Chapter 12 #4
Bahati was the obvious choice, but my gut was telling me to pay Bahati dust. Something about her rubbed me the same way as Solana doing drugs, and that was saying a lot since I was strongly against cokeheads.
She hadn’t faltered at all, even agreeing to the DNA test without attitude.
When the nurse showed up at the house to do the DNA swabs of Shya and me, Bahati stood by with no emotion or expression indicating deceit.
Shya, however, had completely shown her ass, not wanting the nurse to even touch her to collect the skin cells needed.
She already cried nonstop, so I felt bad about forcing her to let the lady swab her cheeks.
The way she bucked and screamed, you’d think the few seconds were hours of her having the long Q-tip in her mouth.
“So what you gonna do, Shio?” Tunan asked, pulling me from my short-term memories.
“Shit… I’ll figure it out. I have a month. I’ll pray on it, fast, and hopefully have some insight before Don chooses for me.”
“Fuuuuck no! Don’t let dat nigga choose. Ion trust none of his decisions, and I haven't even been ’round long.”
“Shio?”
Turning my neck, my eyes fell to Uriah standing behind Tunan and me.
My dick bricked at the sight of her, which wasn’t a surprise.
For one, she looked good as fuck in heeled sandals, a backless denim dress that stopped mid-thigh, and a silver clutch that matched her silver accessories.
Her surgically-enhanced breasts spilled from the sides.
There was some type of red gloss on her lips, and her hair was in loose curls that I’d more than likely paid for.
It hadn't been long since I broke her off when I fucked around and called her Solana’s name.
I hadn’t seen her since, and from all the shit brewing, it would be a long time before I even entertained the idea of calling Uriah up.
“Damn!” Tunan whistled, making Uriah blush.
She eyed me, the small smile playing coy on her face. “I knew that was you. I know your back from anywhere.”
Turning fully in my seat, I chucked my chin. “Wassup, Uriah? You look nice.”
I had no qualms about telling a woman they were pretty. The compliment didn’t mean I was ready to fuck, even though my dick was saying something totally different.
“Thank you.” She cocked her head. “I’ve been calling you.”
“I’ve been busy.”
“You’re always busy.”
“I am.” I grabbed the glass and sipped from it while holding her stare.
“Too busy for fun, though?”
Running my hand down my mouth, I called for the bartender, who was back on my side of the bar in seconds. “Brook… Add Uriah to my tab. Whatever she wants, it’s on me.”
Uriah’s eyes bounced to Brook, but I didn’t detect any jealousy.
Brook was cute, but Uriah was a twenty on a light day, and today was a light day.
Uriah probably wasn’t threatened because, in her mind, she knew the type of women I craved, and Brook didn’t fit the criteria.
Unbeknownst to Uriah, I’d take Brook down without hesitation if I were on that.
Pretty women were pretty women. I didn’t have a type.
My dick did, however, have its limits. It didn’t pump for just everybody.
Uriah kept her composure, but I could see the disappointment in her eyes when she looked back at me.
“Got it.” Brook was back across the bar after realizing my need had nothing to do with her and me. You’d think she was wearing skates with how fast she walked away.
“You can at least say you’ll call me when you’re free, Shio. Give a girl some hope.” Uriah smiled softly.
“You know I can’t do that.” Licking my lips, I gave her one more onceover. “But you enjoy your night.”
Uriah nodded, glanced at Tunan, and then turned on her heels.
The dress didn’t do justice to her ass, but she still looked good in it.
To a random man, Uriah looked thick, but because I’d seen her naked, had her bouncing on my dick, and had her riding my pelvis, I knew the true nature of her butt’s size.
“One thing fasho, you got a type.”
“Really?”
“Fuck you mean, really? Mane… You like ’em dark. You was just wastin’ my wife’s time.”
I laughed at Tunan’s ignorant ass without agreeing or disagreeing.
“You should let Don add her to the lineup. That’s wifey material, for sure.”
Uriah was a divorced mom of two. Don would never let her in. But I held her personal business in.
Tunan slapped my back. “You a smart man, bro. Calculated as fuck. I know you already know who you gonna marry, even if you tellin’ yourself you don’t. Whoever you choose, I’ll be the best brother-in-law since we missed out on our childhood bondin’ and shit.”
“’Preciate that, Tune.”
