Page 7

K inga

Watching Harlem eat that cake had me wanting to feed that shit to her. She was probably eating that shit so slow to fuck with me because I took so long to come back. Fine ass.

“ This is so good,” she complimented, holding the fork to my lips for me to accept like I hadn’t tasted it already. I accepted, because at least I was getting that shit out of the way.

“You ready or you gonna keep fucking with me?”

“I’m not messing with you. I was enjoying what you baked. Can you hand me th?—”

I didn’t let her nervous ass finish that statement. I picked her up and started down the hall, not knowing where she was going. “Which door, mama?”

“Last one to your left.” She giggled, holding on to me like I was gonna drop her little ass. “See, you knew you were on bullshit, but I got you.” I pushed the door to her bedroom open. I tossed her on the bed and stepped back, taking the space in. Her bedroom was her, decorated in different grays with a rose contrast. I also noted though she was a dog breeder and had multiple dogs in her home, it didn’t smell like it. Her home smelled like deep amber mixed with cool flannel.

My eyes were back on her in seconds as she lay against the concrete colored sheets, waiting for me.

“After I put this pussy in my mouth, it’s mine. You know that, right?” I didn’t know why I asked, because I didn’t care if she said no. I was claiming her and this pussy regardless.

“How are you staking a claim already?” She giggled like I was joking.

“’Cause I ain’t sharing.” I pulled my hoodie and T-shirt off and tossed it onto the rose chair at the left of her bed.

I looped my fingers into the waistband of her underwear and leggings, sure to bring them both down together. When I had them off, I dropped them, leaning forward and pulling her to the edge of the bed. Thank God she had one of those low beds unlike most chicks I knew.

Her shit was so slippery and inviting that I knew I was fucking up. I didn’t eat pussy like that, but with Harlem? I could see myself eating often. My first lick across her slippery nub was like the first taste of a vanilla chew. Shit, her pussy had me on some greedy shit, forcing my tongue in and out of her mound like a hound to the hunt. She was fulfilling and I felt starved, wondering where the hell her and this pussy had been all my fucking life.

I licked and licked, using my hand to control her movement until she was trembling under my touch. I had tuned out her moaning and stuttering with a need to feel her peak under my grip.

“Kingaaaa…” She moaned my name, her body becoming more tender under my touch.

Her hands locked around my locs, trying her damndest to control my movement but she couldn’t.

She came so hard and loud I thought her body was seizing. I stopped to look up at her and it was the most beautiful sight I had ever witnessed. In a state of complete bliss, she had the most beautiful fuck face I had ever laid eyes on. A face that egged me to go on and had my dick harder than a freshly packaged jawbreaker.

I lapped up her essence, seeing just how much of an obsession she would become for me.

“You wanna stop here?” I asked, now hovering over her.

“No,” she uttered, chest seemingly caving with every breath.

“Good.”

I reached into my sweats and pulled out a condom while pushing my sweats and briefs down with my other hand. My teeth ripped through the wrapper within seconds.

The entire time she lay there watching me with lazy eyes and her bottom lip tucked into her teeth.

“I meant what I said, Harlem,” I voiced, my eyes locked with hers.

She nodded, scooting up further onto her bed.

With my dick now covered, I met her where she was scooting, sure to drag my tongue across her flesh. Her breasts sat on display, begging for me to taste. Shit, every part of this woman was beautiful and addicting, begging for me to taste.

With a need for all access, I locked my arm around one of her legs, hoisting it up so I could get all the admittance I needed. Then, when I had her where I needed her, I pushed forward, piercing her slick creases just so she would feel everything I was sending her way. I wanted her to feel me like I felt her when I wasn’t inside of her. I felt Harlem on a level I didn’t intend, because deep down I knew she wasn’t what I was used to. Something in her would require more out of me.

Sopping warmth welcomed me into her apex, like it was waiting on me, awaiting my exploration of a body so perfect I didn’t know existed. Her feverish lips pressed against mine with a need I had to fill.

“Kinga.” She was choked up, wrapping that one free leg around me.

