You Ain't My Type

by Nicole Jackson

  “Thank youuuu,” she found herself crying.

  Little Ray-Ray chuckled. “You on the sensitive side, huh?”

  Rye wiped away her tears. She was about to tell him that her pregnancy had her emotional, until she caught herself. She hadn’t really told anybody about her pregnancy, because she didn’t know what she was going to do about it. That was before Ray-Ray had swooped in like superman, changing everything for her. She now felt confident that she could take care of a baby, regardless. Still, she couldn’t casually tell them about the baby, because of their relation to Jaylen, which was something she’d have to deal with sooner or later.

  She just shook her head, as she smiled through the tears.

  “Say, we’re about to burn. I’ma let you handle whatever you gotta handle, but I want you to come by the house tomorrow for dinner. Are you cool with that?” Ray-Ray quizzed.

  Rye nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine with that. I’ll stop by.”

  “Okay, cool. Give me a hug,” he urged, wrapping his arms around her.

  Briefly, she placed her head on his chest, and exhaled. When he released her, she felt a little more complete, after her life had seemingly fallen apart at the seams months prior.

  Heading back into her building, she held her head up high, feeling special. There was a point where she questioned why she’d been getting the shorter end of the stick, as her sister still had a father, and she was left wondering who she completely was. But now she fully understood the saying that says that everything happens for a reason. If Dewayne had never been such an asshole, then she would’ve never known the truth. So, now, she had her own daddy, and she felt good about it.

  Tipping back into her apartment, she was prepared to cook breakfast, before getting her day started. However, all those thoughts were abandoned when she saw Dewayne sitting next to Konya on her couch.

  “Hey, baby girl,” he greeted her with a crocked smile on his face.

  She paused, gazing at her mama. Konya’s face read that she was hoping that Rye played nice. So, sliding her tongue across her teeth, she responded. “Hey.”

  Dewayne sat at the edge of the couch. “Yeah, uh, I came over here to talk to yall. I just finished apologizing to your mama. And now I wanna talk to you.”

  Rye didn’t bother responding, as she sat at a bar stool near her kitchen’s island.

  “So, uh, basically, I had to accept that whatever business I had with Terry is over,” he continued. “I see that as water under the bridge now. It is what it is, and we’ll manage without them. At the end of the day, we’re family, so I came over here to clear the air. I’m not mad no more, and you’re always gonna be my daughter, regardless.”

  Rye narrowed her eyes. “Is this supposed to be some type of apology, because I’m not feeling it.”

  Dewayne frowned, as his face turned beet red. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

  “It means that you’re sitting there not even addressing what happened. You mentioned Tori’s dad, as if that’s something I ruined for you, and you’ve decided to forgive me,” Rye snapped.

  Dewayne glared at her. “So, that wasn’t you who created all this drama?”

  “Hell, no!” Rye shot to her feet.

  “Okay, Rye,” Konya asserted. “Calm down.”

  “No, I’m not calming down,” Rye refuted. “This is my house. I pay the bills around here. And I will be respected. So, I’m not about to let this man come here and talk down to me. Tori put his hands on me, and I’ll be damned if I let him tell me that any of that was my fault. And then, he himself slapped me the last time we saw each other. If anything, that should’ve been the first thing he apologized for. But he just danced all over that. So, fuck him.”

  Konya disapprovingly shook her head. “I hear you, but at the end of the day, he’s still your father. So, there has to be some form of respect here.”

  “My father? Oh, no, we aint about to play those games. He was the one who made it crystal clear that we are of no relation. Besides, I got a daddy, and he don’t look nothing like his Porky the Pig looking ass.”

  Konya held her forehead, as she shook her head.

  Dewayne’s heart pounded in his chest, as he cut his eyes at Konya. “What is she talking about? You let her meet that nigga?”

  “Dewayne---”

  “No, answer the fucking question,” he snarled. “Didn’t we discuss that she was never to meet that sorry ass nigga?”

  “What?” Rye scowled. “See, that’s where the problem is at. You wanna control everything. That should’ve never been up to you to begin with. But for whatever reason, she went along with that. But that ended when you announced that I wasn’t yours. I know the truth, and you damn sure can’t control who I have a relationship with.”

