Chapter Eight

Ke’yoko woke up bright and early and got dressed. She had some business to tend to before going to her standing hair appointment. She made sure her outfit was on point before grabbing her cell phone off the nightstand. She looked over at Ja’Rel, who was sound asleep, shook her head in disgust, and eased out of the bedroom. Ja’Rel had been out half the night doing God knows what. She knew as his wife she loved him and wanted nothing more than to be with Ja’Rel forever, but she didn’t know how much more of his lies and cheating she could take. The last thing Ke’yoko wanted was to be weak-willed like her mother, but she had to face it: up until this point she’d been acting like her mother’s child.

Ke’yoko was jamming to some old-school Ready for the World that was playing on her satellite radio. She pulled up into the Circle K gas station, parked, and turned the engine off. She picked her Anna-Karin Karlsson sunglasses up off the passenger’s seat and put them on. She watched as the morning crowd walked in and out of the store to get coffee, gas, newspapers, or whatever their morning fix was in between looking for Ross’s black Charger to pull up. Ke’yoko was scared and anxious all wrapped into one. She knew Ja’Rel would kill her if he knew that she was anywhere around his number one enemy.

Ja’Rel had demanded that Ke’yoko never speak to Ross again. When she’d asked why, Ja’Rel never did tell her, but she already knew. Ke’yoko could remember a time when Ross and Ja’Rel had been inseparable, but when they both starting making money and one thought they was being outdone by the other it had caused a huge rift in their relationship. The beef they had between each other had almost turned deadly several times. Ke’yoko had always liked Ross: his mannerisms, his personality, and the way he always treated her with the utmost respect even after the fallout between him and Ja’Rel. This was one of the main reasons she still communicated with him and trusted him. Shit, the beef was with Ja’Rel, not her, so Ke’yoko didn’t see anything wrong with still meeting up with Ross from time to time to catch up on life and to get his advice on how to make some extra money.

Ke’yoko kept glancing at the clock on the dashboard. She picked up her phone to see if the time on the dashboard matched the one on her phone. Just as she was getting tired of waiting, she started her car back up. As she grabbed the gear shift, the black Charger pulled into the parking lot. Relieved, she smiled, turned the engine back off, and waited for Ross to get out of his car. She watched as he got out with a black duffle bag in his hand, looking like a buffer and sexier version of Jeremih. He wore a pair of crisp khaki shorts, a plain white tee, and pair of brown Bacco Bucci slide-in sandals. His locks were neatly pulled back into a ponytail while he sported a pair of Gucci sunglasses on his face.

Damn, he sexy, she thought as he got closer to her car.

Ross opened her car door, got in, and pulled the door closed behind him.

“About time,” Ke’yoko looked over at Ross and said with a smile. She quickly glanced down at his feet; she was impressed because his feet were in order for a man. His heels weren’t hard and crusty and his toenails were cut and clean.

“Stop bein’ so damn impatient. I told you I was comin’.” He smiled back.

Ke’yoko loved when Ross smiled, showing off his deep dimples. “I’m not bein’ impatient. I got other things I need to get done,” she said, rolling her eyes.

“Other things like what?” he pried while removing his sunglasses, laying them on his lap.

“My hair for starters,” she replied.

Ross looked at Ke’yoko’s hair. “Yeah, you do need to get that shit done,” he joked.

“Whatever.” Ke’yoko laughed, play slapping his big, buff arm. Ross gave Ke’yoko a tingly sensation between her legs: one she’d never felt for anybody other than her husband.

“Naw, I’m just playin’.” Ross laughed too.

“I know you are, shoot. Anyways, how you been?”

“You know me, sis. I’m livin’ life like it’s supposed to be lived,” Ross said with a smile.

“And how’s Sharae and the baby?”

“Sharae is a’iiight. She still tryin’a get her business off the ground. And my baby girl, Rayna, is doin’ great. Man, she done got so big now, she walkin’ and everything.” Ross’s face lit up like a Christmas tree as he talked about his baby girl. “She gettin’ bad, too. Always pullin’ shit off the coffee table and followin’ me everywhere. She’s a daddy’s girl.”

“That’s what I’m talkin’ about.” Ke’yoko smiled back, feeling a twinge of jealousy.

“And what about you? How’s life been treatin’ you?” Ross asked, sensing the enthusiasm he had when he spoke about his baby girl had Ke’yoko feeling some type of way, being that she was unable to have children of her own.

“I’m happy,” Ke’yoko replied.

“You sure?” Ross asked, knowing Ke’yoko wasn’t telling the truth. He knew she couldn’t be satisfied, not with all the women her husband was sleeping around with.

“Yeah, I’m sure,” Ke’yoko said, forcing a smile, knowing damn well she was miserable as fuck.

“Okay,” he looked at her with a mischievous smile and said and left it at that.

“What’s the deal wit’ the duffle bag?” she asked, trying to quickly change the subject.

“It’s a little somethin’ for you to show my gratitude for putting me up on that lick you hit,” Ross said.

“Awww, man, you didn’t have to do that.”

“Yes, I did. I respect you for that. You could have given it to somebody else or kept it for yourself, but you gave it to me instead. But don’t open it up until you’re someplace safe.”

“Besides my sister and Nadia, you’re the only person I can trust. And I knew you could put yo’ cut on it and get rid of it a lot faster than me. I wasn’t even tryin’a fuck wit’ it for real for real,” Ke’yoko said.

“You trust yo’ sister?” Ross asked, surprised.

Out of everything Ke’yoko had just said, why would Ross pick out the part about her trusting her sister? “Yes, Ross, I trust Ka’yah. Why wouldn’t I? Do you know a reason why I shouldn’t? You know somethin’ I don’t know?” Ke’yoko asked, skeptical.

“I don’t know nothin’. All I’m sayin’ is ain’t nobody to be trusted, not even family,” he said.

“Do you trust me?” Ke’yoko asked.

Ross looked into Ke’yoko’s beautiful face and studied it for a brief second before answering. “Yeah, I do trust you,” he replied with a serious look on his face; and he continued staring, feeling his manhood start to rise. Ross wanted to taste Ke’yoko’s lips so bad it was making him sick to his stomach that he couldn’t.

Ke’yoko began to feel uncomfortable. It felt like her and Ross’s eyes were literally making love. Ross could sense Ke’yoko’s uneasiness and decided to get out of the car while he still had a little sense of respect for the game.

“Well, I better get goin’. I’m sure Nadia gon’ be fussin’ if I’m late for my appointment,” she said, quickly turning her head.

Ross picked his sunglasses up off his lap. “A’iiiight, baby girl. If you come across anything else, hit me up.”

“You know I will,” Ke’yoko replied.

“Say no more. Enjoy your day.” He winked, put his sunglasses on his face, and opened the car door.

“You do the same,” Ke’yoko replied, smiling back.

“Oh, and, by the way, you do look nice today,” Ross said, getting out of the car and closing the door behind him.

Ke’yoko bit down on her bottom lip and shook her head as she watched Ross’s sexy-ass head back to his car. It had been a long time since she’d gotten a compliment from a man. She couldn’t remember the last time Ja’Rel had given her one. Actually the day of Bo’s funeral had been the last time. A woman shouldn’t be able to pinpoint the last time her husband had given her a compliment. Ross stopped and looked back over at Ke’yoko with a smile on his face. She threw her hand up and waved.

Ross nodded his head in an upward motion, got in his car, and pulled off. “Ummmmp ummmmp ummmmm.”