Page 10

H arlem

A month and a half later

There was no way I should have been this gone over a man like I was over Kinga this fast. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but the man gave energy like no other. He said he had never been the type to be in a relationship or constantly around somebody, but I begged to differ. His energy and how he was around me was enough to hook me. The thing was, I couldn’t help but wonder when the other shoe would drop. It wasn’t that I thought he was a different person or anything, but everybody had a different side to them, right?

“You’ve been smiling since you got here. Must be Kinga, huh?” Caya asked, gripping my hair like she had an attitude with me.

“Probably, but damn bitch, you tryna have me leave up out of here bald.”

She laughed. “It’s not my fault you got this soft ass hair. Shit is ungraspable.”

“Girl, bye. Stop pulling my hair like you're crazy.”

“Blow dry this shit next time and maybe I won’t struggle to grip this shit. But do tell. What’s up with you and your new boo?”

“Nothing is up. We’re just kickin it.”

“Just kicking it and he’s tonguing you down before you get out of the car. Shit, wasn’t that man with you when your fat ass dog went into labor?” She was standing her nosy behind in the doorway when he dropped me off. How she’s seen us kiss I do not know, but then again my girl saw everything.

I laughed at the thought. “He damn sure was and he was more nervous than me.” I laughed because the entire ride he asked me if she was in the back seat dying.

“Well I can tell you like him and he likes you as well. Have you heard from Zax?”

“No, not since I blocked him. They told me he stopped by the shop a few times, but by the grace of God I was either out or coming in later.”

“Yeah, that’s God. He knows that man is not for you. Now the six-foot god with the locs who looks like he’d bloody somebody for stepping the wrong way? That’s for you.” She had never seen him up close in person, but a few times she’d FaceTimed me and he was at my place or vice versa. Plus, when I told her his name, the fool definitely did a deep dive on him.

“Is that so?” I asked, noticing I had a text from none other than him.

Kinga: What suite you in?

Me: 115B. Why?

Kinga: Cause I asked.

Me: Kinga.

Kinga: What man? Your girl eats like you do or she on some vegan shit?

Me: She eats like me. Why?

I saw the dots show up at the bottom like he was about to respond but he didn’t. Over the last few weeks I had learned a lot about this man, from his need to always be in control to his ticks. Those being what irritated him. People really irritated him and I found it so hilarious. Any time we were out, be it grabbing a quick meal or just grabbing something, somebody knew him and they were almost trying to start a conversation. Kinga was damn sure not the type to do small talk because his irritation showed in his demeanor. The man was an asshole through and through. I often pictured him as a grumpy ass kid.

“Why did you get quiet? What’s wrong, mama?”

“Nothing. Just got tired out of nowhere.” I dropped my phone in my lap and closed my eyes. We were six hours into a style I’d let her talk me into allowing her to try on my head. She was doing faux locs with barrels at the end. They’d stop a little past my shoulder.

“I’m almost done. Shit, finishing up now. See that’s why I don’t let you sit in front of the mir—” she started, but a knock at the door stole both of our attention.

“Come in,” Caya called out, both of our eyes on the door.

“The fuck y’all ain’t got this door locked for?” I could hear him fussing before the door opened. He turned the corner, and immediately, his eyes were on me. He’d gone from fussing to licking those thick lips. “You tryna be like me, baby?”

I cackled, nervous as hell under his eyes. “Nah, I got my own motion. I didn’t know you we?—”

“Ahem.” Caya cleared her throat.

“Kinga, this is my best friend Caya. Cay, this is Kinga.”

He nodded in her direction. “What’s up, shorty?”

“Apparently you. Got my girl’s nose wide open. Don’t be on no slick shit, ’cause I’ll leg your big ass for her.”

“Caya.”

“What? I’m just saying. As long as you’re happy, so am I.”

Kinga laughed. “Then we got an understanding.” He held his hand out to shake hers.

She nodded. “Good. I hope so ’cause your big ass is cute and she actually likes you. I’m almost done though, so I’ma let you take my girl from me this time, but you gotta get off that hogging shit.”

