Page 24 of Out of Bounds (Atlanta Demon Series #4)
“Ain’t no hello, nigga. Why you straighten my baby’s hair?”
“Because she wanted it.”
“Bruh…” I groaned. “You know how I fe?—”
“Let me stop you right there. They’re growing up, Kreed; they’re going to want to explore more and more. I love her natural curls just as much as you do. The only reason I was okay with it was because her ends needed to be trimmed. Once it’s gotten old, I will wash it, and the curls will be back.”
“Aight, Masai. If you say so.”
“Ummhmm. I shouldn’t be out all night. If you’re not back by the time I’m back on this side of town, just drop them off at the house.”
“Where you say you was going?” I probed.
Masai was looking good. I mean, the kind of good that normally would’ve had me locking her ass in the room to keep her from leaving the crib.
The kind of good that was a for sure way for her to get fucked.
The fucking jeans she was wearing looked like she had to jump to get them over her ass.
I wouldn’t admit it to her, but I was fucking with the new hairstyle.
It had been a minute since I had the chance to slide in her, and I was feigning like hell to get a whiff of her essence.
I knew for a fact that my girl wouldn’t let my ass anywhere near her, though.
She laughed, breaking me from my thoughts of planting another seed in her womb. “I didn’t. I don’t think you have the right to ask me those questions anymore.”
“You outta yo’ mind. I’mma always ask where you going.”
“Good thing I don’t have to answer.”
“Yeah, aight…” Nibbling on my bottom lip, I trailed my eyes over her body. “You looking good as hell, Sai.”
“I know. Anyways…” she sang. “Have fun, and don’t be feeding my kids a bunch of junk food, Kreed. Make sure they eat something with some nutritional value.” Patting me on the chest, she turned and strutted off.
Momentarily, I was rendered speechless watching the way her ass bounced in those jeans. After a few seconds of stillness, I yelled to her back. “Them my fucking kids too. And don’t be out there tryna find a new nigga. You ain’t single yet.”
Instead of responding, Masai flipped me the bird and slid into her truck.
“Yeah, aight, Sai. I got yo’ ass,” I said to myself and jogged up the driveway.
“Girls!” I called out when I entered my crib. “Where y’all wanna go first?”
“Dave KJ was no exception.
I couldn’t stand his mother, but I loved him just as much as I loved the other five.
Not living in the crib with them bothered me, but Masai made sure I ain’t miss no time with them.
The best part about all of it is when I got the opportunity to have all six of them together.
The kids had finally taken to KJ, and the girls were just as protective of him as they were of Kree.
The way Masai and I were able to split time with the kids proved that we could peacefully co-parent.
But man, did it fuck me up to not be able to witness this every single day.
“The rest of y’all cool with that?”
“Yes, sir,” they said in unison.
“Aight then. Let’s ride out.”
The girls had blown straight through my wallet, and now we were sitting down sharing a meal. We’d damn near played every game in this bitch, but I didn’t mind. I was down to do whatever they wanted to do.
“What’s been up with you, Bug? How’s dance been going?”
“Good, Daddy. Mrs. Pettiford said if I keep improving, she may bump me up to co-captain.”
“Co-captain!” I repeated, cheering her on. “That’s amazing, Bug. Daddy is super proud of you.”
“Daddy, are you proud of me too?” Aurora asked.
“Yes, Buttercup. Daddy is always proud of you.” I smiled.
“Good.” She beamed and went back to coloring on the worksheet the server had given her.
“Charleigh Anne… Sophie… Either of you got any good news for Daddy?”
“I got an A on my spelling test?” Charleigh Anne said with a bright smile.
Holding my fist out, I replied, “Pound me up. I told you not to worry.”
Knocking her fist against mine, she laughed. “I know, but it was so, so, so, hard.”
“And you are so, so, so smart. You can overcome anything, baby girl.” Shifting my eyes to Sophie, I nodded for her to speak. “Sophie, tell me something good.”
My baby looked up at me with that gaping hole in the front of her mouth and said, “Marcus asked me to be his girlfriend.”
“Who the fuc… Who is Marcus?” I frowned.
“A boy in her class.” Maddie Claire laughed. “He’s all she’s been talking about lately.”
“Sophie Rose…”
“What, Daddy?” she asked all innocently.
Missing front tooth and all, my baby was gorgeous.
Looking just like her mother, she could be a model.
But man, she was only six. When the hell did she start liking boys?
Knowing I couldn’t ruin the comfortability for future communication, I clear my throat.
“You crushing on some knucklehead at school, my Rose?”
“Not a knucklehead, Daddy. His name is Marcus,” she corrected me, making the oldest two fall over in laughter.
“I don’t know how I feel about that, Sophie.”
“He’s just a friend. Mommy and Nana said I’m too young to have a boyfriend.”
“You are,” I confirmed.
“But he’s a boy… And he’s my friend, Daddy. So same thing, right?” she deduced, drawing temporary silence out of my ass.
“Well… Two things can be true at once. He is a boy, who is just your friend. But he’s not your boyfriend. Are you understanding what I’m saying?”
“No…” she said, staring at me with her head cocked to the side.
“Let it go, Daddy. Mommy tried to explain the same thing,” Maddie Claire added. “She doesn’t get it.”
“Is this what I have to look forward to?” I pondered. “You girls are growing up too fast for me?”
“Buttercup. You like boys?” I asked and poked Aurora in the cheek, making her giggle. “Do I have to worry about you and some lil’ knucklehead?”
“No, Daddy!” she said in between her giggles.
“Better not.” Looking up in the air, I begged time to slow down. If in a few short years, my Bug tells me about some little nigga that has broken her heart, I was going to have to show up at his house with my gun. That was the only way to set the tone for the other three little ladies.
When I begged Masai for all of these kids, I wasn’t prepared for them to grow the hell up.
I had four girls with four very different personalities.
I wasn’t ready for them to start dating and shit.
Just the thought of a little nigga making them cry had my eyes twitching.
I see now that I was going to have to stay in their business.
I’ll be done fucked around, and one of them slips through and ends up on a date or some shit.
“Finish eating your food. Daddy gone take y’all to go buy a Barbie doll or something.”
“We don’t play with dolls, Daddy,” Sophie told my ass.
“You gone play with ’em today.” I teased and pinched her cheeks.
I know if they had my ass this stressed out, Masai must’ve really been going through it.
They told her all of their secrets; I had to damn near bribe them to get any information about their little lives.
Peering around the table, I couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across my face.
I might have been a shitty husband in Masai’s eyes, but one thing no one could ever say was that I was a half-ass father.
The way my girls clung to me proved that I was doing something right.