Kensley Parker

"What you put in it?" I asked, the ice in my glass melting as I waited for them to bring me another drink.

"I think it was the noodles. I didn't have time to go to the store, so I just used penne."

She flipped me off when I started laughing, "It reminded me of the macaroni they used to make at school, but I still expected him to at least act like he liked it."

"I'm on his side 'cause I wouldn't have eaten it either."

We went to Taco Tuesday once, and apparently, it's now a weekly thing. I liked Maria; pair that with half-off margaritas and unlimited chips and queso, and you have my new favorite place to drink.

In the beginning, I felt like our only mutual interests were Zi and Elijah. It took until the second taco date for me to realize that we probably would've clicked anyway.

"I was mad, but not like, mad, mad. Anyway, he told me to pick somewhere to go. Now that's an apology."

"We love trips." I spoke through a mouthful of chips, "Where y'all going?"

"I'm thinking an island somewhere. Not San Juan 'cause everybody goes there. Maybe Aruba?"

"Bitch if y'all go to Aruba you better pack me in the suitcase."

Her drunk ass slapped the table loudly, "Y'all should come! We can be on the beach with our cheeks out together."

That'd be nice. Especially since Elijah still wasn't acting like himself.

While he apologized for the way he talked to me that same day, he was doing stuff I wasn't used to him doing. I'd say he was finally acting like the lawyer that he was– constantly looking at paperwork, taking calls all day.

Granted that's what he was supposed to do, he just never did it. The nigga hadn't worked more than he had in the past few days.

That being said, I didn't wanna ask, prompting me to come up with an excuse not to ask, "How you expect us to both leave? And Zi probably wants it to just be y'all."

"First of all, I make the schedule, and secondly, it's not like we'll be together every second. I'ma ask and see what he says."

I thought she meant later, obviously, she meant right then. Her fingers flew across the screen of her phone as she sent a message to Zi, reading it aloud as she typed, "Do you care if Ken and Eli come to Aruba with us?"

Childish is how I felt for not just asking Elijah myself. Nervous, is what I was feeling while we waited for her phone to vibrate against the table with his response.

Relief would be the future feeling regardless of his answer because if he said no, I wouldn't have to ask, and if he said yes, he'd just mention it to Elijah without me having to ask.

It was always crazy to me that I was so comfortable doing other things, having sex publicly, telling my parents I have threesomes, yet simple shit made me nervous.

Maria snatched her phone up, turning it around to show me the message which was a simple, 'Nah that's cool.'

"Told you." She stated excitedly, "He loves y'all. Y'all like our kids."

"You're literally only 3 years older than me."

"Respect your elde-" Maria paused mid-sentence to lean in and whisper, "Don't turn around but Jade standing by the pick-up window."

My stupid self turned around.

Jade looked directly at me, and I could either turn back around or wave and smile at her.

My stupid self waved and smiled at her.

"She coming over here. I can't fight so I hope y'all got over whatever happened."

Maria didn't know why our friendship had ended, just that they never came into the coffee shop anymore, nor did I bring either of them up again.

She had done nothing to me, though, and there shouldn't have been a problem between us, at least one that would end in us fighting. It was Ari's weird-ass who went out of her way to do unnecessary stuff. Jade was just the fiancé– ex-fiancé– who had the pleasure of being in a relationship with her.

Maria didn't know why our friendship had ended, just that they never came into the coffee shop anymore, nor did I bring either of them up again.

"Why would I wave if it was a problem?"

"You always been a little off."

Jade sat down– without invitation– or hesitation, smiling at us, "Hey. How have you guys been?"

"Good. How about you?"

"Bad days, good days, the usual."

"Yeah... I saw the post." Maria patted her shoulder, "Life goes on. You'll find someone that's for you."

Her brows furrowed, "I meant just life, in general. We talked about it, we're not getting married right now, but we aren't separating either."

Maria looked at me, I looked at the table, and Jade looked between the both of us.

Very awkward.

"Well, I think my food is ready. Ken, can I talk to you in private if you don't mind?"

My eyes left the table and went back to her, "Sure."

I stood up too fast, grabbing the top of my chair to steady myself before following her towards the window where she grabbed her food from the cashier with a smile.

"So..." She began when we were outside, "I told Ari I wouldn't confront you about what happened, but it's been bothering me for a while."

