Page 7 of Autumn & Woods
He whistled. “Damn. I kinda respect that.” He turned the music back up and dapped me. “Welcome back to the Tavern, fam.”
I pulled out a pre-roll of some gas and sparked it up. Instantly, the whip smelled like heaven. The car filled with bass, streetlights flying past the windshield. I watched the city move outside, people crowding sidewalks, holiday lights blinking on windows, and the energy of Thanksgiving weekend already in the air. Black Friday ads was taped to gas pumps, aunties out in full sweatsuits and headscarves moving like they ran the city. I cracked the window a lil’ and let the humid night air filter in.
Ty glanced over at me between sips of whatever was in his cup. “So, you know who all gon’ be at Big Mama’s tomorrow?”
I shrugged. “Same ol’?”
“Mostly. But uh…” He paused, looking like he was bracing for something. “I heard Yohana might pull up.”
I didn’t say anything right away. Yohana and I had been done for a minute now. Three years to be exact. We tried the whole settle down thing when I first started expanding the grow farms. She was around when I opened my second property and started getting serious money.
But somewhere along the line, we grew into different versions of ourselves. She wanted more structure. More of me. And I was grinding and building something from nothing but a dream. A nigga was busy. We argued a lot and took breaks, then tried again. Shit just didn’t work. There was no cheating or betrayal. Just life pulling us in opposite directions. She moved on with a lame ass nigga… and I heard another one after that.
And the man I had become didn’t have space for her no more. Ever since she realized I was good without her, Yohana’s energy been a hit or miss. Cordial one minute on social media then petty and annoying the next. I chose to unfollow and keep it pushing.
“If she show up, she show up,” I finally said, eyes out the window. “I’m not trippin’ on that. I’ll speak. Keep it cool.”
Ty glanced over. “You sure?”
“Niggs, I’m here to eat and vibe. That’s it.”
I wasn’t here for no tension. I was here for a break from the day-to-day stress of managing a multi-million dollar operation that still had to run quietly under fed radars. Being a West Coast grower came with layers. Muthafuckas that wanted your plugs and your peace at the same time. This was the first time I’d taken a break all year. I wasn’t about to let nobody, especially not an old chapter knock me off balance.
“If anything,” I said, cracking a small smirk, “Yohana ain’t the one on my mind tonight anyway.”
Ty raised an eyebrow. “That bathroom pussy got you in a chokehold.”
I laughed under my breath. “Shut the fuck up.”
M yt h i g h sw e r estill sticky when the plane landed. I don’t know how I walked off that jet without stumbling or sliding, but I kept it together. Chin up, purse on my shoulder, I walked through that terminal like I hadn’t been bent over a sink two hours ago.
Quamaine…Woods.
I hadn’t stopped thinking about him since he left, calm as hell, like he hadn’t just rearranged my insides and peace of mind. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw his hand on my neck. I heard that deep voice telling me not to run. I felt him dragging through me, slow and thick.
And the worst part is, I was low-key hoping that maybe, just maybe, we’d bump into each other again at baggage claim or something. I scanned faces while walking, pretending like Iwasn’t. There was no sign of him. Of course. Instead, the next moment yanked me out of my hopes and straight into trouble.
Two dudes started arguing near the escalator. The TSA came rushing over, and people started recording on their phones, so I tried to dip off to the side. Then, one of the dudes swung at the other, stumbled into me, and everything turned chaotic. My bag hit the floor, but I caught myself before I hit the tiles. The next thing I knew, an agent was asking if I was okay and if I had seen anything.
“I didn’t see shit,” I muttered, trying to fix my hoodie and step back.
“Ma’am, we just need a quick statement.”
I looked at the time. It was damn near eleven-thirty, I was annoyed, horny, and hungry. And now I was being questioned at an airport, just like I was on the First 48. I gave them something quick and told them I didn’t know either of them. I was just trying to get to baggage claim and keep it pushing. While they were taking down my name, my phone buzzed in my pocket.
I laughed under my breath. Leave it to Taj to pull me out of an airport funk with pure chaos.
I texted back:
It was always something. Taj was the reason I flew back home at all. We met in hair school years ago and stayed cool ever since, even after I moved away.
I spotted her hanging out the passenger window of a shiny black rental, yelling my name like we weren’t in public.
“Autumn! Ayyyyeeee!”
I cracked a smile. It’d been two years since I’d seen Taj in person, but the energy was still the same. Loud. Familiar. Chaotic in the besShe popped the trunk as I approached, then slid out of the passenger seat, fur-lined slides and all.
She grabbed me in a tight hug and crowed, “Bitch, let me look at you. Damn. Okay thennn!!! Waist snatched!”
