Page 20

CHAPTER 20

EARTH

“Kill everybody,” Fire suggested as he bounced one of the twins in his arms. I watched my brother, trying not to laugh but loving the fact he was taking this baby shit serious as hell. From the moment I walked into his house, he’d been holding one of the boys. The other baby was strapped to his back in some kind of wrap.

“That’s the only option,” I replied, and he nodded. “I just gotta think of how to do that so it's flawless. The last thing I wanna do is get caught up afterward and leave Coy by herself.” I ran my hand over my hair and sighed. We’d set up an appointment with Corinthian to have her come through and cut my hair and line Fire up. “I love her too much for that shit.”

“You have Stockholm syndrome, nigga. I swear you do,” he said, shaking his head. “How the fuck you love this girl after two weeks? Keep in mind, the first week, you were locked in her house with a damn kiddy Tracphone that only let you call her.”

I laughed and shook my head. “You’ll see when you find a woman. It will be instant, just like it was with me and Coy.”

“Doubt it!” He laughed. “The only love I got in me is for my boys and you all. A woman ain’t it.”

“You like niggas?” I asked, knowing Fire would go the fuck off. My brother wasn’t homophobic at all, but he didn’t play around with that shit, either.

“Make me fuck you up in front of my sons.” Fire mugged me hard, and I laughed. He didn’t scare me, and he knew it.

The doorbell rang, and a few seconds later, Krude’s loud voice echoed through the house. “Twins, where the fuck are y’all at?” He stepped through the archway and stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of the babies. “Where the fuck did they come from?”

“Surprise, nigga,” Fire gloated, showing him the boys. “You an uncle!”

“Nigga, what?” Krude took the twin from Fire and held him in the air to get a look at him. “When the fuck did you get some kids? Who they mama?”

“Oh, shit. I’ono who they mama is.” Fire shrugged. He moved with ease as he bent forward slightly, reached back with one hand to hold the baby, and used the other to untie the wrap. Once the baby was loose, he brought him around to the front of him and completely unwrapped him, then threw me the wrap. “Ocean and Lake ain’t got one.”

“Ocean and Lake?” Krude repeated. He took the other baby from Fire and stared at them in amazement. “That shit dope.” He looked up at Fire and nodded before returning to the boys. “Alright, y'all. I’m y'all Uncle Krude. I’m cool, but understand I won’t be the one y’all drink and smoke with. But I am the one y’all will play the game with, eat with, and kick it with. Y'all got a cousin named Judah, but that silver tooth little nigga bad as fuck.”

“Stop talkin’ about my baby, Krude,” Corinthian said, entering the kitchen. She looked at her cousin and then at the babies before looking at me, confused. “What did I miss?”

“Not mine,” I replied with a laugh.

“Yours?” she questioned Fire, who nodded and smiled. “I don’t even want to know.” She set her black travel bag on the counter before approaching the babies. “Ohh, aren’t y'all cute!”

“Aht the fuck aht!” Krude said, moving away from her. “Don’t get no damn ideas. You got a badass kid right now; you don’t need no damn more.”

“I don’t want any more!” Corinthian laughed and walked away from her cousin. “I can admire them, though.”

“That’s all the fuck you doin’ too,” Krude replied.

“Where the fuck you goin’, nigga?” Fire asked as Krude walked out of the kitchen with the twins.

“In the living room. She is about to cut y’all hair and shit. You don’t want them around all that flying hair,” Krude replied, and I hated to admit it, but what he said was smart. “Now mind yo’ fuckin’ business while I get off my feet and hang out with my lil homies.”

“I can’t stand his black ass,” Fire said once Krude was gone. Corinthian laughed and started setting up to cut my hair then line Fire up. “Alright, so how are you going to handle this Jamel shit? We already hit one of his trap houses. What’s next?”

“I wanna walk into his house and blast him,” I said, laughing.

“That would be quick and easy,” Fire replied with a shrug. “But we don’t do quick or easy.”

“Not at all,” I agreed. I sat still as Corinthian worked on my hair. She moved quickly and silently. She’d look at her work occasionally before stepping back up and cutting again. For twenty minutes, I sat in silence and let her work while I thought of how I would embarrass Jamel again.

