◆ ◇ ◆
Aiden stared at her finished piece, amazed by her own talents. In just a few hours, she'd created a masterpiece. She'd drawn a woman made of rocks, surrounded by what could be lava on a canvas that was twenty-for inches wide, and two feet tall. The colors in the painting were dull and blended well with the art's mood.
She looked down at her clothes, checking for any spots of paint; she was glad to see there wasn't anything on her. Then, she picked up a clean, small-headed, paint brush and dipped the tips of its bristles into a dab of white paint. Holding the brush's handle as she would a pencil, she signed her surname, Richter, in the corner of her work.
"Wow, that looks really good," a light voice complimented behind her. Aiden turned around and smiled at the woman.
"Doesn't it?" she replied.
Hailey nodded a Aiden and walked over to her. Holding out a hand to the pretty blonde, she introduced herself, "Hi, I'm Hailey Leighton."
Aiden peered at her hand before shaking it. "I know who you are; your sculptures are pretty good. I'm Aiden Richter, by the way."
"Pretty good? My sculptures are among the best," Hailey told her. Aiden shrugged her shoulders and turned to pick up the brushes she'd been using. She carried them to one of the studio's sinks and began to wash them one by one.
"If you say so," she mumbled, turning on the tap water. Hailey had heard her mumble under her breath but hadn't understood what she said. Brushing the comment off, she continued to make conversation.
"I'm guessing you're going to be in the Rookie Showcase too?"
"Rookie Showcase? What's that?"
"It's basically an induction show, Grotesque's way of introducing their new artists."
"When is it?"
"It's in April."
"Oh, well then, yeah, I'll be in it. What's it to you?"
"Great! So will I." Hailey walked over to the opposite side of the studio. She pick up a canvas and set it on an easel before picking up some brushes, paint and a palette.
Aiden had paused in the act of cleaning the brushes and looked at Hailey. "Why are you going to be in the showcase? Aren't you already apart of Grotesque?"
"I am but-" Hailey started.
"But her mind is too narrow to try other things so she has to correct 'erself." The girls' heads snapped to the direction of the studio door just as a man, unfamiliar to Aiden, stepped into the room. She took a good look at the handsome, older, brown skinned man. Grey hairs were variously speckled in his goatee. There were laughing wrinkles by his dark, brown eyes and he had a bald head. "So you' decided that sculptin' ain't for you no mo', Hailey?" The man asked. Hailey rolled her eyes at the ceiling and placed a hand on her hip.
"No, Jackson. I just want my buyers to see that I can do other things besides sculpting."
Jackson?, Aiden thought, looking between him and Hailey, As in Jackson Gregory?. She'd read about him. Like Knox, his personal life and pictures were nonexistent on the internet but she did find a little information on him, more than she had on Knox. He had been working at Grotesque for twenty-three years, since he was eighteen. Aiden did the math; he was 41-years-old. His father was the last CEO but had died from a stroke. Jackson was supposed to be the current CEO of Grotesque but had declined the job offer. Instead, he stuck to his second-in-charge position.
"Knox has a big mouth. Aiden, don't ever confide in him about anything, unless you really need to." Hailey told Aiden.
"Don't listen to 'er, sweetheart. Knox is very trustworthy," Jackson corrected, eyes locked on Hailey, "And fo' yo information, Ms. Leighton, it wasn't Knox who told me about you lil' change of plans. Word gets around fast." He turned to Aiden. "It's yo coworkers that you shouldn't confide in."
Aiden turned her back to them and continued cleaning the brushes. Over her shoulder, she said, "I'll remember that when I get signed and become famous." Hailey eyed Aiden and scoffed from across the studio. But Jackson smiled.
"You' quite confident in yo'self, huh?" He asked.
"I am exactly that."
"A'right. Ain't nothin' wron' with that. Ain't nothin' wron' wit' that at all." Jackson grinned at Aiden, admiring her attitude. "I just hope you put yo' money where that pretty, little mouth is, Miss-"
"Aiden," she told him.
"Miss Aiden," he proceeded, "I hold you up to high expectations."
