Chapter 20 #2
I paused just a lil’ when she said his name, and I ain’t realize how it made me feel. It wasn’t nothin’ I could explain out loud, so I just pushed right past it and kept the conversation movin’.
“What Renza crazy ass been up to anyway?” I asked, keepin’ my tone normal while I leaned back into the couch.
Toni clicked her tongue. “Girl, I don’t even know. Besides the lil’ time he was out there with us, he don’t come around like that no more.”
I frowned at that, sittin’ up. “How the hell he not comin’ around like that and he stay at Pressure’s?”
“I’m tellin’ you what I know,” she said. “Me and Kay’Lo been over there playin’ cards and eatin’ like three times, and he wasn’t there none of them times.”
“Damn,” I muttered, shakin’ my head. “That don’t even sound like him.”
“It’s not,” she said, her tone softenin’. “And I ain’t like seein’ him earlier on the yacht either. He was too quiet. Like… real quiet. That ain’t him, ‘Nelle.”
I leaned my head back against the couch, listenin’ to her. “That girl changin’ him,” she went on. “And she don’t even see it. She takin’ away his whole vibe, like the way he be jokin’ and keepin’ everybody laughin’. That man ain’t himself.”
“What ‘Lo think about all this?” I asked.
Before Toni could answer, I heard him in the background.
“Man… I ain’t got nothin’ good to say,” he said, his voice carryin’ through the phone. “So, it is what it is.”
I couldn’t help but smile at that, ’cause Kay’Lo don’t speak on stuff unless he mean it, and that right there told me everything I needed to know.
“See,” Toni said. “That’s what I’m sayin’.”
I sighed, pickin’ back up my fork. “That’s crazy.”
We kept talkin’ for a lil’ bit longer, goin’ back and forth about everything that happened, when another call started comin’ through. I pulled my phone away and looked at the screen, noticin’ the time first. Then I looked at the number.
I ain’t recognize it all the way, but somethin’ in me told me exactly who it was, and I felt myself smilin’ without even meanin’ to.
“A’ight, I’m finna call y’all back, cousins,” I said quick, already sittin’ up straighter.
“What the hell you got goin’ on, bitch?” Toni asked.
“I’mma call you back,” I repeated, grinnin’. “I love y’all.”
“Love you too,” Toni, and Kay’Lo said at the same time.
His voice came through low and smooth, and I leaned back into the couch, pullin’ my blanket up higher over my legs.
“No, I’m cool,” I said, smilin’ as I got comfortable. “I just got off the phone with my cousin. I’m just sittin’ here chillin’.”
“That’s what’s up,” he said, and I could hear the smile in it. “So I ain’t catch you at a bad time?”
“No, you good. I’m relaxin’ for real.”
“A’ight. I told you I was gon’ call you.”
“I see,” I murmured, grinnin’ to myself.
The quiet that followed settled in easy and was just enough for both of us to fall into the rhythm of it.
“So what you like to do when you off?”
I shifted on the couch, gettin’ comfortable. “Honestly, this right here. I be in the house, chillin’, watchin’ TV, mindin’ my business.”
A soft laugh came through the phone. “You don’t go out?”
“I mean, I do,” I said, smilin’. “But I ain’t one of them that gotta be outside all the time. I like bein’ in my own space.”
“I feel that. Ain’t nothin’ wrong with that.”
“What about you?” I asked. “What you be doin’?”
“I work a lot, but when I ain’t workin’, I’m laid back. I don’t really be all over the place either.”
“What you do for a livin’?” I asked, curious now.
“I cook.”
I sat up, my smile spreadin’ before I could stop it. “Oh, so you cook, cook?”
That laugh came again, deeper this time. “Yeah… I cook, cook.”
“Well that’s good,” I said, grinnin’ into the phone. “’Cause I’m a big girl, and a nigga gotta be able to feed me.”
“I’ll do more than feed you,” he replied, smooth as ever, and I felt a laugh bubble out of me before I could hold it in.
“Okay then,” I said, playin’ with the edge of my blanket. “What you like to cook?”
“Whatever I’m in the mood for, but I pay attention to who I’m cookin’ for.”
That made my smile linger. “So what you tryna say?”
“I’m sayin’ I’d figure out what you like… then make it how you like it.”
I pressed my lips together, smilin’ to myself. “Mmm… okay.”
“What you like to eat?”
I started tellin’ him everything, from seafood to pasta to soul food, and he listened to all of it, askin’ questions here and there like he really cared about what I was sayin’.
We went back and forth like that for hours, talkin’ about food, work, family, random shit that didn’t even matter, but it all felt good.
The more we talked, the more his voice settled in, gettin’ deeper and lower, like he was laid back somewhere just vibin’ with me.
And I ain’t even realize how much I was smilin’ until my face started hurtin’.
At some point, he asked, “What you doin’ this weekend?”
I pulled the blanket tighter around me. “I ain’t got nothin’ planned.”
“I really would like to take you out,” he said. “If you cool with that.”
I thought about it for a second, even though I already knew I was gon’ say yeah.
“I’m cool with that,” I replied. “But I’ll meet you there.”
“That’s fine,” he said right away. “Whatever make you comfortable.”
I nodded to myself, smilin’. “Okay.”
We talked a lil’ while longer before we finally got off the phone, tellin’ each other goodnight like we had been doin’ this type of shit with each other.
I walked to my room, still smilin’, and set my phone on the charger. As soon as I plugged it in, it buzzed.
I looked down and saw his name.
Couture: It was nice talkin’ to you.
I smiled and texted back.
It was nice talkin’ to you too.
I sat there for a second, starin’ at my phone, feelin’ that same flutter sittin’ in my stomach.
I couldn’t even remember the last time a man had me like this, besides Kelli and that was some shit I ain’t even wanna think about.
But… for the first time in a long time, I found myself hopin’ that maybe… just maybe…
This could really be somethin’.