Fast Life

by Cassandra Carter

  The rest of the meal went well. The plans for the trip were discussed, and Natasha fit in well. It seemed like she had been there from the get-go. She was cracking jokes and telling stories about her and Kyra and some of the fun times they’d had back in Chicago. Kyra was eating her food and smiling. She smiled not only because of the stories Natasha told, but also in reaction to the looks Justin was throwing her way all afternoon.

  When the girls reached Kyra’s house and presented the proposal of their getaway to her mother, she didn’t even seem to mind. She even offered Kyra money to help pay for the trip. Her generosity caught Kyra off guard, but she was quick to shrug it off. She wasn’t going to complain when her pockets were empty.

  The girls were more than excited to be in each other’s company, and sat up all night reminiscing and gossiping. They shared a night full of music, laughter, dancing, doing hair and trading beauty tips that was something like a seventh-grade slumber party. As Kyra sat, allowing Natasha to freely style her hair, the phone rang. She turned down the music and rushed to the phone in hopes that it was Justin, and it was.

  “Hey,” she greeted him with a bubbly excitement, the kind a girl feels when she answers the phone to talk to a boy she really likes after she has been waiting all day for him to call.

  “Hey, sweetheart, it’s not too late to call, is it?” Justin’s concern was genuine.

  “No, it’s fine.”

  “Oh, a’ight. What are you up to?”

  “Nothin’. Tasha was just doin’ my hair.”

  “Oh. So are you excited about the trip?”

  “Hell yeah!” She was giddy.

  “Yeah, me, too. I’ve been wanting to spend some time with you.”

  “Oh.” Kyra bit down on her bottom lip, trying not to smile. She was happy she was still in his good graces.

  “But I’m gonna go. I don’t want to keep you from your friend. See you in two.”

  “Okay. Bye.”

  “Party pooper,” Kyra mumbled to herself with a slight grin as she eyed her sleeping friend. She was glad Natasha had come to visit. She had grown to appreciate her friends on the island, and Angel was a great girl. But Natasha was her roll dog. She was practically her sister except for the fact that the same blood didn’t run through their veins. The fact that Natasha had come to see her made Kyra love her even more. Kyra might have lost her father, Chicago, Makai and Mercedes, but Natasha was always there. Always. Natasha rescued her from slipping back into her old ways, and this time Kyra thought it might be good.

  CHAPTER 11

  “Swimsuit?” Natasha mentioned one item from the small inventory the girls had assembled for their upcoming trip.

  “Check,” Kyra answered.

  “Lots of shorts and skirts?”

  “Check.”

  “Tanks, tees and belly shirts?”

  “Check.”

  “Oh! Oh! And lots of shoes, sandals, flip-flops, heels…blasé, blasé.”

  “Check, nigga!” The girls started to laugh, and Natasha playfully pushed Kyra to the side.

  “Who you talkin’ to like that, girl?”

  “You!”

  “Yeah, yeah, whatever. All I know is…I’m so excited! This trip is gonna be so much fun!” Natasha practically squealed as she flung her body on the mattress.

  “Ain’t it, though?”

  “I bet you want a room with Justin,” she teased.

  “No.” Kyra giggled. “And I know you not talkin’, Ms. Oh-My-God-Michael-Is-So-Fine.”

  “He is! But after that little scene in the restaurant yesterday, I see what you were saying about him being a dog. What a shame.”

  “See! I told you! That’s what you get for not listenin’ to me the first time,” Kyra said, walking from her bedroom to the kitchen.

  She turned around to see the front door open. Natasha was waiting for her on the porch.

  “You know, I wish I lived here with you.”

  “Why?” Kyra couldn’t help laughing.

  “Because here it’s so nice, and Chicago has changed so much since you left.”

  “Like how?”

  “You remember how Reggie and Makai were tight? Practically like brothers? Whenever you saw one you saw the other.”

  “Yeah, how could I not?”

  “They ain’t no more. They straight beefin’ now. With them both being powerful cats in the game right now, they practically run the damn hood. But you know how that goes, right? Somebody gotta be king.”

