Chapter 1 #2
“Because I don’t have to. I didn’t know you were in town, Reminisce. Thank you for texting back,” she responded sarcastically.
I chortled, watching her put the pizza down on my desk.
She was about to get in his ass, like she had been doing for the last year and a half.
Somehow this family all fell into place, bonds just fit.
I swear I didn’t know life without my siblings.
I had gone from a life of craved isolation to an innate need to talk to my siblings at least three to four times a week.
Reminisce was a given, by him being my twin, but everybody else too, including Indri’s busy ass.
“It ain’t like that, Jade. You know I’m busy. I was gonna call you.”
“Mhmm.” She waved him off.
“Good subject change. But who were you texting?” Reminisce asked.
“Nobody,” she finished. She moved to wash her hands in my office bathroom when my door opened once again. In walked Dimitri with a mug on his face. He was always mugged up, just like Reminisce. Him, I was expecting, because he was dropping off a piece I’d purchased from Beyah.
“Yo, I’m about to charge you for delivery. Got me delivering art like I’m a part of the process. I’on see anything about this.”
“Shut up. You’re definitely a part of the process and you know it.” Jade mugged him. “Now back to you.” Her manicured nail was pointing in Rem’s direction.
“What did I walk in on?” he asked, realizing all of us were here.
“Her getting in his ass about not responding to messages and me tryna figure out why she just walked this big ass pizza pie in my office like I got a cake knife.”
Dimitri nodded and placed the flat cardboard box against the wall in the corner of my office. “My cue to get home. Be eas—” he started, but Jade stopped him right there.
“I am in charge of throwing Beyah’s surprise party. That means I will be on your line soon.”
“She said she didn’t want a party,” he countered.
“She said that, but she’s my friend. She’s getting one and you’re funding it. No we don’t need your club, not that scene. Something more elegant and graceful.”
He chuckled.
“And I expect both of you to be in attendance, as we are fam–” she started, eyes locked on Rem because we all knew he was never in one place for too long. If not for his profession, then for the fact that he had a woman in at least three cities. Daddy issues ass nigga…
“You might as well not even invite this one. Ain’t nothing about him elegant and graceful.” Rem pointed in my direction.
I flipped him off. “Classier than your plane fucking ass. Matter of fact, I got a lil dinner tomorrow,” I responded, thinking about the dinner Kinga and his people invited me to. He assured me Caya’s fine ass would be there and that was all I needed.
I had been trying to get with her ass since she came through to the grand opening last year.
She wasn’t studdin’ me, talking about how I didn't want her type of problems. The hell I didn’t.
I wanted all of them, too bad she had already prejudged me from the fact that I owned a strip club and kept a few chicks around.
It wasn’t that I had no intention of settling down, I just didn’t trust women easily.
My trust had to be earned. I didn’t know if that stemmed from my childhood or what, but my trust wasn’t there and I didn’t have time for the extra.
Then there was Caya. She drew me in from the moment I heard her speak.
She wasn’t hood, but she damn sure wasn’t some prim and proper girl trying to keep up a facade.
She was real, and spoke her mind, like most of the chicks here.
Chicago women were a different breed and I was completely enthralled with them.
Well… not all of them, but with Caya I was.
I didn’t know why she wouldn’t just let me see what was to her, it wasn’t like I was trying to fuck up her life or anything. I was tryna help her expand that.
“So, that’s it? You’re just about to send me on my way after we just had sex?” Juicy, a very voluptuous stripper who had worked in the club for the last six months, stood before me fixing to fuss while she straightened her sequined top. Juicy’s hand found her hip and she mugged me.
“You got a set, don’t you?” I asked, eyeing her shape before my eyes went back to the computer in front of me.
“I do, but I thought we could chill for a minute. Damn, you don’t have to be so rude.” She sucked her teeth.
I pried my eyes from the screen in front of me and looked at her, once again glossing her frame. “What do you wanna talk about?”
“You. I feel like it’s nuts I don’t know much about you and you’ve never taken me to your house. It’s like I’m only sex to you.”
I shook my head, irritated because in this moment this was the conversation she was trying to start. The fact that I had never given her any inkling or indication of this between us being anything else, but she made herself think otherwise baffled me.
