Soft kisses from my neck down to my chest and a hand in my underwear wake me up from my sleep. Rolling over I pull Milani's face towards me and kiss her lips, hugging her and inhaling her sweet scent.

"Good morning, daddy." She says against my lips.

"Good morning, I never get tired of this. I know Ima sound like I'm whipped but fuck it, I'm so glad you moved in with me."

"So am I. So what do you have planned for the day?"

"Milani, I told you I don't celebrate my birthday so don't start tryna plan shit." I sigh as I roll over and lay down on my pillow.

"Too late. Go shower and find something to do. I would say go spend time with Brandon, but you two still aren't talking."

"Last time I checked, you and Chanel haven't talked either.

Milani rolls her eyes and throws a pillow at my head before getting up and leaving the room. I already know I shouldn't have mentioned Chanel because that's a touchy subject for her. It's been exactly one month since we've talked to them. The night we got back at Holloway, Jarell, and Tony was the last time Me and Milani talked to Brandon and Chanel. Milani and Chanel's argument caused them to ask us to pick sides, neither me nor Brandon wanted to betray our ladies by choosing each other so we just stopped talking.

"Bae, I'm sorry I said something about Chanel. I know how hard it's been since you haven't spoken to her." I say as I walk into the kitchen, wrapping my arms around her.

"Drummer, get off me. I told you to shower and find something to do. I don't care about that petty shit with Chanel. This isn't the first time we've had an argument and I'm sure it won't be the last."

"Milani, I know you're lying. I'm sure y'all have had arguments, but have y'all stopped talking for a month before now? Ian gone lie, I hate not talking to my boy so I know you feel the same way about your girl."

"No, we haven't, but whatever." She says and pushes me off her.

Leaving the kitchen, I head back upstairs then take a shower; getting dressed in a hoodie, jeans, and white forces. Making my way back downstairs, I eat my plate of food that Milani made then try to kiss her, but she dodges it.

"Girl, stop acting like that. I said I'm sorry." I tell her as I kiss all over her face until she smiles. "Now that's what I like to see. I love you and I'll be back later."

"Yeah, yeah. I love you too."

Milani kisses my lips then I leave and head to my aunt's house; getting out and knocking on the door. After she said all that shit at the hospital, I really wasn't fucking with her, but she apologized the day I went to see Tae when he woke up.

"Hey baby, thank you for doing this. I know it's your birthday and you'd probably rather be doing something else." She smiles as she takes a bag from behind her back. "It's not much, but Happy Birthday, Nephew. I'll go get Tae."

"Thank you, auntie."

While she goes to help Jontaevious get ready for our trip to his physical therapy appointment, I open the gift and see a framed picture of my mama when she was pregnant with me. There's also a necklace with a picture of my mama in it. My eyes get teary as I put the necklace onto my neck and carry the picture with me; carefully putting it in my back seat. By the time I'm finished, Tae is dressed and moving slowly on his walker.

"You need some help cuz?" I ask as I try to help him.

"Nah nigga, I got it. Ima hardbody."

"I already know."

Tae gets himself into the car, folds his walker and puts it into the backseat. As we're driving down the road, he sighs loudly.

"You good, Tae?"

"Yeah, I'm just tired of being in pain and not being able to do the shit I wanna do. I'm sick of being at the house with mama. Man, I can't even get no bitches on a walker. Sometimes I wish I never went to the store with Aunt Serena, but then again, I wouldn't have wanted her to go through that alone so I'm happy I was there." He explains while wiping tears from his eyes. "I'm sorry, D. I know you don't wanna hear that today. Happy Birthday, man. Thank you for always being there for me."

"Everything gone be okay. You'll come back even stronger. Just be patient and be glad that you're still alive. Some folks ain't got that luxury. For example, my mama didn't make it, but you did so don't take that for granted. You don't have to thank you. You know I got yo back forever." I tell him as we pull up to the clinic.

While I'm sitting in the waiting room of the physical therapy clinic, I change the tv channels until I find the news. Focusing my eyes on the screen, I see the news anchor talking about Holloway, Tony, and Jarell.

"After serious investigation, local Detective Keon Holloway has been arrested for the possession of drugs and spoliation of evidence pertaining to a shooting at a known bar where multiple people were injured. Holloway will serve 25 years for his crimes and has been relieved from his position on Chicago's Police Department. Investigators found that Holloway withheld evidence to protect his accomplice, Jarell Hamilton. Hamilton has been found guilty of multiple crimes and has been charged of statutory rape, murder, and attempted murder. He will serve 40 years to life without parole. Investigators also found that Hamilton's most recent victim was Tony Jacobs who was once a well know dealer on Chicago's streets. Evidence shows that the three of them were working together, until things took a turn for the worst. Tune in at 5:00 for more information on this unsettling news WGNTV."