  “Damn, how’d that happen?”

  “I don’t know. I mean, everyone knows Kai’s been coming up. I guess Reggie got jealous. He done branched off and started his own operation, and now they’re neck and neck. Ever since they waged war, there have been so many fights and stabbings and shootings going on. It’s crazy. Steve, who used to roll with them, got popped, and he was cool with both of them. Then there’s the back and forth about them and Mercedes. It’s too crazy.”

  “Girl, you act like it’s any different than before.”

  “I know. I guess it just never really fazed me before like it does now for some reason.”

  “Oh.”

  “Oh, and you know how Cedes is with Kai now?”

  “Yeah…” Kyra replied.

  “She’s pregnant. She even got a stomach now. I heard she’s about six months already or something like that. I just look at those two and I feel disgusted.”

  “I bet. Nobody wants to see her walkin’ around like that.” Kyra was trying her best to laugh off the hurtful news, but she was having difficulty stomaching the idea that a woman she had once befriended was carrying the child of the man she had once loved.

  There was a pause as Kyra sank into herself. She was deep in thought. It was painful to think about anything that involved Makai, but to know that Mercedes was having his child was devastating. The child she might have been nurturing in her womb, he rejected. Yet for Mercedes, he was willing to accept it and stand by her side.

  “Tasha?”

  “Yeah,” Natasha replied, sounding as if she were in another place, another zone.

  “I was pregnant….” Kyra confessed in a low tone. She could barely whisper her secret.

  “What?”

  “I said I was pregnant. Well…I turned out not to be, but I thought I was.”

  “What? When, by who? Justin?”

  “No, no! Shh! Be quiet!” she whispered, and turned to the door to make sure her mother hadn’t heard anything, “Not that long ago I found out I was…might be pregnant by Kai.”

  “And?” Natasha spoke in a hushed tone.

  “I had missed my period in May, so I took a test. I actually took two. The first one was positive, and then at the doctor’s they said it was negative. I only told Kai about the first test and he told me to get rid of it. He wasn’t even gonna help me,” she explained.

  “Did you tell him about the second test?”

  “No. I don’t want to talk to him. It’s not like he cares either way.”

  There was another long pause.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I wasn’t going to tell anyone.” Kyra came clean and her eyes blurred.

  “It’s okay. Forget about him,” Natasha said, comforting her friend as she encircled her in her arms. “You’re my sister. Remember that.”

  Villa fifteen was Justin and Kyra’s, and they had no complaints about it. It was large, with shining hardwood floors and cream-colored walls. There was a small minibar and kitchen area, and the bathroom had a deep hot tub. In the bedroom area, there was an armoire, a minicouch, a chair and a small table decorated with a fresh bouquet of colorful native flowers. It opened onto a balcony that overlooked the surrounding mountains of the capitol city of Kingston and its verdant valleys. The wind blew the sheer white curtains into the room and made it that much more appealing.

  “There’s only one bed.” Kyra stared at the king-sized bed and the sheer canopy draped over it.

  “I can sleep on the couch if you
want.”

  “No, that’s okay. It’s no big deal. I just wasn’t expectin’ it, that’s all.” She now found herself nervous at the thought of sharing a bed with him. She was sure she wanted him but was scared to boldly take the steps to have him.

  “Oh, okay.” He set down his bags and walked over to the balcony, shutting its doors. The rain that fell gave the room an extra cozy feeling.

  “So…what do we do now?”

  “I don’t know. It’s still raining pretty hard, so we aren’t going out anytime soon.” He studied the approaching storm from where he sat in a chair, gazing out past the boundaries of the balcony.

  “Well, I’m bored, so we need to do somethin’,” Kyra said as she crawled onto the bed.

  “I think they have pay-per-view. We could watch something on TV.”

  “That sounds cool.”

  Justin picked up the remote and turned on the television. He picked up the small pamphlet off the table with the list of movies that were playing and read it off.

  “They have Dreamgirls, Babel and Pirates of the Caribbean. Pick one.”

  “Pirates,” she decided, lying back on the piles of fluffy pillows.

