I Can't Let Go

by Chenell Parker

  When Miko said that she was coming, Kimora continued to fill up her suitcase. Bryson was a straight up bitch for telling Tino something that happened so long ago. He gave up on being with her a long time ago and he seemed to be happy with his girlfriend. She didn’t understand why he felt the need to come clean now. Kimora needed garbage bags to finish packing, so she walked down the stairs to get some. She felt Tino’s eyes on her the entire time but she ignored him. When she walked back up the stairs, he followed her back to their bedroom. She walked into the closet and she felt him standing right behind her.

  “Don’t go,” he whispered as he hugged her from behind.

  “Don’t touch me,” Kimora sniffled.

  “I’m sorry baby. I was trippin’ and I shouldn’t have said all that stupid shit,” Tino apologized.

  “It only happened once and I never had sex with him or nobody else,” Kimora assured him.

  “I know baby. I believe you,” Tino said as she turned around to face him.

  He picked her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist. Tino carried her to the bed and they laid down facing each other. He closed his eyes and rubbed his nose up against hers. His heartbeat had returned to normal and he felt like he could breathe again.

  “Who told you about that?” Kimora asked him after they laid there in silence for a while.

  “I guess Bryson must have told all them niggas about it and Ramon decided to kick off some shit. I tried to break him and Bryson in two out there,” Tino fumed.

  “You fought them?” Kimora asked.

  “Fuck them niggas!” Tino barked angrily.

  “I feel like this is all my fault. I’m sorry baby,” Kimora apologized.

  “Even if we fuss or fight, try till we get it right. You are my life. I can’t let go,” Tino sang as she smiled at him.

  It didn’t matter that he sang off key. The words to the song were what mattered most. When Kimora’s phone rang, she picked it up and answered on speakerphone.

  “I’m outside,” Miko said when she answered for her.

  “You can go back home sis. We’re good,” Kimora noted.

  “Bitch! Lose my number!” Miko yelled before she hung up the phone, making them laugh.

  “I love you,” Kimora said as she looked into Tino’s eyes.

  “I love you more baby,” Tino replied as he kissed her lips.

  He and Kimora laid there talking for a while until they got up and took a shower. They still had their date night and the events of the day were forgotten. At least with her it was. Tino didn’t have shit to say to anybody else and he didn’t give a fuck how they felt about it.

  Almost three weeks after the fight with his cousins and Tino still hadn’t spoken to any of them. They had been trying to call him and Dirty even got Miko to call Kimora. Tino was still in his feelings and he wasn’t fucking with them niggas. They’d obviously gotten his father involved because he called Tino early that morning and told him that he needed to see him. That was hours ago and he still hadn’t made his way over there yet.

  “You rolling with me today?” he asked Kimora as she laid in the bed and watched tv.

  “Hell no. Why would I wanna come with you to get fussed at?” she laughed.

  “I’m not worried about that shit. He can say whatever he wanna say. I’m a grown ass man,” Tino replied, speaking of his father.

  “What time are you going over there?” Kimora asked.

  “Shit, I might not go at all,” Tino stubbornly replied.

  “Just get it over with baby. You know he’s not gonna stop until you go see him,” Kimora pointed out.

  “I already know what he wants,” Tino said as he laid down next to her and pulled her on top of him.

  Besides his brothers and cousins on his mother’s side, Tino didn’t sell anything to anyone else. He was sure that they were all out of product and their pockets were probably hurting. His two sisters had been calling him nonstop because their men were trying to get at him too. Tino was good on money and he didn’t give a fuck if they went broke. He felt betrayed and that was something that he didn’t take lightly.

  “I just want this to be over with. You know how I feel about Dirty and he didn’t do anything wrong,” Kimora said, speaking on behalf of her brother-in-law. She loved Dirty like a brother and Tino knew that. Taking money from his pockets affected her sister and she couldn’t have that.

  “For you, I’ll fuck with Dirty again but that’s it. Fuck them other niggas.” Tino frowned, right as his phone rang. When he saw his father’s number, he ignored the call and continued cuddling with Kimora. When her phone rang a few minutes later, she already knew what was up when she saw Val’s number.

  “It’s Val,” Kimora said.

  “Don’t answer it,” Tino replied.

  “You can’t ignore them forever Tino. They’re just gonna keep calling,” Kimora said as her phone stopped ringing. Not even a minute later, it was ringing once again.

  “Put her on speaker so I can hear what she has to say,” he requested right before she answered.

  “Hey Val,” Kimora said.

  “Hey sweetheart, it’s Ced,” Tino’s father replied.

  “Oh, hey Ced. What’s up?” Kimora asked.

  “Tell your man that he got one hour to get his ass to my house or I’m coming to him. I know he’s probably right there listening and he knows that I don’t make idle threats,” Ced said sternly.

  “Okay Ced, I’ll tell him,” Kimora replied.

