Chapter 10
“I can’t believe you got me going to see that lil rugrat. I don’t even like his mean ass.” Cam folded his arms across his chest as he pouted.
Kenna rolled her eyes. They had spent the day running around, getting things for both Alanzo and Annalise.
Kenna knew she wanted to make good on her promise to help them out, and she was glad today would be the day.
Since she didn’t connect with people often, she knew God had placed those two in her life for a reason, and she wanted to allow Him to do His work through her, however He saw fit.
The mountain of bags in her trunk would be a good start. She felt confident in that.
“Hush. I saw y’all bonding over anime,” Kenna pointed out as she pulled up to a neighborhood near the Ellway Projects.
She looked around after she parked while Cam responded. “That hardly counts. That little boy is a pain in my ass.”
Kenna stopped looking around the rundown neighborhood and cut her eyes at Cam. “Seriously, how are you able to work with children?”
Cam shrugged as he picked at his nails. “I love kids.”
Kenna scoffed. “I can’t tell.”
“Come on. Let’s get this over with. I have some dick waiting on me.”
“Cam!”
“Uh uh. Don’t Cam me. Shit, I peeped the way you been walking around today, all stank and with a lil sway. Tell me you didn’t get some dick yourself the other night.”
Kenna paused from opening her door as if she had been caught doing something she shouldn’t have.
All day she waited for Cam to grill her about the other night when he went home in one car and she and Damien went together in another car to his home.
It was as if Cam wanted to keep her on edge and pounce on her when she least expected it. Mission accomplished.
Her blush was fierce as she looked everywhere but at Cam. “I mean…”
“Girl, boo.” He waved his hand dismissively. “I’m just so glad you finally dusted those cobwebs off.”
He swiftly got out of the car, leaving Kenna sitting there with her mouth ajar. She couldn’t believe he wasn’t hounding her for more details, but she was honestly glad he didn’t. What she and Damien shared was intimate, and she wanted it to stay between them.
What happened yesterday morning, after they shared a night of passion, was something she did want to talk about though.
Unlike Cam, Kenna had no experience dealing with kids, so Skylar seemed scary as hell to her.
If she was honest with herself, she felt herself quickly falling for Damien, but she feared getting too close to him would only lead to devastation if Skylar didn’t approve.
She was a daddy’s girl growing up, so she knew how much weight daughters held in their father’s lives.
If Skylar hated Kenna, she wasn’t convinced she and Damien would last very long, and that thought saddened her.
Slowly, she got out of the car and walked toward the trunk to help Cam, who sucked his teeth when she appeared. “We gon’ have to make two trips.”
“Cam, cut it out. We’re here doing a good deed. Act like it,” Kenna snapped.
Cam scrunched his face up at her and replied with a simple, “Ew,” before he turned on his heels and switched his hips up the walkway toward the house Annalise and Alanzo lived in. Kenna quickly peeped that he only held two bags, one in each hand. He was such a damn diva.
After loading her hands and arms with more bags, she managed to close her trunk in case someone tried to rob her of the rest of the goods she got. By the time she made it to the door, Annalise had opened it with a huge smile on her face.
“My goodness, what is all this?”
Kenna returned her smile and held her arms up as best as she could with the heavy bags weighing her down. “Told you I would come by with a few things for you guys.”
“Chile, that is more than a few things. Come on in here,” Annalise fussed. Kenna and Cam walked into the cozy home. The smell of something sweet baking in the oven hit their noses. “Set those bags right here so we can sort through them all. My word.”
Kenna placed the bags in front of the small blue sofa like Annalise directed, before turning to Cam with a wicked smile. “Since Cam was complaining about carrying the bags inside, he can help you start sorting through them all while I go grab the rest.”
Cam cut his eyes at her while Annalise exclaimed, “The rest? There’s more?”
Kenna held her hands up in mock surrender. “I admit I may have gone a little overboard.”
Annalise shook her head in disbelief. “Alanzo! Come here, baby, and help Kenna get the rest of these bags!”
Footsteps sounded down the hall, getting closer and closer. Alanzo appeared in the living room, and his eyes grew wide. “Kenna!”
