Chapter 13
Arris
I grabbed Blake’s hand and yanked him up at the same time Jayme did.
Our son giggled and we swung him back and forth a few times before setting him back on his feet.
He laughed loudly and I paused. waiting a moment for him to climb his clumsy self into the little wagon Jayme and I had gotten for him.
I made sure he was good and the bag Jayme brought along wasn’t taking up too much of Blake’s space.
I rubbed his nose briefly and my eyes flicked up to Dyani by reflex.
She stood a little bit behind Jayme, her arms crossed over her chest. It was obvious something was on her mind but this wasn’t the time nor place to address it.
Shit had been a little off since she’d come to see me at the shop and shushed me to talk to Darryl.
I wasn’t mad at Dyani. I was more disappointed than anything else.
There was something about having a woman I thought I could spend the rest of my life with looking me in my face and telling me another nigga put fear in her heart that really had me mentally fucked up.
I was used to how shit ran with Jayme. She had siblings that liked to play big and I had mine who gave her the third degree when I first brought her home, but we never let that shit slide. Jayme and I were down for each other and I did what I needed to do to provide for and protect her.
If Jayme even thought about telling me some nigga had her shaking in her boots, I would check that shit immediately… but Dyani wasn’t Jayme.
That didn’t make me want to protect her any less. It actually made me want to protect her more. Jayme was battle tested. She didn’t take any shit and wasn’t letting anybody pull her card, man or woman.
Dyani hadn’t shown she was built like that.
I looked back at the sound of something popping. Blake had clumsily opened a bag of animal crackers and was popping them in his mouth damn near two at a time.
I looked forward and continued to drag him down the walkway. Jayme and Dyani looked at a map, talking about the next thing they wanted to do. I stopped at the crossroads and waited for them to come to a conclusion.
“Bears or tigers?” Jayme looked back at Blake.
“Bears!” He lifted his animal cracker holding hand and cheered.
“To the right please.” Jayme pointed and I turned with the wagon.
“Yes, ma’am.”
The three of us trudged along. Dyani read some of the bear facts to Blake while Jayme took pictures of him and the animals. I helped him out of the wagon so he could see better.
“Train!” Blake yelled as soon as I settled him on my shoulders.
I looked in the direction he was pointing. There was a small train taking people around a little enclosure.
“You want to ride the train, lil dude?” I asked.
“Yes!”
“What?”
He corrected himself. “Yes, please!”
“Alright. Let’s do it.”
“I’ve got it.” Jayme closed in on me and reached her arms up toward Blake.
He reached for her. She helped him down and grabbed his hand.
“We’re going to ride the train. The two of you can watch the wagon.
Thank you.” She handed me her map, leaned in and kissed me on the cheek quickly, then headed off.
I watched her walk off and exhaled.
I knew she was leaving me and Dyani alone. I shook my head, folded up Jayme’s map and shoved it in my pocket, and looked over at Dyani. She was looking at the bear information but I was pretty sure she wasn’t actually reading it.
“Hey.” I walked over to her and leaned back against the short fencing.
“Hey.” She looked up at me.
“Something on your mind?”
“Something on yours?” she countered.
“I just care about you and I don’t want you to question that.”
“Even though I haven’t told my brother we’re trying to date?”
“Yeah, Dyani. Even then.” I reached over and grabbed her hips to pull her into me.
“Look, I don’t like the thought of you being scared of Darryl when I’m supposed to be looking out for you, but I’m coming to terms with it.
I know you love that nigga and you’re just worried about how shit is going to be afterwards, so cool.
” I shrugged. “You can navigate this shit however you want, Yani, but I want you to look me in my face and hear me. No matter how long you wait, Darryl ain’t gon’ take it well and I’m going to have to hem his ass up.
You can wait and plan all you want but that’s where this is heading.
I’m cool with you taking a while to tell him as long as you’re prepared for what comes next. ”
“You think he’s going to take it that bad?”
“I know he will,” I deadpanned.
Dyani exhaled and looked off. I let my thumbs rub up and down her hips.
“When it happens, I want you to stay out of it.”
“Stay out of what?” My eyebrows knitted together.
“Whatever argument me and Darryl have.”
“Nah.” I chuckled. “That’s not gon’ happen.”
“What?”
“You heard me. If Darryl calls himself checking you, he better not do that shit in front of me and as your man you shouldn’t want to be laid up with no nigga who’s going to watch you get played with and disrespected.”
“I mean, I don’t.” Dyani said quietly, “But…” She thought carefully. “Look, I’m not going to ask you to not be who you are because I wouldn’t want to date you if you weren’t you, but I mean, what if we compromise?”
“Compromise on letting a nigga disrespect you?”
“Three strikes. Give him three strikes to get it out of his system.”
“I’ll give that nigga one.”
“Two?”
“Dyani_-”
“Please?” She put her hands up and around me. “For me. He’s my brother.”
I looked down into her pretty ass face and sighed.
“Yeah, alright. Two strikes.”
