I Ain't No 50/50 Type Of Chick

31. Maleek

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

MALEEK

A s I sat at the table across from Jai at the somewhat fancy soul food restaurant, I couldn’t help but admire her beauty.

“You look beautiful tonight,” I complimented her.

“Thank you, but you know this look is all courtesy of you, of course.”

I chuckled. “Yeah, I can say I provided the dress, shoes, and accessories, true, but I can’t take all the credit for your beauty. I definitely have to give that props to God, your parents, and I guess Cali, too, since she did your makeup.”

Jai giggled. It was good to see her genuinely smile after not doing so for weeks, especially me being the one to make her smile.

“But, yeah, they are the ones who created this beautiful lady who’s sitting across from me, whom I am glad I can call mine, all mine.”

Jai’s smile seemed to fade as she glanced out the window, appearing to be in deep thought. I was about to ask her if she was good, but she faced me again and spoke up first.

“So, you said you had something to tell me before we came here.”

“I do.”

“So, what is it?” she urged, taking a sip of her tea.

I was nervous that night for two reasons. One, I wasn’t sure if, after the next day, I’d be able to take her on another date due to my brother and his fuck ups. Even if I did get killed, I wanted to make that night perfect by making things right with us. I wasn’t going to tell Jai everything, though, since a part of me felt like my brother would come through. I mean, hell, his life was on the line too. However, if he didn’t, I knew we both were good as dead, and there was no escaping that. If that were to become reality, it would be then that I would come clean about everything. The other reason, which was initially the main purpose for me taking Jai on that date, was to propose to her. The only thing was, I didn’t have a ring, but considering the circumstances, I hoped she would understand and still accept my proposal.

“Like I said, I do, but I also remember you saying that you had some news too… exciting news at that. And as always, it’s ladies first, well, when it comes to you, anyway.”

I really wanted Jai to have the spotlight because hell, I was nervous, and I needed a bit more time to try to come up with the right way to propose to her.

She smiled. “Indeed, I do. So… I recently got offered a job,” she revealed.

“Word? Well, let’s hear about this job.”

Over the next five minutes, Jai explained everything about her new job.

“Damn, baby, that’s what’s up. So, we really got to celebrate tonight.”

Although I was proud as hell of her, I was kind of relieved that some more income was going to be coming into the house, but again, I couldn’t tell Jai the real reason.

“So, now that you know my exciting news, what’s yours?” Jai asked as she lifted a forkful of greens to her mouth.

I took a deep breath.

“Jai―”

Just then, a figure from my past stepped into view at our table. If it had been someone else—a friend, staff member, or even stranger—I might have thought they 'saved the moment.' But as I took in the familiar presence before me, I realized that her arrival wouldn't bring relief but more so chaos.

“Well, hello, Maleek . It’s been a while,” Chanel said, sporting a mischievous smile.

Chanel was one of the few, well, many females that I had stepped out on Jai with. Out of all the females that I had cheated with, Chanel was the one who could’ve possibly become an official side chick. She possessed all the qualities that any man would want. Chanel also reminded me a lot of Jai, more so in looks than personality, which perhaps contributed to my tendency to place her on a pedestal compared to the other side chicks in my life.

However, after my son was born, I made the decision to end things with Chanel, just as I had with the other women I was involved with. I was ready to focus on building a future with Jai, and I wanted to take our relationship to a more serious level. Of course, Chanel wasn’t trying to hear any of that shit. Weeks passed without her hearing from me, and eventually, it seemed like she finally got the message: I was serious about my choice, and I wasn’t going to leave Jai for her or any other bitch. I couldn’t help but think that the only reason Chanel didn’t mention us to Jai during that time was because she had a main nigga herself.

I looked across at a very curious Jai.

“Leek, who is she?” Jai asked, looking between me and Chanel.

“Baby―” I tried to get out, but Chanel interrupted by saying, “Oh, I’m sorry, girl! I’m Chanel! I’m sure you didn’t know this, but me and your man… well, let’s just say we used to have some great times. Of course, I wouldn’t be bringing this to your attention if I knew you two weren’t together at the time.”

“Which means you did know,” Jai quipped. “So, if you two did have such great times together, why didn’t you bother telling me then ? Why wait until now?” Jai’s tone was calm, so I guessed she assumed the girl was lying, and maybe I was off the hook.

“Yeah, why are you here, Chanel?” I added.

“So, you do know her?” Jai chuckled. “You know, I really just asked her what I did to see what your response would be. So I’m assuming what she’s saying is true, huh?” I could see the fire starting in Jai’s eyes.

“Jai…”

“Nigga, answer me! Did you cheat on me with this bitch?” Jai’s voice rose as she hopped out of her chair, and her veins protruded in her neck.

“Bitch?!” Chanel retorted.

“Yes, bitch, since you knew, hoe!”

By then, we had gained an audience in the restaurant. I was glad we were in a majority black restaurant because those white folks would’ve been made our asses leave.

“Jai, calm down!” I said in a low tone, trying to get her to settle down.

Chanel snickered. “Listen, I’ma go as I see you two have a few things to discuss. Oh, and Maleek, no hard feelings about our break up. Although it didn’t work out between us, I’m glad you got a chance to eat my pussy, and damn , did you do it well.”

That set Jai off. Jai picked up her glass and tossed the drink on Chanel.

“What the hell?!” Chanel shrieked in shock.

I sprang from my chair. I knew a fight would occur next if I didn’t get a hold of Jai, with Chanel being the one to receive the ass-whooping.

“Chanel, you need to go!” I demanded as I wrapped my arms tightly around Jai in an attempt to calm her down. Jai, however, was a force to be reckoned with, especially when mad. With a determined strength, she pushed herself out of my embrace.

“Nah, nigga, she ain’t gotta leave, but I sure as hell am! Best believe that!”

When Jai reached for her purse, the urgency in her movements made it clear that she was serious about walking away from this situation.

“Jai, come on, baby. Let’s talk about this,” I pleaded in a hushed tone.

“No, Leek! I’m leaving!” she shot back, her finger jabbing toward my face like a warning sign. “Enjoy the rest of your night by your damn self or with this bitch! And don’t follow me! I mean it!”

I didn’t have to worry about how she’d get home because we had driven there in her car, so I was the one who was fucked without a ride. To make matters worse, Boss had texted me and told me I was needed on the other side of town, so coincidentally, my date with Jai was going to end early regardless. I was so focused on the fact that Jai had left that I didn’t even see when Chanel’s ass dipped out.

“Fuck!” I yelled, banging my hand on the table, which caused some of the people in the restaurant to look at me like a crazed man.

After paying for the food that we didn’t really get to enjoy, I left the restaurant on foot. I would’ve called Jayceon to come get me, but me and that nigga were on the worse of fuckin’ terms, and the way I felt, he was definitely the last person I needed to be around. I ended up calling up one of my homies, and he was able to come scoop me up, but I still had to walk a little distance before getting with him.

As I mentioned, Chanel and I hadn’t talked in over two years. I knew she hadn’t moved from the city, and based on the shit she posted on Facebook, her ass had been single for over a year, so I was sure if she really wanted to be on some messy shit and tell Jai about us, she would’ve done it before then. All I could wonder was, why now?