Chapter 2
TWO
ASAD
“You wearing her ass down, huh?” Ferris said when he appeared next to me.
“I hope so. I’m losing hope, man.”
He gave me a slight smile as the twins crip walked through the tunnel.
I slowly shook my head as they turned the fuck up.
Ashanni, Maui, and Milana ran over to them and joined them in the turn up.
I glanced at the time and saw it was already two o’clock.
I had to have Jayceon home by five. It wasn’t my weekend, but I really needed to see him more than every other weekend.
This little boy was my heart. He reminded me so much of myself when I was little.
My dad appeared next to me and asked, “You good?”
Red Anderson was the standard for me. He always made sure I was straight, although he didn’t come into my life until I was five years old.
I barely remembered the man I knew as my dad before I was introduced to him.
He jumped in like he’d always been there, providing and protecting me.
He spent time with me every single day when I was little, unless he had a rodeo somewhere.
Having a strong dad and seeing a united front between parents was imperative.
He and my mama were excellent co-parents, and Mama Shana was the perfect bonus mom.
They communicated effectively, and my mama and Mama Shana were friends almost immediately after their introduction.
I didn’t need to look up to anyone else when I had amazing examples in our household of how to be a man and how to love and respect a woman.
“I’m cool.”
“No you not, but I’ll let you be after I say this. Maybe you need to pull back and allow her to see what she’s missing out on.”
“Yeah. That was what I was thinking,” I said as he gave Jayceon a pound, then took him from me.
I stood there alone for a moment, then approached the crowd to congratulate those mean ass girls.
I didn’t know what my lil brother saw in Noni’s rowdy ass.
They were pretty as hell, but those attitudes were everything but.
They didn’t know what a filter was. Loose cannons just like their father.
When I got to them, I hugged them both at once. “Congratulations, y’all.”
“Thank you!” they said in unison.
They both had flowers in their hands from Carter Legend and my brother, Red Squared, along with flowers from their dad and brothers.
Other people were holding flowers as well.
Their damn houses were going to look like floral shops.
They built two houses in Henderson Village last year.
Whenever they came to town, they stayed there, but when they were in school, both houses stayed empty.
Most times, they stayed together, so I was surprised they built two houses right away.
I was still saving to buy a house. My dad tried giving me money to just buy or build one, but I refused it.
I wanted to earn the money on my own. I felt like I would appreciate it more.
Of course, he called me crazy. Red Anderson was a millionaire, thanks to his grandparents, and he said that his children were millionaires, too, simply because he was.
I put the money he gave me in a savings account and set up an account for Jayceon.
I told him I would use it once I got approved for a house on my own.
He laughed, but he said he understood. I didn’t think he did though.
Being a sports analyst didn’t make me a whole lot of money, since I worked locally at a news station.
If I could work for a bigger network, that pay would increase.
My biggest thing about working for a bigger network was having to move.
I wanted to stay in the area because of my son.
If I moved away, Mila would really give me hell.
After Ashanni knocked her ass out, she was talking about taking my son away from me.
I had to remind her of how she broke into my house and destroyed property.
When she came to, she tore shit up in my house before I could get her ass out without assaulting her.
I wanted to knock her ass out again and carry her to her car.
I didn’t understand her problem with Ashanni.
It just seemed like she was jealous of her for some reason.
Ashanni was sweet and got along with everybody.
It shocked the hell out of me the way she handled Mila.
I should’ve known better though. She was a Henderson.
I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to see Red Squared. He was the same height as me, about six feet two. Leaning over, he said, “She gon’ cave, man. Don’t give up in the fourth quarter.”
I didn’t respond to him, because I caught her gaze.
I could tell she wanted me. I had to get her in my bed again.
Her pussy had been whispering to me ever since we first fucked.
I could understand her reservations, but whatever smoke blew Mila’s way would be her own fault.
However, I would do my best to prevent anything from popping off.
As if in a trance, I allowed my feet to lead me right to her.
