Checkmate 2: Let the Games Begin (28 page)

“Go to your daddy, Aiden.” She smiled. “Now you can sign his birth certificate. It’s right on the table behind you. I had the nurse bring it in right before you got here.” Rico just stared in his son’s precious little face. The feeling was something that he couldn’t explain. He was overjoyed to be holding him and knowing the truth. He held him close in his arms as the little one slept peacefully.

“Hey Aiden,” he whispered. “I’m sorry I haven’t been around, but I promise to be here for you from this point forward.” He leaned down and kissed him softly on the cheek. At that moment, he saw a little smile come across Aiden’s face as if he’d seen an angel in his dreams. Rico smiled back feeling as if his son could feel his presence. He looked over at Monica. She was elated to have him be there with them.

“So, is your mama on the way to get y’all?” Rico asked.

“No, she’s at my house getting Aiden’s room together. I told her that you would bring us home.” She stated as Rico looked at her.

“Okay, cool,” he said handing her the baby. “Hold him so I can sign his birth certificate.” She reached out for the baby. She was happy to see him signing his name on the baby’s birth certificate. Monica pressed the call button on the side of the bed and the nurse responded.

“We’re ready to go.” She said. “Will you put his car seat on the bed so I can strap him in it?” She asked looking at Rico, then pointing at her small Louis Vuitton duffle bag. Get that for me too, if you don’t mind. Rico picked up the designer car seat, sitting it on the bed as Monica put Aiden in it. He then picked up her duffle bag with Monica’s belongings filled in it. Then he picked up the brown Gucci baby changing bag. He looked at the baby bag and shook his head.

“A Gucci baby bag, Monica,” he commented.

“Yeah… Why not?” She asked, smiling. “I thought it was cute so I had to get it.” The nurse walked in with her release papers. “Thank God. I have been waiting on these.” She took the paper to sign it and handed the nurse Aiden’s birth certificate. The nurse then took her release papers. She looked at Rico and smiled in a flirtatious way.

“Hey I like that Gucci baby bag. That is so cute.” The nurse said as Monica grinned a little.

“See, I told you.” Monica commented. “Thank you, honey.” Monica said. The nurse had to catch herself because Rico’s good looks had all of her attention. Rico grinned, because it felt good to have the women woo over him. The nurse quickly noticed how Monica was looking at her.

“Oh, I’m so sorry.” The nurse stated.

“Don’t mind me, chile. He’s taken by somebody else.” Monica laughed. “He’s just my baby daddy.” She said in a ghetto tone as she smiled. Her sense of humor made Rico see a different side to her. He laughed a little because the nurse was caught off guard with her statement.

“Well, y’all take care.” The nurse said as they walked out of the room behind her. Rico just shook his head because Monica was still laughing. They got inside the elevator and Monica let out a big sigh of relief.

“This has been the longest five days of my life. I’m glad to be going home.”

Rico walked out of Monica’s house after helping her get settled with Aiden. He got back inside his car, but hated to leave his son. He knew that it was in his best interest to make his way back home, because Mona was waiting to his house for him to return. He smiled as he thought about Aiden’s little cute face. He knew his mama was going to be happy to see him, too. He’d already made plans to meet Mama Mack over to Monica’s house the next day. Aiden’s room was all fixed up. Even though Monica had mad paper, he’d been giving her money ever since she was back in town to help out with Aiden’s needs. He knew that his son was going to be spoiled and he was going to help spoil him. He picked up his phone to call Mona.

“Hey, baby.” He stated as she answered.

“Hey, Love.” She replied. “So, how did it go?” She asked looking at the time. He’d been gone about two and a half hours so she had a good idea of what the test results showed before he even told her.

“The DNA proved that the baby is mine.” He stated. Mona’s heart dropped to hear the words, but she’d already prepared herself for the news.

“I kinda figured that,” she said. “So, you signed his birth certificate?” She asked.

“Yeah, I went ahead and signed it.” He replied, stopping to a red light.

“So, what’s his name?” She asked, wondering if he was a junior.

