Page 49 of Love You Like That

I smirked. “Nigga, I’m always good.”

“Aight then.” He dapped me up and didn’t say much else. We’d been boys long enough to know when words couldn’t fix what time and silence had to smooth out.

When I got back to Yaya’s apartment, it was dark and quiet. The lock clicked softly behind me as I kicked off my sneakers. Walking into the bedroom, I peeled off my hoodie and jeans. Yaya was turned away from me, but I could see the faint rise and fall of her breathing. Her locs spilled over her shoulder, the glow from the streetlight outside casting shadows across her pillow.

I climbed into bed behind her without a word and wrapped one arm around her belly. She didn’t flinch. She just sighed deeply like her body already knew I needed her. Like maybe, even in her hurt, she still needed me too. No words. No apologies. Just love, quiet and heavy between us.

T h en e x tm o r n i n g, I woke to the smell of food. My head throbbed a little from all the liquor and frustration still lodged behind my eyes. The bed was empty beside me so I followed the smell to the kitchen. Yaya stood in front of the stove, barefoot in a long tee, flipping pancakes and humming low under her breath. I could smell the shea butter soaked into her skin and the sage burning in the living room. She turned when she heard me and gave me a small smile.

“You hungry?”

I nodded, stepping forward slowly. “Yeah.” We ate at the table with no music or TV. Just the clink of forks and the quiet between us until I broke it. “I’m sorry for last night.”

She looked up. “You didn’t do anything wrong. You left to protect your peace. I respect that.”

I reached for her hand across the table. “I just… I don’t know how to be what they want. But I’m tryna be whatyouneed.”

“You are,” she said softly. “But I won’t lie. It’s hard. Them being like that to you hurts me too.”

I nodded, throat tight. “I know.”

“I told them if they can’t get with the program to just leave me alone.”

I was shocked, eyebrow lifted. “For real?” Just then, my phone buzzed on the counter. It was Nina. “Hold up,” I told her before answering the call on speaker.

“Ezra, everything good? Ty said you’re supposed to be back tonight. They added a spot onArtBeat Livetomorrow, and the tour itinerary’s shifting.”

I looked over at Yaya. Her disappointment. Her belly. I knew what I needed to do and I made the choice right then. “I’m not comin’ back,” I said.

“Wait, what?”

“Not right now. I’m stayin' in East Hollis for a minute,” I said. “My girl’s due soon. I’m not leavin’ her again. My familycomes first, Nina. Y’all gotta figure some shit out on the backend to make this work.”

“Ezra—” she started.

“I’m serious. I want it all. The poetry. The shows. The money. But not at the cost of my family.”

She was quiet for a few minutes while I started at Yaya and watched her become emotional. Then finally, Nina spoke. “Okay. Yeah, sure. We, uh… we’ll figure it out.”

“Aight bet.” I ended the call and Yaya’s tears finally fell, crying with both hands over her mouth. I walked to her slowly and pulled her into me. She collapsed into my chest, her tears soaking my skin.

“You really did that,” she whispered.

I nodded. “I meant what I said. You my peace. My poem. My reason. I fuckin’ love you, Yaya.”

She leaned up and kissed me slowly then hungrily. I scooped her up and carried her into the bedroom. We didn’t speak much once we got there. Our hands found each other’s skin like we’d been waiting years to get back home.

I laid her down carefully, hands trailing every inch of her body. Yaya lay beneath me, her skin warm, her eyes wide andwet, her breath shaky like her heart was trying to speak before her mouth could. I kissed her slowly as her hand moved down my back, pulling me flush against her.

“Ezra, I need you,” she murmured. “Right here. Right now. All of you.”

That was all I needed. I kissed her again, longer this time, my tongue slipping past her lips as she sighed into my mouth. My hands traced her curves, my fingers grazing the swell of her breasts, and the softness of her belly. I took my time kissing every inch of her skin, worshipping the new stretch marks on her body.

“So damn beautiful,” I whispered, my voice breaking a little.

Her hands slid down my chest, trembling slightly. “Lately, I haven’t felt like it.”

I lifted her hand and kissed her knuckles. “Then let a nigga remind you.” I kissed down her stomach until her breath caught and her hips lifted into me. I dragged my tongue gently between her thighs, making her gasp, her legs trembling around my shoulders.

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