No Loyalty

by De'nesha Diamond

  Bronx watched Jessica laugh until tears rolled out of her eyes. Little did she know, Bronx wasn’t joking. She was a real one, and Kayden would be lucky to have her. She’d love and treat him better than Jessica ever had.

  “Well, if you do get that nigga, at least I’ll know my baby will have a good stepmama.”

  “And I will. I’ll be fucking the shit out of her daddy, and seeing about her at the same damn time.” Bronx snickered. “You know I don’t play.”

  “Good. Maybe if you get him, he won’t give a fuck about me taking his brother.”

  Bronx stopped laughing and looked at her, because she had been making that same joke about Aiden for the longest time. Clearly that was something she thought about on the regular.

  “You would really fuck his twin brother?”

  Jessica looked at her like she was crazy. “Hell, yeah! If I thought he would fuck me back, I would have been hopped on that nigga.”

  “You’re so dirty, Jess.”

  “Whatever. Kayden’s ass is locked up; how would he ever know? I sure as hell wouldn’t tell on myself.”

  Me either, bitch. Bronx smiled, before high fiving her cousin. She could most definitely relate to that. “I feel you on that one.”

  “For real, though, I think Kayden going to jail was the mental break I had been praying for. I was getting kind of tired of him anyway. The shit he does is so not becoming of a father. I don’t want Jayden around that.”

  Oh, see, this bitch is tripping. “Now, Jessica, you can leave that nigga, but you can’t play with his baby. You’re asking to get yourself hurt like that.”

  “So be it.” She looked around the room. “Enough about him, though. You feel like watching Jayden for me?”

  “Where you going?”

  Jessica smiled mischievously. “Out.”

  Bronx nodded her head slowly as she squinted her eyes. “You dirty li’l heffa.”

  Bronx could tell by the way Jessica was laughing that she was up to no good, but that was her business. If she wanted to trick off, then that was on her. All it did was make Bronx feel even better about what she planned to do.

  “Yeah, I got her. Go do your thing.”

  After she and Jessica talked for a little longer, Jessica handed her Jayden and got up to leave. Once she was gone, Bronx took the baby back into the dining room, so that she could grab Kayden’s letter again. She sat on the sofa with a wide-awake Jayden and began reading the letter again. She was going to get Kayden when he got out, and she didn’t care how anybody felt about it.

  CHAPTER 8

  The sun was shining brightly; a little too bright for the mood that Jessica was in, but what did that matter? She couldn’t change the weather any more than she could change the unwanted stuff that was going on in her life right now. Even with it being her life, she had no control over almost anything happening in it. Jayden was the only thing that Jessica had full control over, and she was a helpless, tiny newborn. What did that matter?

  Jessica huffed as she switched her backpack from one shoulder to the other. She’d just finished her final and was headed to the front of the building to wait on Aiden. He’d kept Jayden for her that morning and had promised to pick her up from class when she finished her test.

  With Kayden gone, she appreciated everything Aiden was doing to help her, but she still felt some type of way. What kind of man would just forfeit being with his family to go to jail for another nigga? Even with her understanding Aiden and Kayden’s relationship, she still felt that the choices they’d made were stupid and selfish.

  Jessica sighed. Well, not really stupid. It was actually really smart and made perfectly good sense, whether she wanted to admit it or not. It was the only logical way for them to win, but she still didn’t like it. Kayden should be out with her, but he wasn’t. It wasn’t fair that she’d had to give birth alone, wake up at nights with the baby alone, or go to doctor visits alone. None of it was fair.

  Kayden was supposed to be there sharing all of that with her, but like he always did, he put himself and the things he wanted first, totally disregarding her feelings regarding the matter. At first, she’d tried to accept his choices and just make the best of it, but the more stuff she had to do alone, the more she hated that nigga and wanted to call it quits. It was going on two months, and with each passing day, she cared for Kayden and his selfishness less and less.

  “Hey, boo, where you headed?” Amy walked up to Jessica and looped her arm through Jessica’s.

  The girls hopped down the stairs together.

