“Jits. Plural?” I sputtered.
“I haven’t even agreed to one.”
“Yeah, alright,” he scoffed, placing his hands on my waist just as the bedroom door swung open.
Shock washed over me, and I held my breath waiting to see if it was Essex or Nariyah barging in on us in their bedroom. Except, it wasn’t either of them. Instead, it was Nash with his camera out. “I knew it,” he grinned. “I need a stack if y’all want to keep this between us.”
“Wow, Nash. Would you really blackmail me?” I sputtered.
“You know what, TT. I wouldn’t but this ni… but Rashawn is another story,” he affirmed.
Rashawn snatched Nash inside the bedroom and slammed the door shut. He took Nash’s phone and clicked around for a few moments.
“Chill, Elise. Apparently, Nash has known since a few months ago when I picked him up from school, and he stayed at my crib until you got off work to pick him up. He said our refrigerators look just alike, and something about you taking a bunch of Olipops home.”
“Yeah, I’m not dumb, but I love you, TT. Your secret is safe with me,” Nash announced, leaning up against the wall.
“I don’t want you lying to keep secrets. Don’t lie to your parents on my behalf,” I clarified. “Rashawn, have you been having this baby lie for you? How long have you known he knew?”
“Nah, I never lied for anybody. Nobody ever asked me what y’all got going on. Until a few months ago, I too just thought Rashawn was a thirsty a…”
I cut my eyes at Nash, and his mouth slammed shut. “My bad, TT. Rashawn is like one of my boys, so I forget to turn my kid language back on. But I, too, thought Rashawn was just thirsty. Pitiful. The ultimate simp if you will. Everybody else just thinks the same.”
“Mannnn,” Rashawn grimaced.
“Well, don’t forget in front of either of us from now on,” I quipped, then turned to Rashawn. “You shouldn’t be letting him curse in front of you anyway. Is that what you would want to do with your own kids?”
“No, the lil nigga just bad. I told his parents he still bad as fuck. He just got y’all fooled. I’m glad you heard him about to cuss,” Rashawn retorted.
I went to grab Nariyah’s phone off the nightstand, where it sat on the charger. Nova babbled in my arms, slobbering all over my clothes the entire time we conversed. With the phone secure, I exited the bedroom with Rashawn and Nash right behind me.
“I was just coming to find you. I have a new bathing suit that you can change into if you want,” Nariyah bubbled, taking Nova from my arms because she was reaching for her mother.
“Is it a one piece?”
“It is, and I have a swim cover,” she confirmed as Nova lay on her boobs that seemed to have doubled with this pregnancy. I followed Nariyah back into the bedroom while Nash and Rashawn went the opposite way.
While Nariyah went to retrieve the bathing suit, I sat on her bed and scrolled through her social media account, deleting every picture that included me. I preferred the minimal digital footprint I had on my private page with my twenty followers.
CHAPTER FIVE
Rashawn Kentrel Williams
When Elise and Nariyah disappeared into the room, I shoved Nash into the guest bedroom just before the stairs.
“What I do?” Nash groused, fluffing his shirt back out. “I thought we just came to an understanding in front of TT. Now you wanna change up on me?”
“What the fuck is this?” I lifted Nash’s phone that displayed his Cash App history with his dad.
“Man, why you going through my sh…”
I flinched at him, and he straightened up. “Elise said you can’t curse in front of me any more, so we gotta abide by her rules.”
“Simp,” he coughed.
“Man, stop playing. What is this for real, man?”
“Why are you going through my phone, man?” Nash exhaled, plopping down on the bed. I leaned up against the dresser with my arms folded across my chest. A nigga was really in uncle mode.
