Official Girl 2 (11 page)

              I knew its little man’s birthday, but I had a surprise for Neicey also. She done got up here in the D and forgot about her brothers back home. I called to let them know that their nephew was having his very first birthday and they said they would be there. I asked Pops if it was cool and he said no problem. I couldn’t wait to see the look on her face. After my mom passed, my homeboys helped me look after Neicey. There were five of us total. Me, Corey, Jason, Howie and Lakey. With Lakey only being two years older than Neicey, they were always together. They didn’t think we knew but I knew they had something going on together. I knew she would be shocked to see them.

             
“Damn Lani, did you have to buy all these toys?” I asked putting all Romell’s gifts in the car.

             
“Yes I did, I mean my nephew only turns one once.”

             
“He probably won’t even play with all these toys,” I joked.

             
“Of course he will, now shut up and hurry up,” she fussed.

             
“If you wouldn’t have bought every toy in the store, we could have been there twenty minutes ago.”

             
“Whatever,” she rolled her eyes.

             
“I’m gonna hate to see how you act when we get kids of our own,” I said putting the last two gifts in the car.

             
“Well, don’t wait on it.”

             
“Why every time I bring up the subject about us having kids, you always cop a damn attitude?”

             
“I don’t have a damn attitude Ramone.”

             
“Well I can’t tell Le’Lani,” I said sarcastically. “What is it? You don’t want to have kids with a nigga or something?”

             
“It’s not that.”

             
“Then what the hell is it then? Help me understand,” I said getting mad.

             
“I’m scared okay,” she yelled. “I fucking lost my mother because she gave birth to me and I don’t want to end up like her and miss out on my child’s life.”

             
Damn.
Now I felt like shit. “I’m sorry baby, I didn’t know. I understand how you feel. I don’t want you to feel like I’m pressuring you into having a baby. We can wait till you’re ready, if you ever become ready,” I said.

             
I knew it had to be hard for her. I never thought about that, she had a legit reason to be scared. It would be nice to have some little ones running around, but I was not about to force her to do anything she was not ready to do.

             
The rest of the ride to Pops’ house was quiet. I really felt bad about getting on her earlier. I should have talked to her instead of jumping to conclusions.

             
“Baby, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get mad at you earlier.” I said

             
She turned and looked at me. “It’s fine, Ramone. I understand where you’re coming from, but I also need you to understand where I’m coming from. I want to have kids someday, but I have some personal issues that I need to get over first.” With that said, she got out of the car.

              We were all in Pop-Pop’s back yard chilling. MJ was running around playing with Romell, those two were inseparable. I would be lying if I said there wasn’t some tension in the air though and it was pretty thick. Not only between Mykell and I, but Mykell and Kamil, and also Kamil and Ramone. Everyone was keeping calm and staying out of their feelings because it was Romell’s day and I refused to mess it up. “Did I hear somebody say there was a party going on?” I stopped dead in my tracks.
It couldn’t be, is it really?
I turned around and saw all four of my brother’s friends.

             
“OH MY GODDDD,” I screamed then ran to the closet one. I jumped in Corey’s arms like I used to when I was little.

             
“What are you guys doing here?” I gave each one of them a hug.

             
“Well you got down here and neglected us, so we decided to come show out on you.”

             
“Um, are you going to introduce us?” I heard Kamil say from behind me.

             
“Everybody, this is Corey, Jason, Howie, and Lakey.” I pointed to each one of the men that helped Ramone raise me. I looked over at Lakey and started smiling from ear to ear. Lakey and Corey were brothers, but since Lakey was only two years older than me, we seemed to always get left together all the time. He was my first boyfriend. He was even my first love. He was so mad at me when I told him I was moving, but I had to do something with my life.

             
“Wassup, Ladybug, long time no see. You act like you don’t even know a nigga no more.” He smiled that gorgeous smile I loved so much.

             
“Whatever Lake, it ain’t even like that.”

             
“Yeah? Well how is it then?”

             
“Ugh, we’ll talk later.”

             
“Bet.”

             
I could feel Kamil’s eyes burning a hole in the side of my face.
He jealous, that’s cute.
On the other hand, Mykell seemed to be cool. I didn’t know why I was worried about how he felt anyways.

