Part 11 (1/2)
”What do you want, Lorenzo?”
”I want to know how you doing. I heard what Sway did to you after the party and I'm worried about you.”
”Not good.”
”I feel responsible for what happened. I know coming up to you like I did p.i.s.sed him off. I had no idea he would lose it like that though.”
”You're not responsible for Sway's behavior. Trust me, he had problems keeping his hands to himself before any of this went down.”
”So that n.i.g.g.a had been puttin' his hands on you on a regular? Is that what you tellin' me?” I could hear the anger building up in Lorenzo's voice and I didn't need that.
”No, that's not what I'm telling you,” I lied and said wanting to kill the drama before it started up again.
”Then what are you saying?”
”I'm saying that whatever went down between me and Sway you're not responsible for it. So if that's all you called to tell me I'ma let you go.”
”That's not the only reason I called.”
”What else?”
”I want us to give this relations.h.i.+p thing a try.”
”When did you decide that?”
”I've been thinking about it for awhile but I didn't want to put it out there until I was a hundred percent sure that's what I wanted to do.”
”And now you are sure?”
”Yes. Dior, I'm a complicated man which means I have a complicated life. It's hard for me to let people into my circle especially a woman. But I rather try with you than lose you.”
”I want to say yes, let's do this but my life is so f.u.c.ked up right now. I don't want to put you in the middle of all this pandemonium.”
”I can handle it and so can you. The first thing we'll do is get somebody to straighten this mess out.”
”How and who?”
”I'll hire the best public relations firm money can buy and they'll come up with a crisis management plan that will make all this bulls.h.i.+t work in your favor.”
”You make it sound so simple.”
”Money gives you options and the more options you have the more simple s.h.i.+t gets. Trust me, Dior, I got you.”
”No more games?”
”No more games. When I make my mind up about something I see it all the way through. I've made up my mind that I want to be with you.”
”I want that.”
”Then that's what you'll have. I'ma come see you later after I handle things.”
”I don't know if that's a good idea?”
”Why not?”
”The paparazzi are holding court in front of my building.”
”It's that bad?”
”It's worse than bad. I didn't have anything to eat in here so I had a friend bring me over some food and some other stuff I needed. I can't leave my building.”
”We'll figure it out but I need to be with you.”
”I need to be with you too. I feel so alone.”
”But you're not. I'm here for you no matter what.”
”I love you, Lorenzo.”
”I love you too. I'll see you tonight.”
”Ok.”
A sense of relief came over me when I got off the phone with Dior. I had been debating the decision I would make about where to go with our relations.h.i.+p up until the very moment I got her on the phone. It wasn't easy for me because there were certain aspects of my life I would have to open up to her about, if I let her into my world on a personal level. But last night the fury that overcame me when I saw her at that party with Sway established to me that without a doubt she was the woman I wanted to be with.
Now that I came to my decision I needed to get the rest of my life in order, starting with Alexus. When I rang the doorbell I heard the dog barking and a few seconds later Alexus came to the door.
”Lorenzo, what did I do to deserve a personal visit from you? I've been home for a little over a week.
I was beginning to think you were never coming.”
”You knew I was coming. Things have been out of my control lately but I came to see you the first chance I got.” I gave Alexus a hug and we went to sit down in her living room. ”It's got to feel good to be back home.”
”It does. I know I told you over the phone but thank you for paying the ransom. When I heard the amount they were asking for I wasn't sure if you would think I was worth paying that much for.” She gave a half-hearted laugh as if she was joking but I knew she was serious.
”Of course I was gonna pay it, no matter what the amount. But I was surprised they thought to make it that high. I mean how many people know I have access to that amount of cash.”
”That's true but I guess desperate people do desperate things.”
”Where is Deon?”
”Still visiting with my mother.”
”It's a good thing he was in North Carolina when the kidnapping went down because getting him down there might've been difficult.”
”Yeah, speaking of kids how is Tania doing?”
”She's good.”