Khalid
“I’m not even saying this to be funny. But like, why would anyone be into Eric? Especially someone as gorgeous as Jayla?”
After watching his Snapchat story that detailed every part of the date he had apparently taken Jayla on the night before, I was wondering the same thing, trying to figure out what it was about him that had Jayla so intrigued. I mean, Eric was cool peoples, something like family since I considered Londyn the same. But he was also a straight up clown when it came to women, something that hadn’t changed according to Jayla’s annoyed expression in at least half of the videos he had shared.
Still, regardless of her reasons for going out with him, the sight only solidified that our plans for tonight were really about business and only business. So with a shrug, I answered, “Shit, your guess is as good as mine, LoLo. I mean, he’s your brother. But I saw it with my own two eyes at your party, and now you see it too. He must just be her type.”
“Or maybe he’s the exact opposite of her ex-husband. Like, she’s into him out of spite,” Londyn reasoned, making me shake my head at how crazy it sounded.
Then again, it sounded very Londyn, something I was sure to mention when I replied, “That sounds like some shit you would do.”
“What’s your point?” she asked, completely unfazed by her own crazy as she changed the channel to HGTV which was basically my cue to get the fuck up out of here before I got too invested in somebody’s House Hunters search. More so, too invested in how they were able to afford the shit with jobs that didn’t pay as much as their budget insisted. But I also didn’t want to leave before I got a chance to run Jayla’s proposition by her, wanting to hear her opinion on it before I really signed my name on the imaginary dotted line tonight.
So I got straight to the point, moving toward the edge of the couch to tell her, “I got some news for you.”
Her eyes immediately flashed my way in a panic as she hissed, “Fuck. Daniella’s pregnant, isn’t she? Gotdamnit, Khalid! I told you to leave that girl alone!”
“And I already told you I haven’t seen her in months, so chill out,” I replied with a little laugh, still remembering the phone calls from the both of them after Londyn went ham on Daniella in the club for saying something slick.
I wasn’t sure what Daniella was expecting me to do after her ass wrote a check she couldn’t cash and got her ass whooped. But I was glad it had all worked itself out eventually, my friendship with Londyn remaining intact and my relationship with Daniella’s crazy self rightfully fizzling out.
The impatience on Londyn’s face snapped me out of the memory, prompting me to release a heavy breath before I finally shared, “I’m… taking on a new gig. Well, a new side hustle for now. As a social media influencer.”
The whole thing was still a little crazy to me since I had never really thought of myself as much of an influencer, especially not a good one. But Jayla’s passion and certainty about it had me sold on the idea. At least, I thought I was sold until I saw the way Londyn’s face scrunched when she asked, “Like an Instagram Ho?”
“Damn. Why it gotta be all that?”
She held her hands up to defend, “I mean that with all respect. Instagram hoes are living the dream. Minimal work for good pay. Honestly, where can I sign-up? Do they have auditions or something?”
“Actually, Jayla’s the one who brought it up to me. Said I have the look and following for it. We’re meeting for dinner tonight to discuss details, potential companies, and all that,” I explained, watching her nod in understanding before her lips turned upward into a sly grin, letting me know some bullshit was sure to follow.
“I could barely get you to say hello to the woman outside of work, and now you’re going to dinner with her? For business of all things?” she asked almost skeptically.
While I wished I had more of an explanation, I could only shrug. “The universe is wild, ain’t it?”
Londyn wasn’t impressed, tossing me a side-eye before her eyes dropped to her lap. “Well… you aren’t the only one with news.”
“Let me guess. Chance really didn’t pull out on your birthday, did he?” I asked teasingly, catching a punch in the arm that made me laugh as Londyn immediately squealed, “No! I mean, yes! But that’s not what I’m talking about.” Then she waited for my laughs to settle before she shared, “Chance and I are moving in together.”
“So Chance is moving back?” I asked, a little surprised to hear it since he had made it pretty clear he wasn’t interested in being in town any longer than he had to be for his mother.
But I quickly learned that wasn’t the case at all when Londyn damn near whispered, “No, I’m moving to the city. Because I also got that job that I applied for.”
Her quiet demeanor quickly got masked by my excited one as I gushed, “Word?! Congratulations, little baby.” Pulling her into a celebratory hug that she sank into as if she was relieved to have the news off her chest. And I only squeezed her tighter around the shoulder when I expressed, “That’s what’s up LoLo, for real. I’m proud of you. When are you moving?”