"I'm sure I won't disappoint you, Mr. Gregory," Aiden answered, grinning.
"I'm sure you won't either, snowflake," Added Knox as he entered into the studio. He walked over to a frowning Aiden, smirking. He knew she hated the nickname. And just because she did hate it, he was gonna keep saying it.
He stopped beside her by the sink and moved a tendril of blonde hair behind her ear. "Sorry, I'm late, win'er bunny."
"You are?" She asked, grabbing his wrist and looking at his watch. It was two o'clock in the afternoon. They were supposed to go to lunch an hour ago. "You are."
"Yeah, I had somethin' to do and it took a little longer than expected. I lost track of time"
"You had to do something or someone?" Hailey growled under her breath, pretending to paint while she watched Knox. No one heard her.
"No matter," Aiden replied to Knox, "I lost track of time as well. Look, Reid, I finished a painting." She nodded her head in the direction of her art before picking up the clean brushes and setting them on a paper towel. Knox slid over to her easel.
"Knox, you talk to that Paint It! guy?" Jackson asked.
"Yes, sir." He answered, studying the piece.
"So... how'd it go?" Jackson inquired.
"It went well. Everything is cool," Knox responded. He began to tell Jackson about the outcomes of the business call, all the while looking at Aiden's painting. Jackson left the room once Knox was done talking.
Aiden slunk behind Knox, standing on the tip of her toes to study her canvas with him. Over his shoulder, she could see Hailey glaring at her. Aiden raised a waxed eyebrow, bemused.
"Aiden," Knox said, breaking the staring contest between her and Hailey, "this is good."
"Good enough to be in the showcase?" she wondered.
"Maybe. I don't want to approve your work as you go along. Just make as many pieces as you can and when the time arrives, I'll pick out the best ones." She nodded her head. For a while she was transfixed in her art but she could feel Knox's persistent gazing and looked at him.
"What's wrong?" she questioned, watching him watch her. She began touching her face, wiping around the corners of her mouth. "Is there something on my face?"
"Actually, there is," he licked the tip of his thumb and roughly wiped it across her cheek.
"Ew!" She shouted.
"Be still! Let me get this beauty off of your face for you!"
"There's what on my face?" She twisted and squealed while Knox continued to touch her. When she realized what he'd said, she started to laugh. Knox blew his hot breath on her chin and swiped at it.
"It's not coming off! Be still, girl!"
Aiden giggled. "Get away from me, weirdo! You're so immature." She was still giggly. Knox was looking down at her, his hands holding her face. He slid them down, over her arms and held her hands.
"You ready to go to lunch?" He asked once her giggling had died out.
"Oh! Yeah, I am." She took her hands out of Knox's hands and went over to the corner to retrieve her shoulder bag. Knox was waiting for her by the door. She clutched on to his arm and dragged him out of the studio. "Let's go get some grub!"
Mad as hell, Hailey watched them go.
◇ ◆ ◇
They went to a small diner that was two blocks away from the gallery. The place had a lot of business and was slightly crowded. Aiden looked around, wondering if there were any tables left for her and Knox. As far as she could see, there weren't any.
Knox grabbed her hand, taking her behind the counter and into the kitchen were the cook slaved over the grill. He nodded at the cook and she smiled at him.
"What are you here for Knox? You wanna hot dog?" The plump lady asked, smiling while she flipped a couple of juicy, burger patties. She knew Knox well. He came to the diner often; he was in love with their hot dogs and fries.
"You know it, Shirley" he said to the cook, calling her by her first name. "Except this time I came for two hot dogs and two fries." He gestured to Aiden, who waved at the cook. Shirley nodded and told him she would have it ready for them in a minute. Knox tugged on Aiden's hand again and led her to a secluded room in the back of the kitchen.
The room looked like a fancier version of the dining lobby. There were more booths; they were clean and looked new. The floor was waxed and the tables were spotless. Old pictures of people were hanging on the walls. Aiden assumed they were the founders of the place.
"So, is this like the VIP section?" Aiden wondered as she slid into a booth. Knox followed suit, sitting across from her.