“Hey, buddy.” She smiled when he jumped into her arms. There was something about this little boy’s energy that she absolutely adored.
She was never around kids, but he made her want to be.
He made her realize that she had been missing out on a lot by sitting alone at home and reliving her past. Alanzo didn’t realize it, but he was the first person to break her out of her shell, not Damien.
Her heart skipped a bit at the thought of him, but she pushed it away for the moment and asked, “You ready to help me get the rest of these bags?”
Alanzo nodded excitedly as he looked around the floor at the scattered bags. “Is there anything for me?”
“How about you help me grab the rest and then we can look through them and see?”
Alanzo took off for the door without shoes.
“Put your sh—Okay, he’s gone,” Annalise said, scratching her head and shaking it at the same time. “I don’t know what to do with that boy most days.”
Kenna giggled as she followed Alanzo out the door. He stood on the sidewalk looking at the cars lined up on the street, no doubt trying to decipher which one was hers. She walked over to her car and opened the trunk. “Grab as many as you can.”
Alanzo tried to make a big show of grabbing them all. Kenna patiently allowed him to try, and when he dropped over half of them, she swooped in to pick them up. Once the trunk was closed, she followed behind him and back into the house.
“This is entirely too much,” Annalise said with tears in her eyes as soon as Kenna and Alanzo walked through the front door.
Kenna placed the bags on the floor next to the others. “Like I said, I may have gone a little overboard. I never realized how much fun shopping for a kid could be.”
“You didn’t only shop for him though. There’s house supplies, groceries, and I see some candles and bubble bath that I know aren’t meant for that lil boy.”
“I like bubble baths!” Alanzo exclaimed as he rummaged through the bags. When he found a bag with toy dinosaurs, he snatched it up and hopped to his feet. “Gigi, look!”
“I see,” Annalise replied with a hint of laughter in her voice. “Why don’t you go to your room and play with those while we work on sorting out the rest of these things?”
Alanzo didn’t have to be told twice. “Thank you, Titi Kenna!”
Kenna’s heart swelled, and then a bit of sadness took over. Her chances of being an auntie were taken when Rashad died. To hear Alanzo give her that title meant more than he would ever know.
Alanzo took off back down the hall while Cam smacked his lips loudly. “Don’t think I didn’t notice you didn’t say hi to me, you little ankle biter! I helped, too, you know?”
The only response was the sound of Alanzo’s door slamming shut while Kenna fought to hold back her laughter.
“Thank you, Cam,” Annalise said, patting him on the cheek before she glanced at Kenna. “Thank you both.”
“Of course,” Kenna replied.
“It was really my pleasure, Ms. Annalise.” Cam batted his long lashes at the older woman.
“Really, Cam? You complained the entire time,” Kenna reminded him.
Cam shrugged. “I don’t recall.”
Annalise looked at her small living room. “What am I going to do with all this stuff?”
“Use it,” Cam said slowly, as if she was a bit slow.
Kenna elbowed him. “We’ll help you sort through it all.”
For the next thirty minutes, they put away groceries, sorted through clothes, made a pile for all the toys, and made sure all the house essentials were in the right spots.
Cam and Kenna sat on the small sofa while Annalise fussed over the cookies she baked in the kitchen. When she came into the living room with a heaping plate of soft double chocolate cookies, Kenna’s mouth watered.
“This seems like a silly offering after all you two have done, but this recipe has been in my family for a long time. They’re guaranteed to knock your socks off.” Annalise placed the plate on the clear coffee table before sitting down in a plush blue chair across from them.
“Ms. Annalise, please stop. We did all this because we wanted to. I… I know what it was like for my parents after they lost a child, my brother. It was really hard for a long time. I can’t imagine the amount of pain you and Alanzo are in. I seriously just wanted to help. No thanks needed.”
Annalise’s eyes softened. “I’m sorry about your brother.” They were silent for a moment before she said, “Things have been hard. I raised my daughter and thought I was done. Having Alanzo full time now has been a huge adjustment. Your kindness helps more than you know.”
“If you ever need a break, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us,” Kenna said.
