Chapter 4 #2
His expression never changed though. He sighed in pure irritation.
Rem had the patience of a saint when it came to certain things, but I wasn’t certain things, and I knew that.
“You ask me that shit too often to not know what the fuck I want. I want your difficult, hard of hearing ass, but it’s like you either hear what you wanna hear or I’m not saying it loud enough. ”
I rolled my eyes. I didn’t believe him. Never had.
“Oh, yeen got shit to say now, huh? You deaf and mute now?” He moved in front of me so fast a wind of his amber musk cologne invaded my nostrils again.
He was right. I was mute and deaf every single time he went here.
“I ain’t perfect. I’ve been through some shit. But I know one thing for sure that ain’t changing. One fucking constant no matter how much I feel like you got me begging. I want you.”
“Prove it.” I shocked the hell out of myself with my response, but I didn’t miss the smile on his face.
“You sure you want me to prove it, Rim? Because I promise to God once I g—”
“You keep telling me you want me and going missing, doing the opposite of your word. Prove that you want me, Reminisce. Prove that you want more than to climb between my legs and go missing days after.”
He leaned down and kissed my forehead. “I got you.”
Before I could say anything, he turned his ass around and walked toward the living room. “Where are you going?” I asked, almost whining because the anticipation of him between my legs had me ready to eat my words.
“To wait for you to get your ass dressed. Ain’t shit in your fridge but probably some eggs and cranberry juice. Go put your clothes on so we can go eat.”
I laughed, because this nigga swore he knew me. “Reminisce. We can just order in.”
“Nah, because when I bend your ass over don’t be telling me my words don’t match my actions.
Now get dressed. I’m fucking starving. I’ve been surviving off dino nuggets and grocery store ravioli.
” He tossed the blanket he’d snatched from me onto the couch and pulled his phone out. “Hurry your ass up.”
Without another word I started moving toward my bedroom to do as he asked.
Tonight I didn’t feel like fighting him.
I was indeed hungry. It didn’t take me long, as I was only throwing on a pair of pants and a hoodie.
I didn’t give one shit that I probably looked like a little boy. Hell, I fought like one too.
When I reentered my living room, he had taken a seat on my sofa and was talking to who I assumed to be Romance.
“You gotta be sleep, lil ma. Don’t be over there giving your auntie and uncle the flux.”
“I not, Daddy. I not tired.” She sounded as though she was pouting through the phone.
He shook his head before looking up at me. “Well, get tired. Turn that singing shit on your tablet.”
She sucked her teeth. “Daddy, wheah you at?”
“Out being grown, shorty. Now go to sleep and I’ll come get you in the morning.”
“And we get donuts with the white sauce?” she asked, almost as if she was bartering with him. It was cute, because even at such a young age, I could see her personality was just as strong as his.
“Yeah, Romance. Glazed donuts. Good night, baby.”
“Night, Daddy. I love you.”
I couldn’t help but smile at their exchange. It was so cute and extremely strange seeing him as a father. He was still his rock headed self, but seemingly softer with his baby. It made me think about his sudden declaration of wanting me.
“Yo, what you over there smiling about? You like hearing her give me hell?” His voice snapped me from my thoughts.
“No, y’all are cute.”
“What’s cute about the way I gotta bargain with my own toddler ’bout sleep?”
I shrugged. “She’s cute and you’re just you.
Now, are you coming or are you gonna stand there and look disgruntled?
” I did all that talking about my brother but here I was, completely enthralled by this rude, grumpy ass fool.
Reminisce and Aroyal were two totally different men, but they were so similar that it irked me.
Maybe I gave Rem a hard time because I didn’t give my brother that much of a hard time growing up.
I was way too easygoing to be here like this with him.
I always told Kaydence she was crazy for being with my brother.
While she was laid back and went with the flow, he was a ruler in mud.
Not only was he stiff, but he had thorns too.
“How long do you intend to stay here?” I asked, reaching for the straw our waitress had set down for us a few seconds ago.
“Stay where? In the city?” he asked, his eyes glazing the semi-empty poolhall before they found me.
I nodded. “Yeah.” My eyes lived on him. He looked so good my brain short circuited every time we shared eye contact. I often wondered if he knew his effect on me. I mean, he had to, right? Why else would he act the way he did?
