Page 8 of Do You Right

The sound of the front door opening made me suck in a sharp breath. Even from where I stood in the kitchen, I could feel the strength of the wind outside before he closed the door. I didn’t release my breath until KC appeared in the doorway of the kitchen. He grinned innocently, holding up a bag of food that smelled amazing. “I thought you might still be awake, so I picked up some food on my way home. I think it’s about to storm out there. Wind damn near carried my ass away.”

I giggled in my hand with a shake of my head. I had only been staying in his home for a week, and I was still feeling him out. He was often busy with baseball conditioning before his games, leaving me more time alone than I expected. Kava would come over in the afternoons, after school, and we would spend two hours together. When I agreed, I presented a $100 rate for four days a week, but KC had changed it to $200 because he said I was worth it. I was against it at first, but he promised he didn’t see it as me taking advantage of his wealth.

Whenever KC was home, he was always polite and never made me uncomfortable about being there. For that, I was deeply grateful. I’d used the money from my first two payments to go buy some clothes and personal items. Kaizi had offered to cover the cost, so I could keep the $400, but I refused. He was already doing a lot for me, and I had no intentions of draining him dry. The last few days, instead of going to play on the streets, I found myself studying old sheet music, wondering if I could potentially pursue a soloist career again.

“What did you pick up? It smells like something I want to eat.”

He chuckled, placing the bag on the counter while I finished pouring the glass of lemonade I was craving. Mrs. Carter had made it from scratch, and I low-key felt like she sprinkled a little bit of crack in there, because I was addicted from my first glass.

It felt so good to have shelter and not question where my next meal would come from. Not to mention, KC was paying me well to teach his sister everything I knew. In a way, it felt like he gave me my time back because instead of worrying about how I’d survive, I finally had a chance to think about where I wanted my life to go from here.

“It’s jerk chicken pasta, oxtails, mac and cheese, rice and peas, cabbage, and I think some Jamaican beef patties are in here too.”

My mouth watered just listening to him list off the dishes he’d brought for us to enjoy. “I’m going to go wash off the day before I join you.”

“Okay, cool. I can make your plate for you.”

He nodded once. I did my best to ignore the way his proximity sent chills down my spine. “Aight, I want everything. Don’t be stingy either, ’cause I’m starving, and I bought a lot.”

He left me alone in the kitchen while he went to handle his business. Everything looked so damn good when I began to pull it out of the bag. I understood why he said he wanted some of it all, because I could already tell somebody had put their foot in this food. By the time KC appeared in the doorway, I had the plates fixed, along with something for us both to drink.

Out of nowhere, thunder rolled through the house, causing me to scream in surprise. Hands covered my ears just as the lights surged before fizzling out. The sound of wind and rain beat against the roof of the house, and I was thankful for having a place to stay to protect me from the storm. Only God knew where I’d be right now without KC’s help. I blinked twice, swallowed my fear, and glanced up to where I knew KC was.

Even though I couldn’t see him, I could feel the heat radiating from his body. We were nearly chest to chest, and it made my stomach queasy. I didn’t want my body to have any reaction to him, but his cologne commanded my senses. Unable to help it, I inhaled deeply loving every note the scent had to offer me.

A second later, he quickly dropped his hands. “My bad. Kava is afraid of thunder, so it’s kind of an instinct.”

I couldn’t help but to smile. “You’re a good big brother.”

“I’m the best. I thought my parents were crazy when I found out they were expecting, but I don’t even like thinking about life before her anymore.” I felt him move and figured he was looking around before he sighed. “Damn, I wonder if the power is going to be out for a while. I have some candles around here somewhere.”

He pulled his phone from his pocket and used the flashlight on it to illuminate the room. I tucked my bottom lip, hoping I didn’t look crazy when he shined the light on me. “Wait here. I’m going to go look for them.”

I remained in place, following his instructions. The rain and thunder never let up, and a few times I saw lightning bolts through the back patio door. When KC finally came back, he did have the candles and a lighter in hand. “Shout out to my mama for thinking of shit like this, or else we’d be in here looking a fool. Here.”

He placed a flashlight in my hand that I quickly turned on. I held it steady while he lit the candles. After some back-and-forth, we decided to go eat in the living room, so that was where we posted up at. At first, the only sound was the storm wreaking havoc outside and our forks scraping our plates because the food was as good as it smelled.

“This is romantic as hell,” KC blurted, breaking the silence. “Definitely something my parents would do.”

I chuckled softly in response. “What makes you say that?”

“They are real lovers, and I’ve seen them on more than one occasion create romance amid chaos. They would turn a blackout into a date without a doubt.”

Glancing up from my plate, my eyes landed on him sitting on the other side of the table. His eyes sparkled with admiration, and the boyish grin on his face softened his features. His wild curly hair made cute shadows on the wall. “Sounds like you admire them.”

He nodded without a thought. “I’d have to be a heartless-ass nigga not to be moved by the love they have for each other.” Slowly, his eyes shifted to me, and my entire body went into shock. He tilted his head to the side, and I couldn’t take my eyes off him if I wanted to. “Even colder to not want it for myself, but I’m not as lucky as them in the love department.”

“What makes you say that?”

He shrugged his shoulders lazily. “Maybe because I’m sitting here single as fuck at my big age. I thought I’d be married already, to be honest, but I don’t attract the right women for some reason.”

I twisted my lips to the side, thinking about his words. “I think if you truly believe in love, then you’ll find your person one day. Staying true to who you are is how you’ll attract the right woman for you.”

He pulled at his bottom lip and nodded. “I like the way you think, Chai Rose.” He grinned at me, then leaned forward with his chin resting in the palm of his hand. He had a boyish charm that made it easy to breathe around him. “Have you ever been in love? Do you believe in it?”

I wasn’t expecting him to turn the microphone on me at all. My heart rate sped up as flashes of a past I wanted to forget began to flood my mind. “No, I’ve never been in love. Thought I was, but that was the worst decision of my life, so how could it be love.”

My breaths started to come out in short bursts, and I felt my eyes water from the weight of my words. I sniffled quietly and quickly wiped away any tears before they could fall. Cotton lodged itself in my throat, and I leaned backward, allowing my weight to crash into the couch behind me.