Life After A Balla

happy.

Skye stopped reminiscing when she saw Cruze coming back down the aisle with a Sprite in his hand. When he sat down, she immediately popped her two pills and tried to relax. She definitely felt uneasy about this trip back to Miami, and hoped that whatever the meeting was about didn’t get her even more upset.

Once they landed an hour later, Skye didn’t waste anytime grabbing her purse and heading towards the front of the plane. When they passed the gay flight attendant, he was standing in the doorway with his arms folded and his nose turned up. While Cruze laughed, Skye didn’t pay the homosexual man any attention. She was too nervous about the meeting to be worried about some gay dude with an attitude.

While walking though the busy Miami International Airport, as soon as Skye saw the sign for the La Caireta Restaurant in Terminal D, it immediately bought back memories of her and Asia. Stopping to get a bite to eat at that restaurant was their ritual before taking the trips she used to sneak with Asia while Sandino was away at training camp. Anger suddenly came over her when she thought of her once best friend.

To think I trusted her, and she disappeared with all my money. She better hope I never see her again. I definitely have something in mind for that bitch if I do. Now, I have to go deal with this damn lawyer. I hope he don’t piss me off because I will turn that muthafucking office out if I have to.

CHAPTER 2

Skye squinted her eyes from the bright Miami sun as they headed outside and flagged down a cab. After reaching in her purse and pulling out a new pair of knock off Gucci sunglasses, she watched as several expensive cars rode by. When Skye spotted a silver Aston Martin Roadster with twenty-two inch Forgiato rims pull up to the curb, she thought, Yeah, I’m definitely back in MIA. In the town she lived in now, two- hundred thousand dollar cars were non-existent. Looking at all the rich, tanned people, it made Skye somewhat envious. She had to admit, she missed the sun.

When the cab pulled up a few seconds later both she and Cruze hopped inside. They had a few hours to spare before Skye had to go to meet Sandino’s lawyer.

“11 Washington Avenue Miami Beach,” Cruze instructed the driver.

Skye looked over at him with a huge grin on her face, she immediately recognized the street. “Don’t tell me we’re going to my favorite spot?”

“Yep. I know how much you love Joe’s Stone Crab. Besides, you can’t go into a meeting on an empty stomach. You barely ate breakfast before we left Georgia.”

“You always know exactly what to do to make me smile,” Skye said, kissing Cruze on his lips. “Can you afford this though? I know it’s been a while since you sold a car, and you just bought me that Michelle watch. With our bills…”

“Sssssh. Don’t worry about that. I told you I got you, babe,” he interrupted.

Even though Cruze had promised to stay out the streets, he lied. Skye assumed the little bit of money he had coming in was from his job as a car salesman at some mom and pop car lot. Instead, Cruze was back in the streets selling drugs again. Even though he knew it was wrong, and wanted to abide by Skye’s rules, in his mind he had to make some real money in order to provide Skye with the lifestyle she was accustomed to. He knew Skye didn’t want anything from him, but he wanted to spoil her by giving her nice things. Plus, what she didn’t know was that Cruze just wasn’t a nine to five type of guy. He was married to the streets.

As they laughed and talked all the way to the restaurant, Skye thought this was the perfect opportunity to finally tell Cruze her good news. She reached inside her purse and pulled out some paperwork and handed it to him.

“I did this a few weeks after the incident,” she advised.

After looking at the paper, it only took a few seconds before a huge smile appeared across his face. It was Skye’s divorce papers.

“Since I’m going to see Sandino’s lawyer, I might as well hand him the papers so they can deliver them to his crazy ass.”

Cruze was so excited, he was glad she was finally closing that chapter of her life. He clapped his hands together and looked up towards the sky like he was saying a prayer. “Damn, you had a nigga speechless for a minute. I almost stuck my head out the window and yelled to the top of my lungs with that news. All this time I’ve been preaching to you about moving on with your life and you’d already filed for divorce. Now that’s what I’m talking bout baby,” he said, leaning over and kissing her cheek.

“Yeah, I’ve been waiting for this moment for a while.”

“Shit, me, too,” he co-signed.

“Maybe when the divorce is final I can finally get some damn alimony or even some child support.”

Cruze looked at her sideways. “Is that one of the reasons why you finally filed? We don’t need his money.”

The last thing Skye wanted was to make him upset. “No, that’s not one of the reasons why I filed. I filed because I need to finally be rid of him. But don’t you think I deserve to still live a good life after all he put me and my kids through? Plus, you wouldn’t have to work as hard.”

“Well, that’s what I’m here for, to take care of you guys.”

Cruze’s overprotective ways was one of the main reasons why Skye had fallen for him.

“You always know just what to say,” Skye beamed.

Twenty minutes later, they pulled up in front of the restaurant. As Skye looked up at the sign, memories of how her family use to frequent the establishment before Sandino lost his mind flooded her thoughts. She also remembered that a lot of the Miami Dolphin players and their families used to eat there as well.

I hope I don’t run into any of them, I’m not in the mood for no fake conversation, she thought.

After making their way inside, several men almost broke their necks looking at Skye. Although she’d picked up a little weight and was wearing a conservative black suit, she still seemed to mesmerize men with her beauty as they waited to be seated.

Cruze glared back at the staring men. He then walked behind Skye and began massaging her shoulders.

“Ahhh, that feels good,” she moaned.

“I want you to relax and enjoy lunch before the meeting. No stressing,” he advised.

“Okay, no stressing.”

A few minutes later the hostess came and led them to a table. Once they were seated, Skye began to look over the menu.

“I sure don’t wanna meet the lawyer smelling like seafood, but I’m about to get my grub on,” she informed. “It’s been so long since I’ve had Joe’s.”

“Do your thing, baby. That’s what we’re here for,” Cruze said with a slight grin.

At that moment, the waitress walked over to the table. “Hello, welcome to Joe’s Stone Crab. My name is Natalie and I’ll be your server. Can I start you two off with something to drink?” she looked back and forth from Skye to Cruze.

“Actually, I’m ready to order,” Skye responded.

The waitress smiled and pulled out her pad. “I guess someone’s hungry. Go ahead.”

“I’ll have the Maine Lobster Tail with crab cake stuffing,” Skye spoke.

“And I’ll have the Jumbo Lumb crab cakes with green tomatoes,” Cruze added.

“Would either of you like anything from the bar?” the waitress asked.

“I’ll have a Hennessey and Coke,” Cruze responded.

“Just a Coke for me,” Skye said.

“Okay, I’ll be right back,” the waitress said, walking away.

Skye looked around. The place looked different. The ambiance was very romantic. There were white candles and crisp white table cloths. They even had fresh cut roses as center pieces on each table.

A few minutes later, the waitress bought their drinks.

“Here’s to a new life with no more worries,” Cruze said, raising his glass for a toast.

Skye grabbed her glass and smiled as they clinked their glasses together. “I’ll definitely drink to that,” Skye