Chapter 10 Onyx
ten
onyx
“Your food good?” I asked looking over at Tatum. There was a solemn expression on her face. Whenever I said something to her, she tried to smile and pretend like everything was okay, but I could tell that it wasn’t.
“Yes. It’s delicious actually.” She peeled a shrimp with her gloved hand.
“Okay, so what’s good? I know I still might be in the doghouse, but you’ve been acting like we’re at least cool. Talk to me.”
It had been a week since our date at the Italian restaurant. It was my first time seeing her, but we spoke on the phone every day.
Tatum sipped her strawberry lemonade. “I’m just trying to figure out how to deal with a situation.
In two weeks, they’re having a breakfast at Angel’s daycare where dads can come eat with their kids.
Normally, my father would go, but he has a doctor’s appointment that day.
I just don’t want her to be asking where her father is and be sad that he’s not there.
She doesn’t even really be thinking about Ivan for real, but I know when she sees all the other fathers, she’ll want hers there. ”
“That’s understandable.” Shaking my head, I picked up my glass of strawberry lemonade. “That fuck nigga should be there.”
“Yeah, well I’m not even asking him. How about the same day I found out about the breakfast, he came in the shop with some woman. They had the nerve to be getting pedicures, and he paid for them. The man didn’t speak to me. He didn’t ask me how she was doing. He didn’t even offer me $10.”
Kissing my teeth, I once again shook my head. “In a second, I’m going to start regretting the fact that I gave him a pass. Sucka ass nigga.” I growled.
“I couldn’t care less if he falls off of a cliff. I just don’t want her to grow up with issues and questions. Taking care of her alone financially isn’t easy, but if I really need help, thank God I have my parents. He’s a poor excuse for a man though. I swear.”
Tatum hadn’t even had sex with me again, and I wasn’t pressed for it. Sure, I wanted it, but I could wait. I felt like we were moving in the right direction and still, I hesitated to say what was on my mind.
“You look like you want to say something.” She bit the boiled egg she picked out of her seafood bag.
“I don’t want to overstep. I just got my foot back in the door. I don’t even think both are all the way in.”
Tatum chuckled. “You’re going to say I should put him on child support? Make him sign over his rights? I’ve heard it all.”
“No. I was going to say that I don’t have any intentions on going anywhere and when you’re ready, if you’re ever ready, I want to meet her.
I want her to hang out with us and watch me open car doors and doors for both of you.
Show her how a man treats a woman that he cares about.
I’d never try to be her father. I just want to show her a positive male figure.
And I understand how serious meeting your child is.
I wouldn’t even suggest it if I wasn’t confident that I’m not going to do anything to mess this up. ”
Tatum smirked. “That’s real confident. I’m not sure what to say about that one. You’ve been doing good so far, but it hasn’t even been that long.”
“It’s only going to get better,” I replied with conviction.
“I hear you. I’m going to take it one day at a time. I also think that on that day, I’ll just go to work late. I’ll let her go to daycare late, and me and her can go eat breakfast. By the time I take her to daycare all the fathers will have left. That’s really the only thing I know to do.”
“You’re a great mother. I know your daughter is going to appreciate you when she’s old enough to understand all that you do for her.”
“I hope so.”
“I know so.”
Tatum smiled and finished off her drink. “Thank you for lunch. If you keep feeding me, I’m going to gain a few pounds.”
“I haven’t done anything yet. When you really let me back in, daddy gon’ be feeding you almost every day.”
Tatum smiled bashfully. “There goes that cockiness again.”
“I’m not really cocky. I just think you like me a little bit. Or maybe it’s wishful thinking.”
“I might like you just a teeny bit, but you still have to put in some work.”
“Of course, I do. Let me take you shopping this weekend. You can grab some stuff for Lil’ Mama too.”
Her brows hiked. “Oh, um, Onyx, you don’t hav?“
“I know I don’t have to do anything. I want to.
You had a run with a lame nigga. Now, let a real one treat you how you’re supposed to be treated.
You and Lil’ Mama are a package deal.” She parted her lips and before she could get the words out, I interrupted her.
“Yes. Here I go with that cocky shit again.”
Tatum giggled. “If you insist. A person never has to beg me to spend their money. I just want you to know that money and dates isn’t what I meant by putting in work.”
“I know. I have to prove that I’m worthy of your time. That you can trust me, and I’m not out here on dumb shit. It’s not my plan to hurt you or deceive you. The dates and the money are just an added bonus.”
“Gotcha,” Tatum smiled as the server brough the check over.
“You want kids?” she asked as I held the door open for her to walk through.
“Yeah. One day. I’d like two or three.”
She nodded, and I licked my lips as I eyed her behind.
“You trying to give me one?”
That got a laugh out of her. “In the words of Nicki Minaj, I’m not pushing out a baby until I get a rock. Been there, done that, and I’m not big on the idea of being a baby mama for the second time.”
