“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’ll dial it back.” She turned to me. “I can be a little extra from time to time. I’m a girl’s girl. I’ve only known her a few weeks, and I love her already. She deserves a happy ending after all she’s been through.”
I nodded. “I agree.” I lifted my glass, and Londyn followed suit. “To happy endings.”
“To happy endings,” Londyn repeated.
Alayah hesitated for a moment before she grabbed her soda and clinked our glasses. “To happy endings.”
I ended up sitting with them for a little while—that was until the bar started playing music and Londyn wanted to dance. She spotted someone she knew and dragged them out onto the dance floor leaving Alayah and me alone.
“She is quite the character,” I said, watching her dance.
“She is,” Alayah agreed. “She reminds me a lot of the girls back in prison. They were very lively in spite of their circumstances.”
“Did you consider them friends?”
“No. They were family. We looked out for each other. My den mother, Carissa, she protected me from day one. She never let anybody get too close to me or threaten me. Even when I woke up the whole block with my nightmares, she never let them give me too hard a time. She was proof that not everyone conforms to their circumstances. Prison could have made her hard, but she was the most loving person there.”
“You sound like you miss her.”
“I do miss her. Next to Aunt Penny, she’s the closest thing to a mother I’ve ever had. I loved her.”
“I’m sure she loved you, too.”
“She did. I can’t violate my parole by having contact with her though.” She grew quiet for a moment before taking another sip of her soda. “So, is this typically how you spend your Thursday nights?”
“Nah.I’m usually face deep in work I’ve brought home. If I ever go out anywhere, it’s with Kadeem.”
“Kadeem…Kadeem Lynch? From school? You two are still friends?”
“We are. We spend a little less time together these days, though. I’m busy with work, and he’s married—”
“Married! Kadeem, the boy who had a different girlfriend every week, got married?”
I laughed. “Don’t do my boy like that. He’s a changed man. Yes, he got married. They have a beautiful five-year-old little girl, and they’re expecting a baby.”
She smiled softly. “Good for him. And he’s faithful?”
I chuckled. “He is. Kyah doesn’t play that. I guarantee she would have his balls if he ever cheated. He knows he has a good one. I think you two would make good friends.”
“Let me settle into this friendship with Londyn before you pass me off to another female. Look at her.” She pointed to the dance floor where Londyn was twerking on some man. “How different would I have been if we’d been friends in high school? I can see her being the pretty, outgoing popular girl and me being her quiet, shy, introverted best friend. She would have dragged me to every party and danced on me just like that.”
“And I bet you would have had the time of your life.”
She circled the rim of her drink with her nail. “If things had been different, I would have. I feel like I missed out on a lot of life, you know? Not just the last ten years, but in general. Maybe something crazy like get a secret tattoo or piercing.”
“Oh, so you wanted to live on the wild side?”
She giggled. “Maybe for a moment. Just to feel normal.”
I nodded as I motioned for the server to bring us our tab for the night. She returned a few seconds later with the receipt. I reached for my wallet and handed her enough to cover the bill plus a tip.
“Keep the change,” I said, standing.
“Where are you going?” Alayah asked, brows furrowed in confusion.
“We’re about to get out of here. Come on.”
“Where are we going? I can’t just leave Londyn.”
