No Matter What

by Nicole Jackson

  “’Sup?” Mix offered with a head nod, as he studied the little baby boy, chilling in the car seat.

  Levi placed the car seat on the couch, before stepping up to Mix and extending his hand. “Levi, man.”

  “Maizun,” Mix replied, as he firmly shook his hand. “But they call me Mix.”

  Levi nodded. “Okay, okay.”

  Nervously, Nunnie stepped over to the baby, removing him from the car seat. “Hey, Stinka Butt,” she cooed, while raining kisses all over his sweet caramel colored face.

  “Let me hold him,” Mix commanded, suddenly standing right behind her.

  Feeling him so close, Nunnie nearly jumped out of her skin. “Oh, okay.”

  Nunnie barely had a chance to hand the baby over, before Mix removed the baby on his own.

  “Oh, what’s up, lil’ soldier? What’s your name?” he questioned, while gazing at the baby, seeing much of himself in its features.

  “His name is Maizie,” Levi spoke up. “I had to battle with Naveriah on that one, and clearly I didn’t win,” he chuckled.

  “Oh, God,” Nunnie rolled her eyes.

  “Oh, is that, right?” Mix mumbled, while lightly rocking the baby. “That Naveriah is definitely something else.”

  “Yeah,” Levi exhaled, as he moseyed over to the couch and flopped down. “So, are you back in town for good or just visiting?”

  Mix locked eyes with him. “Oh, I’m staying.”

  Levi nodded, while Mix scoped him out. Judging by the iced-out Rolex on his wrist and the diamond incrusted pinky ring on his finger, he had expensive taste. Undoubtedly, Nunnie had hit the jackpot, and Mix was trying to stop the evil thoughts from creeping into his mind. From where he was standing, Levi looked like the enemy, although he’d done absolutely nothing to him. And any enemy could get it. Therefore, Mix was fighting off strong urges to whip out his pistol and just robbing his ass right there on the spot. The only problem is that he knew that he’d leave Nunnie in a fucked-up position, either way it went, because the nigga clearly knew exactly who she was.

  “Mix, sit down,” Nunnie urged, as she sat down on the opposite end of the sectional, away from Levi.

  Levi cut his eyes at her, noticing her little move.

  Mix sat down, not too far from Nunnie with the baby still within his arms. Gazing at the baby, he was feeling overwhelmed. “This shit is crazy.”

  Nunnie squirmed a bit, afraid that he was about to blow her cover. This was the part that she’d been reluctant to deal with, and she secretly needed Levi there to soften the blow. Deep down, she knew that this was a conversation that they should’ve had months ago, and she’d selfishly deprived him of that. And now there was nothing she could do to take that back. So, she needed something to serve as a barrier for them, because otherwise he’d probably have his hands wrapped around her neck.

  “I gotta pee,” Nunnie abruptly announced, as she shot to her feet, and scurried out of the room.

  Levi smirked and shook his head. “That girl there…a handful, bruh.”

  “Oh, yeah? She be over here, giving you a run for your money?” Mix pretended to be half interested in the conversation, when he truly hoped that Nunnie was dogging the nigga every chance she got. In his heart, he wanted her to only have act-right for him.

  “Every day, man,” Levi vented. “She refuses to sit her ass still. Always wanna run around with Dreka and the girls. Even with the baby on her hip. The only reason he wasn’t with her today was because my mama had him.”

  Mix let out a fake chuckle. “Aye, at least she keeps him at her side.”

  “Yeah, that she does,” Levi concurred. “She rarely lets him out of her sight. The only person she really trusts with him is my mom.”

  “Oh, yeah?”

  “Yeah, man, my mom loves that little boy. But hell, she loves all her grandkids. You know?”

  “Yeah, I feel that.”

  “Yeah, so you got a gig lined up out here?” Levi pried.

  “Nah, not yet.”

  “Oh, okay, well, if you like you should come down to the yard. We can always use some help around there. The pay is pretty decent.”

  Mix nodded. “That’s what’s up?”

  “Yeah,” Levi yawned, as he stood up, taking a stretch. “Let me run upstairs and see what this girl is up to.” He tipped over to Mix, extending his arms out. “I can bring the baby upstairs too. I know you’re probably tired of holding him.”

