I thought back to what he looked like. The way his blue eyes were devoid of all emotion, except when he looked at Consonance, made me believe what she said.
“So you aren’t interested in him?” I clarified, and she shook her head. “Okay.”
My phone went off, and I looked down to see that Amethyst had texted me, saying he was at home studying and offered to cook for me instead. I smiled and responded, letting him know that I’d have Consonance drop me off.
“Can you take me to Amethyst’s house instead of home?” I asked her as I put my phone away.
“Yep,” she agreed, then switched lanes. We had to pass his house to get to mine, so she wouldn’t have to go out of her way.
“Thank you,” I said twenty minutes later when Consonance parked in front of Amethyst’s building. I reached into the back seat to get my bag, then opened the door. “I’ll call you later.”
“Okay,” she nodded. “I’ll be at Symphony’s more than likely.”
I closed the car door, walked to the front of Amethyst’s building, and just as I got to the door, it opened, and he smiled at me. Amethyst Stone was my best friend, and we had been friends for nearly three years. We met by chance one night when I was there, waiting for Grant and studying for an exam in the library. Amethyst looked down at my book and then at my assignment, giving me the answer before walking away. I didn’t see him again for nearly two weeks, and when I did, he was at the café on campus. He walked up to my table, sat down, and we shared a quiet lunch. We did that for about three weeks before he finally told me his name and started walking me to class afterwe ate. Sharing lunch turned into meeting for every meal in the café, and then he would walk me to class. I don’t know when we started talking, but once we did, we never stopped, and our friendship formed from there. I’d met Grant around the same time when he approached me one day while I was admiring his car. I didn’t know it was his car, and was humble when he approached me. We hit it off, and when he found out I was a car girl, he took me go-karting on our first date. When Grant found out that I knew Consonance and Bodhi and even raced with them from time to time, he offered me a job. I raced the cars for him at a higher payout than anyone else offered. One night, we were waiting on a car to be brought in, and not only was I surprised but scared as shit when I saw Amethyst get out of the car. He didn’t know I was racing with Grant, and when he saw me standing next to him, hurt, disappointment, and then anger flashed across his face. That was the first time I ever saw Amethyst go off. It took me calling his brothers to calm him down, and when that didn’t work, I had to call his parents. His father was the only person who could calm him down.
“What did you buy?” he asked, taking the bag from me.
Consonance honked, and I turned to wave before turning back to Amethyst. “A dress for church and then dinner with Grant’s family,” I answered, and he nodded. Amethyst held the door open for me to walk into the building, then closed it, and we walked to his apartment. “You’re cooking already?”
“Yeah,” he answered with a nod. He set my bag by the door after he closed it, then walked to the kitchen. “Nothing too crazy. Just some turkey wings, mashed potatoes, and green beans.” He checked the wings in the oven, then went back to chopping the potatoes.
I kicked off my shoes, slid my feet into the slides I kept over here, and approached him. Amethyst’s love language was physical touch, which was perfect because it was mine too. Iwrapped my arms around his waist and rested my head against his back. Toni Braxton’s Unbreak My Heart played on his phone, and I laughed softly. Amethyst was an R&B man to the heart. He enjoyed rap, but more often than not, R&B was playing when he listened to music, and he swore that the '90s and early 00s had the best selection.
“You have a good day?” I finally asked as we swayed back and forth. He smelled clean, like he’d just gotten out of the shower.
“Yeah,” he answered. “Worked out this morning, then came back to study.” He rolled his shoulders to more than likely relieve some of the tension. Whenever he worked out, he would usually overdo it when trying to work something out in his head. Ever since the race a few weeks ago, he’d been going hard in the gym. “You?”
“Yeah,” I nodded.
“You sleeping?” he questioned, and I briefly paused. Amethyst kissed his teeth, then patted my arm. “Let me go so I can turn around.”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. I didn’t need him to turn around to look at me because I knew if he did, he’d ask me a million questions that I didn’t have the answers to. No, that was a lie; I had the answers, but they just weren’t what he wanted to hear.
“Why?”
“Because I’m not ready to talk about why I’m not sleeping yet,” I answered, and I felt him nod.
“Alright,” he said, then started swaying again. We moved along to the music for another three songs before I finally loosened my grip and relaxed. Amethyst must’ve been waiting for the moment I did because he stopped cooking, turned around, lifted me, and set me on the counter next to his phone. I immediately dropped my head, and he lifted my chin. “Never drop your head.”
“I’m not ready to talk, Amethyst,” I sighed and focused my attention on his hair. It was short and curly. I reached up and ran my hand over the curls. “Have you ever grown your hair out?”
“When I was a kid, and you know that because you saw the pictures,” he replied, and I nodded. He reached up, took my hand, kissed it, and smiled at me. “You need to talk to someone.”
“And say what?” I questioned. “That I was driving in an illegal street race and hit a car that killed someone?” I shook my head. “I’ll pass, Amethyst, and this insomnia will pass eventually.”
“I don’t like you not sleeping, Sunshine,” he said, shaking his head. “You need your rest.”
“And I’ll get it,” I said, nodding. “Until then, don’t worry about me.”
“I can’t do that, and you know it,” he laughed, shaking his head. “Pick something else for me to accomplish, and I’ll make it happen.”
“Just keep being my best friend then,” I said as I pulled him into a hug. I rested my head on his chest, and Amethyst wrapped his arms around me. “That’s what I need from you.”
“From this lifetime to the next,” he said, then kissed the top of my head.
“And grow your hair out,” I said, and he laughed.
“Alright, just for you, I’ll grow this shit out.”
