Page 4 of No Remedy for Love

Still, the man’s family didn’t want to hear it.

They assumed that Mav had paid someone to do his dirty work, but his hands were really clean.

The nigga didn’t even live in New Orleans, so Mav wasn’t all that pressed to have him killed.

He felt as though he proved his point enough when he beat his ass.

Apparently, somebody tried to rob him and his cousin, and he resisted.

Nobody was ever caught but his cousin and other family members still thought that Mav was behind it.

No more blood had been shed since then, but Mav stayed strapped just in case.

Now, years later, the woman at the forefront of the beef was back.

A lot had changed since she’d been gone, but he was sure that she knew about them all.

After all, Tracy was like a hood news reporter and she kept Remi in the loop.

Mav and Kiva got back together a few months after Remi left and they started a life together.

Although they weren’t married, they had a son and business together.

MK’s barber and beauty salon was their investment and it was proving to be a good one.

Mav’s barbershop was up front and Kiva’s salon was in the back.

Both businesses were thriving and so was their relationship.

He was only hoping that it stayed that way.

Mav downed the last of his beer before walking away to find the woman who once held his heart in the palm of her hand, not knowing that he too was being watched.

“It’s cool. We all used to be friends, so I’m not pressed about him talking to her. I’ve never been an insecure bitch,” Kiva said to her sister, Kerri, who was standing there instigating.

They both saw the way that Mav looked at Remi when she walked by. They also saw when he walked away a short time later and went in the same direction that she disappeared to. Still, none of that was enough to make Kiva embarrass herself by causing a scene or checking her man.

“Alright bitch, she broke y’all up once before. You must be in the mood for a remix.”

As much as Kiva loved her big sister, Kerri was probably one of the messiest bitches that she knew. And it was even worse because she had three grown daughters who were just as messy.

“She didn’t do a muthafucking thing. Mav walked away from our relationship. I was with that nigga, not Remi.”

Unlike her sister and most of her friends, Kiva was never in denial when it came to her relationship with Maverick.

Granted, they were young when they got together, but she never used that as an excuse.

She never let him use it as an excuse either, even though he always tried.

Things with her and Mav started out great.

They were likeminded and had some of the same goals.

Kiva’s father had been living in Atlanta for years and her brother left when he did.

They both loved it and she decided that she wanted to join them.

Kiva always did love to do hair so nobody was surprised when she decided to pursue a career in cosmetology.

She was shocked when Maverick asked if he could join her in Georgia though.

Kiva just assumed that her moving would be the end of their relationship, but he proved her wrong.

She and Mav got a nice townhouse on the outskirts of Atlanta and enrolled in cosmetology school.

Since they didn’t really know anybody out there, she and Maverick did everything together.

They were not only lovers; they had become best friends.

Kiva thought they were gonna make a life in Georgia, and that was the plan for a while.

When they visited New Orleans two months before they graduated, things seemed to have changed.

Maverick acted like he didn’t want to go back to Georgia and they ended up extending their vacation.

Once they finished school, he told her that he missed home and wanted to move back, but he didn’t want to do it without her.

The decision was easy for Kiva and she left with her man.

They took the necessary steps to be able to use their license in Louisiana as well and it was up from there, or so she thought.

A lot had changed upon their return to New Orleans and Remi was one of them.

They hadn’t seen her once when they used to visit because she was in school.

When they moved back for good, Mav seemed to have had a change of heart about all of the plans that they made.

Kiva was ready to get to work, but he kept stalling.

He started coming home later and later until he just stopped coming home at all.

Kiva used to hear the rumors but she didn’t even entertain any of them.

She decided to go straight to the source.

Her sister kept trying to get her to confront Remi, but that wasn’t happening.

She confronted Mav, the nigga who claimed to love her so much, instead.

As hurt as she was, she was grateful that he didn’t try to lie.

He told her everything and answered all of her questions.

She and Remi were always cool but never considered to be friends.