  Dewayne angrily scooted off the couch. “The hell I can’t. You think that nigga is gonna step in and do what I’ve been doing for you? I think we both know the answer to that, and if you want my help or me in your life, period, you’ll stay away from him. I won’t have that kind of confusion in my life. Besides, I raised you. Me. Not some hoodlum that probably has twenty other kids by now.”

  Rye laughed despite herself. “Now, I see why you have this arrogance. You really believe that you saved us. Well, let me tell you something. My daddy has four children, including me. Your whole house can fit into his living room. He has multiple businesses. Raised kids and grandkids that weren’t his, and he just bought me a brand-new car. Paid cash for it. And then gave me this.” she opened her envelope and flashed several bills. “So, tell me how I need you again. And you better apologize for putting your hands on me, before I call him back over here to kick your ass.”

  Dewayne was infuriated, as he glanced at Konya. “You gon let your daughter talk to me like this?”

  Konya was still clutching her forehead. “Dewayne, just go. I’ll talk to you later.”

  “Just go? So, when are you coming home?”

  She shook her head. “Just go, Dewayne. We’ll talk later.”

  “Fuck this shit,” he grumbled, before stomping out of the apartment, letting the door slam behind him.

  Rye gave her mama a look of disgust, before stamping back to her room. She was pissed that Konya had allowed Dewayne to step foot into her apartment after everything he’d done. Still, she was satisfied with telling him off, as she realized that she should’ve found her voice a long time ago. To hell with pleasing other people and putting her needs on the backburner. From this point on, she vowed to put her needs first, because if she didn’t, she understood that no one else would.

  ***

  Music was pumping through the club, as the crowd poured in. Little Jaylen and Jahrein Junior had outdone themselves with this event. It was Jaylen’s birthday week, and they’d been partying for days. From Miami to Vegas they’d turned up and was now having the grand finale at home in Houston. The party was a star-studded event, which had several social media elites along with several music entertainers. Not wanting to share profits with any club owner, they’d rented out a space which used to be a club, paying a flat fee, which would expand their profits. The club was once popular and had two levels that were basically two clubs in one. Since it was Jaylen’s birthday, they’d decided to have the entire second floor roped off for V.I.P. That area was meant to be intimate for the people closest to Jaylen. The music wasn’t as loud, there was catered food from Jeremy’s parents’ restaurant, and swanky couches lined the walls. The lower half of the club is where the regular admission people were, along with the stage that several performers were set to grace. Needless to say, the night was bound to be epic, especially for the birthday boy.

  “Happy birthday!” Josairah shouted, as she approached Jaylen although his actual birthday had been a few days prior. He’d been out of town then, so this was her first time seeing him since. “With yo super fly ass,” she teased. “Looking GQ smooth.”

  As usual, he was dressed to impress, donning Saint Laurent everything.

  “Thank
s, kinfolk, you know this light-weight,” Jaylen smiled, as he hugged her. “Who you came up here with?” he questioned as they pulled back, knowing that Jah Junior had come in with him, since they’d organized the event themselves.

  “I came with Key and Jhyrah.”

  “Oh, okay.” He nodded, as he gazed around. “Where they at?”

  “They’re still downstairs.”

  “With who?”

  “Wale ‘nem.”

  He frowned. “Well, shit, why they didn’t come up?”

  Josairah bit her bottom lip, as she held back a grin. “Cause they’re down there with your girl, and I think they don’t want to leave her behind…but you know she can’t come up here.”

  “Who you talking about?”

  “Jazel,” she tittered, speaking on his old flame. They once talked, and she was now with Wale’s cousin.

  Jaylen cracked a gigantic smile. “Oh, my baby.”

  Josairah sucked her teeth. “See, that’s why she can’t come up here. You don’t be giving Craven no type of respect,” she referred to Jazel’s man.

  “Man, aint nobody trippin’ with that man. He the one with the problem. If anything, I should be the one mad. He pulled up to my crib for her, back in the gap. I took it like a player. He needs to do the same. I can’t help that I hit it first, and that pussy used to fit my curve.”