  “Nah,” Mix replied nonchalantly. “He good. I got ‘im.”

  Levi furrowed his brows. “You sure? I wouldn’t wanna you know…cause I can take him.”

  “Aye, I got him,” Mix established.

  “Well, okay,” Levi reluctantly agreed. “Baby boy, daddy will be back in a sec,” he said, as if the baby actually gave a damn.

  Mix shook his head, as he watched Levi jog upstairs. “Bitch ass nigga.”

  Searching for Nunnie, Levi entered their bedroom, and found her sitting at the edge of their bed. “Hey, what’s going on with you?” he enquired.

  “Oh, nothing, I just got off the phone,” she quickly lied. “I was about to come back down. What’s up?”

  “Is that right?” Levi uttered, while removing his shirt. “Well, why don’t you come hop in the shower with me, right quick?”

  Nunnie sighed. “Really, Levi? While Mix and the baby are sitting downstairs?”

  “Yeah.” He shrugged. “They’re good. Trust me. I tried to grab the baby, and your cousin wasn’t having it. So, I’m sure that he won’t mind keeping an eye on him, while we handle a little business.”

  Nunnie lightly laughed while shaking her head. “That’s rude, bae. He’s company. I haven’t seen my cousin in forever. So, I’m about to go down there and catch up. I’m not about to stay cooped up in this room with you. We have all night for that.”

  “Yeah, alright. I guess I’ll let you slide this time.”

  Nunnie rolled her eyes. “Yeah, whatever. You know me, you, and showers don’t get along, anyway. Because your slick ass always try to slide in without a rubber and it aint happening.”

  He frowned. “There you go with that bullshit—”

  She placed up a hand. “Please don’t start, because I’m not trying to go there, right now. I swear I’m not.”

  “Yeah, alright, Naveriah,” he breathed, as he dropped his pants. “So, what are the plans for today? Are we just sitting around, while yall go down memory lane or…”

  Nunnie shrugged. “I’m not sure. Maybe I’ll cook or something. Or we can go out to eat.”

  “Well, I was planning on linking with the boys tonight,” Levi revealed, making Nunnie’s heart smile. “But I’ll go ahead and cancel. Since we have family over and all.”

  “Oh, bae, you don’t have to cancel your plans. I mean, if you want you can still go with your boys.”

  “Nah, I’m good,” he insisted. “I can always catch up with them the next go round.”

  “Oh.”

  “Yeah, I’m cool with kicking it. I mean, unless your cousin ends up calling it in early. I’m sure he has a few chicks out here that he wants to catch up with. Where’s he staying, anyway?”

  “Umm,” Nunnie tucked her lips into her mouth. “He really doesn’t know. He mentioned possibly staying at a motel. I thought about the fact that we have extra space here, but I didn’t mention it to him, because I wanted to run it by you first.”

  “I mean, I don’t mind him staying the night, Naveriah, but beyond that—”

  “Bae, how about you let him stay for a few weeks?” she sprung out the question, seizing the opportunity.

  “A few weeks? Nah, I don’t know about that. Cousin or no cousin, I don’t know how I’d feel about another man being in my personal space for that amount of time. Especially during the times when I’m not here. I don’t know him like that. You do. And there’s just certain shit I’m not comfortable with.”

  Nunnie swallowed. “I understand what you’re saying, but I wouldn’t have anybody in her
e that I didn’t trust. You should know that about me by now, if nothing else. It’s not about trusting him. I need you to trust my judgement. And I’d respect your wishes, so I wouldn’t leave him here unsupervised. Meaning that I’d make it clear to him that whenever we’re both gone, he has to leave too. And if anything goes wrong, I’ll take full ownership, because I brought him here.”

  “Okay, Naveriah,” he caved. “Two weeks. Three tops.”

  “Okay,” she cracked a smile. “Thanks, bae.” She stood up and kissed his lips.

  “You’re welcome,” he grinned. “You sure you don’t wanna hop in the shower—”

  “Levi,” she groaned.

  “Okay, okay, go downstairs and entertain your fam.”

  “Kay,” she chipperly responded, before heading out of the door. “I’m going to help him set up in the guest room,” she announced over her shoulder, before jogging downstairs.

