Page 21

CHAPTER 21

MCCOY

“No, friend.” I laughed as I pushed my shopping cart. Lynx rolled her eyes as she threw paper towels in the shopping cart. “Seriously!”

“Girl, whatever.” Lynx waved me off, not caring about what I was talking about. “You keep a smile on your face now, and I haven’t heard from you except two times in the last week.”

We moved through the aisles with ease. We always moved in sync when shopping, no matter what we were looking for. Lynx was the person who taught me to shop. In the past, I didn’t spend money unless I had to. Lynx taught me spoiling myself was necessary.

“I’ve responded to every text you’ve sent me!” I laughed. It was my turn to cook for Earth, and I was kind of nervous. I’d cooked for him before, but now I wanted to do something special for him.

“A text,” Lynx said over her shoulder as she looked through the different types of steaks laid out. “Each time I call you, you send me to voicemail and text me.” She held up two packs of steak, and I pointed to the one in her right hand.

“I’ve been busy.” I laughed.

“With whom?” She looked at me with suspicion. “Don’t tell me Jamel’s bitch ass is trying to be good now.”

“I haven’t seen or spoken to Jamel in almost a week,” I said, rolling my eyes.

Saying out loud how long it had been since I’d seen or spoken to Jamel made me pause. A week. Seven days didn’t seem like a long time. But it was for me. My life had changed drastically in those seven days. Honestly, my life changed when I laid eyes on Earth.

“Where the hell have you been then?” Lynx questioned. Her dark eyes narrowed in suspicion before a smile tugged at her lips. “The hell is going on with you, McCoy?”

“I met someone,” I answered shyly. Lynx’s left brow lifted as she waited for me to continue. “And he’s different.” Lynx’s opinion on Earth mattered to me. She was the only person I had in my life for so long who mattered. If she didn’t like Earth, I’d be heartbroken.

“How different?”

“Just different,” I said, trying not to laugh. “I want you to meet him.”

“Oh, I plan to.” Lynx pulled me into a hug and breathed a sigh of relief. She didn’t fully let me go as she leaned back and looked me in the eyes. “I’ve worried about you since you got with Jamel. What you were being put through was never a secret, but I knew you wouldn’t leave him until you were ready, so I only pushed so much.”

“I know,” I replied softly.

“No, you don’t, McCoy, because you weren’t watching your best friend slowly die like I was. I gave you shit earlier about being MIA because the look on your face when I saw you let me know you were at peace. Whoever this guy is, he’s good for you. So, whenever you’re ready to introduce us, I’ll gladly meet him and thank him for bringing you back to me.”

“Bringing her back?” a voice said from behind me. I looked over my shoulder to see Jamel standing beside a woman who looked annoyed. She mugged both Lynx and me before crossing her arms over her chest and sucking her teeth. Jamel glanced at her with a scowl on his face. “Take your ass on while I handle business with my bitch.” The woman mugged me but did what he said. He turned back to me after she was gone. “Now, where the fuck have you been?”

“Nigga, that ain’t your business,” Lynx said before I could respond. She let go of me and stepped around me to block Jamel.

“Ay, shorty, don’t make me beat your ass,” Jamel replied with a laugh. When he realized she wouldn’t move or back down, he shrugged. “I have been wanting to go upside your fuckin’ head for years anyway.” He took a step toward us.

“I wish the fuck you would,” Lynx said.

“McCoy, is that you?” Shaka's loud voice rang through the aisle. I looked up to see her shuffling toward us with two other women, one of them pregnant. I couldn’t and wouldn’t be responsible for them getting hurt because of me. “That is you!” She hugged me and whispered in my ear, “Don’t trip. We got you.”

“Hey, friend,” I said when she pulled back. I waved at the other women with her before turning to Lynx, who was still staring Jamel down. I tugged at her arm. “Let’s go, the girls are here.” When Lynx didn’t move, I tugged at her arm slightly more. “Come on, Lynx. They found what they needed.” Lynx finally broke eye contact with Jamel and nodded.

“Let’s go,” she said as she grabbed the basket handle.

“Nah, she ain’t going nowhere!” Jamel said, reaching for my arm.

“Oh no, that’s not about to happen,” Shaka said, pulling me to her before Lynx could.

“I swear on everything, Exodus is giving me my damn gun back tonight!” a voice said from behind us. I glanced back to see the third woman throwing her hands in the air. “Matter of fact, let me call his ass right now because I refuse to be out here without a damn gun, looking like Mahogany’s ass.”

“Really, Paxton?” the other pregnant woman with red hair said, then rolled her eyes.

“Yes!” Paxton replied and pulled her phone from her purse. She shook her head as she dialed a number and put the phone to her ear. “Exodus! Give me my damn gun back! We are in the store and had to pull our shit, and guess whose hands are empty? Mine!”

“We have about five minutes before he shows up,” Mahogany said, shaking her head. When the phone in her hand started ringing, she sighed. “And we have less than two before he shows up.”

“I don’t give a fuck about none of that,” Jamel said. “McCoy, bring yo’ fuckin’ ass!”

“No,” I said, shaking my head. “You need to leave, Jamel.”

