It's been about 3 and a half weeks since the trip to Cabo and no one hasn't kept in touch since they touched down back in DC. Kamara and Bronnie apologized to Bluey several times for fighting and ruining her birthday trip and that goes for Moe and Mayson too. Bluey said that it was all good even though they knew that it wasn't.

None of them hasn't been the same since the trip and that went for their friendships as well. Moe and Bronnie haven't been talking, Mayson and Moe haven't been talking, and not surprisingly, Bluey and Kamara haven't been talking. None of them had words to say to one another.

Things have been pretty routine in Bronnie's life and all she wanted to do was go back to the way things were, pre-Cabo. As far as her healing journey goes, she might as well throw it out of the window, watching a naked Dreux, her co-worker, sex her from beneath.

He buried himself deep inside of her, making him grunt in her ear and hide his face in her neck. Bronnie on the other hand didn't feel a thing as she wrapped her arms around his neck, boringly looking at her nails.

"I need a fill-in," She mumbled inaudibly, barely being able to hear herself clearly because of his loud grunting.

Dreux was one of the ELA teachers so she was always dabbling in his department. She thought that Dreux was absolutely handsome for him to be a shy white guy, but his lip service taxed him before his dick did. False advertisement; he lied.

Her plan wasn't to have sex with him at all, nor take advantage of the fact that she knew that he was sweet on her. This was something that they agreed upon, it was just gonna happen one of these days.

Bronnie did have urges and this time, her vibrators weren't cutting it. She needed the real thing, and the worst part is that she always yearned for sex around the time of ovulation. Ovulation horny was absolutely dangerous; it something that she really couldn't shake until it passed. Her imagination used to run wild with her vibrator.

She sighed, laying there bored, not feeling it. He was smaller than she'd usually experienced, and though smaller doesn't always equate to bad, this was bad. He was more excited than she was and it was damn near laughable. The only reason why she was wet in the first place is because she warmed herself up first.

"I'm bout to cum," He says breathlessly, going faster than before.

"Yay," She responded dryly.

He was about to explode before Bronnie's phone began to ring. Any other time she would've minded but she didn't mind at all. She turned her phone over to see who it was and it was her brother Sabir. Of course she answered.

"Yeah Sabe?"

"I just got off my shift and I'm in the area. I gotta piss so bad. I'll be there in 5 minutes so unlock the door for me!" He said anxiously.

Immediately after hearing that, Bronnie panicked. "Dreux you gotta go. My brother's on the way," She says popping up and immediately grabbing her robe from her bathroom door.

"But I was almost finished, literally at the tip," He said exasperatedly.

Right then and there, she wanted to tell his ass off but she was a decent person so she decided against to tell him about himself concerning his sex game.

"But now you're not. I don't want you to be here when my brother gets here," She was running around her room to find some clothes to put on.

Dreux decided to move slow and that drove her anxiety up the wall. "Is it because I'm white? I'm not good enough to meet your black brother?" Naked as the day he was born, he placed his hands on his hips, eyeing her.

"The race card? Really? This has nothing to do with you being white. This is about me being questioned by my older brother and him being in my business, and saving you from a roast session that will happen if he sees you," Bronnie states seriously.

"So you're not embarrassed about us?" He asked, still standing there. Bronnie's convinced that he wants to get caught.

"There's an us?" She looked at him expectantly, not catching that memo. "Shit!" She cursed, hearing her brother knock on her door. She ran out of the room and to the door and hurriedly let him in.

Unfortunately, Bronnie's apartment only had one bathroom and it was attached to her bedroom. So she tried to warn Sabir for the sake of Dreux.

"What the fuck?!" She heard Sabir exclaim and she shook her head in embarrassment. This is exactly what she wanted to avoid.

It wasn't long before Dreux came out looking mortified. "I tried to warn you but no, you wanted to be the superior race today. Have a good evening, Dreux." She led him to the door.

Before he left out, he says, "I'm sorry if you're feeling embarrassed," His facial expression dropped guiltily, feeling like a kid who just got in trouble.

