“Why the hell you mugging them like that?” Tech questioned Lil Q lowly, but I still heard it.
“Y’all don’t understand. She know she shouldn’t have brought him here, man. Ion like what the fuck ever they got going on,” he griped, leaning up so he could whisper to them.
“Lil Q!” I cut him off before he could get started telling my business.
“They already know,” he informed me before continuing the rest of his statement at a lower volume. “That’s the same cake that had a dick print on it in her car. Nah man. He gotta stay the fuck away from my mama,” he told them.
“So you already told them my business?”
“I had to vent to somebody, and Quincy was in class,” he retorted.
Everybody laughed and Jury mushed his head. “Mama gotta have a life too,” Jury joked.
“That’s exactly what I told him. Let mama have her fun.” Jameera cut in.
“Please, y’all stop. Don’t embarrass me. I actually like him,” I admitted.
“If he is going to stick around, he’s going to have to get used to our family,” Girl Quori chimed in.
Our family.It was wild how I ended up getting to know all of Quinten’s other children before him. I had originally moved to Tampa to escape my marital problems, which began when I discovered Girl Quori, Tech, and Boy Corey, and to be close to Quincy while he was in college. When I found out Quinten’s other kids lived here too, I was a little ruffled at first because of what went down at the family reunion, but they quickly stepped up to the plate. They built a bond with my boys, and that mattered more than anything. Now that we weren’t near Quinten’s family in Miami or my own in Jacksonville, my sons needed consistent older male figures in their lives more than ever.
I loved Tech before I really got to know him because it brought me so much joy to hear about how he wheeled Troy into the pool while I was busy fighting with Quinten. My biggest regret about that day was that I missed seeing Troy almost drown. His care and consideration for my boys had us locked in for life. This was our family, and this was my fresh start, and I was prepared to fully embrace it.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Yaseer Haynes
After the scrimmage, I waited around to give Quincy a heartfelt apology and explanation in person. I was never too big to admit fault when necessary, and I could really see him going far. He rejoined the team to dress out, and I found Amill and Wayne in the parking lot with Marissa and her family.
“I need to get back to the house so I can make sure that Lil Q is getting himself together,” Marissa informed me as soon as I joined them. “Are you guys still coming over?”
“Yeah. I’ll follow you.”
“I drove with Tech and Jury, so you can follow his truck,” she pointed at them across the parking lot.
“Nah, you riding with us then,” I urged, holding her hand.
She shrugged and waved to the truck that was waiting for her. They pulled off as I helped Marissa and Amill into the truck. I shot Wayne the address, and he maneuvered through traffic. When we pulled up to her house, I took note of everything, searching for anything I could help her with. She gave us a brief tour, and I was ready to dig into the food because the housesmelled delectable, but before we could do that, Amill’s spoiled ass started.
“This is nice, Daddy. I can see you buying me something like this. Not too big, in a nice area, plenty of space for me to cook in the kitchen,” she noted.
“Right plan. Wrong father. You staying at the crib. You don’t need your own spot until you figure out your life a little better than you do now.” Amill rolled her eyes.
“You shoot down everything I suggest.”
“Amill, the only idea I’ve heard from you this year is moving to Cali to model. You can do that here.” I pointed at the ground. “Or like I keep telling you, you can attend college and learn the family business. That’s something that would guarantee you can maintain the lifestyle you’re used to.”
Amill rolled her eyes and refocused her attention on Marissa.
“Marissa, can you point me to the nearest bathroom so I can wash my hands?”
“Yeah, it’s right down that hallway. The first door on your left,” she informed her.
Amill stormed off, and I glanced down at Marissa. “My apologies.”
“Trust me, I get it. We both have our hands full with these kids,” she joked. “Between the senior year shenanigans and trying to keep Lil Q on track for graduation, sometimes I don’t know if I’m coming or going,” she stated, leading me outside and away from everyone inside digging into the food.
I chuckled. “Amill is pretty good when it comes to staying on top of her academics on her own, hence me trying to nudge her in the direction of college. It’s the social media drama that be about to send me over the edge. I was seconds away from catching a child abuse charge for slapping this jit up about my daughter.”
