Page 182 of Own It

Finally, she kicked Daylin, but she recovered quickly, giving it to Tarin and making her tap out as she fell onto the grass, hands up while hollering, “Alright!”

“Hit her. Get ya lick back.” Daylin panted, fisting her hips as she waited for me to fall in line.

“She looks pretty fuc⁠—”

“Hit her ass, Kasia!” Daylin yelled, so I cocked back and sent my fist into the bitch’s eye as she clawed my arm in a futile effort to stop me.

“Thought you was about to beat on my friend again, huh? Not! Just told your whack ass that to get you outside,” Daylin let her know, jumping at Tarin as she bypassed her and making her flinch.

We hopped into her car, and by the time I was buckled in, Tarin had scurried into the house.

As soon as Daylin pulled off, we burst into laughter.

“That was so smart. She damn sure wouldn’t have come out if she thought you were gonna fight her ass.” I snickered, thinking about the clever lie.

“I already knew. Just understand, I got your back. You’re like a little sister to me.” Daylin smiled, still breathing heavily from the altercation.

“Thank you,” I said, genuinely. It was nice having somebody who actually wanted to be around me and not because my baby daddy was a Godfrey.

Neither one of us were ready to call it a night, so we decided on having a few drinks and some light plates to celebrate.

* * *

TWO DAYS LATER . . .

“I didn’t know which one you’d want, so I brought two.” Darron pulled up two champagne bottles by the neck.

“I don’t really recognize either brand so . . . this one.” I pointed to the bottle in his left hand, making him smirk before he kissed me.

“Aight.” He started to open it as I checked on the food. We were having a date night at the house since Divine was still with her father for one more day. “What happened to your lip, Kasia? There’s a cut.” He pointed to his own lip as I removed the entrees from the oven.

Closing the oven door, I set the pan down and turned to face him, taking the flute of champagne he’d handed over to me.

“I got into a fight with my ex’s other baby mama,” I confessed, feeling shameful and ghetto.

Darron sighed, drinking some of his own liquor.

“And why did that happen?” he asked sort of skeptically, and I couldn’t say I blamed him.

I hadn’t been as open as he had, making it obvious I was holding back. To make matters worse, Josias beat him up and exposed that we’d had sex since the time I’d started talking to Darron.

It was a lapse in my judgment and nothing more. Josias had come over a mess about his brother still, and I wanted to comfort him, having been a witness to how close the boys were. One thing led to another, and next thing I knew, we were having sex. Sex that I regretted as soon as it’d finished.

“It’s not what you think, Darron, I promise. She came up to my job causing an issue, and then she and her friend jumped me.”

“In the fucking restaurant?” He was appalled, setting his glass down on the table.

“In the restaurant.” I confirmed with a nod, taking another drag of my bubbly. “I don’t know why either because he and I have only been co-parenting. He comes to get Divine, and I bring her outside. I don’t even let him come in.”

I opted out of revealing that Josias would often try to spark up conversation and would even sometimes bring roses that I would never take. In the past, I would’ve folded by now, but I couldn’t this time.

One of us had to get off the merry-go-round or this would be the same situation years from now. I wanted marriage, to expand my family, and more. None of those things Josias could give me unless I didn’t mind sharing him with Tarin and other women. Whenever I got the urge to resuscitate Josias’s and my relationship, I reminded myself of all the pain, lies, and the times I’d cried myself to sleep, and I would snap out of that shit.

Darron studied me momentarily.

“So there haven’t been any more slipups with you and him?”

“No.” I shook my head.