Page 45 of All The Smoke

Chuckling, I grabbed the champagne she had chilling and nodded in approval. Baby pulled out all of the stunts for a nigga’s birthday.

“Dom Perignon?”

“Best for the best.” She smiled, causing my heart to flutter a little.

My girl was so dope and truly one of a fucking kind, so I always felt lucky to be in her presence.

Knowing I was the reason for her smile and happiness did something to my ego.

A nigga felt like he was sitting on the top of fucking world every time I saw her smile or heard her laugh, or hell, seeing her in good spirits period.

Setting the bottle down, I reached for the other one she had on chill to see what it was. “It’s just juice for me since I can’t drink with you.”

“Then we’ll save the Dom for when you can and I’ll drink this with you.”

She chuckled. “The juice? You don’t even like fruity stuff like that.”

“For you, tonight only though.”

“You do know I’m not going to be able to drink for a while even after the baby, right? Since you’re adamant about breastfeeding.”

“That’s straight. I ain’t in a hurry.”

“You know how freaky people get when they’re on alcohol. You sure you’re not in a hurry?”

Leaning into the pillows behind me, I made sure we wouldn’t fall through the shit before I pulled her into my lap so she straddled me.

“You mean to tell me you freakier than what I done experienced thus far?”

“Maybe.” She beamed.

“Show me.”

“I can’t drink, babe.” She giggled.

“You been nasty as a mothafucka all these months and I think you were only lit maybe two of them.”

“The food will get cold.”

“Long as you hot and ready, I’ll survive.” I smirked.

She shot me down, climbing out of my lap. “No, let’s talk and eat. We have all night for that.”

“Solo staying with your mama?”

“As long as it’s okay with you.”

“Shit, he wasn’t gon’ want to leave any fuckin’ ways.” I laughed. “But come on, greedy, let’s get you fed.”

After blessing the food and making sure it was at the temperature we both preferred, we started fuckin’ our shit up.

I hadn’t even realized how hungry I was before that shit.

As we ate, she started talking shit about how I did my pops at the poll location.

I didn’t give a fuck though; the deal was we were gon’ move the fuck in together and I’d behave.

She said wait ’til after we got through the baby shower and Thanksgiving, so that was when a nigga would act right.

“So what now?” she asked. “They’ll never meet Silas?”

“You want them to?”

She shrugged and moved some of the remaining food on her plate around with a fork.

“They’re your folks. I just don’t want you, him, or Solo feeling incomplete since you haven’t been letting him go over there either.”

“They not about to choose between my kids like they did me and Noah.” I shook my head. “That shit ain’t going on with anybody.”

“I get it, bae, trust me. I just don’t want you to regret it later or feel like I don’t want your family involved,” she assured.

“Now, visits would, of course, need to be supervised by both of us because I don’t trust your mother or what she would do to our son after requesting that I get an abortion, but your dad isn’t all that bad. ”

“That’s what you think,” I mumbled, then changed the subject.

Kaori wasn’t the only person that thought my mother was more of the culprit, hell even Noah thought the same, but naw, his ass was just as bad, he just liked to hide behind his bible.

Either way though, it wasn’t important at the time because they had a long ass journey ahead of them before that shit came into fruition.

I sat outside of the crib we had in Crescent Pointe for at least thirty minutes before finally killing the engine to my whip and heading inside.

I took so long because I faced two blunts before having to deal with this shit.

Bino’s bitch ass had been begging me to sit down and have a conversation with Scoot, but I had been curving him.

I wasn’t in the headspace to do that shit.

How I felt, distance was the best thing for us because if I had to sit around the nigga I would really fuck him up, especially if I had that drank in my system.

As I made my way inside, my phone vibrated with a text from Kaori. Be nice and practice self-control. He made a mistake, but y’all are besties, baby.

We’re some street niggas, bae, fuck I look like having a bestie?

Best buddies?

lmao fuck out of here!

Okay, thunder buddies.

You funny, mama.

Just trying to make you smile. Is it working?

Seeing your name on my phone screen achieved that.

Aw, baby.

lol, I’m ’bout to go inside.

Do you have your AirPods?

You random as hell, but yeah, I do.

Put one in so I can listen.

Kaori, get the fuck on lol. Nosy as shit.

You’re going to tell me anyways.

Naw, I’m not lol.

We pillow talk.

You pillow talk when I got that ass in the air beating that pussy out the frame.

Bye nasty. Be nice. I love you.

I love you more.

After pocketing my phone, I went inside. Hearing the music blasting let me know they were in there. When I walked in I saw Bino sitting on one end of the sectional rolling up while Scoot was on the other end swiping through his phone.

“Damn, ’bout fuckin’ time, my nigga,” Bino said when he noticed me enter the room. “Fuck took you so long.”

“You know I been outside, mothafucka.”

We had cameras posted outside that caught every angel of the house and the monitor was right next to him on an end table.

