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| King of Hearts |
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By: Janae Destiny
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The restaurant they had dinner at was right on the Miami River, and the view from their patio table was absolutely beautiful. Monie made sure to take pictures so that she could show Marco and Ava. She took pictures of her drink, her food, and especially the view of the river.
Monie was even taking pictures of herself outside of the restaurant after taking group pictures with the rest of the girls. She didn't know these girls from a can of paint, but they seemed genuine and she enjoyed hanging out with them, which does not happen very often for her.
"Type in your name," Chantal handed Monie her phone so she could tag her in her Instagram story when she posts later on. "Just follow yourself."
"It's Lovely_Moniee," she said as she typed it in on the phone and pressed the blue follow button.
She ended up getting the Instagram names and phone numbers of all the girls before they decided to part ways for the night.
"It was nice hanging out with y'all," Monie told the group, and she genuinely meant that.
She has a few friends back in Chicago, but they never really hung out much. And then there were friends from high school, and they're still cool, but they're just not as close as they used to be. Why? Well, because Monie was busy raising a baby and a pre-teen while they were all going off to college and living very normal young adult lives- a life she couldn't relate to.
Needless to say, it's been a while since she hung out like this, and she almost forgot how good it felt.
"It was nice hanging out with you too," Chantal gave her a little hug. "You're cool as hell Monie, for real. I'm glad you walked into our club."
"Me too," Monie sort of blushed. "I was nervous at first, but I'm glad I came. But I know y'all said you have stuff to do after this, so don't let me hold y'all."
"Good night girl. And text me if you ever wanna do something or go somewhere else. I know this whole city like the back of my hand."
"Oh, I'll definitely be doing that. Good night," she waved the three girls off as they made their way in the direction of the car they arrived in.
"Am I bringing you back home?" Kiara looked over at her sister now that it was just the three of them left outside of the restaurant. Monie, however, had stepped to the side to answer a phone call.
"Nope," Luna shook her head, her face down in her phone screen. "Rowan is on his way to pick me up. He's Like two seconds away."
"Y'all just met and he already picking you up from places?"
"I just got it like that sis," Luna smirked. "Don't be jealous."
"Oh trust me, I'm not."
And at that very same second, a sleek, all-black Ferrari Roma pulled up in front of the restaurant where the two were standing. Rowan parked the car and got out, making his way towards Luna.
"Good evening Luna," the 6'8 dark skin man leaned down and placed a kiss on her cheek.
"Hi, Rowan," she blushed, which is something Kiara isn't sure she's ever seen her sister do in the twenty-four years thé girl has been alive.
"Wassup King?" He greeted Kiara next.
"Hello, Rowan," she nodded her head at him.
"You look real pretty ma," he turned back to Luna and smiled down at her. "Hope you enjoyed your dinner."
"I did. Thank you."
"You ready to go?" He held his hand out to her.
"Yeah, I'm ready," she placed her hand in his waiting one. "See you later sis," she waved at Kiara before allowing Rowan to walk her the few feet to his car, where he then opened the door for her and helped her into her seat.
"G'night King," he called out to Kiara.
"Good night," she waved as he got in the car and drove off down the street. "You know what?" She said that part to herself. "I'm not even mad at you Luna."
Kiara could have left already, but she purposely stayed back so she could leave after her sister and her friends. Why? Because she wanted to talk to Monie, who was still talking on her phone.
"Aiden, why the fuck are you calling my phone?" Monie was trying really hard not to get angry at the mere sound of his voice.
"Cause I wanna know where the fuck you and my kid are. How the fuck you just up and leave and don't tell no fucking body? And don't tell your kid's fucking father?"
"Oh, so now you wanna pretend to give a shit about Ava? All of a sudden you wanna act like her father? Because where the hell were you when she was sick and in and out of the hospital, huh? Where the fuck were you then?"
"Don't do that shit, Monique. Just tell me where the fuck my daughter is?"
"She's safe, and that's all you need to know."
"You playing games right now," Aiden was getting angrier as the conversation went on. "I been calling you for two days straight, so why the hell you just now picking up?"
"Cause I've been busy," Monie replied.
"Monique, where the fuck are you?" He just went back to the original reason he'd called in the first place. "I went by your place and all your shit is gone. What typa bitch moves and don't tell they kid's father?"
"The same one who doesn't tolerate being called a bitch by they baby daddy. And your daughter is fine, not that you genuinely care anyway."
"That don't answer my question of where the hell y'all are."
"I'm not comfortable telling you where I am right now. I left to get away from your crazy ass in the first place."
"See what I mean. You on that bullshit again," Aiden laughed into the phone as if something were funny. "You dumb as shit you think you can just move my daughter to wherever the fuck and think I won't find out where yo ass went. Keep playing with me like I won't take yo ass to court and get custody of my kid."
