Kayla
One simple rule.
I gave this nigga one simple rule and he violated. I told him not to have me out here looking dumb, and what did this nigga do? Give the next bitch ammunition to send me through Instagram DM's. But it couldn’t be just any bitch. No, it had to be the thirstiest one of them all.
Therealkimora: This the man you claim you got on lock, right?
I stared at the message request so long my phone screen started dimming.
Then I watched it, then rewatched it again.
I zoomed in. Then I watched it one more time just to make sure I wasn’t tripping.
Because maybe I was. Maybe lack of sleep was kicking my ass.
Maybe I needed glasses. Maybe the devil was editing footage now.
Unfortunately, none of those things were true.
There was Yayo, dancing with two bitches in the cut, whispering shit he probably had no business saying.
While I couldn’t hear what was being said, a nigga looked entirely too comfortable for my liking.
That didn’t look like he was handling business to me.
Matter of fact, it looked like the exact opposite of what he told me he was going to be doing.
To me it looked like he was partying and having a damn good time.
I didn’t even bother to reply or accept the message request because the damage was already done.
Thirty seconds later, I was running to fill up a cold thing of water, contemplating if I wanted to go back to jail for trying to kill his ass in his sleep.
I know Yayo had been dealing with a lot lately.
Hell, all of us had. This family situation had been chewing everybody up one piece at a time.
Ysis was hurting. Kade was hurting. Mama Sina was hurting.
Yayo was hurting. Everybody kept acting tough, but I saw the cracks.
I knew he coped by smoking, joking, and pretending nothing bothered him until it eventually exploded three weeks later in the form of property damage and poor decision making.
I understood all of that. What I didn’t understand was why men always managed to complicate simple instructions. Don’t embarrass me. That was it. One sentence. One job. One responsibility. And somehow here we were.
After attempting to drown him before breakfast, I went home, got dressed, and left. The problem with dating a nigga like Yayo was that you couldn’t stay still too long after threatening his life. The man collected enemies like sneakers and had entirely too much free time when motivated.
The last thing I needed was him showing up with one of his stupid revenge plans while I was still emotional. Jumping back in the car, I hit me and the girls’ group FaceTime. All of their faces popped into the camera one by one, Ysis being the last.
“Aww, you look so cute. Where are you coming from?” I asked, propping the phone against the MagSafe clip on the air vent as I drove.
“We just finished meeting with my doula.” She beamed.
When Ysis told me she planned on pushing two babies out naturally, I damn near fainted.
Because what do you mean no drugs, no epidural or medication?
No thank you. Couldn’t be me. God would’ve had to come downstairs personally and assist. Still, as godmother to those babies, I had an obligation to support her.
Even if she was acting completely insane.
“Where you going, and why you look like you been crying?” Bree asked. I could feel the tears welling in my eyes and pulled over into a gas station. I had no clue where I was driving—I just needed to get the fuck away.
“I’m going to kill him.” Ysis said with slits in her eyes.
“Bitch, where are you, and where is he, because I will run his ass over.” Lauren spoke up.
“I got bail money on standby.” Nia piped up, dropping what she was doing.
”She ain’t even tell y’all what happened and y’all already trying to curse the nigga. Fucking women, man.” Kade scoffed.
“Shut up, KADE!” we all yelled at the same time.
“Y’all all fired,” he replied.
“Anyways, ignore him. He one step from the doghouse his damn self. Now Kayla, what did Yayo do?” Ysis continued, ignoring her husband entirely to refocus on the conversation.
“Since I know we have an audience, I’m just gone forward y’all the video.”
After a few seconds of watching the video, their faces transformed before they collectively went the fuck off, sharing my exact same sentiments. “OH HELL NO.” Lauren slapped her chest. Nia sat up straight as Bree’s mouth dropped open. Ysis looked ready to induce labor through pure rage alone.
“See!” I pointed at the screen. “Thank you!”
”I’m killing him,” Ysis repeated.
”No, because now I’m pissed,” Lauren added.
“Look at him standing there smiling.”
“That’s what got me!”
“The smiling!”
“Exactly!”
“Men are so stupid.”
“Extremely.”
Kade muttered something under his breath.
