Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“Oh, my fucking gosh! You did not!” Zena squealed, almost choking on her wine. She sat crisscrossed on her couch, hanging on Amari’s every word. Genesis sat on the floor under Zena, munching on chips.
They decided to have a girls’ night in, watch a few movies, eat and drink, and spill tea.
“Yes, I did, and baby, let me tell y’all…
that dick is amazing! He can go round after round, never slackin’.
The perfect remedy for a stressful day. The blog sites got it right; he’s got one of the prettiest dicks I have ever seen.
And that curve. Call that ass Captain Hook.
” Amari stretched her hands out in front of her, visibly showing off Chi’s length.
They all burst out laughing. Zena still couldn’t believe Amari fucked Chi. She always secretly wondered if his dick was as good as they said it was. She guessed the rumors had a big truth to them.
“So, are y’all serious or what?” Zena asked.
Amari shook her head. “Nope! We were just enjoying the ride, honestly. I don’t expect more than what it is at this point. Chi is just fun to be around, and he fucks me good. I don’t have any expectations. You know I don’t do well with relationships anyway.”
Zena nodded her head. Amari had been scarred just as much as Zena had in the past. The last thing she needed right now was to date a well-known rapper and deal with groupies, scandals, and baby mama drama. Amari would probably kill a bitch.
“I have a confession then.” Genesis got up off the floor.
Amari and Zena’s eyes shot to her.
“I fucked Chaos…twice.”
Zena sipped her wine. “I fucking knew something was going on with y’all that day in the studio. “
“His ass actually talks?” Amari asked.
“Not only does he talk, baby, but he can fuck, too.” Genesis’s head fell back dramatically.
“Anyways, since I highly doubt Danger and I will go anywhere… I think I’m starting to like Xavier,” Zena admitted.
Amari scrunched her nose up. “I still think he’s sus.”
“You think everybody sus,” Genesis pointed out.
“He gives off feminine energy. All those selfies and photo dumps to say goodbye to April.”
They had gone snooping on his Instagram earlier, and she was extremely bothered by the number of selfies on his profile. Like, what kind of grown man posts up in front of the mirror all day, posting thirst traps?
“You just team Danger, that’s all,” Zena said
“No, I’m just team whoever is going to treat my girl right. You deserve it.” Amari’s tone was serious.
Zena stayed silent because Amari was right.
She did deserve it. She had been through so damn much.
She couldn’t take any more heartbreaks or setbacks.
While her budding friendship with Xavier was still fresh, they were taking it slow.
She wasn’t ready to put all her eggs in one basket as she did with Danger.
“I’m about to go. Come lock up.” Amari stuffed the California roll in her mouth as she swung her purse over her shoulder and proceeded toward the door. She pulled out her phone and texted someone.
“Shit, me too.” Genesis yawned as she snatched up her purse. “What time is it? I got a class to teach in the morning.” She hugged Amari, then Zena, and they walked her to the door.
“So, what you gonna do for the rest of the night?” She knew Amari well. Any other night, she would be staying the night, and now she was running out of the house like she had stolen something.
Amari grinned. “Nothing… just chill with Chi for the night.”
“Mhm, you are not slick. Tell Chi I said hey, but be safe. Don’t make any babies,” Zena joked.
“Ew, bye. I’ll pop a Plan B real quick.” Amari walked out into the hallway.
“Love y’all.” Zena hugged them. Their bond had grown so much over time. They were the closest thing to a family she had.
“Love you too. I will text the chat when I get there.” Amari walked down the hall toward the elevator with Genesis right beside her.
Once they were safely in the elevator, Zena shut and locked her door. She grabbed her phone off the counter and checked her messages.
DANGER
Session at 9:00 am. See you in the morning
She rolled her eyes. He was always business, business, business. She didn’t even bother to reply.
Zena showered, did her nightly skin routine, and was about to get into bed when a FaceTime call from Xavier came through. She snatched her bonnet off her head and straightened out her hair in a hurry before sliding the green answer button.
Xavier’s face popped up on the screen. “You were asleep?” His background was semi-noisy, and his dreamy eyes were low.
“Nah,” Zena said coolly.
“Well, what took you so long to answer?” He raised his bushy eyebrow.
“Nothing,” she said.
Zena thought he looked so cute. He had a fresh lineup with a hoodie from his Merch line.
“Yo, Xavier! Come on, man, finish this track. Call her back later,” someone in the background yelled. She could hear a few groupies giggling.
“Chill out. Let me spit game right quick.”
“Just come on, man,” the person replied with annoyance in his tone.
“You can go if you want.” Zena yawned. The wine had her damn near asleep.
“Nah. I’ll go when I’m ready. I just wanted to see your pretty face because I’ve been thinking about you so much since that night at Star Lounge.”
“Oh, really?” She grinned.
“Yes, really. Let me take you out on Friday?” he asked her.
Zena was silent for a moment. She wanted to keep things the way they were because it was easier. Strangely, she wanted to stay loyal to Danger.
“So…I ain’t hangin’ up until you say yes.” Xavier gave her puppy dog eyes.
“Can you please say yes? So, I can go home?” the same person from before said.
Zena laughed before saying, “Yes.”
“You just made me the happiest man alive. Ima about to write a song about you, girl.”
“Right. Go, so that man can go home.”
“Thank you,” the man said again, making them both laugh.
“Goodnight, beautiful.”
“Goodnight.” Zena ended the FaceTime.
