Chapter 22 Echo Lennox
The Lennox Residence
One week later…
A whole damn week went by and Kay’Lo still hadn’t hit me up, and the shit did not make sense in my world because niggas did not ignore Echo Lennox, not ever.
I was the one who ignored niggas. I was the one who decided when shit started and when shit ended, so the idea of a man hittin’ then disappearing like I was forgettable felt backwards as hell.
It had me in my feelings in a way I wasn’t used to, and I hated even admitting that to myself.
I kept telling myself he had to be busy or dealing with some real-life shit, because realistically the only explanation for him not calling me was that he had something serious.
And yeah, he was married, but married niggas do a lot of wild shit and still double back when the woman actually mattered to them.
I had been telling myself all week that whatever he had going on with his wife must’ve been deeper than I expected, because there was no other reason a nigga like him would pass up a woman like me.
The more I thought about it, the more it irritated me because the shit wasn’t adding up.
I wasn’t confused about who I was. I wasn’t confused about what I brought to a nigga’s life.
I wasn’t confused about the way Kay’Lo had sex with me either because that man touched me like he felt every inch of it, so it didn’t make sense that he hadn’t reached out.
It bruised something in my ego and annoyed the hell out of me because I wasn’t used to feeling like I wasn’t the exception.
I could feel that little sting of insecurity creeping up, not because I thought any woman looked better than me, but because I didn’t understand what could make him act like I didn’t even cross his mind.
And being real with myself, that’s the part that bothered me the most, knowing that maybe nothing I did shook him the way I thought it did.
And here I was, layin’ across my plush white comforter in my family’s luxury apartment complex, scrolling through Kay’Lo’s Instagram for the fifth time today like some damn beginner.
I refreshed his page again even though I already knew nothing new was there.
It was the same thirty-something pictures, the same videos of him customizing cars, lookin’ fine as fuck with those dark shades and that blunt hangin’ off his bottom lip.
It was the same thick hands smoothing vinyl wrap across a Maybach door like it was nothing.
It was the same deep voice talkin’ low in the background of his reels while rich niggas dapped him up in the shop.
He looked good in every video, and the shit was sickening.
And it irritated me that he hadn’t thought to call me.
I went to Toni’s page again even though I kept telling myself I wasn’t gon’ do it no more.
She had maybe eight or nine pictures up and none of them were recent.
But I noticed that she posted in her stories more.
Her page was clean and boring, the type of page you scroll three times and realize you ain’t seen shit worth remembering.
I clicked on one where she was smiling next to him in some exotic-ass location.
He was behind her with his hand around her waist, looking at her like she invented oxygen.
I pinched my lips together and watched the picture like it was lying to me.
“What do he even see in her?” I mumbled as I zoomed in.
She wasn’t ugly ugly, but she damn sure wasn’t me. She had that dark skin that photographers loved and those big eyes, but her wigs were hit or miss and she had that regular girl vibe.
I wasn’t that type. I was the type niggas lost sleep over, the type niggas argued with the barber because they needed a haircut at ten at night just to come see me. I was the type niggas brought plane tickets for after a week.
Kay’Lo had sex with me like a man who wanted more, so how the hell was he this quiet?
I clicked back to his page, but there was still nothing. Then I clicked back to hers, but there was nothing.
I tossed my phone beside me and sat up slow, letting my hair fall over my shoulders.
I caught my reflection in the floor-length mirror across the room and for a second I just stared at myself.
My skin looked smooth and golden in the soft lamp light.
My lips were still plush and slightly swollen from biting them earlier.
My body looked like I oiled it for a photo shoot, so a nigga like Kay’Lo should’ve been losing his mind over me.
A sharp, stubborn little voice whispered, girl, please. Ain’t no way he forgot what you gave him.
I exhaled and pushed up from the mattress. I needed to get out this damn apartment before I spiraled again.
Dream had been texting me for the past hour talking about we going out tonight. I slid into my closet and let myself pick an outfit that matched how I wanted to feel instead of how I actually felt.
I reached for the short black mini dress with the open back and the subtle shimmer that made my skin glow like I was lit from inside. The fabric hugged my hips like it already knew the shape.
After showering, I stepped into it and pulled it up slow, adjusting it so it laid just right across my ass. Then I grabbed my thin gold waist chain and clipped it gently, letting it rest against my flat stomach.
I sat at my vanity and did my makeup with a heavy hand because I needed to feel like me.
Of course, I had the glossy lips, dramatic lashes, smooth bronzed cheekbones and glittered body oil across my collarbone so the light caught me every time I moved.
Soft curls fell down my back with my baby hairs laid just the way I liked.
When I stood up again, I stared at my full reflection and felt a little better. I looked like a woman niggas should weep over.
I clicked my tongue in annoyance and refused to let that thought sit too long.
I grabbed my phone, opened Instagram again, and hovered over his DMs. My thumb was right there, ready to type some cute little “hey stranger” message, but my pride screamed no.
He was supposed to hit me up, to want more and to remember that I left that penthouse dripping and shaking.
I locked my phone and tossed it onto the bed before I betrayed myself.
“I’m that bitch,” I told my reflection. “If he don’t call, that’s his loss.”
I forced myself to smile, grabbed my keys, sprayed my favorite perfume across my neck and wrists, and headed for the door.
Tonight I was gon’ try to take my mind off him.
