Page 49 of Kisses Behind The Spotlight 2: Finale

“Ahhhh!” He yelped, moving his feet.

“I’mma go to the truck. It’s getting too pissy in here for me. Lil nigga needs to drink water,” Stepp turned his nose up and continued out the door.

I was right behind him. He was my ride.

“I miss this shit,” Vincent expressed, taking a deep breath once we were outside.

“Ahhhh, I guess retirement won’t be so bad if we still get to do shit like this,” Stepp suggested, wrapping his arms over me and Vincent’s shoulders.

“I don’t miss it. If it didn’t involve my brother, I wouldn’t be out here with y’all. I’m ready to go home with my family,” Tech attested.

“I’m about to go do the same thing. My lil niggas want pizza and wings tonight. Oh, Vincent, I want to take Maurice and Van to Noah’s first game next Friday, then they can spend the night with us.”

“Shit, you ain’t said nothing but a word. We’ll have his bag packed. You need us to shoot some cash? Gas money? Groceries?”

“Nah, man. Just pack him some clothes. Might slide through Chuck E. Cheese on Saturday before I drop them off.”

“You went from no kids to damn near raising Khaleesi’s brothers,” Stepp noted.

“That’s different. Maurice goes home, and Noah is basically a grown-ass man. Jit drive to the store for us and everything. I’m about to buy him a whip so he can stop whipping around in our shit.”

“I’m just happy to see you stepping into what works for you. Khaleesi makes you happy now that y’all aren’t trying to kill each other,” Vincent smiled.

“And we have you to thank for that. If you hadn’t suggested making her take care of me, I wouldn’t have pulled up on her the way I did, and we aren’t pushing sixty days in,” I grinned.

“Aye, I had my hand in that too. If it weren’t for my skills, she would’ve called the police on yo’ crazy ass!” Tech asserted.

“You right. I can give props where due,” I admitted.

“I’m out. I gotta get back to my family before y’all have me locked up,” Tech announced, sauntering over to his truck.

Vincent looked over Stepp and me with that same fatherly gleam he gave Van when he accomplished something. We were family. He was the closest thing I had to a father, and I appreciated the way he accepted and loved us. It felt good to have the three of us in the same city after all of these years.

“I’m proud of both of y’all. I was worried about what y’all would fall into when I decided to retire, but y’all are still standing. Six years later. Xain owns a thriving security company. Y’all just bought a lounge. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for y’all. We just need to find Stepp a house, and all will be right in the world.”

“Y’all been by Q’s new crib? That shit is niceeeee. I gotta get something like that for Amill. Just not on Davis Island. She refuses to live that close to her father. Even if that means she can’t be that close to her bestie,” Stepp laughed.

“Openly being in love looks good on you, Stepp,” Vincent commented.

We both saw that gleam in his eyes as he talked about his future with Amill.

“Thanks, Vincent,” he nodded. “It feels good too.”

“Alright, the sun is beating. It’s about noon. The worst time to be meeting without shade,” Vincent complained, using his hands to shield his eyes.

A loud banging sounded at the warehouse door.

“Shit, I’ll tell Tech to let him out in ten minutes,” Vincent noted. “We forgot all about him.”

We split up and headed to our vehicles. Vincent was solo, while I climbed in with Stepp. My phone chimed with a text that made my day. I’d waited patiently, and the time finally arrived.

“What else do you have planned for this afternoon?” I questioned Stepp as we pulled out of the parking lot.

“Taking Amill to dinner.”

“Alright, we have time. Swing by the lounge. Calvin said the sign came in early, so they are about to install it now,” I explained, referring to the previous owner of the lounge we bought. He was still managing it for us until the end of the month while we handled other things. I guess the sign knew that day would be the day we could focus on the lounge. “Calvin is having his final team meeting, and it’s the perfect time for us to meet and greet the employees, see who we’ll keep on and who we will let go.”

“You really excited about running this lounge,” Stepp noted.