Hell Naw!

By Allanah Dobson

Trenae' has sass, beauty and brains. She has everything she wants except a loving relationship, one that involves more than just sex.
Jamal, an old flame, continues to burn very brightly in her life until she meets Korry. Korry is the perfect man and her ideal soul mate. Everything seems fine until Trenae's life is turned upside down, and she is forced to pick the man best suited for her life.
Her best friend and family provide support and humor as she deals with love's battlefield.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Aug 4, 2014
• ISBN: 9781499049343

Allanah Dobson

Allanah D. is a native of Hampton, South Carolina. She has a bachelor's degree in Health Promotion from Coastal Carolina University and a master’s of public health (MPH) from The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. Allanah enjoys comedy, laughing, writing and traveling. This is her first book and she looks forward to writing more in the future.

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Copyright © 2014 by Allanah Dobson.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 07/18/2014

Xlibris LLC

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

This book is dedicated to my Aunt Helen. A person

I admired for always being herself and never

allowing others to change who she was. R.I.P.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank each and every one of you for reading my book. I have always been told I was a great writer, but never took it seriously. I am blessed with many talents, and I thank GOD I am able to share this one with you.

Thank you to my close friends for all of the laughter and fun conversations we have shared over the years: Jason B., Nedra H. & Dontae P. Our lives have enough stories to write at least 50 books. LOL!

Thank you to my family. Thanks to my mother (Mary D.) for endorsing my talents (any of them). My older sister, Takima, for always being encouraging and analytical. My cousins, Amber & Blaine, because I know our conversations definitely cross boundaries and are probably banned in at least 48 states. Lonzo, I really appreciate the design for my book cover. You guys are awesome!!!!

Thank you to Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry for keeping me inspired to keep my goals and dreams alive. I have never met either one of you, but kindred spirits always connect.

Thank you to all of my supporters and non-supporters! It is what it is.

Peace & Blessings,

Allanah D.

CHAPTER ONE

I would love to pretend with people, but it’s not in my DNA. Trenae’ Noel Thomas was built to be original and I can’t help how you feel. I was raised by a single mother in Trenton, New Jersey with one younger brother, Rico. Rico is five years younger than me with five times the ego. Our mother, Tressie Thomas, raised us to be independent, confident and honest people. My mother is 5'2" with a dark brown complexion, curvaceous, full-figured and has shoulder length black hair that she usually keeps in tight curls. She works as a social worker for the New Jersey Department of Social Services on South Warren Street.

My father is a married man with a whole other family, so I rarely see him. He would show up for random holidays and birthdays with a gift when I was growing up. It truly depended on when he could slip away from his other family. It hurt not being able to know the other half of my genetic make-up, but I dealt with it. I knew of my other brothers and sisters, but never had the opportunity to meet them. I tried to keep in touch with him, but I could never call him at his house because I really didn’t know if introducing myself as his illegitimate child would be a good introduction. Over time, I began to resent my father because I knew I couldn’t depend on him to be a consistent part of my life. I think that’s where my whatever attitude towards men comes from. I could apologize for it, but our circumstances make us who we are. Plus, I had Wesley Greene, my brother’s father and a great male figure in my life.

Rico’s father, Wesley Savage Greene, owned a local barbershop (Savage Cutz) not too far from our house. Everybody in the neighborhood called him Savage because he was a beast at cutting hair. Any kind of haircut you could think of, Savage could definitely create it. Savage became a part of my life shortly after I turned four. My mother and I had gone to Super Fresh, a local grocery store, one afternoon. I was outside throwing a fit because I wanted to ride the horse in front of the store. My mother had offered me two choices: get my ass beat right then or wait until we got home. Savage was leaving the grocery store when he noticed the two of us. He was 6'4, brown-skinned, muscular and bald with a trimmed goatee. Green eyes and a baritone voice accompanied his sweet demeanor. Would riding this horse make those tears go away little lady? She will be fine…she can’t always get everything she wants, my mother said politely. I hate to see a child cry. Please let me spread a little joy today. Trenae’, this nice man saved me from whooping your ass today. What do you say? I smiled so hard, I thought my face was going to break. Thank you," I gasped. I climbed on the horse and enjoyed every bit of that two minute ride.

Savage instantly became my new best friend and that made it easier for him to ask my mother out on a date. However, my mother was not trying to date anyone. She was focused on raising me without the help of my father and trying to make ends meet. Savage was a persistent person and wouldn’t take no for an answer. He pursued my mother for about two months until she finally gave in. After their first date, Savage would always check on us and make sure we were taken care of. My mother was extremely independent and told Savage she would never become dependent on any man. He laughed it off and explained that he was just trying to be considerate. They played the dominance tug of war for a while, which ended with my mother winning. Savage finally gave in because he knew there was no controlling my mother.

