21
“I’m not cheating. I told you, mommy; you have to keep your face straight. Let’s play again.”
Kardi loved to play old maid and she always won.
She always told Clover that her face gave her away and she was obviously right.
For the past few days, Kardi had been spending the day with Dash after school and staying at the hotel with Clover at night.
She asked a bunch of questions, and Clover answered as best she could to satisfy a six year old.
Kardi was used to having her parents under the same roof, and Clover hated to put her baby through changes.
Sadly, it was life and she had to learn that at an early age.
Dash texted her all day professing his love, and she didn’t deny his feelings.
He just needed to work harder on his actions matching his words.
“Okay, we need to pack our clothes and take a shower first. We can play again before we go to bed since you don’t have school tomorrow.”
“Are we going back home tomorrow?”
“Yes, baby, we’re going back home tomorrow.”
Kardi was happy, and she hated to break her baby’s heart. She would still have two amazing parents in her life, they just weren’t gonna be together.
After giving Kardi a bath, Clover took her shower and packed up their clothes. Kardi wasn’t interested in playing cards anymore. She ate her ice cream while she talked on her iPad with CJ. Clover laid across the bed and checked her emails until Iva called her.
“Bitch, my baby is officially a licensed tattoo artist!” Iva yelled excitedly, as Monty laughed in the background.
“Yes! Congrats brother. I’m so proud of you!” Clover was screaming to the top of her lungs. She was happy that Kardi had her headphones on so she couldn’t hear her.
“Thanks, sis, I appreciate that.” Monty didn’t sound as happy as he should have. Inking was his passion, and she expected him to be just as hype.
“Damn, you don’t even sound excited,” Clover noted.
“Man, I’m good. You and this nigga, Dash, is ruining everybody’s mood.”
“You and Fonzo need to stop being so dramatic. We were family before Dash and I got together, and nothing has changed. Besides, it’s not like it’s the first time.”
Amina had called her earlier and told her that Fonzo was down about it too. It was crazy how Clover seemed to be the only one in good spirits. Even Hank and Diva were acting like it was the end of the world.
“I damn sure hope you don’t think you can bring another nigga around us. Iva is your best friend, but we’re one band one sound over here. Don’t get nobody fucked up, Clo.”
“Nah, my new man will be my secret, but I’m not ready for all that just yet.”
“Hang up on her, baby. Nigga don’t want hear that shit.” Monty frowned, even though Clover couldn’t see him.
“Go on the balcony and smoke something then cause I’m not hanging up on my friend,” Iva said.
“Period, friend,” Clover laughed. She knew that Monty had walked away because Iva started talking freely.
“Bitch, Dash is sick like a dog. He keeps asking me and Diva where you’re at and we’ve both been ignoring his ass. Diva said he tried to follow her one day when she was bringing Kardi back to you but she lost him.”
Iva was cracking up and so was Clover. She didn’t feel bad for him at all.
True, they both cheated in the past, but Clover wasn’t even on that type of time anymore.
She was trying to do better, but he always let his emotions cause him to make stupid decisions.
All he had to do was talk to Clover first but he never even tried to get the facts.
“He’ll be okay. Let him go disappoint the next bitch cause I’m tired. Me and my baby are coming home in the morning though. Cash got us some tickets to Disney on ice, so we’ll be hanging with her and her daughter for most of the day.”
“That’s good. That’ll keep Kardi occupied. I know she has a lot of questions.”
“Girl, always. I tried to explain it to her, but she’s a child. I doubt if she really understands.”
“Mommy, CJ’s mommy wants you to call her,” Kardi said, interrupting their conversation.
“Ok, baby. Friend, let me call Cash right quick. I’ll call you back later,” Clover said before she disconnected the call with Iva. As soon as she called Cash, she answered the phone screaming.
“Bitch, I know I loved your lil feisty ass for a reason! I was a little younger than you when I made my online debut.” Cash started choking from laughing so hard.
“Huh?” Clo asked in confusion.
“Girl, you went viral for dragging a bitch. You must not have been on IG today.
“I haven’t.” Clover put the call on speaker and went straight to her page.
She cringed when she saw how many people had tagged her on Instagram.
The fight that she had with Sade was recorded and posted all over the place.
She was pissed but not surprised. These days, people couldn’t even die without someone catching and posting the footage.
Iva must not have seen it either because she didn’t say anything.
She hated that some of the parents would more than likely see it too.
