Sianni McWashington-Maddox #2
I smiled to myself before adjusting my purse on my shoulder and heading her way.
I had decided to keep it cute and comfortable since it was sunny as hell outside, so I threw on some shorts and a fitted top instead of doing too much.
I’d also gotten my hair braided in box braids again.
It had been a minute since I’d worn them, and judging by the way he was acting before I left the house, he was definitely feeling them too.
Matter fact, I almost ain’t even make it out the damn door. As soon as I made it over to the table, I slid my purse down onto the empty chair before sitting across from her.
“Hey, girl,” I greeted.
“Hey, bitch.” Drayla smirked, looking me up and down. “You looking good as hell.”
“Thank you.” I laughed softly. “And so are you. Yo’ ass glowing.”
“Thank you, boo, but not as much as you.” She leaned forward slightly. “Let me find out you over there about to have a little Kyrie.”
“Girl, no.” I shook my head quickly. “Even though that man been trying to put me through every position known to mankind lately.”
Drayla fell out laughing. “Bitch, do you blame him? Look at you.” She motioned toward me with her hand. “Your body tea as fuck.”
“Thank you, and yours is too.”
“I’m trying to do a lil’ one-two,” she laughed, fixing her hair.
And honestly? Drayla was fine as hell. If I was a dude, I definitely would’ve shot my shot and ignored the fact that she had a whole husband at home.
“Yeah, but girl, tell me what’s been going on?” she asked before stealing a sip of her drink.
“Bitch… a lot.” I grabbed the menu. “But let me get a drink first before I start unpacking all this shit.”
Truth was, I really didn’t even have an appetite like that, but I knew I needed to eat something before drinking. The last time I drank on an empty stomach, I thought I was finna meet God personally.
After looking over the menu for a minute, I finally decided on a mimosa flight with some Island Glazed Wings and fries. Soon as the waiter took my order and walked off, Drayla leaned forward again.
“Okay, now talk.”
I let out a small laugh while rubbing my forehead. “Girl, so much been going on. I don’t even know where to start.”
“Start from the beginning then.”
“Okay, well…” I leaned back in my chair. “Kyrie been trying to put me through walls every damn day, but I already told you that.”
“Hell yeah.” Drayla laughed. “That man got built-up tension he trying to release. Let that man release it.”
“Bitch, my pussy needs a damn vacation.” I shook my head, laughing.
“No, it don’t,” she shot back immediately. “Now what else happened?”
I smiled a little before looking down at the table. “He fixed up a room for me and turned it into an art studio.”
Drayla blinked. “Wait… what?”
“Yeah.” I nodded slowly. “A whole room. Paint, canvases, supplies… everything.”
“Oh shit.” She sat back against her chair. “See? That’s exactly the type of shit I be talking about. That’s a real man right there. A man who actually pays attention.”
A small smile pulled at my lips again before I looked down at my hands.
“It’s been a minute since I painted anything,” I admitted quietly. “But I painted him last night.”
Drayla’s mouth dropped open dramatically. “Oh, so you in love-love now.”
“Girl, hush.” I laughed, already feeling my face getting warm. “What about you and hubby, though? How things going with y’all?”
“They’re good.” She nodded. “That man is trying to put a baby in me right now, but my body is being stubborn as hell.”
My smile faded a little. “You went to go get checked out?”
“Yeah.” She nodded again.
“And?”
I looked at her carefully because I knew how much she wanted kids. She had talked about having a family more than once, so hearing that she still wasn’t pregnant honestly made my chest tighten a little for her.
“They said everything was fine.” She sighed.
“And?”
“And that’s all they said,” she replied.
I studied her for a second, trying to figure out if she was holding something back, but I let it go. Pushing her wasn’t gon’ do nothing except make her shut down even more.
“Okay then,” I said, leaning back. “What else you wanna talk about?”
She rolled her eyes. “Have you heard from that weird ass girl lately?”
I frowned. “What weird ass girl?”
