Last day of summer, p.1
Last Day of Summer, page 1
last day of summer
natisha raynor
contents
1. Peace
2. Honor
3. Peace
4. Honor
5. Peace
6. Honor
7. Peace
8. Honor
9. Peace
10. Honor
11. Peace
12. Honor
13. Peace
Untitled
Untitled
© 2024 Natisha Raynor
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems without written permission from the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. The story, all names, characters, and incidents portrayed in this production are fictious. No identification with actual persons (living or deceased), places, buildings, and products is intended or should be inferred.
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peace
. . .
I looked over my shoulder and stuck my tongue out seductively as I twerked in front of my boyfriend, Will. I was three drinks in and feeling good, so I ignored the uncomfortable look that seemed permanently etched onto his face for the evening. For the umpteenth time he pulled at the collar of his shirt as if it was too tight around his neck. Of course, it wasn’t. Pulling at the collar of his shirt was something Will did when he was anxious or uneasy. Who the hell became uneasy when their girlfriend of eight years was bent over giving him a show? My two best friends stood to the left of me, and each of their boyfriends were standing up behind them smacking their asses, and enjoying the moment. Only my man was sitting there stiff as a board looking like he’d swallowed a rock.
I’m pretty than a muhfucka hoes be looking okay,
She think that she fucking with me is this bitch okay?
He say he not fuckin’ ‘round I look at him like okay,
I used to be down bad but now a bitch okay.
I forgot all about my uptight boyfriend and continued to rap along with JT. I was having fun with my girls even if Will was acting like a fish out of water. Sadly, I was used to him being the exact opposite of the life of the party. He was thirty-one, and I could most definitely appreciate the fact that he wasn’t the clubbing type. Will had never been a person that stayed out into the wee hours of the morning or hung out with his boys all the time. He was a work and come home type of man. But we were in our early thirties and didn’t have kids. We should have been turning up and having the time of our lives, but I knew fifty-year-olds with more spunk and spontaneity than Will.
He was afraid of heights, so catching flights was a no. But he didn’t like being in cars for more than a few hours, so in eight years, we’d only taken three trips together, and he complained the entire drive. He didn’t care to do cruises, and he had no desire to get a passport. I still traveled with my sister and my friends, but I wanted to travel with my man. Will didn’t smoke or drink like that. Everyone that was out with us including me was drunk as hell, and Will had only consumed one beer. I knew plenty of people that didn’t drink, and they would still go out and have fun. I think Will’s ass was allergic to fun, and I hated that for him. I lowkey hated it for me too because our relationship was like watching paint dry.
A wild and crazy night for us consisted of Will drinking two beers and me convincing him to do karaoke with me at home. It was shocking to me that Will’s lack of personality bothered me more in my thirties than it did in my twenties but back then, we were focused on getting our lives together. Will was focused on passing the bar, and I was focused on graduating from college and transitioning into becoming a middle school teacher. I also did interior design.
When the song ended, I turned around to face Will. We were seated at high tables on bar stools. I walked into the space in between his legs and picked up my drink. After draining the contents of the glass, I licked my lips and sized my man up.
“You done with your beer?”
“Yeah.” A lazy grin eased across his face. “I’m sleepy as hell too.”
I shook my head while trying to mask my disappointment. I was definitely done drinking because the drunker I became, the hornier I would become, and Will’s non-drinking ass had already told me in a subtle way that he was going to sleep when we got home.
“I’m ready to go,” I stated in a dry tone with a forced smile on my face.
My friend Tanya was grinding on her man, Joey, and he was smacking her on the booty. Caleb was hugging on Dreka from behind, and whatever he was whispering in her ear had her giggling. Must be fuckin’ nice.
“You sure?”
It was lowkey funny to me that Will was trying to pretend like he hadn’t been ready to go an hour or so ago. I only invited him to the lounge because it was a couples’ thing. But I knew he’d just sit there acting like a nun in a strip club because that was what Will did. I wasn’t the type to try and change my partner into who I wanted them to be. Will had a right not to drink, go out, travel, or be spontaneous and fun, but the longer we were together, I began to wonder if I could continue to be with a person like that.
“Yeah.” I took a few steps, so I was near Tanya. “I’m leaving. Thank you for inviting me out, boo. I had fun.” I hugged her.
“You’re welcome, boo. Let’s do lunch before you leave me.”
“Okay.”
I walked over and said my goodbye’s to Dreka too. Will told them goodbye, and we headed for the exit. I had three more days of work, and I would be off for the summer. My sister, Anjelica was a day past her due date and set to give birth at any moment. Her and her husband, Reed lived an hour and a half away from me, in a small town, Stone Ridge, North Carolina. I understood that everyone didn’t like the hustle and bustle of a bigger city, but the only way I could live in Stone Ridge, was when I was a senior citizen. It was a beautiful town, however, with breath taking scenery. There were mountains, huge lakes, and enormous parks. I was always down to visit but living there, nah.
