4. Omiri
Omiri
T he minute I left Makari’s house I hit Raaj and let him know to be on standby because I was waiting on a time for the test. But it was happening today.
I let a week slide by because I went back and forth a million times trying to decide if I really wanted to do this.
I had so many fucking doubts but then I dreamed about O’Rion.
He didn’t say shit, just looked at me in that way that always made me feel like I could do better.
When I woke up, I called Raaj and told him to start working on the legalities of me becoming a father.
I glanced at the bottles of Black Ops on my bar, secured the cap on the regular one and placed it into the smoked glass cabinets above the set up then shoved the corked top into the Black Barrel.
Before I could put it away, someone was knocking at my door.
I dug my phone out of my pocket and pulled up the camera to find a body leaned against the opposite wall, head dropped while they swiped their own device.
I tapped the screen to unlock my door then pressed the microphone. “It’s open.”
A few seconds later, Ryland was striding into my apartment with a goofy ass grin on his face.
“Damn, bruh. You’re only one week in on this parenting thing and she’s already got your ass bypassing the glass and turning up the bottle.”
“I’m not drinking. It’s too early for that shit,” I muttered and placed the Black Barrel bottles next to the Black Ops.
“When the hell has drinking needed a timestamp for you?”
I smirked. He was right. My life had been pretty interesting with me not giving a damn about social norms. I did what the fuck I wanted but the reminder only further proved Makari’s point.
Honestly, I couldn’t be upset ’bout her wanting to shield a kid from me.
I wasn’t anybody’s role model but the way that shit gut punched had me defensive.
Not to mention, she was also right about me not wanting kids.
I hadn’t in the past. I didn’t know if I was fully invested now but I had to do this.
“We’re doing the DNA test in a few hours.”
“So you are drinking then?”
“Muthafucker, no. I’m trying to make sure I have my shit on point. I want everything in place when they get here.”
“It’s a DNA test, not a home inspection, fam. She knows who you are and how you’re living. So I can guarantee she’s not going to be in here evaluating your housekeeping abilities.”
“Trust me, she will be evaluating every fucking thing. She thinks I’m irresponsible and can’t handle having a kid in my life.”
“So you think hiding who you are is the right way to go? I get being responsible but pretending to be someone you’re not damn sure won’t win you any favor if she’s that critical.
She’ll see right through the act and call bullshit.
You’ve gotta do this your way, O. You’re not perfect but I’m guessing she isn’t either.
She did some foul shit already by keeping the kid from you. ”
“Doesn’t matter. I’m going to be the villain in this story if it leaks. They’ll be on her side because I’m the asshole athlete who has said enough foul shit about not wanting kids and fuck these hoes that try to trap me with one.”
He nodded and brushed a hand over his head. “Yeah, you’ve said some pretty reckless shit about that. But isn’t that what she does? See if she’ll clean your shit up. Once your image is fixed, then you leak that she kept your kid from you. She’s the villain. Problem solved.”
“Bruh, how the fuck you think I’m supposed to pull that off? It isn’t happening.”
Ryland shrugged. “I’m trying to help because you’re freaking the fuck out and I’m the only person on this earth who rocks with you without judgment.”
“If your solution is saying dumb shit like that, then I need to find a replacement for your ass.”
He brushed a hand over his head again. “You could try but you really aren’t bringing shit to the table in the friendship department, but seriously O, you’ve gotta chill with this. You’ll work that shit out.”
My phone vibrated with a text from Raaj.
Be there in fifteen.
“Yeah, I’mma make it work, but that’s Raaj, I’ll get with you after all this is done.”
“Aight, bet, I’m about to pull up on some pussy. It’s been a minute.”
“Weren’t you just putting someone out your crib this morning?”
“That was then, this is now. I have to get it all in before offseason training starts. In fact, you probably need to bust a nut too. Let me set something up for later. I met these twins…”
“Nah, I’m good. That’s the last thing I need right now.”
Pussy was the problem and how I’d ended up with a kid I didn’t want with a woman I wanted to fuck and strangle because she was annoying as shit and fine as hell.