  By the time Nunnie reached the living room, she found Mix standing up. “Where are you going?” she asked him, as she approached him.

  He tapped the tip of his nose. “I’m ‘bout to burn, man.”

  “Huh? No, why?”

  He gritted. “What chu mean? I’m not finna stick around for this clown shit. I’m this close to doing something to you—” he cut himself off, because he wasn’t trying to go there with the baby still in his arms. “What the fuck is up with him, Nunu?” he glanced down at the baby.

  She bit her bottom lip, before quickly glancing behind her. “Look,” she focused on him again. “Let’s go to the room, and talk.”

  He scowled. “The room?”

  “Yeah, the room you’ll be staying in.”

  “Man,” he dragged out. “What the fuck are you—”

  She grabbed his forearm. “Maizun, just come with me, right quick. Let’s get out of this open space,” she whispered. “And then you can say whatever you want.”

  Quietly, she pulled Mix and the baby upstairs and into the bedroom furthest away from the one that she and Levi slept in. Once they were in the room, she locked the door behind them. Watching her move around, Mix shook his head, knowing that she’d never try him like this. Cousin or not, she wasn’t locking herself in the room with nah other nigga, while he was around. So, he didn’t know what type of cat this Levi nigga was to tolerate her bullshit.

  “So, what’s up?” Mix pressed. “Tell me how the fuck you and this nigga is over here playing house with my fucking baby?”

  Nunnie gulped. “Don’t make it sound like that. You wasn’t here.”

  “Nah, don’t give me that shit,” he growled. “Had you told me that you had him, I would’ve fucking came. You know that. Shit, the way you avoided talking about the pregnancy, I thought that you decided to get a abortion and just didn’t wanna tell me about it. You left a nigga completely in the dark, and I’m just trying to figure out how long was you gonna let this shit rock. What…was you gonna have my son calling that nigga daddy? I know that nigga don’t believe the baby is his, cause I know for a muthafuckin’ fact that this lil’ nigga mine—”

  “He knows, Mix,” Nunnie revealed. “There’s no way in the world that he could possibly think that the baby is biologically his. He met me pregnant. He just decided to take on my situation…and told his family that the baby was his.”

  Mix’s scowl deepened. “And why the fuck would he do that?”

  She sighed heavily. “I guess to make his actions make more sense. He decided to up and leave his wife, and I guess he kind of used my baby as an excuse, as to why they wouldn’t work, anymore. Me being pregnant for somebody else would probably make him look stupid, so he chose to keep that to himself. I really didn’t care, because it’s a lie that only he has to carry. Shit, my people know the truth.”

  Mix shook his head. “Yeah, and I bet that nigga felt confident with the fact that you aint had no fucking baby daddy in the picture too. So, he’s been having fucking complete control over the narrative, and can really pretend like this is his baby. And yeah, if I’m your cousin…who the fuck is your baby daddy supposed to be?”

  Nunnie rubbed the side of her neck. “I don’t really talk about it with him much, but I kinda made it sound like it was…Save,” she pretended to cough.

  “Save?” he bucked his eyes. “You couldn’t think of nobody else to lie on?”

  “No, not really. It made the most sense, if anything ever came up. He was the easiest to explain away.”

  “I really can’t believe you, girl. Do that nigga really know anything about you, for real?”

  “As much as I want him to,” she confessed. “I always saw this as a temporary situation, and then it just lasted longer. I never expected him to get this attached. It was like one minute I was in it to get grab what I can to take care of your baby, while you were off doing God knows what, and then the next he was moving me into this big ass house. By then, I was big and pregnant, so I just stayed. I got comfortable. And used to being here. Of course, I’d told so many lies that I just couldn’t suddenly take back, and that’s something I have to deal with. That’s also why I know that this thing with me and him won’t be forever. The shit is just built on a host of lies…on both ends. So, in the meantime, I’m just doing what I gotta do for me and my baby.”

  Mix narrowed his eyes. “And what’s that, Naveriah? Exactly what are you doing for you and the baby, besides living off this nigga? You working?”

  “Mix, I just had your child three months ago,” she chided.

  “And? You just said that you don’t see yourself here for the long haul, yet you aint got no long-term plans. What the fuck would you do, if that nigga walked in here right now and told you to pack your shit?”

