Chapter 8
Present Day
“Idon’t come home often, and my friends want to chill with me before I leave,” I told Shyla.
It was late Sunday morning, the day after Lynx buried his father, and Shyla wanted him to take her on a tour of the city. She’d never been to Chicago and was looking forward to doing some sightseeing before her flight later that night.
“I’m leaving tonight, and you’ll be here until Friday. Can’t you chill with them after I leave?”
“I can and probably will, but we planned to chill today before I knew you would be here.”
“They were here until after midnight last night, and I could barely fall asleep because it was so loud. What more do you have to talk about?”
“Only Adam and Joaquin were here, but I’m not going back and forth with you about what I want to do with my day. You can chill with us, or I’ll pay for an Uber to take you around the city.”
“Ugh, fine.”
She stomped away without telling him what she’d decided. He didn’t particularly care because what she did with her time didn’t affect him. The next time he saw her, she was dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt, and he could tell she had an attitude by her demeanor.
“Lose the attitude, or you can head to the airport early. It’s been a trying couple of weeks, and all I want is good vibes.”
“Is Fateema coming?”
Lynx frowned because he thought it was strange of her to specifically ask about Fateema.
“Why does it matter?”
“Are you sure the two of you are just friends?”
“We’re more than friends. She’s my best friend and soulmate, so watch what you say about her.”
“I knew y’all were fucking. Is that why you made me stay in the guest room?”
“I made you stay in the guest room because you’re a guest.”
“I’m also your—”
“Friend. Nothing more, nothing less. Just because we fuck on occasion don’t make you my woman.”
“I thought me coming here to support you might change that.”
“You thought wrong. What did I tell you when we met?”
She huffed and folded her arms across her chest. “That you weren’t looking for anything serious, but—”
“Ain’t no buts, Shyla. I like you, and I enjoy hanging out with you, but I’m cool on anything beyond that.
The only reason you know about my father’s death is because I was with you when I got the call.
I appreciated your concern when you reached out to make sure I was okay, and I felt vulnerable enough to share with you that he’d passed away.
I appreciate it, but I didn’t want or expect you to hop on a flight.
Let’s not make this more than what it is. ”
“You’re such an asshole sometimes.”
“Nah, but I’m always honest. Are you gon’ check that attitude, or are you leaving?”
Shyla wanted to tell him she’d leave, just to see if he’d really let her walk out. However, Lynx had proven to be a man of his word, and she was already on a slippery slope with him. She opted not to take any chances. Besides, she wanted to keep an eye on Lynx and Fateema’s interactions.
“I’m good. I’ll stay.”
Fateema was the last of the crew to arrive, and Lynx was surprised to see Cornell with her. He didn’t necessarily mind Cornell being there because it wouldn’t change how he moved where Fateema was concerned.
“I didn’t know your little boyfriend was coming,” Lynx said, teasing Fateema when he caught her in the hallway coming from the bathroom.
“I didn’t either, but he invited himself when I told him what I was doing today. I figured it would be cool since your little girlfriend is here.”
“It’s cool. Come upstairs with me for a minute.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Bunny, I’ve been respecting your boundaries. Come upstairs real quick.”
“No, Lynx. We both have someone here, and I’m not about to disrespect Cornell like that.”
“You weren’t worried about disrespecting him when I showed up at your door.”
“Don’t do that. You know that was different. Under any other circumstance, that wouldn’t have happened.”
“Is he your man?”
“Why do you keep asking that? I already told you he wasn’t.”
“Just making sure ain’t shit changed since the last time I asked.”
He grabbed the back of her neck and pressed his lips against hers. She didn’t bother pushing him away because kissing him was one of her favorite things.
“What are y’all doing?” Octavia whisper-yelled frantically. “Did y’all forget you have guests? And I’m not talking about me, Meaghan, Adam, Joaquin, and Ryan.”
Fateema was startled by Octavia’s voice and pushed away from Lynx. However, he found the situation humorous.
“I asked her to come upstairs with me so we could have some privacy. She refused, so I had to get what I wanted right here.”
“Look, either you gon’ stop playing games and be together, or you gon’ respect those two googly-eyed fools in that other room. What if it had been one of them coming around the corner? Y’all trying to start a ruckus, and what we not doing is fighting in Mr. Keno’s house.”
“Tell him to leave me alone,” Fateema said.
“Girl, you know this nigga will never leave you alone, and you don’t want him to. That’s why y’all—”
“Hey, I was wondering where you went. Do you want me to make you a plate?” Shyla asked as she gave Lynx the death stare.
“Nah, I’m good,” Lynx responded.
“Oh, Fatima—”
“It’s Fateema, with two e’s.”
“My bad. Cornell’s waiting for you, but he didn’t want to be rude and wander around a stranger’s house,” Shyla continued.
