Page 88 of Search My Soul (Taylor Family Saga #3)

Two Months Later

“Hey, I hope you don’t mind that I invited Soul to my party. I was gonna tell him he couldn’t come, but Murk said I was being petty. Personally, I love a little pettiness in my life.” I snickered because Puma was being dead ass serious.

“He’s like a brother to you, so who am I to say he can’t come. We aren’t enemies or anything like that.”

“Are you sure, because I can call him right now and tell him that he can’t come anymore.”

“Puma, go to hell. I would never ask you to do anything like that. Besides, Soul already apologized for the shit we went through. The man gave me enough money to take care of myself for the next five years. We aren’t in a bad place.”

“I love to hear you sound so mature because I wouldn’t have been satisfied until I beat his ass. I love him to death, but you are my sister. I’ll set his whole house on fire for fucking with you,” Puma declared.

“Puma, I thought you said you were retiring your days of being a menace since you’re a mama now?” Normandee asked as she walked into the room where we were all getting dressed.

“Rome wasn’t built in a day. Besides, all bets are off when it involves y’all. I’m still a nigga’s worst nightmare.”

“And that’s why Murk stays on your ass. He knows his woman doesn’t know how to act,” I interjected.

“Exactly. My baby knows he wifed a savage. Damn, we look good,” Puma called out as we stood in front of the mirror. With her and Normandee becoming wives and having children, it had been a while since we all got dressed and went out. I was excited to step out with my crew and turn up for the night.

“I’ve been in the gym faithfully, but this ass isn’t going anywhere.

The triplets did my body good, so I can’t even complain.

” When Normandee turned around, I admired her thickness.

Her ass was fat while her waist remained small.

My pregnancy left me with a little extra thickness as well, and I’ve been a little subconscious about it until recently.

Every time I go outside, the men tripped over their feet to flirt with me, so I guess I wore it well.

“Hell yeah, sis. Tee-Tee babies got your body right. I told Murk I wanted to get my boobs done because breastfeeding has them sagging to my damn ankles. He told me I could, but only if it was what I wanted. That man loves my dirty draws.”

“He really does. I think he’s right. If it will boost your confidence, then do it, but it’s a blessing to have a man who loves you so much that he doesn’t care,” I acknowledged.

“We lucked up with the men we have. Tycen was tired of me complaining so he came up with a workout regimen for us both and started working out with me. He even got up and meal prepped my food so I wouldn’t be tempted to cheat.

It can be difficult juggling four kids while being back at the hospital full-time, but he’s a big help.

It feels good to have a real partner because Marquise never cleaned up or helped around the house.

In his opinion, that was a woman’s job. Tycen is the complete opposite of him in every way.

” I was so happy when she finally left that no-good ex of hers.

There were so many men who had that same mindset that their wives were supposed to be servants while they fucked everything moving.

“I saw his bitch ass a couple of weeks ago while I was out with Murk. We were at the mall, and he was there with his baby momma. He looked like he had aged at least ten years since y’all were together and she was dragging him all over the mall while he rolled his eyes,” Puma teased.

“Yeah, the kids still call me now and then. They said all they do is argue and fight. If you ask me, he got exactly what he deserved, and so did she. Meeka told me that he got another woman pregnant, and she has been making their lives a living hell. She sent me a screenshot of one of the woman’s posts, and it was a photo of him in her bed with the caption, ‘I thought he was yours, sis?’”

“Nina used to do that shit to you when y’all first started dating.

She wanted everybody and their momma to know whenever Quise was around her.

Now, she is over there miserable, trying to keep up appearances.

” This was one of the many reasons I never wanted to date a man with kids.

Women were possessive and hated when another woman came on the scene.

Plus, most men took advantage of the connection between their children’s mothers.

I refused to fight a woman for a man who was supposed to be mine.

“I’m grateful I finally woke up and got my shit together. I truly dodged a bullet with him.” Normandee huffed.

“Hell yeah. He better be glad my brother didn’t put him on his ass.”

“Tycen doesn’t care about that man one bit. He told me that Quise tried to act cool with him at the club one night and he had security escort him out. My man does not play about me. I might forgive, but Tycen does not.”

