8. Partners
Partners
MEHKI
Being in Julissa’s art room always brought about a sense of peace and was money well spent.
When I moved her into the brownstone I’d rented, her only request was that I made sure she had a room dedicated to creating, a space where she could make the most imperfect things beautiful.
For Julissa, it was not only her therapy, but she’d taken her passion for creating and made it a lucrative business.
“Baby,” Julissa called to me.
“Hm?” I replied without looking up, too focused on the clay on my hands and the masterpiece I was making. We were doing pottery.
“I think your bowl is leaning,” she teased.
“That’s ‘cause you not looking at it through your normal lens, bae. You looking through that I just got fucked real good lens. It’s your lazy eye that’s throwing you off.”
“Boy,” she giggled, “it’s leaning because your hands aren’t steady.”
I looked down at the bowl, and she was damn sure right, but I couldn’t admit to it.
“Girl, this bowl got character.”
She bust out laughing. “Yeah, and we gon’ keep it right on the shelf amongst your other pieces that have character.”
“Ohhh, so you put my shit up there ‘cause you don’t think it’s good enough to sell. I see how it is now.”
“Awww,” she expressed lovingly, getting up from her stool and wrapping her arms around my neck, careful not to drip clay on my chest. “I love your pieces. I leave them up there for me. Mine is next to yours. They’re my trophies.”
I shook my head. “Now you gassing it to make me feel better. It’s cool though.” I turned my head to kiss her forearm. “You can turn the machine off. I think I’m just about done.”
Walking around me, she turned it off, and the bowl stopped spinning. “Now, we gotta carve your signature into it.”
“Aight.” I put my initials underneath the bowl and set it to the side.
Getting up from the stool I sat on, I walked over to the portable sink she had set up.
“How’s everything coming along at the new property? You think about the wall art I mentioned to you?”
“It’s a project, but I’m up for the task. And yes, I found the perfect spot for you to come and do your thing.”
As a creative, Ju had her hand in many things.
One of them was painting. She was an independent contractor and did a lot of work in different homes and commercial establishments.
People were often sold on her personality alone, so she stayed booked.
When she didn’t have any jobs on the books, I’d walk her through flips to see if there were any special touches she could add to the walls to bring the spaces to life.
And whether it was a simple accent wall or a custom paint job, she always executed the vision.
Unlike Karima, whose world was structured by calendars, the latest fashion, and whatever ideas revolved around her, Julissa thrived on her love for creating.
The way her eyes lit up when she was starting something new was the complete opposite from the woman I’d met a year and a half ago whose eyes held pain that she tried to suppress with a smile.
“I’m at work, Walt. I will come and get my stuff as soon as I leave. Please do not put my things out.”
I heard a hushed voice plead as I exited the bathroom at New Blends coffeehouse.
It was packed just like any other Monday morning, but I couldn’t let it deter me from my Brown Sugar Shaken espresso with coconut cream, oat milk, and caramel drizzle.
My mother had introduced me to the drink, and I’d made it a staple in my week at least three times.
The door swung closed, and I could see a woman standing at the back exit cradling a phone to her ear. We locked eyes briefly before she averted her gaze, focusing back on the call. I didn’t know what it was, but something in me said to take my time walking back to the front.
“I’ll be there right after my shift.” She spoke again before I heard her steps in my direction. “Excuse me, sir,” she managed to get out, and I stepped aside, allowing her to pass.
She walked behind the counter and over to the register.
I watched the baristas move like clockwork, taking orders, calling them out, then preparing them.
Everything was synchronized, which was one of the things besides their coffee that put them above a Starbucks or Dunkin chain.
The baristas at New Blends moved with precision and care.
I waited patiently before reaching the front of the line where she stood at the register.
“Good morning. What can I…” Her voice got caught, and her eyes closed briefly, like she was composing herself.
Clearing her throat, she went to speak again. This time, her words were accompanied by a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes, which were red around the edges. It was obvious that she had been crying, but it hadn’t taken away from her natural beauty.
“What can I get you today?” she asked in the most welcoming tone she could muster up.
It was clear to anyone with eyes that she was performing happiness rather than feeling it.
“I’ll have whatever you usually have to brighten up your morning.”
“I think it’s too early for a Tequila Sunrise.” She flashed a small smile that actually seemed genuine. “Besides, we don’t make those here anyway.”
