Chapter 10
MYA
When I drove through Devers, I knew I wasn’t far from Nome. It had been almost another week. Christian and I had talked, but not nearly as much as we had before he showed up in Houston last week. My Amazon check had hit my checking account yesterday afternoon, and I went down to the leasing office this morning to pay my rent, only to find out it was already paid. I immediately called my dad, and he swore it wasn’t him. We both knew that Christian was the culprit at that point.
I had his twelve hundred dollars in my purse. I wasn’t trying to be anyone’s charity case, nor did I want a nigga to be able to hold anything over my head. It was bad enough he’d towed my car to Houston. I had an extra two hundred dollars for him for that. He would probably turn it down. That was why I bought a card to put it in. If I had to leave it with his mama, I would.
I hadn’t talked to him since yesterday evening, and we only talked for a few minutes. I missed his ass something fierce, but I knew he was trying to pull away from me. I just didn’t understand why. I knew he was frustrated about me teasing him last week, but I didn’t think it was that serious. Our chemistry was through the roof. I wanted him to fuck me, but he wouldn’t give in completely.
My doctor had released my restrictions yesterday, and I was beyond excited. I just hoped he wasn’t too busy where he couldn’t spend any time with me. We didn’t really have time to talk about his schedule when we talked yesterday. I knew he had a call to go on this morning, but I wasn’t sure about the rest of his day. It was ten thirty, so I could just chill at the diner, hoping he came through for lunch.
I’d even gotten my hair and nails done early this morning. I wanted to look my best for him. Every time he’d seen me, I looked busted and disgusted. If he still thought I was beautiful after all he’d already seen, then he would be drooling if he saw me today. I even had on makeup and heels.
When I got to the diner, I pulled down the visor and freshened my lipstick, since I’d been drinking water on the drive over. I adjusted my tube top and flipped my straightened hair over my shoulder. Hopefully, I didn’t overdo it. Christian might not even recognize my ass. I got out of the car and headed to the entrance as another car drove up.
Business seemed kind of slow, but I knew that probably wouldn’t be the case in another hour. As soon as I walked in, a lady approached the counter and said, “Hello! Welcome to Jen and Chrissy’s Diner! I’m Chrissy. How can I help you?”
“Hello! Do you have a menu I can look at?”
“Absolutely. Check under Wednesday,” she said as she handed me a pamphlet. “Ring the bell when you’re ready.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She was extremely nice. Christian looked just like her, so I knew she had to be his mother. As I looked at the menu, the door opened, and some people came in. I moved over to the side, and when I did, I realized it was Christian’s uncles, the extremely tall one and Mister Jasper. They seemed to be arguing but in a playful way. The tall one was frowning, and when he saw me watching them, his frown only deepened. He was intimidating as hell.
I looked away, going back to the menu in my hand. “Mya?”
I looked up again to see Mister Jasper staring at me. “Yes, sir.”
“Damn, girl. You clean up good. I barely recognized you.”
“That’s her from the hospital?” the tall one asked him.
“Yeah. The same one that was here almost a couple of weeks ago. Christian was towing her car.”
“Damn. She look like a different person.”
They were talking about me like I wasn’t standing right here. The tall one looked back at me, and a smirk formed on his lips. I supposed that was better than the frown he adorned a few seconds ago. “What’s up? I’m Mayor Storm Henderson. You can call me Mister Mayor.”
Mr. Jasper rolled his eyes as I extended my hand. This nigga was with all the shits. I could see it now. “Nice to meet you, Mister Mayor.”
He smiled and nodded. I wanted to chuckle, but I knew I had better hold that shit in. I was on their turf. “Nice to officially meet you too, Mya.”
I smiled big. “And she has dimples. Christian did good,” Jasper said.
My smile faded somewhat. This was what I was afraid of. I should have known better coming here. This was what Christian was proposing the day we met, and I had turned him down. As if noticing my demeanor had shifted, Mister Mayor said, “Don’t worry. We know you ain’t his… yet.”
