20. Maleek
CHAPTER TWENTY
MALEEK
I woke up the next morning to the mouthwatering smell of breakfast filling the air, which instantly made my stomach growl. I knew it had to be Jai in the kitchen. Breakfast was her favorite meal to prepare, and it was a daily routine of hers that I had come to rely on.
As I sat up on the couch, I stretched and let out a long yawn, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. Looking at my clothes, I couldn’t help but realize I looked and smelled like the day before. Since Jai was acting petty by locking the bedroom door and shutting me out, I had to sleep without my usual shower, which left me feeling uncomfortable. There were other rooms and bathrooms available in the house, so I could have easily opted to sleep in one of the other bedrooms or even shower in another bathroom. However, I found myself too tired to move, so the couch ended up being my bed for that night. Unfortunately, all my clothes were still in our bedroom, making it inconvenient to change clothes unless I planned to sleep naked.
That night before had been particularly restless. I tossed and turned all fuckin’ night. The memory of almost losing my temper and hitting Jai haunted me. I didn’t bother her any that night because I knew I was dead ass wrong. However, I did have my ear against the door, listening to her as she played with herself. I couldn’t catch everything she said, but I was sure my name wasn’t the one she was moaning. I was also curious about who had dropped her off and why she failed to answer that question.
I took a deep breath, trying to shake off those thoughts, and focused instead on the delicious breakfast that awaited me.
Before stepping into the kitchen, I paused for a moment to observe Jai. She was seated at the dining table, her back to me, completely engrossed in whatever she was watching on her phone. The sound of her laughter floated through the air, and if I had to wager a guess, she was likely scrolling through TikTok—her favorite pastime.
“Good morning,” I greeted her as I entered the kitchen, hoping to initiate some sort of interaction.
Jai turned around to face me, and I could instantly sense a shift in her attitude. Her bright expression faded, replaced by a look of annoyance.
“Morning,” she mumbled, barely glancing in my direction before redirecting her attention back to her phone screen.
I tried to break the awkward silence. “You’ve got it smelling really good in here,” I remarked, attempting to engage her, but my efforts fell flat as she ignored my comment completely.
As I surveyed the kitchen, I couldn’t help but notice how spotless it was—quite unusual for a weekend morning. Typically, if I woke up after her, I’d find a container of leftover food waiting for me on the stove. Curious, I figured maybe she had stashed it away in the microwave, so I opened the door and peered inside. To my disappointment, it was completely empty.
Hmph , I thought, slightly frustrated.
Next, I made my way over to the oven and opened it, but once again, to my disappointment, there wasn’t shit in there. My irritation grew. At that point, I was almost certain Jai hadn’t put up a plate for me. Against my better judgment, I reluctantly decided to check the fridge in a final attempt to locate my missing plate. As I yanked the door open, the cool air rushed out, and I was greeted by the familiar sight of everyday items but no sign of my plate.
With a sharp exhale, I slammed the fridge door shut. Turning towards Jai, I shouted, “Where the hell is my plate, Jai?” with disbelief and anger threading through my words.
Jai stood nearby with a paper plate in her hand. She then tossed it into the trash right in front of me and replied, “Oh, I never said I cooked anything for you. ” A smug smirk crept onto her face as she turned and walked away, clearly amused by my dismay.
“Really, Jai?” I called after her, but she maintained her stride, ignoring me completely as she walked into the other room.
I couldn't help but notice how that nonchalant side of Jai was different from the girl I had come to know. It was a personality that hadn’t been part of our relationship before. I believed my own choices were shifting her into someone I wasn’t ready to embrace. I knew Jai wasn't an easy fuck because she had standards. However, she was an easy catch. Hell, she was beautiful, not to mention successful. I literally had the best of both worlds with her, and I simply refused to lose my girl to another nigga. I needed to sort shit out with my baby mama and then marry Jai fast, but that morning, I had something a little more important on my agenda. I had to go and pay someone a much-needed visit.
“Maleek… son, what are you doing here so early?” my mama asked.
I brushed past her, feeling urgency in my chest, and got straight to the point without sugarcoating it.
“Ma, did you forget to make the payments on Jai’s car?”
She took a seat on the couch and picked up her favorite mug.
“Oh, shoot. I did,” she admitted, her eyes widening slightly as reality began to sink in.
“Really, Ma?!” I exclaimed.
