11. Keyshawn
It was like I’d seen a ghost. The woman standing on my front porch, in a pair of khaki pants and a purple and white button-down shirt, could not have been Bernice. It couldn’t have been the woman who broke my heart all those years ago. My sweet, smart Bernie was here in the flesh and not just a figment of my imagination.
I took in her appearance as she did the same to me. She was still short, but she’d filled out a bit more since the last time I’d felt her soft, brown skin. Her hair was black with her signature pink skunk strip. My girl loved a dash of color in her hair. Her lashes were long and wispy. Her lips were a dark pink with a glossy shine. Her eyes… Those beautiful brown orbs were filled with shock.
“Bernice?” Her name fell from my lips in a tone barely above a whisper. For a moment, we were frozen in place, both coming to terms with the unexpected reunion.
After a moment, she came out of her stupor and greeted me. “Good morning! My name is Bernice James, creator of BerJam, Security. We got an order for a deluxe security install throughout the entire property. This is a large order, so I brought on the help of two of my best technicians, Ralph Toretti and Toni Lively.”
“Very formal.” A soft laugh slid from my lips.
“The install should take no longer than five hours with the three of us working diligently. Before we begin the install, I need you to sign a few consent forms. Once you’ve signed them, we will do a walk-through of the property to explain camera placements. Then we will go over how to use the app.”
She kept it professional, and I could respect it. I wanted to ask her so many things, but the priority was making sure my home was secure.
“Thank you for coming out on such short notice,” I stated as I pushed open the door and allowed her access to my home.
“No problem. Like I stated before, you’re free to do as you please, because we will be working swiftly to set up the cameras. The only thing we require is someone in the home to verify camera placement.”
“It’s just me here, so I don’t plan on leaving y’all unattended in my home. My old security system was ass. I came home from a night out after defending my title and niggas thought it was a cool idea to break into my shit. They’re lucky all of my really valuable shit was locked in a safe. Had I caught them in the act, there’s no telling how bad I would’ve beat their asses.”
I overshared. It wasn’t on purpose, but speaking with Bern had been like old times. She made me feel relaxed and comfortable. I wanted to let her in. I wanted her to let me in.
“Good to know. Congratulations on your successful career,” she stated as she tapped on the screen of her tablet. She held the device out for me.
“These are the consent forms?” I asked.
She nodded. “Yes. There are four pages of consent forms. You are free to read them in detail, or I can paraphrase for you.”
“No need. I trust you. You wouldn’t be out here scamming me. That’s not the Bernice I know.” I signed my name on all the designated areas and held the device for her to take.
“No offense, but the Bernice you knew no longer exists. A lot has changed in the last eight years… Not to say I would scam you, but there’s new things about me.”
“Hopefully, one of these days, we can catch up. I would love to get to know the new you. The grown woman Bern.”
“You’re still the only person to ever call me that,” she stated with a chuckle.
“Good.” I smirked.
Her employees finally made their way into the home. The man’s eyes widened as the woman verbally gasped.
“Don’t crash out over this man,” Bern warned.
“I’m trying, but do you know who this is?” the woman asked with a squeal in her tone.
“Keyshawn, these are supposed to be my elite employees, Toni and Ralph.” Bern introduced me to the two techs wearing identical uniforms as her.
“Nice to meet y’all. I know y’all know who I am. It’s normal to act this way around someone famous. Bern doesn’t feel the same way because she knew me when I was barely a hundred pounds soaking wet.”
“Y’all go way back?” Toni aimed her question at her boss.
Bernice shrugged. “Something like that, but it doesn’t matter the specifics. What we need to do is walk through the property and figure out camera placements. The last thing I want to do is have to come back because we spent more time lollygagging than installing equipment.”
“Understood.” Ralph lifted his hands in surrender. “I will say it’s a pleasure meeting you, Krash. Me and my dad watch your matches every time. It’s always a fun time to guess what round you’re going to get your knockout.”
“Stories like that make me proud to be a household name.”
“We will break it down into three parts. Ralph will be on the left exterior; Toni will do the right exterior. I’ll begin inside the home, and we will move around as needed to help assist with the install.”
Seeing Bernice command her employees was attractive as hell. I watched her walk with confidence I’d never seen in her before. These years apart proved we’d both changed in many ways. Even though I wanted to continue to talk to her, she had to get to work. I needed my home secure, and the size of my property made it a long and strenuous task.
Once we took a tour of the home and picked optimal camera placement, I left them all free to do as they needed around the home. While they worked, I called up Gary and nem. I took the call in the main bedroom, away from listening ears.
“What’s up?” Gary asked when the call connected.
“Man, you won’t believe who pulled up on me today,” I said.
“Who?”
The others didn’t answer, but I didn’t feel like waiting on them.
“Bernice!”
“Nigga! You’re lying!” Gary gasped.
“No cap. Apparently, the company Camille ordered from is the company Bernice created while she was out of state. She’s back home and opened headquarters in Houston.”
“What are you going to do?” Gary asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, the only reason y’all broke up was because y’all didn’t want to do the long-distance thing. Now you’re both grown… Are you going to shoot your shot?”
“I don’t even know if she’s single. Man, she looks so fucking good now. She got her grown woman body and… whew.”
“Man, calm down.” Gary cackled.
“I’m calm.”
“I’m assuming she’s still in the house.”
I nodded. “Yeah. She’s downstairs right now.”
“My advice is to offer her a drink and some lunch. Ask her if she’s dating anyone. If not, tell her you want to see what spinning the block is like.”
I laughed. “You make it sound easy, but if we’re being honest… I’m terrified.”
“What! The Krash Williams is afraid of rejection from a woman? Mr. Keep A Bitch is afraid of talking to a woman?”
