by Love Belvin
I hope tonight works out…
“Hey! Hey!” a feminine voice announced.
It was Kennedi, leading her husband into the room by the hand. Lord tramped in behind her with spread legs in his signature all black, as to not step on the back of her high heels. He used his other hand to pull up the waist of his jeans by the gold buckle of his Hermés belt. Looked like she was dragging him in.
Cute.
I stood from the table, smiling from ear to ear.
“My G, you tighten them jawns, you’d be able to keep up,” I teased him as Kenny walked toward me. When she made it, I extended my arms to wrap around her. “Hey, baby.”
“Ugh! You smell so good!” she shared when pulling back. Kennedi even sniffed me again. My head fell back and I cracked up. “Oh, my goodness! Did you buy this for him—well,” she questioned Wynter, but her eyes met mine. “…you always smell good, Raj. So maybe this is all you.”
I laughed, pulling her back into my arms, even widening my legs to drop a little to get closer to her. I threw my eyes over to Young, teasing him while he stood on the other side of the table.
I tossed my chin his way. “Dawg, you ain’t wearing that Rage I sent your way for your born day?”
Kennedi pulled back again, slapping me in the chest. “Oh, quit it, Raj,” she mumbled, not liking me shaming her husband. “He smells good all the time, even if by way of me rubbing all over him with my Ragee for Women.” She tossed her chin over her shoulder and winked at me. “Thanks for the birthday gift, by the way. It’s one of my favorites that quickly—Ohh!” She clapped her hands, noticing the table. “You ordered our favorite wine!”
“You’re welcome, sweetheart,” I offered, still laughing as I walked over toward her man to give him some love.
I tossed him a cocky wink.
“You got me fucked up,” he spoke low, shaking his head before embracing me. “What’s good, akhi?”
“Ah, man,” I breathed as we pulled away, gripping each other’s palm until they slid to our fingers and snapped away. “Tryna live. You know.”
He tossed his chin to Wynter, who was looking crazy uncomfortable in Kennedi’s arms, being rocked left to right. “That’s more than living, akhi.” My chest ached, but I refused to show it.
“You right,” I spoke, watching until Wynter pulled away from my little sister. “That’s surviving,” I spoke low purposely.
“What’s that?” Young asked.
I turned back to him with big eyes, realizing I was blowing this already. I brushed the back of my head with my fingers. “Nah. Nothing. It’s been crazy. You know…with ending one leg of the tour before going into the other.” My hands waved toward their chairs. “Have a seat. Let’s get some food ordered.”
“Ooooh! Food, yessss!” Kennedi agreed, hopping to her seat where Lord held a chair out for her.
Her quick actions let me know I’d done a good job at changing the subject—for now.
“Y’all been here before?” I asked while taking my seat.
“I was here a few months ago with ya peoples, Divine Jacobs,” Lord answered while looking over the menu with narrowed eyes.
“Oh, word?” I froze.
Azmir Divine Jacobs was one of many trying to reach out to me since the fake wedding.
The waiter came in to take our order. Kennedi and Wynter couldn’t decide what they wanted. I was surprised. Wynter hadn’t seemed to be a picky eater since I met her. She could put away a packed plate from what I saw at the fake wedding and on her forn porn pictures on social media.
“Can we let the chef set the menu?” Young asked the waiter, something I’d seen him do before. “Unless we have any allergies…” His eyes went to Wynter; everyone else had eaten together before to know there were no restrictions. Wynter shook her head, almond shaped fluorescent eyes turning down as she bit her lips together. That’s when her hidden dimples came to life.
It’s also when I turned away from her, angry all over again.
Not tonight.
“You are gorgeous!” Kennedi beamed. “But of course,” she nodded over her crossed arms as Young went for his glass of Mauve, “my brother, Raj, has exquisite taste. I’m sure you’re familiar with his divo. So particular and poised, this guy!” She giggled and Wynter joined her. Kennedi controlled her laughter enough to share, “Now, I must admit to having a penchant for…hood dudes, so take what I say with a grain of salt. You would never know Ragee was from New Brunswick unless you pissed him off. Do you know he flew out to L.A. this summer just to take me shopping for cufflinks for Isaak and matching earrings for me!” Her eyes blossomed and chin dipped. “Can you believe that? He’d just flown in from Australia and got right back on a plane!”
