Page 79 of I Don't Want You Back

Chapter 24

Malia let out a breath of relief when the large crowd left the restaurant and only a handful of people remained. The tips that she made were great, but she was dead on her feet. She hated to do it, but she’d finally accepted the job offer that was extended to her. She was running out of options, so she didn’t have a choice. The apartment was too much for her to maintain, so she gave it up and moved in with her mother. Monica begged her for the bedroom set, so Malia let her have it. She was too depressed about her circumstances to put up much of a fight.

“Take a break Malia. You’ve earned it after handling that large crowd. You caught on so fast. It feels like you’ve been here longer than a month,” the owner, Melba, said.

Melba and Cora were good friends, and Malia appreciated the opportunity. It wasn’t her dream job, but it kept money in her pockets. Malia would have loved to go back to the days when she was a stay-at-home mom with money at her fingertips for whatever she needed. She wanted those days back, but Landon was being an ass. When the door chimed, signaling the arrival of a customer, Malia prayed that it wasn’t another huge crowd. Her back was aching and her feet felt like they were on fire from walking so much. That was not the life that Malia had envisioned, but she had no one to blame, but herself.

“Malia?” a male voice came up to her and asked, as if he was unsure it was her.

“Hey Kane.” Malia smiled as she got up to hug Landon’s good friend and uncle by marriage.

Kane was light skinned, so it was easy to see the faint bruises that covered his face. They looked to be healing, but they were still very noticeable.

“When did you start working here? Me and Ava come through a lot and I’ve never seen you here,” Kane said.

“I haven’t been working here very long, but it’s usually early mornings when I do. I needed some extra cash, so I took on somebody’s else’s shift. I’ll probably never do that again. This night crowd ain’t no joke,” she replied.

“The fuck you need money for? Landon’s bitch ass got enough money to end world hunger. I know he ain’t playing you like that,” Kane said.

“Yeah, well Landon’s money ain’t doing me no good. I have to work to get mine,” Malia flippantly replied.

She would never tell him that she gave up every dime in their joint bank account to be with a no-good ass nigga who dogged her out.

“Nigga got that hoe living the good life while his baby mama is waiting tables.” Kane frowned.

“I guess you met the new girlfriend too,” Malia said with jealousy dripping from her voice.

“I did more than meet her. I was fucking her long before he was,” Kane pointed out.

“What! Are you serious?” Malia questioned.

“Dead ass,” Kane confirmed.

“What about Ava? You cheated on your wife?” Malia questioned.

“Like you got room to talk,” Kane said, looking at her like she was crazy.

“How did you end up messing with her?”

“Bitch was a dancer at a club that me and my boys used to go to.”

“She was a stripper?” Malia asked in shock.

“The bitch did more than strip. How do you think I started fucking her?” Kane asked.

He was bitter, but Malia had no way of knowing that. Truth was, jealously was eating him alive. When he went to JB’s with some of his frat brothers, it was only to enjoy his birthday. He looked forward to getting a few drinks and lap dances, but he didn’t anticipate meeting Faryn. He saw her giving a customer a lap dance and he told another dancer to call her for him. His frat brothers called him Alpha Redd because of his light-colored skin, so Redd was the name that he gave when they made their introductions. When she gave him his first lap dance, Kane was hooked. He became a regular at the club and Faryn was the only dancer that he wanted to see. Unlike some of the others, her costume choices were always classy and she always smelled good.

She was quiet and didn’t say much at first. As time went on, she started to open up a little more, but she was very vague with her answers. She told Kane that she was working at the club to put herself through college, but she never said what she was going for. Feelings weren’t supposed to be a part of the equation, but he couldn’t help it. Faryn had been an intimate part of his life for an entire year. He fell for her and he didn’t try to deny how much he loved her. Sadly, the feelings were one sided.

He loved Ava to death, but she was too stuffy at times. Ava was a spoiled princess and he had to take the blame for some of that. He never told his wife no for any reason, but she got under his skin at times. With Faryn, he never had that to worry about. He gave her money all the time and she never had to ask. When she graduated college, he spent over a thousand dollars to purchase her a pair of red bottoms so that she could graduate in style. He just knew without a doubt that he and Faryn were going to continue what they started once she left the club. He was shocked and disappointed when she refused to meet him and barely answered his calls.

“That nigga got my kids around a stripping prostitute!” Malia yelled angrily.

“Basically.” Kane shrugged.

“And that bitch is my baby’s counselor. I need to call the agency and make them fire her ass,” Malia fumed.

“Who’s a counselor?” Kane asked.

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