Anahi Santiago
"Why you don't ever have any food in your cabinets?" I asked Cairo as i was looking through each door, this man had a lot of food you'd find in your typical college students dorms. Wasn't nothing that held any substance, he needed someone to go grocery shopping with and pick out the right foods cause this here wasn't it.
"I got food in there, fuck what you talkin bout." He chuckled, waving me off as he leaned back into the counter eating himself a bowl of ramen.
"Barely." I grumbled, rolling my eyes so he can see, "you need to get some real food." I put emphasis on real, a chortle following after.
"You gon cook it for me?" He questioned, perking a brow as he stuffed another forkful into his mouth. I twisted my lip up, cocking my neck back. "What?" He matched me, twisting his lip.
"You're funny," I shook my head, "you know how to cook... you just don't apply it to your everyday life, why?"
"Cause I be tired." He shrugged, pushing himself off the counter and to the sink to wash out his bowl. "Stop wit these goofy questions, ma." He chuckled lowly, looking at me again, his brows raised "and you ain't answer my question."
I rolled my eyes hard, walking out the kitchen and back to the living room. I've been here longer than intended, it was supposed to be a quick pop up to see Kai cause that's my lil boo, but this nigga always tryna keep my time. But i wasn't complaining, i had no where to be tomorrow.
"You ignoring me now?" Cairo came from the kitchen, his tone really had me weak. It was in that deep low bass, y'all know what I'm talking about?
"No." I said plainly, answering both of his questions in one. "I'm about to head out, KaiKai is sleep so ain't no reason for me to be here anymore." I looked at him, then down at the couch as I grabbed my crossbody bag off the seat I was previously sitting in.
He let out a loud breath, his teeth smacking shortly after. "Just cause she sleep don't mean you gotta leave." He went to sit down, patting the seat next to him. I shook my head, there's only so much time we can be around one another until someone cops an attitude. "Why you being difficult, com'on" He chuckled, grabbing onto my forearm and gently pulling me around the couch to sit.
"You be doing too much, i swear." I licked the corner of my lip, tugging at my sweater to pull it down. "30 more minutes and I'm out of here, aight?"
"That's coo wit me," He smirked, licking his bottom lip as he turned the volume up on the tv. "How's ya shop coming along? Last time you told me that the walls were gettin painted." He put the remote down in the space between us, looking at me briefly before his eyes moved back onto the screen.
"It's good, furniture pieces are coming in gradually. It should be completed in the next 2 months or so." I smiled, my cheeks were on fire too, it was something I was genuinely happy to talk about. "It's coming along really great." I chuckled nervously.
It was refreshing to have someone interested in what I did, most didn't care or they'd change the subject and make it about themselves.
"I'm happy for you and Ny, y'all really out here doin y'all shit." He nodded off, scratching the nape of his neck. That's when I took notice of a mark on his neck. I felt my mood shift. "You good Anahi?" He questioned, his brows furrowed as his face held concern.
I shouldn't even be tripping off him and what he does, but this shit just irked me. I counted back from 20 to at least try and get my breaths together, it was working. Barely. Everything felt like it was spiraling.
"Huh?" I asked, moving his hand back as he was waving it in my face. "Yeah...yeah, I'm good." I stumbled over my words, swallowing the lump in my throat.
"You sure?" He questioned, I felt his demeanor had changed. "Cause it looked like you was trippin balls." He chuckled lowly, but it wasn't one of those light chuckles that you'd brush off, more of a bitter chuckle.
I'm starting to figure this man out. That's scary.
I shook my head gently, looking down at my lap. Here it goes. "Question..." I trailed off, seeing him nod for me to continue, I proceeded to speak, "who marked you up?" My tone held agitation, i was really fighting off the urge of being mad, but it came back.
"Fuck is you talkin bout?" He questioned, his tone matching mine.
Oh, so he wants to play dumb? Okay. I stood up from the couch, putting the chain of my purse over my shoulder and walking out the living room. I wasn't about to argue with him. He wasn't my man, so it wasn't worth being mad about. But I hated being lied to, he knew that, so for him to sit there and act like I don't know what I'm talking about is frustrating.
"Where you goin?" He followed behind me, grabbing onto my arm, not too tight but enough to pull me back to him. "You can't walk out when you mad. You need to speak on how you feel, mama." His tone was soft, but still his New York accent seeped out, more than most times and that's only when he's irked. "I ain't letting you leave mad." Cairo let go of my arm, moving his hand up to hold onto my chin between his index finger and thumb.
I moved my face out of his hold, my face not softening once. My brows were gently furrowed, a scowl on my face.
