Page 5 of Anything Necessary for Her (Crenshaw Kings #9)

Once Carolyn left the room, as practice was over, my classmate Nikita smirked.

“I hope none of you are auditioning for the lead role because it’s a waste of time.

Look at some of the other roles.” She waved the paper with the choreography, showing the other side with the list of roles we could audition for.

“You’re right because I’m gonna take it.” I winked at her, making some of the other girls giggle.

No one liked Nikita. She was a cocky, yet loose, rich girl, who sadly was an amazing ballet dancer. She had no friends in this class and had no desire to change that. I admired her talent and work ethic, but everything else made me dislike her ass.

“Sure.” She looked me up and down. “The St. Thomas name can’t get you this one, boo.”

“I don’t need it to, but maybe I can use my connections to get you a background role or something, considering your daddy’s check he donated to Prolific Pointe bounced.”

Everyone guffawed as Nikita stared me down menacingly.

“That was one fucking time and a year ago!” She started explaining as our peers groaned and left.

Everyone knew her family was rich, and the check had been written from an old bank account, hence it bouncing, but it was still fun to use on her snooty ass.

“Nikita cannot stand you because you have everything she has, but you’re beautiful,” Kailey said to me as soon as we got into my truck after cleaning up in the locker room.

“She’s not that ugly.” I laughed before I could even finish my sentence.

“Bitch, she looks exactly like a fucking racehorse!”

Kailey and I fell out into laughter.

“Am I taking you home? To my place? Or . . .”

“To your parents’, please, and thank you. Mama Lisara said she was making her chili and honey cornbread. I need that.”

“Oh shit, I almost forgot.” I rerouted my plans and started for my parents’ home.

I had my own three-bedroom townhouse that my mother and father bought me for not only getting my bachelor’s degree, but for also staying so focused and consistent at Prolific Pointe.

However, when I wanted something grander and larger, I would have to purchase that myself they said.

For now, though, as a single woman, my place was more than enough.

We made it to my parents’ home about thirty minutes later, and I groaned seeing a bunch of different cars in the big ass driveway. Had I known my brothers were here, I surely would’ve taken a raincheck on the chili.

For one, they ate too much, and it was like The Hunger Games trying to get your food, because, for some reason, my mama didn’t cook enough despite having had these garbage disposals for sons all her damn life basically.

Secondly, they had their days where they were immature as fuck and got a kick out of bothering me.

We climbed out of the car as I shook my head, already hearing their rambunctious conversation—mainly Unique—and the loud music they had going.

As soon as we got inside, I started for the kitchen, but Kailey started for the backyard. When we made eye contact, she smiled connivingly and took off running, making me chase after her until we were stepping out into the backyard.

“You get on my nerves.” I grunted at her as she giggled with a wide smile, switching.

As soon as I peeled my eyes from Kailey, they landed on Low sitting between Free and Asif. I hadn’t expected him to be here, because he hadn’t been around like that in years.

He looked so good, even though he was only in a wife beater, gray joggers scrunched up some to show his socks, and navy blue Chucks.

A gold chain hung from his neck as he sat back, smirking at Unique’s antics, tattooed guns on display.

His deep brown skin had darkened a bit due to the hot summer sun, and damn did he look lickable. Goodness.

It seemed like I only had real, raw sexual thoughts when I was around Low. No man in the flesh had ever turned me on like he did.

“Other than Cemone, I’m taller than all of you niggas.” Unique shrugged. “Stand up, Sif.”

“No,” Asif replied dryly, making the rest of my brothers laugh.

“Exactly, nigga. You scared.” Unique waved him off.

“Nah, I’m just taller than you and don’t feel like hearing you bitch about it,” Asif replied.

“Nah, you not!” Unique barked.

“I’m six feet four and a half, muthafucka. You just six feet four.” Asif ate a chip, causing everyone including me to chuckle.

Turning his attention to Lequay, Unique said, “Stand up, nigga.”

