9. Zara
9
Zara
I t had been days since I last saw Kenyon, and the silence between us was suffocating. Each hour without a text or call gnawed at me like an itch I couldn’t scratch. I missed him. The weight of it hung heavy in my chest, an ache that wouldn't go away no matter how much I tried to push it down.
My phone vibrated, and I tried to scoop it up so fast that it bobbled in my hands.
Brandy: How long are you going to be mad at me?
I threw the phone aside, leaning back against the pillows. I wanted to forget how good it felt when I was in his arms, how easily we fit together.
“Forget him.” I sighed, scooping my phone back up.
Me: Hey, I’m off early on Friday. Do you want to hang out?
Romello: Damn, and here I was holding off texting you because I didn’t know what to say, and you got straight to the point.
Me: So I’ll take that as a yes or. . .
Romello: Hell yeah.
Me: Cool, lol. I scheduled the date. Plans are on you.
Romello: Say less. I got you shorty.
I thought making plans with Romello would cure my itch for Kenyon’s cologne, but it didn’t. I was still staring at the ceiling, recalling how his fingers felt on my skin. How his tongue felt devouring my nipples when there was a knock on the door.
Shuffling down the hallway, I peered out the front window and rolled my eyes at Brandy at my door.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“So you are still mad?” Brandy asked.
“Did Otto give you the money back?”
“No,” Brandy’s head fell in shame. I tried to look past her pitiful expression, but it was wearing me down while Jewel’s voice replayed in my head. Brandy wasn’t malicious. She never had been, but that didn’t excuse the predicament she had put us in.
“But this is all I have,” she said, offering the folded-up bills.
The remorse in her eyes made me let her in.
“We’ll need a lot more money than this.”
“I know it was stupid. I just.” Brandy’s words trailed off as she shut the door. “He asked. I mean, what was I supposed to say?”
“No!” I yelled, turning around in a rage. She made it seem like rocket science when it was as simple as one plus one.
Brandy sucked her teeth, “Forget it.”
“Might as well say what you have to say. I have.”
“Otto needed help, and he didn’t have anyone else. You’ve always had someone. A mother who would move heaven and earth for you. Shana even found you a daddy that loved you like his own. The rest of us aren’t so lucky, so I let Otto hold something.”
“You have Aunt Misa and Nana.”
Brandy laughed, but there wasn’t amusement in her eyes.
“ Misa ,” she repeated. “I don’t have Misa. I never have.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked, blinking in bafflement at her statement.
“Exactly what I said, but enough about her. What are we going to do about Nana?”
My memories were far from what Brandy alluded to. Yet, her words hinted at a different reality.
“I don’t know.”
I made decent money at the club but wouldn’t have enough by the due date, leaving only one option.
Sydney.
While Kenyon hadn’t been around much, Sydney moved into Utopia. She had been less pushy but made it clear her offer still stood. Sydney said from her mouth that she had money and we needed money.
“I might know where I can get some money.”
“Where? Bitch, why didn’t you say something sooner?”
I couldn’t believe I was even considering the idea. Just thinking about being intimate with Sydney made me want to vomit. I wished it was Brandy instead of me, but she’d never survive. I wasn’t even sure I could. The only upside was knowing Kenyon would be there, too. Somehow, his presence made things seem less scary.
“Because I have to do something I don’t want to do,” I muttered through my hands covering my face.
“What would you,” Brandy’s eyes widened, “Ooohhhh!”
Despite growing up in cities with a fraction of the population, I had more sense than Brandy. My hands rested against my hairline because I didn’t see another way to get the money.
“Have you ever done that before?” Brandy’s voice was shaky.
“No, I’ve never done that before,” I mocked.
“We could just bring Nana home. I can change shifts at work so we can switch off,” Brandy suggested.
“She needs physical therapy. Occupational therapy. We can’t provide that.”
“Google. YouTube. TikTok. We can figure it out.”
I didn’t know what life had been like for Brandy while I was gone, but I had experienced the worst of it early, so I wasn’t as optimistic.
“You could start saving some money by moving back in with us. I don’t know why you even rented this place.” Brandy suggested, looking around the empty room. It wasn’t much, but it was mine.
“Your man is why I left. Plus, I like having my own space, which you intruded on by dropping by.”
“What else was I supposed to do? You wouldn’t talk to me.”
