Page 115 of Just Like Summer

Nate let the smile pierce his cheek. “When you was doing all that summertime jonesing think about where y’all was dreaming. Any more info, you’ll have to pay me.”

Cairo laughed. “Aight, Azul. Let’s switch gears. We about to get activate.”

“Hell yeah. These little videos are cool but I’m ready for the C4 glow up.”

The men sat on the porch for another few hours before Dania called telling Nate to come pick her up because they’d gone through three bottles of wine. As Nate stood up and walked to his car, he looked at Cairo and said, “0427.”

“Fuck is that?”

“Your son’s birthday. And the code to get in the house. I can promise you she’s knocked out. Fuck that weak ass plan, go get your girl, nigga.”

Cairo watched Nate pull off and headed to get his family. By time he showered and packed a bag, Nate sent him the all clear text. Twenty minutes later, Cairo was back in her spot, on the couch, ready to steal his family back.

forty-seven

“Mommy,” Kairo whispered loudly, sitting on her chest with that morning breath on one hundred. Kamilla had never been a heavy drinker but after the emotional rollercoaster of battling Cairo’s ego and her guilt, drowning her sorrows in bottle seemed to be a balm.

“Yes, baby?” she groaned through her curls.

“Daddy’s back,” Kairo announced. “He’s making pancakes.”

Kamilla popped an eye open and frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Are you listening to me?” he asked, holding her face. “Daddy is making us pancakes. You want some? I told him you love pancakes.”

Moving him off of her chest, Kamilla sat up and grabbed her phone. She navigated through the texts of Haddon saying legal had everything and to take a week off. Dania letting her know they were home safely. Once she got out the clutter of the text messages, she pulled up the cameras. Cairo was without question in her house making pancakes. With his shirt off at that. How was she going to stay mad if he was half-dressed.

“See, I told you,” Kairo stated, like he won one of their one-sided arguments. “Come on. You need to eat.”

“Kairo, I’m the mommy,” she said, trying to cement the fact that she was in control.

“I’m KP,” he stated, looking at her like what was the problem. “You know what, I’ll go get him.”

“No,” Kamilla huffed. “I’m up. I’m up, and I’m coming.”

That seemed to send her son out of the room and back down the stairs to announce she was awake and was coming down. And for added effect he said, “Mommy looks like a bush.”

Kamilla scoffed and didn’t bother pulling herself together. She wanted him out of her space. Wild hair, wine still on her breath and an oversized RVCC t-shirt she wore the majority of her pregnancy, she came down the stairs.

Once within earshot, she looked at the dips in his back and rolled her eyes.

“Breaking and entering still at the top of your list and now you’re bringing your son in on it?” she sassed, arms over her chest and squinted eyes on him.

Cairo turned, around pancakes in hand, basketball shorts hanging off his waist. She didn’t allow her eyes to travel any lower. Instead, she looked at Kairo jump on the couch to his cartoon’s theme song.

“You didn’t hear anything I said yesterday?” she asked, stomach growling.

“Nah, actually, I heard everything you said. And just so you know, you’re the only person in this world to build me up and then make me feel like I’m nothing,” he shared. “I didn’t say that to make you feel bad either.”

“So what was the point?” she quipped.

“To tell you I heard you and felt that shit in my chest. Talk about an ego killer,” he stated, putting a few pancakes and pieces of bacon on her plate and directing. “Eat. I know you didn’t eat after I left, that’s how them bottles of wine took your little ass out.”

“I’m not hungry. I’m nauseous,” she huffed. “Dania thinks we’re still on 50th, with that cheap ass wine.”

“More reasons for you to eat,” he pressed, motioning her to the bar stool.

“You trying to kill me because I cussed you out?” she quirked a brow.