Chapter 18
EIGHTEEN
Diamond.
“Don’t take her too close to that, Makhai.” I frowned when he walked Keona toward the fish table. I’d seen a video on Cliqued when the man got too close and a big ass fish jumped out of the water.
“I got her, Lord.” He walked closer despite me asking him not to.
He was leaning down a little trying to get her to look at the fish, but she wasn’t paying any attention. She was more focused on his dangling chain.
“When you end up like that man, I don’t want to hear it.”
“My mama will be frying that bitch for dinner later if it jumps out of that water at me and Baby Lord.”
“Baby, there are kids in here,” I fussed, taking Keona from him.
He’d woken me up early to take her to Victori Hills, a goat farm that also had a little petting zoo.
He, of course, complained the entire time we were there because he didn’t want to feed the animals, nor did he want me to let Keona get close to them.
He also complained about the smell. I was finally over it and agreed to leave and go to the aquarium they had in town.
We spent another hour and some change there before going to have lunch at The Tavern, a local restaurant in the downtown area.
A few people noticed Makhai and asked him for autographs and pictures before the owner came out and closed off the area where we were eating so we could enjoy our food.
I was all smiles the whole time because everyone loved him and was promising to come to his show in Crescent Falls soon.
“Do you ever get overwhelmed with that?” I asked because though the owner closed the space off, people were still recording and snapping pictures of him.
“I’m used to it,” he chuckled. “But I don’t usually sit and eat places, so this don’t happen that often.”
“We could have gotten our stuff to go.” I smiled.
“I been hearing your stomach the whole time we were out. We good.”
“You’re a liar!” I cackled. “I cannot stand you.”
“I’m dead ass, Lord.” He grinned. “Mothafuckas was gon’ think I never feed yo’ ass.”
“Anyways,” I playfully rolled my eyes then got on my phone. I’d eaten some of my food, but I opted to take the rest with me because I didn’t want people to capture pictures and videos of me eating.
My brows furrowed when I checked Pikz and noticed that someone had been blowing me up with messages and she’d even called me.
“What the fuck?” I whispered.
I scrolled through the messages and noticed they were all about Makhai.
She was asking me if he was with me, telling me that they’d been together almost a year, he was never leaving her and so on.
She also took the initiative to send me pictures and videos of them, one being the night of his first show.
Wow!
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” I mumbled, locking my phone and gathering my things. “I’m ready to go.”
I was so glad that I was going home today. I didn’t want to have to flip and show out at Makhai’s parents’ house.
He paid the tab, grabbed the baby and our food, then we left.
The ride was quiet because I had no words.
I was abundantly clear about leaving him if there were any signs of foolishness.
He wasted no time at all showing his true colors.
Hell, according to the girl, he’d never left her alone, so apparently his true colors had been showing the whole time.
When we made it back to his parents’ house, we packed our things then I went down to hug his mom and dad, thanking them for showing us hospitality and a good time—and for loving on Keona. I was sure she ate up all of the love and attention because she was arm to arm the entire time we were there.
The ride to the airport was the same as the car—quiet. Makhai tried making conversation, but I kept my answers short. It wasn’t until we were on the jet and in the air that he all but made me talk to him.
“Aight Lord, tell me what the fuck I did in this small ass amount of time so I can fix the shit.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I shrugged.
“Yeah, you do, Lord.” He chuckled. “Whatever you looked at on ya phone when we were eating bothered you, so tell me what it was so we can move past it.”
I angled my head to the side when he said move past it as if that’s what was about to happen. When I made it back to Atlyn City, his ass was done for.
“Who is India?”
His brows dipped. His expression said that he was confused, it was more that than “how does she know that name?”
He didn’t reply, so I repeated the question.
“I heard you the first time, Diamond.” He frowned. “She ain’t nobody.”
“Oh, she’s some damn body.” I snapped, pulling my phone out to show him the messages, pictures, videos, and calls. “She’s very informative. And I really don’t understand why the fuck she keeps calling me.”
