Page 125 of Buy Back My Love

“Hell no.”

His eyebrows went up. “Why not?”

“Because you would treat that house like it was yours too. Coming over whenever you feel like it, letting yourself in, doing whatever you wanna do.”

“Lee, that’s my baby.”

“And you can see your baby. That don’t mean you need a key to my house.”

JB shook his head. “You always gotta make stuff difficult.”

“No. You just don’t like hearing no.”

“Whatever you wanna call it.”

“The next house I get, I’m buying it myself.”

He gave me a look. “With what?”

I frowned. “What you mean, with what?”

“You know exactly what I mean. You got a record now, Lee. You think buying a house gon’ be easy?”

That hit a nerve. I set the bottle I had been reaching for back on the table.

“Don’t.”

“I’m being real with you.”

“No, you being an asshole.”

“Face it. You need me.”

I sat back and stared at him. “I don’t need you.”

“You do.”

“No, JB. I don’t.”

He sucked his teeth, and whatever patience I had left disappeared.

“You the reason I got a record in the first place.”

His jaw tightened, but he ain’t say nothing.

I pointed around the suite. “You see this? I had to figure this out because people kept shutting doors in my face over a record I got protecting you.”

“Lee.”

“No. You don’t get to throw that felony in my face like I did that to myself.”

JB looked away.

“I figured out somewhere to work. I’ll figure out somewhere to live too.”

“You acting like I said I wasn’t gon’ help.”

“I never said you couldn’t do for your child.”