Page 45 of Kobalt

“Thank you, man. She’s the best thing I’ve ever done in this world,” Reighvyn confessed.

“The second best. Your best was marrying me,” Dove corrected, making us all laugh.

We talked for a little while longer before we all got caught up in the game and mingling with other familiar faces we saw as well as some fans who we took selfies and videos with. Toward the end of the game, I pulled out my phone and made a quick transaction.

I knew my baby paid a grip for it, so I easily transferred the money she’d paid for the tickets plus a couple of grand back to her, right after a touchdown was scored by the Jaguars.

“Bae,” Kaimera whined, looking up from her phone.

I had put mine away, and I was focused on the game again.

“Wassup, babe?”

“Why did you do this? It was my gift to you,” she complained.

“Because I don’t want you out here spending that kind of money on me.”

“Five grand, babe?” she whispered excitedly.

“Those tickets cost you three, I know.”

“But it was a gift.”

I gripped her fingers with mine, pulled them up to my lips, and kissed the tip of every finger before I lowered them again. She narrowed her gaze at me, and I winked at her before I kissed the tip of her nose. “I love you.”

“I love you, too, Kobe, but you’re not fair.”

“I think I’m very fair, babe.”

“Chiiiile. Let me find out a man giving me money back for a gift I’ve given to him, and he telling me that he gon’ take care of me. I wouldn’t have nan complaint. You hear me? Y’all youngins kill me tryna have y’all pride. Where that heffa at who started all this women’s lib shit at anyway? Somebody need to beat that bitch down,” an elderly woman declared.

She stood behind us at the bar, and I spun around because I recognized her.

“GiGi?” I declared, getting up out of my seat.

“Hey, Kobalt. I thought that was your bigheaded ass, baby. With yo’ fine self. Got GiGi’s nipples over here getting hard,” she stated cheerily as I hugged her.

“Behave, woman. I’m on a date.” I smiled and kissed her cheek.

“I’on care. I’m just tryna tell her how it should be. Shoot, she gon’ fool around and lose you if she doesn’t know how to take care of you. Y’all young women must have some good stuff in your pants, because y’all ain’t got a whole lot in your head,” she stated and tapped her finger against her temple as she stared at Kaimera.

“GiGi, behave,” I warned.

“Ma’am, I was taught to respect my elders. So I’m respectfully asking that you respect me,” Kaimera stated, standing up and walking to where I now stood with GiGi.

“Baby, you ain’t got nan lick of respect. How you gon’ respect me if you can’t even respect yourself?” GiGi asked.

“Excuse me? I have self-respect.”

“You can’t. Not if this man telling you he gon’ take care of you, and rather than you standing down and letting him be the man, you gon’ argue your equal rights to drop a bag on him. Girl, you can’t have no self-respect talking like that. Let that man be a man. He tryna tell you how much you mean to him. Y’all better stop thinking you gotta be on the same level he is.”

“I don’t think we’re on the same level; it was a gift,” Kaimera emphasized. “You shouldn’t have been in our conversation anyway.”

GiGi pulled her earrings off and stepped out of her heels. “I’m tired of y’all chirren running ’round here talking about I need to mind my business. Y’all too foolish to see that GiGi trying to help y’all. I’ma start charging for my services or snatching y’all man right from under y’all eyes. Dumb heffas.”

Kaimera’s mouth dropped. “Did you just call me a dumb heffa?”

GiGi’s fists balled just as I heard, “GiGi! What’re you doing?”