by B. Love
“You’re such a good man,” she complimented.
Her action caught him off guard, so he didn’t reply right away. Taking advantage, Makayla stepped back and headed towards the stove to pull the fish out of the oil. She and Austin were vegetarians, but she cooked meat for Kannon with every meal. And, she allowed herself to cheat with seafood sometimes, too.
“Where that come from?” he asked softly.
“I think that every time I look at you. Just don’t say it.”
“Well thank you. You’re a good woman, too.”
Austin raced back into the kitchen, asking Kannon to help him with his small stool so he could wash his hands at the sink. Kannon did, washing his hands in the process. He made a dipping sauce for the fish real quick, swearing it was better than any tartar sauce Makayla would have ever had. She tried it, and as much as she hated to admit it, it was the truth. Makayla ended up dropping two extra pieces of fish so she could have more.
Makayla laughed when they made it into the dining room and he stared at the salad she’d brought in.
“What is it with you and fruit?” she asked, watching as his face twisted up.
“Fruit don’t belong in no salad.”
She chuckled. “Your eating habits are horrible. Just try it. I promise you’ll like it.”
“Nah. I’on know about that, Mak.”
“I tried your tartar sauce!” Kannon rolled his eye and shook his head as she put as much of the fruit and sweet raspberry vinaigrette on the fork as she could. “Try it. Please.”
“You know I can’t resist you when you say please,” he conceded.
“I know.” She grinned as she lowered the fork to his mouth and fed him.
“Not bad.”
“See. There’s more to salad than tomatoes, croutons, cheese, and ranch.”
After fixing their plates, Makayla sat down. They all grabbed hands and Kannon said grace. As they ate, they talked about their days, with Austin going into great detail about how upset he was during lunch because his teacher tried to make him eat cauliflower. Kannon had to keep Makayla from calling his teacher and going the fuck off, but she made the mental note to stop by her classroom in the morning and tell her not to try to force her son to eat anything he didn’t want to.
Though Austin’s pallet was vast when it came to fruit and vegetables, he was sensitive to how things felt on his tongue like his mother. Makayla couldn’t stand the feel of raw blueberries and avocado on her tongue, and Austin was the same way about raw broccoli and cauliflower.
The night was going great until Jason called and Makayla immediately noticed the shift in Kannon’s mood. He confessed to the gnawing guilt he’d been feeling over keeping this secret from his best friend. While Makayla understood that and hated putting him in this position, she still didn’t want to tell Jason about his son. As far as she was concerned, Austin had all the father he’d ever need from the influence of Kannon and Ray. Kannon made it his duty to tell Austin about Jason, even though Makayla didn’t want him to.
She agreed only because she knew what it felt like to not know anything about your father. As long as Austin didn’t start asking her questions about Jason and wanting to visit him… she’d continue to keep the two apart. Jason had made it clear that he wanted nothing to do with her… and that… included… her son…
17
Kannon
“You tryna play me for a fool,” Kannon realized.
This was the second time he’d come through to see Ariel and smelled the scent of a man lingering. He couldn’t control what she did on her own time, but he for damn sure wasn’t going to share pussy with a nigga on the same day.
“I keep telling you no one was here, Kannon.”
“And you keep lying, too.”
Kannon looked down at her as he passed her, walking further into the living room. There were no indentations in the couch, so he hadn’t even been here long enough to settle down – unless he went straight to her bedroom. He checked the sink for cups or plates, nostrils flaring when he saw the brandy glass. Kannon didn’t care about her seeing other men, he just couldn’t stand being lied to. Which pissed him off more because of the lie he was keeping himself. Well, it wasn’t technically a lie since Jason hadn’t ever asked about Makayla having a child. But that omission of the truth fucked with him heavy.
“I don’t know what you’re looking for,” Ariel muttered, leaning against the doorframe. “Even if someone was here, what right do you have to be upset?”
“I told you I don’t like being lied to.”
Ariel straightened up as he walked over to her. “Kannon…”
“C’mere,” he ordered, using her shirt to pull her closer. “You lying to me about a nigga being here?” Her mouth opened and closed but she didn’t say anything. “I already know the truth.”
And worse, he knew the scent. Kannon couldn’t place who wore the cologne, but he knew the scent.
“Yes.” Her head dropped briefly. “Someone was here.”
“Did you fuck him?”
“Yes.”
“And what? You thought you was gon’ fuck me, too?” When she didn’t answer, Kannon chuckled. “You foul as hell.”
As he turned to leave, Ariel tugged at the back of his shirt to get him to stay. “I’m sorry, Kannon. I was going to suck your dick if you wanted sex so you would be satisfied.”
“And what if I wanted more? You were just going to let me have it, knowing his remnants still in your fucking pussy?”
“Kannon, just stop so we can talk about this.”
With a shake of his head, Kannon continued towards the door. Ariel was cool and her pussy was good, but it wasn’t good enough for him to deal with that shit. He just fucked around with her when he was in town and needed to waste a little time. It was clear that she wasn’t satisfied with their arrangement, so it might as well be over.
