Chapter 6
Monday had arrived entirely too fast.
Cyren felt it before she even opened her eyes.
The dull throb behind them, the heaviness in her limbs, and the dryness in her throat were a reminder that mixing tequila and Hennessy wasn’t a good idea.
Not to mention, crying until she was physically exhausted.
Her comforter felt too good wrapped around her body for her to even consider moving.
The alarm she had blindly snoozed fifteen minutes ago was back blaring.
Cyren groaned and reached for her phone under the pillow, silencing it before it could scream at her again.
Rolling onto her back, she rubbed her eyes and immediately regretted opening them.
The slight spinning sensation reminded her she was still recovering from the weekend.
Her stomach twisted. Not from liquor this time, but from the memories.
Her face instantly warmed at the thought of Heavy and the way he catered to her mind, body, and soul in and out of that bathroom.
Though what they shared was brief, Cyren hadn’t been able to keep the moment or him off her mind.
It wasn’t just the sex, but damn, had she needed that the most.
“Mm, mm, mm,” she mumbled, dragging the cover over her head. “I should’ve taken the day off.”
It was still early enough to do so. One email to her supervisor, and she could’ve spent the day sleeping and pretending she hadn’t let a man she barely knew rearrange her insides and entire emotional state in under twenty-four hours.
Heavy had to be the man Salt-N-Pepper and En Vogue were hooting and hollering about.
The thought of calling in was tempting, but adulthood and responsibilities outweighed it. Having Friday off left her to-do list full. Plus, she had a meeting and clients already scheduled. Being an adult some days was no fun. A soft knock at her door interrupted her internal battle.
She tossed the comforter off her face. “Come in.”
Nia stepped inside, dressed in navy scrubs with her dark brown hair pulled back into a slick ponytail. Her beauty was on full display, and Cyren couldn’t help but notice how rested she looked. Her eyes didn’t look as tired as they had the day before, when they went to dinner.
“Good morning,” Nia greeted.
“Good morning. You look pretty,” Cyren gushed, making her smile.
“Thank you, baby.” Her gaze softened as she took Cyren in. “How you feeling?”
“Like I shouldn’t have been drinking,” Cyren admitted, slowly sitting up.
Nia laughed, softly. “That bad?”
Cyren squinted. “Tequila is disrespectful.”
“That’s why I leave it alone. A glass of wine or two is all I need.”
Cyren leaned back against her headboard. “I wish I would’ve left it alone, too.”
After barely recovering from Friday’s festivities, Bre had convinced her to come out with her and her friends on Saturday.
Brunch turned into a day party and some kickback that Cyren didn’t get home from until almost nine o’clock.
She slept in a bit on Sunday, but Nia was off, so they hung out some around the house before going to eat and shopping.
Simply put, she needed another day to recover.
Stepping further into the room, Nia sat on the edge of the bed. “You enjoyed yourself, though.” Cyren couldn’t help the small grin that surfaced. “I did.”
“Good. Nothing like having a bit of fun. You needed that.”
Looking down at the comforter, she smoothed invisible wrinkles from it. Nia didn’t know just how true her words were.
“Yeah, I did.”
Nia sighed softly, glancing at the time on her watch. “I have to head to the hospital soon. I just wanted to check on you before I left.”
Cyren’s brows pinched, slightly. “You were only off this weekend?”
“Yeah. Comes with the duties.” Nia shrugged like it was nothing. “I know I asked you to move here so we could be closer and handle this thing called life together, but I haven’t been here most of the time. I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s okay. Trust me, I get it,” Cyren softly said.
Nia’s expression shifted. She’d avoided the conversation yesterday, wanting them to enjoy their time. She wasn’t carrying this into the new week with her, so getting it off her chest was best.
“I don’t know what to do with idle time,” she admitted. “It gives me too much room to think.”
Cyren understood that more than she wished she did. An idle mind was the devil’s playground, is what Cyren’s granny used to tell her. That was another gem added to her collection from Granny Mae, and a reminder to keep busy even if she didn’t want to. She couldn’t afford to always just sit still.
“You need time to rest, too. Can’t think too much if you’re relaxed.” Cyren eased those words in.
Grief and how she handled it with different people was... strange. Almost as if she had to learn who she was and who they were all over again; in a new light, with gloves on so she wouldn’t mishandle their hearts.