“Hmm.” I fed my shaft into her folds with intention, sure to feel and fill her in ways neither of us had experienced. I paused, then pulled all the way back, ramming my entire length into her snug, slippery core again. This pussy felt like it was made for me, the way it seemed like seconds in it was trying to pull the nut out of me. Could it be?

“I feel you,” she moaned aloud, breaking my thoughts that had gone into overdrive.

“Where?” I asked through grunts, trying to pace myself.

“Everywhere.”

“Good.” I pushed my lips against hers, sure to hit bottom with each stroke. If I was coming fast, I needed her to be coming first.

The louder she became, the more I felt like she was begging me to go harder, to send her body as mad as my mind was going with this obsession of her perfection. It wasn’t long until unforgiving strokes exploded the moments and those buttery soft thighs of hers were shaking around me. Shit, she was coming so hard that seeing the thin layer of sweat on her forehead and divine fuck expression on her face had me there as well. I had never been in sync with anybody or gave a shit about that soul ties bullshit folks spoke of, but with Harlem one night made me feel them all.

In sync…

Soul ties..

Shit… constant.

“You said you didn’t share, but what if I don’t either?” she asked, head to my chest while we lay in her bed after a few good nuts and some heavy breathing.

“Never said you had to.”

“But you said you don’t do relationships and I don’t want to rush into anything. What is?—”

“You overthinking, Harlem. I’m up for seeing where this goes between us. But only us.” I flipped her over, my face hovering over hers. Something about Harlem made me forget I didn’t like being bothered, because I wanted to be bothered with her.

“Okay.”

Sleep came, but it didn’t stay. Before I knew it, my alarm was going off and I was realizing I had a long ass day today. Between getting lil mama to school and the shop, I knew I’d be tired as hell today. I woke up in her bed with Harlem’s body wrapped around mine and a desire to stay right there but I couldn’t.

Not only did I have to get Aja to school and myself to the shop, but I also needed to deal with the shit I hadn’t last night. Ayden called me and said there was a DEA raid on my fucking shop. I couldn’t figure that out for the life of me. I was pissed, heat rising from my skull while they looked for weapons. Whoever had given them a tip had that shit wrong as two left shoes. I’d never be caught dead doing business like that out of my shop. What pissed me off was, according to Ayden, they didn’t come searching everywhere, they targeted my office like they knew something was in there. I didn’t like that at all, but it would be handled. Any business with shipments was run out of a warehouse in Rogers Park, never in my shop. I’d learned that lesson already.

“Gone so soon?” Harlem’s sleep-laced voice broke through my thoughts.

“Yeah, I gotta take my niece to school.”

“Mhmm.” She was still tired, shit I was too.

“I’ma see you today though, right?”

“Mhmm,” she responded, tangling herself into the covers even more.

I laughed because I knew she wasn’t hearing shit I was saying. I decided to just let her be and call her when I knew she was up.

By the time I left Harlem’s house, I had thirty minutes to get home, grab lil mama’s clothes, and get to Sora’s house. Funny enough, while I was rushing, Blaze called and told me she had already taken care of it. Shorty was definitely family and a fucking lifesaver while Sora’s ass lay still asleep like he was the pregnant one. Blaze also let me know she was gonna have Sora pick Aja up after school because she had scheduled her a hair appointment. That was good shit because I just knew lil mama was getting tired of ponytails I was struggling to give her. Shit, I was trying.

I made it home and jumped straight into the shower. The hot water beating against my skin gave me space and time to think. Even though I knew I should have been climbing in bed and getting a few hours, I had to hit the ground running. The DEA raided my shit and I wanted to know why.

After my shower, I dressed and decided to check in on Harlem. I knew she was up by now.

“And good morning to you too,” she greeted as soon as that pretty ass face came into view. I could tell by her background she was in the kitchen.

“What’s good, gorgeous?”

“Nothing. Preparing puppy food, my own breakfast, and waiting on the nanny. I have to do some moving around today and I can’t do that if I’m scared she’s gonna pop in my absence.”

