Page 59 of Just Listen
“So, basically you’re saying that Khari’s mere existence will be the end of your relationship?”
“I believe so,” he admitted.
I gazed at his handsome profile, while he focused on the road. It had been a long while since I’d seen him…outside of earlier today, and I’d nearly forgotten how handsome he was. Even with his long, frizzy dreads that were in need of a retwist, he was still the shit. I peeped the Richard Millie on his wrist, as he gripped the steering wheel, letting me know that he was touching some real bread.
“How does that make you feel?”
He shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t know. It’s too much going on to solely think about the state of my relationship. What’s most important is determining if Khari is mine.”
I smirked. “You say her name like you really know her.”
He glanced at me. “How else am I supposed to say it?”
I shrugged. “Most niggas would probably just refer to her as the baby or whatever.”
“Yeah, well, I aintmostniggas.”
“So you say.” My eyes wandered around, taking in the scenery. Houstonians were clearly outside that cool night, as the streets were busy, and the gas station we’d just passed was packed with clubbers who were now parking lot pimping, akaloitering around. “Do you even know where you’re going?” I eventually asked.
“Yeah.” He coolly licked his lips, while suavely leaning a bit, as he whipped the wheel. “We headed to wherever Khari is at.”
I bit the corner of my lip. “Then that would be my house.”
“And where’s that?”
“Give me your phone,” I told him.
Asking no questions, he unlocked his cell, before handing it to me. I then went into Maps, and typed in my address, before turning the navigation on.
“Here.” I handed his phone back.
He dropped it in a cup holder, while focusing on the road.
For a while, a comfortable silence settled between us, while music softly played in the background. I definitely had several unanswered questions, but they honestly couldn’t be answered that night. I was just feeling my way through it, curious to see where things were headed.
Ultimately, I could be honest and say that I was still attracted to Malice, but I wasn’t desperate. So, I wasn’t riding with him, hoping that he’d leave Paisley, eventually. Hell, I didn’t know enough about him to run full-speed with anything, even if he didn’t have somebody already. Shit, he probably thought that he was about to get some pussy, but little did he know, it wouldn’t be from me.
That weekend we shared was so long ago, and so outside of my character. I didn’t casually fuck men, and I was keen enough to know that sleeping with him would just murky the waters, as we tried to figure things out. I also didn’t want to create thisthing where he automatically had access to me, just because we shared a child. I wasn’t one of those girls, and I needed him to understand that. But…I wasn’t jumping the gun to say anything, unless I had to.
“You’ve arrived,” the feminine navigation voice eventually announced.
“Damn.” He whistled, as he peered at my home. “This is nice.”
I nodded, while pointing. “You can pull into the driveway.”
He did as he was told, before killing the ignition.
“What are you about to do?” I found myself asking.
He lazily gazed at me. “I can’t come in?”
“I mean…you can, but aint no fucking going on,” I had to let him know.
He frowned. “Who said anything about fucking?”
“Nobody. But it’s two in the morning, and I wanted to make myself clear. I have no interest in breaking up happy homes. Even crumbling ones. So, this aint that.”
He nodded. “Overstood.”
