𝐌𝐘 𝐅𝐀𝐕𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐒𝐈𝐍.

𝐒𝐈𝐗𝐓𝐘 𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓.

⌖ HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAEKO | O68. ‹ ⚜ ›
❝ i couldn't have picked a better person to have a child with. ❞

— AUGUST NINTH
11:45 A.M. ᐟ

"I swear, Jasiah, just pick up the cooler. Is that so damn hard?" Iris said with irritation.

"I did, damn!" Jasiah sucked his teeth, rolling his eyes before rubbing at his temple with the heel of his hands. "Bruh, my head banging right now & you wanna act all bossy, barking orders & shit. If it wasn't for my son, I woulda' been left yo' ass talking to the wall, on my daddy."

It was the first real stretch of time they spent around each other since the breakup, since Iris moved out, & the second she stepped foot back in his house, they had been going at each other nonstop, like siblings forced into the same room.

"Boy, fuck you." She bent over to grab something from the lower cabinet of his kitchen, tossing the words back at him like it was nothing. Jasiah went silent, eyes glued shamelessly to her ass, drifting into his own head until the snap of her fingers jolted him out of it. "Jasiah!"

He blinked, caught, & lifted his eyes to meet hers. "Ma'am?"

"Did you hear me?"

"Yea." He lied smoothly before clearing his throat. "Hell yea. Psh! Duh."

"Mmhm." She gave him a slick once over. "Then go get them, please & thank you." She said, turning back around.

"Bet." Jasiah muttered, the word came out automatic as he nodded & turned toward the stairs. He moved like he had everything handled, like he absorbed every one of her hundred instructions she had been firing off all morning.

Truth was, though, he didn't have a damn clue what she wanted.

He took the first step, his brows furrowing, replaying her voice in his head but coming up blank. He was lost, but he wasn't about to let her see that. Not when she was already annoyed with him. So he kept walking, trying to look confident, trying to piece together which chore he was supposed to be doing & hoping she wouldn't call him back & expose the fact that he was completely lost.

But Iris only heard his footsteps growing softer, headed the wrong damn direction instead of coming around to her right side where the refrigerator sat with what she needed inside. She closed her eyes, dragging out a long, exhausted sigh before turning around yet again. "Jasiah." She called, irritation already creeping into her voice. "Where are you going?"

He froze halfway up the stairs.

"I said I need ice." She reminded him, her eyebrows raised. "Why would bags of ice be upstairs?" She asked with disappointment evident in her tone. She couldn't believe she even had to ask the question.

Caught as fuck, Jasiah's hand immediately slid up to the back of his head, fingers scratching like he could rake together an excuse. He turned back around slowly, a crooked smirk already creeping onto his face despite the obvious fuck up. "Ohhh..." He dragged out. "My bad—I thought you said rice." He shrugged like that explained everything, as if confusing ice & rice was a reasonable mistake & not just him half listening for the tenth time that morning.