“No disrespect, but what else would you be?” I was extremely interested to know her answer.
“I don’t know. Maybe a friend or we could be working toward something.”
I didn’t mean to laugh, but I did. “Have I ever fucked you?”
“No. Which I find to be crazy, ’cause I heard you’re fucking somebody else in here.”
I shook my head. “But you still ease your ass in here to suck my dick every chance you get.”
She shrugged like what I was saying went over her head. It was. I was already over the conversation, already through.
“Nah, Juicy. I’m not looking for anything serious. As a matter of fact, if this is too much for you, then I’m cool on this. We’ll go back to employee and worker, you know, keep things professional.”
She sucked her teeth. “You’re so arrogant sometimes. I guess I’ll come back another time.”
She left my office and I just watched her close the door then went back to the computer.
I liked to think I kept to myself here, besides my siblings.
I focused on my business, kept my eyes on making the funds and lasting.
When I left the business four years ago, I didn’t know what I was getting into.
All I knew was I wanted more out of life, but I couldn’t help but feel like something was missing.
What, I didn’t know, and lowkey? I wasn’t in a rush to find it because the last thing I needed was to find something I wasn’t looking for.
Life was too short to be lost for most of it, but way too short to be caught up in something you didn’t care for.
Caya Thomas
My eyes were on my godbabies. Two chubby little girls who looked absolutely nothing of their mother and everything of their father. Pregnancy beat my girl’s ass and this was how she was rewarded… the only outlier in her home.
“They really don’t look anything like you.” Also the fact that the baby girl had orange hair made her look even more like her father. No, Kinga wasn’t a ginger, but him and that light skin with light colored locks gave him that appeal.
“You don’t think I know that? That man’s genes are strong, not to mention, he keeps asking me about a son. I don’t know what his problem is, but uh hell nah.” She shook her head adamantly.
I cackled and sipped from my wine. “So, you’re not gonna give him another one?”
“Not right now. They’re barely one and giving me hell.”
I nodded, completely understanding. It was only me and Adonis and I swear he was enough for me, even though he spent summers and breaks with my mama.
It gave me time to miss him, because I damn sure wasn’t getting much help from his nothing ass daddy.
When I told him there was no us, he kept it moving.
He barely called my baby but had the nerve to be laid up playing father to his current girlfriend’s three kids.
That wasn’t my business though, as long as Syke stayed the fuck outta my space, we were cool.
What’s sad was he always decided to pop up from time to time and test my temperature.
He acted like he wanted to be a father to Adonis for a minute, but it always got old and he always gave up because I wasn’t budging.
I didn’t want him and I made that clear every time, which he decided meant he didn’t have to be a father.
When Adonis was two, I finally just cut it all off.
If he wanted to be in my son's life, then he needed to go through the courts because I wasn’t gonna let him play with my baby.
“So, you’re on something then?” I asked, blinking from my thoughts and watching Harlem wipe baby girl’s face.
She’d named the twins Brooklyn Haven West and Kysler Hope West. She gave my babies some passive ass names, in my opinion, hoping their father’s genes remained dormant. He was a surefire nut.
“Hmm.” Her response made me look from Kysler’s curly red fro to her face.
“The hell does hmm mean Harlem? Either you’re on something and actively preventing y’all’s third child or you’re practicing for another set.”
She waved me off. “Don’t say that.”
“Don’t say what? It’s true and I ain’t mad at you. That man loves you and you love him. Hell yeah you better settle into this family life.”
She once again waved me off like I was blowing smoke, but she knew what I meant.
“I’m not getting pregnant any time soon and that’s final.”
“The fuck it ain’t. I need a junior.” Kinga walked into the kitchen and went straight for her. “What’s up, Caya?” he greeted me, then kissed the side of Harlem’s face.
“You don’t need a junior right now. We have talked about this. Two years…maybe.”
He laughed and she cut her eyes because the laugh he delivered was sarcastic as hell.
While Brooklyn ate in the corner in her walker, Kysler started to ram her walker into her father’s leg until he acknowledged her.
“See what I mean. And you’re in here talking about another baby. The ones I have already keep trying to take my man.” She threw her head in the direction of the mugged up tot.
“Man, get off that. Ain’t nobody tryna take me from you.”