Chapter 6
SIX
ivy
“Oh my God,” I groaned, my eyes falling on everything that shouldn’t be where it was. “Is he fucking kidding me right now?!”
I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs. The scream was right there, boiling in my throat, waiting to erupt—but the hour stopped me.
It was barely daybreak. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, I could see the sun hadn’t risen yet, as usual for the time I got up.
My shoulders sagged as my eyes landed on the cluttered living room—not how I’d left it when I dragged myself off to bed the night before.
I’d made a point to come downstairs and clear the papers and water bottles left by both me and Leo.
He’d had training all day yesterday, and I’d been working from home, leaving the living area in a state of chaos.
Even though the nanny we’d hired helped a lot during the day, there were still plenty of hours left for us to make a mess.
But keeping the house tidy? That was all on me.
I sighed as I walked into the living room, picking up sneakers, socks, granola bar wrappers, and water bottles—most of which still had water in them.
“I’m gonna kill him,” I muttered, tossing his sneakers toward the shoe rack.
I’d gotten that shoe rack for him. Leo. Because this wasn’t the first time he’d left things all over the place.
Every night when he came home, he peeled off his clothes—shirt, joggers, whatever—and let them fall wherever. And he never came back to pick them up.
He was driving me crazy.
The slight creak of the stairs caught my attention over my shoulder as I hunched forward to pick up yet another item of clothing.
“What’s up, Ivy League?” Leo greeted, jogging down the remainder of the stairs.
“Shh,” I shushed, standing upright and turning to face him. “He’s still sleeping, and I’d like for him to stay asleep until Karina gets here.”
Karina was Baby Love’s nanny, and she was a godsend.
Our baby nurse, Marta, had taught us everything we needed to know in what felt like a crash course.
Days of lessons on everything from holding the baby to changing, bathing, burping, and soothing him.
It was a lot, even just thinking back on it, but it helped so much.
“Aight, my bad.” He chuckled.
Even that irritated me.
I was running on maybe three or four hours of sleep.
Between driving to the city every other day and then coming back here to edit videos for upload, I wasn’t sleeping.
With no baby nurse to handle Baby Love at night, Leo and I were on our own.
Well, mostly me. Unlike Leo, I wasn’t out in Manhattan at a club, making appearances or partying like I didn’t have new responsibilities in a new home.
“You look rested,” I commented, resuming my task of picking up yesterday’s leftovers.
“I’m feeling good, feeling great,” he replied, rolling his head from side to side. “Yo, have you seen my wallet?”
I rolled my eyes and turned back to picking up the mess. “Now, why would I know where your wallet is, Leo?”
“Damn,” he said with a snicker. “Why so cranky?”
I whipped my head in his direction, then turned to face him fully. “Maybe because for yet another morning, I’m down here cleaning up your shit that you could have easily put away when you got back home?”
He threw his hands up. “I said my bad.”
“My bad doesn’t do shit for me, Leo.” I shrugged. “It just doesn’t.”
“Aight, fine.” He grunted. “I’ll look for my own wallet then, damn.”
I stared at him for a moment, seriously contemplating chucking the bottles and snack wrappers at him. Instead, I inhaled a deep breath, closing my eyes to force myself to calm down.
I’d never lived with a man before—for this reason exactly. Kendra had been so excited to move in with Tyrell back in college, and I’d never understood why. Living with someone had never been something I wanted.
Even in college, I could barely stand my roommates because they were so messy.
Was it too much to ask to put things away when done? To throw out wrappers after finishing whatever was inside?
“Look,” I said to him. “We’re both busy. And I get it—we’re both adjusting to living here and taking care of a baby neither one of us expected to have to take care of. But, Leo, please.” I sighed. “Do your fucking part.”
He turned to face me, folding his arms over his broad chest.
“I shouldn’t be starting my day like this.” I gestured around the room. “Your shit is everywhere except where it’s supposed to be. The least you can do is put it away when you get home.”