“I needed a minute. It was Mom’s birthday, and then this stuff with Nana.”
“Why didn’t you say something?”
“I’m not supposed to say anything. That’s the point.”
“Well, nobody’s here now. You can say what you want.”
“I just miss them, that’s all.”
“I know you do. Auntie was the best. I loved coming to visit you guys in the summer.”
“Me too,” I smirked. “She wanted to be the fun auntie so badly that she said yes to everything.”
“Really? It seemed like you guys did fun stuff all the time.”
“We did, but she was extra nice whenever you came.”
“More than I can say for mine.”
“Where is Aunt Misa?” Brandy shrugged, refusing to make eye contact, which frustrated me even more. “What does that mean?”
“She’s over in Harborview with her new family, so it’s just me and Nana. Always has been.”
“I’m sorry.”
Brandy waved off my empathy, but how she changed the subject told me she wasn’t as used to it as she claimed, “We should go out tonight.”
“I’m still halfway mad at you, so no.”
“I’m your only lifeline, so unless you want Utopia to be your only entertainment, curse me out so we can wrap this up.” I desperately wanted to, but Brandy was right. For better or worse, all we had was each other. When I didn’t object or accept her invitation to curse, Brandy outlined our day. “First, we will visit Nana, of course, and then tonight, we’ll go out. I’m about to text Jewel.”
“I’m not going.”
“Sitting in here sulking won’t make the money magically fall out of the sky. So yes, we’re going out.”
Pulling the blanket over my head, but Brandy called Jewel on speakerphone. They were far too loud to fall asleep, but I made it clear I wouldn’t go anywhere if I didn’t see Nana first.
Brandy agreed, and the two of us rode to Serenity Springs. When we walked in, Nana Banana said we looked like the Bobbsey Twins, whoever they were. Although she wasn’t in the best mood today, seeing us together lifted her spirits so much that she encouraged us to get out and have fun.
After three failed plans, the night turned into a dummy mission, and I was halfway pissed. I could’ve saved my cute outfit and stayed home in my bed. Instead, we walked inside the diner to eat after our failed quest for fun.
“I can taste Margie’s pancakes right now,” Brandy swooned.
“Girl, I’m so hungry!” Jewel complained.
“You should’ve got a plate from Quanita’s,” I suggested, referring to her play cousin. We had gone to a selling party at her apartment, but nigga’s started fighting, and the police ended our night early.
“Girl, you saw her apartment. I wasn’t eating shit out of there. Cousin or not,” Jewel complained.
“I don’t even know why you suggested we go. I haven’t stopped itching since we left,” Brandy grumbled.
“Uh uh, don’t blame my cousin for Otto’s shit,” Jewel joked, and Brandy playfully raised her fist as we headed for the counter.
“Damn baby, can I get your name?” A deep male voice called out, touching my arm.
“Nova.”
“I’m Makori,” he introduced, shaking my hand. Then he started strumming his beard. “Nova, you look familiar.”
“Aren’t you the new shorty from Utopia?” One of the guys behind him asked.
“Nice to meet you, but my girls are waiting for me.”
“Aw, come on, don’t be like that. I’ve seen you shaking ass, so I know you’re not shy.”
How he said it, so smug and sure of himself, made my stomach twist. It wasn’t just the words. He looked at me like I was easy because I took my clothes off for a living. Makori could never get my attention, so I turned to catch up with Brandy and Jewel.
“Woah, baby.” He caught my arm in stride, and I turned around, “If you let me, I can feed you. Shit, I can do more than that.”
“I‘d starve first.”
“What nigga’s gotta throw a ‘lil money to get your attention?”
“Leave her alone, damn!” Jewel fussed, and the way he flipped her the bird, it seemed they were at least acquainted.
“You could throw all the money in the world, and I still wouldn’t give you the time of day. Lame ass nigga.”
“Shit, that isn’t what I heard. Guess that’s how you afford the designer shit you’re sporting. Opening for the highest bidder,” Makori laughed, digging in his pocket.
I stared in disbelief as Makori started throwing bills at me. "Walking around like you’re the shit! You’re just like the rest of them bitches at Utopia!” he sneered, his voice slicing through the diner's murmur.
A shadow loomed over me just as a wad of crumpled notes struck my chest. Before I could react, a sharp crack sent Makori stumbling backward, clutching his jaw.
