Page 41 of Crash: Love in Scrubs
“Watch your mouth,” I said thumping his ass on the lip. I watched him touch his stinging lip. I tried not to laugh but I couldn’t help it. He was pathetic. He’d never be on my level. He had me fucked up for real. I couldn’t respect a man like him at all. Not only had he abandoned his family but he was making my woman uncomfortable and probably enjoying disrupting her life.
“Oh, I see what this is.” His laugh was bitter and ugly. “So that’s how you’re handling your business now, MiMi? Fucking your son’s doctor? Ain’t there some rules against that shit?”
I said nothing because it was just like this nigga to try and play police ass games.
“The pussy ain’t worth it, dawg.”
I grabbed him by the neck and slammed him into the wall behind him. I was seeing red, ready to blow this man’s face off because he was too disrespectful. It made me understand why my baby was so guarded. A nigga like him never deserved her, and he definitely didn’t deserve to plant his seed.
“Bitch ass nigga, you got about ten seconds to get off this porch before I forget I got a career and some shit to lose. When Samaj is ready to fucking talk to you, he will call you. MiMi, you good?” I asked my eyes never leaving him.
“Yes, I’m fine.”
I was walking a fine line here and didn’t give one fuck. Watching this man try to manipulate his way back into lives he’d abandoned, watching him disrespect the woman who’d sacrificed everything for their child—it was triggering every protective instinct I had. He had one more word, and I’d be paying for his plot.
“This ain’t your house, and this ain’t your family,” Ashe said, his voice getting an edge.
“You’re right about the house,” I said calmly and leaned closer to whisper in his ear. “But this fasho my family. Ashe I’ll send you to your mother in ashes for fucking with them. Get the fuck outta here and tighten up.”
Sametra touched my arm, soft warm fingers wrapped around my bicep instantly causing me to tuck the monster back in, “Malik, he’s not worth it.”
“Ashe,” Sametra said turning her attention to him, her voice sharp. “You need to leave. Now.”
For a moment, something that might have been hurt flashed across his face. But then it hardened again.
“Try that shit again,” he said, low. But he looked at Sametra when he said it, and that was his mistake.
“Nah,” I said. “You don't get to come in here throwing your weight around. Next time you come to see your son, do it like you give a damn, at a decent time, with some damn respect.”
I slammed the door before he could open his mouth again. I turned to Sametra and allowed my eyes to roam over her. With the door closed and back locked, everyone exhaled. But the peace we’d built was completely shattered.
“I’m sorry,” I said immediately. “I shouldn’t have escalated that.”
“No,” she said firmly, coming into my arms. “You shouldn’t have had to. He had no right to show up here like that.”
I held her close, feeling the tremor in her body. “You okay?”
“I hate that he did that. I hate that he ruined our time. I swear I don’t normally have drama like this.” She gestured back to the patio, at the remnants of our perfect evening.
I grabbed her hand and led her back to the patio. Ashe hadn’t ruined a damn thing for me. I pulled her back into my lap, and we sat there in the quiet, holding each other while the night settled around us. This wasn’t how I’d pictured the evening going, but in a way, it had shown me something important. When it mattered, when her family was threatened, Sametra trusted me to handle it. But it also told me I needed to do some research and recon on Ashe.
“Malik?”
“Yeah, baby.”
“Thank you. For protecting us.”
“You don’t have to thank me for that. That’s what I’m here for. That’s what a man is supposed to do.”
She settled back against my chest, and I felt some of the tension leave her body.
“Can you stay the night?”
“Yeah, I can do that. Don’t try and touch my no-no square, though. You gotta work for that, LT.”
We both laughed as she prepared to head inside. I watched her move around the patio, blowing out the citronella candles one by one, switching off the string lights, gathering our glasses, and the empty pudding container. I grabbed the throw blanket and her phone, following her lead like we’d done this dance a hundred times before.
She placed everything on the kitchen counter and turned to me, extending her hand. “Come on. I’m upstairs.”