"I just wanna know when and who gave you this mark." I said, feeling my temples rise as I pointed at the mark, my finger grazing over it and I watched as he hissed. It was fresh. "I don't want to be walking around lookin stupid when I'm around you. I'm not these bitches that are easy to run over, East." I put emphasis on his street name, pulling it out when I was pissed or joking with him. But this wasn't no joke.
His jaw clenched as he heard that name, but oh well. "You not my girl, so why you trippin?" His eyes had darkened. This wasn't the person I knew.
I clasped my hands together, and nodded. It was time for me to go. He didn't want me to leave mad, so now I am. I wasn't about to waste another second being here and waste my breath.
He can kiss the blackest part of my ass!
Nayeli Santiago
Stretching in my sleep, I caved into the body next to mine, squinting my eyes once I opened them and was hit with the sunlight peaking through the curtains. I looked around the room, seeing that i was indeed at my place, but who is the body next to me?
"Oh shit!" I whispered yelled to myself seeing that it was Kadeem. When the fuck? Shaking my head, I sat up and shook him so he could wake up. "Kadeem, wake yo ass up!"
I moved over, looking under the sheets that I was still clothed. A big tee and some shorts. Wrapping the sheets around me, I felt my heart racing because I really hoped we didn't do nothing last night. Don't get me wrong, Kadeem is an attractive person, but I didn't see us together...at this moment. We were still figuring each other out, so I settled with a friendship and he's been real from the first day we met.
"Kadeem." I let out a frustrated breath, pushing at his shoulder once more. I heard him groan in his sleep, shifting in his position as he woke up. "How did this happen?" I asked, pointing my finger between the both of us.
"Can we at least brush our teeth first? Ya shit on 10." He laughed, getting out the bed and walking towards my bathroom. I eyed him, he wore a white beater and some basketball shorts. Furrowing my brows and smacking my teeth at what he said, only made him laugh louder. "They ain't gon brush themselves, com'on." He nodded his head for me to follow.
"Shut up." I muttered, pushing myself off my bed and going to the connected bathroom. I opened one of the drawers and pulled out a pack of toothbrushes, "What? I buy a 4 pack so ion have to go to the store every other week." I chuckled at his surprised face, grabbing my toothbrush out the holder and grabbing the toothpaste.
After fully brushing our teeth, I rinsed my mouth out with water then listerine just for that extra freshness.
"So...you gonna tell me how this happened?" I asked, sitting back on my bed, tucking my right leg under my bottom.
"It's really not a big deal, Ny." Kadeem shrugged, running a hand over his grown curls. "You was a lil drunk, so I decided on taking you home. When i was dropping you off, you told me to stay cause it was late out."
I nodded slowly, licking the corner of my lip. "Thanks..." I smiled softly, a nervous chuckle parting my lips. "You hungry?" I asked.
————-
An hour had passed by. Anahi was sitting at the island, eating the breakfast I had prepared. Cheesy scrambled eggs, bacon and French toast. Something was off with my sister, she wasn't her usual self, but I wouldn't pry.
"Aight, I'm out of here." Kadeem smiled, rubbing his stomach as he stood to his feet, "Thanks for breakfast ma. I'll hit you later." He came over to me after rinsing his plate off in the sink. He bent his head down kissing my cheek, I felt my cheeks flush. "Bye Anahi."
"Bye KC," Anahi waved at him, a small smile on her face. We waited to speak once we heard the front door close. "So what's up with y'all?" She questioned, moving her plate out the way.
"We're vibing." I stated, I liked the space we were in. Nothing was forced, he got me. "It's a friendship right now, so we're honestly just figuring each other out." I looked at Anahi as she nodded, a smile on her face.
"I'm happy for you. He seems like a real gentleman." She licked the corner of her lip, holding her chin in her palm. "Does this mean you're over Cassius?"
I simply shrugged, "I mean...yeah. I don't have time for the games, I think Cass caught onto that." I roughed up my hair, thinking back to the conversation we had when he laid out why he went MIA, that was over 2 months ago. It's just weird, I wasn't going to judge him for what he did, so why he didn't come to me first was hurtful. He'd rather get his dick wet then talk about his problems with a friend. "I reached out to him last night..i think I'm gonna meet up with him, just to see how he's holding up."
"That's good, y'all both are in different spaces too. I think that conversation is needed between y'all, it's been long overdue." Anahi chuckled a bit, messing with her fingers.
Enough about me and my issues. What's going on with my sister?
"Are you okay?" I inquired, a brow perked.
