Page 61 of Gang of Roses: Dice

Learning I had a son was like finally hearing the time clock my mama had been preaching about my whole life. Suddenly, all the shit she used to say made sense. My mind kept running laps over the craziest things.

I was gonna be the oldest nigga at graduation.

Was his little homies gonna think I was his grandpaw?

Would he take after me... or his mobbing-and-robbing ass mama?

My thoughts stayed all over the place. Even while sitting through business meetings in Vegas, my mind kept drifting back to Revv.

Would Global make sure I got to see him while I was out there?

Would she even come?

Hell, there were days I thought about driving back up that mountain, locking her ass inside that damn cabin, and not letting her leave until she answered every question running through my head.

Shit got so bad I called Oats in the middle of the night trying to come up with some master plan for G-baby. That dummy laughed so damn hard, I called his ass a deadbeat dad, hung up, and ignored him for the rest of the night.

It took me three days to finally call the number Coca gave Oats. When Global answered, I was fully prepared for a headache.

Instead... she surprised me.

Since then, I've talked to my little man every day on FaceTime.

When that boy got excited, he'd talk a nigga to death and ask a million questions.

“Daddy, look!”

“Daddy, see puffs!”

“Daddy, you eat!”

Everything either started or ended with Daddy.

I realized real damn quick there wasn't a feeling in this world I'd trade for hearing that word come out his mouth.

The last two weeks have been nonstop. If I wasn't in meetings, I was back at the estate changing, rearranging, and getting everything ready.

Oats had my black ass inside every baby store in Magnolia Valley, buying things we didn't even know how to use. We'd load the trucks, drop everything off at the house, then turn right back around and buy some more.

Could I have paid somebody to do all the shopping? Hell yeah.

But I felt like I had already missed enough.

Standing at the window overlooking the lake, my eyes landed on the newest addition outside. A bright yellow, green, blue, and red eyesore…a swing set. Impossible to miss.

I wanted him to have something to do whenever he came over. Most nights, once I made it back to the estate, I didn't even feel like leaving again. The lake got pitch-black after sunset, and the town was over twenty minutes away.

The whole damn house had been transformed.

A child-safety company came through and toddler-proofed everything from top to bottom.

I walked into Revv's room and couldn't help but smile.

Yureni's interior designer had worked pure magic. I told Yureni and Honor what was going on because I needed help, and that Italian lady had taken my vision and ran with it. Well, I shouldn’t say vision. It was more along the lines of making him his Daddy’s son.

Opening the door felt like stepping into a toddler's version of a casino. A black toddler bed sat against the wall with oversized plush dice and card-suit pillows scattered across it. A colorful rug designed like a casino floor featured slot machines, poker chips, dice, and playing cards. One wall held a playful mural of smiling slot machines, stacks of cartoon money, and poker chips, while shelves displayed books, stuffed animals, toy cars, and miniature slot machines that lit up and made playful sounds. A child-sized poker table doubled as his coloring and snack table, complete with tiny matching chairs. His closet was packed with little sneakers, hoodies, designer clothing, and miniature suits.

I already had plans for my little boss.