“Two weeks,” she muttered in my hold as if she didn’t want me to react.
Still, I couldn’t help myself since..., “Two weeks?! Damn. That’s practically tomorrow.”
“Crazy, right?” she said, settling a little deeper under my arm as if she was suddenly trying to savor the moment. Or maybe that was just me, a little sad about my best friend leaving town as if the two weeks had already passed.
Of course I had other friends, but none of them were quite like Londyn. She was my road dog, the one who I had had the pleasure of watching bloom from a young college girl into a grown woman, the one who had always had my back through right and wrong, and the only one who always believed I could be better. I became better, because of her. And honestly, her decision to follow her dreams really only inspired me that much more.
“What about your crib? You have a real estate agent and all that lined up?” I asked, glancing around the place that was damn near like a second home to me.
“Actually, that was another part of my news. I want you to have it.”
“Wait, what?” I thought in my head, sitting up a little straighter to ask, “Me? I can’t take on no mortgage, LoLo. You know my credit score is still trash from all those student loans I couldn’t pay on after I dropped out.”
Sitting up herself, she explained, “I don’t need you to buy it, Khalid. Just… rent it out temporarily, for a much better price than what you’re paying over at that box you’re living in now.”
Her shade wasn’t subtle enough for me not to defend my spot when I told her, “Man, quit hatin’. My studio is lush.”
“But just imagine what you could do with all this extra space? I’ll even throw in most of the furniture,” she offered, that part making me really consider it since the furniture at my current place was nothing more than a mixed-matched combination of shit I had picked up from different thrift stores over the past few months.
“Now you’re makin’ an offer a nigga can’t refuse. You know how much I love this couch,” I told her, falling back against the cushion that seemed as if it was molded perfectly for my body.
In fact, I was already imagining the naps I would take on it when Londyn shitted on my dreams and said, “Except this. This is coming with me. But I will leave all my gaming consoles since Chance pretty much has all the same ones.”
Even that was enough to have me sold, nodding as I replied, “Shit, it’s a deal then. My lease was about to be up next month anyway.”
“See. God’s Plan,” she insisted excitedly, clearly relieved that both of her pieces of news had gone over well. But now that the first part had settled in a little more for me, I low-key felt somber as hell, thinking of how much her moving away would change things for me.
I mean, shit had already changed quite a bit with Chance in the picture, welcomed changes since Londyn could be a lot. But she was damn near like a lifeline for me around here with most of my immediate family being a few hours away, meaning I’d really have to keep my shit together or run the risk of falling off completely.
“Damn. I can’t believe little LoLo is really gettin’ outta here on me,” I said more to myself than her.
Though it was clear she had heard me when she replied, “I’ve only been wanting to leave this town for forever, Khalid. This move is long overdue.”
“Oh, I know. And I’m happy for you, for real. Just gonna miss your crazy ass,” I expressed, my lips twisted into a half-hearted smirk.
Seeing me all in my feelings, Londyn attempted to make me feel a little better about it, putting a hand to my shoulder and suggesting, “Unless this dinner goes well. Then you won’t miss me at all, and then I’ll have to come back and hurt Jayla for stealing my best friend from me.”
With a laugh, I insisted, “That ain’t gonna happen, LoLo. Shit, if anything I gotta worry about Chance locking you up and throwing away the key to the city.”
Instead of denying it, she only groaned, “Ooh. Sounds kinky.” And that was yet another cue for me to get my ass on, popping up from the couch while telling her, “Man, I’m outta here. I need to go get ready for this... business meeting.”
She joined me standing up, but didn’t quite agree with my word choice, following me towards the door and out onto the porch as she said, “It’s a hot first date, Khalid. Call it what it is.”
I wished I could say the same, but unfortunately I couldn’t, the possibility of something developing between Jayla and I officially balled up and tossed in the trash with a strong, “Kobe!” now that I knew she was messing around with Eric. But I wasn’t going to sweat it, shaking my head instead when I defended, “It really ain’t though. We’re making money moves. Word to your girl Cardi.”
Smirking, Londyn crossed her arms and agreed, “You know I love me some Cardi B. But I hope your meeting goes well, cause first month’s rent is due soon and I will charge your ass a late fee.”
“So now you on your Londyn the Landlord shit, huh?” I asked with a laugh, not giving her a chance to respond as I jogged down the stairs towards my car.
But even with the distance, I still heard Londyn loud and clear when she replied, “That does have a ring to it.” Before shouting after me, “Can’t wait to hear about your first date!”
