Page 5 of Koda's Love

“I don’t think she’s going to give up that easy. How was the family dinner? I know my baby, K, was looking good.”

“Aye, don’t get fucked up. You know my sister is off fucking limits.”

Jacoby chuckled because he knew that shit got under my skin every time he mentioned my sister.

“Calm ya britches, nigga,” he joked. “You know I’m just fucking with you. I’m already knowing that if that were even an option, I would have to come correct. We both know I’m not on that type of time.”

Jacoby had this crush on my sister for years, but he already knew that wasn’t something that would ever happen. I loved him like a brother, but I would kill him before I allowed him to break her heart.

“She ain’t thinking about your ass anyway. As far as dinner, it was cool. You know I love my people. Karisma is getting so big, and my brother is happy. My mom is on her bullshit, though. Talking about it’s time for me to settle down because Kairo has.”

I leaned back in my chair and looked around my office. There were multiple pictures of my family placed around the office as well as different plaques of all the accolades the hotel and restaurant had gotten over the years. I, along with the staff, consistently put a lot into the hotel. The Bishop Sunrise Hotel would be around for decades, even when I was long gone from this Earth, and I wanted to always remain at the top of everyone’s list. I was very hands-on with everything.

“She must don’t know who her son is.” Jacoby laughed, breaking me out of my thoughts.

I laughed along with him because he wasn’t lying. My mom didn’t know about half the shit I did, and she would have a fit if she ever found out.

“I’m not going to lie; it did have me thinking if that were something I could see myself doing.” I took my glasses off and placed them on the desk before I ran my hand down my face.

I’d been up since before the sun rose, and sleepiness had been creeping in for the last few hours. I went on a walk near the beach and watched the sunrise as I talked to my brother. He was on his morning walk as his girls slept. He was so happy to be getting married and being a father, and it made me wonder if that was something I could do. I still hadn’t figured it out, and I knew I wouldn’t rush anything because of anyone else.

“I don’t see you settling down, but I can see why you would feel like that. You’ve been surrounded by love your whole life. Me, on the other hand, that shit ain’t a thought. I never saw a healthy relationship besides your folks. We both know mine ain’t shit.”

Jacoby grew up in an abusive household. It wasn’t just his father that was the abuser either; sometimes his mom would do shit to his father, and they would fight, and by the end of the day, they were fucking. It was an ugly and vicious cycle that affected the way Jacoby lived. His grandma helped raise him, and that was where he got calm ya britches from. That was something she used to say to us as kids. She did the best she could, but she was a widow, so she couldn’t show him what a real relationship looked like. She taught him as much as she could before she died when we were sixteen, but by then, he had seen so much shit with his parents that nothing his grandma said really registered.

He wasn’t abusive at all, but he didn’t do relationships. He was honest about his shit like I was, but it was always one who didn’t want to listen.

“Even though you didn’t have great examples, you still turned out to be a good dude, for the most part,” I teased. “I do think if the right chick comes along, you’ll change.”

“And on that note, I’m hanging up.”

I heard the beep of him hanging up, and laughed, because he didn’t even give me a chance to respond. We both had been doing what we did, but it wasn’t impossible for either of us to find something real one day.

My stomach growled, so I knew it was time for me to leave the office. I shut down my computer and grabbed my things before exiting. I made sure the door was locked, then headed down to the restaurant.

As I rode the elevator down to the lobby, I thought about all the things I needed to get done during the weekend. If I could find some time, I’d go by my brother’s to see Karisma. I loved spending time with her, and it gave her parents a break. Both families chipped in and helped out. I never mentioned it to my brother, but when he first mentioned Mycah, I thought our relationship would change, and it did, but not that much. We still had our family group chat, but we added Mycah to it. She turned out to be a great addition to our family. I liked the bond she had with my sister, outside of Kairo. My siblings and I still spent time together, with and without everyone else. Occasionally, I would go to Kairo’s and walk the dogs with him just so we could get some bro time.

“Hey, Koda. Do you want your usual?” Lisa asked me when I entered the restaurant.

“Of course I do.” I smiled, then went to check on the staff.

Every Friday night, unless I was going somewhere, I had steak, potatoes, and broccoli. I also only ate certain thingsbecause I had an allergy to eggs, and the chef made sure to take extra precautions when she made my food.

Chef Malia was a beast in the kitchen. I prayed she never left because she was one of the main reasons why our restaurant was so popular. Yeah, the wait staff was nice, but a restaurant wasn’t shit without a good-ass cook, and that was Malia. She was beautiful, too, but she let it be known from the beginning that she didn’t play where she worked, and I respected that. After that, we became good friends. I wasn’t as close to her as I was with my sister, but I would always have her back if she needed me to.

After I made sure the staff was good, I went to sit at the bar to wait for my food. I responded to a few text messages, then looked around at everyone in the restaurant. I took notice of the different couples and groups of friends. There were a few people that were alone, but there was one that stood out to me. She didn’t look in my direction, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away from her. I had to get closer, even if it were just to see how she looked.

“If my food comes out before I get back over here, just leave it. I’ll grab it on my way out,” I told Miranda, the bartender, never taking my eyes off that table.

“Got you, boss.”

I stood, then walked over to the chick. She had her head down as she pushed the food around on her plate.

The closer I got to the table, the more nervous I got.That’s different. I didn’t feel nervous in the sense of being scared to talk to her; it was more like her aura screamed she didn’t tolerate bullshit, and I wasn’t used to that.

My confidence wavered a little when I got to the table. She still had her head down, but I could already tell she was beautiful.

“Is the food not good enough?”