by K. C. Mills
“Not in the way you’re thinking. I don’t give a fuck about the next nigga, trust that. But if we run in the same circle then it matters. That’s some shit I don’t take lightly.”
Joy stood and moved towards Logic while unbuttoning the shirt she was wearing. She wasn’t about to have a conversation with him about her ex, so she decided to use the one thing that she knew would get his attention and keep him distracted long enough to forget about her past, even if it was just for the moment.
His eyes were on her while she removed her shirt and let it hit the floor. Once she was close enough, she roped her arms around his neck and stood on the balls of her feet to kiss him. He grabbed her around the waist with one arm, and cupped the back of her head with the other hand, to pull her deeper into their kiss.
When their lips parted, he looked down at her with lust. “So I guess you think that means this conversation is over?”
“That’s up to you.” Joy stepped back, unbuttoned her pants, slid them down her legs and stepped out of them.
“Oh, so that’s how we’re doing it?” Logic said as Joy closed the distance between them again, taking hold of his shirt and pulling it up his body. He cooperated and once it hit the floor, she began working on the jeans he was wearing. Their eyes were locked on one another, but they were both quiet. Logic wore a smirk while Joy bit her bottom lip. She was done talking and planned on letting their bodies handle the communication for now.
***
Logic stood in front of his closet and grabbed his ringing phone out of his pocket. Joy was currently in the shower, but he still glanced at his bedroom door before he answered.
“What’s up Gotti?”
“What time are you heading this way?” Gotti asked.
“In a few, I’m chilling with my shorty right now. I have to run by my mom’s place and then I’ll be out there. We good?”
“Yeah, we’re good. Just checking in.”
Logic opened his safe, removed his .45 and then positioned it in his jeans, pressing it against the small of his back. It had been a minute since he actually wore a gun on his person, but it was familiar and comfortable.
“Aight, well I’ll show my face in a little while and I’ll be out there tonight. I just have a few things to take care of.”
“Don’t sweat that shit. We’re good for now. Shit’s running smooth and I’ll hit you if I need anything.”
“Aight, do that, but I’m out.” Logic ended the call just as Joy came walking in his room. He promised his mother that the two of them would head that way for dinner and since he knew his time was about to be extremely limited for a while, he felt like he needed to be there.
“You sure we don’t have time to go by my place so that I can change?” Joy asked after she began to button her shirt. She had gone straight to Logic’s house from work, so she was dressed for school and really wanted to change into something more comfortable.
“We’re already late because of you, shorty.” Logic moved towards Joy, kissed her on the cheek and then walked over to his dresser to grab his keys and wallet.
“You didn’t stop me,” Joy said with a smirk, as she tucked her shirt in and then adjusted her pants.
Logic laughed. “Why the fuck would I stop you? You knew that before you started coming out your clothes, shorty.”
“Whatever, let’s go.” Joy rolled her eyes at him and left his bedroom to get her shoes. Thirty minutes later, they were at his mom’s house, and Logic was on the floor with Trent, yelling about some video game, while Joy was sitting in the kitchen with Najah watching Mini while she finished dinner.
Joy couldn't keep her eyes off Najah’s bruises, no matter how hard she tried to focus on their conversation and not her face. And Najah, of course, could feel Joy watching her, so she decided to speak about it.
“This is what happens when you love the wrong man,” Najah said randomly looking right at Joy.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-”
“It’s cool. It’s not like I can hide it,” Najah said, which made Mini turn and look at her daughter.
“Well I hope this time you learned your lesson.” Mini sounded like she wanted to put her hands on her daughter before she turned back to the stove.
“Chill ma, I said I was done,” Najah said and rolled her eyes. Joy could tell she was annoyed but she could also see the hurt in her eyes. Logic had already explained that he not only got rid of Fez because he admitted to killing their brother, but also because Fez put his hands on Najah.
“We all make dumb decisions. Your heart can make you do crazy things,” Joy said and then offered a comforting smile.
“Good dick will too,” Nah said with a smirk and that really pissed her mother off.
“Little girl, don't talk like that in my house and you should be embarrassed to admit that. I would hope that you learned something from my experiences, but I guess not,” Mini pointed her finger at her daughter and shook her head.
“Damn Ma, I’m just playing. No reason to get all upset about it.”
Before Mini could respond, the front door opened and they heard Nova’s voice followed by children laughing.
“I’m here boo,” Nova yelled from the living room, which prompted Najah and Joy to stand to go meet her.
“The fuck you doing here?” Logic asked, as Nova’s twins joined him and Trent on the floor. Kenya got comfortable on his lap, while Kenyan sat on the floor next to Trent.
“Nah Nah is keeping them for me.”
“This ain't no damn daycare Nova,” Logic said playfully, mugging his cousin before he kissed Kenya on the cheek. “You missed me, baby girl?”
She nodded before she held her head back and looked up at him.
“So where is this mystery guy?” Najah asked as soon as she was face to face with Nova.
“He’s coming in a minute. He’s on the porch finishing a call.”
“I hope you don’t think you ‘bout to leave them here, so you can go out with some nigga I don’t know anything about,” Logic said, as he lifted Kenya off his lap so that he could stand. When he was on his feet, she sat down on the other side of Trent and focused on the game they were playing.
“I’m grown and you don’t need to know anything about him ‘cause that ain't your business,” Nova said mugging Logic.
Before he could say anything, the door opened and her date stepped inside. Joy’s eyes fell on him and her heart almost jumped out of her chest as Nova began her introduction.
“Everybody this is-”
“Rah.” Joy cut her off and finished her sentence for her, which made everyone including Rah focus on her.
“Small fucking world I see,” Rah said with a smirk. His eyes were all over Joy’s body, and Logic was seconds away from reaching for his gun and would have, if he hadn't been in his mother’s house.
Logic felt the rage building as he instantly got pissed. Rah was the name of the person who had beef with Donte, according to Gotti, and now here he was in his mother’s living room, apparently dating his cousin. Not only that, it appeared that he and Joy also knew each other. Was this the person who her father was referring to? There was no way the world could be that fucking small, he thought. Before Logic even realized it, he had moved near Joy to the point where he was damn near standing in front of her. His teeth were clenched and his eyes narrowed. He didn’t know who the fuck Rah was, but he knew for sure this situation wasn’t about to end well.