Chapter 8-Devon #2
Truth was, I was waiting for her to snap too.
“Yeah.” I nodded, handing her both my menu and the one sitting in front of Kenya.
“What about the salad?” She asked, focused on me.
“Keep it just in case she wants to look at it.” Ashley giggled, catching my joke. I wish I could say the same about my date. “You good?” Kenya had been staring at me since before the waitress walked off, and I felt like I had to ask to be sure.
“Do you always order for your date?”
“Do you always try to order the cheapest thing on the menu?” Her eyebrows hiked in surprise. Obviously, she didn’t think I would catch the drift of what she was doing, but I did.
“I—”
“Baby girl, if I invite you somewhere, the only thing you have to do is show up. I can handle tonight and every night after this, if we get to that.”
“For the record, I can take care of myself. I don’t need a sponsor.”
“I never said anything to negate that, but understand this: if I’m your man, I’ll never look at my taking care of you as me sponsoring you. Taking care of you would be an honor and a privilege, and never a task that I’d take for granted. I can tell you aren’t used to that, but stick around.”
“ If I stay around, I’ll take notes.”
That was the fire I was looking for. The one that let me know that our time wasn’t going to be in vain. All she had to do was let me in and allow me to leave my mark.
“So, Kenya Monroe. Divorce Attorney. Why divorce?”
“You googled me?” she inquired through laughter.
“Hell, yeah.” I confessed without shame, which made her laugh harder. “Once you told me what you did for a living, curiosity got the best of me. Are you trying to say that you didn’t look me up?”
“No, I didn’t. Should I have?” I shrugged in response. “I suppose I’m used to people doing their research on me. It comes with the territory. It’s only right for my clients to research me before they pay my retainer. Though, I must admit that I’ve never had a man admit to doing so on a date.”
“I’m not your average man, baby girl.”
“I gathered that.” She said and smirked.
Once she let her guard down, our conversation flowed effortlessly right through dessert. I asked for the check, paid, and left Ashley a good tip because she looked out for us.
“Thank you for dinner. I enjoyed myself,” Kenya said as she grabbed her small purse and prepared to get up from her chair.
I got up and rushed to assist her, showcasing my gentlemanlike demeanor, but I was really trying to look at all that ass.
Kenya had a chocolate tone, with a figure that I’d never get tired of, dark alluring eyes, and beautiful, jet-black hair that looked real.
Whether the hair was coming out of her scalp or not, or it wasn’t, wasn’t my concern. As long as whoever did it made sure that it didn’t come off easily, we would be good.
“Yeah, me too. I’m glad it played out for us the way it did.” As we walked out of the restaurant, I trailed behind her, following her scent like a dog in heat. “I’ll walk you to your car. I can’t handle anything happening to you before I make you mine,” I brazenly claimed.
Our date may have started out on the rocks, but it didn’t end that way, and as long as it didn’t end on a grim note, I’d give whatever we could be a chance to either flourish or dissolve.
Either way, this wasn’t going to be the last time we saw each other.
I damn sure couldn’t explain it, but there was something about being in Kenya’s presence, outside of her beauty, that I wanted to keep around.
“That’s food for thought,” she replied with a smirk.
We made it to her car, and it was no surprise to see her pushing an Audi coupe. Really, I didn’t expect her to drive anything less.
“It could be more than that.” I waited for her to unlock her car before I reached around her and opened her door. She slid in with ease and then set her purse on the passenger seat.
Her plump lips glistened, calling out to me, tempting me to throw caution out the damn window, pull her out of her car and see exactly what they were hitting for.
I wanted to feel them against mine, but the thought of rejection stopped me.
Call me scared, but the image of her pushing me away was too clear, so instead of reaching out to her, I shoved my hands in the pockets of my jeans to exercise restraint.
“Have a good night, Devon. Thank you again.”
“Don’t say that like you aren’t going to see me again.” I teased, and she giggled.
