♤ NARDO ♤
On his first day of work, Horace smoothed out his brand new uniform in the long mirror, examining his body.
He smiled a little at his reflection, proud of himself. He'd been making so many positive changes in his life lately, his whole demeanor changing.
His brain bounced to the reason behind the changes.
Kentrell.
Just thinking about the man had Horace's heart thumping, and slowly he was starting to realize why.
Hopping in his car to head to work his phone buzzed, eyes bouncing to catch it.
have a good day at work :)
He tried to stop himself from blushing but it was useless. Greatful to be in the car instead of in the house with his nosey ass sister, Horace tried to focus his thoughts on driving and not Kentrell.
He clocked in dapping up Ben who then took him towards the back of the store for his first assignment.
A familiar face was already cracking open stuff, the girl turning towards him with a grin.
"Wassup, party fren." She said, handing him his half of the work.
He caught on quick watching her movements and mimicking easily.
"Hey party friend."
"Nardo right?" Lakeyah asked, Horace nodding along.
"Yeah, thats right."
"Remember you can call me, Key."
"Aight, Key."He surveyed his area,"You mind givin' me a run down of everybody?"
"Rather it be me then someone else."She thumbed to her left," "Aight so that's Tay."
A mean mug was on the man's lips as he glared at Horace, eyes leaving him and the frown becoming deeper.
And here Nardo thought he had a resting bitch face.
"He rude as fuck, but he ain't fake like that one over there." She pointed to a tanned girl who was convincing some customers about a new pair of shoes, her movements were exaggerated and overzealous.
"Whose that?"
"White bitch named Danielle." He squinted at her a little harder.
"She look mixed."
"That's cause she wants to be."
"She sounds weird as fuck."
"Cause she is, she'll literally smile in ya face then go snitch to Mr. O'Malley for a leg up."Lakeyah rolled her eyes in disgust,"I'd advise you keep ya interactions to a minimum."
"Noted."
"Ben is Ben, can't take shit that nigga do seriously."She giggled lightly,"But he's always solid, especially when you need somethin' done."
"Yeah, he's already proved that too me."
"We friends now, by the way." She added his face turning into one of suprise.
"Really?"
"Yeah." Nardo smirked a bit, thinking back to his life in Florida.
There was no way in hell the old him would've just kicked it with Lakeyah, especially with how he'd have been pressured to get at her.
It felt good to have a new friend and things feel organic, especially one that was a girl.
"Ima be honest, I've like neva had just a female friend befo'."
"You've always tried to fuck?"At his silence she started laughing. "Oh, niggas are sad fa real."
"It's what I was taught."
"Gotta break that cause it can be so unhealthy." Lakeyah said seriously, the younger agreeing.
"Trust me I'm startin' to realize what's unhealthy."
She handed him more boxes to stack, keeping up the conversation.
"How you and ole boy doin'?"
"Whatchu' mean?"
"You'on gotta front with me."She shrugged with a slick grin,"I saw the way y'all kissed."
Horace blushed leaning onto the shelf trying not to smile himself.
"Damn, he did have his tongue down my throat in public."
"From the looks of it, he had more in there too."
He rubbed at his neck, flashbacks of the night popping in his head. He knew if he kept thinking about it his blushing would only intensify.
Kentrell was bitching him out and he wasn't even physically here.
"You play too much."He took a second to think,"I guess we're...datin'?"
"That sounds like a question."
"Cause I don't know if that's what it is."
They'd said stuff sure but with who Horace was it didn't take much for him to back pedal.
Anxiety, confusion anything that had him thinking too hard he abandoned.
And Kentrell always had him thinking.
"Maybe y'all should have an actual conversation about it." Horace shook his head immediately.
"And possibly piss each other off, Ion wanna deal with that."
"It ain't like y'all are gon' fight, fight." He blew air from his mouth, grabbing a box cutter.
"Tuh, you would think."
"Come now, you two are grown. "
"I got problems with my anger." Horace stated matter of factly,"He got problems with his too, so what kind of recipe for disaster you think that is?"
"Y'all talked about plenty of other things without fightin' right?"
"Right."
"So why would this suddenly make y'all go crazy?" He ingested what she said, then sucking his teeth.
"Stop bein' logical."
"That's cause you know you can't argue against it."
"Maybe you should be the mediator when we do get into it."
"Nah, y'all both look like you bite." He laughed with her, the duo's friendship budding.
*******
As usual in his free time, Horace was outside of Kentrell's apartment waiting to hang out.
He felt nervous and anxious, he wanted to just let things be and not ask any questions but after the other night, he was sure it'd just cause confusion.
Confusion that couldn't always be solved with sex.
"Trell, I think we should talk." He said when they say down, Kentrell's face screwing up.
"You breakin' up with me?" He asked automatically, his leg starting to bounce.
"No!"He held out an arm,"Just need clarification."