Wynter snickered nervously, her penetrating eyes making their way to me. When mine landed on the mole on her bottom lip, I realized she wasn’t wearing lipstick. But the brim of her eyes and lids were colored, her cheeks were shimmered. Maybe because I didn’t tell her where we’d be eating or who we’d be eating with, she didn’t overdo it with the makeup? But now, looking her dead in the face, I was reminded Wynter didn’t need heavy enhancements. In fact, she didn’t need makeup at all.
“Earth to Raj!” Kennedi waved her palm in my face, snatching my attention.
My face swung forward. “Huhn?” I asked her.
Kenny pointed to Lord, who’d just put his tumbler on the table as he swallowed.
“Why here?” he sounded to have repeated his words. “Why not DiFillippo’s or at the crib? We could’ve pulled up.”
My eyes fluttered at that question. How could I say it was because DiFillippo’s didn’t have the herd of paps swarming around with their cameras? No way I could tell my real friends I was using them to legitimize my fake marriage.
I sat back in my seat, one arm hanging over the back of my chair and swallowed back the rest of my brandy. “Because I heard their dessert menu tops everybody’s.” I shrugged.
“Yeah, right. I’ll be the judge of that,” Kennedi rolled her neck as she spoke. “Nobody’s anything tops DiFillippo’s crème brûlée!”
Two waiters were carrying in trays loaded with appetizers and I sat up, happy to see the food come out so quickly and to have the course of the conversation changed again. We dug in right away, everyone seemed to be happy to have something to grub on. Kennedi filled in dead air by whispering her thoughts of everything to Young as she filled her plate and his with two of everything. Wynter was quiet as a mouse as she bit into her sample.
“This is soooo good,” Kennedi breathed.
“Mmmmhmmm…” Wynter agreed, focused on her plate next to me.
“Okay,” Kennedi spoke with a full mouth after dropping her fork. “Can we address the neon yellow elephant in the room?”
I shrugged with my face as I chewed. Food was good, but I’d had better appetizers at DiFillippo’s.
“The fact that we not only didn’t get an invitation to the wedding, but didn’t get notification of you having a special lady in your life.” My face fell, and before I could speak, Kennedi raised her hand in the air, shaking her head. “No. I mean, I know we happened kind of fast,” she swung her index finger between her chest and mine. I let go of all the air holding in my lungs. “but we happened. I thought we were cool—tight! You call me your sister, and you know you’re my brother. I just thought—”
“Kenny!” Lord warned.
And for some reason, that didn’t provide relief.
“I told you I would bring this up.” She challenged him with her eyes to say different.
“Yeah, but we ain’t even get to the main course yet,” he argued.
“But it’s been on my heart.” Kennedi turned to Wynter. “I’m so glad to finally meet you because although my husband has the attention of, it seems like, all of the music industry, that’s not my industry and I don’t try to befriend people like that. I think it’s my job to provide an escape from that world for him. Have you read that book I sent in your wedding gift pa
cket?” she asked with narrowed eyes and I dropped the fork in my plate. “I included a book, Tending to the Man Who Governs the Masses: How to Protect What He Values Most. It’s by this prolific author and therapist out in California, Twanece Edmondson, whom I’ve met recently. In the book, she goes over how to flourish in a marriage with a man who is…”
Shit!
As Kenny rambled on, I realized Wynter didn’t even know about the crazy amount of deliveries sent to my apartment, because they were all re-routed to my estate in Sparta. The concierge had marching orders. I didn’t want wedding gifts. There was nothing to be congratulated on! Why should I accept people celebrating me trying to make my dreams come true?
Nah…
Kennedi’s voice going up an octave woke me out of my head. “And I’m like, ‘How is it my husband’s best friend gets married and I don’t—’”
“Whoa…whoa…whoa!” Lord shouts with raised palms.
