Page 17 of Giving Him Something He Can Feel

We stepped off the elevator seconds later. I followed her lead in the direction of the meeting. When we walked in the door, I immediately spotted her auntie and her bitch ass daddy. The old bitch had the nerve to sigh when she laid eyes on me.

I chuckled because that truly meant they thought my baby mama was about to come in here by herself so they could try that bully shit they did at the funeral.

Not on my watch. Jovie could hold her own, but while I was here she didn’t have to.

While I was here she didn’t have to hold a damn thing if she didn’t want to.

“Good evening, Dr. Jones,” Jovie spoke, before taking a seat on the sofa next to me.

He smiled sympathetically, “Hey Jovie. How are you holding up?” From what she explained he had known her grandfather for over thirty years, and they were good friends so there was a familiarity there.

“Well.” She forced a smile prompting me to put my hand on her thigh for reassurance.

“He ain’t the only person you see in here.”

Jovie cut her eyes in her auntie’s direction before her hand landed on top of mine. That was her way of making sure I didn’t say shit to her auntie, ‘cause she wasn’t about to. I hated when she wanted to be on that high road shit.

The lawyer looked between Jovie and her folks, before nodding his head. “We are all gathered here today to read the last will in testament of Mr. Earl Williams. Before I start I would like to say that as requested by Earl, there will be no contesting of this will. What is listed is final.”

I could have sworn when he said that last part he looked over his glasses and his eyes landed directly on Jovie’s sour ass auntie. Yup, this was about to be a circus .

“With that being said.” The old man pulled out the thick wad of paper and unfolded it, before he began to read.

“In the event of my untimely demise, I Earl Williams leave all of my earthly possessions, my rental properties all eight, My current residence and everything inside to my granddaughter Jovie Williams. To my daughter, Pearly Williams- Evans I leave 15 percent in my company. The rest is to be split equally between the residing current partners of the company. Last but not least I leave all of the assets mentioned in the list below to Jovie Williams. As well, I leave the balances of all of my account including savings to totaling a sum of fifteen point six million dollars to my granddaughter Jovie Williams.”

Jovie was tense against me, hell with every word she grew tenser. Understandable because in so many words her grandfather had just left her everything.

“No the fuck he didn’t. He left me stake in a company and her everything else! This can’t be true!” Here came the fucking circus.

“I’m sorry Ms. Williams-Evans, those were his wishes.”

“His wishes my ass, none of that was his words. You’ve been working with her to ta?—”

“You’re a sick bitch, how dare you bring your foul ass in here and try to talk on my grandaddy’s grave over some money.

Newsflash he left your hateful ass something, right?

You could have had nothing.” Jo had been quiet this entire time, but I guess she had had enough. I guess the highroad was too far away.

“Show your auntie some respe—” Her pops had fucked up, because I was on my feet in seconds.

“She doesn’t have to respect a motherfucking thing, not you or yo’ broad.”

Her father looked me up and down as if he was sizing me up, then shut the fuck up just like I thought he would.

I was the wrong motherfucker to test like that.

He peeped that though because he was silent throughout the rest of the lil’ meeting.

That was good because I wouldn’t hesitate to knock his shit off.

Hell, I already had aggression for him from what Jo told me about her childhood, so to be honest it would be a long time coming.

“How do you feel?”

“I don’t know. Is it okay to say that?” she asked seconds later stuffing a chip in her mouth.

“You’re entitled to that. You lost your last living relative, and you realized that today.

” I pulled her in closer to me. We were supposed to be having dinner, but when we slid into the booths the air was unlike us.

She didn’t speak much because she was so lost in her thoughts.

That much was understandable, but I couldn’t let her stay there. “You want me to get rid of them?”

She giggled. “No, Cartier I don’t.”

“Then cheer up for me baby, cause I swear I’ll line the funeral homes schedules.”

More laughter escaped her lips. “Okay.”

“Good, cause we got something else to speak on.” My expression grew serious for a moment which caused her to perk up.

“What’s wrong?”

“Yo girl gotta stop tryna humble my brother. Nigga don’t know what to do with himself while she’s keeping it moving.”

Jovie busted up laughing like I was cracking a joke. I was dead ass serious. Though Trek didn’t tell me about his feelings, I could just tell. Nigga was in his feelings on some distant shit.

“You probably need to tell him not to play with her.”

I shook my head. “That nigga is certified, but she’ll learn that shit in her own time.”

“Just like I learned about your antics in my own time?” She raised a brow looking at me.

I had to laugh because she had me with that one. “Probably, but you made it easy for me. You wasn’t out here entertaining lil’ niggas. Hell baby you mean as fuck, so wasn’t nobody bold or big enough to approach you.”

She cackled. “I am not mean.”

“The fuck you ain’t. You turned a few of the Ace’s down and those niggas was down bad body hurt.”

“But you still tried yo’ luck.” Her face held a questioning expression.

“Wasn’t no luck. We was cool for a few, kicked it in the same circle and you let me get to know you. Peeped you had something different about your mindset, and you wasn’t shit like the birds you chilled with.”

She nodded. “You could’ve asked me and I would have told you that.”

“You probably would have, but I had to see that for myself.”

She nodded. “And then?”

“We both got fucked up that night and you let me between your legs.” I licked my lips just thinking about her slippery slope between her legs. “You fucked up then because I was hooked, using Taylor’s ass to get you to come out.”

“Really?”

I nodded. “Shorty was willing to do whatever to stay in my face. Knowing I wanted you and to be in your face she was willing t?—”

“Keep bringing me in your space. Trifling as fuck.” She shook her head.