“Honestly, I never thought about anything too far out you know. Always told myself the furthest I’d think ahead was about two weeks because my decisions have always only affected me.
Now I got lil mama and the last thing I wanna do is be uprooting her and not providing the stability she deserves.
I already fucked that halfway up with her donor being who she is. ”
“So, you’re staying for your baby?” I asked. I’d be lying if I said part of me wasn’t bothered by his only reason for staying being his daughter. Yes, that was a good reason, but hadn’t he just told me he wanted me?
He nodded. “And of course there’s this lil difficult ass woman I want more than a friendship with. When she finally gets it through her thick ass skull, she might want me to stay too.”
I laughed. “Something tells me it’s not about what she may or may not want.”
Reminisce laughed. “I’m not beating around the bush with your fake bashful ass, Karim. What do you want from me?”
I felt put on the spot. “I want what you want to give me, the parts of you that you gave to the wrong one.”
His eyes were serious, so serious it took everything in my being not to squirm. “You sure you can handle that?”
“More than sure.”
He nodded. “Bet.”
Silence filled the table before I decided to change the subject of the conversation. “You still taking jobs?”
He shook his head. “Told myself I’d stack some more then move on, but I ain’t been in the mental state. You?”
“Mind kind of heavy and we both know I don’t have the heart for the jobs.”
He studied me for a moment and was about to speak, but our waitress walked over with the deep-dish pizza he had ordered when we came in.
I watched as she placed it on the table before making sure to do too much while she cut it.
All the reaching and sound effects weren’t necessary, especially when the pizza wasn’t even that damn big. I hated a disrespectful ass chick.
I shook my head and heard him chuckle from across the table.
“Yo, we’re good, Sam.”
So, he knew this hoe. I narrowed my eyes, ready to slap the shit out of them both. “Full fucking government and please don’t stop her on my account, ’cause her clear volunteering for this ass whooping won’t be stopped on yours.”
She sucked her teeth, but I could tell she wasn’t stupid because instead of staying her disrespectful ass in front of our table she scurried off.
“Even though you finer than a motherfucker when you nut up, you don’t have to.”
I studied him. “Why not?”
“’Cause on my life not a soul will ever have anything over you when it comes to me.”
For a moment after that statement, I just stared at him and he stared back with eyes daring me to challenge what he’d said.
I didn’t challenge him though. Instead I allowed the evening to lighten.
We settled on eating and talking about surface things.
That was fine too. I liked talking to him.
He listened to even the most ridiculous things.
Reminisce was a man who had been hurt, so he had some trauma, but that never overshadowed who and what he was.
After dinner we got ice cream from this hood spot that was open way too late, but they had security and it was bumping around this time.
Then we retreated to my place where we settled in my living room eating and swapping our individual pints every so often because I liked his flavor way more than mine.
“How come I ain’t never heard any of your poetry?”
“Because you’re not the type. And who the hell told you I write it?” Then, as soon as I said that, Jade popped into my head. “Your sister,” I answered before he could.
He nodded. “It ain’t like she blew up your spot or anything. Shit, I was just as thrown off. She told me she was going to some spot named Centuries to listen to you during one of our check-in calls.”
I nodded. “Well yes, but I ju—”
“What do you mean I’m not the type?” he asked.
“Like I didn’t think you cared about those things or were even into poetry.”
“I’m into you.”
“And that means?” I tilted my head to the side.
“Means I’m into whatever you into… even that animal kingdom shit you be watching.”
I couldn’t hide the smile that implanted itself into my features. In less than three hours I had transformed into a bitch I didn’t recognize. One of those bitches who wouldn’t mind trying on this nigga’s skin for him.
“You gonna let me hear something or stay mute over there?”
When we locked eyes, I shook my head and he laughed. “Um, no.”
“Why not?”
“Because for me to recite poetry I gotta be inspired. I can’t be out here just throwing anything together because you wanna hear something.” I sat up to take my jacket off and put the ice cream down. I could only eat so much before my lactose intolerant belly showed its true colors.
“Aight then, come here.” He sat up and stabbed the spoon into the ice cream before placing the pint on the end table.
“For what?” I asked, confusion evident.
“Lemme give you some inspiration.” He pulled his hoodie and tee off, tossing them on the other end of the sofa.