“Baby, that’s not the case,” Konya spoke, as Rye stomped back to her room. Not wanting to hear the excuses, she slammed her door.
Giving her time to cool down, Konya didn’t knock on the door, before entering until thirty minutes had passed. “Rye, I know that you’re upset, but we need to talk.”
Rye was stretched out across her bed. “About what?”
“About…the bills.”
Rye sat up, as her mother stepped completely into the room.
“Since Dewayne cut off the cards and bank accounts, there’s no money to help you. And I don’t know how long he’s gonna act a fool. So, you need to figure something out…we both do. I’m going to work with your aunt at her office,” she referred to her sister, who was a doctor. “She’s giving me a month’s advance. So, you need to find something to do too. Or else, we’ll both be crashing on somebody’s couch.”
“Oh, okay,” Rye nodded. “So, I guess that I should do something that will get me money now. Something that requires a skill…much like the one I already have.”
Konya narrowed her eyes. “What are you getting at?”
“I’m talking about me doing hair. Remember how I was making money, and yall threatened to take this apartment away, if I didn’t stop doing hair here?”
“Rye, we were looking out for your best interest. Tori told us that he walked in on some girl snorting coke off your coffee table.”
Rye sucked her teeth. “He was lying, but like always, you’ll believe anything he says. I can’t believe that you’re not re-examining everything that Tori ever told you. His word shouldn’t mean shit!”
Konya nodded. “You’re right. Clearly, I’ve been wrong a lot. I fucked up, but I love you, and I am not the enemy.”
Rye tucked her lips into her mouth, not knowing how to feel. She’d been lied to and it would forever change how she saw her mama. Still, regardless, she loved the woman, and they were in this together. “Alright,” she finally relented. “I hear you, ma.”
***
Jaylen pulled into the driveway and killed the ignition. Before getting out of the car, he dialed her cell against his better judgement. For the umpteenth time, he caught her voicemail. It was clear as day that she’d blocked him, but his pride refused to accept what his mind was telling him. Women didn’t block Jaylen. He blocked women, so he was definitely feeling a way about Rye.
L.A. had been fun, largely because of Rye. She’d been cool, and a great lay, but Alicia just had to fuck with his phone. And now Rye was giving him the ultimate fuck-you, as she refused to accept his calls.
“Fuck her,” he grumbled to himself, as he eased out of his Benz. “I aint finna chase her ass. The fuck she thanks this is?” He approached the house’s front door, and rang the doorbell.
A minute later, Jahrein Junior pulled the door back. “What’s up?”
“Nothing,” Jaylen offered, as he stepped inside, and glanced around. “I’m hungry. What yall got to eat in here?”
“Shit, pizza,” Little Jah responded, as he locked the door.
“Pizza?” Jaylen strolled through the living room, noticing all the random toys strewn across the floor. Then in the middle of the room sat Jah and Josairah’s son, Jhyshun. He was eating a slice of pizza in his Mickey Mouse underwear. The sight caused Jaylen to smile. “My nigga Jhyshun, tearing up the place, as usual.”
Jhyshun lifted his head with marinara sauce smeared across his face. “’Sup, Jaylen?”
Jaylen chuckled. “Nothing. What your lil’ cool ass doing?”
“Eating,” Jhyshun responded. “Want some?” he lifted the half-eaten pizza that had no meat left on it.
“Nah, I’m good, man. That’s all you.” Jaylen shook his head.
Jahrein shook his head as well. “Shun, you making a mess, man. Hurry up, so daddy can clean you.”
“Okay.” Jhyshun animatedly nodded.
Jaylen peered around the room. “Where is Josairah? Tell her ass to come clean up.”
Just then, a toilet could be heard flushing, before Josairah stepped out of the downstairs bathroom, which was right underneath the staircase. Slowly, she walked over to the couch, holding her stomach. Appearing exhausted, she eased onto the couch, lied down, and curled up into fetal position.
“What’s wrong with her?” Jaylen questioned, concerned.
Jah ambled over to the couch, and sat down, before pulling her feet onto his lap. “She’s a little nauseous.”
