You Ain't My Type

by Nicole Jackson

  “I know your business aint in it,” she snipped.

  “Granny Red, you getting full of that oil,” Jaylen accused, referring to codeine.

  “And? It’s mine.”

  Big Jaylen disappointedly shook his head. “You sad, lady.”

  “Uh huh.” Red rolled her eyes, as she scrolled through her cell. “Nu uh, look at her. She’s blowing up on that nigga.”

  “Who?” Chantel nosily questioned.

  “Roz,” Red casually revealed, clearly having no shame with the fact that she was lurking on the internet. “She’s on here looking mighty plump. Look at that gut. Don’t she know that Ray aint gon want her if she’s out of shape? Hell, the only thing she got on her side is her looks.”

  Rye felt uncomfortable as Red cavalierly made disparaging comments about her stepmother. For some reason, she’d assumed that there was some sort of camaraderie between the two women. Obviously, she’d been mistaken.

  Reading the comments underneath the photo of Roz, Red’s eyes bucked. “I know they fucking lying. They’re saying that this old bitch is pregnant!”

  Everyone else looked at each other, as she learned what they’d all known for some time now.

  Red’s head snapped up. “From the silence in the room, I take it that yall knew this already.”

  Big Jaylen stroked his waves.

  Chantel took another sip from her cup.

  Lil’ Jaylen pretended to be engrossed into his phone, while Rye stared at the floor, while rubbing the back of her neck.

  Red shook her head. “Those muthafuckas ought to be ashamed of themselves. They got damn great grandkids. The fuck are they gonna do with a damn baby?” she stared at her phone, scrolling through more pictures. She stopped at one, which featured a spread of food. She noticed that Chantel loved the picture. Peeping into the comments, she noticed that Chantel asked that someone put her plate up and promised that she’d be over there shortly. That comment was less than an hour ago. “Look at this fake shit. I guess yall stopped over here so you won’t feel guilty, but you’re really headed over there to eat with Ray-Ray and that bitch. It be your own fucking family.”

  Big Jaylen frowned. “Mama, don’t start that shit. Please. Not today.”

  Red angrily scooted to the edge of her seat. “Start what? I’m just stating the fucking truth. Yall run over there and keke with that bitch like she aint laying up with my fucking husband. Having Sunday dinner with her, eating that artery clogging food.”

  Jaylen pointed a pinky finger. “You see, this is why we avoid coming over here. You stay trying to drag us into some bullshit.”

  “Drag yall into some bullshit? Nigga, I’m ya mama, in case you forgot. That’s always gonna be the case, no matter how many times you go over there, eating that bitch’s food.”

  “Man,” Big Jaylen stressed. “We about to go, cause I aint trying to go there with you.”

  “Hell, no! Go there! Say what the fuck you have to say, cause I’m done tiptoeing around this shit!”

  “Okay,” he licked his lips. “I watched you put up with bullshit your whole life before you ever met Ray-Ray. Then you got with him. You remember I was in jail when you met him, so Jah and Jalero knew him better than I did. So, my mind was blown when I started kicking it with him, once I got out. He was fucking hoes left and right. And what I did? I came right to you and told you. You sat there and told me that you didn’t care what that nigga did in the streets. He took care of you and that’s all that mattered. Then when I met Roz for the first time, I flat out came over and told you that the man was in love with his BM. You told me that yall all got a understanding. I would literally go to Roz’s house with that man. Witnessed him sleep there, pay the bills, and carry her better than he carried you. You knew it all. After Lil Ray-Ray was born that man rarely even came home to you. He was always with Roz, and you accepted it. Then when she got with ole boy and left Ray-Ray alone, you watched him stalk them people. Harassed them. Hell, his ass pistol whipped your own brother for trying to holler at her. You just kept telling me to mind my business. Us going over to Roz’s was cool, or at least you pretended that it was to save face with Ray-Ray. So, now, you wanna get mad because we done got attached. Our family is all blended in together, regardless. Roz is gonna be around us whether you like it or not. Yall grandkids are blood related. She’s the mother of your supposed step kids that you lowkey never acknowledge. Raven aint that man’s only child. But that’s not here nor there. We getting tired of you tripping with everybody, because you mad. If anything, you should be glad that Ray-Ray stopped playing wit ya feelings. You got a lot of shit at your fingertips that so many women pray for, but you over here mad cause that man finally chose somebody else. It’s other niggas out here. You need to get out here and see, but that aint gon change the fact that we see Ray-Ray as a father figure. Shit, he’s the closest we had to it.”

