by Kenya Wright
“My father wanted us to grow up traditional, but then there was Zora.” He picked up his shrimp taco. “As we know, Zora enjoys presents.”
“She does.”
“Zora whined a lot for years and eventually Santa Claus began paying visits to the Patels.”
“Love it.” I began eating my salad.
He bit into his shrimp taco and groaned. “Magnificent.”
“Oh, I’m glad you love it.”
He took another bite. After he finished, he closed his eyes and whispered, “You’re not going back to California. This settles it. I won’t let you.”
“Oh, that’s what you’re going to do? You’re going to kidnap me over shrimp tacos?”
“This taco should be illegal.” In minutes, he devoured the rest of it and then licked his lips. “I’m pretty pissed right now.”
“Why?”
“All this time, I’ve been missing out.”
“Well, you should have come by my place for food.”
“That’s not fair. I didn’t know I was ever invited.”
“Now you know.” I took a bite of my taco.
He studied me. “I get an open invitation to your place?”
I munched on shrimp. “Yes.”
“Is there an expiration date?”
“We’re ride or die quarantine buddies for life.” I made an O shape with my hand. “See. That’s our secret sign.”
“We need a secret sign?”
“Of course.”
“But what does the O stand for?”
“I’m too lazy to make a Q.”
He put up his hand and did the sign. “Got it.”
“Whenever you need me, just put your hand like that in the air.”
He leaned forward. “And you’ll appear?”
“Yes.”
“You’ll have to be in New York for that.”
“There are these things called planes.”
“I think the virus is here to stay for a while.”
I grimaced. “I refuse to believe that.”
“Maybe not for years, but definitely months. Have you considered the fact that you may be stuck in New York until the end of the summer?”
I blinked. “Nope. I’m choosing to be positive and hope this goes on for a week or so—”
“Not happening. This is New York. If it’s one thing we do well, it’s spread viruses.”
“New York should put that on a bumper sticker.”
He held a stern expression. “What would you do, if you were stuck here?”
“Stay with Ganesha.” I let out a long breath. “That’s assuming Zora is still stuck in the Maldives.”
“And if she is back home?”
“I don’t know. Zora and I kind of discussed this. Corey has a house so she could stay with him while I—”
“Zora will be in this apartment more than that house for now. Her work is here. It’s Brooklyn. Corey has already admitted to himself that he’ll need to find a new coaching job and move to Brooklyn himself.”
“Yes, but it would be a temporary fix. She might be okay with it.”
“Of course she would. She loves you. But there’s another option.”
“What’s that?”
“You can stay in my condo and cook me amazing food. Then, everybody would be comfortable.”
I blinked. “What?”
“I’m your friend?”
“Yes.”
“Then, of course you stay at my place. It’s big. . .for New York. Three bedrooms. I have a sunroom that I don’t use. It could be a studio for you to do your art in.”
I stopped eating. “Are you serious?”
“I was thinking about it in the shower.”
“That’s what you chose to do with your shower?”
I smirked. “Yes. I chose to think about you when I washed my naked body.”
That delivered a warm shiver up my spine.
“What do you think?” he asked.
“I. . .um. . .I think it’s something to consider if I need to consider it.”
He was about to speak, but the lights went off. Darkness bathed the space.
I widened my eyes. “What just happened?”
“Damn it, New York,” Kamal grumbled. “It must be a power outage. Stay there. Let me check.”
Movement sounded on his end.
A minute later, and moonlight filled the space as he opened the curtains.
“Yes,” he said. “The whole street is dark. That’s just what we need right now—darkness.”
“Is this typical?”
“No. But it did happen in Manhattan last summer for a few hours.” He dug into his pocket, pulled out his cellphone, and turned on the screen light. “Knowing my sister, she’ll have candles in the closet.”
“Yeah. She had that on my instructions list.”
“Zora prepares for everything.”
“Thankfully.”
Ten minutes later, the living room glowed in candlelight. Flames flickered atop several vanilla scented candles.
We continued to eat, laughing at this or that.
Kamal brought up the possibility of my moving in with him again. I told him I needed time to think about it. On one side, he was now a good friend—someone who I could depend on. He’d showed that in the short time we’d spent together. However, the other side was that we still had not lived together for more than a few days. While his condo provided more space, I would feel weird staying with him.
But do I have much of a choice?
We devoured our meals over talk of childhood memories. In the shadowy darkness, we cleaned up, yet continued to chat away. Conversation with Kamal came easy. He refused to let me wash the dishes. From time to time, I got to dry a plate or fork, but that was it. After he wiped up the table and put up the food, we returned to the living room, trying to figure out something to do.
With no television to entertain us, we resorted to playing music on his phone and sipping more wine.
“Okay.” I walked over to him as he stood in the center of the living room and browsed his phone. “I know you have some Beyoncé in there.”
“We’ll play her, but first we give respect to the queen.”
“The queen. Uh oh.” I glared at him. “Are you sure you want to press play, after a statement like this? This could make or break our friendship.”