  “To the store,” Jessica answered. “Jayden hasn’t been feeling well, so I need to see if there’s something I can give her.”

  Amy poked her lip out. “Aww. Poor thing. I hope she feels better.”

  “You? Girl, I’m tired of missing sleep because of her little ass.”

  “Why don’t you ask your brother-in-law to stay over and help? I’m sure he wouldn’t mind. He’s supposed to be helping you out anyway, right?”

  Jessica thought about what Amy was saying, but she didn’t say anything. She, too, had been thinking about the same thing for a couple of weeks now, but she just figured that would be asking for too much. Aiden had a busy life. He was the mayor of the city, after all. He had an entire city to look out for, not just her and Jayden. She didn’t want to become a burden.

  He was already doing everything he could for them and for Kayden at the same time. The last thing she wanted to do was run off the little help he did give because it had become overwhelming.

  “I’m just saying. They act like they love each other so much, make that nigga show and prove,” Amy said. “He wants to volunteer to pick up Kayden’s slack, then let him.” Amy shrugged before walking ahead of Jessica. “If you decide to take my advice and you get a free minute, let me know. Maybe we can hang out.” She blew Jessica a kiss before walking away and leaving Jessica to her thoughts.

  She was now at the front of the school and still thinking about the things Amy had said. Her friend was right. Aiden and Kayden had both told her that Aiden would do all that he could to help her with the baby, so maybe she should have him really pick up Kayden’s slack. She’d been trying not to overload him, but fuck them. They’d overloaded her without thinking about it, so she would do the same. Starting right then.

  Aiden was standing on the side of Kayden’s truck with Jayden lying over his shoulder. His large hand was pressed against her back as his forearm rocked her up and down. He was so busy looking at her and talking that he didn’t even see Jessica walking toward them.

  She smiled at the sight because it was seriously the cutest thing she’d ever seen. It was the exact way she’d pictured Jayden and Kayden the entire time she was pregnant. With Aiden and Kayden being identical, one would never know that Jayden wasn’t his. She looked exactly like him.

  “Your mama needs to hurry her butt up, doesn’t she?” Aiden kissed the side of Jayden’s chubby face. “Got us out here in this sun. She knows we’re both chocolate. We’re going to melt soon, ain’t that right, Jay? You’re too sweet to melt.” He held her up and kissed her nose before bringing her back to his chest as he heard Jessica’s laughter.

  “Nigga, don’t be out here talking about me.”

  Aiden looked up at her and smiled. “Girl, bring your light-skinned ass on. Got me and this baby out here sweating and stuff.” He pulled the door open for her to get in before closing it and walking to put Jayden back in her car seat.

  Jessica admired him with a smile as he fastened the baby in while talking to her the entire time. It was so sweet that it almost brought tears to her eyes. All she’d wanted was for Jayden to have a father in her life, and before she even had the chance to experience the presence of her father, he’d run his inconsiderate ass to jail for no good reason. Jessica’s eyes rolled the more she thought about it. By the time Aiden got in the truck and pulled away, she’d developed a full-blown attitude again.

  Aiden’s hand on her thigh got her attention
. “What you over there looking like a sad puppy for? Or should I say a pissed pup?” He chuckled, but it quickly faded once he realized Jessica didn’t find any humor in his comment.

  Jessica sat quietly, trying to decide whether she wanted to tell him the truth or not about how she was feeling. Aiden may have seemed cool, but he was Kayden’s brother. Twin brother at that. There was no way he was going to be on her side. It didn’t matter how much sense she made.

  “Tell me what’s wrong, Jess.” His commanding tone made her stomach jump. “I know it’s something, so don’t lie.” He looked over at her before looking back at the road. “You failed your test or something?”

  “No,” she responded quickly. “I passed that with flying colors.”

  A smile crossed his face at the same time he squeezed her leg. “That’s big, girl. We need to go celebrate or something.”

  Jessica’s mood picked up some upon seeing how excited he was about her accomplishments. Kayden was never excited for her like that. He would always buy her stuff, but that was typical. She wanted him to sound as happy as Aiden just had. She wanted him to care.

