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“Her ex?” I scoffed. “Nigga, you the ex. I ain’t get replaced; I was involuntarily unavailable, and during that time, you held a temporary position as a substitute. Now the regular teacher back. Contract over. Pack yo’ shit.” I spread my arms. “But yeah… it’s me, nigga. Caspian Black, in the flesh.” I paused, taking in the way he was staring at me. “But is that how you greet somebody in their house?”

Yonas kept backing away from me, clearly trying to make sense of how or hell, even why I was there… in my own fuckin’ house.

I let his mind work overtime trying to come up with some reasonable explanation for how a man who had been missing for six years was suddenly standing in front of him.

For a few seconds, I let him believe he was dealing with another living man.

To him, I looked normal. There was no glowing shit around me, no see-through body, no horror-movie face… just me standing there looking every bit as real as he did.

Which was exactly how I wanted it.

“When did you get here?” His eyes darted toward the bedroom door, then back to me. “Lakelyn said you—”

“Lakelyn said a lot of shit because Lakelyn doesn’t know everything yet.”

“So, where the fuck have you been all these years?” he asked, as if it was any of his fuckin’ business.

I tilted my head. “Somewhere yo’ nosy ass ain’t got clearance to ask about. Worry about why I’m here now.”

His face tightened.

“But nah, I’ve been here… waiting for my family to come home to me. And yeah, I disappeared for a while, but I guess you could say I’m back now.”

“So… Lakelyn doesn’t know you’re here?”

“Nah, but she will soon.”

His face tightened, and I could practically watch the questions piling up behind his eyes.

Was I hiding somewhere in the mansion the whole time?

Had he really spent the whole damn day in another man’s house while that man silently watched him unpack his shit and make himself comfortable?

I smiled. “You got a lot of questions for somebody I didn’t invite.”

Yonas lifted both hands. “Look, man, Lakelyn told me I could stay. Again, I wasn’t expecting you to be here. Hell, I’m sure she wasn’t either if she told me I could stay.”

“Maybe that’s why she was so hesitant to let yo’ ass stay in the first place, because she knows exactly how I feel about random mothafuckas laying up in my crib. Hell, even stepping foot in here if I don’t know you.” I gave him a once-over. “But I gave you a lil’ grace since I know you looked out for her and my son when I wasn’t around, so yeah, I figured she’d let you stay.”

Yonas nodded once, like he thought that explanation had somehow helped his case.

It hadn’t.

I pointed toward the guest room. “But did she tell you to unpack like yo’ name was on the fuckin’ deed and you had a light bill due here Friday?”

“What?”

“Yeah, nigga. Four pairs of shoes lined up, shirts hanging in the closet, cologne sitting on the dresser like you was setting up residency. What was next, a framed picture and some mail forwarded to the address?”

His forehead creased in confusion, probably wondering how I knew the exact details.

His face went blank. “I only planned to stay a few days.”

“And you ain’t even made it through day one yet. That should tell your ass something.” I paused. “And what the fuck was you doing in that bed earlier?”

Confusion slowly replaced the embarrassment on his face. “You… you know about that?”

I smiled. “Yeah. I saw you getting off while looking at a picture of my woman.”