Page 21 of Senior

Out of nowhere, Juri came running full speed toward her uncle.

“Don’t hit my sissy!” she yelled.

She tried to pounce on him but, he caught her midair and started dancing with her. Smoke shook his head because just that quick, she forgot all about getting her sister’s lick back. At this point, most of the kids had joined in. Most of the little ones were waiting on a turn to dance with their simple ass uncle. The DJ started a whole round of dance music and I had to excuse myself.

It was already hot as hell and all that gyrating wasn’t making it any better. I headed for the cooler to grab a bottle of water. Twisting off the cap, I took a long swig of the cold liquid. The back door opened, and Steph stepped out with a wine cooler in her hand. She was too busy watching the kids dancing that she didn’t see me in the cut.

I seized the opportunity to admire her. That dress… that fucking dress was doing her body so much justice. When I walked in and saw her the first time, it took everything in me not to say the first thing that popped in my mind. Red was my favorite color. She knew that shit, so she had to have known the effect it would have on me. To add to the dress, she smelled so damn good. It was a struggle to pull away from her when I did.

I’d been doing so good without crossing the line the last couple of years.

But today… today might be my undoing.

I shifted my gaze to the yard, just as hers shifted to mine. From my peripheral, I could see her smile as she made her way over to me.

“That boy is gonna sleep good tonight,” she said.

I turned to face her with a grin. “That damn fool.”

“That’s your son.”

“You saying I’m a fool too?”

She giggled. “I mean, if the shoe fits wear it. I saw you out there with Korri and Nayelli. You’ll sleep good too.”

“Man, shit. You see I had to come take a break. It’s too damn hot to be out there gyrating and shit.”

“That bald ass head is glistening with sweat.”

I grinned as I pulled the rag from my pocket and wiped my head clean.

“You good? I mean considering?”

“I’m good. The hot flashes aren’t too bad today. Let me not talk too soon because I will find an empty room and strip down if they become unbearable.”

The mention of stripping caused an awkward silence to fall between us. I was a little annoyed that we were out here acting like this. Like we didn’t have a lifetime of interactions between us, and now we were acting like two awkward teenagers.

The DJ came across the speakers and let us know he was going to slow things down a bit for the couples. When the smooth sounds of Donell Jones, “Knocks Me Off My Feet”, our eyes shifted to each other.

“You know that used to be our shit,” I said, setting my water bottle down. “Come dance with me.”

“Senior.”

“Just one dance, love.”

She stared at me for a moment, before placing her wine cooler next to my water bottle. I extended a hand, and she took it.

“One dance.”

I lead her out to the dance floor with the rest of the couples. The looks from Tavia and Allison didn’t go unnoticed as they danced with their own husbands. I pulled Stephanie into my arms and held her tightly. She rested her head against my chest. Subconsciously, I placed a kiss to her mass of curls.

Salima grinned and winked at me. Of course, our son looked to see whatever she was smiling about. When he saw us swaying to the music, he frowned. Immediately, he tried to step to us, but Salima put a stop to that by turning around and forcefully wrapping his arms around her from behind.

“Keep them hands where I can see them, old man,” he warned me.

“Don’t worry about my hands, lil nigga. They know your mama very well.”

I pulled Steph closer into me and kissed her cheek. His expression caused her to laugh.