Page 34 of Body Language (Mind, Body, & Soul #2)

Niveah

From the stage, I could see everything.

The gold lights bouncing off the purple walls, the bills floating through the air like confetti… and Kendrix storming his ass right out the side door.

I smirked mid-spin, because that meant my mission was accomplished.

Men like Kendrix, want you soft, grateful, and waiting for them to “decide” if you’re worthy. Nope. I’ll make you question your breathing pattern while you’re watching me, then I’ll leave you outside wondering who the fuck you even are.

By the time the curtain closed, I was in my dressing room with Ty, peeling off my heels and sipping champagne like I’d just clocked out of a board meeting.

“He’s mad,” she sang, scrolling through her phone.

“Good,” I said, leaning back in my chair. “Mad men spend more money.”

Truth was, I knew exactly what I was doing. I’d planned that set for days. The outfit, the lighting, the song, the way every move would hit him in the chest like a loaded gun.

The host came barging in, breathless like she’d just sprinted across the damn club.

“Niv, you got at least eight requests for private dances tonight. All big spenders. They’re throwing around numbers like it’s tax-free day.”

I shook my head, grinning. “Tell them it’s not happening tonight. But let them know I’m putting together a Private Playground night real soon, and may the best price win. Make sure they hear the word bid. M en get real stupid when they think they have to compete.”

The host nodded like she was about to go start a war and darted back out.

Ty, who’d been lounging in the corner scrolling on her phone, set it down and leaned forward, her eyes soft but serious.

“Real question, Niv. How you feel about Kendrix? For real, not the ‘I don’t give a fuck’ answer you give everybody else.”

I gave her the lazy smirk I save for questions I don’t feel like answering. “What you mean ‘how I feel’? I feel like he fine, he got money, and he knows how to eat coo—”

“Niv.”

Her tone was enough to cut me off.

I sighed, eyes drifting to the empty champagne flute in front of me.

“Alright. I like him, Ty. More than I’ve liked anybody in a long time.

But I don’t… trust that shit. I haven’t done serious in years.

I’m used to moving how I move, answering to nobody.

The last time I let a man in, it cost me damn near everything. I’m not rushing back into that trap.”

Ty nodded slowly, her eyes locked on me. “I get it. But you know, at some point, you gotta stop living like everything is a game of survival. You deserve more than this hustle-love. You deserve somebody who makes you feel safe enough to take the armor off.”

I tilted my head. “And if taking it off just gives him a better shot at stabbing me in the chest?”

“That’s the risk. But it’s also how you get the reward.”

I let out a humorless laugh. “Ty, I got kids to raise. I’m not tryna be the woman who catches a case because I had to beat my man and the bitch he was playing with.

I’ve been through too much to put myself in that position.

And honestly, it’s not about softness for me.

Softness don’t pay tuition, it don’t keep Hux out the streets, it don’t make sure Heidi has what she needs.

Security does. And like I told him, I won’t risk security for romance. Not ever.”

She leaned back, giving me that look. The one that makes you feel both called out and understood. “You say that like you can’t have both. Like maybe he couldn’t be both.”

“Ty…” I met her eyes. “Men can’t even handle me keeping my own damn bag.

I asked him for a title. Just one simple thing that would make me feel like I’m not just out here risking my peace for somebody who’s keeping their options open.

And you know what happened? NOTHING. Like claiming me was too much, but me pouring into him wasn’t.

I don’t rearrange my life for a man who can’t even give me the bare minimum of calling me his. ”

Ty’s eyes narrowed, like she was studying me. “So, what? You like him, but you’re just gonna pretend you don’t?”

I let out a slow exhale. “Ty… I really like Kendrix. That man has a way of looking at me like he can read my whole mind. I like the way he talks to me. I like the way he moves for me. But I’ve worked too hard to build the life I have.

You know what it took for me to get here.

I’m not about to jeopardize Hux’s stability, Heidi’s future, or my peace just to see if this man might be worth it.

My life runs smooth because I made it that way, and the second a man starts thinking he can dictate it?

I’m back in survival mode. And I promised myself I’d never go back there. ”

I leaned back, shaking my head.

“Ty, I’ve seen what happens when women let a man’s promises become their plan.

They end up begging for the same energy they gave for free.

I’m not doing that. I’ve built my life so that noone—not a man, not the market, not the damn weather—can shake it.

