Page 30 of Fallynn West

“It wasn’t, but it was needed.” After a few slow, deep breaths, she explained, “I had fibroids. They did my body wrong. I was tired of being in pain, and after a while, I had no choice but to have a full hysterectomy. The decision wasn’t easy, especially at the age of twenty-five. Everyone who knows me knows I’ve always loved kids. I’ve always wanted a big family. Biologically, it wasn’t possible. With Center of Love, I’m able to claim all the kids as mine and send them home at the end of the day.”

Colony giggled, which made the air around us lighter. She seemed at peace with it, and that was what mattered the most.

“Damn, Colony. I’m sorry. I hate you had to do something so life changing just to relieve yourself from pain.”

“It is what it is. I accepted it long ago. God gave me many children in a different way. The only thing I can focus on is being grateful to still be here and spread the love I have to give.”

“That’s the best way to look at it.”

Getting to know Colony was easier than I thought. In the beginning, I found myself overthinking. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, and deep down, I’d trained myself to think the worst. My mindset was if I prepared for it that it wouldn’t affect me as much if it did happen.

Demetria made me like that.

I no longer wanted her to have that hold on me. The feelings I’d harbored for her over the years prevented me from living life. It prevented me from exploring my options and finding love, all because I never again wanted to experience the pain she’d inflicted on me. I never wanted Kehlani to experience it, but Colony . . . Colony gave me hope. In the short amount of time we’d been talking to get to know one another, she’d made a huge impact on me.

Colony was slowly but surely working her way into my heart, tearing my walls down, and all I could do was pray she didn’t fuck me up along the way.

The last thingI ever expected was waking up to a puddle of my nectar from dreaming about Keondra. Sex with him was nothing short of amazing. The rounds we had on his birthday had my head gone. Maybe it was because it had been so long, or maybe it was because Keondra knew what he was doing. It almost scared me how quickly I was falling for him, but he made it effortless, almost too easy.

With Keondra, there were no red flags. From the start, he’d been showing me exactly who he was, and I appreciated it. The most attractive thing about him was how good of a father he was. I adored a man who was active in their children’s lives. Over the years, I’d seen my fair share of single mothers, which was onereason I made it a point to have affordable childcare, but single fathers were rare to come by.

Since I’d decided to take the day off, I slept in. When I grabbed my phone to check the time, I couldn’t believe it was after eight o’clock. The rest was much needed, but it was time to get up and get my day started.

After a good, hot shower and my morning hygiene routine, I headed to my kitchen to fix myself a cup of coffee. Surprisingly, I hadn’t heard from Keondra, which was unusual. I’d gotten used to waking up to a ‘good morning’ text from him, or some form of communication, so to hear nothing but crickets almost made my mind wander to negative thoughts.

I instantly shook them off and texted him first. Maybe he had a rough morning or was busy. Anything could’ve happened. I finished fixing my coffee and waited for a reply. Ten minutes passed and nothing. He’d read my text but didn’t respond. Biting my bottom lip, I went to Serenity’s contact and called her to get her advice before my mind began to spiral.

“Hey, sister girl. What are you doing?” she answered in a chipper tone.

“Oh, tell me you got some without telling me you got some.” I giggled and sipped my coffee.

“And it was good as hell. The perfect way to start my morning. From the sound of your voice, I can tell your morning wasn’t the same.”

“I had to call you to talk me down.”

“What’s going on?”

“I might be reading too much into it or something, but I didn’t wake up to my usual text from him. Not wanting to be prideful, I texted Keondra first. Why did this man read my message and not respond? It has now been twelve minutes, and I haven’t heard a peep.”

I carefully plopped down on my couch and heavily sighed. Slowly, I could feel my thoughts going down a road I thought had been blocked off. The thought ‘things were too good to be true’ echoed in my mental, and I wanted to scream.

“Oh, Colony.” Serenity gushed. “You really like him, don’t you?”

“I do, Serenity. So damn much. After talking to God in the morning, I look forward to talking to Keondra. He’s throwing me off, and it doesn’t help that I’m off today with nothing but time to come up with untrue scenarios to put myself in a sunken mood.”

“You’re so damn dramatic.”

“I’m serious! I will literally think myself out of liking him. After my last relationship, you know I’m good for it.”

“I know. I know. Listen, think of it like this . . . Keondra is a busy, single father. I mean, we witnessed how his business is thriving and demanding. We witnessed him juggling work and fatherhood. Don’t take it personal, Colony. Like you said, anything could’ve happened to throw his morning off. Give it some time before you shut the man out completely. If he hasn’t responded in a timely manner, call or pop up on his ass. I did it to Jacob and look at us.”

“Yeah. Well, that’s because your ass is crazy.”

I could hear Serenity snap her fingers. “You better know it. I’ve been crazy about that man since day one. Keondra seems like a good man. He has his own shit going on, so calm your ass down. I’m more than sure he’ll reach out soon.”

“I surely hope so.”

Talks with my sister always made me feel better. She was right. I was being crazy which was a sign of how much Keondra had grown on me.