“You’re not getting either, and I dead ass don’t want shit to do with you. My shop?That’smy baby and because of you, somebody destroyed it. Do you not understand the seriousness of that?”
“And you’re my baby, do you not understand the seriousness ofthat? You’re my angel. I don’t like when you’re upset, and you know that, so tell me what I can do to make this better?” I heldher by her waist with one hand while using the other to puff on my blunt.
“Leave me alone. That’s what you can do. I’ve worked too gahdamn hard on myself and my shop to slide backwards because of some bitch’s pussy you sliding in.”
“I’m only sliding in your pussy, Angel. I told you that.”
“Yeah,now! Obviously, somebody is mad about you cutting them off, and I just…Xy, I don’t wanna have to go back to being the old me.”
I kissed her lips softly after seeing the stress and weariness in her eyes. “Ma, on my entire fuckin’ soul, I’m not gon’ have you out here like that again. I’d die before I put you through the same shit. Can I have just a lil’ grace, Angel? Just a lil’ bit?”
“Nigga,” her facial features pulled tight with a mean mug. “Every ounce of grace I had for you, you used that shit up. With all your cheating and lying and bullshit.”
“God had—”
“Ahhhhh, shut the hell up. Don’t do that, Xyleek. Don’t bring the man upstairs, downstairs into the messes you like to create,” she pulled away from me, rolling her eyes and flopping down on the couch. “I don’t think I’m ready for this again. We can keep our arrangement with me getting dick whenever I want it, but that’s it, Xyleek. Being yours is too exhausting.”
“I ain’t giving you shit without a commitment,” I let her know, blowing out smoke and passing her the last of the blunt. “The fuck I look like?”
“You do it with—”
Grabbing her cheeks with one hand, I silenced her. “I don’t give a fuck about them, that’s why. Stop comparing yourself to bitches who can’t even stand next to you on your worst day, Rahdreka. I’m not in the mood to be listening to all this rah rah. You’re mine, you’re ready for it, end of discussion,” kissing herlips, I released her face from my grip and took a seat next to her. “Finish that blunt so we can go to sleep. I’m tired as fuck.”
She laughed and snorted, a combination that I always found so cute. “You not just gon’ tell me what this is between us. End of discussion for who? ‘Cause I ain’t done talkin’ about it.”
“Go ‘head, Drek,” my nostrils flared as I tossed my arms across the back of the couch and kicked my legs open. “What you wanna discuss, baby? Hm? You wanna talk about how you gon’ sell this crib and finally move in with me? You wanna talk about how we gon’ decorate our kids’ rooms? You wanna talk wedding details? Talk to me, Angel.”
“You’re delusional as fuck.”
“It’s not delusions, it’s real life, and you gon’ be my real wife. I told you that back when we were kids, and we shook on it so ain’t shit changed,” I lustfully stared at her.
“You always bringing up when we was kids,” she rolled her eyes, leaning forward to grab an ashtray. “We’re not kids anymore, Xyleek, no matter how much your overgrown ass still act like one.”
I sucked my teeth. “I’m a kid now?”
“I said you act like one. Having multiple women is kiddie shit.”
“Bro…” I counted to three in my head even though I could never really get mad at my angel. “Get all that shit out of yo system tonight. Say it as many times as you need to ‘cause tomorrow, we not talkin’ about it no more. I can never take back the shit I put you through, but if I had a gahdamn genie in a bottle, that’d be the only thing I wished for. I did not want to hurt you, understand me? But just because I didn’t want to doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. I know I hurt you in the worst ways possible, Angel, and I will spend the rest of my days eating and kissing yo ass to make up for it. On Pop, I will, but I don’twanna keep hearing about that shit every day, ma. How we gon’ move forward if we gotta talk about the past every single day?”
Her lips parted slightly, indicating she was debating on how to respond to me. I could tell she knew I was right, but Drek just wouldn’t be Drek if she didn’t have a smart-ass comeback.
“You can’t cut me and then tell me how to bleed, X. Do you know how crazy you sound? I have to talk about it to get over it.”
“Isn’t that what the fuck Idaho was for? The fuck did you even do out there if you still need to talk about it?” My tone came out more dismissive and irritated than I intended it to.
Biting into her bottom lip, she scoffed and stood up. “Fuck you, Xyleek. See yourself out.”
“Drek,” I called after her as she stormed out of her living room. “Drek!”
Seconds later, I heard a door slam, prompting me to release an aggravated grunt. Pushing myself up off the couch, I jogged up the staircase and trekked to the end of the hall where her bedroom was. I turned the knob and surprisingly, it wasn’t locked, so I walked in and heard her talkin’ hella shit to herself. Just that quick, she came walking out of her closet wearing an over-sized t-shirt and nothing else. When I saw her face was wet, a piece of my heart broke. I was tired of making this damn girl cry.
I sucked my teeth and grabbed her up as she tried walking by me. “Comere, ma.”
“No, nigga! Fuck you!” she belted, trying to get away but failing miserably.
“I ain’t mean it like that, Drek. It’s late, and it came out all the way wrong.”
“You always saying shit youdon’tmean! How can you sit there and make fun of the one time I had to go fix whatyoubroke!” she screamed, her tears falling even faster.
