Page 14 of No Remedy for Love

Mav looked down at his vibrating phone and discreetly stopped it from ringing. He and Remi were out shopping, and that was Kiva’s third time calling. He told her that he was going to look at a few houses with his pops and he had been gone for hours. He was cashing out on Remi, as usual, but he needed to get away to make sure everything was good at home.

“I’ll be right back, love. I need to go find a bathroom,” Mav said right as Remi picked up a shoe.

“Okay, let me go find somebody to help me.”

Remi walked away, and Mav headed in the opposite direction. He went down the escalator, dialing Kiva’s number as he disappeared from Remi’s view.

“What!?” Kiva yelled, answering the phone with an attitude.

“Why you answering the phone like that? What’s up?”

“That’s what I’m trying to see. I thought you were with your daddy looking at houses.”

Mav paused, not knowing if he was about to get busted or not. He looked around just to make sure he wasn’t possibly being watched. After all, he and Remi were in one of Kiva’s favorite stores. He was about to text his pops, not knowing that he’d sent him a text almost thirty minutes ago. He frowned when he read it because he already knew what was up. Just like his sisters, his pops knew how to handle his affairs when it came to Kiva.

Mav was most definitely his father’s son, which was why his mother divorced him and moved on with her life. His pops was a dog but his mother wasn’t with the bullshit. His sister lied to Kiva for Mav all the time but she wasn’t with the foolishness, especially since she’d been through it before.

“I am with my pops. Why? Who’s trying to get in your ear and start some shit this time?”

“Stop fucking playing with me, Maverick! All the fuck you do is lie!”

“You wanna talk to my pops to see for yourself? I already know Kerri ole messy ass told you that she saw him at the gas station. I was right there in the truck when he went in. I had my ringer off because we were talking to a realtor when you were calling me.”

Kiva relaxed almost immediately when he said that because that’s exactly why she was calling. Her sister called her and said that she saw Mav’s father but her man was nowherearound. Usually, Kiva wouldn’t even entertain Kerri and her gossiping bullshit but, lately, things between her and Mav were changing. Arguing was nothing and most couples had disputes and disagreements. Her and Mav were no exception and they had fallouts sometimes too.

Over the past few months, they seemed to be occurring more frequently. At one point, Mav would have a fit if she mentioned leaving or staying away when she was upset. Now, leaving was the first thing that he did, even if the disagreement was minor. Kiva was trying hard to trust her man, but he was making it hard.

“I’m sorry baby. You didn’t answer your phone when I called and I was in my feelings.”

“You were in your feelings because your sister put you there, just like always. I keep telling you that muthafuckas hate to see you shine when they ain’t got no motion. I know Kerri is your sister and all, but her ass is too messy. All she do is ride around the hood with her daughters starting shit. You’re her younger sister. Instead of her being happy for you, she’s always hating on you.”

“I know she got her ways but she’s not always inaccurate.”

Mav frowned, hating that Kiva always said that about her sister. Most times, Kerri was never wrong but he would never admit that, especially to Kiva.

“Maybe not but she’s wrong about me.”

“What time are you gonna be done?”

“I don’t know love. We got a few more properties to look at. I’ll try not to come in too late.”

“Okay, I’ll see you when you get here. Love you.”

“I love you too, baby.”

Mav smiled when he hung up, happy that he avoided another potential problem that he didn’t need. That bitch Kerri got on his nerves. They were cool in the beginning, but she hated him ever since he left her sister for Remi all those years ago. She didn’t want Kiva to give him another chance but the choice wasn’t hers to make. Kiva forgave, but Kerri never forgot.

He made his way back upstairs to see if Remi saw something that she liked. The smile that he wore was replaced with a scowl when he saw the salesman all up in Remi’s face. She was cheesing too hard and he was ready to flip. Remi was a big flirt, and that was one of the things that he’d always disliked about her. At one time, she did more than flirt and had him going crazy. Remi was dripping with sex appeal and she knew how to use it to her advantage. The dress that she wore had her curves on full display, so he knew why the other man was so intrigued. A female was standing behind the counter before he walked away. He didn’t know where that lame had come from but he was about to send him on his way.

“I’m trying to get your number. All that other stuff is irrelevant.”

“You must be trying to give me your employee discount,” Remi flirted, not knowing that Mav was behind her. She was fearless so she probably wouldn’t have cared anyway.

“I got you, sweetheart.”

“Nah, nigga, I got her.” Mav frowned as he pulled out a knot of money from his front pocket.

“Hey boo. I think I want these.” Remi held up her foot and showed him a pair of Louboutin heels that wrapped around her ankle. The shoe looked amazing on her toned legs and he was ready to cash out on her sexy ass.

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