Honey and Spice(96)
“Wait. You feeling a way about that?”
I’d told Aminah that Rianne and I had been texting since we’d met at RomCon and she’d been nothing but cautiously supportive, still harboring a slight, protective grudge while encouraging of my peace. Like a mother whose child had taken up a hazardous sport.
Aminah shrugged. “No, because it would be insane of me to wonder if your best friend from childhood, with great bone structure, with whom you have nerdy pursuits in common, is going to replace me.”
I grinned. “Yes. It would be. I’m glad I made up with Rianne, but you’re my life partner and your roasting of my nerdy pursuits keeps me balanced.”
Aminah pinched my arm. “I bully you because I care. And I need you in my life to take me to quaint bistros like this to keep me grounded and cool.”
“It’s a diner.”
Aminah nodded without an iota of recognition. “Don’t know what that is, but this is cute. I like the vibe.” She flicked her gaze above my head and her eyes flashed teasingly. “Man, he just can’t stay away from you can he? If this is what he’s like before you guys have smashed—”
“Aminah.”
She wriggled her brows and somehow managed to elegantly climb over me and out of the booth just as Malakai reached us. “Newbie,” she greeted Malakai stoically.
He bowed his head. “Lady Aminah. You gonna accept my ProntoPic invitation now?”
Aminah shrugged. “I feel like there should be some boundaries between the spouse and the sidepiece but sha make it past the three-month mark I’ll consider it.” She strutted away toward where Kofi stood, eyes eager.
Malakai grinned as I scooted over for him. As he sat, he passed me my requested illicitly mixed rum and Coke and slung an arm around my neck. “I think she basically just said I’m like a brother to her.”
I laughed. “I heard it.”
Malakai cast an eye across Sweetest Ting, a broad smile lighting up his face. It lit me up too. “I always feel so at home here. With you. Ama would have never liked a spot like this.”
I bristled. “So? Why are you even thinking about her right now?”
Malakai’s eyes jumped, alert. “I’m not. I’m just saying I’m glad I can be me around you. I couldn’t do that with her.”
I’d piled my twists on top of my head and he gently tugged at a straggling twist from my Ankara headwrap. I stayed silent as I tried to work out the arithmetic of what he’d just said. The slight tension was displaced by an overwhelming scent of peony and mild disdain.
Simi stood by the booth. She tapped an elegant, milky, clawed finger on Malakai’s shoulder, chiming, “Girl chat! I am sure you don’t mind.”
Terrifying. I would have wondered why Simi was really here, but both reason and rhyme were beneath her, buckling under her powers of chaos. Malakai hesitated, his eyes flitting between Simi and me, before I hitched a shoulder. I once saw in a wildlife documentary that the best thing to do when facing off a wild lion was to stand your ground. Stay calm. Do not bend.
Malakai whispered in my ear, “Safe word is ‘Malakai, you sexy beast.’”
He scooted out of the booth. “That’s a sentence—and you’re the worst.”
Malakai grinned as he backed away. “I know.”
My smile remained on my face till I turned. Simi was now sat opposite to me, and her signature mild disdain had manifested into a smirk and a slight cock of her head. “You and Malakai are kinda cute.” She sipped her drink. “Especially considering you first kissed him to make Zack mad.”
Not quite true but still I froze, the blood rushing from my cheeks. “Wh-what are you talking about?”
Simi’s smirk widened as she brought out a rose gold flask and poured whatever was in it into her Coke. She took a sip and released a sigh of contentment that only worked to pull out goose bumps on my skin.
“Better. But now,” Simi continued, paying no heed to my question, “it’s clear that there is something real between you guys. I didn’t know what the endgame was for both of you. I thought maybe you wanted a fast track to popularity, and Malakai saw you as a ticket to cementing himself in Blackwell society.” She ran her eyes across me. “But you don’t need that. I mean, you’re not on the same level as me, obviously, but people rate you for some reason. It’s the reason people turned up here the night Zack is throwing a party in a pathetic attempt to regain public favor since you announced his contest on your show. Bravo, by the way.” She brought her hands together in two staccato slaps. “Nice work.”
My brain was too slow to catch up with all the Simi happening, and all I managed to muster in response was “I didn’t know he was throwing a party tonight.”
Simi flashed a sharp smile. “Irrelevant. You’re siphoning his power away, and that, sweets, is a good thing. My point is, it doesn’t matter why you and Malakai got into this thing. It’s real now.”
I stared at Simi, stunned into mortified silence, and she laughed. It wasn’t unkind, and it was the first time I had my defenses low enough to actually hear it properly. It was rich, husky, perhaps . . . warm? Was it ever really unkind or had I just presumed it sounded unkind?
“Kiki, I am a gossip blogger, a journalism student, and I’m gonna be an MA student next year. I’m the best in my year. I saw you and Zack that FreakyFridayz and I knew you had been hooking up. I was gonna step in, but I saw that you had it handled. Then you and Malakai had it handled.” Her smirk widened. “Really handled.”