I nodded. “Since you got a nanny that means you're gonna slide through the shop? Maybe bring me something to eat. I put in a lot of work last night.”

She giggled. “That you did. I guess I could do that, but only because I feel bad for keeping you up last night and you had to be up and out at five this morning.”

“Don’t sweat it.” She and I spoke for a while longer then I got down to business. After making sure she was coming, I hit up a certain pig I knew should have called me. This pig in particular owed a debt.

“What’s up, cuz?” Demi asked as soon as he answered the phone. Demi was my blood cousin on our piss poor ass father’s side. He wasn’t good for anything but some information every once in a while since he owed me. Blood meant nothing to him because he had no fucking loyalty. I was tighter with my mother’s side because they raised us. For as long as I could remember it had always been me, Nine, Oden, and Sora. Though biologically Nine was my cousin, he was one of my brothers in real life. He lived up in Crescent Falls now though and his sap ass was married to a librarian. Every time I thought about it, it shocked me because I knew my blood. He was in love though and I could tell from the moment I met her after our auntie decided to move down there with her sister.

“Don’t what’s up cuz me. Drop a location.” I grilled him through the phone.

“For what? You know I’m on the jo?—”

“You think I give a shit?” I had a lot of stress on me right now, so him giving me excuses on top of everything else irritating me wasn’t good enough.

“I’m at Grandma’s house. Please don’t bring that shit over here, Kinga. You know how she is. She can?—”

I hung up on his stupid ass. I hoped he didn’t think I gave a fuck about his grandmother. Old bitch ain’t never did shit for me and my siblings and we grew up six blocks from her house. As a matter of fact, I owned three liquor stores in the vicinity of her crib. Of course they sold other shit, but predominantly liquor. It made the big bucks while all that extra stuff went stale.

Demi was the golden boy of my pops’ side of the family. They kept him away from the streets and always made him seem to be better. Thing was, he wasn’t shit but a broke ass pig looking for something to either make his career or fill his pockets.

It took me all of an hour to get myself together and pull up where he said he was. I was glad he was standing out in front of his grandmother’s house when I pulled up because I would’ve hated to storm her shit and grab him, but I would’ve.

“Yo, Kinga. Don’t start that sh—” My fist connecting with his face halted his entire statement.

He hit the ground. Quick on my feet I backed up, giving him space to stand. “Get up, bitch, and please make sure you keep that badge on.”

He stumbled to his feet, holding his face, still trying to explain. He needed to understand that no explanation would help him right now.

“I didn’t know. I didn’t know it was going down like that.”

“The fuck you didn’t. You expect me to believe that shit? I ain’t. I’ma beat your ass until you admit it.” He caught another jab, this one right in the jaw.

“It wasn’t me. It was him. It was him.” He fell to the ground like I had kicked him in his chest or something. Shit, I should have.

“Who is him?” My expression stoned as I waited for an answer.

“Your father. He’s putting his bid in for mayor. You have more control over these parts than him.”

As soon as he said that I was thrown for a fucking loop. I didn’t acknowledge the coward who was supposed to be my father for reasons unknown, but it was shit like this that made me hate his crooked ass even more. I hadn’t seen him in years. Even though we lived in the same city, we didn’t run in the same circles.

I laughed. “Well tell him if he’s coming for my streets then he has to come a little harder.” Then I hauled off and kicked the shit out of Demi. “And that’s for having me come see your bitch ass to find out.”

I left him lying right there and hopped in my truck. Blood or not Memphis better had found something safe to do because I wasn’t above spilling his blood in these streets.

* * *

“S o you beat up Demi in front of his grandmother’s house today?” Sora’s voice filled the garage.

“Yup. What, did somebody call and tell on me to you?”

“No fool. You’re you. Everything you do out here travels. I’m not on no question shit, just worried. What’s up, bro?”

