Chapter 12 Jahlil
The music was blasting, their line brothers were scattered about the backyard and pool area enjoying the food and drinks before Donnée ushered in her sorority sisters.
After last night’s thirst fest, Jahlil wanted nothing more than to kick back and enjoying having a few days to himself to reset before the season.
“Who invited that nigga?” Carson asked taking a seat by Jahlil. That nigga he was referring to was no other than Daniel Jones. “Lena coming?”
“Doubt it but keep his ass away from E,” Jahlil spoke frowning at the thought of Emani knocking in his mouth the way he deserved.
“You already know I’m never about a round two on that bitch ass nigga. How was last night?”
Jahlil cut him a look. “You know how last night was. You know her.”
“Did she sleep?”
“Not at all. Does she ever sleep?”
Carson frowned. “You know how she is. Work, hardly no play on top of that she got a nigga that might be threatened by your presence.”
Jahlil rumbled in laughter. “He fuckin’ should be. If I was that nigga I’d be kissing her ass at every second instead of making all these waves online.”
“All he’s doing is putting asses in seats.
Hawks haven’t done shit or been this exciting since we broke the news.
Let his dumbass do the heavy lifting. Making space for you on the team and with her,” Carson threw his head in the direction of Emani and Donnée walking out of the house.
Donnée wore a bikini with a shear cover up over it but to anyone looking hard enough they could see all she had to offer.
Emani on the other hand walked in with a cover up hanging off of her shoulders, a mini dress, floppy hat over her natural curls and sandals.
It was evident by her outfit she showed up to look cute and be a spectator.
Emani looked in the direction of Jahlil and Carson and opted to go sit in the corner behind the bar. The look on her face unreadable.
“Oh she’s mad at you,” Jahlil joked. “She looked like she wanted to Sparta kick me off the damn porch last night.”
“But did she?” Carson posed. “That’s growth. The Emani I used to know would kick your ass first then ask questions.”
“You ain’t lying,” Jahlil said with a chuckle. “Remember when she hung Ashton upside down because he ate her leftovers.”
Carson laughed. “Considering they’re the same height for real that shit was hilarious. Nigga gonna say, only pregnant women get aggressive over fried rice.”
“A fuckin’ clown had everyone looking at me like I was about to fuck up a good thing,” Jahlil rumbled. “I knew better.”
“Ay Jah, C!” Donnée shouted across the pool. “Come get your asses whooped in Spades.”
“Yeah let me tap that ass,” Ashton spoke up. “You too E!”
“The last time I was your partner in spades you yelled at me. I still owe you for that,” Emani shouted back moving from the corner closer to the table Kyrie was setting up. “I won’t play but I’ll watch.”
“I didn’t yell at you,” Ashton refuted.
“You did,” Kyrie chimed. “Come to think about it you always talking shit and can’t fight.”
“I can fight,” Ashton defended.
Donnée gave him a look. “You can’t. I watched Emani pick you up, flip you over and shake you.”
“That’s ‘cause she a bully and I wasn’t about to activate Stretch over there,” Ashton pointed to Jahlil who’d moved closer.
“Sixteen don’t start with me.”
“Sixteen?” Carson asked with an amused expression.
“It’s sixteen tablespoons in a half pint,” Kyrie said nonchalantly shuffling the cards. Donnée and Carson shared a laugh before Kyrie continued. “I still think that was too generous.”
“Your girl thinks I’m enough,” Ashton shot making Kyrie place the cards down and glare at him. “Oh you don’t want to go there?”
“I’ll toss your tiny ass in the six feet and watch you struggle,” Kyrie grumbled back. “Want to keep going there with me?”
“Man deal the damn cards,” Ashton huffed.
Jahlil took a seat. “One of these days, someone is going to beat your ass.”
Jahlil had positioned himself in the perfect position to take in Emani.
She balanced her attention between her phone and the game while trying to ignore his heated gaze.
After five minutes of the avoided exchange she hopped off the seat and moved back to the bar to grab some drinks.
Carson, Kyrie and Ashton now took a turn with their watchful eyes.
One, it was amusing to see how to the two were floating by one another like ships but refused to collide.
Two, Daniel Jones was moving in her direction.
“I’ll beat his ass today.” Jahlil’s statement was clear as he laid his hand down to watch the exchange.
“You ain’t never lied,” Carson returned doing the same.
Kyrie and Ashton remained silent but kept a watchful eye as Donnée started to ease over to diffuse a potential blow up.
“Emani Rose,” her name crooned off his lips.
Jahlil watched as she squinted and frowned at the brightness of his teeth, loudness of his cologne, the manicured nails and topped with gel polish 266. A nude undetectable coat – well should’ve been amongst minimalistic women.
She barely lifted her eyes to him. “How can I help you Daniel?”
“You could smile. Tell a nigga hi or something?” he spoke with a grin. “It’s been a minute. I’ve been keeping up with you.”
