"Man sit down."

My niece stood there just looking at me. I hadn't saw her in about two years due to my sister's doings, she didn't come to hardly any family shit and was always on the move. Only really saw and heard from her when she needed me. And she needed me, she was looking for her no good ass nigga and baby father who apparently had dipped when they got into a real bad argument and she knew he was this way. She was determined to find his ass and as she went searching she dropped Nina off on my doorstep. I ain't know what the fuck to do with her. She was four years old, hyper active and mean as hell.

"I don't even know you," she stated with attitude as she crossed her arms. "I'm your Uncle Jodie like I told you before, now sit down please."

"No!" She easily replied with her eyes on me. I brought my eyebrows in, "what you say?"

"I said no!" She easily repeated as she yelled.

"Aye! Who the hell you think you yelling at?" I questioned loudly.

"Who the hell you think you yelling at?" She questioned back.

"Watch your mouth!" I pointed at her, quickly realizing I clearly didn't need to be cussing out her bad ass.

"You watch your mouth," she spat.

I couldn't believe this shit, the door started to unlock as slight relief came over me. I wouldn't have to deal with her by myself. Chris walked in as he did a double take looking at the little girl standing in the living room with her arms crossed like she was grown.

He smiled. "Hey pretty!"

She dropped her arms, attitude gone as she spoke, "hi!" Sounding like she was the sweetest child in the world, meanwhile she was giving me hell.

"What's your name?" He asked as he took a seat on the couch.

"Nina, Nina Forest."

"That's a pretty name," Chris smiled as I tried to figure out when he became the child whisperer.

"What's your name?" She asked as she finally did what I asked and sat the hell down.

"I'm Chris, Jodie's roommate."

She put her hand to the side of her face as if she was about to tell him a secret. She tried to whisper and failed at doing it "I don't really like him."

Chris laughed as I responded. "I don't really like your little ass either." I lowkey was in my feelings about the shit. "Horrible ass whisperer," I mumbled.

She turned and looked at me. "I wanted you to hear me, stupid."

I couldn't take no more of this little girl, "Chris she all yours," I stated as I made my way back towards my room quickly pulling out my phone to text my sister.

He laughed as he stood up, "wait! Let me tell you bout this shit with Casey."

I stopped in my tracks, turning to face him. "Oh yeah. Y'all had dinner and shit. How it go?"

"Man," he started "a damn mess to start with. Her folks were coming at me like I been knew about Carson."

"What?" I asked with confusion. "She must have told them you did."

He gave me a look like 'exactly,' "at the end of the dinner me and her did talk and that's exactly what she did. Talking bout she couldn't tell her parents she didn't know who the father was. So throw me under the bus like I been a deadbeat? And she gon ask me to go along with it. I already ain't feeling her pops that shit not going down. I'm not playing along with shit. Next time he say some slick shit I'm going to out her ass."

I laughed as I shook my head, feeling him completely. Nobody wanted to deal with that shit. Before I could even respond my niece came around the corner talking about she was hungry. I rolled my eyes. "What you want to eat?"

"Beanies and weenies!"

I shook my head, "hell nahh. You bet not ever put no weenies in your mouth. You hear me?"

Chris cracked up as she stood there with a pout on her face, attitude forming. "You call them pork 'n beans, no damn weenies. The fuck type of shit my sister teaching you."

She ignored me as she held a scowl on her face. "I want beanies and weenies." She emphasized weenies this time like she was trying to get under my skin.

Chris shook his head as he slapped my shoulder, "man call Mink to help you. I'm out, heading to Jasmine's shortly." He walked towards his room, shutting his door.

He had a good idea, I looked down at her. "You ain't getting no fucking weenies."

She crossed her arms as I quickly called up Mink. "What you doing?" I questioned as soon as she answered the phone.

"Nothing really, what's up?"

"Can you help me with my bad ass niece?" I questioned.

"I'm not bad!" She yelled out as I shook my head. Mink laughed, "she probably not even bad. But sure, you at your place?"

"Yeah, but she hungry. Imma take her to get something to eat, just meet me at Ruby Tuesday's, matter of fact just meet me here and we can ride together."

"Okay, I'll be on my way in like ten minutes."

———

Nina took a liking to Mink, which wasn't too surprising because she seemed to take a liking and be nice to everyone but me.

"You like it?" Mink asked as Nina tried a tomato from her salad for the first time. She shook her head no as she chewed slowly looking for something to spit it out on.

I laughed as she spit it out in a napkin. As my laughter died down she looked at Mink with a questioning look, "are you uncle Jodie's girlfriend?"

Mink looked up at me, you could tell she wasn't expecting the question. She stuffed a mouthful of salad in her mouth as she lightly laughed.

I smiled as I answered the question for her. "Yeah, she is. Why?"

Nina made a stank face as she looked at Mink. "You're nice, he's not."

Mink laughed. "Sometimes opposites attract."

I smacked my teeth, "I'm not mean. You're mean." I said accusingly.

She shook her head, "no I'm not!" She looked at Mink as she pointed at me, "he wouldn't let me watch Frozen, he kept telling me to sit down, and he wouldn't let me eat beanies and weenies!"

Mink laughed as she looked over at me, "why you been mean to Nina?" She questioned. "One, I don't have frozen, two, she was doing a lot. Three when we have kids, they ain't eating no beanies and weenie either. That shit is called pork n' beans."

Mink laughed as it turned into a smirk. "When we have kids?" She asked.

I hadn't even realized I said that, I licked my lips as I smiled and nodded. "Yeah" I started thinking of how I really could see a future with Mink. Shit had been real smooth, she was different than most girls I dealt with in all aspects. A good different though.

"And stop being a snitch," I said to Nina. This caused Mink to laugh harder. "Jodie you are so childish."

"Snitches get stitches you know?" My eyes still on Nina. "Why don't you be like regular children and just ask shit like why the sky blue. You want to be doing all that extra shit."

"Cause I know why the sky blue!" She said surely.

"Why?" I quizzed.

"Because God made it blue."

Mink and I both laughed, at this point the waiter was bringing the food out and I was thankful for it, because it shut Nina up for a little bit.

———

We sat on the couch with Nina in between us knocked out. I gave in and bought Frozen for her bad ass to watch and she fell asleep on that shit. I got up and grabbed a blanket as Mink laid it across her. We made our way to my room as I sent my sister another text. She ain't say shit about me keeping her over night.

"She's adorable." Mink gushed as she sat on my bed. "And smart." I shook my head, that she was. "Y'all act just alike." She added in. I looked at her like she was crazy. "No we don't."

"The crazy mouth, the facial expressions, all that."
I shook my head, she was tripping. "You wildin' on that one," I smiled as I walked towards her, pulling her up off the bed as I wrapped my arms around her waist. She wrapped her arms around my neck and I brought my lips to hers placing a light kiss before I spoke. "Thank you for helping me tonight."

"I didn't really do much but be there."

"And being there did so much for me tonight."

She smiled, "well then you are welcome." I pushed my lips against hers again as she kissed me back, the kiss deepening as I brought my hands to her ass.

My phone started ringing but we ignored the shit, until it kept going off. She pulled away. "It must be important, get it."

I sighed as I picked up my phone seeing the missed calls were from Kira. I rolled my eyes as a text message came in.

Jodie, I missed my period.