5. Khalil
Classes finally ended.
Since I didn’t have practice or a game, I was happy I could get home to my baby girl earlier than usual. My nana told me how Nia stayed until nine last night, and she was more attentive than she’d ever been with Kiyanne.
It didn’t surprise me.
She always did this for a few days, then disappeared for a week or two. I only gave a fuck because I wanted my daughter to have a mother. She didn’t ask to be here, and if I’d known this would happen with Nia, I would have chosen a better mother for her.
On the way out of my Econ class, I spotted Piper coming out of Ms. Jones’s biology class.
Today, she was rocking some black jeans that gripped her ass and hips a little too tight.
So tight it had me do a double take. For the past three times I’d seen her, she wore jogging suits that didn’t show much of her frame.
Her ass looked heavy, which made her pants have that little space at the top and a small dip.
Not that I was paying attention anyway, but now that she had on something that complemented her curves, I could appreciate the view.
That ass was wobbling something vicious. I, being an ass man, could appreciate what I saw.
That shit with Sabrina and Davina taking shots at her wasn’t necessary.
I didn’t like bullies, and Piper did nothing to deserve their mean-girl energy.
The whole time we were in the group, Piper stayed quiet.
I understood, but I couldn’t help but stare at her profile.
She was pretty as hell. Those thighs, that ass, that smart mouth, sassy attitude, and those eyes were what had me intrigued by her, wanting to be in her presence.
I put a little pep in my step to catch up to her. Once I caught up, she looked up at me and frowned.
“You know, if you keep frowning like that, you’re going to get frown lines on that pretty face.” I could tell I shocked her because her face immediately relaxed.
“Oh yeah?”
“Mmhmm.”
“What do you want?” she asked as we walked out of the building.
“For you not to be mad at me.”
“Why would I be mad at you? And why do you care if I’m mad at you or not?”
“I wasn’t being very nice to you the other day. I want to apologize because you didn’t deserve that energy. I was just cranky because of exhaustion, so I’m sorry that you had to take the heat from that.”
“Mm. Okay. Enjoy the rest of your day.” She dismissed.
I chuckled. “Damn. I can’t get confirmation that you accept my apology?”
“Apology accepted. Now, if you’ll excuse me.” She continued walking, and I followed.
“Let me walk you to your dorm.”
“For what? We aren’t friends. I don’t need security.”
“I know you don’t. You look like you got hands. I don’t want no smoke with you, and I’m sure nobody else does either.”
I could see her trying to suppress her smile as she looked away from me. That made me feel good, even though she was giving me fuck-off vibes.
“Mm,” she mumbled as we continued to walk. The Coretta dorms were about a mile from the main building, so I had a little time to pick her brain before we departed.
“Where you from?”
“Saturn.”
I chuckled. “You answered that shit too fast. With all this alien and robot shit going on, I can believe it.”
She stopped walking. “Why are you trying to make me like you?”
My smile broadened again. “You like me?”
“Hell no. If I never see you again, it would be too soon.”
“Damn, shorty. If I’d known my irritation that day would have put me in the doghouse, I would have come at you differently.”
“From my observation, your doghouse is pretty plush. I’m sure you enjoy it there, so there’s no sense in letting you out.”
“Damn, that’s cold.” I chuckled. “I mean, I ain’t forcing you to like me, but I am kinda dope if you get to know me. I want to show you that I’m not the asshole you think I am.”
Those big, pretty-ass eyes came to me again, confirming what I already knew she thought of me. I smiled down at her. She hurried and looked away, then started walking again.
Damn, she was pretty.
And off limits.
Even though shorty had a mouth on her that would have women like Sabrina wanting to put hands on her, I discerned Piper’s attitude and tough exterior was a guard that she put up over time.
What was she guarding herself from? I wasn’t sure, but I knew if I were to pursue her in that way, she wouldn’t be able to handle the pressure I’d bring.
Besides, Kiyanne was my only concern at the moment.
We were silent until we reached the entrance to her building a few minutes later. She turned and glared at me for a moment before asking, “What do you really want, Khalil?”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m just curious as to why you want to be nice to me all of a sudden.”
“A nigga can’t just be nice to you?”
“Not a nigga like you.”
“I told you we got off on the wrong foot. You asked me about my character, which I’m sure was a dig since I was giving you attitude. I’m trying to show you who I really am . . . if you’d stop being mean to me long enough to see for yourself.”
