Midnight
Sunny
I let myself in with the key he’d given me.
The television was on, sports as usual, as I passed the theater room.
I heard humming.
Or a dying cat.
It was one or the other.
I followed the sound toward the kitchen.
It got louder.
Definitely a dying cat.
I rounded the corner and stopped.
Alex was standing at the stove with his back to me.
Gray sweatpants.
White T-shirt.
Bare feet.
A dish towel thrown over one shoulder.
He was stirring something in a pot while absolutely butchering whatever song he thought he was singing.
I leaned against the doorway.
Listened for another few seconds.
I couldn’t take it.
“Who sings that?”
He jumped slightly and looked over his shoulder.
“Damn, Roe.”
I smiled.
“Who sings that song?”
He frowned, thinking.
“Maxwell.”
“Then let him.”
His face flattened.
I bit the inside of my cheek.
“Ha. Ha.”
“I thought an animal was injured.”
“Fuck you.”
He went back to stirring his pot.
I walked farther into the kitchen.
“What are you making?”
“Food.”
“I can see that.”
“Then why you ask?”
I looked over his shoulder.
Pasta.
Something creamy.
Chicken.
It actually smelled incredible.
“You cooked?”
He turned his head slowly.
“Nah. Nigga broke in here, cooked dinner, then left me holding the spoon.”
I rolled my eyes.
“You’re very irritating.”
“And yet.”
He leaned over.
I kissed him Softly.
He kissed me back and returned his attention to the stove.
No interrogation.
No you figure it out?
Nothing.
That somehow made me more nervous.
I set my bag on one of the stools and took off my jacket.
“How was your day?”
“Good.”
“That’s it?”
“Long.”
“Studio?”
“Mhm.”
He reached for a jar of seasoning.
“Last client ran over.”
I watched him sprinkle something into the pot.
“Then I went out with Baptiste.”
Everything in me stopped.
“What?”
Alex kept stirring.
“Your boy’s dad summoned us to his cigar lounge.”
I stared at the back of his head.
“Paris?”
“Yup.”
“You went out with Chardell?”
“Mhm.”
“Tonight?”
“Unless I hallucinated the last three hours.”
I walked around the island.
“Alex.”
“What?”
“What do you mean you went out with Chardell?”
He finally looked at me.
“I don’t know how to make that sentence clearer, Roe.”
My mouth opened.
Closed.
“What did y’all talk about?”
“Shit.”
“What shit?”
“Sports. Business. His kids. You.”
My stomach dropped.
“Me?”
“Mhm.”
He tasted the sauce.
Added something else.
This giant motherfucker was entirely too calm.
“What did he say?”
“Why?”
“Because I want to know.”
“Ask him.”
My face changed.
His eyebrow lifted.
A clear boundary, I understood immediately.
“No.”
“Okay, then.”
He went back to the stove.
“You came here to love on me... or?”
He didn’t finish.
He walked over and took my bag and sat it on the island.
Scooped me up and sat me on the island as well.
“Wider.”
I opened my legs wider without a second thought.
He stepped in between my knees, smiling like a damn cheshire cat.
“I like compliant Roe.” He kissed underneath my jaw gently.
“Now. You came here at midnight for a reason. Talk.”
