Crescent
I picked my phone up, checked a couple of emails, and scanned through my schedule.
I didn’t have much on it. Just needed to finalize a couple of contracts and talk to the team before I dipped.
That was easy. I just needed a cup of coffee to get me through.
Last night, I stayed up later than I should have.
I knew I needed to sleep but after leaving both Moms’ and Nova’s gravesites, I stayed up late as hell on the phone like I didn’t have to be up at five.
In the moment, I was good with it but now, I was paying for it.
With a deep breath, I sent a good morning text, slid into my house shoes and stood up, stretching.
When I walked into the bathroom, I stopped at the mirror and brushed my hand over my cheek, admiring my fresh line up.
Shit was crispy. I got myself together yesterday too.
Hit the barbershop and when I got back to the crib, I packed so I would be ready to go.
I guess you could say I was like a kid on the night before the first day of school.
Today though, I would be like one in a candy store.
I was excited as hell about my trip. I couldn’t remember the last time I took off of work to actually enjoy myself.
That was all I did for real. Worked. The trip was much needed.
After my shower, I dried off and headed into the room to get dressed. As I was sliding my white t-shirt over my head, my phone went off. Walking over to the nightstand, I picked it up. Lu.
“What up doe, sis?” I answered.
“Hey. What time are you leaving?”
“Gotta be at the airport at ten,” I paused and looked at the phone. “Why wassup?”
“I wanted to catch you before you left.” She hesitated. “I got a lunch date.”
Luna was doing alright. After moms passed it was a little rocky. Shit, it was rocky for all of us. But as expected, she took it the hardest. Had even vowed not to start a family since moms wasn’t here and wouldn’t be around to witness it.
With raised brows, I stood at the mirror, steady getting ready. “Straight? With who?”
“Mmhmm,” she hummed. “A friend.”
I adjusted my shirt. “You goin’ out with a nigga?”
I couldn’t remember the last time Luna mentioned a guy to me.
Had to be years ago. She’d never been in a serious relationship which was crazy as hell considering my sister was beautiful and had her head screwed on right.
She might’ve been a little high maintenance, pushy, crazy bratty, and annoying at times but she was a good woman.
It didn’t make any sense to me how she’d been single for so long.
Any time I would mention dating to her she’d say, ‘the dating pool has piss and shit in it’, and we’d leave it at that.
I knew she had to be lonely though. Women needed intimacy.
Men too, but definitely not on the same level as women.
She sighed. “Yeah. Remember the guy I told you about at the vet?”
“White dude?”
“Yes, white dude.”
“Ain’t goin out with a nigga then,” I said with a snort.
That wasn’t surprising. Luna and a white man made sense.
“Whatever. Anyway, I’m going out with him. Only as friends though.”
I wanted to tell her that despite moms being gone she would want her to continue on with her life in a healthy way. Shutting men out because she didn’t want to start a family because she thought it was ‘too late’ wasn’t really fair to herself.
The both of us went quiet for a second. She didn’t call to tell me about her date for nothing. She was clearly nervous. So, instead of mentioning the family thing to her, I just gave her some encouraging words.
“Have fun sis, aight? Don’t overthink it. Just let it flow. You’re going to have a good time.”
“You think so?” she paused. “He’s white.”
“You knew he was white before you accepted the date,” I pointed out.
“Haven’t had the best of luck with black men.”
“Don’t look at it as a color thing,” I told her. “Men are men. Don’t go into it with dawg thinking shit gon’ be sweet just because he’s white. Like I said, don’t overthink it. Just have fun. Judge a muthafucka by their merits—not the color of their skin.”
“I’m not—”
“I’m not sayin you are. Same shit a black man can do, a white man can too. Remember that. If anything, you should expect more from dawg because he’s white and he got a debt to pay,” I joked.
She laughed. “You stupid. But… you’re right. I’m just gone chill.”
“Best thing to do, low key.” Grabbing my joggers from the bed, I slid them on. “Pops up yet?”
She stayed the night with pops last night.
We switched off regularly. The other night, I stayed with him and after that, Orion.
We had to. Not because he asked us to but because we felt like he needed us to.
Pops wasn’t used to being alone, so we didn’t leave him to be for more than a couple of days.
He was alright. All things considered. Doing a lot better than he was last year, when moms first passed away.
Sometimes we still had to remind him to eat and take care of himself though.
“No, he’s sleep. I’m going to make him some breakfast and head home to get ready for my little date.”
“Aight, bet. I’ll check on him when I land, too.”
“Don’t. I just want you to enjoy yourself.”
After finalizing a couple of contracts and holding the meeting, I was in my office, getting ready to slide out before there was a knock on the door. Looking up from the stack of papers I was shuffling, I chucked my chin and told Judah and them to come in.
“‘Bout to skate, cuz?” Asked Rahmir, sitting in the chair at my desk.
“Hell yeah,” I paused and looked down at my phone. “Got about thirty minutes before I need to be at the airport. What y’all niggas want? I already said what needed to be said.”
Orion sat in the other chair and grinned up at me. “You ain’t say enough nigga. Fuck you got going on?”
