“His only offense was withholding information. Because he did that, it made it look like he was cheating. That was when he found out about Asad. That nigga was impatient with her though. They dated for a while before she would even say he was her boyfriend. Sound familiar?”
I looked away and lowered my head.
“So, once she let her guard down and confessed to loving him, that shit with Lacey came up. She was just as hurt as you are.”
“Yeah, but they worked it out. I don’t know if we will. I’m sick of his shit.”
He grabbed my hand and held it between his. “You know I got your back. Whatever you decide. I’m gon’ keep my eyes on that nigga, though.”
“Daddy, your eyesbeenon him.”
“You damn right, but they laser focused now.”
I chuckled as he kissed the side of my head. I leaned into him, feeling thankful that I had a daddy that understood me. My mama was a sweetheart, but it was hard for her to relate to the things that made me tick. It was hard for her to comfort Bali and me, because she couldn’t understand why we were so withdrawn and “mean.” We were just like Seven Storm Henderson. However, I was seeing Bali morph into her soft-girl era. If I had a nigga like Carter, I would be able to afford to do that shit, too.
“So what we watching?” he asked as he put his arm around me.
I handed the remote to him because I didn’t care what we watched. Most likely I wouldn’t be paying attention anyway. He smiled slightly and scrolled through Netflix to see what we would watch. Before he could settle on anything, I asked, “How’s Uncle Marcus?”
He side-eyed me. “That nigga a thug at heart. He a’ight. He took a leave of absence from his shop, trusting his manager to run it, but I told him I would drop in to check shit out. He think I’m gon’ fire everybody or make them quit. I asked him what kind of nigga he think I am?”
I chuckled as he gave me a one-sided smile. “Where did he go?”
“He and Syn went to Florida for a lil bit. They took Seneda and Hendrix with them.”
I nodded. At least we didn’t have to worry about people snatching them for now. “Who brought them to the airport?”
“Watchful Eyes. Literally walked them all the way to TSA. They will pick them up as well.”
“Good.”
“I have one question before we watch this movie.”
I glanced up at him, knowing what he was about to ask me. I answered the question before he could even ask it.
“I would have to see significant changes in order for me to take him back. I love him, and that’s why I’m so fucking pissed. He took advantage of my heart. That’s some shit I thought I would never be able to say. I’m Mayor Storm Henderson’s daughter. What heart, nigga?”
He bit his bottom lip, trying to restrain his smile, then shoulder bumped me. “That’s my girl. Make sure that nigga doing more than talking a bunch of shit. Make him show and prove.”
I nodded. Red was gon’ have to get God to have a one-on-one conversation with me. It wasn’t impossible, but that nigga had better get his daddy to quote scriptures and pray for him to get his mind right and his pockets deep before he tried to step back to me.
CHAPTER 8
RED SQUARED
“Why you sitting around here looking like you done sucked on a lemon?”
I glanced at my dad and Asad as they walked into the front room and sat on the couch. After taking a deep breath, I said, “Noni broke up with me.”
Asad shook his head. “I knew it would only be a matter of time. You tryna control her. That ain’t cool.”
“I only get like that when I get frustrated.”
He frowned. “You must be frustrated all the damn time then, nigga. I watched that woman practically change who she was to appease you. That’s fucked up.”
“Is that true, Squared?” my dad asked. When I didn’t respond, he continued. “How you gon’ demand something of her that you won’t even do? Secondly, if she’s not who and what you want, why you tryna force shit?”
“Sheiswho I want. I just . . . I don’t know. I love her, man.”