"No, that'd be cool though. This is actually the employee lounge but I'm good friends wit' the owner so I'm allowed back here." Aiden nodded her head, looking around. She pushed strings of hair behind her ears and clasped her hands in her lap.
"So..." She began, "How does this whole...luncheon thing work?"
"Just tell me about yourself."
"Anything?"
"Sure, I wanna know it all. We may work together-"
"We will work together."
"We will," Knox agreed. "So, tell me whatever."
"Well-"
"I'm sorry. I forgot to get us something to drink. Hold on, I'll be right back." Knox stood and left the room. She sat patiently, drumming her fingers on the table, as she waited for him. Knox soon came back and placed a can of pineapple Fanta in front of her. She thanked him before cracking the can open and taking a sip.
"You were sayin'?"
"Uhm...I don't know where to start."
"When did you start drawing?"
"Uh, when I was about 6-years-old. I remember-I would draw all over my bedroom walls with crayons, markers, oil pastels, or paint. If I could use it, it was going on the wall. I even drew something with my poop once."
"That's fuckin' disgustin'." Knox interrupted, with a sour look on his face. Aiden smiled and shrugged as she continued to talk.
"Hey, I was only five. Anyway, my mom got tired of me defacing her home, and of cleaning my graffiti, so she put this huge piece of paper on the wall and told me to draw over that instead. I did, of course, and I remember thinking how I liked the paper way better.
"My mom said I didn't draw like my sisters, or any other little girls. There were no cornered, yellow suns, crooked rainbows or disproportionate flowers with me. She said she'd thought something was wrong with my mind because I would draw stuff such as three eyed, red unicorns and teddy bears with shark teeth and Freddy Krueger claws, or dolphins with octopus legs. And whenever she asked me why I drew those things, I would just shrug my shoulders. If she asked if I was having any bad dreams or seeing scary things, I would tell her no. My dad told her that it was nothing and that I was just going through a phase. She believed him at first, but when I kept drawing creepy stuff, she stopped. "
"Did she send you to a shrink?" Knox asked, taking a sip of his soda.
"She did, actually, when I was eight. By that age, my creations were starting to get a bit more detailed and it freaked her out even more. The shrink told her that there was nothing wrong with me. I just liked to draw mutilated things. That didn't stop my mother from keeping an eye on me and my drawings though."
"Hmph, fuck that. If you were my daughter I would've dragged your little, pale ass to the church and would've made you read bible verses aloud while I drowned you with some holy water. Only demonic children draw shit like that at the age of six. I would've had you exorcized." Knox commented, his voice filled with finality.
"And just what makes you think that I didn't go to church when I was younger?" Aiden asked, a neatly plucked eyebrow raised.
"The fact that you were drawing teddy bears wit' shark teeth and claws at the age of six. You were only six!"
"So? I'm sure every kid did some weird things when they were younger. No child's a saint. As a matter of fact, how were you when you were younger? What did you do when you were six, since I'm so abnormal?" Knox hesitated to answer her question. Instead of replying, he sat back into the booth's cushion and played with his fingers. Aiden noticed his sudden change of mood and looked at him, puzzled. She started to reach across the table, touch his hands and ask him what was wrong but before she could the door to the room swung open.
Shirley, the cook, breezed in carrying two plates with steaming chili cheese hotdogs and fries. Aiden's stomach growled from the smell of the meat and sliced potatoes. She almost licked her lips and moaned at the sight of the food but she didn't want Knox to think badly of her. Plus, that would un-classy.
Shirley sat the plates in front of them. They both mumbled a thanks before she left the room.
For a long while, they ate in silence and Aiden didn't like it. She may have only just met Knox but she'd already gotten the impression that he wasn't the silent type. She wasn't quite the silent type herself, so she wasn't just going to have lunch while on mute. She decided she was going to break the silence.
She dipped a French fry into some ketchup and popped it into her mouth prior to grabbing her sketch book of her bag. She flipped to the drawing she'd created yesterday morning. Once she found the sketch, she slid it across the table to Knox. He peered down at it as he shoved the last piece of his hotdog into his mouth. As he chewed, he held a fist over his lips, studying the picture.
