Chapter 8
“I’m so nervous. Thanks for coming with me before your flight.”
I nodded at Kimaji. Graham probably wouldn’t want me to be a part of their conversation, but I knew I had to be near for my girl.
He hadn’t reached out and neither had I.
I knew he had been in Beaumont with his people.
He’d told Kimaji as much. I just hoped he would have been thinking about me the way I’d been thinking about him.
He said I was his . . . while I knew he meant sexually, it just felt like he meant more.
Hopefully, he would show up on time. I had to be at the airport in a couple of hours to fly to Baltimore to meet with Noah and his team.
He was moving quick as hell. We just had a Zoom meeting yesterday.
I hadn’t heard a peep from my record label .
. . nothing about any more bookings or even recording the next album.
My contract was for three albums, and I’d only done two so far.
When I saw a Range Rover pull into the lot of Kindred Stories, I knew it was him.
We chose here to meet, since Kimaji wanted to pick up a couple of books.
She loved to read, especially urban romance.
The door opened, and he got out wearing a black sweatsuit.
It was somewhat chilly in Houston today, only in the sixties.
“He’s here, Arlie.”
I nodded and got out of Maj’s Equinox. I offered to upgrade her shit, but she refused.
She said I wasn’t where I wanted to be yet and didn’t need to be shelling out money.
She was doing fine financially. The free trips as my assistant were more than enough for her.
We stood close to the vehicle, waiting for him to get to us.
I wouldn’t move from this spot unless he said it was okay for me to be there.
“What’s up, Kimaji?” he said when he got close.
She grinned. “Hi, Graham. Can I uh . . . Can I hug you?”
He extended his arms, and she fell into them, damn near sobbing. Graham’s eyes made their way to mine as he awkwardly tried to console her. I could tell that he wasn’t nearly as comfortable as she was. I smiled slightly and shrugged.
Kimaji suddenly pulled away and smoothed out her clothes and his. “I’m so sorry. Is it okay if Arlie sits in on our talk? I brought her along for support in case our talk didn’t go well. I mean . . . After our hug, I feel like it will.”
He stared at me for a moment, and my coochie said, hey, boo.
I swore this bitch got on my nerves. My blinks slowed, and I could feel my knees get weak.
Before he could respond, I found myself in his arms. I didn’t even remember walking to him.
Jesus. When I pulled away from him, I put my hand to the back of his neck and pulled him to me.
He licked his lips, then kissed my lips.
“I guess it’s okay for her to sit in then,” Kimaji said, then chuckled.
We were lost in one another for a good couple of minutes when I finally looked away and headed toward the building. He wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me back to him. He kissed my ear, and said, “I guess big mama missed me.”
“What you think? This hard ass dick against my back saying he missed her too.”
He released me, and we continued to the building as he asked, “You free today?”
“I catch a flight in a few hours to Baltimore.”
“You on PW-112?”
“I think so. Noah funded the flight.”
“Most likely you on my aircraft. Damn.”
“You acting like you tryna be my man.”
I only said that to gauge his temperature. It felt like he wanted me to be his when he said it. Now, he was behaving like I was already his. He didn’t know shit about me, other than me being a rapper from Houston.
“Why would I be trying to be something you said you don’t want? That would be a waste of my time.”
Damn. I guess he checked me. I didn’t bother responding to that.
He opened the door for us, and Kimaji and I walked through, heading to the bookstore’s suite.
Once inside and greeted by the staff, we made our way to a back table.
I could see the whispers as they stared at me.
They recognized me. That was always a good feeling.
I wasn’t as noticed as other celebrities.
Once we were seated, Kimaji smiled big. “I’m so excited that you’re here. I’m assuming that you’re interested in getting to know me as your sister.”
Graham smiled, and my pussy gushed. This shit was on my last nerve. My leg began bouncing uncontrollably as he said, “Yeah. Do we have any other siblings?”
“Not on our mother’s side. I’m not sure about on your dad’s side.”
He nodded. I could tell he was either thinking hard or trying to decide if he should ask certain things.
“I knew I was adopted, but I figured I wasn’t wanted, so why would I search for people who didn’t want me?
I think it’s probably the stereotypical thought of every kid who’s adopted.
I was a baby, so I wasn’t really interested.