Maybe I can strangle her while I fuck her. She might be into that type of thing and if she is, I can rock with it…
I almost laughed at the thought because that was a problem I didn’t need. I was keeping my dick as far away from Makari as possible because her little fine ass would have me doing some shit I couldn’t take back.
“Damn, shorty done scared your ass into celibacy.”
I chuckled and pointed to the door. “Get the fuck out. I’ll hit your line later.”
He stared at me for a minute. “I’m out. Try not to fuck this up, because if she’s really your kid, she deserves the best of who you are and not that fake shit you put out there for media or game day. Your real shit best, O.”
Ryland was my boy, so he knew all my dirt, which made those words hit harder than he intended. I knew how to perform and be the person my team needed me to be, but most of the time I was fucking spiraling and existing in a dark place. Or at least I had been over the past two years.
Ryland didn’t say anything else but he didn’t have to. He simply tossed his chin and left while I looked around my place trying to see the space from the perspective of a single mother looking for any and every reason to keep our daughter away from me.
Problem was, I didn’t know a damn thing about how mothers thought or what babies needed. My mother had always been distant with me. Even as a kid, I remembered how she barely even fucked with me. Most of that had to do with the way she was always up my brother’s ass.
He was her golden son. She loved his ass down and saw no wrong in him.
He also didn’t look like our father, whereas I was the man’s twin.
Even though we had the same eyes, I had his color and his entire damn face, build, and attitude.
O’Rion was so much like her, smart as hell and about his business.
He had a plan for his life; I had a plan for living mine to the fullest.
The only thing that kept me grounded was being talented as hell with sports. I dominated, and it was natural, but not even that was enough to get my mother’s attention. She looked at me and saw the man who disappointed her. The man I was named after. Omiri Raynard Hayes Sr.
Luckily, someone else was at my door, which meant I could bypass going down that tragic ass rabbit hole of trying to understand why my mother couldn’t just see me .
I grabbed my phone again and noticed Makari standing outside my door.
Her pretty brown face was twisted into a scowl but I was kinda partial to her mean ass.
When she tugged a glossed lip between her teeth my dick twitched a little.
She had the baby strapped to her chest in some carrier thing but there was another woman next to her. I was annoyed that she’d brought someone to my crib but decided not to go the fuck off. Now didn’t seem like the time.
Instead of letting her in the same way I did with Ryland, I crossed the living room and yanked the door open. Makari glared at me while her girl stepped between us like a human shield.
When we settled into a heated visual standoff, she arched her brow and angled her head to the side. “Y’all doing the test in the hallway or can we come in?”
I looked past her to Makari, who grinned and rolled her eyes. “This is Tiana.”
I still didn’t say a word, so she kept going. “Avi’s godmother, and since it’s just me, I decided I wanted a support system.”
“The fuck you think I’m gonna do, kidnap y’all?”
“You might.” Her eyes locked on mine and I shook my head, annoyed, and moved out of the way so they could come in.
I motioned toward the living room, watching both of them as they looked around my place.
I paid an interior designer to furnish everything when I first moved in but the setup was basic as hell.
Regardless of my status, I kept things simple.
So the entire place was clean: black leather, gold accents, and black tiled floors because them shits were easy to clean.
I had more than a few wild nights here, which was another reason things were nice but basic.
Not much to stain, destroy, or break when the trees were blazing and the liquor was flowing.
“You can get comfortable. Raaj should be here in a few.” I wanted them to sit their asses down instead of scrutinizing my shit.
“Who is Raaj?” Makari frowned at me.
“My lawyer.”
“Oh…” She glanced at her girl who gently tugged her arm and led Makari to the living room.
I walked to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, watching as Makari lifted Avi from her carrier then pressed the plastic clasps to unhook it from her body.
When she dropped it on the floor and situated Avi in her lap, the baby looked around my place with her eyes wide and her tiny ass brows pinched, then she found me and she smiled.
Something in my chest shifted for a brief second but then it was gone. Babies were cute, hell mine was fucking beautiful. She looked like a female version of me with a head full of jet black curls but that was about it.
“You’re really not going to offer us anything while you’re standing there guzzling water?” Ol’ girl had me turning my gaze in her direction to find her eyes narrowed on me.
“This isn’t happy hour, baby girl. We’re here for business.”