Chapter 4
FOUR
ASAD
“I got called in to work. Can you come get Jayceon? I’ll pick him up when I get off.”
“What time you getting off?”
“Eight.”
“Just let him stay. I’ll drop him to preschool before I go to work in the morning.”
“Why? That’s not late, Asad.”
“Because I like spending time with my son, that’s why. I wouldn’t mind him staying with me all the time.”
“So you can have him calling that ho mama? I think not.”
“Watch yo’ fucking mouth, Mila. She’s my woman now, and you will not disrespect her in my presence.”
“What the fuck ever. I’ll have him ready in a few minutes.”
“Yeah.”
I ended the call, knowing I would truly have to put Mila in her place when it came to Ashanni.
She was so butt hurt that Ashanni lived her life and was still blessed.
I’d heard rumors about Ashanni getting around, but she was a single woman doing what the fuck she wanted to do.
I couldn’t be mad about that. As long as she was clean and could be faithful, that shit was none of my business.
She was a beautiful soul and had a sweet spirit until you pissed her off.
Those were the things that mattered most to me.
I knew she would treat Jayceon like he was her son, and the couple of times he was around her, he seemed to gel with her.
He thought she was pretty. He thought all the women I was around were pretty.
I grabbed my keys and headed out to get him.
I would get dressed for Sunday dinner with Ashanni’s family when I got back.
I would have to be sure that it was cool to bring Jayceon with me, although I was sure it would be.
When I got to Mila’s apartment, she opened the door before I could knock. Jay was right there with his backpack on his back.
“I’ll see you later, munchkin.”
“Okay, Mommy.”
She glared at me as I picked him up. “What’s up, man?”
“Hi, Daddy.”
I glanced at Mila to see her still glaring at me.
If I could get away with keeping him forever and him never seeing her ass again, I would do that shit with the quickness.
She put her hand on her hip and said, “I guess he can stay. I put him some extra clothes in his backpack. His lunch kit is in there, too, so you can pack him a lunch.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
I kissed my little man on the head as he waved at his mama, then walked away to my truck.
When I got him strapped in, I got into the driver’s seat and headed home.
I checked the time to see it was only ten.
Ashanni and her family ate at one. It was more like Sunday lunch than Sunday dinner.
Most Black families ate lunch on Sundays and didn’t eat dinner.
My mama did the same when I was growing up.
We ate so much for lunch after church, there was no room for dinner.
Most of the time, we had ice cream or some other dessert later that evening.
I wanted to take him to see her, but I knew she was at church.
Her husband was a preacher. He was cool and treated her right.
He wasn’t one of those holier than thou preachers, and I liked that about him.
My sister looked like him with my mama’s skin tone.
Clearly, my dad liked dark-skinned women.
Mama Shana was dark complexioned as well.
It seemed all his children took after him though.
I wasn’t as light as Red Squared and Aaliyah, but I was much lighter than my mama.
When we got to my house, Jay unbuckled himself.
He was too excited to be with me. That made me happy.
My son kept me sane. It didn’t matter what bullshit came my way.
As long as I had him, I knew I would be fine.
Once inside, I put Sesame Street on for him, then went to iron us something to wear to the Hendersons.
Although what Mila had put on him was presentable, I wanted him to look nice like me.
Since I was wearing khaki pants and a nice button-down shirt, he would wear the same.
Before I started, I texted Ashanni. Hey, baby. Would it be okay to bring Jayceon with me? His mama had to go to work.
She responded immediately. Of course. I can’t wait to see y’all. You’re more than welcome to get here early.
I smiled. She was just as anxious to see me as I was to see her. Okay. I’m ironing now. I should be there by noon or a little earlier.
Perfect.
Knowing that she wanted to see me as soon as possible made me put a pep in my step. Just as I finished, Jayceon came to where I was. “Daddy, I’m hungry.”
“You didn’t eat breakfast?”
“No, sir.”
“Okay. Let’s go to the kitchen. You want oatmeal?”
He licked his lips as I chuckled. I had some instant oatmeal in the pantry, so that would have to suffice.