“Shit, I don’t know either,” he spat, cutting his eyes at me. “Why you ain’t answer?”
“Because I don’t know that bitch and I have no desire to talk to her ass.”
“But you believe the shit she saying in the messages?” he quizzed with lifted brows. “Women.” He shook his head.
“You are literally in these pictures and videos. We were in a relationship in this one.” I pointed to the video of him at the Dome.
“And I wasn’t doing shit but commenting on your picture in the shit,” he pointed out. “I went back to the room after that and slept on the phone with your ass.”
“What about the others?” I frowned. “You’re all over her in these.”
“I did have a life before you, baby,” he chuckled.
“Yeah, but you said I was your first girlfriend,” I countered with a lot of attitude. “You’re all over this woman.”
“I was lit nine times outta ten in these, and I did use to hit the bitch, Diamond. What you wanted me to be dapping the hoe up?”
“I want the bitch to not be writing me trying to make it seem like something is going on with you two right now because it’s not, right?”
“No.”
“Then you need to handle this shit.”
“Fuck you want me to do about the bitch lying on the net, Dime?” he quizzed. He never called me Dime, so I knew he was annoyed, but I was too, so I didn’t give a fuck.
“You’ve done a lot for less,” I crossed my arms, throwing the words he’d once tossed at me right back at him. “So, I’m more than sure you’ll figure something out.”
“Aight, but,” he quickly unfastened my seatbelt and yanked me over in his lap. “Who the fuck you giving all that attitude to, Diamond?”
“You.” I answered, doing my best not to smile because I was mad at him.
When Tristan messed up, I wasted no time leaving him and didn’t bother listening to his explanation.
It was over and I was done. It was hard even being mad at Makhai, so I knew that leaving wouldn’t be as easy, but I’d surely deal with the emotions before I allowed him to cheat on me.
He tried pulling me in for a kiss, but I pushed him back. “You need to do what I asked.”
“Lord, I’m gon’ handle the shit.”
“Now, Makhai.”
“Naw, not now,” he countered. “That ain’t how I do shit. I said I’m gon’ deal with her ass, and I am, but you not ‘bout to be barking orders thinking a nigga gon’ scurry.”
“Then I won’t be talking to you until it’s handled.” I climbed out of his lap and fastened myself back in my seat.
“Aight, whatever,” he mumbled while shaking his head.
“I know you don’t have the nerve to have an attitude when your ex bitch is writing me.” I palmed my chest.
“Bitch ain’t my ex,” he quickly replied. “I got an attitude because we just had a good ass two days and you fucking it up with nonsense.” He shook his head again. “When ya ex popped up at ya crib, did I trip?”
“No, but—”
“Naw, it ain’t no but,” he cut me off. “I get back on the road tonight, and instead of letting me enjoy the last couple of hours I got with yo’ ass, you giving me all this grief about a bitch that me and you both know I ain’t fucking with.
When I’m not on stage, I’m pressing you.
When do I even have time to think about another bitch?
” When I didn’t reply, he said, “Exactly.”
Even if I planned to say something back, he didn’t give me a chance to.
He put on his headphones, started some music and laid his head back on the headrest with his eyes closed.
I sat there staring at him for a few minutes, but when he didn’t budge, I turned to face the window and just stared out at nothing until we landed.
I was tempted to tell his ass that me and Keona would order a uRide back home, but I decided against it and let him take us.
When we got back to my place, he took her out of her seat and to her room.
I waited around to see if he was going to come back out of there since she was still asleep, but he didn’t.
I walked down the hall to see what he was doing and found him lying on the floor in front of her crib on his stomach with his hood over his head.
I could hear his music playing so I assumed he still had his headphones on.
I rolled my eyes and went to my room to unpack our things, start laundry, shower, then lie down myself.
By the time my eyes fluttered open, I realized that it was dark out.
I panicked, jumping from my bed and rushing to Keona’s room.