Anjelica had been there for a year. Her husband’s job as wildlife biologist took them there. I was going to stay for a month to help out with the baby and to decorate the new house that they moved into a week ago. Anjelica and Reed had only been together for three years, but the things they’d accomplished made me so happy for my sister. After only one year of dating, he proposed to her in front of all her family and friends. Ten months later, they had a lavish ceremony, and he just bought her their dream home while they awaited the birth of their first child. It was black love at its’ finest.
In the car, I stared out of the window thinking about the relationships of people that I knew. I had never been the type to compare myself to others, but I couldn’t help it when it seemed as if everyone around me had what I wanted. Well, almost everyone. My mom had been in an abusive relationship for the past five years. Her situation was so toxic that Anjelica and I both had to distance ourselves from her with the hopes that she’d choose us over a man that beat her black and blue. However, according to her, we were grown and had our own lives, and she needed somebody too.
Then there was my cousin, Rachel. She’d been with her boyfriend for five years and not only did she make more money than him, but in his spare time, he liked to have unprotected sex with other women. He had two kids when they met, and he had two kids on her. So, he had four kids in total, while she had zero. There wasn’t that much love in the damn world.
“I was thinking about having a big celebration dinner for your birthday. Let me know so I can go ahead and reserve the room at Mario’s.” Will’s voice broke into my thoughts, and a slight scowl covered my face. I turned to face him.
“Um, I’ve mentioned to you like twice that I want to go to Aruba for my birthday. In fact, I’m buying my ticket next month. Anjelica said she’ll be okay with leaving the baby for a few days since she’ll be four months old when my birthday comes.”
Will pulled at the collar of his shirt again. “So, you don’t want to celebrate your birthday with me?” His eyes darted between my face and the road.
“I would love to spend my birthday with you, but you’re afraid to fly, and you refuse to get a passport. I’m not about to keep missing out on things that I want to do because you don’t want to leave Diamond Cove.”
“I’m not afraid to fly. I just prefer not to.”
“Okay whatever. The point is, I didn’t do anything last year. I’m going out of the country this year. I’m leaving two days before my birthday and coming back a day after. So, you can save your money. I’m good on birthday dinners.” I didn’t mean to sound ungrateful, but Will was blowing me. If he truly had a fear of flying, then I could understand, but I wasn’t foregoing my trip for a dinner. No.
“You didn’t do anything last year?” There was a hint of pain in Will’s voice, and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.
“My bad. We went to a comedy show and dinner. And while I appreciate it, I wanted to go on a trip last year, and we couldn’t because you’re afraid to fly.”
“I prefer not to fly.”
“Whatever, Will.”
“Are we still going to Oklahoma for my family reunion?” Will was originally from Oklahoma City, and he moved to North Carolina to attend law school in Diamond Cove. We met his senior year of college, and we’d been together since. Almost nine years.
“Um, no,” my frown returned. “I am not doing eighteen hours in a car. The only way I go, is if I fly out after you get there.”
“Then, I’ll hav
“Sorry.”
Maybe I was being a bitch, but Will was irritating me more and more by the second. I had gone from having fun and enjoying my night to being extremely irritated and knowing that I wouldn’t end the night with some D, had my attitude on ten for real.
“I can’t believe you,” Will shook his head.
I chose not to respond. I was over it. When we arrived at the house, I was out of the car before he even turned the engine off. I walked up to the front door of our lovely home. To people on the outside, I was extremely lucky and had it all. Will was a very handsome man. He stood six feet tall, had the prettiest dark skin, and the straightest white teeth. He’d always been handsome, but when he started growing his beard it took him from daddy to zaddy. He had a successful career as an attorney, and he bought a house three years ago. The four-bedroom, five-bathroom, two car-garage home was absolutely stunning, and newly built in a developing subdivision in Diamond Cove. The flourishing neighborhood was home to athletes, judges, politicians, and even a rapper or two. Since we’d been together for so long, the question we always got asked was when we were going to get married and start having babies.
I didn’t know, and it wasn’t at the forefront of my mind. Of course, I wanted to get married. I wanted to have kids, but I wasn’t in a rush. I was thirty-one, so time was definitely ticking, but for some reason I was dragging my feet. When other women were complaining about being cheat on, beat on, or verbally abused, I felt real dumb for complaining about my man being boring. But wasn’t I supposed to be fulfilled in my relationship? Or should I just create my own fun and not worry about things like traveling with my partner?
“Are you upset?” Will asked as we entered the bedroom.
I inhaled a deep breath and turned around to face him. “No, Will. I’m not mad. I’m just a little frustrated, but we can do the dinner before I go to Aruba. I still stand by the fact that I don’t want to be in a car for eighteen hours, but we’ll figure something out.”
He smiled. “Good. I’m ready to get my ass in the bed,” he chuckled. “That one beer put me on my ass.”
I smiled at him and shook my head. So what if we didn’t have sex? I always had my handy dandy rose.