The way she said confront bothered me– saying it in a way that made it seem she did in fact have a problem with me like I was in the wrong for the way things played out.

Leaning against the brick wall of the restaurant, I sighed deeply, "Confront me about what?"

"You telling Ari that you wanted more from you guys arrangement. The fact that you helped me plan our engagement, then try to be with her just doesn't sit right with me."

Laughter bubbled in my chest, and I didn't try to stop it from coming out. I laughed until tears were rolling down my face– at the audacity of Ari, and the ignorance of Jade.

Here I was, trying to eat and be merry, and then I get ambushed by a conversation in which I'm made to be a homewrecker.

Again.

"That's what she told you?" I questioned, wiping the tears from my face, "That I wanted to be her girlfriend?"

It took a few seconds for Jade to respond, her expression showing that she was either offended or annoyed by the laughter, "That's why we postponed getting engaged. She felt like her considering it, showed she wasn't ready to be married."

"The reason why y'all postponed it is because she doesn't want it to happen. I've never wanted to be in a relationship with Ari. You know that, and that's why you approached me with this."

"I approached you because I don't appreciate it. Stop trying to deflect."

Her tone had risen, and she took a step forward, now standing too close for comfort, "Goodnight, Jade. Tell her to stop lying to you, or you'll be 'confronting' people for the rest of your life.

Maria was waiting eagerly for an after-action report, only to be disappointed when I didn't speak on what happened outside, preferring to change the subject.

I'ma stop leaving my house.

• • •

It's a terrible idea to drink the night before an interview.

The Tylenol I took after I woke up barely aided in stopping the rhythmic thumping in my head.

"It says here you managed a coffee shop, as well as served as an assistant for a law firm. Can you tell me about that?"

She caught me off guard because I'd forgotten I lied on the resume. Many resumes went out, each one changed to be more appealing to whomever I was sending it to.

This specific job wanted assistance experience, so that's what they got.

"At the coffee shop, I oversee about 3 or 4 people during any given shift and I'm in charge of monthly schedules." I lied easily, "I was an interning assistant at Lee and associates during my last two years in college which mainly consisted of me answering the phone, making sure appointments didn't overlap, and just helping where I was needed."

Ashley nodded, "I actually called the firm this morning. They had nothing but good things to say."

Lee and Associates was a real law firm. The number I put on my resume wasn't–meaning she'd called Jailyn this morning.

She continued to ask questions, I continued to tell half-truths, and before I knew it, we were done.

"Thank you so much for coming in Kensley. I'm going to meet with Mr. Parsons in a few, and if we decide to move forward with your application, we'll be in touch."

"Great. Hope to hear from you soon."

As we were walking to the door, it swung open, hitting me directly in the forehead.

"Shi- owww."

A hand touched my shoulder as I cradled my head in my hands, "I'm so sorry. Are you okay?"

"Good thing we're in a law office." I straightened up to look back at Ashley, "Who can I talk to so I can sue y'all?"

They both laughed while she gestured to him, "You can talk to Parsons."

Forgotten was the probable knot forming on my forehead, replaced by the embarrassment that I just talked about suing the person I wanted to work for, "Oh... It was a joke."

"No, it's fine." He assured me, "I should've knocked. I'm assuming you're here for the assistant position?"

"I am. Or was. I'm sure you don't hire people who talk about suing you."

He had a nice smile, showing it once again as he looked towards Ashley, "I think it's a fair trade. We hire you; you don't sue me?"

"She's definitely qualified. I was coming up to talk to you about it before you kicked in the door." Ashley was looking down at the folder in her hand as she spoke, "The jobs yours if you want it."

"I promise I won't hit you with any more doors while you're here."

I'm not the reddest apple in the orchard, but was he tryna' flirt?

I brushed it off as him just being nice and listened to Ashley inform me that someone would be in contact by the end of the week, practically skipping to my car on the way out.

Who would've thought the easiest way to get a job was to get hit in the face at your hopeful place of employment?

Since she was the one who got my foot in the door, I called Jai first, dancing in my seat as the phone rang.

"That's how you fucking do it!" I yelled into the phone when she answered.

"My bitch moving up in the world. Let's celebrate with some donuts. I just got a notification that the hot light on too."

"How many donuts you gone eat? This the third day straight."

