Page 5 of Gotta Jones For Ya
I kissed her cheek. “My fault, old lady. You know I love you.”
“Mmmhm. Now go sit down and stop touchin’ my goddamn pots. I’ll fix you a plate.”
My niece Mariah came runnin’ up, jumpin’ onto my lap wit’ her iPad and missin’ front tooth. She was eight and that muthafucka still hadn't come in yet.
“Uncle Knuck! Look at the dance I learned!”
I watched her do some TikTok routine wit’ elbows and knees everywhere, clappin’ and snappin’ wit’ confidence. I clapped for her like she was on Broadway. “That was fire, baby. You gon’ teach me?”
She giggled. “You too old.”
As she sat and showed me some house she was buildin’ on Roblox, I pulled out my phone for a quick scroll. That shit was a mistake. Nyomi had just posted a picture on her story at some bougie-ass restaurant.
My jaw locked so tight I could feel the tension in my molars. I was just up in her guts a week and some change ago. Who the fuck was this nigga? I stood up, kissed Mariah’s forehead, and told Granny I had to handle somethin’. As soon as I hit the whip, I FaceTimed my right hand, Wock.
“Yo, I need you to hold shit down for a day or two,” I told him, lightin’ up a blunt.
“What happened?”
“I’m finna go to Arbor Hills.”
“Off that girl again?” All my niggas knew Nyomi had my head fucked up.
“Don’t worry ‘bout all that, nigga. Just make sure if any money move, it move smooth while I’m gone. I’ll be back.”
By the time the sun came up, I was parked outside the gym that I knew Nyomi hit almost every mornin’ to keep that body tight. She posted from there routinely. I remembered the blue wall and the mirror shot like it was tattooed in my mind.
She walked her pretty ass out in leggings, a cropped shirt sleeved hoodie, and her edges sweated out, but she wasn’t alone. Some corny lookin’ nigga in basketball shorts—tall, light-skinned, prolly a trainer—was choppin’ it up wit’ her. Her ass was smilin’ a lil’ too fuckin’ hard. Leanin’ in too close. She laughed at somethin’ he said and touched his chest, and I sawred.
I stepped out the car, cool and casual like I wasn’t itchin’ to knock this nigga’s teeth out. “’Scuse me, bruh,” I said, strollin’ up. “You got the time?”
Nyomi spun around. “Keon! What the fuck are you doing here?”
The dude nervously glanced at his Apple Watch. “Uh, it’s 6:36.”
“Bet. Now tell me why you all inmywoman’s face this early in the fuckin’ mornin’?”
The dude looked back and forth between us. “Your… your woman?”
Nyomi stepped between us quickly. “We’re not doing this. Are you out of your mind?”
I smiled widely, all teeth. “Damn near. You got niggas takin’ you out to dinner and trainin’ you like you single?”
She glared. “Because Iamsingle.”
“Nah, you justactin’single.”
The dude threw his hands up and started to walk away. “Nyomi, take care.”
“Julian, I’m sorry for this.” She cut her eyes at me and started walkin’ off. “You’re fucking crazy!”
I followed her to the car, close on her heels. “Ny, stop...”
“No. You flew out here to press me in the gym parking lot at six-thirty in the damn morning? Are you serious right now?!”
“You think I’m finna let some random ass nigga slide in what’s mine?”
“I’mnotyours!”
