“Why?”
“Maybe I’ll tell you one day.”
I huffed, wanting an answer now. For some reason, I desired to be a part of his world, even if our marriage wasn’t real. I ran my finger along the rim of my wineglass. “Is this how our marriage is going to be?”
“What?”
I returned my attention to him. “Silent, one-sided...”
Kai took a sip of his liquor and sighed like I was bothering him or something by trying to have a simple conversation. I thought he wasn’t going to deem me worthy of a response when he finally spoke.
“I’m only good with words when I’m rapping.”
I perked up, happy to receive even a crumb of insight into the man I’d just legally married. “You do music... That makes so much sense. Do you have anything I can listen to?”
Kai nodded again and pointed at my phone sitting on the table. I picked it up and unlocked it before handing it off. I waited patiently while he clicked around and then gave it back. He had an album titledReaper Musicpulled up on my music app. My eyes widened when I saw the label he was signed to in the credits at the bottom. Brighton Media was a mogul in the industry. They produced some of rap and R&B’s greatest hits and artists.
“Oh my God. You’re a legit artist. Who the fuck did I marry?” I joked. I saw the corner of his mouth lift just a little. “Why do you live in the big house if you’re so successful?”
Kai pointed to the phone. I sighed, wanting nothing more than for him just to tell me, but I respected that it wasn’t who he was... at least not yet. He wasn’t safe enough to be vulnerable to me right now, but I secretly made it my mission to make sure that one day he could be.
I pulled out my headphones and plugged them into my phone.
“Want to listen with me?” I offered, expecting him to turn me down, but surprisingly, he nodded.
Kai stood with his glass and moved his seat around the table. When he sat down, we were shoulder to shoulder. I smiled, satisfied with this. He accepted the free headphone bud and placed it in his ear. Looking down at the phone, he chose the song he wanted me to listen to. A melodic rap beat began to blast through the speakers. I nodded my head as he started mumbling the intro. When the beat dropped, his voice became more powerful and confident than I’d ever heard it.
I paused, listening to focus on what Kai had to say. While his speaking voice was deep with a little rasp to it, his rapping voice was smooth like water, controlled and hypnotizing. His lyrics were filled with pain, frustration, and hope. If I hadn’t known he came from struggle before, then I knew it for sure after the first verse.
I sat there completely in awe of the man sitting silently beside me, like he wasn’t the dopest artist I’d ever heard. I wasn’t sure how I’d never heard his music before, but I was now a fan. I started the song over once it went off, and he allowed me. The rawness of his story pulled tears to the corners of my eyes.
I sniffled. “Sorry, it’s just so beautiful,” I cried. “You’ve been through so much.”
Kai smirked with a shake of his head before polishing off his liquor.
“Man, you Cancers sure are emotional,” he said. It took me a second to realize he was teasing me.
“How’d you know I was a Cancer?”
“I saw it on your birth certificate. July 2nd.”
For some reason, hearing that he knew a little fact about me made my heart skip a beat.
We glanced up as our server came to bring our food. After making sure we were squared away, he left us alone. The secondtime the song went off, I allowed it to cross-fade into the next one on his album. We sat side by side listening to his music while enjoying our dinner, and it was perfect. By the time we left the restaurant, I felt like I knew Sekai a little better. While he believed he only had the ability to communicate well through music, I was determined to prove him wrong.
“Oh!”Nuri yelped when we pulled up to the iron gates at the entrance of the St. James estate. Two armed guards were standing in front of the gates, while another was standing by the security camera box.
It’d been a week since we were married, and during that time, I’d hired a company my father had recommended to me. An old friend of his owned it, so I trusted his word that they’d get the job done. I wasn’t leaving Nuri’s safety to chance. I would always be proactive in protecting her by never underestimating our enemies and making sure she had room to breathe and enjoy life until it was safe. When I rode by the estate after we were married, I knew there was no budget when it came to Nuri Symone St. James.
“Wassup, OG?” Bones greeted me as I rolled down my window.
He slid the strap of his AK onto his shoulder and reached for my hand. We did the Reaper handshake. He was a nigga I brought on from the hood just so I’d have someone I truly knew and trusted on security too.
“This wifey?” he questioned, leaning down into the car.
I nodded. “Yeah, this mine.”
Nuri was squirming in the seat. Her eyes kept anxiously floating to the gun on his shoulder. Because I was learning to read her already, I knew she was uncomfortable.