“Right, I’m trying to understand why you sat out there for so long. Dramatic effects or some shit?”

“Bruh, shut the fuck up.” I shook my head as I took a seat on the couch.

“Aight, so now that I got y’all here…”

“Bino, now ain’t the time for your stupid shit.” Scoot frowned then looked my way. “Thank you for coming, bro.”

“Ain’t shit, what’s up?”

“I just wanted to formally apologize…”

“Ay, Scoot, for real, if the apology is going to be followed up with a bunch of fuckin’ excuses like it usually is, then keep the shit.”

He shook his head. “Naw, it’s not. I know I been saying that I was high as shit and drunk off my ass when I was falling through there, but above all of that, I was fuckin’ wrong.

There ain’t no other way around it or no excuse for that.

I just…” He paused for a second. “I’m sorry, man.

I love you like my mama gave birth to you, so not talking to you and shit hurts, you feel me. ”

My brows lifted. “We talking about hurt?”

“Naw, I know?—”

“Elijah, you know Bri. You been knowing Bri since we were little niggas. You know how conniving, manipulative, and nasty the bitch is for real, and you know better than anyone what she would do just to get at me. So for you to let her use you like that is insane. And you caught feelings for her.” I shook my head. “For my fuckin’ baby mama.”

“Aight, bruh I struck a few times but I ain’t got no feelings for her ass.”

“Shid, you gotta if you kept going back.”

“Look, bro, I fucked up, aight? I own that. Just, I don’t know, I want to fix it. Tell me what I gotta do to make the shit right and I’ll do the shit. Whatever you want.”

“I don’t know, Scoot.” I sighed and ran my hand down my face. “Ain’t nothing specific for me to ask you to do, bro, because hell there ain’t shit you could do other than not do the shit.” I chuckled. “But if I’m keeping shit a buck, I ain’t even mad at you.”

His eyes stretched some. “You not?”

“Naw, I’m not,” I admitted. “Hurt and disappointed, sure, because you are my brother, but naw I ain’t mad.”

“Word, I’m glad to hear that….”

“But that don’t mean I’m ready to fuck with you like that either,” I let him know.

“Oh.” He slumped back down on the couch.

“I need more time to sort through my emotions and shit and it’s gon’ take some time for me to even consider trusting you again.

” He looked so disappointed hearing me say that shit, but it was what it was.

He did me dirty, not the other way around.

“But I do want you to come with B to the baby shower. It’ll mean a lot to KK. ”

He nodded. I knew he wanted more from me and maybe expected to hear something different but I ain’t have that shit for him.

Bino and Scoot meant just as much to me as Noah did, so I couldn’t let the disrespect go that easily, but I promised Kaori I would at least try to make amends before our baby shower.

She had been crying and carrying on about the shit, and he was both of our friend, so I gave in like I always fuckin’ did. She was spoiled as fuck.

“Aight.” He nodded. “I’d love that and it’s a start.”

Chuckling, I stood to my feet, prepared to get the shit weed I needed to make my wax before I headed to Kaori’s.

She wasn’t lying when she said buying a house was hard fucking work.

We had looked at ten houses already. All of them were fly as fuck but all lacked some shit we both thought was necessary since this would be the home we’d raise our children in.

Shit was crazy to me that I was planning my future with my girl. A year ago, a nigga knew I would be living the rest of my life as a bachelor, but since meeting her, spending time with her, and building with her; shit’s changed. I literally couldn’t imagine life without her for real.

“Aight, I’m up,” I announced. “Kaori got a nigga house hunting and shit like a bitch.”

Bino approached me with a blunt in his hand. “You don’t want to stay and smoke?”

“Naw.” Maybe if it was just him I would have, but I wasn’t there yet to be posted with Scoot. “I’m already high and need to get to my girl.”

“Simp ass nigga,” Bino teased as he pulled me into a brotherly hug.

“Like you one to talk.” I laughed. Nigga had it bad for Mo.

“Scoot.” I extended my hand to him. He accepted it, allowing me to pull him to his feet, then I pulled him into the same hug I’d given Bino seconds ago.

“I love you, man.” He patted my back. “And I’m sorry.”

“Man, aight, he got it, Scoot. Got damn,” Bino jibed. “Acting real fuckin’ unusual.”

“Fuck you, nigga.” We shared a laugh. “I just know I fucked up big time and need him to know I really am sorry.”

“I know. I don’t want you crying and shit every time we see each other, especially when y’all come to the baby shower. I need Kaori carefree and not worrying about shit.”

“Got you.”

After grabbing the shit that I came for, I bounced.

I felt a little better after having a conversation with Scoot.

Kaori wanted me to get down to why he did the shit and how, but I didn’t need the details.

That shit probably would have infuriated and crushed me all over again, so I took my brother’s advice, which was to try to forgive the nigga without the background shit.

I agreed with him because that was the only alternative that wouldn’t end in me possibly murdering my best friend.