"And I'm killin these haters
I write their name in blood on my chest
Got money, got whips and I got yo chick, I don't give a damn about the rest.
No need to front
I swear my shit is legit
Everything I touch turn to gold
I call my finger Midas.
Came straight from the block,
I started from scratch.
Keep my songs on repeat
While I'm countin these stacks."
Keenan's voice blares from the sound system as he reads his lyrics from the napkin they're scribbled on. Cordell sits in the computer chair, nodding his head as his friend spits his verses into the mic.
This is a typical night for the two boys. Sitting in the makeshift studio creating songs for Keenan's debut mix tape. The studio is actually a microphone and recording system set up in Keenan's sister and boyfriend's dusty basement. It may smell like smoke and Fritos but it gets the job done.
As Keenan continues rapping, the door opens and footsteps slowly come down the stairs. Corey turns his head to see Sevyn coming down the stairs, tossing her messenger bag on the couch as she walks over to him. She listens to Keenan rap, her head bobbing to the beat. Soon enough she's shoulder shaking to the song, dancing like shes listening to her favorite song on the radio. Her hips moves in a circle and her hand fist pump the air even though she's not even on beat. Keenan smirks at her as the song fades out. He takes the headphones off and puts it down on the desk in front of him.
"You know I can't concentrate with you around." Keenan tells her, taking a seat in the beat up recliner.
"For real man. That's why I'm saying no boo lovin allowed during studio time." Corey replies, mean mugging Sevyn.
"Shut up Dough Boy." She replies, playfully knocking his Steelers hat off his head and walking over to Keenan. Corey frowns at the nickname he was given by his friends when he started working at Dunkin Donuts. Sevyn sticks her tongue out as he glares at her.
"And I'm pretty sure even Eminem and Meek Mill's angry sounding asses have a little fun in the studio." She says, walking behind Keenan and wrapping her arms around his neck.
Keenan smirks, "True."
Sevyn chuckles and glances at Corey, "So what did y'all do today, dhill with them chicken heads on the steps?" Both boys look at each other and start cracking up. Sevyn looks back and forth between them, her face scrunched up in confusion. "What?"
Corey talks first, "Me, Ty, Shaun and Malcolm were chatting up those girls right, Ashanti and Daniella. So we're talking and everything's going cool. I think Ashanti was feeling Ty but Daniella was being a hoe and feeling all of us. Things were going smooth till Shaun'a dumb ass goes, 'Yall wanna have some fun? We don't have our cars right now but we can still take y'all on a ride.' Tell me why Ashanti dumped her soda on him and walked into the house, taking Daniella with her!"
They all start laughing, Sevyn laughing the hardest. "Leave it to Shaun to act up. What's his problem?"
Keenan shrugs, "He hasn't gotten any good good in a while since his little side line Michelle had a pregnancy scare by this other dude."
"I told him she gets around," Corey says shrugging. "He just likes them easy."
Sevyn shakes her head. "That's disgusting. He's gonna catch something one day or slip up and get some girl pregnant."
"Ignorant dudes out there." Keenan says. "Aren't you lucky I got a good head on my shoulders?" He asks, pulling Sevyn around to sit on his lap.
She nods her head yes and puts her arm around his neck. "Of course I am."
Keenan smiles and glances down at her lips before gently kissing them. Sevyn welcomes the kiss and holds her cheek in his hands as her body gets hot like it always does during a make out session with Keenan. His hand caresses her thigh and she presses against him, gently biting his lip while losing herself in the moment.
"ACHEM!" Corey clears his throat loudly and the couple pause to look up at him as he rises to his feet quickly. "I'm just gonna go before it turns into some rated R scene in here." He says, causing them to laugh. He holds his hand out for Keenan to dap. "Holla at me later Keenan. Bye Sev."
"Bye," Sevyn responds in a sing-song voice. Corey disappears upstairs leaving them alone in the stuffy basement.
"How did babysitting go?" Keenan asks.
She laughs at the memory of babysitting Jamie. "That little girl is crazy. By the time we were done playing I had grass in my hair, dirt on my pants and a hole in my shirt." Keenan raises a questioning brow and Sevyn just smiles. "It's a long story. She just has so much energy, it's hard to keep up with her. And even harder to put her to sleep."
"Sounds exhausting," Keenan responds, Sevyn watches him as he shakes his head at the thought. "I'm never having them."
"Anyway," She bobs her eyebrows. "You never told me how Florida was."
Two weeks ago Keenan was up in sunny Florida visiting his Aunt Tanya and Uncle Floyd. Two long weeks of Sevyn being left alone with her brothers, Corey and Shaun. It was the longest two weeks of her life, especially since they were in her house all day every day playing video games and eating up all her snacks.
"It was alright. My cousin Justin brought me out to a couple parties and we chilled at the beach. I met some of his friends and exchanged numbers cuz they were cool people. Other than that my uncle had us slaving around the house, helping them renovate as they build their dream home."