“Pick that shit up!” Kenyon barked, and the entire diner grew quiet. Even the spatula had stopped scraping against the commercial range.
Makori was already writhing on the old tile floor when Kenyon’s fist struck his jaw again. They looked about the same size, but the way he lifted Makori by his shirt, you would’ve thought Kenyon was a giant.
“Pick that shit up and hand it to her!”
He stalled, staring at Kenyon, wondering if he was serious.
“You can’t hear now?” Kenyon’s fist cracked him again. It was so hard I had to turn my head.
Makori’s chest heaved, scooping the bills in his hand and offering them to me.
“I don’t want it,” My eyes were glued to Kenyon, but he was focused on teaching Makori a lesson.
“Now apologize for being a weak ass nigga who can’t accept rejection,” he ordered, ignoring my statement.
“I’m sorry.”
Kenyon’s forehead wrinkled before aggressively poking Makori’s temple. He bit his bottom lip, embarrassed and annoyed but not enough to retaliate. At this moment, I realized the weight Kenyon carried in this city.
“Sorry for what?”
“That’s enough, Kenyon. Seriously, drop it.”
I was used to having eyes on me in the club because I was doing something worth the attention. Standing in a diner while the heartthrob of the city defended my honor was a level of attention I didn’t want.
“I’m sorry for being a weak ass nigga,” Makori gritted.
Kenyon nodded, then his hand gripped the back of his neck, yanking him in close. Nobody else could hear it, but I did, and the ice in Kenyon’s tone was unmistakable before shoving Makori into the door.
“You didn’t have to do all that,” I fussed while he watched Makori and his crew stumble out the door.
Slowly, he turned to look at me, the storm in his eyes. Then he flashed that magnetic smile that held me captive every time I got a taste.
“I can handle myself.”
“I know, but pretty girls shouldn’t have to. I handle women delicately. That’s why I’m everybody’s favorite, including Zara Nicole’s.”
My mind was still trying to figure out how, seconds ago, he wanted to kill Makori but was now grinning at me. Solving the mystery of Kenyon Keyes would send me to an asylum.
“Stop calling me that.”
At this point, I needed to put the message on my forehead, but in true Kenyon fashion, he ignored it and did what he wanted.
“Miss Margie, can I please get my usual?” he yelled over his shoulder to the woman behind the register while chewing a piece of gum.
“I got you, baby,” she agreed.
“Thank you.”
Silence stretched between us as he examined me, looking for signs of damage. “You haven’t given me anything else to call you. Nice shirt, by the way.”
It was the same T-shirt I borrowed on Mom’s birthday from his closet. I meant to leave it, but Sydney walked in screaming, messing up my thoughts. It paired well with my camo pants and sneakers, tied in the front for a cute, comfortable fit.
“I started to cut it, but something told me to Google the label. You paid $600 for a T-shirt?”
Right now, that six hundred could go a long way, but Kenyon Keyes wasn’t hurting for money, so he chuckled at how shocked I was.
“I like nice things,” he replied, using the knot in the front to pull me closer, “You lied to me too.”
My neck buckled. “What did I lie about?”
“One visit to the crib, and you’re already taking shit that doesn’t belong to you.”
“You want it back?” I offered, but Kenyon's rhythmic chews took over to prevent his slick comment from sneaking out. “Why are you chewing on that gum like that?”
Then Kenyon dangled it between his teeth, taunting me, “Want some?”
“No! That’s gross.”
Suddenly, it felt like the air in the diner stopped working, but it was the gaze of every woman watching Kenyon lean in close, “Don’t get cute in your six-hundred-dollar shirt like you haven’t had my spit in your mouth before,” Kenyon flirted.
“Aye, Keyes!” Nolan called out, throwing his hand up to wave at me. When Kenyon turned around, he nodded toward the door.
“Miss Margie, can you make that order go quickly?” Kenyon announced, and once again, she agreed. “Cheer up. I’ll hit you later.”
“I won’t hold my breath,” I lied, walking back to the booth where Brandy and Jewel sat.
Easing into the seat, Brandy tried to pretend she was watching her phone, but Jewel didn’t hold back. I listened to her point out how Keyes winked before he left and defended me against Makori. After we finished eating, we asked for the check, but Kenyon had already taken care of that because he was always two steps ahead.