“Done,” Corinthian said as she cut off her clippers.

I got up, grabbed the small handheld mirror, and checked her work. Like I knew it would be, my line was straight, and taper was perfect. She even lined up my goatee just like I liked. Fire and I switched places, and she quickly lined him up. After she was finished, I swept the floor, and Fire wiped off the counter while Corinthian packed up her equipment.

“That nigga good with kids, I can’t even front,” Fire said once Krude and Corinthian were gone. “He fed, changed them, and put them down without a struggle.”

“I don’t question that nigga.” I laughed, and Fire nodded. We sat down in the living room and relaxed. Fire grabbed his weed from the table and started breaking it down so he could roll a blunt. “But I think I figured out what to do next.”

“What’s that?”

“We are throwing a block party,” I answered, and Fire looked up at me in confusion. “In his neighborhood. Right in front of his house. I want to shut down his entire block. A few food trucks, a DJ, and some mini horses and shit for the kids.”

“I like it.” Fire laughed. “I need a sitter, though.”

“Coy can watch them for you.” I shrugged, then pulled my phone from my pocket to text her.

“She not gonna be at the block party?” Fire questioned.

“Nope,” I denied, shaking my head. “I refuse to put her in harm's way. If that nigga gets a hair up his ass and wants to jump stupid, she not going to get caught up in the crossfire.”

Me: Baby.

Coy: Yes?

Me: Can you watch the twins for Fire in a few days?

Coy: Does he mind if Lynx is with me?

I looked up at my brother. “She asked if you cared if her best friend was with her,” I asked him.

“You met her before?” he asked, and I shook my head. “Tell her we gotta meet first.”

Me: He wants to meet her first.

Coy: Okay, tell him we usually do brunch on Saturdays, so he is welcome to join us.

Me: Just him?

Coy: I’d already planned for you to be there.

Me: Bet. See you when I get home.

Coy: Okay.

Me: Love you.

“Brunch on Saturday,” I said, putting my phone away. The phone vibrated in my pocket a few seconds later, but I didn’t check the notification. “You can meet her then.”

“Cool,” Fire agreed. “But if I’on like her, she ain’t gonna be around my babies.”

“Cool with me.” I laughed. Fire handed me a blunt but smacked my hand when I lit it. “The fuck, nigga?”

“Take that shit outside. Ain’t no smoking in my house. I’m a father, nigga.”

“This is okay?” McCoy asked me, looking down at her outfit for what felt like the hundredth time. The matte green wrap dress with a high split hugged all her curves and had me adjusting my dick every few seconds as I drove.

“Baby, that dress is dope as fuck. You look good.” I took her left hand in my right and interlaced our fingers. “Why are you doubting shit?”

“I don’t know,” she replied lowly. I brought her hand to my lips and kissed it.

“Well, you look good. Stop trippin’.” I laughed. When we arrived at our destination, I parked, shut the truck off, and turned in my seat to look at McCoy. Her makeup was flawless and natural, and her hair was pulled into a high bun. She wore diamond studs, her M necklace, and two small diamond-encrusted rings on each thumb. “Give me a kiss, Coy.”

“I have on lip gloss,” she said, laughing. Her deep dimples pushed into her cheek, and I chuckled.

“I don’t care, baby. I just wanna feel your lips, is all.” I watched her as she leaned against the armrest and puckered her lips, but I didn’t move. “You gonna give me a little innocent kiss, or you gonna get nasty?”

“Which one do you want?” she asked as I moved close to her.

“Nasty, baby,” I replied. My lips brushed against hers. “Always nasty.”

McCoy grabbed the collar of my shirt, pulled me to her, and closed the little bit of distance we had between us. I pushed my tongue into her mouth and chased hers. There was no doubt we swapped spit, and I loved that shit. Our teeth clashed with each other’s, and she moaned lowly. With each passing day, McCoy was unknowingly coming out of her shell. I knew I was right when I first saw her and thought she was a boss. She just didn’t have the right nigga beside her to pull shit out. My dick was so damn hard by the time she pulled back, I thought it was going to break through my zipper.

“That nasty enough?” she asked, wiping lip gloss from my mouth.

