Chapter 7 #4
When I glanced over at Dom, he gave me a knowing look.
I turned my head back to where Nova once was and realized they were no longer there.
As I searched through the crowd, I could sense someone was watching me.
I froze for a moment before I shifted my body in another direction.
My eyes widened when our eyes locked. His expression was unreadable, but the intensity of it gave me chills.
I needed to get out of here and fast, so I sent a text to Nova to let her know I would be outside.
Dominique grabbed Nova’s purse as the two of us pushed through the crowd.
It reminded me of a maze as we fought to find an opening.
The moment I saw the back door, I hauled ass until we made it outside.
I took a deep breath, inhaling the cool, fresh air.
“Girl, why the hell were you running out of the club like someone was chasing you?” Dom fussed. I got ready to reply when I heard the sound of a familiar name being yelled.
“Cocoa!” There it was again. The petty part of me wanted to ignore him because he didn’t deserve my attention. Keynauri wasn’t going for that as he grabbed my arm when I tried to walk away.
“Don’t touch me!” I was seething. My nostrils flared in rage as I looked up at him. Keynauri stood there with a shocked expression on his face. It pissed me off even more because he was acting as if we were cool all of a sudden.
“Whoa. What’s up with you? I was trying to get your attention inside, but you dipped out of there. What’s good?” He stepped closer to me, but I stepped backward.
“Who are you?” I stared into his eyes as if he were a stranger to me because that was exactly what he was. His shoulders dropped, but I couldn’t care less about his feelings. He never cared about mine.
“Is that how we’re doing it now? You gon’ act like you don’t know who I am?”
“I don’t know you. Hell, apparently the world didn’t either until today.
Imagine my surprise when I showed up here, only to find out the nigga who broke my heart is not only a free man but a rapper.
This sounds like something that you find in a fiction book because there is no way this shit is real.
You have a lot of nerve to stand in front of me as if everything is all good with us.
Naw, you can save that shit. Continue to live your life as if I don’t exist, because I’m gonna do the same.
” I yanked my arm from his hold, turning to walk away.
“Wait! Hold up, Co—”
“Don’t call me that. We aren’t cool, Keynauri. You don’t have the right to call me by a pet name after you gave me your ass to kiss. I don’t know if prison gave you short-term memory loss, but I haven’t forgotten a thing.” I scoffed, trying my best to keep my tears at bay.
“I understand why you’re upset, and I’m sorry about what happened back then. This isn’t really the place for us to unpack all of that, but I would love the opportunity to sit down and talk to you. You might be upset with me, but I’m happy to see you. You look good.”
My arms were crossed as I mugged him. I wasn’t a violent person by any means, but I couldn’t hold it in. My hand stung as I smacked him across the face. Nova walked out of the building with Logic right as my hand connected to his jaw.
“Damn!” Nova shouted as they rushed over to us. Keynauri ate the slap without any reaction, enraging me further.
“What’s up, sis? How’ve you—”
“Don’t say shit to me. I don’t fuck with either of y’all. Nova, are you ready to go? ’Cause if not, I can order a ride.” My anger was growing, and I needed to get out of there before I said or did something I would regret.
“Whoa. What did I do?” Logic held his hands up in mock surrender, but I had nothing to say to him.
“Are you okay, bestie?”
“No. I want to go home, and unfortunately, my man had to go to the studio, so I need a ride.”
“I can take her home, if you want to stay and kick it with bro,” Keynauri offered, sending me over the edge.
“I’m not getting in the car with your bitch ass. What part of I don’t fuck with you don’t you seem to comprehend?” I shouted, shocking everyone around me. Instead of addressing me, Keynauri continued to talk to Nova and Logic.
“Umm, I think I should take her home. I can always catch up with y’all later,” Nova replied. It was clear she wanted to stay, and I felt bad about making her leave early.
“Yeah, Novie should take her home. This is your event, and it would look crazy if you left early,” Logic reasoned.
“If this is my event, then I should be able to do what the fuck I want. I won’t be gone long so tell them to let Jerzy or Flip perform. I told them I would give them a slot anyway.”
