Me: I ordered your food, Ma. Only nigga dime you get to eat on is mine.
Exiting the text thread, I pulled off and headed home.
Pressure didn’t have to be loud. It had to be felt.
CHAPTER 5
Dress It Up & Make It Real Fa Me
THYRI
Iwas in the middle of pulling the last few pins from my hair when the doorbell rang. Checking the time on my phone, it was thirty minutes before Enzo was set to arrive. He hadn’t texted that he’d be here early, so I wasn’t sure who the unexpected visitor was. The doorbell rang twice more, signaling the impatience of whoever was on the other side.
“I’m coming!” I snapped, matching the irritation conveyed in their double rang. “Who is it?”
“It’s Nae.”
“Girl, I was about to cuss you out knocking like that,” I said once the door was open. “I thought you were out on your date.”
Danae stood on the other side of the door with her face balled up in frustration.
“Ahh, hell. Come in, boo.” She walked inside, and I locked the door behind her. “I gave you a spare key for emergencies. And judging by the look on your face, this visit seems like an emergency.”
“It’s really not. Just one of those nights. And I don’t wanna just let myself in now that you and Enzo are together.” She took off her coat and tossed it on the couch, along with her bag as we passed the living room.
“You act like you gon’ walk in here one day and I’ma be bussin’ it open on the couch. And Enzo ain’t my man… yet.”
“Well, hopefully, you will be soon.”
“You’ll be the first to know, boo.”
Back in front of the mirror, I finger combed my curls to get the perfect bounce in them. In the mirror, I watched as Nae plopped down on the bench in front of my bed, sulking.
“You gon’ tell me what went wrong or continue to suck all the energy out the room?”
She exhaled hard before speaking. “My car was almost towed in the middle of my date.”
I gasped. “Bitch, shut up. How the he…”
“Aura,” she cut me off. “Aura is how the hell. That man had his cousin come and try to tow my damn car after tracking me to the restaurant.”
My hand flew to my mouth to stifle my laughter. “You lying.”
“About what? The fact that his crazy ass tracked me to the restaurant or planned to have my damn car towed? Cause both statements are very true and you doggish as hell for laughing.”
“Wait. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. That man do not play.”
“That nigga told me to wrap my food up to go, or he was coming to get me. But wait, it gets worse.”
I turned, leaning back against the vanity. “Worse? Girl, how?”
“Why this man knew who I was out with? Down to where he worked. Aura is unhinged.”
“Unhinged and in love with you.” She went silent, and I turned back to the mirror.
“Lemme help you with these curls back here.” She went to fluffing my curls, easily falling into the role she’d been playing my entire life – my second set of hands. “You look real cute, by the way. Sorry for the intrusion.”
“Thank you, Nae. And you know it’s never an intrusion. You need me, I’m here. You look cute too, by the way.”
