She looked up at me. “I’m right 99.999% of the time.”
I snorted. “Yeah, I’m not agreeing to that. I have to go. I’ll keep my phone on,” I added before she could.
“Bye, bruh. We have that conference call Monday. We’ll talk before then.”
Preston nodded. “Good luck, bruh.”
The next day I was standing in front of the Fox-now-Crawford home. I spotted Angel’s car in the driveway, courtesy of Tee, who I’d called a few days ago to tell her my plans. Angel and Mehki weren’t scheduled to move in for a couple of weeks. Tee agreed to talk Angel into showing Mehki the house earlier.
I grabbed a few key items from my car and walked to the door. Before I could knock, Mehki swung the door open, ran out of the house, and jumped in my arms.
“Mr. Cooper!”
I held onto him a little longer than normal, relishing in the moment. “What’s up, Lil Man?” I set him down on the ground and he immediately spotted my surprise.
“A tarantula!” he shouted, dropping to his knees and peering into the cage. He pushed his glasses up on his face. “Is this my pet?”
I bent low. “Yes.”
“I can’t wait to show it my room. Thank you for my bed and my Spider-Man blankets.” He babbled on about the Avengers, protons, and the periodic table. All in under a minute and a half. “And Mommie is making grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup with Tee.”
I rubbed the top of his head. “I’m glad you loved it. Where’s Mommie?”
“Right here.” I looked up to find Angel standing in the doorway, a soft smile on her lips. “I see you brought your little friend back.”
I stood to my full height. “I thought you might like some company.”
“Mr. Cooper brought me a tarantula. Now, Mommie, I won’t let him crawl on you. I’m going to keep him locked away in my room.”
“Please do,” she said.
I couldn’t tear my eyes away from her. She was stunning. Her hair was down today, her curls wild. She had on a pair of black jeans and a white t-shirt with the wordBosspressed on it. Her lips were bare and her eyes dark. Her brown skin glowed in the sunlight and I had to stop myself from reaching out to touch her.
Mehki slipped his hand in mine and tried to tug me forward. “Come on, Mr. Cooper.”
I picked up the cage and let him “pull” me into the house. The house was still pretty much empty, aside from a few boxes and a foldable card table with four chairs.
“I had to improvise,” she explained. “If we’re going to stay here this weekend, we need a table to eat on.”
“Good idea,” I said. “I would’ve just spread a blanket on the floor and ate.”
She laughed. “I can see you doing that.”
Tee rounded the corner from the kitchen. She grinned when she saw me. “Cooper, you’re here.”
“What’s up, Tee?”
“Nothing much. Just came to collect Mehki so he can come help me… pour some water.”
Mehki pouted. “But I want to stay here with Mr. Cooper.”
“I’m not going anywhere, Lil Man,” I assured him.
His face lit up. “Really?”
“Promise.”
Mehki and Tee disappeared, leaving me alone with Angel. “Hi,” I said finally.
