Page 44 of Search My Soul (Taylor Family Saga #3)

“Never. There will never be a better best friend than Dreamier. Since he has been neglecting me lately, I probably should find myself a replacement.” The strained look on Dreamier’s face made me laugh.

“Yeah, right. I wish you would try to replace me with a knock-off version of me.” Dreamier scoffed. They could pretend all they wanted, but my little brother loved his best friend and not just as a friend.

“Y’all drove out here or caught a flight?”

“We caught a flight together. You know Yumi’s scary ass doesn’t like to fly by herself.” Yumi shoved him in the shoulder, and I stood back and watched the interaction between the two of them.

“What’s good, little sister?” Yumi beamed with excitement when Duke walked back up.

“Duke!” She leaped into his arms the same way Adore had done to me.

“Hey, ladybug. Why didn’t you text me when you landed? I was gonna have one of my people come and pick you up.”

“Oh, that wasn’t necessary. Dreamier rented a car for the weekend.” Duke nodded, then focused his attention on my brother.

“How have you been, champ? I see y’all have been doing your thing on the field.” Dreamier was the humblest out of all of us. He was a two-time Super Bowl winner at only twenty-five, but he acted as if it weren’t a big deal.

“I’ve been good, bro. Staying out of trouble and trying to get ready to win another one, you know?

” We all chopped it up until Lovely announced that it was time to eat.

They had set up tables in the backyard, making it look like a banquet hall.

The tables were covered with tablecloths and matching decorations.

I never even bothered to ask how much this would cost me when I handed Adore my black card, and now I think I fucked up.

“Damn, they went all out, didn’t they?”

“Man, you know they are extra, and to be honest, they got it from our momma. Pops used to shake his head every time my mom wanted to throw a party because he knew she was going to spend a bunch of money. It looks nice, so I won’t even complain.

” We walked over to the tables that were reserved for the family. Of course, they included Yumi and Duke.

Dinner went a lot smoother than I expected, and I was grateful, because the last thing I wanted to do was show my ass at this event.

My sisters did a great job putting this celebration together, and when I saw the cake they had made for my parents, a lump formed in my chest. There was a collage of photos of our family.

I thought that was the end of it until they brought out the projector and proceeded to display even more pictures of us as kids and our parents, even before we were born.

My chest began to tighten, and I wasn’t sure I could take much more of this.

Of course, I tried to play it off as my siblings smiled with tears in their eyes.

I felt someone watching me. When I looked around, I locked eyes with my homie Murk.

He had come with his girl, Puma, along with his best friend Tycen and his wife.

Murk and Tycen joined our team together, but Tycen had recently taken a step back to focus on his family.

Since Murk and I worked so closely together, the two of us had gotten closer.

I wasn’t one who trusted easily, so it took a while for me to warm up to him.

However, through getting to know him, I realized the two of us had a lot in common.

He was a nutcase like me, but I could tell loyalty was embedded in him.

There had been plenty of occasions where he proved himself to us.

I grew to love him like a brother, even though I would never tell him that.

Outside of Duke, I wouldn’t trust anyone else to have my back in the field.

He lifted his phone, so I figured he must have sent me a message.

My phone was stuffed in my pocket on silent because I had made it clear that no one was to contact me today.

I wanted to give my family my full attention.

Murkio:

You straight?

I wasn’t, but I damn sure wasn’t about to tell him that, so I sent him a message telling him I was cool. When I glanced back at him, he gave me a look, but he accepted my answer. Once they finished the slide show, I thought they were done until Adore took the mic again.

“We’re so grateful for everyone who came out to celebrate the life of our parents, Elias and Angel Taylor.

While many years have passed, it still feels like we lost them yesterday.

Growing up without my parents has been challenging, but I’ve been blessed with an amazing family.

I want to thank my grandparents for taking us all in and raising us.

I know it couldn’t have been easy to grieve while wrangling six bad ass kids around, but I’m so thankful for you.

I could have easily grown up in the system separated from my siblings, but you loved us enough to keep us together. I love you so much.

“I’d also like to thank my older siblings for helping to raise us as well.

Pure and Patience were the bossy secondary parents we never asked for, but they kept us in line.

Then there’s my Soulie and my Lovely, who everyone knows are my unpaid therapists.

I know Soul gets tired of me calling him for every single inconvenience in my life, but I’m grateful that he’s always there when I need him.

Lovely, you already know how much I love you.

I’ve been your shadow since I was a baby, and nothing has changed.

Dreamier, I’m so proud of you and all that you’ve accomplished.

You always said you were gonna play in the NFL, and it warms my heart every time I see you on the big screen.

“I don’t have as many memories of my parents, but I know that each of you carries a part of them inside of you.

Thank you for taking care of this family and stepping up to fill their shoes.

Your sacrifices don’t go unnoticed. I pray that our parents are smiling down on us and that they are proud of the people we have become.

I, for one, am proud to call myself a Taylor, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for us. ”

As soon as she finished, Patience and Lovely took their turns speaking as well.

I already planned to dip out after they finished because I needed to smoke.

I wasn’t expecting Pure or Dreamier to say anything, and my family was well aware that I’m not the person to speak in front of the masses.

You never know what was going to come out of my mouth.

Since my phone was already out, I found myself scrolling through social media.

I never posted on there, but I liked to scroll for entertainment purposes.

I’m always amazed by how many people were willing to post all of their business on there.

Not even just the drama, but their personal lives and every move.

Too many niggas have been caught slipping because their girls were too pressed to share their location so they could flex.

When I landed on Neeya’s page, I noticed she posted some videos on her story.

Of course, I clicked on them to see what she was up to.

We talked earlier, but I was busy handling last-minute errands for dinner, so I hadn’t really gotten a chance to talk to her the way I wanted to.

When I clicked on a video of her modeling outfits, my eyebrows furrowed.

She never mentioned having any plans tonight, so I wondered where she was headed.

I’ve never been one to hold my tongue, so I hit her up to see what was going on.

Me:

Where the hell do you think you’re going with that shit on?

I made sure to add a screenshot of the last outfit she posted because she must have lost her damn mind if she thought she was gonna have her curves on display without me being present.

Juicy:

If you like my outfit, all you had to do was say so.

She attached a photo of her in a bra and underwear, causing my dick to react.

Me:

Juicy baby, you do know I’m a killa, right?

Juicy:

Yeah, I know. It’s one of my favorite things about you. Well besides that DICK!

Me:

Yeah, it’s all good until I have your ass tied to my bedpost. Now where the fuck do you think you’re going?

Juicy:

What’s wrong, papa? You miss me?

Me:

Always.

Juicy:

Are you okay? I don’t know what it is, but it feels like something is off.

I reread her message because I wasn’t expecting her to respond in that manner. Since we’ve gotten closer, she seemed to pick up on things about me without me saying anything. I wasn’t sure if it was a good thing or a bad one, but it was different.

Me:

I’m straight

Juicy:

I don’t believe you. You know it’s okay to not be okay, right?

Me:

What if I’m not? What are you gonna do about it?

She didn’t respond right away, and after a few minutes, I tucked my phone back in my pocket.

I planned to head out soon because if not, I would probably start to grow irritated.

My phone vibrated in my pocket twenty minutes later, and I figured it was Neeya.

When I read the message, my eyebrows dipped.

Juicy:

Meet me at the door.

Me:

You know I’m not at home, right?

I didn’t tell her about the event because I wasn’t exactly eager to come myself. If it wasn’t out of obligation, I would have opted to skip it.

Juicy:

You must have forgotten that I have your location. I know where my dick is at all times. Now, hurry up and come get me. There are some niggas out here staring at my ass.