Chapter 19 Kennedy
“Are you sure you’re going to make it home for the funeral, Kennedy? I really need someone here because my parents are a damn mess, Bean and Shyanne’s extra asses are competing for most distraught baby mother, and their kids aren’t eating or talking. I cannot do this alone. It’s just too much.”
Kennedy dipped her eyes down to her phone situated on the sink before she refocused on her reflection to finish her hair.
She flat ironed her last strands, bumping the ends so that it followed the shape of her soft glam face.
In less than half an hour, Savvy and Shabu’s engagement shower was set to begin, but between Sonny crying in her ear, and Relic’s moody ass being no help, she was running behind schedule.
Kennedy was trying to care about Sonny going through a rough time because she had been there, but she found her eyes rolling since Sarge could burn in hell for all she cared.
In the week since his death, she hadn’t felt an ounce of remorse about it.
“I told you that I’ll be there. My bags are packed, and I’m hitting the road as soon as the party is over.”
“Thank you. I just can’t believe that he’s gone, Kenn, and of an accidental overdose of all things. I thought Sarge stopped that shit years ago.”
“It’s crazy. We never know what people are doing or going through. Maybe life was getting the better of him.”
A corner of her mouth lifted before she grabbed her phone and padded into the bedroom to get dressed. Once Ezekiel had time to calm down and think, he had come up with a fool proof plan that’d leave them in the clear while causing the least doubt.
Unbeknownst to Kennedy, Sarge had a little pill habit back in the day, which was the reason her brother didn’t want to work with Sarge.
Once Ezekiel saw the man he’d once considered a brother high as a kite off those pills, he decided to drive Sarge home, put him in bed, and let him go in a manner that his family could at least bury him.
If it’d been left to Kennedy, she would have made Relic put a bullet straight through the nigga’s skull, but as long as the deed was done; she was satisfied.
The only things that lingered in the back of her mind was where her brother’s money was stashed if no one had stolen it, and whether or not Koda truly had a child.
“Yea, Bean said he’d stopped past before he left with Zeke, and he was acting weird.” Sonny continued filling her in. “She couldn’t put her finger on what it was. When she asked him, he got all defensive and left.”
“Yea, it sounds like he was being erratic. He seemed normal to me at the concert, though. I mean, but we were all fucked up, so nothing seemed off.”
“I believe it. Judging from Zeke’s face, that nigga had to be drunk. I refuse to believe he got his ass whooped like that sober.”
Kennedy cackled before she plucked her long sleeve, powder blue bodycon dress off the bed to wiggle into.
The color scheme was shades of blue, while Savvy and Shabu were supposed to wear white.
She hoped Titan and Michi had done their jobs of convincing them to do so since their brother and cousin assumed it was just a regular cookout in Relic’s backyard.
“How is he holding up since finding out?” Kennedy inquired about Ezekiel, and Sonny gasped.
“Bitch, you haven’t checked on that man?! I know you have a new nigga, but Zeke lost both his best friends. That man is hurting.”
“I honestly don’t even know what to say to him. My dad talked to him and said he sounded bad. I think I’ll just wait until the funeral to see him,” Kennedy said with her eyes going to the doorway. Relic had materialized like his spider senses tingled at the mention of another man.
His eyes seemed as if they’d irradiated shades lighter to match his blue polo shirt and trousers that coordinated with her dress.
He tipped against the door frame, crossing his legs at the ankle while tucking a hand into his pocket.
Kennedy tried not to smile. Relic looked so goddamn fine for no reason other than it was a day of the week.
“Sonny, let me call you back. The guests are rolling in, and I need to make sure everything is in order.”
“Do your thing, boo. I’ll see you soon.”
“Yea, you too.”
She picked up her phone to end the call and stuffed it inside of her clutch while Relic sauntered toward her with his eyes doing a casual sweep of her from head to toe. He licked his lips with a hum.
“Are your hips spreading, or is it just me?”
“Just your delusional ass. Is everything finished in the yard?”
He nodded and clasped his hands on her waist to tug her toward him. Kennedy melted against his chest before inhaling his scent with a contented sigh. A yelp shot from her when Relic smacked her ass.
“I’m tossing this out with all those thin ass track sets you love to throw on.”