I took her hand from my mouth and sat it against my dick. “What do you think?” I questioned. Her lips spread into a smile, and her eyes got low. She was horny as fuck right now, just like I was, but I knew we didn’t have much time to waste. When she started stroking my dick through my pants, I almost started the truck back up and headed back home. Instead, I moved her hand and kissed her palm. “But that shit gotta wait. We got a few reservations.”

“A few?” she asked with a laugh, and I nodded.

“Fuck yeah. Now, let’s go.” I exited the truck, ensuring I had my keys, phone, and gun before closing the door. I walked around the car, opened the door for McCoy, and helped her out. We walked hand in hand into the building. There was no reason to check in because I was the only person on the books tonight.

I nodded at the woman at the front desk and walked to the back, where the helicopter was waiting.

“Earth, what is this?” McCoy asked as we got closer to the helicopter.

“We seein’ the city from a different view tonight,” I answered with a shrug. It took me a minute to determine what kind of date to take McCoy on. I wanted her to know that even though she was dealing with me, and I had my hand in some street stuff still, I wasn’t always a hood nigga. I owned businesses, legitimate businesses, and paid my taxes. She was a lawyer. We would be looked at like a fucking power couple and nothing else. “You scared of heights?”

“No,” she denied as I helped her into the helicopter. She constantly looked around, even though we hadn’t even taken off yet.

“Well, let’s enjoy this shit then,” I replied after I was situated.

The pilot gave us headphones, reviewed instructions, did a last-minute flight check, and then we were off. The entire time we were in the air, McCoy held onto my hand and stared out the window. She’d point out different places she knew about, and I showed the shit she’d missed.

An hour and a half after we took off in the helicopter, we landed on the roof of a building, and we got out. McCoy looked around, confused, and I laughed.

“Chill out, we’re where we’re supposed to be,” I said, then took her hand. We walked to the open elevator and descended to the first floor.

The doors to the elevator opened, and McCoy gasped in surprise at the sight before her. I had to give it to West Donovan. He knew what he was doing when it came to owning and operating a botanical room. The twenty thousand square foot building was a sight to see. The part of the building could be rented out was some shit you would see in a movie. It reminded me of a bird dome with glass walls and ceilings. A waterfall sat in the middle of the room, and water flowed freely under the glass flooring. Fish, turtles, and other aquatic life swam under our feet. The walls were covered with flowers and trees in the room's corners. Our table sat on a platform near the waterfall, but it wasn’t close enough that we would have to worry about water splashing on us. I was initially worried the room would smell, but West assured me there was no fishy smell, and he was right. The air was clean and fresh, and the temperature was perfect.

“How did you find out about this place?” McCoy asked after we were seated and our waitress had taken our order.

“A homeboy of mine owns it,” I answered. “I told him I wanted to do something special, and without hesitation, he offered this.”

“This is beautiful,” McCoy said, smiling. The way she looked at me had me ready to do shit like this for the rest of our lives. “I didn’t even know we had a place like this.”

“It’s not open to the public yet,” I replied, picking up my water and drinking some. “He said it opens at the top of the year.”

“I’ll have to remember that,” she said, looking around.

“Whenever you want to return, just say the word, and it’ll happen.” I put my drink back on the table and relaxed in my seat. I’d hit up West tomorrow and let him know I’d need a standing appointment to bring her back.

“The flowers are amazing.” She ran her fingers over the orange lilies on the table. “Their colors are so vibrant.”

“Krude’s cousin Psalms is a botanist. She hooks him up,” I mentioned, and she nodded. “They are pretty.”

I picked up my phone off the table and texted Psalms, letting her know I’d be around to see her tomorrow. Usually, Psalms supplied my weed, but I had no problem ordering flowers from her. She replied, letting me know she’d been in the office all day and to come by whenever.

“Who is the chef?” McCoy questioned. “I’m not going to lie; I’m going to compare everything to Shaka.”

“West’s sister, South, is the chef,” I answered with a laugh. “She and Shaka are cool. They trained together, so you don’t have anything to worry about.”

“Okay.” McCoy nodded.

The waitress came out with our food, and for the rest of the night, I listened to McCoy talk and enjoyed her food. I didn’t care what she talked about as long as she kept a smile on her face and looked at me like I was the best nigga in the world.