The Brick Wall

Chapter 18

Curtis POV

  Somehow I manage to sleep through my alarm. And by alarm I mean both my physical alarm clock, and my daughter who is usually primed and ready for breakfast at six in the morning.  I sit up in a panic, realizing I haven't heard a peep out of Lennox since Collins sent me to bed last night. 

  Without another thought I'm rushing out of my bedroom and towards the nursery. Sun is streaming through the windows, and now I'm really concerned. This child has never slept in. Ever.

  It was one of the things I had to get use to when she came into my life. Usually the morning after a game, especially a win, I was knocked out til close to lunch time. It could've been because of the enjoyment of too much alcohol, or the more frequent time spent with a bunny. I learned that first night with Lennox that nothing would be the same again, at least for several years. 

  The nursery door is wide open. Her nightlight is off, blanket folded neatly over the railing of her crib. Even the dresser drawer I had been digging through is now closed, everything tucked neatly inside. 

  But  no Lennox.

  My feet are moving before I'm even capable of telling them what to do. I'm terrified that she actually had a terrible night and kept Collins up. Maybe because the idea of owing more to her doesn't sound all that exciting, or maybe because I genuinely hope she was able to rest. But to not hear my daughter cry out for me during the night? I won't be able to live with myself. 

  The closer I get towards the living room I can hear music floating through the apartment. It's not obnoxiously loud, but the baby giggles I hear from the kitchen puts my heart at ease all while making it smile. 

  I pause my steps to listen more closely, shifting in the hopes I'm not spotted right away.  

  "Oh, my, god. Lenny, look at her butt," I hear Collins say in a Valley girl's whiny voice. My brow furrows as I begin to wonder if she's let someone else into my apartment without my knowledge, and around my daughter. "It is so big. She looks like one of those rap guys girlfriends."

  No. No way is she about to do what I think she is. 

  "I like big butts and I can not lie. You other brothers can't deny that when a girl walks in with an itty bitty waist and a round thing in your face you get sprung!"

  Sir Mix-A-Lot's rap is flowing through my daughter's babysitter's mouth as if it's completely second nature. The baby is just giggling, making me try to move so I can actually see what's unfolding in my kitchen. 

  Lennox is sitting in her highchair, hands slapping at the plastic tray in front of her along to the beat of the song.  Collins, has her back to the little girl, my eyes immediately drawn to her hips that are rocking side to side. 

  I'm now understanding Mix-A-Lot's lines a little better as I can't seem to pry my eyes away from the woman's ass. Deep in the jeans she's wearing, I'm hooked and I can't stop staring.

  Nope. Eyes up, idiot.

  That's when I realize Collins is actually cooking breakfast while she puts on a dramatic dance performance, emitting all kinds of happy noises from my daughter.  She spins around, the spatula in her hand, singing directly to Lennox now. "Oh, baby, I want to get wit'cha and take your picture. My homeboys tried to warn me but that butt you got-"

  "And that's where I'm gonna interrupt this little concert," I make my presence known before my daughter hears the word 'horny' for the first time at eight months old. 

  I would think Collins would be at least minimally embarrassed with my interruption. I mean, she's dancing around my kitchen making a fool of herself.  Instead, she gives me a very innocent but not innocent grin. You know, the kind in which you're caught with your hand in the cookie jar but you're pretty sure that whatever explanation you've worked up inside your brain will keep you from getting grounded. 

  "I wasn't gonna say it," she assures me, one hand on her hip while waving around the spatula. 

  Another step into the kitchen and I can smell cinnamon along with fresh coffee.  I come up behind the highchair, dropping one large hand over Lennox's eyes.  "Peek a boo!" I say loudly, dropping my face in front of her just as my  hand falls off her eyes. She giggles up at me, her hand reaching out to brush against my beard before slapping her hand against it. "Collins teaching you inappropriate things this morning?" I ask, technically ribbing the woman who is actually making me breakfast.

  Not a single woman that has ever stayed the night with me made breakfast, nor did I for her. Damn, I think to myself. And we didn't even fool around.  Interesting. 

  "I'm not doing anything inappropriate," Collins warns me. "Her father however is standing in the kitchen in nothing but his boxers."

  Shit. I look down and realize she's right. I woke up in such a panic that I didn't bother to finish getting dressed before rushing out into the apartment. I need to save face. 

  "My apartment. I think I can walk around however I like," I inform her as she turns back to flip pancakes on the stove. 

  "I'll remember that the next time I have friends over in my own apartment. I'll just casually walk past my friend and her boyfriend in my underwear and see what happens."

  My head tilts to the side, watching her once more from behind. "I don't think that's the same thing."

  "Really?"

  "Really," I repeat honestly.

  "So, explain yourself then."  She drops another pancake onto the plate that's already filled with ten large hotcakes. 

  "You walking around in your underwear would cause a load of problems between your friend and her boyfriend. I don't care whether the dude finds you attractive or not, seeing something like that will have him standing at attention and I don't mean because he's military," I answer, sitting down in the chair next to Lennox. Collins puts a small plate of scrambled eggs in front of me and I begin pulling them into smaller pieces for her little fingers.

  "So, you don't think seeing a guy in his underwear does anything for women?"

  "Not like it does a guy. I stand by that."

  Her deep brown eyes blink rapidly back at me, her lips pursing in contemplation.  "You're an idiot," she finally says, her facial features going back to normal.  She walks the plate of pancakes over next, along with sausage and the rest of the eggs. It looks like she cooked for an army rather than just the three of us.  

  "Well, now that you're up, and breakfast is served, I'm gonna head out to the landlord's office." She gives Lennox a kiss on the top of her head. "Thanks for the back up this morning. I couldn't have performed without you."

  "But," I start to actually stutter, confused by what I'm both hearing and seeing, "you cooked all this food and you're not even gonna eat it?"

  "Nah, I'll be fine.  So, goodbye Princess Lenny." She stands up straight again and glances over to me for only a half second before she's walking towards the door. "And bye to you, Curtis Everett." She glances over her shoulder, a smirk turning up her lip. "And goodbye to your anaconda as well."

  I hear the door open and close, utterly dumbfounded by her use of anaconda. I don't have a snake in the apartment, I think to myself. "What in the world?" I say aloud, looking around the room until I finally reach my lap.  

  Apparently Collins Kennedy doesn't need to stroll by in her underwear to earn a salute from me.

*Unedited