“I wish I was. I didn’t tell her that shit, but I guess I did in so many words. I told her that shit was mine whenever I wanted it. She agreed to that shit. Well, her brother died. I was tryna be there for her, but she doesn’t want me there, and I’m in my fucking feelings like a got damn woman.”
He chuckled. “That shit is new for you. Damn. I thought I would never see the day you wanted to be with just one woman.”
“Shit, me either, nigga.”
He chuckled. “So what are you gonna do?”
“I ordered her some flowers, and I’m gon’ fall back. She told me if I showed up there tonight, she was gonna call the police on me. I ain’t scared of no fucking cops. My mama isthee fuckingSidney Taylor, but I realized I was tryna force myself on her. I didn’t want sex from her today. Her brother died, and I know she depressed and shit. I didn’t tell her all that though.”
“Damn. You should have told her.”
“She’s not the one who told me her brother died. My sister did.”
I glanced at him with a smirk on my lips and saw the frown on his face. I couldn’t help but chuckle as I ran the story down for him. He knew I was adopted, just like everyone else did, but we never talked about it. I was their cousin . . . plain and simple. His mouth was open nearly the entire time I was talking.
“Close yo’ mouth, nigga.”
He snapped it closed. “Damn. I’m just shocked to hear you talk about it.”
“Right. Had it not been for Kimaji, I wouldn’t be. I don’t know them and didn’t care to. The only people I knew existed at some point was my bio parents. Having siblings had never even crossed my mind.”
We ordered food and chilled for the rest of the evening. We both had to work tomorrow, so he didn’t stay too late. Once he left, I grabbed my phone to see I had a message from Kimaji. She’d sent it an hour ago.
You should have come anyway. She wouldn’t have called the cops. She was bluffing.
I set it on the countertop as I entered the kitchen and began throwing shit away and wiped down the countertops. I wanted to be there for her, but there was no way I would have even felt comfortable forcing myself in her presence. I would take her words at face value. I didn’t have time for guessing games. I didn’t know her well enough for that shit anyway.
Who the fuck was I fooling? Iknewshe wanted me there. She was feeling me as much as I was feeling her. When she asked me if I was tryna be her man, I knew she was hoping that I would admit that I’d changed my mind about what I wanted from her. I wasn’t about to admit shit to her. Just like she was guarded, so was I. I refused to put myself out there only to be let down. She was the one who put stipulations on what we would have. If she changed her mind about what she wanted, she needed to say something first. I was going along with the program she set in place.
Once I finished cleaning the kitchen, I went and took a shower. When my phone started ringing, I wanted to roll my eyes. I figured it may have been Kimaji, since I didn’t respond to her text. When I saw Chinasa’s name, I went ahead and answered. I was her sneaky link and had been for a while. Not even Cooper knew about her. Even when she had a nigga, I was still tightening that ass up.
“What’s up?”
“Hey, boo. You busy?”
“Naw. I’m at home. You coming through?”
“Yeah. I’ll be there in thirty minutes.”
“A’ight.”
I ended the call and turned on the TV to see they were talking about SOLA’s brother’s death and how a nigga had been apprehended. After that, they made the connection to her and showed her picture.Damn.She was so fucking fine. My dick was responding to a fucking headshot. Chinasa was just what I needed. She would help me reset and get SOLA’s slick shit off my palate.
Before I could turn the TV off though, there was footage of me coming out of her room shown, while they tried to figure out who her new beau was.What the fuck?I sat straight up. These muthafuckas were insufferable. How the fuck were they gonna give condolences to her and her family, then gossip about her in the same segment? I wasn’t sure why they liked talking shit about her, but it seemed her life was beyond interesting to them. People probably knew her more for gossip than for her music.
My phone started blowing up back-to-back. I slowly shook my head. This was that bullshit. If I lost my job because of this, I was gonna be beyond pissed. Snatching my phone from the couch, I saw a few text messages. I opened my mama’s to see the wide-eyed emoji. I shook my head and went to Cooper’s.
Nigga! Somebody had to leak that shit. They like putting her business in the street.
I didn’t keep up with celebrity gossip typically, unless it was blasted everywhere like hers. I didn’t even have any social media accounts. My ass was deep in these streets. My location didn’t need to be found. Now the fucking country knew I was in LA at some point and that I worked for fucking Premier Wings, since I had on my uniform.
My mind went to the chick at the front desk that handed me the key. I bet it was her ass that leaked that fucking footage. Going to the next text, I saw it was from Kimaji.
You good? Arlie is used to shit like this, but from our talks, I know that you are pretty private.
I threw my phone to the couch and went and grabbed a bottle of D’USSÉ from my liquor cabinet. I took that shit straight to the head. When the doorbell rang, I frowned for a moment. Then I remembered Chinasa was coming over. “Fuck!” I whisper yelled.
I went to the door and opened it for her. She walked in, staring at my oiled chest and let her gaze slowly fall to my bare feet. After closing the door, I scanned her body in her long-sleeved bodycon dress. That shit looked like it was painted on her. Before I could say a word, I saw the sparkle on her left hand.
