Page 87 of Save Room for Us

“I would. Any time I get to spend with yo’ pretty ass, I’m gon’ take it.” He eyed my fit as I went toward him holding Sophie’s hand. “You gotta change though, baby.”

“This can be worn in or outside.” I stepped back to show him.

Stroking his beard, he said, “Nah, it can’t. I’m trying my best to put this shit to you without sounding like a muthafuckin’ neanderthal, but that’s for my eyes only. I don’t want other niggas, people, dogs, nobody seeing you like that. And I know if I been eyeing ya pussy print all day, other niggas will, too, and then if I see it, I gotta turn up. I don’t wanna have to do that.”

He spoke so calmly yet sternly that I could do nothing but respect it.

“Okay. I understand.”

“We’ll wait.” He held onto Sophie’s hand.

“Yes, we wait,” she repeated before smiling up at him.

Chuckling at her, I went to throw some sweatpants over my bottom half and my beloved jean jacket before coming back out. Asif was grinning from ear to ear, so clearly, he approved.

“You got a nigga about to shoot over pussy I ain’t even been in.” He held the door open for me as I chuckled, leading Sophie out.

We went to the store, and when I got there, I noticed it was quite deserted, to which Asif let me know was his doing. I shopped freely and let Sophie pick out a few things, before we went back to the house.

“Hey, Asif,” my mother greeted as she sat on the couch, back from wherever she, my aunt Fiona, and Lisara had gone.

“How you doing, Mrs. Chase?” He shook her hand as I shook my head at the look she was giving, as if she knew something we didn’t.

Asif assisted me in putting everything away, so, of course, Sophie wanted to help too. Once that was done, I prepped the food I was going to make for dinner and went to bathe Sophie and brush her teeth, while the steak burgers marinated in the seasoning.

Once she was out, she wanted to play with Asif again, who was chatting it up with my mama, but he was all too happy to get on the floor with Sophie, who now saw him as a jungle gym.

“Sophie,” I called out.

“She good, love. Go,” he told me, Sophie crawling over his head like a psycho.

I breathed heavily, but when I looked up to see my mom’s face, she was smirking. She nodded for me to go back into the kitchen, so I did.

An hour later, the cheeseburgers, fries, and side salads were finished, so we all sat down to eat. Sophie usually didn’t eat burgers, but she wanted to now since Asif was. My mother decided to have her meal in her bedroom.

“Good as Lisara’s?” I asked.

He paused after biting it and stared down at the burger, making me think something was wrong with it. He finished chewing, then said, “That’s why you made these?”

“Yeah, you said you loved cheeseburgers.”

Not responding, he took my hand and kissed the back of it, letting his lids shut for a quick moment.

“Thank you.” He drank some of his soda. “These might be better. I think moms was giving us the cheap shit ’cause it was so many of us.”

We chortled heavily, Sophie following suit as she mauled her burger. She was eating, so I couldn’t care less how nasty it looked.

“Yeah, it is a lot of y’all, so I don’t blame her.” I ate some fries.

“You know I wanna do some shit for black first-time homeowners with the bank, but I don’t know what. I feel like most shit has been done before or got a catch. What you think?”

“Me?” I was surprised.

“Yeah, you smart.” He took another bite of his burger, finishing and moving onto the next one.

“Well, most important thing when buying a home is the interest rate and the downpayment. So maybe you can offer something like downpayment money and good interest for people who have low credit. Just implement something to where you’re not giving money and benefits to people who won’t stay in good standing.”

He nodded before snickering a bit, making me ask what.

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