Chapter 13
Breakfast wrapped up and we all left our parents home.
Me and Zaire was behind Kaseem while he sent Tatti home with the driver.
He told her he’d be there soon as he finished up his meeting with Pops.
He leaned down and kissed the top of her head before she got in the car, real soft, like he’d been doing it his whole life instead of just the last month.
She was cold. I don’t think I know a bitch that I could put in a fight with her and the hoe wouldn’t come out without her wig knocked off, eyes closed up and unrecognizable.
I made a mental note to keep Tattiana in the tuck just in case a bitch ever got out of line with me. I’d have her ass line em up.
After all the shit that went down last night, of course I assumed today Kaseem and Tatti would be at odds and beefing.
But it was the complete opposite when they walked into breakfast. This nigga strutted in late as hell like he was Obama or some shit, and Michelle ass was right on his arm smiling like they ain’t tear the damn compound up last night, then show up late to breakfast today. I just shook my head.
Zaire let out this little chuckle watching it happen.
We all told Tatti bye as the car pulled off, and soon as she was out of earshot, Zaire turned and looked Kaseem dead in the eyes.
“Kaseem, nigga, you a husband for real,” he said.
“Hearing about it and seeing you in that mode is different as hell. Yo ass in love and shit and I don’t even know how to feel about it.
I mean, I’m happy sis came and knocked some sense into yo ass, this means you got a heart and you capable of love after all.
But I got a feeling that type of love can be dangerous for you. Hell, dangerous for all of us.”
“Prison got you preaching now, nigga,” I said, looking over at him. “What’s up with that?”
“Hell nah,” Zaire said. “But prison got me thinking though. I know one thing for damn sure. When you at war, you never show that you got a weakness, cause that weakness gone be the quickest and easiest way for somebody to touch you. Remember that.”
Kaseem looked at Zaire like he wanted to get on his ass, but instead, i could see the words marinating.
“Zaire, don’t let that jail shit turn you paranoid, nigga,” I said.
“We gone lay shit down like we always have. But you need to sit down and talk to yo momma, figure out what’s really up with her tryna save these niggas.
I hate that we gotta go against her on this, but the shit already as good as handled.
” I checked my phone, saw the time, and started backing toward my car.
“But speaking of getting touched, I’m about to head to my girl’s crib.
I’ma fuck with y’all niggas later tonight.
Zaire, ask yo brother what happened last night.
We probably about to be uncles around this muthafucka, and it ain’t from Tatti.
” I threw out there so that Kaseem would have to tell our brother about his recklessness.
“Yo girl?” Kaseem said, cutting his eyes at me.
“What the fuck are you talking about, Namier? You don’t even know what the hell you want out of life with yo messy ass.
And if you talking about Nyla, I feel sorry for her ass.
You should have left you where you was at.
Yo messy, shit starting ass didn’t deserve a second chance. ” I had Kaseem mad as hell.
“Damn,” Zaire said, shaking his head slow. “I wasn’t gone that long, but I come home to both y’all being tender all of a sudden. What is the world coming to?”
“Nigga, you just rushed us off last night so you could go get some pussy,” I said, laughing. “Be cool, nigga. You find the right one, you gone be tender too.”
—
When I got in my car, I couldn’t hear the rest of what my brothers were talking about no more, and honestly I didn’t care to. I had somewhere better to be.
I drove straight toward Nyla’s crib without calling ahead, didn’t text her or nothing.
I had just decided I was about to surprise her ass.
I knew that was reckless as hell. What if she had some nigga over there that I ain’t know about?
Man, I’d have to beat that nigga’s ass to death right there in her crib and worry about the consequences after.
Nyla was one of them ones. It was something about her ass that I couldn’t stay away from.
She was smart, attentive and just everything a nigga never knew I needed. Plus, that pussy was good as hell.
The way Nyla fucked and sucked me, I wasn’t never coming up off her, real talk. But on some real shit, past all that, I was just appreciative she even gave me another shot to be back in her presence after everything that went down between us.
When that shit happened with my brother at that prison, when Zaire got that hit put on him, I wasn’t thinking clear at all.
