Page 34 of Full Court Press

“I don’t know if I want her drinking Nia’s breastmilk no more,” Khalil said, looking down at Kiyanne, who was becoming fidgety. I could tell she was about to start crying with the little pout on her face.

“Why?” Nana asked.

“I don’t know if I can trust what she’s putting in her body. I didn’t say anything last week, but when she came over last week starting all that mess, her eyes were glossy, and it wasn’t because of sadness. She was high off something.”

“And why haven’t you said anything? I’ve been feeding her the milk all week.”

“I had a lot going on this week.” His eyes came to me with a sexy leer on his face, and I looked away from him.

“So what do you want to do? My baby has to eat.”

“I’m going to let her finish what’s in there, but we’re going to have to figure something else out after that,” Khalil said, going to the fridge and grabbing a pouch of milk. “Mi Amor, you mind holding her for me while I warm up her milk?” he asked, looking to me.

“Mi Amor. Hmm,” Nana said, smiling wide.

I rolled my eyes at him. This was his third time calling me my love, and I didn’t know how to take this.

“You’re really laying it on thick, aren’t you?” I asked, washing my hands, drying them, then holding out my arms to receive the fussy princess. The feel of her little body against mine felt . . . different. How could anybody not want this precious gem?

Nana tittered. “He’s smitten by you, baby. Out of all the little heffas, including the mother of his child he’s brought here, you’re the first one I’ve seen more than once. And even got a pet name.”

“Why you snitching, Nana? Don’t tell her I like her. She don’t like knowing that.” Khalil smirked at me while putting the bag of milk in the warmer.

“Anyway,” I said, waving him off.

Nana giggled while plating our food. I had the pleasure of feeding little Kiyanne, burping her, then rocking her to sleep. Once she was out, Khalil took her to her room while we sat down and enjoyed the delicious meal Nana prepared. The laughter, the jokes, and Nana telling me stories of Khalil’s background felt good. It made me loosen up enough to actually see Khalil as a person and not someone who had ill intentions.

The way he’d smile, blush, and groan when she’d tell me embarrassing things about him made me smile.

Dare I say it made me like him more?

After dinner, Khalil and I went up to his bedroom to prepare for bed. He allowed me to shower first while he checked on Kiyanne, then went to handle his hygiene while I surfed through channels to find something for us to watch.

By the time he came out of the bathroom with nothing but briefs on, showcasing that thick print, my vagina did some funny stuff that had me dripping in wanting.

He climbed in beside me as I sat nervously beside him.

“You find something good?” he asked.

“Not yet.”

“It’s cool. I don’t want to watch TV anyway. We can put some music on and talk,” he said, taking the remote from my hand and going to YouTube. He settled on Jeremih’s “Oui” then settled against the headboard.

“You ready to ask the million questions you have swimming in that pretty little head of yours?” he asked, pulling my legs onto his lap. I positioned my body to face him while his hands found my feet, and I quickly snatched them away.

“No! Don’t look at my feet!” I exclaimed, trying to tuck them under the comforter. I was embarrassed that I hadn’t gotten the old polish removed from them since last month.

He chuckled. “I already saw your feet the last time you were here, Pipe. Chill.” He took my right foot from under the blanket, and I tried to bend my toes so he couldn’t see what a mess they were. He laughed some more and shook his head. “Tell me about you and your family.”

“There’s not much to tell. I’m an only child, but I have four cousins who all live back home. We don’t talk much, though, because my mom and aunt don’t get along, which got them involved, so they don’t fuck with us.” I shrugged. “My mom is my best friend, so if she don’t like somebody, neither do I, and vice versa. I can tell her anything, and she’d give me the best advice.”

“You tell her about me?” he asked with a smirk on his thick lips.

“No,” I lied and blushed lightly.

“I don’t believe you.”

I rolled my eyes. “Anyway. She was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer last year. To say I was scared out of my mind was an understatement. I almost didn’t come back to True because of it. But she’s in remission and encouraged me to finish out my last year.”