Of course, this fool laughed. “You gonna let me take her? Aight, sweetheart.” He put the emphasis on the let.

“Don’t aight sweetheart me. I mean it, Kinga.”

He laughed, then focused his attention on me. “You only ate a piece of fucking cake this morning.”

I giggled. “I told you that was all I wanted.”

“A piece of cake. Is that code for something?” Judging from the fact that she was greasing my scalp and running her hands through my hair as well I could tell we were done.

“No it isn’t. You’re the only person whose mind stays in the gutter.” I didn’t know if I was lying or telling the truth because the way I felt under his gaze had my mind buried deep.

“So you actually ate cake for breakfast?”

“Yes, and before you go judging, it was the moistest caramel cake I ever had in my life. I had some after dinner and this morning.”

“Oh, where did you get it?” she asked, now moving toward the sink to wash the excess grease from her hands.

“Somebody made it for me.” I smiled hard, looking at Kinga.

“Yup. That’s some type of innuendo, inside joke type shit. Just forget I asked.”

I laughed even harder, rising to my feet. “It’s not like that.” I moved to the mirror, taking myself in with a smile. I usually didn’t do braids or anything remotely close to this type of style to my hair, but damn. I loved this, even though I loathed the time spent getting it done.

“Mhmm. What do you think?”

“I like it, soo much.”

“Yeah, I’m glad, even though you’ll have me taking them down by next week.” She left the immediate front, going toward the back, leaving me and Kinga alone.

“Yo, I brought both of y’all some food,” he called out to her, stepping up behind me.

“Damn, you still gonna feed me after I threatened you, sexy? Bet. Yeah, Savannah, he's a good man.” She laughed loudly from afar.

I stopped checking myself out in the mirror and looked at him. With a fresh lining and retwist, this man looked glorious. He looked so good I had to shake my head at the thoughts that had begun to slowly pile themselves in my brain.

“You look good as fuck.” His hands were at my sides, pulling my body back against him.

“I do? Even in a T-shirt and leggings. Trust me baby, I wasn’t trying to look good when we left this morning.”

“You ain't never need to put effort into it. Lil shit look good. I want you to slide with me tonight and stay at my house.”

“Slide where with you?” I asked, eyes on him through the mirror.

“Does it matter? You with me. You can invite your girl too if you want.”

“Kinga. I’m asking where because I need to know what I’m wearing.”

“For who? Shit, if you walk in there in a T-shirt and fucking bell bottoms I better be the only one looking. I catch somebody else looking that’s their fucking forehead.”

I waved him off and went to move. “That’s a lot.”

“I’m a lot. So you finna stop giving me a hard time or what?”

“I wasn’t giving you a hard time. You just don’t like to be questioned, even if it’s the simplest question.”

“Probably.” Of course he didn’t disagree.

We spent a while longer at the shop talking to Caya then we left. She had also agreed to go tonight, so Kinga sent her the address and time to meet us. I thought we were headed to my place, but we stopped at a mall. There he proceeded to drag me into store after store. He didn’t even strike me as the shopping type, but he spent big money on modest looking clothes. In so many words, just because it didn’t have the logo printed a million times didn’t mean it wasn’t worth a stack. I called myself not letting him buy me anything, but that didn’t get me far. I was checking out these indigo denim shorts with fringe around the thigh and butt, for a look I figured would work tonight, when he scooted up behind me and told the girl to put my item on his bill. The moment I tried to protest, he gave me a look. That “don’t piss me off” look in Kinga language. He was the only person who hated apologies and anything remotely polite showcasing manners.