Candlelight danced on his sculpted face. “I believe even Beyoncé would call her the queen.”
“Hmmm. Let’s see.” I placed my hands on my hips.
He turned on the phone and set it on the table.
I waited for the song to come on.
Whitney Houston’s soft vocals filled the room as I Will Always Love You began.
I smiled. “Okay. We’re still friends. She’s the queen.”
The violins played over the piano’s soft and rhythmic melody.
He dramatically bowed. “Can I have this dance, princess?”
My smile deepened. “Yes.”
He pulled me in. I raised my arms and placed my hands on his shoulders. We moved to the tempo. Whitney hit each note with pure perfection. I’d forgotten how beautiful the song was. It had been forever since I heard it.
Wrapped in Kamal’s embrace definitely helped the beauty of each tone come out stronger. His scent comforted me. My body smoothed against his.
When the song went off, he didn’t let me go. Her next song You Give Good Love came on. My mother used to play it every weekend when she cleaned the house. Now, this moment with Kamal would forever replace those memories.
He moved away from me and I thought he was ending our dance during the song. And then he twirled me around.
I laughed.
“I’m an excellent dancer.” He twirled me again.
“Maybe.” I grinned.
“I am.” Humming the notes, he pulled me in and turned us around the candlelit living room. The next song came on—After We Make Love by Whitney Houston. And still, we danced, twisting and twirling, he even
dipped me a few times, taking my breath away.
Somewhere in between her songs Didn’t We Almost Have It All and Worth It, the lights came on. Still, we danced—slowly. Our bodies gently rubbing against each other.
He licked his lips and then twirled me around. The playlist must’ve ended because no more songs played.
We paused in silence.
Instead of letting me go, he kept his hold on me. “I enjoyed that.”
“Me too. I had no idea you were a big Whitney Houston fan.”
“I’m actually not a huge one. I just wanted to play slow songs.”
“Why?”
“So, I can have an excuse to slow dance with you.”
My voice went low. “Very slick.”
“I thought so.” And then Kamal bent down and lightly brushed his lips against my cheek. “I’m really enjoying being stuck with you.”
Shivers skittered through me.
“My mother always says that everything happens for a reason, I wonder if we were supposed to be trapped together.” He brushed the other cheek with his lips. That simple touch triggered my arousal. “Your thoughts, Jade?”
My nipples stiffened. “That’s an interesting theory.”
He brushed his mouth against the curve of my neck. “I’m about to do something that I’ve been wanting to do all night.”
Trembling under his hold, I parted my lips.
“If you don’t like it, tell me to stop.”
“Please.”
And then he kissed me. His mouth against mine. His wet tongue dipping and lovingly tasting. Minutes passed. Maybe even more, I had no idea. I just knew that I didn’t want the kiss to stop. As if he heard my thoughts, he deepened the kiss, almost dipping me over in the process.
Thank God, he held me tight or I might have fallen on the floor.
A dark groan left him.
And I drowned in Kamal—his masculine scent, that insistent mouth, and muscular embrace. My body hungry and ready for whatever could be in store. Yielding even. To him. To us. To hot wet bodies sliding between the sheets.
My pussy went wet with desire.
Never had I been kissed in such a way. I clung to him, as my world blurred to nothingness. Only we existed. And it felt so good.
Fast, he yanked my pants down and I didn’t stop him. They fell to the floor. I stepped out of them and returned to his embrace and those soft lips.
Groaning, he grabbed my ass and then lifted me. I wrapped my legs around his hips, holding on to his hard body.
I ground my pussy into him, not thinking about anything else. Wishing he’d snatched my panties off too.
Loud knocking sounded.
What?
He didn’t stop kissing me.
Who cares?
The knocking continued.
Shit. What the hell?
I pulled away from his mouth. “That’s the door.”
He scowled. “Who the fuck is that?”
“I have no idea. The lights are back on. Would it be the power company or something? Maybe the building’s super is making sure everything is okay?”
More knocking came.
“Whoever it is they need to go.” He lowered and released me.
I glanced down at his jeans. His cock pressed the denim forward—hard and ready to be released. I reached for my pants and picked them.
“No. Keep those off,” he growled with desire. “I’ll get rid of them.”
Breathless, I held my pants in my hands, not sure what would happen next between us, but very much ready to explore that gorgeous body of his.
I’m sorry, Zora, but your brother is hot as fuck. Please forgive me.
Guilt filled my body.
Would she even be mad? I have no idea.
Kamal prowled over to the door and opened it. Instantly, his seductive voice shifted to bloody murder. “What are you doing here?!”
A female’s voice sounded on the other side. “I didn’t know where you were at. I was so worried.”
He tried to close the door.
“No! Wait!” She screamed. “Please, Kamal! Just give me a minute. I came over here in the dark!”
Oh my God. Is that Amber?
I hurried and put on my pants.
Chapter 10
Kamal
Drama
Amber proved that she could make this year worse than a global pandemic ever could.