I frowned slightly as they laughed. Mister Jasper slid his arm around me and said, “Let me tell you something about the Henderson men, baby girl. If we want you, that’s it. You can try to fight the shit if you want to. We know how to treat women, and we do it well. That shit trickled down to my nephews. We ain’t perfect, but shit, we damn close. You better hop on this wave of love and devotion.”
My eyebrows lifted as they laughed again. I hadn’t even decided what I wanted to order from watching them clown around. Mrs. Chrissy came to the front and rolled her eyes. “Why are y’all asses here so early?”
“Hello to you too, Chrissy. We’ll have the Wednesday usual.”
She slowly shook her head as they kissed her on the cheek one after the other. She looked over at me and said, “I’m sorry, baby. Have you decided what you wanted to order?”
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll take the stuffed chicken, rice dressing, green beans, and yams.”
It was stuffed with mac and cheese today, and I was ready for that shit. It was so good last time. As I made my way to a vacant table, more people entered. They had to be family as well because they were extremely loud. When they noticed me, they quieted down some until the mayor said, “She here for Christian. Y’all ain’t gotta act like y’all have sense.”
My eyebrows lifted slightly as one of the women approached me. “Hi. I’m Christian’s cousin Nesha. That’s Jessica, with her loud ass, and that’s his brother, Jakari.”
I nodded politely. “I’m Mya.”
“Nice to meet you.”
She walked away as Mrs. Chrissy approached. “I’m sorry, baby. I forgot to ask if you were dining in and your name.”
Seeing how uncomfortable I was, I said, “No, ma’am. I need to get back. I just wanted to leave something for Christian. My name is Mya.”
Her eyebrows lifted. “Okay. Umm… I’ll get it from you once I’m done with your order.”
I nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
When she walked away, I pulled the envelope from my purse. I wanted to see him, but all these people were somewhat overwhelming. The fact that they knew all the business only made me more uncomfortable. When I said my name, I knew his mama knew exactly who I was as well. I could feel my face heating up. Standing from my seat, I made my way to the counter. I was sure it wouldn’t take her long to fix my order.
Another lady was at the counter, so I went to her to pay for my food. She smiled at me. “How can I help you?”
“I wanted to pay for my order.”
“Don’t worry about it, baby.”
I frowned slightly. I didn’t like this. While I knew they were probably just being nice, I didn’t know how to genuinely accept their kindness. I pulled two twenty-dollar bills from my purse. “I’ll pay for it.”
Her eyebrows lifted slightly. “Okay. It’s umm… twenty-two seventy-nine.”
I gave her the bills as Mrs. Chrissy came from the back with my order. After she handed it to me, I gave her the envelope. “You have a very kind son. Thank you.”
She nodded slightly, and I turned and got the hell out of there. When I did, I noticed more people walking toward the entrance. Jesus Christ. There were a lot of them. By the time I got to my car and had gotten in, Mister Jasper was at my door. I cranked the engine and said, “It was nice seeing you again.”
“Why you leaving? You didn’t come to see Christian?”
“No,” I lied. “I just came to thank him for his kindness and give him something to show him how much I appreciated what he did for me.”
He frowned. “You could have mailed that shit. You drove an hour to deliver a card and get something to eat? That’s bullshit.”
They surely didn’t bite their tongues around here. I gave him a slight smile and grabbed my door to close it. He took a step back so I could do so. I had to get out of here before Christian showed up. I was pretty sure someone had told him I was here. I felt like I was fucking hyperventilating. I quickly backed out of my spot and hit Highway 90 like a bat out of hell.
Before I could get two miles up the road, my phone was ringing, and I just knew it was Christian. When I checked the screen and saw Janson’s number, I rolled my eyes. There was no reason he and I needed to talk. As soon as the phone stopped ringing, I blocked his ass. However, that only made me think about Christian and how he’d talked to him over the phone last week. What was I doing?
I pulled my car over to the shoulder and took a deep breath, exhaling it slowly. Grabbing my phone from the console, I sent Christian a text message.