“His name is Aiden Jamel Mack.” He said, smiling. “He is so adorable, babe. I never got a good look at him until today. I just had to see those papers first before I could attach myself to him like that.” Mona’s heart was crushed, but she stayed strong knowing that this is what she signed up for and she was willing to deal with it.

“Well, his name is very cute. I like it and I can’t wait to meet little Aiden.” She didn’t want to put a damper on his good mood. “I know it may not seem like it, but I’m happy that you’re happy,” she said. “Hurry back, I can’t wait to see you.”

“I should be there in less than ten minutes.” Rico said as they ended the call. It made him feel good that Mona wasn’t upset about it. Meanwhile, Mona lay back on the sofa taking in a deep breath. She knew that this was going to be a long road to travel, but she’d decided to fasten her seatbelt and hold on tight because this was definitely going to be one hell of a ride.

Chapter Twenty-three

Monty was sitting in his office feeling pretty good about how smoothly things had been going in his relationship with Candy and his business. A month had passed so quickly and Monty and his partners were already on a roll. He’d just gotten off of a conference call with two top dogs in the business who was impressed at the numbers that he informed them that he would produce within the next six months. He could already see that his realty company was here to stay and he was thrilled about this.

He reared back in his comfy leather chair, placing his hands behind his head. He thought about Candy. She was even more beautiful and sexy to him now than she ever was. She had thickened up in all the right places and she knew how to please him in every way. She would always have his heart and because family meant more to him than anything else, he couldn’t bear the thought of losing her. He loved her more than he ever thought he could, but MiKayla was tugging on his heart and he had been fighting those feelings trying to forget about what they shared.

She continued to work for him, but she only spoke with Rico and Maurice. She had Monty fax over any updated information that he wanted to put in the paper. Rico would normally relay messages that Monty had for her, but she never responded to any of them. She didn’t care to call or text him and she sure didn’t want to see him. He knew that he’d hurt her really badly, but couldn’t just leave things the way they were. It was something about her that had him going and he wanted to keep going for as long as he could. He thought about her life and the pain she suffered. He wanted to know so much more about her and was hoping that she’d let him back into her life, even if it was just for a little while. He only knew of one way that he could find out more about her so he grabbed his keys and headed out of the office in a hurry.

Candy was making progress in her decision to eventually move once they found a house. She realized that her parent’s house was theirs to keep and that she could visit home whenever she wanted or needed to. She loved the relationship that she and Monty had together. He didn’t stay with her every night and she didn’t mind that he didn’t. Some nights, he’d even invite them over to stay with him. Catherine always loved the extra company.

Candy was feeling the excitement of Christmas being right around the corner as she helped Dee pack her bags. Dee had decided to go home for the holidays since she missed Thanksgiving with her mama. She and Maurice couldn’t get any closer, but he couldn’t make the trip with her due to work. She would be gone for three weeks and wouldn’t return until a week after the New Year. She was excited about going home alone because this might give her a chance to see her old fling, Sanji. She had a serious thing for him, but couldn’t be with him in that way, because of his relationship with Chance. She didn’t know what she would or wouldn’t do when she hit the Texas borderline, but what Maurice didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him and her lips were sealed shut. The one thing that she was pretty sure of was that she would be coming back to Augusta, GA because this was the place that she was going to make her home.

Mona was unpacking her things and placing the neatly folded clothes in her new drawers. She finally agreed to move in permanently with Rico after he’d asked her a hundred times in the past month. She was excited about them living together, but was feeling a bit of anxiety as she thought about Rico bringing Aiden to the house for the first time. He was a month old now and she had never even seen a picture of him, yet. She’d heard a lot about him, but Monica wouldn’t let him out of her eyesight. She knew that Monica just didn’t want her baby around her and that was just fine, because to her Monica was still a bitch and would always be one. But on this particular day, for some strange reason, Monica was letting up and allowing Rico to bring Aiden over for a few hours. Mona wondered what the motive was, but decided not to worry about it as she heard Rico walk in the door.