About six months after my fifth birthday, Rico arrived. He weighed in at 11 pounds 6 ounces and was 24 inches long. My mother always tells everyone she’s not sure how she delivered a baby that big because I was only 6 pounds 4 ounces and 17 inches long. She said she was so exhausted after the delivery; she went on a personal vacation after she left the hospital. She dropped Rico off with Daddy Savage shortly after her release and checked into the Marriott on West Lafayette. She stayed at the hotel a little over a week until she felt normal again.

My auntie, Vivian, came to take care of me while mom was on her vacation. She lives in Richmond, Virginia, is 5’7", a light brown hue, slender, with neat shoulder length honey-blonde dreadlocks. My auntie has great style with an equal sense of humor. It is just the two of them and they are about six years apart. I loved when Auntie Vivian would come up from Virginia to visit. She used to make breakfast sushi with sausage, scrambled eggs and pancakes for me as a kid. She would cut pancakes into sushi rolls and put sausage and scrambled eggs in the middle. I remember eating it with chopsticks and dipping it in syrup. Auntie Vivian owns her own bistro in Richmond, Virginia called Ridiculous Treats and breakfast sushi is one of her top menu items. She always tells everyone that her niece, Trini; that’s my nickname, gave her the idea because I loved eating it as a kid.

I was actually very excited to have a little brother. Auntie Vivian would make sure I got to see Rico every day after school. She loved holding Rico and said he was the cutest baby she had ever seen besides me. She didn’t have any children and seemed to be fine with it. She said that cooking was her baby because she didn’t mind cleaning up after it. She told Savage that Rico looked just like him. Tressie, it looks like Savage gave birth to this baby, she said. Vivian, you are a fool. He might look like him, but I remember every freaking minute of that delivery, Mamma replied. Savage added, He is a beautiful baby and I thank God for you, Tressie. Ahhh ha. I bet you do. I wanna see your ass try to deliver something that big, my mother sarcastically replied. Good grief Tressie! This man is trying to tell you how thankful he is for you. Take a damn compliment, girl. At least he is here beside you offering to help. You know how many sorry Negroes we know who ain’t worth a damn, said Auntie Vivian.

Savage gave Auntie Vivian a look of gratitude. He was a soft spoken man, but his baritone voice and huge physique made him appear totally opposite. Thank you Vivian. I am just overjoyed because this is my first child, he said in a serious tone. I apologize honey. I am just in a lot of pain, but I am grateful that you are here with us, my mother reluctantly replied. Bitch, that’s more like it. You know good men are hard to find and even harder to stick around. You better appreciate this man, Auntie Vivian quickly added. Savage just smiled and stared at Rico like he was made of pure gold.

Savage never left our family and became very instrumental in our upbringing. He never moved in with us because he liked his own space and never mastered the art of making my mother happy. He came by our house every day after work and would come get both me and Rico on the weekends to take us to the park or out to eat. He is Rico’s biological father, but I claim him as my father too. He made sure everybody knew that when we were growing up. He would always tell everyone he had two beautiful children; a smart-mouthed little girl and a future basketball Hall-of-Famer in training. He taught me how to recognize my worth as a female and trained Rico into an outstanding athlete.

Rico is more than just a little brother to me; he is one of my favorite people. He always made me feel beautiful, even though I was never a size 5. I was always plus-sized; I just embraced my voluptuousness and tried to stay active. On the other hand, Rico was always slender. Rico would always tell his friends how awesome I was. He definitely understood my sarcasm and sense of humor. He would get so tickled when I would say something smart to anyone. I always thought that people could dish it out, but couldn’t take it.

As we grew older, I became a great debater and Rico became a star athlete. I debated throughout the state of New Jersey and obtained several awards and medals. Rico played football, baseball, basketball and ran track. He enjoyed each sport, but seemed to enjoy basketball the most. We always motivated each other to reach our full potential. All of my hard work paid off because I received multiple scholarships to several colleges and universities.

I chose to head down south to Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. By the time I headed off to college, Rico was gaining a lot of publicity for his talent on the basketball court. Rico and I kept in touch during my college experience. He would come down to visit during the summer in between his multiple basketball camps. With all of his talent, he attracted a lot of attention. With his handsomeness, he attracted even more attention from the opposite sex.

My brother is 6'5", muscular,