Smiling widely, I immediately call Brandon then realize that we haven't been talking so I hang up and call Milani instead.

"Lani, hurry up and put it on the news!" I say excitedly.

"Okay, okay. I'm doing it now." She says then gets quiet for a few minutes. "Well damn. This causes for a celebration. Those thugs are off the streets. Good thing it's your birthday. How much longer before you'll be home?"

"I'm at the clinic with Tae right now. He's got about 30 more minutes to an hour before he's finished then I gotta take him home. I'll be home after that."

"Good. How's he doing?" She asks, sounding concerned.

"You know, Tae. He's fighting through it all. I'll tell him you asked about him."

"That's good to hear. Bring him home with you so he can spend the night for a while. I miss having him around all the time. Now, I got shit to do.. bye, love you."

"Aite, love you too." I say then hang up.

Since Tae has been out of the hospital, he had fell into depression about not being able to move around so I started letting him spend the night at our place. Him and Milani have gotten so close and she treats him like the little brother she never had. Seeing the way they connect made me love her even more.

"Mr. Jacobs, Jontaevious did very well today. He got a bit frustrated and discouraged, but overall he's making great progress. I think we had fun today.. isn't that right Tae?" The therapist says as she walks Tae out to me.

"FUCK NO! This shit ain't fun, bitch! I hate you and this stupid ass place!" Tae yells out and takes off out of the building, his walker hitting the floor hardly. Everyone around us gasps, including the therapist.

"I apologize. I don't know what has gotten into him, but I'll be sure to talk to him. This won't happen again. He's a good kid, I swear he is." I sigh loudly, blowing out a deep breath.

"It's okay. I know he's having a hard time. I get this sort of thing all the time. Maybe not as loud and aggressive as Tae, but still, it happens often."

Apologizing for Tae's behavior one last time, I make a payment on his bill and walk out of the clinic; getting into my car and slamming the door. My eyes instantly land on him and I just glare at him, rubbing my temples.

"Man, don't fucking look at me like that. I been telling yo ass since day one that I didn't wanna go to therapy. Them happy ass bitches in there make me sick. They be all happy while we in there suffering, tryna get better. It ain't fair!!!" He says and breaks down crying.

I wrap my arms around him and hug him tightly, letting him release all the emotions that he's been keeping in. Once he's finished, I start talking to him.

"Jontaevious, life ain't fair! You think them folks don't know you suffering? They see that shit everyday and still try to be positive. You can't take your anger out on the people thats tryna help yo ass. You know that ain't right. Yo mama didn't raise you like that and she'd beat yo ass if she knew about the shit you just pulled in there. Next time I bring you back, you need to be a man and apologize. Yeah, you've been through some shit, but you don't know what the therapist or other employees go through. They might be facing some shit at home and your attitude could be making them feel even worse. Think about that next time."

"I hear ya. Ian think about it like that but Ima do better forreal. Don't tell my mama, bruh. I'll never never hear the end of it." He says and I nod my head then tell him that I'm taking him to get some clothes then he's spending the night at my place, per Milani's request.

"Ian gone tell ya moms, but you know Ima tell Lani. Even when you don't listen to me, I know damn sure you'll listen to her."

"D, did you hear about that shit with Holloway, Uncle Tony, and Jarell? That's some of the craziest shit I ever heard. Ian know them niggas was working together. I wonder how they got caught up cause ain't no way they slipped up like that." Tae says as he nods his head to the music.

"Yeah, I heard. When you start making too many moves, you get sloppy and that's how you get caught. Nothing more, nothing less."

"True True. So where Brandon and his girl at? Ian tryna be all up in yo business, but I pay attention to shit and I know y'all ain't been fucking off."

Remaining silent for a minute, I try to think of the appropriate response without actually telling him that we basically stopped talking because we're both whipped. "Ion know and Ian worried bout them. Long as my house good, ion keep my ass on nobody else. I'll see him when I see em."

Tae nods his head and enjoys the ride to his house for his clothes then to my house. As soon as we get there, I force Tae to let me carry his bags while he follows behind me with his walker.

"Aye, stay behind me." I whisper to Tae when I notice that all of the lights are off which never happens. Pulling my gun out of my pants, I take it off safety and prepare for the worst.