  “You said all that to say what?” Red snapped. “At the end of the day, I’m the bitch he married! That hoe Roz was running around doing her, but he goes and settles with her.”

  Big Jaylen grabbed his keys. “Look, we finna go, cause this shit is a lost cause. All I can tell you is to get your shit together, cause you’re pushing everybody away. Even Jah done got fed up with the shit. That’s why he barely answers your calls. You know you going too far when Lero is saying that you need to move on, when you know he grew up wishing Ray-Ray would marry you.”

  Red slid her tongue across her teeth. “It’s funny how you muthafuckas can keep telling me to just move on, like it’s that simple. That man is my husband and yall should be on his ass about coming home.”

  Big Jaylen squinted. “Mama, you think that we don’t know that he served you divorce papers, months ago? He’s waiting on your response, as we speak. Them are your freedom papers. Take advantage of that shit. You can start over. Find you some peace, cause as I get older I learned one thing. It’s hard as hell to go home when you going home to the wrong person.”

  ***

  “Whew, chile, the drama,” Chantel breathed, as she gripped the steering wheel of her Range Rover.

  Rye was riding shotgun, as she and Big Jaylen swopped spots. She was riding with Chantel and Big Jaylen rode with his son, as they headed over to Ray-Ray’s.

  “Yeah, that was crazy,” Rye chattered. “I kind of see what Jaylen was saying. Ms. Red is something serious.”

  “Girl, you don’t know the half.”

  “For some reason, I feel like you and her don’t see eye to eye.”

  “Shit, it’s cause we don’t.”

  “But it’s not like that with you and Roz.”

  “It sure aint. Roz is my kind of bitch. Red…she’s a different breed from me. And from the beginning she’s given me the hardest time.”

  “Really?” Rye frowned. “I would’ve never guessed that from talking to Raven.”

  “That’s cause me and Raven don’t get the same person. Her relationship with Raven is circumstantial. Raven never encountered the real Red because of who her daddy is. Yeah, Raven came and lived with them, and Red treated her decent, but that was because she was kissing Ray-Ray’s daughter’s ass. So, even once Raven became Jah’s BM it still wasn’t the same, like when it came to me. Ray-Ray will always be an element in their relationship. So, Red fakes shit with her. Never says exactly what’s on her mind. But with me and Jalero’s girl it’s completely different. She’s real dismissive of our feelings. She always upholds them when they’re wrong, and I even caught her trying to hook Jaylen up with another bitch, back in the day.”

  “Damn, she gets down like that?”

  “Does she? Baby, Red is something else. I remember when Big Jaylen was really cutting up, cheating left and right. I called myself getting with him, busting his shit up, letting him know that I wasn’t the one. Don’t you know that Red told me that I had a lot of nerve clowning him like that after he’d just helped pay my mama’s rent?”

  Rye sucked her teeth. “What does that have to do with anything?�
��

  “Exactly. She would basically come at me like I should be grateful for anything Jaylen does for me, because he could have left me hanging, like most young niggas. Let her tell it. Then she’d talk about me like a dog to anybody who would listen. If it wasn’t my parenting, then it was my appearance. She said that I carried myself like a hoe and ran the streets too much. And admittedly, in my younger days I wasn’t always the best parent, but I never heard her criticize her sons like that. Shit, she wasn’t the best parent. She co-signed anything them niggas did, down to hustling.”

  “That’s crazy, cause Raven makes her sound like an airhead, but your take is completely different,” Rye revealed.

  Chantel smirked. “Red is a damn airhead. Hell, for the longest she was one of the main reasons me and Raven didn’t click. I guess that I felt some type of way about how she treated us different. In hindsight, I know that wasn’t Raven’s fault, and now she’s my bitch.”

  That caused Rye’s ears to perk up. “I got a similar issue with my sister. How did yall get past that?”

