“Well she –”
“We’ll be there.” I cut him off. “What are you dressing up as?”
Mykita’s slanted brown eyes widened. “Oh! Ummm… I’m not sure yet. Probably my favorite comic book character or something…Vasiah, how bout you?”
Hmph. This hoe brought up Comic Con and ain’t even know what or who she was going as. It gave that she was only going because that was something Vasiah was into. This fake ass Jhene Aiko looking lady couldn’t fool me.
“I think me and my lady gon’ match, I just gotta convince her,” he replied. I glanced at him, a small smile spreading across my lips.
“It won’t take much convincing.” I gave him a peck on the lips and turned my attention back to Mykita, who was turning slightly red. It wasn’t my intention to make her uncomfortable, but I intended to kill any bright ideas she might have when it came to Vasiah. I’d be giving him a piece of my mind too, when it was all said and done. Mykita just gawked at us while I kept myexpression neutral. I was feeling generous, so I gave the girl an out before she embarrassed herself any further.
“It was nice meeting you. Vasiah, I’m finna see if your auntie got any more cheesecake left. Uncle Victor def be stealing it all.” I sauntered away, gathering my thoughts. This was unfamiliar territory for me, and as I watched through the kitchen window, Mykita’s weight shifted from one foot to the other. Vasiah’s body language read like he was over it, yet I knew he was too polite to end the conversation.
“You ain’t gotta worry about that girl,” Auntie Ronnie announced her presence in the kitchen.
“I’m not.” I glanced at her and then busied myself with packing up some cheesecake.
“I know, but sometimes it's good to be reassured. I ain’t never seen my nephew like this before, and you a smart girl – I know you probably don’t trust the words that come out of a nigga’s family members’ mouths, but you seem like the missing piece to his puzzle. Don’t let nothing or nobody question make you question your space in his life, especially since you both are so different. That was a mistake I made in my marriage, feeling as if I wasn’t good enough or was enough and not trusting that Victor loved me, for me. Eventually, we found our way back to each other, but yeah…know that you are perfect for him as he is for you.”
I took in her words silently, then went over and embraced her. I needed to hear that. I silently struggled with figuring out how I fit into Vasiah’s world. He didn’t pressure me or anything, but I wondered just how much our differences would impact us in the long run. It wasn’t anything that I felt necessary to share right now, but eventually, I would.
“Miss Reina?” Poppa Hill called out from the doorway. “Would you like to step with me?” The music had switched toHappy Feelings,and I smiled. It seemed like Nana wassmiling down on me again by playing her favorite songs. I grabbed his hand and led him to the deck, where Uncle Victor, Auntie Ronnie, and some more guests were already dancing and singing. Poppa Hill was smooth on the dance floor, spinning and turning me effortlessly, but I was keeping up. Nana used to take me to her weekly stepper set parties when she was alive, and I was getting emotional.
“This was me and my wife’s song,” he said, smiling somberly.
“Yeah? My Nana’s too. She loved her some Frankie Beverly and Maze. She also used to take me with her to Stepper’s Set parties.”
“She raised you right,” he winked.
The music switched again, and we tore up the floor to three songs straight. I even had time to learn a TikTok dance from some of his younger cousins and recorded it with them.
“Aye, dancing queen… You got some time for me?” Vasiah appeared behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist. I melted into him and remembered that my baby had two left feet, but nothing felt better than this.
Tipsy, dancing amongst the stars, and falling deeper for a man that I never expected to fall for.
19
VASIAH
“Did you fuck that girl?” LaReina asked once I got her buckled in, and we started driving from my Pops’ crib. I looked over at her and then back at the road. With LaReina, you truly never knew what was gonna come out of her mouth, but I should’ve known that the interaction with Mykita was going to leave her with questions.
“Before I answer that, what makes you want to know that?”
“Just answer the question and make sure you don’t lie or withhold information from me.”
I sighed. It’s not that I planned to lie to her; it’s just that I didn’t want her to interpret our interaction as more than what it was. I wasn’t interested in that damn girl, despite our past.
“I… yeah. We fucked. Once.”
“When?”
“In college.”
“Hmm. Okay.” Silence filled the car again as I moved from lane to lane.
“Hayami? That’s all? Why’d you ask that?”
“Because…she was a ‘lil too eager to be in your face at the barbecue and looked like I had stolen her man when you introduced us. She also randomly asked about whatever the fuck Comic Con is, trying to temp check us.”