“The one who called herself trying to check me.”
“Oh.” A laugh slipped out. “You talking about Alexia.”
“Yeah, her.” She nodded.
“She been around. Her and Marvin got into it, so she called me talking about he threw her out, and she wanted to come stay with me and Kyrie.”
“Girl.” She sucked her teeth, shaking her head, “don’t nobody want her fake ass around.”
“Exactly.”
“Yeah,” I muttered, standing up. “We need to go before I end up on The Shade Room looking crazy.”
Drayla grabbed her purse quickly as I slid out the booth. The entire time we walked toward the front of the restaurant, I could feel eyes on me. Phones lifted. People whispering. A couple of girls near the bar started staring so hard it made my skin itch.
I kept my head up anyway.
The second the hostess opened the door, the paparazzi rushed forward like vultures.
“Sianni! Is Kyrie with you?”
“Is there trouble in the Maddox marriage?”
“How are you coping after Kyrie’s shooting?”
Flashes popped back-to-back, making me blink. One camera got shoved so close in my face I almost smacked it away off instinct.
“Can y’all back up?” Drayla snapped.
“Sianni, did Alexia Greenwood betray your friendship?” another man yelled.
What the fuck?
I stopped walking for half a second, genuinely thrown off by how much they seemed to know.
That was the part I still wasn’t used to. The way people somehow found out pieces of your business before you even had time to process it yourself.
Drayla grabbed my arm. “Keep walking.”
I clenched my jaw and kept moving toward the truck parked at valet, but the cameras followed every step.
“Sianni, are you afraid the pressure of being married to an NFL star is becoming too much?”
That one irritated me the most.
I spun around before I could stop myself. “Ain’t nobody afraid of nothing,” I said sharply. “Y’all need to stop acting like people’s personal lives are entertainment.”
The cameras somehow started flashing even faster.
“See?” Drayla muttered under her breath. “Now they got what they wanted.”
I instantly regretted responding.
One of the men lowered his camera slightly. “So, are you denying the issues in your marriage?”
I laughed dryly, shaking my head. “Y’all don’t get tired?”
Before anybody could ask me anything else, the valet finally pulled my truck around. Relief instantly washed over me.
“Call me when you make it home,” Drayla said, pulling me into a quick hug.
“I got you.”
Another camera flashed in my face.
“Sianni! One more question!”
I ignored them this time and kept walking. The heels of my shoes clicked against the pavement while the valet hurried to hand me my keys. The second I climbed inside and shut the door, the noise outside turned muffled, but flashes still lit up my windows.
I leaned my head back against the seat for a second and closed my eyes.
This shit was exhausting.
And the crazy part was, I understood why Kyrie stayed irritated half the time now. People really didn’t know when to stop.
Another flash hit the windshield, making me suck my teeth before pulling out of the parking lot.
As I drove off, my phone buzzed through the Bluetooth.
Kyrie.
A small smile tugged at my lips despite everything.
“Hey,” I answered, putting him on speaker.
“The fuck going on?” he asked immediately, his voice tight.
I frowned. “What you talking about?”
“I just seen pictures of you leaving the restaurant with paparazzi all around you.”
Of course he did.
I sighed, tightening my grip on the steering wheel. “It wasn’t even like that. Me and Drayla was just leaving, and they started swarming.”
“What they ask you?”
“Questions about us. Questions about Marissa. The usual messy shit.”
His silence lasted a second too long.
“You ain’t answer them, did you?”
“I said they needed to stop treating people’s personal lives like entertainment.”
Kyrie let out a low curse under his breath.
“What?” I asked defensively. “I ain’t even say nothing crazy.”
“That’s not the point, baby. Once you respond, they keep pushing.”
I already knew he was right, which honestly irritated me even more.
“Well, maybe they should stop sticking cameras in people’s faces then.”
“They not gon’ stop, Sianni.” His tone softened a little. “That comes with me.”
I stared out the windshield quietly for a moment.