Kisses and Warfare

“Yes, home.”

“I drove you,” he says, stating the obvious.

“No shit,” I reply, complete with an eye roll. “My sister is coming.”

“She isn’t welcome,” Blaze says.

“I don’t fucking care. Lucky for you, I’m leaving.” I turn to walk away, but run straight into a hard body, almost falling backward.Marley looks down at me, a drink in his hand as he smiles. He doesn’t bother to help me straighten myself, and I give him my best fuck you stare.

“We haven’t even fucked yet,” Blaze says.

“Yeah, that’s not happening,” I reply with a shake of my head.

I can’t get far as Marley hasn’t moved, so I look up at him. “If you don’t move, I will kick you right between your legs. Do you hear me?”

Marley looks behind him, then nods his head and steps to the side.

“Thanks for nothing, asshole.”

“I’ll see you tonight at work,” Blaze yells.

I cringe.

This can’t keep happening.

This shit needs to stop.

“No. Don’t come in.”

“Now, why would I not? It’s my place.”

“Because you distract the girls,” I reply, waving my hand to the two who are already here. Granted I fired one, and the other is almost fired if she keeps her shit up.

“Or, do I distract you.”

“No. No, you don’t.”

Blaze gets up and walks over to me. When he leans down to get in my face, I can smell whiskey on his breath and pull back.

“I think I do.”

“If you keep fucking with the girls, I will quit. Stop coming in, and let me run the place as I have done way before you came along.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Luckily for me, I don’t care what you want,” I say back to him.

“Kat.” I turn at the sound of my sister’s voice, she’s dressed in one of Marcus’s shirts and a pair of shorts. She looks from me to Blaze, then lets her eyes float around the room. When she stops at someone, her eyes narrow. I turn to see who she’s looking at—Silver.

“Do you know her?” I ask as Rochelle walks over closer to me.

“She tried to fuck with my relationship. I hate her, and she’s lucky I don’t let my fist go through her pretty little fucking face,” Rochelle says with venom in her voice as she looks to Silver, who has the decency to glance away from a furious Rochelle. Looking to Blaze, he’s watching Rochelle, afraid she’s going to lose it, and I wouldn’t blame her. Rochelle has a tendency to let her fists fly first. I know from growing up with her. But she’s pregnant now with Blaze’s niece or nephew.

“Like I said, you come back in to the club, and I will walk out.” I turn, but his voice stops me. “You should just quit then. No woman gives me ultimatums.”

“I quit,” I say while walking out with no qualms about it.

Rochelle follows me out until we reach the car. Her hands are shaking as she squeezes the steering wheel. “I hate her, why was she there?”

“She works for me. Well, did,” I say, knowing I have just quit a fucking job I need.

Goddammit!

“Mischa works for you?” she says, her eyes wide. “Blaze knew this?”

“Well, yes.”

“I’m telling Marcus. For fuck’s sake. This shit is not cool. She was the one who lied and said she slept with Marcus. I couldn’t hate her more.” Rochelle starts the car and throws it in reverse, driving out fast. She takes me home so I can get my car and pick up my daughter from Mom’s.

When I get out of her car, I look down at her. “Calm down. Marcus loves you, and only you.”

She nods.

“I know, but she’s a real bitch, that one.”

Then she drives off, not slowly either.“He calls you by your first name,” my mother says, bouncing Annabelle on her lap.

I’m still so tired and have to remember to be calm. “Yes, he does.”

“You like this one?” she asks.

When I look up at her, her eyebrows are raised, and she has a smile on her face. “I can’t remember the last man you actually liked,” she says, surprising me. “You never brought anyone home, and you’ve never spoken about any, which was so surprising to me when you said you were pregnant.” She looks down at Annabelle. “Do you like him?”

“I do, but he isn’t right for me. For so many reasons. And I have to think of Annabelle now. No one else,” I say, standing and reaching for her. I need to go home and sleep, and preferably sleep with my baby girl by my side.

“Just don’t let that stop you from falling in love, Kat. You do deserve to be loved by someone else other than your family.”

“I will, thanks, Mom.” I take Annabelle to leave. But before I do, my mother gives me food for dinner, which she cooked last night, and I’m thankful. I haven’t told her that she will no longer need to care for Annabelle, since I no longer have a job. Especially not when we’re just starting to get along without biting each other’s heads off.