She turned to face him again, that fire flickering wild in her expression. “Why you mad? We not together.”
“Dorothy…” Malik nodded, his gold teeth glinting when he smiled. “But we ‘bout to be. You keep forgettin’ that part.”
His fingers found her chin, gently turning her face up to his. “And you keep tryna test me like I ain’t ready to find out what this could really be.”
He leaned in closer. “But I’mma tell you now, Aku…you let me love you for real? Ain’t gon’ be no other nigga…ever.”
That shut her up, because that was the truth she wasn’t ready to sit in—but had been waiting to hear.
The song shifted in the background. The club was still moving. Everything felt still between them…charged. Hood love caught in the middle of a dance floor, on the edge of a choice.
Malik leaned back, eyes scanning her face. “Last chance - You rollin’ or you stayin’?”
Aku didn’t answer right away. Her pulse was thumping loud. She could feel it in her throat, her wrists…the way his presence rattled everything steady inside her.
She reached for his hand.
Bu laughed as Malik gave him a salute, leading Aku out the club. She could only give her people a short wave, giddy to be dragged out the club. She was happy she rode with Lunar, so she didn’t have to worry about her car. This was what her dreams had been made of. Still there was some shit she needed to get off her chest.
They made it to the parking lot. The heat of the club still clung to her skin, mixing with the night air. Malik’s hand was in hers - warm, calloused, and familiar. But just as they reached his car, she yanked it back like it burned her.
“Hold up,” Aku snapped, stepping to the side with her arms folded, eyes sharp and steady on him. “Before I go anywhere with you—before I sit in your car, your energy, your mess—you gon’ have to hear me.”
Malik tilted his head, his mouth twitching like he was trying to keep the hood in him at bay. “Here we go.”
“Nah, nigga.Here you go.Dippin’ out my bed like you was late to a block meeting,” her neck rolled. “Left me a weak-ass note like that was gon’ hold me over.”
Malik exhaled, already annoyed. “I had shit to handle.”
“I ain’t one of your lil side hoes you hit then ghost,” she snapped. “I’m not Crescent pussy on demand. You not gon’ slide up in me, kiss my spine, then leave a damnthank you cardon the nightstand.”
She was being dramatic, but he still needed to feel her. Understand what she would and wouldn’t stand for.
He stepped in closer. “I told you, I had to go.”
“And I told you—I’m not one to play with,” she said, jabbing a finger into his chest. “If you can bend me over, you can kiss me goodbye. If you can put your tongue on my soul, you can at least shoot me adamn text.”
His jaw clenched, but he didn’t interrupt. Even though he wanted to remind her that he did text her. It shouldn’t matter if it was hours later. Still, he let her talk. Anthony had taught him to be quick to listen and slow to respond.
Aku was on a roll.
“You think I’m pressed over dick? Please.” She mushed his head. “I get offered trips, dinners, business deals, and Bentleys in my DMs, Malik. But I’m trying to choose you.I let you in my space, in my body….gave you my energy.And all I got in return was a stupid ass note like we friends and you ain’t just baptize me in your demons.”
Malik blinked. “Damn, baptize?”
“Don’t play with me,” she warned, her voice softer but just as deadly. “’Cause I liked it. I likeyou.And that’s why I’m pissed. ’Cause I can’t afford to keep liking you niggas.”
Malik rubbed the back of his neck, guilt creeping into his shoulders. “I ain’t mean to make you feel played. I just…I don’t know how to do this shit the right way.”
She scoffed. “Nigga, you know how to do a whole app from scratch. You taught yourself to code, built some hood-ass encrypted system to keep yo’ people connected—but you can’t send a good morning text?”
He laughed under his breath. That was funny. “Aku?—”
“No,” she cut him off. “You need to get this. I ain’t no halfway type of girl. If you want me, reallywant me, then you gotta come correct. I’m talkin’ real effort. Real energy. You gotta unlearnthat ‘fuck bitches, get money’ mentality and show up for me like I’m worth it.”
She stepped even closer, her voice now laced with heat and heartbreak.
“Love me wrong, Malik…and I’ll disappear so fast, you’ll think I was a dream,” she said, her voice sharp but trembling. “But love me right? I’ll turn your life into a legacy.”