Once we finished in the clothing store, we moved to the lower level where he had to pick up Aja’s earrings. She’d lost one at school one day and he decided to get the earring recreated seeing as how they were her favorite earrings and custom made from her father. While he spoke with his jeweler, I moved about the cases. I’d never been a jewelry girlie besides the gold H necklace I kept around my neck. It wasn’t that I didn’t like jewelry, because I did, I just didn’t like the cheaper pieces aka the shit I could afford. I liked high-end pieces that, even though I had the money, I still wasn’t spending for. Though that Cartier Love bangle and ring were calling my name, I just couldn’t see myself buying it. Shoot, right now I had the dupes, and as far as I knew, they were fine.

“You got a man, sweetheart?” I heard a voice that didn’t belong to Kinga call from behind me.

I didn’t respond, just maneuvered away from him.

“I asked if you had a man. If I was your man, you damn sure wouldn’t be in here window sho—” he started but his sentence halted. It stopped at the same time I felt a presence at my side.

“Here.”

I looked in front of me and he was holding out a bag. I accepted it, assuming he was asking me to hold Aja’s earrings.

“My bad, Kinga, I didn’t know this was you.” Ol’ dude’s expression showcased fear when he saw Kinga. He was a pudgy man wearing all one color, resembling an overweight blueberry.

“Nah, you didn’t. But you do now. Move the fuck around.” His voice was final and heavy.

Ol’ boy nearly jumped out of his skin trying to get out of our immediate space. Kinga went back to talking to his jeweler for a while and I continued to look around. When he was finished, he approached me holding a bag and told me it was time to go unless I wanted to go to another store. I didn’t, so we decided to leave.

When we made it to the car, he made sure I was in before putting the bags in the back seat and getting in on the driver’s side.

“Open it.”

Confusion swept my features. “Open what?”

“The bag, Harlem.” His eyes jumped from mine to the cream colored paper bag in my lap back to my eyes. He hadn’t started the car or pulled off. Apparently he wanted me to see something, so I reached into the bag and pulled out a red Cartier box.

I looked from it to him then back down at the box. I opened it and the bangle I had been eyeing was in the box. My jaw dropped.

“Should be another box in there, baby girl.”

I reached in and pulled out the other box. From the size I could tell it was the ring. “You bought me this?” I asked in disbelief. Had he actually spent this kind of money on me?

“The fuck wouldn’t I?” He screwed his face up, about to say something smart. True Kinga fashion.

“How did you know?”

“When we dropped Aja’s earrings off. You spent the entire time over there in that section. I pay yo’ fine ass a lot of attention.”

“You do, bu?—”

“But nothing. Before you get to telling me that you can’t accept it, just know I’on do grand gestures or any of that cony shit those folks do on those movies you watch. I just know I like you and you damn sure like me, so?—”

“You’re asking me to be your girlfriend?”

“Yo, that’s corny as fuck, because why the fuck I’m asking a question I already know the answer to?”

“Oh, so you already know the answer?” I asked, my eyes relishing in the amusement in his features.

He smirked. “I don’t?”

I sent a grin in his direction, matching his. “Kinga.”

He started the car, then I felt his eyes just before that deep, commanding, earth-hydrating voice filled the car. “You gonna be my girlfriend, Harlem?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Now we got that out the way, the next time somebody asks if you got a man, tell his ass yeah and give him my name.”

“And what does saying your name mean?”

“I’m known, ma. Too fucking known and by you belonging to me you known too.” That big ass grin filled his expression. “You’ll see if you have to.”

I nodded, trying my hardest to keep the smile on my face at bay. I couldn’t help it, not only had the man bought me things he noticed I liked weeks ago, but he’d asked me to be his after telling me he wasn’t romantic. Somebody sounded romantic to me.

* * *

“Y ou asked me to be your girlfriend, then brought me to the strip club. Are you trying to tell me something with all this ass walking around here?” I asked, reading the message from Caya. She was letting me know she was on her way up the stairs.

“Nah. It’s my boy’s grand opening. Only ass I’m interested in is yours, Harlem.” He kissed the side of my face, eyes scanning the room. I didn’t understand why I was here, he could have come here without me. Fluorescent lighting filled the space while every six feet was a stripper pole. When he said we were going to a place called Donutz, I really thought he was taking me to a donut shop, but boy was I wrong. This was a strip club that not only sold donuts but was donut-themed. The stage below each pole was shaped and painted like different donut flavors. Then the menu had donuts to order there too. Had this not been a strip club, filled with naked bitches, I probably would have ordered a donut.