Rico came in and sat the car seat on the kitchen counter as it rocked a little back and forth. He pulled the blankets back and looked at Aiden who was sound asleep. He was happy to have the chance to finally bring him out of the house since Monica had a firm grip on him. He loved his baby boy, but wasn’t going to allow Monica to use Aiden to get to him. He was very upfront about his feelings for Mona and insisted that Monica deal with it the best way that she knew how. He took her money every week for Aiden without her even asking him and would stop by her house every day, at some point, to see him. He never stayed long, because he didn’t want to cause any trouble with Mona. But, having to go over to her house just to spend time with his son was starting to aggravate him. To his surprise, Monica called him and told him that he could keep Aiden for a few hours while she ran errands. He went over in a hurry just in case she changed her mind. As Rico smiled while watching Aiden sleep peacefully, Mona walked up behind him. She hugged him as best as she could with her pregnant belly pressing up against his back and her arms wrapped around his waist. She rested her head on his back and took in a deep breath. This seemed harder than what it actually should have been for her being that she had psyched herself up for this moment so long ago. Rico embraced her hug and rubbed lightly on her arms. He knew that she’d come a long way and he loved her more for continuing to support him.

Monica was in Macy’s as she looked for a gift to buy Rico from Aiden. She felt a little frustrated that she hadn’t gotten through to him in the way that she was expecting. When she and Rico first started sleeping around, she saw him as being weak. He was good looking and could give her a very good fucking, but he lacked the ability to be firm with her and she took that as a sign of weakness. But, now he was a changed man. He would tell her just what was on his mind and keep it moving. She knew that Mona had his heart, but she had no plans of being defeated in what she wanted. It was most shocking to her the last time Rico came over to visit Aiden. She thought back at that moment.

She walked in Aiden’s room as Rico stood over him and watched him sleep in his crib. She had on a very sexy, silk night gown that hung just below her butt. Her perky breast was sitting up and she felt like he would be seriously turned on when he saw her. Rico turned to notice her standing there. He was caught off guard, but he cleared his throat and smiled. What he said still shocked her as she could hear the words repeating in her thoughts.

Damn Monica, you look good as hell. But, didn’t the doctor tell you that you couldn’t fuck for six weeks. Go sit your ass down somewhere.”

Monica stared at the Gucci Sports cologne as she shook her head thinking about it. In some sick way that shit turned her on. She felt rejected, but thought about him saying that she looked good as hell and that’s all she really needed to hear. At one point, he was coming over every day to see Aiden, but he slacked up because she was refusing to let him take Aiden with him. She’d claim it’s too cold to have her baby out in that whether, and even though she was right about it being cold outside, Aiden was his son, too. She knew that Rico would keep him wrapped up tightly in his blankets, but that was her way of getting him away from Mona. She knew that it was only for the time being, but it felt good to know that Rico wasn’t with Mona’s thirsty ass. She hated Mona, but never showed it in front of Rico, because she felt that he was a fool for her. She wanted to nut up when she found out that he had asked her to move in with him. She was so upset that she told him that Aiden would never come over to his house and the words that he told her replayed in her mind, yet again.

If my son can’t come over to my house, then I won’t be coming back over here to yours. You’re one selfish broad that ain’t gone change. We’ll just have a mutual meeting place so that I can see Aiden. So, how does meeting at my mama’s crib sound to you?

Monica smacked her teeth as if Rico was standing in her face saying this all over again. The lady behind the counter looked at her and smiled. She laid the three pair of LRG pants on the counter along with the matching polo shirts. She decided to get the
Unforgivable
cologne by Sean Combs. This would be wrapped up under her tree for Rico. She began to wonder if he would get her something, but decided not to worry herself thinking about it. He’d already given her Aiden and that was enough to last her for all the Christmas’s in her lifetime. She walked out of the Augusta Mall with her bags in her hand. She promised herself that she wasn’t going to buy Aiden anything, but still left the mall with six new outfits for him and a pair of Jordon’s. As she got in the car she could see his car seat that she kept, in the back as she began to miss him. She hated the thought of Mona’s grimy hands touching him, but that was something she had to deal with, for now anyway.