21
K nox walked out of the bakery, box in hand. He got back into his car and headed toward Aiva’s office. His mother picked up Yasmine from school since she would be staying with them to attend the birthday party tomorrow. He planned on picking her up Sunday morning and taking her to the trampoline park, so he had the weekend free, which would be his last one for a few weeks since he planned on spending them with Yasmine.
When he pulled into the parking lot, he grabbed the box, exited his vehicle, and walked into the building. Finx was on the phone, and Knox waited patiently for him to get off. After a moment, the other man placed his hand over the phone receiver.
“She’s in her office if you want to go on back. I may be a minute.”
“Thanks,” Knox responded and headed down the hall. He found her office door open and knocked on the doorframe. She looked up from her computer screen and smiled at him.
“Knox, hey. Come in.”
He stepped into the office and placed the box on the desk before walking to her side of the desk, turning her chair, and leaning down to kiss her. He’d waited damn near a week to do it again, and he felt no reason to act as if he hadn’t missed the feel of her lips. Always one to go after what he wanted, his pursual of Aiva would be no different.
When he pulled away, he watched her bite her bottom lip before going back around the desk and taking a seat.
“To what do I owe this visit?”
“I come bearing sweets,” Knox responded. “And to see if you were available tomorrow night.”
He knew well that he could have called or sent a text and asked her out, but he wanted to do so in person, and he would be lying if he said he hadn’t also wanted to see her face.
“Thank you, and yes. I’m free tomorrow night.”
“Can I pick you up at six-thirty?”
“Six-thirty works. You want to tell me where we’re going, so I know what to wear?”
Knox smiled at her. “I’d prefer it be a surprise.”
“Then, I’ll wear something similar to last weekend.”
“I did enjoy that dress.”
Aiva laughed, and he was coming to enjoy that sound the more she did it. They sat and talked for a few minutes until Finx buzzed and told her she had a client waiting. Knox rose from his seat and headed toward the door, telling her he’d see her tomorrow evening.
Once in his car, he headed toward his condo. He knew the type of date he wanted to take Aiva on the following evening, but he still needed to get things put in place. She’d enjoyed their first date, and the last thing he needed was for this one to fall short. He meant it when he said he would ruin dates for her when they weren’t with him, and this next one had to follow the trend.
When he stepped into his condo, he called Coen to ensure he could do what he was planning.
K nox was watching a movie that evening when there was a knock at his door. He wasn’t expecting anyone, but that had never stopped his friends from dropping by. Pausing the movie, he went to look through the peephole. He rolled his eyes when he saw Mia on the other side of the door, looking every bit as impatient as she always seemed to be.
The last thing he wanted to deal with was her, so he was intent on ignoring her, but things with Mia were never that simple, and she started banging on the door.
“I know you’re in there. Your car was in the parking lot. Open the door.”
He was not surprised that she’d surveyed the entire parking lot until she found his car. Which he knew took some effort since there were several dozen out there.
“I will cause a scene if I have to,” she said when the door didn’t immediately open at her first statement.
Knox knew she would because she caused scenes when they were far from necessary. So, believing she had to would get one even more over the top. She could cause a scene; he didn’t care. She would only receive one of his neighbors calling the police on her.
“The faster you open the door, the quicker we can handle what I came here for, and I can leave.”
Knox groaned as he pulled the door open. “What do you want, Mia?”
“Can I come in?”
“No,” he responded, and she rolled her eyes at him. “Talk, or I’m closing the door.”
She pulled some documents from her purse. “I need you to sign full ownership of the house to me. I’ve got a buyer lined up and want to get it sold immediately.”
The smile on her face said she thought he cared about her selling the house. He didn’t because he wouldn’t have agreed to let her have it if he wanted it. Knox also knew that she was only selling it because she thought it would hurt him somehow. That, and she was greedy, so the money she’d get from the sale would be a plus for her.
“No,” he responded, going to close the door, but she put her hand up to stop it.
“Excuse you? As stated in the settlement, the house is mine, and I have the right to get rid of it.”
“You do, and I don’t care what you do with it, but until we receive copies of the decree, there is nothing I need to do for you, including signing over the house until then. You keep banging on my door, and you’ll have to explain to those people you like to keep up appearances for why you were arrested for harassment.” Even if he wanted to sign it over then. He couldn’t as the signatures had to be notarized.
He closed the door in her face, locking it back, and he wondered if she would heed his warning or if she’d be her usual self and assume that shit didn’t apply to her when she didn’t want it to. However, when several seconds ticked by and she didn’t begin banging on his door again, he assumed she understood he was serious.
Before, he wouldn’t have threatened to call the police on her when she was difficult because he hadn’t wanted it to affect Yasmine. With him taking full custody, he didn’t feel the need to ignore Mia and would deal with her outbursts and episodes by calling the police. Eventually, she and law enforcement would tire of seeing each other if it came to that, and she’d learn that Knox would no longer allow her to play with him.