“You’re a fool. This is different. She’s not just any bitch on the streets. She’s the one that got away. She’s my first love. I can’t imagine what rejection from her would feel like after eight years.”
“It might hurt for a while, but you’ll finally get the closure you need. She’s been on your mind for damn near a decade. If you ask her out and she says no, then you can finally look for someone new to settle down with.”
“I hear what you’re saying, man. I’ll keep you updated on what happens. I’m about to go down and ask what they want for lunch. They’ve been working for almost two hours. I’m sure they’re all thirsty and hungry as hell.”
“Definitely keep me posted.”
We hung up. As I stood up, I slid my phone into the front pocket of my shorts and made my way down the spiral staircase to the main floor of the mansion. I walked into the showroom style garage. I had over fifteen different vehicles in the space. Bern sat cross legged near the main panel of the room.
“Hey,” I called out as I closed the distance between us.
“What’s up?” She continued to connect wires.
“Y’all have been working for a few hours. I wanted to know if you and your people would like me to get y’all some food and refreshments.”
“I’m not one to deny free food. What did you have in mind?” she asked.
My tongue slid across my bottom lip. “I can get whatever y’all wanna eat. Let me know what y’all want. I have bottled water and sports drinks for the time being.”
“I’ll call them to meet you in the kitchen.”
I nodded. “Do you need help getting up?”
She laughed. “No. I can stand up on my own, Keyshawn.”
“You know most people have forgotten my first name is Keyshawn. I’m Krash to everyone, including my closest friends. It’s kind of refreshing to hear Keyshawn.”
“You’ve always been Keyshawn to me. Time hasn’t changed that one thing.”
“Good.”
I waited until she was on her feet before I led her through the garage to the kitchen. As she occupied a seat at the bar, she called her employees to come over. I opened the refrigerator to grab four bottles of water. I set three on the counter and opened the fourth.
Bernice made me nervous. My breathing quickened, my body heated, and my heart raced. Her effect on me could be studied for centuries. As I occupied my time with gulping down the water, my mind replayed our last encounter together.
The last time I’d physically seen Bern, our love juices mixed inside of her. Bern had been the best I’d ever had. In fact, I’d spent all these years trying to find someone, even a fraction of the pleasure I got from her. She was irreplaceable. One of one.
“What’s up, boss?” Ralph spoke as he and Toni met us in the kitchen.
“Mr. Williams offered to pay for our lunch. What do y’all want?” she asked.
“I’m not picky. I can find something I like on any menu,” Toni answered.
“Same here.” Ralph agreed.
“I can get some BBQ. My personal chef can be here within the hour,” I offered.
“We don’t want a heavy meal because we want to be able to continue to work at a quick pace. The last thing we need is to stuff our stomach and catch the itis. Then we’ll end up curling up on that nice couch in the living room.” Bernice shook her head.
My laughter was louder than I intended. “I get what you’re saying. I can order Chinese. Chicken fried rice with some vegetable spring rolls?”
“That’s perfect.” Bernice nodded her confirmation.
“I’ll place the order and go pick it up. Since the cameras aren’t finished, I don’t want any delivery drivers finding out where I live today.” I grabbed my keys.
“We won’t touch anything while you’re gone,” Bernice explained.
“I know.” I winked at her.
It took about forty-five minutes for me to get the food and return. I pulled out plastic bowls and allowed everyone to help themselves to the food. Toni and Ralph went back outside to continue installing their cameras. Bernice opted to eating at the counter.
I took this as my opportunity to speak to her privately.
“Hey, Bern.”
“Hmm?” She glanced up at me before she returned to the crispy and seasoned vegetable roll in her hand.
“I’ve been on the fence about asking you how you’ve been since you stepped into my home. How have the last eight years been for you?” I asked.
She wiped her fingers on a napkin and then wiped her mouth. “It’s been a rollercoaster. I don’t regret putting my career first. I was able to graduate from the tech school with a 4.0 GPA. My degree got my name in rooms I didn’t even know existed. Because of that, I was able to get a grant to help fund the startup of my company… It was the best thing I could have ever done for myself.”
“I’m happy to hear that.”
“What about you? How has life been?” she asked.
I shrugged. “It’s been something. I never would have imagined life would be so crazy. Life as a celebrity isn’t for the weak.”
“I can’t imagine. I know you have all types of eyes on your everyday life. I’ve seen you in a couple headlines.”
I smirked. “You’ve been keeping tabs on ya boy?”
“No. You’ve been in a couple of scandals, though. Those trending topics are usually saturating social media—especially someone with your credentials. The girls love a good drama.”
I scoffed. “This shit not entertaining to me. I hate when women think they can lie on me.”
“Well, stop giving so many people access to you.”
“You’re right.”
Our conversation fell into an awkward silence. She finished her meal and washed it down with her bottle of water. “We don’t have much left to do. I can estimate maybe another two or three hours in your space before we hand over the reins to you.”
“Okay. Thank you so much.”
“No problem.”
She stood from the seat and gathered her trash.
“You don’t have to clean up. I got it.” I grabbed the bowl out of her hand.
“Thank you,” she replied. She glanced up at me with those sparkling brown eyes.
I knew my words might betray me, so I opted to give a nod of my head before I threw the trash into the bin. I washed my hands and watched her walk away.
Her ass had gotten thicker over the years. The once lower-case C shape had become a round, bubble shape. She even had a cup under her cheeks. Her hips had spread, and her breasts had gotten thicker too. I wanted to taste her honey and see how mature her sweetness had become. We were only two years apart, but those two years made a big difference when I was legal to drink and she was still a teenager.The sight of the sway of her hips had me adjusting my dick in my shorts. I wanted her bad . I wanted one last chance to make things right.