"Take me to court then. Please, I want you to take me to court. Cause you got another thing coming if you think you're gonna take Ava away from me."
"You really think the judge will be in favor of her hoe ass mama selling pussy to niggas in the strip club just to pay bills?"
"Well I had to do something since it's not like I was getting money for food or clothes from you," Monie didn't even bother arguing with him about his claims of her basically being a prostitute. Because if that's what he wants to think, she's not going to tell him any different.
"You're crazy as shit Monique, you know that? I just wanna see my daughter, that's it."
"And you'll see her when I feel comfortable enough for either of us to be around you again."
"That's not how this shit works," Aiden was starting to get angry again. "Bitch I'll break your fucking neck the next time I see you since you wanna be playing games and shit."
"You know what, Aiden? Fuck you," Monie said into the phone before hanging up on him.
Monie wasn't about to argue with him about Ava because at the end of the day, she moved because Aiden is not the type of man or father a little girl needs in her life. She would rather her daughter grow up with no father at all than with somebody like Aiden.
"Fucking asshole," Monie mumbled as she dropped her phone back down into her purse. She didn't even look to make sure, she just assumed everyone left already and started walking towards the lot where her rental was parked.
"Monie," Kiara got her attention, causing her to turn around.
"Oh, I thought y'all left?" Monie was surprised to see Kiara was still there.
"The four of them left already," Kiara walked up to her. "I wanted to make sure you got back to your car safely."
"That's nice of you, but you didn't have to do that. It's not that far a walk to the parking lot."
"I... I actually wanted to ask you something too."
"Okay," Monie looked up at her. "Ask me what?"
"You in a rush to get home? Cause I was wondering if you'd wanna go get a drink or something like that. Yuh know, get to know the city a bit more."
"Uh..." Monie looked down at her watch. It wasn't too late, just barely past 8pm, but she didn't want to be out late again for the second night in a row.
"It's aight if you don't want to. You don't even know me, so I get it."
"It's not that I don't want to. I'd love to actually," she reassured her.
"But?"
"But I gotta- you know what, okay," Monie nodded her head. "It's still early. And what's one drink, right?"
"You don't have to feel forced. It's really aight if you don't want to."
"No, I really do want to. It's been a while since I've genuinely hung out, so where are we going?"
"Euphoria Hookah Lounge," Kiara was looking down at her phone screen, sending her the address at the same time she said it.
"Are you coming back this way to go home? Because I can just ride with you then, instead of having to find parking all over again."
It was less than a thirty-minute drive, meaning it wasn't that far, but Monie didn't really feel like driving.
"Yeah, okay. I parked on the street, not too far from here," Kiara pointed in the opposite direction of where Monie was just walking.
She followed her to her car, a Lexus LX SUV with a white exterior and an all-black leather interior.
"Oooh. I love your car," Monie gasped when she was seated inside. Kiara had Monie's dream car, down to the colors and features too.
"Really?" Kiara laughed because that's not a compliment she gets too often. Even though it is very nice, it's definitely not the most luxury car out there.
"For real. I've been in love with the Lexus LX since I test drove it. I wanted it so bad, but it made more sense to get an X3 instead."
"Oh, you're a BMW type of girl?"
"I'm a 'it was much cheaper than the LX' type of girl."
"Ain't no shame in that," Kiara glanced over at Monie, who was staring out of her side window, as she drove. "So... how you liking Miami so far?"
"It's cool. I haven't seen much of it, but I can tell it's a lot different than Chicago, that's for sure."
"Why'd you decide to move here anyway? Chicago seems like a cool ass city from what I've seen and heard about it."
"It can be, but I... I just needed a change," Monie left it at that, not wanting to get into any specifics about her very sudden relocation.
"That's fair. Sometimes you just need a new change of pace."
"Where are you from?"
"Here," Kiara answered. "Been in Miami my whole life actually. But I still get it. I get why you'd want to leave your hometown."
The two made small talk for the rest of the drive until they were pulling up to 'Euphoria Hookah Lounge & Bar' in Miami Beach.
"Wassup boss?" The valet guy greeted Kiara when the two women stepped out of her car.
"Hey babe," she smiled at him. "How are you?"
"I'm doing good," he accepted her keys from her. "How are you?"
"Good, thank you," she turned around just to make sure Monie was still behind her.
The two walked in and Monie was pleasantly surprised by the very chill vibe inside of the lounge/restaurant. It had a tropical Caribbean theme and there was a mixture of Beres Hammond, Sanchez, and Tarrus Riley type of calming reggae music softly playing in the background.