Since losing moms, Orion had been decent.
If anything, moms passing made him throw himself into work more.
Reminded me of myself when Nova passed away.
He was picking up extra hours, securing more contracts than ever.
Last month he was even able to step up in place of me, at a meeting.
He’d been doing phenomenal work. So much so that I was leaving him in charge instead of Judah sang during my vacation.
I shook my head with a laugh. “Fuck you mean? You know I’m going on a vacation, nigga.”
Judah crossed his arms over his chest, half way smirking. “With who? You a lil’ too chipper to be going by yourself.”
“We already hip anyway,” Titan said shaking his head.
“Hip about what?”
“We’ve severed ties with Coutoooour. The work they did was immaculate, but I’ve decided to permanently partner with Elevated Designs,” Judah mocked, reciting the words I used in a meeting damn near a year ago.
“Even though Elevated Designs trash in comparison.” He smirked.
“You locked shorty down, didn’t you? The day of the party for The House of Nova Ray. ”
I was, as always, private as I’ve always been.
Not because I was ashamed, or because I had something to hide.
I just wasn’t the type of nigga to sit up and converse about my personal life with niggas.
I wasn’t just private when it came to the romantic side of things—I was private, period.
I fucked with them niggas. I mean… I fucked with them heavy but there wasn’t much either of them could tell you about me.
I mean, aside from O and Rah. They knew what they knew because they were family, but I even kept them at arm’s length.
Instead of lying, or telling them to mind their business, I smirked, running my tongue over my bottom lip.
“Hell yeah,” I admitted.
“I knew it,” Rah said. “Wait ‘til I tell cuz. We bet on it that night, after you ran out the venue.”
I drew back with a frown. “Sis already hip, bitch. She just don’t run her mouth like you.”
I ended up having to tell Luna’s ass. When it came to me and Reign she was relentless, trying to get us back together and shit.
I needed her to know I was super cool off girl.
We were cordial. I could sit in a room with her without any hate in my heart and that’s the furthest we would go.
Last month we did have a balloon release together in honor of Nova’s birthday though.
When I told Luna I was dating Mahogany she was happy. She wasn’t on my head about Reign because she just wanted me to be with her. She was on my head because she wanted me to be with someone, period.
Orion’s eyebrows shot up. “Straight?”
“Yeah, straight.”
“I knew it was coming,” said Judah, wearing a grin. “I’m happy for you bro. Genuinely.”
“You talkin like I’m about to get married or some shit,” I said with a laugh as I closed my briefcase. “We takin’ it easy.”
We were. Mahogany and I were dating. Dating and fucking like crazy.
We didn’t have a title and that was because she wanted it that way.
She wasn’t in a rush to make things official.
She wasn’t fucking with anybody else, and neither was I.
I cut Daija off the minute Mahogany accepted our first date.
Straight up blocked shorty. There was no need for an explanation or a conversation.
Although I was cool with me and Mahogany’s little arrangement, my patience was running thin and I was ready to really lock it down.
I had to.
I needed to.
Getting to this point with Mahogany was a challenge, for real.
Not just because she had issues but because I had them as well.
It took a minute for me to even be comfortable and believe that what we had was solid.
It was the constant back and forth from before that kept me on edge about it.
But as time went on, we saw more of each other and I never got that ‘I’ve been thinking’ text, I got more comfortable.
Comfortable and hungry for more. There was nothing odd or out of place about that though.
When it came to her, I always wanted more.
From the start I was addicted to her energy, always wanting her around, feigning for her.
Having her the way that I had her, only made shit worse. In a good way though.
“At least you takin it somewhere. Feel me? It’s been a minute,” he pointed out.
We locked eyes and I nodded.
Orion stretched. “All of us knew. Soon as we had that first meeting and you was talkin about not wanting niggas to work with her, we knew it was only a matter of time. Low key, you probably smashed a hot ass minute ago.”
I didn’t say anything; just kept cleaning my desk off.
What I said to niggas was what I would say to niggas.
Nothing more, nothing less. They knew what they needed to know.
I was tired of niggas asking about her anyway.
You know how many questions I got hit with after I told them I was severing ties after initially telling them I wanted to keep Couture on as Skylight Industries go to?
Several. And the questions didn’t just come from this group of niggas. They came from everybody.
“I’m about to head out. Try not to fuck shit up.”
“How long you gon be gone?”
“Five days.”
“Be easy, nigga,” Judah said with his hand extended.
We slapped palms before I did the same with the other niggas. Right after, we walked out of the office. After telling the rest of the team good bye, I headed to the airport, excited as hell.
The ride there was spent thinking about Mahogany and how far we’d come.
With a smirk, I gripped the steering wheel and shook my head.
Was I surprised? Hell naw. I wasn’t surprised at all.
I knew from the moment I laid eyes on her that she would be mine…
in one way or another. And when I got my hands on her?
Oh, I knew for sure it was up then. I wasn’t letting up off of her.
And while we might’ve had a little hiccup somewhere in the middle that scared a nigga a little, we got right back on track.
Crazy thing about that was I didn’t have to chase her.
Not for real. We fell in place. Just the way I knew we would.