"I'm a Black woman, it comes with the job," She rolled her eyes and closed the door in front of her. Behind her, she heard Sabir snicker and she knew that she had to face the truth.

"A white man really? What happened to black love, black power, black babies?" Sabir had the biggest smirk on his face and Bronnie knew that he was about to wind up.

"I still want that Sabe," She sighed, rolling her eyes.

"You sure? Because I sure seen Bobby Boucher pull his pants up. Do he not know that you got nigga naps under that wig?" Sabir jested, cracking himself up.

"Sabir shut up," She walked past him and walked to her kitchen.

"Like damn Bronnie, his ass is whiter than toilet paper," He continued to laugh, and Bronnie tried to bite back her laugh. "The nigga already know what he gon' be for Halloween. Ghost lookin' ass,"

"Stop being mean Sabir," She tried to hide her smirk as she took out the ingredients for a salad.

"Do this nigga not know that we from Wakanda?" Sabir laughed obnoxiously, and Bronnie finally cracked. "I ain't knocking what you doing but you could do so much better than Casper the Friendly Ghost,"

He walked over to her and kissed her cheek before leaving. Amidst her laughter, she told him to be safe and she said that she loved him and he reciprocated.

Before she could assemble anything, she decided to take a shower first to get her mind and body back in order. While washing up, she rolled her eyes at herself so hard. Having sex with Dreux should've never happened. She felt like she took several steps back towards her healing.

——

Chomping down on the salad she made, she comfortably watched Love & Basketball. Watching this when she was a teen and now watching it as an adult, she had a totally different perspective. Quincy needed therapy.

Monica wanted to suit up and play but she had curfew, and Bronnie felt like Quincy didn't understand the fact that she was listening but she couldn't stay, so he misinterpreted as something else and acted a fool.

Bronnie felt for him though; finding out that the man that you looked up too cheated on your mama. After that, Quincy started acting like his father and eventually cheated on Monica. What a sad, sad case.

"Play for your heart my ass," Bronnie rolled her eyes.

When she was younger, she thought that it was so romantic. Now that she was an adult, she rolled her eyes at the nonsense. Even still, her ass didn't turn the movie off. She was so into it that she didn't even hear her phone ring until she seen her phone flash.

She looked over and seen that it was Bluey, so she answered.

"Topaz," Bronnie called.

"Bronze," She called back.

Neither of the girls said anything on the phone until Bluey switched the regular phone over to FaceTime. Bluey was in the car and she had the lights on and Bronnie noticed how pretty she looked.

"You look pretty. You and Ro coming from a date?" Bronnie asked, watching Bluey move some hair out of her face. Bluey kept doing it too and Bronnie just thought that something was on her face that was bothering her.

"Yes we just came back from a date, and everything was perfect," Bluey swooned, still touching her hair to see if Bronnie would notice.

"Aw, that's so nice. You deserve it—oh my god!" Bronnie stopped mid sentence, finally picking up what Bluey was putting down and she jumped up from excitement. "He proposed?!" Her smile goes wide.

"Yes girl! A bitch is engaged!" Bluey shouted loud in Sparrow's ear and he just sat there and smiled.

"Oh my gosh! How did he ask? Girl tell me the tea," Bronnie happily sat down, intrigued on what her best friend had to say.

Despite her and Sparrow breaking up and making up all the time, she was glad that they've reached a point to where they found solid ground. She just knew that the back and forth was tiring.

"Girl I thought it was a regular dinner until he took us to the spot where we had our very first date and he started reminiscing. Laughing and giggling and shit and then bam! Asking me to be his wife on the Ferris Wheel," She says dreamily.

In Bluey's eyes, everything was just perfect. The dinner, the fact that the carnival was in town, and how he proposed. It didn't sound rushed or forced or anything out of the ordinary. It was just right, and it gave her all the butterflies.

The two girls smile into the phone looking at one another. Again, despite what they've gone through and what Bluey has told her in confidence, she was truly happy for them.