I shook my head. He was doing that thing he did that pissed me off, but I had to accept him caring for what it was. “The DEA raided the shop last night. All of my tools are out of order.” I glanced around at the unorganized mess, livid. “I paid Demi’s debt and kept his stupid ass alive. He owes me. All he ever has to do is tell me things before they happen. He failed last night. There was nothing in here but what if it was? Anyway, I beat his ass first to teach him a lesson, then I finished him off to send Memphis a message.”

Confusion filled his features. “What does Memphis have to do with this?”

“Yeen heard, huh? He’s running for office and needs to clean up his district. According to Demi I have more control over it than him.”

“So he handed your name off to them?”

I nodded. “Yup. Ain’t like they ain’t always had eyes on me, but to send them to my shop? That’s a new low for him. Guess he didn’t learn from when I broke his jaw.” I leaned into the back of an old black school.

I felt Sora’s eyes before he spoke. “I know you mad as fuck, but you been doing good, bro. Plus you have Aja right now, you can’t do the usual. Can you go bake something? May?—”

“I’m fine. I swear I am. What they did was his one pass. I’m too smart for them to try me head on.”

“So just like that? You’re giv?—”

A knock on the door got mine and his attention. When I lifted a smile immediately crossed my face at the sight of Harlem holding a lunch bowl and a smile indented those thick ass lips. She looked good as fuck too. She wore a pair of indigo, wide leg, distressed denim, showing too much of her fucking thighs for me, and a fitted tank top.

“Damn. You didn’t forget about me? I thought you did.” I dropped the tools I was using into the tray and picked up a rag, moving toward her. I felt my brother staring, but I was too engrossed in her presence to say anything to him.

“No, I didn’t. My puppy nanny was a little late. And I told you last night I was dropping two puppies off to their new homes today,” she explained, but I pulled her in by her ass cheek for a kiss.

Of course Sora cleared his throat. He couldn’t not be all in my fucking business.

When I turned around his expression was questioning, but of course he smiled in Harlem’s direction.

“Damn yeen gonna introduce me at all, bro?” He stepped forward, now standing directly in front of us. “I’m Sora, his brother.”

Harlem smiled. “Harlem.” She shook his hand.

“You came in and cursed the whole staff out, right? About two or three weeks ago, right?”

She nodded. “For good reason.”

Sora chuckled, eyes traveling from me to her a few times. “A match made in fucking heaven. Not one but two hotheads. I’m going to pick up Aja. I’ll slide back through. It was nice meeting you, Harlem.” He walked off and I knew I was gonna hear some shit from him later.

I grabbed Harlem’s hand and pulled her in the direction of my office, past my employees and the more crowded spaces. I didn’t want nobody in her fucking face.

“You look good as fuck,” I complimented, taking a seat on the couch while she looked around.

“Thank you. Though you’re greasy, you don’t look too bad yourself.”

I chortled. “What did you do today, besides drop offs?”

“Honestly just that. I made your food and ran a few errands.”

I couldn’t not look at her. Shit, even when I got up to go to the washroom and wash my hands, my eyes felt like they needed to be looking at her.

“You said you made sliders? Like White Castle?” I dried my hands, moving toward my desk chair.

“Yeah, but baby White Castle ain’t got nothing on me.” She now leaned against my desk, body sitting right as fuck.

I licked my lips. “Oh for real? Let me be the judge of that.”

“Alright.”

I opened the bowl and that shit looked good and smelled even better. “Damn, Harlem.”

“It’s the least I can do since you left that cake at my house.” She smiled widely.

“Come here.” I motioned for her to sit in my lap.

“And how are you going to eat?”

“With you right here. C’mere, man.” I maneuvered away from the desk so she could sit.

“How about I sit here and you eat your food right there.” She moved around my desk and sat on the side, next to me. Course I laughed because she was back on that nervous shit.

“What I tell you about being bashful around me, Harlem? I just had your pussy in my mouth less than eight hours ago. At this point we can’t get any closer, love.”

“I’m not nervous.”

“To keep it a buck, I plan on having that motherfucker in my mouth tonight too.” I set the bowl down and put my hand between her thighs, gripping them from the inside and scooting her little ass down until she was directly in front of me with that big, dumb ass smile on her face.

