NINE | JAMAR
“Damn, I wish my mama was here to spoil you, lil mama.” I spoke to my daughter as I rocked her to sleep.
Ebony’s heavy snores were loud enough to pass through the thin walls of her beat up ass two-bedroom apartment she refused to get rid of.
She wouldn’t even move back into the townhouse me and her used to live in.
She claimed it reminded her too much of when me and her were together.
I didn’t give a fuck about none of that shit, I just wanted her and my daughter in a safe environment, but she wasn’t trying to hear none of what I was saying.
She was still being stubborn and selfish in my opinion, but instead of taking advantage of me she was actually doing shit on her own so for now I was letting her rock.
“Yo Grandpa would have spoiled the shit out of you too.” I glanced down at my daughter seeing her fighting sleep.
At almost three weeks old, she was trying to hold her head up when she was on her stomach and sleeping five hours at night if you could get her down.
Ebony wasn’t as patient with her as I was, but I understood her frustration cause she was with her most of the time during the day, so for now I was handling business and then spending my nights here with my daughter rocking her to sleep and then falling asleep on the couch.
“Jamar, you don’t have to sleep on the couch. I got a King size bed in there you can sleep with me.” Ebony offered.
I yawned and stretched on the couch before I sat up completely, “Yo couch is cool.”
“Hm, whatever.” She replied as she opened the refrigerator.
After a quick trip to the bathroom I came back to the living room and folded up the blanket and sheets I used and put them back in the closet.
I stepped into Gabriella’s room to kiss her goodbye, but she wasn’t in her crib, so I made my way back to the kitchen to see Ebony holding her as she moved around the kitchen.
“Thank you Eb.”
“What?” She frowned just as my daughter started to cry.
“I said thank you. What are you looking for?”
“Her bottles, I need to boil ‘em real quick before she wake up all the way.” She frowned looking at the counter and then the dishwasher.
“I boiled ‘em last night, they in the cabinet. I’ma get a bottle rack so they can dry on the counter instead. Do she need anything else?”
“No, she’ll probably outgrow them damn diapers before she need any more.” She laughed. “Thank you for washing and boiling her bottles for me, I appreciate it.” She smiled at me.
“No thanks needed. I’ma head out, I’ll see y’all later.” I leaned down and kissed Gabriella’s head and as I came up Ebony kissed the side of my jaw.
“What?” she smiled as I looked at her.
“What was that about?”
“I don’t know...it just felt like,” she shrugged. “the right thing to do.”
“Eb—”
“Jamar, it was just a simple, thank you kiss on the cheek between coparents, nothing more, nothing less.” She cut me off.
“Aight.”
***
“Damn, it’s been a minute since you got yo hands dirty like this.”
Kyrie was standing in the kitchen of the stash house cooking and bagging dope like we used to do back in the day when we were still on the blocks.
“Unlike you, I ain’t no boujee nigga, I know how to get my hands dirty.” He tossed back.
“I ain’t boujee, but why get yo hands dirty when you ain’t got to? I guess you done fucking with Quasia, huh?” I sat at the table behind him.
“Yo, she been calling my phone damn near back to back for two days.”
“I told yo ass you couldn’t fuck her and expect her not to fall in love.” I shook my head.
“And damn me for not fucking listening.”
“Give her a few days to get her mind together, she’ll give up.”
“What? Nigga, Ebony and Quasia made just alike, she ain’t gon’ give up. She just like Ebony simple ass, but shit at least Ebony understand English. Quasia a simple ass bitch, she threatened Blaine the other night at IHOP.” He filled me in.
“What Blaine say?”
“Nothing, what would she say? She know I ain’t fucking with Quasia.” He shrugged.
“How she know?”
“What you mean, how she know? She know cause I’m fucking with her. When do I have time to fuck with anybody, but her?” he turned to face me.
“Don’t burn that shit.” I nodded to the stove.
“You coming over here to cook?”
“Nigga, all I said was watch the stove.” I frowned.
“And all I said was you coming over here to cook?” he stood his ground.
“What the fuck wrong with you? I thought you said you and Blaine was good? Why you in a fucked-up mood?”
He shook his head and turned back to the stove without answering me. “Ah, shit it must be something cause you don’t want to talk about the shit.” “Ain’t shit wrong. I’m good.” He lied.
“Cool then, I’ma call Cristal down here to finish?—”
“Hell nah, now you tripping. You know that bitch a crackhead. She can’t come here, I’ll talk to her later, but I got this for now. You should go drop off and pick up, Rico and Joey waiting, I gotta hit the barbershop later, I need an edge up.” He told me.