"About what?"
"Us."Horace continued,"You askin' if I'm breakin' up with you, are we even together for us to break up?"
"Nardo."
"Nigga, I am askin' that with utmost seriousness."He chuckled a bit, "Just cause we fuckin' don't mean we datin'."
"Okay, so what does it mean then?"
"Exactly what it is." He crossed his arms. "Just be direct about what you want."
"I want us to be together." The older spoke frankly, Horace blinking.
"I do too."
"Okay, then we datin'." He confirmed, rolling a blunt in the same breath.
'Well that was easy-'
Shaking his head, Horace had other things on his chest he wanted to get off. Be 100% as possible, Lakeyah had later told him.
"This new to me regardless if you were a female, I ain't ever been in no real relationship befo'."
"Obviously, I have."
"Yeah,"He chewed on his lip,"You know things I don't and expect shit I don't know to give you."
"You already givin' me more than I could ever ask for."
"That's the thing, I don't know what you askin' for." He looked thoughtful,"Could we lay everythin' on the table?"
"Whatchu' mean?"
"Just tell each other shit we think the other should know."
"No judgements right?"
"None at all."
"Pinky promise." Kentrell grinned holding out his hand expectantly.
"Nigga, at our colossal age?"
"Just hook the fuckin' pinkies." Horace sucked his teeth, doing as he was asked his lover giving him a small smile.
"I'm jealous as fuck." Kentrell confessed, "When I want somebody, Ion want nobody else around 'em."
"I can be pretty jealous too but I push people away instead."He tugged at a thread on the couch, "Cause I mean obviously you'on want me no more if you runnin' to other people."
"Noted."
"I'm also really insecure."He shrugged. "Ain't shit I can do about it, it's been with me for a while."
"Me too."
"You think two insecure people need to be in a relationship?"
"Everybody insecure, if that was the case nobody would be together." Horace couldn't even think up a smart reply, he'd got him with that.
Smoking a bit of the blunt after Kentrell, questions clouded in his brain his full intentions to ask them.
"Why you tell me everythin'?"
"Huh?"
"Like the time in that limo, you told me why you ain't go to prom."His voice became tiny, vulnerable even,"That shit was so personal and you still told me."
"You just really easy to talk too, Nardo." Horace moved closer to Kentrell. "Easier then any of the therapists I've had."
His words made the younger feel important and special, his brain failing to fight at the endorphins Kentrell was giving him.
"I got one more thing to ask and don't get mad when I ask it."
"Get it off ya chest." Kentrell said shrugging.
Communicating so candidly was new but he liked how cleared his head, how it slowed his anger and helped him understand.
He wanted to understand Horace, learn everything about him and then some.
His lover gave him a curious gaze, elbows on his knees, his head in his hands.
"Why we gotta label shit?"
"Cause I wanna hear you mine,"He sighed, exhaling smoke from his nose."The last time I tried bein' casual all the way I got my heart broken."
"What if I break ya heart anyway?"
"Yeen gon' do that."
"How you know?" He countered Kentrell trying to keep a level head.
"I just do."
"You say that cause you wanna believe it." He shook his head, the younger just wasn't getting it. He didn't understand how much he saw through him, saw him to his core.
He peeped Horace the second he sat down in that first meeting and even if he couldn't figure out everything about him, he learned enough to catch onto how he moved and his feelings.
If Kentrell was worried about anyone's heart being broken, it was Nardo's.
"Horace, I put my all in even when Ion have shit to give because of how I hard I love." At him saying his real name he went quiet, giving all his attention to the other.
"Most people can't handle that from me. They leave because I'm so damn intense." Saying it out loud made him think of everyone who abandoned him, got out of dodge when they realized he was a ticking time bomb.
Watching Horace who had yet to even flinch, still listening to Kentrell had him ready to pull out a ring. His attachment growing bu the second.
"Even befo' we started fuckin' you saw me actin' like that and stayed, I love you for that, bruh."
"You love me?" He'd heard all Kentrell said and digested it, letting it go on a loop in his head.
He'd been told he was wanted but to hear how much he was loved sparked something different inside of him.
Horace didn't know what to say, his only reaction to kiss his older practically jumping his bones.
Kentrell let him lay flat on top of him, his arms wrapped around his waist tight as they begin to kiss sloppily. They pulled apart with a breath, Horace gazing into his eyes.
"Say it again."
" I love you." He said and Horace kissed him, again and again until he couldn't anymore.
He was falling head first into a whole new realm and just like he usually did, Nardo had nothing to soften the blow of the aftermath.
how far y'all willing to go to make a relationship work?
also when the shit hits the fan between these two, y'all niggas better not be coming after me with pitch forks 😭😭😭.
thank you so much for reading, y'all and your support gets my fucking gears going and i feel like I'm sharing my soul when writing this book.
I love you and please stay safe!!!