“Find some business, Londyn!” I shouted back, climbing in my car to head to the spot that was still technically my home until she moved. But somehow, Londyn still found a way to get the last word, my car reading her text out loud through the speakers.
“Now that you’re my tenant, you literally are my business. So I’ll be expecting a full recap by tomorrow morning at the very latest. Thanks in advance.” - Londyn
&
A business dinner with Jayla seemed straightforward enough when the plans were made. But the second she walked in looking less like business and more like she wanted to be my dinner, I knew I was in trouble, struggling to keep it strictly-professional with every word she spoke and every bite of food she took. I mean, it really wasn’t fair how good she looked sitting across the table from me, the canary yellow dress she had on giving her skin an extra glow and fitted in a way that had her titties looking crazy delicious - like dessert.
In fact, I caught myself literally getting ready to lick my lips when she asked, “So do you have any other questions? Anything I can clear up for you? Any concerns about how this will all go?”
Pulling my napkin from my lap - which maybe wasn’t the best decision since it was doing double duty of keeping my pants clean and hiding my bulge of a reaction to her fine ass - I replied, “No concerns. But I do have a question for you.”
“Shoot.”
It might’ve been bad etiquette, but my grandmama wasn’t here to call me out on it when I rested my elbows against the table and asked, “What made you move here of all places? I mean, I’m technically a transplant too, but I’ve been here long enough to know most of the people around here are trying to get out. So for somebody of your caliber to willingly come here... I guess I’m a little baffled.”
From the first day I saw her, Jayla’s whole persona had always screamed big city corporate woman, from the way she dressed to the way she carried herself with the utmost professionalism; especially compared to some of her coworkers. And while I still wasn’t sure where she had moved from, it almost seemed as if being in a town like this was a step-down - to most standards - from wherever she had been before.
Of course, she tried to pull that humble shit again, giggling as she put a hand to her chest to ask, “Someone of my caliber? What does that even mean?”
“Come on, Jayla. You know exactly what I mean,” I reasoned, taking a short sip of the scotch I called myself drinking on my businessman shit.
With a grin, Jayla matched my sip with one from her glass of fancy red wine before she insisted, “I don’t. Enlighten me.”
If she wanted to hear it, I had no problem gassing her up when I repeated, “Someone of your caliber. You know, clearly on your game with the work shit, fly as hell even on your days off. And if all those late nights in the office prove anything, it’s that you have the ambition of a lioness.”
I suppose she had gotten enough fuel to finally admit, “I needed a fresh start, in a lot of ways. So when this job opening came up, I figured it was a sign to pull the trigger and do just that.”
“Because of the divorce?”
She nodded. “That and other things. Personal things.”
Now it was me nodding, catching her hint that it was her business to tell if and when she ever became ready. So I didn’t press, simply replying, “I got you. I was just asking so I know you won’t get me all tied up in this shit just to leave me hanging for the next opportunity. You know, making sure this ain’t just some pit stop for you.”
The last thing I wanted to happen was for me to start relying on the extra income only to have the rug pulled from up under me when Jayla moved onto something better. But she did her best to put me at ease about it when she replied, “Khalid, I’ve only been here for like, two months, and my last few boxes are just now getting unpacked thanks to my little sister. Moving is way too much work for me to be ready to skip town again already. And besides, I kinda like it here.”
“Why?” I asked, my face scrunched since the sentiment - someone actually liking it here - was foreign as hell.
Not that the town was completely awful. But it was definitely an acquired taste - an acquired vibe; something that Jayla was apparently already fond of when she listed, “Well mainly because I love my job. But I also appreciate the small town, community feel, and people not knowing who I am until I want them to since I’m new. And all the people I’ve met have been really nice, really welcoming. You included.”
“Well when you throw me into the equation, it does start to make sense,” I teased arrogantly, making her laugh before she snuck another sip of her wine. But once she sat her glass down, I could tell there was something more on her mind that I encouraged her to share with a simple, “What is it?”
“You’re asking me why I’m here like someone of your caliber should be here instead of… Los Angeles or something. So tell me. How Sway?”
I couldn’t help but snicker at her Kanye reference, though the question made me almost as uncomfortable as Sway was during the interview she was referring to since it required some reflecting. But if I was going to be doing business with Jayla, I figured she deserved the truth.
