Page 196 of Own It

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SOMETIME LATER . . .

“Aye.” Rakim came up behind me at the stove, kissing on my neck. “Mylo pulling up.”

“You better be happy this food is done just in time,” I said, making him chuckle in that sexy tone of his.

“A nigga try to do something nice for his lady and get cursed out. Can’t win, huh?”

“Nigga, you bought sashimi for us to have for lunch!” I exclaimed, trying to tamp down my own laughter while seeing his fine ass grin.

“You love that nasty shit.”

“I do, but Téa is pregnant. She cannot have raw sushi.” I waved him off. “Go let her in so I can rush and finish the setup.”

“I still want that sloppy head you promised me.” He patted the wall before slipping out through the mouth of the kitchen.

When Rakim told me he’d taken care of the food for Téa’s and my first little meeting, I promised him that I would give him some head for doing such a sweet thing that most men probably wouldn’t have thought of. And though he’d dropped the ball by getting sashimi, it was freshly prepared by a hired chef, and I planned to devour it later, so he would get his head. Plus, I enjoyed doing that to him.

I hurried to prepare the table in the backyard, thankful that LA’s bipolar weather was seemingly playing nice today. It’d rained all week and was freezing cold, but today, it was hot as hell and dry.

Just as I set the pitcher of cucumber lemonade onto the table, I heard the door to the backyard, pulling my attention that way to see Rakim, Mylo, and a pregnant Téa.

Now that it’d been confirmed that she was carrying my man’s niece or nephew, both Rakim and I thought it would be a great idea to meld her into the family—or whatever we were since both our families were basket cases. He explained that she never mentioned family of any kind, and I figured no one wanted to be lonely day in and day out, especially not while pregnant.

“Hi, I’m Daylin! Nice to meet you!” I grinned, and she returned the gesture before embracing me.

I noticed she was slightly tense, but as soon as I spoke to her, she relaxed.

“I’m Téa. I’ve been wanting to meet you.”

Before I could ask why, Rakim said, “We ’bout to run an errand. Hit me if you need something.” He pecked me, grabbing a handful of my ass so roughly that he shifted my thong with his freaky ass. While whispering against my lips ‘Don’t forget,’ he kissed me again, then walked off with Mylo in tow.

I noticed Mylo steal a look over his shoulder at Téa who was none the wiser.

“I hope you like chicken parmesan—it’s one of my specialties—and cucumber lemonade.” I gestured toward the steaming hot food that I’d literally just pulled out. “Be careful because I legit just poured the cheese over the chicken breast.”

“This looks so good.” Téa damn near drooled as I piled her plate carefully and then made my own before filling our drinking glasses.

“Thank you.” I sat down, and we prayed together before she dug right in, not giving a fuck how hot it was. “Why have you been wanting to meet me?”

“Because I had no idea Rah was capable of having feelings, let alone a girlfriend.” She ate some more. “His whole demeanor and body language is different around you. It’s crazy to see.”

“Yeah.” I smirked. “When I first met him, I thought the same thing, but as you get to know him, you realize how caring he is.”

“That’s actually very true. Most niggas wouldn’t care that I was carrying their brother’s kid. Like Josias; he’s mean as fuck.”

“Yeah, he can be, but I think he’s just a bit more overprotective of Zaire since that’s his twin.” I defended Josias. “He’ll warm up.”

“I can see that.”

“So how are you feeling?” I queried, though my nosiness wanted to ask why Mylo was giving her rides and glancing back at her before he left.

“I’m feeling pretty good, actually. I do get lonely and extremely bored, but I just bought a Kindle, so that’s been nice. I just need some recommendations.”

“Girl, I love reading, so I got you! Me and Rakim’s cousin’s wife Shardaya have a mini book club, but she reads like five books a damn week.”

“That’s gonna be me soon.” She giggled.