Page 44 of Made to Love Ya
“Boys, y’all two just need to calm down, okay? You weren’t raised like this,” my mommy stated from behind my daddy.
Tahj pulled away from my daddy and turned and walked away.
“Tahj!” I shouted and turned to run behind my big brother.
My daddy grabbed my arm and pulled me back. “Not now, baby girl. Give him some time. I think you and Izael need to head on home and chill out for the evening. Son, you and I will talk some other time. Okay?”
“Yes, sir,” Izael stated.
“Zae, take care of my baby, okay?” Mommy asked as she pulled me in her arms and held me tight.
“Yes, ma’am,” Izael replied in a tight voice.
I knew that he was hurt over being sent away from my parents’ home, and my heart hurt for him. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.
I hated that everyone in my parents’ backyard had their eyes glued to our unfolding drama. It was embarrassing, and it wasn’t who I was. I never brought drama and attention their way.
IZAEL
“What the fuck was that, Talia?”I asked as soon as we got into the house.
She had been silent on the ride home, and I had been too deep in my head to pry anything out of her. I couldn’t help but be in my feelings because I had fucked shit up with my boy. And while I’d been playing it all along like he would just have to get over it, I couldn’t lie; I knew my ass was dead wrong, and it hurt that I had hurt him.
Then there was Talia’s little ass grinning and skinning in another nigga’s face, disrespecting the shit out of me right in my face. I wanted to fuck something up, but I also knew that Tahj wasn’t my target, no matter how raw he came.
“What are you talking about, Zae?” she asked and rubbed her temples.
Her mother had sent us home with several plates of food, and Talia had just stored them in the refrigerator.
“I’m talking about that flirting and shit you was doing with Drex. You do realize if your little ass hadn’t been all up in his face laughing it up, this shit wouldn’t have happened, don’t you? I wouldn’t have had to check his ass about my woman.”
“Or maybe if you had been able to keep your cool and act like someone with some damn sense because we would talk about it later like I decided to do when you were flirting with Big Booty Judy, this shit wouldn’t have happened.”
“What?”
“Don’t act stupid, Izael. You’re too fucking smart to act ignorant now.”
“Who the hell is Big Booty Judy?”
“The bitch that was sitting all up under you, touching your tattoos and laughing it up with you. The one who looked like she was too good to be at my parents’ house or speak to anyone, but she didn’t seem to have a problem with you.”
“Camilla? She’s a realtor and wanted to talk with me about some houses that are on the market that she’s interested in. She wants to buy a couple for some Airbnbs.”
“And she needed to touch all over you to do that?”
“Listen, just like you know me, so does Tahj. Everyone’s used to me being all over some chick. If I hadn’t played her close, he would have been suspicious as hell. Knowing that I’m staying with you would have made him draw his own conclusions. We didn’t need that.”
“So, you’re saying you flirted with her for our sake?”
“I didn’t flirt with her. She flirted. I just chilled.”
“Get the fuck out of here,” Talia replied and stomped off to her bedroom.
I followed behind her, but she slammed the door in my face. When I turned the doorknob, I found that it was locked. I knocked on the door several times, and she wouldn’t answer.
“Talia, quit acting like a spoiled ass kid. Open this door. We need to talk,” I demanded, banging on the door with each statement.
When she refused to respond, I sat down for an hour so that we could both cool down. An hour later, when she still refused to open the door, I headed into the kitchen, grabbed a knife, and unlocked the door.