“Ain’t shit to talk about. We’re good.”
Ariel sighed. “I just get tired of waiting around for you, Kannon. I like you and I love our sex, but I want more than that.”
“I understand that, so we’re done.”
“I don’t want us to be done,” she whined. “I just want more!”
“Well I can’t give you more,” he seethed quietly, tired of having this conversation with woman after woman, year after year. They always said they would be cool with how he moved, just to switch up on him in a month or two.
“You could if you tried!”
With a shake of his head, Kannon didn’t bother replying. He didn’t want to try. After Kendall, he made up in his mind to never allow the thought of getting serious with a woman and having children to even cross his mind again. The only reason he hadn’t gotten a vasectomy was because his parents begged him not to. It was the only thing allowing them to keep hope that one day he’d change his mind and give them another grandchild.
At this point, Austin was the closest thing they’d have to one from him. His sister had two kids, but they were in Nashville. Shit, Makayla was the only one he allowed himself to have thoughts of settling down with, and that was because he knew it would never happen in real life. As he passed through the living room for what he was sure would be the last time, he inhaled a deep whiff of the scent, wanting to make sure he’d be able to recognize it when he smelled it again.
Instead of sitting around for an hour, waiting for their meeting to start, Kannon called Rico to see where he was at. It didn’t surprise him to find out he was right up the street at the pool hall. Though they weren’t the closest, business forced them to deal with each other. Kannon figured he could at least go over the details of the meeting with Rico to avoid having to be there himself.
As soon as he made it to the pool hall and got close to Rico, he recognized his scent. The same one he’d smelled at Ariel’s place. He laughed as soon as it hit him because he shouldn’t have been surprised. Rico had always been on some slick hating shit. First, with his relationship with Jason and with all the bad
bitches he’d been able to pull. Ariel was the only one so far that had given him any play, and Kannon knew it was because she was getting so little from him.
As much as Kannon wanted to knock Rico out over the principle, he decided to let it ride for the moment. Rico had never earned his trust, and he was only loyal to him because of Jason. Now, that shit was over, and he was going to be handled as soon as the time was right.
18
Makayla
June 2020
Between Makayla’s cousins Quenton and Brittany, they’d convinced her it was time for her to go on a date. Apparently, two years was long enough. She’d kicked it with men since then, but official dates and sex had become a thing of the past.
Makayla couldn’t deny that she wasn’t looking forward to the date. The man Brittany had hooked her up with was fine but there was nothing about meeting someone new that excited her. It was times like this that she realized how big of a number Jason did on her. And how spoiled Kannon had her. As long as she had him, the only thing she needed from a man was dick… and with her fuck machine, she wasn’t tripping off that either.
Scratching her scalp, Makayla decided to enlist help. If she kept trying to find something to wear on her own, she’d never leave the house. Leaving her closet, Makayla grabbed her phone and dialed Kannon’s number.
“Makayla,” he answered, making her smile immediately.
For everyone else, they got the customary greeting of yeah, but she and his mother were called by name.
“You busy?”
“Never too busy for you. Wassup?”
“I need help finding something to wear.”
“For what?”
“Britt and Q set me up on a date tonight.”
“With who? Where y’all going? He ain’t coming to pick you up, right? How you getting there? What you know about this nigga? He in the streets? What they call him? What’s his grandmama name? What he know about the code? How…”
“Kannon,” Makayla called through her laugh. “Will you just come and help me find something to wear?”
“Fine,” he agreed, attitude evident in his voice.
He disconnected the call, letting only a few minutes pass before he was letting himself in and making his way to her room. She was still in the closet when he arrived, looking over the dresses that were hanging in her closet. When she looked over at him to see him shirtless, she couldn’t help but smile. The tattoos on his maple syrup-colored arms and chest were exposed, causing her to lick her lips absently as her eyes lowered to his six pack.
“Don’t fuckin’ look at me like that,” he voiced so low, it almost sounded like a hum.
“Like what?” she replied innocently, in no rush to keep her eyes from traveling lower.
“Like this what you want.”
“What if it is?”
Squeezing the bridge of his nose, Kannon chuckled quietly with a shake of his head. “I’m not playin’ with you tonight. Especially while you’re getting ready to go on a date with another man.”
His eyes slowly trailed down her short silk robe. “So? It’s not like I want to go out with him. It’s going to be a waste of my time.”
“Then why you going?”
She shrugged before walking past him out of the closet. “I feel like I deserve to.” Makayla walked over to the sitting area in her bedroom. The small, round white table and two chair set was where she spent the bulk of her time in the morning. Other than that, she was only in her room to shower and dress or sleep.
“I feel like I deserve to get cute and go out and enjoy myself. I just wish it was with someone I really wanted to spend my time with.” Kannon nodded his understanding. “The weekends are precious because it’s the only time I don’t have Austin twenty-four-seven, so I want to make sure what I do is worth it. But I don’t think anything is going to pop off between me and this guy. I looked on his Facebook page and he doesn’t really seem like my type.”
“What’s your type?”