  Josairah sarcastically pursed her lips, as she pointed at them. “Look at my face, nigga. Do you think that I’m buying that bullshit? Yall niggas love to act like yall aint got no feelings, but never practice what you preach.”

  He narrowed his eyes. “What you mean?”

  “I’m talking about your hypocritical ass. You talking about Craven, but aren’t you in your feelings because Wale had Rye first?”

  Jaylen sucked his teeth. “Who told you that bullshit?”

  She placed her hands on her hips. “Oh, so, I’m wrong?”

  “Hell, yeah. It’s deeper than that.”

  “How?” she wanted to know.

  “Okay, I had been giving her the benefit of the doubt. She fucked with me, even though she had a nigga. I told myself that it didn’t matter because the man was foul. But as shit started unfolding I saw it differently. Who knows what drove that man to be so disrespectful, because clearly, she was fucking around too. She was with that cat for years, yet she was facetiming another nigga with her titties out. So, she had to fuck Wale while she was with ole boy. That says a lot about her character. I shouldn’t be taking a broad like that serious. Who’s to say that she wouldn’t do the same shit to me? And then, I just didn’t like how she was moving when she saw that I knew Wale. I could see it in her eyes. She wasn’t gonna tell me shit about fucking with him, until everybody else exposed her ass. So, I can’t fuck with her if I can’t trust her. Period.”

  Josairah sucked her teeth. “Boy, bye. Yall niggas kill me with that double standard bullshit. That girl probably aint no saint. Okay, and? You aint one, either. At the end of the day, her ex was a fuck-nigga, so I don’t blame her for doing her. That don’t make her a hoe. That makes her human. I actually can appreciate the fact that she wasn’t stupid behind him, like some girls would’ve been. She knew what she was dealing with, apparently, and moved accordingly. But that don’t have shit to do with you. Wale was before your time, just like you was before Craven’s time. And just like Craven, you stepped into the picture when she had unfinished business with other people. She hopped right out of a relationship and was fucking with you heavy. So, I could see the last encounter with another man seeming too close. Hell, yall was moving extra fast, which tells me that you was feeling her. Nobody has ever seen you take to a girl like that, but obviously your ego is a muthafucka. You’d rather walk around looking foolish, because you mad that somebody else got to experience the pussy that got you going crazy. But what yall niggas fail to realize is that aint no way in the world that you’re gonna find a chick that everybody wants, but has never been touched, period. Just like you think she’s fine, and wanted to be up under her all the time, you don’t think that the next man sees what you see? I’m sure several niggas you know around the city have tried to holler. This is Houston where muthafuckas be having two degrees of separation. You know that it’s nothing to meet somebody clear across town and yall end up knowing a few of the same people. So, it’s not surprising that she met Wale and messed with him, but it aint cool for you to punish her for something she did when she didn’t even know you.”

  Jaylen scratched the back of his head. “Alright, Josairah.”

  She giggled. “Yeah, nigga, go ahead and scratch that head, cause you know that I’m right.”

  He shrugged. “Maybe.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” she waved him off. “I’m about to go find Jah. Make sure that these hoes don’t make me catch a homicide up in here.” she switched off.

  He chuckled, as she strutted off. Standing there, he thought about everything that she’d just said. He’d been avoiding talking about Rye, and every time she would be over at Ray-Ray’s he avoided stopping by. He definitely had mixed emotions about her. One part of him missed her, while the other side was pissed that she hadn’t heeded any of his advances. Unbeknownst to many, he would still reach out at least once a week, and she would never answer for him, which was a major blow to his ego. So, he wouldn’t admit to another soul that he still craved her, and he had vowed to keep his distance until he could be in the same room with her without sweating her.

  Gazing down at his cell and viewing the last text he’d sent to her over a week ago, he thought about calling her. However, as soon as he had the thought he swiftly changed his mind. If she didn’t answer, his entire mood would shift, and he didn’t need that type of negative energy floating around, so he decided to let her be for the time being.

  Feeling lame for even considering calling her with all those fine women in the building, he decided to head downstairs to mingle. Stepping into the boisterous crowd, he had to stop every few seconds to shake a hand. As he maneuvered through the throngs of people, he ran into Yan and Simone.