“WHAT WAS THAT?” we all asked simultaneously.
“Nothing.”
“That’s what I thought.” Ysis looked at him like she was ready to snap his neck. I wiped my eyes and took a deep breath.
“Ysis, I know you can’t drink, but mama need some TLC. Let’s hit that little spot downtown.”
“I can’t drink, but I sure can eat. Then we can just come back to my house afterward.”
“Deal. I’ll meet y’all down there in an hour.” I replied. After everybody agreed, the call disconnected. The silence inside the car returned. Unfortunately, so did my thoughts. And every single one of them involved Yayo Bautista getting on my last damn nerve.
Looking around, I wiped my face before digging through my purse for my little makeup kit to fix myself up.
There was no way I was about to pull up looking like I’d been crying over a man, especially not Yayo’s hardheaded ass.
After touching up my makeup, I hopped out and headed inside to grab me something to drink. It was hot as hell out here.
The second I walked through the doors of the gas station, the AC smacked me in the face, making me exhale. Walking over to the drink cooler, I grabbed a water and an apple juice before picking up some gummy worms on my way to the register.
As I walked up to pay for my items, a deep voice said my name.
“What’s good, Kayla?” Looking back, it was Monclair and I damn near salivated.
He was dressed in a white beater, some True Religion shorts, and a pair of clean-ass Jordans.
His smile was perfect while his chocolate tattooed skin glistened slightly with sweat from the heat outside.
I hadn’t seen him since the night he did me and Yayo’s tattoos, but I guessed he got the picture because he also hadn’t been in my DMs since then.
Truthfully, I respected that. Most men would’ve kept shooting their shot.
Monclair had backed off the second he realized where I stood.
“Nothing, just grabbing something to drink. How are you?” I grabbed my change and bag before stepping to the side so he could pay for his things.
“I been good. Just chilling, laying low. Same shit, different day.” He paid for his items before falling into step beside me as we headed outside.
“That’s cool. It was nice to see you, be safe out here.
” I told him, trying my hardest to hurry up and get away from the way he was looking at me.
Not because he was being disrespectful, but because he wasn’t.
If anything, that was the problem. Monclair had always been cool, and cool was dangerous when a bitch was already emotional.
“Aye, Kayla.” I was almost to the truck when I turned around to see what he wanted.
“Hit a nigga up sometime if you ever want to just kick it and talk. No strings or weird shit. I can see it in your eyes you got some shit going on, but I also don’t wanna pry.
Just know we cool people.” The sincerity in his voice caught me off guard.
For a second, I just stared at him. Not because I was considering it.
At least that’s what I told myself. But because there wasn’t an angle behind it—no pressure, no flirting, no hidden agenda, just a genuinely nice guy offering an ear at a time when I clearly looked like life was kicking my ass.
“I appreciate that.” I replied softly. He nodded once and headed toward his car while I climbed back into the truck.
A bitch was dancing with the devil even entertaining the thought of taking Monclair up on that offer.
Dismissing it as quick as it came, I turned up the music and pulled back onto the road.
A raspberry lemon drop was calling my name, my girls were waiting, and if I sat around thinking about handsome tattoo artists with good manners too long, I was liable to create problems I didn’t need.
And Lord knew I already had enough of those.
***
“You see sis, you give a nigga an inch and they take a mile. Check that shit, Kayla. Don’t let him play with you.” Bree said before taking another sip of what had to be her third lemon drop.
“I did more than check it. I tried to drown that nigga in his sleep.” I pursed my lips and raised my glass, causing everybody at the table to crack up.
“I know that’s right.”
“See, that’s growth,” Lauren nodded.
“Old Kayla would’ve ran him over with the truck first.”
“Keyword would’ve.” Nia chimed in.
“Current Kayla still might,” Ysis muttered with a mouthful of food.
“Exactly.” I pointed at her. “Thank you for understanding me.” The table erupted into another round of laughter before Bree sat her drink down and looked at me thoughtfully.
“But y’all, let’s back up here for a second.
You did say the video came from Kimora, right?
You sure she ain’t just trying to start some shit between you and Yayo so she can get what she wants?
” I had considered that. Matter of fact, I’d considered every possible angle while driving around Memphis like a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown.