I shouldn’t have even come back home. I mentally fussed as I could feel his shadow came over me.
I kept putting my shoes on as I heard him ask, “Where is Sunshine?”
“With Divine over her friend’s house.”
“Where are you goin’?”
“Out with Mello.”
“Oh okay.”
I laughed inwardly and finally look up at him. “Oh, so it’s okay if I go out with Mello, but I can’t hold a conversation with the next man?”
He shrugged. He didn’t see the bullshit in his ways at all. “Mello ain’t no threat. He may look like me, but the broke version.”
Ross laughed at his own joke, but I didn’t find anything funny. I sighed hard and, finally getting my shoes on, stood to leave. I tried to walk around him, but he grabbed my arm.
“Hold up?”
I sighed again, fighting the urge to snatch my arm from him. I wasn’t feeling fighting him off tonight. I had beat my face and curled these inches; Ross wasn’t about to mess all of that up because he wanted to fight tonight. So, I forced myself to just stand there and say whatever he felt like he needed to say.
“You still mad over that shit from the weekend?”
“No,” I lied.
“I just don’t think it’s respectful for you and Dub to be all up in each other’s face.”
But you can be all in your baby mama’s face…
“That shit is disrespectful as hell.”
Aaaand yet you can disrespect me whenever the fuck you feel…
“Stop showing out and I won’t have to.”
I bit my lip until I tasted blood.
“Have a good time.” This motherfucker was actually giving me permission to leave.
Whatever he needed to feel to allow me out of the house in one piece, I was going to let him feel it. I continued to talk shit in my head as I walked out of the living room and towards the front door. On my way out of the house, I cursed myself out for not having anything of my own so that I could show my dumb ass husband up at least once. I loved being submissive to Ross, but now I was starting to feel like his dumb ass little servant that only made a move when he said so.
On my way to my car, my Facetime started to ring. I cringed, hoping that it wasn’t Ross trying to watch me all the way to my destination.
I relaxed when I saw that it was Mello.
I hit the answer button as I jumped in my car. When I looked into his eyes, I relaxed. It was something about his stare that made me feel safe. Every time Ross or any other man looked at me, I was in fear. I feared what Ross was thinking and I feared Ross would see the men looking. But with Mello, I just felt like I had nothing fear.
But when Mello saw my face, he started cracking up.
“Yo’, what’s your problem?”
“Nothing.”
“Stop lying.”
“I’m good,” I told him forcing myself to smile.
“You lie so much, yo’. I don’t even know why I fuck with you.”
A sweet smile spread across his face. That’s when I finally slowly smiled genuinely. “You fuck with me because I’m the only female friend you got. Who else is gonna keep you from getting your ass whooped by Teyanna?”
He was cracking up. “You funny as hell. Teyanna ain’t neva putting her hands on me.”
“Mmm humph,” I teased
“You on your way or what?”
“Yep. Just got in the car.”
“Ah ight. I’m on my way in. Meet me at the bar.”
“All right. See you in a few minutes.”
I hung up and backed out of the driveway. It was rare when I ever went out without Ross, so I was looking forward to kicking it tonight without Barney Fife.
Once I made it to Lamelle’s, I had calmed down. I jumped out of my car and switched towards the club. It felt so good to finally be out without Ross watching my every move… even though I didn’t put it past him to be in the corners somewhere lurking if he found out where I was.
Lamelle’s was crackin’, so I had to fight my way through the crowd. On my way towards the bar, a few guys grabbed my hand, trying to get my attention. I had only thrown on a spaghetti strapped, bodycon tan dress, but the brown stilettos, Louis Vuitton, and long hair had dressed it up.
These guys weren’t looking at me, though. They were looking at my body, this ass, so I didn’t pay them any mind. But then I felt yet another grab of my hand. This time it was more aggressive, so I spun around ready to snap but fell all the way back when I saw that it was Mello. He immediately pulled me into him and embraced me. His wide, large body engulfed mine. The smell of his cologne molested me as he slightly rocked us from side to side. Just like when I would look into his eyes, his embrace made me feel just as safe. I had been so happy that now that we were physically around each other, he was just as cool as he had been over the phone.
“Here, I got your drink already. You looked like you needed it.”
I smiled so hard up at him. You would have thought that he had given me a bouquet of roses. But it was the simple things like this that he did to make me smile that Ross never did and never allowed any other man to get close enough to me to do. I serviced Ross, he didn’t service me, unless it was in the bedroom. But not Mello. He never missed a moment to be thoughtful or sweet. If he treated me this way as a friend, I envied Teyanna.
I took the drink from him and started sipping on it, without even asking what it was. I needed a drink too bad to even care what it was, but I immediately realized that it was a long island.
♬ Booty me down
Take it to the ground
Bring it back up
Gimme gimme now
She a bad bitch
Make it bounce bitch
I make it rain trick
This some stripping shit ♬
As soon as K Stylis’ Booty Me Down started banging through the speakers, the club went up. Damn near every chick in the club started twerking, including me. Sipping from my drink, I put my free hand on my knee and started bouncing my ass. Mello hopped right behind me and started dancing with me. I had always loved Mello’s energy, but now that we were hanging out, I was really digging it. He had already shown me over the years that he was a real man and a real friend to me. I knew that he truly cared about me, but now that we were in each other’s presence, I could feel that he was really my friend. He had always been attentive, there for me and caring, but having him do all of that in the flesh was making me look at him with even more appreciative eyes.
Being in that club with him, dancing and smiling, having a good time, made me realize how I was supposed to be treated. This was supposed to be me and Ross this happy and this cool with each other.
7
Mello
When my phone started to ring, I hit the answer button my Bluetooth headset. “What up?”
“Carmello.”
I cringed, recognizing the voice of my academic advisor from school. I had been dodging his calls since the summer started. He had finally caught me slipping.
“Harold, what’s up?” I asked as I started back lining up my client.
“I hear you’re in Chicago,” Harold answered, sounding all stern and shit.
I put my hand on my client’s head so that I could get his lining just right. “Yeah, I am.”
“Why aren’t you here in Florida doing that internship?”
Man, Ross might not have been a good father, but Harold had definitely made up for the lack of a father-figure while I was in college. Without me asking or needing him to, Harold had taken me under his wing. It’s like he wanted to make sure that the one hood nigga in that school turned out to be something.
“Internships don’t pay, Harold,” I reminded him.
“No shit, asshole,” he fussed. “Please tell me that you’re not staying there.”
“I’m thinking about it.”
“Argh,” he groaned. “C’mon, Mello, don’t waste these opportunities that you have. You were offe
red a free ride to go to grad school.”
“If I took the internship, but I didn’t.”
“If I arrange the internship for next semester, will you consider coming back?”
I chuckled. “Probably not. I need to be in Chicago with my son. And I need to take care of him. I don’t have more years to give to that school. I need to be making some bread.”
“Would you please just think about it?”
“Proooobably not.”
“Think about it,” he pressed. “I’ll give you a call in a few weeks to see where your head is at.”
I laughed. This motherfucker was persistent as hell. “Ah ight.”
As I hung up, I went right back to daydreaming about Heaven. We had hung out a few times since I came back to Chicago. Every time I hung out with her, my feelings for her grew more and more. Last week, when we were at Lamelle’s, I had her all to myself and it only further let me know that my attraction to her wasn’t just physical. That girl had it right, when every other bitch had it wrong. I couldn’t see what she saw in my old ass pops and wished to God that I had been the one to meet her first.
“Heads up, Mello.”
I took my eyes off of the head I was cutting to look up at Mo, one of the other barbers in the shop. He was staring out the big picture window that faced the front.
“Fuck,” I groaned as I turned the clippers off.
Mo laughed when he saw me cringing at the sight of Teyanna sashaying towards the front door of the shop unannounced like a motherfucker. I knew she was on bullshit. What woman showed up at her man's job with a face full of makeup, hair styled perfectly, and wearing an outfit like she was going to the club at twelve noon on a Tuesday? She had been blowing my phone up since I walked out on her ass a few days ago. I wasn't fucking with her, though. She needed to learn how to watch her mouth. But I guessed I should have answered one of those calls because now she was showing up at the worst time.
I tried to be cool. I cut the clippers back on and kept lining up my customer.
Vegas had just let me get a booth at his shop the day before. I used to cut hair at his shop, Kutz Barber Studio, before I left for college. I was nasty with the clippers. That talent had helped keep some money in my pockets while at school. Now that I was back in Chicago, I was back in the shop, until I figured out what I wanted to do with this degree I had earned.
But first, I had to figure out how to defuse the situation that was about to unfold.
I heard the bell on the door jingle as Teyanna entered. The shop was still going on in conversation like it wasn't about to go down. The only person who knew about the bullshit was Mo. That's why he was looking just as stressed. He tried to hide it while he buried his face in the beard that he was lining up, but I could still peep his vibe.
The closer Teyanna got to me, the more stressed out I got. I was about to fuck dude’s lining all the way up, for real.
“Hey, baby.” As Teyana spoke to me, I could smell the cucumber-melon fragrance on her. Yeah, she was that damn close.
But before I could say anything, a shrieking, “Daddy!” pierced the air. It was only piercing because it was like the ringing of the first-round bell in a heavyweight boxing match. I caught the sneer in Teyanna’s eyes as she glared towards the back of the shop where TJ’s voice was rising as he approached me. When her eyes grew, I knew that Paris must have been behind my son.
Teyanna was seething like a pit bull in a dogfight. “What the fuck is she doing here?!”
I sat the clippers down and went towards her, ready to extinguish this fire. “Chill. She just came to bring TJ to see me.”
Paris was now standing beside me, not really making things any better. She had come to the shop in these little-ass shorts and a tube top. Teyanna and Paris were like night and day. They were salt and pepper. Whereas Teyanna was a light-skin baddie, Paris was a chocolate beauty who resembled an African princess. Her dark skin had been toasted in the summer sun. She wore a big braid out that made her natural beauty look even more regal. She was only about 5’3”, but that short frame was holding some natural curves that every bitch in that shop was jealous of. At twenty-one, Paris had the shape of somebody's grown-ass auntie. She looked like she had been fed collard greens and cornbread, yams, and smothered pork chops all her life. But since she was so young, she still had that naturally small waist and tight stomach. She was really obsessed with keeping her figure tight, so she worked out a lot when most of these young chicks just got their work out in by running after the next dude.
“You don’t have to explain shit to her!” Paris popped off before I could say anything. “How many times I gotta tell you I don’t want Mello, bitch—”
That’s all Teyanna needed. “Bitch?! I got your bitch!”
In a split second, everything just started happening so fast. Teyanna lunged for Paris. I was too busy trying to protect my son to keep these two chicken heads from fighting each other. I couldn't fucking believe this shit. Nobody in the shop really even gave a fuck either. Nobody tried to break them up. Motherfuckers started taking out their phones to videotape these two bitches fighting, while I ran to scoop up my son so he wouldn't be caught up in the mix.
“I’ll kill you, hoe!” Teyanna promised as she tried to pull my baby mama’s scalp clean off her skull.
“Fuck you! Let my hair go!”
“I’mma beat cho ass!”
They went back and forth, cursing each other out as they tried to rip each other's hair out. It really wasn't a fight. Teyanna was on top of Paris, straddling her. She had Paris’ hair wrapped around her fist while trying to land punches on her face. And Paris had a handful of Teyanna’s weave, while she was trying to do the same. These bitches were wrestling, not fighting.