  “Honestly, it didn’t happen until I became more settled in life. Me and Jaylen were some hell raisers, in and all out of our relationship. So, I didn’t focus on who didn’t fuck with me or whatever. But as we grew older and became more settled in life, I just wanted peace. I started participating in family functions more often and just really got to know Raven. I realized that her ass was cool as hell. Then after discussing what our issues were, we realized that we had been letting other people plant seeds in our heads. At this point, we’re both too grown to listen to outside voices, and shit has been smooth since.”

  Rye nodded. “I hear you. I just wish that my situation was that simple.”

  Chantel cut her eyes at her. “You think that your sister still likes Junior?”

  Rye whipped her head around. “Who told you about that?”

  Chantel snickered. “My son tells me plenty, honey.”

  Rye shook her head with a smirk. “I hear you, but nah, it’s deeper than that.”

  “It’s more so about the way your step daddy handled you, right?”

  Rye gasped. “That nigga holds nothing back, I see.”

  “You better know it.” Chantel winked.

  “Okay, but what about Raquel? Why I never hear anything about Red and Raquel’s relationship? I mean, her and Raven are the same age, but I never really hear about their interactions.”

  Chantel licked her lips. “It’s the same reason Jaylen didn’t tell Red that you were Ray-Ray’s daughter.”

  Rye narrowed her eyes. “And why is that?”

  “Because Red was gonna come at you with some passive aggressive bullshit. She accepted Raven I guess because Ray-Ray wasn’t worried about her mama by the time he met Red. But Raquel…she’s the daughter of the BM Ray-Ray loved. So, Raquel didn’t come around Red like that. He dealt with her when he’d visit Roz. Basically, he kept them separate because of his relationship with Roz. But as time went on, Red would just carry on like Raven was the only daughter she was gonna acknowledge. That became obvious after Roz had Lil’ Ray-Ray. Red hates that boy, primarily because she couldn’t give Ray a baby. She tried and tried, but it never worked. I say that it was God. Her crazy ass would probably use that child as a pawn. And you…when she finds out that your mama made a baby with that nigga, she’s gonna look at you different. Trust me. She might even try to kick up some dust if your mama ever comes to family functions. Just watch.”

  Rye shook her head. “Ms. Red is too much. Aint nobody got time for that, so I’m definitely gonna keep my distance. Let Jaylen nem deal with all that.”

  Chantel nodded. “That’s your best bet. And whatever you do, never, ever, ever, ever let her give you advice about relationships. She’ll have you moving Lil’ Jaylen’s side hoes into the spare bedroom to save face with him. I swear.”

  Rye giggled her head off. “That’s crazy, but what about Roz? You don’t think she’s a little crazy too for dealing with Ray-Ray’s bs?”

  “Nah,” Chantel shook her head. “Roz and Red aint cut from the same cloth. I don’t know if anybody ever told you, but Raven’s mama used to be Roz’s best friend. He screwed them both, and they had the girls on the same day. They was super young back then, and from my understanding, all three of them were wild. At first, I would hear everybody’s else’s take on it. until Ray-Ray personally gave me his version. He was with Raven’s mama first, but liked them both from the beginning. He said that both girls were fast and would literally tag-team niggas, swopping them out, if the price was right. But he liked them. He said that somewhere along the line, he fell deeper for Roz, but their crazy start was always their main issue. He actually admitted to me that he only ended up with Red because Roz wouldn’t commit back then. And because me and Roz talk, I know that she wouldn’t commit because she was scared. Then Red entered the picture and let Ray-Ray do whatever he wanted. I mean whatever. I really believe that he only stayed with Red for so long because he was able to receive the benefits of being in a relationship while living single. And had Roz at any time simply said that she was done playing games and that she wanted them to be together, he would’ve left Red, right then and there. Sadly, Red wasn’t even the reason it took them so long to be together. It was them. They had to grow up. Once they did, it was over for Red.”

  Rye bucked her eyes. “That’s deep.”

  “It is,” Chantel agreed. “But it aint my business. That’s their mama, with her sour ass. Every time I see her, she’s mad, cause she knows that I really fuck with Roz. She failing to realize why, though. Roz was the only one who wasn’t biased and told me to pack up and leave Jaylen’s ass, if he wasn’t gonna do right. Her crazy ass also told me that if I stay to make it work for me. She told me to stay in Jaylen’s pockets, and live the best life possible off his dog ass…and keep a side nigga like a fucking spare tire,” she giggled. “And that was way better than anything Red’s weak ass ever had to say. On God.”

