Chapter 15

I walked into my grandparent’s house with a smile on my face. I mean, a nigga was cheesing hard as hell, all from the short encounter with Salima. I never asked to see women outside of the bedroom. But her? I could see me spending most of my free time with her. Her mama really did fuck up my vibe last night. I was a split second away from having her up against that front door before it opened.

I hadn’t planned on stopping by Shar’s apartment. I was just driving through the city on the way back home when I remembered she said she was going to see her today. The pit stop was well worth it being that I got close to her fine ass. I could tell she was going to be one of these women that thought she had the upper hand.

The truth was, I might let her have it every now and then. I could admit that her demands turned me on a little. She was willing to submit if I came correct. That was a first. I’m not a cocky nigga, but most of the women I dealt with didn’t require much. As long as they got dick and a little spending money on the side, they were satisfied.

“Whatchu grinning ‘bout?” Maceo asked, elbowing me.

“None of your damn business.”

He kissed his teeth. “Shar told me you stopped by to see Salima. She said you practically had that girl’s ass on display in that parking lot.”

I kissed my teeth. “You ol’ pillow talking ass nigga. When did you even get her number to talk to her about anything?”

“I got it from Jaeda since you and your girl were acting like y’all couldn’t be bothered.”

“You are a grown ass man and I told you, I’m not your wing man.”

“That’s cold. I’d do it for you. Hell, I was the one that talked Salima into coming out with us that night. If it wasn’t for me, your nasty ass would have never fingered her on that pool table.”

“Who you fingering on pool tables, Deuce?”

We turned to see our father standing behind us with a glass of whisky in his hand.

“Don’t worry about all that, old man,” I said slapping his shoulder.

“Mmm hmm. Nasty ass.”

“Says the man with six kids and four baby mamas. I get my nasty from you.”

“I should be so proud,” he said sarcastically before he took a sip of his drink. “Come on in here. Your grandmother is looking for you.”

He led the way into the massive dining hall. It had been built as an addition years ago. Being that our family was so damn big and most all of us lived on the family compound, we needed a space big enough to house us all. Inside were five tables that seated twelve people each. They were already practically full. I made my way through the dining hall, greeting various family members before I made it to my grandmother.

Rebecca Dillinger.

The five-foot six, gray-haired, woman didn’t look a day over fifty even though she was in her seventies. She ate right, she exercised, and she minded her damn business. She said that was the secret to a long, healthy life.

“Hey, Grams,” I said stooping to hug and kiss cheek.

She smiled. “Hey, Deuce, baby. I haven’t seen you all week long.”

“My bad, Grams. I’ve been busy with work.”

“Your father told me what you and your brother are working on.” She shook her head. “Disgusting bastards. Those poor babies.”

“I know, Grams. But you know I’m gonna make sure they know what’s coming to them.”

“I know. Where’s your mama?”

I looked down at my watch. “She should be here— there she is.”

I pointed to my mother strolling in wearing a dress that was way too tight for my linking. Apparently, my father liked it. He watched her from the time she walked into the dining hall until she made it over to where I stood. Maddie stood beside him, watching him watch my mama.

A slap to the back of the head brought him out of his trancelike state. I chuckled, and so did my grandmother.

“Rebecca, how are you?” my mother asked, leaning over to hug her.

“I’m good, baby. You’re looking good. That dress was made for you.”

My mama smiled. “Thank you.”

I frowned. “It’s too tight.”

“Stanley, mind your damn business, now.”

“You already got pops slapped.”

“You are gonna be next if you don’t leave me alone. Now give me a hug. Is that any way to greet your mother?”

I shook my head as I pulled her in for a hug.

“Why haven’t I seen you all week?” she asked.

“I’ve been busy with work, Ma.”

“So, you’re too busy to come see your mother? The woman that gave you life.”

Here she went being dramatic.

“I’m gonna come see you tomorrow, okay?”

“And you’re gonna take me shopping. Yes?”

“Fine woman. We won’t be alone though.”

Both she and my grandmother’s eyebrows rose.

“Oh? Well, whose gonna be there?”

“A friend.”

“You don’t have friends… is it a woman?”

“Yeah, Ma. It’s a woman.”

A smile broke out on her face. “I can’t wait to meet her! Bring her over early for breakfast.”

“Mama, you doing the most.”

“You heard what I said. Now come on and let’s find us a seat. I want to know all about this mysterious woman.”

She grabbed my hand and drug me around until we found a spot which happened to be next to my father, Maddie, my siblings, and my Aunt Jeanie and Uncle Blake. I groaned internally as she rounded the table to hug and kiss my brothers and sisters. I knew these muthafuckas were gonna be on my ass if she started asking questions about Salima in front of them. Maceo was itching to tell some shit.

“Hey, Steph,” my father spoke as she seated herself.

My mother was dry in her response. “Hey, Senior.”

“You look good.”

Was this nigga flirting?

My mother smirked. “I know. Hey, Maddie.”

Maddie put on a fake smile. “Stephanie. How nice of you to join us.”

“You say that like I’m not here every Sunday.”

“I was referring to our table. You never sit here.”

My mama cocked her head to the side. “Is there a problem with me sitting here, Maddie?”

“Ain’t no problem at all,” my father spoke, looking at Maddie. “Is there?”

She rolled her eyes and folded her arms. I shook my head. Pops definitely still wanted my mama, and he couldn’t hide that shit. As hard as he was, women were his weakness. Jaeda, Kerrion, Maceo, and Devin’s mothers only showed up for holiday dinners or special events. My mama came whenever she felt like it. The rest of the family loved her and treated her like blood.

Jaeda cleared her throat and tried to break the tension.

“You are wearing that dress, Ma,” she complimented.

“Thank you, baby. I have a coffee date when I leave here.”

“With who!”

