“This can’t be about Maya.”
“And why not? This is about Maya, and?—”
“No, Sibley. You’re not about to act like this is about anything other than your insecurities!”
“Insecurities?!” I scoffed in surprise.
“Yes! I kept you on a pedestal all summer. It’s been about you and only you. What has happened that got you questioning us?”
For a minute, neither of us said anything. Tensions were too high. I couldn’t speak for him, but I felt like if we kept going, we’d escalate and say something we both regretted. Pausing was very necessary. Kier took a deep breath and said,
“I shouldn’t have said you were insecure, my bad. But I need you to talk to me, baby.”
Sighing, I said, “I just…” I paused, trying to find the right way to say it. “It kept happening. I just felt like there were too many instances where she showed up. Every time she came around, I felt threatened.”
I hated how that sounded.
“How, Sibley? I never paid that girl any mind.”
“That’s what you think. But she has been everywhere, Kier. Malibu, Houston, and New York. You never introduced me to her, and when I asked you about her, you brushed me off. Any woman would feel like there is something there.”
“But I told you it wasn’t.”
“And I’m telling you that’s not good enough.” That was the first time I didn’t soften it. “Nothing shows up that many times and still be nothing. So I am going to ask you again, and I need real answers. What is the story with you two, and why is she everywhere?”
“Maya is an A&R talent consultant.” He answered without hesitation.
“For Stone Records?”
“No. We worked together in the past, though. She’s brought me a few artists here and there. She’s not randomly showing up, Sibley. The industry isn’t as big as people would like to think. I wish it was a way to work around it, but that’s not always the case.”
He leaned against my truck and I shifted from one foot to the next. I gave him a minute to say more, but he seemed satisfied with his response. But I wasn’t.
“Kier, you all messed around. Stop dancing around that part of the conversation.”
“You have a past too, Sibley.” He retorted.
“My past didn’t follow me across the country all summer!”
“May as well. You’re treating me like I’ve done something to you. I’m not that nigga.”
“And you still haven’t told me what I wanted to hear.”
“Which is what baby, I’m being as honest as I can be!”
“How long did yall- I mean I guess it doesn’t matter.”
“Sibley, Maya and I messed around for about six months, until she told me she was pregnant. Not gon lie, I was confused as hell because I always wrapped it up, but I know mistakes happen, and there could have been slip ups on drunken nights. I can’t say for sure.”
I paused at his revelation. For the first time since seeing him, I stopped thinking about myself completely. I tried to process what he had just said.
“That changed everything. We were having fun, then shit got serious. I was ready to commit to her because I didn’t want the baby mama drama. And when I was getting ready to make it serious, she came clean.”
“Clean how?”
“Told me she’d been messing around with somebody else. She didn’t know whose baby it was. Ultimately, she had an abortion.”
“Oh.” I blinked.
