Page 28 of Out of Bounds (Atlanta Demon Series #4)

Taking the steps two at a time, I strolled into my room so that I could get dressed. Masai’s ass knew exactly what the fuck she was doing. I know for a fact that her ass was the one who even thought of this shit, and my baby girl just went along with it.

After we were sure Aurora wanted to keep her theme, we worked hand in hand with the party planner to make her day extra special.

The decorator I hired had turned my backyard into the most gorgeous “under the sea” theme.

Masai had taken the liberty of ordering the little girls, whom we’d invited, their own Mermaid costumes to change into once they arrived.

We wanted everyone to be in theme for my baby girls’ fifth birthday.

The way her face lit up at the balloon arch hovering over my front door made me happy.

My marriage might have been over, but my kids were still smiling and happy. That kept me pushing forward.

Checking myself out in the mirror, I scowled.

“My got damn arms ’bout to rip this lil’ ass shirt to shreds.

And these fucking pants are too tight.” The costume Masai’s ass had bought me came with these slim fit tights that had fucking fins on the bottom of each pant leg.

“Bruh, I’m not ’bout to put this fucking wig on either. ”

I was standing in the mirror, fussing, not even realizing that my ass wasn’t alone anymore, when I heard Deuce’s ass laugh.

“Yo’. Not you in here dressed like you ’bout to hit the end of Bourbon street.”

“Fuck you, dog!” I laughed. “Masai’s petty ass bought me this shit.”

“Sis tryna embarrass yo’ ass. Nigga, you look like you ’bout to burst right outta that lil’ shit.”

“Who you fucking telling?” Pulling my dreads up in a bun, I glanced in the mirror one last time before walking away. “Masai’s ass lucky.”

“Anything for the kids…” Deuce chuckled.

“Anything for the kids,” I repeated in agreement.

Shutting the door to my bedroom, I jogged down the stairs with him behind me. When we made it to the lower level, I glanced out at the backyard where my family was. Tapping me on the shoulder, Deuce handed me a beer. “Here. You look like you need something to take the edge off.”

Grateful, I took it out of his hands. “I’mma need this and something a lil’ stronger to get through this shit.”

Walking out into the backyard, I made my way over to where my in-laws were seated. “What’s up, y’all?” I greeted everyone before grabbing Kree out of my mother-in-law’s arms. “Hey, big man.” I smiled and kissed him on the forehead. “Ma, you good? Need anything?”

“I’m good.” She smiled. “I need to go change into my swimsuit in a bit so I can get in the pool with the kids.”

“Yeah, I’m only giving Aurora an hour in this shit before I change.”

“Play nice.” She pinched my stomach. “She’s been talking about this all week.”

“I bet.” I snorted. Ambling away from the family, I searched the backyard for Masai. It took a minute, but eventually, my eyes landed on her standing by the treat table. “Happy now?” I asked as I came up behind her.

Masai turned in my direction and looked me up and down before laughing. “You look like a complete fool.”

“See, bruh…” I went to turn away, but stopped when she grabbed my arm.

“No, don’t change,” she said in between giggles.

“Nawl, ’cause everybody out here can see my shit.”

“They cannot. You look like a proud father.”

“Fuck out of here.” I waved her off. “How you get yo’ whole family to show up?” I asked after her ass finally stopped laughing.

“Um. About that…” She snorted. “You know how they are.”

Masai’s family ain’t fuck with her too tough.

They definitely didn’t fuck with her after I went pro and we got married.

They swore up and down that she thought she was better than them.

That was the furthest from the fucking truth, though.

Masai was one of the humblest NFL wives there was.

Her folks thought that her being married to a millionaire meant her pockets were open for their advantage.

I never cared about her helping her folks out, but when a motherfucker that had never been there for her asked for a million dollars, I had to put an end to the shit.

When we got married, her folks showed up for the wedding, but that was about it.

Every milestone the kids had, they ain’t bother coming once they realized she wasn’t about to be paying their bills.

So, if they were here today, it was only because they’d heard about the divorce and probably only showed up to throw some shit up in her face.

“You still my wife, so everybody better keep that shit cute. I’on have a problem putting they asses out of my shit. I’m not ’bout to let nobody disrespect you.”

“I’m not worried about these people. They called and asked if they could come to the party, and I said yes. I already had to tell Aunt Tina off, so please believe, the rest of them ain’t gone say shit.”

“Better stay that way.” I passed Kree off to her. “I’m ’bout to go over there with Aurora.”

“Make sure you watch her in that damn fin. She insisted on getting in the pool with it.”

“I got you.”

“Daddy!” my baby girl yelled when she saw me trekking toward her. “See my swimsuit.”

“I see, Buttercup.” Kneeling on the side of the pool, I leaned over and pulled her out of the water. Holding her up in the air, I shook her. “You being careful?”

“Yes, sir.”

“You promise?”

“Yesssss!” she drawled.

“Okay, good. Look behind me and tell me if your mom is watching.”

Aurora leaned her head to the side and nodded.

“Wanna play a trick on her?”

She smiled widely. “Yes, Daddy.”

“Aight. Get ready…” Standing, I brought her up and winked my eye at her before throwing her into the middle of the pool.

“Kreed Dolla!” Masai yelled. She was getting ready to fuss when Aurora swam to the surface. After she wiped the water from her face, she begged for me to do it again. Before she could swim over to the side of the pool, Masai was beside me, punching me in the side.

“Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”

“She knows how to swim, Sai.” I laughed.

“I know that, Kreed, but they said it might be hard with that shit on.” Sighing dejectedly, she shook her head. “Just be careful, please.”

All of our kids had taken swimming lessons growing up. I paid an instructor good money to come by the crib a few days a week to work with them. Hell, Kree’s little ass was in swimming lessons, and he wasn’t two yet.

When we bought our first crib, it came with a pool, so I made sure to do my part as a father and make sure all of my kids could swim.

I wasn’t trying to risk one of them accidentally falling into the pool or no shit like that.

Even with the amount of money I’d spent and the hours they trained, Masai still had anxiety when it came to them and pools.

“I got you. Buttercup, wanna go again?” I asked to fuck with Masai.

When she threw a punch my way, I dodged that shit and ran off laughing.

The kids swam for a good little minute. When it was time to eat, Masai made their asses get out of the pool and sit under the tent.

The photographer we’d hired took pictures of everyone and made sure to get a few shots of us as a family.

We were big on capturing every moment we could with the kids.

I felt like memories were sometimes all we had to hold onto.

As soon as the sun set, we sang happy birthday and fed the girl’s cake. Once the party wrapped, my baby girl told me this was the best birthday she’d ever had and thanked me for being the best daddy in the world. As long as she was happy, then Masai and I had done our job.