Page 17 of Rah

“Y’all really went all out for me,” I said, adjusting Trent on my hip.

Trent nodded fast, grinning. “Uh-huh! And you gotta open your presents!”

I chuckled, kissing the top of his head. “Bet.”

He started to squirm in my arms, like he wanted me to put him down. So, I did, and he led me to the couch. Kahlani turned off the stove, went to the island and dug inside one of the drawers. Then she walked towards us holdingtwo gift bags. She handed the first one to Trent so he could pass it to me.

“This is from me, Daddy,” Trent told me proudly, watching me like he was handing me the keys to the city.

I sat on the couch, reached into the bag, pulled out a custom, iced out silver chain with a small microphone charm on the end. I ran my thumb over the mic, already knowing this was actually from Kahlani.

“You like it?!” Trent asked excitedly.

“Like it? Man, Iloveit.” I leaned forward and let him put it over my head, then pulled him in for a hug. “This is official, lil’ man.”

Kahlani handed me the second bag. Inside was a black leather-bound notebook with my initials engraved in gold on the front. When I opened it, the first page had a photo of me, Kahlani and Trent taped on it, with a handwritten note in her pretty cursive writing:For every bar you write, every beat you kill, and every dream you chase, remember why you started.

Emotions made it hard to swallow, and I had to blink back the emotions a couple of times before I looked at her. “Damn, baby…You don’t even know what this means to me.”

Her lips curved into that knowing smile. “Yeah, I do.”

I leaned back and just looked at them. Trent was sitting cross-legged on the carpet, grinning like I’d just won a Grammy, and my woman was watching me with that quiet, ride-or-die pride in her eyes.

I felt blessed. But right under that was the burdens I carried every day. Yeah, I took care of home. The bills stayed paid, food stayed in the fridge, Trent never went without, and Kahlani didn’t have to ask me for anything. But I knew I wasn’t giving her the life she deserved, and I was slaving in the streets to provide for them.

Kahlani deserved more than a house in the hood. She deserved vacations whenever she wanted, the car of her dreams, and the security that money buys in a city like ours.

I thought about the way I’d been bustin’ my ass in the streets to close that gap, how last year, I got caught up and ended up on probation. I’d promised her and myself that I’d move smarter. But deep down, I knew I’d risk it all again if it meant putting her in the life she deserved. Yet, I hated that the only way I could take care of my family was to constantly put my life and freedom at risk.

I looked at her again, still holding that notebook, and told myself,One way or another, I’m gonna get us there.

SOLAE

Later that night was Moses’ birthday party. I was still in my feelings about the abortion and being fired. But Rah had been so supportive that I wanted to support him by ensuring that I was there that night.

Rah was so proud of the party he’d put together for Moses. He was bopping around the party carrying a bottle of Rosè by the neck. People treated him like he was the man. Women knew that he was Moses’ manager, so they flocked to him like bees to honey and flies to shit. Men knew the same and praised him, as if he would reach back and take care of them once he and Moses made it big.

I made sure to look the part of his woman. I wore a fitted, chocolate-brown leather dress that hugged every curve like it had been sewn on me. The plunging neckline showed just enough cleavage to make heads turn, and the lace-up detail ran from my chest all the way down the front. The skirt of the dresswas fitted all the way to my ankles, making my hips and ass look like a sculpture.

At the time, I was following Kahlani through the crowd. Rah had supplied our VIP section with bottles, but Kahlani didn’t drink any of it. In the back of my mind, I wondered how the fuck he could afford the party and those bottles, but we “couldn’t afford another baby”.But I also knew that affording a baby was a lifetime of a financial investment, rather than one night, like this party.

“Aye, aye, aye! Where you goin’, babe?” I heard Rah behind me as I felt him grabbing me around the waist.

“We’re on our way to the bar. That waitress is slow, and Kahlani only drinks Patron when she drinks tequila.”

By this time, Kahlani had looked back and noticed that I was no longer behind her. She approached me and Rah looking so cute. She had called me earlier that day totally spazzing out because she felt stressed to look fly. Everybody knew that she was Moses’ girl. Men and women would be eyeing her, especially the women that wanted Moses, so she had to “put that shit on”. She had done good, though. With a body like hers, she was able to throw on a jumpsuit with slits down the sides and a plunging neckline and look like a video vixen. Her long weave was in barrel curls. The curls were beginning to fall in soft waves. It was beautiful, just as much as she was.

“Babe, sit down. Chill and enjoy the party. I got you. I’ll send the waitress over there to you. That bar is packed.”

He was right. Billboard Live was always packed on a Friday night, but the whole hood had come out for Moses’ birthday.

Me and Kahlani found our way back to VIP. Within minutes, the waitress was approaching us with a bottle of Don Julio and chasers.

I caught a glimpse of Rah at the bar. Initially, I was only staring because he looked so good that night. I was still irritated with the decision he’d forced on me. Yet, I couldn’t deny how good his chocolate skin looked in that Versace tee that hugged his toned upper body, jeans that fit his frame, showing off his big legs, and jewelry that made him look expensive.

As I lustfully watched him, I noticed a fair skinned woman smiling all in his face with a body badder than Kahlani’s. That was the type of shit that I had to get used to over the years of Moses’ slowly growing fame. These women were willing to throw themselves at anything, so to throw it at Rah, who in their eyes was the man, was nothing.

AALIYAH