CHAPTER EIGHT
Ya’ Mya
I laid on my back in Rah's bed, chest still rising and falling heavy, my skin covered in a light sheen of sweat.
The ceiling fan above us was doing the bare minimum, just pushing hot air around the room.
Rah was next to me, one arm thrown across his eyes, the other resting on my bare stomach, his thumb tracing lazy circles on my skin.
"Damn," he finally said, his voice still rough. "Every time we fuck, Shit always feels like the first time."
I smiled, turning my head to look at him. "You always say that."
"'Cause it's true." He moved his arm from his eyes and rolled onto his side to face me, propping his head up on his hand.
"You know somethin’…. Shorty you different,”
"Different how?" I asked, even though I'd heard this before too. But I liked hearing it. I liked the way his eyes got soft when he looked at me.
"Just different. Like you really give a fuck about me, you know? Not just what I can do for you or what I got. You actually see me." He leaned down and kissed me, slow and deep, and my pussy started to throb.
But before we could get into round two, his phone buzzed on the nightstand. He groaned and reached for it, squinting at the screen.
"It's Sosa," he said, scrolling through what looked like a long ass text. "Talking about the grand opening tonight for his new spot."
"What new spot?" I asked, sitting up and pulling the sheet around me.
"He bought Club Bleu; he’s been renovating it for months. That nigga turned that shit into some elite shit," Rah showed me his phone, and I saw the flyer, it was all black and royal blue, fancy as hell, with Sosa's name in big letters at the top.
"Tonight's grand opening. Shit gon’ be crazy. Open bar, live performers, the whole nine."
"Sounds lit," I said, genuinely impressed. Sosa was doing big things, and from what I'd heard about him, he was smart too. He wasn’t just some street nigga trying to flex, he actually had business sense.
"You wanna roll with me?" Rah asked, tossing his phone back on the nightstand and turning his full attention back to me. "We can get dressed up, pull up, have a good time. What you think?"
I thought about it for a second. I didn't have shit else to do tonight, and it had been a minute since I'd been out somewhere nice. Plus, any excuse to get dressed up and look good was a win in my book.
"Yeah, I'm down," I said. Then another thought hit me. "You think I could bring Yasani?"
Rah's face shifted, sympathy replacing the playfulness. "How she doing? I heard about what happened with Rylo."
"She's..." I trailed off, trying to find the right words. "She's not okay, but she's acting like she is. You know when my big sis is going through some shit, she locks everything down and tries to act like nothing bothers her."
It had been three weeks since Yasani came home from the hospital with a swollen face and a broken heart. Three weeks of watching my big sister pretend like she wasn't falling apart inside.
She barely left the house. She wasn't answering her friends' calls.
She'd even stopped doing runs for Yatta, which was crazy because Yasani loved that shit. She just stayed in her room, scrolling through her phone or staring at the TV without really watching it.
Yatta and I had been taking turns checking on her, but there was only so much we could do. She was hurting in a way that neither of us could fix, and it killed me to watch.
"She need to get out the house," I said, more to myself than to Rah. "She been cooped up for weeks, and that ain't healthy. Maybe if she come out tonight, be around people, have some drinks, it'll help."
"You think she'll come though?" Rah asked. "No disrespect, but your sister seem like the type to say she good and stay home."
"Oh, she's definitely gonna try that shit," I said, already planning my approach in my head.
"But I ain't taking no for an answer. She need this.
She need to remember what it feel like to be outside, to feel good, to have fun.
All this sitting in the house thinking about that fuck nigga ain't doing nothing but making it worse. "
Rah nodded, reaching out to pull me closer. "Aight, bring her. The more the merrier. Plus, GMB got plenty of niggas in our crew, maybe she'll meet somebody new, and forget all about Rylo's bitch ass."
I doubt it would be that easy. Yah-Yah had really loved Rylo, and finding out he was fucking Morgan behind her back for months had broken something in her.
But Rah had a point. Being around new people, and some new energy could help.
At the very least, it would get her out of her own head for a few hours.
"What time we leaving?" I asked.
"Shit start at ten, but you know how these things go. We can pull up around eleven, that's when it'll really be poppin'." He kissed my shoulder, then my neck, then my jaw. "That give us a few hours to chill. Maybe take a shower together. Conserve water and all that."
I laughed, pushing him back playfully. "Nigga, you just tryna get some more."
"And?" He grinned, "You acting like you don't want it too."