             
“So where’s our nephew anyways?” Howie asked.

             
I turned to see MJ and Romell running around the backyard.
I love my boys.
“Fat Fat, come here,” I called out to Romell. He turned, looked at me with a big smile on his face, and ran his little self towards me.

             
“Mama, play,” he reached for me to pick him up.

             
“Mama will play with her baby in a minute; I want you to meet your uncles.”

             
“Uncle?”

             
“Yes.”

             
He looked at the four men standing in front of us. “Hi,” he said shyly.

             
“Wassup lil man,” Jason spoke. “I’m Uncle Jay, that’s Howie, Corey, and Lakey.”

             
Romell just smiled. “Play?” he asked Jason.

             
“Sure lil man, let’s play.”

             
I watched as Jason played with Romell and MJ. They were playing football. I felt so blessed to have those people in my life.

             
“Okay everybody, let’s eat,” Pop-Pop announced.

             
We sat at the big table that Pop-Pop had on his patio. “Uhh, I just know y’all about to go wash y’all hands?” Lani said with her hands on her hips.

             
“Well, excuse us,” Ramone laughed.

             
I grabbed my Fat Man and put him on my lap. I loved my son more than anything in the world. I never thought I could love someone so much. I could say Mykell had given me the best thing in the world. Everyone came back from washing their hands so we blessed the food and dug right on in. I started to feed Romell but he shook his head. “I want Daddy,” he said.

             
“You turning on me Fat Fat?” I asked faking hurt.

             
He kissed me on the lips and smiled with his two bottom teeth showing. I just laughed and took him over to Mykell. I gave him Fat Fat’s plate. He tried to make eye contact with me but I kept ignoring him.

             
“So bighead, how do you like motherhood?” Corey asked.

             
“I love it! Fat Fat is my world.” I smiled at my son.

             
“I remember when you were that little, we would all be chilling in Mone’s room and you would just walk in there like you owned the room,” he laughed.

             
“Yeah that’s when we liked you,” Howie joked

             
I rolled my eyes, “Whatever.”

             
“He make you want some more?”

             
Before I even could speak, Kamil jumped in. “We’re working on it.”

             
I looked at Lani then Ramone. “Uhh, naw I don’t want any more for a couple of years. Fat and MJ are enough for me right now,” I spoke up

             
He looked at me crazy. “So what you saying?”

             
“I think I made it plain and clear what I was saying. I don’t want any more kids for a few years.”

             
He chuckled. “That’s some bullshit.”

             
“How you figure?”

             
“Because yo ass was quick to get pregnant by that nigga. Not once but twice. When I try to get you pregnant, yo ass is quick to get on birth control.”

             
“Man,” Ramone started to say, but I cut him off, “Naw Mone, I got this.”

             
“Excuse you, but I went on birth control after I had Romell because what the fuck I look like being only 21 years old popping out babies back to back with no job because yo ass don’t want me working? Make it make sense Kamil.” I rolled my neck clearly getting pissed off.

             
“If that was the case, you would’ve got on birth control after you lost the first baby, but naw you laid on yo back and got knocked up again. I’m starting to think you just don’t want to have my baby because I ain’t that nigga!”

             
“Fuck you and this bullshit!” I was so mad I wanted to punch that nigga in his jaw for saying some shit like that. If I wasn’t going to those damn therapy sessions with Ramone I would’ve went the fuck off. Instead, I just got up and walked into the house. I was so mad I had tears streaming down my face.

             
“Neicey,” I heard Lani yell, but fuck that, I refused to stop or turn around. Here it was supposed to be my son’s birthday and Kamil was trying to make shit about him. I didn’t know where that attitude was coming from, nor did I give a damn. All of a sudden, he wanted to show out and throw a bitch fit.
Fuck him.

              That was some crazy shit that just happened. I knew her nigga had some bitch in him when I first laid eyes on him. I didn’t even know why she with his ass anyways. What the fuck could his scrawny ass do for her?

             
“Man let me go check on her,” Ramone said pissed off.

             
“Naw Mone, I got this one,” I said mugging her bitch of a nigga.