“Who can say?” Kenya lifted her shoulders, adding to the teasing element of her statement.
“I can say that you will. Let me know when you make it to your destination.”
“I’ll let you know when I make it safely.” I closed her door and watched as she drove away.
Once she was out of view, I headed to my truck and then headed home with a smile on my face.
Halfway, I received a text from her letting me know that she made it home safely. When I got to my first stoplight, I responded. Normally, I wouldn’t stop at a yellow light, but because I wanted to reply, I stopped.
I wasn’t the definition of a safe driver, but I also tried not to drive distracted, so once I’d sent her my reply, I set my phone back down and focused on the road. Traffic was low because of the time of night, but I still wanted to focus.
A smile remained on my face until I walked through my front door and saw the unthinkable. I looked around to make sure that I wasn’t losing my mind, and that I was in the right house.
Keesha and the babysitter, Sierra, were sitting on my couch, throwing back beers that I knew were from my damn refrigerator.
As sure as they were cackling like hyenas, relaxed on my oversized black velvet couch, I knew I wasn’t misplaced.
They were too damn comfortable for my liking, especially because Keesha shouldn’t have been there. It wasn’t until then that I remembered Sierra and Keesha were second cousins. They weren’t close, and in the past had minimum interaction, so it was easy for me to forget the connection.
I didn’t even know Sierra through Keesha. I knew her through Cross.
Staring at the two of them, it seemed as if their dynamic had changed.
They were so busy drinking and gossiping that they didn’t see or hear me come in. Not even the chime of the security system was enough to get their attention.
I walked to the back of my house to make sure that Dreux was sleeping. Despite the ruckus in the front of the house, he was knocked out with his mouth wide open.
Closing his door just as quietly as I opened it, I went across the hall to my room, grabbed one of my guns from my safe, and calmly walked back to the living room, where they were still laughing it up.
Clenching my jaw, I was pissed off that this had to be a part of what was otherwise a decent night.
I sat down and placed my gun on the table. Only when the metal and glass that covered my coffee table, connected, making a clink, did I gain their attention.
They jumped slightly before their eyes dragged from me to the Glock lying on the table.
“Devon—” Sierra started, but I raised my hand to stop her. There was nothing that could come out of her mouth that would make a difference to me.
“Sierra, you are here to watch my son, so explain to me why my raggedy ass baby mama is in my house. Make it make sense the first time, cause I’m not gonna give you another chance to lie.
” I watched her swallow hard, her eyes traveling from my gun back to me, and then back to my gun.
“Choose your words wisely.” I played with a lot of things, but my son and his safety were never going to be on that list.
“Umm,” she said as she cleared her throat, “I told her I was watching Dreux, and she said that she wanted to see him.” Her eyes were wide, her voice was shaky, and from where I sat, I could see the beads of sweat on her forehead, threatening to trickle down her face.
“Okay.” I said and nodded as if I understood. “So, what I heard was, you overlooked the fact that I told you not to let anybody in my house while I was gone.”
“I didn’t know you were keeping her away from him. She’s his mother, so I thought that it would be okay.”
“No, what she is, is a female who is too damn comfortable neglecting the well-being of my son. She’s the type of hoe to let a nigga take all the food that I paid for out of her house, so said bum ass nigga can either sell it, or take it home to his girl and their kids.
He’s not with her for a reason. Why would I ask you to watch him if she was available to do it?
If I wanted her around him, I wouldn’t have called you. ”
I saw fear on both of their faces, mirrored in different ways, as I allowed silence to fill the room.
“Look, I had such a great date tonight that I’m willing to let y’all make it.
Everybody has a lapse in judgement every once in a while, so I’ll charge it to your head.
Sierra, know that this will be the last time that you watch my son.
” No sooner than the words left my mouth, Sierra was on her feet, but I couldn’t focus on her.
