“Go Dylan!” Nakyra cheered along with her, causing me to smile.
Seeing how much she was enjoying herself showed me I’d made the right choice inviting her out tonight. I wasn’t sure how she spent her days before everything with Rome happened, but it was clear she needed to get out and enjoy herself more.
Chapter 10
Nakyra
By the time the races were over, I had to admit this was one of the funniest nights I’d had in a long time. The atmosphere was exhilarating and unpredictable. Everyone there was lively and at one point it grew so loud I needed to turn off my aids, but still it was a good time. When Creed invited me out, I hadn’t expected him to take me to a street race. Sometimes it was hard to remember he and Rome grew up in the same house because of how different they were. It was clear Creed didn’t care what people thought of him and moved to the beat of his own drum. The way he carried himself screamed confidence and looking at him showed he came from money, but he was also down to earth and humble too.
Dylan ended up winning his race, which no one seemed shocked by. At first I thought a fight would break out between his crew and the guys they were racing but in the end everything turned out fine. Now we were at a pool hall, which I learned Dylan owned. Everyone was drinking, laughing, playing pool, and having a good time. Everyone in Dylan’s crew was welcoming when it came to Creed. Currently he was playing a game of pool while I sat in one of the booths near the table, nursing a Sex on the Beach.
“You okay, girl?” Camilla signed, sliding in the booth.
I nodded. “Yes. Just taking everything in. I am not used to being around a crowd like this,”I replied.
Camilla grinned and looked around the pool hall. She reminded me of a wilder version of Summer. Not afraid to speak her mind, careful, and wild. I didn’t grow up with friends, only my cousin. I had associates from the tennis club, but those relationships didn’t go far. No one wanted to be friends with the deaf girl. A lot of times my hearing loss made people uncomfortable, so I never pushed to try and make friends. Camilla didn’t seem to mind, it was honestly nice that she spoke ASL and didn’t seem to mind it.
“It can be a lot, but the guys are cool. We are all a big family here. You will get used to it.”
The corners of my mouth tipped upward. “I do not have any friends. You can probably tell I am awkward, so all this is new for me.”
My eyes dropped down to my drink. I knew I probably came off socially awkward. It was a characteristic I had grown to accept.
“Girl, you are fine! Most people call me crazy but I do not give a fuck! I do not fuck with too many women anyway. And you do have a friend, hello.”
Camilla waved her hand in front of herself and looked at me like I was crazy, causing me to laugh.
Reaching up, I turned my aids back on. It took a second to adjust to the loudness of the hall—the sound of the balls being hit and the chatter of everyone, including the music playing overhead.
“I don’t think you’re crazy, a little wild maybe.”
She smirked. “You haven’t seen me in action, chica. Just wait until Dylan pisses me off.” Both of us laughed.
“How long have you guys been together?”
She sighed and leaned back in the booth, bringing the beer bottle in her hand to her mouth. “Two long ass years.” Her head turned to where Dylan was sitting on one of the tables with a couple guys surrounding him. He was laughing and the group seemed to be in a heavy debate about something. “I love his ass, but there’s times I be tired of all the bullshit, you know?” She faced me again. “What about you? You said you’re engaged to Creed’s brother, right?”
I scraped my top teeth over my bottom lip and nodded. “How long you been together?”
“Eight years.”
Her eyes widened. “And y’all ain’t married yet?”
I choked out a laugh. “I know, it seems crazy, but Rome had been working hard to take over his family’s business so he wanted to wait until the time was right. I was never in a rush to be married so I didn’t mind waiting.”
Her brows furrowed. “I never met him before. Dylan’s mentioned that he and Creed are the opposite of each other though.”
Looking up, my eyes landed on Creed. My cheeks heated seeing he was already watching me. He lifted a brow, as if asking if I was okay, which caused a weird sensation to pass through my stomach, a small toothless grin to form on my face, and me to nod.
“They are. Rome is…” I thought about it for a second. “More serious, I guess. It’s not his fault though. His parents put a lot of pressure on him since he’s next in line to take over when his father retires. He was raised to represent himself in a certain way. Creed, however, well I don’t think he had that kind of pressure on him and was able to be more free. Since he isn’t the heir, he was able to choose his life whereas Rome had his chosen from the moment he was born.”
“Mhm.” Camilla took another sip from her beer. “Oh shit, I’m empty. I’ll be right back. You need anything?”
I picked my glass up and shook my head. “I’m good.”
“Cool, be right back.” She slid out of the booth and walked away.
Back alone, I pulled out my phone. I had been checking it every day faithfully, hoping maybe to have something from Rome’s parents. It was going on twelve at night, but I was hopeful. Whenever I texted one of them for an update, the response was short, if anything at all. When I realized there were no notifications, I got lost on social media.
