Page 5 of Your One

“Taryn, you need help with anything?”

My sister turned to me as she pulled cookies from the oven. She refused to take advantage of all the money they were rolling in. She could have hired someone to do that shit for her, but she insisted on doing things herself for Brooklyn. They’d named her after Noah’s first last name of Brooks since Noah’s oldest daughter was named after his first name. I thought it was cute. She’d given her the middle name of Ariel, like her middle name.

“No. This is the last of them. Where’s Arik?”

I shrugged. “Where is he always at? Work. He’s supposed to be coming later today though. He had some last-minute shit he said he needed to wrap up.”

She stared into my eyes. “Kenya, it’s apparent that you aren’t happy about that. Why are you putting up with it? You told me you talked to him about it already.”

“Besides that, he’s a good man. I don’t want to hurt him.”

“Maybe heisa good man, but not good for you, sis. Things not working out between the two of you doesn’t mean either of you are bad people. It just means you aren’t meant for each other. Look how long it took me to find the man that was for me. You’re younger than me, not even forty yet. Quit wasting time though.”

I rolled my eyes because she’d told me that shit before. Arik was a beautiful soul. He was kind, but his career was in place long before me. He was a doctor, and we’d been together for a little over a year… only a month or so before Brooklyn was born. When he wasn’t at work, he was at a seminar or workshop out of town. The man was dedicated to his job. We met at a hospital. I’d gone to visit a friend and literally ran into him in the hallway.

My knowledge of medical terminology from my days as a nurse impressed him when I picked up the papers I’d knocked out of his hand. I hated that job, so I finally quit three years ago to chase my dreams. I was a singer, just like my sister, but I didn’t necessarily crave the spotlight. I did background vocals. I’d worked on several albums last year, and this year was panning out to be a great one as well. I was working on TAZ’s and Noah’s next projects and had done work for three or four other artists as well.

“Man, something smells good! Lemme steal a cookie, T.”

I turned to see Noah and Nate entering the kitchen. There was a woman in tow. She smiled brightly, and Nate introduced her as his mother, Sheila. “It’s so nice to meet you,” Taryn exclaimed.

As they got acquainted, I could feel Nate’s eyes on me. When I turned to acknowledge him, he turned away. I supposed he thought I didn’t have a peripheral. I could see his eyes traveling every part of me, and the attention heated my body tremendously. Nate was a very handsome man, but my body’s response had caught me off guard. Every time I noticed him doing that, the feeling got more intense.

“Ms. Sheila, this is my sister, Kenya. My mom and Noah’s mom will be here in a little while.”

I smiled at her and extended my hand. “Nice to meet you,” I said as I shook her hand and smiled.

“Nice to meet you also. You have a beautiful smile. You both do.”

“Thank you,” Taryn and I said in unison. “And you’re a beautiful woman,” I added as Noah walked away to tend to a screaming Brooklyn.

Nate slid his arm around her and said, “Gorgeous. I was just telling her that earlier. So now she knows I didn’t just say that because she’s my mama.”

I smiled bigger. I could tell they were close. “Absolutely not. He didn’t lie to you, Ms. Sheila.”

I lifted my eyes to Nate’s, and he held my gaze for a moment, then bit his lip. I quickly turned away and grabbed a cookie from the tray. I handed it to him. “Shh. Don’t tell Noah,” I whispered, then winked.

He licked his lips then gave me a head nod. I knew that tongue was excited, but it sure in the hell wasn’t excited about that cookie. His subtle flirting didn’t go unnoticed, and once he and his mom went back to the front room, I realized it hadn’t gone unnoticed by Taryn either. “Kenya, girl! What the hell?”

I frowned and feigned innocence. “What?”

“Don’t ‘what’ me! Nate was flirting with you!” she said in a harsh whisper.

“I noticed.”

My cheeks heated. I couldn’t stop them from doing so.

“And you’re blushing about it! You didn’t tell me you were feeling him.”

I closed my eyes momentarily. “I think he’s handsome. I haven’t really been around him enough to be feeling him. Plus, I have a boyfriend.”

“Bullshit. You’ve been around him enough. You have a boyfriend, with whom you aren’t satisfied with. Well, now things aren’t as one-sided as I thought.”

I frowned harder. “What are you talking about?”

“He asked about you a lil while ago. Noah told him you had a man.”

“Newsflash! I still do.”

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