded Aysia to go to the hospital to get checked out. However, she didn’t want to ride there on the ambulance so Jerome gladly accepted to
drive her there himself.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Several hours later after leaving the hospital, Lynella drove Aysia’s ride back to her place as she followed behind Jerome who was driving Aysia home.

“Will yall quit makin’ such a big fuss ova me!”, Aysia weakly laughed after Jerome carried her inside her house and placed her on the sofa. In the meantime, Lynella was following in behind them while repeatedly chastising Aysia for not going to the doctor sooner.

“It’s your own fault! If you hadn’t been so hardheaded and went like I told you back on day one, we wouldn’t have to be makin’ a big fuss ova ya, now would we?!”, Lynella snapped with a shake of her head.

“No, Momma!”, Aysia replied in a sarcastic tone before bursting into non-stop giggling.

“Yall are crazy!”, Jerome chuckled with a shake of his head while standing over Aysia.

“Thank you!”, both girls replied with big grins.

Jerome proceeded to roll his eyes and shake his head again. “Well listen, Aysia…is there anything that we can do to make you more comfortable?”

“Yeah, stop worryin’ about me!”, she chuckled while glancing up at him.

“You might as well toss that idea out the window as far as I’m concerned. I worry when it comes to the well-bein’ of my family and friends, girl!”, Lynella sighed as she proceeded to sit down next to Aysia to hug her.

“Thanks, but I’ll be okay. Besides, the doctor said that other than the lil’ episode I had today, my health is fine. I juss have to take it easy.”, Aysia smiled.

“Well you do that! But if you need me or Lynella for anything, don’t hesitate to call one of us.”, Jerome smiled as he handed her his home and cell number.

“Okay.”, Aysia smiled. Soon afterwards, Jerome drove Lynella back to the hospital so she could get her car to drive home.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Sweet Meat aka CC]

Marques was anxiously waiting on Lynella in the lobby of the movie theatre while continuously checking and rechecking his watch.

"Damn! I hope she ain't pull the okey-doke on me!", he mumbled to himself while watching every person that came through the door. Although he hadn't seen her yet, he did see one of his boys, Chris, from back in the day that he used to sell weed with.

"Yo, Marques! What up dawg?!", Chris grinned as he and his female companion strolled over to him. He and Marques proceeded to give each other a pound and half-hug.

"W’sup, man!", Marques smiled.

"Listen, ma...could you go on and buy our tickets? I'ma chat with my man for a hot minute.", Chris smiled at his girl.

"Aight.", she agreed with a nod of her head as she proceeded to turn and walk away.

"Damn! That's you?", Marques slyly grinned as he admired her rear view.

"Hell yeah, that's me! So put your damn tongue back in your mouf before I rip it out!", Chris joked as he nudged Marques with his elbow.

"I'm juss sayin' man. Besides, I'm waitin' on a young lady to meet me here anyway.", Marques smiled.

"Oh word! Who is she?", Chris asked.

"One of Rell's foster cousins. I met her at her granddad's birthday party that Rell and I went to last weekend.", Marques replied.

"Oh well that's coo'! But listen, when you gonna come back and join your boys on the block, man?", Chris asked with a small grin.

"Man, I told yall niggas I can't be doin' that no more. I lucked up with a good job down at my uncle's garage so I won't get mixed up in that shit no more. I can't take goin' back to prison...that's not for me!", Marques replied with a shake of his head.

"Well you could at least pay us a visit sometime, nigga!", Chris joked.

"Yeah, man. Aight.", Marques grinned with a shake of his head. "Oh here she comes!"

He had just witnessed Lynella walking into the lobby. She was dressed in a pair of blue jeans, some tan Timbs, a beige sweater and a tan leather blazer. However, Marques noticed that she had straightened her hair and pulled it back into a tight bun which brought out her small diamond studded earrings.

"Where?", Chris asked while looking through the crowd of moviegoers.

