Lyrix
The glare of headlights snapped me from the trance I nearly fell into while driving. When I glanced to the right and saw I was officially ten miles outside of the city, relief replaced the fatigue in my aching bones. After two weeks on the road, I was ready to melt into the ridiculously expensive mattress Grai convinced me to buy. I could admit I thought she was tripping when she suggested it, but the quality of sleep I got was always worth every penny after weeks cramped up in my eighteen-wheeler.
Donell Jones began to play from my playlist, and I found myself unconsciously tapping the rhythm on the steering wheel. I hummed along with him while lowering the window to let in some fresh air. My eyes drifted to my navigation screen when the headset on my ears began to ring. I saw a call from my mother coming in and picked up.
“What’s up, Ma? I just got into the city. You need me to stop somewhere for you?” I asked after greeting her because I knew how she could get. She loved to wait until I got home and was settled to request something sweet from the store.
“Hey, baby. No, I’m good. I was actually calling to let you know I was over here at Grai’s, watching the boys for the night.”
“Humph, aight. Y’all good?”
She chuckled lightheartedly. “Yes, son. We’re good. You can relax. All you should be worried about is getting home to get some rest. I know you’re exhausted.”
I nodded as if she could see me. “Exhausted is an understatement. I got kinks every damn where.”
We shared a laugh before she spoke up to end the call. “Alright, well, I’ll see whenever I get back to the house. Love you, Son.”
“Love you too, Ma. Peace.”
She hung up, and my playlist restarted. Since I knew she was babysitting my boys, I decided to swing by The Roxy before I took it in. I wasn’t going to stay long, because I really needed some sleep, but I had to check in on my girl.
I couldn’t temper the excitement brewing in the pit of my stomach if I wanted to. Grai was my person, the one I could depend on, the one who made my heart skip a beat every time she looked at me as if I had all the answers. Seeing her face would be the perfect ending to my day, so that’s what I decided to do.
The parking lot of The Roxy was pretty full, but there was just enough space at the back to maneuver my truck into. Pushing open the door, I hopped down and stretched. I grunted, feeling my joints pop in various places. It felt good to get up from my seat after hours in the same position. There was only so much I could do to entertain myself, and whenever I was on the road for an extended period of time, by the end, I was always over it.
I pushed the door closed, then took long strides to the entrance. A gust of cool air hit me when the automatic doors slid open. Instinctively, I headed toward the empty front desk. There was a couple already waiting at the counter, so I leaned against a nearby pillar to wait.
Just as I got ready to pull out my phone to distract myself, Bubbles came floating from the back. “Sorry about that. It was still acting wonky, so I activated two new keys for you to use. Here you go,” she explained before handing them the new set of room keys.
I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. Even her work uniform hugged her in all the right places. Grai was five-seven with a lean, toned body, but her every movement was fluid and graceful. Today, her naturally thick and curly hair was tossed into a messy bun that left her heart-shaped face on full display. Her golden-brown skin was bright beneath the lights of the hotel lobby. I nibbled on my bottom lip when she blessed the couple with her beautiful smile, and those cavernous dimples of hers made an appearance. Her big, expressive, almond-shaped eyes were alight with kindness, but I knew there was a story most wouldn’t believe inside of her. She licked her full lips seconds before she hesitated, then began to search the lobby. It didn’t take long for her to find me. We smiled at the same time, and everything was right in the world.
Once the couple took their leave, she came from around the corner and rushed over to me just as I finally stood to my full height. “Poppa!” she shouted jovially. “I wasn’t expecting to see you tonight.”
She came crashing into my arms, and I accepted her without hesitation. My heart rate began to slow the longer I had to inhale the fruity aroma of the perfume in her hair. I didn’t even want to let her go for real, but I knew I had to, so when she stepped back, I allowed her to create a little distance between us.
“I know, but my mama called once I made it into the city, and I figured I’d stop by to see if you needed a ride home from work in the morning.”
“Yes, I do actually.”
I nodded. “Okay, cool. I got you.” When I slid my hands into the pockets of my sweatpants, I didn’t miss Bubble’s eyes drifting to my waistline before she tucked her lips and glanced away. I chuckled softly, knowing that was a line we’d never cross. “You got time for a break? We got a little time before Lolita’s closes.”
Lolita’s was Grai’s favorite ice cream shop, and it happened to be one block over from her job.
She clapped her hands jovially and did a little dance. “Yes, I would love that. Let me go grab Connor from the back to hold down the fort until I get back.”
I nodded before returning to my leaning position to wait for her to come back. I didn’t have to wait long because, in the blink of an eye, she was back in front of me. “Let’s go.” We headed out of the hotel to make the quick journey to the ice cream shop. “Where all did you go this time around?” she asked once we were surrounded by the city lights, laughter, and liveliness.
“Texas, Cali, Tennessee, Illinois, Michigan, and North Carolina,” I shared with her.
“I get jealous every time I see you posting the Chicago skyline. It’s so beautiful in your videos, so I know it has to be breathtaking in person.”
I nodded. “Hell yeah, the Chi is a fucking vibe. Great food, culture, and architecture. I gotta get you out of Solaire.”
She giggled, but I felt the shift in her energy. After a beat of silence, where I was sure she’d escaped to her thoughts, she sighed. “I wish I could travel more, but you know how that goes.”
I didn’t want to ruin the mood, so I swallowed what I wanted to say to change the subject. “Man, you won’t believe who I ran into when I was in Dallas.”
We bent the corner, and the digital ‘open’ sign on the door of the ice cream shop glowed radiantly. I pulled the door open to allow Bubbles to enter first. She pranced inside to the tune of thechimes without a backward glance on her way to the counter. I chuckled because she never played about her ice cream.
