“What you mean? You left.”
“You make it sound like I just vanished,” she snapped. “Like I walked away for no reason.”
He shrugged defensively. “I mean, that’s kind of what you did though. All I know is, one minute we were cool, and the next you were gone.”
“That’s crazy coming from Mr. Disappear-then-reappear himself. Hell, I thought you were a magician.”
He frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means you were never really there to begin with. One foot in and one out. You just used music as the excuse.”
Zay’s mouth opened to respond, but nothing came out. She kept going.
“You were so wrapped up in the dream, in chasing everything else, you didn’t see me breaking,” she snapped.
“I was just a kid, Prin. I didn’t know what the hell I was doing.”
“So was I,” she replied as her tone softened. “But I still showed up. For you. I rooted for you. Even when you stopped rooting forus.”
Zay looked down. His jaw tightened, and his emotions rippled through his expression. Regret. Anger. Shame.
“I didn’t know how to love you right back then,” he admitted quietly. “I wanted to. I just . . . didn’t know how.”
Love’s eyes met his. She took a deep breath. “And I got tired of bleeding to teach you.”
The wind breezed softly between them. For a few moments, all they could hear was the city behind the water and the ache between their breaths.
He stepped back slightly and rubbed his hand down his face. “The last thing I ever wanted to do was to hurt you, Prin.”
“Well, you did,” she shot back quick. Their eyes met, and a few moments passed between them. She then lowered her eyes, took a deep breath, and lightened her tone and expression to something more serious. “It happened a long time ago. There’sno need to keep going on about it. Life went on. We both got what we were looking for, right? It’s fine.”
She forced a smile. Zay looked at her with something soft behind his eyes, something that bordered on longing. Before he could say anything else, they were interrupted by a voice shouting across the distance.
“Y’all ’bout ready?” Deuce’s voice rang out and dragged them both back to the present. “We trying to make it to the coney before all the baby mamas get off work!”
Laughter broke from the rest of the cast. Love wiped her cheek with the sleeve of her jacket and turned away, blinking fast. She didn’t say a word, just turned and started walking.
Zay stood in place and watched her go. She left him standing there, without another word, just as she’d done before.
The Mirror
The clangof weights hit the floor and echoed across the empty gym at the DoubleTree. Zay sat on the bench, breathing hard with sweat that dripped down his temple as he stared at nothing in particular. The workout hadn’t done a damn thing to clear his head.
He stood, grabbed the towel from the bench behind him, wiped his face, and headed for the exit. When he reached the elevator, he pressed the button to go up to his private suite and heard voices coming from down the hallway. He turned his head and saw a group of teenage boys laughing and pushing each other. One of them paused and met his gaze.
“Yo,” the young boy exclaimed, causing the rest of his crew to follow his pointed finger in Zay’s direction. “Ain’t that Westside Zay?”
Just then, the elevator doors opened. Zay nodded, threw up a peace sign, and stepped into the elevator. He quickly scanned his penthouse key card on the reader and pressed the button to close the doors before the boys could make their way down. He could hear their excitement as they grew closer, but the doors closed as soon as they reached it. He wasn’t in the mood for small talk or to sign autographs, not that morning.
When he reached his room, he scanned his key to get in and walked through the living room. The dining space caught his eye, and he suddenly noticed something that he hadn’t before. It looked like the kind of space built for family dinners he’d never hosted. It was a table set for eight people, and yet, he realized it was always just him in these spaces. He’d always get penthouse suites and private jets meant to carry multiple people, and yet, he’d always been alone. No family, no children to run around when he returned from work. Just him and whichever lady he felt like entertaining for the night. He walked to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of cold water and sat at the island. He grabbed his phone and scrolled mindlessly through unread messages. Half were from the label. The other half, women. He rolled his eyes and exhaled.
Suddenly, his phone buzzed with an incoming call. The contact ‘Amora (off Hot Girlz Hit TV show)’ took over the screen with a photo of her: almond brown skin, long black braids that flowed down her bare back as she overlooked her shoulder with a kissy face and a wink. He let it ring twice before he answered.
“What?”
“Wow. That’s how you answering now?” Her voice was sharp, already mid-attitude.
Zay sighed and leaned back in his chair. “What’s up, Amora?”