"Alright girl, I gotta go. Babe says that the date isn't over yet," Bluey smirked, already knowing what that meant. She hung up the phone but Bronnie was already in the knowing. She wanted to tell them to be safe but hey, she was gonna be an aunt sooner or later.

For the remainder of the night, she ate in peace, still happy for her friend. She often wondered if her and Tomas were together would he marry her but she already knew the answer and it was no. Tomas was going to do what he wanted to do, whether that was him being tied down or not.

Before she ruins her own mood, she focused her thoughts back on the movie.

——

The weekend had rolled around and Bronnie had totally forgotten that she had plans with her grandfather. Each year, every year he takes her to the Congressional Black Caucus; a huge black political event in DC.

Bronnie loved going with her grandfather because he made it fun. Though he was apart of the older generation, he wasn't uptight or strict. He was a cool old man. And besides, aside from the radiating black excellence she's going to be around, her grandfather's commentary made it all the more fun.

She wet her wig to give it a wet look and worked on her face. She did very light makeup, for the sake of her grandfather. He was real laid back and cool but he didn't like makeup on Bronnie—not at all.

He felt like she was too young for it, like she didn't need it. And so many times she told her grandfather that she liked makeup for herself and wear it for herself.

Her grandfather was very timely so she got dressed quick. She found an appropriate floral dress and some shoes to match and then sprayed her perfume. It was a sample that she got from the mall; a scent that she wanted to try. She didn't want to spend her money on a fragrance that she didn't like. You'll never catch her doing a blind buy.

Just as she put her shoes on, her grandfather's driver, Mr. Banks had texted her, notifying her that they just pulled up. She sent him a text back saying that she'll be right down. She walked out of her room and walked in front of Nutmeg, who was resting in front of the couch.

"How I look NuNu? Cute?" She asked her dog. Nutmeg gave her a response by walking over to her and standing on her hind legs and leaning her face in. Anytime that Nutmeg does that, Bronnie knew that she looked good. "Thank you big girl." She cheesed.

Before she leaves, Nutmeg barked at her and it makes her look back and she froze. Nutmeg had her pill bottle in her mouth. Bronnie ran to her pill organizer that laid on the dining room table and seen that she hadn't taken her pill today. She usually take it in the morning around breakfast time but she didn't eat breakfast today or eat at all for that matter.

Though Nutmeg reminding her to take her medication was annoying, she truly appreciated her for it. Bronnie had Nutmeg registered as a pet companion and medical crisis service dog. She had Bronnie since she was one years old; being rescued from one of her mother's old neighbors.

She loved the dog already but she didn't know how useful a dog could be until Bronnie fainted in her apartment do to an underlying diabetic issue. Her loud barking grasped the attention of her neighbors and they called 911. If Nutmeg hadn't barked until she got someone's attention, Bronnie probably be dead. After that, she registered her as a medical crisis dog.

Nutmeg also became her pet companion when she tried to take her own life. Last year was very hard for Bronnie and it seemed like no one cared as to what she had going on. But Bronnie blamed herself because she never told anyone about Chayse.

With her and Tomas fighting, her baby dying, and her Master's program kicking her ass, the stress and the emotions and her thoughts had overtaken her. She wanted to die.

Once again, she was saved by Nutmeg. Bronnie took it upon herself to enroll herself into therapy. In a session, she mentioned Nutmeg and her therapist seen how happy it made her to bring her up. It was her therapist idea to have Nutmeg registered as a pet companion since Bronnie felt like she was all alone—doing this life by herself.

"I hear you Meg," Bronnie grabbed the pill bottle and took her pill and made sure to eat something with it really quick. "Good lookin' out. Love you," She blew her a kiss and left out.

She hurried downstairs so her grandfather wouldn't say anything. She applied some gloss to her lips and flipped her hair over her shoulder before she walked out of her apartment building.

"Hi PopPop!" She says excitedly, walking over to him.

"My beautiful granddaughter. Give me some suga'," He had his arms extended wide and Bronnie fell into his arms hugging him tightly. "Take a step back, lemme look atcha'," He grinned.

