"Aw, why so sad, lil' pup?"

"Ryker, I ain't got time for your shit today so-"

"Well, you stuck with my shit today, so open your damn ears."

I ain't ever getting a beer with Ryker again. If I wanted somebody to nag at me, I would've pissed Kyra off again. Ever since I married her, he's got something to say.

"Now, I just so happen to watch the television last night and saw how Kyra had your ass twiddlin' ya thumbs like a kid that's 'bout to get his ass beat. You for real, nigga? That's how you act when nobody's looking?"

My hands cover my face as he grills me like a summer barbecue. Again, I ain't ask for any of this.

"It's 'bout time you put her in her place, bruh. You got it in you; you just never use it. You stay afraid of hurting people's feelings."

But what's wrong with that though? As long as there's no drama, we're good.

"Lemme tell ya something, Tripp. It's only gonna take one time, one muthafuckin' time for you to lose your got damn mind. That's when she'll straighten her ass up."

I slide my hands down my face and I sit back in defeat. I haven't been blessed with that power yet. I'm a soft man with a pretty soft heart. My mouth ain't that foul.

As you can see, my love life ain't shit right now. With the new reality show and all that, things ain't been working out. My career's down the toilet since I have to travel all the time for Kyra's acting jobs.

Basically, I'm living by the principle 'happy wife, happy life'. I put my life on hold so Kyra can live out her dreams. Anything for my wife, right?

It's easy to tell somebody to leave their partner when you ain't in their shoes. How can I do that when we have a child together? We've built a whole empire together and it's not easy to just walk away from a marriage like that.

We have our moments but not rough enough to leave her. It's better to try and fix it than leave her. She'll find a way to come back and ruin my relationships with other people.

Love's way too complicated.

"It don't have to be though. You the one that makes it complicated. You don't have to deal with her but you do it anyway. Hell if I know why."

It's as if Ryker is reading my mind or I'm speaking out loud. Either way, he realizes how stressed I am.

"Well, can we change the subject now? This is the one time cameras aren't around me and I just wanna chill." I say as I sit back on the couch again.

We're here at an old bar that the guys and I used to sneak out and hit up when we were seniors. Isaiah used to get his brother to make us all fake I.D.s and we'd come here just to hit on college girls and get free drinks. Of course, they had more luck with the ladies than I did.

This bar is one that many don't know about so it helps when I need to get away from the cameras. All underground and private.

"Cool. How's the kids?" Ryker asks me, pulling me back into the present.

Giving him the side eye, I say "Safari is just fine. She thinks we've been spending too much time together. She wants to hang with her mom now."

You can only guess why though.

"Oh yeah, I know. She calls her Aunt Darian all the time. Her momma needs to get with that. Anyway, you know who I'm talking about though."

Honestly, I haven't written a word to him in years. Kyra thought that it distracts me from the family we've made and my dumb ass fell for it. Plus, after everything that went down years ago, I want nothing that reminds me of that woman. It takes me away from my marriage and I just feel guilty.

I refuse to be like my parents. Divorced, broken, and bitter. Safari will have her mother and father in her life. She deserves that much. She doesn't even know about Noah. She doesn't need to because that will only confuse her.

"Hell if I know, Ryke. Ask Darian. She'll probably know." I say, placing my shot of scotch to my lips and throwing it back. As it burns down my throat, he gives me this pitiful shake of his head.

"I really can't believe you, man. You got a whole kid, a boy who needs his daddy to teach him how to be a man-"

"He's got one, remember?"

Ryker forgot that she's married to that financial advisor or whatever the hell he is. They went to their wedding so he should know.

"And? That ain't his real pappy and he knows that. He knows you are his real daddy and you owe it to him to be there-"

"Did Journee put you up to this? If so, keep all that to yourself."

Taking another swig, I shake the thoughts out of my head and let the contents of the shot burn my insides even further. Hopefully, it helps me forget about this conversation later.

Another man has been taking care of that boy since he was born. Who am I to stop him? He's got everything I've never had and he's way better for Noah. I could tell in the way he treats Journee. There's really no reason why I should step in.

"Why? So you can feel good about yourself? Listen up, nigga. This is low, even for your dumb, lover boy ass. That's your blood. What's gonna happen when he grows up and sees you walking down the street? He'll be pissed as hell because you were never there for him."

"Won't ever happen. Ain't no way we'll cross paths."

One.

"Nigga, that boy will sock you in the face for talking that shit. Davin ain't no soft man like yo' ass. What if he calls Davin his daddy and not you?"

"I wouldn't care."

Two.

"Bullshit. You'll cry like you did when we were in high school and you lost Kyra to Terrell. What you gonna do when he falls in love and gets married? He ain't gonna invite you-"

And there goes my shot in my hand and my common sense. Scotch all over Ryker as I charge at him and yell "Didn't I fuckin' tell you to shut the hell up?! You always do this shit on purpose!"

Soon, a guard comes around to assess the situation while I'm giving Ryker a hard scowl and a fist of fury.

Luckily, I have plans to leave right after this.

"You know something? That's the same energy you need to use on ol' girl you claim is your wife. Also, with that punk that your son is calling 'daddy' right now. You got balls; use them."

Sighing at his remarks, I place my hands on my hips and become dizzy. I'm shaking my head and am reminded of the fact that I'm drunk as hell. Damn Scotch.

****

What's up, y'all!

My plan is to try to update every Monday before October gets here because I got a whole other project I have to get started on.

Anyway, what y'all think about Tripp? Is he wiggin' or is his feelings understandable?

Do y'all think he's gonna go after Noah or still step back?

Is Ryker doing too much or did he say exactly what Tripp needed to hear?

Thanks for reading and I promise to attempt to have a chapter up at least by every Monday.