“Hey, P? How much longer are y’all gonna be?” Murk knocked, then peered his head into the room.

“We’re almost done, baby. I’m gonna put my jewelry on and then my shoes. We should be ready to leave in the next twenty minutes or less,” she informed him. Murk gave her a skeptical look that had us all laughing.

“Don’t look at us like that, bro. We are not that bad.” Normandee tittered.

“Mannnn, sis, you could have saved that lie for someone who doesn’t know y’all. We were supposed to be at the club at nine and it’s a quarter after ten. I already knew how this was gonna go,” Murk grumbled.

“We deserve a little grace here. This is our first time stepping out in a long time. We have to make sure that we’re shitting on everybody,” I retorted.

“Yeah, whatever. I don’t care about none of that shit. Y’all have fifteen minutes to finish up in here, or we’re leaving y’all asses here. I’m already tipsy from waiting for y’all to finish. I’mma fuck around and be passed out in a minute,” he warned.

“Naw. Go drink some water, big daddy. I’m tryna fuck tonight, and I don’t have time for you to be giving me three pumps and a swivel.”

“Man, fuck you. I bet they would be the best three pumps of your life. Now hurry your ass up.” He gave us one last judgmental stare and then headed out of the room.

“All right, ladies, you heard the man. I’m gonna call my kids one last time and add some more lip gloss, then I’m ready.

” Normandee whipped out her phone before heading out of the room.

Her kids were spending the weekend with her parents.

It was crazy to see how much their relationship had changed over the years.

Normandee never had a close relationship with her parents, but since her children were born, her mother has been one of her biggest supporters.

It was the same way for Puma as well. She and Barbie were damn near best friends now and I thought I would never see the day.

I can admit it made me jealous for a while because I would never have that kind of relationship with Rochelle.

There wasn’t enough therapy or heart-to-hearts that would make up for all of the pain I went through at her hands.

To be honest, she wasn’t remorseful about any of it, and I doubt she would ever admit that she failed me.

My father reached out to me a few times to check in and let me know he loved me.

While I appreciated the sentiment, I was no longer willing to overextend myself for the sake of our relationship.

“All right, I’m ready. Damn, you are fine as fuck, bestie.

” Puma gassed me up as I adjusted the strap on my heels.

I decided to wear a two-piece shorts outfit because I wanted to be able to bounce my ass.

The shorts looked like there was space when I bought them, but my ass looked super fat now that they were actually on my body.

Darion wasn’t in town, but I sent him a picture, and he couldn’t stop complimenting me.

I thought he would trip, but DJ was a very laidback person.

He never felt threatened by what I wore, especially when I was with him.

“Thank you, bestie. You look amazing. Happiness looks good on you, and I’m so excited to see what this year brings your way. You deserve all the good things in life.”

“Thank you, baby. I’m so grateful for another year of life. Especially when I get to spend it with the people who mean the most to me. I love you, Nee-nee.”

“I love you more.”

Puma, Normandee, and I have been through so much in life, and it made me happy to see my girls get the love they deserved. I wasn’t envious in any way because I believed my turn would come.

“Aye, get your ass off that table before I embarrass you.” Murk hissed. Puma was on her sixth shot of the night, and we were all feeling good. We had been dancing for the last thirty minutes, and I was sure my knees would be cussing me out in the morning.

“I’m sorry, daddy. I thought you wanted to see what my career would have been if things didn’t work out at the shop.” The glare on Murk’s face was hilarious, and the liquor made it damn near impossible for us to take anything seriously.

“Yeah, all right. Keep playing with me and watch what happens. That ass should only be bouncing like that for me. I don’t want to have to fight my niggas for drooling over my wife. Stop playing on my top.”

“Aww, I like it when you get possessive. Let them know who I belong to.” Puma pushed him on the couch and started wobbling her ass in his face. Murk’s mood instantly shifted as he admired his wife’s backside.

“I need to drink some water. I’m so glad I pumped enough milk for Lynx because I’m gonna have to pump and dump once I get home.”

“Damn right. You ain’t about to have my baby girl lit off that Don Julio.”