“But don’t I look cute?”
She stepped back and twirled, making sure to pause so that he could appreciate how good her ass looked in the clingy material, before spinning to face him. Relic nodded and averted his stare.
“You look beautiful. I’m heading downstairs to check on Judith and my Aunt Esther. They put most of the food on the tables already, and my uncle Akon started the grill. Is there anything else?”
“Oh, yes! Have Jah and Nairi lay down the rose petals starting from the patio doors to the ceremony arch. I want Titan to start recording as soon as they reach the door, and Judith will be there to meet Shabu. You come next to grab Savvy, and boom.”
“Where will you be?”
“Off to the side, micromanaging to make sure y’all don’t mess it up.”
Relic chortled. “Sounds about right. A quick secret for a secret?” he asked, taking her aback.
Kennedy gnawed her inner cheek, mulling it over but then conceded since there was a possibility they wouldn’t get the chance again. She nodded.
“If you had the chance to choose again between being my business partner or taking the date, which would you go with?”
“Business partner,” she answered him without pause. A beat of silence passed before she expounded, “If we had gone on a date, you would already be disinterested and on to the next bitch by now. You?”
“Either. I think, regardless, you would be standing in my bedroom right now. We might have taken a different route to get here, but the destination would be the same. How much do you hate me?”
“I—” She stopped talking as fast as she started, and her lids squinted. Relic chuckled as her eyes rolled while she confessed, “It’s low. I actually forgot to hate you this week.”
“I could tell. You have a question left if you want it.”
“Are you nervous about today?”
Relic ignored the sudden lurch in his stomach from a question heavier than Kennedy could ever fathom.
A faint pounding started behind his ears to allude to an oncoming headache, while tension tightened his muscles and put an ache at the nape of his neck.
He realized his ailments were written over him when Kennedy let her waxed brows set into a line while her forehead creased.
“I’m nervous,” he admitted, watching as her features relaxed. “You’d think this shit was real, or that it’s me, the way my stomach is fucked up.”
“Your head has been fucked up, too. You’ve been all over the place today, but I don’t believe it has anything to do with the party. We’re close, aren’t we? I can handle it if you tell me how many days are left.”
“I’d rather you not know. My brother should be here soon, so put on your heels and come down.”
Kennedy pushed out a frustrated breath when Relic walked away with that assertion. Her heart jolted with a slice of hope when he stalled at the door before turning to face her.
“Where’s your necklace?”
Her hand gravitated to her skeleton key necklace she had tucked inside her dress. “I have it on. You?”
Relic dug in his collar to flash his evil eye necklace at her before dropping it back into its hiding place. She gave him a soft smile.
“See you downstairs.”
He tipped his head and waltzed off as Kennedy sat at the edge of the bed to put on her heels.
She found herself gazing around his room, reminiscing about the short time she’d spent in his home that seemed more like years.
How she’d taken over his closet with her possessions, filled his bathroom with hair products that drove him insane since he hated the smells, and spent more time inside his luxury bedding than him.
She exhaled, slipped her pearl painted toes inside her sandal heels, and then stood.
Relic was in his head enough for them both, so Kennedy had to remain focused to move the day along.
She went into the bathroom and cleaned her items off his porcelain countertop before stuffing it inside her hair care bag to store beneath the sink.
As much as she hated it, she skipped wiping down and sweeping since their guests of honor would show up at any moment.
After snatching up her metallic silver mini bag off the bed in passing, she hurried downstairs to check on the final details before the party commenced.
Loud voices met her at the foyer before she wandered into the kitchen, running into a house full of people who should have been outside.
Los was on his knees, changing Parlay on the floor, who was guzzling down a bottle, and Pierre was struggling to hoist the champagne fountain off the island while Paris clung to his leg because he followed his father like a shadow.
Tima and Toot were helping their mother take the last of the food trays outside to set out, and Relic was off to the side, talking to his uncle who looked more like him than Akon’s sons did, from their broad builds to the stern facial expressions.
He was a handsome man, so at least Kennedy knew Relic would still look good in the future.
That single thought made her expel a sharp breath before she clapped her hands for everyone’s attention.
“I hate to rush y’all out of the house, but I need y’all seated in the next few minutes. Where is Ms. Judith?”