23

Week later

Tivaughn was sitting at the kitchen table, scrolling through his phone again when the back door opened. Reece walked in, smelling like smoke and the crisp night air, his face still set in that hard, mean expression he always wore. But Tivaughn noticed the way his eyes softened just slightly when they landed on him.

Reece leaned against the counter, fiddling with his blunt like he wasn't sure what to say. Finally, he broke the silence. "You done bein' mad?"

Tivaughn didn't even look up. "Depends. You done givin' me reasons to be mad?"

"I ain't give you no reason in the first place," Reece said, stepping closer. His voice was softer now, the edge gone. "Look, I don't know why that hoe hit me up, but I ain't do shit. You know I don't want nobody else."

Tivaughn sighed, finally setting his phone down and looking up at him. "Reece—"

"Man, stop callin' me that," Reece cut him off, his voice almost a whine now. "I hate when you call me that. You know it."

Tivaughn raised an eyebrow. "What else am I supposed to call you when you actin' up?"

Reece stepped even closer, resting his hands on the table. "Ti, come on. You know what I mean."

Tivaughn's lips twitched. "What, you want me to call you Little Daddy now? After you done pissed me off?"

————

It took about an hour for both of them to cool down. Ti was in the kitchen cleaning up while Reece sat at the dining table, staring at his phone but not really looking at it.

Finally, Reece broke the silence. "Ti."

Ti didn't turn around. "What, Reece?"

Reece flinched at the name again, hating how cold it sounded coming from Ti's mouth. He stood up and walked over to where Ti was, leaning against the counter.

"Can you stop callin' me that?" Reece said quietly, his tone softer now.

Ti side-eyed him. "Callin' you what?"

"You know what," Reece said, his eyes dropping to the floor. "I hate when you call me by my name. Just... stop, aight?"

Ti sighed, putting down the dish he was drying. He turned to face Reece, crossing his arms. "Look, I'm not gon' baby you when you givin' me reasons to be mad, Little Daddy. You wanna act like you don't understand where I'm comin' from, but I ain't finna play dumb for you."

Reece looked up at him, his usual tough demeanor cracking just a little. "I ain't mean for it to get like this. I ain't even entertain her, Ti. I'm serious. You the only one I care about. You and Z. That's it."

Ti studied him for a moment before stepping closer, his voice still firm. "Then don't let me catch no shit like that again, you hear me? 'Cause I ain't got time to be questionin' where we stand. I'm too grown for that."

Reece nodded, his voice barely above a whisper. "Aight. I got you."

Ti's expression softened a little, and he reached up to tug lightly on Reece's chin. "You lucky you cute, nigga. Now stop lookin' like a sad puppy in my kitchen."

Reece huffed out a laugh, leaning into Ti just a little. "Can you call me my name again?"

Ti smirked. "I been callin' you your name."

Reece shook his head, his voice dropping into a whine he'd only use when they were alone. "Boy, you know what I mean."

Ti grinned, finally pulling Reece into a loose hug. "Aight, Little Daddy. You good now?"

Reece nodded against Ti's shoulder, his arms wrapping around him tightly. "Yeah. I'm good."

"Good," Ti said, kissing the side of Reece's head. "Now go get your son's ass in bed. He gon' fall asleep on the couch again."

Reece smiled, his usual tough mask completely gone. "Aight, but you comin' to help."

"I got you," Ti said, slapping Reece lightly on the ass as they left the kitchen. "Let's go, Little Daddy."