I sat TJ down in an empty barber chair and then hustled towards these two goofballs. I was easily able to scoop Teyanna up and force her towards the front door, kicking and screaming.
And her ass was still popping off. “I’mma kill you, bitch! Swear to gawd!”
“The fuck is wrong with you?!” I spat through gritted teeth while I damn near pushed her through the glass door. Swear to God, I wanted to push her ass through that motherfucker, but lucky for her, it opened, and she tumbled out, looking at me with bucked eyes.
She charged me and pushed me, cursing, “Fuck is wrong with you? You got that bitch up here!”
I grabbed her little hands and tried not to crush them in mine. “She brought my son up here to see me! And you gon’ fight his mama in front of him?! That ain’t helping shit!”
Snatching her hands away, she spat, “Fuck you, Mello!”
She tried to walk away, but I was on her heels.
“Nah, fuck you! You so fucking insecure that you gon’ fight my baby mama in front of my son? You ain’t got no fucking respect, bitch!”
She spun around. “Bitch?!”
I laughed at her ass. “That’s all you heard?” That shit only pissed her off more.
“I hate you, Mello!”
“The feeling is fucking mutual right now. Get the fuck away from here!”
Fuck this. Why did I even come back to Chicago?
Just then, I caught a glimpse of TJ through the window. That’s why I came back.
“I ain’t goin’ nowhere until you make that bitch leave.”
I literally picked her ass up and started walking towards her car. She started beating on my back as I walked up the block. I had all kinds of people in the hood looking at me like I was crazy. I was trying to hurry up and get this bitch away from here before the police came. I wasn't in the streets no more, so I wasn’t scared of the police, but the last thing I wanted to do was bring attention to Vegas’ spot.
I was a big dude, so I was able to open her car door with one hand and sit her down in the car. She didn't go willingly, though. She was still kicking and screaming, but I didn't give a fuck.
“Get the fuck up outta here, man.”
She was fuming, smacking the steering wheel, and throwin
g a fucking tantrum. “I hate you, Mellooo!” she cried.
“For what? I’m not even fucking that girl.”
“But she always around!” She stared at me with tears in her eyes. It was crazy how her anger looked so genuine. This wasn’t an act. She legit was mad at me about this petty shit.
“Because I’m a good father. Don’t you want me to be the same way with the kids we’ll have one day?”
Her eyes narrowed into little slits. Pure anger was pouring out of those pretty gray eyes. She snapped through tightly gritted teeth. “I wouldn’t know that because you made me kill my baby, remember?”
How could I forget? When she told me she was pregnant, I was sick to my stomach. The last thing I wanted was a girlfriend, but there I was in a relationship with Teyanna. It was cool, though, because it was long distance, though. But when she told me I had knocked her up during one of her visits to Florida, I was reminded why I initially didn't want a woman. Prior to Teyanna, I had had women, but nothing too serious on my end, even if they claimed me as their man. I was young and I wasn’t stressing about commitment. A baby was a commitment like a motherfucker, though, so I insisted that Teyanna get an abortion. She didn't want to, though. She wanted that baby, but me and everybody else felt like she just wanted the baby to make sure she had me on lock. Once I started to fade to black, she got the abortion. We started to get back right, and then a month later, I found out about TJ.
Talk about bad timing.
“I was on my way to school!” I tried to explain.
But she wasn’t hearing that shit. “You made me kill my baby. You acted like you didn’t want any kids, but now, you put Paris and TJ on a fucking pedestal! You fuckin’ Daddy of the Year now!”
“You act like I knew she was pregnant with him!”
“So!”
I took a deep breath, trying to keep calm. At this point, we had the attention of everybody on the busy main street of 69th and Western.
She had a legit reason to be hurt. I couldn’t front. So, I told her, “Go to the crib. Let me finish up my client, and then I’ll meet you there so we can talk.”
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