Page 10 of Gotta Jones For Ya

Three Days Later

I was mad.

Mad at him.

Mad at myself.

Mad at that damn chain still sitting on my nightstand, even though I swore I wasn’t ever looking at it again.

Three days had passed since that FaceTime fuck-up, and I’d replayed every second of it more times than I cared to admit. Three whole days of ghosting Knuck and going about my business. Throwing myself into my clients and perfecting my craft.

I really should’ve known better.

Knuck was too much of everything from the start. Too damn fine. Too crazy. Too dangerously good at making me mad, making me laugh, making me blush and making me moan. He was two years younger, living in another damn state, and got more dick than any man I’d ever dealt with. I should be locked up for falling for that demon pipe like it came with promises.

I poured another splash of wine into my glass and leaned back on my couch as Mikki and Sia tore into their second plate of jerk wings and Alfredo pasta like they hadn’t eaten all day.

“Girl, I’m saying…”

Mikki’s voice pulled me back in.

“I woulda pulled a him and pulled up on his ass. You blocking him ain’t helping the situation.”

Sia sipped her wine dramatically and rolled her eyes.

“Girl, and that’s why got open cases now. Pulling up on people. Crazy ass.”

I laughed despite myself. The speaker was bumping Jhene Aiko, the candles were lit, and the wine was finally doing its job. The room was dim, cozy, and full of the type of feminine energy that could either hype you up to slide back into hell or delete a nigga’s number for good.

“Okay, but like… seriously,”

Sia jumped in, her long nails clicking against her wine glass.

“Let’s break this down. What exactly happened again?”

I sighed and pulled my knees up on the couch.

“I FaceTimed him like I usually do, right? But this time… some chick answered a little too comfortably.”

Mikki blinked.

“What did she look like?”

“Cute,”

I admitted.

“But young as hell. You know what? That doesn’t even matter. It’s like… why is another chick answering your phone?”

Sia shook her head.

“And you just… hung up and blocked the man?”

“Yup.”

“You didn’t let him explain, Ny?!”

Sia exclaimed.

“Fuck an explanation!”

Mikki followed up, and I nodded, sipping my wine.

“Exactly.”

“Girl,”

Sia leaned in, waving a wing like it was a mic.

“Okay, hear me out. I get it. You got your feelings involved, and you panicked.”

“I didn’t panic—”

“Yes, the hell you did,”

she continued with a smirk.

“You been acting all mushy about this man for weeks now, talking about ‘he’s crazy but he’s different,’ and ‘I feel seen,’ and all that soft shit. One little bump and you're running scared.”

“I’m not scared,”

I snapped, then sighed.

“I just… I knew better. That’s the part that pisses me off.”

I stared into my wine glass, watching the ripples from my breathing.

“I knew better than to even start catching feelings. He lives in a whole different state. He got money. He got access. He got a big ass dick. He’s fine as fuck. He’s charming in his own way. Of course, he got other women. That’s the type of nigga you keep at arm’s length, not let inside your house, inside your body, or worse, your heart.”

Silence settled for a second. The kind that only real friends let hang for a beat so your honesty can marinate.

Then Sia said, “So what you gon’ do?”

“Nothing,”

I said.

“I already blocked him. He’s probably already on to the next.”

“Lies,”

Mikki chuckled, sucking on a chicken bone.

“You know he’s just giving you a little space. He’s gonna pull up on you, which is why I said flip the damn script.”

I shrugged, my throat tightening.

“I don’t know. I just know I can’t afford to fall for the wrong nigga again. I done put my heart in the wrong hands before. I can’t do that to myself any more.”

They all nodded.

“Okay,”

Sia said softly.

“But what if he’s not the wrong one?”

I stared at her.

“What if he’s just a nigga with a wild ass life, trying to move right but you ain’t giving him space to show you he will?”

Another pause.

Sia raised her glass.

“Either way, to letting a nigga show you or confirming that he ain’t shit, I support the outcome.”

We clinked glasses, and the room filled with laughter again, but inside… I was still tight.

Still feeling dumb for how fast I let him into me. Still missing his voice, his hands, his chaos, and his comfort. Still wishing that FaceTime had gone differently. But fuck it. I was good. Wine, my girls, and my boundaries would keep me solid.

Right?

**

I had just topped off our wine with a splash of tequila and started swaying my hips to the beat of some old-school Destiny’s Child when a hard knock rattled the front door. Two pairs of eyes whipped to me as I froze mid-sway.

“You expecting somebody?”

Sia asked, eyes narrowing.

Mikki grabbed the bag of spicy Doritos off the coffee table, smirking.

“We all know who that is. Go ahead, sis. Get the door.”

I gave her the side eye, heart thumping. I swallowed and tried to ignore the rush of heat crawling up my neck. I tried to ignore the way my nipples got hard like they knew it was him on the other side of the door.

I padded toward the door in my fuzzy socks, cute little satin shorts hugging my hips, matching top showing just enough. I shouldn’t have answered. Should’ve pretended I didn’t hear it. But that knock? That energy behind it? Only one man knocked like he owned the building. I opened the door and my stomach damn near dropped to my knees.

