Page 70 of Love me Like XO

“What I tell you about that shit, Em?”

She giggled. “When will you be back? My mama is getting on my fucking nerves.” She said that last part low.

I chuckled. “Might be a minute. I gotta go put in some work at the bar. You know I haven’t been there in a minute.”

She sucked her teeth. “I know. Can you at least sneak me some hot wings past the warden?”

I chuckled when she said that. “Yeah, I’ll see what I can do.”

“How was your visit with your sister?” I knew she’d ask at some point.

“Unnecessary. Shorty thinks she’s the victim in all of this.”

“Hmph. Tha?—”

“Nothing I want you worrying about. I did as you asked, went to see what she had to say and that was that. Now I’m tryna figure out what you’re about to do for these hot wings.”

She laughed into the phone. “Not a god damn thing. Matter of fact I could tell you a bedtime story.”

I chuckled. “Long as you got yo’ good hand in my draws, that may very well work.”

“Then it’s a date. Never thought I’d get to the point where I’m giving out hand jobs for hot wings, but I guess.” I could hear the smile in her voice.

“I mean at least yeen sucking dick on credit.”

Her laughter filled the car. “What is wrong with you? Where did that come from?”

“I’m just saying baby, shit could be worse.”

We spoke for a while longer, before she yawned into the phone, letting me know she was on her way to sleep. To stop from going home to join her for that nap, I told her I’d be home later.

When I reached my bar, things were just like I thought they’d be. The liquor orders had piled up and there were boxes in theback. I had my work cut out for me, so I knew for a fact there was no way I was getting out of here at the time I expected.

By the timeI made it in, she was in bed asleep. Her chest heaved up and down as light snores escaped her lips. Since everything went down I found myself watching her sleep some nights. I’d get completely lost in her snores and jump every time they ceased. I’d ask her if she was good when she tossed and turned, shit maybe even moaned. To which she’d respond an unintelligible fine or okay. I was so fucking stuck, so fucking worried that sleep didn’t come to me until those wee hours of the morning. The thing is sometimes sleep never came, sometimes the things and people I needed to handle weighed so heavily on my head that sleep never visited. Tonight was one of those nights. I’d gone from getting the bar in order to wondering what else I could get in order.

Sitting up, I threw my legs over the side of the bed and stood to my feet. After looking out of the window for a few minutes, I grabbed my phone and went toward the living room. Though I felt like I needed to be under her, I knew I had to get this shit together. Things had to be handled. I guess I wasn’t the only person thinking about everything at the top of the morning.

Tapping Malik’s name I listened to the phone ring a while before he answered.

“You on the move?” he asked as soon as he picked up the phone.

“Wherever I need to be. What’s up?” I asked.

“I’ma pull up in about thirty minutes. We gotta chop it up about some shit.”

“Bet.”

I got off the phone with Malik a few moments later. Then I walked back into my bedroom, approaching the side of the bed that Empress was asleep on. My hand caressed the side of her face before I leaned down and pecked her forehead.

I turned to leave, but before I could she caught my arm. “Where are you going?”

“Malik is on his way over. I ain’t going nowhere, we just need to discuss some shit.”

“That didn’t tell me where you were going, though.”

“Out front to talk to Malik for a minute.”

“Mhm.” That fast she fell back asleep, allowing me to exit my bedroom without any more questions.

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