Clover was good at her job but she couldn’t even blame them if they didn’t want their kids at her nursery anymore.
The video showed her mixing on Dash before giving Sade a quick beat down.
She looked nothing like a business owner or mother on the video and she was ashamed of herself.
“Them hands is lethal.” Cash saw firsthand how Clover gave it up when they went to Rondell’s house. She was small, but those hands did big things.
“I’m so embarrassed.” Clover sighed as she logged off of social media. She talked with Cash for hours before she and Kardi called it a night and went to bed.
“Bitch, as small as Clover is, you should have slammed her stupid ass on the ground and stomped her,” Caprice said as she sat on her auntie’s porch and talked to Sade and some of their other cousins.
Sade had been laying low for a while for various reasons.
Not only did Clover give her a black eye, her lip was busted and she was bruised up.
Being that she was on the lighter side, her wounds were very visible.
That was bad enough but things got even worse when she learned that the fight had gone viral.
Clover did her cousin dirty and it was posted for everyone to see.
Sade talked too much shit to have let Clover’s lil ass dog walk her like that.
Unfortunately, if she did get the best of her, she would have had Dash to worry about.
He would have probably knocked her out behind Clo.
He wasn’t shit either, the way he left her cousin out there bleeding on the side of the road like a wounded animal.
The only good thing that came out of it was Clover finally knowing what Dash’s sneaky ass had been up to.
“Girl, fuck Clover, Dash and anybody else associated with them.”
Words couldn’t describe how embarrassed she was, but she did it to herself.
She kept chasing a nigga who not only showed her but told her what it was.
He didn’t even give a fuck enough to give her a ride back to her car.
A few people offered to help, but she was too ashamed to accept.
She ended up walking to a gas station that was close by and calling an Uber.
As bad as she wanted another round with Clover, she had to count her losses and let it go.
Her family was known for jumping people but none of them even offered to help her get some catchback.
Crazy thing was, Sade wasn’t even trying to fight Clover.
As stupid as it sounded, she was only gonna try to break them up.
Dash didn’t even try to fight back, and she felt bad for him.
Clover must have thought otherwise because she grabbed her as soon as she got too close.
She would have lied and said that she got jumped if everything hadn’t been recorded and posted.
“I can’t believe that he didn’t even try to help you. He gon’ be dumb for Clover all his life.” Caprice frowned at just the thought. It angered her to see how they were always doing things as a couple, especially since they never did that when she and Monty were together.
Sade remembered her and Caprice talking about how stupid Drea was but, truthfully, they were no different.
She jumped at any chance she got to be around Dash, and Caprice always tracked Monty’s location and invited herself.
But, just like Drea, she was done vying for the attention of a man who barely acknowledged her.
Not only did Dash not try to intervene, he threw her purse out of the truck and sped off like she was nothing.
He’d made her feel like a fool more than once but he made her feel worthless that day.
She used her recovery time to think and put some things in perspective.
She decided that falling back from Caprice was for the best.
She was only seeing her now because it was their cousin’s birthday.
No, Caprice never made her do anything but she encouraged her wrongdoings.
She hated Clover so much that she damn near pushed Sade down on her knees to give Dash head.
Crazy thing was, that’s all it ever was.
She had sex with him once and he must not have enjoyed it as much as she did because he never tried to go there again.
Caprice was so jealous of his wife that she literally celebrated their separation.
“That’s all on them. I’m good if I never have to lay eyes on Dash and his entire family ever again.”
“Oh, well, I guess you won’t be coming to the party then.” Caprice shrugged.
“What party?” Sade wasn’t aware that anyone in her family was having a gathering.
“Tia is having a party,” Caprice replied, speaking of the cousin whose birthday they were currently celebrating.
“I thought this was her party.”
“Girl, bye. Today is her birthday so she wanted to do a lil something, but her party is next week. And guess where it’s at?” Caprice had a sly look on her face.
“Where?” Sade knew that it was about to be some bullshit just by the look on her face.
“Dot’s Spot,” Caprice answered as she fell out laughing.
“I love my cousin but I won’t be attending.”
“Let me find out that Clover got you spooked.”
“Ain’t nobody got me spooked. I’m just done with being desperate and you should be too.”
“Bitch, I’m far from desperate. I got a nigga.”
“An incarcerated one.” Sade shook her head at her cousin’s stupidity.
Anybody else would have learned their lesson after losing a job and getting locked up the way she did.