Chapter 19
“And his grandmother apologized, but honestly, I felt like that was more for him than for me. She still doesn’t like me,” I said to LoLo as the two of us sat in my studio the day after Kaynaan and I had lunch with his grandmother.
I was finishing up the very last of my Christmas orders. She was just hanging out.
“At least his mother and father like you. I guess you can’t win ’em all.
“Yeah. His grandfather’s cool, too. I just am not who Georgia Israel would’ve picked for her grandson to fall for.”
“Fuck her,” LoLo deadpanned, and I had to laugh. “Ugh. Let me go to the bathroom. I promise this period every twenty-eight days stuff is for the birds. Between the cramps and day three having me feeling like the literal Red Sea, they can have it.” She narrowed her eyes at me. “Lucky ass.”
“Whatever.” I waved her off and kept working while she headed to the back to use the facilities.
No sooner than she disappeared from my sight did the bell to the shop ring. I checked the camera.
Oh no, Preston! I thought to myself. I hit the button for the speaker. “How may I help you?”
“Stop playing and let me in,” he practically growled.
He seemed upset. If LoLo hadn’t been in the shop with me, I would’ve called Kaynaan.
Since I knew that LoLo never left home without her weapon, I figured I would let him in.
It wasn’t like I hadn’t expected to hear from him eventually.
After I made that post and wore Kaynaan’s jersey to the game, I figured he would pop out of the woodwork.
But I also figured there was a chance he wouldn’t, because he didn’t care about me or the baby.
Before I let him in, I shot LoLo a text.
Me:
Just FYI, Preston just showed up and he seems mad as hell. Keep lil baby handy.
She texted right back.
LoLo:
Ready!
Preston came into my space, wearing a scowl. “We need to talk.”
I shrugged my shoulders. “Okay.”
“What the fuck is wrong with you?”
There was no way I was responding to a question like that. He had to be crazy if he felt that I owed him any kind of explanation about what was going on in my life. Instead, I gave him a blank stare.
“You hear me talking to you. I said—”
“Right. I do hear you, and I wonder who the hell you think you’re talking to. If you wanna have a conversation, we can do that. But what’s not gonna happen is you coming into my place of business and talking shit to me, like you pay the rent around here.”
He waved his hand dismissively. “Fuck all that. Why the hell you running around here letting Israel claim my seed? The fuck you think this is? I’m not that rapper, and that nigga ain’t that former Seahawks quarterback, so stop with the bullshit. That nigga is not the daddy.”
“Wait. What? You told me to get rid of the baby. Never reached out to me about an update. Now you’re in my studio talking about somebody else claiming a baby you didn’t want and never checked on? I’m so confused.”
“You’re definitely confused with your ditzy ass.”
As soon as he called me ditzy, the air went out of my bubble. I was back in the living room of the apartment that I shared with Channing. His face was twisted with a scowl so similar to the one Preston wore now, and he was yelling at me, telling me I was stupid.
I closed my eyes tightly, took a few deep breaths in through my nose and out through my mouth. When I was back in the moment, I opened my eyes. “You need to leave, Preston. You need to leave. And don’t ever come here again.”
He took a deep breath, and some of his aggression seemed to simmer down. “Look, how would you feel if you were me?”
“I don’t know. In what way do you mean?”
“I’m saying. Here you are, supposedly pregnant by me. But you’re on social media holding your pregnant belly, talking ’bout, it’s stepdaddy season. How would you feel if the shoe was on the other foot?”
“Nobody knows I’m pregnant by you except Kaynaan.
And as far as I’m concerned, nobody ever has to.
” I sighed. “My bad if the post came off as if I was trying to embarrass you. I really wasn’t.
I was just trying to celebrate and support the man who’s been in my corner since I found out about this baby.
You were out the door, Preston. And I don’t blame you for that, nor am I bitter about it.
We were playing around. I wasn’t supposed to get pregnant.
I get that. I never planned to try to make you be involved or attached your name in any shape, form, or fashion. ”
“You know I hate Israel’s ass. Why of all the people you gotta have him in the picture?
Around my shorty? Claiming my shorty? I hate this nigga!
