Chapter 4 #2
“Swing by my parents’ house tomorrow afternoon, if you and the missus don’t have anything going on,” Melo told Sarge.
“We shouldn’t, but I’ll check with her and see.”
Melo nodded. “A’ight. ‘Preciate ya, like always. Get home safely.”
Sarge let him know he would, feeling like a proud father.
Melo grabbed his things, stepped out of the SUV, shut the door behind him, and walked toward the garage.
The neighborhood was quiet this time of night, and that was exactly how he liked it.
After spending hours surrounded by music, liquor, women, and niggas who wanted to shake his hand every five minutes, coming home to silence felt damn near therapeutic.
Once inside, he slipped off his shoes and headed upstairs. His body was tired, but his mind was still moving. He had an extensive to-do list and a packed schedule for the upcoming week, but something else had stayed on his mind since he’d left the arena. Honestly, since he’d left the stage.
Laying eyes on Kwinn had been the highlight of his night. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen her, but baby girl was still fine as ever. He’d known of her for years, never getting too close but close enough.
Everybody from the East knew everybody, especially when they were younger and always running into the same people at the same functions, house parties, clubs, and neighborhood kickbacks. She’d been cute back then, but Kwinn had grown into a whole woman.
The type of woman Melo wanted.
Melo fucked with the confidence Kwinn carried, and the way she spoke without seeming impressed by who he was.
She hadn’t been throwing herself at him backstage or acting starstruck.
She’d looked him in the eyes, complimented his performance, and talked to him like he was simply a man she’d known and was catching up with.
After a hot shower, he brushed his teeth, washed his face, and climbed into bed.
Exhaling, he laid in the quietness, thanking God for yet another great night.
He had a lot to be grateful for. His career was still moving exactly as he’d prayed it would, his family was good, his money was straight, and he had another week ahead of him full of opportunities that people would kill for.
Still, his mind kept circling back to Kwinn.
Instead of putting his phone down and going to sleep like he knew he should’ve, Melo opened Instagram.
He didn’t even bother scrolling; he went straight to the search bar and typed in Kwinn’s name.
Her page was the first to pop up, and Melo smiled.
He’d come across her business page for The Taylor Collective a while back but hadn’t gotten around to following her personal page.
“Pretty ass.” He grinned, scrolling through her profile.
Melo wasn’t sure what he expected to find, but her page told him more about her than he’d learned in their brief backstage conversation.
She had pictures of her work, including beautiful rooms she’d designed, furniture selections, mood boards, and finished spaces that looked like they belonged in a magazine.
There were pictures of her dressed up, pictures with family and friends, and enough of her face for Melo to want to see it again before he closed his eyes.
He stopped on one picture in particular, studying it for a few seconds before continuing through the rest of her page.
Kwinn didn’t just post pretty rooms. There was a sense of pride in what she shared, and it was obvious she loved what she did.
Melo respected that. He knew what it looked like when someone built something from the ground up and took pride in putting their name on it.
Highly interested, he swiped through a few more pictures before noticing she wasn’t following him.
Chuckling, Melo nodded. “That’s cool. I’ma follow you first.”
Without hesitation, he followed her, tapped the message button, and started typing. If nothing else, he was a man of action.
It was good seeing you tonight.
He stared at the message before doubling back to send another one.
You make it home?
Figuring she’d see it and respond when she woke up, he exited his messages, went to the home page, and scrolled for a bit.
The people who’d come out tonight were showing him nothing but love, but that was a given.
He’d been doing this long enough to know how quickly a good performance could turn into thousands of notifications, mentions, tags, and messages from people who wanted his attention.
Right now, all he wanted was Kwinn’s, and he’d gotten it quicker than he expected. A reply from her waited for him, and Melo licked his lips, eager to see what she was on.
Yes, we made it. Thanks for checking.
He grinned, peeping her polite straight forwardness. It was damn near three in the morning, so he was sure Kwinn thought he was on some bullshit hitting her up this late.
No problem. Can I call you?
He watched the screen as three dots appeared, then disappeared, before popping up again. Finally, Kwinn’s response appeared.
Right now or in general?
Melo chuckled, typing quickly.
Shit, right now and in general. Tryna hear yo’ voice and see your gorgeous face before I call it a night.
Straight up with it, Melo wasted no time letting her know what it was. His eyes were glued to the screen, and he grinned when her one-word reply came through.
Sure.