“Leave!” He puffed his chest out and mugged me. “The fuck you say to me? Bitch, if you don’t bring your ass before I drag you out of this store.” He reached for me again but was snatched from behind and thrown against one of the shelves. Food fell on top of him, and Jamel groaned in pain.

“Watch out, lil bit,” a man said, stepping around me. I moved out of his way and watched as he walked over to Jamel and grabbed him by his collar. “My nigga, have you lost your fuckin’ mind? What the fuck would possess you to step to a group of women like that?”

“That’s my bitch,” Jamel groaned as he pointed to me.

“Yo’ bitch?” He looked over at me with wild eyes before sucking his teeth and shaking his head. “You with this nigga?”

“No,” I answered.

“I didn’t think so.” He stood up, adjusting his black button-down shirt and slacks before returning to Jamel. “McCoy Toliver is taken care of and protected, and my nigga, I know for a fact she ain’t under your protection.” He kicked Jamel in the face, knocking him out, and turning to me. “Earth said send him your shopping list, and everything will be delivered to the house by the time you arrive.”

“Memphis, how is Nyla and the baby?” Shaka asked as if Jamel wasn’t lying next to him, bleeding from his mouth and nose. “You settled into fatherhood, okay?”

“They good as fuck,” Memphis replied with a big smile on his face. “Coen looks exactly like her ass, though, so I know I’m going to end up killin’ some hard-headed ass lil boy.”

“I know you have pictures,” Shaka said, laughing. “We FaceTime all the time. I love looking at that little girl, so show me some.” Memphis pulled his phone from his pocket and swiped the screen. In that instant, he went from looking like a killer to being a proud father. The first picture he showed us was a woman holding a little girl who looked exactly like her. They shared the same pecan-colored skin, small button noses, chubby cheeks, and big brown eyes. The baby was more than likely three or four months old, but I could tell she would break some hearts. “Oh man, Coen is looking more like Nyla every day.”

“Tell me about it.” Memphis chuckled. Jamel stirred beside him, and Memphis kicked him in the face again. “I told her the next one gonna look like me.”

“She’s pregnant again?” Shaka asked, surprised.

“We found out this morning,” Memphis replied, shrugging his massive shoulders. His phone rang, and he chuckled. “That’s probably her now telling me to come get Coen. Shorty isn’t fuckin’ with her mama right now. She a daddy’s girl, and I love that shit.”

“Nyla gonna kick your ass.” Shaka laughed.

“Probably, but she loves a nigga, so she’ll be cool.” Memphis looked around the group and shook his head. “Y’all get the fuck outta here, though. Knowing y’all niggas, they probably pullin’ up now, and I don’t need them fuckin’ up my store.”

“True.” Shaka laughed.

Shaka looped her arms through mine and Lynx and pulled us away.

“Ay, McCoy?” Memphis called out. We stopped walking, and I looked over my shoulder to look at him. “Welcome to the family.”

“Thank you,” I replied softly. We left the store and walked toward the truck Earth had me driving. “He’s not upset, is he?”

“Who?” Shaka questioned as she looked around. Her eyes stopped on Memphis, and she laughed. “Memphis?” I nodded, and she waved me off. “Hell no! He loves shit like that. The only reason he didn’t kill that nigga is because Earth has plans for him.”

The other three women walked behind us, talking. Lynx and Mahogany talked to each other, and Paxton continued to fuss on the phone.

“I owe y'all an apology,” I said once we were outside.

“For what?” Shaka questioned. “We are family. We’re supposed to look out for each other.”

“No.” I shook my head. “You all don’t need to be dragged into anything. I already hate the fact that I dragged Earth into this. You two are pregnant, and I would never be able to live with myself if something happened to any of you because of me.”

“We are fine,” Mahogany said. She stuck her hand out for me to shake. “I’m Mahogany. The one over there fussing is Paxton.” Paxton threw me a friendly wave as she continued to talk on the phone. “And you owe us nothing. We look out for each other.”

“And I would’ve shot his ass if Exodus would stop taking my gun out of my purse!” Paxton yelled with the phone still stuck to the side of her face. “Plus, we like Earth, so if he’s your man, then you’re family, like Memphis said.”

Earth pulled up in an all-white Benz as if he knew he was being talked about. He didn’t even shut it off before getting out and walking toward me with a scowl. “That nigga touched you?”

“No,” I denied, shaking my head. “He tried, but Lynx grabbed me, and Memphis showed up.”

“I called that nigga when Shaka texted me saying she saw you in there,” he retorted, and I nodded. As if he didn’t believe me, Earth looked me over, even turning me around a few times to ensure I was okay. “From here on out, you don’t move without me.”

“I have to leave your sight sometimes,” I said with a laugh, and Earth grunted. I grabbed his chin and made him look at me. “Earth, you can’t always protect me.”

“Aww, that’s so cute,” Shaka said beside us. I looked over at her to see her smiling and shaking her head. “I just love this for y'all. You kidnapped my cousin and he’s in love with you. You'll probably have a baby soon, and our kids can grow up together like we did, Earth!” She looked over at Paxton. “Can you and Exodus get pregnant, so it’ll be a group thing?”

“I’ll have my baby right after Krude,” she replied, rolling her eyes.

“Expect his baby shower invite soon,” Shaka retorted with a smirk, and Paxton rolled her eyes.