Page 19 of Taste The Smoke
He nodded. “She was upset because she’d been stood up.”
Sonya shook her head and washed out the bowl. “What is wrong with people? See, this is why I’m not out there trying to do all this dating. I don’t have time for all that crap. This kind of thing is exactly why I dropped Anthony’s stupid ass. Out here trying to tell me where I can go, who I can go with, and wanting me to check in with him every time I make a move.”
Alonzo shot her a glare. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because he wasn’t worth it. And I need you to be here at the spa and not in jail. But I’m glad you’re dating again. I hope she’s the one. I need a sister.”
He straightened from the desk. “On that note, it’s time to go.” Yes, he was falling for Kenya. Marriage? He wasn’t there. Yet.
CHAPTER 6
When Alonzo arrived at her house, Saturday morning, Kenya didn’t wait for him to kiss her. Today, she initiated it, pulling his head down and swirling her tongue around his, wanting him to know just how much he was coming to mean to her. “Hi.”
“Now I can get used to this kind of greeting,” Alonzo said with a smile. “Can you take this while I get the rest of the things from my car?”
She accepted the bag and waited at the door while he removed a small duffle bag and what looked like a table from the trunk. “What’s that?” she asked as he entered.
He winked. “Everything I need for your massage.”
“Oh. You can put it wherever—the family room or living room.” Kenya looked inside the bag he’d given her and found crabmeat and a few other items they needed for their lunch. She was looking forward to cooking with him. Her sister and brother-in-law often prepared meals together and Phaedra had mentioned spending that time together had made them closer. She took the bag to the kitchen and put the items that needed to stay cool in the refrigerator, then placed the rest of the foodstuff on the counter with hers.
“Ready to get started?”
“I guess. I had no idea how much stuff she had, but she lived here for more than thirty years, so it’s not unreasonable to think that she would’ve accumulated so much.”
“This is a really nice place,” Alonzo said as they headed down the hallway.
It dawned on her that he’d only seen the front portion of the house the last time he was there. “I have a lot of good memories here. There are three bedrooms.” She pointed out the spare one and the one she’d been using, along with the bathroom, before turning left and leading him to her grandparent’s room at the end of the other hallway. It had a sitting area and a huge bathroom with a round sunken tub. There was also a sliding glass door to access the backyard.
“I like this. I’ve never seen a house with this design.”
“Where do you live?”
“Manhattan Beach. We’ll take a drive over later if you want and I’ll give you a tour.”
Kenya rubbed her hands together. “Sounds good to me. I’d probably be at the beach every day if I lived that close to one. Is your house on the beach?”
“No. I’m about two miles away. I wanted to be close enough without having to deal with the crowds, the noise and people parking in front of my house. I like having my privacy.”
“Yeah, I can see that. I like my privacy, too. Something else we have in common.” They also had similar tastes in music and would rather spend an evening at home than at a club. She pointed to the boxes she and her mother had stacked neatly in one corner. “I’d like to move all of these boxes to the garage. Someone from GiGi’s church has already picked up some, but, as you can see, I’ve barely made a dent.”
“Do you plan to keep anything of hers?”
She nodded. “I’ve already selected my favorite pieces of jewelry. My sister is planning to come by sometime next week to do the same. Although, she was my father’s mother, my mom and her remained close after the divorce, so I’ll let her take something, as well. I may invite my aunt and her two daughters to do the same if there’s anything left. Neither she or my father bothered to visit GiGi very often during those last few months of her life.” Kenya thought her anger would have lessened by now, but the constant calls to her and Phaedra demanding an inheritance that they hadn’t received, nor deserved kept her irritation at a high level.
“I don’t know if I’d be that generous.”
“Believe me, it’s an ongoing internal battle.”
“Enough about them. I don’t want you stressing today. .Show me where you want the boxes.”
Alonzo placed a quick kiss on her lips and ran his hands up and down her back, caressing, soothing her. “Follow me. You can use the dolly.” She directed him to the space she’d cleared out in the garage and left him to his task, while she started boxing up some of the books she’d planned to donate. Kenya loved reading and she and her grandmother would often read the same books and have their own book club discussions. Those were some of her best memories. They read everything from romance and women’s fiction, to thrillers and biographies.
Kenya and Alonzo worked at a steady pace with music as a backdrop. She listened to him singing softly to an older Usher song and had to admit that he had a very nice voice.Yeah!was one of her favorite songs by the artist and she couldn’t help dancing every time it came on. Placing the book in the box, she stood, danced her way over to where Alonzo worked and grabbed his hand. “Dance with me.” Without hesitation, he jumped right in. “Okay. I see you’ve got some moves.”
“Baby, you ain’t seen nothing yet.” He rocked his body against hers, spun her around and pulled her back in, not missing a beat.
For the first time in a long while, Kenya felt free. They laughed and danced through three more songs. “Whew.” She fanned herself. “I haven’t danced like that in forever. I forgot how much I love it.”
