Page 12 of The Cancer I Chose (BLP Signs of Love #4)

“Rise and shine, buttercup,” I announced jovially as I ripped open the curtains in Nuri’s large bedroom.

It was nearly noon, and she was back in bed.

Yesterday was a mentally and emotionally draining day for her.

Being there to witness it all created an even softer spot in my chest for this girl.

Even as she lay sprawled on the bed, her hair matted to the pillow, I wanted nothing more than to wrap her in my arms. She wore a nightgown to bed that was dangerously close to giving me a peek at her pussy, but I only wanted to look when she gave me the right.

Her thick thighs looked juicy enough to eat, and I had to look away before I got carried away.

Nuri lifted a pillow, trying to cover her face, but I stopped her. She cracked one eye open, and for the first time, I saw murder in her eyes. It was so unexpected that I chuckled. For some reason, that made her sit up in bed.

“What’s so funny?”

“You looked like you wanted to kill me just now, and we both know you wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

Nuri playfully stuck her tongue out at me and folded her arms over her chest. “Because I’m trying to sleep in, and you’re in here bothering me.”

I tucked my arms behind my back. “Because we have somewhere to be. Get dressed.”

Before she could ask questions, I turned and left her bedroom.

Going into mine, I went straight to my closet to pick out an outfit to wear.

There was a community event happening in the hood.

I promised Jiah that I would be there, so I was going to make Nuri tag alone.

I was sure she could use the fresh air after the ocean of tears she cried last night.

I decided on a graphic Sade “Your Love is King” shirt with light wash jeans and white block walkers.

As always, I didn’t wear any flashy jewelry, just a gold chain with a cassette tape charm that had my initials on the back.

It was a gift from my stepmother, Que, when she realized my love for music.

On my wrist was a gold watch to tie everything together.

I sprayed on some cologne, then checked myself out in the mirror.

I’d taken out my two-strand twists, so my long hair had a little crinkle to it.

In another week, I’d need a lineup, but I was still good for now.

I pocketed my phone and wallet, then headed downstairs to wait for Nuri.

She didn’t keep me waiting too long either.

I stood as she strutted into the living room wearing a beige corset sundress that complemented her brown skin. Her titties were sitting up so nicely that I almost sent her ass back upstairs to change. It took everything in me not to speak on it because she looked good as fuck.

With skin glistening like she’d covered it in tiny diamonds and gold, I knew her dainty ass would be turning heads all day.

My eyes fell to her hand, and sure enough, her wedding ring was there.

That made me feel a little better about her leaving the house looking so radiant.

On her feet were some gold designer sandals.

Her French pedicure was perfect and made her toes look so suckable.

She wore gold jewelry on her neck, wrists, ankles, and fingers.

Her thick hair was pulled up into a big puff, allowing her round face to be on full display.

To top it all, a delicious caramel coffee scent radiated from her pores, nearly making my mouth drool.

“You look amazing, Legacy,” I complimented. I felt no shame as I stood there making her squirm from how intensely I was checking her out.

She blushed, holding on tighter to the strap of her designer purse and twisting side to side. “Thank you, Kai. You look good too. I hope this is okay. You didn’t give me any hints about where we’re going.”

I walked closer to her and placed a kiss on her cheek before taking her hand in mine. “What you’re wearing is perfectly fine.”

She looked up at me with full lashes and soft eyes. I almost fell to my knees ready to obey her every command. My eyes were glued to her lips when she spoke. “Legacy?”

The corner of my mouth tilted up. I twirled the loose curl she’d left on the side of her face around my finger while falling deeper into her brown eyes.

I motioned to the foyer. “Whenever I look at you, I see where you come from, and I respect it. We’re from different sides of the tracks but the shit your people were able to build changed the fucking chemistry in my brain.

” I glanced around at the high ceilings and top of the line art on the walls.

“This is what I want to build for my family. Sometimes you don’t know what’s possible until you’re standing in the room with it. ”

When I looked back at Nuri, I found her shuffling nervously. Her bottom lip was tucked as she tried to contain her emotions. She was so sensitive. Anything could make my little Cancer cry. I shook my head, tossed an arm over her shoulder and said, “Let’s ride.”

