𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐎𝐟 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐋𝐮𝐬𝐭

The Bitter And The Sweet

The loud music coming from the television jolted Aaron from his slumber. He sat on the edge of the plush sectional staring at the chaos in the room. The look on his face was of pure depletion. As an athlete he could read a defense in seconds but going man to man against two toddlers with no back up? It was a whole different level of exhausting. He quickly located the remote and hit the power button to turn the television off. Seconds later he heard the door slam, followed by the sound of keys giggling in the distance.

" Fuck " He whispered as he rubbed the center of his forehead with one of his hands. He could already feel the tension building.

He didn't feel like arguing but it was bound to happen once Kenya saw the disheveled room, and dirty dishes in the sink. He was hoping to have everything cleaned up by the time she arrived but he ended up dosing off. Kenya rounded the corner and was immediately taken aback at what she saw. She took one look around the room and her expression switched to profound tiredness. Their eyes met for a quick second before she looked down at the boys on the floor in their makeshift fort, built with a mixture of blankets, pillows and couch cushions.

" They fell asleep down here?" She asked. Aaron stood carefully, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I gave the nanny a day off. They went hard at the play palace then I took them for ice cream afterwards followed by a movie night. Real talk, Space Jam ended up watching us."

A sudden genuine laugh chipped through her guarded armor. The kind of spontaneous chuckle they used to share all the time. For a split second the heavy tension between them dissolved. Then, just as quickly the warmth arrived, it vanished. Her smile failed and her posture stiffened as she caught herself. She cleared her throat, instantly putting her guard back up.

" right, well, let's get them up to bed." She said, before sitting her keys and purse on the arm of the couch.

He felt the temperature in the room drop. The sting of her coldness hit him in the chest. He stood there looking at her, wanting to call out the fact that he had successfully made her laugh. He wanted to ask her why they had to keep doing this dance. He knew better than to push it so he swallowed his frustration and matched her energy. She squatted down to grab one of the boys but Aaron stopped her.

" I'll take 'em up," He said.

" You sure?" Her brows arched.

" Yeah, I gotta clean this shit up anyway" He replied. Kenya leaned over and gently kissed her babies on their foreheads before standing to her feet. She retrieved her items and began walking towards the steps.

She had been out all day. She hadn't mentioned where she was going, just that she needed to get out. Aaron had the sudden urge to ask where she had been all day but he felt like it wasn't his place to question her. He had lost those privileges a while ago. The further she claimed the stairs, the more eager he became. While chilling with the kids earlier one of them mentioned Kenya having a new friend named Donnie. He wasn't tripping because he knew it was a woman but he wondered why Kenya hadn't mentioned her before. It also made him wonder what else she hadn't been telling him. A part of him felt like it was his own guilt that had him questioning her whereabouts lately. On the other hand he knew how calculating women could be. He thought that maybe the reason Kenya had been so calm was because she had already used the 'get back' method. Fuck it, he was still going to ask. She was already halfway up the stairs by the time he finally had built up the courage to say something.

" Did you have fun tonight?"

" As a matter of fact I did" She replied with a snobby tone, continuing her stride.

" You were out with, Donnie, right?" He asked. His question caused Kenya to immediately freeze.

She turned to face him but didn't come down the stairs. He watched her closely, trying to mask the jealousy in his eyes. He tried to make it seem like he was only repeating what their kids had told him in their daily rambling but inside his heart was hammering against his chest. He wanted to know exactly where the fuck she had been all day, Who was she with, and most of all who the hell was Donnie? Was that a code name for some other nigga she was dealing with on the side?