“Hello? You can call me back,” she suggested.
“My fault, baby. What you say?”
“You can call me back,” she repeated with more bite in her tone than she intended. Someone calling or answering the phone for her, then talking to the people in their background, annoyed her to no end. He could’ve called her back when he wasn’t busy.
“Nah, I’m good,” Heavy replied, so casually. “What you over there doing?”
“Nothing,” she said, plainly. “I was just calling you back.”
“A’ight. Pull up on me right quick.”
Cyren blinked, thrown off again for half a second.
“Where are you at?” she asked, even though she already knew that telling her wouldn’t mean much.
“At this lil’ spot in the city with my people nem’,” he said.
He wants me around his people?Cyren’s thoughts raced. She was fine with them being in the same space for Dre and Nicole’s birthday, and even okay with him bringing her food and talking on the phone. Pulling up on him and his homeboys or whoever wasn’t a stage Cyren had comfortably reached with him yet.
“Oh. Maybe another time. Just call me later.”
“Nah. For what? What you trying to get off the phone for?” Heavy asked, confused by her refusal to talk to him.
She made sure to sigh loudly enough for him to hear. “Because you’re enjoying your night, and I’m not trying to listen to all that.”
“I’m almost finished, just sit?—”
“No, Rashaun. Call me back.”
“Cyr—”
Heavy couldn’t fully get her name off his lips before she ended the call. She wasn’t about to sit on the phone and just listen while he gave her half or none of his attention. Cyren didn’t even feel bad. She was more annoyed than anything. Not with him exactly, but the situation. The timing and her emotions weren’t on one accord at all.
Dropping her phone onto the bed, Cyren pulled herself out from beneath the covers to head to the bathroom. The oversized shirt she wore reached mid-thigh, exposing her bare legs. After relieving herself, she washed her hands, brushed her teeth, then put on some leggings and, unfortunately, a bra.
She wasn’t sure if Nia or Skylar were home and had company, so she wanted to be both presentable and respectful. That was the downside of not having her own place. Cyren wanted to walk around freely, and sometimes, even naked as the day she was born if she felt like it.
Walking out of her bedroom, she started for the kitchen, thinking about grabbing something quick to eat and what show she was about to watch. She was about to pass Skylar’s room but slowed her steps. Surprisingly enough, she was home, and Cyren wondered what she was doing.
Knocking, she waited until Skylar came to the door. It didn’t take long for her to open it, letting the sounds of a song Cyren had never heard, spill out into the hallway. The mixed scent of soft perfume and flat-iron fumes greeted her, making her nose wrinkle.
“Yes?” Skylar asked, standing there half-dressed. Her perfectly arched brow slightly raised, as if Cyren had no right to interrupt her.
Her greeting wasn’t outright rude, but it wasn’t exactly warm either. Cyren decided not to match her energy.
“Okay,” Cyren praised, smiling. “You look cute.”
Smirking, Skylar pivoted and walked back to her vanity. “Thanks. You know I don’t step out looking any kind of way.”
Cyren took that as her cue to enter her room. The first thing she noticed was the chaos. It wasn’t dirty, but clothes were scattered in small piles across the bed and floor, while shoes lined the bed, and hangers were thrown haphazardly in various places.It was the telltale sign of a woman’s room in disarray while she prepared to go out and claimed she had nothing to wear. Yet, half her closet was staring back at her.
“How many outfits have you tried on?” Cyren asked.
Skylar rolled her eyes, but a small laugh slipped out. “Too many. And I still feel like I might change. I don’t have enough clothes.”
Cyren glanced around again. “It looks like you have plenty to me,” she mumbled.
Skylar didn’t respond to that, just focused on applying her eyeliner like the conversation wasn’t worth too much attention.
