•••
FANCY Nancy's voice could be heard throughout the house. Kirsten was busying twirling around and trying to sing with Nancy. She was dressed in her orange pajamas with her hair all over her head.
Kai sat in his dad's arms looking around. He had his pacifier in his mouth as he gripped his chubby, little hands on Kain's forearm. He kept looking up at his daddy and staring at him.
"You just keep staring at me." Kain told his son as he kissed him on his forehead. He examined Kai and couldn't help but to think about Moonie. He looked just like her-From his brown skin to his chubby, round face and big, brown eyes.
Kai dropped his pacifier from his mouth just so he could give his dad a gummy smile. Kain couldn't help but to smile back. His kids were special to him and he definitely wasn't ashamed to play and talk to them. He was proud of his beautiful creations.
"Man, you look just like Moonie." He said out loud while holding his son up close in his face. Kai put his attention on Kain's beard and tried pulling the hairs from his face.
"Lord have mercy." Kain could hear his mom's voice as she made her way inside the living room. She had on her robe with some slippers. She still had her bonnet over her head. "Juicy, look at this living room."
Kirsten looked over at her grandma and gave her a goofy grin. Patrice couldn't help but to shake her head. Juicy had her dad's smile. She was the female replicate of him.
Toys were sprawled all over the living room floor. Kain had the kids for a couple of days and he was basically letting Kirsten run loose. She could do whatever she wanted. He just didn't want to hear her crying.
"Give me my grandson." Patrice walked over and grabbed Kai right out of Kain's hands. Patrice held him in her arms and cooed to him.
"My chubby grandson-you handsome just like your da-da." She added while kissing him on the cheek.
Kai gave her a small smile as he just laid in her arms. He was dressed in a grey onesie with some socks. Patrice ran her hand over his headful of black, curly hair.
Kirsten walked towards her daddy with her pink tiara. He frowned when she stood on her tippy toes, trying to put it on his head.
"What you tryna do with that?" He questioned his baby. She looked at him with a smile as she stood there with her yellow tiara on.
Instead of answering her daddy, she just crawled on the couch and sat the tiara right on top of his head.
Kain didn't even bother to remove it. Kirsten started clapping and yelling, yay! She hopped down and retrieved her pink wand.
"You want me to play princess with you?" He asked her.
"Yeah!" Kirsten replied while holding her yellow wand. She pointed at the tv and yelled, "Fancy Nancy daddy!"
"I see." Kain watched as his baby bounced up and down with excitement. She loved her some Fancy Nancy-she even had the books.
"Kirsten you need to pick your toys up before you can play princess. Put them away in your toy chest." Patrice instructed her granddaughter.
Kirsten just stood there giving her grandma a look. She was two going on twenty with an attitude.
Patrice had been staying at Kain and Moonie's crib for some days now. She was supposed to go home, but she didn't want to be alone. Samaria was in Atlanta with Austin and wouldn't be back until next month.
•••
"MOONIE, it's pretty." Ava complimented her girl.
Moonie examined her new tattoo and smiled. She had her kid's name tatted on her wrist. Kirsten and Maison's name was inked in small, black, uppercase letters. It was simple-yet beautiful.
"Thanks...It didn't hurt that much. Just a few stings."
"I should get one but I don't know...My pain tolerance is low."
"It's easy." Moonie shrugged.
"You can say that-you pushed two kids out with no medicine. My tolerance is not high, I'll faint." Ava replied while looking off.
Ava was in fact right. Moonie's tolerance for pain was very high. She was always getting into something so she was used to pain.
Kain had the kids for the whole weekend and Moonie was glad. Although, she kind of missed her babies. She was just grateful that she could get a little break from them. Having two kids under five wasn't easy at all.
Kai would sometimes keep her up during the wee hours of the morning. Kirsten was a morning person so she made it her job to wake her mom up around seven to fix breakfast.
After leaving the tattoo shop, the girls hopped in Ava's car and drove into traffic. It was around the afternoon time, so the traffic was horrible. People all around were probably on their lunch break.
"Ooh, look." Ava pointed while looking to her left. Moonie looked over at well and gave Ava a look.
"Don't tell me you know about that store?"
Ava smirked. "Hell yeah."
Moonie looked back over at the sex store and couldn't help but to shake her head.
"You want to go in?" Ava questioned her. "I heard they got some sex dolls-they're expensive too."
"I don't know..." Moonie trailed off while touching her forearm. She wasn't a fan of sex toys, they never really got her attention. She was so used to getting the real thing-she didn't even think about no toys.