“Not for me, because it worked, and I got you. Gut full of my seed and we ‘bout to be the Huxtables in a few years.”

If nothing I said made her laugh, that sure did and it brought a smile to my face. It was something about being able to make her happy or brighten her day that elevated my own happiness. On me, that’s how I knew she was for me or we wouldn’t have been so in sync… so connected.

Virtue

I watched Jovie sip from her water awaiting my response to the news she’d just dropped on me. I’d admit the last thing I expected was for her to drop the news of her being pregnant on me, but I was happy for her. I just wanted to make sure she was happy.

“Look, I know it’s crazy and borderline nu?—”

“Mumm. Can I have fries?” Adorie asked interrupting Jovie’s spill.

I nodded and handed her the little cup from my plate. “It’s not crazy. It happens, I just wanna make sure you’re happy.”

She nodded. “I am. He actually makes me happy. Plus I believe this baby is a blessing, and God’s way of trying to mend the hole left from losing my pop pop.” Her lips curled into a weak grief filled grin.

“Good, good. And you know I will always have your back for whatever, regardless of circumstance.”

She smiled, before gazing at Adorie. “I just can’t believe I’ma be somebody’s mama.”

“Yeah you are, and the funny thing about that is that for the first few months it’s gonna shock you.”

“I don’t know if this shock is ever gonna wear off.” She had one of those toothy smiles overtaking her features. “But on another note, what’s up with Cartrek?”

My face soured. “I wouldn’t know. I haven’t talked to him.”

“Um why not?” she leaned in with a knowing smirk.

“Because he and I are on two different pages. Cartrek is guarded, and I get that bu?—”

“He has a reason though, Vee.” Jovie’s face housed a sympathy that wasn’t there before. “His wife betrayed him.”

“Huh?”

“Wait, you didn’t know he was married?”

“Yes, I knew he was married, he told me that much but as far as I know is that she’s dead. Lord please don’t tell me I done got involved with another married man, and he was lying.” I shook my head about to lose my shit. Only a psychopath lied about people being dead.

Jovie sat up and looked around before she looked directly at me. “His wife was a federal agent whose job was to turn him in.” When she spoke, she barely spoke above a whisper.

“What?”

“He’s guarded, because that’s all he knows, Vee. Nigga got some trauma.”

“So she is dead? How did she die?”

Jovie shook her head. “Hell if I know. Too many stories to know for sure. All I do know is that part is for real.”

I nodded, sitting back in my seat. “Well it’s good he and I aren’t messing around anymore. Plus he had a baby on the way with one of the females he messes with.”

She nodded her head. “For real?”

“Yeah, so I don’t have a horse in that race or any race for that matter.” I crossed my arms and rested back into the chair.

“And Aylo?” she asked.

“He’s cool, but I’m not sleeping with him, so you know how that goes?”

“True. These niggas be for everyone.”

I talked and chilled with Jovie for a while longer before we parted ways. I was taking Adorie to the store to get a few items to add to her closet, before we turned in for the night.

“Trek!” Adorie’s voice interrupted my thoughts as she took off running down the street.

It took me a moment to see what she was running toward, but when I did my heart dropped into the pit of my chest. She had run straight to Trek who was leaned coolly against my car.

As much as I tried to hide my emotions, my conversation with Jovie made me feel a way for Cartrek.

I know he was no saint, but betrayal was the worse pain a person could encounter. Trust me I knew from experience.

“What’s good, Peach? You look like you seen a ghost,” he greeted.

“Nothing, I was jus—what are you doing here?” I couldn’t start going easy on him just because I felt bad for his past. Niggas ran game all the time all in the name of trauma.

“Came to take you and lil’ ma for lunch, but from what she just said you already had that.” He held her up, smiling in her face.

“What about ice cream? We haven’t had that, Trek.” Leave it to my child to be the fucking crossing guard.

“You haven’t? Then that’s what yo’ day is missing shorty.”

“It is?” her dramatic ass asked, before looking in my direction. “Mommy can we go have ice cream with Trek? We can get clothes later.”

My eyes narrowed in his direction, before softening when I looked at her. “Yes baby we can.”

The ice cream parlor was right up the street, so we opted to walk, never mind how awkward it was considering I said much of nothing, but Adorie talked his ears off.

He got a little break after she got her ice cream and convinced us to walk back to the house on the side near the park.

Of course she made her way to the park, leaving me alone with Cartrek.

“You still mad at me, Peach?”

“Mad at you? Why would I be mad at you, Cartrek?”

He shrugged. “You tell me. Been running ‘round with old boy avoiding me and shit.”

I stopped and looked at him for a minute before I spoke. “How am I avoiding you, Cartrek?”

“Cause I had to pop up on you to see you.”

“Cartre—” I was about to speak, but before I could his lips were on mine, and he had pulled my body into his.

“I’on like the idea of you letting another nigga be with you like this.”

“You gotta stop putting your lips on me and touching on me. Don’t you have a baby on the way?” I asked pulling from his embrace and turning to look for Adorie.

“She’s by the slides and nah I don’t.”

I shook my head. “Wel?—"

“In the grand scheme of things, shit like that don’t matter.” He said that so close to my face that I knew a kiss to my temple would follow. It did too, because within seconds he did just that.

“What do you mean?”

“Little people don’t really matter when it comes to what’s supposed to happen.” Here he was talking in riddles.

I was about to say something slick, but his phone started ringing.

He answered it within seconds, stepping back from me.

It wasn’t a long conversation at all, if anything seconds later he was assuring whoever was on the other line that he was on his way.

It was definitely a woman because I could hear the high pitch in her tone.

Just that fast I was reminded of what Kash said, “ These niggas are for everybody.”