Page 12 of Another Constant

“I told your ass to wait. This yo’ fault, short stack.” Sora’s voice let me know he had entered the kitchen behind me. “Now what’s my fault?”

“The fact that Kinga just had to yoke my delivery driver up because I caught his trifling ass eating my food before he brought it to the door. Anyway, lemme go find a menu to see what you’re about to get us to eat. Aja, you hungry, baby girl?” Blaze left both my brother and me in the kitchen to talk.

“Yo, what? You know they gon?—”

I shrugged, knowing a lecture was on the way. “Shit happens, now lemme spit with you about something right quick before I head out.”

“What’s up? What did you do?”

“Why do you always assume it was me? Anyway. Some shit went down and we might have Aja back and forth for a minute.” My brother hadn’t said it, but I figured as much. Aja was the spitting image of her mama, and unlike most of my family, Oden had a heart. So I knew nine times out of ten he couldn’t look at her…not right now, knowing what he had taken from her.

His eyes ballooned slightly, then he threw his head in the direction of his office for me to follow. Of course I did, because the last thing I needed anybody to hear was what I was about to say.

“What the fuck happened, Kinga?”

“Don’t be questioning me.” I grimaced, hating his tone because they definitely made it seem like it was always me.

Sora shook his head. “Cool off. You are hostile with me like I did it.”

“Oden knocked off Ash and some dummy she had laid up in their spot. He called me at three this morning.”

Sora’s expression showed his shock. “Where is he at now?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know, but I imagine he needs some time after everything. I told him I had baby girl but didn’t think about the fact that I needed to be at the shop tonight. She's good here with y’all until I’m done with this car?”

Sora nodded. “She's straight. Do you think he’s good?”

“Shit, he doesn't have no choice but to be. I had it cleaned up and everything, so ain’t no evidence. Cars were gone and money moved. You know how that goes, B handles things on the back end and front.”

Sora shook his head because he was in the same disbelief I was in when I first got to Oden’s spot. “We told him she was a ho. Took him six years and a kid to finally peep it.”

“True, but he’ll be straight. Shit, lowkey he doesn't have no choice but to be aight.” We ended up talking for a while longer before I promised my niece I’d be back to get her tonight and headed out. She was cool with that because Blaze had all her damn attention.

When I pulled up to the shop, the only thing I had in mind was that three seater sofa positioned in the corner of my office. A quick forty-five minute nap would have me energized for the rest of the night. I needed that though because I was lowkey looking forward to seeing shorty. We’d talked a few times over the last few days, each conversation starting over the plan for me to buy a dog, but it always evolved past that. She let me get small glimpses of her personality and who she was while still keeping me at an arm’s length. A few times I felt like a bitch because I wanted to know more about her than I ever wanted to know about any chick. I wanted to know her…

Chapter4

Harlem

I pulled up in front of his shop a few minutes early and spent that entire time scrolling through my emails. I was about to call him when a call came through my phone. A call I should have expected at this time of night because knowing my mother, she had indeed tracked me before calling me. My mother had my location and I had hers while OA had both. It was a safety, “we’re all we got” type of thing when it came to us.

“Yes, Mama?” I stared ahead at the car garage in front of my car.

“Where the hell are you? Better question, why are you out at this time of night?”

“Getting something with my car taken care of. Why are you up?”

“Because I’m grown. I hope the same guy who duped you ain’t the same one you’re letting fix your car.”

“No ma’am, he’s not.” I laughed at her response that she was grown.Shit I am too.

“Then who? And why this time of ni?—”

“I don’t know, Mama. I guess that’s the only time he could fit me in. He’s the owner of the shop and he’s doing it for free.”

“Mhmm. Nothing is free, baby. And I mean absolutely nothing. I don—” She was about to hand over a nice ass lecture, but my other line began to beep. It was Kinga, his name flashed across my dashboard just as I saw the garage door on his shop rise.

“Mama, I have to call you back. I promise I’ll be safe. Any funny business and I’ll call OA.”

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