“Yeah?” Jaylen quizzed, while copping a squat on their recliner. “You drank too much, Josairah?”
Josairah merely glared his way, before rolling over to face the back of the couch. “Leave me alone,” she murmured.
Jaylen opened his arms, as he glanced at his cousin. “Nigga, what’s wrong with her?”
Jah licked his lips. “Don’t tell nobody, but she’s…she’s pregnant.”
Josairah immediately sat up. “You talk too fucking much. Nobody told you tell his raggedy ass.”
“What?” Jah frowned. “Why you tripping?”
Josairah rose to her feet. “Just shut up talking to me,” she scoffed, as she stomped upstairs.
Jaylen chuckled lightly. “Damn, you got her pissed.”
Jah waved him off. “She’ll get over it.”
“I’m saying, what happened? I thought auntie Raven was coming around like clock work to make sure that her and Jhyrah were on birth control?”
Jah shook his head. “Nigga, that was a while ago. My mama been gave up on that mission. She said that they’re grown now, and her job is done.”
“So, yall slipped up?”
Jah licked his lips. “Not really. I mean, I didn’t. Josairah was trying to keep up with her appointments and shit…but I deleted the reminder.”
Jaylen scowled. “Nigga. I know you fucking lying.”
“I mean, it’s really better to just have your kids close together, while you’re young.”
Jaylen chuckled. “You sound just like your crazy ass daddy, man. The fuck?”
“Right, and you see it worked out for him.”
Jaylen laughed harder. “You wild. And I really thought that you was chilling, because that draft is starting in a few months. You NBA bound, nigga. Why have more babies now?”
Jah stroked his waves. “Everybody talks about that draft like it’s the end all for me. But you or nobody else has ever heard me say that. So, am I entering the draft? Yeah. But it aint that serious for me, and it definitely isn’t something to factor into my relationship’s decisions. I try my best to remind myself that I’m blessed, and it’s plenty of cats who wished that they could be in my shoes. They need the NBA to change their lives. Their families’ lives. And I just want the experience. I seen my daddy touch a mil while I was still in elementary. By the time I was ten, we all had trust funds. I still haven’t touched that money, Jaylen. It’s four million in mine. So, I see shit different. I live by my own rules, and playing basketball aint gon change that.”
“I hear you, cuz. Do what you feel. It’s your world. And if you wanna make a million fucking babies, then I’m here for it.”
Jahrein cracked a smile. “Shit, Josairah will cuss you out just for saying that. All she keeps saying is, ‘You got me fucked up. I aint finna be some NBA baby mama. That aint my calling. If you aint trying to put a ring on this finger then I aint finna pump out another baby’,” he mocked Josairah.
Jaylen’s shoulders trembled with laughter, because Jah had Josairah down pact. “You know that girl inside out. And I take it that she aint happy about this pregnancy.”
Jah relaxed into the couch. “She a little mad, but I think that’s just her worrying about what her mama and daddy gonna say. You know auntie Shay,” he referred to Josairah’s mama. “She stay on Josairah about having her own path and shit. And I get where she’s coming from to a certain extent, but I can’t help but think that she’s projecting her own bullshit onto Josairah. You know how Shay and my mama talk about them being young and having kids. They f
eel like they missed out on a lot, but that was them. And they had us when they were underage, still living at home with mama and shit. Me and Josairah are grown, in our own house. Shit, we bringing in over 25k a month from the different businesses we have. Us having another baby aint gonna change that. We gon live our best life regardless.”
Jaylen nodded. “I feel that, but I gotta wonder. You don’t be feeling overwhelmed with school, ball, the baby, Josairah, and the businesses?”
“Nah, not at all, man,” Jah denied without hesitation. “School…I practically paid for this degree that I’m about to get. Nigga, you know the routine. I got somebody covering most of my assignments. So, I just focus on my responsibilities, and then ball. Besides, Josairah keeps up with most the of the business shit. I mean, I showed her how to handle everything, and now it’s to the point where she just sits me down to go over the profits each month. I also make sure that she gets her fair portion for her to keep for herself, so that she don’t feel like I’m getting over. So, she’s good and I’m good.”