“Damn you’re trying to bully me already?” she asked, sitting back on her hands, looking at me while I ate.

“Trying to? Baby, yeen heard? I am a fucking bully.”

“Mhmm.”

For a while we just talked back and forth. I was enjoying her company more than I had ever enjoyed anybody’s company. She didn’t want shit from me and she wasn’t trying to be slick. Shit, she didn’t know of any of my street shit. She was getting to know me for what I told and showed her, not a reputation I built in my younger years. Hell yeah I maintained that motherfucker, but she didn’t see me like that, and that much I could tell from the way she looked at me.

“So you’re coming over tonight?”

“I got my niece. Are you good with her coming through?”

She nodded. “That’s fine. What does she like?”

“The fuck you mean what she like? What about what I like?”

She cackled. “Everything ain’t about you, handsome.”

“Fuck outta here.”

She giggled some more upon seeing I wasn’t fucking smiling. “Get over it. You’ve had my cooking three times. I doubt you’ll dislike what I cook tonight.”

She left the shop about an hour later, leaving me to work on my old school and a few other things I needed to take care of. I threw myself so far into work that I didn’t realize time had flown by the way it had. By the time I looked up at the clock, it was dark and I was hungry as shit, like Harlem hadn’t fed me hours prior. I was getting cleaned up to leave when a familiar voice up front in the shop caught my attention.

“You just said he was out back and you just said he’s gone. Which one is it?” Jewlz asked. I had been told everybody up front not to ever tell anybody I was here. I didn’t like nobody thinking they could just walk up on me.

“Either way I need to talk to him and it’s serious and none of your business.”

I shook my head. “Let her back.” I was loud enough for them to hear.

“Thank you. And don’t be looking at my ass.” She said that shit loud as fuck as her heeled sandals clacked against the concrete in my direction. When I looked up, shorty looked good as fuck but in that too much type of way. I hadn’t ever paid any attention to the fact that she did too much until now.

She wore a short skirt and an even shorter shirt. Shit looked good, but it was tight as fuck. She wanted the attention… my attention.

“What’s up, Jewlz?” I asked, pulling my hoodie over my head. I was waiting on Sora to drop Aja off then we were going by the crib to grab some shit before we went to Harlem’s.

“I haven’t seen you around. Was just trying to see if you had some time to catch up.” She leaned back in my car.

“Whoa, watch out,” I called out, reminding her not to touch my shit. I didn’t like people leaning on my cars. Too many textures could fuck up a good paintjob and the last thing I needed was to be hitting Rud to paint me up before the new season.

“My bad. So, are you free?”

“Nah I ain’t.” I eased out of the shop suit, thoughts of my lil fine shit filled my mind. I couldn’t understand how it had only been a few weeks, but she was on my mind like this.

“What about later?”

“I’on know. I gotta see about later. Is that all you came by for?” I had no intention of seeing about later seeing as how I intended to be knee deep in Harlem all night.

She looked uncomfortable, definitely not used to me turning her down. “Nah, I was also coming by to let you know Antwan and Kyro are planning on moving into your territory.”

I laughed at the thought. “How you find that out?”

She popped her gum. “I was near when they had the conversation.”

More laughter expelled from my lips. Her saying she was near meant she was partying with them. Breaking bread and drinking with folks who wanted my motion was wicked work. It irked me that lil dudes like the ones hugging the blocks thought they could be any match for me. The blocks they wanted to move in on were just drops in a bucket for me and I still wasn’t letting them go. My name was attached to a lot of motion in this city, from the three liquor stores that didn’t only sell liquor to the bar my name had absolutely no visible attachment to up north. Neither of those even scratched the surface of that warehouse up in Rogers Park housing enough ammunition to start a war within city parameters on any given day.

“What’s funny? I’m loyal to you and I can’t even get a moment of your time.”

“Loyal to me? Yeah, you keep telling yourself that. Who is their big homie?”

She sucked her teeth, eyes moving everywhere.

“Maj. You know that.”

I nodded. “You party with him too?”