“I think you let us take her home. People paid a lot of money to come see you, and as Logic said, it would be a bad look if you dipped out before the event ended. The meet and greet tickets were sold out, so I know there are a lot of people waiting to meet you.” Nova attempted to talk some sense into him, but I could tell he wasn’t listening.
“I already said what I had to say. I’m taking her home, and that’s final.
Clearly, she got some shit she needs to get off of her chest, so that’s what we’re gonna do.
I’ll be back as soon as I get her home safely.
Logic, let my fans know I had to take care of an emergency, and I’m coming right back to party with them the rest of the night.
Y’all can chill in my section if you want.
There are plenty of bottles on the table, but you can order whatever you want.
Dom and Nova looked at me with pleading eyes.
I wasn’t going to ruin their night just because mine had been fucked up.
“Fine. I’ll order a ride and—”
“I understand it’s been a while since we’ve been around each other, but ain’t shit changed.
I was trying to be nice and respect your feelings, but I wasn’t asking you for permission.
Either you’re gonna let me take you home or take your ass back in the lounge.
Those are the only options you have right now,” Keynauri declared.
My mouth opened and closed as I stood there stunned.
No one had spoken to me like that in a long time, and I wasn’t sure how to feel about it.
“Damn, he told you.” Dom snickered. My head snapped over in his direction, but he looked away. Nova giggled, and I wanted to cuss the two of them out. I should have made up an excuse to stay home.
“You’ve got thirty seconds to let me know what you want to do.”
“I want to go home, but please understand that you aren’t running shit over here.
I don’t have shit to say to you, so don’t even waste your breath.
Take me home and then pretend as if you never saw me.
As far as I’m concerned, this is a horrifying nightmare, and I can’t wait to wake up from it.
” I rolled my eyes, waiting for him to respond with some smart-ass comment.
“Whatever you say, baby. It’s still your world.
” Keynauri grinned as he removed his keys from his pocket.
He and Logic talked to each other for a moment.
Nova and Dominique verified that I would be okay before everyone else went back inside.
A part of me considered staying so I wouldn’t have to be alone with Keynauri, but my mood was too sour.
The last thing I wanted to do was ruin everyone else’s night because I was in my feelings.
Keynauri passed the keys to one of the men standing next to him, and he scurried off.
There were two other men standing on either side of him, and I assumed they were his bodyguards.
It was odd to see this version of him. It was almost as if I expected him to still be in the same shape as the last time I saw him.
Keynauri was much taller, and his features were more prominent.
There were more tattoos on his body, including one on the top of his cheek.
I hated to admit it, but he had grown even sexier with age.
After a few minutes, the driver drove up with his car.
Keynauri attempted to grab my hand, but I smacked his hand away.
He chuckled in response, garnering an eye roll from me.
His guards followed us and opened the door to make sure we were secure.
One got in front of the truck, while the other slid into the third row of the SUV.
Music filled the car as we drove off. Keynauri asked for my address, but I ignored him and leaned forward to give it to the driver.
He plugged it into the GPS and asked if I needed to make a stop somewhere.
I thought about telling him no, but the growling of my stomach made me change my mind.
I asked if he could stop at one of my favorite seafood boil spots, Crab Paradise, which was open late on the weekends.
A frozen daiquiri and a seafood boil were just what I needed to turn my night around.
I shifted in my seat so I could look out of the window.
I sent a text to Que to let him know I was on my way home.
I decided not to mention who I was riding with, because it wasn’t important.
Eventually, I would need to sit him down and explain my connection to Keynauri, but tonight would not be the night.
Nova and Dom were texting me in the group chat to make sure I was okay, but I had no words for either of them. As far as I was concerned, they left me for dead. Yes, I was being dramatic, but they knew who I was.
Nova: I know you’re mad at us, but you need to talk to that man.
Dom: At least get some welcome home dick.
Me: Nova, fuck you.
Me: Dom, did you forget I was in a relationship?
Dom: Oh, damn. I guess I got ahead of myself. I mean is it really cheating? You said it yourself that Que was trying to secure him for more projects. If you put that good pussy on him, you would be helping your man. It sounds like a good idea to me.
I laughed out loud as I read his message. My friend really needed to get his life together.