“No, muthafucka. Don’t nobody want to participate in this shit.”

“And our wives ain’t even here for us to impress with the shit,” Khari added.

“Real shit.” Asif grinned. “You not ’bout to be taller than me in front of my fucking wife.”

We all fell out in laughter.

“Thought it was just me. Be stretching ya neck out and shit if he even close to a nigga’s height,” Lequay said, extending the laughter.

“Bet not be funnier and taller in front of my wife, or I’m gon’ have to smoke you,” Unique commented with his crazy ass, and my crazy ass other brothers agreed.

“I don’t have them height problems.” Cemone shrugged, smirking cockily as if everyone else was five feet seven.

Men were so stupid, but this shit was funny. All my brothers were tall as hell, so it was rare another man would be taller than them anyway. Plus I found it endearing that they still wanted to impress their wives.

“Other day, some nigga walked in the ice cream parlor I took KK and my twins to—the nigga was tall as shit. Swear to God my neck and back was on fire when I left that muthafucka from trying to stand all straight and tall so I could be the biggest nigga in that shit.” Unique ran a hand down his face.

The whole backyard was hollering at Unique’s stupid ass.

“Hi, Sif.” Kailey spoke up, waving to my brother who gave her a head nod in response.

“Fuck you too, then.” Unique looked Kailey up and down for only choosing one person out of the nine niggas back here to speak to.

“Hi, Comptons, and y’all two as well.” Kailey gave a lazy wave as I went to hug each of my brothers.

When I got to Low and Free, I nodded with a soft ‘hello’ but didn’t miss the lingering eye contact between Low and myself. This close, I could smell his cologne and see the softness of his lips that I found myself wanting to kiss.

My heart was pounding in my chest the same way it used to years ago when he would be near me, and I didn’t like that shit one bit.

I was no longer a teenager who fantasized about her brother’s friend.

I was a grown ass woman who didn’t feed into forbidden crushes.

Nothing was forbidden for me at my big age.

So why did Low bring a nervousness mixed with fondness out of me?

It was as if I liked him but was afraid to feel that.

Maybe it was my intuition telling me he was a fuck-boy, because if I remembered correctly, his little boo from back in the day, Rue, used to go out sad behind him. And my young ass probably only made shit worse for her.

“Let’s go.” I tugged Kailey into the house. “We wanna eat before these niggas.”

I spoke to my mother and father who were in the kitchen, then got clearance to make plates for Kailey and me. After, we took them up to my old bedroom that was still very much lived in on those days I didn’t have food or didn’t wanna be home alone, so I came here.

“Was Free always that fine?” Kailey shoved a spoonful of the chili between her lips as she sat on the chaise in my room while I sat next to her.

“Um, he looks the same, just older.” I shrugged. “He was never ugly though.”

“Hmm.” She thought. “Maybe it’s because I ain’t into light-skinned niggas that I never paid him any mind, but he was looking kind of good out there.” We laughed in unison before she said, “I might have to shoot my shot since Sif is playing hard to get.”

“Bitch, is he playing hard to get, or is he married and uninterested?”

“Same thing.”

Kailey always did that—saying something was the same when it definitely wasn’t—and it was hilarious to me.

“Asif is in his thirties, and you are twenty-two. That’s nasty.”

“Exactly. He’s nasty, I’m nasty, so we can be two nasty muthafuckas together. I haven’t seen a dick that big since.”

“Oh my gosh, shut up!” I curled my lip as I resumed eating while she snickered.

Any other woman lusting after one of my brothers would get checked immediately, but Kailey was harmless and mostly just joking.

While she did find Asif to be fine—most women found my brothers to be fine—she only made little comments to disgust and humor me.

I would never bring a woman that was actually trying to break up a happy home around my brothers or their wives.

However, what didn’t feel harmless was the swirling in my belly caused by Low’s voice traveling up from the backyard and through my bedroom balcony doors.