Chapter Twenty-six
Ross stepped on the elevator and smiled the entire ride back up to his condo. He walked in and began cleaning up his and Ke’yoko’s mess. He could not stop thinking about her as he filled the dishwasher with their dirty dishes. He wiped off the kitchen counter, straightened the magazines on the coffee table, turned off the lights, and headed home.
Ross pulled up into the driveway and sat for a minute thinking about Ke’yoko. Thinking about her smile, the way she laughed, the way she smelled, and most of all how soft her lips were. He couldn’t believe he kissed her even though he had been wanting to for years. The fact that she was married to a nigga he was once close with bothered the shit out of him. He opened up the car door and got out. He whistled all the way into the house. He walked in and tossed his keys on the coffee table before heading upstairs to check on his baby girl.
Ross walked into Rayna’s room, made sure she was covered up, kissed her on her forehead, and smiled before walking across the hall to his bedroom. He walked in and looked over at Sharae who was sitting on the bed staring at some papers. He acted as if she wasn’t there and began getting undressed so he could go take a shower.
“Is it yours?” Sharae finally asked.
Ross turned around with a confused look on his face. “What?” he asked with a frown.
“I said is it yours?” she repeated slowly.
Ross was oblivious to what she was talking about. “Is what mine?”
“The baby,” she said, holding up the sonogram photos.
“What was you doin’, goin’ through my shit?” he asked.
“Naw, I was lookin’ for Rayna’s birth certificate and ran across these sonogram pictures. Now, can you answer my question?” Sharae asked impatiently.
“Nope, he’s not mine,” he answered nonchalantly.
“You a fuckin’ liar! If the baby wasn’t yours then why would you have these fuckin’ pictures?” Sharae yelled as she stood up from the bed and walking over to Ross, getting in his face.
“Look, man, don’t be sittin’ here questionin’ me. I told you the baby wasn’t mine.”
“What the fuck ever! You foul as fuck, nigga,” Sharae said, shaking her head while poking Ross in the side of his head. She knew Ross was out in the streets sleeping around with different women and had been since they’d been together, but she really must have meant something to him in order for him to have unprotected sex with her and get her pregnant.
“Whatever,” he said, waving her off, while lightly shoving her away from him.
“Are you in love wit’ her?” Sharae asked, bracing herself for the truth.
Ross looked Sharae dead in her eyes and slowly shook his head yes. “Yeah, I am,” he admitted, feeling if Sharae didn’t deserve anything else, the truth was something he owed her.
“Wow,” Sharae said, hurt. She looked at Ross and waited for him to tell her that he was just playing and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her and Rayna, but he never did.
“Look, man, I’m sorry,” Ross looked at Sharae and said.
“So how long you been fuckin’ her?”
“I ain’t never fucked her,” Ross said truthfully.
“So you gon’ keep standin’ here lyin’ to me in my face?” Sharae asked, appalled.
“Look, I don’t have to lie to you about anything. I’ve never fucked her.”
Sharae stared at Ross and wanted to swing on him but she knew it would be a losing battle. With what little pride and self-respect she had left she decided at the moment she would give Ross what he’d been asking her for for a long time.
“Look, man, I will be out your house tomorrow. I’ma move in wit’ my momma,” Sharae said.
“You can go. I’ve been tellin’ you that shit for the longest, but Rayna ain’t goin’ no damn where!” he said in a raised tone.
“You kill me wit’ that ‘Rayna ain’t goin’ nowhere’ shit! Nigga, you don’t even be home long enough to spend no time wit’ her! So miss me wit’ that shit! I’m takin’ my daughter wit’ me, case closed. If you wanna see her, you know where my momma stay!” Sharae said and meant every word.
Ross wanted to argue, but he couldn’t argue with the truth; he was too deep off in the streets to be raising his daughter on his own right now. It was gon’ kill him to let Rayna go, but he knew he had to do what was best for his daughter, and being with her mother was it. The thought of his baby girl moving out hurt Ross to his heart, and if Sharae wasn’t all up in his face he probably would have shed a tear or two.
“You right,” Ross said.
“Huh?” Sharae asked, shocked.
“You can take her wit’ you. You’re right, I’m not in a place right now where I can take care of her physically. But as long as I got breath in my body, financially she gon’ always be straight.”
Sharae knew Ross would be there for Rayna without a doubt, which was the least of her worries.
“Now when I wanna come get her, I don’t want no shit,” Ross said.
“It won’t be none,” Sharae said, forcing a weak smile.
“I love you, baby momma,” Ross looked at Sharae and said before kissing her on the forehead.
“I love you too, baby daddy.”
Ross smiled at Sharae before going into the bathroom to take yet another cold shower.