Page 2 of Solid

Jayla Anderson was my best friend.

She was my person.

My safe space and soft landing.

She was my whole heart.

I loved her more thananything.

We met ten years ago in college, and not seeing her before my brother did was the only thing I’ve ever regretted in my life. When Kenya first told me about her, he said he met someone he planned to have some fun with. Nothing serious, but also something he valued and appreciated. Jayla was just as beautifulthen as she was now, so he didn’t plan to let her go easily. The only difference back then was her hair was shorter, and she was skinnier.

I usually stayed out of his relationships, but things were different with Jayla. I cared about her and wanted to make sure he didn’t do anything to devalue, disrespect, or hurt her. So when we went out of town for spring break and he started fucking other women, I told him if he didn’t tell her I would. Neither of us had to, because one of the women told her as soon as we made it back to campus. More than anything, Kenya was surprised that she’d told Jayla and even more surprised when Jayla didn’t take him back. It was comical to me, but I still beat his ass when I went to see her, and she cried.

Logically, I understood where Kenya was coming from. He thought it was noble to end things so he wouldn’t technically be cheating. Regardless, it still felt like a betrayal to Jayla, and he had no choice but to respect that. If I was to be honest, I beat his ass too because I was mad that he had her and fumbled her.

I fell in love with Jayla the first day we met. Because of my loyalty to him, I vowed to never pursue anything romantic with her. But in that moment, I hated him for playing with the woman I loved. He chose temporary pleasure over something beautiful and permanent with her. It didn’t matter how close we were and how much I loved him, a lack of discipline wasn’t a good enough reason to not have integrity, so things hadn’t been the same between us since that moment.

We were still close, and I’d go to war behind my brother, but I didn’t trust him—not anymore. If a man could cheat on the woman he was with and claimed to love, he could betrayanyone.

As I looked at Jayla, I couldn’t help but smile. My girl was beautiful. She had cocoa brown skin that had a red undertone. Her frame was short, and she’d picked up a few pounds over the years, but she was still slim with a curvy build. Thick, curly haircame down to the middle of her back, shaping her round face. Jayla had dark, soulful eyes, and medium shaped lips. Lips that produced the purest most gentle smile. She was graceful and laid-back but could turn up with the best of them. There was nothing I didn’t love about this girl. She was perfect to me.

“Bro, did you hear what I just said?”

I looked toward Kenya after completely zoning out of their conversation. “Wassup?”

“You tell us.”

My head bobbed in the direction of Jayla’s table. “Jayla nem here.”

Their eyes shifted and landed on them, and the low whistle Kenya released had me gritting my teeth to keep from smacking the smile off his face.

“Damn she looks good. Definitely fumbled her by letting her get away.”

Not even bothering to respond, I stood and headed in their direction. The closer I got, the harder it was for me to deny how differently I wished things would have played out, but I’d rather have Jayla as a friend than nothing else. I was also glad she and Kenya were able to get along, because I needed her in my life, and I didn’t want the bullshit he did to pull us apart.

The moment I was close enough, I grabbed her hand and lifted her from her seat. Pulling her into my chest, I inhaled her warm, edible scent and kissed her forehead. She always smelled good enough to eat, and tonight was no different. The vanilla and caramel had me burying my nose in her neck as she giggled and held me tightly.

“JJ!” Brodie called, and she giggled and waved but also shrunk a little. No one else may have seen her hesitance to engage with them, but I did. “Wassup, ladies?”

I didn’t care about their response to him, Kenya, or anyone else for that matter. All I cared about was Jayla. That was provenwhen I gave her friends a quick nod then led her away from their table so we could be alone.

The moment we scooted into a private booth in the back of the bar, I saw her body relax as she released a long exhale. When she wrapped her arms around my neck for another hug, I had to stop myself from moaning. Swallowing it down, I held her close and enjoyed having her warmth next to me.

“Thank you,” she muttered as we pulled apart. “I have peopledenoughtoday.”

I knew she was serious, but that still made me laugh. Too many conversations being had at one time had the potential to make her shrink, especially if she’d had a long day, so I didn’t mind providing an escape.

“Long day at work?” I checked, wrapping my arm around the booth.

She casually leaned and rested her back against my side, and I didn’t mind at all.

“The longest. One of my little nuggets got sick, and her mom couldn’t get off early. She didn’t want to be in the nurse’s office alone, so I spent the day running from the office to my class until her aunt was able to come get her.”

“Aww, I’m sorry to hear that. Hopefully she’ll be feeling better soon, and I know she appreciated you being there for her.”

“Yeah, I’m just glad the day is over. I wanted to go straight home to chill but Brooke invited me out so . . .”

“Well, at least you got to see me.”