“I’m so sorry, son! It wasn’t one of my regular bills, so I kind of forgot,” she replied, shrugging casually as if it was no big deal, but it was to me.
“Ma, I remind you every month! So, you’re telling me that you forgot for three straight months, huh?” I pressed, trying to keep my voice even, but my disappointment and anger were hard to hide.
“I did, Maleek. I can make the payments now. It’s really no problem.”
“Make the payments now?” I scoffed. “Oh, nah, Ma, we have a big problem! Jai’s car got towed yesterday, and now I’m in the doghouse because she knows it was your name on the title!”
Mama set her mug down with a clink, her expression shifting from casual indifference to serious concern.
“Maleek, I’m truly sorry!”
I shook my head in frustration at her blatant carelessness. Although my mama claimed she “forgot” to make the payments, deep down, I couldn’t shake the feeling that she did the shit on purpose. I didn’t have the energy to confront her about it that day; it would only lead to a bigger argument. So, I decided to steer the conversation in a different direction,
“Yeah, aight. I’m done with it, but I do need your key to the house.” I summoned the courage to ask for something that felt more like a desperate measure than an ordinary request.
Having that key in my possession was essential to regaining Jai's trust and getting me some pussy, which I desperately fuckin' needed. My hand was no comparison whatsoever to Jai's wet and tight pussy.
“ My key? For what?” she asked, her brow furrowing in confusion.
“Ma, me and Jai ain’t really been on talking terms since she found out about you having a key to the crib and your name being on the lease. I mean, we had a small argument that day before, but I was sure we could’ve gotten past that, but Jai isn’t fucking with me, literally, until I get that key back.”
“Well, aside from the fact that my name is on the lease, the other reason I have a key to the house is for emergency purposes. What if no one has heard from the two of you in days, and someone needs to get in the house?”
“Ma, we’re renting, not owning the house, which means the property owner has a key as well,” I pointed out.
“Well, Maleek, I just don’t think―”
“Ma, you know what…” I cut her off, sensing that continuing the conversation would only lead to further frustration on my end. I knew asking her for the key back was a lost cause at that point.
Taking a deep breath, I realized that it was best for me to leave. I needed to go before I lost my temper and said or did something I would regret in the heat of the moment.
“Ma, just keep the key. All I ask is that you don’t make any more surprise visits—the kind where you let yourself into the house when no one is there to greet you.”
She sat there with stretched eyes, obviously taken aback by my words.
“Okay, I won’t. I promise,” she replied.
I regarded her with a skeptical expression, unsure if she truly understood the importance of her promise. After a moment of hesitation, I let out a resigned sigh and responded, “Aight,” before turning away and walking in the opposite direction, leaving the conversation hanging in the air between us.
She quickly stood up. “Maleek, don’t leave like this! I’m sorry!”
I faced her once more.
“Ma, you can apologize to me, but an ‘I’m sorry’ coming from you or me probably won't fix things between me and Jai this time.”
Without saying another word, I left.
“Maleek!” she called after me.
Normally, I would have felt compelled to respond out of respect, but that day, I chose to keep walking.
I couldn’t entirely hold my mom responsible for Jai not talking to me. Still, had she just taken care of the car payments like I asked, all of that could've been avoided. Jai’s car got towed, and that incident was at the heart of our growing problems. I wasn't sure whether Jai was more mad about the car being towed or the fact that it was in my mama's name. Truthfully, it felt like both mattered. But if I had to take a guess, I would say it was more about losing possession of her car. Jai cherished the fuck out of that car—she treated it like a part of herself. So, I knew I had to do everything in my power to get it back for her.
I also loved her more than anything in the world, and because of that love, I was determined to repair the rift between us. But first, I needed to correct my mistakes… one by one. Unfortunately, the situation with my baby mama was beyond repair. I couldn't 'un-conceive’ a child. I also made a firm decision to keep my son hidden from Jai for as long as I could. So, my priority right then was to deal with the house key situation.
After leaving my mama's crib, I headed straight to a local locksmith to get a duplicate house key. Shid, what can I say? Desperate times called for desperate measures. Once I had the new key, I planned to tell Jai that it was the one I’d gotten from my mama. I didn’t see any reason why she wouldn’t believe me. I was almost positive that my mama wouldn’t bring up the key to Jai, and as long as she honored her promise about not showing up at our house unannounced, my plan would work out perfectly.