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Page 39 of Out of Bounds (Atlanta Demon Series #4)

“Thank God!” I groaned and pulled open the front door for Masai. “His lil’ ass been shitting up a storm.”

She passed me the Walgreens bag and asked, “Where is he?”

“In the room. I just changed his diaper and put him back in bed.” Shutting the door behind her, I locked it and set the alarm.

“What did y’all eat?”

“Shit… some fucking hibachi, and his ass only had vegetables and some chicken.”

“It was probably the broccoli.” Masai laughed.

Kicking her shoes off by the door, she tiptoed through the house and up the stairs to my bedroom.

When she pushed the door open, she hesitated before venturing further into the room.

I had both Kree and KJ in the room with me, so I’m sure that was the reason for her pausing.

Grabbing Kree up from the bed, she cradled him in her arms. “My poor baby.”

“Your poor baby? Nigga, poor me. I been up and down with his ass all night.”

“I bet.” She laughed. Slipping into my bed beside KJ, Masai rested her back against my headboard and placed Kree across her lap. “Is KJ fine?” she questioned after he stirred beside her.

“I think so. Shit… he ain’t shitted yet.”

“It might be a domino effect, so just keep an eye out for him.”

I was getting ready to grab KJ out of the bed and put him in his crib when Masai leaned over and picked him up. Holding him to her chest, she veered back and peered down at him. “He looks just like Kree.”

“I know,” I mumbled timidly. This was the first time she’d held him. I wasn’t worried about her doing some shit to him, but I was worried about her. She was holding the very thing that had been responsible for our divorce. I didn’t know if she was about to start crying or what. “I can get him.”

“He’s okay.” She shook her head. She smiled down at him a few seconds before sniffing his head. “I miss that fresh baby smell.”

“You aight?”

She looked up at me. “Yeah. Why you ask that?”

Tipping my head at KJ, I added, “’Cause, uhh…”

“Boy!” She laughed. “This baby ain’t did nothing to me.”

“I hear you. What’s in that bag you brought?”

“Pedialyte and some Imodium A-D, but to be honest, we should let whatever run its course. It’s probably nothing.”

“It’s more than nothing. I done went through like eight diapers,” I said, ready to have Kree drink the whole bottle of Pedialyte. “His lil’ ass been lighting my room the fuck up.”

“You a lie.”

“Yeah, aight.” I pushed away from the door and deposited the bag on my dresser. Pulling my T-shirt over my head, I slid into the bed beside Masai and the boys and picked Kree up. “His lil’ ass sleeping peacefully now that you here. Like he wasn’t just farting and doing all that carrying on.”

“He knows his mama here.”

“If you say so.”

Masai tossed her head back and yawned, making me realize something. “Where you coming from? You said you wasn’t at home when I hit you up.”

“I wasn’t. I was at Lam’s house.”

“You and that nigga been fucking?”

“You in my business like that’s something you really want to know.”

There went my answer. She had fucked that nigga and came over to my crib afterward. I’on give a fuck if I did call. Her ass could’ve just let me DoorDash when I offered. “You got it, Masai.”

“Thought so…” She tittered before yawning again. “I’m tired.”

“I bet. Might as well take yo’ ass to sleep.”

“I’m going home after I make sure my baby’s okay.”

“Girl, it’s three in the morning. Take yo’ ass to sleep. Ain’t nobody ’bout to fuck with you.”

“Oh, that’s the last thing I’m worried about.”

“You worried ’bout that nigga knowing you over here in my bed.”

“Nope.” She yawned again. “He knows what it is.”

“If you say so,” I countered. “Either way, I’ll go downstairs so you can have the bed. But I’on think you need to be tryna go home.”

“I stay right down the road, Kreed.”

“And yo’ eyes low as hell. Ass can barely push out a sentence without yawning.”

“If you want me close, just say that.”

“I always want you close, Masai.”

That revelation had her rolling her eyes up to my face. Her eyes lowered as she stared at me. The intense gaze lingered a few minutes before she broke it by yawning again. “I need my bag out of the car.”

“Where yo’ keys?”

“I dropped them on the sofa.”

“Where yo’ bag? I’ll go get it.”

“In the trunk.”

“Aight. You got him, or I need to get him?”