  She twisted her neck. “Then I’d pack my shit.”

  He lifted his chin. “And go where?”

  “Probably to Dreka’s and Tink, right then. But I’d eventually get my own place,” she shrugged.

  “That simple?”

  “That simple.”

  He shook his head. “I can’t do this, Nunu. I’m finna burn.”

  She lightly shoved his chest. “No, the fuck you not. You aint going no fucking where. I’m not letting you leave us again. You gon have to fight me up in here. On everything I love.”

  Lightly chuckling, he turned to lay the baby on the bed. “Say, you better keep your hands to yourself. I’m telling you.”

  “Or what chu gon do?” she placed her hands on her hips.

  He stood upright, while licking his lips. “I’ma fuck your ass up in this bitch. That’s what.”

  “Whatever,” she sassed. “I know one muthafuckin’ thing. You aint leaving here. I already talked it over with Levi. He said that you could stay here for three weeks. That’ll give you a little time to get your money right, however you choose to do that. Get adjusted to being back in the city. Adjusted back…to us.”

  Snatching her by the waistband of her pants, he pulled her close. “I’m not finna lay in this house, and let that nigga fuck you. You know me better than that.”

  “We use protection,” she weakly admitted.

  “Nah, I don’t give a fuck. I aint with the shit, period,” he spat.

  “Okay,” she sighed.

  “Okay, what?” he gripped her chin.

  “I won’t have sex with him.”

  “Nah, I don’t know if I believe that shit.” He shook his head. “Make me believe in what you say. Show me that this nigga don’t mean nothing to you.”

  Her heart raced, afraid of what he’d want her to do. “How can I do that?”

  “I don’t know, Nunu.” He looked her up and down. “You figure the shit out.”

  Butterflies brewed in the pit of Nunnie’s stomach, as she recognized the fact that she’d already been locked away in that room with Mix for quite some time now. Luckily, Levi was notorious for taking extremely long showers, but she wasn’t sure if he’d gotten out and was aware of how long they’d been tucked away in the room.

  Throwing caution to the wind, Nu
nnie dropped to her knees, and undid Mix’s belt and jeans. She then reached into his boxers, unveiling his massive hard-on.

  Gazing down at her, Mix smiled. “Nah, see you think you slick. Sucking my dick is the easy route. I can just tuck my shit back in, and you can do a quick wipe off around your mouth. Nah, I said show me that this nigga is irrelevant.”

  Shaking her head, Nunnie sighed. “Okay, fine. Come lay on the floor.”

  With a huge grin on his conniving face, Mix lied on the floor, while she wiggled out of her pants and panties. She then straddled him with urgency.

  He gazed up at her. “Nah, don’t be trying to rush—” he got out, before she glided onto his stiffness. “Ughhh,” he grunted.

  “Shhh,” she attempted to hush him, as she rolled her hips into him.

  “Hell nah,” he refused, while gripping her hips. “You missed me?”

  She nodded, as she squeezed her walls around him.

  “Nah, open your mouth and let me hear you say it.”

  “I missed you,” she huffed out, as she wobbled on his dick, becoming lost within the feeling. “Aww, fuck, I forgot how big you are. I can feel you all in my stomach.”

  Mix smashed into her. “Oh, yeah? Don’t tell me you can’t handle it no more.”

  “I…I can, but it’s biiiig,” she screeched, as he drilled into her from underneath, causing her ass to jiggle like crazy.

  “Ugh,” she whimpered softly.

  “You love me?” he wanted to know.

  “Uh huh,” she moaned out.

  “This my pussy?”

  “Uh huh.” She nodded, as he caused her ass to hop up and down.

  “Well, cum on this dick,” he gritted, while smacking her ass.

  Placing a palm on his chest she threw her head back, and rode him for all he was worth. “Oh, Mix.”

  “Oh, shit,” he curled his lips, as he gazed down at their union, while he roughly met her thrusts. “Ummm, I’m finna bust.”

  Hearing that, Nunnie attempted to lift up, but he held her hips in place.

  “Nah, where you going?” he questioned, while throbbing inside of her.

  “Mix,” she gasped. “How I’ma walk out of here, straight smelling like sex?”