“You like . . . tilt your head to the side and then hit a man with a sugar smile. Like a knife dipped in honey.” Malakai mimicked it, batting his lashes and propping a flat hand under his chin as if cherubs came man-sized. A laugh broke out from me and I shoved him; he dramatically stumbled back half a step, rubbed the part where I touched him as if soothing a bruise.
“Fine. Sorry. Let me start again.” I cleared my throat. “You don’t do relationships! Neither do I. So, I was thinking about something I mentioned the other night—”
“Before you poured a drink on my—”
“Sure, yeah. It was about the radio show? I know I said it as a joke but Aminah was right, there’s something in that. I started thinking about how interesting it would be to have a show that explores all the ups and downs and drama that happens when two people get together. Providing an insight into what guys and girls think and want. Made all the more interesting by the fact that we are two people who historically don’t do relationships. The audience won’t know it’s fake and we can call it . . . something like Gotta Hear Both Sides. Kind of like a radio reality show. It’s a format development so will help me fulfill my requirements for the internship, boost ratings, plus, not to toot my own horn, but what better way to launder your rep than date me, the resident romantic agony sis—”
“I definitely heard a toot there.”
“It was more like a beep.”
Malakai’s eyes flashed. “You know, dating me would launder your rep too.”
“Sure. If they think I’m with you it justifies the kiss. It’s great PR for both of us. The show can be a special episode we do every couple of weeks. People can write in, ask questions, we can debate and your presence will hopefully pull in the straight male demographic. Plus Dr. Miller said she wants me to step outside my comfort zone, and how better to do that than to work with someone I’m fundamentally opposed to.”
“Aw, shucks.”
I smiled and Malakai shook his head. “Why don’t you date, again? It kind of doesn’t make sense. You’re fi—cute. You’re smart and you have a reasonably tolerable personality when you’re not slandering an innocent young Black man.”
I opened my mouth to reply, but there was too much and it was too dense, too heavy to haul out even if I wanted to. I pulled out the easiest response. “I don’t want to give myself to someone who doesn’t know what to do with me. I . . . don’t want to lose myself.”
Malakai was staring at me like he had a million more questions. The question marks were hot, piercing, and singed my skin, so I broke his gaze and looked ahead at Aminah and Kofi, hands brushing against each other’s tentatively, as they walked side by side, playing with the promise of what might be.
“Don’t get me wrong,” I added, “I think romance can be great in the right context, but it’s so rarely the right context.”
Malakai nodded. “I hear that.” He said it in a way that felt like he really did hear that.
We were nearing the east side of the park now, my sense of smell acting like a compass—spiced scents held in the breeze, curry and patties and fried chicken.
“Okay, so what’s the deadline on all of this?” Malakai asked.
“How long do you think shooting the film will take?”
“About eight weeks?”
“Great. So maybe we could break up by the AfroWinter Ball in December? My deadline is in January, so that works well for me too.”
He narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. “And this is what you need me to do for you to agree to work on my film? It’s nonnegotiable?”
“Nonnegotiable,” I confirmed.
“If we do this, you know you have to socialize, right? I’m a friendly guy.”
“I noticed.”
His smile was wide. “I’m talking parties, events . . . you have to chill with the masses in order for us to be believable. You gotta come out of your tower, Rapunzel. And not just for FreakyFridayz. You ready for that?”
Nope. “Obviously.”
“Well then. Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your braids, girl.”
I rolled my eyes.
Malakai grinned in self-satisfaction. “Man. This is gonna be fun.”
Chapter 10
You have 9 missed calls from BIG MISTAKE.
BIG MISTAKE: You moved mad on Friday. You know that? （read）
BIG MISTAKE: Kiki you know I got love for you still. Lets stop being silly. You can still be my queen. （read）
BIG MISTAKE: You know what? Fuck you and fuck him. You ain’t that fine to be moving like this. （read）