"Right there.", Marques smiled when his eyes met hers. When Chris saw her smile back at Marques and wave, he spoke up.

"Damn, man! How you hook up with that?!", he asked.

"'Cause I got it like that, foo'!", Marques chuckled.

"Well, lemme go. I see my girl comin' back with the tickets. But like I said man, juss 'cause you don't wanna be down no more doesn't mean you can't come holla at'cha boys!", Chris grinned while exchanging pounds with him.

"Aight, man! I will when I find the time!", Marques smiled. He quickly turned his attention back to Lynella once she reached him.

"Well hello.", she grinned as she looked him up and down. She thought he was just too damn fine although he was simply dressed in a red cable-knit sweater, a pair of baggy jeans, and a black pair of Timbs.

"Hey, how ya doin'?", he smiled as they proceeded to hug each other.

"I'm aight. Sorry I'm late, but ya know how Friday night traffic can be!", she chuckled.

"Yeah, but it's coo'. Although you did have me worried for a minute.", he replied.

"I’m sorry.”, she giggled. “You already got the tickets?"

"Yup! C'mon let's go get some popcorn and drinks.", he smiled as he took her hand.

"Oh dayuuuuuuuuuuuuummm!", she thought to herself when she felt the warmth of his large hand around hers.

As soon as the movie began, Lynella jokingly whistled along with some more females throughout the theatre the minute Denzel strolled across the screen.

"What gramps got that I ain't got?", Marques asked as he casually threw his arm across the back of her seat after turning to face her. He then proceeded to stick his hand in the popcorn bucket that they were sharing.

"I'm a Christian so I can't answer that!", she teased as she threw him a sly grin.

"Alllllllllrighty then!", he chuckled as he removed his arm from around her seat.

"I'm juss playin' boy!", she giggled as she lightly patted his knee.

"No you ain't. You meant it.", he pretended to pout while folding his arms and turning his attention back to the screen.

"Awwwww...look at the baby.", she quietly cooed.

"You ain't funny.", he whispered before cutting his eyes to look at her while trying not to smile.

"You know you wanna laugh...gon' and do it.", she quietly chuckled as she playfully threw single kernels of popcorn at him.

"Cut it out!", he chuckled as he threw his arm back around her seat and snatched the popcorn from her.

During the rest of the movie, he kept his arm around her and found that she was really cool like Jarrell had told him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Thanks for followin' me home.", Lynella smiled when she climbed out of her ride. Marques proceeded to walk her up to her front door.

"No problem; I was glad to do it.", he smiled as they faced each other.

"Well...ummm...we're gonna have to do this again real soon.", she bashfully smiled before holding her head downward. However, when she looked back up, she saw Marques' head leaning forward with his eyes closed to kiss her. She quickly blinked her eyes and snapped back into reality.

"Yeah, I agree. Tonight was pretty coo'.", he replied with a nod of his head. "So I guess I'll call you tomorrow to plan our next outin'."

"Oh yeah...that'll be nice.", she agreed with a nod of her head as well.

"Aight...well g'night.", he smiled as he leaned forward and planted a light kiss on her cheek.

"G'night.", she grinned as she watched him head back to his ride. She stood on her porch and watched him as he drove away while waving at her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Oh shit! I didn't know he would be home this soon!", Jarrell anxiously whispered as he and his girl, Valerie, quickly sat up on the sofa where they were heating things up. They heard Marques' ride pull up in the driveway.

"Hurry up and give me my shirt, Rell!", Valerie quietly shrieked as he began to hurriedly put his clothes back on.

"Here, girl!", he huffed as he threw it at her, accidentally hitting her in the face.

"If I wasn't tryna get caught, I'd smack your ass for doin' that!", she replied with a suck of her teeth. She began to button her blouse with shaky hands.

"You'll get the chance to anotha time!", he joked with a wink before standing up to zip his jeans.

