Page 12 of Only for Me

“You’re saying that like you don’t think I can handle it.”

“Can you?”

His expression shifted and turned dark. “You don’t know shit about me.”

“I know enough and after all the media posts slow down and she’s no longer serving your purpose, then I’m left trying to fix the fall out of Avi wondering where her father is.”

“Bruh, I’m not about to argue with you over what I can or can’t handle. I’m a grown ass man…”

“Who lives like a privileged NFL quarterback and has no accountability for his actions.”

“Don’t you do this shit for a living? You of all people should know what’s out there is not who most people truly are.”

“Actually, because I do this for a living, I know it is.” I looked him right in the eyes. The stories about his life weren’t fake; he was reckless as hell.

“People change.”

“Sometimes but is that what you want? You willing to walk away from partying without consequences, random women, and doing whatever the hell else you want whenever the mood hits? Because that’s what parenting looks like, prioritizing your kid over the things you want.”

He laughed dryly. “How the fuck are you giving parenting lessons and you hid my kid from me for a gotdamn year?” His voice came out in an angry growl that had Avi whining and fidgeting from the tension between us. I lifted and began moving around, rubbing my hand over her back to calm her down.

“We’re already at odds and this isn’t good for her.”

His eyes followed my movement but they were fixated on my little muffin. After a minute, he relaxed again. “Yo, keeping itone hundred, I’m not trying to piss you off or upset baby girl. I get why you’re worried. I’m man enough to admit that my reputation is pretty fucked up but this is about family. She’s my family and family is important to me. Regardless of what you think, know that I don’t fucking play about mine.”

“I really hope you mean that.”

Things got awkwardly quiet but Omiri stared at Avi and she smiled at him, seemingly fascinated. My baby locked in on her father and I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.

“Okay, so with the DNA test, I’m not going to fight that but I want your word about some things first.”

“I’m listening…” His arrogance was so damn loud. It basically said “I’m listening, but if I don’t agree then you’re shit out of luck.”

“I want all this in writing, no media or announcements about Avi being yours until we discuss what this looks like, and pending the results…”

He arched his brow and smiled cockily. “You really on that ‘she might not be mine’ shit again?”

“No, but the point is, I want Avi protected from your world. My daughter will not be a headline just for a little press.”

“Aight, you got all that. I’ll have my lawyer put together a confidentiality agreement that covers all three of us.”

“I also want it referenced that I’m her primary caregiver…”

“Nah, fuck that. We share this equally.”

“I’m not trying to keep her from you…”

His eyes were on me again and I sighed. “What I mean is, she’s still young. I’m breastfeeding. She doesn’t know you. We have to work you into her life. It can’t just be you grab her and go, playing father of the year.”

He snorted. “We’ll discuss custody and visitation after we get confirmation from the test.”

I nodded. “And I need to know you’re truly in this. There’s no point in disrupting her world if your only goal is to throw money at us or show up when it’s convenient for you. Avi is not an afterthought. If you plan on disappearing, then we can kill all this now and…”

“She’s mine, Makari. I’m not going anywhere. My father was in and out of my life, so I know what that shit feels like. The only time he’s around is when he wants my money or connections. I wouldn’t dare do that to my own child.”

I was surprised that he felt open enough to share something so personal.

“I’ll trust your word.”