“Well, wait, what the hell happened? Nisha, where the hell did you come from? Why are we all waking up in the same hotel room with no clothes on?”
“Because we were fucking.”
“All of us?!” Yanna shrieked.
“Yes… But not interchangeably.”
“What? Nisha, just please tell me exactly what happened.”
“Okay… well, when I got to the section, you and Mr. 9thWard over there were practically fucking on the couch. I mean, I saw him, but I didn’t see his hands, and you looked like you was riding a wave. This pretty piece of man right here just grabbed me up, pulled me onto his lap, and started kissing me.” Nisha paused, taking an over-exaggerated deep breath before continuing.
“After all that excitement, I asked if y’all wanted to parking lot pimp. When we got outside, I pulled another bottle from the trunk, you yelledshot o’clock, Kalil told you y’all needed to get back to Dinwiddie before that DJ kill y’all. You said you hoped his cousin got hit by a motorcycle then y’all tussled a bit---”
“But how did we end up here, and what the hell happened once we did?”
“Oh… well after y’all little quarrel in the parking lot, 9thWard and Kalil started talking about some girl named Londyn and her husband feeding Kalil to an alligator that lives in Louisiana. I don’t know who suggested we hop in an XL Uber, but that’s what we did, and we ended up here. Then---”
“I was sitting right there on the couch, you started twerking in a split and I told you to do it on my face,” Kalil blurted, the night’s events slowing coming back to him.
“Yes. You. Did. And you ate… literally.” Nisha bit into her bottom lip. “I guess we were putting on quite the show because the next thing I knew---”
“Yarra had all that ass in my lap,” Trell threw in, also starting to piece together his night. Years ago, he would’ve never been so reckless, but these days he truly didn’t give a fuck about much.
“Yep, and it was on after that. If we had filmed the shit, we’d stand to make a lot of money. Yanna girl, I didn’t know you were so flexible. I was looking at you and wild hair fucking and I can’t lie, it was turning me on so much.”
“I’m so glad I don’t remember that shit.” The last thing Kalil wanted was imagery of the girl his cousin was in love with, fucking another guy, while he was in the room. “Ight, Yanna, you got to get the hell out of here before Kas checks yo location. You need me to Uber with you back to the club?”
“Hell no, I’ll take a Lyft to my truck. I—I got to go.” Yanna didn’t allow Kalil to say anything else before darting out of the door. She ran all the way to the elevator and out of thehotel, hiding behind a pillar while she ordered her Lyft. Her normal breathing pattern didn’t return until she was safe in her rideshare, pulling away from the hotel.
The hotel was close to the club, so it didn’t take much time for her to get to her truck. As soon as she arrived home, she stripped from her clothes and examined her body. The sticky feeling between her legs disgusted her because it was a clear indication that protection hadn’t been used during her forbidden sexual romp. As she washed sweat and shame from her, she willed the recollection of what she’d done to disappear down the drain as well. One thing she knew for certain was that no one… not even her cousin… could ever find out about what she’d done.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
The sound of water streaming through the Appomattox River served as a serene backdrop to the chatter amongst patrons of theBoathouse Restaurantin Hopewell, VA. Couples and groups of friends enjoyed spectacular seafood and pungent cocktails amongst the scenery of the setting sun. The place was abuzz with chatter, making the awkward silence at the table deafening. Kas sat across from Maya, studying her face as she sipped her Lemon Drop. The day after Nouri gave him Maya’s number, he’d hit her up. Maya was overjoyed he’d reached out, and they set to meet that evening for drinks. Now, they both sat focusing on their drinks, neither of them knowing how to start the conversation.
“Alright, one of us gone have to say something,” Kas said.
“Sorry.” Maya laughed. “I’m just really trying to settle in on the fact that I’m a big sister.”
“Yea, I mean… I always been the lil’ brother, but I’ve never imagined having a sister.”
“Crazy, right? Uh…” Maya took another sip of her drink before she started her disclosure. “I just want you to know how pissed I am at our dad.”
“Yea, that’s nothing new over here. Been pissed at Nouri all my life.”
“I hate that. You know, I asked him about y’all.”
“Yea? I thought you didn’t know about us.”
“I didn’t but… when Onyx released his very first song and was gaining popularity, I read about him. I was like… 22 or so, modeling in Atlanta, and I read one of his interviews. In the interview, it said his name was Onyx Zaman. The only Zaman I’d ever known was daddy, so I asked him. He basically told me Zaman was a common Persian last name. There was this look in his eyes, like he wanted to say more. He never did, so I left it alone.”
Maya hoped she wasn’t adding salt to the wound by telling Kas their father was basically denying him and Onyx. “Then through my sister-in-law, I met Kalil. Again, when I learned his last name was Zaman, I was curious because he’s from Baltimore, and I knew for sure our father had family in Baltimore; I just never met them. I asked him about Kalil, and he basically told me the same thing… the last name was a coincidence.”
“Damn… at least me and Nyx weren’t the only family members he denied.”
“Please don’t take it that way, and trust me, I’m not making excuses for him because, like I said, I’m pissed as hell. But I think he just didn’t know how to tell me. After twenty-something years, I could imagine it being hard explaining to your daughter that you had two other kids.”
“Yea, that’s us… theotherkids.”