So instead of trying to craft some perfect response, I gave her the real, releasing a heavy breath before I started, “To be completely honest, this was just a good place to find my way. Cost of living was affordable, finding decent jobs that didn’t require a college degree was never too hard, and I knew I didn’t want to move back home after I dropped out so… I ended up here. An hour away from where I went to school.”
I shouldn’t have been surprised when her first follow-up question was, “Why did you drop out?”
For a second I considered hitting her with the same “personal” line she had used on me earlier. But from the look in her eyes, I could tell her interest was coming from a genuine place; not just because she was investing some time into this new venture of ours.
She legitimately wanted to get to know me. And even if she wasn’t ready to be as open, I had no problem leading the way when I answered, “Originally, because I wanted to do music. But looking back, I don’t think school was ever for me to begin with. Stuck around a little longer than I needed to cause Londyn talked me into staying an extra semester, but it wasn’t really my thing.”
“So what happened to your music career then?” she asked, leaning even further into the table as if my story was really that damn intriguing. And maybe it was to someone like her; someone who had obviously taken the most straightforward corporate ladder track instead of jumping headfirst into the unpredictable waters of being an artist like I had.
Thinking back on those days, I couldn’t help but smirk when I replied, “Shit low-key popped for a little bit around here locally; got a few radio plays, did a few shows. But I don’t think I was ever really passionate about music. It was just something a few of the homies talked me into doing cause I was decent at it and that school shit was for the birds. I guess I just thought the lifestyle might be dope, and it was fun for a minute. But once those expenses started adding up faster than my little warehouse job at the time could afford, shit wasn’t so fun anymore.”
She nodded in understanding, following up with yet another question. “So how’d you end up working security then?”
“Finally somethin’ simple,” I thought as I answered, “Londyn put me on.”
“Sounds like Londyn is… very important to you,” she replied, eying me suspiciously over her glass before taking another sip of her wine.
I already knew what the look was about. In fact, it was the same look I had gotten over the years from any woman I called myself showing interest in after they learned about my friendship with Londyn. But just like with them, I had no problem being completely honest about it when I agreed, “Yeah, that’s my dog. My ace boon coon. My A1 since day one.”
“But you two never actually dated?”
I shook my head. “Nah, it’s not like that with us. I mean, we vibed for a little bit early on back in college, but we’re better as friends. The best of friends.”
“And how does your girlfriend feel about that?”
The question caught me way off-guard since…, “My girlfriend? I don’t have a girlfriend, Jayla.”
As if she didn’t believe me, she reasoned, “But the other day, your caption on Instagram said something about shorty showing up to the basketball court.”
I quickly brushed her off with a laugh. “Aw, nah. That was just a joke. More about creating the fantasy that any of my followers could be “shorty”, you know?”
It may have sounded silly, but the game was the game. And if the number of women who hopped in my DMs in response to that post said anything, it was that the game still worked like a charm. But instead of agreeing with me right away, Jayla just stared at me with a look of marvel in her eyes. A look I didn’t quite understand until she let out an astonished, “Wow. You were really made for this.”
“I’m glad you think so, shorty,” I replied with a wink, catching the amused smirk on her face before she took another sip of her wine.
She swallowed hard, then sat her glass down with a little point my way when she said, “I see what you did there. Clever. I like it.”
“Well you didn’t have to say anything for me to already know that. It’s all in the way you’re still over there blushing, Mrs. Anthony,” I teased, expecting her to giggle right along with me since I was clearly on her good side.
She didn’t. Only offered me a scowl when she groaned, “Ugh. Not anymore.” Before downing the rest of her wine; an action that confused me until I realized the little slip-up I had made with her name.
The way it immediately elicited that sort of reaction had me wanting to question her the same way she had done to me. But then I remembered her little “personal” line again and decided not to press my luck, choosing something more surface level once I asked, “Damn. It’s that bad, huh?”
She shrugged, gnawing on her lip as she pushed out, “Not as bad anymore, but still bad.”
What “not as bad” looked like, I wasn’t sure. But considering the Jayla I knew, I felt confident reaching across the table to grab her hand and express, “Well if it means anything to you, whoever Mr. Anthony is is a lame ass mothafucka who ain’t deserve you no way.”
My words made her blushing come back as she first looked down at our connected hands then brought her eyes up to me, the softness in her expression giving me those pesky ass moths in my stomach again. But just when I thought the possibility of an “us” wasn’t trashed after all, she gave my hand an innocent squeeze before dropping it on the table, putting me back in my place with ease when she replied, “I’m glad you think so, Khalid. Now let’s get to this money.”