“I was tired,” he reasoned. “When I got back, I just wanted everything off me so I could get into bed.”
“Same,” I shot back. “I feel the same way when I get home. I just wanted to come down here, get some coffee before the baby gets up, and I have to take care of him until the nanny shows up. But here I am, wasting my time cleaning up your shit.”
“Aight, oh-fucking-kay,” he said. “I’ll do my best to do better.”
I rolled my eyes, closing them briefly.
“But for real, Ivy, I’m not about to make promises I’m not sure I can keep,” he added. “I’m not as uptight as you, so, you know…”
I jerked my head back.
“I just let it hang a lot of the time.” He pressed a hand to his chest. “For me, it ain’t really that big of a deal. Just clean it up, and I’ll try to be mindful next time.”
“This conversation is not making me feel any better,” I said flatly. “Just so you know.”
He lifted his arms, letting them drop. Then he patted his pocket and pulled out his wallet.
“Ha!” He laughed a little too hard. “I had it the whole time.”
Just then, Baby Love’s sharp cry pierced the air from his nursery upstairs.
I closed my eyes and collapsed my head back.
“Whew,” Leo said, grinning. “That’s my cue.”
He walked up to me, bent slightly, and pressed his lips to my cheek. Then he blew air against my skin, making my face rattle.
I punched his arm, and he laughed even louder.
“Sleep with one eye open tonight, Leo,” I threatened. “I swear I hate you.”
“Love you too,” he replied with a chuckle. “See you later. Don’t worry about food—I’ll bring dinner back for you.”
I shook my head, dropping the clutter in my hands onto the couch before heading toward the stairs.
All the nervousness I’d had about handling the baby had subsided after the days I spent learning under our baby nurse, Marta. I paid special attention to the small details she shared about caring for him, and it seemed to have paid off.
His cries grew louder the moment I opened the door but began to settle as I approached his bassinet.
“Good morning,” I said the moment our eyes met. I couldn’t help but smile at the sight of him. He looked so much like Kendra—especially those eyes. “Why are you crying so loudly and so early in the morning? I haven’t even had my coffee yet.”
As soon as I lifted him and laid him against my chest, the crying stopped completely.
I walked over to the section of his room that housed his bottles, the bottle warmer, a few framed photos, and the small fridge Marta recommended we keep in the nursery for easy access to his formula.
One of those framed photos was of Kendra and Tyrell on their wedding day.
Leo and I kept it on the baby's dresser as our way of helping Baby Love remember his roots, despite his parents not being around.
Our nanny had left a bottle in the warmer before ending her shift the night before, so it was perfectly ready for Baby Love’s morning feeding.
When it came to schedules, Baby Love was consistent. That’s where he and I connected. He did everything according to schedule, including feeding, and I loved the predictability. It was one of the few things to love in this situation.
I took a seat in the rocking chair and laid him in position to start feeding. As always, he was eager, latching onto the bottle’s nipple and suckling his milk right away.
“How about Bradley?” I whispered, my eyes locked on his. “Anthony?”
We were still trying out names. It was a miracle Leo and I had been allowed to go this long without settling on Baby Love’s first name. I was the only one making suggestions, though.
“Corey?” I whispered next before shaking my head. “I dated a Corey and hated that ninja, so let’s not do that one.”
I smiled down at Baby Love, watching his eyes slowly close as he drifted back to sleep. Holding him felt so right—warm, cuddly, and trusting. I had worried he might sense my inexperience the moment I first held him, but he took to me better than I had hoped. That was what I loved most of all.
Both the baby nurse and the nanny had said that all this sleeping would stop soon, and honestly, I wasn’t looking forward to it. If I could barely handle life while Baby Love was still an infant, what was I going to do when he started sleeping less?
“Hopefully, your Uncle Leo will grow the hell up before you start sleeping less,” I mumbled. “Because I sure could use the help.”