Page 10 of Kassir and Rebel
“Oh, I forgot,” she scoffs. “I can’t call your precious Rebel out of her name. That’s exactly what I’m talking about.”
“Linnea, you don’t need to worry about shit when it comes to Rebel. Me and you ain’t shit but co-parents any damn way andKassan is my number one priority. Always. No one coming in or out of my life is gonna change that.”
“We would have been together if it wasn’t for her,” she says, then rolls her eyes.
“Call that shit like it was—one late night and a broken condom. And where is this shit coming from anyway? It was never that with us. You and I are good like we are and you got a nigga anyway. Focus on him.”
“I don’t have the nigga I want,” she utters and I shake my head.
“That’s a you fucking problem and I can’t help you with that,” I tell her then change the subject. “Look, I gave Kassan some money for the beach thing. It’s in his wallet and I’ll check on him tomorrow.”
Before she can start back tripping, I open Linnea’s door and dip. Staying in here and arguing about shit that ain’t gon’ change is pointless. Besides, we have been making it work just fine with Kassan up until now.
We were never a couple. On some reckless bullshit and in a dumb attempt to make some shit happen, I grabbed the first chick who was in my face. It happened to be Linnea. I had seen her on the block, but other than that, I didn’t even know her name at the time. That night, she was there and available. We fucked, the damn condom broke, and about two months later, she told me she was having my baby. The deed had been done and the mistake had been made. She was having my child and I naturally stepped the fuck up. We are Kassan’s parents, that’s it, that’s all.
When I leave her spot, I decide to hit a few blocks before taking it back to the crib. Driving always clears my mind, so I ride through my city.
DP controls the entire south side of Diamond Falls. Our reach even extends beyond Diamond Estates and BrunswickMeadows, where my moms lives now. I roll past her neighborhood but don’t stop. It’s almost nine and too late. I turn off Barlow and ride back toward 8thStreet. This area is neutral territory, so DP and our bitch ass rivals, the Bedford Boys, stake no claim over it.
Anytime niggas start to come up, there’s always a crab wanting to take you down. For me and Leem, when we started DP, that was Ralph P. aka Riz. We had D-Ville on lock and he was running Bedford Homes. Just like us, he was trying to make a name on the streets. We were slanging and banging but he was on some other shit. Word then was he and his crew were fucking with some foul shit, snatching up girls and trafficking. A clear line was drawn between us, and DP and the Bedford Boys became rivals. After years of too many bodies, we came to an understanding. We don’t fuck with them and they don’t fuck with us.
Before pulling back up to the crib, I grab a fifteen-piece wing combo from Wings & Things. When I start to trek up the steps to enter the building, I stop dead in my tracks when I see her. Dressed in red shorts and a tee, sprinting toward me, is the woman who owns my damn heart.Rebel.She’s a little thicker in all the right places but she looks the same, beautiful. Because she’s checking something on her watch, she doesn’t see me and almost runs right into my ass.
“Shit. My b—” she starts but stops when our eyes meet.
As if they have a mind of their own, my eyes take a long ass tour of her banging ass body, starting with her pretty face, smooth caramel skin, toned arms, flat stomach with her belly ring, thick thighs, toned legs, then back up to her face.
Damn, I missed her.
“You look good, bae,” I tell her.
“I’m not your bae anymore. Excuse me, I need to get inside,” she says dismissively, but I’m in no hurry for her to leave myspace. It’s been too damn long since we’ve shared the same air and having her this close just feels right.
“Still running I see, but why this late?”
“The time doesn’t matter. This is my neighborhood. Besides, no one is going to mess with me because they know I’m?—”
“’Cause they know you’re mine,” I say, completing her sentence. Everyone in D-Ville knows Rebel belongs to me.
“Not anymore,” she sighs and my damn chest tightens.
“Rebel,” I say, then reach for her hand but she draws back.
“Let me go inside, please,” she pleads with her lips and eyes. Against everything in me, I fall the fuck back.
She adjusts her earbuds then sprints up the steps. I don’t follow right behind her. Instead, I wait until she’s completely inside the building and most likely in Miss Chandra’s crib before I head in.
Chapter 6
Rebel
Shit! Shit! Shit!
Kassir. Of course I would see him looking like this.
Shit!
“Rebel, did you hear me?” Ma asks but I barely hear her.