“Okay. Then, let’s do this. You take my regular coffee order then let me take you out to get that Tequila Sunrise.”
She looked down then back up at me, tucking one of her locs behind her ear. “I have to take your order before this line gets long again.”
I ran down my order, and she rang me up.
After paying, I stepped to the side and waited for my coffee.
I left that day, glad that I had put a smile on her face and found myself there the rest of the week to do it again.
By the time Friday rolled around, I convinced her to give me her number and let me take her out for that drink.
She did, and time did the rest of the job.
“If you scrub your hands any longer, you might scrub the skin off, baby.”
Ju’s voice pulled me back to the present. I laughed, turning off the water and taking the paper towel she held out to me.
“You were in deep thought.”
“I was.”
She smiled, taking my place in front of the sink. “Happy thoughts, I hope.”
“I was thinking about when we first met.” I wrapped my arms around her from behind and kissed the nape of her neck.
“Ohh, noo,” she groaned. “That wasn’t a happy time.”
“So, meeting a nigga didn’t make you happy? I’m crushed, Ju.”
“Oh, be quiet.” She turned to me after drying her hands and threw them around my neck. “Meeting you changed my life in the most positive way.” She pecked my lips. “That day was just a fucked-up day.”
“Yeah, they didn’t have no Tequila Sunrise in the back.”
Laughing, she hit my chest. “Shut up.” Kissing me again, she pulled away and went to start cleaning up. “Any updates on Key?”
“What kind of updates you lookin’ for?” I asked, pulling my t-shirt back over my head.
She paused and focused on me. “I’m not tryna be messy, if that’s what you thinkin’.”
“Not at all. I know you. That’s not your character.” I leaned back against the wall to watch her.
“Okay, good. I was just asking. I could tell she’d piqued your interest by the way you brought her up to me and Karima.”
“And how was that?” I questioned, wanting to see if she knew me the way she thought she did.
“Ummm, lemme see,” she started, leaning back with her hands on one of the stools. “When your interest is piqued, you smile different.”
“Get the fuck outta here.” I bust out laughing, and she did too.
“I’m serious. I can’t explain it. I just know it when I see it.”
“You pay attention to me too much. But to answer your question, I’ve been around her a few times since the club. Not enough to say I know her but enough to know that it’s worth exploring for now. How does that make you feel?”
“You know me. I’m all about people doing what makes them happy, you included. After wasting so many years of my life under someone’s thumb and not being able to feel, I encourage you to do what feels right.”
“Yeah.”
“How is she though? I know she fine so far, but what else?”
I smirked at Ju wanting to know the rundown, knowing she wasn’t trying to size up the competition.
“She funny. She marches to the beat of her own drum and got a smart-ass mouth.”
Her brow curled up. “You sure this not another Karima?”
“Nowhere close.” I chuckled. “Key really in a league of her own. All of you are.”
She nodded silently. “You think she would mesh well with us?”
“Nah. And not because of y’all, but this lifestyle ain’t her speed.”
“It wasn’t ours either. But me and Rima eventually bonded over our love for you.”
“You right, but it didn’t take convincing. I don’t wanna convince anyone of anything they’re not willingly with.”
“I get that. So, in the meantime…”
“In the meantime, I don’t rush anything. I let it happen naturally, and we’ll cross that bridge if we get there.”
“Well, while you’re taking your time there,” she untied the halter dress she had on and let it fall to her feet, “can we make the most out of the time we have now and see who can reach their climax the fastest?”
“You’ve learned nothing from the way I made your body convulse upstairs earlier, huh?”
She turned around and touched her toes. “I think I need another lesson.”
If Ju did nothing else, she made sure that I was fully satisfied, both sexually and mentally. But there was something missing, and I had a feeling Key was going to be the key to helping me figure it out.
I’d just pulled my chain over my neck when my phone rang on my dresser. Glancing over at it, I saw Mav’s name on the screen and answered the call on speakerphone.
“What’s good, bruh?”
“Shit. What time you heading this way? We startin’ soon, and I ain’t waiting on nobody.”
The time on my phone read 3:45 p.m. The tournament was set to start at four-thirty.
“I’ll be there before time, nigga.”
“Aight, cool. Who you pullin’ up wit’?”
“Riding solo,” I said, reaching for my Creed Aventus cologne and spraying it on. “My partner meeting me there though.”