Page 7 of Heavy Is The Crown

Instead, she slid her phone under the table and furiously texted Meisha.

[Krys] 8:49 PM— GIRL. CODE RED. I NEED YOU TO CALL ME NOW.

[Krys] 8:49 PM— I’M BEGGING YOU. THIS IS AN EMERGENCY. LEVEL. TEN.

She hit send and peeked up to see Taurean grinning at her like he had just revealed the secrets of the universe.

“You feel me?” he asked, eyes twinkling, as if he had just delivered the monologue of a lifetime.

Krys stared at him. Then forced a tight smile. “Mmm. That’s crazy.”

That was all she had left in the tank.

Where the hell was Meisha! She checked her phone. No reply. No call.

Her eye twitched. That heifa was playing. Meanwhile, Taurean wasstilltalking.

“You ever been with an athlete before?” he asked, leaning back with a smirk like he was about to bless her with a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Krys blinked. “I thought you said youalmostmade it to the NBA.”

Taurean chuckled, waving his hand like the technicality didn’t matter. “I mean, yeah, but it’s still the same. I got the discipline, you know? The mindset. I treat my body like a temple.”

Krys took in his polo shirt stretched over a gut that was very much under construction and bit the inside of her cheek. Did this man just compare his cubicle life to the likings of Trinity Bay’s Cyclone’s power forward Xavier “Hurricane X” Malone?

She was about to say something, like maybe ask if his temple accepted visitors on Sundays, but then, finally, mercifully, a miracle happened; her phone rang.

Meisha.

Krys snatched that phone up like it held the last golden ticket to Willy Wonka’s factory.

“Hello?” she answered, voice immediately drenched in concern.

On the other end, Meisha was cackling.

Krys gritted her teeth. This was not the time.

“Wait—slow down. What happened?” she gasped, Oscar-worthy performance incoming.

Meisha laughed harder.

“Oh my GOD,” Krys said, clutching her chest for dramatic effect. “Are you serious? No, no, I’ll be right there.”

She shot up from her seat, snatching her purse with a level of urgency typically reserved for house fires.

Taurean frowned. “Wait, what’s going on?”

Krys gave him her best I-don’t-have-time-to-explain-but-also-don’t-ask-any-more-questions face.

“It’s…it’s my friend. Emergency. I gotta go.”

Taurean squinted. “Damn, for real? I mean…we were just getting to know each other.”

Krys placed a gentle, tragic hand over her heart. “I know. Unfortunate.”

And with that, she turned on her heel and walked out that restaurant like Angela Bassett leaving a burning car inWaiting to Exhale.

Date: OVER.

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