Cam pointed at Kenna. “Reach out to her .”
Kenna kicked Cam inconspicuously while giving Annalise a tight smile. Annalise laughed. “I’ll keep that in mind. So, Kenna, tell me… Have you heard from a certain basketball player recently?”
Kenna’s brows shot up, but Cam was the one to respond. “Oh, she’s heard from him.”
Kenna cut her eyes at him and then plastered a nervous smile on her face when she looked at Annalise. Talking about Damien was truthfully all she wanted to do, but she wasn’t sure she felt comfortable doing so. She was still so new to all this.
“Yes,” she said slowly. “I’ve seen him.”
“And?” Annalise asked knowingly.
Kenna felt heat spread over her body as she looked around the small, cozy room. “And he’s doing well.”
Annalist let out a shrill laugh. “Chile, I saw the way you two looked at each other from the moment you locked eyes. I know a budding love story when I see one.”
“I been trying to tell her,” Cam muttered.
Kenna ignored Cam and asked, “You really think so?”
Love. That word wasn’t foreign to her. She had a lot of love in her life. Her family and Cam loved her immensely. She’d never had love from a man though.
“I’ve been in love once or twice in my day. My husband died five years ago, but that man was the love of my life. He looked at me just like Damien looks at you,” Annalise assured.
Kenna knew she was quickly falling for Damien. What she didn’t know was if this was the real deal or if he felt the same about her. Of course, there was also the fact that his daughter may never get on board with whatever relationship they were building.
“I don’t know…” Kenna allowed her words to trail off as she fidgeted in her seat.
“What’s there to know? Y’all like each other and want to fiddle with each other’s private parts. Sounds like the makings of a love story to me,” Cam commented nonchalantly.
Annalise giggled while Kenna scrunched her face up. “Is that all love is to you?” Cam shrugged and Kenna huffed out a breath. “I’m honestly a bit unsure what’s going to even happen with us. I haven’t really talked to him since yesterday morning when I left his house.”
When she realized that she told on herself about spending the night at Damien’s house in front of Annalise, she blushed. Annalise didn’t seem to notice the red tint to Kenna’s cheeks as she asked, “Why not?”
Kenna bit her bottom lip. “His daughter walked in on us…”
Cam’s eyes ballooned. “She saw y’all fu?—”
“No, nothing like that,” Kenna said in a rush. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter how she found us. She called me a… a whore.”
Annalise tsked while Cam cackled. “Oh, I see now. You aren’t sure about you and Damien because his little demon child don’t like you.”
“I mean, we haven’t really met yet. Not for real, but yeah, I kind of think she probably hates me,” Kenna admitted as she recalled the venom in Skylar’s voice and the mug on her face the prior morning.
“Girl, fuck them kids. That’s my motto,” Cam said.
“Cam!” Kenna slapped him on his arm and then looked at Annalise. “I am so sorry. I promise his mama raised him better than this.”
Annalise waved her off. “I’ve heard a curse word or two in my day. Tell me why you don’t just talk to him about this.”
“He’s busy. I just don’t want to bother him, I guess.” Kenna looked at the ground.
“Yeah, you won’t get anywhere with that mindset, chile,” Annalise responded. “You need to communicate your feelings, and it’s perfect timing because he should be here soon.”
Kenna’s eyes widened as she stood up. “Wait, what?”
Annalise’s smile was bright enough to light a dark room. “You two think a whole lot alike. He called me this morning and asked if he could drop something off for Alanzo.”
Kenna wasn’t sure how to feel about that. She hadn’t planned to see Damien today. They’d texted a bit, but neither of them had addressed the elephant in the room. Doing that now didn’t really feel right.
“I should go.” Kenna looked down at Cam, who looked like he was ready to move slow as molasses just to piss her off. Kenna walked over to Annalise and gave her a hasty hug before marching toward the door. “Cam, come on?—”
She opened the door, and her words cut off as she came face to face with Skylar. Kenna couldn’t even look at the towering frame behind Skylar because the teenager’s face immediately screwed up into a scowl, and Kenna’s heart dropped.