All I knew in that moment was I couldn’t let a woman be my distraction while my own blood could’ve been getting killed.
But Nyla wasn’t no distraction. She had nothing to do with none of that, and I realized that I was fucked up for trying to put that on her.
That was just me being stupid and letting fear run my decisions.
I wasn’t no flower buying nigga. I mean, I could be one day if the moment called for it, but right now I wasn’t ready to be all the way that soft yet.
I stopped at the Cheesecake Factory near her house and grabbed her two slices.
I knew the way to her heart without doing all that extra shit other niggas did.
Truth was, I had a fear of getting that open and that tender over a woman, cause eventually they play in your face when you show too much love.
I’d seen it happen to enough niggas I knew. I didn’t want that to be me.
When I got to her crib and rang the bell, she came to the door in her robe, hair messy, she was still half sleep.
“What are you doing here, Namier?” she asked, already backing away from the door, covering her face a little. “I didn’t want you seeing me like this and yo ass should have called.”
She let me in and took off straight to the back of the house like she was running from something.
“Girl, I’ve seen yo hair all over yo head before,” I called after her, laughing. “Chill out.”
She fussed the whole way down the hall about wanting to look presentable when I come over but I could hear the smile in her voice even while she was complaining. Her ass was happy to see me, and that told me all that I needed to know.
She came back out a few minutes later, told me she was actually glad I’d shown up cause she needed to get up anyway and start her day. She said that she had a date in a couple hours.
The word “date” made my whole face tighten up before I could stop it. I placed the bag I had in her kitchen, then followed her to the room.
I sat down on the edge of her bed and just looked at her, waiting on her to explain herself, my jaw tightening up a little without me even meaning for it to.
She caught the look on my face and busted out laughing, quick to tell me it wasn’t that kind of date.
Said her and the girls were meeting up for lunch, that Tattiana had something real important she needed to tell them.
That took my mind straight to the situation with Tatti’s aunt from last night, the whole baby secret spilling out in front of everybody.
Then the Mallory shit after that. I didn’t open my mouth about none of it though.
That wasn’t my business to tell, and I didn’t even know how much Nyla already knew about any of it.
I would just wait for her to come and talk to me later about it.
“Okay, that’s cool,” I said instead. “You coming straight home after that?”
“Yeah, why? What’s up?” she asked.
I told her I wanted to stay here and take a nap until she got back. Threw that out there casually, but really I was testing the waters, seeing how comfortable she was with me being in her space alone, seeing where we actually stood after everything.
She walked over and kissed me, told me that was cool with her. I could see the excitement sitting in her face at the thought of coming home to me still being there waiting on her.
She had a nice crib, the WiFi was jumping in this bitch, so hell yeah, a nigga was finna make himself comfortable.
I stripped down to just my boxers and my undershirt, climbed into her bed, and told her to come lay with me for a little while before she got dressed.
“What’s in that bag you put down in the kitchen when you came in?” she asked, walking over and climbing in next to me.
I told her what I’d stopped and picked up for her on the way over.
“You must be trying to make me fall in love with you,” she said, grinning up at me.
“I already did that,” I said.
She laughed, that real laugh, the kind that came from her chest. I rolled over and pulled her into me from behind, wrapping my arm around her waist and pulling her back against my body.
I started kissing on her neck slow, working my way from behind her ear down to her shoulder, feeling her relax into me.
“Namier,” she said, her voice going soft.
“What,” I said against her skin, not stopping.
She reached back and ran her hand along the side of my face, turning her head just enough to catch my mouth with hers. I slid my hand up under that robe, felt how soft her skin was under my palm, and she let out this little sound, damn near a moan that had me pulling her in even closer.
I untied that robe slow, taking my time with it, cause I ain’t have nowhere else to be, and neither did she for the next couple hours. Her skin was warm everywhere I touched, and she arched back into me when I ran my hand down her stomach, lower, feeling her breath slow down.
“You got time before this lunch?” I asked against her ear.
“I got time,” she said, already turning over to face me.