He swallowed before he asked, "Who this?" Aiden's answer was simple.
"You." Knox looked back and forth between her and sketch. He didn't know who the hell this guy was but it definitely wasn't himself. Was she trying to be funny? He looked at her again. Aiden's face was straight; she was serious.
He looked at the sketch again. The person, man, she'd drawn was obviously white, a black person would've been shaded in. The man had tired, light eyes, a normal sized head and strong shoulders. He had a gray beard and the little hair he had on his head was gray as well. His nose was small, though long and his lips were thin and a little chapped.
Knox scoffed profoundly and let out a sarcastic chuckle.
"This is uh..." He picked the picture up and continued to stare at it. "This is pretty good Aiden. But I think you may have missed a few details. Next time, please, get my good side." He grinned as he slid the book back to her.
Aiden laughed, happy that Knox seemed to be back in a good mood. Her laughter died out and she started to explain herself. "As you may have guessed, I'm a pretty big fan of the gallery-"
"As I have guessed and as you have confirmed."
"Yes. And being that I was, and still am, a big fan, I tried to do some research on you. But...I couldn't find anything: No pic', no rumor, no embarrassing photos, no biography, no exes, and no anything. So yesterday, I drew what I presumed you would look like." Knox nodded his head and smirked at her.
"So, I was right? You were expectin' me to be white?"
"Yes. And fat, and mean along with some other things that I now know you are not." Knox opened his mouth to say something but Aiden raised a hand to silence him. "I know, I know. It's a damn shame." She smiled at him and giggled when he wiggled his eyebrows. "Knox, why can't I find anything about you on the Internet?"
"Uhm...I don't really know." He shrugged his shoulders, taking a sip of Fanta. "It's weird, actually, because it's like people know me... but they don't know me. I could walk into the gallery and be greeted and respected by all my employees, coworkers and clients because they know me. But if I go to a showcase or if I'm out in public, no one acts as though they know who I am. I'm nobody outside of my office and I have no idea why. There's like this unspoken law to keep my identity confidential. I consider it as more of a blessin' than a curse, though. "
"How could people not know that gorgeous face?" She grinned at him. Knox, smirking, leaned forward and gazed at her.
"Are you flirtin' wit' me, Snowflake?" Aiden, still smiling, shrugged.
"Call it what you will, Brown Sugar." she stood and picked up her now empty plate, flipping her blonde hair over her shoulder. "Do you want me to take your plate for you?" Knox nodded and handed it to her.
After giving the cook their dishes, Aiden came back and picked up her bag. Knox looked at her.
"I'm guessin' you don't want any dessert?" Aiden shifted her weight to one leg and tapped her chin in thought. At that moment she reminded him of Koco. He made a mental note to call his little goddess later on and ask her about her day.
"Depends," Aiden said finally, "what are we having?"
"My favorite, red velvet cake ice cream."
"Hmph. Well, I guess I can allow you to be in my presence for a while longer. You're lucky, I don't do this for other people." She sat back down slowly, as if she were reluctant to sit with him again.
"Snowflake, you know you can't get enough of me-"
"Ha!"
"You want this-"
"Puh-lease."
"And you know what? Soon enough, you gon' get it."
"Okay, now. Let's not go there."
"I'm just sayin'. You gon' get it; if not, my name ain't Knox."
◇ ◆ ◇
Three weeks later, Aiden was lying in bed, talking to her friend, Elvis. She and Elvis had been friends since their freshmen year in high school. Aiden had been considered a prude that year, mostly by boys, because of the way she had acted towards others: as if she was better than them. She hadn't meant to act as if everyone was inferior to her but she also didn't want to talk to any of her peers. To her, they seemed extremely childish when it came to getting an education. Aiden wasn't, however, and so isolated herself from others.
She had stayed to herself until Elvis transferred into her school during the second semester. His cute and charming, queer ways appealed to Aiden and they got along easily. They stuck together like glue and paper. Aiden had made some acquaintances throughout the rest of her years in high school but Elvis was her only best friend. He was one of the first people she confided in whenever she needed to talk and vice versa.
