Page 110 of 4 Corinthians

“You can fight back,” I chuckled.

Judah shook his head. “I can’t; Mama said don’t hit girls. GiGi is a girl.”

“Judah, I think your mom means you can't just randomly hit a girl. In karate when you’re sparring, it’s okay. As long as you aren’t trying to hurt her.”

“You sure?” he asked, and I nodded. “Good, because I was tired of getting beat up by GiGi.” He sat back, resting his elbows on the steps behind him. “She hits hard though. So, I might still lose.”

Corinthian's Jeep pulled into the driveway, and I felt my heart slam into my chest. She got out, her eyes bouncing from Judah to me. She looked good as fuck dressed in a pair of fitted jeans, a yellow V-neck shirt that was tucked in, and a pair of Mercy’s signature shoes. She closed the door of her truck, and I noticed her hand. That shit hurt my heart, knowing what I did to her fucked with me. I’d been going to therapy for the last few weeks, attempting to get myself together. I knew it wasn’t going to be an overnight process, and I’d be fixed, but I was still going to try.

“Mama!” Judah greeted her with a smile. “Look! Four is here!”

“I see,” she said as she approached us. The smile on her face was real, genuine, and pretty as hell. She licked her lips. “Hey, do me a favor: go in and shower so we can go get some dinner.”

“Can Four come?” Judah asked, looking between the two of us. It was obvious he realized how tense it was between us. All he knew was I was back, and he wanted to have dinner.

“Umm, let me talk to him about it,” Corinthians said. “Now go on, take a shower and get dressed.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said, then got up and went into the house.

“Hey,” Corinthians said once he was gone.

“H-h-h-h-hey,” I replied. I stood; Corinthians took a step back, and I hated that shit. I never wanted her to be afraid of me. “How y-y-y-y-you been?”

“I’m okay,” she answered. “You?”

“Bad,” I told her, and her brow went up. The hesitation that had been in her eyes just seconds prior was gone, and now she looked curious.

“What’s wrong?”

“I m-m-m-m-m-missed you,” I told her. I looked away for a second to watch a car drive down the street. Once it was gone, I turned my attention back to Corinthians. “I wanted t-t-t-t-to say I w-w-w-w-was sorry.” I licked my lips and stepped into Corinthians' space. “I’m sorry, Cori.” I cupped her jaw and lifted her face to look at me. “I’m so fuckin’ sorry.”

Corinthians stared at me. Her eyes searched mine, and I wondered what she was looking for, what she saw. Whatever it was, I would give it to her.

“I know,” she said, then stepped back. My hand dropped from her face, and my eyes went to her hand. Seeing the metal braces on her fingers would haunt me forever. I’d done that shit, blacked out because she said she thought we were a mistake. Corinthians stepped around me and sat on the steps. “Have a seat.” I had never been broken up with, but I knew that tone of voice. She was about to end us, and we hadn’t even officially started everything. Sighing, I nodded then walked up the steps until I was directly behind her. I sat down, my legs encased her, and to my surprise she relaxed into my body. Her back to my front, then took a deep breath. “Where have you been for the last few weeks?”

“Working.”

She nodded. “I watched your house, well, from my backyard, I watched to see if your light would come on.” She turned and looked up at me with a small smile. “It didn’t come on until last night.”

“I know,” I replied. The thought of her waiting for me to come back was deep. Even though I’d hurt her, unintentionally, she was still there. Watching to see if the lights to my house ever came on. “I-I-I-I came back last n-n-n-n-n-night.” I reached around her and gently lifted her hand. “I’m sorry.”

“You’ve said that already, Uri,” she replied. “You don’t have to say it again.”

“I do.” I kissed her fingers then set her hand back on her leg. “And I will. Now tell me about your day.”

“It was boring,” she answered with a laugh. “I’m on desk duty for a few more weeks. So I did paperwork, cleaned up, and stayed at the shop until it was time for me to go. It was my close day, so Cross helped me with Judah.”

As if he were waiting for his name to be called, Judah opened the door and poked his head out. “I’m almost ready. Can we go to Carters? I want a beef sandwich.”

“Yeah,” Corinthians answered. The door closed, and she stood, wiped the dirt from the stairs off her butt, then turned and faced me. I tried like hell not to get caught staring at her ass, but from the look on her face, she saw me. Judah came back outside; Cross followed behind him. She gave me a quick wave, hugged her cousins, then got into her car parked on the street and left.

Judah ran to the back driver's door of Corinthians' Jeep and pulled the door open. Corinthians went to the driver's door, opened it, then stopped and turned to face me. “You coming?” she asked.

“Yeah, Four, you coming?” Judah asked before climbing into the Jeep.

***

“It’s early,” Corinthians said, coming to the front door. Last night, having dinner with her and Judah was like a breath of fresh air. We laughed, talked, ate, and enjoyed ourselves. I didn’t want it to end but also knew that Judah needed to get home and into bed. She moved aside, and I walked into the house. Judah was probably still asleep.