Nia sighed and reached over to playfully squeeze her thigh. “You’re right. Maybe in a few months. We’re a mess, huh?”
Cyren softly laughed. “A functioning, cute one.”
Nia smiled before her expression turned teasing. “And speaking of cute ones…”
Cyren groaned, immediately. “Un, un. Nope.”
Nia laughed. “I didn’t even say anything yet.”
“You were about to.”
She’d skirted around the obvious all day yesterday, mostly because Skylar was with them.
Nia wasn’t so far removed from her children’s lives that she didn't know that her daughter had always had a thing for Heavy. She’d hoped she had grown out of it by now, but it was clear from the way she acknowledged him bringing them flowers that her infatuation hadn’t wavered.
Nia wasn’t going to rub that in her child’s face by bringing this conversation up, but she also wasn’t going to ignore how obviously smitten he and Cyren both were with one another.
“I’m going to mind my business, but just know I saw how y’all were acting with one another all night,” Nia divulged.
Cyren tried keeping a straight face but failed.
Somehow, Heavy had fucked the drunkenness out of her system, so she’d been much more chill once they retreated upstairs.
Still, their small interactions weren’t hard to miss or ignore.
Heavy’s hand at her waist, Cyren’s flirty giggle whenever he whispered something in her ear, the stares from across the room.
It was all a dead giveaway to anyone watching.
“We were just enjoying the moment,” was the best Cyren could come up with.
Nia smirked, humming knowingly. “Mhm. I may be getting old, but my eyes still work just fine.”
Giggling, Cyren squealed. “Auntie, please, okay. It was nothing.”
That lie slipped too easily from her lips.
Everything that happened on Friday had been too much, in a good way.
Cyren needed to face the truth. Things were too intense, too vulnerable, too unforgettable.
Too... everything she didn’t know she needed or wanted.
Nia didn’t press her, but that smile let Cyren know she didn’t believe a word she’d just said.
“Well,” she said, as she stood noticing a text on her Apple watch, “whatever it was or wasn’t, just be careful with your heart. And his. Y’all have both been through some things.”
His heart and mine? She’s tripping. Cyren’s thoughts were loud, but she’d never mumble them.
“Auntie, for real. You’re thinking too much into it. Who said anything about our hearts being involved? We were just enjoying one another’s company. I’m sure I’ll never see him again.”
Nia shrugged. “I’m just saying. That’s just me warning you ahead because I love you.”
“I love you, too,” Cyren voiced.
Nia leaned down and kissed her forehead. “Feel better. Make sure you drink some water and get some electrolytes in your system. And please make it to work.”
Cyren laughed. “I’ll try.”
“Trying doesn’t pay the bills, Missy.”
“That doctor’s salary should hold us over.”
Nia playfully rolled her eyes. “Girl,” she said, laughing, “see you later.”
“Have a good day at work!” Cyren yelled behind her.
“You too.”
Once her aunt left, silence reclaimed the room.
Cyren sat there for a moment, staring at her closed bedroom door before forcing herself out of bed.
Her body protested every movement as she made her way to the bathroom.
While the hot water from the shower hit her skin, she thought about what she would wear for the day.
Of course, Kansas City’s weather was bipolar and was in the high fifties and had the nerve to be windy, so no showing of skin today.
Cyren stayed in the shower longer than necessary, letting it wash away remnants of her weekend and Heavy’s touch that still lingered in places she refused to think about before 8 a.m. But no matter how far she tried to put him out of her mind, he remained.
Claiming a spot that he’d rightfully and respectfully earned, along with being fine.
Cyren was doomed in the worst kind of way.
By the time lunch rolled around, Cyren was starving.
She was in such a rush to make it to work on time that she’d forgotten to grab her lunch from the fridge.
Thankfully, she had a few snacks at her desk to hold her over.
Today had already been long, having answered a ton of emails, sitting through two meetings that felt entirely too long, and pretending she was far more focused than she actually was.
She wasn’t. Her mind had been disrespectfully occupied all morning. Every time she thought she’d moved past it, another memory of him crept in uninvited.
Heavy’s hand sliding over her waist made her press her thighs together.
The way his mouth felt against hers made her lick her lips.
He had easily unraveled her, and she willingly let him.
Cyren stared at her computer screen, blinking at numbers that had begun to blur together.
Her client was talking, but her thoughts were somewhere else entirely.
“And I was wondering if refinancing would—”