She didn’t respond at first. “Sometimes. He doesn’t indulge like they do. We don’t do nothi?—”

“He feels their sentiments?” I didn’t want any sort of explanation from her. Jewlz was for anybody looking to party. I knew that, which was why I only kept her around to get my dick wet from time to time.

She shrugged. “I don’t know. We don’t talk about you when we’re together.”

More laughter. “Bet.”

“And what is that supposed to mean, Kinga? Like for real. I told you I wanted to be with you and you laughed at me. I gotta explore my options.”

I shook my head because I wasn’t up for this discussion. “’Preciate the heads up, Jewlz.”

“So that’s it? You’re just dismissing me like I’m a basic bitch.”

“What else do you need, Jewlz?” I heard my phone ringing but my attention was on her.

“You know what, nothing. Let me know if you’re coming through later. I really miss you.” She was gone a few seconds later. I fetched my vibrating phone from my pocket and answered.

“Yo.”

“Fools told me to hit them when I’m in their city yet don’t even answer their line for real.”

I pulled my phone from my ear and looked at it. The name read Rennix, bringing a smirk to my face. Funny thing was we’d only met because we happened to be at the same vacation destination about five years ago when me, Sora, and Nine were taking some time away from the city. I said Rennix aloud, calling my cousin, and both him, his twin, and Nine looked at me. I thought that shit was odd as fuck because who just named their son Rennix? Apparently my auntie and their mom.

“The fuck you doing out this way?”

“Checking in with my family. Shitty ass city. What are you on?”

“Tonight nothing, I’m taking it in,” I responded, knowing he could party.

“Old ass. I’ma be out here for a while, so I’ll get up with you.”

“Bet.”

We hung up just as my brother walked in the door trailed by my niece.

“Damn shorty, these braids are tight,.” I complimented my lil baby who looked up at me and beamed.

“Thank you.”

“Where y’all headed?” Sora stopped a few feet from me.

“Home to grab some shit, then to Harlem’s spot.”

As soon as I said that he had a big, stupid ass smirk on his face. “Harlem, huh?”

“Get off that.”

“Get off what? I’m just saying. One minute she’s in here causing hell and the next she’s bringing you lunch and you all up in her grill. You got something you wanna tell me, brother?”

“Nah. Mind your business.”

“Hell nah. Wait till I tell Nine about this. You out here talking shit but done up and got tender over lil fine shit.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at his stupid ass. “I’on know what you talking about?”

“Yeah you do. It’s all in your smile. You like her.” He was taking too much joy in his assumption.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He folded his hands across his chest. “I do, trust me, from experience. You got that look in your eyes. It’s cool, we're gonna talk. Dinner though. Bring her to the house, we’ll order out and eat some pizza and shit.”

“She doesn’t eat out much. She cooks everything.” I smiled at the thought. I was lowkey looking forward to seeing what she cooked tonight. This was the type of thing I wasn’t trying to get used to. When she brought me sliders today, I was in awe, then the fact that she was right about White Castle not having anything on her. Those sliders were delicious, so good I had to visually appreciate them while I ate.

“Oh, so she cooks for you.”

I didn’t respond. My eyes were on Aja. She was too busy playing on her iPad to pay me any attention.

“Yeah she does. I saw her walk in here with that bowl earlier. Just like I saw how you looked at her.”

“And?” I finally looked at his know-it-all ass.

“Don’t fuck it up.”

“We just kicking it right now, so ain’t nothing to fuck up.” I lied to him and myself in one moment.

“Yeah right, but I bet you see her entertaining somebody else, yo?—”

“Lemme stop you right there. Harlem ain’t entertaining shit but the dogs she breeds. Fuck outta here.” I balled my fist at the thought. I wasn’t used to being possessive about anybody, but Harlem was different.

“Yeah, just kicking it my ass. You talked to yo’ brother?” He said the brother part low, just in case lil mama was listening.

I shook my head. “Nope, but I did just hear from Rennix. Says he’s in town.”

“Nine?”

“No, the other one.”

“Oh damn. How long has he been out here?”