“He’s good.” She glanced down at KJ, who was perched against her chest, sleeping peacefully. “When you come back up, bring me a bottle of water, please.”

“I got you,” I told her and slipped out of the bed.

I did a happy dance internally; I’d gotten Masai’s tough ass in my bed.

I knew this was the last place her ass wanted to be, but it was exactly where I needed her.

I wouldn’t touch her because that nigga did that already, but I was definitely going to enjoy having her close by.

I always felt at ease when she was near me.

Jogging down the stairs, I swiped Masai’s keys up from the sofa and went to get her shit out of the car. When I made it back inside, she was changing KJ’s diaper.

“He shit?”

“No, he peed. When the last time you fed him?” she asked.

“Right before I put him to sleep.”

“Does he normally sleep through the night?”

I chuckled. “Shit, sometimes. Then other times, his ass be up trying to play.”

“Fix him another bottle, and I’ll feed him.”

Dropping her bag beside the bed, I sat on the side and waited for her to put his sleeping pants back on before grabbing him. “Change your clothes. I’mma go fix his bottle.”

“Okay.”

Before I left the room, I made sure Kree was good before carrying KJ to the kitchen with me.

After getting his bottle prepared, we went back to my room.

Masai had changed into her black Victoria’s Secret pajamas with her hair now tied down by a scarf.

She was resting under the covers, and I paused, seeing how this was my normal just six, seven months ago.

“You can pass him here.” She reached for KJ.

This shit getting a little weird now.

“Yo’, Sai… you sure you good?”

“Boy, give me that baby.” She frowned. “I told you I’m tired.”

“I understand that, but I’on… ya know? I’on want you to feel like, ’cause you here, you gotta see after him. I’m not trying to put you in that situation.”

“You’re not… And I don’t feel any way, Kreed. He’s just a baby.”

“My baby with someone else,” I specified because I wasn’t trying to force shit on Masai.

We were getting along well, and I was happy as hell she was here right now.

Outside of that shit that happened at Deuce’s crib, we had been beasting the co-parenting shit.

We were cool, and the girls seemed happy.

I didn’t want to trigger her in any way and have her slipping back into those dark days, and it affecting our kids.

“I know who he belongs to.” She reached for him again, and this time, instead of stalling, I handed him over.

I sat there unmoved for a few minutes and watched her feed him.

Every so often, she would look up at me and laugh.

The way she was acting, I had to keep my eyes on her.

I’ll be done fucked around and fell asleep and woke up to Masai holding a knife to my throat.

She was being a little too friendly, and maybe that was because ole boy had piped her down.

Either way, I wasn’t about to fall asleep with this motherfucker lying beside me. My ass might wake up dead.

Jumping up out of my sleep, I patted the bed beside me.

That shit must’ve been a damn dream.

As soon as my feet hit the ground, I realized I wasn’t dreaming. Masai’s pink BéIS Weekender bag was sitting on the side of my dresser, and my Gucci slippers were missing. I’d left my bedroom door open, and now it was closed.

Meandering into the bathroom, I stood at the sink and handled my hygiene before going to find Masai with my kids. As soon as I pulled my room door open, the smell of bacon wafted through the air. The further I ventured down the stairs, the louder my kids’ voices became.

“It’s too early in the morning for y’all to be this damn loud!” I fussed while rounding the corner.

“Good morning, Daddy!” my oldest greeted me. Maddie Claire was sitting at the island, feeding KJ a boiled egg.

Masai spun around with the spatula in her hand and said, “I hope she don’t have a problem with him eating solids.”

“I feed his lil’ ass what I eat.”

“Okay, cool. I hope you don’t mind. The kids were hungry.”

“Not at all. Have at it,” I offered. After kissing each of my girls and telling them good morning, I grabbed Kree out of his high chair and tossed him in the air. “What’s up, big man?” With him resting in my arms, I sat beside KJ and Maddie Claire.

“What do you have planned for the day?” Masai queried.

“Nothing. Was planning on hanging around here with them. Why? What’s up?”

“I was just asking. I need to run by the office after I get them fed, and I was going to take Sophie and Aurora with me.”

“That’s fine by me.”

“Great. It’s your weekend, so I didn’t want to impede.”

“You good, Sai.”

“Maddie, y’all go wash your hands and get ready to eat.”

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