Page 30 of Disrespectfully, Relic
“Well, you should’ve started the same time as me. My daddy been teaching me, so if a boy ever puts his hands on me when I get older... boom!”
Nairi shaped her fingers into a fake gun and aimed it at Jahleel, who frowned. Relic stepped behind him but glanced at Los over a shoulder.
“That must be why you ain’t ever teach her momma how to shoot, huh?”
“Shut the fuck up. Why you even here, nigga? I told you, I’d drop him off.”
“Kennedy owes Jahleel a date, and I want to see if she can pull a trigger. Figured I’d kill two birds with one stone.”
“Oh, damn right! I forgot she upped her shit on my brother. She can’t know how to shoot, ‘cause the first rule of pulling your gun is, you better use that muthafucka. I told Nai, it ain’t no warnings. If a nigga pushed you that far to where you gotta threaten him with it, finish what the fuck you started.”
“It’s too late for him,” Relic cosigned with a nod. “He either gon’ think she won’t do that shit and try her again, or he’ll retaliate. Both ain’t a good look.”
“Neither is pulling just to show you got it because it ain’t a flex. Your gun isn’t meant to handle every situation. Not checking your fucking temper to prove a point could lead to yo family attending a funeral.”
Los’s smokey gray eyes that stoned in warning landed on Kennedy, but then he smiled to show her there wasn’t beef on his end. She turned away without returning the gesture.
Although she understood him because she went just as hard for her nephew, she didn’t take well to a man threatening her as if there were nuts and a dick between her thighs. If her brother were alive, Los would’ve been checked or killed with a single call, and she missed having a protector to hold her down without having to lift a finger or raise her voice. Kennedy didn’t trip about it since Koda had taught her to defend herself in the exact manner that Los was training up Nairi.
“Let me get your spot, Nai,” she requested, positioning herself within the table’s body gap once Nairi stepped aside. When she pulled on her earmuffs, Jahleel beamed and copied the act.
“You’re about to shoot with me?”
“Yep. This is our date, right?”
Jahleel nodded, carefully picking up his gun to hold with both hands before he reminded her, “But you’re ‘pose to be on a date with Relic. He needs a girlfriend, so he can stop being a grouch.”
“Who the fuck said that?” Relic snapped, but Kennedy fanned him off.
“We were supposed to go on a date, but your dad and I decided that wasn’t the best idea since neither of us want a relationship, Jah. We rather be friends.”
“So, you really don’t like him, but you’re too nice to say it?”
Los choked on a laugh, and Nairi fell into a fit of giggles that made Kennedy bite back a smile. The dismayed expression Jahleel wore wouldn’t allow her to release it.
“It’s not that, Jah. Where did that even come from?”
“Because I like a girl in my class, but she said she just wanna be my friend. Uncle Shabu said that’s called a friend zone, and I should move on ‘cause she doesn’t like me for real.”
“Oh, my gosh.”
Kennedy rubbed her forehead, growing thankful by the second that she didn’t have children. Tekken was a teenager who could deal with girl problems on his own for the most part by the time he’d moved with her.
“Your uncle is a dumb ass. Come to me next time, Jah, and I’ll give you advice on dealing with girls,” Relic stated, but Jahleel gave a vehement shake of his head.
“Uncle Shabu said never go to you because you’ll only make it worse.”
Kennedy cackled, slapping a hand over her mouth when Relic whipped his head in her direction. The corner of his mouth twitching gave away his urge to laugh as well. She addressed Jahleel after regaining her composure.
“Definitely don’t go to your dad, Jah. Relic doesn’t talk to girls like a gentleman, and he’s mean. Plus, he doesn’t like them unless they can give him something.”
Jahleel smiled wide with a bob of his head. “Like the girl at the grocery store that gives me free candy because she likes him!”
“Mhmm, but don’t talk to girls just ‘cause they like you. You should talk to ones that you like back and want to get to know because they’re smart or stand out in a good way.”
“Like you stand out?” he confirmed, his eyes shifting to the scars on her face as her smile waned. “You don’t look like other girls.”
“True, but I don’t stand out in a good way.”