“You could learn a thing or two from him,” Fateema said, brushing Shyla’s shoulder as she exited the hallway.
A few minutes later, everyone, including Octavia’s boyfriend, Ryan, was in the family room.
Besides the funeral, it was the first time the six of them were all together since Lynx had been home.
He’d ordered pizzas, breadsticks, wings, mozzarella sticks, and fries for them to graze on throughout the day while catching up.
“What are you planning to do with the house?” Adam asked Lynx.
“I haven’t decided yet.”
“Why don’t you keep it so you’ll have somewhere to stay when you come home?” Joaquin suggested.
“I don’t come home often, and when I do, I usually crash with Bunny.”
“Fateema only has one bedroom. Coming here has got to be better than sleeping on her couch,” Cornell said.
Lynx may have taken a few naps on Fateema’s couch, but when it was time for bed, he and Fateema were in her bed, wrapped in each other’s arms. If Cornell were more observant, he would’ve noticed the looks that were exchanged between the six friends.
He was oblivious, but Shyla noticed and knew exactly what they meant.
“Where did the nickname Bunny come from?” Ryan asked, not realizing how he’d saved Cornell from getting his feelings hurt. “I notice you’re the only one who calls her that.”
“Actually, her father called her Bunny first.”
“Is that who you picked it up from?” Ryan continued.
“No, but when we met, I thought she looked like a bunny rabbit, and the rest is history.”
“I’ve always thought pet names were kind of childish,” Shyla commented.
“Are you serious?” Octavia questioned, and Shyla nodded. “Tuh, if Ryan calls me by my first name, I’ll assume we broke up, right, baby?”
“Yeah. She gets all in her feelings when all I’m doing is calling her by the name her parents gave her,” Ryan teased.
“Octavia doesn’t even sound right coming out of your mouth anymore, and I don’t like it,” she told him.
Everyone laughed except for Shyla. “But Lynx isn’t her boyfriend. Cornell, you don’t mind another man calling your girlfriend by a pet name?”
“First of all, mind your business,” Fateema interjected. “Secondly, it’s a nickname, not a pet name. Thirdly, what’s childish is flying halfway across the country uninvited under the premise of support, thinking you’ll be bumped up to—”
“Bunny, chill,” Lynx urged before addressing Shyla, reminding her of his warning. “I gave you two options.”
“To answer your question, Shyla, no, it doesn’t bother me because Fateema and Lynx are like siblings and have known each other since they were children.”
Fateema and Lynx may have started off like siblings, but it had been years since their relationship crossed that line.
“You forgot to mention that I’m not your girlfriend,” Fateema added.
“Not technically.”
“Not generally either. We’re just friends.”
“For now, but that might change sooner than you think.” He winked and kissed her temple, and Lynx had to stop himself from leaping across the room to move him away from Fateema. “So, how did you all become friends?” Cornell continued.
“Fateema and Lynx became besties in sixth grade and let us join their duo in eighth grade. We’ve all been cool since then,” Meaghan responded.
“Let you?” Shyla laughed sarcastically and rolled her eyes. “You make it sound like they were royalty or something.”
“Nah, it was nothing like that. We just didn’t fuck with a lot of people,” Lynx said.
“I don’t know how it was where you grew up, but middle school kids were mean as fuck around here. I didn’t have any friends until Lynx came along,” Fateema added.
“Were y’all nerds or something? It wasn’t bad for me because I was popular,” Shyla said.
“That’s surprising. Looking at you now, I wouldn’t think—”
“Bunny—”
“No, Lynx. Her mouth is too slick for me to keep letting her slide. Shyla, it’s been a long time since I’ve put my hands on another person in a violent matter.
Before you say something else sideways, I suggest you ask about me.
I may have been a nerd with no friends, but these hands always been lethal. Watch your fucking mouth.”
“Damn, baby. I’m learning all kinds of things about you. I didn’t know I had a fighter on my hands,” Cornell said, lightening the mood.
“They both were fighters,” Joaquin said.
“We were also co-valedictorians,” Lynx added.
“Exactly, and that’s where people had y’all fucked up,” Adam said. “Everybody knew y’all were smart as fuck and thought having brains equaled being soft.”
“They couldn’t have been more wrong because these two didn’t hesitate to let them fists fly,” Meaghan said.
“This is so surprising,” Cornell said. “You don’t look like you’d hurt a fly, Fateema.”
“Only if I’m tested,” she responded with her eyes on Shyla.
“You don’t strike me as the violent type, Lynx,” Shyla said, not noticing the glare coming from Fateema.
“In the words of the late, great Tupac Shakur, I ain’t a killa, but don’t push me.”
“Okay, I need some examples because this is hard to believe,” Cornell said.
“Oh, we have a few,” Fateema remarked.