Knock leaned against the door frame looking too… damn… good. Fresh black tee tight on his chest, gray sweats hanging just right, gold chain peeking, and that fucking scent—Gucci. His eyes were dark. Jaw tight. Nostrils flared. He was pissed and I knew it.

I folded my arms, instantly pissed at myself for the way my body responded to him.

“Why are you here, Keon?”

“You know damn well why a nigga here. You done lost your mind blockin’ me.”

My breath caught.

“Excuse me?”

“Nah. Fuck that. You heard me.”

His voice was low but sharp as hell.

“You gon’ send that dumb ass text like you was done wit’ me?”

He laughed once. Just one disrespectful, cocky ass chuckle.

“You got me fucked up, Nyomi.”

The girls were in the living room, frozen with wide eyes and full attention. I stepped out into the hallway and shut the door behind me before shit escalated.

“You don’t get to pull up to my house and talk to me like I’m the crazy one. That’s you.”

“I’m talkin’ to you like somebody that got me fucked up, as I said,”

he growled.

“You really think I’m some regular ass nigga you can toss and delete like I ain’t been the one blowin’ your back out and showin’ you what it feel like to be chosen?”

I crossed my arms.

“So you get to fuck other bitches, have them playing on your phone, and then pop up here like you ain’t wrong?”

“That was my fuckin’ niece. She’s sixteen!”

“How do I know that?”

I folded my arms, trying not to show how much I was melting under all that damn pressure he was applying.

He stepped forward, and I stepped back.

“You think shit’s a fuckin’ game? I ain’t here to play wit’ you or your feelings,”

he said, eyes narrow, chest rising.

“I—”

“I will fuckin’ air this whole city out behind you, Nyomi. You hear me?”

My mouth parted.

“You think you just gon’ ghost me? Cut me off like I’m some weak nigga you was fuckin’ on vacation? I’ll go to war behind you, girl. Don’t ever play in my face again like that.”

I swallowed hard.

“You still don’t get to pull up like—”

“I do what the fuck I want.”

He stepped closer.

“And if you ain’t know that, you know it now.”

He shook his head, pulled his phone out, and hit FaceTime without saying another word. It rang once. Twice. Then a woman who looked just like him answered.

“Put Monae on the phone.”

“Well, hi to you too, nigga,”

the woman said, smacking her lips. “Hold on.”

I shifted my weight to the other side and lifted a brow. A few seconds later, the same chick who answered his phone appeared. Slicked up baby hair, big lashes, and a box of Fruit Roll-Ups answered, munching like her life depended on it.

“Uncle Knuck! Wassup?

“Ayo, Nae.”

She blinked. “What?”

“Who phone you answered the other day when you wasn’t ‘posed to?”

She looked confused at first, then her eyes popped wide.

“Oh! Yours. I said I was sorry!”

My mouth parted, and Knuck stared at me pointedly.

“I didn’t mean to answer it like that,”

Monae went on, loud and dramatic.

“I was tryna text on Snapchat with my lil’ boo and it started ringin’ and I ain’t know it was some romantic situation or whatever.”

Knuck cut her a look. “Shut up.”

She laughed.

“Sorryyyy. But she’s pretty as hell though, Unc. You pressed, huh?”

He ended the call, and I just stood there, heat crawling up my chest, embarrassment kicking me square in the throat.

“You done?”

he asked, slipping the phone back in his pocket.

“Or you wanna throw another fit?”

I didn’t say a damn word. He stepped forward, grabbed my waist, and pulled me in like I was his peace and problem all at once.

“Don’t ever do no shit like that again,”

he murmured against my ear.

“Ain’t no bitches. I ain’t got it in me to juggle ‘em or fumble you.”

I blinked slowly, and the door creaked open behind me.

“We just—we gon’ head out,”

Sia said, slowly walking past us with her purse clutched.

“Y’all got shit to handle.”

“Don’t play with my girl,”

Mikki mumbled behind her. She gave me a once-over and mouthed ‘call me if you need me’ before they disappeared down the hall.

Now it was just him and me. I stepped back inside and left the door open. Knuck followed like a nigga who already knew he had the upper hand.

“Been three days and I ain’t sleep right. I woulda been here, but I had shit to handle.”

I swallowed.

“I’m sorry for… overreacting without letting you explain first.”

He moved to me, slowly.

“I don’t play ‘bout you,”

he whispered.

“And you knew that from jump. You mine, Ny,”

he said, grabbing my chin.

“So next time you get confused and think I’m one of them other niggas… remember this moment.”

I didn’t speak. Shit, I couldn’t. His energy was wild. Passionate. Unhinged. But it made me feel more seen than any man ever had.

“I ain’t lettin’ you go,”

he said, low and deep.

“So you might as well get that through your fuckin’ head right now.”

We stared at each other. Seconds stretching. Heart pounding.

“What now?”

I whispered.

He licked his lips and grinned slowly.

“You tell me, baby. You done bein’ stubborn?”

I bit the inside of my cheek.

“…I missed you,”

I admitted quietly.

His whole face shifted. That look of pure satisfaction washed over him like he had just hit the jackpot. “Yeah?”

he stepped closer, leaning down, nose damn near touching mine.

“Say that shit again.”

“I missed you.”

“Good,”

he said, grabbing me by the back of my thighs and lifting me like I was weightless.

“’Cause I came to remind you exactly who the fuck I am.”