Page 44 of Love me Like XO

“You’re right. Steering clear.” I couldn’t help but laugh at the incog-negro pun.

“As you should. What’s up with you and Malik though? You feeling him like that or what?”

Immediately a smile graced my face. “He’s nice, and yes. Even though Zero’s ho ass lil’ sister walked up on me with that shit.”

Irish shook his head. “Yeah, shorty out here though. Poppin’ that shit for the bidders.”

“What do you mean?” I was confused.

He screwed up his face. “Have I taught you nothing, shorty? Lil’ mama is selling pussy.”

Besides what Empress told me this morning I had no idea, shit now I wanted to know how he knew. Shit had he bought some from her or something?

“And before you ask, no. I don’t purchase pussy especially when I look like this.” He had the nerve to look in the rearview mirror at himself.

“Then how do you know, Irish?”

“Benson pays to fuck her and her girl in various tellys and spaces. Plus she tried to give yo’ brother head after the wedding.”

Shaking my head, I couldn’t wait to talk to my sister to tell her this shit. Maybe Zero needed to know that his sister was popping more pussy than Newport’s. Then it hit me, that’s why she tried that shit with Malik. She wanted to sell him some pussy too, but he wasn’t paying her young ass any attention. So she deemed me competition, which was sad as fuck. “That’s sad.”

“It is, but that’s her shit. If she wants to auction it off to the highest bidder let, he—” the ringing of his phone through the console interrupted his statement. Our grandmother was calling, so I pressed the green circle.

“Yeah, Mama,” he greeted.

“Have you talked to your sister?” she asked out of breath.

“Which one? You know yo’ son was a rolling stone.” Irish always cracked a joke to lighten whatever mood.

“The one that ain’t been back to see these damn kids. I’m too damn old to be babysitting these bad, back talking ass kids.”

“What do you mean, Ma?”

“She went out to lunch with some friend she had yesterday and didn’t come back until late. Then today when I woke up, she was gone. She didn’t even take Keem to school this morning. Shegave a ten-year old a bus card and told him to tell me that she had something she needed to do.”

“Naw Mama I haven’t heard from her, but here I come.” He looked from me, then back at the console, before shaking his head. “I swear I can’t stand her ass. She knows Mama is too old to be watching any fucking kids.”

I shook my head because he was right. However no matter how right he was I wasn’t signing up to go watch Fiona’s crumb snatchers. As soon as we pulled up, I was calling my nigga and making his wanna be busy ass come get me. He acted so busy, but I swear he asked me what I was doing at least fifteen times since he left my bed this morning.

When we pulled up to my grandmother’s house, I wasn’t shocked to see Fiona’s bad ass kids running from front to back through the window. One of those bad motherfuckers had to have let the blinds up. Grandma hated the blinds up because she hated to think somebody was looking straight through her house.

“I’m finna sock one of these lil’ niggas in their shit.”

A chuckle escaped my lips. “Why?”

“Yeen just hear her say one of those motherfuckers were talking back to her?”

“Be cool. You know Grams be quick to protect those lil’ fuckers when they do shit, after being the one to tell on them.”

He nodded. “You right.”

By the time we made it in the house my grandmother could be heard fussing from the back of the house. “Sat down!”

“Yo, didn’t my mama just tell you lil’ motherfuckers to sit down?” Irish walked in the house on captain save one, while I took my time.

With my phone in my hand, I stood out on the porch and looked for Malik’s contact before pressing it.

“Wife,” he answered on the second ring.

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