Jaylen listened intently. For Jah to be merely twenty years old, he had his shit together. That couldn’t be denied, and he admired that. But that didn’t mean that he could relate to his cousin’s logic. He was a few years older, and hadn’t begun to think about committing and having a family. Hell, sometimes he questioned if he’d ever be ready to settle down.
“Aye, I hear you, cuz. But how is your mama gonna feel about this?” Jaylen quizzed.
Jah drug a palm down his face. “Man, I don’t know. She’s probably gonna try to whup me.”
Jaylen laughed heartily, as he pictured his Aunt Raven going berserk on Little Jah. “Yeah, you might be right. You know how she feels about being a grandma already, anyway.”
“Somebody needs to whup your ass,” Josairah fussed, as she reentered the room. Flopping down on the couch, she glared at Jah.
“Cousin-in-law, he got you fucked up, huh?” Jaylen instigated.
“Jaylen, you shut your ass up too. You can get off Jah. He don’t go,” Josairah talked shit.
Jaylen’s jaw dropped. “Damn, that’s how you do me? I was on your side.”
Jahrein smiled. “We a team, nigga. Don’t ever forget that.”
“Yeah, whatever,” Jaylen grumbled. “I aint tripping. In fact, I’ma be laughing when I’m at Amir’s party next week. We’ll see what team your pregnant ass will be on when you’re sitting at home.”
Josairah sucked her teeth. “Nigga, please. I’ll be in the building, along with half the thots you fuck with.”
Jaylen’s ears perked. “Like who? You been talking to ole girl?”
Josairah narrowed her eyes. “Ole girl? Who are you talking about?”
“Oh, I know,” Jah interjected, as he elbowed Josairah. “He’s talking about the sports’ agent’s gal. Rye.”
Josairah frowned. “I thought that you and her left the airport together. You haven’t talked to her lately?”
Jaylen licked his lips. “Nah. Alicia answered my phone when she called, and now I think something is wrong with her phone…or something.”
“Her voicemail is picking up?” Josairah questioned.
“Yeah.”
Jah roared with laughter. “Then that means she blocked you, nigga. It aint that hard to figure out.”
“Fuck you.”
Josairah shook her head. “Yall niggas are something else.”
“It aint like that,” Jaylen denied. “But Josairah, do your boy a favor and call Rye up. Invite her to Amir’s party. Don’t even mention me, if she don’t bring me up.”
Josairah frowned. “What’s in it for me?”
“Umm,” Jaylen mulled it over. “I got it.” he snapped his fingers. “I won’t go on the Gram and congratulate you on your pregnancy.”
“What?” she jerked her head back.
Jaylen grinned deviously. “You heard me. I mean, unless you ready to deal with Shay now.”
She sucked her teeth, as she snatched her cell off the table. “Whatever. I’ma call her, but don’t be trying to blackmail me. Cause I will pay your ass back for that. Trust me.”
Chapter 11
“Ouii, if we… tried that we could be…somewhere in the climate. As long as I know you around me…”
Music floated through Rye’s apartment, offering a nice ambiance.
Rye was in her dining room, completely in her element. She was doing her girl’s hair at her glass table. There were literally seven other chicks waiting in the living room to get their hair done. Thanks to the apartment’s open floor plan everyone was virtually in the same room, as they all gossiped.
“I don’t think I like that song anymore,” Rye said to herself, as she placed the finishing touches on Lea’s hair.
“Why not?” Lea inquired.
“Girl,” Rye breathed. “It’s so much that we gotta catch up on.”
“Tell me about it. How the hell did you end up with some of the Braxton boys out in L.A.?”
“Tori was trying to sign their boy. I had no idea that they knew each other, until we all met up for dinner.”
“Okay, and how did you go from being Tori’s guest to ditching him to hang out with them? I never thought I’d see the day.”
Rye rolled her eyes. “That’s a fuckin’ story within itself. Tory got out there and tried to show his ass---” she explained, until her cell went off. Checking out the screen, she noticed Josairah’s face flash across the screen. “Hello?” she answered.
