Page 77 of Standing In The Sun
Ahvi rubbed her forehead, pacing in a little circle. This was crazy...this was sweet… this was irritating - all at the same damn time. She was supposed to be figuring her life out - grinding, getting it out the mud like she always did. Not…being saved.
Ish never taught her this part…never showed her how to let a man lead without feeling like she was giving something up.
And right now, standing in this dusty ass hallway, with a brand-new life handed to her like a gift she didn’t know if she could afford to open…Ahvi didn’t know if she wanted to cry, swing on somebody, or hug the hell outta Lunar. Maybe she needed to do all three.
Ahvi pushed through the courthouse doors. Her heart looser than she wanted to admit. She told herself she was going home to check Lunar, but deep down she knew—every wall she built, he was tearing down without even trying.
* * *
Ahvi stood in Lunar’s kitchen like she was about to start a war.
She was supposed to be cooking, since she was hungry after her day in court. But right now, she was standing in the middle of the kitchen facing the living room, arms crossed, eyes narrowed at the man lounging on the couch like he hadn’t just flipped her entire life upside down.
Lunar had just dropped a bomb on her—better yet, had someone else drop it for him. He figured it was one last thing she needed to worry about. When it came to handling her business, he needed her to understand he’d do it without hesitating because it was second nature.
“So, let me get this straight,” she said, head tilted. “You went to court, offered to be my employer, and got them to approve it without telling me first?”
Lunar didn’t even flinch. “Yup,” he replied, never taking his focus off the remote control for Kamari’s car in his hands, like she wasn’t about to shit bricks.
“Are you insane?”
He grinned. “Possibly.”
“You can’t just…decide you my boss.”
“Technically, I can and I did, Ahvi.”
Ahvi opened her mouth to cuss him out, but Kamari came barreling on his knees through the room, yelling something unintelligible and chasing his remote-control Hot Wheels car down the hall. She turned slightly, watching her son disappear, then looked back at Lunar.
“This is real life, Lunar. You can’t play God with people’s future.”
Slowly, he walked over to her with that cocky, slow swagger that always made her knees a little weak even when she hated him. “I didn’t play God. I played somebody who sees your potential and don’t wanna see you boxed in. That court shit? It was about control. But now, you free. I’m just the legal technicality.”
She glared up at him, lips parted like she was still trying to decide if she wanted to slap him or kiss him.
“Don’t look at me like that,” he said, in a low growl-like voice.
“Like what?”
“Like you already knew I was gon’ do whatever I had to for you, and you still mad I did it.”
Her throat tightened. She hated that he saw her like that—clearer than most people ever had. “You so fuckin’ cocky.”
“I know.” He leaned closer. “But I also make a mean bank transfer. You got your first check already.”
Ahvi blinked. “You paid me?”
“Upfront. You been cheffin’ in my life since the day you got out. Shit just official now.”
The tension broke, barely. She let out a loud breath and shook her head. “You’re the cockiest?—”
“True. I am cocky...got a big dick too. But I’m also hungry. So, what’s up, Chef?”
Ahvi rolled her eyes, heading toward the fridge. “You better be ready to cry over this pasta, nigga.”
This was the meeting Pimp mentioned in code, but it wasn’t the last trick he had up his sleeve. All that taking care of family shit he puffed his chest out about to Dro wasn’t just talk. It was Lunar’s way of life and he would stand on it. Even if Ahvi ever decided to walk away, she’d be in a better place.
Two hours later, Lunar’s house smelled like garlic, smoked paprika, and whatever black girl magic Ahvi kept tucked behind those big eyes.
