Page 90 of Girl, We Go Together
“See y’all Monday,” I said to the ladies in the center as we walked out.
“Kassy… Kassy…” Oriana started to sing when we made it outside.
“Yeah, mamas, we're gonna see Kass?—”
My words stopped mid-sentence when I walked to his car and saw him propped against it, holding flowers and a balloon that said 'congrats.' There was a flower shop and a dollar store at the corner.This fucking man.He had a smirk spread across his face that made me smile.
“Hi, ladies,” he greeted us both.
The way his postal uniform fit him showed off his body, which I loved. The same body that would drag my ass all across my bedroom.
“Balloon…”
I looked down at Oriana in my arms and saw how her little hands were reaching for the balloon in his hand. She was turning two soon, and her vocabulary was starting to widen. Kassidy walked over to us and took her from my arms while handing me the flowers in one slick motion.
“You gotta hold it tight, okay?” He tied the balloon around her little arm for good measure.
“Thank you,” I said before nuzzling my nose into the bouquet.
He kissed the side of my face before leading the way to his car. He opened the car door for me and then put Oriana in her seat. On the drive over to my apartment, he yawned again. A long one this time. I didn’t think he realized just how tired he must have been.
We sat in a bit of traffic, and that gave me the moment to say what I had been thinking since getting off the phone with Zy.
“Papa?”
“Hmm?”
“I feel like you are spreading yourself thin.”
Quickly, he glanced over at me before turning his attention back to the road.
“What do you mean?”
I spoke a little louder because Oriana was in the back, spiritedly yelling while playing with the foil balloon she had.
“You run from your house to mine, and you get up earlier for work. Maybe…” I paused to give myself time to change my mind. I was scared about repeating history, but this time, I figured things would be different. They had to be. This time around, I had my own money. Good money, and if things didn’t work out between me and Kassidy, I now had the means to go anywhere I wanted in the city. “Maybe we should all be under one roof.”
When we stopped at a light, he looked over at me. “Like living together?”
If I wanted to change my mind, that question right there would be my way out.
“Yes,” I said confidently.
He didn’t say anything, so I turned to look at him and saw that his high cheekbones were raised.
“Nana said this months ago,” he let out with a chuckle.
That woman had been trying to put this in motion.
“You’re the one with the space, so ultimately, it's up to you.”
“Hell yeah. We’re doing this.”
He placed his open palm onto the center console, and I put my hand into his. The rest of the drive to my place was silent except for Oriana playfully losing her mind in the back.
Orion
“Orion, I swear I can explain.”