  “What’s happenin’, man?” Yan greeted him with a smile.

  “Living, nigga,” Jaylen dapped his boy up. “’Sup, Simone?”

  “Hey.” Simone half-hugged him. “Happy belated birthday.”

  He nodded. “Thank you. Yall got yall V.I.P. wrist bands, right?”

  “Yeah, we got ‘em,” Yan answered.

  “Okay, that’s what’s up. Yall can head up there whenever. I’m about to make my rounds right quick.”

  “For sho’,” Yan uttered, as he tugged Simone along, and they became lost in the crowd.

  Jaylen laughed to himself as he noticed his cousin Terio causally standing around with a huge Cîroc bottle in hand. He was rocking to the music, while his multiple chains were dangling from his neck, basically dancing under the strobe lights.

  “Diamonds on you dancing, huh, boy?” Jaylen placed on hand on Terio’s shoulder.

  “Hell, yeah,” Terio cheesed, before clasping hands with his cousin.

  Jaylen glanced around, noticing all Terio’s minions surrounding them. Unlike him and Jah Junior, Terio was in the streets grinding. He benefited heavily from his families’ clout, so his money was fluid, and he kept a gang of hard-heads around, just in case. This night was no different.

  “You coming up to the section?” Jaylen questioned.

  Terio coolly nodded. “Yeah, in a lil’ bit. All the hoes is down here.”

  Jaylen shook his head. His cousin was always on the prowl, no matter how many chicks he’d already bagged. Pulling and knocking down women was clearly his favorite pastime.

  “See what I’m saying?” Terio grinned, as he spotted a fat ass. “Come here, baby,” he finessed, as he grabbed her hand.

  The girl smiled, lifting her head, and that’s when they realized that he’d grabbed Lea.

  “Oh, shit, what’s up, Lea?” he asked.

  She giggled. “Nigga, let me find out that you thought that I
was somebody else.”

  “Nah,” Terio quickly denied.

  Jaylen found himself glancing around, hoping to see her face.

  “Say, you came here by yourself?” Terio quizzed, looking out for his cousin. He was certain that Jaylen wanted to know.

  “No, my cousin is here too,” Lea answered.

  “What about your girl?”

  She smirked, glancing over at Jaylen. “Rye?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Nah, I tried to drag her ass here, but she wouldn’t get out of the bed.”

  “That’s fucked up,” Terio mumbled. “But say, let me holler at you.” he pulled her away from the crowd.

  Jaylen then decided that it was time for him to move around, as he moseyed to the other end of the club. By then, the deejay had the crowd going nuts, as he spun old school raunchy classics.

  “Can you make it juicy for me? Or I can make it juicy for you. Get sweaty for me and I’ma get sweaty for you…”

  Right in front of him, some random chick bent over, twirling her ass for him. Folding his arms, Jaylen simply stood back, allowing her to do her thing. The girl was performing, breaking a sweat, while Jaylen was mildly entertained. He was about to move on, until he lifted his head, and locked eyes with a familiar face.

  Confidently, she strutted over, stepping around the chick dancing. Cheerfully, she smiled. “Hey, stranger. Don’t act like you can’t speak.”

  Jaylen looked her up and down. Her asymmetrical sassy blonde bob worked well for her. Keeping it simple, yet sexy, she wore skin tight light blue distressed denim jeans, along with a red cropped bustier, and red pumps. “What’s up, Dee? How are you?”

  She twisted side to side, as she stood next to him. “I’m fine. Even better now that I’m seeing you. Happy belated birthday,” she flirted, knowing that he was still very much a single man. From what she’d been told, Rye was a thing of the past, and she could honestly say that she wasn’t surprised. She’d tried to warn her ditzy ass sister that men like Jaylen didn’t settle with just anyone. Frankly, she felt that Rye simply didn’t have the goods for a man of Jaylen’s caliber. Their daddy would always say that a man would be a fool to marry Rye. She was never scholastically the brightest, and had this ghetto quality about her that she couldn’t seemingly shake, although they’d lived in the burbs for a better part of their lives. So, in Dee’s eyes, Jaylen was fair game, and to her they just made better sense.