Page 12 of Our Mother's Sons

“Aite? That’s it?”

“Yeah. Aite. What you want me to say? You say you keeping her and you know your ass is stubborn. So, aite.”

My brother reached out and grabbed Girl’s hand. A small smile tugged at his lips.

“So, what’s her name?”

I shrugged, “Girl.”

“Girl?”

“Yeah. Eventually, ima find out exactly where she comes from. Right now, Ima cool it until we get this Italian mafia shit under wraps.”

I was almost scared of what the fuck I was going to find when I did dig into Girl’s background. She was sold by one of her parents or someone close to her, that much I was willing to bet on. She was the only baby in that building because snatching babies made shit too hot and they had to be handled with care unlike adults and adolescents. I had to focus on the mafia and killing their asses off before I add Girl’s people to the murder list.

My brother brushed his thumb over her index and middle finger.

“Perfect lil self. So, now I’m a new daddy and a new uncle?”

Shrugging, I smirked.

“Join the fucking club. Now, let her eat her breakfast and show me how to order this shit. She need milk, bottles, clothes, diapers and all that good shit.”

“Maybe now, you’ll think about walking away from the streets.”

Coughing, I felt as if a hand was closing around my throat after hearing what the fuck had just come out of my brother’s mouth.

“And why in the fuck would I want to leave the streets? That’s what they make daycares and shit for. Ima sell my dope and raise my Jit. The fuck?”

Looking upside my head, my twin grunted.

“I swear you always got some shit going.”

Chapter5

Voyage Ridley

“We got to get you a hobby or something. I keep telling you we have new arrivals, I think you’ll love.”

Sipping on the frozen margarita, I adjusted my shades as we migrated through the crowd. It was another one of Baela’s off days and instead of bed rotting and catching up on my shows, I was pulling blue jean shorts out of my coochie as my sandals scraped the wood of the board walk. I needed to speak with our human resource managers because they had to be in cahoots. There was no way my cousin’s and my off days constantly fell on the same days. After my last one-night stand, I wasn’t going to be caught dead in another club for at least a year or two. I was good without it. The introvert in me preferred my bed sheets and a good book over music and sweaty, cheap drunks anyway.

“And I keep telling you that book shit not me. I like to live in the real world. I’ll let you and Riker bond over the fictional realm,” Baela tossed out as she pushed her way through the crowd like she ran it.

Ever since I got the job as store manager at Reader’s Paradise, I have become obsessed with books. When I applied for the job, I was fresh off a heartbreak and knew there was no way I would get it. I did have a college degree in literature because at one point in my life, I swore I would be a teacher, but when I got a job at a call center a week after getting my degree, I became complacent. I’d been there three years before I met my ex, and by then, I had no desire to take the Praxis. Dutton had never helped much on the bills, but when he left, the overtime I’d been working to afford my apartment went out the window, adding to the savings he’d run through. I knew I needed a better job to be able to afford to live in high ass Ausnor so I applied at Reader’s paradise and was shocked when I got the job. I’d always loved books, but became obsessed when I was employed. I immediately started sending Riker books, and sometimes when I was around my cousin, when he called, we’d spend a few minutes talking about what I sent him. Now, I make it my business to send him books using my discount at least once a month. I loved Riker for my cousin, and if sending him a few five-dollar books made his time easier, I was all for it.

“Well, you need to find something to do with your time besides bringing me out of the house every time we get an off day. It’s hot and crowded out here,” I complained.

I hated to be a party pooper but, I woke up in a terrible mood. I should have been glad to have the next two days off, but instead, I was in my head and in my feelings. My cousin had always been good at sensing my emotions because she was telling me to get dressed no sooner than I opened my eyes. We’d gone shopping at all the home stores, went out for brunch, rode through the hood and kicked shit on the block and now we were on the boardwalk. I stayed clear of this area because even though it had the best views of the city and highly rated bars, it was normally riddled with tourists. It was nice out here, I had to admit. If I hadn’t been drinking, I would have been tempted to drag Baela on the Ferris wheel, but I refrained.

“Cousin,” Baela stopped dead in her tracks. Unlike me, she wasn’t wearing shades. Her round eyes were lined with thick black liner that curved up in a cat-like manner. Her lashes had been professionally done, and the mint colored Lulu Lemon tennis skirt set that she paired with grey Chanel sneakers with a matching grey Chanel bag complemented her chocolate skin well. Her tape-ins were pressed down her back, and her makeup was on point. My cousin looked like she belonged to a rich nigga and even though Riker was behind bars he wouldn’t have it any other way. He had her on his hip like a fucking pager when he was out. I adored the fuck out of their relationship because he didn’t hide her at all. He wanted the entire city to know he had a bad bitch and I knew they would give our beach city hell when he touched down.

A group of drunk frat boys nearly ran into the back of me, so Baela pulled me to the side. The boardwalk was packed today, like it was every other Friday evening. But you would have thought it was a holiday with the way the folk had come out, and it would be like this for the next few months. Since it was summer in other parts of the world, everybody and their mama were coming to Florida. Hot weather made people travel, but it was crazy because hot weather and rain were all I knew. I’d never seen snow in person, only on TV.

Baela looked me up and down before settling back on my face, which was balled up in a scowl.

“Cousin. All you do is run that fucking library and then go back home. I just got you back. You hid from me for a whole year fucking with that nigga.”

“I-”

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