Lovin' Harlem

Ch. 2

           

I sat outside of Nicki's townhouse with a stomach full of nerves. After leaving her shop, I put in a couple applications for an apartment and several townhouses. As soon as I was done meeting my daughter, I planned on driving over to my mom's house to check on her. It had been way too long since I saw her and I couldn't put it off any longer. 30 minutes passed with me waiting on Nicki to call me and when she finally did, I almost declined the call and drove away. Instead I unlocked the door and headed up the sidewalk with my head down.

                                "Hey boo, my bad Eva was on the phone. I don't think you should just tell Harlem you're her daddy. That would um..."

                                "Nah, I'm cool with waiting. I just wanna see her," I said and nodded my head. Nicki turned around and allowed me to follow behind her thru the hallway, into the living room. She had changed into comfortable clothes since I saw her earlier and my God it was hard not to stare. Her hips were glued into the black yoga pants and the belly shirt she was wearing showed off a belly ring and toned abs. Nicki snapped her fingers and smiled.

                                "What you starin' at boy? You better keep them pretty ass eyes to yourself," she held onto her flirty smile before making her way to the black love seat while I sat on the matching couch. Her place was nice and cozy but it felt like it was missing something.

                                "But foreal, is yo nigga gon' pop up unannounced or something? Cause I don't feel like layin' a nigga out, Nicki," I laughed but she knew I was being serious. She chuckled and shook her head.

                                "Boy I'm single, stop. Anyways, Harlem is supposed to be finishing in the tub and getting dressed for bed but I'm sure she's up to something because she's way too quiet," Nicki laughed and rubbed her knee nervously. I nodded my head and tried not to let my eyes fall on her. Growing up she had braces and untamable, wild hair but now both of those things were nonexistent. Her hair was straightened but in a loose ponytail and her teeth were beyond perfect. The mole on the left side of her face also stood out and that's when I noticed she was smirking and shaking her head. She caught me staring again. I sighed and laughed off the embarrassment. Nicki got up and went to the kitchen while I stayed put. I heard her cleaning up and throwing some things away before she began washing the dishes. Once she was done, she returned to the living room with a dry dish towel in her hands. A few minutes after she sat down, the prettiest little girl I had ever seen in my life walked downstairs with an extremely worn out teddy bear in her hand. Not only did Harlem and I share the same eyes and cheek bones but she even had my nose. She smiled once she saw Nicki and scurried over to the loveseat before her eyes fell on me. I watched her body tense up while she climbed into Nicki's lap.

                                "Can we watch Frozen?" Harlem asked Nicki as she made herself comfortable. Nicki nodded her head and reached for the remote before she glanced at me. Harlem's hair was in a wild frenzy but it was cute. Instead of wearing pajamas like I had expected, she was wearing a princess costume and she had a wand sitting in her lap.

                                "I want you to say hi to my friend, Terrell," Nicki said while she turned her TV on. Harlem smiled shyly and held her head low enough so I couldn't see her face. She raised a hand and waved quickly before hugging her teddy bear. I felt myself falling in love with this little girl the more I looked at her. There was no denying that she was mine.

                                "Nice to meet you, Harlem," I smiled at her and watched her squirm nervously in Nicki's lap. Once Frozen was playing, her attention was solely on the TV screen. This was the first time I had sat down and watched a movie like this and I knew it wouldn't be the last time. Harlem didn't say a word until Nicki started braiding her hair and the only thing she said was "Ow" and even that was almost inaudible.