  “Thank you, baby,” Ced said before he hung up.

  “Just go over there and stop acting crazy,” Kimora ordered.

  “Come on,” Tino said as he got up from the bed.

  “I’m not going,” Kimora replied.

  “You want me to do this shit or not? Since you want me to go so bad, you’re coming with me,” Tino noted.

  “Man, I don’t feel like going nowhere,” Kimora complained as she got up and threw on some clothes.

  About ten minutes later, they were both dressed and on their way to his parents’ house. Tino was frowning the entire time until Kimora grabbed his hand and smiled at him. She was the only one who could do that to him besides his mother. When they pulled up, Tino groaned when he saw his brothers’ cars in the driveway. He knew that Ced was up to something but he wasn’t in the mood. Tino had three older brothers and two older sisters from his father’s first wife. Ced made sure that they were close and looked out for each other. Tino had no idea why they were there though. He made sure that they were straight and it was business as usual with them.

  “Be nice,” Kimora said when they got out of the car.

  “I can’t make no promises,” he replied, right before they walked into the house. He spoke to two of his brothers who were sitting on the sofa playing the game before greeting everyone else who were in the kitchen.

  “Hey baby. I didn’t know that you were coming over.” Val smiled as she walked over and embraced Kimora. She gave her son a hug too before she finished loading up her dishwasher.

  “Hey sweetheart. I see you gave him my message,” Ced smirked as he hugged Kimora.

  “Yeah, she did. I’m here. What’s up?” Tino asked him.

  “Sit down lil bro, we need to talk,” CJ, Tino’s oldest brother, said.

  “I don’t plan to be here long so I can stand,” Tino defiantly replied.

  “Sit your muthafucking ass down before I knock you down!” Ced bellowed.

  “Cedric!” Val screeched.

  “Here baby, you and Kimora go grab something to eat,” Ced said as he handed her some money. He wasn’t in the mood for her to be pacifying their son and he needed some privacy. Unlike his wife, he didn’t have a problem letting Tino know when he was wrong.

  “Come on beautiful. Let’s get out of here,” Val said as she grabbed Kimora’s hand.

  She was fussing in Spanish as they walked out of the front door, making Kimora laugh. Tino was ready to get the conversation over with, so he sat down right as
his other two brothers walked into the kitchen. His older brothers were handsome just like him but Tino’s complexion was more of his mother’s. He got his grain of hair from her too but that’s where the similarities ended. His height, build and attitude was all Ced and everybody said so.

  “Look, there’s no need for us to beat around the bush because you know why you’re here. Whatever beef you got with our cousins needs to be squashed. The shit ain’t even that serious,” CJ said as their brothers, Daron and Nick, nodded in agreement.

  “Man, fuck them niggas. Besides y’all and Dirty, I don’t have shit to say to nobody else,” Tino replied.

  “Why just Dirty though?” Nick asked.

  “You already know why. He’s Miko’s man,” Daron spoke up.

  “That shit happened three years ago bro. You weren’t even with Kimora then. You were still with Venus,” CJ pointed out.

  “I don’t give a fuck. They all knew that I wanted her though. The fact that everybody knew what happened and kept the shit from me is what got me heated.” Tino frowned.

  “Why you ain’t mad with Kimora then? She kept it from you too,” CJ noted.

  “I was pissed with her too. We broke up over that shit,” Tino said.

  “For how many minutes?” his father asked, knowing that their breakups never lasted very long.

  “It don’t matter. We moved on from it,” Tino replied.

  “I know you love Kimora son but you gotta get that perfect image of her out of your head. She’s human just like the rest of us and she makes mistakes too,” Ced said.

  “Exactly. She’s not as innocent as you’re trying to make her seem,” CJ replied.

  “The fuck you saying nigga? You calling my girl a hoe?” Tino snapped as he stood to his feet.

  “Sit your crazy ass down boy. Don’t tell that nigga nothing about that girl, bruh. You already know how he is,” Ced replied as he looked at his oldest son.

  They all knew how he felt about Kimora and he wasn’t in the mood for Tino’s antics. He had to get on his son a few weeks ago when he ran into his ex-girlfriend. Ced didn’t know exactly what happened but Tino slapped Marisa around behind something that she said to Kimora.

  “I love Kimora and I would never talk down on her. I just don’t get how you forgave her so easily and not your own family,” CJ said.

  “Because I can,” Tino replied.

  “Look, fuck all this back and forth shit. The bottom line is we’re family and we’re gonna act like it. Now, you been doing business with these niggas for years and you’re not gonna stop just because of a stupid misunderstanding. Let that bullshit go and secure that bag. At the end of the day, that’s all that matters. Don’t let your stubbornness interfere with your money,” Cedric advised.

  “Yeah bro. Them niggas pockets are hurting right now. Cardia and Cherelle are suffering too,” Nick said, referring to their sisters.

