Khrome was meeting the ladies at the venue. Everyone was sitting together so when she arrived, Khrome sat in the car while she waited on the others. She had only been there for two minutes when Symphony arrived. As she was getting out of her car, Averi texted the group chat stating she had arrived. The ladies met at the entrance of the venue. They were dressed to impress per usual. After hugs and air kisses, they stood off to the side talking while waiting on Giavanna who said she was two minutes away.
“After the fight, Lethal gets to resume his normal activities.” Symphony wiggled her brows. “You gonna thank him for your car?”
Khrome giggled. For someone that didn’t have a lot of experience with friends as an adult, it amazed her at how comfortable she’d been with Symphony and Averi from day one. “I don’t know. Like, he flirted a little bit, but I still can’t be for sure he wants me like that.”
“Are you serious?” Averi eyed her with a slack jaw. “At the push party that man was looking at you like he wanted to take you down.”
“It’s possible, but maybe I just don’t want to get my hopes up.”
It’s okay to not want to be disappointed, but don’t be naïve boo,” Averi stated. “That man is into you. He’s into you real bad, and you better put it on him tonight and lock your man down.”
The women spotted Giavanna walking in their direction, so she chose not to acknowledge Averi’s comment. The ladies knew of course, that Giavanna had cancer, and they all agreed that she looked amazing. She didn’t look sick. She was fly as hell in a colorful wrap dress and a matching head scarf that she had tied around a long jet-black wig.
“Hey Bookie Butt.” Symphony was the first to greet her. The other ladies followed suit.
Khrome found herself hoping that if for any reason things didn’t work out between the guys and any of them, that they would all remain friends. Khrome refused to lie about the fact that she really liked having them in her life. Even as far as Lethal’s family. There wasn’t one person that she didn’t like. She didn’t have family of her own, so God gave her one by way of Lyric, and she would be eternally grateful. The guys were her brothers, and the ladies were her sisters.
They entered the arena, went through security, and walked to their seats. Khrome had never been to a live sports event. When Vick or Cam would host fight parties, or she’d be out while they were playing in sports bars, she’d watch bits and pieces, but she never got deep into it. Fourteen was the age that Khrome started drinking. She had her first sip of alcohol at sixteen. Back then, she smoked and occasionally drank because it made her feel good. It made her feel grown. Moving in with Vick changed her reasons for indulging drastically. Weed and alcohol made her lose concepts of time. They made her numb to the suffering and oblivious to the mistreatment. Any time they hosted any kind of gathering or she was out at a bar or club, Khrome was always high as hell giving fake smiles and being lost in herown little world. Nothing she did was with intention or intense concentration.
People started filing in and soon, an entire section was filled with nothing but friends and family of Lethal. Khrome thought it was so cool when Tech’s girlfriend and Tasha smiled and greeted one another while Tech and Tasha’s date gave each other dap and head nods. Seeing the side of relationships and family dynamics that weren’t dysfunctional and traumatizing was new for Khrome, but she loved it. She was most definitely taking notes because Lyric wouldn’t be raised in anything less than love and understanding.
Khrome was borderline embarrassed joining parenting groups on social media, but she needed tips and tricks on raising a child because she damn sure didn’t have a good example from her own parents. The preliminary fights began, and everyone was tuned in. There were going to be three undercard fights and with each passing one, Khrome became more and more nervous. Of course, she’d only seen great things attached to Lethal’s name, but she had never seen him fight. The closest she’d come was seeing him sparring at the gym.
She wanted him to win. Not because it would benefit her, but because she knew it was important to him. The preliminary fights were pretty good and seemed to speed by. The air inside the arena changed when it was time for the main event. The commentators were doing a great job of building anticipation for the fight. When she kept hearing them say they felt like Khrome had a pretty good chance of beating his opponent, it made her face light up. When a Kendrick Lamar beat dropped, and the rapper came into the arena rapping into a microphone with Lethal and Lethal’s team behind him, the crowd went crazy.
For the past month, Khrome had been seeing Lethal’s face every day but seeing him in his element, shirt off, face serious, her stomach quaked. If anyone dared to part their lips to tellher she didn’t have the finest baby daddy in the world, she’ll tell them they were a damn liar. Her mind filled with enough impure thoughts to create an X-rated film. Despite almost the entire crowd yelling and screaming for Lethal, Blak, Block, Belvin, Tech, and Mario stood up and shouted and screamed loud enough to be heard over everyone.
