Page 54 of Just Like Summer

“Where you planning on going?” Fredo asked.

“I got accepted into OSU.”

“Smart girl like you with no scholarship?” Fredo huffed. “I wish I had a connect there. I got one down in the valley at RVCC.”

“RVCC?”

“Rancher’s Valley Community College. The dean owns some property we do business with,” Fredo shared. “Could’ve made you a Bison.”

Kamilla huffed, thinking about the email. “If this doesn’t work, I’ll take you up on that offer.”

“I got you,” he shared, before quieting his voice. “Anything for KP’s daughter.”

Her cheeks flushed.

“You got too much of him in you to hide that. Don’t hide it, just don’t let anyone exploit it. Aight?”

“Hear you.”

Back in normal tone, he looked around the space. “What you say about doing a deep clean here once a month to help with tuition and your friend’s baby? And before you give me that look, I’m Fredo, I know everything.”

“For as long as she’s able, that’ll work.”

“Aight, y’all get out of here,” he spoke, peeling a few hundred dollar bills off of a knot of cash. “Lunch on me.”

“I can’t take that,” Kamilla refused, but Fredo stuffed it in her hand and gave her a pointed look.

“We Azuls take care of our own. Go eat and be safe.”

Kamilla yielded and gave him a soft smile. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.”

With supplies packed into the trunk, the pair pulled away from the lounge while Kamilla split the money up evenly and put Dania’s into the glove box. “Thanks for helping me.”

“Thanks for calling me.”

“Mhmm this doesn’t get you off the hook from doing hair either, so make it happen,” Kamilla shared.

“Mhmm,” Dania mocked. “Next time you let him all up in your guts, put a bonnet on.”

“Girl, please!”

twenty

“Now what the fuck you dug into that got you coming out of hiding,” Nate asked, walking into Sal’s Cutz, finding Cairo in a chair with his head tilted back. “Nigga, you lined up and shit, hair look like you didn’t brush no braids like that one rapper.”

“You talkin’ about dude from up north that dresses in the shiny jorts. The senior citizen with the teenager vibe?” Sal asked with laughter. “Nigga definitely hops out the chair freshly braided and brushes them shits.”

Cairo sniggered. “Ay, stop all that fuckin’ joking by my face, nigga.”

Nate sat adjacent from Cairo and quieted his laughter. “How was the session last night?” He studied the subtle glee in Cairo’s face.

“Fire,” Cairo commented. “Ekho is about to be huge. If I can get him like six more tracks, we out of here.”

“What you waiting for then, nigga? Go play on them keys or something,” Nate replied, truly happy for his boy.

“Got to start pivotin’,” Cairo directed.