As she lay in bed, she was excited about her date, but she still thought about Danger.
She felt guilty for waiting to jump into something new with someone else.
She logged into her burner account to check his Instagram.
It looked like he was now home based on his posts. She flicked through his story.
The last one was a picture of him eating at the newly opened restaurant.
The restaurant had been the talk of the town since it opened a few weeks earlier, and the reservation list was booked for months.
She knew, because she tried to make a reservation earlier in the week.
She kept scrolling through his story and paused when she noticed a long, hot pink nail in one of the shots of the food.
Typical Danger. He didn’t post Chyna directly, but she was able to connect the dots by looking at Chyna’s Instagram as well.
He was living his best life, so she decided to do the same.
It was finally Friday, and Zena was relieved.
The studio had worn her out this week. Danger and his team had given late nights and early mornings a whole new meaning.
They had been working nonstop to perfect her EP, and while she was grateful, she was fucking exhausted from all the singing.
Sometimes she had to record the same verse repeatedly to get it just right.
Danger would make her sit and listen to the same track for hours, searching for the slightest imperfection. Danger was passionate like that.
Their relationship was still in an awkward place since the blowup at the studio that day. They had both apologized to each other and promised to always remain professional moving forward. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could keep that promise, though.
“Okay boo, you look cute,” Amari said, complimenting her as she came into her room.
Zena smiled as she gave herself a once-over in the mirror.
She was breaking out of her shell and was wearing dresses again.
The dress was black and long, falling below her knees with a side split.
Her body filled it out perfectly. Her only jewelry was the diamond necklace her dad gave her for graduation and the matching tennis bracelet.
“Thanks to you, boo.” Zena wanted a grown-and-sexy look for tonight, so Amari did her hair and makeup. Her hair was styled in big, messy spiral curls that hung loosely down her back. She gave her a natural dark smoky eye with a little liner and gloss.
“I know. I’m the shit,” Amari bragged, spinning around in a circle.
“You know…”
“Ah! Don’t even say it; I like what I do now.” Amari dismissed her with her hand.
Zena sat down on the bed to strap up her open-toe heels. “I’m saying, you can make good money doing hair for celebrities. You know Danger is connected to a lot of artists.”
“I’m okay. I like doing hair at the shop. Celebrity clients are too demanding,” Amari explained.
Zena sighed to herself. Amari was the most talented hairstylist she had ever known. She could do hair and makeup on anyone and make them look like a goddess. She had finished cosmetology school. The only problem was that Amari doubted herself, and Zena wanted to change that.
Amari had pulled Zena out of a dark place and motivated her, and Zena wanted to do the same for her friend. While Amari was comfortable with her current lifestyle, Zena wanted to put her girl in a position to get a bigger bag.
Zena continued to get ready for her date while Amari ate up all her food in the refrigerator.
“Xavier is outside; please try not to eat up the whole damn house while I’m gone,” Zena said as she sprayed her body with her new signature perfume, Perfect by Marc Jacobs.
“Mhm, you’ve got to go to Whole Foods tomorrow because you ran out of hummus again.” Amari wasn’t paying her any attention; she was too busy watching Money Heist on Netflix.
“That professor is smart as hell. He thinks of everything,” Amari rambled at the TV, just as Zena closed the door.
“So, how was your week?” Zena said, breaking the ice. Xavier was rather quiet since he picked her up.
“It was good. I got a new single from the album dropping this week. My team has been working on my marketing a lot this week. I did some club appearances and whatnot,” he told her as he drove his Tesla through downtown traffic.
Zena was expecting him to ask about her week, but he didn’t. That bothered her for some reason. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but his energy was off.
The ride stayed quiet for the most part until they pulled up to Sizzle N Blue’z. Xavier got out and handed it over to the valet, who didn’t bother to open the door for her.
There was a long line at the door that started wrapping around the block.
“How did you get a reservation here?” Zena asked.
“Connections, you know, your boy is somewhat famous now,” he told her as they walked into the restaurant.
Once inside, they were greeted by the hostess. She then confirmed Xavier’s reservation, and the hostess escorted them to a table in the far back of the restaurant.
The restaurant had a high-end, chill atmosphere. She noted that the decor was beautifully done, with layers of exposed brick that held canvases of music artists from both the current and previous generations.
While walking past the many tables, Zena caught the aroma of chicken, pork chops, and various types of Soul Food. Judging by the Yelp reviews, Zena could see why the place had five stars. This place was not your basic Soul Food spot; it had a certain class to it.
They slid into the peanut-butter-colored booths and looked over the menu. The server greeted them and took their drink orders. The menu was unlike anything she had ever seen: they served gourmet food with a Soul Food twist, and each dish was named after a popular blues song or hip-hop reference.
“What are you thinking about getting?” Xavier asked.
Zena looked over the menu. “For the appetizer, I think we should get Smokestack Lightin’ Wings. For my main dish, I’m still stuck between Manish Boy Burger or Izzo HOVA Chicken.”
Xavier nodded.
The server came back with their drink order and a bottle of Moet on ice, and Xavier gave her a curious glance.
“We didn’t order this.” He picked up the menu, eyes widening over the price.
“Compliments of the owner. Are you guys ready to order?” the server replied, pouring the champagne into each of their glasses.
“You know the owner?”
“Yeah…yeah, we go way back,” Xavier said.
“So that’s how you were able to get a reservation. I know your secret now.”
The rest of the date went by uneventfully. As they ate, Zena could help but think that she was being watched.