Page 6 of Resisting Your Love

My parents gave me the best life while growing up. They spoiled me, and I used that to my advantage. Anything I wanted, I got. If they didn't give it to me, I threw a fit. It worked out for me, too. Whenever I got in trouble at school, they tried teaching me a lesson, but it went in one ear and out the other. My parents came from money, so they made sure I dated women with money, too. They hadn't approved of any of the women I brought home, so I stopped. The only thing I did as of late was date around. That seemed like the best thing to do.

My parents were one of the wealthiest families in Skyeville. Many people respected them for who they were. When you heard the last name, Smith just knew they were loaded with money.

My father stood up, as well as my mother. "The dinner will be on Saturday at eight. You better not be late. If you do, there will be consequences."

I shook my head in disbelief. "Y'all can't be for real."

"But we are," my mother affirmed.

I clenched my jaw muscles together, still not wanting to believe what they were saying was true. Why in the hell were they putting me through this? I didn't need to get married to slow down. That woman wouldn't be my real wife. Therefore, I was going to continue doing what I was doing. Who the hell would stop me?

I didn't walk them to the door either. Fuck them.

My best friend River stared at me with his mouth dropped. He was in disbelief right along with me. I still couldn't believe the people I called my parents were playing in my face. How in the hell could they do this to me? After my parents left, I called himand told him I needed to tell him something. We met at his job. Since he was in the office, I went there. It made no sense for someone to party all night and go to work the next day like they weren't affected by the liquor they consumed. River was that person. He could drink liquor all he wanted, but when it was time for him to work, he was going to show up.

"Man, are you for real? You about to be married to a stranger?" River asked, knowing full well I just told him that.

I glared at him. "Man, is that not what I just said? Why the hell do you want me to repeat it?"

He chuckled. "My bad, bro. I guess congratulations are in order?"

I wanted to murder him for saying something like that to me. "Don't say that shit again."

He burst out laughing. "Man, you already know it's true. You are an engaged man now. How does it feel?"

"Like I'm about to drop kick your ass in the throat. Stop playing with me."

He only laughed harder. River was a jokester and kept the jokes coming for days if you let him. He was my partner in crime, though.

We went back to elementary school days. We were some little badass boys that stayed getting in trouble. Like me, River came from a wealthy family as well. His parents and mine partied a lot back in the day and sometimes still did.

He was single and wasn't looking to settle down anytime soon. My cousin Zyanna wanted to be with him, but she knew that would be a disaster. River told her that out of his own mouth. That caused her to back up off of him, but they became the best of friends. Now, we all chilled together at times if Zy wasn't hanging out with her best friends.

"Are you really going to go through with it?" River questioned.

I hunched my shoulders. "There is no telling what my parents are going to do if I don't go along with it. Do you know how long three years is, man? That's a thousand and ninety-five days I have to be with this woman. How the hell am I supposed to fuck on something?"

River pressed his lips together, giving me an amused look. I didn't understand why he wanted to laugh at my pain.

"Do you hear yourself? That's about to be your wife. You can fuck on her."

If looks could kill, he'd be dead right now. "Man, gon' 'head with that."

He shrugged. "It'll work out. You never know. This might be something that changes your life."

I grunted. "Or ruin it."

He nodded slightly. "Or that."

Later that evening, I had a tattoo appointment on the calendar. I almost forgot about it. After the whole arranged marriage situation on my mind, I was in a funk. I had to call my parents to make sure today wasn't April Fool's Day because this felt like a joke. Of all the people to betray me, my parents were the ones who did it. Did they not care how I felt about this?

Then, to think that a girl I didn't even know was being shoved into this as well. How did she feel about it? One thing I could say was her father needed his ass beat. He should have never let his business fail. Why did I have to suffer for his fuckups? That made no sense to me. I needed to get my mind off of the situation since I couldn't change it.

My mind was back on the tattoo I was going to be doing. It was something about doing tattoos I loved. Every tattoo thatcovered my body, I created it myself. I had to draw the picture out to get the visual I needed to perform. Even if someone showed me a tattoo they wanted done, I had to first draw it myself. If I couldn't get it, I'd put my own twist on it. Some wanted it done that way, while others didn't. It didn't matter to me one bit. I had clients that came and went, but I was going to make my money either way.

I had been doing tattoos since I was twenty-two years old. I got my tattoo shop at the age of twenty-five. It kept growing, and I kept expanding it. LES Designs was my baby. I did all that I could to keep my business afloat and was going to continue to do so. My parents wanted to help me get my business off the ground, but I told them nah. I had it, and I did.

Four years later, my shop was one of the best around. I had two other workers in the shop with me. They had their own clients, too. I only charged them a booth fee.

---