7. Ivo #3
I couldn’t focus on what she was talking about.
My mind had been on some other shit for days.
I hadn’t talked to Emerald, and she’d been blowing me up.
There wasn’t anything else to say in my eyes.
The reason she stayed on me about being all in was because she wasn’t.
She was still entertaining another nigga while I was pledging my love for her.
Now she had a nigga on some fuck the world shit.
My marriage was on the rocks, and every day I was trying to think of ways to let Jordan know that I wanted an official separation.
I wasn’t ready for her reaction, so I’d been avoiding her.
I didn’t respond, and she moved along to the kitchen while I decided to stop at the bar in the living room and get myself a drink.
Lately, it had been the only thing keeping me from going off on a muhfucka.
“Ivo, what is wrong with you? You’ve been in this mood all week.” Jordan paused in the doorway while I strolled ahead of her to the setup in the corner.
“I’m fine.” I grabbed a clean glass and a bottle of whiskey to pour myself a double shot.
“Emerald and Sapphire will be here for dinner. The least you can do is pretend to enjoy your life.” She had no fucking idea.
I tipped my glass to my lips and swallowed the warm liquid.
Jordan scoffed and stomped off, which I was glad for.
I wasn’t mad at her, but she was the closest person to me, so she caught all the attitude.
After finishing my first glass, I poured another as the front door slammed shut and Staten’s kids came crashing through.
Rogue and Piaget took off running to the kitchen, while Tavi and Saga strolled in behind them slowly.
Saga was typing away on his phone, and Tavi had her arms crossed with her brows knitted together. Her ass kept an attitude.
“What’s up, Unc?” Saga greeted me as he took a seat on the couch.
Tavi plopped down on the opposite sofa and moved one leg over the other.
“I’m going to take this pie to the kitchen,” Cambrie noted, holding up the pan in her hand.
I caught the eyeroll from Tavi when Staten draped an arm around Cambrie and brought her in for a kiss.
Nearby, Nadia cleared her throat, and I waited for some shit to jump off while peering at them over the rim of my glass.
Dinner was about to be interesting. Brick and Six came rushing inside, and she jumped on his back, reaching for her pink phone in his hand as he typed away.
My big bro joined me at the bar, grabbing his own glass and smelling like a pound of weed. His hooded eyes let me know he had blown one not too long ago. Nadia joined Tavi on the couch, and the two spoke lowly to one another.
“You post it and I’m moving into my own room!” Six screamed, biting Brick’s ear.
“Ow!” He shook her off him, and she landed on the couch next to Saga.
He and Tavi laughed uncontrollably as Brick held Six’s phone out of reach and finished typing.
“That muhfucka is shared. Now everybody get to hear how you be up there snoring like a little fat dude.” He tossed her phone to her on the couch, and Six jumped up with it in her hand.
Scowling, she narrowed her eyes and bit her bottom lip. Without a word, she stomped off and up the stairs, leaving the rest of us looking at Brick.
“Where you going?” he shouted after her.
“I’m about to move my shit into my own room!”
“Six, don’t get fucked up around here.” Brick dropped onto the sofa beside Tavi and stuck his finger in her ear playfully.
“Oh, it’s damn sure not a game!” Six screeched, already at the top of the stairs.
“Ain’t nobody worried about her. I’ll move all that shit back.” Brick waved her off. “What’s up, bro? You been MIA all week. You on yo’ period?”
“Fuck you.” I flipped him off.
“You guys are so mature,” Nadia remarked sarcastically.
“You can damn sure take your ass on somewhere with that,” Brick voiced. “The fuck you still doing here anyway?”
“My kids are here.”
“So?” Brick posed, face balling up in distaste.
He stretched on the couch in his joggers, t-shirt, and Nike slides with one hand behind his head as Staten took a seat on the arm of the couch next to Saga with his glass.
There was a lot of commotion from upstairs, doors slamming and Six obviously stomping around in a fit.
Brick sat there ignoring the shit until his clothes were flying over the railing and into the entryway for us all to see.
Staten sipped his drink, lifted both brows, and turned to Brick.
“The hell?” A frown flickered over his face as he slowly sat up, lowering his feet to the ground one by one. “Six, the fuck you doing?”
“I like your room better. You take the guest room!”
“I’mma fuck you up!” He peered up, aiming an accusing finger at her as she tossed some of his shoes over too.
She stuck her middle finger up before spinning on her heel and disappearing. Brick tore off and started up the staircase, taking them two at a time. Staten chuckled and brought his glass to his lips once again.
“Dinner will be ready in about ten minutes,” Marcella announced from the doorway, draped in a white linen pantsuit with gold accessories.
Her signature low bun showed off her diamond-shaped face, and she had minimal makeup with a rich, plum, matte lipstick.
“Ivo, pour me a drink,” she instructed, clasping her hands together and taking position in one of the accent chairs near the door.
I did as I was told, pouring her a double neat shot of our whiskey, and walked her glass over to her. The doorbell suddenly chimed as she brought the drink to her lips.
“Grab the door for me, will you?” Marcella requested.
With my glass in hand, I traveled into the hall and yanked one of the double doors open.
On the other side, Emerald stole my breath in a soft pink, two-piece crop top and A-line skirt.
She’d pulled her locs into a bun resting on top of her head and wore little makeup with a light pink tint gloss on her lips.
I hadn’t seen or spoken to her in days, and instantly, my dick woke up when she slowly batted those slanted brown eyes.
Beside her, Sapphire was casual in jeans, a black button-up shirt, and retro 9s.
His hair was neatly lined with that sponge-top look the young niggas wore now.
Emerald’s soft doe eyes drifted over me slowly before she forced a smile on her lips.
“Hi.”
“What’s up, Ivo?” Sapphire chucked his chin at me.
I didn’t have a problem with him, so I nodded and stepped aside so that the two of them could enter.
“I brought cupcakes.” Emerald held up the store-bought container. “I wasn’t sure what else to bring, and you know I can’t bake for shit.” She laughed, trying to lighten the situation, but I wasn’t amused. Brick was right. I was in a mood.
“Kitchen is that way.” I pointed and closed the door behind them.
“This house is crazy! I ain’t never seen nothing like it,” Sapphire complimented.
“You want a tour?” I suggested. “Dinner won’t be ready for a few more minutes.”
“For real?”
“Come on. I’ll show you where I kick it when I come over here.” I slung an arm across his shoulders and walked right past Emerald without another word.
I heard her footsteps behind us as she marched toward the kitchen ahead.
I knew she was watching me, but I wasn’t about to engage with her right now.
I was liable to go ham on her, and I couldn’t do that.
Not here. Not in this house with my wife in one of these rooms, completely in the dark about what was really going on and why I grew more distant by the day.