16. Jealous?

"I can't believe she's back with this dude!" Mateo vented to his mother.

He knew he couldn't go to Xavier, he'd been trash with all advice and venting sessions lately. Catalina chuckled as she washed dishes and her son stood by her with his back leaning on the counter.

"Why? You're with Sofia, she's not allowed to fix her problems with her man too?"

"No, I mean yes. But I fought this dude ma. She can't be with him and have my child."

She turned off the water and proceeded to wipe her hands as she looked up at her son. "It sounds like the two of you will have to learn to coexist."

"I don't even understand why she wants to be with him!"

"Because you don't know their relationship Mateo."

He shook his head, he was livid. He didn't want Jessica with him. "I don't like him and if anything happens to my son then I'll really have to whoop his ass."

She gave him a look for his language. "Sorry." He mumbled as he stood in thought.

"Are you sure you're just not jealous?" She questioned as she moved on to wiping down her counters.

He looked at his mother like she was crazy before moving to get out of her. "No. I don't even look at Jessica like that, this is strictly coparenting at its finest. I just don't trust him."

She stopped as she turned and looked at him, "you don't look at her like that but you made a baby with her? Niños locos." She shook her head and went back to wiping her counters.

He chuckled. "I mean of course I think she's attractive, but I don't look at her like that mama. We both have our own relationships and our own stuff going on."

"Yet your complaining about the relationship that she's in."

"Because of who it is not because she's in a relationship."

"So if it was someone else you would be fine?" She questioned as she put down the cloth she was using to wipe down the counters.

"Yeah, as long as it's someone decent."

"See that as long as is indicating that's not true to me hijo," she pointed.

"We have a child. I don't just want her with anybody."

"What if she doesn't like Sofia?"

"Huh?" He questioned on in confusion. She repeated herself. "Exactly what I said, what if she doesn't like Sofia? Does that mean you should end things with her?"

"That's different mama."

"It's not different hijo. You may be right, I don't know this guy. But the two of you clearly got off on the wrong foot. She was his girlfriend and he just found out you got her pregnant. That's not easy for anyone to take in. You probably would have reacted the same way if it was Sofia broken up or not."

He didn't think about the roles being reversed, making him realize she had a valid point. But truth be told he didn't want to like Dwayne. He shook his head. "I guess."

She chuckled. "Give him another chance hijo. Regardless of the matter, you and Jessica will always have a son to raise. So even if you can't find it in you to be cool. You are going to have to be cordial."

He knew she was right, but deep down he was hoping things didn't work out with Dwayne and Jessica.

—

Jessica sat on a Group FaceTime with her sisters. It'd been too long since they had really talked. "Let me see your belly!" Jazmin yelled out as Jessica moved the phone towards her belly. Her and Jackie both let out an "awww" in unison causing her to chuckle.

The three of them on the phone truly looking like sisters with their similar features, their Main differences being their hair. Whereas Jessica rocked her natural curls, Jazmin kept weaves in and kept it straightened and Jackie had dreads; she was definitely the earthy sister and into natural and holistic shit only.

"I'm so happy I'm going to have a nephew." Jackie let out. "Maybe Jazmin will give us a girl."

"Don't hold your breathe on that!" She let out. "I'm just trying to be the lit auntie!" She started dancing on the camera as she stuck her tongue her. "You can give us a girl though!" Jazmin let out towards Jackie.

Jackie shoot her head no, "now you know Diamond isn't going for that.  Me taking some dick to get a baby? Not happening. Cause I refuse to let it happen any other way. I want it natural." Jackie was a lesbian, something their mother hated but she was happy as hell and that's all that mattered to her.

"So you don't mind taking dick?" Jazmin asked with curiosity which in turn caused Jackie to roll her eyes. Jessica laughed. "Well look, I have to go! We should all definitely get up at some point though! Maybe before I drop the baby." Unbeknownst to Mateo, with many of his talks he encouraged her to talk to her family more and she was definitely taking the steps to.

They all agreed to get up and promised to get a set date soon before getting off the phone.

Once she got off the phone Jessica got up feeling good with the help of her sisters. She went to start her shower water as she stripped down. Admiring her baby bump in the mirror. "We need to start thinking of names for you." She smiled as she held her hands on her belly.