He wasn't wrong. But if I was gonna convince Yasani to come out tonight, I needed to get home and start working on her early. She was stubborn as hell, and the longer I waited, the more excuses she'd come up with.
"Later," I promised, kissing him quick before sliding out of bed. "I need to go home and check on my sister. I gotta get her hyped for tonight."
"Aight, aight." Rah watched me get dressed, his eyes tracking every movement. "You lucky you fine, 'cause I don't let just anybody leave me hanging like this."
"Please," I said, pulling my jeans up. "You lucky I let you hit in the first place."
"Damn, it's like that?"
"It's exactly like that." I grabbed my phone off the nightstand and checked the time. Four in the afternoon. That gave me plenty of time to go home, talk to Yah, help her pick out an outfit, do her hair and makeup if she needed it.
"Text me when you ready," Rah said, getting out of bed naked as the day he was born to walk me to the door. "I'll scoop you and your sister around 10:30."
"Bet." I kissed him one more time, deeper this time, then pulled away before we ended up back in bed. "See you tonight."
* * *
The drive home was quick, Rah stayed in Englewood, just fifteen minutes from our spot. I spent the whole drive thinking about how I was gonna approach Yah-yah. I couldn't come at her too aggressive or she'd shut down. But I couldn't be too soft either or she'd just brush me off.
When I got home, the house was quiet. Yatta's car wasn't in the driveway, so he was probably out handling business. That was good, it meant I could focus all my energy on Yasani without him butting in with his overprotective big brother bullshit.
I found her exactly where I expected to, she was curled up on the couch in sweats and a hoodie, her braids I just did on her were in a messy bun, and she was watching some crime show on TV. She looked up when I walked in but didn't say anything.
"Hey," I said, dropping my purse on the counter and heading to the kitchen to grab some water.
"Hey," she replied, her voice flat.
I studied her for a second. The swelling in her face had gone down. She didn't look like she'd just been in a fight anymore. But there were dark circles under her eyes, and she'd lost weight. Not a lot, but enough that I noticed.
"You eat today?" I asked.
"Yeah."
"Liar."
She cut her eyes at me but didn't argue, which meant I was right.
Yah-Yah wasn't taking care of herself, and it was starting to show. "Look," I said, walking over to the couch and sitting down next to her. "I got something to tell you."
"If this is another speech about how I need to get over Rylo and move on, I swear to God, Mya,"
"It's not," I cut her off. "Well, not exactly. Just hear me out, okay?"
She sighed but turned her attention to me. "What?"
"Rah invited me to a party tonight. Sosa's grand opening for his new club, Club Bleu. It's supposed to be lit as fuck tonight, he gon have an open bar, live music, all the big names in the city gon’ be there." I paused, watching her face. "And I want you to come with me."
"Nah, I'm good," she said immediately, turning back to the TV.
"Y'all have fun though."
"Yah-Yah—"
"I said I'm good, Ya’mya. I'm not in the mood for a party."
"You ain't been in the mood for nothing in three weeks," I shot back. "You just been sitting in this house, rotting away. That ain't healthy, sis."
"I'm fine."
"No, you not." I grabbed the remote and turned the TV off, ignoring her protest. "You not fine.
And that's okay, nobody is expecting you to be fine.
What that nigga and Morgan did to you was fucked up.
But sitting here dwelling on it ain't helping.
You need to get out, breathe some fresh air, remember what it feel like to have fun. "
"I don't wanna see nobody," Yasani said quietly. "I don't wanna answer no questions about why me and Rylo broke up, I don't wanna deal with people all in my business,”
"Then don't," I said simply. "We go to the party, we have a good time, and if anybody ask about Rylo, we tell them to mind their fucking business. Simple shit."
She was quiet for a long moment, and I could see the internal battle playing out on her face. Part of her wanted to stay home, stay safe, stay hidden. But another part of her wanted to get out too.
"Come on, sis," I said "Just for a few hours. If you hate it, we can leave early. But at least give it a shot. For me?"
She looked at me, really looked at me, and I saw her walls start to crack just a little.
"Fine," she finally said. "But if I'm going, we going all out. If I'ma show my face in public for the first time in weeks, I'ma look good doing it."
A smile broke across my face. "That's my bitch. Now come on, we got six hours to get you looking like the baddest bitch in Chicago."
"I already am the baddest bitch in Chicago,” she said, and even though her voice was tired, I heard a hint of her old confidence coming back. And that’s all I wanted to hear.
* * *