"Do you want the baby to be yours?" I asked Landon as we sat at a table at the bar.

He sighed, "no I don't want the baby to be mine. I'm twenty-three. How the fuck I sound with two kids not even a year apart? Plus I could never look at her the same and with me still trying to work into Aria's good graces that's the last thing I need."

I nodded my head as he started talking again. "But Chris ain't shit, ion think that nigga will take care of that baby. I swear I still owe him an ass whooping. Nigga ain't have no type of loyalty."

I nodded understanding where he was coming from, what Chris did was shady as fuck and we talked about it. This just wasn't his time, all his shit was hitting the fan. "I feel you, but I think he'd take care of that baby." I knew he would, that's one thing he told me he would do.

Landon waved his hand as he took a swig of beer, "yeah whatever. Off that bitch."

I chuckled as I shook my head taking a swig of my own beer, watching as the bar got more and more crowded. "How things with Aria?"

He nodded his head, "we good. Real good, it's strictly co-parenting. But I be over there a lot, purposely." He laughed.

"You ain't giving up." I shook my head as I took another sip of my beer.

He shook his head, "not at all. I'm done with the bullshit forreal. Like Jodie I'm not messing with no other girls. Couldn't even tell you the last time I had sex."

I quickly looked at him, "what? You?"

"Exactly my nigga, I just need one more shot. I swear I won't fuck it up."

"And what if she don't give it to you?"

He sighed, "then at least I can say I gave it my all in trying to get her back. At the end of it I can't be mad at anybody but myself."

"Respect." We sat quiet for a moment, both of us in our own thoughts as we drank.

"That Mink?" He asked causing me turn to indeed see Mink walking in the bar with a girl I'd never seen her with before. I knew her and Kennedy were at odds but I ain't think it was that deep that she was hanging with somebody new.

"Yeah," I stated. I was going to approach her once she got settled. We hadn't talked since her and Kira got into that fight. She wasn't fucking with me at all, she'd been dodging my calls and text too.

Her and the girl sat at a table as they laughed at something, "I'll be back."

"Get yours!" Landon laughed. I shook my head as I neared her, her friend spotting me first giving me a flirtatious smile causing Mink to turn and look at me.

She spotted me quickly turning back around as I sat beside the girl in order to face her. "Hey!" I said with a small smile looking between the two. Her friend gave me a once over with a smile. "Hey," she said flirtatiously. Mink didn't respond as she now had her head in her phone, acting as if I came over to talk to her friend instead of her.

"Mink." I called out, trying to get her attention. Her friend quickly looked over at her once she realized I knew her, slight defeat on her face.

"What Jodie?" She asked with her head still in her phone. There was definitely some tension and her friend picked up on it, "well I'm going to go grab a drink" her friend said as she quickly got up heading to the bar.

"What's your deal?" I questioned, "why you dodging me and shit?" She finally looked up at me as she locked her phone.

"We don't have nothing to talk about." She easily let out.

"I broke up with Kira." I spat out.

She started clapping as she kept a straight face. "Congratulations. Want a cookie?"

I sighed, "Mink, c'mon. I get you upset with how everything played out but I don't understand this animosity you have towards me. It's been weeks at this point."

She rolled her eyes, "you done?"

I chuckled slightly as I brushed my thumb under my nose. "Alright Mink." I wasn't about to kiss her ass or beg or to talk to me, she wasn't communicating what her issue was and I couldn't stand that shit. I got up heading back over to where Landon was. "That was quick as hell."

I waved him off, "she on some other shit. And I ain't into ass kissing unless it's in the bedroom."

Landon started laughing, "you nasty mothafucka."

I shook my head as I picked up my beer to finish it, my eyes shifting to the door as I watched Quay and a couple of his boys walk in. He saw me and headed my way, dapping me up and sending a head nod Landon's way. "What you doing this way?" I asked. If he went to the bar he definitely went to one on the other side of town.

He smiled as he licked his lips, looking around. "Meeting some shawties, matter of fact Mink and them." He stated as if he remembered that I knew them.

"And them?" Landon questioned, I knew he was automatically thinking of Aria.

"Yeah, some of her friends" he stated casually before putting his attention back on me. "But I'll get at you!" He dapped me up again before heading towards her table and in the same instance Aria walked in.

Landon caught it just like I did. "Bro," he started. "I know not."

"Chill, y'all both single. You can't really feel no type of way." I reminded him, they had been broken up for months now. She was eventually going to move on, regardless of how much he didn't want her to.

Aria walked to Mink's table as Mink clearly let her know we were there as she slightly looked over. I looked at Landon who nodded his head towards her as he drank his beer. See sent a small wave before Quay came in blocking her view from him as he wrapped his arms around her causing her to smile.

I shook my head, already knowing since he came in with two people this shit was like a triple date or some shit. "You ready?" I asked Landon who wore a sour facial expression. He took his beer to the head. "Hell yeah."

We got up heading towards the door, but Quay called my name pulling my eyes towards him as he called me over, I looked at Landon. "Give me a minute."

