Jordyn questions love, loyalty, and legacy when Roman calls during a night out—and old feelings rise with dangerous memories.
When Jordyn thought about love, she thought about Mega. He made her feel special. He made her feel alive. Even though their fling involved a lot of illegal activity; Jordyn felt like that was who she was deep down inside—a criminal who was naughty by association.
Her mother was the queen of Philly, and she had watched both of her parents move dope, kill people, and stash large amounts of cash anywhere the cops wouldn’t find it.
She wondered if all she could be was a criminal. She wondered if she was even worthy of love to begin with. Being that every relationship she had turned into something she never wanted, Jordyn felt like her love life was doomed because of where she came from.
“Speak of the devil,” she playfully rolled her eyes when she realized Roman was face timing her.
“Looks like he’s right on time to me,” Kaylani said. “Go ahead and answer that so I can meet my brother-in-law.”
Roman grinned at her greeting. He loved when she talked to him like he was someone she never slept with or had feelings for. It didn’t matter how many times she told him she didn’t want to be with him, he knew deep down there was something more.
“What you on a date or something?” he asked, peering into her background like the FBI.
“A friend's date,” Jordyn replied. “Me and my girl, Kaylani.”
“Mm,” Roman nodded. “I thought you got bold and answered while you was with that nigga.”
Kaylani’s neck snapped back like he was talking to her. Right away, she liked Roman’s energy because she felt like his sternness was something Jordyn needed in her life. Not the unrequited love that Mega had to offer.
“That date isn’t until tomorrow,” Jordyn sarcastically replied. “And I'm not looking forward to going, so you can relax. I’m here for my mama and my best friend. That’s it.”
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Before answering, Jordyn fixed her hair and made sure she didn’t have any crumbs or champagne droplets on her face, because as much as she tried to downplay the chemistry between her and Roman, she always wanted to look her best when they were in each other’s company. Even if it was through the phone.
“How may I help you, sir?”
Roman grinned at her greeting. He loved when she talked to him like he was someone she never slept with or had feelings for. It didn’t matter how many times she told him she didn’t want to be with him, he knew deep down there was something more.
“What you on a date or something?” he asked, peering into her background like the FBI.
“A friend's date,” Jordyn replied. “Me and my girl, Kaylani.”
“Mm,” Roman nodded. “I thought you got bold and answered while you was with that nigga.”
Kaylani’s neck snapped back like he was talking to her. Right away, she liked Roman’s energy because she felt like his sternness was something Jordyn needed in her life. Not the unrequited love that Mega had to offer.
“That date isn’t until tomorrow,” Jordyn sarcastically replied. “And I'm not looking forward to going, so you can relax. I’m here for my mama and my best friend. That’s it.”
Roman analyzed Jordyn like he was head over heels for her. And he was. Everything about her made him weak in the knees. Her smile, her eyes, the way she shied away from him when she knew he was telling the truth. The way she wore her hair pinned up to keep it from touching her favorite blouse.
He even loved the dark parts of her. The ones that drug her back to Miami and forced her to dig up the queen pin he knew lurked beneath her surface.
“Speaking of best friends!” Kaylani scooted closer to Jordyn and put her face into the call. “That’s me. I’m Kaylani—the best friend.”
“Oh my God!” Jordyn laughed. “Well, I guess there’s no better time than now for you two to meet. So, Roman, this is Kaylani. Kaylani, this Roman. I’ll let you two chop it up real quick while I use the ladies' room.”
Even though Kaylani was gay and had never been attracted to men, she thought Roman was the finest one she had ever seen. She definitely saw why Jordyn kept him around. But what she didn’t see was why she refused to date him officially.
“I finally get to meet the best friend,” Roman said. “I heard a lot about you. It’s good to finally put a face to the stories.”
“I wish I could say the same,” Kaylani said. “But it’s nice to meet a man who makes my girl smile like she’s truly happy.”
Roman was proud of that. It stroked his ego. Sometimes he questioned if his judgement of Jordyn was entirely wrong, so he was grateful that Kaylani’s confirmation settled his internal debate.
“That’s good to hear,” he said. “She’s hard to read sometimes.”
“I agree,” Kaylani nodded. “My girl is just hurt, though. She has such a good heart, so all the shit she’s been through made her tough and closed off. Now that she’s back in the loop with me, we’ll work on that.”
“Oh yeah?” Roman chuckled. “She did say you were the bossy one.”
The word bossy sent a chill through Kaylani’s spine. She didn’t tell anyone she thought she saw the grim reaper back in Miami a year after Jordyn had left. Well, she tried to tell Jordyn, but Jordyn stopped taking phone calls and went MIA.
“So, you know what’s going on with her, Mega, and Pauline?” Kaylani asked. “What you think about that?”
Roman’s face turned stone cold. Just hearing Mega’s name took him back to the days when he was in the field and he thought if they had ever crossed paths when it came to Jordyn, he would’ve killed Mega.
“I’m not happy about her being out there,” he said. “I mean, I know I can't tell her what to do or how to run her life, but I think she needs to start thinking of herself more. That nigga ain’t gon do shit but keep her caught up in trouble and ruin everything she got going on.”
Kaylani’s hair stood on end at the assertiveness in Roman’s tone. He was stern and confident—serious about what he wanted.
His protective nature was evident and undeniable, making Kaylani question Jordyn’s refusal even more.
“I’ve been telling her the same thing since she met the guy. He’s cool, don’t get me wrong, but he ain’t the one for her." Kaylani's expression got real serious as she recapped what Jordyn had gone through with Mega. "He definitely knows how to play on her heart strings though. That's what I hate the most about him.”
“That’s my biggest concern, too,” Roman replied. “I don’t want him playing her to get the heat of the feds off him, and I feel like she might fall right back in his trap. She thinks I'm just talking shit cause I’m jealous, but it’s more than that. I know niggas like him because I used to be a nigga like him.”
Jordyn exited the ladies' room just as their conversation about Mega started to get warm. But, instead of continuing and making Jordyn feel like she was prying into her business, Kaylani invited Roman to another chat at a later time because she had a lot of unanswered questions about the feds and what would happen if Jordyn got caught in the crossfire.
“I like him.” She spoke the minute Jordyn sat down. “He’s blunt, but down to earth, and he sees through Mega and his bullshit. I say he’s a keeper.”
Jordyn blushed as she poured another round of champagne and listened to Kaylani’s approval of Roman. It was like an instant click with them—-brother, sister love vibes.
It made Jordyn feel good to know that someone who was a prominent figure in her life approved of him because if she had to rely solely on her own judgement, she might’ve never seen the good thing in front of her.
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