Me: Boy, fuck you. I am not trading pussy for a business opportunity. Honestly, I’m not even sure how Que is gonna take it once I tell him who Keynauri is to me.
Nova: Yeah, I’m curious about how you plan to handle this. Are you gonna tell him the truth tonight or are you too mad?
At that point, I realized she wasn’t talking about Que. I couldn’t answer her question because I had no answer myself. All of this was coming at me, and there was no time for me to process everything.
I decided to wait until I got home to respond. Maybe by then I would have an answer to her question.
“Did you already order your food, or do you need to go in and place the order?” Keynauri asked.
Once again, I paid his ass no attention as I informed the driver that I needed to go inside to order my food.
He made sure to tell me that they were in no hurry, and I could take all the time I needed.
The guard on the passenger side got out of the truck and opened the door for me.
I thought he would get back in the truck, but instead, he followed me into the restaurant.
“Welcome to Crab Paradise. How can I help you tonight?”
“Hey, can I order the seafood king boil with two extra eggs and extra mild and garlic sauce? Also, can I get a medium Hurricane Daiquiri?” They made their daiquiris strong, and that was exactly what I needed tonight.
“Sure thing, love. Your total comes to fifty-five twenty-eight,” she informed me. I opened my wallet to retrieve my card, but the guard beat me to it. It caught me off guard, but I made sure to thank him afterward.
We waited for fifteen minutes before my food came out.
It was bigger than I expected. He grabbed my bag, but I made sure to grab my drink.
Hell, a few sips of my daiquiri would help me get through the rest of the ride home.
I lived about ten minutes away from the restaurant, but it seemed like thirty as we all sat in silence, aside from the radio.
The only plus side was that Keynauri hadn’t made any attempts to say anything else to me.
I continued to face the window with my back facing him so he would know I wasn’t in the mood to deal with him.
When we pulled up to the house, I assumed one of the guards would walk me to the door, but it perturbed me to see Keynauri getting out on his side.
The guard with my food stepped out as well, and I was grateful for him.
I took a couple of steps toward my driveway, but Keynauri stopped me. I stood there, debating whether to turn around. I meant what I said about not having anything to say to him. All I wanted to do was yell, scream, and cry, and none of those things would be helpful to anyone.
“You don’t have anything to say to me, and that’s cool, so just listen.
I can’t go back and undo any of the mistakes that I made, Cocoa.
You may not want to hear it, but I was fucked up.
I lost my mother and my freedom in a matter of minutes, and that shit broke me.
My momma looked dead in my eyes in that courthouse and lied on me.
She cried for the man who beat her to a bloody pulp and painted me as an angry maniac.
I might have appeared to be holding it together, but I was trying to numb myself from all of the pain I was feeling.
“When you came to see me, all I kept thinking about was the fact that you were willing to give up your life for me, and I wasn’t feeling that shit.”
I stood there frozen with so many thoughts running through my mind. The anger and resentment in my heart were much too deep for me to have a civil conversation with him. Plus, the drinks in my system impaired my judgment.
“Have a good night.”
Keynauri stood there, stunned by my response.
“Naia—”
“Don’t bother. I made it clear I have nothing to say to you.
Let’s keep it real for a moment. If you wouldn’t have run into me tonight, you wouldn’t have given me a second thought.
Right now, my feelings are raw, and I don’t have anything kind to say to you, nor am I ready to hear your excuses.
We do need to sit down and have a talk, but not tonight.
I need a moment to wrap my mind around all of this,” I stated, trying my best to keep my emotions at bay.
The liquor in my system wasn’t doing me any favors.
Keynauri stepped back with his hands tucked in his pockets. I couldn’t read the expression on his face, but I honestly didn’t care how he was feeling at the moment. It was his fault we were in the position we were in, and he wouldn’t get any sympathy from me.
“I understand. I’ll give you some time to adjust, but I’m not going anywhere.
I owe you a real explanation, if nothing else.
I’ll be in touch.” With that, he turned and got back into the van.
I breathed a sigh of relief when I watched it drive away.
I had no idea what the hell was about to happen next, but I knew things were about to get a little more hectic.