Makayla shrugged and giggled softly. “I don’t know, but I’ll know it when I come across it.”
“You don’t know what you want and don’t want in a man?”
She shrugged and drew circles on top of the table with her finger as she avoided his eyes.
“I have an idea, but I don’t feel like it’s fair to use the person I’m using as an example.”
“Why? Because it’s Jason?”
“No.” Makayla looked back over at him. “Because it’s you.” His smile was so pure, it made her smile. “Don’t get me wrong, Jason was the first man I ever loved. He… was the first man I felt like really loved me. Outside of my cousins and shit. I didn’t have a daddy, so I looked to Jason for guidance on how a man should love and treat me.” Her head shook. “But a lot of that… it didn’t really make me feel good. I felt like I was settling and compromising a lot. Not to say he was a bad man, I just don’t think he was capable of truly loving me the way I needed to be loved. Jason loved me the best way he knew how, and back then, it was okay, but it wouldn’t be now. So… I use you as the mold because of how you make me feel good and loved.”
They stared at each other for a few seconds, but before Kannon could reply, her phone was ringing. Standing to answer it, Makayla hoped her confession didn’t make things weird between them. She’d been feeling bold lately. Maybe it was because she was sick of Jason making her feel like he didn’t give a fuck about how she felt. For five years, she’d been denying herself of Kannon because of her loyalty to Jason. There were billions of people on this earth, millions of men to choose from, and she had to catch feelings for Jason’s best friend.
Was that how fate worked? Or was it a test of her loyalty? Whatever it was, Makayla was sick of her heart being swayed by it.
“Who is this?” she answered, not recognizing the number.
“Dre. Your date for the evening.”
“Oh.” She smiled and turned a bit more away from Kannon. “Hi.”
“How are you?”
“I’m good, how are you? Did you need to cancel?”
“I’m good, and I did, actually. I was hoping my baby’s mama would be able to keep her tonight but she canceled at the last minute. Unless you wanted to make this a family date with your son, I need to reschedule.”
“I would, but he’s with his grandma and aunt for the weekend. It’s cool, though. We can cancel.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. I haven’t gotten dressed yet so it’s cool.” Besides… Makayla wasn’t too quick to let anyone meet Austin. They’d have to go on several dates and commit to one another before she let that happen.
“Okay. Well, I’m really sorry about this. I’ll make it up to you.”
“No problem. Thanks for letting me know.”
After disconnecting the call, Makayla turned back to Kannon to find him grinning at her.
“What?” she asked through her chuckle.
“Nothing,” was what he said, but his growing smile said otherwise. “Get back over here so we can finish this conversation.”
“It’s not necessary now. My date is cancelled.”
“That’s how you wanna play it?”
“That’s exactly how I wanna play it.”
She laughed, though her body was heating under his intense gaze.
“So when I take you out, I’ll have to put the perfect date together on my own?”
Licking her lips, Makayla thought over his question for a moment. “I think you know me well enough to do so, but why would you take me out?”
“You’re right. You deserve to be taken out so you can enjoy yourself. Who better to do that for you than me?” As he sauntered over to her, Makayla bit back her smile. “Don’t make any plans tomorrow night. I’ma take you out, aight?”
Her head nodded rapidly as she whispered, “Okay.”
His arm wrapped around her, and Makayla found herself holding her breath as he kissed her forehead. Kannon rested his on hers for a few seconds before walkin
g away. She didn’t realize how long she’d been holding her breath until the front door closed and she released it.
19
Kannon
As Morray’s “Quicksand” played in the background, Kannon released a loaded sigh as he parked. It was getting harder and harder for him to visit Jason. Always one to keep it trill, it was weighing heavily on his mind and heart to hide Austin from his brother and best friend. The only peace of mind he had came from the fact that Austin was safe. Jason was getting deeper and deeper in the game while he was locked down, and he had enemies on the inside and outside wanting off with his head.
There was something about a solid-ass nigga who gave no fucks that always attracted haters. While Jason didn’t have issues with anyone coming at him directly, there had been a few attempts on his life that ended with those responsible being murdered by other inmates or guards that were under Jason’s control. He’d proven over the years that he could go anywhere and gain leadership and control. Though there were days he wished he could hop on a plane to a different country, take a few laps around the pool or in the ocean, and live a life of freedom… Jason was content with the hand he had been dealt.
All he could do was pray Jason understood the choice he made and that it didn’t damage their bond. Fuck, even if it didn’t, it was getting harder and harder for Kannon to control himself around Makayla. They’d built a familial bond that he’d always wanted but was too deep in the game to think he’d ever have. He’d devoted himself to keeping Makayla and Austin safe… he just… wasn’t expecting to fall in love with Makayla in the process.
Who was he supposed to be loyal to? His heart or the brother that he’d already sacrificed so much for and given so much to? The one that had gone through just as much bullshit as he’d gone through? Kannon couldn’t stomach the thought of betraying Jason by going after Makayla. So as much as his heart and dick wanted her… both desires would have to be stifled until they met in another life.