“Hell if I know. Told him to get up with me, just not tonight.”

He nodded. “Sounds about right. Lemme get up outta here. Blaze is home alone. Come give your uncle a hug, lil girl.”

While Sora and Aja said their goodbyes, I moved around shutting everything down and making sure to put the tools I used today back into their rightful spaces.

When I finished, we exited the part of the shop where I worked into the main area. Ayden and Big Jay were in their usual spaces. Jay on a stool by the door and Ayden at the counter.

“You headed out, boss?” Ayden asked, face now engrossed in his phone.

“Yeah. Don’t close up too late.”

“Bet. Yeen gotta worry ’bout that. My baby mama has been on dirt, talking about how I don't spend enough time with my son. She dropped him off at my mom’s house,” Big Jay responded, shaking his head.

I laughed and so did Sora as we exited.

“Don’t fall in love too fast while you over there,” he cracked.

“Fu—”

“Uncle, you said you were gonna stop cursing so much.” Aja’s little voice interrupted me about to tell my brother fuck him.

“I said I was gonna try, lil mama.”

“Can you please try harder then?”

I laughed and threw my hands up in surrender. “You got it, now get in the car. We’re dropping by the crib to grab some clothes, then we’re going to Harlem’s house. Are you good with that?”

I opened her door for her to get in, then stepped back. I then watched my brother hop into his car and peel out of the lot. Sora was a fucking speed demon and he knew it.

“Your friend? The one you kissed with the dogs? That’s your girlfriend, Uncle.” Her words caught me by surprise.

“What do you know about a girlfriend, Aja?”

“I’m not a baby, Uncle. I know stuff.”

I looked at her for a moment, ready to pop her bubble, but I stopped myself. Instead, I watched her fasten herself then I closed the door. The fuck did she mean she knew stuff?

When I was in the car with it started, I looked at her in the rearview mirror. “The fuck you mean you know stuff?” I couldn’t hold it in.

“I just do.” She never looked up from her tablet.

“Yeah, aight. You bet not have some lil boy at that school thinking he’s your boyfriend either.”

“Ew, Uncle. No, I don't want a boyfriend.”

“Good. ’Cause if I find out you do, ain’t nothin’ going to be pretty. Plus, you are too young for that, baby girl. Stay a kid as long as you can because this adult shit ain’t no joke.”

She was quiet, which caused me to glance in the rearview mirror again. “You heard me, Aja?”

“Yes, Uncle, I heard you.”

I nodded, keeping my eyes and head on the road. I had told Aja no lies. This adult shit was heavy enough to break even the strongest. Just like we planned, we went by the house and grabbed a few things. After that we went straight to Harlem’s. The craving to be near her was new for me because never in my life had I wanted to be near a soul as much as I wanted to be around her little ass.

Harlem made pizza from scratch. Shorty had hooked it up so well that my niece stuffed her face until she passed out on the living room sofa staring at her iPad with Bleu, the puppy Harlem wouldn’t sell me, under her.

“Safe to say she liked it, huh?” Harlem’s voice made me look up from Aja to her. She had gone to get her guest bedroom ready for Aja to sleep in. “The bed is ready.” She then leaned down and picked Bleu up.

I chuckled. “Hell yeah. Then you see how attached to that dog she is? You gotta sell him to me now, baby.” I picked my niece up and carried her in the direction of the guest room right next to Harlem’s bedroom. Once we had Aja settled and under the covers, I cut the lights out and followed Harlem out of the room.

“I told you, I’m not selling you my dog, Kinga. She can come see him whenever she wants though. Shoot when he gets old enough, she can even babysit.”

I chuckled. “Damn.” We then entered her puppy haven as she called it. There were only two puppies and the two mother dogs. One was currently pregnant and the other was seemingly nursing her puppies.

“Now would you like one of those two?” she asked, pointing to the two puppies now greeting their brother she had just lowered.

“Nah. I want the one you want, because I want you.”

“Like how?” Her expression housed mischievousness, the type that was about to have me on some other shit all night.