When I walk inside the lights come on and I see a decorated house with my family and friends yelling surprise.

"DRUMMER!!" Milani screams then takes my gun from me, putting it back on safety.

"My bad. Y'all know I don't do surprises. Somebody was finna get their asses popped." I laugh lowly.

"TAE!!!!" ..."LANI!!" The two of them say as Milani hugs Tae then takes his bags from me; helping him upstairs while I mingle with my guests.

Walking into the kitchen, I start taking shots with some of my friends until I feel somebody tug at my shoulder. Turning around, it's Brandon saying "Happy Birthday, boy."

"Preciate it, B."

Brandon takes a shot and I do the same to loosen the tension between us.

"Let's smoke." Brandon says and motions for me to follow him.

Once we're outside on the patio, he starts rolling up and I do the same then we start smoking; remaining quiet for a while.

"So how it feel to be 25?"

"Same as being 24. Only thing different is the number after the two. How it feel to be engaged? Milani showed me Chanel's Instagram post from the day it happened." I ask him, passing the blunt.

"Honestly, D. It feels damn good. I never thought I'd make it this far because all I fucked with was hoes, but Chanel is so different. She's the only woman that changed me and made me a better man. I never knew how much I needed her in my life. I just hate how my love for her forced me to stop fucking with you."

"That's good, boy. I'm happy for you. We both let our love for our women fuck up our brotherhood."

I laugh lowly. "I remember when we said we'd never let a woman come between us and look at us now. Ain't talked in a month."

Me and Brandon laugh at the same time as we think about that memory.

"Drummer, we can't be like this man. Feels like we strangers. That shit ain't right. I know you love Milani and I love Chanel, but we can't go on like this. That petty ass shit between us needs to be squashed. I know Chanel misses Lani and I'm sure she feels the same. They just need to talk it out so shit can go back to how it used to be." Brandon says as he hands the blunt to me, his eyes now red as fuck. I can tell he's been stressed about the situation.

"Yeah, you right. They need to get to the bottom of that shit like tonight. Life too short for the unnecessary ass drama."

"We good?" Brandon asks, standing up.

"We good." I say then hug him before we both head inside.

Stepping back through the door, we can't find Milani or Chanel so I assume they're somewhere talking.

"I'll find em. Make sure Tae straight." I tell Brandon before heading upstairs where I find Milani and Chanel talking.

Deciding not to bother them, I walk back downstairs and start backing taking shots; only stopping when I start getting dizzy. Trying to get myself together, I step outside the front door with my plate of rotel, meatballs, and wings; eating my food happily.

"Happy Birthday, Drummer. I was just about to come find you. Milani was looking for you." Chanel says and I thank her before she walks away.

Walking into the room, I see Milani sitting on the bed with a piece of clothing in her hand. She smiles at me as I sit on the bed with her and kiss her soft lips; picking her up then placing her in my lap. I deepen the kiss by putting my tongue into her mouth and massage her ass cheeks.

"Boy stop, that's why we're in this mess now." She says, making me confused.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Milani opens up the clothing which happens to be a onesie and it reads:

Still confused I don't say anything, until the dots connect in my head; making my mouth drop and a huge smile comes across my face.

"Milani, you lying to me? If it's a joke, this shit ain't funny!" I say as I put her down and hop off the bed with the onesie in my hand.

"It's definitely not a joke. I took multiple pregnancy tests a while ago and they all came back positive. I been tryna figure out how to tell you so I had this onesie made just for today. Drummer, you're gonna be a father!"

"OHHHH SHIT!!!! Thank you, baby! Thank you! I swear to God Ima be the best father ever. This is my second chance and I won't fail you or him."

"Him?" Milani says as we hug each other. "What makes you so sure that it's a boy?"

Smiling widely, I hold back my tears. "I just got a feeling. I also wanted to thank you for the party. You really did surprise me. Thank you for inviting Brandon, too. I love you, girl."

"You're welcome and I love you too. Now go enjoy your party. I'll be down soon."

Nodding my head, I walk back downstairs and propose a toast, making everyone hold up a shot of brown liquor. "I just wanna thank everybody for being here! A lot of y'all ain't shit and I ain't neither which makes us all get along so well. I just found out that I'm about to be a father again so lets get fucking lit!!!"

Brandon walks over to me and we hug each other, smiles on our faces as we rock back and forth. "Congratulations, my boy. I bet that's the best birthday present you've ever received."

"Thanks, my brother and hell yeah, it is. To celebrate, I'm finna get drunk and high off my ass!"