Page 10 of Kobalt

I opted to leave out the part about her brother being naked, because that would lead to conversations I didn’t want to have with my best friend. A flashback of seeing him that way passed through my mind, and I heated up at the memory.

Pleasure flooded my body, and my core grew more sensitive at the sight of his soldier all beefed up and ready for battle. I bit my lip at the recollection of how it bounced, as if he were trying to get my attention with it.

“Kai? Did you hear me?” Niagara called out on the other end.

“Uh, no. What did you say?”

“I said maybe you two are just what each other needs. I mean, you went through all that with the trial, and he did, too, with fighting those allegations. Y’all have that in common. Maybe talking to him will be just what you need, Kai. Kobe’s a really good listener. He’s always been good for me and helped work out my problems.”

I knew that to be true. Twice in our past, Kobalt and I became more than just friends—right after high school and four years ago. I had given him my virginity the weekend before I left for college. The weekend after my going away party, he and I had crept off to a hotel, at my request, where he proceeded to deflower me. I knew that college life would be different, and I would probably have relationships. I wanted to go away experienced, but I wanted that experience to be with someone I trusted and loved.

The second time was the weekend of my grand opening for Velvet Opulence Interiors. My old car decided to give me trouble that night, and he’d offered to give me a ride home. Niagara was riding with her boyfriend at the time, and no one thought twice about it.

On the ride home, he brought up that one night all those years ago. He touched my knee, and I melted into the seat, recalling how good he’d made me feel and how gentle he had been with me. When he leaned across the seat and kissed me, I greedily accepted what he had to offer, and I invited him into my apartment. We’d made love all weekend, and it went on for three months—until life changed.

I’d believed that it would actually go somewhere that time, but I wanted time to make sure we worked before we announced it to the world. Thankfully, I hadn’t, because I would’ve looked like a fool in the end.

Kobalt received a phone call and an invitation that changed our lives forever. He was given the opportunity to fight with an MMA team in Japan, and where his career had been average at best, the opportunity would bolt him to superstardom. I was excited for him and devastated at the same time. Yet, I would never hold anyone back from their dreams. Instead, I encouraged him to take the opportunity. The contract was for three years, and we both knew we couldn’t withstand a long-distance relationship.

“Who knows? Maybe you two will finally fall in love and see all the things you have in common, and you can become my sister legally not just in the heart,” Nia commented, pulling me back from the past.

“Nia, after all I just went through—still am going through–the last thing that I want to do is get with any man. Right now, I just need to get my heart and mind together. Someone I trusted very much not only broke my trust and my respect for him, but he’s also made me doubt my ability to judge people.”

“I know, boo, and I’m sorry Kevin took you through that. I pray that one day you find healing and the love of a lifetime who will heal your broken heart.”

“Me too.”

“So, what have you been doing since you arrived?”

“Nothing really, because I only arrived a couple of hours ago. I walked around and checked the place out, and that’s about it. Listen, I need to call EJ and let him know that I’ve arrived and thank him for handling everything. I just wanted to call and tell you thanks for allowing me to come up here.”

“No problem, sis. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Bye-bye.”

I ended the call and dropped back on the bed and dialed EJ.

“Hey, Kai. You good?”

“Yeah. I made it safely, thanks.”

“Jaziel said no one followed you for as long as he was riding behind you.”

“I’m glad he did that. Thank him for me too. I appreciate him helping out and taking time out of his day.” It was a surprise that our cousin Jaziel had agreed to help. He usually did nothing for no one except for himself. In the end, I’d sent him two hundred dollars for looking out for me.

“Not a problem.”

I had driven to EJ’s house and stayed for a couple of days to let the heat die down. There were some errands that I had to run, but EJ made sure that if he couldn’t accompany me, someone else could.

EJ’s boys were in and out of his place, as usual, but they were respectful, and they watched over me when he wasn’t there. When it was time for me to head out of town, I walked out of EJ’s back door and through the neighbor’s backyard to reach the next street.

Jaziel’s girlfriend, Nashika, was waiting for me in her car. She took me to the shop where Jaziel worked, and I was able to pick up another car the owner prepared for me.

Jaziel followed me out of town until I was an hour away from the farm, to make sure that I wasn’t followed, before he dropped off. EJ had given me a gun to keep with me to protect myself in the event of an emergency.

“If you need someone up there watching over you, or if anything happens, you need to call me right away. You feel me?”

“Yeah, but I’ll be fine. Kobalt was up here already when I got here. I should be good.”