At the same time, I warned sweetly, “Easy, Kenny.” I tried throwing her a grin to ease the blow.
“What did I say?” Her innocent eyes scanned the table.
“Corny ass Kennedi,” Lord breathed, shaking his head.
“What?” Kenny demanded.
“You don’t go giving out that title with his lady sitting right here,” Lord advised, pointing to Wynter, but looking at his wife. “That may be his best friend.” Then his hand hit his chest. “I know I got a best friend I wouldn’t wanna offend by throwing that title around.”
Kenny turned back to look at Wynter and me. I caught Wynter biting her lips to fight off a giggle, and I understood why. I didn’t get the whole best friend thing as far as I was concerned, but it was clear Lord was saying Kenny was his. Kenny had been checked.
Kennedi’s cheeks squeezed and nose lifted as though she couldn’t help herself. “So, Marye Island? You know Isaak took me there for my undergrad graduation. Right, Raj?”
Lord shook his head, letting out another deep breath.
I chuckled, grabbing my glass for another sip. “Nah. I ain’t know that.” I gulped back the brown juice, suddenly realizing how good it was to be in their presence.
It felt like I hadn’t been around real people in some time. Young and Kenny was just that to me. They left pretention and expectations out in the parking lot—well, except for the expectation of me hollering at them when I got married.
Oh, God... This is effed up!
“Oh, yeah!” Kennedi kept going. “It was beautiful! We didn’t stay in the biggest suite there because it was a last minute reservation, but he was able to score us a gorgeous one with a view of the ocean. Which one did you guys stay in?” Her eyes were big, smile prepared to blossom.
And my stomach turned into knots as I looked over to Wynter. Her eyes were already on me.
“Well,” Wynter tried, “Raj won’t remember much of it; it was such a quick—and busy—stay, but I don’t believe we had the biggest suite there either.” She turned back to me, and her next few words were spoken slowly as she came up with them. “We knew when we were going to tie the knot, but didn’t have the deets settled, and passed that responsibility over to his handlers, something I regret.” What does that mean? Her eyes brushed back and forth against mine as she shared that. Then they moved over to my friends. “It was so short, it really didn’t feel like a honeymoon at all.”
“Damn.” Lord faked a choke on his drink. “The fuck you puttin’ down in the bed, Raj?” he clowned me.
Shit.
If only I could speak that one word of truth.
“I’mma let you answer first. Any little Kennies on the way?” I tried changing the conversation. “Baby Lords?”
“Here you go,” Young groaned before going back to his plate.
“We have enough kids.” Kenny went for her drink. “Trust me. Look at now...” She took a quick gulp. “We only have three hours to hang out with you guys. Three. After dinner, we have to run to Paterson to pick up the girls from their mothers’ then catch a red eye to Colorado to pick up Martin—”
“Colorado?” I asked.
Lord shook his head while chewing, his eyes flew up to the waiters, bringing in more food. “Got my soldier in boarding school,” he garbled.
“Boarding school?” I repeated even louder.
Kenny shook her head and rolled her eyes. “I could never send my baby to boarding school. He’s been gone for six weeks and I’m sick without him. He’s my protector when Daddy’s away.” She punched Lord in the arm. “He’s in an astronomy camp in Boulder. Very competitive and comprehensive.”
“And he hates it,” Lord added.
“He doesn’t love it, but he stuck it out and admitted to learning a lot. He earned a scholarship to go, so Dad here didn’t have to cut the check.” She smiled proudly before going back to her food.
“Don’t let Kenny make a sucker outta my little G, Lord,” I warned.
“Too late,” he shot back and Kennedi punched him again, chewing a mouthful, so she couldn’t speak. Lord grabbed his chest where her little hand landed, laughing. “Nah. Young Martin know what time it is. She keep them in shit to expand their minds. He actually wanted to go until he got there and saw there was nothing but lames there.” We cracked up. Young smoothed down his black tee as he held his stomach. My eyes thoughtlessly went over to Wynter simply because she was next to me. I caught the humor in her eyes even though she didn’t know Young’s kids to appreciate the conversation. “But he likes the curriculum, though, and he thugged out the six weeks,” Lord slowed his laughing to share.
