Page 44 of Beyond The Stars

“Stephanie house.”

“What?!” Javen shook his head in disbelief. “You know what, when this shit blows up in your face don’t come crawling to us.”

“Speak for yourself, nigga. I got Qamar’s back even when he’s wrong,” French declared.

“And that’s the damn problem. Y’all gotta stop babying his dick slangin’ ass. Let him hit his head and figure it out.”

Qamar tuned them out as they went back and forth. He would never admit it but Javen was right. The shit he was purposefully stepping in wouldn’t be as simple and easy to get out as he tried to convince himself it would be. Janay wasn’t simple. She wasn’t ready to let go of the idea of them being together and after having Belinay, her emotions were all over the place. He knew he had to be gentle with her because he never wanted her to feel less than. She just wasn’t for him.

Whatever decisions he made, he needed to be precise and make them quickly because his two worlds were merging fast.

Noodle sat in the swing with Esmeray securely on her lap. They were out in the backyard just chilling and playing. Malaysia had her eyes on them while she did whatever she was doing on her phone. Qamar allowed the blinds to close once he was content with it all.

“So, you just up and left to go where?” Janay asked while holding the bottle in Belinay’s mouth with her back propped against the headboard.

His light eyes coated her in all the goodness they did from the moment she noticed him in class. “Did you sleep good?”

“Where did you go, Q?”

“I had some shit to handle, Janay. I told French to help you with whatever you needed.”

“He didn’t lay down with me and make her. We need you! Not your sisters. Not your brothers. And for damn sure not your baby mama.” Her round eyes poked at him. “So, again, what the fuck was so important that you left your newborn baby?”

His phone rung, grabbing his attention to it. Instead of answering it, he declined the call. Qamar’s eyes were back on Janay who had switched Belinay onto her shoulder to burp her. Holding out his hands, he grabbed his daughter. Across his own shoulder, he tapped her bottom to ease any gas she might’ve had.

“Don’t ignore me. You know I hate that shit.” Tears welled in Janay’s eyes.

“The test came back,” he confessed while walking around the room. His body moved in a sway that seemed to show how it wasn’t his first rodeo.

When he had Esmeray, the women in his family tried to do everything for him but Qamar wasn’t having it. He was hands on with her, watching, and learning, making sure he was the best father he could be.

Janay drew in a stuttered gasp. “Wh—what did it say?”

Qamar closed his eyes and inhaled Belinay’s scent. “It don’t matter.”

“But it does,” she whispered. Janay knew what the plan was but she didn’t expect for him to hold up his promise to her.

When they first met, he wasn’t the only dude she dealt with. Every other weekend she would go back home where her on-and-off dick appointment lived. Sometimes, he would even go down to Lynn Beach to slide between her legs. Then, she met Qamar. They had sex, and she found out she was pregnant shortly after. The timeline matched up with both of them since she had sex with them within the same three days.

Qamar didn’t believe he was the father because he wore a condom each time. When Janay reveled the truth—along with the other guy basically saying he would have nothing to do with it, he stepped up. In hindsight it wasn’t the best decision because it gave Janay unrealistic expectations.

“It don’t.” Qamar stared her down. “Belinay, the Turkish meaning of the moon’s reflection. She mine, Janay.”

“What about your family?” she whispered, still watching him move around with her daughter in his arms.

Janay knew she wasn’t the family’s favorite, which meant as soon as they found out Belinay wasn’t his, they were ready to drop their fake façade. And she wasn’t ready to hear what Malaysia had to say.

He stopped walking long enough to look her in the eyes. “She mine which mean she my business.”

It was their pledge to keep the truth between just the two of them. Their little secret.

“Daddy!” Esmeray burst through the door with Noodle behind her. “Noodle want to see my sister.”

Noodle eased from around the door with a sneaky smirk on her face. She had put Esmeray up to taking her because she was tired of waiting. Morning had turned into afternoon with no sign of the other part of Qamar that she wanted to love.

As if Noodle belonged, he eased over to her so she could see the newest piece of his heart.

“Aww,” Noodle cooed. Her eyes bounced from Qamar to Janay, trying to see who Belinay looked like.

---