Page 10

. . .

Crescent was quieter than it was on the two days she had been out there with Zaire.

The sun had set behind the palm trees hours ago.

Now it was the moon’s time to shine-- casting a glowy light that made you feel like something important was about to happen.

Maybe it was…Aku didn’t know. She just knew her heart beat different when she saw Malik leaning against his old-school Chevy with a toothpick between his lips, and that subtle smirk that said he already knew he had her attention.

Aku loved LA but there was something different about Crescent Park.

“You always out this late or just for me?” he asked, eyes dragging down her body so slow it should have been illegal.

Aku scoffed, flipping her hair as she stepped out her truck. “You lucky I even showed up.”

It was true. She’d spent too much time trying to find the perfect outfit. One that said, ‘I’m a bad bitch but I never try too hard.’

“Nah,” he said, pushing off the car and walking toward her, slow and easy like he had all night to waste. “I’m blessed.”

Something in his tone made her smile even though she tried not to. She hated that. Hated how effortless he made it. How being near him felt like someone humming a love song right into her skin.

He opened the passenger side of his car like it was 1995 and chivalry wasn’t on life support. “I was gon’ let you drive, but you look too good to be behind the wheel. I need to see that face.”

He eyed her Jeep with a nod of approval. It was nice and fit her style beautifully.

She eyed him, stepping close enough to smell the clean, woodsy cologne lingering on his skin. “You tryna be sweet now?”

He leaned in, just enough for her breath to catch. “Nah, I’m tryna be honest.”

She slid into the car before he could say anything slicker. The inside smelled like leather with a faint scent of weed, and his playlist was already cued to something with a slow bounce and lyrics too grown for how fast her heart was moving.

“You gon’ play R&B and not offer wine?” she joked when he got behind the wheel.

Malik grinned as he pulled off. “Ain’t no wine. But I got somethin’ better.”

“What’s that?”

He glanced at her, that little moment of eye contact lasting too long. “Me.”

She laughed, but he didn’t. He just looked back to the road like he meant every damn word.

The neighborhood blurred past, but she barely noticed. She could feel him watching her out of the corner of his eye—he was memorizing her without trying too hard.

Aku squeezed her legs together as her eyes outlined his jawline. His braids were teasing her, begging to be yanked and pulled.

He drove past the strip where everybody usually hung out. The music in the car dipped into a slower groove, something old with a quiet bassline and a man whispering heartbreak like he was testifying.

“You taking me to a second location?” Aku teased. “That’s how girls get got, you know.”

Malik chuckled. “You said you was bored, remember? I’m just tryna help you out.”

“I don’t remember sayin’ that.”

“You didn’t, but your eyes be loud.”

She turned her head to look at him, and he was already smirking like he had her clocked. She hated that he might be right. Hated more that it turned her on. Then she hated how wanting love could be clogging her judgement.

She’d just been through this song and dance with Devin. Handsome, smooth, hood like she liked them. Maybe she needed to pump the brakes with Malik ‘cause Lord knew her heart couldn’t take another break.

Malik pulled up to a little overlook, tucked behind a street with no name and too many potholes. The city looked tiny from up there, like a toy set. The sky was darkening now, a deep blue pushing down on the horizon.

“I bring myself up here when I need to breathe,” he said casually, putting the car in park. “Didn’t think I’d be bringing nobody else.”

Aku leaned back in the seat, looking at him sideways. “So this like…your secret hideout?”

“Somethin’ like that.”

“And I’m special enough to know about it?” She smiled, but her voice had that edge to it, like she wanted to see if he was gonna lie.

He didn’t even flinch. “I’on know if you special yet.”

That made her laugh. She reached over and playfully smacked his arm, then let her hand linger a second longer than she needed to. “You’re such an ass.”

“Maybe, but I don’t lie.”

“That’s what they all say,” she hummed under her breath.

He turned toward her, elbow on the steering wheel, body angled like he had something to say but was still debating on how much to give up. The city lights reflected in his eyes, and she swore there was more truth there than he was willing to speak out loud.

She felt it again—that stupid flutter in her chest like something about him had been waiting on her too.

He nodded toward the glove compartment. “Open that.”

She did. Inside was a bag of hot fries, two Capri Suns, and a king-size Snickers bar.

“Damn,” she said, grinning. “This a hood picnic?”

He shrugged. “You said wine. I got the next best thing.”

Aku picked up the hot fries and looked at him with her head tilted, amused. “So…we just gon’ sit up here and eat snacks?”