"Let's gooooo." Ava begged her. "You know you're not getting no dick anyway. You got Kain in the doghouse and plus you're staying with your people. Girl you need to buy you some fake dick so you won't give in..."
"Please." Moonie cut her off. She wasn't that damn desperate for sex. In the beginning, she was smitten by sex. But now she was growing and learning that sex can't fix everything.
She didn't want to give in to Kain at all and she wasn't about to. Moonie wanted to be taken serious and that's exactly what she was trying to get Kain to see. She was sick of him trying to manipulate and control her.
"I'm not gonna give in no time soon..." Moonie added. "Your cousin won't be getting any of this until he learns his lesson."
Ava glanced over at Moonie and realized she wasn't playing at all. She didn't showcase a smile or grin.
"Damn, you really serious?"
"As a fucking heart attack." Moonie replied.
"Well I'm going to the sex store anyway. If you want to get out and get yourself something soothing...I suggest you do it."
After escaping traffic, Ava parked right in the parking lot of Pleasure City. They hopped out and walked right in.
Moonie looked around and noticed how organized and empty the place was. She and Ava were the only customers inside. The cashier leaned on the glass counter staring at them.
"Welcome to Pleasure City, can I help you girls with anything?" Some Caucasian woman asked.
"Hey, we're just gonna look around." Ava replied nicely while walking with Moonie who was in a daze.
Moonie looked around and couldn't help but to feel some kind of way. She was in dickland and couldn't wait to buy herself some toys.
"What is this?" She asked Ava while tapping the box.
Ava gave Moonie a devious smirk before answering, "Ben Wa Balls...oooh, Moon you a freak."
"No, I just asked you-I don't even know what they're for." Moonie smirked while holding the box. "You put them in your ass or something?"
"Only if you want them to get stuck. These are designed for the vagina and the vagina only. You can use them for Kegel exercises or to stimulate an orgasm."
Moonie could use some stimulation. She read the price tag that was stamped on the box-$37.49.
"I'm getting it...it's small so I'll be able to manage."
"I might need some too-for my Kegel exercises." Ava reasoned.
"Yeah right." Moonie smirked while looking around at the other items.
Pleasure City had all kinds shit. Dildos, vibrators, anal toys, lubes, cuffs, and many other shit to get off with.
Moonie managed to get herself a vibrator and the Ben Wa Balls. That was enough for her. Ava, on the other hand, had all kinds of shit. From nipple clamps to a realistic, ten-inch dildo. Moonie wasn't too surprised, Ava was a freak. She sometimes bragged to Moonie about her sex skills.
•••
"I CAN'T wait to go home and try out these Ben Wa Balls." Ava stated while biting down on her bottom lip and moving in her seat.
"What are you supposed to do after they're in?" Moonie asked curiously.
"Walk around with them inside of you, do normal shit. You can even use your vibrator to add more stimulation. This shit will have you cumming back to back-I'm telling you girl."
Moonie smirked while daydreaming about the Ben Wa Balls. She was a little hesitant about them at first, but now she did wanted to try them.
Her phone started buzzing, breaking her away from her nasty thoughts. She pulled out her iPhone and noticed a text from Kain.
My son needs some more milk. I'mma stop by and pick some more up. Kain.
Moonie rolled her eyes upwards and typed up her reply. She sent it off without hesitating.
Just bring him home. Moonie.
Home? Kain.
That's what I said. You can keep Kirsten if you want. Moonie.
When the girls made it to Ada and Gerald's house, they noticed a white Land Rover parked outside.
"Whose ride is that?" Ava asked while studying the truck hard.
"I have no idea..." Moonie replied while getting out of the car. She held a couple of bags in her hand as she stepped towards the steps.
She had bags from many stores since she had been out shopping and mingling; Moonie made sure she bought her babies a couple of things-just because.
Both girls stepped inside the spacious house and noticed Ada sitting in the living room with a baby in her arms. Moonie was about to frown until she realized the baby wasn't hers.
This baby had a light-skin complexion and he was slender with small curls. Kai, on the other hand, was more of a dark caramel complexion. He was super chubby and his curls were bigger and looser.
"Whose baby?" Moonie asked her grandma while holding on tight to her bags. She didn't want anybody peeking inside of them.
"This is Duke's baby." Ada replied while looking over at her granddaughter. "Hey Ava."
Ava greeted the woman back as she took a seat on the couch. Moonie just stood there with her eyebrows furrowed.