“And, Keesha, do yourself a favor and stay away from my son. You’re a sorry ass excuse for a mother, so as far as I’m concerned, Dreux doesn’t need you. ”
“What? Devon, he’s my son too,” she said as she worked her neck and put her hands on her wide hips. “I’m a better mama to him than what you had. Yo’ ass should be complimenting me instead of complaining.” Keesha was pushing all the wrong buttons, and my patience was wearing thin.
My relationship with Renae was a trigger, and Keesha knew it. If I addressed her comment, nothing good would come of it.
A stressed silence lingered in the air as we locked eyes in an aggressive stare-down. The only sounds filling the room were the television and our ragged breathing.
Sierra had already grabbed her bag and hauled ass out of my house while Keesha was waiting to get a reaction out of me.
“Keesha, you ain’t hard of hearing. My patience isn’t where you need it to be, so you should take my warning and get the hell out of my face,” I stated as calmly as I could.
I had never been the type of man to raise my voice. All of that rah-rah and running your mouth wasn’t necessary. I could get my point across without getting loud. My son was still asleep, and although his room was on the other side of the house, yelling wasn’t necessary.
I was too old for that. What the hell did I look like walking around yelling at someone who wasn’t worth a conversation to begin with?
Despite her being Dreux’s mama, she had nothing else to offer me.
The greatest thing she had done and would do for the rest of her life was carry and give birth to him.
“So, what you think is ‘bout to happen, Devon? You think that you’re just going to keep my son here with you?” Her eyes met mine in a squinted glare, as if she despised the very air I was breathing.
Little did she know, the feeling was very mutual.
“No, I know that my son is going to be living with me from here on out. That way, I know he’s being taken care of and getting what he needs.”
“You need to remember who you’re talking to,” she responded, as if she had authority in my house. Imagine that. “Act like I’m yo’ baby mama instead of one of yo’ hoes. Put some respect on my name.”
“Nah. You’re the one who needs to remember. Mess ‘round and find out.”
I had never put my hands on Keesha or any other woman, but I wouldn’t hesitate to put a smoking bullet in the middle of her got damn eyes if it meant me keeping Dreux safe.
Yes, I left the streets, but I still had my connections to get rid of a body, and Keesha’s life didn’t hold value to me, so I was sure that I wouldn’t lose sleep about it.
He wasn’t safe with her. Therefore, he was staying with me.
“Devon, you can’t keep my son. I’m a good mother, and—”
“Since when?” I asked genuinely amused.
She seemed so confident in her actions, and had this been the first situation with her not making sure Dreux was straight, I would’ve given her a pass, but this wasn’t the first time.
Regardless of that, it would damn sure be the last.
“I been making sure my son was straight … Money is just tight right now.”
“How is money tight when I pay all of your bills and give you an allowance like you are my child instead of my baby mama? Don’t let me find out that you are giving a nigga the money meant for my son, ‘cause we are going to have a real problem.”
Against my request, Keesha was on government assistance, so her bills were a drop in the bucket, but I still made sure they were paid. I wasn’t on child support, but that didn’t stop me from taking care of her and Dreux financially.
As soon as she looked down, breaking our eye contact, I knew that I was in her ass.
Other than me, Keesha never made good decisions in the men she entertained. The males she dealt with were never about anything and were just looking to lay up under a female who would allow them to do the bare minimum.
Regrettably, she was the female who allowed them to.
Her ways didn’t bother me until they affected my son. If she wanted to be with a no-good nigga, I would let her, but the minute my son told me that he was causing trouble for him, it became my business and my problem.
“That’s what I thought. You can go ahead and make your exit. If Dreux wants to see you, I’ll let him call you. I’m not gonna keep him from you, but I will protect him from you.”
“I love my son, Devon.”
“That may be true, but he’s staying here with me.”
Without saying another word, she got her purse and left. I didn’t see her car parked outside, so I wasn’t sure how she got to my house, but that wasn’t my concern.
I could’ve asked her, but if she would’ve told me that a nigga was driving around in the car I bought for her, it’d be the last story that she would tell.