Yeah, Whatever

Chapter Six

M'kai walked me around more of his uncle's house. Pictures of his uncle and aunt and cousins were mounted on almost every wall. "Uncle Tyrone is my dad's 2nd oldest brother. That's my Aunt Pam, she was the one you saw outside with the big sun hat with the flowers? 'N those are my cousins, Derryn, Maleek, Jaliyah, and baby Quantavian. They adopted him from Aunt Pam's friend's daughter, she's got some...personal issues. Sorry, I'm over explaining—" "No Kai it's okay, I want to get to know you," I smile, bumping his hip (well thigh) with mine. "So where are we headed?" I ask him. We were on our way down some stairs and outside. "Well we finna grab Dayo and Sienna and meet my bro so we can smoke. You ain't gotta put in, my treat," he says, kissing the top of my head. "Aww thank you Kai," "Anytime princess."

We meet Dayo and Sie while they're taking some pictures in the garden. "Aye M'kai, I brought my camera. You should take some flicks for your fans," Adedayo says, taking more pictures as Sienna spins around, her long flowery skirt floating around her. "Sie that was beautiful, can you do it again for me?" he asks her. She nods and spins again, and the sunlight catches her skin perfectly this time. "Alright, M'kai you're up." M'kai adjusts the chains around his neck and walks over to Dayo.

After about 10 minutes of taking photos of Kai, he calls me over. "Nelly, come take some pictures with me," "Are you gonna post them?" "Only if you want me to," "Okay, I don't, but I'll take pictures with you," "Works for me, now c'mere sweets," he winks, opening his arms. I run into them and hug him, inhaling the strong husky scent of his cologne. I hear Adedayo take a few pics, so I turn around and smile as M'kai holds me against him.

"AYO KAI! WE DOIN' THIS SHIT OR WHAT?" a loud husky voice shouts from across the garden. "Yeah we're comin'! Let's go guys, I'm tryna get lifted," M'kai smiles. We walk over to three boys and a girl. "Ight y'all, this bozo right here is my older brother Devon, this one here is my youngest brother Jaylen, and these are my cousins Maleek and Anaiyah. Anaiyah is my Aunt Regina's daughter. Y'all these are my friends Adedayo, Sienna, and this is Cornelia," "Y'all can call me CoCo if you want," "CoCo it is then. C'mon, we finna go to this field bout 10 minutes away," Devon says, unlocking his car. "Y'all might have to lap up,"
'''
The car ride is so much fun. I sit on M'kai's lap between Adedayo and Anaiyah. Anaiyah's only 17 but she's cool people and we become fast friends. Me, her, and Sie even made a group chat in the car.
"YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH WE PAID! YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH WE PAID!" We scream in the car. "Baby ain't have to snap like this!" Maleek says from the front seat. We pull up to the gas station to get some snacks. "M'kai, Anaiyah, Jaylen, y'all come with me to get snacks," Devon says after he parks. "I'm coming too, I gotta pee," Sie pipes in. "Imma come too then," Dayo replies. "Maleek, CoCo, y'all good in here?" M'kai asks. We both nod. "Ight, be back in a bit hun," M'kai smiles, kissing my forehead and leaving with the group.

There's an awkward silence for a while, so I just play on my phone. "So...CoCo...you and M'kai talkin'?" Maleek asks, crawling over the seat to sit closer to me. "Yeah I think so, we aren't rushing into anything," "Cool, cool...no offense but I think you can do better," I look up at him, brows furrowed. What the hell is he talking about?
"Maleek—" I'm interrupted by a set of soft yet rough lips on mine. I try to push him away but her grabs my wrists and puts them over my head. I turn my head side to side to try to pull away but he keeps following me. One of his hands then grabs my boob and I just freeze. I can't believe this is happening. Suddenly I can hear Adedayo laughing, and Maleek jumps back into his seat before the whole group gets back. I slump against the window and try not to cry.
When M'kai gets back in the car, he pulls me onto his lap and hands me a bag. "This is our bag, it's got all our favorites in it," he smiles, kissing my exposed shoulder. I just smile. What am I supposed to do? I can't tell him now.

'''''

The smoke spot is beautiful. It's an empty grassy field behind a playground. Devon had some blankets in his car so we sat on those. It's nice, 4 blunts are in circulation, the sun is setting, Lucky Daye is playing through the car speakers, and I'm cuddled up to M'kai. I look up at him as he takes a hit and he looks absolutely stunning.

"Wassap beautiful," he asks, peering down at me. "Nothin', now lemme hit," I smile. I can tell him later. The lowering sunlight reflected off of his earrings and gave his eyes a warm glow. His lips touched the top of my forehead and then he pulled me down to lay with him.

"You want some Sour Patch? I know it's your favorite," he whispers. I nod, and I start to think about what happened with Maleek. My eyes well up. "Babygirl what's wrong? No tears," he asks, putting the bag between us and wiping my tears.

"Can we go on a walk?" I ask. He smiles and stands up, pulling me up with him. "Aye y'all, Coco and I are goin' on a walk, we'll be back." He holds my hand and we walk away towards the road.

"Kai, I gotta tell you something..."

"What's up sweet thang?" he teases, playfully slapping my ass. I squeak and giggle.

"No seriously, I...while you were in the gas station, Maleek came onto me..." I say, playing with his fingers and looking at our feet. I can't bear to look him in the eyes. My heart starts beating fast as I remember my last time telling a guy I like something like this...

2 years ago
"Are you fucking kidding me Cornelia?!"
"Darren please—"
"You let him kiss you?!"
"He held me down I couldn't move!"
"Bullshit!" Darren screams, slamming his hands on the table. I flinch but stand my ground.
"You're such a fucking slut. Y'know I ain't surprised he stepped to you, always flirting with my friends and dressing like damn hoe,"
"Darren I didn't do anything...you think I'm a slut?"

"Nelly? Nelly? You okay?"
M'kai's voice snaps me out of the memory. His warm hands cup my face, wiping tears I didn't know were there.
"I...I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let close to me, I shouldn't have worn this—"
"Nah, don't do that. This ain't your fault, and you look beautiful. Stunning actually. How about this, the house isn't far, we can walk back and watch a movie in one of the guest rooms, and Uber back home?"
"I'd like that," I sniffle, looking into his eyes. His hands are still cupping my face, and he brings his lips to my forehead, then my nose, and finally my lips. We make out for a little bit before he pulls away slightly and whispers, "I'm beating that nigga's ass before we leave."
My eyes widen and within an instant he's angrily walking back towards our friends.
"Kai—"