“And another thing, if I even catch you in the room with that bitch it’s up.” I winked at him and got off the bed to go get ready to leave.
He laughed behind me, then I heard what sounded like him getting up. I was right because within seconds his arms were wrapped around my body and his chin was buried in the crook of my neck. “You like that?”
“Very much. Let her know y’all’s arrangement is done and she no longer needs to hit you up.”
“How do you know we had an agreement, and it wasn’t ju?—”
“Stop while you’re ahead, North.” I rolled my eyes to the ceiling.
“Or what?”
“Fuck around and find out. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get ready to go and so do you.” Peeling his hands from my body I called myself leaving him in the master suite alone, but he was right on my heels.
“I know. There ain't no reason why we can’t take a shower together to conserve water and all that good shit.”
I didn’t even turn around and look at him. I could almost bet he had a smirk on his face because he gave not one fuck about conserving water. Though I knew his reasoning was bullshit, I didn’t stop him from stripping down and joining me. I mean after all this was a massive showroom. Not to mention the fact that I was craving him in a way that would definitely have us leaving much later than twelve.
It’s safe to say we were late getting to the mall, because North damn sure didn’t stay in his respective corner, and I didn’t require him to. By the time we exited his bedroom Niema hadnot only gotten herself together, but she had also gotten Ssiah together.
“Yo, what the fuck is that in your hand?” North’s voice broke my thoughts.
I blinked a few times, then looked down at the clothing I was holding in my hand. “They’re clothes, North.”
“But for who? You be tryna dress Messiah like a proper lame. Buy that shit on your own time, but not when you’re with me.”
Did I mention he was holding Messiah in one hand and items that he picked out in the other? Messiah looked just as content and This nigga was something else.
“Asshole,” I mumbled, before walking away and leaving him to do what he was doing. No matter what I loved the way he was with Ssiah. He wasn’t trying to replace Argus, but he was there. I couldn’t help but be thrust back into the moment when I first told him about Argus.
“You know I got you and Ssiah, right? Regardless of the fact that you keep tryna push a nigga away.”
“Push you away? I’m not pushing you away. I’m just in my ow?—”
“Don’t bullshit me, Avery,” he insisted on calling me by my middle name.
“I’m not bullshitting you. If I was trying to push you away, I wouldn’t be here. Don’t you think?” I looked around his large living room before my eyes landed back on him.
He laughed. “That’s what you say now, but I mean what I said.” Truth is I believed him when he said that too, and ever since then he’d been present with Messiah.For me it was the fact that I didn’t have to ask him for that, he just did it.
Exiting my thoughts, I decided to leave him to what he was doing. I let him know then I was going across to the store that Niema was in. I’m sure I’d like helping her more than being in aKid’s Foot Lockerwith North and Messiah. What made it evenworse was the fact that Messiah seemed to take North’s side 100 percent with the way he not only clung to him but also laid his head on his shoulder.
“What do you think about this?” Niema asked as soon as I was standing in front of her. She was holding up a blue crop top.
“It’s nice, but I know you haven’t been over here all this time for this one thing.”
“I haven’t but it’s the only thing that I found that I like. Can you help me? I like the way you dress anyway.”
Nodding my head, I came closer to her and began to go through the rack with her. I peeped that she low key needed this. Lately she’d been in her head, but for good reason. She was a teenage girl who had just lost her mother; a mother who had abandoned her leaving her to be raised by her brothers. I knew a little something about that abandonment, but not as deep as hers. No matter what, I always had my father, but she had neither parent. That’s not to take away from North and Namari because she was the apple of both of their eyes. They moved mountains for this child, but still it wasn’t the same.
She and I searched the store for about thirty more minutes and found a few things, before we moved to another store. By that time North and Messiah were trailing eatingCinnabon. The number one trick with my baby was to give him a snack, he loved the snacks, and they extended how long he could go before he started whining of exhaustion.
“Do you love my brother?” Niema asked out of the blue. We were in the changing room, and she was trying on a pair of jeans.
She must’ve seen the expression on my face because immediately she started laughing. “We’re working to?—”
“Adult talk for yes, but you haven’t said it yet. He loves you though.”
Now, it was my turn to laugh. “And how do you know that?”
