Chapter 21
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Yeah, it’s going to be a long ride home.
I know these bitches won’t let me be great.
It’s cool, though. Yeah, I planted a seed.
I’m not about to be the only one out here looking crazy.
I’m tired of Hood dismissing me like he didn’t disrupt my summer.
The moment we made it back to the parking lot... They started.
“So...” Nikki unlocked her BMW.
“What?”
“What?” she said, looking at Journee. “Did she really ask us what?”
Alexis burst out laughing. “Bitch... You kissed that nigga. It makes sense why Adrienne is going so hard. Poor lil Tink, Tink.”
“I know what I did.”
“So, you just gone walk over there... grab this nigga... kiss this nigga... and walk ya petty ass off?”
I climbed into the passenger seat and buckled my seat belt. “Yep.”
Journee looked at me in the rearview mirror. “So, that’s all we get?”
“What do y’all want me to say?”
“Let’s start with the fucking truth, bitch.”
“I ain’t lying.”
“I heard you earlier put some shit out there when you and Adrienne were about to fight, but what you just did confirmed everything I needed to know.” Nikki chimed in.
“Exactly…” Alexis laughed. “We wanna know what possessed your ass.”
I looked out the window. “I don’t know.”
“Fumi, bitch, you are lying like a motherfucka.” Journee laughed. “
“I swear. I don’t.” Nikki pulled out of the parking lot. “You’ve been acting funny for weeks.”
“I have not.”
“You have, and yo ass has lowkey been watching Hood. And tonight... You finally walked your stubborn ass over there... and kissed him.”
I smiled despite myself. “I did.”
Journee threw her hands up. “Look at her.”
“What?”
“She’s smiling.”
“I ain’t smiling.”
“Bitch... You are cheesing like a motherfucka.”
I covered my face with both hands. “Y’all getting on my nerves.”
“Shit, we know.” Alexis leaned forward between the seats. “So... How was it?”
“What?”
“The kiss, bitch.”
I laughed. “It was a kiss.”
“Mmm-hmm.”
“Don’t mmm-hmm me.”
“We ain’t. We’re waiting.”
“For what?”
“The rest.”
“There ain’t no rest.”
Nikki looked over at me. “He kissed you back?”
I got quiet.
“Oh...” Journee smiled.
“He did.” I looked down at my hands.
“He did.” All three of them screamed in unison. “Pussy whipped ass nigga.”
“Y’ALL SO DAMN EXTRA.”
“We?” Alexis laughed. “Bitch, you’re the one out here kissing exes in public.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
“I do.”
For a second, the truck fell quiet. Then Nikki asked, “So... why now?”
The chuckling and shit faded. I looked out the passenger window. The streetlights blurred past us. The truck grew quiet, and Nikki’s question hung in the air. “I don’t know,” I said again.
“I don’t know.”
“Fumi.”
“I’m serious. I just...” I searched for the words. “I saw a different Hood today.”
“So?”
“He looked...” I stopped.
“He looked what?”
“...Happy.” Nobody said a word. “He wasn’t looking for me. He wasn’t trying to get my attention. He acknowledged me... and kept living.” I swallowed hard. “I hated that.”
Journee nodded. “I know.”
“No... I mean... I hated that I hated it.” That was the truth. “I told Hood to leave me alone way too many times. He finally listened. I should be happy.” I looked down at my lap. “So why... did it feel like something was missing?”
Nobody answered. Nobody could. Alexis finally broke the silence. “You know what I think?”
“What?”
“I think you finally stopped looking at who Hood used to be and started seeing who he is.”
“Maybe…”
I leaned my head against the window. Maybe that was it; I’m tired of pretending. The truth was... when I saw Hood laughing without me, I realized I didn’t miss the chase. I missed him.
The truck fell quiet. For once... none of the girls had anything slick to say. They didn’t need to. They all knew. I’d finally caught up... to the feelings Hood had been trying to show me all along.
The moment I stepped into my apartment, the silence fucking greeted me. I’m home alone. Usually, I enjoyed coming home, but tonight felt different. I kicked off my sandals by the door and headed straight for the bathroom.
Damn... Today had been a day. I turned the shower on as hot as I could stand it and stepped into the stream of water. The tension slowly rolled off my shoulders. But my mind... It refused to settle.
I kept replaying Edgewood Day. The way Hood looked at me. The way he smiled. The way he let me kiss him... and didn’t chase after me.
I laughed under my breath. “Damn.” “You really kissed that man.” I shook my head. “What the fuck got into me?”
When I finally climbed out of the shower, I wrapped my hair, threw on an oversized T-shirt and cotton shorts, and padded barefoot into the kitchen. I grabbed a bottle of water, then picked up my phone.
Nothing.
Damn, I ain’t got no missed calls, no texts, and still no Hood. I frowned. “A whole damn kiss... And this nigga ain’t called?”
