Page 33 of Out of Bounds
“I don’t.” I shook my head. “He’s their father. That’s his outside child. At some point, them meeting was inevitable, Mom.”
“Okay. That’s mature of you.”
“That’s the only way for me to do it. I’m sure he’s uncomfortable with it as well, seeing as though there will be tons of questions.”
“Well, he just better be ready to answer them.”
“If this is where he is, then, I’m sure he’s prepared.” Giving her a tight-lipped smile, I continued packing my lunch. The minute I was done, I kissed her on the cheek and made promises to update her throughout the day.
Out of the house and in the car, I rode downtown in utter and complete silence. Had I not mentally prepared for the day my children met their half-sibling, this would’ve crushed me. I’m talking completely broken me down into tiny pieces.
However, considering the fact that my husband had taken accountability for his actions and was seemingly staying afloat amidst the drama surrounding our marriage, I trusted that he’d checked everything off his list.
My one and only rule for this entire thing was that the whore was toneverbe around my kids—at all. No exceptions. She didn’t even need to utter their names because doing so would cause me to come completely out of myself, and I couldn’t be held responsible for what I might do. I’d shared my grievanceswith Kreed, and I hoped he’d taken heed of them. I was a peaceful person, but fucking with my kids could easily turn me into his worst fucking nightmare.
My phone buzzing in the cupholder pulled me out of my thoughts. When I grabbed it and noticed the name on the screen, I smiled before saying, “Well, hello there, darling,” into the receiver.
“Hey, babe!” Koya’s sweet voice sounded on the opposite end of the phone. “How are you this morning?”
“I’m good, actually. On my way into the office.” Plugging my phone up to the truck, I set it on the clip and continued whipping through Atlanta traffic.
“That’s what I like to hear. I’ll be your way around lunch time. Want to go eat?”
Glancing down at my lunch box, I weighed out my options before saying, “I packed a lunch, but I wouldlovethe distraction.”
Koya laughed. “I figured you could use a helping hand. We can do South City Kitchen if that’s cool with you.”
“It is. Today will be filled with paperwork and me getting acclimated with everyone.”
“Then it’s a date. I’ll call you when I’m on the way.”
“Okay, babe. Talk to you soon.”
By the time I was ending the call, I’d reached my destination. When I pulled into the parking lot of the massive building, I took a minute to gather my thoughts. This was my new normal, and even if I was excited, parts of me were tense as hell. I’d been out of practice for so long. The fear of failure was creeping up, and before I let it take over, I shut off my truck, gathered my shit, and stepped out of the car.
Pulling the door of the restaurant open, I stopped at the hostess stand and gave them my name before being ushered to my awaiting party. Koya was sitting in a booth, looking all poised and put together like the boss bitch she was.
“Hey, babe.” Giving her air kisses, I tossed my bag into the booth and took a seat. “Hope I didn’t have you waiting too long.”
“Girl, no.” She reciprocated the air kisses. “Just got off the phone with my husband. He’s fussing because I haven’t confirmed if I was tagging along with him to the KD foundation dinner.” She tilted her head to the side after realizing she’d mentioned Kreed.
“Oh. That is this weekend.” I rolled my eyes. I knew it was coming up; Kreed had texted me the other day and asked if I planned on letting the kids attend.
“It is,” she confirmed.
“Go.” I shrugged. “The kids will be there.”
Taking a sip of her martini, she stared at me quizzingly. “When did you decide that?” she finally asked.
“After he called to make sure I was letting them come.”
“Oh.” Turning her face up, she rolled her eyes before divulging, “It’s so hard being cordial with him. I’m trying to stay out of it as much as I can, but I really want to slap some sense into him.”
I laughed. “It is okay for you to still be close with him, Koya. He’s Deuce’s best friend. I know as pissed as Deuce is with him, he’s still trying to be there for him.”
“I know.” She took a deep breath before looking at me. “But it gets hard, at some point. It’s easier for Deuce because he is hisbest friend. For me, you already know my loyalty lies with you. And on top of that, I don’t want to do anything that’s toeing the line and offend you.”
“You won’t.” I promised. “I understand the six of us were a group in a sense. We did everything together, so I get it. You can love on Kreed and be there for him as much as you want. Like I told Jream, our fleeting marriage is between the two of us. I don’t expect anyone to keep him at arm’s length.”