“Nah, I was gon’ talk to you too. Figure out what you really on.”

That wiped the smile off her face just a little. Not in a bad way. In a damn, he not playin’ way. She met his eyes. “What if I’m not on nothin’?”

“You are.” He said it softly. “I seen it when you looked at me the first time. You not used to being looked at like a person. Most people see the brand, the fits, the pretty ass baby face. But not the you beyond that.”

She blinked, caught off guard. “So what you see?”

He didn’t hesitate. “Somebody tired of pretending she ain’t lonely.”

That quieted the air between them. She looked out the window. He had no idea how right he was, or maybe he did.

Seconds passed before she spoke again. “You be psycho-analyzing all your little app users or just me?”

He grinned, unwrapping the Snickers bar. “Just you.”

She took a deep breath, then said, “You tryna teach me how to play dominoes next or something?”

His lips curled. “You been stalking a nigga’s profile?”

“Mm hmm,” she pursed her lips. “Gotta see who trying to get my attention.”

“Ha!” he laughed loud. “I’m tryna get your attention or you tryna get mine?”

Aku waved him off. “Boy, please! So you gon’ teach me or not?”

He nodded. “Yeah, my Granny said if a woman can play bones and hold her own, she’s a keeper.”

“Good thing I’m a fast learner.”

He leaned in closer, eyes on hers now. No jokes…no music…just heat, curiosity and something tender hiding under all that swagger.

“I bet you are.”

Malik popped the car door open and nodded toward the front. “C’mon You ain’t seen the view til you seen it from the hood of a ’76 Chevy.”

Aku hesitated, eyeing him. “I feel like this is some hood boy game. Next thing I know you gon’ be like ‘lemme play you this song real quick’ and then try to kiss me.”

He smirked, already rounding the car. “Nah, that’s chapter two. We still on the intro.”

She laughed as she slid out the passenger side and joined him at the front.

The metal was still warm from the sun and the breeze up there smelled faintly like pavement and jasmine.

She hopped up on the hood after a little struggle, and Malik extended his hand without saying anything.

He just watched her with a half-smile while she got situated.

When she was finally up there, ankles crossed and chips in her lap, she looked over at him. “You just gon’ stand there or you gon’ sit down with me? I don’t bite.”

Malik climbed up with ease, his long legs stretched out in front of him, shoulder brushing hers every time one of them moved. He leaned back on his elbows and looked at her.

“You always this funny?” he asked.

“Only when I’m tryna distract myself from how fine my company is.”

He laughed, head tipping back just enough for her to get a better look at that line in his jaw that made him look dangerous and divine at the same time.

“You good at this shit. Flirtin’ in public without soundin’ thirsty.”

“That’s a skill,” she said, bumping her knee against his.

“A talent,” he corrected.

They fell quiet for a few seconds, watching the city stretch beneath them like a living painting.

Aku could feel her skin buzz with awareness—like every part of her was awake just from being near him.

His leg brushed hers again, and this time neither of them pulled away.

The silence between them wasn’t awkward.

He tapped the top of her thigh with two fingers. “So what’s it like being the girl that dresses the stars?”

Aku took a sip of her Capri Sun, squinting at him. “Glamorous, Stressful, Overrated…depending on the day.” Her shoulders hunched.

“That why you slid in my messages? You was lookin’ for something under rated?”

She smirked. “First of all, you slid into mine first. I only responded, ‘cause you was fine and that app had me curious.”

“Oh, so I’m a curiosity now.”

She looked at him, studying his features more. His lashes were too long, his skin turned caramel when the light hit it just right, and his eyes were the kind that made you feel seen, even when you weren’t saying much.

“I think you’re more than that,” she said quietly, almost to herself.

He stared back, not saying anything, just letting the weight of her words hang. Then he licked his lips slowly, like he heard what she didn’t say too.

“You got this thing about you,” he murmured. “Like…you don’t belong in nobody’s box.”

She tilted her head. “What kinda box you think people put me in?”

He shrugged. “The rich girl, the pretty girl, the unattainable one…the one who don’t really feel shit.”

Her lips parted, caught off guard again. “And what box you think I’m in?”

Malik smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes this time.

“The hood one, the fine one…the danger-you-shouldn’t-want-but-do-anyway.” She was quiet for a beat, then said, “I hate boxes.”

He nodded slowly. “Me too. I’m a circle kinda nigga.”