“Crazy thing about it, I wasn’t even out when all this shit went down. If I was, none of this shit would’ve happened.”
“I know. I just want them niggas who killed my cousin and shot Aniyis gone. They don’t deserve to live after taking her away from us,” Amoura said as she leaned her head back against in the couch to keep from crying.
Being in a space with someone who shared the same sentiment about Cassie was nice. Cassie was Amoura’s bestfriend through and through. Not having her around was a major adjustment that she was struggling with. Most of the time, all she ever did was cry. The only time she found strength to put on a brave face was when it came to Aniyis. Baby boy was the only piece of Cassie they had left on earth, and Amoura vowed to be there for him each step.
Kross blew out a stream of smoke as he nodded his head. “Don’t even say too much. I ain’t letting nothing slide.”
“How you holding up?” she asked him.
A heavy breath drifted out of him as his broad shoulders slouched. “Shit, I gotta keep going. I’m all Aniyis got right now. I just feel like she left this world without getting the life I owed her. That girl dedicated seven years of her life to me and had my baby just off kicking it with me for six months. That shit is crazy, but it just goes to show that what we had was real and she was fucking amazing. I don’t really know what’s next for me, especially not knowing how things could end up with Aniyis. I just want to do right by her. How you holding up? Y’all were together damn near every day.”
Amoura pursed her lips as her gaze shifted down to her hands, where she traced the outline of the matching heart tattoo she got with Cassie. “I miss her. We were the outcasts of the family, and no one really fucked with us, but we didn’t give a fuck ‘cause we fucked with each other.
“Weeks before she died, we went out for drinks, and she kept talking about how she wanted to go to the courthouse and have papers drawn up and signed so I could officially become Aniyis’ god mom. I kept brushing her off like she was crazy ‘cause I felt like we had all the time in the world to get to that, and if we didn’t, then so be it because she would always be around. I wish I would’ve just done it. Evidently, it meant a lot to her. Almost like she knew her time was coming.”
Hearing this sent a chill down Kross’ spine. He recalled his mother telling him that before death, the spirit called for a nesting phase to get all affairs in order. When he was a kid, Raquel told him about his father’s nesting phase that happened before he was gun downed. Hearing that Cassie went through a similar phase hit him deep.
“Damn,” was all he said as his shoulders sauntered down.
“Yeah. I felt alone before since our family turned their backs on us, but now that Cassie’s gone, I’m really out here by myself.”
“I feel you,” Kross agreed. “But you’ve been solid since day one when it comes to my son, and I know how heavy Cassie rocked with you, so I’ll look out for you as long as you stay solid.”
Hearing him say that pulled something out of her heart. She had been struggling without Cassie and was in desperate need to just feel something. Kross made her feel safe and less alone, the two things she had been craving for a while. Her fleshly desires consumed her and propelled her to crash her plump and glossy lips into Kross’ tender ones. The kiss was one-sided at first. She dominated with power and landed herself right on his lap, straddling him. Kross found himself ambushed by her lips and the rock that was forming in his briefs as her juicy ass pressed down on his dick.
He was a man who hadn’t had consistent sex in seven years. His body was yearning to slide into some wet and tight pussy, but his heart just couldn’t allow him to take Amoura down. Once he registered who he had on his lap tonguing him down, he quickly snapped out of the lust and horniness he was drowning in and pulled away from the kiss. The bewildered look that masked his handsome face was enough for Amoura to come to the realization that she had just fucked up.
“What the fuck you on, Amoura?” He used one hand to wipe her lip gloss off his lips while the other was used to push her off his lap.
“I’m sorry! I wasn’t thinking with my head!” she quickly rattled out in sorrow.
“Then what the fuck was you thinking with? Your pussy?” He continued to eye her with a crazed look etching his face. “C’mon, now. You’re tripping if you think I was about to fuck you in my lady’s condo a couple of weeks after her funeral. That shit not right. You as her cousin and best friend should know that. Cassie turning over in her grave right now.”
The shame was enough to bring Amoura to tears. She couldn’t wrap her head around what had come over her. Sure, Kross was handsome and had an appealing reputation, but she had not once saw him in that way once Cassie marked her territory and claimed him as her man. Amoura wasn’t that type of girl to secretly plot, but emotions were in the air, and her grief blurred her principles. Now she looked like the same women she and Cassie used to judge and side eye. She had just crossed a line that should’ve never been crossed and had no clue how to recover.
“Fuck, Kross. I know,” she cried in defeat. “I fucked up.”
“You did more than just fuck up. Us kissing and fucking would never happen. I respect Cassie too much for that, and you should too.” He shook his head. “Aye, it’s time for you to slide, Amoura.”
Getting her out of his space was the best call for him to make. In his eyes, what she did was a grimy-ass move, and he just couldn’t fuck with her the same anymore. Without protest, Amoura grabbed her purse and her keys before making her way to the door. Before she stepped out and exited the condo, she looked back at Kross with nothing but regret and sorrow filling her brown orbs. “I’m so sorry, Kross.”
He wasn’t in the right headspace to hear her out, so he just opened the door a little wider for her to catch the notion sheneeded to leave instead of sticking around to apologize. She accepted her defeat and headed out of the door.
“It’ll be best if there’s some space between us so you can get your head right. I’ll let you know when you can come visit Aniyis.”
Before she could object, Kross shut the door right in her face. There was nothing that needed to be said. Amoura did some snake shit, and he was going to treat her accordingly.
Chapter Eight
Kross sat on the ground next to Cassie’s grave, not giving a damn about his designer jeans getting dirty. He had to come see his lady. There was a darkness that crowded the skies of Miami that gave clear indication that a storm was to come. He had been out there with Cassie for a little over an hour now, and he knew he was taking his chances with the weather, but he didn’t care if he got caught up in a little rain. He had to admit, the guilt from Amoura pushing up on him more than anything had led him to visit Cassie twice in one week. Even though he made it clear to Amoura he would never get down with her that way, he still felt like he needed to clear his conscious.
“Shit out here getting harder and harder, Cass. People I thought I could trust just moving weird as fuck.” He shook his head. “With Amoura, I thought she was cool people. Granted, everybody deal with grief differently, but how we supposed to come back from what she did?
“Then I gotta deal with Ezekiel out of all people holding out on info about them Chicago niggas. These motherfuckas all moving funny, man. Whatever happens from here, just know that I’m moving in the best interest of our son and out of respect for you,” he concluded with a dreadful sigh. All this mess hadbeen weighing on him heavily, so venting to his lady was the best he could do to escape his reality.
He stayed for a little while longer before deciding it was time for him to go. Before leaving, he made sure to sit her bouquet of ruby red roses nicely on her headstone. He exited the cemetery with a clear conscious and a sound mind. While approaching his Maybach in the parking lot, he noticed a familiar silver Lexus parked next to him. The car sat with the engine running; however, the driver was slumped over with their head resting on the steering wheel.
It didn’t take long for him to put two and two together to realize that it was shawty from the flower shop. He ain’t want no problems with her after she recklessly accused him of following her crazy ass, so he went about his business and headed to his car. As he was on the verge of starting his car, he felt a heaviness weigh down on him, one that he could almost describe as debilitating. His conscience refused to allow him to leave without tapping in with the girl and making sure she was alright. He got out of his car and made his way around to her Lexus.