They stopped by the bar and ordered drinks, of which Monie noticed they didn't have to pay for. They were only there for a drink and could have sat at the bar, but Kiara insisted they get a table in the back anyway.
"The guy outside called you boss?" Monie stirred her straw around in her frozen hurricane cocktail. "This your hookah lounge too?"
"Yeah, but I'm not here a lot though. My main focus is my club. That's my real baby," Kiara took a sip of her strawberry daiquiri.
"Why'd you decide to open up a club anyway? Because your father being Keenan King? I don't know, I just figured kids of athletes would go down that same path."
"I started to. I got a scholarship to play basketball in college. I coulda joined the league and everything, but that's just not what I wanted to do. My father was kinda upset about it at first. He was disappointed that I wasn't gonna carry on the King legacy in basketball, but he got over it."
"I don't really follow basketball or any sport for that matter. So I don't know much about your father either. The little bit I do know about basketball all comes from my little brother."
"Honestly, I like when people don't know my father. Makes getting to know people feel a lot more genuine. And that's hard to do here because... well, everyone knows my father."
"I bet. From what I know, he was one of the best players in the league. That's big deal. So I'm sure you were quite something when you played."
"Broke a bunch of records in college and I have three gold medals. But, if we're being honest, there isn't much money in women's basketball. And I damn sure didn't wanna go overseas to play either."
"I guess that makes sense," Monie nodded her head. "I'd wanna follow the money too."
"It wasn't even about money for real. I was good at it, but I never really loved playing basketball like that anyway. Only really did it because it kept me really close to my dad. I always knew I wanted to own my own business though, that's what I went to school for. I love my city, and I love the nightlife we have here, so I don't know, opening up a club just made sense to me."
"Well, I know I'm brand new here, but it seems like you doing a good job at it. Last night was stupid... in a good way."
"Thanks," Kiara sort of chuckled because of how she felt the need to explain her choice of words. "What about you though?"
"What about me?" Monie took another sip of her drink.
"You asking me why I decided to open up a club? But why'd you decide to become a dancer?"
"The same reason anyone else does it. I needed money."
"You working through school or something?"
"I was... but not anymore. No."
"You lost interest in it?"
"More like I became too busy for college," Monie sighed. "I had a little brother and baby at home to take care of with barely any help from anyone else. I had to sacrifice something and my degree just didn't seem as important at the time."
"You have a kid?"
"Yeah, I have a kid," Monie slowly nodded her head. "She's five. Starts kindergarten this year actually."
"You said brother too. They close in age?"
"Oh, not even a little bit," Monie laughed. "My brother is starting his sophomore year. He's only fifteen, but thinks he's grown as hell just cause he's already 6 foot tall."
"I'm sorry, but that's funny as hell. Cause that's the same shit my grandma says about my dad when she tells us stories about him as a teenager."
"Well, maybe I'm raising a lil Keenan King then."
"He plays basketball too?" Kiara asked.
"Yup, since he was real little. He even made the varsity team this past year, which apparently is hard to do as a freshman. His main concern with moving here was basketball, but I don't doubt he'll make the team again."
"What high school is he gonna be going to?"
"Honestly? I have no idea," Monie admitted. "I don't exactly have a permanent place yet- sorry," she pulled out her ringing phone, already knowing it was Marco because of his custom ringtone. "I'm sorry. That's actually my brother calling me right now."
"Nah, you're good."
"I'll be right back."
"Yeah, no problem," Kiara pulled her phone out so she had something else to focus on while Monie excused herself from the table.
"Wassup Marco?" She answered the phone once she made it outside, not wanting to be rude by talking while sitting at the table.
"Monie, when you coming back? Cause Ava being annoying as fuck," he sounded stressed out as he spoke into the phone.
"Annoying how?"
"She keeps talking about how she's tired of being in this got damn room. And I don't blame her, like there's only so much more of this room I can look at before I lose my fucking mind."
"First of all, stop cussing. And second of all, neither of y'all better leave that hotel room," she warned him. "Is that understood?"
"Monie, bruh, we're bored as hell. Ain't shi- nothing to do here. Can't we walk to the store or something? It ain't even that far from here."
"No, you can't. We don't know this city like that, and it's late now. I don't want either of y'all leaving that hotel room."
"You're killing me, Monie. You really killing me."
"Marco, I'm on my way back, just calm down."
"You being on your way back don't mean nothing. It's only been two days, but we're tired of being here. Ain't even shit on tv to watch."
"Can we talk about this when I get back?"
"Fine. I'll talk to you later bruh," he huffed into the phone before hanging it up.
"Huhh," Monie sighed as she locked her phone back. Because as good as her night was going, and as much as she was able to escape and live that young carefree life for a night, she was back to reality now. At the end of it all, she still has two kids to worry about.