She shook her head gently, "Cairo and I got into it last night." She let out a breath, and I just listened. "Everything was good when I showed up, just us being ourselves and shit. When i was getting ready to leave I noticed a hickey on his neck," she paused, licking her lips as she looked up at the ceiling, "long story short, he didn't tell me how he got it...and he said something down the line where I'm not his girl, and I shouldn't be tripping." She clenched her fist, rolling her eyes hard.
"I get why you're mad. He couldn't tell you, and that's what's irking," I rolled my eyes, it didn't matter if they were together or not, they were pursuing one another. "Him and Cassius both are idiots. Just be honest, that shit will get them both further in life."
Cassius 'Cash' Mitchell
I looked down at my watch, seeing it was a little after 4pm. Nayeli and I were to meet at a park, and that's where I'm at now. My eyes on Royalty as she played on the swing set, soon running over to the slides. I know she'd be excited to see Nayeli, just as I was, but I wouldn't take away their moment.
Hearing footsteps approaching, I looked to the left side of me seeing that it was Nayeli. She looked beautiful as always, clad in distressed jeans, a white crop top with an adidas windbreaker on, classic adidas on her feet.
"Hey Cass," she smiled a bit, causing me to stand up and embrace her into a quick hug. "Where is she?" She questioned, causing me to chuckle. She went straight for it.
"Over there, playing." I nodded my head at the playground. "How you been?" I asked, taking my previous seat, her sitting down next to me.
"You know, busy." She shrugged loosely, "building up my clientele before the shop opens, taking time for myself when I can." She glossed her bottom lip, looking over to me then back out in front of us. "You? It's been so long."
I nodded my head, happy for her. "Good shit, y'all moving on up." I scratched underneath my chin, letting out my own breath. "I'm aight, maintaining. Tryna stay focused and become a better me." I licked my lips, leaning back into the bench, my left leg propped out as I kept my right bent. "If it ain't about my daughter, then I ain't trippin off too much."
"I'm glad to hear that," her tone was genuine, she'd always be that way. She was rare, and I messed that shit up. "Putting yourself first, you're gonna like the results." She nudged me gently, causing us both to chuckle. "If you ever need some support, I'm always here."
"I know." I spoke lowly, she would always be there and having her as a friend was more than enough. This gave us time to start over. "Ion want you to think I'm on some creep shit, but news travels fast." I swiped my hand down my lips as she looked at me with furrowed brows. "You with somebody..." I shrugged, if she was I knew where to hold my position. I wasn't gon get in the way of that.
I'm lying out my ass, but if she's happy then I have to respect it.
"Niggas can never mind theirs," she chuckled bitterly, her eyes rolling, "but if you must know he's a friend." She waved it off, not really wanting to get into it. "Oh, you need to talk to Cairo. His ass being dumb with Anahi."
"When is he not?" I questioned rhetorically, having us both fall out in laughter, "Imma talk to him, see what's up. But off that, I know you tryna see Ro."
"Yeah, I am." Nayeli cheesed, pushing herself off the bench and walking over to the playground. "Bring ya big bird ass on, we finna play with her."
She was a big ass kid, but that's what I liked about her. She never was ashamed of what she did, or cared what others thought.
—————-
"Man fuck what you sayin, I ain't finna chase her ass." Cairo blew out a breath, ashing out his blunt then bringing it back to his lips, "if she's mad, then that's on her."
I screwed my top lip up, this nigga knew he was lying. Ion know why he's tryna front, I already lost a real one, why would he want to do the same? This nigga really baffles me at times cause of the stupid shit he says, but he's my brother, he acts like he doesn't care only for that shit to hit him after.
"Kill that noise, g." I waved him off, taking a pull from my own blunt, "I'm just sayin don't make the same mistake I did. You lose em once, that's it." I shook my head, blowing the remainder of the smoke out. "You gotta look at it from their perspective. Anahi has a hickey on her neck, how you reacting? Going ape shit, my nigga. And even if y'all ain't together, that's besides the point y'all pursued one another."
He looked at me blankly, letting that soak in. I was surprised my damn self, but I had time to reflect over the months of not being around Nayeli. My whole conscious had shifted.
"Why you gotta make sense?" He laughed lowly, spitting out on the side of him and clearing his throat. "I was foul on what I said to shorty, it was too late to apologize cause she was already out the door. She prolly not even gon want to fuck wit me anymore, cause she looked hurt." He scratched the back of his neck, looking down at his blunt before bringing it back up and taking a pull.
"So what you gon do?" I asked, I couldn't really say much but see where his head was at. "Don't wait too long, like I did." I muttered lowly, sinking down into the seat.
"I ain't gon trip off it at this moment," Cairo shrugged, blowing out smoke, "I'll hit her up later."