Her voice sounded sad, "I can't help it. I gained 10 pounds in like 2 months and my doctor told me to watch what I eat but it's all I think about. They be so good."

She was getting bigger, but she was also pregnant, so I didn't think it mattered that much.

Coby was the one who pointed it out to me when he saw me coming in with yet another box of donuts. It wasn't like she ate the whole box– me and him helping her with them. The difference was that I still went to the gym and Coby was out doing whatever.

Some days Jai could barely move without getting sick, making her sit as much as she could.

"I'll just get you 2 then. Tell that doctor mind her damn business."

After thanking me a hundred times, she listened to me tell the story of how I got a job I probably wasn't qualified to have.

• • •

I peeled my semi-sweaty clothes off and stepped into the shower, allowing the water to warm up before getting under the stream. I'd spent the rest of the day taking orders from Jai– putting shit in boxes, marking said boxes.

You couldn't help but wonder where the hell Coby was since it seemed like that was a job more suited for him. He wasn't brought up at any point during my time there and knowing Jailyn, that was for a reason.

"I woke you up?" Water continued to fall, now hitting Elijah's skin as he stood behind me.

He shook his head against my shoulder, "I heard you come in."

It wasn't uncomfortable; there wasn't any underlying tension like it had been, just peaceful as I tilted my head back to wash the conditioner out of my hair.

"How was your day?"

His thumb was circling the area around my nipple, "Another day. I missed you. I miss you."

We saw each other every day– slept together every night, still I understood what he meant.

"I miss you too. We've both been busy, though. It's normal."

"I don't want that to be our normal. I'm not tryna' be under you all the time, but I probably see you 2 hours out the whole day. I gave you back the bracelet; I need somebody to fight my demons."

Water got caught in my throat as I violently choked from a laugh, Elijah tried to help but made it worse when he made me go completely under the showerhead. I slapped at his hands, struggling to move him backward so I could catch my breath.

"This the second time a nigga tried to kill me today." I wheezed, "I gotta get me a gun 'cause Ian' going out that easy."

"Who else tried to kill you?"

"Else? So that was on purpose?"

He had the nerve to look thoughtful, "No. I wouldn't try to drown you in the shower."

"Sureeee."

The comment about two men trying to kill me wasn't let go until I again told the story about my new job.

"Congratulations, baby. I wish you would've said some earlier so we could've celebrated."

"It's cool." I assured him, "I was helping Jai pack anyway."

At this point, we were just wasting water. I turned around and twisted the knob off, while Elijah kept talking, "They gone let you take off for the trip?"

His question made me pause wrapping the towel around me, "I didn't tell them about it. I didn't know if you would say yeah or not."

"Why would I say no?" He asked, staring at me through the mirror.

"'Cause, you were still mad?"

"I was never mad, at you anyway, just frustrated. But how can I expect you to know what to do in that situation when you've never been in it, or I never told you what to do if you're in it?"

"Like you said though, I could've said something to you about it."

"We learn from mistakes. That's the purpose of life."

I smiled, "You sound like a self-help book."

"That's exactly where I got it from. My mama bought it for me last week."

"What else it said?"

"Ion' know," Elijah shrugged, "That's what was on the first page. I realized It was just gone be a buncha shit I prolly already heard and stopped reading."

I handed him a bottle of lotion and walked into the room, knowing he'd follow, and laid on my stomach waiting for him to put it on.

"I'm getting paid for this? You got a new job and shit I know you can afford it."

"You said you only accept payments in the form of coochie. I think I'm out, but I'll see if I got some left in my purse."

"How you out?"

"My man ate it all."

Elijah stopped applying the lotion to laugh, or he was just looking for an excuse to stop anyway. He pressed his body against mine, kissing the back of my neck, side of my face, "I love you."

To know something and to have it vocalized are a completely separate experience.

I knew– maybe suspected, that Elijah loved me. Just like I'd already acknowledged that I loved him.

"I love you," I repeated.

The kisses moved downward until his lips­ came into contact with my pussy, the feeling of love now intertwined with desire.

Elijah's hands softly gripped my ass, his tongue massaging my clit with ease. I wanted it to last, I wanted to cum– At that moment, I didn't know what I wanted.

Except that I wanted Elijah.

I wish I'd known what that came with.

• • •

chile. i almost wanna tell ken what's tea.

anyway! they're in love. very excited & happy for them!

thanks for reading 💕