I looked around at the sparse courtyard and pulled her arms down. “Could you chill a little please? Malakai and I have found a good rhythm now. I was skeptical but we’re actually friends.” I thought back to our last phone call . . . flirtatious friends, maybe, but still friends. “That’s it.”
Aminah made a choke of amused disbelief as she hitched her thighs up higher on her march. “Oh, okay. Sure. That’s what it—” Her phone chirruped, saving me from what I knew would be an inaccurate speech about how I was in denial. She sighed and zipped her gray hoodie down, pulling out her phone from her purple crop top. Her brows shot up as she read the message. “Kofi’s texting me about what color I’m wearing to the AfroWinter Ball.”
I grinned as I hiked up my arms and legs. “Oh, he wants to match. That’s adorable.”
The Blackwell Society had a booking for the ballroom at the fanciest hotel just outside town, known for teachers’ conferences, team-building seminars, and Blackwell’s answer to the Met Gala.
Aminah rolled her eyes but she failed to hide her delighted grin. “Whatever. He still hasn’t formally asked so I hope he doesn’t think this counts. Apparently because Malakai’s agreed to film some of the night and Kofi’s DJing they get rooms as part of their payment and Kofi wants to give us one. Cinna said we can drive up together. What do you say?”
I shrugged, evading the fact that Malakai and I would be staying overnight in the same building for a second time. “Sounds good.”
Aminah stuck her phone back into her crop top and zipped up her hoodie. “Wow. Never thought I’d see the day where you actually attend social events with me. I mean first, I’m gonna get to go to Ty Baptiste’s party and now the ball with my bestie? If I knew all it took was you being in a fake relationship . . .” Her smile was stiffening.
I tilted my head. “Hey . . . Minah, I never told you to miss Ty’s party, and you know this is just for the sh—”
“Show. Yeah, I know.” Her smile brightened, shining over any tiny pinpricks of unease. “Look, either way I’m glad you’re letting yourself have fun with a boy. And I don’t think Zack counts. I feel like Zack was just kind of, like, a sentient dildo. A barely sentient dildo. That you didn’t even bang. So maybe a barely sentient titty squeezer. Dry hump utility equipment—”
“Alright, well, I ain’t going be having that kind of fun with Kai, so—”
“Yeah, I was going to ask about that actually . . . Kai?”
I took a deep whiff of the cool damp of the air, and let the breeze hit the skin exposed by my black tank top. Power walking really took it out of me it seemed, so my hoodie was tied around my waist. “Don’t you feel invigorated by the smell of the outdoors?”
Aminah narrowed her eyes at me as we made the turning that marked our third way around the leafy courtyard. “First of all, that’s weed, sweetie. Secondly, don’t change the subject. You’ve nicknamed each other?”
I looked across the shadows of the courtyard and squinted in the dark amber dim upon seeing two familiar figures. “Is that Shanti and Chioma coming from the library? Are they friends now?”
“Kikiola Banjo.”
I sighed. She had full-named me, which meant there was no way she was going to get drawn away from this subject. “It’s not really a nickname per se. It’s more like an in-joke? I don’t know, he said that I’m less brown sugar and more of a scotch bonnet, so I guess he started calling me Scotch and it just stuck—”
Aminah stopped dead and I stumbled as I ground to a halt and turned around. “Um. I’m sorry. You mean to tell me that Malakai called you spicy?”
I took a minute to catch my breath and undid my braids from their bun, put my hairband in my mouth and flipped my head over to tie them again in the hopes that the time it took would lead Aminah to forget about anything that was mentioned. It wasn’t even loose but I needed a distraction. Unfortunately, by the time I had retied it Aminah was still smiling at me, smugly.
“I want a boy to call me a seasoning. Do you think I can get Kofi to start calling me Maggi Cube?”
I started stretching. “Okay, you know what? I’m not talking about this anymore.”
“Maybe Bay Leaf? No, Bae Leaf. Ha ha. Wow, Scotch and Bae Leaf. Sounds like a badass Blaxapolitan detective show.”
“So, what’s happening between you and Kofi?”
Aminah smiled slyly. “I’m gonna ignore you ignoring me because I love you. Nothing. Still making him work. I mean I’m kind of chill about it because I already know he’s going to be my husband.”