  Rye nodded, knowing that she could unquestionably relate to that.

  Chapter 28

  “Nigga, you tripping. It aint that serious,” Amir chuckled.

  “Yes, the fuck it is,” Jaylen scoffed, as he reclined on Amir’s ice white leather couch in his high-rise condo. “She knows that I need my daily dose, before I leave out the door. She aint never told me that she don’t feel like it before.”

  Amir sucked his teeth. “Jaylen, my nigga, the girl is pregnant? The fuck you expect.”

  Jaylen furrowed his brows. “What that mean? I guess you don’t know this, because you spent most of your BM’s pregnancy chasing Keyasia’s ass. But pregnant pussy is stupendous, nigga. It’s always warm and super wet. Then with the hormones switching up, her sex drive is through the roof. She’ll fuck me while I’m half dead. So, the pregnancy has only enhanced our sex life. Now, today…I don’t know what the fuck was up. I hope she shakes that shit off by the time I make it home.” He took a huge gulp of Hennessy.

  Amir fiddled with his cell. “Yeah, yeah, but say, Kina is on the way up with her girl.”

  Jaylen cut his eyes at him. “Her girl? Who is that?”

  Amir grinned. “You know her. Randi from the club. The red head you was dry humping most of the night in Onyx.”

  “Oh, okay, the lil’ sexy slim chick. Look like Rhianna?”

  Amir nodded. “That’s her. I heard that she’s a freak and she’s been asking about you, nigga. I mean, she’s been persistent with it too.”

  Jaylen sucked his teeth. “And let me guess, you told her that I was here, huh?”

  Amir stared at his phone, as he stroked his goatee.

  “Nigga, you heard me,” Jaylen chided, as the doorbell rang.

  “That must be them,” Amir laughed, as he eased off the couch.

  Jaylen shook his head, thinking that Amir was tripping. Amir was single as a dollar bill, so he was free to do whatever he pleased. However, the same couldn’t be said for Jaylen, and Amir knew that.

 
Kina sauntered into the living room. “Hey, hey.”

  “’Sup,” Jaylen answered, offering a head nod.

  She smiled lightly. “Nothing much.”

  “There he is, and his security aint with him,” Randi jested, as she switched over to the couch, and placed her hands on her hips. “Remember me?”

  Jaylen looked her up and down. “Vaguely.”

  Randi scrunched her face, not liking his response. After they’d flirted the last time that she’d seen him, she was certain that he was feeling her. In fact, had his baby mama not shown up, she knew that she would’ve ended that night, riding his dick.

  “Friend,” Kina spoke softly. “Sit down.”

  Randi rolled her eyes, as she flopped down on the couch. She wasn’t too far from Jaylen, but he seemed totally disinterested, as he focused on his cell, while gulping down his drink.

  Jaylen knew that he was coming off abrasive, but he honestly didn’t care. While he was inebriated, fucking her had crossed his mind, but while sober, she wasn’t nearly as appealing. Was she attractive? Of course. But she had nothing on Rye, and more than anything he felt lame, as he considered going home to beg for some pussy.

  Tuning everyone in the room out, he texted her.

  Bae is the baby hurting you down there?

  Rye replied: No. Why you asked that?

  Jaylen: Cause of what happened earlier

  Rye: Earlier? Oh cause I said that I didn’t feel like it?

  Jaylen: Yeah.

  Rye: I was nauseous and my back was hurting

  Jaylen: Oh damn. You want me to come home and massage it for you?

  Rye: Nope cause then you’ll want to fuck

  Jaylen: What’s wrong with that?

  She didn’t reply immediately.

  Jaylen: Rye what’s wrong with that?

  Rye: You want me to throw up while I’m riding your dick Jaylen?

  “Man, fuck this shit,” he mumbled to himself. Shaking his head, he polished off his drink before hopping up to fix himself another one.

  “Amir, I thought that you were gonna let us hear that new song you just finished with Gwuap,” Kina blabbed.