When I saw him trying to shoot his shot with you at that banquet, all I wanted to do was interrupt his flow.
And I did. You went home with me that night. It was me blowing your back out.”
My mouth was on the floor as he continued talking.
“And you still ended up with that nigga. I don’t want him around the baby.”
“Let’s circle back to what you just said. You only talked to me at the banquet to keep Kaynaan from talking to me? You lied to me about him having a thing about only dating snowflakes, when you knew all along that lady was the owner’s daughter?”
He didn’t look remorseful when he shrugged. “Like I told you, I hate that nigga. I would’ve said anything to stick it to his punk ass.”
“Oh wow,” I muttered as I sat with the thought that I was only a pawn. I was pregnant by a man who only wanted to use me as a pawn in a rivalry. “This just keeps getting better and better.” At this point, I was never going to be able to leave therapy. This was a whole new issue to work through.
“So, you’ve been going to doctor’s appointments and shit?”
He asked the question like he hadn’t just thrown my entire world into a blender.
As if my mind wasn’t still spinning with the revelation that he only approached me to hurt Kaynaan.
This man had slutted me out all across the city of Chicago.
In the back of trucks and in janitor closets.
In hotel rooms and in the ladies’ room at my favorite restaurant.
And he only approached me because Kaynaan approached me? I felt like I had to throw up.
“Hey, you cool?” He started coming toward me.
I stuck out my arm and held up my hand. “Don’t touch me,” I said through a gag that thankfully didn’t result in me throwing up.
“You only approached me to get under Kaynaan’s skin, and now I’m pregnant by you.
Do you get that? Do you understand what you just laid at my feet?
You never saw me, Preston. All you saw was Kaynaan’s interest in me. ” I gagged again.
Realization seemed to dawn on him. “Nah. It wasn’t like that. I mean, it was at first. But after I talked to you and spent some time with you, . . . you were cool. You were my pretty lil homie with the good pussy. My innocent, put-together, straitlaced homie with—”
“Stop talking to me. You need to go.”
“Look, I didn’t mean to say anything to make you feel some type of way about how we got together. But regardless of the fact that it wasn’t love at first sight or no shit like that, you’re still pregnant with my baby.”
“If you want to be involved in this child’s life, have your attorney contact me. Otherwise, you and I don’t need to have any dealings.”
“What about the appointments and all the stuff leading up to the baby’s birth?”
I scoffed and tried not to gag. “I don’t want you there. Sorry if that makes you feel some type of way,” I mocked because I felt like being petty. “Have your attorney force me to let you come. Otherwise . . .” I shrugged my shoulders.
“Bitches,” he mumbled. “I want a fucking paternity test.”
I shrugged a second time. “Have your attorney contact me.”
When he finally left, LoLo came from around the corner where she’d been standing, and listening to the whole conversation. “Where’s your phone?”
I slid it to her, as I took a seat on a stool and put my head down on the counter.
“I’m calling Kaynaan.”
“Kaynaan!” I basically shrieked as I watched the video on the phone in my hand.
“Don’t Kaynaan me. I don’t appreciate that nigga rolling through here and fucking with you.”
“But to jeopardize your job. He’s your co-worker and you fought him at work.”
“It wasn’t a fight. It was a few punches, and his lame ass went down.”
“Still. He’s probably gonna sue you. The league’s probably gonna fine you. I don’t want you out—”
“Stop. Stop. I don’t wanna hear about you not wanting to be the cause of me and dude getting into it.
You weren’t the cause . . . He was the fucking cause.
Him. His damn actions. Being the clown-ass nigga he is.
Pushing up on you to stop me from pushing up on you.
Lying to you so you wouldn’t be interested in me.
When LoLo called me and told me the shit he was saying to you, .
. . that motherfucker is lucky all he got was a two-piece. ”
I sighed loudly.
“Don’t do that, Wyndi. Don’t try to make my righteous anger problematic. You’re mine to protect.” He pulled me into his arms and held me tightly. “You’re mine to protect. You and my daughter are mine to protect. And I’mma protect y’all anytime. Every time. And all the fucking time.”