  “You want to get ice cream?”

  Jessica looked at Aiden’s smiling face and nodded her head.

  “Cool. Under one condition.”

  “What?”

  “You have to go home, get dressed, do your hair, and put on some of that li’l girly stuff women like to wear. Get all cute, and then we can go.”

  Jessica was jumping for joy on the inside as she sat in her seat trying to hold still. She didn’t want him to see how excited she was and change his mind. It had been so long since she’d been out, she would hate to ruin it by seeming too eager. “Cool. Right now?”

  Aiden nodded. “Yeah, now. Call Bronx and see if she can get li’l mama. That way you can get you a small break in the process.”

  Jessica’s face lit up as she snatched her phone from the pocket of her backpack. She called Bronx as quickly as she could, praying the entire time that she would be able to keep Jayden. She breathed a sigh of relief when Bronx finally answered the phone.

  “Hey, hoe, what’s up?” She sounded chipper.

  “Hey, my love. Can you keep Jayden for a little while for me? Aiden is about to take me out for ice cream for passing my final.”

  There was silence for a moment.

  “Yeah, girl, I can get her. But damn, I passed mine, too. I can’t get no ice cream?”

  Jessica and Aiden both laughed at her.

  “You got me on speaker phone?” Bronx sounded a little annoyed.

  “Yeah, girl. We’re just leaving the school.”

  “Well, tell that black-ass nigga he could have bought me some ice cream, too, but I guess I ain’t that special.”

  Aiden leaned over the console. “I ain’t think you was fooling with me like that no more.”

  “I’m not, but I still want a banana split.”

  Aiden and Jessica laughed briefly before Bronx told them that she was home and that they could bring the baby. After Jessica told her that she would drop her off on their way to the ice cream parlor, they ended their call. When Aiden finally pulled up at her and Kayden’s house, she hopped out, not even bothering to grab the baby.

  “I’ll go drop her off and come back to scoop you. You should be ready by then.”

  Jessica told him that was fine as she let herself into the house. He beeped the horn at the same time she closed the door. It had been so long since she’d been out on a date, she was past excited. Even though this wasn’t necessarily a date, she was still happy to be getting out and doing something other than being stuck in the house as she had been since having Jayden.

  After hopping in the shower quickly to wipe away the remnants of her long day, she dressed in an ankle-length blue sundress. It was Kayden’s favorite. It hugged her body in such a sinfully perfect way that she always ended up in some sort of weird place having sex. It never failed, anytime she wore it, Kayden acted as if he couldn’t wait until they got home to be inside of her.

  Thinking of him made her heart skip a beat. She missed his sex so much and wanted some of his dick more than anything. Jessica held her head down and could feel herself getting angry, so she hurried to dismiss him from her mind. After she’d gotten completely ready, she snapped a few pictures and sent them to Walgreens through the app on her phone.

  There was no way she was going to wear Kayden’s favorite dress and he not see it. He needed to see what he was missing. After their ice cream, she would have Aiden stop her by Walgreens to grab Kayden a card and to pick up her pictures to send to him as well.

  Ten more minutes passed. She was spraying on her perfume when she heard a knock on the door. Jessica checked her appearance in the mirror before flipping off her bedroom light and grabbing her keys and purse. When she opened the door, she noticed Aiden had shed his suit jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his dress shirt, giving him a sexy, relaxed look.

  He licked his lips before giving her the once-over. “Damn, Jess. You ain’t come to play, did you?”

  She began blushing immediately. His eyes hadn’t left her body yet, and even though it wasn’t supposed to feel good, it did.

  “I like this.” She touched the rolled-up sleeve of his shirt.

  “Appreciate it. Come on, let me get you in these streets so you can show off this dress.”

  Jessica stepped out of the house and turned to lock the door. Maybe Aiden was too close to her. Maybe her ass was just too big. Either way it went, she bumped into him, putting her entire backside against his groin area.

  “A’ight now, Jess. Don’t be on no bullshit tonight now. Your ass been this big since I met you. You should know how to control it by now.”