Hey. I came to Nome and left a card for you with your mother and got some food. I wanted to see you, but I started feeling overwhelmed around all the people. They were nice. It was just too much for me. I left, but I’m not far. I didn’t come all this way not to see you, but if you’re busy, we can just see each other another time. Let me know.
I hit send then brought my phone to my chest and closed my eyes for a moment. When my phone chimed, I pulled it from my chest and opened the message from Christian.
Don’t leave. Give me about ten minutes and I’ll call you. Go back and park at the liquor store. That’s Jasper’s spot. Nobody will bother you there.
I smiled slightly then safely pulled away from the shoulder and turned around to head back. I felt better already. Had I left without seeing him, I would have been miserable as hell. When I parked at the liquor store, I released a sigh of relief. The parking lot was on a side street, so it wasn’t as visible as the lot at the diner. No one would know I was here unless they were coming to the liquor store.
I played a game on my phone until I saw Christian pull up next to me. I lowered my window, and he smiled.
“Damn. Who you all made up for?”
My cheeks heated up. “Well, I figured since you’ve seen me at my worst, you deserved to see me at my best.”
“Well, damn. You look beautiful. Follow me.”
“Thank you. Okay.”
I put my window up and backed up to follow behind him. I thought he would go back to the highway, but he took me through the neighborhood behind the liquor store. We entered another neighborhood that was somewhat gated. There was a sign that read Henderson Village near the gate. I said it was somewhat of a gated community because there was a gate, but it wasn’t being utilized.
He pulled into the driveway of a two-story brick home, with a wraparound porch and three-car garage. It was gorgeous. I pulled in next to him, and he lifted the garage door and gestured for me to pull inside. There was an Escalade and a Mercedes in here. I was somewhat shocked because all I’d ever seen was the truck he was driving. When I got out of my car, he was standing at the door, waiting for me.
I smiled big as he scanned me from head to toe. When I got close, he said, “Damn, Mya.”
“Hey, Christian. I hope I didn’t cause you to alter your plans.”
“Naw, other than me going to the diner to get something to eat. I know my family can be a little overwhelming, especially if you aren’t used to being around a bunch of nosy ass niggas who don’t care whether they know you or not.”
He grabbed my container of food from me and leaned over and kissed my forehead. “Come on.”
I followed him to his back door, admiring his beautiful backyard. There was a pool and a nice patio area with furniture, a firepit, and a kitchen-like area. It was extremely nice. “Christian, this is beautiful.”
“Thank you. I just had the patio and shit done last month. I hadn’t even had the first gathering here yet. My cousins are ready to break it in. It’s a lot of us, but we all travel in crews.”
I giggled. “So, who’s in your crew?”
“My younger brother and my cousins, Jacob and Kendrall. Sometimes, Karima hangs with us when she isn’t rodeoing. That’s KJ’s sister.”
“KJ?”
“Sorry. KJ and Kendrall are the same person. He goes by both names. He’s Kendrall Junior, but we call his dad Kenny. Since Rylan married Angel, my younger girl cousins hang around us quite a bit. They are around your age. The twins are at Baylor College of Medicine. They are twenty-two, I think. Angel is twenty-three, almost twenty-four. The other two are twenty-one, and Milana is the youngest. She’s twenty.”
I smiled slightly as he opened the door. His family was huge, and I knew I hadn’t scratched the surface on who they all were yet. When we walked inside, I practically stopped breathing. His house was so beautiful. The fireplace was huge, and so was the mantle around it. His color schemes seemed to be shades of brown, beige, and shades of blue.
“So, I’m gonna go get something to eat from the diner. Make yourself at home. I’m still somewhat shocked to see you.”
I smiled slightly. “I feel like you’re trying to pull away from me. I guess you don’t want to be my friend anymore. I had to come to town for you to tell me what’s up.”
He nodded. “We’ll talk when I get back and take a shower.”
“Okay.”
He walked out of the back door, and I couldn’t help but wonder just what we had to talk about. I sat on his couch and stared at the pictures on the mantle. Whatever he wanted to talk about, I hoped it didn’t result in him eventually sending me home.