“Hey, Rye, this is Josairah.”
“Yeah, I have you locked in, girl. What’s up?”
“Oh, nothing. You crossed my mind, and I decided to reach out. You didn’t have to go ghost because we’re back at home, you know?”
Rye giggled lightly. “It’s not like that. I just came home to a bunch of bullshit, honestly. And now I’m just trying to get it. Been dealing with client after client.”
“Client? Girl, what you do?” Josairah asked inquisitively.
“I do hair.”
“For real? Why didn’t you tell us?”
Rye sighed. “I don’t know. So much was going on, right then.”
“Yeah, true,” Josairah concurred. “You’re gonna have to post some of your work. Plus, I know a few local chicks with several followers. That right stamp of approval goes a long way, you feel me?”
“I definitely feel that.”
“That’s what’s up. I might have to come over and let you work some magic on my head. See what you’re working with.”
“Shit, I’m ready whenever you are.”
“I got you. But anyway, if you aint doing anything next Saturday, you should go to this party with me. It’s supposed to be super lit, and my other friend is gonna be out of town. So, I’d love for you to go with me.”
“Next Saturday, you say?”
“Yep.”
“Okay, I’ll make sure that I’m free. Is it cool if I bring my girl?”
“Yeah, that’s cool.”
“Alright, well, I’ll see you then.”
“Okay. I’ll be in touch.”
“Cool. Talk to you later.”
“Sure,” Josairah replied, before ending the call.
“Uh, what girl did you just volunteer to go to a party?” Lea nosily asked.
“You.”
Lea whipped her head around. “Me? Bitch, I know you didn’t volunteer me to go some lame ass party. You know that I get paid to show my face.”
Rye pursed her lips. “That was one of the Braxton boys’ girlfriends on the phone.”
Lea’s eyes bucked. “Well, why you didn’t say that? Did she say where it’s gonna be? What’s the dress code?”
Rye shook her head. “Look at your bopping ass.”
“Whatever, hoe,” Lea waved her off. “You just don’t understand. Fucking with one of those niggas is a game changer.”
Rye stared straight ahead, wanting to tell her friend that her theory was a pure myth. She’d dealt with a Braxton, and he wasn’t shit.
But being the friend that she was, she’d let Lea see for herself.
***
Konya was startled, as Rye stormed into the apartment, while she lounged on the couch.
“Mama, I need you to help me find out what’s my license plate number,” Rye spoke with shakiness, as she frantically scrolled through her cell.
Konya sat up. “Why?”
“Cause,” Rye sniveled. “I need to call the police to report my car stolen.”
Konya grabbed her forehead. “Wait, what?”
“I need to report my car stolen,” Rye reiterated. “I already called the police once and they said that I needed to tell them more than the fact that it’s a five series BMW.”
“Rye,” Konya breathed, while still holding her head. “Come sit down.”
Rye gave her mama a strange look. “For what?”
“Girl, just come sit down with your hard headed ass,” Konya snapped.
Rolling her eyes, Rye stomped over to the couch, before flopping down. “You’re about to give me the license plate number?” she asked, with her phone to her ear.
Konya lifted her head. “Who are you calling?”
“The police.”
Konya closed her eyes. “Hang up the phone.”
“Why?”
Konya gave her a stern look, and Rye ended the call.
“What’s up? Why are you so calm when somebody just took my car?”
Konya tucked her lips into her mouth. “Your car is not stolen. Your daddy took the car back.”
“My daddy?” Rye narrowed her eyes.
“Dewayne.”
“He’s not my daddy, remember?”
Konya rolled her eyes. “Look, whatever.”
“And how do you know that he took the car?”
Konya swallowed. “He called me earlier.”
Rye frowned. “Why didn’t he call me?”
Konya sighed heavily. “I don’t know. I thought that he would.”
“So, what am I supposed to do? You told me that he wasn’t helping with the bills around here. I accepted that and did something about it. I been busting my ass to cover the rent, and I just paid that car note, and he took the car, anyway?”
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