That would stick to his little ribs until the food was ready at the Hendersons.
I wasn’t sure what we would be eating, but thankfully, Jay wasn’t too picky of an eater.
Hopefully, that wouldn’t change as he got older.
After fixing his oatmeal, I helped him onto the barstool, then went back to my bedroom to get dressed.
I moisturized my skin and put oil in my beard, trying to make sure I looked my best for Ashanni.
This shit was still so unreal to me. While putting on my watch, my cell started ringing.
When I saw Ferris’s name, I answered on speaker. “What’s up?”
“Nigga, that’s what I called to ask you! I couldn’t really talk like I wanted to at the party.” He laughed. “Congratulations. You finally got your woman, man.”
“Yeah. Had she not come to my house after graduation, there’s no telling what would have happened. I was prepared to let go. I told her that I would see her around before I left the graduation.”
“Well, that shit must have had her panicking. She really likes you a lot, so I’m glad she put her reservations to the side about being ready for a relationship and gave in to you.”
I chuckled. “It was never about that, Ferris.”
“What?”
“She didn’t want anyone to know. We hooked up that day we talked at the diner a year ago.
Mila showed up and broke into my house. Ashanni knocked her ass out.
That was why she didn’t want to be with me.
She felt like Mila was gonna have her ass in jail.
The family was going through a lot of shit at the time. ”
He was completely quiet like he was trying to process what I said. Then suddenly, he yelled, “Nigga!”
I laughed. “She didn’t want anyone to know, man. She had my fucking nose wide open.”
“Hell the fuck yeah, she did. It makes sense now though. All this time, I was thinking yo’ ass was crazy for waiting all this time. Mila ass full of shit.”
“She is. I filed a restraining order on her ass. She is not allowed inside my house anymore. Whenever she drops off or picks up Jayceon, I meet her outside. Her and Ashanni have bad blood. They got into a fight in high school and Mila can’t let that shit go.”
“That’s crazy as fuck. They been out of high school seven years or so.”
“Yep, eight years for Mila. What’s on your agenda today?”
“I’m about to head to Nome to go to Milana’s parents’ house to kick it with them.”
“Oh okay. I’m about to head that way too. I was invited to Sunday dinner. Mister Jasper threatened to kill me if I fuck over his baby. Nigga literally told me to cling to the principles Red and Lacey instilled in me, so I won’t be clinging to life later.”
“What the fuck? Uncle Jasper’s cool ass said that?”
“Hell yeah.”
“Damn! I mean, I guess Ashanni being his daughter makes it a totally different ball game. Well, I may see you out there later then.”
“A’ight. Later.”
I ended the call and went to check on Jay. He was just finishing and trying to slide off the barstool. When he saw me, he smiled big. “Daddy, I’m done. Are we going somewhere?”
“Yes, we are. Do you remember Miss Ashanni?”
He frowned slightly, clearly thinking about who she may have been.
“She was the lady that called you suga yesterday.”
“Oh yes! Is she your girlfriend?”
“Yes, she is. Is that cool with you?”
“Yes! She’s pretty!”
“She is. We are going to eat dinner with her, her parents, and brothers.”
His eyebrows lifted. “Will I get to play with them?”
I chuckled as I cleaned out his bowl. “Naw, man. They’re grown-ups. We’ll probably go see PaPa and Nana Shana though.”
“Okay!” he said excitedly. “Am I changing clothes?”
“Yep. We’ll put what you have on in your backpack so you can change later. I’m sure PaPa will be outside with the animals.”
“I can’t wait!”
I chuckled, then brought him to the room to get his face cleaned up and his clothes changed so we could make our way to Nome.
Ashanni answered the door with a huge smile on her face.
She was so damn beautiful. Her presence wowed me every single time.
From her perfectly made-up face to the clothes she wore.
All of it embellished her natural beauty.
She had thick legs that left me drooling, and she never minded showing those stilts of perfection off.
She was every bit of five feet eight inches and was about the same complexion as me.
Her curves left a nigga dizzy and had proven to be highly addictive.
“Hey, baby!”
