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“Aight, I’m finna head back inside,” Shameek said, closing my passenger side door.

Jaharee waited until he was halfway back to the house before speaking.

“I’m not accusing nobody of anything, so don’t start getting defensive. I’m just saying my brother is getting real possessive over you, and the shit is starting to look like some relationship type shit.”

“Yeah, you’re reading too much into it.”

“I’m not stupid, Kyenna. I love both of y’all if there is something for me to know. I’m sure eventually somebody will tell me,” she said, hugging me.

CHAPTER 29

SHAMEEK

As I eased the front door to Kyenna’s house closed, the sun hadn’t fully made up its mind about coming out yet. That was exactly how I wanted it. The compound was quiet as fuck around this time. Pops and Mama weren’t morning people unless they had somewhere to be, and Jaharee didn’t come back home last night. Kyenna’s security already knew what the fuck was going on, which is why I kept their pockets laid. I stood on Kyenna’s porch for a second and looked toward the road before heading down the steps. What we were doing was so reckless, but not enough for me to stop. I had gone over there because she texted me about something small. I couldn’t even remember what the original conversation was about. By midnight, I was in bed with her doing what we did best. By two, we were downstairs eating fucking ice cream. By four, we were back upstairs making love in the shower. What started as sneaking had slowly turned into being comfortable in each other’s house.

I knew what side of the bed she liked to sleep on, how she liked her water temperature, and where she kept extra wash clothes and towels. I knew how her ass hated the television being on but needed the small lights on the floorboards because she hated walking in complete darkness. Sex was one thing. Knowing somebody’s habits was something different. That shit was dangerous. I stepped towards my golf cart and got on it to head home. I was halfway to my house when headlights flashed near the main gate. I stopped driving because no one should’ve been on this road. The truck pulled off, and it was too far away for me to see a tag, but I knew the make and model. I got in the house and went straight to the shower when Nikki started calling. I let it ring as I stripped out of my clothes and stepped in the shower.

The vibes had been weird between Nikki and me. That was on me, though. Kyenna had taken over most of her time, which is why I was about to go off when she was with Lloyd. I still felt like Nikki saw something in my phone that night, even though she would never admit it. She wasn’t the type to stay quiet. She was very vocal if she felt a way. My phone went off two more times as I showered. I stepped out of the shower dripping wet and answered.

“What’s up? You good, callin’ this early in the mornin’.”

“Can you come over?”

“I’m kinda in the bed right now.”

“Is that not the shower water I hear in the background?”

Fuck!

“Yeah, you called so many times and woke me up, so I decided to try to shower. What do you need?”

“I think we need to talk. No arguing. Can you come over when you get yourself together?”

“You straight?”

“I’m good, Shameek. I just want to talk and fix this between us.”

“Okay, give me a little while, and I’ll be over there.”

“Okay.” She hung up.

“Fuck she on?” I stared at the phone.

I was a lot of things, but stupid wasn’t one of them. Something was off. She never called me before the sun came up unless something was wrong. I hoped she didn’t hit me with no pregnancy bullshit. I made myself clear that I didn’t want kids. Instead of waiting, I brushed my teeth and washed my face before getting dressed. I sat in my backyard by the pool and smoked half a blunt to calm my nerves. It was almost nine when I pulled up to her house. She hadn't opened her curtains yet. I knocked and used my key to enter. I had a feeling she was in the kitchen. She was sitting at the table with a cup of coffee. Her hair was pulled back, and she wasn’t dressed. All she had on was a robe.

“What’s goin’ on?”

“Sit down.”

I looked at the chair and took her appearance in.

“Nikki, if you got somethin’ to say, say it. I don’t need the dramatic setup. You said no arguin’.”

“I’m not being dramatic. I’m trying to have a conversation with you without either one of us walking out before it’s finished. So please, sit down.”

The please made me do it. I sat across from her. She took a sip of her coffee. The silence between us was wearing me out. I leaned back in the chair.

“You called me over to just sit here?”