44. Corinthians
Corinthians
Uri walked into the shop, and I watched him through the mirror as I cut my last client's hair. He’d been in and out all day, showing up between meetings to sit with me. He pointed to my office, and I nodded.
After I finished her hair, I set up her next appointment, walked to the window, and stayed there until she was in her car and had pulled off.
Once she was out of sight, I double-checked the locks, flipped the open sign, then headed to my office.
When I walked in, Uri was sitting at my desk, his attention on his phone.
I approached him from the back, wrapped my arms around his shoulders, and kissed his cheek.
“Hey,” I said, then kissed his ear.
“Hey.” He looked over his shoulder at me, smirked, then licked his lips.
His grill sparkled against the light. It was something about seeing him in a suit with those grills in his mouth that turned me on every time.
He held my chin between his thumb and index finger. “What’s on your mind, beautiful?”
“How good you look,” I answered him, and he bashfully looked away. His hand left my jaw, and he chuckled. “I know you are blushing.”
“I’m a grown-ass man; I don’t blush,” he answered with a smirk. “Plus, I don’t think I can.”
I kissed his cheek then went to sit behind my desk. “You can,” I told him with a laugh. “You’ve done it a few times before.”
“Nah,” he denied, shaking his head. “I ain’t ever been accused of blushing before.”
“Maybe because nobody but me has ever made you do it?” I asked.
Uri nodded, licked his lips, then nodded.
“I can't deny that,” he said. “You’re the only one who has ever had my heart.” He tapped his chest. Now it was my turn to smile and look away.
“Oh, you over there blushing now?” He stood, rested his hands on my desk, and leaned across it.
“What you blushing for, Cori? I make you happy?”
I looked at him. “You do,” I told him. He nodded, then leaned closer to me. I met him halfway, kissed him, then sat back. “Now what are you doing here again for the millionth time?”
“I can't come see you?” he asked as he sat.
“You can whenever you want.”
“Alright,” he laughed and nodded. He pointed to my desk, and I looked down to see a black folder I hadn’t noticed before. I picked it up, then looked up at him to see him smirking. “You going to open it?”
“What is it?” I asked, and he shrugged. “Uri, what is this?”
“Open it and see,” he told me. I set the folder down and stared at the name engraved in gold on the front. U I’m here. If I gotta kill that nigga to get him to sign over his rights, then I’m cool with that.”
“If it were only that easy,” I said, shaking my head.
“What’s up?” his brow went up. “That nigga causing you problems?” He sat forward. “I been around for months and that nigga ain’t showed his face once. Hell, if you want to be honest, I’ve been around heavily since Cross and Nine got back together. I ain’t ever seen him.”
“His father is umm…” I turned and looked out of the window. I knew that if I told Uri his father was likely Judah’s daddy, he would never forgive himself. But I couldn’t keep this secret from him any longer.
“Who is he, Cori?” he asked. He got up, rounded my desk, and stepped into my line of vision. He cupped my jaw and made me look at him. “Where is he?”
“I don’t know,” I answered him. It wasn’t a lie. I didn’t know for sure who his father was or where he was. I licked my lips. “I don’t know.”
My phone rang, and Uri let go of my face. I picked it up, swiped the screen, and put it on speaker.
“Hello?”
“Mama,” Judah said, sounding out of breath. “Madea said to call you and tell you I’m over here.”
“Okay,” I replied. “I’m on my way to get you.”
“Okay,” he said.
“Judah, why are you out of breath?”
“Krude is here; we were practicing.”
“Practicing for what?” I asked, confused. I could hear music in the background, but I couldn’t figure out what the song was. “Practicing what, Judah?”
“I gotta go, see you later. Love you,” he said, then hung up.
“Lord, what does Krude have my kid doing now?” I sighed as I stood. I picked up the folder, then looked over at Uri. He looked annoyed. I reached over and rubbed the skin creased by his brows being bunched together. “Breathe, Uri.”
“I am,” he said. He took my hand and kissed my knuckles. “I want to finish this conversation, but I need to go back to the office. I’ll take you to get Judah, then take you home. We will talk later?”
“Okay,” I replied. I hated knowing that this conversation hung between us, but I needed to tell him.
***
“Madea?” I called out as I opened her door. Uri followed me into the house. “Madea?”
“You yell, Judah yells, your cousins yell, the whole damn family yells,” Madea said, coming into the living room from the kitchen. “I hate to admit it, but sometimes I miss when your ass didn’t talk.” She kissed my cheek; patted Uri’s arm, then sat in her favorite chair.
“I don’t believe that,” I laughed as I sat across from her. Uri’s phone rang, and he took it out of his pocket. I felt him tense as soon as he looked at the screen. I leaned over, not to look at who was calling him, but to check on him. “You okay?”