I opened our text thread. I started to type, then stopped and deleted it. I typed again.
Deleted.
“No.” I wasn’t doing that. Instead... I tapped his contact and his requested location.
I locked my phone and tossed it onto the counter. Before I could even sit down... it buzzed.
Hood shared his location with you for one hour.
No message, no questions, and no attitude. Just... his location. A smile crept onto my face.
“So that’s how we moving?”
I grabbed my keys, locked my apartment, and left.
Twenty-five minutes later... I pulled into a quiet cul-de-sac. The neighborhood was beautiful, with big lots, long driveways, and not a soul in sight. The Benz rolled to a stop behind Hood’s Chevy. I cut the engine and looked at the house.
“So... This is where he been.”
It fit Hood. It’s simple, low-key, clean, and private. I climbed out and walked up the driveway. I knocked three times. I heard the knock echo through the house. A few seconds later...
The porch light brightened. The deadbolt unlocked. The front door opened. Hood stood there, wearing a white T-shirt, gray sweatpants, and a confused look.
“...Fumi?”
“Hey.”
He blinked a couple of times like he wasn’t sure I was real. “You straight?”
“I’m good.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah.”
Hood started to ask something else... but I walked right past him. He turned as I stepped into the house, as if I’d been there before. The front door slowly closed behind me. I took my time looking around.
This house is so nice, with engineered hardwood floors. High ceilings and modern furniture. No family pictures. A kitchen that still looked too clean to be lived in. I smiled to myself.
“You bought a house.”
Hood was still standing near the front door. “I did.”
“When?”
“‘Bout a week ago.”
“You ain’t tell me.”
He shrugged. “You ain’t ask.”
I laughed. “Touche.”
I wandered into the living room, dragging my fingers along the back of the couch before turning to face him.
“You really weren’t going to tell me?”
“Nah.”
“Why?”
“Because I wasn’t buying it to impress you.” His answer caught me off guard. “I needed my own place. I figured if...” Hood paused for a moment. “...life ever gave me another chance... I wanted to be ready.”
Not... get ready. Already be ready. I looked around the room again. Everything about this house screamed... peace.
“You like it?”
I nodded. “I do.”
Silence settled between us. Neither of us seemed in a hurry to break it. Hood finally smiled.
“So... you gone tell me why you requested my location... or you just gone break into my house?”
I laughed. “I didn’t break in.”
“Aye, Fumi, you kind of did. I didn’t let yo ass in.”
“You left the door open.”
“I was standing in it.”
“Exactly.”
He shook his head, laughing. “You’re still hardheaded.”
“And you still leave your door unlocked for company.”
“For you?” He looked me straight in the eyes. “I probably always will.”
For the first time all night... neither of us laughed. The energy shifted. This wasn’t about the house anymore. It wasn’t about Edgewood Day or the years between us. It was just... Me.
It feels good to stand in the home Hood built. He’s looking at me like he’d been hoping I’d walk through that front door all along. Hood closed the distance between us. I instinctively tried to step around him.
Hood shifted with me, not aggressively, but just enough to keep me from walking away.
“So, what are we doing, Fumi?”
I let out a slow breath. “I was leaving.”
Hood raised an eyebrow. “So soon?”
“It seems you don’t want me here. I’m not staying where I’m not wanted.”
The words slipped out before I could stop them. For the first time all night... Hood looked genuinely confused.
“What made you think that?”
I laughed without humor. “I don’t know... I came over here... and maybe I shouldn’t have.”
Hood searched my face for a moment before speaking. “If I didn’t want you here... I would’ve declined your location request.”
That shut me up. Hood was right. He could’ve ignored it. He could’ve left me on read. Hell... he could’ve shared it with anyone.
Instead, he shared it with me.
“So...” He stepped a little closer. “What are we doing?”
I looked down at the hardwood floor. “I honestly don’t know.”
“You don’t?”
I shook my head. “I don’t. I’ve been telling myself to leave you alone... telling myself we were better off apart... telling myself I made the right decision.” I looked back up at him. “And then... you stopped.”
His face softened. “I stopped what?”
“Everything… You stopped calling, showing up, and asking me for five minutes.” I laughed at myself. “And I hated that.”
Hood grinned just enough for me to notice. “I figured.”
“You did not.”
“I did.”
“How?”
“‘Cause every time I saw you... it looked like you wanted to ask me something.”
I folded my arms. “I did.”
“What?” He sighed.
“Where the fuck have you been?”
He chuckled. “Working, minding the business that pays me.”
“I noticed.”
“Yeah, I’ve been building some shit lately.”
“I noticed. You bought a house.”
“I did.”
“You bought that without telling me.”
“Shit, you ain’t asked? The last time we really spoke, you didn’t want me to ask you anything.”
I rolled my eyes. “There you go.”
“What I do?”
The silence settled between us again. Not awkward. Just... honest. Hood looked at me.