“That’s what’s up.” I used my fork to break off a shrimp dumpling. “But you never answered my question.” I popped it in my mouth. “Y’all making a baby together anytime soon?” My eyes went to Kenny first.
Her face fell to her plate. “I’ve got a ways to go with law school, Raj.” Her tone was too tender and short to mistake as a happy answer.
I looked over at Young, who shook his head through his eyes. With that, mine went back to my food. Something was up. I ain’t like feeling like I’d just stepped on a domestic minefield. Kenny stayed upbeat. She made optimism contagious. We didn’t talk every week, but there was always ministry in her energy. No way was I good with how, now, her eyes were still to her plate and while Young moved to the new platters laid at our table, she still traced her plate with her fork. I wanted to know what that was about.
If Young fucked around on her…
“Wynter,” the blaze in Kenny’s eyes was lit again as she spoke. “you plan on having a family? I think Ragee needs one. He’s such a loner.”
From my periphery, I could see Wynter’s fist fly to her mouth as she choked on her food. It felt to me Kenny was trying to change the subject. When did Kennedi ever run from a topic? I could’ve pushed, but we had an outsider at the table, who I wanted to keep out of their business.
“You okay?” Kenny asked with humor in her eyes.
“Nice work, Kenny,” my tone was dry. “Yo, man. Lemme holla at you for a minute.” I pointed to the door while speaking to Lord.
Kennedi’s face fell and I ignored it while watching Lord wipe his mouth before leaving the table.
I walked farther to the back, near the kitchen, before stopping just past the bathrooms.
“Yo,” I ducked my head and scratched my chin. “I know we’ve been outta touch…busy with work and all, but…you got something to tell me?”
Lord’s head jerked back and brows tightened. “Other than congrats on the extended world tour and getting married and shit, nah. That’s about it.”
I took a deep breath, swiping my teeth with my tongue, clearing my mouth of the food. My eyes fell to the floor as I pulled my jeans up.
“Raj, man, you got something to say to me?” Young asked with one brow in the air. “All I’m saying is I thought we was cool—”
“We are cool,” I spoke over him. “That’s why I wanna know if you fuckin’ around on Kenny?”
His chin dropped, but hard eyes st
ayed on me. “You ain’t holla in two months, but wanna accuse me of trippin’ out on my girl?”
“She ain’t your girl, man!” I lowered my voice and glanced around, remembering where we were. Lord and I had a special friendship. In no time, we were able to form a bond I wasn’t used to with people. I’d never shared the deepest of secrets with him, but had built with him on a regular. We’d become so tight, Kenny and I blossomed a friendship right alongside ours. They actually meant something to me. Lord was still new to the music business and everybody was after him. The industry would turn a priest into a prostitute with how accessible sex was. I hoped in the past two months I had been away, getting into my shit, Lord hadn’t slipped. “She’s your wife. You have a wife.”
“And so do you, my nigga. But you ‘on’t see me down your throat with crazy ass accusations. I don’t creep out on my lady, never have.”
“Then why did she almost just break down in there when I asked about more kids?”
He turned away from me and scratched his head, chuckling dryly. “Maybe because that’s a major issue between us right now.”
“For real? Like what?”
“Nothing that major, man.” He waved it off. “Nothing you won’t go through now that you’re married.”
And there it was… Another opportunity to bring my friend in from the dark. I couldn’t do this.
“It ain’t what you think.” I pinched my bottom lip as my eyes swept the floor to come up with the right words.
“What?” Lord turned to me fully.
I took a deep breath, looked over my shoulder. “It ain’t what you think. This thing with her”—I swung my head toward the other end of the hall where the girls were—“it ain’t real.”
Lord stepped closer to me. “Then what the fuck is it?”
I scratched my eyebrow. “It’s a ruse…an arrangement,” I whispered, disgusted some shit like that could come from my mouth.