Bronnie did a spin and when she came back full circle in front of her grandfather, he had flowers in his hand and it made her gasp. As he does every year, he goes to a random floral shop and pick up some flowers for his granddaughter.

"These are beautiful! Where'd you get these from?" Her grandfather handed her the beautiful assortment and the first thing she did was smell them. Smelt very fresh.

"Uh..damn. Marvin what's the name of the floral shop that we got these from?" He looked back at his driver quizzically, embarrassingly showing his age. He just picked these up 10 minutes ago.

"Concrete Roses, sir," Mr. Banks responded.

Bronnie gasped. "The one with the tutoring center? The city's been buzzin' about that thang," She says, still smiling at her flowers.

Her grandfather thought that it was a good opportunity to take a picture of her, and seeing how she noticed that he had his phone out, she decided to pose for the picture that she knew that he was about to take.

When she was done, she says, "Lemme see PopPop," She walked over to where he was and eyed his cellphone. "Ouu! I like this one," She pointed.

"You look pretty darlin'," He complimented, before looking at his watch and seeing the time draw up. He wanted to get good seats so he put her in the car and they left the complex.

They were riding for about a good thirty minutes until they pulled up at the designated location and Mr. Banks helped her out of the car. He did the same thing for her grandfather and after that, they seen him off. Looped by his arm, they proceeded forward and walked in.

They checked in, and while being checked in Bronnie looks around, like she always does. Because she goes to this type of event every year with him, she kinda knows who's going to be in attendance, like one of her young friends, Charley for instance.

Charley was 23 years old and her grandmother was the incomparable Maxine Waters, the U.S Representative of California. From what she seen on social media and what her grandfather been saying about her, Ms. 'Reclaiming My Time' Waters plays no games. Bronnie felt inspired by her honestly.

They grab a program and take a seat. Bronnie did a quick scan of the room, scouting a victim for them to talk about. She loved doing this with him because Congressman Scott was messy for real. It seemed like he had all of the tea on everybody.

"Let's see who they have here," He puts on his glasses and look over the program. Bronnie does the same thing as well, not recognizing any names.

"It says that Senator Ephraim Lockett is the guest speaker for this evening. Who's he?" Bronnie asked.

With a smirk, he says, "He's a good politician," He shrugged and she was unsatisfied with his answer.

She smacked her lips. "What's his motto? What is he into? What's the 411?" Bronnie leans in making her grandfather laugh. He could tell that she enjoyed this very much.

"When he was running for Senator, I believe his motto was: The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away. He's a giver; he did a lot for his hometown. A couple of free shelters, affordable daycares, and even a school. He's a smart young man..." He nods, remembering from all those years ago.

He only remembered Senator Ephraim Lockett because he made a huge impression on the congressional board. He was young, smart, and passionate. He had a real end goal and it wasn't just to sit in a chair and have a title; he wanted to make a real difference. He wanted to put other black people in the room, but of course, he had to put himself in the room first.

"But," She raised a brow. "Give me the dirt," She egged on. He sounded like a nice man but it sounded too good to be true.

"It's rumored that he cheated on his wife. But that's just a rumor and I don't know how true it is," He shrugged, still eyeing the program.

"What a shame," She sighed, looking back at the program and realized that there was a name next to Senator Lockett's. "Who's Dr. Tarryn Dutchman?"

"His wife," He says with a smirk. He didn't have to look at her to know that her eyes were as big as saucers. "Allegedly, she dropped his last name when the rumors surfaced,"

Lowkey Bronnie was stunned because she really couldn't believe it. Though her grandfather says that it's 'rumored' and 'alleged', it felt like it had some realness to it. Aside from that, she also noticed that her name was italicized.

"Who was she or who is she in the political world? They used the fancy font and have a star by her name," She noted.

"She's was the first black woman Chief Attorney General for the District of Columbia. She served under the DeLoach administration," He said this with a smile. She hasn't seen him smile this big since Obama was elected into office.

"Yass! Okay Black woman!" Bronnie snapped her fingers in agreement. She loved seeing black people-specifically black