“No sweat. Now, when can I meet my niece?”
“Soon.”
I wasn’t ready to bring Shya around the family just yet.
I still had some shit to sort through. I needed to verify she was mine first, and we’d done the test already, so it was a waiting game now for the results.
I was also still processing the fact that I could be a fucking daddy.
I always thought that when I had a child, I’d feel like a father.
But I felt the same as I did before learning about Bahati and the kid.
I felt an urge to protect her, but shit, I felt that way about all kids.
Reaching inside my pocket, I pulled out a wad of cash, tossing two hundred-dollar bills on the counter, and Tunan reached in his pocket and pulled out a fifty to add to it.
My card was already on file, so I knew she’d charge the meal, the bottle, Uriah’s tab, and the gratuity to that.
The cash was solely for her pockets. If she were smart, she wouldn’t report it to her manager.
I knew they liked to cut off the tips to pass out equally among the other staffers, like the cleanup crew and security.
Leaving the bottle, I stood as Tunan pushed his plate away, closer to the edge of the bar top.
“I was gonna pay the tab, but fuck dat. You got dat high-ass, half-drunken bottle of liquor, and I can tell ole Kesha ’bout to be on some petty shit and order errthang up in dis bitch since you turned her down.”
“Nigga, who?”
“Kesha. From Belly. On God, she comin’ just like her fine ass but thicker. I can't believe you aren't married to her ass off the rip. Gotdamn!” Tunan was still looking in the direction Uriah had gone off to.
“You swore you wasn’t studying women, but now you married and still lusting.”
“Shit… I’m still a man dat did a year. I got eyes, and dey 20/20. Dat’s yo’ wife. Call Don up right now.”
“Uriah would never be my wife, Tune.”
“You crazy.”
“One thing you gonna learn ’bout your brother is, I don't do shit without intention.”
“I see dat, cuz Kesha would’ve been somewhere with her ankles hittin’ her ears.”
I laughed off Tunan and his antics as we slapped hands before making our way out of the bar. He still had the Ferrari Don had loaned him, so we met here. I was past my limit of what I preferred for driving, but I’d make it. I’d driven in worse conditions.
“Real shit,” Tunan pointed to the Ferrari. “Y’all keep throwin’ me dese alley-oops, and I’m gonna be indebted to yo’ ass forever.”
Slapping him on the back, I replied, “You’n owe me shit. What's mine is yours, nigga.”
“Except her, hunh?”
“And her is?” I watched as traffic zipped by while we both stood at our vehicles.
Tunan snickered, looking just like our fucking daddy. “The one you gonna give yo’ last name when dese thirty days is up. Lemme find out you playin’ the long game, bro.”
Instead of replying, I chucked him a head nod and hopped in my car.
My life may have been in disarray, but my brother was officially in the Rinaldi Mafia, and our relationship was solid.
I could scratch another thing off my list that was growing by the day.
If I kept it up, I’d be checking shit off like I was Nike till I was old and fucking gray.
As I pulled up to my home, the solitude that usually settled over me was missing.
I put the truck in park and let my head fall back into the seat.
Usually, when I crossed the threshold, I shed all the worries of the world.
I twisted the ring on my finger with my thumb as I assessed my house.
On the outside, everything was perfect. The beams hanging under the roof overhang cast enough light that I could see the windows, the shutters, the brick, and the landscaping.
Everything was in pristine condition. The HOA wouldn’t have it any other way, but even then, I liked my shit to look immaculate.
If my home wasn’t in order inside and out, I couldn’t function.
At least I didn’t have to worry about Solana’s unorganized ass.
No sooner had the thought crossed my mind than my chest burned, and I knew it was from the combination of whiskey and beef.
I turned the engine off, jumped out of my truck, and trudged up the sidewalk.
The sound of crickets chirping in harmony on wet grass filled the night’s damp air.
Jagoda Bay was in for a rainy summer. I’d seen the forecast for the next two months, and they were predicting at least ten rainstorms per month.
Entering my home, I was greeted by the smell of home-cooked food, which made my stomach grumble.
I’d eaten the burger more than an hour ago, but liquor brought on my appetite.
Usually, I’d grab a sandwich and a piece of fruit because of the time of night, but with the way it smelled, my nose led me directly to the kitchen, betraying my original plan to go to my room and shower.