At the same time, I wanted Kay’Lo Mensah to want me, and the fact that he hadn’t called yet was driving me insane.
DRAHMA TOWN
After the valet grabbed my car, I strutted through the parking lot of the club with Dream and Mia, letting the night air move around my legs while we walked like we owned the whole block.
Every nigga in the lot watched us walk in, and I didn’t even have to look their way to know it.
I could feel it on my skin. I could feel it in the way conversations stopped and eyes followed the sway of my hips.
Dream whispered something slick about the way they were staring and Mia laughed behind her hand, but I kept walking because attention wasn’t new to me.
It wasn’t special or something I had to work for.
What was new was the fact that I even cared enough to be here, in the same club Kay’Lo celebrated his birthday in last week, pretending this was just a regular night out.
But I wasn’t fooling myself. I knew why I brought my ass here.
I was hoping the universe would throw him at me again, and that he’d pop up from behind a section and remind me why I still couldn’t get him out my damn head.
The music hit the moment we stepped inside, vibrating through the floor and rising through my heels.
The lights washed over us in pinks and blues, and the whole place smelled like liquor, cologne and money.
A nigga brushed past me just so he could tell me I looked too good to be walking around without somebody holding my hand, and I smiled in his face like he had a chance.
He asked me what I was drinkin’ and before I even answered he snapped at a waitress and told her whatever I wanted was on him.
“Thank you,” I said, touching his arm lightly because men like him didn’t need much to feel chosen. He grinned wide and damn near melted.
Dream and Mia were already laughing because they knew exactly what I was doing.
I wasn’t here for nobody’s son. I was here because my ego was bruised and my pride needed attention.
These niggas were fillers. They were background noise.
They were the kind of niggas who looked at me like I was a fantasy, and usually that was enough to entertain me, but tonight it was just a distraction from the fact that Kay’Lo still hadn’t hit my line.
We made our way to the section, the same one he had been in last week, and the bottle girls flocked to us like they always did because they knew we tipped and we looked good.
The table was stocked with liquor before we even sat down and niggas gathered around trying to get close, throwing compliments, asking names and offering shots.
I smiled, laughed, smirked and teased. I leaned in close when a nigga said something funny and let him think I cared. I let him think he had my attention even though he didn’t have a piece of it.
A different nigga reached for Dream’s hand and she pulled away playfully, telling him he had to buy another round first. Mia was already bent over laughing at some corny joke a dude told her, and I let myself lean back on the couch, letting the lights flicker over my body while the music pumped through my chest.
I danced in the section with my girls, letting my hips move, letting the liquor warm me and letting my hair fall down my shoulders while the DJ switched into one of my favorite songs.
We all screamed the lyrics together with our hands in the air, and even though niggas were watching, I didn’t need their eyes to feel lit.
I was already lit and I was already that girl.
And if Kay’Lo walked in right now and saw me that nigga would remember exactly why he shouldn’t have gone ghost on me.
He’d remember what it felt like to have me riding him, shaking on his dick and calling his name while I came on his dick.
I didn’t let my mind sit on that too long though because I didn’t want my energy dropping.
I poured myself another drink, pressed my lips around the straw, and let the alcohol settle in my chest while Dream pulled me closer so we could take a video together.
We posed, laughed, and threw our tongues out, and then she snapped another one of us dancing for her story.
The night moved fast like that. It was laughter, liquor, music, compliments, shots, and more niggas trying to squeeze themselves into our space.
I played along because it was fun and because it fed the part of me that needed to feel wanted, but deep down something was still tugging at me, reminding me that nobody in this room was who I wanted.
When the club lights flickered bright signaling last call, a few niggas tried their luck again by asking for my number.
I smiled and told them I didn’t give my number out when I was drunk, even though that was a damn lie.
I just wasn’t giving my number to niggas I’d forget about as soon as I walked out the door.
The valet pulled my car around once we stepped outside. The line of cars honked and rolled out slowly, and the night air cooled the sweat on my chest while I dug in my purse for my keys. Mia hugged me, Dream told me she’d text when she made it home, and we all split off in different directions.
By the time I got home, the silence felt like it was waiting for me.
I tossed my purse on the couch and headed straight for my bedroom because the club glow was wearing off, leaving only the truth settling under my skin.
I crawled across my bed and sank into the pillows, letting my legs stretch while I reached for my phone. My heart beat a little faster and it irritated me because no nigga had ever had me like this.
I opened Instagram, and his page came up instantly because I had searched it too many times this week.
He wasn’t active. He hadn’t posted anything.
He hadn’t done a damn thing except let me wonder if he even remembered my ass.
I let out a slow breath, pulled up his messages, and stared at the empty thread.
He wasn’t gonna ignore me forever.
My thumbs hovered over the screen for a second, then I typed the message slow, letting my confidence guide me because Echo Lennox didn’t chase niggas, she just reminded them what they were missing.
You forgot about me already?
I read it twice, then hit send before I could think too hard about it.
A piece of my pride felt like it tightened, but I ignored it.
Now that I had stepped back into his presence, there was no way he was gonna pretend he didn’t feel that shit.
He was gon’ answer me. Maybe not tonight or not in the next hour, but he was gon’ answer.
Kay’Lo wasn’t done with me, and now that I made the first move, he wasn’t gonna be able to stay quiet for long.