Page 24 of Heavy Is The Crown

“Oh, I got time.”

Krys hesitated, biting her lip. Did she really wanna get into all that?

Meisha must have sensed the hesitation because her voice dropped into full interrogation mode. “Nope. No, don’t start that vague ass shit. You was supposed to be at Mark’s, then poof—nowhere to be found. What happened?”

Krys sighed dramatically, setting her water down. “I made a stop.”

“A stop where?”

“A gas station.”

Meisha’s confusion was immediate. “...Agas station? Krysta, what? Since when do you pull over at random gas stations?”

Krys rubbed her temples. “Since I got ambushed by a nigga pretending to be my man in front of the police.”

Silence.

Then Meisha screamed laughing.

Krys groaned, walking toward the living area, where her plush ivory sectional sat beneath a custom abstract chandelier. She could hear Meisha wheezing on the other end.

“OH MY GOD, Krys! A whole-ass boyfriend at the gas station?!”

“I hate you.”

“No, no, no, I need details. Was he ugly? Oh my God, please tell me he wasn’t ugly.”

Krys huffed, thinking back to Kenyatta’s stupid smirk, the confidence in his eyes, the way he carried himself.

That man was anything but ugly.

“...He wasn’t ugly.”

“Ooooh!”

Meisha clapped her hands through the phone. “What’s his name? What he look like? I need government info, bitch.”

Krys smiled, swirling her water bottle. “Kenyatta. And he’s… tall. Fine. A little too confident.”

Meisha gasped. “Kenyatta…Oh, that sounds strong. Mandigo-ish. Baby-making sounding name.”

Krys blinked. “Meisha, really?”

“I’m just saying.” Then she shrieked with excitement. “Krysta Davis got a man, y’all!”

Krys rolled her eyes. “No, he’s not my man. It was a fluke. I was helping him out.”

“Yeah. That’s how it starts, but that’s okay.”

Krys was about to cuss her out when her phone vibrated in her hand. A notification from the family group chat.

She tapped the message and skimmed through the endless texts from her aunties, uncles, and cousins, until her eyes landed on one.

Couple’s Night Reminder – This Saturday! Hope to see everyone with their boos!

She had no man, but couple’s night was fun, and she wouldn’t mind being in attendance. Maybe she could invite an ex—not Zahir—to be her plus one.

Or maybe…

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