Page 28 of Just Like Summer

These moments she shared with Cairo were starting to become special. Like they were her own little piece of magic; no matter how innocent it seemed, they were sparks to hold on to. Because she knew one thing – life would rob you of the spark and all you had left to hold on to was the memory.

Back in his car, she watched the signs she was becoming familiar with. One in particular made a tiny tinge in her heart. 12th and Husten, KP’s corner. She turned her attention from the street to Cairo. In a few days she’d lowly studied his mannerisms. Even through the full beard, she noticed his clenched jaw.

“Thanks for taking care of my cellphone bill. I get paid next week, I’ll give it back,” she spoke, breaking the silence.

“You just gon’ keep thankin’ me huh?” he asked with a chuckle. “Your money ain’t good here.”

“Why are you like this? Hm?” Kamilla quizzed. “You got to take care of everything and everybody?”

“I’m a control freak, can’t help that. I guess it’s trauma or something. And I don’t take care of everybody. Only people I fuck with for real.”

“And how many people is that?”

“Oh, look who’s inquisitive today,” he quipped.

“You hijack my life, I have the right to ask questions. Now answer, please.”

He looked over his shoulder at her and offered a wider grin than before. “Oh, you bossy.”

“I’m not and I’m waiting.”

He grunted in amusement. “Including you? Three.”

“I wasn’t fishing for inclusion but thanks, I guess.”

He chuckled. “Welcome, I guess.”

Kamilla smiled just enough not to feel guilty for it and rolled her eyes to ward off the happiness.

“You got to stop doing that,” he stated. “Every time you smile, you catch yourself and stop.”

“Habit, maybe.”

“Yeah, I’m gon’ break that,” he muttered, pulling into the parking lot of Loco’s Tacos. He felt the immediate shift in Kamilla’s demeanor when she spotted QaMeesha outside blowing smoke into the air. “If working here shifts your mood like this, why do you keep showing up?”

“Because I need the money if I want to go to OSU for more than a semester,” Kamilla admitted.

“I’m not trying to be an asshole. What Loco paying you? What’s minimum wage? Ten dollars an hour?”

“Ten-fifty. I guess the fifty cents was a favor to my aunt that he may or may not be creeping with,” Kamilla commented, only for Cairo to put the battery in her back.

“Don’t let no place like this and no one like her make you lower yourself respect. Especially not for ten fifty an hour. Start cussin’ that bitch out on the spot,” he urged. “Can you even curse for real?”

“Shit, damn, bitch ass nigga,” Kamilla rambled off.

Cairo smirked. “Nah put some sauce on that shit. Fuck you, you muhfuckin’ pussy ass nigga. Say it.”

“Fuck you, you motherfucking pussy ass nigga,” Kamilla recited, causing Cairo’s head to drop back as a roar of laughter ripped through his body. “What, I said it just like you?”

“No, you didn’t, K. That’s aight, we’re going to work on this. For the time being, just say ‘fuck you, nasty ass bitch’ and walk away. If she gets out of pocket, call me,” Cairo said once his laughter settled.

“What are you going to do?”

“Nothing, I refuse to touch her with a thirty-foot pole but I got people. And if I got people, that means you got people. Ain’t nobody fuckin’ with you, K.”

She sighed. “Yeah, I hear you.”

Kamilla started to exit the car but Cairo grabbed her hand, stopping her motion.