Page 59 of Quasim II: King Inferno

“Takes one to know one,” I teased.

He laughed. “The biggest one behind you. I’ll call you later… I love you both.”

“We love you, too.” I ended the call and looked over at Kiki, Yasin, and Hassan. “What? I got ketchup on my face?”

“Nah. You good.” Hassan replied.

By the time I finished the conversation with Quasim, they had finished theirs. Hassan went back to his book while Yasin ran over toward Elijah, picked him up, and ran to the water with him as he laughed.

“He know his big-headed ass is fine as hell,” Kiki bit on her nail as she watched him and Elijah playing.

Yasin had his shirt off with a pair of Gucci swim trunks. His locs were held back with a rubber band. His caramel skin shone as his body glistened from the water, sand sticking to him. Kiki was about to gnaw her damn finger off with the way she was biting down on it.

“You need all your fingers,” I snatched her hand from her mouth as she tossed herself back onto the pool lounge.

“Why can’t he wear a shirt like Hassan?”

“I know what the sun does to the skin… that nigga a showoff.” Hassan snorted, letting us know that those headphones weren’t playing a damn thing.

Kiki cut her eyes at him, and he showed us him putting his music back on. “Why don’t you just admit that you like him?”

“Cause then it makes it real.”

I got comfortable and looked at her. “What scares you when it comes to him?”

“Everything…. His age.”

“And yours?”

“I’m not old.”

“Girl, nobody even said that. He ain’t worried about your age, so why are you so worried?” I questioned.

It was clear that the feelings weren’t one-sided. I could understand why she was nervous about exploring something with him. He was a God, and she was a Goddess, which meant if things didn’t work out, she would always have to be around him.

“I promise I’m not worried about my age; I’m worried abouthis. He’s younger than me… and I want serious shit. I want marriage, children, and to be loved without any games.”

“How do you know he’s going to play games?”

She paused. “Alright, I don’t know if he’s going to play games, but shit… I don’t want to be the one that he decides to play games with.”

I looked at Yasin, and then at Kiki and smiled. “I don’t think he’s going to play any games when it comes to you. Age ain’t nothing but a number.”

She looked at me. “I’ve been in love before, and the shit hurt like hell. B, I don’t think I want to feel that again.”

“Who says that you would feel pain with him? One of the things I told myself when I left Tyshawn was that I wouldn’t hold the shit he did against the next man. Literally caught myself about to do it with Quasim a few minutes ago. It’s easier said than done because every date I went on, or man I was talking to, I couldn’t help but to look and see if I could spot what I missed with Tyshawn. They don’t get to win for breaking our hearts, and allowing them to keep us from finding love is letting them win, Kiki.”

She looked down at her hands. “It’s so damn scary, B.”

“Girl, so scary. The minute I met Quasim, I knew he was different. I just felt something good in my soul about him, and it had been so long since I felt that about anyone. What do you feel in yours about Yasin?”

“A good feeling. I had the flu last winter, and this man came to my house and made his mom’s infamous chicken soup for me. Went to the grocery store, cooked it, and then cleaned my room and did my laundry,” she giggled.

“These men.”

“He folded my clothes better than me… I had to snatch my panties because his ass tried to take them with him,” She fell back laughing.

“Stop lying.”

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