Page 19

“Thank you,” I said, kissing her cheek.

Nikki and I had been kicking it for a few years now. My mama asked why I had not made things official with her. I wasn’t big on titles when it came to women. I had love for her, but the answering to a woman was draining for me. Nikki worked at a bakery that she shared with her family. She was a beast in the kitchen.

“How did it go?”

“Shit, Kyenna killed it. She got everythin’ under control.”

“I told you she would.”

“I’m just glad to see my brother’s dream stayin’ alive.”

“Will you be spending a lot of time over there?”

I shrugged, “Probably.”

“Until she gets settled?”

“Yeah.”

Nikki looked down at her glass.

“Okay.”

Her okay carried something with it. I knew it wasn’t because she didn’t trust me. I haven’t given her a reason not to. Nikki wasn’t the jealous type. She knew if I wanted another bitch, I’d leave before I started playin’ in her face. That’s why I was confused about why the fuck she was questioning me about my brother’s wife. I would never cross the line with Kyenna. She was like a sister to me.

“You good?” I asked.

“I just miss you.”

“What you mean?”

“You’ve been gone every day. You come over exhausted and we don’t talk as much as we used to. I know your family needs you more than me right now. I just miss my man.”

Her feelings were valid, but she also knew what she was getting into when it came to me and my family. This was one of the reasons I didn’t want to be tied down to a woman. It came with too many emotions. I wanted her to understand that I had just lost my brother and I was trying to keep his dream alive and that included me helping his wife keep that shit going. At least until she told me she had it.

“I understand your feelin’s. You need to understand mine as well. I’m not gonna always be able to be with you. Even if I wasn’t helpin’ Kyenna, I would still be out and about runnin’ my shit. This is not somethin’ new, Nikki.”

“You were doing better though, Shameek.”

“Aight, aight. I’ll try to do better again, but have some grace too, Nikki.”

“Okay, I will.”

I grabbed her hand and pulled her to me until she was sitting on my lap.

“Look, what we got is good. You kno’ I’ll never play I yo’ face. Pops raised us to be men. Besides, I’m not tryin’ to be like Rah wit’ all these damn kids runnin’ ‘round.”

“I trust you, Shameek. I just miss you being here.”

“I’ll do better,” I told her, kissing her softly. “Matter of fact, come stay with me tonight.”

“I got to work tomorrow,” she whined. “Your place is an hour away from my job.”

I hated that she worked, but Nikki said it kept her from being bored all day. She knew she had access to anything she wanted, but she still decided to go and work with her family. I got it because technically I was doing the same shit.

“I’m tryin’, Nikki. But it’s cool. We’ll try another night,” I told her as I let her up and focused back on my food.

It was like she wanted one thing from me and when I tried, it was a barrier stopping her. She rarely ever wanted to come to my place because she said it was too far. Yet, she wanted to be my woman. The shit was confusing, but I wouldn’t trade her for anyone else because I could trust her with all my secrets.