Page 73 of Kissed By the Trillest Thug 2

“I know you can.”

“I appreciate it,” he said.

“I know.”

I appreciated it when my brother and I would have talks like this. Although I don’t think I ever told him to his face, I was so damn proud of him.

“And MJ?”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t go bothering that girl every five minutes.”

“I wasn’t planning on it.”

I could tell that he was smiling by the tone in his voice.

“Mhm. I know you.”

He laughed.

“Love you, sis.”

“Love you too.”

The call ended, but I couldn’t stop smiling. Poor Penelope. I had a feeling she didn’t even realize she’d already caught my brother’s attention. And she better get ready because I knew that he wasn’t going to let up until he got her.

Chapter 14

MJ

Living on my own still felt strange sometimes. Not in a bad way, it just felt different. My apartment is less than ten minutes from Miami-Dade. It was close enough that I could make it to my morning classes without fighting half of Miami traffic. Mama was the one who pushed for it. She didn’t want me to make an hour-long commute to and from school every day. Pops agreed almost immediately.“If we can make it easier on him, we gone make it easier on him.”I could hear my mom’s voice playing in my head, and I wasn’t about to argue. Hell…

I wasn’t about to complain about having my own place. I looked around the apartment as I sipped from my coffee mug. Everything was exactly where I’d left it.

The couch sat against the wall, and on the opposite side of the room, my television was mounted above my entertainment center. My textbooks were stacked neatly on the kitchen counter. A framed picture of me, Pops, Mama, Maliah, and Maylee rested beside the coffeemaker. The place finally felt like home. It hadn’t always. I could still remember moving day…

Pops carried the couch inside by himself like it didn’t weigh anything. Mama fussed because he refused to wait for the movers.

“You know you don’t have to prove you still strong,” she said with a smile on her face.

“I ain’t proving nothing.”

He grunted as he eased the couch into place.

“I’m saving money.”

She rolled her eyes.

“You own multiple businesses,” she reminded him.

“And?”

“You’re still cheap.”

“I prefer financially responsible.”

I laughed after sitting another box on the kitchen counter. Maylee wandered through the apartment, opening cabinets that she had no business opening.