She didn't care for Duke at all. He was her cousin-unfortunately. His mom and her grandmother were sisters. She disliked him because he had tried to sleep with her at a young age.
"You didn't know he had a baby."
"Who in they right mind would get pregnant for him?" Moonie asked smartly while looking at the baby. He was such a cutie-he kept looking over at Moonie with his brown eyes.
Ada had no idea why Moonie had remarked that way. She didn't know anything about Duke trying to sleep with her so she was clueless. "Stop that. You know he's still with Alex."
"Where are they? Don't tell me they just dropped him off with you and left."
"Moonie I asked to keep him."
Moonie curled her upper lip. "Why?"
Ada darted her eyes from left to right. "Because I wanted to..."
"You could've kept my baby."
"I always see Kai...I just wanted to spend time with Zavier."
"Um...that's his name?" Moonie looked towards the baby. He just watched her without smiling.
"Yeah..." Ada trailed off while looking her granddaughter over. "What the hell-you got a tattoo?"
Moonie looked at her wrist that was wrapped in clear bandage.
"Yeah...so whose truck is out there?"
"Duke. He took my car to get my tires changed."
Moonie rolled her eyes hard and walked off. Clearly, she had an attitude and her grandmother could sense that.
"I'll go talk to her." Ava announced. She managed to huff as she started trailing Moonie. When they got in the room, she closed the door behind her.
"What the hell is your problem?"
"Nothing." Moonie replied dryly while putting her phone on the charger. She had this nonchalant expression on her face as she sorted out her bags.
"Something must be wrong..." Ava trailed off. "Don't tell me you're upset about your grams keeping the baby. Cuz your babies are always here."
"It's not that Ava, alright? Matter of fact it's nothing. I said I was good-let me be."
Ava rolled squinted her eyes as she looked at her up and down.
Moonie stood across from her dressed nicely in an orange hoodie with some skinny jeans. Her natural, curly hair covered her face. She was beautiful but her attitude was awful.
Ava eyed Moonie cautiously and said, "Don't get no attitude with me...I'm just tryna look out for you."
"I know...and I don't have an attitude."
Moonie's phone started vibrating, letting her know that she had a message. She sighed while scanning the message quickly. She didn't want to seem suspicious to Ava.
You busy? Luke.
She pulled up her keyboard and typed rapidly.
No. Why? Moonie.
I'm tryna take you out tonight. Luke.
Luke, I can't be going out with you. I'm married. Moonie.
As friends...that's not illegal. Luke.
"Who got your attention?" Ava asked. "That damn phone is going off like crazy."
"Kain..." The lie slipped out of Moonie's mouth before she could even think.
"Ohhhh..." Ava trailed off with a smirk on her face. "That nigga tryna get you back, I see."
Moonie just nodded her head.
"Looks like you won't be needing them toys then."
Moonie held her phone in her hand tightly as she leaned on the side of her dresser. She pursed her lips and waved her girl off. She was definitely going to use her toys.
•••
Knock, knock.
IT took a minute but the front door did open. They stood there for a minute-taking each other in. Kain towered over her as he stood there with Kai in his arms. Moonie stood near the door, looking at him.
"Hey, pretty girl." Moonie held Kirsten in her arms and smothered her chubby face with kisses. Eventually, she put Kirsten down and allowed her to run in the house.
Kain smelled nice, his fragrance almost had Moonie in a trance. Keyword. Almost. She held her arms out and waited for him to give her Kai.
"Where you been?" He questioned her while eyeing her attire. She looked laid back, but Kain wasn't feeling it at all. He just had to say something.
"I was out shopping with your cousin..."
He continued to study her. "Shopping? With Ava."
"Yeah...can I have my baby now?"
"Yeah." He trailed off and passed her Kai. She held her baby in her arms and gave him a gentle squeeze. She was going to love on him as much as she could. He was the last baby she would have for a while.
He gave her one last look as he handed over Kirsten and Kai's diaper bag.
"Alright...I'll let you know when you can get them again." Moonie started to walked away but was stopped by Kain.
"Moon, what we doing?" He questioned her.
She turned to look at him with a nonchalant expression. Kai was busy looking around as he held one of Moonie's tendrils in his hand. He was always grabbing and pulling on something.
"I just need time away from you. That's all." She replied.
"Shit..." Kain cursed. "I'm giving you time and I'm tryna respect your wishes. But I feel like you don't care about me no more. Like you don't even want to be with me or around me."