"Mmm, that's why your muscles have suddenly bulked up?" Sevyn asks, feeling the firmness of his torso against her chest.
"I guess so," Keenan flexes his arms to show off his muscles. They laugh and he puts an arm around her. "I missed you though. A lot..."
Sevyn beams and Keenan pinches her chin between his fingers, pulling her face up to meet his before pressing his lips to hers in a hot kiss. She places a hand on the side of his face, leaning into the kiss as his tongue searches her mouth. His hands roam across her skin and butterflies fill her stomach as his fingers brush against her soft skin. This is what she missed the most during those two weeks, the passion and intensity of his kisses. The first time they kissed she felt breathless, like all the oxygen was sucked from the air. He still leaves her feeling like that, and she loves every moment of it.
As always, Sevyn breaks the kiss off first once his fingers have found their way to the button on her shorts. Keenan's eyes open and he rests his forehead against hers. "I want you," His voice is raspy as he catches his breath.
"I know, but not yet." She tells him, stroking the nape of his neck. His eyes crinkle and she stands from his lap before he can put up a fight. She fixes her shirt that has risen up as Keenan watches her with a lazy look in his eye.
"Did you eat yet?" He questions.
"No, but I could really go for a burger right now." She tells him, smiling a little. Keenan rolls his eyes and she laughs. Everyone knows Sevyn loves Burger King like a little kid loves Chuck E Cheese. If she could- and if she wasn't on the track team- Sevyn would eat it every day.
Keenan stands up and turns off the power to the sound and recording system. He grabs his keys and phones and stuffs them in his pocket. "Alright let's go fatty." He pinches her stomach and leads her upstairs.
On their way out, they bump into Keenan's older sister Kiara. Kiara is 24 and lives in this house with her high school boyfriend Marcus. She's always liked Sevyn because she has more common sense then the skanks Keenan used to bring home. Sevyn also reminds Kiara of herself when she was sixteen. An independent, spit fire girl who isnt afraid to stand up for herself. She smiles brightly when she sees Sevyn.
"And here they are. My favorite couple of all time. How ya doing Sev?"
"I'm doing pretty good. Can't wait to finish up these last two years at MPH and get away to college." She replies.
"Oh that's right you two are juniors now." Kiara says. "Man, time flies. I remember when I was teaching this loser how to be cool in high school and not get stuffed into his own locker during freshman year."
They all laugh and Keenan glares at his sister. "Why you always bringing this up? Damn, gimme a break." He says.
"I'm just messing with you." Kiara teases, pushing him lightly. "Where y'all headed?"
"Burger King." Sevyn says. Kiara looks at Sevyn with a smile and shakes her head. Sevyn laughs, "Can you blame a sister for being hungry?"
Keenan chuckles, "I'll see you later Kiki. Tell Marcus thanks for letting me use the studio again."
Kiara rolls her eyes as they start walking out, "Boy you basically live in that studio. Get out."
They leave out the door and walk hand in hand to the Burger King that'a a few blocks away. It's humid outside, making their foreheads bead with sweat, but Sevyn doesn't mind. She enjoys moments like these where the air is filled with a comfortable silence. It gives her time to think about her plans of the future. Where ever she ends up, she hopes that Keenan is still by her side.
After Keenan brings Sevyn home, she goes into her house to find her parents sitting in the living room. Her mother is sitting on the couch while her dad is sitting across from her in the recliner. The air is oddly silent and Sevyn looks back and forth between them.
"Um...hi." She says, closing the door behind her.
"Hey baby, where you been?" Her mother asks her.
"I went down to the studio and then out to Burger King with Keenan."
Her father chuckles and shakes his head. "Eating all that fast food isn't gonna be good when you start volleyball again." He tells her.
Sevyn smiles and shrugs her shoulders. "I bounce back quickly." She shifts the messenger bag on her shoulder then looks back and forth between her parents, the lingering silence makes the mood feel awkward and tense. "Are you two ok? You're sitting here like you're mourning the death of a cat or something."
"No we're fine. Just talking." Her father says quickly. Her mother shifts in her seat and looks down at the floor. Sevyn wants to ask more questions, like what they're talking about, but she already knows that they're going to tell her not to worry about it. So she just bobs her eyebrows like she believes they're having a simple conversation and bounds upstairs to her room. As she walks down the hall, she can hear Ty blasting Kendrick Lamar in his room, making the walls shake. She kicks his door, hoping he'll turn it down and goes into her room.
As soon as she plops down on her bed, her laptop dings, signaling that someone wants to video chat. She smiles, already knowing that it's Monica calling her from Puerto Rico. She grabs her laptop onto her lap and opens the chat to see Monica's tanned face beaming at her.
"Hola bonita, I miss you so much! Ok, let me tell you about this club I went to last night, it's crazy!" Monica exclaims. Sevyn shakes her head at the typical Monica behavior, she can sniff out a club like blood hound. As she talks excitedly, Sevyn just watches the happiness on her face and twinkle in her eyes. She misses her best friend so much.
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