Promise Me You Won't Let Me Fall

Copyright © 2021 by Perri Forrest All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. Without limiting the right under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form by means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental. Cover Design Perri Forrest Photos (c) Deposit Photos Contents Dedication 1. Cadence Tucker 2. Cadence 3. Cadence 4. Yazid Wright 5. Cadence 6. Cadence 7. Cadence 8. Yazid 9. Yazid 10. Cadence 11. Cadence 12. Yazid 13. Cadence 14. Yazid 15. Cadence 16. Cadence 17. Yazid 18. Yazid 19. Percy Barris 20. Yazid 21. Cadence 22. Cadence 23. Yazid 24. Cadence 25. Yazid 26. Cadence Epilogue Acknowledgments Connect With Me Other Books By Perri Forrest Taninha … Baby Girl. It’ll be a year next month. A year. Still surreal. Still feels like yesterday. I miss you all day and every single day. This hasn’t gotten easier. I still wanna text, I still wanna call. I still want my sister here with me. All I can do, at this point, is keep doing what I need to do make you proud. And I will. I love you, forever… Friday, June 14, 2019 ♫ Baby, seems like everywhere I go … I see you, from your eyes, your smile … It's like I breathe you… ♫ I had just walked in the house from shopping, but still had Queen Bey’s lyrics playing inside my head. As I sang to the top of my lungs, calling out to my man, I knew damn well that I couldn’t hold a candle to that woman’s vocals. But in that moment, nobody could tell me that I wasn’t a superstar. Shit, I was performing acapella and hittin’ all the notes! ♫ Boy, I try to catch myself, but I'm out of control Your sexiness is so appealing, I can't let it go… ♫ My mood was glow-worm bright; excitement was peaked! Whenever I found my man in this house, he was getting the rest of this live performance—butt ass naked, with a side of sloppy-toppy. “Babe!” I sang out louder, when there was no response to my concert. A huge smile was plastered across my face when I put the locks on. Love and sex were on the mind. I practically skipped down the shiny black hardwood floor, to the bedroom I shared with my fiancée, Percy. “Your woman is home, you sexy beast! Show ya’self! I bought something real red, real see-through, and real cute to model for my sweet thang!” I hoped like hell this bronzed man wasn’t sleep; because if he was, he’d be getting stroked until he awoke. No lie. Shit, I drove home faster than the speed allowed, and slightly under the influence to get to him. Stupid me, decided to have two lemon drop martinis at my mani/pedi appointment … and then get behind the wheel. All so that I could get here, to this feel-good. Thank you, God, that I made it safely. It wasn’t until a few minutes ago when I grabbed my Coach and Victoria’s Secret bags from the backseat, that I realized just how weak my damn legs were. Never again, I promised myself. My legs were always the first to feel the effects of the liquor. And speaking of legs … I was about to get real limber and part ‘em like the Red Sea, so that Percy could serve up all the beef. “Hey!” I called to him again. “I just risked my life to get to you! You owe me, mister! Gut-strokes and orgasms … them the only payments I want! Gimme dat!” By the time I reached our bedroom door, I was giggling like a silly teenager. “Babyyy!” I dropped my bags in the chair just inside the door, and stepped out of a pair of double-strapped open-heeled sandals, losing four inches of height. Next to go, were the tight pink denim shorts. I was about to come out of the white laced cami-top, when suddenly, Percy emerged from our walk-in closet. “Hey, sweets…” I greeted him. But his expression was blank. Even after seeing all this dark-chocolate goodness, damn-near naked… for whatever reason, this dude didn’t seem fazed at damn all. “Aye…” he responded; his tone dry as hell when he greeted me. There was no eye contact from the pretty brown eyes I was used to looking into, and there was something else—his arms were full with clothes. My first thought was that he was emptying out the old and planning to buy some new. I followed his every move, more questions than answers swirling around in my head. “Aye yourself…” I said when he unloaded the clothes in his arms onto the bed. “Aht-aht, we need all of that space, baby.” I did a slow, seductive stroll toward him. I figured I’d snake my arms around him to relieve him from duty, and then give him some of my type of relief. “Or, we can just get it poppin’ in the shower and—” “I’m leaving, Cadence.” His words dropped like bombs, then ricocheted off the walls and echoed into the air. “Wait…” I reached for his arm. “What?” He pulled back, then looked me in the eyes. “It’s not working with us anymore.” “Wait… P-P-Percy…” The way I whined the statement, pissed me off. I sounded pathetic, soft. But how else was I supposed to sound after hearing an announcement like that? “I… I need you to elaborate. Be clear.” “Cadence, I was clear. We’re not working. You know I’m right. It hasn’t been right between us for a while.” He