Page 52 of Only You

The job isn’t finished. Costa was still out there.

My eyes flickered at the sudden brightness they felt when I rolled over. I opened them only to close them back quickly. I felt around the bed to find it cold, meaning Brice had already left for work. The blinds were opened; he must have opened them before he left.

“Briiiccee,” I groaned, roughly sitting up and swinging my feet over the side of the bed. I reached for my phone to check the time. It was almost eleven. There was also a text from Brice.

Brice

I love you, Tayla. Have a good day, Baby. Kiss Breezy for me

“Shit!” I jumped up, running into the bathroom to relieve myself and brush my teeth. I wanted to have gotten him by now. I texted him back as I stood at the sink brushing my teeth.

I love you, too, Brice Jeremiah Washington.

Have a good day, and I will.

The text bubbles formed immediately as if he’d been waiting for my text.

Brice

My whole government, Tay, Baby. I don’t like that yours doesn’t match ours.

The bubbles appeared, then disappeared, before the following message came through.

Brice

I need to change that. I have to go. Just got paged.

I smiled the toothiest grin as I stood in the mirror, staring at my reflection. I could finally claim happiness for the first time in a long time. I expected the same empty feeling that I had felt before bed, but I didn’t. My life wasn’t missing anything that wasn’t there before. Heading into the closet, I pulled down one of Brice’s graphic tees and threw on a pair of biker shorts to go underneath.

After grabbing a granola bar and a water, I slipped on my slides and headed to Ms. Adri’s. A few minutes later, I pulled into the driveway to find Stephon’s truck there. I pulled in beside it and groaned at the fact that he was here. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to see Steph. I didn’t want him to ask me anything about last night. However, I knew he would because I was being carried away the last time he’d seen me. Although this was relatively new, he took his role as my brother seriously. I tried to push it all back deep into my mind, where it had come from, before exiting the car.

As soon as I stepped out, the front door opened. It was Steph. He walked to the passenger side, opened the door, and sat inside.

Shit!

I pulled my leg back in, closed the door, and restarted the car. It was too warm to sit in the car without air conditioning. We both sat in silence before he finally spoke.

“If you’re anything like me, I know you don’t want to talk about last night. I know I didn’t when my situation went down. It took me a minute. I’m not out here to force you to talk, either. I just wanted to let you know I’m here if needed. Whatever it is, call me, and I’ll be there. It doesn’t matter when or what time. Always remember, we gained more than we lost. What we gained is family,” he said as he smiled at me. I smiled back, and he exited the car, walking around to help me get out.

“Damn, come on, Ayo. Get your slow ass out of the car. Leave your spear in there, though. You can’t have that shit around the kids,” he said and laughed.

“You, Christopher Williams, I’m dreaming mother…” I started but didn’t finish because I had stood and quickly tried to knee him in the balls. He swiftly blocked it before I threw another round of punches towards his face. He blocked every single one, all while laughing.

“I don’t know why you and JoJo think y’all can take me, and her trigger finger is not faster than mine,” he emphasized as he wrapped his arm around my shoulder to walk me inside. As usual, Ms. Adri’s house felt welcoming when I stepped inside, and a calm washed over me. She and Stephon had that effect on people, and itcarried through her home. I walked deeper into the sunlit house to find her on the living room floor with the babies, who were having tummy time.

I joined her on the floor, scooping up Bryson and kissing his little face and cheeks until his little giggles escaped. I placed Bryson down and did the same with Angel. After a while, Stephon joined us.

“So when are you two going to bring me more grandbabies?” Ms. Adri asked.

“Tsk. Ma, yeah, nah, you just got two!” Stephon said, then stood and plopped down on the couch. Once he was comfortable, he slouched down and closed his eyes.

“Ma, for real though, what’s up with you and Marshall?”

“We’re together, Stephon.”

“That’s all you had to say. I knew that shit anyway,” he said with his eyes still closed. Ms. Adri picked up a house shoe and launched it at his head. His eyes popped open, and he began to laugh.

“You always acting up in front of company,” he mumbled.

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