His annoyance with me made me crack up.
Then I looked around to make sure nobody important was close enough to hear. Then I stepped a little closer and lowered my voice. “Don’t forget we’re keeping the gender a secret. Until the baby shower.”
He looked at me like I was insulting his intelligence. “I didn’t forget. You tell me multiple times a day.”
Then he stepped closer and dapped my stomach the way he always did now. He hadn’t been able to when he initially got here because I have been so busy. It was light and quick and had become his little signature.
“What’s up, lil’ man.”
Then he looked around the room. “You got a great turnout.”
That made my chest warm a little. “Thank you.”
“You did your thing.” Then, with the same little corner smile he only let me see sometimes, he added, “You’re a bad bitch.”
I giggled as a customer came up to the table holding a few body wave bundles asking, “Excuse me, can you tell me what type of hair this is?”
I straightened up immediately. “Yes, ma’am. That’s Peruvian hair.”
Reek stepped back and walked away so I could handle my business.
For the next twenty minutes, I was locked in. I answered questions, posed for pictures, hugged people who had come just to support, and watched money stack in real time.
Then Kam walked in. He was wearing dark jeans, and a black fitted t-shirt under a leather jacket. His locs were neat. He had a fresh lining and was smelling so good that I sniffed his cologne before he even fully made it to my table.
He smiled the second he saw me. “There go the boss.”
I smiled back. “You made it.”
“I told you I would.”
He leaned in and hugged me. Then he pulled back and looked around. “This looks good. Real good. You got it jumping in here.”
That made me blush a little because he sounded genuinely impressed.
He smiled like he noticed and said, “I’m about to grab a drink. Do your thing.”
“Okay.”
Since me and Reek’s talk in the hospital, I had been putting more intention behind my conversations and interactions with Kam because it was imperative that I move on from Reek. That man had too much of a hold on me, and I was trying hard to loosen his grip before I ended up right back in the same toxic cycle. Kam was easy, consistent, and clear in a way Reek had never been, so I was making a real effort to be open to that. We still hadn’t gone on an actual date yet, because I had been so busy preparing for the pop-up.
The second he walked toward the bar, Zahra and Rhythm appeared at my side like they had been summoned by some “tea”.
Zahra’s eyes were already wide. “What the hell is Kam doing here?”
Rhythm folded her arms and asked the same thing with her face.
I kept scanning my table like I was too busy to be bothered. “He’s being supportive.”
Both of them stared at me.
“You’re bold,” Rhythm said first.
“Verybold,” Zahra added.
I looked at both of them. “He’s my friend.”
Zahra gave me a look. “He’s your friend that asked you out.”
