Chapter 21 #2
Life was crazy for all of us, but I wouldn’t complain.
I was touching more money than I knew what to do with, and Keynauri had basically doubled what I was already making.
He said he wanted to show his appreciation for the way we held him down, but that was a given.
LJ and Keyz were my brothers, and I would always look out for them the same way I knew they would look out for me.
After my shower, I got dressed and headed straight to my princess.
I still couldn’t believe how big my baby had gotten.
Symphonee had my heart in her pocket, and she knew it.
There wasn’t a single thing she could ask for that I didn’t give her.
Lyric fussed about the way I spoiled her, but I paid her no attention.
My princess could have whatever she wanted.
I swiped the keycard across the sensor, waiting for the light to turn green. Once the door unlocked, I pushed my way inside and walked in like I owned the place. The living room was empty, so I assumed she was still giving my baby a bath. I kicked my shoes off then walked over to the couch.
It doubled as a pull-out bed, so I removed the cushions and set it up. Once I unfolded the bed, I noticed a set of sheets sitting on top of the mattress. I went ahead and placed the sheets on, then headed into Lyric’s room to grab an extra pillow.
“Daddy!” Noodle squealed the moment I walked into the room. She was wearing princess pajamas with her hair wrapped in a towel. My baby girl was the prettiest little girl I ever saw, so sweet and full of happiness.
“There goes daddy’s baby.” I rained kisses all over her face while she giggled. I stepped back once I heard Lyric clear her throat behind me.
“What are you doing in my room? Who let you in here?” She fired off back-to-back questions.
“I let myself in. I told you I was coming to spend the night with my princess.”
“How did you get in without a key, though?”
“I have a key.” I held up the keycard for her to see.
“How did you get a key to my room? I never gave anyone a spare.” Her arms were folded across her chest, and I could see her hardened nipples through her sports bra.
“You have my daughter with you. You couldn’t have thought I would let my baby sleep anywhere without me having access. Anything could happen, and I need to be able to get to my Noodle.” I shrugged as I took a seat next to Noodle on the bed.
“Everybody thinks my brother is the crazy one, but you and LJ are just as insane. There is a such thing as boundaries, you know? I could have had company over or something.”
“Naw. You aren’t silly enough to bring anyone around my child that I haven’t met or vetted.
You certainly wouldn’t bring them to the room your brother paid for.
We don’t play like that, and you know it,” I shot back coolly.
Lyric often used these random scenarios on me, and it never worked.
I respected her personal space for the most part, but all bets were off when my child was involved.
“You’re annoying.”
“Eh, I can live with that. What’s been up with you? I see Keyz has you playing babysitter for his kids. I still can’t believe he has twins. That shit is wild.”
After Keynauri performed in his first show, he later found out he had a set of twins he knew nothing about. They were conceived with his childhood best friend and his first love. It shocked everyone, but Lyric was the only one who seemed to have a negative reaction to the situation.
“Yeah. I love spending time with my niece and nephew, but Keynauri wants me to play nice with that bitch as if she didn’t play in my brother’s face.” She scoffed.
“I don’t think you’re being fair about the situation.
Yeah, she could have done a better job at communicating, but your brother played his part in it.
I understand you have your own feelings about it, but you need to keep it cool.
At the end of the day, this is Keynauri’s life and his children.
As their aunt, your only focus should be on loving them and making them feel welcome.
“You and Ari don’t have to be friends, but if your brother asked you to squash whatever beef you have with her, then you should consider it.
Those are her kids, and she could very well decide she doesn’t want them around you because you can’t show her respect.
You don’t have to be her friend, but at least work on being more cordial,” I reasoned.
Since Naiari re-entered the picture, Lyric was noticeably dismissive toward her.
Keynauri vented to the fellas about it a few times, but Lyric wasn’t trying to hear him out.
She had her own feelings, and while we understood where she was coming from, she was allowing her brother’s drama to get the best of her.
“I love how she has come back into the picture, and all of you are trying to protect her. This is the same woman who blocked me on everything and kept me from my niece and nephew for years. Y’all are trying to make it seem like I dislike her for no reason.”
