Page 136 of Just Listen
Having sympathy for her had long ago gone out the window, as she did everything, but move the fuck on. It was honestly sad, because she was gorgeous, and could’ve easily found another man. They wouldn’t have been my Khamere, but at least itcould’ve been somebody who actually wanted her ass. And now, she’d buried her daddy, along with his flunkies.
Now, after the rain, the sun was shining again. Malice had quietly handled everybody, while managing to keep me far away from most of the bullshit. I still had my moments where I’d think about Zae, but overall, I was better. I could breathe easier, and focus on bringing a healthy baby boy into this world.
Ironically, I thought that we’d all be harping on my age with having these kids back-to-back, but with so much other shit happening, me being pregnant was probably the most normal thing out of it all.
At one point, I questioned if me and Malice had moved too soon, considering everything that had happened, once we’d decided to commit. However, as time went on, I realized that I was okay with things happening sooner in our relationship. Versus some time passing, before I was blindsided by the lifestyle I’d stepped into. Now, I knew that we were battle tested. Malice didn’t fold under pressure. I could depend on him. He made shit happen. And he would do anything to protect me. So, as much as there would always be some type of threats out there, with him I felt safe.
“Jaylah, you want me to fix you a plate?” Keyasia offered, as I was chilling on her couch.
“Girl, you already know,” I lightly responded.
We were having a girls’ night at Key and Wale’s. It was a bunch of us there, cackling, gossiping, laughing, and talking shit. It was a kids’ free occasion, and I wasn’t mad about it. My nieces and nephews were a damn handful. Khari was too. And then there was Key, and our girl Jazel’s kids, who were in a whole other league of bad.
With nannies and all, we still needed breaks. So, we tried to host these nights at least once a month, and I was starting to look forward to it, since I wasn’t outside, dancing on couches in sections, these days.
“Well, fix me a plate too, since you at it,” Jazel teased, as she sat beside me.
Pursing her lips, Key waved her off. “Bitch, you aint pregnant, and I don’t look nothing like Craven’s pussy whipped ass. You can’t boss me around.” She stuck her tongue out, before switching off to the kitchen.
“And this food is good as fuck,” Mya, a family friend, and the wife of Houston’s very own Guap, claimed as she dug in.
“Let me see,” Taraj said, as she plucked a deviled egg off Mya’s plate.
“Move, girl.” Mya angled her body away from Taraj. “Go get your own plate.”
Taraj was greedily tearing that deviled egg up. “I sure the fuck am. And I’ma make two plates to go,” she announced with no shame, as she scooted off the couch.
I arched a brow, while studying her. Taraj was known to have one of the nicest bodies around, and I was just realizing that her booty was humongous, right then. Then her stomach wasn’t flat, which was evident in the cropped tee she was wearing.
“Raj, are you pregnant?” I had to ask.
She goofily giggled. “Yup.”
Jazel crinkled her nose. “Girl, your nasty ass should be ashamed of yourself. You went all these years with just one baby, and now you having them critters back-to-back.”
Hearing that, everybody exploded with laughter, knowing that Jazel should’ve been the last to talk. She had five damn, bad-ass, nerve-wracking kids of her own.
“Well, at least my kids don’t keep getting kicked out schools.” Taraj gave her the finger, before sauntering off to the kitchen.
Jazel merely waved her off, because we all knew that she didn’t give a damn. “Anyways.” She turned to look at me. “Why when me and Craven was riding through the hood the other day, we ended up at a hole in the wall and saw your baby’s daddy?”
I nodded. “That’s not surprising. That’s his uncle’s club.”
“Craven said that. Anyway, while we was there, some fancy hoes pulled up. They clearly knew Malice, and was all in his face. Or at least tried to be. Baby, when I say that he shut that shit down. Told them hoes not touch him and that he was married. And I told Craven, nowthat’show you shut these bitches down!”
Everybody looked at me.
Mya smirked. “Jaylah, y’all got married?”
“Nah.” I shook my head. “Not yet.”
“Well, it’s just a matter of time,” Jazel predicted. “Cause he aint one of them niggas who’s gonna drag his feet. I can tell.”
I shrugged. “If he does he does, if he doesn’t he doesn’t.”
Jazel creased a brow. “So, you really don’t care about being married to your man?”
“Not really. My name is on all the deeds. The bank accounts. I got the codes to all the safes. Life policies. So, I’m covered. Putting all that shit in my hands is the highest levelof commitment, if you ask me. So, wedding or not, that ass is mine.”