I pushed one of her fly-aways out of her face while she continued to look at me awkwardly. My eyes scanned her face, noticing more of her striking features. Her eyes were brown with specks of gold in them. Those eyes and lips had me feeling shit I knew I shouldn’t be.
I wondered if she knew she could have a nigga eating out of the palm of her hand. Preferably a nigga like me.
She took a step back away from me and cleared her throat. “Thanks for walking me. Bye.” With that, she snatched the door open and hurried inside.
I laughed and shouted, “You’re welcome!” Then I turned and headed back toward the parking lot to my car. I liked Piper. She was definitely a fiery woman, but I knew, deep down, she had to be a sweetheart.
I was now going to make it my mission to bring out the beautiful person I knew she could be. Even if it was just for her friendship.
As soon as I walked inside of my house, I was met by my nana, moms, bonus father, and my little sister.
A huge smile came upon my face just because I saw them sitting in my living room with my moms holding Kiyanne in her arms, my pops stretched across the couch, with Kyani laying on him, playing with her iPad, and nana in her favorite chair sipping tea.
“Oh, snap. To what do I owe this pleasant surprise?” I asked, walking into the living room.
“Lilo!” Kyani yelled in excitement as she rushed me. I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her cheeks.
“We missed you!” Kyani exclaimed.
I chuckled. “I literally just left y’all two weeks ago.”
“So? That’s too long,” Kyani sassed, tossing her hand on her hip. I laughed and moved over to my nana and parents. I kissed my nana on her cheek, then looked at my mom, who had a big smile on her face.
“I swear, every time I see you, you’re getting taller and not looking like my baby no more. I want you to go back to being that little boy who used to carry a basketball everywhere he went.”
I chuckled, planting a kiss on her forehead. “I miss you, lady.”
“I miss you more, baby. And I miss my little nugget,” she said, cooing at Kiy.
“I swear, if I had to hear your sister and mama say how much they been missing you one more time, it would be too damn soon,” my pops said, standing, giving me a dap, then a hug.
“How shit going down here?” he asked once he pulled away.
“Shit sweet.”
“Hey, language,” Moms scolded.
I chuckled. “My bad. Everything is cool.”
“And Nia?” Moms asked. I sighed and sat beside her, and Pops reclaimed his seat.
“Still Nia. No real change.”
Moms huffed. “I don’t know why you even deal with her, Khalil. It’s clear the girl wants to be a part-time mother. You don’t have to keep allowing her to come and go as she pleases. You’re doing perfectly fine at being a father without her around.”
“I know, but . . . I guess I’m just holding on to the Nia I knew before. She was never like this until she had Kiy—”
“Which should tell you something. The girl doesn’t want to be a mother, and it shows. What about when Kiy gets older, and she continues to fade in and out of her life? That type of mess could emotionally damage my baby, and she doesn’t deserve that.”
“Hopefully, by then, I’d have found her a substitute.” I smirked.
“It’s not funny, Lilo. And stop letting her in your bedroom, giving her false hope, because we all know you ain’t marrying her ass. I feel like the only reason she even around is because she knows you’re going to the league.”
My eyes went to my nana as she looked away while sipping her tea. “Why you telling my business, Nana?” I asked with a smirk on my face. I was sure she knew what we were doing in my room, even though it was upstairs far away from her.
“I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Nana being messy!” Kyani exclaimed while laughing.
“Hush up. You go on to the back and play somewhere. Your little ten-year-old behind don’t know nothing about somebody being messy,” Nana fussed.
“Uh-huh, I watch Real Housewives of Atlanta. Them girls is messy!”
“You watch what, little girl?” Moms asked in shock.
“Bye!” Kyani hurried off toward the back of the house.
I couldn’t help but laugh. Kyani was my parents’ problem child. She wasn’t a bad kid, but she would do shit she knew she wasn’t supposed to be doing sometimes. Pops always protected her because she was the only girl. He swore he wasn’t an enabler when it came to her, but we all knew differently.
“Mama, leave my baby alone. She only does what her mama do,” Pops told her.
Moms looked over at him. “I do not watch ratchet TV around her!”
“Baby,” he called, looking at her as if to tell her to stop lying.
She waved him off. “Whatever.”
I chuckled. “Can I have my baby, please? She been reaching for me this whole time.”
“Boy, stop being delusional,” my moms said, laughing while passing me my baby. As soon as she got into my arms, her little body went berserk as she smiled wide and giggled. My moms and Nana cooed, seeing her reaction to me.
I kissed her cheeks and cradled her in my arms.