“I’m glad you’re finally getting out of this room. You going alone? I know you grew up here, but after what you just went through, I’m kind of worried about you going by yourself.”
“Stop worrying so damn much, Di. Let the girl have a second to clear her head.” Butch kissed her cheek, and she nodded with a sigh.
“Fine.”
“I’ll be alright, Ma. Plus, Sonny is coming with me,” she divulged, referring to the best friend she’d once had.
“Where in the world did you find him? As a matter of fact, don’t answer that. Just keep out of trouble because he hasn’t changed a lick. Mess is still all he’s good for.”
Kennedy laughed because she was banking on it. “I found him on social media earlier today and reached out. Figured I could use the company since Tekken isn’t here.”
“Well, enjoy yourself and be safe. Don’t come in too late, and don’t drive drunk.” Diane ran down the rules as Butch held her waist and began steering her out the room.
He sent a light tap to her ass and whispered in her ear before she grinned, prancing off while he doubled back to stand in the doorway with folded arms. Kennedy groaned under her breath.
“What old man?”
“I can tell, you’re up to something. Redid your hair all pretty. Going out with Sonny when you ain’t spoken to his ass since before y’all moved. Don’t tell me, you’re about to chase behind the first nigga who hurt you so that you can get over the new one.”
“Chase? Did you forget who my dad and brother are? I’m not chasing a damn soul. My feet will detach from my ankles before I ever chase a nigga.”
“And you better stand on that, too! I told you the shit Di put up with, but that doesn’t mean it’s okay for you to accept the same. Me and Koda worked too goddamn hard to set the bar high, so don’t let these men make you forget who you are, tough girl. A goddamn Sutton.”
“Don’t I know it.”
Her father stared at her a bit longer like he wanted to say more but then chucked his chin to end their discussion and walked away. She finger-combed her braids while the pinch of doubt he’d stirred up made her second guess her next move.
An unfamiliar chiming made her hesitation cease, and she hurried to grab her prepaid phone off her vanity table to swipethe green icon. She couldn’t resist the faint smirk that grew on her face before she spoke.
“Hey, Sonny. What’s the move?”
“Bitch, you know you in for a time with me!” Vivacity radiated off him, even through a phone call. “Fuck that lil’ rinky dink bar you suggested. I’m sending you an address to the best lounge here, and I got the hook up. Meet me at eight before the stragglers start rolling in.”
“They got good wings?”
“And do! Bomb ass food. No watered down drinks, and I can get us a private section away from the brokies.”
“Sounds like a plan to me. See you there.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
Sonny hung up with that, and Kennedy swapped her prepaid phone for her main one, going straight to her call log. Relic’s name in red taunted her, but she stood on her word like she swore to her dad, even though she couldn’t pretend she didn’t miss him. She’d gone a month avoiding his ass but let him to suck her back into his life within the span of a fucking night. Kennedy wished she could blame it solely on the dick but knew better.
Resentment and unrequited feelings persuaded her to toss her phone on the bed, shutting herself off from him or anyone or thing connected to his ass. While she was being foolish, waiting on him to prove he meant the things he’d told her, he was searching for her replacement just like she had suggested and moving like she was the wrong doer in their situation. The barbed wire encompassing her tattered heart tautened, serrating it even further.
Kennedy headed for her closet to locate the skimpiest fuck ‘em dress she owned, knowing it’d fit better with her grown woman weight. The indecisiveness she felt erased as she focused on her side mission she had to see through.
Niggas were too comfortable with playing in her face, so she wasn’t reconsidering shit.
Over an hour worth of good music, hot lemon pepper wings with non-stop tequila shots, and all was right in the world for Kennedy.
She bent over her food tray, biting into a wet wing as Sonny danced in front of their table with a mixed drink in his hand. He sipped from it before twerking his toned ass in a pair of distressed skinny jeans that he’d paired with a hollowed-out knit sweater and calf-high boots. He’d toned it down and found his style since their teenage years when he used to borrow her halter tops and shorts, and his older brother used to beat his ass for doing the most. It’d taken a while for Sonny’s family to accept they couldn’t knock his craving for dick out of him with their fists.
Kennedy groaned when the DJ transitioned the song blaring through the speakers into one she could recite by heart. Sonny gasped and turned to her, pointing his cup in her direction when Tekken’s deep ass voice reverberated throughout the lounge, sending the rowdiness up a notch.
“That’s Tekken’s little ass, ain’t it?” he confirmed with an approving bob of his head. “He ain’t lil’ no more, Kenn. Yo nephew fine as shit, and that muthafucka look like he’s packing. You know, I can eyeball a nigga and tell.”
“Eye another nigga, and keep those fake ass hazels off that one.”