When Lethal’s opponent walked in, he was shown love indeed, but it was clear whose house they were in. The people had come out for Lethal. When Lethal and his opponent were face to face in the ring, the air once again shifted. It was thick with tension. The first punch hadn’t even been thrown, and Khrome was already holding her breath. When gloves touched, her heart lurched. As soon as the bell sounded off, Khrome’s breath released slow and steady. She watched intently as Lethal and his opponent, Jamie Woods, sized one another up. Slowly, they moved around the ring before Jamie went in for a jab.
Lethal blocked a few punches before one landed. Khrome didn’t know much about the sport of boxing, but she would bet her last dollar that Lethal was being strategic. He wasn’t going to wear himself out in the first round. Until Jamie began doing too much. He delivered a blow that snapped Lethal’s head back and once again, Khrome stopped herself from exhaling. Relentlessly, Lethal hit Jamie with a barrage of body shots. The only thing that stopped him was the screaming of the bell.
“That’s what I’m talking about! Take his ass to church!” Tech yelled.
By the third round, Jamie was leaning on the ropes whenever he could. He was tired. Lethal’s forehead was drenched in sweat. There was a small cut by his left brow, and his breathing was ragged, but he was still going. Jamie wasn’t a bad fighter at all, and he was holding his own, but when it came to footwork, the power of punches, and combinations, Lethal was the better fighter hands down. By the fourth round, it was obvious thatwith each punch that he threw, Jamie was exhausted. Lethal preserved some energy by doing light footwork and doing what Khrome had heard some people refer to as running in the past. Lethal was trying to tire Jamie out.
When he was tired of playing with him, Lethal caught his second wind and hit Jamie with a head shot, body shot, uppercut combo that sent him crashing to the floor, and the crowd went wild. The referee began to count causing Khrome’s eyes to widen with each number. Block jumped to his feet while Khrome waited with bated breath. When the referee reached ten, and Jamie still wasn’t on his feet, the crowd lost it.
“A fourth-round knockout is crazy!” Blak screamed.
“That nigga is lethal,” Tech laughed.
Khrome had seen Lethal’s dedication and discipline firsthand, and she was so happy for him. By doing something that he was passionate about and being determined to excel at it, he had motivated Khrome. Whatever she chose to do, she wanted to be the best at it. He was the one that had given her a chance, and she was going to prove herself. Khrome made the personal goal that in the next two years, she’d be a sought-after brand manager for major brands making no less than five figures a month.
Everyone was hype and wanted to celebrate, but they knew Lethal would more than likely be tired, so everyone discussed getting together the following evening for dinner and drinks at a nice restaurant. Since the fight was over, he would be resting for the next few months, so she wouldn’t have to post as much on his social media platforms, but she didn’t want to completely ghost the pages. Still, once the documentary was uploaded to his channel, she could concentrate on Lyric and trying to figure out how to grow her business as a brand manager.
Khrome had no idea when Lethal would be home, but she wanted to do something nice for him. He could now eat whathe wanted, but she didn’t know his favorite desserts or foods. There was still a lot that she didn’t know about him. There was a bar in his home, so she at least knew what kind of alcohol he liked, but she was hesitant to fix him a drink. They were past the incident, but he probably had PTSD from accepting drinks from her. She figured the safest thing to do was to run him a hot bath with Epsom salt. She didn’t want the water to get cold, so she showered first. By the time she was done, he still wasn’t home, so she let the water run in the tub slowly. They used different bathrooms, and she’d never been in his before. In fact, it was her first time in his bedroom.
The wallpaper that covered his walls was black and white abstract art with touches of gold. The furniture was black mostly with touches of gold. Khrome had no clue who had decorated his home, but it was very aesthetically pleasing. His ensuite bathroom was mostly white marble with black faucets and shower accents. The rugs on the floor were black and so was the décor. Simple but sleek.
Luck was on her side because Lethal’s timing was perfect. He arrived at the house while the temperature of the water was perfect. Dressed in pink silk shorts and a matching button up top, Khrome bounced down the stairs. A look of exhaustion covered Lethal’s face.
“You look tired but congratulations. A fourth-round knockout is insane.”
“Thank you. My body is sore as shit too.”
“I ran you a bath. I was going to fix you a drink, but I didn’t think you’d drink it.”
Lethal pushed out a deep laugh. “Smart woman. I appreciate that though. I’m about to pour a shot or ten of cognac and soak like a bad bitch after a hard day at work.”