She was now telling him all about Knox and the rookie showcase.
"So... is he hot?" Elvis asked.
"Is who hot?" Aiden returned.
"Aiden Jean Richter, are you trying to play games with me? You know who I'm talking about."
"Uhm, no, I don't."
"Uhm, yeah, you do."
"Wait, could you be talking about Mr. Reid?" Aiden heard him groan and she knew he had rolled his eyes as well. She smiled, aware that she was frustrating him.
"No, I'm talking about King of the underworld." He said sarcastically.
"Hades?"
"You know, AJ, I wish that I could reach through this phone and gently wrap my soft, manicured hands around that pretty, little, olive neck of yours and just squeeze. And I'll squeeze...and squeeze... and-"
"Yes."
"Yes, what?"
It was Aiden's turn to roll her eyes. "My boss..."
"What about him?"
"He's attractive-" Elvis started to shout on the other end of the call. She moved the phone away from her ear, laughing.
"I knew it! You little whore. Are you gonna bone him?"
"No."
"But you want to, right?"
Aiden hesitated to answer his question. Then, she repeated, "No."
"You hesitated-"
"I did not!"
"You did! AJ, darling, if you want some cock, just admit it. There's nothing wrong with that. I'd give you some, you know, if you were my type."
"I have no idea what you're talking about. I am a virgin and I plan on keeping it that way."
•••
"Ready or not, here I come!" Kolina yelled throughout the condo.
Knox had just picked her up from his mother's house the day before and had the privilege of spending time with her for the next few days. He didn't plan on wasting a single moment without Koco
She and Knox were playing their tenth game of hide-and-seek and Koco was the seeker.
Knox's condo was pretty big. There were plenty of places for him to hide. All the possibilities made the game exciting.
Koco giggled, running from room to room, trying to find her Bubba. "Bubba! Where are you?!" Of course, he didn't respond.
For what seemed like a long time, she searched for him. However, she had no such luck in finding Knox. Koco decided to play the game smart.
She ran down a hall at a medium pace and then, purposely, she fell. She started wailing at the top of her lungs, holding on to her knee as she rocked back and forth on the floor. Just as Koco expected, Knox came out from his hiding place. He fled over to her and picked her up, cradling her in his arms, shushing her as he tried to stop her false crying. Koco buried her face in his shoulder and faked a case of the sniffles.
"You okay, Bubbie?" Knox asked. She nodded her head. Then, Koco put her mouth close to Knox's ear and whispered...
"You're it." Knox reared his head back and looked at her, confused. Koco squirmed from out of his hold and ran away, giggling. It took him a whole five seconds to figure out that he'd been tricked by a seven year old girl. Amused, and proud, he ran after his younger sibling.
◇ ◆ ◇
After two more games, Knox and Koco settled down on the couch to watch cartoons on Boomerang. Knox let Koco lay on his chest, while he played with her curly hair. He sniffed it and, smelling a sour, sweaty odor, realized that it needed to be washed. He made a mental note to do it later, during her bath.
Koco giggled, watching as the Powerpuff Girls defeated their enemy- the evil monkey, Mojo Jojo- once again. "That monkey is stupid. Go, Powerpuff Girls! Kick his butt!" Knox smiled, amused by Koco's antics.
Kolina's stomach suddenly growled. She looked at Knox. "Oops."
"You hungry?" He asked her. She nodded her head. Knox sat up with her in his arms and carried her as he glided to the kitchen. He sat his little sister on his hip and began looking through cabinets, trying to find something to eat. Or, more accurately, something he felt like fixing. Lack of food wasn't the problem, lack of energy was.
"What do you wanna eat, Goddess?" She did her signature move: eyes to the sky and a finger on her chin. Knox looked on patiently while she thought of something.
"I want pizza!" Knox nodded. He went over to the fridge and opened it up, looking for a box of pan pizzas. He'd forgotten that he'd eaten the last one just four days ago.