It took Moonie a minute to say something. Lately, she had been pulling herself away from Kain. Day by day, her interest for him was growing weak.
"Well, I'm still upset about how you took advantage of me. You act like I can't make decisions for myself. You destroyed my only dream Kain. You ruined my shop-you and Kareem. And I'm still mad about it-I'm mad as hell."
"I fucked up, I know..." He trailed off while looking down at his shoes. His eyes glanced over at her. "But I want to make things right between us."
"We can talk about it later...right now I'm not in the mood to fix anything."
Kain was really suffering-both internally and externally. He wasn't able to control Moonie like he wanted to and that shit had him wanting to bite nails off. He grew up in a controlling household and that reflected on him terribly.
•••
THE morning rolled in and Moonie was up and washed as usual. She had fed her kids breakfast, took a hot bath with her kids, and now they were lounging around the house.
Kai laid in her arms, pulling on her pendant necklace. Kirsten's eyes were glued to the television. Moonie had Sing! On and that was her baby's favorite musical animation.
Moonie's mind went on Luke. He had been texting her like crazy, trying to take her out. Her answers were always no. She didn't want to step out on her husband. Yes, they were on a break but she only wanted to separate to get herself together. She didn't want to be all in another man's face.
"You alright this morning?" Audrey questioned her granddaughter. She had kept Zavier over night so he was still there.
She interrupted Moonie's thoughts.
"I'm fine..." Moonie replied while looking over at the baby. Like yesterday, he managed to eyeball her. This time, his eyes were on Kai's.
"Don't be staring at my baby like that." She taunted Zavier and couldn't help but to let out a little laugh.
Audrey gave her granddaughter the side eye. "You jealous because I kept him overnight?"
"No, not at all. I just don't care for his dad."
Audrey furrowed her eyebrows, and asked why. Moonie didn't even get a chance to explain. There was a couple of knocks on the door.
Duke's fiancée, Alexis, walked inside. She greeted Audrey and placed her eyes on Moonie. They grew big once she realized Moonie.
"Hey Moonie. Girl I haven't seen you in a long time." Alexis greeted her. "You look so different."
"Hey." Moonie stated dryly as she bounced her baby in her lap.
"These your kids? I knew about her but I didn't know you had a son, too." Alexis asked.
"Yeah...he's just five months."
Moonie peered over at Alexis. Her weight had increased since the last time she'd seen her. She was still pretty, she just had weight on her from being pregnant.
Moonie watched as Alexis played with Kirsten. Juicy wasn't a friendly person at all. She just stood there with her baby doll in her hand. She looked over at her momma and glanced over at Alexis.
"Where Duke?" Audrey questioned Alexis.
"Work-the usual." Alexis replied while holding her son in her arms. She grabbed his diaper bag as she continued to talk.
"I hope he's coming back over here soon...my yard needs to be mowed. He knows that Gerald can't go out there and do too much. I told him that when he brought my car back last night."
Moonie sat there listening with her eyes pulled into slits. Fortunately, she was able to dodge her cousin. When he arrived, she was in the room knocked out with her kids.
She wanted to avoid him as much as possible.
•••
Kain didn't fuck with Diesel too much, but he felt like he needed to check up on his older brother. He pulled up in Diesel's driveway and hopped right out. There was only one car parked in the driveway and that was a Bentley.
Kain knocked on the door several times and didn't get an answer. He pat his pocket just to make sure he was still strapped. Out of curiosity, he twisted the knob and the door opened.
Kain furrowed his eyebrows in suspense as he looked around the dark, quiet foyer.
"Dee!" He called out while closing the door behind him. "You got this door unlocked and shit."
Diesel's house was big so Kain had to look in a few rooms to find the man. He didn't know if he was actually at home, but something told him to check.
Kain was about to give up until he opened the last door downstairs. Diesel was in his office slumped over with a bottle of Henny in his hand.
Kain stood there for a minute, trying to figure out why his brother was on the floor with a bottle in his hand. On his desk was a pistol sitting out in the open.
"Aye." Kain kicked him with his foot. "Get up man."
Diesel moved a little and mumbled some shit as he tighten his grip around the bottle. He laid there in his silk Armani pajamas-typical rich nigga attire. He looked over at Kain and squinted his eyes since he was confused.
"What you doing here?" Diesel questioned him with a slur. "H-how did you get in?"
"I came here to check on you. You left the front door unlocked man."
"Shit..." Diesel cursed while leaning over. "Man, how did I end up on the floor?"