“Is that Jiah?” Nuri asked when I parked in front of the big house. My sister was sitting on the porch smoking a blunt, waiting on us to get here. She had her hair straightened, so it blew in the wind.

“Yeah, that’s her ass,” I answered.

Nuri hopped out of the car so fast I didn’t get a chance to be a gentleman.

By the time I got to the porch, they were hugging.

It warmed my heart to see them getting along.

I don’t know when they had time to bond, but they both seemed genuinely happy to see one another.

They were only a year apart, so maybe that helped.

“Hey, Nuri, girl. You look so damn good,” Jiah complimented her.

“You do too, boo. Your hair is so long.” Nuri replied regarding the two-piece set Jiah was wearing. It was late summer, so shorts were still needed when outside during the day. Anything else was going to have your ass cooking like bacon out this bitch.

“Thank you, girl. I had to get a trim, but I still have some length left.” Eventually, my sister’s eyes roamed over to me. “Hey, big head. I know you see me standing here.”

“I know you see me too,” I hissed smartly, even though I closed the distance between us to hug her. I placed a kiss on the top of her head. Jiah had inherited her mother’s petite frame, so I towered over her with ease. “You ready?”

She nodded. “Yep. Let’s go.” She clapped her hands excitedly.

My sister loved this community even more than I did and volunteered a lot of her time to it.

She was the organizer of today’s youth event.

Jiah damn near forced me to agree to show my face.

I would do anything for my sister, but I gave her a hard time for fun.

I was going to show up because this was my home.

I never wanted to forget where I came from.

It was the people in this community, like my sister, who helped me get to where I am today.

Jiah took Nuri’s hand, and they took off down the porch steps. Jah came out of the house as my foot hit the bottom step. I heard him rushing up behind us.

“Wassup, sis?” he greeted Nuri. “Got damn you wrong as fuck for coming out the house looking that damn good.”

I cut my eyes at him but kept quiet. My wife turned around with a friendly smile.

You would never have known that just last night, she couldn’t pull herself out of bed because of her grief.

I admired her strength and ability not to let what she was going through affect how she treated people.

Nuri was a good person who deserved the fucking world.

“Hey, Jah.” Her giggle was like music to my ears.

“Can you marry me after you’re done with his grumpy ass?” He tossed a thumb my way as if we all didn’t know who he was referring to. I shoved him without breaking my stride, making him chuckle.

Nuri glanced at me with the cutest expression. “I don’t know if I can come up off that one, Jah. Your brother is one of a kind. That’s some steep competition.”

He playfully cupped his heart and hunched over. “Damn, you know how to break a nigga heart. It’s cool though. Just call me when he gettin’ on your nerves. I don’t mind being a side nigga.”

I reached up and put him in a headlock. My brother clearly had a crush on my wife, and I couldn’t blame him.

What was there not to like about Nuri Symone?

She lit up any room she walked into and left rays of her light to filter the room once she was gone.

Little did he know I wasn’t coming up off her ass either.

The girls chuckled and kept walking ahead of us.

“Mine,” I warned him in a low tone. I didn’t need to say anything more than that.

“Okay, okay, damn.” Jah couldn’t stop laughing.

I released him and shook my head. His eyes trailed up the street to where the girls were walking onto the community center lawns, steadily yapping, forgetting all about us.

“She’s good for you, bro. I’m happy for you and would never step on your toes like that.”

Jah walked over to dap me up. I hugged him and offered one last threat so that he knew how serious I was about my Legacy baby. “Good, or I’ma have to step on you.” He knew exactly what I meant.

He held his hands up in surrender. “It’s like that?”

“About that one? Anybody could get it.”

He whistled. “If I didn’t know any better, I would think you’re falling in love with your fake wife.”

I gave him double middle fingers. “Mind your business, nigga.” I bumped into him as I booked it the rest of the way to the community center.

Thankfully, Jah dropped the subject because I didn’t want to talk about my feelings.

I wasn’t even sure what they were, apart from the truth that hearing him flirt with Nuri burned me up inside.

The shit was like poison to my ears, blurred my vision, and had me ready to put hands on my blood brother.

“Where the fuck are Man Man and Nazje?” I questioned Jah about my other two siblings. We typically all attended shit like this.