“Oh yeah?” she dryly asked hoping at some point he’d get the hit that she just wasn’t in the mood. “How’s that going?”
“Better seeing how fine you got in person.”
She furrowed her brow and her eyes snapped to him.
“How fine I’ve gotten?” A laugh pushed through her lips and she shook her head. “You out your damn mind aren’t you? Are you on something? ”
Daniel licked his lips leaning on the bar counter. “Nah, I’m just saying. No disrespect I peeped that ass when you walked out here. I’m trying to figure out how ya nigga not fucking every chance he gets. All that body on you.”
Emani smiled at him. It was loaded. If he’d really been paying attention the way he claimed he would’ve known the smile was a warning. She was mentally talking herself down from another crash out. “No disrespect? That was hella disrespectful.”
“You need help, E?” Donnée questioned.
“Nah, I got this one,” Emani spoke. The frustration she’d been holding on too with a vice grip was going to be unleashed and Daniel would be the subject of her aggression all because he didn’t know how to keep his mouth shut.
“I’m just saying you probably need that little pussy tore out the frame. Clearly Malik ain’t hitting that shit right.”
Emani glared at him, before asking a little louder than she’d been. “So you think cause he ain’t here and the rest of these bitches happily handing your cheating ass some pussy, I’d let you touch me? Nigga, I’ll knock your corny ass out, again.”
“Yo, E,” Carson stood to his feet right after Jahlil popped up and was in full stride over toward Daniel.
“Fuck you say to her?” Jahlil asked, grabbing Daniel by the collar.
“I got it, Jah!” Emani shouted, not wanting him to make a scene over her. She attempted to push past him and handle Daniel herself but Jahlil, with ease, picked her up and put her behind him.
She could afford the hits to her confidence from Malik and whatever he was doing.
And no matter how she felt about Jahlil, she would never allow him to put his livelihood on the line.
His team had done a stellar job of keeping the bullshit from around him.
For him, right now it didn’t matter. Even though there had been years of space between them, being back in her space meant being there.
And more than anyone, he knew her triggers, he knew what kept her up, he knew what made her cry, he knew how to comfort her.
He knew handling Daniel wasn’t something to get in her good graces, it was mandatory.
A requirement. The standard he set years ago.
Jahlil ignored her. “What the fuck you say to her?”
Everyone was on their feet, Carson and Kyrie were trying to convince Jahlil to release Daniel while everyone who arrived with Daniel was looking on in amusement at how this was going to go down.
“You still fighting over that tight little pussy, huh?” Daniel taunted. “I just assumed that since you was out of it, we were next in line. You know how we get down.”
“We?” Emani popped off, trying to climb over anything she could to get to him.
She didn’t know how Ashton out maneuvered Carson and Kyrie, but he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into the house.
She fought like hell to get out of his hold and handle Daniel but Jahlil was handling that with ease.
“We’re not doing that!” Donnée shouted above the commotion, pushing the other members of the fraternity back while Jahlil waxed the bar with Daniel and his veneers. “You bought him over here, you’re going to carry his ass right back.”
“We didn’t know he was going to go there,” one defended.
“He always does!” Donnée shouted. “I told you not to even bring him around. That’s how y’all get down? Taking rounds on women because you got some loose change in your pocket?”
“He ain’t mean nothing by it, D. Nigga just feeling himself ,” another spoke.
Jahlil’s strength against Daniel’s. One thing he had over Daniel was he was driven by pure insanity. When it came to Emani then, now and forever, no one was going to say anything about her or to her that wasn’t facts, respectfully.
“We?!” Emani popped off again feeling like she was losing her mind. “Who the fuck is we! What kind of shit they think I’m on. I’m not that bitch!”
“Aight,” Kyrie grunted, trying to get Jahlil to come back center. “He got the point.”
“I’m the agent,” Carson spoke. “He ain’t get the fucking point!”
Jahlil, with flared nostrils and dark eyes gritted. His regret and silent anger with himself on display. “Clean this shit up, when you see her, make sure you fuckin’ apologize.”
“My tooth,” Daniel whimpered, bringing his manicured fingers to his mouth.
“Tooth? Don’t nobody give a damn about that big ass tooth!” Carson bellowed. “You heard what my boy said to you? What you gon’ do, nigga?”
“I’m-I’ma apologize,” Daniel damn near cried.
Jahlil, releasing him, grumbled. “You a bitch, how you somebody’s daddy is wild. Y’all clean this shit up and get the fuck up out of here.”
Before he changed his mind, he walked away to cool off.
The disrespect had him hot but what sent him over the edge was the look in Emani’s eyes.
The guilt that she went through shit because of him dropping the ball.
The facade of armor he wore was chipping away.
There was nothing he could do about it until he faced her. Eye to eye.
While Daniel and the friends that came with him cleaned up like they were told to do, he walked out of sight and palmed his face. The dancing around the topic and trying to act like he wasn’t the cause was over.