“Good save. When we leave here I really do want to go to a donut shop.”

He laughed. “Try one of the ones in here.” His eyes had yet to land on me because his head seemed to be on a swivel. Even though we were in what was considered a VIP section, there was a lot of movement. After all, it was a grand opening.

I was about to respond, but a heavy voice filled the space. “You came. What’s up, my boy?”

My eyes followed the sound of the voice over the loudness and they landed on a handsome man walking toward a now standing Kinga. They embraced, all smiles, and talked for a minute before Kinga reached for my hand for me to stand.

“Rennix, this is my lady, Harlem. Baby, this is my boy Rennix and he invited us here.” I shook his friend’s hand and congratulated him just as Caya entered the section. She immediately came over to me.

Kinga introduced her to Rennix before they left to get drinks, leaving her and me in the section. I saw the spark between her and Rennix from the moment they shook hands and he asked what she was drinking.

“Girl you strong, ’cause ain’t no way I’d have my man or whatever you call him in here around all this ass.” She looked around, getting comfortable next to me.

I shrugged. “One, I didn’t even know we were coming here and two…shit ain’t no two. He’s supporting his boy.” I shrugged again because she was indeed right. No, I wasn’t insecure, but in a room full of displayed ass and breasts, I couldn’t help but look his way every so often. The girls in here were stacked and definitely looking for somebody with nice pockets to dance for. Laid back or not, Kinga had better not be stupid enough to accept any type of dance. A bitch better not grind in his direction or anything.

She nodded. “Again, bitch you strong. His boy is fine though. Strong jawline and chocolate just like I like them. Too bad he owns a strip club,” she sort of pouted, confusing me.

“What’s the problem with strip club owners?”

“Too much easy access and purchasable pussy. I’on got time to be snatching hoes off poles. You laid back, but baby I’ma crash… straight the fuck out and ask for the details later.”

I cackled. “Like I don’t already know. Remember what you did to that man’s car when you were pregnant?”

“Yup. Took every fucking mirror he owned. Shit, even broke in that ho and took the visors.” She joined in on my laughter.

We talked back and forth for a whole before the men rejoined us. Kinga took a seat next to me with a small cake plate and a glazed donut. No lie, the donut looked good, but I wasn’t too keen on it.

“Just try it. Motherfucker tastes good and it’s fresh.”

I gave him a skeptical look before picking the donut up and taking a bite. He was right, it tasted so good and was moist.

“You just messed up.” I ate the donut with slow and deliberate chews, attempting to savor its tastiness.

“How?” He looked confused, sipping from his drink.

“Because now I’m asking you to make me some donuts.”

He chuckled. “I’on know how to do that.”

“I don’t doubt you can learn with a little bit of inspiration.”

“Inspiration, huh?” He glanced over at me before his eyes went back to scanning the room. He was uncomfortable in this space and obviously didn’t want to be here.

I leaned in, pressing my face closer into his space so he heard me better.

“Why are we here if you don’t want to be here?”

“Support. You show up for the ones that show up for you.”

I nodded. “But you seem uncomfortable.”

He chuckled, serious eyes scanning the space once again. “What me and you do at our houses back and forth. Occasionally going out to the little restaurants and shit. That’s my speed. There is too much that can go bad in places like this.”

“And here I thought I was the only boring one in this relationship.”

“Nah, you ain’t. I mean you a lil boring, but so am I, baby.”

For the duration of the night he and I spent most of the time in our own world while Caya’s false flagging ass spent most of her night in the corner with Rennix. I knew my friend, and even though she talked her shit, she was into that man. Either way Cay would give all that good conversation but by the end of the night be ducking the man. Her past trauma with her baby daddy and overthinking had put her into a constant state of distrust when it came to men.