"I don't have any more microwavable pizzas left, Koco." He told his sister. Koco was disappointed but she didn't complain. Knox's stomach chose that moment to let his hunger be known. He sighed. He was in the mood for pizza too. "How about we eat out? Let's go to East Side." Koco excitedly agreed. He sat her down and she went to put on some shoes. Knox slid a pair of blue crocs on his feet. When Koco came back, he grabbed his keys and they left.
•••
The line at East Side wasn't too long and Knox was grateful for it. On the way to the pizzeria, he had managed to go from kind of hungry to a full blown starvation. The smell of the cheesy pizzas had his stomach going crazy. He was about to lose it. Even Koco was getting impatient. She was usually a quiet one and kept calm but now she was whining and complaining persistently. And she would keep going until she was fed.
"Bubba..." She whined, tugging on his sweatpants. "I'm hungry."
"You're about to eat, Koco. Calm down." He said, sternly. Knox was a little frustrated himself. The line was moving slow. Correction, the workers were moving slow. He and Koco sighed simultaneously, both upset.
Sometime later, Knox stepped up to the register. The cashier greeted him politely, "How you doing, sir? Welcome to East Side Pizza, my name is Finn. How may I take your order?"
Usually, Knox himself was polite to the employees as well. But after waiting in line for a long time, he thought, fuck that. His reply was flat when he demanded, "Gimme a large, cheese pizza, one small fruit punch and one large coke."
"Will that be all?"
"Yea."
"Here or to go?"
"Here." The cashier told him the total and Knox paid for their food. He and Koco stood off to the side. The employee that had taken their order came over to them and handed them their drinks. Knox gave Koco her fruit punch so she could hush up.
Five orders and an upset customer later, they finally received a steaming pizza and some plates. Knox examined it, making sure that there was nothing wrong with it and there wasn't. The pizza was actually worth the wait.
The cheese was melted perfectly. The crust was nice and golden, with no burn marks. It was scrumptious. East Side made big pizzas. One slice was about a foot long.
He took Koco's hand and led her to a table booth. He let her slide in before sitting next to her. As soon as Knox placed the pizza and plates down on the table, Koco reached out and grabbed a slice. She wasted no time in taking a bite. Once she did, however, she spat it out and looked up at Knox with tears in her eyes, wagging her hand at her tongue. He resisted the urge to laugh.
"Uh huh, it's hot, isn't it? That's what you get. Stop acting like you ain't ate in years. Wait for it to cool off." Koco pouted and Knox stuck his tongue out at her. She jumped at him, making him laugh. "Drink your juice, it'll sooth the burn. And rub your tongue against the roof of your mouth." She did what he said.
They both waited a minute to eat. Once the food cooled, they ate in silence. While Knox took big bites, Koco nibbled.
Knox was in the middle of chewing when someone hit his shoulder.
"You mind if we join you?" Knox looked up to see Jackson and his thirteen year old son, Knoah. Jackson had a pizza in his hand and Knoah had drinks. A smile appeared on his face as he shook his head. Like Knox, Jackson let Knoah slide in first before sitting next to the boy. Jackson smiled broadly at an ecstatic Koco.
"Cracker Jacks!" She yelled out. Kolina climbed over Knox. She ran over to Jackson, jumping into his lap and giving him a tight hug. Jackson held her close, rocking her from side to side. He hadn't seen the little girl in a long time. As always, he was just as excited to see her as she was to see him. He pulled away to look at the little beauty. Brushing her hair away from her face, he kissed her forehead and then gave her an Eskimo kiss. Koco giggled. "Hi, Cracker Jacks. Hi, Knoah." She waved at the boy. Knoah waved timidly, then went back to being anti-social biting into a slice of peperoni pizza.
"Okay, Koco, now come back over here. Let Jackson eat." Knox demanded gently.
"She fine, Knox." Jackson assured him. He gave Koco a smacking kiss on the cheek. "How you been, baby girl?"
"Fine. Bubba made me burn my tongue," she pouted. Knox sucked his teeth.
"Awww, he did?" Jackson asked, pouting with her. "You wan' me to smack his face?"
Koco, again, giggled but shook her head, "No."
