I slipped out of the house after she had left to take the kids to school. I closed the door behind me and stepped into the morning air. It was cool, heavy with dew. I stood on the porch longer than I meant to, keys in my hand, staring out at the street like it might tell me something about my own house. I walked off to the car without looking back again.
The engine turned over smooth. I pulled off and headed toward Juste's house. The roads were still light. Early enough that folks were either at work or just getting ready to start their day. I drove with one hand on the wheel, the other resting on my thigh. No music playing, giving my mind room. I pulled into Juste's driveway and killed the engine. His house sat big and quiet, cameras tucked into corners like they belonged there. I walked in without knocking. He was inside in his office, lights low, multiple screens glowing. Footage from inside and outside the airport where Enzi got robbed ran on a loop. People moving in and out. Bags switching hands. Faces blurred in motion. How this nigga got the footage was beyond me. "How long you beenlooking through this?" I questioned, sitting in the chair beside him.
"A lil minute. Not long enough to really see anything yet." He didn't take his eyes off the screen.
I leaned back, picked a small stress ball up off his desk, and tossed it up and down in the air. "What you thinkin'?"
He exhaled through his nose. "Ion know yet. Could be a setup. Could also be an opportunity." He shrugged. "Abdul pushing for them diamonds hard. He want every last one of 'em back. I just don't know what that nigga luck gon be with that."
I watched the footage instead of him. A man bumped into Enzi near baggage claim. Another stood too close by the conveyor belt. It could've been random, but it didn't feel random. I leaned forward in Juste's chair, elbows on my knees, watching the footage replay for the fifth time. Same angles. Same movements. Same seconds looping over and over like the answer was hiding in plain sight. "The shit just weird as fuck if you ask me," I said.
Juste didn't look at me. His eyes stayed on the screen. "You heard from your lawyer?" he asked, changing the subject without really changing it.
"Yeah. Shit is continuing as scheduled." I focused my attention on the ball I was throwing up and catching. Toss. Catch. Toss. Catch. No hiccups. Just a clock ticking toward a date I couldn't move.
"You know where that bitch at, Jules?" he questioned, finally glancing at me.
"Man, hell nawl I don't know where she at. Why you asking me?" I didn't stop tossing the ball.
"Because you, my brother, nigga. And I know you." He glared over at me. "Yo ass got some sneaky going on." He muttered it like he didn't want to fully commit to the accusation.
Fucked up part about it, the nigga wasn't wrong. Since I met her ass at that bar, Jade been sending pictures of herself in lingerie to my phone. Not no soft shit either. Full angles. Legs spread. Mirror selfies. Smirking like she knew exactly what she was doing. I deleted them every time and didn't respond. But I'd be lying if I said she wasn't part of the reason I'd been horny as fuck lately. Not because I wanted her. Because temptation don't die just because you decided to act right. I caught the ball again and held it in my palm this time.
Juste's phone rang, sharp and loud in the quiet office. He glanced at the screen and answered, putting it on speaker without asking. Abdul's voice filled the room immediately, heavy and controlled. "I'm sending some information over later today," Abdul said. "Everything I got so far."
"Bet," Juste replied.
There was a brief pause. You could hear movement on Abdul's end. Papers. Maybe pacing. "Where's Enzi staying?" Abdul questioned.
“He staying at a hotel. That nigga aight," Juste said.
"He gon have to be. I told his ass not to come home until he got my shit." The way he said my shit sat heavy in the air.
Juste ended the call without another word. The office went quiet again, just the low hum of electronics and the faint whir of the AC kicking on.
I set the ball down on the desk. "He serious," I said.
"He always serious," Juste replied, eyes still on the screen. But this was different. This wasn't pride. This was principle. I leaned back in the chair and folded my arms. My phone vibrated in my palm, low and steady. I glanced down without thinking, unlocking it, and there Jade sat. She had her legs Spread wide open like she had something to prove.
I locked the phone quick. The screen went black before Juste could glance over and catch it. I set it face down on the desk like it was hot. Jade was determined. Eager as fuck. She knew what used to work on me. Knew how to hit that part of me that moved before I thought. The part that liked control. Liked being wanted without question. From that last conversation at the bar, I could tell she felt like we had unfinished business. She was wrong. We wasn't unfinished. We was over. But temptation don't care about technicalities.
"Aye, listen," Juste said, breaking through my thoughts. "I know you got your own parenting shit going on, but Chi been pushing me bout having a conversation with them boys bout fuckin."
I let out a short chuckle, grateful for the shift. "It's a lil early for that, ain't it?" I asked.
"Same shit I said. She went through the phones and saw something. Whatever it was traumatized the fuck out her ass." He laughed. I laughed with him. "I'ma set something up. Maybe take them niggas fishing or some."
"I'm wit it. Just let me know." He nodded, then looked at me different.
"You consider spending time wit yo children and talking to 'em about what's been going on lately?" he asked. I didn't answer right away. He didn't rush me either. "I know my niece for show got questions. That's why she acting out." He meant Julise.
I sat there, elbows on my knees, hands clasped together. "I guess I never really thought about doing that," I said.
It sounded weak when I said it out loud. "Shidd, nigga, I don't know why," he replied. "I know shit awkward as hell in that house. Have a conversation with ya kids, man."
I stared at the carpet. "Ion know how," I admitted. "To be forreal, I guess I see how they feel about they mama. Julise especially. Always treating her like shit, like she the bad guy and this her fault." I paused. The next part sat heavier. "Ion know if I can take facing that I'm actually the bad guy."
Juste leaned back in his chair. "I hear you, but I don't hear you, my nigga. Sound like some pussy shit to me. It ain't about being the bad guy. It's about letting your kids know the truth." The truth was a funny thing.