Page 106 of Kitty-Kitty, Bang-Bang

He peeps Zaire sleepin’ in my arms, then blinks. “Whose baby is that?” I tell ’im mine. “Yours?” he asks, lookin’ puzzled. “How old is he?”

“What does it matter? He’s mine. And his name is Zaire.”

“Why haven’t you returned any of my calls or texts?”

“’Cause I’ve been avoidin’ you.”

He tilts his head, starin’ at Zaire, then me. I can tell he’s tryna figure shit out in his head. I let ’im think what he wants. “I thought you weren’t fuck—” I check his mouth; tell ’im not to curse in front of Zaire. “My bad. I mean, I thought you weren’t gettin’ it in wit’ anyone else. Is it that cat’s out there in Cali?”

I huff. “Geezus, nigga, what’s up wit’ da twenty damn questions? No, it ain’t his. And it ain’t yours. Now why you here?”

He reaches for me. “I came here for you.”

Fuck all this censorin’ shit! I step back. “Well, sorry to bust ya bubble. But, I ain’t here for you so you can bounce back to whereva you came from. Go find ya’self a bitch whose gonna trick ’er money up on ya ass. And run behind ya ass, beggin’ ’n cryin’ ’n shit. And shootin’ ya ass up when she can’t have you.”

“That’s not da kinda woman I want on my arm, or in my life. I want you.”

I shift Zaire from one arm to the otha. His lil’ ass is gettin’ heavy. “Well, you can’t have me. I don’t want da headache. So step.”

I try to shut the door in his face. “Hol’ up…” He puts his hand up and stops the door from shuttin’. “Yo, all I’m askin’ for is fifteen minutes. That’s all.” I glare at ’im. “Kat, look at me, ma. I’m fucked up here. I haven’t slept or ate in weeks. I ain’t da kinda muhfucka to ever beg a bit…a woman for shit. But, I’m askin’, beggin’ you, for fifteen minutes; that’s it. Is that too much for a muhfucka to ask for? Fifteen minutes for you to give me a chance to talk; and you to listen. And when I’m done, if you still ain’t beat, then I’ll bounce; real talk. I’ll walk outta this door and never bother you, again.”

I stare at this muhfucka; take the nigga in. His eyes are red and swollen. The nigga looks like he hasn’t slept in days. I feel the urge to slap the shit outta ’im for comin’ into a bitch’s life, pushin’ his way into my space. Forcin’ a bitch to feel shit she ain’t tryna feel.

I step back, pull open the door, and let ’im in. “Ten minutes, then you need to leave.” He brushes past me. I shut the door, then tell ’im to give me a minute take the baby upstairs to put ’im in his crib.

When I come back downstairs, he’s sittin’ on the sofa, holdin’ his head in his face. He lifts his head when he hears me. “Kat, listen to me, baby…”

I stand in the middle of the floor, fold my arms. “Nigga, don’t baby me. Hurry up ’n get to da point, so I can go back to doin’ what I was doin’.”

“Yo, why da fuck you so fuckin’ mean and evil? What did I ever do to you for you to treat me like shit?”

“You came into my life, disruptin’ my flow, nigga. That’s what you did. You brought drama to my muthafuckin’ door, nigga.”

“That wasn’t my intention,” he stands up, walkin’ ova to me. “I’m really sorry ’bout that.”

“Nigga, sorry don’t cut it. A bitch shot ya ass right in front of me. You knew that bitch was a Looney bin graduate and you still was fuckin’ wit’ da bitch on da sly.”

“Kat, I swear to you. I wasn’t fuckin’ wit’ that broad. I put that on e’erything I love. Straight lace, baby, I was only talkin’ to ’er ass, tryna keep da peace. Da bitch was talkin’ real reckless, so I tried to defuse da shit.”

I glare at ’im. “So you tellin’ me you was only talkin’ to da bitch on da phone?”

He shifts his eyes, shakin’ his head. “Nah, I saw ’er a few times. But it wasn’t nuthin’.”

“Besides ’er, who da fuck else was you seein’?”

“Kat, I wasn’t seein’ ’er da way you sayin’ it. I wasn’t seein’ anyone else. I told you, on some real shit, that I was really into you.”

I sigh. “Why couldn’t you step da fuck off when I was brushin’ ya ass off? Why’d you have’ta keep pressin’ a bitch?”

He touches the side of my face. “’Cause, on some real shit, da first moment I saw you wit’ ya girl walkin’ through da hotel in Arizona, I knew I had’a get at you. I knew you were da kinda woman I could fall for. And that’s on e’eryting. Even when you was playin’ a muhfucka to da left, that shit only made me wanna get at you more.”

“Then you a damn fool,” I tell ’im, sidesteppin’ ’im. I take a seat on the sofa.

“Nah…that makes me a man who knows what he wants. Da first time we spoke on da phone, and I heard ya sexy-ass voice, I knew what I already felt—that you were da one for me.”

“You don’t even know me.”

“But a muhfucka knows what he feels. I ain’t ever felt no shit like this for any female before. And that’s some real shit, Kat.”

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