"Nigga you don't need to drink." Kain used his strength to help Diesel off the floor. He could smell the stench of alcohol fuming from his breath and clothes. He managed to sit him on the couch.
"I'm trying to stop-I'm trying." Diesel slurred.
"What's up with you? Why you laying up in the dark with a Henny bottle?"
"Man..." Diesel's voice cracked. "She took everything from me-every fucking thing."
Kain knew exactly who his brother was talking about. Diesel and his wife, Lindsay, had settled their divorce. Unfortunately, she took him to the cleaners. As a lawyer, Diesel was confident that he would at least keep half of his assets.
Lindsay was a lawyer as well and she knew a lot of people in her field. Judges, police officers, lawyers, the list goes on. She had connection since she came from a steady family. Her well-known, maiden name-Bellemore got her a lot of advantages and favors.
"I loved her man and she fucked over me." Diesel continued. "I was just bait to her. She saw a good thing so she went for it."
"Where yo' kids at?" Kain questioned him.
"Gone...she took them from me and turned them against me."
"Damn." Kain cursed as he studied his brother. He felt sorry for him. "Come on man, you gotta get out of this funk and get washed up."
"I can't man..." Diesel replied in his cracked voice. Tears rolled down his face as he sipped on his Henny.
Kain snatched the bottle out of his hands and said, "Yes you can. You can start now-take your ass upstairs and get in the shower. I'mma order some food so you can eat."
•••
Moonie walked in the house with Chise and Kirsten in tow. She set her purse on the counter along with her phone.
"Can't speak, Miss bougie?"
Moonie glanced over at her aunt and leaned down to put Chise on the floor. She wagged her tail anxiously as she tried to jump on Kirsten.
"Nicole..." Moonie replied dryly.
"What you doing over here, girl? Kain got tired of you and put you out?"
Nicole was leaning on the counter. She was dressed in casually-a simple shirt with some jeans. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail. Moonie noticed how different her aunt looked-she was slimmer now.
"Kain can't put me out of nothing. We got that house together."
"Well why are you over here?" Nicole asked nosily.
"We're just taking a break-that's all."
Moonie regretted coming back to her grandparents house. She just knew that her aunt was going to say something smart. Nicole was rooting for Kain and Moonie to breakup.
"And you decided to leave your house?" Nicole sucked her teeth and said, "Girl you should've put his ass out."
"You still living in Lakeland's?" Moonie questioned her, being petty.
Nicole didn't know if her niece was being funny or not. She pursed her lips a little and said, "Hell no, I been left. I got my own house now."
Moonie looked down at her medium-length, manicured nails. "Nice..."
Kirsten tugged on her momma's shirt, trying to get her attention.
"Hey pretty girl." Nicole said to Kirsten while touching one of her plaits.
Kirsten just stared at Nicole while holding a twenty-dollar bill in her hand.
"Who gave you twenty-dollars? Papa?" Moonie asked her daughter.
Kirsten shook her head no. Moonie knew that her baby was confused. She always got her head gestures mixed up.
"I wish people would stop giving you money-go put it in the room on the bed."
Kirsten pranced off while holding on tight to her money. She didn't even bother to put her money in the room.
"Well if you excuse me...I have something important to do." Moonie glanced over at her aunt and called Chise while walking out of the kitchen with her nose in the air.
Nicole rolled her eyes at her niece. She could sense the change in her. The money-Kain's money had turned her out. She was definitely less humble and more arrogant than before.
•••
"MAISON has an appointment at twelve." Moonie informed her grandmother. "I'mma stop by my house and pick up some papers that I need for him. I was trying to race out the house and I forgot to get my kid's important documents."
Audrey darted her eyes over at her granddaughter. "You sure you want to go over there? What if he won't let you leave?"
Moonie blew out some air. "Kain is not that crazy."
"I don't know-love will make you do some crazy things."
"Yeah but I don't think he'll do something like that." Moonie reassured her grandmother while holding her son in her arms.
And just like that, Moonie was out the door with her kids. She bumped her music all the way to her house. She turned the radio down and noticed that the driveway was empty. Kain wasn't home and she was glad.
She hopped out the car, grabbed her kids, and tried to unlock the door. Before she could unlock the door good, it flew open. Moonie looked up and frowned.
Patrice stood there with looking pretty with her hands on her hips. Her hair was styled as usual and she kept her nails on point.
"Why are you in my house?" Moonie questioned her with an attitude. She didn't know what the fuck Kain had going on.
TO BE CONTINUED