Page 111 of 4 Corinthians

“Sorry,” I said, walking into her space. She looked up at me and smiled.

“Are you really?” she asked, and I licked my lips. I didn’t reply. No, I wasn’t sorry. I’d been sitting in my living room for the last two hours waiting for a decent time to knock on her door finally. Apparently, I was still too early. “Come on.”

Corinthians took my hand, and we walked to the living room. The TV was on low, damn near impossible to hear, and a blanket was balled up in the corner. She pointed to the empty spot on the couch; I sat down. I expected Corinthians to sit in the middle, but instead she grabbed the blanket and cuddled up next to me. Her head rested on my chest, and my bracelet started to beep.

“Breathe, Uri,” she mumbled. I looked down to see her eyes closed. I took a deep breath and blew it out of my nose. The beeping on my bracelet stopped. I closed my eyes and chuckled. My heart raced for her, and with her simple instructions, it calmed down.

“Judah, leave him alone,” I heard Corinthians fuss. “And you need to go get your bag because Krude will be pulling up soon. He’s taking you to school today.”

“Mama, Four isn’t even asleep,” Judah replied. He poked my arm, and I smirked but didn’t open my eyes. “I knew you were faking.”

“Judah DeCorte, go now.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he replied. “Four, I know you’re faking. Your eyes keep moving.” I started snoring, and he laughed.

“Judah, for real, go now.”

The sound of feet hitting the hardwood floors echoed through the room, but I kept my eyes closed. I don’t know how long I slept, but I didn’t plan on doing it.

“He’s gone,” Corinthians said. I opened my eyes to see her leaning against the back of the couch, smiling. Her eyes sparkled in the sunlight streaming through the window.

“H-h-h-h-h-how long have I-I-I-I-I-I been asleep?” I asked her, then yawned. I stretched my arms above my head, then pushed up from the couch.

“Not long,” she answered with a shrug. “It’s only eight.”

I had a therapy appointment scheduled for nine that I needed to make sure I was on time for. Working with Berkeley was exactly what I needed. She was unorthodox just like Uncle Bradon said, but I wanted to do the work to get better.

I looked at my watch and saw a few notifications I could take care of later. “I h-h-h-h-h-have a meeting in a-a-a-a-a-a little, but I-I-I-I-I-I’ll be back,” I told her. “What t-t-t-t-t-time do you g-g-g-g-go t-t-t-t-to the shop?”

“Now,” she answered, and I looked down to see what she was wearing—blue jeans, black tee, Dunks. Every time I saw her, she was dressed down, comfortable but looked sexy as hell. I wanted to see her in a dress, something so damn sexy that I had to kill every nigga that looked at her while we were out.

“Be ready to go at seven,” I told her, stepping into her space. I lifted her face to make her look at me. “Can you do that?”

“Yes,” she answered. She watched me as I licked my lips and smirked. “Good, see you later.” I gently kissed her lips, wanting more but not pushing my luck. Cori moaned, and I pulled her closer to me. I knew she could feel my dick against her stomach, so I moved back a little, but I didn’t stop kissing her.

The front door opened and closed.

“Yoooo, Silver Tooth Gang Member, let's go. I want to get something to eat before I drop you off,” Krude called out.

I pulled back from Corinthians, and she rested her forehead against my chest. My watch beeped loudly, and she patted my chest.

“Breathe,” she said softly, and just like before, I did what she said, and my heart rate lowered.

I looked up to see Krude standing in the living room doorway. His face was blank, and he chuckled. “Corinthians, where’s Judah?” he asked, looking between the two of us. She didn’t lift her head, just pointed in the direction he’d run to, and Krude nodded. “Alright, holla at me later.” I knew he was talking to me, not Corinthians, so I nodded. Her family had questions; they deserved answers, and I had to be man enough to give them.

Judah came running back into the living room, his backpack on his back, a ball cap in his hand, and a smile on his face. “I’m ready!” he excitedly said.

Corinthians lifted her head from my chest and turned to look at Judah. He ran over to her, kissed and hugged her, then headed towards the door with Krude. Krude opened the door, gave me one final nod, then left.

“Give me one second; I almost forgot,” Corinthians said, then headed to the front door behind Judah and Krude. She opened it just as they were getting to his car. Deuce sat in the back seat, his head nodding to the song Krude had playing. “Stop right there!” Judah and Krude stopped walking. “Hands up!” Slowly, their hands went up, and Corinthians approached them. “You must have thought I forgot, huh?” She patted Judah down, shaking her head. She pulled two slingshots from his backpack and tossed them to the grass next to her. She then went to Krude and patted him down. He had a slingshot in his back pocket. “You have got to be kidding me! Turn around.” Corinthians stepped back, crossed her arms, and waited for them to do what she said.

“Mama.”

“Corinthians.”

They said in unison, and she held her hand up to stop them. “Judah, what did I tell you?” she asked, looking at him.

“No nerf guns and foam knives,” he mumbled. “And I listened. I didn’t bring them.”