I didn’t see her in her room, so I went down the hall to the living room where I found her and Kabria.
I released a sigh of relief when I realized she was there with her.
“Well, hello, sleepy head.” She smiled when she noticed me.
“When did you get here?” I quizzed, looking around to see if I spotted any hints of Makhai being there.
“Like two hours ago,” she answered. “Your man called me on Pikz asking me to come through so he could leave.”
“Oh.” I dropped my head feeling a way that he hadn’t woken me before he left.
“No sense in having a long face, heffa. You shouldn’t have pissed that man off.”
My brows dipped. “He told you?”
She shook her head. “He didn’t have to. He left without saying anything to you and he called me to come over instead of just waking you.”
Sighing heavily, I walked deeper into the living room and joined them on the couch. I went ahead and told her what happened as well as showed her everything to support my theory for being upset.
“Diamond,” Kabria released a hard sigh then glared at me. “Makhai had curly hair in these pictures and videos, they’re clearly old. She’s literally asking if he’s with you because she clearly can’t get in contact with him and doesn’t know.” She shook her head. “Loco is not Tristan.”
“I know that.” I frowned.
“Do you?” she fired back. “Because you have been waiting for him to fuck up.”
“I have not!” I screeched, offended as hell.
“From the beginning you have been claiming that Makhai is incapable of being faithful.”
“Clearly I changed my mind.” I shrugged. “We’re dating.”
“If you changed your mind, you wouldn’t be mad at him.”
“I’m mad because he didn’t say something when I asked him to,” I corrected. “He said he was going to handle it when he was ready.”
“So let him, Diamond. The man is a murderer according to you, hell, he has to plan that kind of shit out.”
“I hate you.” I laughed. “I really do.”
“Hate me all you want, but bestie, you’re going to mess around and lose a good man because you won’t completely let go of that hurt and let that man love you.”
Her words stalled me for a second. I’d really been enjoying my time with Makhai. He’d been the perfect gentleman to me and took great care of me and my niece, but I was hesitant just a little. It was hard to completely believe that he’d gone from bachelor of the year to this all out faithful man.
Like how do you go from changing women like you change draws to just being with one?
Still, he hadn’t given me a reason to believe he was cheating or doing me dirty, so my best friend had a point, and she was right to an extent.
“Fine, I’ll apologize.”
“Great. Throw some head in there too.”
“Please shut up.” I laughed and pushed her playfully.
“I’m just playing.” She grinned. “Just a little bit though.”
“Trust me, I know you’re serious.” I shook my head, then looked toward the kitchen because I’d been smelling food since I walked in the room. “You cooked?”
“You know damn well I don’t cook when I have to work,” she chuckled. “Your man had Lou’s delivered.”
“Oh,” I turned and smiled. Since his mother cooked for us, I’d been saying I wanted some good soul food. I could have cooked myself, but I wanted it without having to do the work.
“He said it’s what you wanted,” Kabria added and when I looked her way, she was smirking. “You pissed the man off and he was still looking out for your spoiled ass.”
“I know, bitch.” I rolled my eyes. “But he’s not completely innocent. It was his ex situation reaching out to me. Not the other way around.”
“Let me look at her page.” She held her hand out for my phone which I gave to her.
“Don’t accidentally like anything, Kabria.”
“I’m not, hoe,” she snatched it. “You act like I’m new to this.”
“Just saying, bestie.”
While she did her thing, I got up and went to see what food Makhai had ordered.
My mouth watered when I noticed the smothered cubed steak, rice and gravy, macaroni, cabbage, and corn bread.
He’d gotten more than enough food, so I fixed Ms. Joyce a plate and took it to her so she didn’t have to fix herself anything, then I came back to fix me and my best friend something.
Once I’d fixed our plates, we laid Keona on her Boppy between us, ate and watched our favorite movie.
Before we got deep into it, I texted Makhai.
He’d be coming to Atlyn City for his show soon, so I was going to put something together to show him how sorry I was and how much I appreciated him and what we had.