             
Shit, I had her before either of them two niggas out there did, but that was beside the point. I met her baby daddy a few days ago and he was cool. Of course, I told him about mine and Ladybug’s history. He was cool about it and said he wasn’t on no beefing shit with me because I was before he came around. He expressed his concerns with me about her new nigga though. He and Ramone gave me the rundown on everything that had been happening. It broke my damn heart when I found out that my Snook was raped. That shit almost happed when she was 9 years old so I had taught her how to shoot a gun to protect herself.

             
I found her in the kitchen pacing back and forth. “Come here Snook.”

             
She looked at me with tears in her eyes. She looked like the little girl I grew up with and fell in love with when I was 14 years old. “Fuck that nigga and the bullshit he talking. He can’t force you to do something you don’t want to do.”

             
“I’m tired of everybody treating me like I’m in the wrong. Mykell’s mad at me because I’m engaged to Kamil and won’t take him back. Kamil’s mad at me because I won’t have his baby. I’m just tired of everything Lakey.” She broke down crying.

             
“Hey now, you know how I feel about you and that crying shit. Wipe them eyes and cut all that shit out.” I rubbed her back.

             
“I’m just tired, Lashaun,” she called me by my government.

             
“I know, but you know I don’t like you crying. You don’t have to have that nigga’s baby if you don’t want to. Shit he don’t even seem like yo type, so why are you with him?”

             
“What makes you think he’s not my type?” she asked with her hands on her hips.

             
“Because he’s not me,” I chuckled

             
“Whatever Lakey.”

             
“No but seriously, he’s not your type because he’s a light-skinned nigga. You’ve never been into them, you like chocolate, always have. Hell, look at me and yo baby daddy.”

             
“Now you ain’t lying,” she laughed. “But he was there for me when Mykell and I were having problems. He would talk to me and help me make decisions. He would kick it with me when Mykell didn’t have time for me,” she shrugged.

             
“So basically you’re with him because you got comfortable with him. He was plotting on yo relationship the whole time and you ain’t een know,” I said mocking Rocko.

             
She laughed. “I guess, but it’s crazy because after I left Mykell, I went to his house and that’s where I’ve been ever since. We never even really made it official.”

             
“Like I said, you got comfortable with him. You feel like you have to be with him because he was a shoulder for you to cry on. Now look where that got you.”

             
“I know,” she sighed.

             
“So how about we say fuck him and you bring yo ass back home where you belong, with me,” I stated.

             
“With you huh? It’s not that simple Lakey.”

             
“You still love him don’t you?”

             
“Who?”

             
“Your son’s father.”

             
“Nope.” She bit her lip. She always did that when she was lying or hiding something.

             
“As much as I don’t appreciate you leaving me and giving that nigga everything that was supposed to be mine, I can tell you still love him. I can tell he loves you too.”

             
“How do you know?”

             
“I had a conversation with him. I could tell by the way he talked about you and the look he had in his eyes at the mention of your name.”

             
She looked down, “Lashaun, I’m sorry for just up and leaving you. I know it was wrong, but I had to do it to better my life. Coming here and falling in love and having a baby were never part of the plan, ever.”

             
“It’s cool Snook. I understand, this shit doesn’t change how I feel about you. You will always be my Snook,” I said walking up to her and raising her head. I leaned down and kissed her passionately, not giving a fuck about neither one of those niggas sitting out there.

             
“Oooh wee! I knew it, y’all niggas ain’t slick.”

             
We looked up to see Corey and Ramone standing there. “Shut up fool,” Snook said.

             
“Well damn, it was two niggas now it’s three. Ladybug what are you doing to these niggas?”

             
“Don’t even play Mone. You know I was here way before any of them niggas. They should be thanking me for letting them borrow her. If they keep fucking up, she knows where to find me. Naw, but for real, talk to ya baby daddy. It looks like y’all have some unfinished business,” I said before walking back outside.

I knew shit would hit the ceiling fan between them two sooner or later. It was supposed to be about my son but that bitch ass nigga found a way to make it about him and fuck it up. I just sat back not saying anything. I looked at that nigga and started laughing, he was really a bitch made ass nigga yo.