Page 30 of The Hellcat Barbies: Zora
I opened her door, and she slid inside, giving me one more look before starting the engine. I stepped back as she pulled off, watching the taillights fade down the street.
I stood there for a moment, letting everything settle. Zora had a way of slipping into my day without forcing it, grounding things that usually stayed scattered. She didn’t push. She didn’t pull. She just showed up, and somehow that hit harder than any loud declaration ever could.
***
We walked into Mama’s house, and she came straight over like she’d been waiting on us. “Alright now, y’all get in here,” she said, reaching for Zora’s hands with a smile that showed she genuinely liked her. “Last time was too quick. I didn’t get a chance to actually talk to you.”
Zora hugged her without hesitation. “I’m glad to be here.”
“You better be,” Mama said, hooking her arm through Zora’s, leading her into the dining room. “Sit next to me so we can talk.”
I followed them to the dining room while the rest of the family kept the noise going in the background, arguing about something nobody was really keeping track of. As soon as we sat down, Mama got right into her questions.
“So, Zora, when did you open your salon?” she asked, passing her a dish.
“Six years ago,” Zora replied. “I started with a small space and expanded once I had the clientele for it.”
“That tells me you’ve got discipline,” Mama said. “A lot of people talk about running a business. Not many actually run it well.”
“It took work, but it’s worth it.” Zora smiled.
Case leaned forward from farther down the table. “Mama, you don’t gotta worry about her. She got her stuff together.”
“Boy, hush,” Mama fake fussed.
The conversation moved around the table, but Mama kept circling back to Zora with genuine interest, not interrogation. She asked about her family, what pushed her into doing hair, and what her long-term plans were. Zora answered everything smoothly, and she didn’t shrink under attention the way some women did when they walked into a loud family for the first time.
Mama glanced at me once while Zora talked to Maya. “I like her,” she whispered.
I didn’t respond, but she didn’t need me to.
When dinner wrapped up, Mama pulled Zora in for a hug at the door. “You come back whenever you want,” she said. “You don’t need Semi to escort you. Just show up.”
Zora laughed softly. “Thank you. I’ll be back.”
“You better,” Mama replied, patting her arm before letting go.
We headed to the car while everybody else stayed inside. When we reached my car, I opened her door, and before she got settled, I placed a kiss on her lips. Nothing else needed to be said. Tonight already told me what I needed to know.
***
“Your family is something else,” she said.
“That was calm for them,” I told her. “You handled it like a G, though.”
She smirked. “Your mama didn’t waste a second. She asked everything she didn’t get to ask at the shop opening.”
“That’s her,” I said. “She’s direct. She doesn’t beat around the bush.”
“She’s good at reading people,” Zora replied. “She wasn’t trying to test me. She just wanted to know who I was.”
“She liked you,” I said. “And she doesn’t say that about just anybody.”
Zora looked at me for a moment like she was making sure I meant it. “I’m glad. I wanted to make a good impression.”
“You did more than that,” I said. “You fit right in. Nobody had to adjust for you, and you didn’t look uncomfortable at all.”
I slid my hand behind her knee and drew her closer until her thigh rested against mine. She shifted with it naturally, no hesitation. I kissed her slow and pulled back just enough to speak.
