Page 40 of You Make Me Feel

She gave me a cynical-looking smile as her lips twitched. This shit was not gonna be good. “Fine. You want a big bitch like her, that’s on you.”

As she tried to walk away, Kinisha reached past me, grabbed her by the hair, and pulled her to the floor. “I got yo’ big bitch. I willfuckyou up.”

I quickly restrained Kinisha as security approached. A few people seated near us explained what happened, so they escorted Mya away. That didn’t stop them from putting us out, though, since Kinisha initiated contact. I was irritated and embarrassed. I grabbed Kinisha’s hand and halfway pulled her through the arena.

She jerked her hand away from mine and asked, “So you’re upset withme?”

“I’m upset about the situation. Could you have handled it better? Absolutely. What if Mya would have hopped up and started fighting you? Did you forget you have another life to protect? How you gon’ be out here fighting while you’re pregnant, Kinisha? That shit wasn’t thought out or even considered.”

“So let Mya say whatever the fuck she wants to say, right?”

“Your immaturity is loud. Pipe that shit down. I’m not saying she was right, but neither were you. I was handling the situation.”

“Mm-hmm.”

I didn’t know what that shit meant, but she made me even angrier than I already was. She escalated the situation instead of trying to diffuse it. That could have ended in so many ways. I was thankful that it hadn’t gotten more serious. Mya could file assault charges against her for putting her hands on her. Kinisha was hotheaded and failed to see the bigger picture. She knew Mya wasn’t wrapped tight.

We walked the rest of the way to the car in silence. Our weekend was ruined. When we got to the car, I opened her door while she stood there huffing. “So, you ain’t gon’ get in?”

She didn’t respond to me as she slid onto the seat. I closed the door and huffed as I walked around to the driver’s side. Once I got in, she angled her body to mine. “I’m sorry I lost my temper, but I wasn’t letting that bitch get away with the shit she said. You didn’t correct her and demand her respect. She needed to know I would fuck her up, mentally impaired or not.”

“Once again, you’re pregnant. All bullshit needs to slide. Period.”

She turned toward the window and stared out that muthafucka like she’d never been in Houston and was taking in the sights. I remained quiet as well. When we got to my place, she exited the car before I did. What she failed to see was that her apology wasn’t an apology at all. It was an excuse. I probably would have let her do it if she had not been pregnant. I needed her to be more careful concerning our baby. That was it.

I glanced at her as I unlocked the door. She was angry, but I didn’t give a fuck that she was angry. I was right about this, and I refused to bend. She walked in, went straight to my bedroom, and closed the door. Our first argument would be about bullshit that should have been common sense. I went to the kitchen, grabbed the bottle of Crown from the countertop, and took a swig before heading to the bedroom. I wasn’t up for the drama or the bullshit. Maybe this was where the age difference would come into play. I didn’t think six years was a lot, but clearly, it had to be playing a huge role in tonight’s incident.

When I opened the door, she was sitting on the bed, crying her eyes out. My heart softened completely. I didn’t expect this. I just knew I was about to have to come in here and be aggressive with her ass. I made my way to her and pulled her hands from her face. “Oliver, I love my baby. I would never want to do anything to put her in danger. I’m so sorry. You were right.”

I pulled her in my arms. “Don’t worry about it, baby. How do you know the baby is a girl?”

“I’m just guessing.”

“Mm. If it’s a boy, he gon’ be mad as fuck at you for calling him a girl.”

She looked up at me with her wet eyes and tear-stained cheeks and gave me a tight smile.

“I forgive you, Kinisha. You’ll get better at this motherhood thing. It’s still early. Let me have your back, okay? I’m not gonna let you go undefended. I need you to trust that.”

I gently stroked her cheeks, then kissed her pouty lips. Hearing her admit that she was wrong was a turn-on. However, I knew I was gonna have to do something about Mya before this shit got out of hand. Kinisha wrapped her arms around my waist as she said, “Thanks for being patient with me.”

“You don’t have to thank me, baby. I’m going to handle this situation.”

She nodded as my doorbell rang. I frowned. I never had visitors because I didn’t have friends like that. Kinisha scooted away from me so I could go see who was at the door. When I checked the peephole, my blood started to boil. I opened the door, and the officer said, “Hello, Mr. Andrews. We have an arrest warrant for Kinisha Jordan. Is she here?”

I didn’t know how they got that shit so fast. They never moved that quickly for black-on-black offenses. They probably thought Mya was white since she was an albino. Playing ignorant, I asked, “Assault against who?”

“Mya Russell. She’s in the hospital as we speak.”

“Hospital?”

“Yes, sir. Is Ms. Jordan here?”

“I’m Ms. Jordan. What’s this about?”

All the wind left my sail. I was about to lie and say she went home because we got into it. I lowered my head as the officer said, “You are under arrest for assault. You have the right to remain silent . . .”

Blah, blah, blah.Kinisha’s face was red as hell as she did as she was instructed. They handcuffed her as she stared at me, mouthing the words, “I’m sorry.” Then she said aloud, “Call Sidney Taylor for me, Mr. Taylor’s wife.”

---