She used to do her and Tracy’s hair before she got licensed and Tracy still came to her occasionally.

Still, she felt better knowing that Remi had never betrayed her.

Mav confessed and told her that he’d lied and told the other woman that they were no longer together.

Kiva was hurt, but she was no fool. She didn’t even give Mav a chance to end things and move out.

She packed up her belongings and went back home to her mother.

Her heart was ripped apart once again when, not even a month later, Mav moved Remi into a condo on the lake.

Even still, Kiva didn’t fault the other woman and there was never any bad blood.

She and Remi spoke when they saw each other and were always cordial with one another if they were in the same space.

As far as Kiva knew, Remi was the only other woman that Mav was exclusive with.

To her knowledge, she was the only woman that he’d cheated on her with too.

None of that made her feel inferior to her though.

She was gonna continue to trust her man until he gave her a reason not to.

“That bitch is built like a stallion now. She look like she had some work done.”

Kiva was snapped out of her thoughts of the past when her sister spoke.

“Girl, Remi been fine all her life just like Lollie. She just used to hide her shape under all those baggy clothes that she used to wear. I really thought the bitch was gonna be a lesbo back in the day though.”

Their cousin, Nessa, knew everything about everybody but she was as real as they came.

She wasn’t a hater and she called shit exactly how she saw it.

Nessa was older and wasn’t with the bullshit.

She was the poster child for been there and done that.

She knew Remi very well and she had been with her oldest stepbrother, Omar Jr., since Remi was a little girl.

Nessa and OJ shared kids and grandkids and had been together since middle school.

She knew a lot of shit that went on but she knew how to keep her mouth shut and mind her business.

Nessa knew about Mav and Remi months before Kiva found out about it, but the situation was complicated.

Her husband loved Remi and her mother to death, and Kiva was her first cousin.

They both agreed to stay out of their loved ones’ business and that’s exactly what they did.

“Kiva better watch her nigga,” Kerri said in her usual messy tone.

“I wish the fuck I would watch any nigga or the bitch that he used to fuck with. It will never get that deep.” Kiva loved Mav but not enough to make a fool of herself. It would hurt but she would walk away just like she did once before.

“You can’t watch no nigga. They gon’ do what they wanna do regardless. Kiva ain’t no slacker. My bitch is bad too. Mav ain’t the only nigga around. Trust me, they got mad niggas that will be happy to have my lil cousin on their arm.”

Nessa wasn’t feeling the way Kerri was trying to play on her own sister. She made it seem like Remi being back was gonna be a problem for Kiva and Mav’s relationship.

“You better tell her cousin.”

Kiva threw her hand up in the air, and her cousin playfully slapped it. She had a nigga when Mav and Remi were together the first time. It wasn’t like she sat around and waited for him to come back. She moved on just like he did.

“Bitch please. You can spit all that bullshit to Nessa if you want to, but I know the real. You was happy as fuck when Remi left until you saw that Mav was trying to leave with her.”

“Who the fuck stopped him? Bitch, unlike you, I’ve never been pressed behind no nigga. Remi and no other bitch can make Mav do nothing that he don’t wanna do.” Kiva was trying her best to not sound as angry as she was.

“Nigga said Remi got the best pussy in the world and lost his life behind it. That was fucked up.”

Kerri continued to taunt her younger sister who they all knew she was jealous of.

Kerri was ten years older than Kiva at thirty-eight and she started having babies before she entered high school.

As a result, she grew up with her kids and was more of their friend than their mother.

Unlike Kiva, she dropped out of school, got on government assistance, and worked fast food jobs to keep the bills paid.

She was known for messing with the younger dope boys and they loved her when tax season rolled around.

Their parents had three kids, and Kerri was the only one who did nothing with her life.

Kiva was the youngest so, naturally, she was spoiled.

Their older brother was doing well and so was Kiva.

Kerri was just a product of her environment and a natural born hater.