Jackson reached across the table and smacked Knox anyway. Koco burst into a fit of laughter and even Knoah chuckled. Knox glared at Jackson. "Don't be making my princess burn her tongue, boy."
"I didn't make your princess do anything. She burned her own damn tongue. And she cheated when we were playing hide-and-seek earlier." Knox responded.
Koco stopped laughing and stuck her tongue out at him, "Did not!"
"Did too!"
"Did not!"
"Did to-"
"Knox, you're a grown ass man," Jackson reminded him. Koco took a firm seat in Jackson's lap and sipped on her juice, too full to eat anymore pizza. Jackson picked up a slice and began to eat. "So, Knox," he started, in between chewing, "how'd that lunch thing go?"
"What lunch thing? The one with Aiden?"
"Noooo, the one with Hailey." Jackson said sarcastically.
"I ain't been out with Hailey."
"Then I must be talking about Aiden, right?"
"Oh. It went good. Everything was good."
"What'd y'all talk about?"
"Her. She told me a little bit about herself. We talked about her art, her long and short term goals, where she from, her sisters, her friends..."
"Hmm. She seems like a nice young lady. Very confident, very courageous, very smart."
"She is. She really is. She's not as uptight as I thought she would be, either. She seemed like a feminist, to me, when she first walked into my office."
"Wha'chu mean?"
"I felt like she would've torn my head off if I'd said anything offensive about women. You know? I felt like- if I would've told her that the boyfriend jeans she'd worn that day were too big for her physique- which they weren't- she would've blew things out of proportions; As if she would've probably went into a tirade of how sexist I was for basically saying girls shouldn't wear boyfriend jeans or for calling her anorexic. That would've been stupid for her to say, and I doubt that she would've said something like that, but that's just the kinda vibe I got from her. She's not like that, though. She's chill." Knox shook his head. "I can't stand feminists."
"Shhh, boy. Don't let one of them hear you." Jackson looked around. "Shit, I can't stand them either but they are vicious. So, you plan on taking her to 'lunch' again?" Jackson questioned, putting finger quotations around lunch.
"Why do you always do that?" Knox asked suspiciously, leaning forward.
"Do what?"
"You're always trying to make me date someone."
"I'm not trying to make you do anything, Knox. I didn't even think you knew what a date was."
"And why not?"
"'Cause you never go on one. You don't have a love life." Knox scoffed.
"You don't have a love life. You too busy keeping up with mine to have one for yourself. I don't need a love life to be happy. As long as I don't go blue down there, I'm good. Love is not a necessity."
"Cracker Jacks, what's a love life?" Koco interrupted, picking and eating peperoni from a pizza.
"Don't worry about it, Princess. You ain't about that life yet, anyway." Jackson turned his attention back to Knox. "Knox, I've known you for years; you're like a son to me. You think you don't need or want a love life but you gone get tired of just knockin' random boots." When Knox scoffed again, Jackson added, "I'm serious, you gone get tired of it."
"Knockin' boots is the only thing that keeps me sane, Jackson. What the hell is love? What's that? What's it gone do for me? If you talkin' 'bout what I think you talkin' 'bout, I don't want it. I've had enough of it. I like being free; not having to check in with someone, no one clinging to me. I don't like being trapped, don't wanna be held down. So the answer is no, I don't plan on taking Aiden out to lunch again." Knox lied. He'd actually planned on taking her to lunch again at some point but now that he felt like Jackson was trying to make it out to be something romantic, he no longer wanted to. It was too bad, though. Knox had liked Aiden's company.
"What does takin' Aiden out have to do with love? You can still go out with her. It doesn't have to lead to a relationship."
"That's not what you're implying."
"I'm not implying, anything. All I said was that you was gone get tired of doing the you-know-what with random girls. That's all I said. You're blowin' it out of proportion. Stop bitchin'. You sound like a girl, like a feminist." Jackson switched into a high pitched voice. Z snapping, he mocked Knox, "'I don't need a love life...I like being free...Love is not a necessity...I'm a strong, independent black man who don't need a woman... I'm good...'" Knox sat back into his seat and sighed. Jackson continued to speak, "What you got against love, anyway? It's not like you've ever been heartbroken."