Two days later, I was getting ready to meet Tanya and Dreka for dinner. I took a shower and was rummaging through my drawer for some panties and a bra when I noticed a pair of Will’s boxer briefs mixed in with my underwear. It was like me to move too fast and absentmindedly put something in the wrong place. After grabbing the underwear, I opened Will’s drawer to put them in the correct place. My heart jumped into my throat when I saw a small, blue, velvet ring box tucked neatly in the corner. I stared at it for a few seconds wondering if it was what I thought it was. Aside from watches, Will didn’t wear jewelry.
That doesn’t belong to you. Mind your business.
I did the exact opposite of what my thoughts told me to do, and I grabbed the box. As I held my breath, I flipped the top open, and I blew out a shaky breath at the sight of the beautiful diamond ring with a white gold band. Was Will planning to propose at my birthday dinner? Or maybe sooner? I hated that I found the ring and ruined the surprise, but soon something else began to plague me, and it wasn’t guilt about snooping. Will was my boyfriend, and he had been my boyfriend for a long time, but was I ready for him to be my husband?
Hurriedly, I put the ring back and resisted the urge to cry. My boyfriend of eight years was planning to propose to me with a beautiful ring, why was I about to cry? I should have been jumping for joy and squealing with excitement. Instead, I was sad. Borderline devastated. And I couldn’t really pinpoint the reason why. I loved Will. I did. But knowing that he might be it for me had me ready to start hyperventilating. I got dressed in a daze. I barely remembered putting the dress on as I stared at my reflection in the mirror. With my toasted brown skin tone people swore that Will and I would make the cutest melanin rich babies. My shoulder-length hair was healthy but not as full as I wanted it, so I added tape-ins. My go to style was loose curls, a bun, or slicked back into a ponytail. My D cup breasts used to annoy me so bad. I envied small chested women but overtime, I grew to love my body.
My stomach was pretty flat due to me not having kids, but I was a few cheeseburgers away from being in a size fourteen. I didn’t mind my thick thighs or even my chubby heart-shaped face. I didn’t feel like putting curls in my hair, so I pulled it back into a ponytail. Finding an engagement ring would have made the average woman giddy with excitement, but I was so discombobulated and nervous, it was ridiculous. Once my hair was nice and neat, I checked the time and realized that I needed to get going. I rushed out to my black Audi and hopped inside.
As I was starting the engine, I got a text message from my sister, and when I opened the attachment and saw that her daughter, Storm, had finally made her entrance into the world that did make me squeal with glee. “Look at her,” I cooed as if Anjelica could hear me. I couldn’t wait to go to my sister’s house and spoil Storm.
Being that our mother was always somewhere chasing an abusive no good ass man, she didn’t want to leave him for more than a few hours while she visited my sister and her first grandchild. Because I knew we couldn’t depend on our mother, and our relationship with our father didn’t exist. Reed’s mother was able to take seven days off to go be with them, and when she left, I was going to visit my sister for a month. I didn’t hesitate to agree to leave Will for that long. He didn’t trip of course, but I wondered if people in healthy relationships would be eager to get away from their significant other for a month.
My fingers moved swiftly as I replied to the message and hearted the picture then placed my phone in my lap, so I could go meet my friends. Thankfully, I didn’t live far from the restaurant that we were meeting at, so I only arrived three minutes late. Tanya and Dreka were already waiting, and as soon as I walked in, the hostess took us to our table.
“Hey, ladies. How was your day?” Dreka asked. She worked as a HR manager for Orange County’s school system. She didn’t get the summer off like I did, but she was taking a two week vacation soon.
“My day was awesome. Especially since I know tomorrow is the last day,” I chuckled.
I met Dreka four years ago when she was a substitute teacher, and I went to college with Tanya. I knew neither one of them would judge me, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to tell them that I found the ring and how I truly felt about it.
“Girl, I know that’s right. I wish I got the summer off, but it’s cool. Soon enough, I’ll be able to take a four month vacation.”
“Four months?” My brows dipped. “How can you take a four month vacation?”
With a smile on her face, Tanya reached inside her purse. The moment she pulled out the small piece of paper and slid it across the table, I knew what it was. “Well, in about six months, I’ll be eligible for maternity leave.”
My mouth fell open in shock while Dreka squealed. “But how?” My eyes ping ponged from the ultrasound picture to Tanya’s face.
“I spoke to the waitress in private before y’all got there the other night. I told her to give me water instead of shots of tequila because I was pregnant, but I wanted it to be a surprise.”
“Oh my God,” I gushed. “Tanya, congratulations.”
“Thank you. Y’all know I was getting worried for a minute. I stopped taking my birth control almost ten months ago. I was starting to wonder if I could get pregnant.”
“I told you, you didn’t have anything to worry about.” I couldn’t even finish speaking before my voice was cracking. I absolutely couldn’t get over the fact that I was crying, and it had nothing to do with Tanya’s news.
Concern was all over Tanya and Dreka’s faces as they both asked me what was wrong.
I dabbed at the corner of my eye with my knuckle and shook my head. “My period has to be coming. There’s no other explanation for it. This is your moment, and I will not take away from it by talking about something trivial. We can discuss it at a later date.” I gave them a small smile in an effort to assure them that I was okay.
“The hell we can,” Dreka drew back. “Peace, you never cry. What’s wrong?”
