Page 115 of Serenity

Telling him I did the very thing he told me not to do was, too. I wanted answers to questions Mya had birthed, but I wanted pancakes more.

“—Went to the store real quick.”

“Oh,” he said, purging the space between us and kissing my lips. “Okay. Let’s eat.”

BEES STING WHEN PROVOKED

“I’m finishing the final settlements with the women I recorded,” I revealed, stabbing into my pancakes.

Maple syrup.

Fucking pancakes.

Maple syrup and pancakes.

Pancakes made everything right.

Across from me, Serenity sat chewing a red velvet pancake from the variety platter I’d ordered. She didn’t speak. Didn’t screech, buzz, or make a peep. Quiet wasn’t her default. Not with me. The subdued mood placed me on high alert. It wasn’t how I’d left her. Something was off.

Forking a sweet potato pancake from the center of the table, I placed it on my plate and bathed it with maple syrup. The gym was next on my list of things to tackle for the morning. The gym and calisthenics to work all this sugary shit off.

“Is that the best course of action?” Finally, she asked, starting to work on her eggs.

“Baby, it’s been the course of action. You already knew about this from several months back. It’ll keep all parties silent. And now they’re informed of who has possession of the video, so if Mya decided to leak them, she’d be charged with revenge porn.

“Hmm.”

Relaxing in my seat, I looked at Serenity. Something was definitely off. Something was bothering her. Her spirit was troubled. Something she wasn’t saying. It was feasting on her. Eating away at her usual honey-filled mood.

“That’s all you’ve got to say?”

“Mmh hmm.”

My eyes scrunched as my head tilted. “Bee, what’s up with you? You’ve been quiet since you walked through that door.”

“I went to see Mya.”

Resting my fork down, I ran my hand down the back of my head. A thousand wrinkles were born across my face. I thought I was finally putting this bullshit to rest. Wildly, the vein in my temple throbbed.

“Did anything I said this morning register?”

“I heard you loud and clear.”

“Mmh.”

Through pursed lips, I nodded my head. Something felt off when I woke up this morning. It seemed I’d located the source. Serenity wasn’t quite Serenity. I couldn’t place it, but now, with this…

“Don’t you want to know what she told me?”

“Nope. If you ever feel like you gotta choose sides with me, it’s fuck you and fuck them.” With my chair scooted back from the table, I sat with my arms crossed.

“So, fuck me, really, Duke?”

“Don’t twist my motherfucking words.”

“Don’t talk to me like I’m one of your niggas.”

“Why?”