When Knox looked at him, guiltily, Jackson eyes grew big. "Oh, so you've been heartbroken?"
"Maybe. Maybe not."
"So, you've been heartbroken. By who?"
•••
"Addy, honey, you and I both know that you are not a virgin. Stop lying to yourself, it's not going to bring your innocence back." Elvis said into the phone.
Aiden rolled her eyes as she fixed a bologna sandwich. She licked a spot of miracle whip from her fingers, simultaneously holding the phone between her ear and shoulder. She grabbed an unopened bag of original flavored, Lays potato chips and opened it up. Grabbing a hand full of chips, she crushed them and sprinkled them over the piece of bologna. She closed the bag and placed it back into the cabinet. Then, she grabbed the mustard and squirted a small portion of it onto her sandwich. Next, after putting the mustard back, she added the second piece of bread and finally, wasting no time, bit into it.
"I'm no expert, but I don't think two minutes of penetration qualifies as sex," she replied over her food.
"Actually, it does. It doesn't matter how long it was at all, the fact of the matter is he broke your hymen and therefore deflowered you." He corrected.
"It was the worst two minutes of my life."
"I imagine that any time at which he would've lasted probably wouldn't have been all that pleasurable."
"Whatever." She took another bite of her sandwich. "When are you coming back to Virginia?" Elvis worked as a translator, being fluent in French and, of course, English, and was staying in Paris at the moment.
"Awww. Do you miss me?" He teased.
"It's an unfortunate feeling," she admitted.
"I probably won't be back for another month or six..."
"You won't be back for another six months? What the hell are you translating? A collection of encyclopedias?"
"I'm not exactly staying for work, Addy..."
"No? Then what are you staying for, Elvis?" Her question was met with silence, giving her time to figure it out. Grinning from ear to ear, she asked, "Elvy? Did you get hooked on some french cock?" When he didn't reply for the second time, Aiden giggled. "Oh, but I'm the whore, right? Who is he, Elvy? Is he hot?"
"He's a nice looking guy-"
"What's his name? How'd you two meet? What's his credentials?"
"His name is Hinley, we met in a restaurant, I don't know-"
"How long have you been seeing him? What does he do? What does he look like?"
"Two months, he's a bell boy, I basically answered that question already-"
"You gave me an overall opinion, I want specifics."
"You didn't give me specifics on Knox," he accused.
"Well, you didn't ask!"
"I am now, so tell me."
Just when she was about to described Knox to her friend, Jenna walked into the kitchen.
"Aiden Jean," She began standing in front of her baby sister, "would you mind getting off the phone? I have to use it to make an important call. Please and thank you." With that being said, she walked out. AJ huffed but obliged anyway.
"Elvy, hon', I'll have talk to you some other time. My sister needs to 'make an important call'."
"When did booty calls become important?"
"Hell, I don't know. But look, we'll talk, soon. I love you, Elvy. You suck Hinley's third leg nice and hard for me, 'kay?"
"Okay, chere. You do the same to Knox and send him my greetings. Let him know that I approve, even though I don't know what he looks like. You said he was head bitch in charge at Grotesque? I'll do some research."
"Don't even bother. Bye, Elvis, darling, I love you."
"Au revoir, Addy, darling. Je t'adore." With her sandwich in hand and food in her mouth, Aiden walked into the small living room, where her sisters were located. She handed the wireless household phone to Jenna as she made her way to her room.
She plopped down onto her full sized bed, searching around the mattress, trying to find the TV remote. Her search quick and successful, Aiden pressed the power button, turning her TV on. She turned to a Nickelodeon channel, where a Fairly Odd Parents marathon was playing till morning. Aiden sat her remote on a bed table and continued to eat her sandwich. When she was done, she belched comfortably and leaned off the side of her bed a little in order to brush away crumbs. She then settled into the comforts of her mattress, wrapped in her thick blanket. Aiden watched back to back episodes of 10-year-old, Timmy Turner and his fairies' adventures until she dozed off to sleep.
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