  Justin turned on the movie and turned off the lamp in order to darken the room but remained in his chair. He sat there nervous and stiff. The reality that he was going to be sharing a room with the girl he loved for the next three days was just now hitting him. It was going to be just him and her. He didn’t want to make any sudden or rash moves that could ruin the opportunity in store for them.

  “Justin?”

  “Huh?” He swallowed hard.

  “Why are you sittin’ all the way over there?”

  “No reason.”

  “Well, come over here, then, and stop actin’ all scared. Come lay with me.” He did as he was told. He buckled under the purr in her voice and could not find it in him to refuse her request.

  Justin joined her on the bed, making himself comfortable as she leaned into him and placed her head on his chest. He slowly wrapped his arm around her side and pulled her closer as they cuddled. They watched the movie, but their minds were on each other. Neither said a word. They simply went on pretending to watch the movie while catching sideways glimpses of each other. Each was waiting for the other to make the first move.

  Justin’s hand slyly crept down Kyra’s back, his fingers tickling the small of it. She rested her leg over his and pushed herself farther onto him. His hand then traveled lower until he rested it on her butt and gave it a firm, unshy squeeze.

  She peered up at him and stared into his eyes as the changing light from the television screen was cast upon his face and around the room. She bit down on her lip, and that was all it took to have him all over her in a matter of seconds.

  Through the rapid kisses, Justin maneuvered himself on top of her and held her hands over her head. He began to suck on her neck, flicking his tongue gently when he heard a moan escape from her mouth. He could feel her squeezing his hands, and he felt her legs rising and parting, leaving him to rest between them. She could feel his excitement and that only stimulated her more, quickening her breaths. Justin tore off his shirt and was working on Kyra’s when there was a knock at the door that put an unwanted end to their hot and heavy session of seduction.

  “Hey, Kyra! Justin! Open up!” Natasha’s voice could be heard from the other side as she pounded her fist against the door.

  Justin collapsed onto Kyra in disappointment and rolled off her, putting his shirt back on. She let out a long sigh, sharing his emotions, and fixed herself before she answered the knocking at the door.

  “What took you so long to get the door, girl? And why is it so dark in here?” Natasha remarked as she stepped past her friend and into the suite, turning on the lights. “Mmm, hmm. What are y’all up in here doin’?”

  The light from the setting sun made everything glisten as the water reflected its golden light. The group walked down busy Ocean Boulevard, looking in shop windows and enjoying the scenery of the eighteenth-century buildings.

  As they walked along, they reached Kingston’s crafts market, where everyone split and went their separate ways. Justin and Kyra stuck together. They were making small talk as they walked, holding hands, when they came across a tarot card reader.

  “Let’s do this.” He stopped in front of the small purple and red tent next to a weathered wooden sign that read MADAME DEON, TAROT CARD READER, FORTUNE-TELLER AND PSYCHIC.

  “Naww, I don’t like those. They’re freaky.”

  “Will you stop being scared and come on? Let’s see what’s in your future according to Madame Deon.”

  “I’m not scared.”

  “Let’s do this, then,” he challenged her.

  “Fine!”

  The interior of the tent was dark and smoky. Kyra felt she might choke on the pungent odor of burning incense and wax candles. An old lady with white hair sat at a round table with a crystal ball in the center. Kyra wanted to laugh at how unreal it all looked. A crystal ball? This had to be a joke.

  “What can I do fuh ya?” the seer said in a thick Jamaican accent.

  “We want our fortunes told,” Justin said.

  “That’ll be five dolla.” She impatiently held her hand out, awaiting payment. He placed a five-dollar bill in her hand, and the old woman spoke again. “Each.”

  He looked over at Kyra as he handed over the rest of the money. She gave him a look as if to say, “This was your idea.”

  “You, Kyra. Come here. Sit.” Madame Deon stared at the crystal ball as she dished out her instructions.

  Kyra eyes shot open at how the woman knew her name. Her mouth opened to pose a question, but before she could get it out, the psychic spoke yet again.

  “I said sit!”