She turned to feel the water, making sure it was hot enough before she got in. She was going to dinner with Dwayne tonight. She really didn't plan on dealing with him or seeing him until next week, when she was meeting Sofia. However she had been texting him and they talked on the phone every now and then. But he basically begged her to let him treat her to dinner and she could always eat.

She took a nice relaxing shower, lotioned down and put on something chill. She told him she was craving Japanese and that's all that she wanted, she didn't want anything fancy or extra.

She checked the time seeing that it was close to 7:30pm which was the time that he said he would be there. Just as she thought it a call came through on her phone as his name popped up.

She quickly answered as he told her he was outside. She threw on her shoes and grabbed her keys to lock her door before making her way.

"You always look so good, even when you aren't trying." Dwayne stated as they sat across from one another waiting for their number to be called for their food order.

He was sucking up, that's what she felt like. "Thank you," she let out as she pulled out her ringing phone seeing Mateo's name cross against the screen. She couldn't recall the last time they talked on the phone, it had been strictly texting and baby business only since he ruined her moment at the gender revealing ultrasound.

"One second," she let out to Dwayne as she answered. "What's up?" She answered getting straight to it.

Mateo was taken aback by how she answered but quickly shook it off. He deserved her straight to point attitude, but it had been weeks. He apologized and wanted to move past it. "You busy?" He questioned.

"Yeah, kind of." She let out.

"Well look I want to show you something," he let out. "Answer my FaceTime."

"What? Mateo no!" He was already calling as she pulled the phone from her ear and saw the request for it. "One second again, sorry!" She said to Dwayne as she got up walking away from the table and answering as Mateo had his face all up in screen.

"Look at this," he stated as he quickly flipped the screen to a whole bunch of clothes. "I had a shoot with one of my sponsors last week and I came home to all of this."

It was a ton of clothes, way too many. But that wasn't what stuck out to her the most. "You smoke hookah that much?"

He flipped it back to his face as he turned around to look at the hookah. "That's X's, he left it from last night."

"Oh," she let out. "That's a lot of clothes." She responded going back to what he showed her. "Yeah," he started. "Did you want a baby shower?"

She shrugged her shoulders, she didn't have that many friends and her sisters weren't close by. Hardly anybody would come. "I don't know that many people so I don't think so."

He bit his lip in thought. "But I have to go," she let out before he could respond. "I'm eating with Dwayne."

He rolled his eyes, something she easily caught. "Alright, call me back." She ended the call as she walked back towards Dwayne. "Sorry," she let out.

He rolled his eyes. "Is that what I'm going to have to deal with? Like the baby isn't even here yet and you acting like his calls are mandatory?"

Jessica brought her eyebrows in. "Whoa, calm down there. He hasn't called me in a while, I was making sure everything was good. His calls aren't mandatory. And if this is how you're about to act then you don't even need to try to go back down this road with me Dwayne. I'm pregnant, with his child and once this baby drops the contact will he even more, same way it was with you and Brielle. I don't even get why your acting as if you don't have a baby mama yourself."

"I've ignored plenty of her calls while with you."

"And I'll ignore plenty of his calls while with you too Dwayne, but just like you answer some of her calls. I'm going to answer some of his. Like be real. What's your real issue?"

"How I know you two aren't messing around on the low?"

She crossed her arms as their number was called, "oh like you and Brielle?"

He shook his head as he stood up to go get their food. Quickly returning to the table. He took his food off the tray as she did the same. "I'm not you," she started. "I'm not a cheater and I've never been one. I felt bad as fuck when I slept with Mateo to be completely honest, and even worse when I found out I pregnant. They last thing I want to do is hurt the one I'm with. Which in this case was you." She paused to take a bite of her food after mixing everything around.

"Mateo and I aren't going down that road, he has a girl who he is very much in love with. What happened with us was a mistake that's resulting in a beautiful life. If I decide to go back down this road with you, you have nothing to worry about."

Dwayne sat there in silence easily remembering how good of a girl Jessica was and how he was fool to ever even leave her side. He had it made when he was with her and he messed it up all for a girl in the past who clearly was in the past for a reason.