“Thank you, baby.” She tiptoed and we kissed briefly.
“So you’re kissing me in public now?” I teased.
“Yeah. I am.” She kissed me again. “I like you and Jayme and I want to be with you guys and if you were running around trying to hide me, I’d feel some type of way about it; so I’m not going to do that to you.”
“Alright.” I leaned down and kissed her again.
She raked her nails along the back of my neck and I damn near shivered.
Then I lightly pushed her away from me.
“Get away from me, Dyani, trying to get fucked in this child friendly ass place.”
She giggled and I snickered before shaking my head and opening my arm toward her. She tucked herself into my side and I grabbed the handle of the wagon so we could trek to where the train would let Jayme and Blake off.
The rest of the day went well. We got through the entire thing in a few hours.
Then we ate at the stupid, overpriced restaurant attached to the zoo.
We stopped at the gift shop and let Blake pick out souvenirs for all of us.
He plucked out stuffed animals for Jayme and Dyani, a hat with a bear on it for me, and some kind of bubble wand thing for himself.
Then we dropped him off to my parents for their scheduled monthly sleepover before heading to my spot.
Because of our day in the sun, we all took showers. I let Dyani and Jayme go first then took mine. When I walked out of the bathroom shirtless and yawning, both women were in the living room.
Jayme was laid across my couch, the remote for the television in her hand while she scrolled past movie after movie looking for something to watch. Dyani was standing in the far corner of the living room, peering down at the area that held all of my tattooing equipment.
“Thinking about that tattoo you said you might get?” I teased.
“Maybe.” She looked over at me. “Which one was your first?”
“This one.” I turned so she could see my arm properly and gestured to where I’d gotten my parents and siblings’ names listed with their birth flowers. “It’s not original or anything but,” I shrugged, “It was cheap and it stood for something; so I went for it.”
“It’s not bad, Arris.” Dyani walked over and took a closer look.
“I’m glad you don’t think so.” I grinned.
“What about you, Jayme?” Dyani looked at her. “What was your first tattoo?”
A huge smile took over my face. Jayme jokingly cut her eyes at me.
“I let Arris brand me a concrete rose for my first tattoo.” She grabbed the bottom of my shirt she was wearing and lifted it to show the DP tattoo.
“That’s a brand?” Dyani walked over and collapsed on the couch beside Jayme to get a better look.
“Yeah. The guys sometimes have their wives or serious girlfriends get these. It’s not as heavy as the brand they get but it makes a statement and it’s seen as a sign of loyalty, as much of a way to let everyone know you’re committed to the gang.”
“It’s actually kind of cute,” Dyani said. “Maybe I’ll get one, one day.” She wagged her eyebrows up and down and I grinned.
“Yeah?”
“Maybe.”
“You can get yours right where I got mine,” Jayme offered.
Then she turned toward Dyani with a smile and they kissed each other briefly.
Dyani spoke against her mouth. “That would be cute.”
The two of them stared at each other in a way that made me feel like I was a third wheel in my own house, but fuck, I couldn’t find it in me to care.
I slipped away while they were still staring at and kissing each other and headed to my kitchen.
I threw the fridge open, grabbed a beer, and popped it open.
I took a long drink and called my parents to check on Blake who they said had a great time telling them all about his day at the zoo and was currently eating a snack and digging up dirt with his toy trucks.
He came to the phone just to tell me he was having a great time and loved me so much.
He asked about us going back to see the bears and I told him that me and his mom would take him again in two weeks.
After we got off the phone, I finished my beer, tossed the bottle in the trash, and grabbed a bottle of water.
“Arris!” Dyani yelled.
“Yeah?”
“What are you doing in there? Come on so we can start the movie!”
“And bring chips,” Jayme added.
I scoffed but jerked the pantry open to grab Jayme the sea salt chips she loved and headed back to the living room.
Jayme and Dyani were on separate sides of the couch and their eyes went straight to me as I walked over.
“I didn’t realize y’all were waiting for me.” I tossed the chips to Jayme. “Y’all need anything else?”
“Water?” Dyani asked.
“Sure. You want something to drink, Jay?”
“Nope. I’ll just drink some of y’alls’.”
“Alright.” I pivoted back to the kitchen to get water for Dyani and a bag of pre-popped popcorn I was sure Jayme would want halfway through the movie.
When I got back, Dyani tapped the couch between them.
“Come on.”
I collapsed into my designated space, handed each of the women their things, and leaned back.
“Thank you.” Dyani opened her water and leaned in to kiss my cheek.
“Thank you,” Jayme echoed and kissed the other side.
“You’re welcome.” I leaned one way then the other to kiss each of them.
Dyani started the movie and I got comfortable, settling a hand on each of their legs.
We were only twenty minutes in when Jayme lay down across the couch and set her legs in my lap. Dyani leaned her head against my shoulder and I threw my arm around her. We watched the rest of the movie like that, and honestly, I was happier and more at peace than I’d been in a while.
Shit felt perfect.