When you approached me, I was intrigued, but more by your excitement, than disappointment. How long have you known about me?”
“As long as I can remember. She didn’t call you Graham though. She called you Kyleon. I’m assuming your parents changed your name as a baby.”
I nodded. “They did. My mama is bougie as hell and thought Kyleon sounded ghetto. She’s gotten better with that attitude of hers.”
“Well, she probably think my name is extremely ghetto,” Maj said and laughed.
While they got acquainted, I stood and looked around the store.
I wasn’t much of a reader, but I was intrigued.
Some of the covers seemed to just grab me.
When I stopped in front of a book titled Guilty Remains by Alecea Walters, I stopped.
I liked horror, thriller, mystery and suspense shit. It gave that vibe.
A lady appeared next to me, and said, “Hello, SOLA. It’s an honor to have you visit our store.”
I turned to her and smiled. “Thank you. My friend is more of a reader than I am, but this book does have me intrigued.”
“Well, it’s written by a teenager. She was only fourteen when she wrote it. It’s a young adult thriller, mystery type book. While it’s suitable for kids ages eleven and up, it’s still entertaining for adults.”
“Wow. Fourteen, huh?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Okay. I’ll get this one but let me keep looking around to see if I want anything else.”
“Okay. Take your time.”
She walked away and left me to shop in peace.
When I came across Everybody Ain’t Your Friend by Tanisha Stewart, I knew I had to have that one.
I learned that before entering the industry.
That was an important lesson for where I was headed.
Of course, having my friend sleep with my boyfriend was painful, it helped me to learn to keep people at a distance until I was sure they had my best interests at heart, like Kimaji.
It was her that saw what was going on and told me about it.
She didn’t catch them in the act, but she surely saw the flirtatious behavior between the two of them.
After grabbing a few more books by Danielle Allen, Jahquel J, and Alexandra Warren, I made my way to the register. Kimaji and I could read these together, if she hadn’t already read them.
“Wow! You got quite a few books, miss non-reader.”
I chuckled. “Their covers caught my attention. Although I can tell a few of these are romance, I think I’ll be okay with that,” I said as I glanced back at Maj and Graham.
“Oh yes. These authors are top tier. All of them were here at some point in April and this month.”
“For a signing?”
“Yes, ma’am and discussion. You should check out our calendar and see if you can attend one.”
“I’ll do that.”
I pulled my card from my wallet to pay for my purchases as my phone rang. It was my dad. I’d forgotten to call him a couple of days ago. After paying for my purchases, I walked out to call him back since I’d missed the call.
“Hey, baby girl. You in town?”
“Hey, Daddy. Sorry I forgot to call you back. I’m in town, but I’m headed back out in a couple of hours.”
“Okay. I wanted to let you know that Bilal is in the hospital.”
I frowned. Bilal was my older brother. He stayed in the streets, so I hoped it wasn’t anything that could possibly claim his life. “What happened?”
“He got shot, baby. When the Pattersons dismantled all they shit, he should have hung with Jungle and got legit. I guess he thought he could make a career out of the drug trade.”
“Daddy, how is he?”
“He’s in ICU. He was shot in the abdomen. He lost quite a bit of blood. It’s been touch and go for a couple of days.”
“Dammit, B. I hate that. I really want to be there, but this trip is going to change my career. Shit!” I said a little too loudly.
“Baby, do what you have to do for you. Bilal got himself here. He knows you would be here if you could be.”
I swallowed hard, trying to subdue my emotions. That was to no avail when I heard the tremble in my dad’s voice.
“I tried so hard to do right by him. Before your mother passed away, she told me to make sure I did my best to get his ass out of those streets. I promised her.”
“Daddy, you did your best. You couldn’t make him change. He had to want that for himself. Bilal is thirty-two years old. That’s not on you.”
I wiped my tears, thankful I wasn’t wearing makeup. I was ugly crying. When I felt a presence next to me, I flinched. It was Kimaji with tissue. She handed it to me and caressed my back. “Daddy, what hospital are y’all at?”
“Methodist in the medical center on Fannin. He’s in the Walter Tower. They’re full, so he ended up on this side.”
“Okay. Let me call you back,” I said when I saw Graham standing next to Kimaji.
After ending the call, I said, “I’ll be right back.”