I smiled hard and bit my bottom lip, then kissed her lips. “Hey, Shani.”
She stooped to hug Jay and that lil nigga puckered his lips. Ashanni’s eyebrows lifted as she glanced up at me. She gave him her cheek, then kissed his. “Hey, suga.”
“Hi, Miss Shani.”
I frowned as I stared at him. “You tryna steal my woman?”
He looked up at me and laughed. “Daddy, she’s too old for me. She can be my second mama like Nana Shana is your second mama.”
Aww hell. I didn’t respond to him, because I didn’t want to have to explain that Ashanni and I hadn’t been in a relationship long enough for that yet. Her face had reddened slightly. I grabbed her hand as she cleared her throat.
“Come on to the back, y’all. That’s where everyone is.”
I nodded as I watched her ass sway in the tight ass jeans she wore. All that ass was one of my weaknesses. When she had that thang on display, I constantly had to think about random shit to keep my dick in place. I wanted her so fucking bad. I really wished she would have stayed with me last night.
Once we got to the family room, Mr. Jasper stood from his seat. He glanced down at Jay, and when we approached, he spoke to him first. “What’s up, lil man? I’m Jasper, Ashanni’s dad.”
Jay glanced up at me, and I said, “Mister Jasper.”
Mr. Jasper nodded his head repeatedly, as Jay said, “Hi, Mister Jasper.”
He shook his hand, then shook mine. “How you doing, Asad?”
“I’m good. How about you?”
“I’m pretty good. Y’all have a seat.”
Ashanni sat next to us as Mrs. Chasity joined us, introducing herself to Jay. They were watching a rodeo on TV, so it was quiet for a moment. Suddenly, Mr. Jasper said, “I knew his ass was gonna be there!”
He laughed, and I realized it was Mr. Legend that he was talking about. Ashanni slid her hand to mine, and I couldn’t help but stare at her. I swore I could get lost in her. When she cleared her throat and looked away, Mr. Jasper chuckled.
“Asad, I was asking if you and Jayceon ate fresh pork,” Mrs. Chasity asked.
“I’m sorry. Yes, ma’am. Red is my dad. It’s not much you can miss me on. Jay will try anything once, but he eats fresh pork. Y’all had a hog butchered?” I asked.
“Kenny did, but he shares the wealth,” Mr. Jasper added.
I nodded. When one of Ashanni’s brothers entered the room, I stood from my seat. She stood as well, and said, “Asad, this is my youngest brother, Crew. Crew, this is my boyfriend, Asad. Mister Red is his dad.”
“What’s up? I’ve seen you around,” he said.
We shook hands as I nodded. “Yeah, I’ve definitely seen you around.”
He sat on the other side of the sectional as we tuned in to the rodeo again. Mrs. Chas got up and went to the kitchen as Mr. Jasper said, “I remember you were into sports. You still doing that?”
“I’m an analyst for KFDM. I’ve been there for the past seven years or so.”
“Okay. That’s what I thought. Basketball still your favorite?”
“It is. I played in school against Rylan. He was better at it than me though,” I said, then chuckled. “I was shocked when he didn’t go pro.”
“I wasn’t. I knew his heart wasn’t in that shit. He just played for the scholarships and shit. Henderson Ranch and Farms was in his heart. He loves working for the family business.”
When I heard the door open and close, I knew it had to be Ashanni’s other brother. When he walked into the room, I damn near swallowed my tongue when Jay said, “Mister Royal!”
Everybody seemed stunned as he said, “What’s up, Jay? What you doing here, man?”
“I’m with my daddy.”
He glanced at me as I frowned slightly, trying to figure out how in the hell he knew my son.
“Umm . . . Royal, this is my boyfriend, Asad. Asad, this is my brother, Royal.”
We shook hands and nodded at one another. I looked at Jay and asked, “How do you know Ashanni’s brother?”
“He took me and Mommy to get something to eat, and he came to our house.”
I frowned harder, because she hadn’t mentioned a word about seeing anybody. She had the audacity to critique who I was seeing but keeping her shit under wraps. Somebody was gonna have to start talking and talking soon.