Melo wasn’t expecting her to send over her number, but part of him lowkey wanted her to. It was all good, though. Given the green light, he tapped the phone icon, then tapped video call. He listened to it ring for a few seconds, hoping she wasn’t just sitting there watching him hit her up.
On the other side of town, Kwinn was snuggled under the covers when her phone vibrated.
A wave of nervousness hit her immediately.
She’d given him permission to call, so she wasn’t surprised.
Still, seeing his name light up her phone made something warm flutter low in her stomach, and she ignored it.
Answering the call while turning down her volume, Kwinn slipped out of bed, slipped on her house shoes, and quietly made her way into the hallway.
Pushing the guest bedroom door open, she stepped inside, closed it, and flipped on the bedside lamp.
Kwinn smiled nervously into the screen and realized she still had her bonnet on.
“Um, hey,” she said, removing the satin garment.
Melo grinned. “What’s up with you? Why you taking that off?”
“Because I didn’t expect you to call so quickly, especially on video. You don’t need to see me like this.”
Melo wouldn’t give a fuck how she answered his call. Real niggas didn’t care about a bonnet, a scarf, or any of that. Kwinn’s pretty face was enough for him.
“You good, my baby. Keep it on. You gotta protect that hair, right?” Melo asked, knowing what was up.
Kwinn playfully rolled her eyes, ignoring his endearment. “Mhm. I do.”
“A’ight then, you good. But what’s up? I didn’t see you at the club.”
“Yeah, I know. We weren’t really feeling it, so we came home,” Kwinn said.
Melo nodded. Had he not been obligated, he would’ve been on the same thing. “I feel that. You coo’ with DMacc’s people?”
“My best friend’s sister is Demarcus’ best friend.”
Melo chuckled. “It’s funny hearing you call him that.”
Giggling, Kwinn shook her head. The world knew him as DMacc, but he introduced himself as Demarcus, and that’s what she was going to call him.
“That’s what he said earlier.”
“I already know, but what’s up with you? You been good?”
Kwinn nodded. “I have. Busy as always, but I’m sure you can relate.”
“Fasho, but I enjoy my off days too. The business got you going, huh?”
Melo was nosy. He didn’t care that he’d just scrolled her page, making himself privy to a life he had no idea about.
“It does, but I’m not really trying to talk about work at three in the morning. So, what’s up, Mr. Melo?” she said, smirking.
He’d asked to call her for a reason, and Kwinn was sure it wasn’t to listen to her run her mouth about work.
Her nerves settled as she relaxed in the lounge chair, tucking her feet beneath her.
She watched intently as Melo placed a lit blunt to his mouth, took a deep pull, then exhaled.
Smoking wasn’t part of his daily routine, but Kwinn was glad he’d indulged.
To her, it was the sexiest thing to watch.
“No small talk. A’ight. I got you. And call me Malone. Save Melo for the fans,” he said, taking another pull.
Kwinn smirked. “What if I’m a fan, though?”
“Let me hear you scream my name, and I’ll believe you.”
Lowering her phone, Kwinn grinned hard. “I’m sure you’d love that.” She chuckled, reappearing. “What’s your full name?”
“Malone Christian.”
“Malone Melo Christian,” Kwinn said, then gasped. “Wait! Your initials are literally MMC,” she exclaimed, giggling.
“Yeah, what else does that mean?” Melo asked, curious about her excitement.
“Book talk. Your initials mean you’re the main male character of a book,” Kwinn explained.
Melo smirked. “Shit, a nigga wouldn’t want to be the side character. So, that fits. What kind of books you be reading?”
“I bet it does.” She chuckled and answered him. “All kinds, but I’ve always been an urban and romance lover since a teenager. I read a few thrillers here and there too.”
Melo nodded. “That’s what’s up. Give me a book you read recently that you’d think I’d fuck with.”
Giggling, Kwinn shrugged. “Um, that’s hard to say. I don’t really know your taste.”
Melo licked his lips. Truthfully, he had a taste for her, but he’d let the weed fill the space she couldn’t yet. “Something that’s gon’ keep me entertained. Some real nigga shit. They be saying nigga in the books you read?”
Kwinn laughed and nodded. “Of course they do, but not all of them. They have to be Black main characters for sure, though.”
“Okay, okay,” Melo said, more than interested. “Bet. Give me your top two. One urban and a romance, and I’ma see what they’re about.”
“Just so you know, they be fucking in these books, too,” Kwinn informed.
“Even better.” Melo chuckled.