“That’s fair.”
Tatum was on her lunch break, so we drove separate cars.
I walked her to her car and opened the door for her.
I hadn’t touched her since she somewhat forgave me, but I couldn’t help myself.
As she eased by me, I gently grabbed her wrist to stop her.
I placed a soft, sensual kiss on the corner of her mouth.
“Call me when you get off.” I bit back a smile as she trembled. I was wearing her down.
“Who said you could kiss me?” She tried to speak in a normal sass filled tone, but I could tell I had her rattled.
“My bad. I couldn’t help myself.”
Tatum got inside the car, and I closed the door. I wasn’t going to stop trying until I had her ass.
The next day, my teeth were gritted as I attempted to unscrew the oil cap on a customer’s car.
Some goofy that had been working for my father for two months didn’t know how to smoke weed and do his job.
I never said anything when he came to work high because, shit, I went to work high.
But I could function while under the influence.
He obviously couldn’t. He had overtightened the cap and stripped the threads of the customer’s oil pan.
She was pissed and so was I. Cleaning up other people’s messes was the part of running things that I didn’t care for.
I had to deal with an irate customer on top of fixing the problem for free.
My pops was on the premises, but he was letting me handle everything, so I could get a feel for running things when he wasn’t there.
Trying to flex my power and walking around with my chest out wasn’t my thing.
As long as I wasn’t disrespected and niggas were doing their jobs, I didn’t trip if I saw somebody texting, or if they came back from lunch two minutes late.
But for the mess that June had made. Oh, he was gon’ hear my muhfuckin’ mouth.
One more screw up like that, and he was going to be out of a job.
It took me almost an hour to fix what he’d messed up.
I went looking for June. When I found him, he was doing a wheel alignment.
“Yo, next time you do an oil change, don’t put the cap back on too tight.
I just spent an hour fixing something you messed up about three weeks ago.
And don’t say it wasn’t you because your name was on the service invoice. ”
June’s lips turned down into a frown. “I know how to put oil caps back on. Maybe somebody else messed with it after she left here. She could have had someone checking the oil or something.” He went straight into defense mode.
“Don’t let it happen again,” I warned him before walking off.
I didn’t expect him to admit to it, and I wasn’t about to waste more time going back and forth with him.
Walking up front, I sat behind the counter.
I had another hour, and I would be off work.
Being at the shop wasn’t bad, but I would have to get used to being somewhere for a set number of hours and not always being able to leave exactly when I wanted to.
The shop had been extremely busy for the past few days.
I suggested hiring someone else, but my father was adamant about holding off.
When we got too swamped, he’d come out of the office and help.
He preferred to be working on the cars anyway.
I had already learned the administrative stuff.
I was getting a feel for working in the garage.
Being the boss or the almost boss had its’ perks for sure. Seeing Travis walk in threw me for a loop. He rarely came by the shop unless he needed his car worked on. “What’s good?” I asked him. The closer it got to me getting off work, the more my mouth watered for a blunt.
That was another thing about working. I was used to smoking whenever I wanted to.
I had smoked a blunt before work, and that had been damn near nine hours ago.
I was sober as hell and ready for my second blunt of the day.
Of course, I could have sat in my car and got right, but I was trying my best not to take advantage of the fact that my pops owned the place.
I was trying to follow the rules and be as professional as he expected everyone else to be.
He wouldn’t care about me smelling like weed or having low eyes, but customers might.
And they wouldn’t be wrong for not wanting someone that was under the influence working on their car.
“I came to deliver some news to you,” he grinned. “I felt like it was too good for the phone. I had to come tell you this in person.”
My curiosity was piqued. “Don’t beat around the bush, nigga. What’s good?”
“I know good and well you remember Scarface. Word is he’s still down pretty bad from being shot.
On top of that, he feels some kind of way that he got into the shit from following Ivan’s orders.
They said that man never visited Scarface in the hospital or reached out to him when he got home.
Scarface is one of the few people that knows where Ivan lays his head at.
He rolled up on that nigga and shot him twice. He might be paralyzed.”
My eyes bucked out of my head, “Are you serious?”
“Hell yeah,” Travis grinned. “It didn’t matter that you deaded the beef. Karma found that muhfucka anyway.”
I didn’t feel bad for Ivan, and it wasn’t just because he robbed me.
I didn’t feel sorry for him because even before he fell on hard times and owed the plug money, he wasn’t doing right by his kids.
I’d never even met Angel, but that didn’t matter.
She existed, and she was a child that didn’t ask to be born.
Ivan cared more about maintaining an image than he cared about doing for his own flesh and blood creations.
One of the very people that he robbed me with had turned on him.
Yeah, that was funny. He didn’t split the money with his accomplices or give Tatum any for their daughter. So, fuck him and his legs.