Renae Dreams Trilogy

Chapter 9.) Two weeks later...

"At this point, I'm starting to see that his ass is just getting a kick out of punishing me now," Zina complained as Kyle braided her hair.

"In my opinion, I think this is his way of forgiving you without really saying it. I told you to give him some time,"

        "I know my brother, if he's forgiven me, I would know by now," Zina muttered.

        "No disrespect boo, but you and him are two totally different people. From what I know, you liked attention and to be with the 'it' crowd whereas he was cool with who he vibed with. He forgave you but you can't see that because deep down you still feel guilty for what took place," Kyle clarified.

        Zina sat there in deep thought letting her words sink in for a moment. She knew Kyle was right, she didn't know Malik as well as she assumed, there was a lot of stuff that Malik kept from her and a lot of stuff that she kept from him, topping Kingston off for starters.

        She was always told that she would turn into the black sheep of the family from her grandmother before she passed and then she was told quite a few more times by her mom up until she finished high school.

        She loved the rush, she loved being disobedient and she loved creating her own rules and own lane, not understanding that a lot of her choices were affecting her family. They had to pay for her mistakes but she was also grown enough to realize that it was time for her to put her big girl pants on and accept life for what it was and take responsibility for the fuck ups that she's caused.

        "Just stop trying to force those words out of him, it'll keep making things worse," Kyle's voice interrupted Zina's thoughts.

        "I will at least he helped me get a job," Zina softly laughed and Kyle smiled.

        "How do you like it tho?"

        "It's cool, it's a job. Bartending not really my thing but I make good tips,"

        "When I used to bartend, I was more excited about the tips than my actual paycheck," Kyle confessed and they shared a laugh.

        "Is that how you two met?" Zina asked.

        "I met him in the barbershop... he had this lady friend who from what he's told me, he took with him to the wedding but they were just casual fuck buddies. I was in there talking with an old high school friend of mine when he walked in and we bumped into each other, he asked me to wait for him, so I sat out in my car and then he came out, we spoke, exchanged numbers but I never hit him up."

        "Were you trying to play hard to get?" Zina quizzed and Kyle laughed picking up the comb.

        "No, naturally I was attracted to him but I was also a busy woman, and I was never one to always be on my phone. I was only seen on my phone if I was in my car, looking for music or business. Other than that, you'd catch me with a book, my sketchbook, a notepad or papers." Kyle answered.

        "So how did y'all finally meet up then?"

        "Three months went by and we ran into each other at the strip club. I was invited to a party and was actually getting a dance from one of the strippers and he walked in our section with Jamel and Ty as if they owned the place, words were exchanged on both ends, the owner actually kicked us out but Malik requested that I stayed. I told him I wasn't staying if my friends couldn't stay since we were there first, so we hashed the shit out and ended up hanging out that entire night. He offered to take me home, I declined,"

        "Girl you were giving his ass the run around," Zina laughed and Kyle did as well.

        "I wasn't doing it intentionally, he just couldn't really keep my attention for as long as he assumed. After that night, he called me two days later, we hung out, went to the movies, went to get ice cream then we found a lake and just talked there. I finally started paying more attention to him about a week later and paid more attention to his calls, and the rest is history after that," she concluded and Zina smiled.