“No, I’m not. I get why you’re upset, but I’m telling you that it’s time for you to let it go. Keyz has made it clear he isn’t holding what happened against her, so you need to do the same.”
“I haven’t done anything to her. You’re making it seem like I put my hands on her or something. I don’t even speak to the girl, so how am I the problem?”
“Lola, come on now. You answered your own question. Every time the two of you are in the same room together, you avoid her like the plague. Even when all the kids are together, you go out of your way not to acknowledge her. At first, I laughed it off, but it’s getting played out.”
“I don’t have to speak to her if I don’t want to. As long as I’m not calling her out of her name or putting my hands on her, I think y’all should stay out of it. I’m not ready to let it go, and I’m not gonna move on someone else’s time,” she vented.
“You got it. I won’t say shit else about it. Just don’t come crying to me when your brother runs off and marries that girl and you aren’t invited.” I chortled, garnering a fiery glare from my baby mama.
“Fuck you, East. My brother has his head in the clouds right now, but he is gonna wake up soon enough. She isn’t the one for him, but he’s caught up in the past right now.”
“Keep telling yourself that. I’ll be here to tell you ‘I told you so.’” I winked at her, then stood to my feet. Lyric was putting lotion on baby girl and getting her ready for bed.
“Where are you going?” she asked.
I walked to the other side of the bed and grabbed both of the pillows.
“I came in here to grab these.” I held the pillows up. “Send my princess out here once you get done.”
“Who told you that you could take the pillows off my bed?”
“I told myself.” I shrugged. “Who gon’ beat my ass?”
“I feel bad for the next woman who ends up with you. You’re insufferable.” Lyric huffed as she finished brushing Noodle’s hair then let her go. I balanced the pillows in one arm so I could grab my princess.
“No, you won’t. You know firsthand what kind of nigga she’s gonna get.” I winked.
She rolled her eyes and gave me the middle finger. “Get out of my room. You’ve got your princess. Now get to steppin’!”
“Noodle, you see how your momma is acting? She’s jealous because your hair is longer than hers, and she has a bald spot.” Baby girl laughed, then kissed my cheek.
“Wow, Symphonee. The switch up is crazy. We were just in here talking about how musty your daddy is, and now that he’s here, he’s your favorite person.”
“Mommy, I did not say that. Daddy smells good.” Noodle frowned with her arms crossed.
“Yeah, right. Don’t lie on me or my baby. My name and musty don’t even go in the same sentence. You can take a whiff now if you want to. I made sure to wash my balls twice just for you,” I teased her.
“Yeah, whatever. I hope you shook your clothes out before you brought your ass in here. I don’t want to wake up and my daughter and I are covered in bedbug bites.” Lyric’s petty ass started scratching her arm.
“You don’t have anything to worry about. She didn’t have enough clothes on for there to be any bugs. I appreciate your concern, though, lil’ mama.”
“I really can’t stand you. Get out!” She tried to hit me with a pillow, but I dodged it and ran out of the room.
Noodle and I got comfortable on our bed, and I pulled out the movie snacks.
We watched this movie called Flushed Away, and we laughed the whole time.
My baby girl’s laughter brought an unexplainable joy to my troubled soul.
In the streets, I was the quiet nigga who didn’t play about my business, but to her, I was daddy. Nothing more, nothing less.
When I glanced to my left, I was surprised when Lyric crawled into the bed with us. Noodle was so engrossed with the movie that she paid her no mind.
I would usually give her a hard time, but I could tell there was something on her mind.
We all watched movies, laughed, and enjoyed our time together.
Eventually, we all fell asleep, and when I woke up to use the bathroom, both of them were fast asleep on my chest. I smirked because they both slept with their mouths and eyes slightly open.
I used to tease Lyric about it when we were younger because it looked scary as hell.
As I lay there, I wondered what the future held for us.
Lyric and I had a lot of shit to work through, but I couldn’t bring myself to believe we would never be together again.
She was connected to me on a spiritual level, and I don’t think I would ever truly stop loving her.
She taught me how to love, but the problem was that she only taught me to love her and no one else.