Page 89 of Quasim: King Inferno

Truthfully, I never said anything because I wanted to protect Tyshawn. I was so worried about what people would think about him more than I worried about myself.

I wiped Sim’s tears away and kissed his face. “I’m not asking you to rush into anything with me. I want to know we are onthe same page. I don’t want to replace Cherie… I also don’t want to feel like I’m competing with what you had with her, baby. As much as it would hurt, if you need more time, I can step back… give you that because I care about you.”

He held me tighter around the waist. “It’s not rushing into nothing, because I want this. My heart has wanted this, but fear has prevented me from going after what I wanted. I knew the day I saw you crying at that counter. I never give a shit about nobody, but seeing you cry, someone I didn’t even know, bothered me. You didn’t even need to tell me your story, I knew it.” He looked out at the view. The housekeeper had the doors pulled back so you could smell the sea water and feel a breeze. “I’m not scared of much. The thought of losing you… shit fucking cripples me. If some shit happened to you.” He paused as his eyes hardened just thinking about it.

“Hey… you wouldn’t let that happen to me, Simmy. You would never let anything happen to me. Just like Meer wouldn’t let anything happen to Capri, and Capone and Cappadonna with their wives.”

“You just that confident in me, huh?”

I goofily smiled as I looked at him. “Baby, I saw how you ran that bike over that man’s head for me… I got all the confidence in the world that you gonna handle it before it becomes a problem. Even if it becomes a problem, I know those Inferno Gods coming out on top.”

I straddled him and kissed him on the lips as he hugged me. The door busted open, and Quameer rushed into the room.

“Niggas don’t know how to knock now?” Quasim asked as I wiped his face with my hands.

“There’s a dinosaur in the backyard, Sim… word is bond,” Meer slurred as Capri rushed in behind him.

“Why is he talking like an old head from New York?” I questioned.

He staggered a bit. “Good question, Stabby. Why you straddling my brother when you got a rapper boyfriend professing his love for you on stage?”

Capri grabbed Meer and snatched the cup he clutched in his hands. “He’s not my boyfriend.” I felt the need to defend, because now Quasim was looking at me with that raised eyebrow.

When he raised that eyebrow, it said nothing and everything at the same damn time. “It was a little lizard, not a dinosaur, and why did you let him get drunk like this?” She paused. “Wait a damn minute… get him drunk right before karaoke so he can’t sing... oh you niggas is real slick.”

“The fuck you worried about, Sug. I’m still gonna smoke them… and I don’t care if you can sing, too… you be sounding flat, just like Gams say.” He pointed his fingers at his brother.

I’ve heard Sim sing slightly, never loud where I could hear if he actually possessed the same voice as Quameer. The Inferno brothers were a mystery. I’ve seen these men do some ruthless shit, but then they had voices like angels.

“Hating ass.”

“Stick to playing the piano, Ray.”

“Ray?” Me and Capri both asked him confused, as he stumbled back a few paces while looking at us.

“Yeah. Ray Charles… you ever see his ass playing, he been shaking his head a little.”

“No, the fuck I don’t… Blaze, take yo drunk ass out of here.”

He walked over and plopped down beside his brother. “Nah… I’m?—”

“We may have gotten your man drunk on purpose but putting YouTube videos of what those little sea creatures do on me and Winnie’s TV is going too far, Quameer!” Erin barged into the room with Alaia behind her.

Alaia had tears in her eyes while she tried to stand firm with her sister-in-law, knowing that it was too funny. “My man works in tech, so he can get it off your TV, Eri…” she couldn’t even finish her sentence because she was crossing her legs to keep from peeing herself.

Quasim rubbed my ass with a crooked smile on his face while watching this play out in front of us. “I don’t even feel bad for you because you got this man drunk… you know weed is his vice.”

“Seeing as his ass would be doing ten years in an Indonesian prison for weed, liquor seems like his vice for this trip,” Quasim laughed.

Capri pulled her husband back to his feet, and he took off running and she stomped her feet throwing her hands in the air. “Now he’s going to make me find him again… ya’ll really fucking suck for this.”

I don’t know why she thought we would feel bad because we were all near tears from the way he ran out this room with his arms all the way to the back like a kindergartener that was just released from school.

Quasim wrapped his arms around me tighter as I tried to move. “We’ll leave you two alone… be ready in twenty minutes. We need to get this done before she sober his ass up.” Erin told us, as they both left the room.

“Are we good?” I asked him.

He smiled. “I don’t know, Anjo… are we?”

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