Her face reddened as she stared at me. This moment made me glad I came to this graduation, because I started not to.
I worked late last night and was tired as fuck this morning.
When I got to her, I just stood in front of her, staring into her eyes.
I grabbed her hands and just held them as she stared back at me.
My mind was filtering through the advice from my dad and Red Squared.
They were on totally opposite sides of the spectrum.
“My heart is telling me not to give up on you, but my mind is saying to move on. I know I said we would talk later, but this shit is killing me, baby. What we gon’ do?
It’s been a damn year of me pouring everything I got into making you mine .
. . fucking begging. I can’t keep doing that shit, baby. It’s wearing on my mental.”
She looked away for a moment and pulled her hands from mine. “Asad, can we please talk later? Are you meeting us at the family barn?”
I released a sigh. “If you gon’ let me down, do that shit now. You would be the only reason I would show up at the barn. I don’t wanna pass my house up to go to Nome for nothing.”
She swallowed hard. “I want to go for it, Asad, but I’m scared of the drama that could pop up. I don’t think I’m ready. Let me think about it a little longer. Please.”
“Ashanni, no disrespect, but you’ve had a year to think about this shit.”
“Daddy! Let’s go!”
I looked down at my three-year-old, then looked around and noticed everyone was leaving. I grabbed his hand and stared at the woman I’d fallen in love with. “See you around, Ashanni.”
Before she could respond, I walked away with Jayceon and headed to my truck. As we walked, he said, “Daddy, you like that lady?”
“Yeah, man.”
“What’s wrong?”
I bent over and picked him up so I could walk faster. “Nothing. What you wanna eat?”
“Can we go to Sonic?”
I smiled slightly, reminiscing about when my dad used to go to Sonic every day for years after he picked me up from school. “Yeah, that’s cool.”
After strapping him in his booster seat, I walked around the truck to the driver’s seat and saw Ashanni watching me. I supposed I took my dad’s advice. She would have the opportunity to miss me.
“Hey, Mommy!”
“Hey, baby.”
I’d just gotten to Mila’s apartment to drop Jay off.
After he went inside, I was turning around to leave.
There was nothing I needed to say to Mila.
Before I could get too far away, she said, “I’m more than sure you had my son around that slut.
I heard the graduation you went to was for the Henderson twins mean asses. ”
“You know, that’s always been your problem. You’ve always been worried about shit that either ain’t your business or about shit that don’t matter. In this case it’s both.”
“In case you forgot, nigga, Jayceon is my son. That makes it my business, and it definitely matters.”
“You act like you the only parent he has. Last time I checked, I was his father, unless you lied about that.”
She stepped outside and attempted to get in my face. “All I gotta do is make a phone call, Mila. Quit fucking with me. I love my son, and I wouldn’t dare do anything that would put him in danger, but I sure in hell wish I would have picked him a different mother.”
I walked off amidst her screaming out expletives.
This bullshit was on my last fucking nerve.
I already wasn’t in the greatest mood. My life was fucked up, and it was time I got shit on track.
When I got home, I was gonna call my attorney to file for full custody of my son, then I was going to apply for that job with ESPN as an entry level sports analyst. Southeast Texas wasn’t for Asad Anderson any longer.
When I turned in my driveway, my cell rang.
I could see on the screen in my truck that it was Red Squared.
I didn’t wanna talk to that nigga. He was probably in the vehicle with Noni.
He was the last one I needed advice from.
We were about six and half years apart, with me being older.
Secondly, he gave Noni a hard ass time about not committing to him.
She still hadn’t committed to being his.
They’d been doing that dance for almost two years.
The difference in their situation was that she gave him hope.
She told him once she finished school and could move back home, she would be ready.
So maybe they would establish some things today.
Ashanni was already working in her career for her family business.
She finished her master’s degree almost a year ago and said she wouldn’t dare waste a bunch of money on a doctorate degree. She was set.