"You gotta go?" Kiara asked her when she made her way back to the table.
"Yeah," Monie pouted as she sat back down. "And I know we just got here-"
"It's fine, I get it. And uhh... about what you said before you got up," Kiara started. "You been staying in a hotel or something?"
"For the moment, yes. But only until I can find either an apartment or a temporary bnb or something to stay in until I find a real place."
"I own a few properties."
"Uh... okay?" Monie furrowed both of her eyebrows, wondering where she was going with that.
"I have a condo not too far from here and there's not currently a tenant in it. You can stay there if you want to."
"I don't know. That seems very inappropriate."
"How? I'm a landlord, not a pimp."
"Now-" Monie laughed at how Kiara responded to what she had just said. "I just mean because you're now my boss. Isn't that like a conflict of interest or something?"
"You need a place to stay, and I have one. I don't see how that's a big deal at all. It's already furnished, and even though nobody's lived in it for some time, people still come regularly to clean and make sure it stays in good condition.
"You being serious right now?"
"Dead ass. Come on," Kiara picked up her bag. "Let me just show it to you. It's literally a few minutes from here, so we can make a quick stop before I take you back to get your car."
"Right now?"
"Unless you have to leave at this very second, yeah. Why not?"
"Uh..." Kiara hesitated, but still got up. "Okay. Yeah, let's go."
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Miami Beach, FL
"Oh wowww," Monie gasped when she walked into the condo. "Oh, I don't believe this. Not for a second."
"You don't believe what?" Kiara turned the lights on.
"That you really own this," Monie sat her purse down on the kitchen counter as she went to explore more of the three-bedroom condo that also had an ocean view of Miami Beach from the windows and balconies.
And Kira did own it, technically. The condo is in her name, but it was a college graduation present from her father who put down quite a large downpayment so her payments wouldn't be as high each month.
The condo was also fully furnished just like Kiara said it would be. It had a very sleek and modern color scheme and interior decor. There was a lot of white with hints of light grey, which Monie wasn't sure would work with a five-year-old staying there.
"You can change out whatever you want," Kiara said as if she'd read Monie's mind. "I stuck with white because it's a nice neutral palet."
"Kiara," Monie turned around to face her when she made it back to the main part of the unit. "I think you vastly overestimated me. There's no way I can afford the rent on this place. This gotta be a million-dollar unit. At least."
"How you know you can't afford it? I ain't even say a price yet," Kiara laughed.
"How much then?"
"Five."
"Five thousand?" Monie looked at Kiara like she was stupid. "A month? This place is within walking distance of the beach and you want me to believe that? You're playing with me right now, and I don't have time for games."
"I don't play games. Because quite frankly, I don't have time for that either."
"Why is the rent so low then? I don't know much about real estate, but I know this place gotta be more than double that a month."
"I don't get any income from this condo right now anyway. You'd honestly be doing me a favor by staying here until I decide if I want to sell it or not."
"Why is it still vacant anyway?" Monie crossed her arms over her chest. "There's gotta be a reason."
"Honestly? Because I moved out last year. I used to use it for Airbnb at first, but I stopped that real quick when some dumb ass spring breakers fucked up my place. Had to get walls patched up and everything. I just haven't touched it since then."
"Five thousand?" Monie was still stuck on that number.
"Yup. I can get my real estate agent to draft a year long lease and everything. I can't promise you anything after that though. I might decide I wanna sell this unit by then."
"You always this nice? Cause you don't even know me to be doing this. I could be crazy as hell."
"Are you?"
"Well... obviously not."
"And I can tell you're not. The whole reason this place is still empty is cause I don't trust mother fuckers all up in my shit. And I know I don't know you from a can of paint, but you seem responsible. I don't mind helping people like you."
That, and she realizes that Monie is both a young mother and the sole caretaker of her younger brother. And then to move so unexpectedly with two kids and no secure place to live let Kiara know there was more to her situation than she was telling.
"I... Kiara, I literally don't know what to say besides thank you."
"Thank you is enough. Here," she handed Monie the electronic key fob for the front door and also the main entrance of the building, mentally reminding herself to drop off the extra one she has somewhere at home.
"Thank you... again," Monie still couldn't believe she was being serious. "Like for real. Thank you."
"Don't mention it. I'ma call my agent first thing in the morning and have him draft the rental agreement. But you can move in whenever. You can get your kids and come back here tonight if you want to."
"I could literally cry right now," Monie was absolutely speechless.
"Please don't," Kiara laughed. "And I know you said you gotta get back to your kids, so come on before it gets any later. I'll take you back to Seaspice to get your car."
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Author's Note:
This chapter has been written for a couple of weeks now, I just forgot to ever publish it lol. So here's a cute little chapter until I get back
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- J.D.