Page 100 of Smoke

She smiled. “Okay. Have fun, Korri. And listen to Mr. Devin.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Come here,” I said to her.

She blushed as she stood and came to me. I slid an arm around her waist and pulled her into me. She giggled as I leaned in to kiss her lips. If Korri hadn’t been standing there, I would have grabbed a hand full of her ass.

“You need anything?” I asked when I pulled away.

“I’m fine. The girls are taking good care of me.”

“A’ight. Don’t let them heathens corrupt you,” I said loud enough for my sisters and cousins to hear.

They all threw me dirty looks and muttered under their breath.

I grinned. “We’ll be back.”

I cupped her chin and kissed her again before leaving her be. With Korri at my side, I led her back through the house and off to the side where the horses were in the pasture. When she saw them, she gasped and let go of my hand, running up to the fence. I didn’t stop her because all the horses loved kids. There were five of them: Midnight, Meech, Jigsaw, Champ, and Blaze.

Meech was the first one to come up to her. She giggled as he sniffed her and ruffled her beads with his nose.

“Big Meech,” I said, giving him a pat. “What up, my boy?”

He pressed his head to mine like he always did when I greeted him.

“I want you to meet somebody, Meech. This is Korri. Korri, this is Meech. You wanna see something dope, KoKo?”

She nodded.

“Give him a bow.”

She was eager to follow instructions. Meech took a step back and bowed to her in return.

She clapped her hands excitedly. “Can he do other tricks?”

“He can dance. Wanna see?”

“Yes!”

“Wait right here.”

I climbed the fence and hopped over. Going into the barn, I grabbed a saddle and a set of reigns. By the time I came out, the rest of the horses had gathered at the fence to meet Korri. They were lined up, waiting for their turn as she rubbed their heads. Walking over, I called Meech to me and prepared him so I could climb on.

“You watching?” I called to Korri.

“Yes, Mr. Devin!”

As I mounted Meech, she climbed on the fence so she could see over the top.

“Alright, Big Meech. Don’t put me on my ass in front of your new friend.”

Pulling out my phone, I put on some salsa music, the same kind my grandfather used to train them. When the rest of the horses heard it, they came over. Meech started his series of trotting with my subtle commands and cues. Korri was all smiles watching him prance around. While I was the one controlling him, she didn’t need to know that. I was perfectly fine letting her think my boy was dancing on his own.

Korri clapped and cheered once the song ended, and I hopped off Meech.

“How did you teach him that?” she asked curiously.

“Lots of practice. You wanna ride?”

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