"Shut the hell up!", she giggled. Suddenly, they both heard the front door opening. Jarrell quickly sat back down on the sofa and grabbed the tv remote to turn it on.

"W'sup.", Marques stated as he walked inside. However, he gave Valerie and Jarrell a puzzled look before a sly grin spread across his face. He noticed that Valerie had skipped a button on her blouse which made the front of it uneven.

"Hey, cuz! My girl and I were juss sittin' here watchin' some videos and shit.", Jarrell lied with a nervous chuckle.

"Yeah, okay.", Marques chuckled as he made his way to the back.

"What'cha doin' home so early though? I didn't expect you back for a few more hours.", Jarrell stated as he followed behind Marques who had stepped into his bedroom to exercise a little before taking a shower and turning in.

"I bet you didn't.", Marques replied as he laid down on his exercise mat to begin his routine. "But juss for the record, I was born at night...not last night."

"Yeah, man...whateva. But anyway, how did things work out with you and Nell?", Jarrell smiled as he leaned up against the door frame while watching Marques.

"She's coo'. We plan to go out again.", Marques stated in between breaths as he continued to do his sit-ups.

"Well, that's good! But juss make sure you treat her with the utmost respect at all times. Ya got me?", Jarrell joked while shaking his fist at Marques.

"Man, take your ass on back in there to your girl!", Marques laughed as he turned over to do a few push-ups.

"For what? You done messed up my flow by comin' home early.", Jarrell laughed with a shake of his head. "But I ain't mad at'cha because that means that you were a gentleman with my girl tonight. Anyway, I'ma take Valerie home, but I think we'll make a quick stop along the way so I can take care of some bidness!"

"Lata, man!", Marques chuckled as he stood up from the floor.

"See ya!", Jarrell grinned before heading back to Valerie.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Sweet Meat aka CC]

Aysia was sitting on her sofa on Saturday morning cracking up at the lame dancers on Soul Train as they came down the line when she heard her doorbell ringing.

When she opened it, she saw that it was Jerome.

"Hey.", she smiled as they looked at each other through the screen door.

"Hey, I was in the neighborhood so I thought I'd drop by to check on ya.", he smiled.

"That was sweet of you.", she replied as she opened the door so he could come in.

"Have you had breakfast yet?", he asked while stepping inside. He proceeded to hold up a McDonald's bag. He decided to get them both an Egg McMuffin.

"As a matter of fact I haven't. Thank you.", she bashfully smiled as she sat back down on the sofa. She proceeded to move her magazines to one side of the coffee table to make room for them to place their food and cups of orange juice down on.

When Jerome saw Aysia about to reach for her food, he stopped her. "Have you been feelin’ okay?"

"Yes, I have.", she giggled.

"You sure?", he smiled.

"Positive!", she replied.

"Oh, aight…juss makin’ sure!", he chuckled as he sat back on the sofa.

For several minutes, there was silence between them as they ate and watched tv until Jerome decided to speak.

"Do you think your baby's father will mind that I'm here?", he asked as he looked around her living room.

"Nope, since we’re no longer together.", she sadly replied.

"Oh...I'm sorry.", he replied while watching her.

"No, don't be. It's for the best.", she faintly smiled as she glanced at him.

He wanted to ask her some more questions about if the baby's father wanted to be in the child's life, regardless, but he noticed that she didn't seem like she wanted to talk about her situation. However, they did talk about happier things for a few hours before he decided to leave.

"Don't forget...call me if you need anything, okay?", he grinned as they shared a quick hug goodbye.

"I will.", she agreed with a nod of her head. She was about to step out on the porch to watch him drive away, but her phone rang.

"Hello?", she answered.

"Aysia, it's me. Don't hang...", Dru began before she quickly ended the call.

"You ain't got shit to say!", she thought to herself as she sat back down on the sofa.

[glow=yellow,2,300]*Part 2 Comin' Soon*[/glow]