I walked towards him as he dropped the arm he had around Aria to walk towards me, Aria and I met eye contact for a second before she quickly broke it. I know she felt awkward. We walked a little further away to get out of hearing distance.

"So I know you was feeling Mink and I just want to make sure you wouldn't be mad if one of my boys talked to her. You my dude so I'm not trying to disrespect you." He stated getting straight to the point.

I chuckled. "You good. That's her choice to make, appreciate you for acknowledging it though." I put my hand for him to slap, ready to head out.

"Aye, hold on, hold on," he let out before I could get too far. I turned back towards him as he called Mink's name. I shook my head, "bro I'm cool on it." I quickly spoke. He motioned for her to come here.

"You still with that other girl?" He questioned before Mink got to us. "Nahh." I responded as my eyes went to Mink. Her hair was bone straight hitting the middle of her stomach. She wore a graphic tee with Biggie's face on it and some ripped jeans. She was chill as fuck, and still easily looked good as hell.

"What's up?" She questioned as she crossed her arms, her eyes on Quay since he was the one who called her over.

"You don't see my mans standing right here?" He questioned with a smile, easily noticing how she didn't even look my way. Her eyes went to me and then back to Quay. "I saw him earlier, is this what you called me over here for?"

He looked between the two of us as I shook my head, I told him I was cool on this. "Oh I see." Quay said with a smile as if he had come to some type of revelation. "Y'all having a little fight. Imma let y'all talk." He walked away before either one of us could respond.

My eyes focused on her as she stood there returning my stare. I was surprised she hadn't decided to walk away. "I already tried to talk to you earlier but I'm not going to force that shit." I let out being the first one to talk.

"I really have nothing to say to you." She let out. I nodded, "alright then. Enjoy your night." I easily let out. "But," she continued "I felt like you were moving shady and I don't like shit like that."

"And how was I moving shady?" I questioned as I crossed my arms, relieved that she was expressing what the issue was. "Just everything when it came to us, I feel like you were trying to have your cake and eat it too and that shit wack."

"And after fighting Kira I felt like it was just best to remove myself from the situation and just let you and Kennedy do all that shady shit without me involved." She finished.

"I wasn't purposely being shady," I started. "I was torn between a rock and a hard place. Kira was my girl, and a girl I had already hurt once before. And then you, my feels for you just appeared out of nowhere."

"Then you should have ignored that shit." She stated easily. "Or broke up with her, not the shit you did."

"I tried ignoring that shit. And then when I couldn't I broke up with her." I voiced as my text tone went off. I pulled out my phone seeing Landon texted me, letting me know he would be at the car. Causing me to look over by the door no longer seeing him. I looked back at her. "I apologize though." I spoke honestly, "if you feel like I was purposely being shady and trying to have my cake and eat it too." Even though that's what you're supposed to do, I thought. I hated that idiomatic proverb, it was dumb to me.

She looked down before looking at me, "we good?" I questioned. She shrugged, "maybe." I let out a small smile as I shook my head.

"Well when you're willing to talk to me, hit me up." I looked back over at her table of friends as everyone was laughing and talking. "But I'll let you get to your friends. Be safe."

"You too." She let out, I started walking towards the exit giving a nod to Quay as I looked his boys over. I wasn't stressing shit. Mink wasn't mine and if she wanted to deal with one of those niggas it was on her, but she knew and I knew that I was the better pick.

———

"Did you know?" Landon asked once we were at the red light down the street from the bar. "Know what?" I questioned.

"About Quay and Aria." He scoffed. I shook my head. "Hell nahh, you know I only get up with him every once in a while." And I wasn't lying, he tried to get at her at my place that Aria shot that nigga down so I had no clue when the two of them reconnected.

"Did you introduce them though?"

I sucked my teeth, "I mean, I guess. They met that day Mink came by to get that book. Nothing deep. Ain't like they exchanged numbers or nothing. But Mink had met Quay before that. So I guess they kept ties some way."

Landon sat there quiet, I knew he was in his feelings. I felt him but he put himself in this situation. Quay was my nigga, but I definitely didn't think he was the nigga for Aria. Not with his ties to the drug game.

"Man, who the fuck watching my daughter." He questioned as he started scrolling his phone stopping on Aria's name as he sent a text.

I sat there quiet as I drove, as long as he ain't get on crazy shit like the night he found out about Jason I was good. I was quickly approaching his parents, where he was staying. He stayed there but still paid for shit at Aria's. "And on everything, I know that nigga better not be over her place where I pay fucking bills."

I didn't say anything knowing that if Landon even threatened to stop paying that Quay would do it with no problem. Quay could be a sucker for pussy, easily dropping money on women. Money wasn't shit to him, but it wasn't shit to Landon either. Landon came from money. Quay came up and got to the money.

"Just chill out," I stated calmly. "Just talk to her about it, but you can't go in guns blazing."

He shook his head as he texted a mile a minute. "She said her fucking mom, her mom live forty-five minutes out like what the fuck? I ain't even know my child was out of town."

"Landon, that's barely out of town. Relax man. It's her mama not some random ass person." He wasn't trying to hear anything I had to say as I pulled up to his parents. He quickly got out, the anger in him apparent.