ISRAEL

TWELVE

GREENWICH, LONDON — 23:32

"STRONG hood Mensa," she greeted, making Ivy almost lurch through the windscreen after Shantel's foot jerked on the brake from surprise at her words.

Ivy craned her neck back, so she could stare at Xio before facing Shantel, "Strong hood Mensa!" They whispered in unison making Xio have to stifle her giggle.

Mensa responded by cackling, "You Jamaicans are too inappropriate for me!"

"Excuse me? Was it not your friend Burna Boy talking about how he'll nyam his girl's front like jollof. And everyone knows how you lot tear up jollof!" She acted offended. Though Shantel and Ivy could only hear Xio's side of the conversation their eyes were bulging with shock. Who the hell was a Mensa?

"How'd you know my hood's strong?" He laughed. "What do you mean by front?" Mensa was confused, it was a bit of a culture clash between them sometimes.

"The way how you walk innit. 'Front' means a girls narni, ignore me I'm buzzin'," she chuckled. The more she learned about Mensa, the more she was intrigued.

He wasn't as open when talking about sex as Xio, which is how she found out he was still a virgin. He made a pact with his ex-girlfriend who, was more in touch with her spirituality thus heavily religious and she, taught him about celibacy. They had been together for just over three years, and he decided to maintain his abstinence from sex, even after they'd split, until he believed he was in a 'forever' relationship. He said marriage wasn't a requirement, he just had to feel as though he was with his soulmate.

He was heavily influencing Xio, he had encouraged her to take her time when entering this new relationship and in the process, learn more about herself. As well as teaching her about the concept of soul ties. Mensa was rare to find in London (especially South!), and she didn't want to ruin it with him. So if that meant toning down, that's what she'd do. She wanted to remain in his life, preferably romantically, she was attracted to his way of thinking more than anything.

"But no, front refers to a girls privates." She answered his question, thumping the back of Shantel's seat so she could keep her attention on the road instead of deep in her conversation. When they got to a traffic light, Shantel fiddled with the dashboard until Xio's phone was connected to the car to amplify Mensa's voice.

Xio giggled at their nosiness, which made Mensa question what was funny. "No, nothing my friends are just being extra."

"Where are you?" Mensa came through on the car's speakers.

"I'm coming from a J Hus' concert. Where are we Shantel – near Deptford I think." She told him after Shantel noiselessly pointed out a sign.

"You're always going out?" He questioned. Mensa was a bit more indoorsy than Xio, which wasn't a problem for either of them. As of late, Xio just hated staying in the silent house by herself, knowing that her Mum should've been there but wasn't. She also kind of enjoyed her new found freedom, but instead of her mum she had her auntie to answer to.

His question resulted in Ivy screwing her face up and murmuring to Shantel, "So what if she is?"

"Sometimes. But it was J Hus so we couldn't miss him." Xiomara answered lightly chuckling, still cheerful just to hear Mensa's voice. She really fucked with him heavy, she felt like he turned up in her life at the perfect time. Yet still, a small part of her felt as though she wasn't good enough for him, her nagging insecurities made her afraid to disappoint him.