  Neither of them worked and they depended on their men to take care of them. Hearing him say that had Tino feeling bad. He was too upset to think about the big picture but his actions were affecting too many people.

  “I’ll fuck with them niggas on the business tip but that’s it. Ain’t no more shooting hoops and all that extra shit. They showed me that they can’t be trusted and I’m good on them,” Tino replied.

  “You know that’s not true bruh. You would have reacted the exact same way had they come to you before then. If that’s the case, then Kimora can’t be trusted either,” CJ noted.

  “You keep talking reckless about my girl and we gon’ have a problem. You getting a lil too comfortable with that shit,” Tino fumed as he looked over at him.

  “Stop acting like you the only one that got hands lil nigga,” CJ challenged.

  Ced had loved boxing since he was a young boy. As soon as his kids were old enough, he had them in the gym taking boxing lessons too. Even his daughters were good at the sport that they all grew to love.

  “What’s good nigga? Let’s rock,” Tino said as he jumped up from his chair once again.

  “This nigga here. I’m gone pops. Try to talk some sense into your son. I’ll see you later,” CJ said as he gave his father dap. His other brothers followed his lead and they all walked out of the house together. Tino had always been the hothead of them all. They always said that it must have been the Dominican side of him because his temper was sometimes ridiculous.

  “The worst thing that you could have ever done was let niggas know that Kimora was your weakness. Now they know exactly what to use against you,” Ced said once he and Tino were alone.

  “What was I supposed to do? Act like I don’t give a fuck about her?” Tino asked.

  “The only person that you had to prove your love to was her,” Ced replied.

  Tino didn’t know it but he’d unintentionally put Kimora in the line of fire. If ever a nigga wanted to get to him, they would probably use Kimora to do it. There was nothing wrong with him loving her but he was borderline obsessed. Ced doubted if Kimora even knew how much Tino really loved her. She probably would have been scared to death if she did.

  “Is it safe for me to come back to my house now?” Val asked when she and Kimora walked in carrying bags of food. Tino’s face lit up when he saw Kimora and Ced only shook his head. He couldn’t hide his emotions if he wanted to and that wasn’t good.

  “I’m sorry baby. We just had to discuss a few things,” Ced replied as he kissed his wife.

  He understood how his son felt about Kimora because he felt the exact same way about his own wife. Everybody thought that Ced was the brains behind the different streams of income that they had but Val was the mastermind behind it all. She was the one with all the money and resources but she never made her husband feel anything less than a king. Her brothers loved him from the first time they met, so they welcomed him into their family. Ced was skeptical at first, being a black man and all. That was until he realized that most of her family were either married to or dating someone of the African American race.

  “I got you something to eat baby,” Kimora said as she lifted the bag to show Tino.

  “Okay, we can eat at home,” Tino replied as he stood up.

  “What’s good bruh?” Ced asked as he walked them to the door.

  “Tell them niggas that I’ll come fuck with them tomorrow,” Tino replied before they walked outside.

  “Is everything okay?” Kimora asked.

  “Yeah, it’s all good. But, check it. I want you to start carrying,” Tino replied.

  “Carrying what?” Kimora asked.

  “A gun Kimora,” he laughed as he shook his head.

  “Why? Are you sure that everything is okay?” she questioned skeptically.

  “I promise it is. You can never be too careful though. We can go to the gun range and shit, so you can learn how to use it,” Tino replied.

  He thought about what his father said and he was right. He wore his emotions on his sleeve when it came to her but he couldn’t help it. Still, he needed Kimora to know how to defend herself, just in case she ever needed to. If anything ever happened to her, they were gonna have to bury them together. Tino was almost sure that he couldn’t live without her.

  “I hope you don’t piss me off once I get it. I might have to put a hot one in you,” Kimora laughed.

  “Damn, you gon’ kill me if I make you mad?” he asked with a smirk.

  “Hell no. I love you too much to kill you. I might hit you in the arm or leg just to prove a point though,” she smirked.

  “As long as you nurse me back to health,” he replied as he leaned over and kissed her.

  “I got you boo.” Kimora smiled.

  Once they got home, they ate and chilled for the rest of the day. Dirty and Miko came over and Kimora was happy to see that they squashed the stupid beef that they had going on. Tino was ready to get back to the money and Kimora was happy to see that he was back to his old self.

  “F uck it then! I’ll just stay home,” Kimora said as she fell back i
n the bed in disgust.

  “Get up girl. You know damn well I’m not going nowhere without you,” Tino replied.

  “You’re getting on my nerves. This is the third outfit that I’ve changed into and you have a problem with this one too.” Kimora frowned.

  She had on a romper at first and Tino lost it. She changed into some leggings and a long shirt and he still wasn’t satisfied with that. Now, she had on an off the shoulder Gucci dress with the matching slides and he was still giving her the side eye.