Page 20 of Just Like Summer

Nate caught her by the wrist and pulled her in for a kiss. Dania accepted and offered him a small smile and the announcement he’d been waiting on for days.

“I’ve decided to keep it,” she softly spoke against his lips. “Make sure your ass comes back home how you left.”

Nate’s glee couldn’t be hidden. From the couch, Cairo stood, trying not to take in the evident display of love and safety between the two. He loved that for his boy; how even here, in the treacherous concrete jungle, they had each other and held on. Cairo’s mind flashed to Kamilla, a flutter maneuvered from the cavity of his chest to the pit of his stomach.

“Aight, enough of the shit. We got some moves to make. And before you start popping off again, Dania, I’m bringing his ass back in one piece.” Cairo preceded Nate out of apartment and down the steps to his car. Nate happily followed him and got in the passenger side.

Cairo pulled off from the apartments and looked at Nate.

“You happy as hell aren’t you, nigga?” Cairo asked with a small smile.

“You heard what she said? Yeah, I’m going to need a big lick. You got something up your sleeve?”

Cairo swayed his head. “Not today. We need to pull up on Tiny and then I got a move to make.”

“Nigga,” Nate spoke with amusement. “What moves you got to make?”

“Studio,” Cairo spoke plainly.

“Studio. Yeah, and what else, nigga? Huh, you look radiant and shit? All that self-care and shit. You taking bubble baths now?”

“First of all, fuck you,” Cairo spoke with slight laughter. “Second you see how tall I am, I’m not getting in no damn tub.”

“So you thought about it? Considered it on one of those lonely nights. Played some soft R&B beat you made for yourself and-”

“Nigga, I’ll beat your ass,” Cairo started before Nate threw his hands up.

“Wait, don’t kill me. I was just joking,” Nate jokingly shouted.

Cairo couldn’t help but chuckle. “I can’t stand your ass, nigga.”

“Whatever, nigga,” Nate said, waving him off. “What Tiny do now?”

“What hasn’t that nigga done? You know, it’s probably a good thing that Dania listens to Leslie’s gossiping ass.”

“Only because her loud ass came over yesterday because Tiny blew all that money at the strip club. All of it. He came the trap to reup so he could get Leslie off his ass,” Nate shared. “I don’t know what’s up with this nigga.”

“He’s greedy,” Cairo grumbled. “That shit is going to have me put his head through a fuckin’ wall. I’ve said a million fuckin’ times. Get what we need, in and out, and keep the shit low. This nigga is runnin’ his mouth through the whole neighborhood.”

The more Cairo thought about it, the faster he drove, the tighter his palm gripped the steering. His anger was about to hit a boiling point and by the time he reached Tiny’s apartment, he was double parked outside and taking the stairs two at a time. Sure enough, Tiny’s apartment was full to the brim of random women and Azul Hearts who were only down with the gang for clout. None of them had motion. None of them were moving weight. None of them were trusted with handling missions. For Cairo, the niggas buzzing around for clout ignited him just the same.

“Ay, C4. You came to party with me, nigga?” Tiny asked with a blunt hanging out of his mouth. “What the fuck is up?”

Cairo looked around the space in disgust. “Get them up out of here. We need to talk.”

Tiny chuckled and looked around. “We can talk right here. What’s up?”

Cairo pulled in a deep breath. There was a level of respect he had for Tiny. A level he wanted to uphold, but the blatant disrespect was going to obliterate it. Also, if Cairo didn’t get a handle on this now, there would be bigger issues. Being that Cairo didn’t like answering to anyone, Tiny had to be handled now. Even with an audience.

“Aight,” Cairo coolly spoke, before swiping everything off the table. In one swift movement, he grabbed Tiny by the collar, yanked him up and drove him through the metal screen door and over the metal railing.

Cairo’s shots never missed, and the brute strength he trained his body to have was unmatched. The clashing of Tiny’s body hitting the inanimate objects and his back cracking over the railing made the people he invited to party, wince and murmur. C4 was activated.

“What part of keep your muhfuckin’ mouth shut did you miss, nigga?” Cairo snarled. “Tell me why I shouldn’t throw your stupid ass over the fucking rail right now.”

“I got it back,” Tiny shouted back as he swung at Cairo.

“This ain’t about the reup or the money, nigga,” he growled. Gloves were off . Cairo’s body was littered with the scars to prove he never backed down from a fight and never tolerated disrespect. Pound for pound, the two squabbled until Tiny staggered. By now, everyone in the complex was outside, hanging over the railing watching Cairo’s display; solidifying why he had the credibility he had.