I knew better than to push Kyrie into talking, when he was ready to talk about whatever was bothering him then we would, until then I had other shit I needed to handle.
After handling the money pick up and drop offs, I counted the money and put it in the safe at the stash while Kyrie continued moving around in silence. I parked in front of the barbershop me and Kyrie owned just as a fine ass woman holding a little boy’s hand was coming out.
“Damn.” I adjusted my dick in my jeans watching her switch past my car.
I hopped out the car and quickly made my way to the back of her car and helped her open the door for her son.
“How you doing?” I flashed a grin her way.
“Hey.” She smiled back.
“Buckle yourself in, Jr.” She told him.
Both she and I watched as the little boy did what she said.
“Excuse me, can I help you?” She turned to me once the door was closed. “Yea, I’m trying to get to know you.” I licked my lips.
“I got a boyfriend.” She grinned before swaying her hips to get to the driver’s side of the car.
“That’s between you and him, I said I’m trying to get to know yo fine ass.” I flirted.
She giggled and avoided my eyes as she reached for the door handle. I put my hand on top of hers and pressed my body against her as I whispered in her ear.
“I won’t tell if you won’t, I know that nigga ain’t fucking you right. Gimmie yo number.” I pushed my phone in front of her with my other hand.
She bit her bottom lip, took my phone and put her number in it before passing it back to me.
“Can I go now?” she turned to face me.
“Hm, big booty Judy, huh? I fuck with it.” I nodded making her laugh again.
She was cute, but her best asset by far was her body, I wasn’t into bitches with kids, but I wasn’t trying to play step daddy, I just wanted to fuck. Her having a nigga was perfect for what I was trying to do, I felt like I just hit the lotto or some shit.
“Oh my god, Jamar you so crazy.” She giggled again.
“How you know my name?”
“Boy, everybody know you and yo brother.” She waved me off.
“Aight, Judy.” I gripped her ass as I helped her open the door and helped her in.
“Bye.” She sang before I closed the door for her.
“Answer when I call, shorty.” I told her before I headed inside the shop to handle my business.
After picking up the bank deposit for the shops I headed to the bank and damn near ran into the car in front of me trying to look into the car beside me. It was the same car and color as Fallen’s, but it wasn’t her.
“Damn, I’m tripping.” I said out loud.
I wanted to keep chasing Fallen’s pretty ass, but she made it clear that she wasn’t ready for what I wanted. If I kept pushing, I knew it would only push her further away, I
saw how that shit worked out for Kyrie and Blaine. Seeing them attached at the hip damn near made me think that’s how Fallen and me would end up too. Guess I was wrong.
A Few Hours Later...
I planned to spend my night with my daughter, but my brother called and asked me to come to the club with him.
I didn’t know he wanted me to come out with him because Blaine was working the bar and he didn’t want her to see him talking to Cristal.
I thought the shit was funny as hell too cause this wasn’t Kyrie at all.
I wish our parents were alive to see just how much he was changing for Blaine.
“Aye, send Cristal over here.” I tucked a hundred in the skinny stripper that was attempting to get me and Kyrie’s attention.
“Really nigga?” he frowned glancing at me.
“What? She coming over here to talk to me, you ain’t got shit to worry about.” I smirked.
He shook his head and looked around the club for a minute or two before he tapped my hand with the back of his to get my attention.
“What up y’all?” Sam asked before attempting to dap me up. I sat stone faced and so did Kyrie.
“Damn, you ain’t gotta act like that. If you want Fallen?—”
I rose from the booth and stepped into her face, “If I want Fallen, then I don’t need yo permission, you need to do yo job, feel me?”
“Aight.” Sam raised both hands with a smirk on her lips as she walked off.
Before I could sit back down Cristal walked up to the table with a wide grin.
“Hey fellas, how y’all doing?” She licked her licks as her eyes bounced from me to Kyrie.
“What up?” Kyrie nodded barely looking her way making my laugh.
“Sit down, let me holla at you for a second.” I told her as I stepped back to let her in the booth.
“Aight, but my time ain’t free.” She extended her hand towards Kyrie.
I put two hundred-dollar bills in her hand, and she smiled and nodded.
“Look, I know you used to cook back in the day, what’s up? You still down?” Kyrie asked.
“I mean, for the right price?—”
“I got you, I just need to know if you can do it.” I cut her off. “Yea, I can do it.” She nodded.
“Aye yo, on some real shit, I heard you like to get yo nose wet. If you gon’ be around my shit then you can’t play with me, fucking with me will have yo ass on a missing poster, feel me?” Kyrie glared at her.