That was the sound of me and my brothers wanting to know who we needed to fuck up cause who did she think she was going on a date with? My mother looked around at the four of us.

“None of y’alls business. I am grown.”

I frowned. “Jaeda, go pull up her phone records and see who she’s been talking to.”

“I will not!” my sister exclaimed. “Y’all don’t need to know everybody’s moves. Mama Steph, I hope you have fun on your date.”

“Bullshit,” I spat. “How are you going on a date with a nigga I haven’t met, Ma?”

“The same way you’re about to have me spending tomorrow with some girl I only heard about five minutes ago, Stanley.”

Maceo smirked. “Oh, you told he about Salima? Did he tell you how he’s been acting over her?”

“You run your mouth too damn much,” I shot at him.

My mother giggled. “I take it you like this girl more than you’re letting on.”

My siblings all looked at me with smirks on their faces. They were eating this shit up.

“Tell her how much you like her, Deuce,” Maceo encouraged. “I mean, we all saw it.”

My father looked between us. A smirk found its way to his face as he put two and two together.

“The pool table?” he asked.

“Pool table,” Maceo confirmed.

“What about a pool table?” my mama asked, looking around the table at the grins on their faces. “Why are y’all smiling?”

I answered before any other could. “It ain’t nothing. Just an inside joke.”

I didn’t need a lecture on how I shouldn’t treat women like objects or use them for their body parts. I don’t think it ever occurred to her than women use me too. Women like Santana used me every chance I allowed them to. I mean, I enjoyed being used in that capacity. But that wasn’t an argument I was willing to have with her.

“Anyway, Ma. You will meet her tomorrow. You can ask her anything. Just don’t mention the pool table.”

My siblings broke into laughter. There was no question… the pool table was as good as mentioned.

D inner was over, and my mother had left. I managed to avoid giving her too many details about Salima and she avoided telling me about whatever man it was that she was going out with. That was fine. She didn’t have to give me a name and Jaeda didn’t have to do the research. I had other ways of finding out what I wanted to know.

I was currently sitting outside under the tree, smoking my blunt and scrolling through Salima’s Instagram account. She’d posted a picture of her and her mama on the couch in their pajamas with the caption, “Chill night with my best girl. #MamasBaby.” I double tapped the picture. For the last fifteen minutes, I’d been creeping through her profile.

Most of them were pictures of her by herself or her and Shar. A few of them were of her and her mom. The further I scrolled, the sadder the pictures became. I stumbled upon the ones of her and her father. One in particular was of her laying in a hospital bed with him.

The caption read, “Forever my favorite man. #DaddysGirl.” She hadn’t spoken a word about her father, and I hadn’t brought it up, even though I knew he was dead from Jaeda’s research. I knew how I felt about my people, so I had enough respect not to bring up sensitive topics.

I shook my head. Look at my ass being fucking considerate.

My thoughts were interrupted by approaching footsteps. I looked up to see my Uncle Blake. He took a seat beside me and reached for the blunt in my hand.

“Don’t get my shit wet with them big ass lips, Unc,” I said as I passed it to him.

“Fuck you, lil’ nigga.”

He held the blunt between his fingers and took a long pull from it. He held the smoke in for a moment and blew it out from his nose.

“That’s the good shit,” he commented. “This better be mine.”

“You know I don’t buy my weed from outsiders.”

He grinned as he elbowed me. “I’m just making sure. So… who’s this Salima? Who’s her people?”

I eyed him skeptically. I remembered Salima’s mama saying she knew of my father. Did that mean she knew my uncle too? What the fuck did he have to do with them?

“Navarro,” I answered slowly.

“Iman Navarro,” he said, more to himself than to me. He chuckled. “Damn, it’s a small world.”

“So, you knew him?”

“He was my best friend once upon a time. My right hand for years. That was until he met his wife. He asked her to marry him and she gave him an ultimatum; the streets or a family. He chose her.”

“I guess you didn’t like that.”

“Nah, I didn’t. We were about to touch more money and product than we ever had, and I needed him. There weren’t too many people outside of the family that I trusted with my shit, but I trusted him.”

“I mean, Unc. You can’t fault that man for choosing his family. You know damn well if it came down to it, you would choose blood over everything.”

“Maybe these days. Back then, it was loyalty over all. I felt like he switched up on me over a bitch. That shit pissed me off for the longest time. Then he came to me when he got sick and asked me for a favor.”

“What kind of favor.”

“He asked me to take care of his medical bills so his wife and daughter didn’t have to suffer.”

“Did you?”

He nodded. “Of course, she wouldn’t accept it coming from me. I had to make an anonymous contribution, but she knew it was me. I guess I felt bad about the way I acted.” He looked over at me. “It’s crazy as hell that you are trying to date his daughter.”

“I ain’t said shit about dating.”

He chuckled. “If she’s anything like her mama, she’s not gonna settle for being one of your cum rags, nephew.”

“Well, you know about cum rags, Unc. You still cheating on Jeanie?”

He glared at me. “Don’t worry about me and my wife. She ain’t going nowhere.”

“Maybe not. But that doesn’t mean she ain’t getting hers on the side. You and Pops can’t be the only ones that can have your cake and eat it too.”

“You trying to tell me something.”

“Nah.” I took the blunt from him and pulled from it. “I’m just talking shit.”

He stood to his feet. “Uh huh. Let me go find her. You just worry about that girl making your ass sucker.”

He walked away, leaving me alone with my blunt. I sat back in the chair and went back to scrolling Salima’s Instagram. I didn’t think I’d ever get tired of looking at her. If she refused to settle for just a sexual relationship, maybe being her nigga wouldn’t be so bad. I mean, I hadn’t had a girlfriend since high school.

Maybe it would be fun.

If my mama liked her, she could be a contender.