  Kyra took a seat in the small chair, and the elderly woman snatched her hand and held it tightly. She shut her eyes in deep concentration as she began to tap into her mysterious powers.

  “Ya have been through so much pain and are so young. Ya don’t come from here. Ya come from a place far, far away.” The mystic madame paused for a minute and then went on. “Ya miss where ya come from deep down inside, but ya are unsure if ya want ta return. Ya have lost the men ya loved there. But ya are in love now with someone new….”

  She paused again and a troubled look crept across her face. Her gray eyes looked dreadful and uneasy, and her furrowed brow deepened her wrinkles. She let go of Kyra’s hand and let it limply fall to the table.

  “What, that’s it?”

  “I can’t tell no more. I can’t tell no more. I’ve had a horrible vision. I can’t tell no more,” she whispered.

  “Wait, tell me. Please…I wanna know.”

  The woman paused and stared her deep in the eyes. Her scowl was full of importance. When her lips came back to life, she spoke in a low, raspy voice.

  “You.” She turned her attention over to Justin. “You will kiss the lips of death sooner than you think. Your love will lead you to the brink of death, and I cannot guarantee nor can I see if you will live to tell of the encounter.” Her eyes burned into the two of them before she stepped back behind a curtain, abruptly putting an end to the session.

  “Oh my God.” What the fortune-teller said scared Kyra. She knew that what she had just heard must be true—Madame Deon had known Kyra’s name before she’d even met her.

  “Come on, let’s go.” Justin pulled Kyra out of the dimly lit, smoky tent. The prediction seemed to disturb her more than it did him.

  As they walked past the stands of goods, Kyra kept her face turned away from Justin and remained wordless. She was clearly shaken.

  “Kyra? Are you a’ight?” he asked. He peered over at her, but she was still looking off in the distance. She didn’t answer.

  “Kyra…”

  “Why’d you take me in there?” she snapped.

  “I’m sorry, baby.” He pulled her into a hug to console her.

  “What if she’s right?” Her muffled word
s couldn’t quiet the sound of her worry.

  “That stuff is a gimmick. Don’t worry about it.”

  “But the stuff she was sayin’ was true, J…and she knew my name…. How could she know who I am?”

  “They have all kinds of tricks for that kind of stuff. Don’t worry about it. Please?”

  She buried her head in his chest again.

  “Plus she charged us ten dollars. She’s a rip-off,” he said.

  “Shut up.” He made her laugh as she playfully pushed him back.

  Early the next morning, everyone emerged rested from their rooms and met for breakfast at the hotel’s outdoor deck restaurant.

  “So what’s up for today?” Natasha asked as she took a bite of her stack of French toast.

  “How about we go swimming?” Angel suggested.

  “Yeah, they got a pool here,” Quentin pointed out.

  “How about we go to the beach? That’s better,” Kyra said.

  “Yeah, that sounds tight,” Justin agreed.

  “Beach it is, then,” his brother concluded.

  Justin looked over at a fidgeting Michael. He kept shifting in his chair and was failing to find comfort.

  “My nigga, is you a’ight?” he asked, sipping his tart grapefruit juice.

  “I had to sleep on the floor because somebody, I won’t say any names, won’t let a brotha share a damn bed,” Michael growled while focusing his eyes on his roommate.

  “Maybe I would let somebody share a bed with me if they weren’t a hormonally challenged dog,” Natasha retorted, looking him up and down.

  “I don’t even want you like that with your ugly ass,” he responded.

  “Aww shit…” Quentin sighed. He knew something was about to go down. Everyone did.

  “Nigga, I know you ain’t talking ’bout ugly with that big-ass head of yours.” A few people at the table snickered at the quarrel.

  “Man, whatever.”

  “Yeah, see, that shit right there be the reason why you sleep on the floor,” Natasha teased while pointing her butter knife at her foe.

  Things were better at the beach. The sun was shining, the sky was clear, and the white sand shimmered in the light as the girls lay out to sun their bodies. In the absence of the boys, who had hung back at the hotel for a minute, the talk centered on them.