If he wants me, he’s gonna have to step up in a way that makes me feel safe dropping my guard.

And until then, I’m not risking what I built for ‘potential.’”

Ty tilted her head, half-smiling like she already knew what I was gonna say next. “So, what, you’re just gonna keep playing it cool?”

I smirked. “Cool, hot… whatever keeps me in control. Because love don’t pay the mortgage, and ‘I’m sorry’ don’t keep the lights on.”

She laughed, shaking her head. “Bitch, I know I didn’t just give you all that good advice for nothing.”

I clinked my glass against hers. “And you gave it for free. That’s on you.”

We cracked up, but behind my laugh was a truth I’d never say out loud. Kendrix made me feel things I’d locked away. I liked him more than I wanted to. Wanted him more than I should. But until a man proved he could be the anchor and not the storm… I wasn’t letting up.

Pulling into the garage felt like crossing the finish line after a marathon. My shoulders dropped. Finally, home.

I half-expected to see a text from Kendrix blowing up my phone about my dance earlier. You know, some half-ass attempt at “putting his foot down,” which would’ve only made me horny, not obedient. But nothing. Not a damn word.

That pissed me off more than him actually saying something.

No long paragraph. No, “we need to talk.” No showing up at the club to pull me into the office like he owned the place. He didn’t even come back inside after he left. I know, because I had the host keep eyes on the door and tell me if anyone spotted him.

I stepped inside through the kitchen, expecting quiet. Maybe the tick of the clock or my own thoughts finally stretching out. Instead, I heard laughter.

Not just any laughter. Heidi’s giggles, Zejah’s breathy chuckles, and Hux yelling at the TV like he was trying to coach the players through the screen.

My house wasn’t usually that loud at night, but those were the kinds of noises that hit me right in the chest. The ones that made all the chaos of my day worth it.

So I quickened my pace, eager to join in.

I turned the corner into the living room and stopped dead.

Kendrix. Sitting on my damn couch, controller in his hand, eyes locked on the screen with Hux next to him.

The girls were camped out on the floor, running a full-blown nail salon. Toys, dolls, snacks everywhere, like they’d been at it for hours. Heidi was carefully painting Zejah’s toes, both of them in fits of laughter over something I missed.

Kendrix looked comfortable. Too comfortable.

I leaned against the doorway, arms folded.

“What the hell are you doing in my house?”

Kendrix didn’t even look my way. Just smirked a little and kept playing the game. Fine. Two could play that game.

I cut my eyes to Hux. “WTF, Hux?”

He barely glanced up from the screen. “He said he was your dude.”

My head snapped to Zejah, who was busy watching Heidi apply another coat of glitter polish.

She shrugged like it was nothing. “I’ve seen him with you a few times. He’s the one who helped bring me here, so I thought it was cool.”

Cool? COOL? My blood pressure raised up about twenty points.

But just when I was about to light the room up, Heidi ran over to him, wiggling her little fingers in his face. “Look, Kendrix! Gold with sparkles!”

He gave her this big grin and started hyping her up like she just won an award for Best Nail Design in the city. I caught the way her eyes lit up at his attention and… damn it. That stopped me.

Before I could process that, Hux jumped up, hollering, “LET’S GO!” at the top of his lungs. He’d apparently just won the game and turned to dap Kendrix up like they’d been boys for years.

I just stood there, watching all of them like a stranger in my own living room. They weren’t used to interacting with people like this. Especially not men. And I wasn’t used to seeing them look at someone like that.

“It’s late,” I finally said, breaking up the cozy little family picture before it went too far. “Y’all have things to do in the morning, so get to bed.”

Zejah started gathering up the snack wrappers and nail polish bottles from the floor, but Kendrix stopped her with a shake of his head.

“Don’t worry about it, just get some rest. I’ll clean and get everything squared away.”

That was exactly what Hux wanted to hear. His whole face broke into a grin. He stood, dapped Kendrix up, and said, “Nice to meet you, man. Can’t wait to play you again.”

“Bet,” Kendrix said with that easy smile, like I was the one to personally introduce them.

Zejah gave him a quick hug. “Thanks for the snacks.”

He smirked. “Those were for the baby.”

She laughed, rolling her eyes before heading toward her room.

Heidi was the last one lingering, dragging her feet like bedtime was the end of the world. She wrapped her little arms around him, face buried in his shoulder.

“Can you come back tomorrow?” she asked in a tiny voice.