A iva sat on her couch while Tara sat on the floor between her legs, braiding her little sister’s hair. She’d gotten a call from her when she was leaving the office asking if she would come pick her up because she and her mother had gotten into it, and she wanted to get away for a bit. Aiva had no problem being her little sister’s sanctuary. She’d been so several times for most of her younger siblings. However, she had told her to hold on and called Anna, Tara’s mother, to make sure it was okay for her to swing by and pick her up.
Regardless of her relationship with her father, she tried to respect the women who mothered her siblings. Picking Tara up and taking her away without Anna knowing was not how Aiva operated. The other woman hadn’t been surprised to receive the call from her and was okay with her picking her sister up but asked that she be back at least by four the following day since they were going to her maternal grandmother’s house.
“When I turn eighteen, she won’t be able to tell me what to do,” Tara stated, popping some candy into her mouth.
“If you plan to live under her roof when you turn eighteen, then, yes, she can,” Aiva countered, starting on another braid.
“No, she can’t. I’ll be an adult, and that bitch won’t be—”
Aiva picked up the comb beside her and popped Tara on the top of her head.
“Ow, Aiva, dang!” Tara exclaimed as she rubbed the spot.
“Watch your mouth. That is your mother, and I know you didn’t think I would sit here and let you disrespect her. Act like you have some sense.”
Aiva knew a majority of the reason Tara thought she could speak that way about Anna so freely was partially Anna’s doing. Her ground rules and boundaries for her children were lax at best, and if it hadn’t been for their paternal grandmother, and Aiva would hazard to say Cedella, one of Edison’s other women, Anna’s children would be far worse.
Anna was raised differently culturally, so it only made sense that she raised her children that way. Aiva knew the other woman loved her children dearly, but they ran all over her.
“What are the two of you fighting about?” Aiva asked after silence and three more braids.
“I found a pregnancy test in the bathroom. She said it wasn’t hers, but it isn’t mine, and we’re the only two it could be.”
Aiva paused in what she was doing for a split second at the news because it sounded like her sister admitted she was having sex, but Aiva let it go. However, if Anna said it wasn’t hers, and it wasn’t Tara’s, there was someone else’s it could be. She decided not to bring that up just yet.
“Why would her being pregnant start an argument?” she asked, but she was sure she knew the answer.
“I don’t want any more siblings. Not that I don’t want them from her; I don’t want them from Cedella or Kandice, either. I know that may sound selfish, but there are already enough of us. Why can’t he go get fixed?”
Aiva could echo that last sentiment. She thought he should have years ago, but what he did was his business. She wasn’t opposed to them having another sibling because she knew she had no say in what Edison and his women did. She had long ago gotten used to having to tell people someone was her sibling and not her child when they saw her out with any of the younger four.
“It could belong to Riquie or, well, a girl Riquie slept with,” Aiva supplied.
Riquie was their twenty-year-old brother. He was currently going to college and lived on campus, but it would be easy enough for him to pop home whenever he felt like it. Aiva didn’t put it past him to use Anna’s house as some hookup spot during the day when the house was empty with the kids at school and her at work.
“I haven’t seen Riquie at the house in a while.”
Aiva refrained from pointing out that just because she hadn’t seen him, didn’t mean that he hadn’t been by. Her little brother was known for trying to stop by anywhere he had access to when he thought no one was there. Whether he was using the space to host get-togethers, he hadn’t asked to hold, have sex, or raid liquor cabinets. The former event was the reason Aiva made him give the key he had to their grandmother’s house back.
She finished the last braid of the mohawk, putting a rubber band around it before grabbing the spray bottle with a mixture of water and leave in conditioner. She sprayed the top of the mohawk, and it didn’t take long for the hair to curl. The sandy-brown tresses coiled beautifully.
“All done,” she announced as she gathered the items she used, and Tara stood to go look in the mirror.
Aiva carried the products back into her bathroom and put them away before washing her hands and going to the kitchen. She placed a bag of popcorn in the microwave, and Tara came in a few minutes later, thanking her for doing her hair. Aiva didn’t mind, especially since Tara wasn’t tender-headed like Kaley. She always dreaded doing the little girl’s hair when she stayed over.
She poured the popcorn into the bowl after it finished, and they sat on the couch, Tara looking for a movie for them to watch.
“So, tell me about this date you went on.”
“I see news travels fast.”
“Well, Marreigh told me, but I think it was more because it was with some athlete she likes and less about your date because then she just went on about his stats and tried to get me to watch his highlight reels with her.”
Aiva chuckled because that was Marreigh for you. She was sure her little sister enjoyed sports far more than any of their brothers did.
“We had dinner and got to know one another. It was fun.”
Tara settled on a movie, grabbing a handful of popcorn. “Are you going out with him again?”
“I am. Tomorrow, actually.”
“After the movie, can I help you choose an outfit?” Tara asked, hopeful, and Aiva didn’t see a problem with it. After all, he’d enjoyed the dress she wore last time. She’d see what she and Tara could find and what would play peek-a-boo with him this time.