I first met her at the beginning of the year; it was at my older sister's New Year's Eve party at her mansion. I wasn't in a party mood from the jump, but Lani begged me to.
I can't say we hit it off right away because we didn't. We exchanged first names, friendly grins and where our accents came from.
She seemed more interested in me than I was of her. So, I was quiet for most of the night. My sister tried explaining to her that I'm just shy, when we both know it's bull shit.
One thing's for sure, she's sexy as fuck.
As much as I cringe at this now, her accent and appearance were the only things that kept my attention at the time were my money, my weed and my "lineup" of women.
From our mostly one-sided conversation, I knew other things about her.
Like how she's a South African beauty from Johannesburg and I'm a mixed raced fuckgirl from South Carolina. She's mainly into guys, but is open to anything. She recently turned 21 a month after our meeting while I turned 23 on Halloween.
She's also a good singer and dancer, apparently.
Kehlani later told me how Tyla thought I was interesting and wanted to get to know me. My sister ended up telling her that it'll be damn near impossible because I wouldn't let anybody in.
Which, to an extent, is true.
From New Years to the beginning of June, I haven't seen or heard from Tyla. I actually forgot about her until an event that took place on the nineteenth.
———
I was dressed in my black shorts and my "I Am Black History" shirt in my favorite colors.
Lani and I, along with our younger cousin Jade and her boyfriend, Jordan, were walking to a nearby park that was hosting a big Juneteenth celebration with fireworks, music, food and other shit.
It was free admission and we thought, "Why not? We're African-Americans, too. It's time to turn up with our peoples."
We were all being big ass kids and played on the empty playground, smoking weed on the jungle gym and seeing who can swing the highest.
Our fun lost track of time and before we knew it, the sky was darkening with the sun hiding behind the dense trees. The beautiful colors that lingered gave away its hiding place.
Since my house was so close, I started heading back while swinging my arms and humming.
I was high as fuck, but the nice, summer breeze that we've been deprived of and the sight of the setting sun was entrancing. There were trees on both sides along a short road, making the area look darker.
I was so entranced by the sky, I accidentally bumped into someone.
"Oh! So sorry 'bout that."
I recognized that voice; soft and feminine with a vaguely familiar accent, but in my haze, I couldn't figure out where I heard it from.
"Nah, it's my bad. I'm faded as fuck," I chuckled, earning one back. "Wait, Kehlani?" She asked, looking at me curiously in the gradual darkness.
"Nah, that's my sister... where have I heard your voice before? It sounds familiar," I said, tapping my chin playfully while genuinely trying to figure out where I heard it from.
"Ohhh, yeah, you're Y/N." She said as a sudden realization. Meanwhile, I couldn't remember shawty's name for the life of me.
"Yeahhh...," I dragged on, making her giggle. It was pretty cute, not gonna lie.
