“Okay.”
Cedar
One Month Later
Thump.
Thump.
Clatter.
My eyes flew open at the sounds coming from somewhere in the house. I lifted my head and glanced at the clock on my nightstand.
The fuck? Three-oh-two?
I sighed and laid my head down again.
Thump.
Bang.
“Shit.” I threw the covers off me, and I jumped out of bed without thinking. Rushing out of my room, I scratched the side of my face and looked to my left. Sunday’s door was open, and the lights were off. I heard the noise again, and I realized that it came from downstairs.
I jogged down the stairs and saw her moving around in the kitchen from the open concept living room.
“Aye,” I grumbled in a thick, sleep-filled voice as I walked in her direction.
“Hey. Sorry, didn’t mean to wake you.”
“What the hell you down here doing? I could’ve mistaken you for a robber.”
“Glad you didn’t bring your tool,” she replied dryly.
“It’s a little after three. Why are you up so early?” I asked through a yawn as I stretched my arms above my head.
She set the pot on the counter and pouted. “I couldn’t sleep. I figured that I would get an early start on our brunch.”
“You do realize that it’s not considered brunch if you eat this early, right?”
“Well, breakfast.”
I moved her aside and shook my head. “Nah, it’s not that either.”
“What is it then?”
“That shit’s called an after-hours meal. This early in the morning is the shit that you eat after you’ve been at the club all night because you got the munchies.”
She giggled. “Speaking of which . . .”
“Nah, your li’l ass better not be smoking nothing with my seed in you.”
She scrunched her face at me and folded her arms over her midsection. “Cedar, don’t come at me like that. You know me better than that.”
“Well, you’re the one over here talking about ‘speaking of which’ and shit.”
“I was just saying that I do have the munchies, or whatever you call it when a womb-snatcher comes, takes over your body, and turns your life upside down. I’m always hungry, Cedar. I get tired of eating sometimes.”
I pulled the eggs from the refrigerator and glanced at her. “Are you hungry now?”