42-Do And Don’t

TW: This page talks about physical discipline and abuse.


**Saviera's POV**

Daveed and I wait at the apartment for Zuri to get home from work. When she comes through the door, I can tell her talk with Rory wasn't as smooth as I was hoping.
"Are you alright?" She sits next to me on the couch and rests her head on my shoulder.
"That was so hard. He rode off on his bike very angry, so I hope he's off the road and somewhere safe. I'm really just worried about how this is going to change his friendship with Daveed. How long have you two been friends?" She asked Daveed.
"You don't need to stress about Rory and me, we'll handle it. We grew up together as neighbors. He's actually two years older than me and we played together a lot as little boys. Then he became a teenager and started hanging out around kids more his age. Once I became seventeen, we got close again. We've been best friends ever since we got caught smoking a blunt together in his mom's basement. I was almost eighteen at the time and he was almost twenty. We never touched a blunt again after the punishment we got from our parents." He laughed at the memory. I couldn't imagine either of them being high.
"What was the punishment?" I asked.
"Apparently, we weren't too big or too old to get our asses beat by our dads. After they finished, they said they weren't mad about us trying it. They were mad because we disrespected Rory's mother by bringing an illegal drug into her home and polluting the air in her house with toxins. Not to mention how badly the entire house smelled like skunk and how hard it would be to get the smell out. It was a completely smoke free house, so as soon as Rory's parents got home, they knew what it was. We never got the desire to smoke again after that." He can laugh about it now, but I couldn't imagine hitting my child. My parents never whooped me even though they were very strict.
"Did your parents whoop you and your siblings often?" Zuri asked, sounding worried. Her parents didn't whoop her either, but she was such a good kid growing up and we never did anything to deserve our parents beating us. To be honest, no child deserves to be beaten even in Daveed's case.
"No, I wouldn't say it was often and it was never as bad as it was that day either. My mom was never the type to use physical discipline on us, but sometimes my dad thought it was necessary to knock us boys upside the head when we were being bad. He would never hit my sisters, thankfully. I guess he was harder on us because we're males." I could imagine his dad being like that. He seemed like a nice person when I met him, but also a no-nonsense kind of person too.
"Do you think it was okay?" I need to make sure he doesn't think hitting our child will be acceptable.
"Hell no. My dad hitting us upside the head and beating my ass that day didn't make me respect anyone any more than I would have if they went about it differently. We weren't bad kids, we just did something stupid without thinking it through. If you're wondering if I would hit our children, the answer is no. Fear is not the same thing as respect. I don't want my children scared of me, I want them to be able to come to me when they fuck up so they can learn lessons and do better." I'm so relieved he feels the same way we do. I guess these are the kind of things we will have to talk about because it's important that we're all on the same page.
"Good. We were thinking the same thing." I said. For the next hour, the three of us talked about the things we learned from our parents. All the things we loved and want to do for our kids and all the things we didn't agree with that we won't be doing. A big thing for Zuri was her parents made her eat things that she didn't like. We won't make our kids eat anything if they try it and don't like it. My major dislike was the lack of privacy. My parent's didn't give me a bedroom door until I was seventeen years old, so I was always getting dressed in the bathroom. My parents are good people, but helicopter parents have nothing on them. Nothing got past them. And of course, Daveed's dislike was the hitting.
One thing we all liked about our parents is how supportive they are and if we ever need help, we can count on them. There is no such thing as a perfect parent and I'm sure the three of us will have our fair share of regrets and mistakes. What matters is that we will strive to do better and be better for our own.
"Do you two want to stay at my house or do you need time alone and want to stay here? I can sleep in the guest room tonight and give you both privacy or I can stay at my place." I really want to go back to his house. I don't want him to leave because I honestly still don't feel safe when he's not around.
"Well, I haven't stayed at your house yet. Let's do that." Zuri decided.
"Yessss! You're going to love the shower! And I have a really good idea, but you can't know until we get there. Let's get your stuff together so we can get going." We get up, gather everything Zuri will need and go to Daveed's house. My bags are already there because we went to his house earlier while Zuri was at work.

**Zuri's POV**

I don't think I've had butterflies this badly in like, ever. I've only been to Daveed's house once and that was before I knew Sav was pregnant and Daveed just had to grab more clothes. We always stayed at the apartment, but I'm actually excited to be here at his house. We walk inside and Daveed carries our bags up to the room. Why am I so nervous? I've had a ton of crazy sex with these two, but something has shifted. It's like I'm seeing things through new eyes now and I'm getting to know them all over again. It hasn't even been that long since the three of us made love. What's really hard is just two nights ago, Rory and I had sex for the first time, since the first time. It felt amazing and he tasted so good. Ugh! Plus I was very sexually frustrated after going basically two weeks without sex, I was more than ready to jump his bones. Am I hoeing right now? Hoes aren't emotionally involved, so this is different right? You know what? I don't care. I'm grown and if I want to have sex with my girlfriend and Daveed then I will.
Well, I guess I should be saying my girlfriend and boyfriend. Daveed is my boyfriend now. Why are things just now starting to feel real? I'm in a relationship with a woman and a man at the same time and we're all going to have a baby together. I really need that drink now.
"Zuri? Are you in there?" I didn't realize I was zoned out and Sav is waving her hand in front of my face while we stand in the living room.
"Oh, yeah I'm here. Just have a lot on my mind. Does he have any alcohol? I need some shots." I walk towards the kitchen and she follows behind me.
"Yeah, I'll grab you something. Wanna tell me what's on your mind?" She pours me some whisky and I gather my thoughts.
"Life is just so wild. For a long time, we lived normal lives with nothing really interesting happening and now we're not a couple anymore. Now, we're a throuple with a baby on the way and I just had sex with Rory not even forty-eight hours ago, but I'm back with you two now and it's making me feel like a whore. Life is very different than it was before. Not completely in a bad way, but in a dramatic way I guess. It's a lot to think about." I'm kind of feeling defeated at this point.
"First of all, stop feeling like a whore because you're not one. You're all mixed up with your emotions and it's normal to have feelings for more than one person. Anyone who says otherwise is either lying or it simply doesn't apply to them and they're not in a position to tell us about our feelings. And big deal, you and Rory were testing the waters and clearly it helped you make the decision that was best for you. He will be okay. He's a great guy and I'm sure he will find someone else who can love him the way he needs it." Sav always knows what to say.
"You're right. I'm just overthinking. Who cares what other people think anyway? We're used to being judged anyway as a same sex couple. I don't think it's going to be much different." I throw the shot back and welcome the smooth liquid with my eyes closed. I take a deep breath and relax my shoulders that I've had tensed up all day. "I just need one more shot and I'll be good for the night."
"Coming right up." She serves another and I gladly take it.