There she stood, across from me. Someone had bruised her left eye. Her lip had been busted too. Her shirt was ripped. Her jacket was half-off.
Damn it.
“Please.” Tears left her eyes. “Just let me in so we can talk.”
I grimaced. “What happened to your face?”
“Can we talk about this inside?”
I ran my fingers through my hair, stepped out into the hall, and closed the door. “No. Say what you have to say and go.”
“Really, Kamal? Do you not see my face?” She whimpered. “And I have to go to the bathroom.”
I did my best to not feel sorry for her, but secretly my heart cringed. “What happened?”
“Let me in.”
“Tell me out here.”
“Why aren’t you—” She lowered her gaze to my jeans. “Your dick is hard.”
“Focus on what you have to say and not my—”
“You have a woman in there?”
“Amber, who hit you?”
She went over to the door and banged on it. “Hello?! Hello?!”
“What are you doing?” I got in front of her. “This is a quiet building. Don’t bring your mess over here.”
“Who’s in there?”
“None of your damn business. We’re not together.”
“All this time you’ve been cheating on me?”
I frowned. “That would make you feel better at night. Wouldn’t it?”
She stepped back. Her fingers shook at her side. “I was practically raped today—”
“Really?”
“Practically.”
I sighed.
“It wouldn’t matter if it were true or not, you don’t care. And the uber driver was mean to me. Can I go inside, use the bathroom, and sit down for a minute before you throw me back out there? I have no one.”
My heart twisted.
The last thing I wanted was to bring this mess around Jade or even stink up my sister’s apartment with Amber’s toxic crap. But if someone had hurt Amber, then it would be wrong to push her away, simply because I despised her.
You’re lucky my mother raised a good man.
“You have three minutes. Use the bathroom and then go.” I let out a long breath and opened the door. “Come in.”
She curved that bruised lip into a smile and limped forward.
Damn it. I hope this isn’t a bad idea.
Continuing with the dramatic limping, she entered and then paused at the entrance of the living room. There, a shocked Jade stood.
I cleared my throat. “Amber will just use the bathroom and then leave.”
Anger rode Amber’s voice. “Hello, Tonya.”
Jade frowned. “My name is Jade.”
I walked inside and kept the door open. “The bathroom is on the right.”
Amber pointed at Jade. “You’re Zora’s best friend. Right?”
“I am.” Worry covered Jade’s face. “What happened to your eye?”
“Kamal wouldn’t want me to talk about it.” She limped over to the bathroom, went inside, and slammed the door.
Jade glared my way as if she were close to slapping me.
I raised my hands. “She’s out of here soon. Trust me.”
“What happened to her face?”
“Oh.” I shook my head. “I didn’t hit her if that’s what you think.”
“I mean. . .” Jade sighed. “Look. The way she worded it and I know that yesterday you caught her and—”
“I don’t hit women. Someone else did that to her.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “I may not look that upset ab
out it. That’s because I’m tired of her shit. She’s being manipulative right now. And I’m pissed that she brought her toxic crap over here. But I would never hit her or any woman.”
“Okay.” Jade ran her finger through her hair. “So. . .should I give you two a minute or—”
“Absolutely not.” I walked over to Jade. “Amber has to go. I don’t even know how to deal with this. Usually, when I break up, it’s done. I don’t see the person anymore.”
Jade glanced at the door. “Things change when you move a person in and—”
“No. She’s crazy and toxic.”
“But maybe you have to hear her out.”
“Why?”
“Because it doesn’t look like she is going to give up on you.”
I placed my hands in my pockets. “I’m sorry, Jade. You shouldn’t be around this drama. After she’s out of the bathroom, I’m sending Amber on her way.”
The sound of water came from the bathroom. Then, the door opened.
Amber walked out. “Can I have some water? It was a long journey over here.”
“No. You didn’t walk the Mohave desert.” Rage rose in me. “You simply took an Uber to get here, and for no reason. We’re over. Goodnight.”
Amber scowled at me. Next, tears came as if she’d practiced it. “I-I just. . .need—”
“Don’t make me call the cops, Amber.” I held my hands out to my sides. “You’re better than this.”
Amber turned to Jade. “You see how he treats me? He wouldn’t answer his phone. I had to take an Uber to get here. The guy was flirting with me. I felt so uncomfortable.”
“Enough of this.” I pulled out my phone.
“Wait.” Amber held her hands up. “Gary was the one who hit me.”
I paused from the phone. “Who is Gary?”
“He’s the guy from yesterday.”
“So, the guy that you were cheating on me with, punched you in the eye?”
“Yes.” Sniveling, she wiped her nose. “He said I was lying and—”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because he knows where I live, and I’m scared he’ll come back and hurt me again.”
“All the more reason why you should work on getting out of my condo fast.”
I considered the beat down I’d already given Gary. “Hold on. When did he hit you?”
“Today.”
“When?”
“This morning.”
“So you waited to come now?”