7. Turk #3
“I was, but when I told him I was pregnant he blocked me. I’m not finna be a single mom to four kids.” Renelle takes a sip of her coffee and chuckles to herself.
“Hey, fuck that nigga. And you may be single but you not doing this shit alone. Is there anything else you need?”
“You and Granddad do enough, Turkey. I’m good. Now, what’s bothering you?”
I bite my cheek as I stare Renelle down, but she’s not budging. She’s fully in big sister mode now, and I relent.
Where Rian and Rain will talk shit about me with their hand out, Renelle is as stubborn as they come.
When Poncho was out, she never accepted any help from me.
And when I got her this three bedroom house, she insisted on paying me rent that I just put into a savings account for her.
Even when she got the job at Brina’s company, she almost didn’t take it because she thought I asked them to hire her, when I ain’t even know she was back in town.
She’s always insisted that she didn’t need me to do anything but be her baby brother, and she really doesn’t know how much our relationship saved me. And that’s why it’s whatever for her.
“You know Patience right? Autumn’s girlfriend.”
“Yeah. I’ve seen her a couple times… oh, Turkey. Tell me you didn’t.” Renelle takes a big gulp as her eyes widen.
I smile, more out of nervousness than happiness. “Okay, I won’t tell you.”
“How are you supposed to get back with Autumn if you fucking her girlfriend?”
“Wait, no. I’m not fucking her. I have, but it was a threesome. I thought you were talking about her being pregnant.”
“Pregnant?!” Renelle’s dramatic ass clutches her imaginary pearls. “You playing surrogate for them? You’re okay with her taking your family?”
I pull my head back and screw my face up. “Nellie, ain’t no one taking anything away from me.”
My sister looks at me with pity, grating my nerves. “Turkey, come on now. She doesn’t come to Granddad’s. We damn sure don’t go to that fancy ass house. The bitch–”
“Aye. C’mon now with the name calling. Shit, Tweedledee and Tweedledumb don’t fuck with me nor Autumn, so why would Pay come over? Be for real.”
Renelle rolls her eyes and places her hand on mine.
“I just want you to wake up. That girl done tricked you into giving her a baby so she can be a family of four with your first love. You deserve better than that.” She taps her knuckles on the table and gets up, I guess leaving me to contemplate her words.
This exactly why I don’t tell nobody shit.
Renelle used to babysit Autumn and Wynter, so she was the first person to clock how I felt about my cinnamon apple. And being the big sister she is, has always tried to give me advice and steer us in the direction she thought we should go.
Most of the time the shit didn’t make no sense. Now I know she was projecting.
“I hear you, Nellie,” I say just to appease her. Standing up, I stretch and go to kiss the top of her head. “Ima head out and go get Deuce. You want me to bring your crumbsnatchers home?”
She shakes her head, grabbing the wine out her cabinet. “Hell no. I need a few more kid-free hours. Thanks though.”
I nod, and start for the door before I turn around, my original reason for coming over here popping back up in my head.
“I almost forgot. You and the twins used to be in East Kenton with them Get Money niggas right? Before they started rapping?”
Renelle furrows her brows and folds her arms. “Yeah. Why?”
“So you know Cochise then? He and Grimey brothers right?”
Renelle takes a gulp of wine too damn big for her to have to drive with my nephews and niece later. “Yeah. He’s closer to your age than mine, and they’re not blood brothers. This about that diss song Shad put out?”
“Nah. Just asking. I’ll get up with you later sis.
” I love my sister, but the way she was talking about Pay, I knew I couldn’t press too hard.
Part of me wants to go over Grimey and Cochise straight to Apache, and give him whatever money Pay owes them.
But shit, if it’s more than money, that’ll be putting her into danger, too.
I feel her before I see her. It’s late, late enough that Deucey’s snoring over his tv in his room. Late enough that I know Ima be pissed in the morning trying to get him to school on time.
“Can’t sleep?” she asks. Just under my son’s snoring, I hear her deep breaths. If I didn't know any better, I’d say she was aroused.
“Nah, shorty.” I wanna expand, and tell her why. About how her words from earlier are scratching at me. About how for the second time, I wanna break shit down to her, so she can understand me. But I just keep my back to her, and take another swig of my water bottle.
“Royce.” I turn when I feel her soft hand on my bicep. Her eyes rake my top half, and I flex my pecs cause I can’t help myself. But she doesn’t roll her eyes, or get snarky. No, she bites that bottom lip and clenches those thick thighs together.
She seems to snap out of her daze when she looks me in the eye and drops her hand. “I just wanted to apologize. I’ve been judging you since before I met you, and because Autumn never clarified, I ran with it.”
Her eyes get glassy as she hugs herself, glancing off to the side. “Autumn and I… one of our problems was we didn’t communicate. And I’m starting to see why she chose not to divulge some things to me. I’ll probably put my foot in my mouth a lot more times, but I’ll try my best to be different.”
“I know it took a lot for you to apologize, Paypay. I’m glad cause you really hurt a nigga feelings.”
Pay pinches the bridge of her nose before giving me her fakest smile.
Her dimples not even showing. “Ima let you have that, since I’ve been unfair to you.
I also wanna thank you for letting me stay here.
” Her smile turns more genuine, shy even, and my chest starts feeling weird.
“You didn’t have to–don’t have to be so nice to me, but you are.
And I’m thankful, even when I don’t act like it. So thank you, Royce.”
I take a step toward her, so that she has to tilt her head up.
Her eyes go wide, and fuck, flashbacks of her choking on my dick invade my mind’s eye.
The water bottle crinkles from me fisting my hands.
The more we gaze into each other’s eyes, the more I wanna pick her up, take her to my room, and make her apologize all night long for how she be coming at me.
Edge her ass all night, just to make her come so hard she goes blind.
Blood rushes to my dick so fast I get dizzy.
“Goodnight,” she whispers. When I blink I see her ass rushing around the corner. I’m leaning over, so much so that I had to have been in her face when she moved. I ain’t even notice.
If I don’t have sex soon, Ima spontaneously combust. But the thought of another bitch–besides my cinnamon apple and the little fox currently in my bed–handling me makes my dick soft.
I’m fucked.