  The humor in his voice had Jessica cracking up with laughter as she moved past him so that they could walk to the truck.

  “Man, shut up and come on.”

  The ice cream shop Aiden chose to take Jessica to wasn’t too far from her house, so it didn’t take them long to get there. He helped her out of the truck and held the door for her as they went inside. Since it wasn’t very crowded, they were able to sit right down. Aiden immediately began looking through their menu, trying to pick a flavor. Jessica visited there so much that she already knew what she wanted.

  “You act like you’re at a restaurant. Pick some ice cream, boy,” Jessica told Aiden after having watched him flip through the little menu for the past few minutes.

  He looked up at her and smiled. All she saw was Kayden. “I like to read what’s all in each thing before I order something.”

  “It’s just ice cream.”

  “It’s just my mouth, and I don’t put just anything in it,” he told her in a stern yet humorous voice.

  Jessica raised her eyebrows at him with a smile on her face. “I’m sure that’s a lie.”

  “How you figure?”

  “You eat pussy, don’t you?”

  Aiden smiled widely. “Why you all in my business, girl?”

  Jessica giggled before pushing his forehead. “My point exactly, nigga. Now pick some damn ice cream.” All of her teeth were showing as she snickered at him.

  Aiden joined in on her laughter as he finally told her he would be getting the mint chocolate chip. “I guess if I’ma go by your logic, I’d might as well just pick anything. If I’m eating pussy, my mouth dirty anyway, huh?”

  “Yep!”

  Aiden sat back in his seat and stuck his hands in his pockets. “Well, it’s been a minute, so my mouth probably super clean right now. Thanks to you and your baby.”

  Jessica’s mouth fell open. “Me and my baby? What we got to do with you eating pussy? That ain’t on us.”

  “Like hell it ain’t. I be over there with y’all so much, my personal life is going down the drain.”

  Jessica’s mood dropped after his admission. That was the one thing she hadn’t wanted to happen: she and Jayden becoming a burden to him. That was why she hadn’t asked him to spend more time over so th
at she could get some sleep or study longer than ten minutes a day. After hearing that, her feelings were shot to hell.

  “I’m sorry. You can chill out some. You don’t have to come that much anymore,” Jessica told him, sounding a lot sadder than she’d intended to.

  Apparently, her tone alarmed Aiden, because he was sitting up and grabbing her hand immediately. “I’m just talking, Jess. Y’all not bothering me. I vowed to be there for y’all, and that’s what I meant. I don’t care how long I have to go without tasting pussy, I got y’all.” He chuckled at the end of his comment, and so did she.

  She even hit him playfully. “You make me sick. You and Kayden’s mouths are so crazy. Y’all will say anything.”

  Aiden smiled at her. “He’s worse than me.”

  “Hell, yeah.” Jessica laughed to keep herself from getting annoyed again. Her body warmed in anger as she looked up at Aiden. “I’m so mad at him for leaving me.” She rolled her eyes. “It’s like I understand why he did it, but I still feel like it was kind of selfish. He didn’t think about me at all, but he’s always like that. Kayden is going to think about Kayden before anything.”

  Aiden shook his head. “That’s not true. This time it was me he was thinking about.”

  “No disrespect, but it should have been me, not you.”

  Aiden nodded but didn’t say anything, nor did she. They ordered their ice cream and waited silently for it to come.

  “So outside of Kayden, how’s everything else been going?”

  “Everything else is cool. I’m doing good in school. Jayden’s little self is perfect. If I could just get a little more sleep, then I’d really be doing good.”

  “Why aren’t you sleeping?”

  “Jayden stays up a lot. Kayden used to promise he’d get up with her since I always have class, but . . . you see how that’s going.” The distaste was evident in her voice.

  The table went quiet again.

  “How about I stay over a few nights a week and help you out?” Aiden offered. “It’s the least I can do since I’m technically the reason why he’s not here. It may be late at night sometimes since I’ll have a lot of business to handle during the day, but I will still come.”