19. Phone Calls ♔︎

***************

| King of Hearts |

***************

By: Janae Destiny

*

*

*

When Kiara made it back to the condo with Marco and Cameron, she ended up spending the entire rest of the day with Monie and the kids.

They went down to the beach, just like Ava wanted, and while the kids were playing in the water and helping Ava construct the sand castle she'd been talking about, Kiara and Monie were relaxing on a blanket under a large umbrella. Monie was sitting up with her legs crossed so she could properly keep an eye on Ava, and Kiara was laying down with her head on Monie's lap while holding a book up to her face.

"I don't know why you hate wearing your glasses so much. You look so cute and innocent wearing them."

"I am cute and innocent," Kiara closed her book and looked up at Monie.

"You act innocent, but I don't know if I really believe that."

"Why you say that?"

"King, you own a fucking strip club for one."

"So that means I can't still be innocent?"

"Your innocence left the second you sat in front of your father and told him you wanna see half-naked women dancing on poles every night for the rest of your life."

"Alright now," Kiara laughed at how Monie explained it. "That's definitely not how the conversation went. Like at all. But he was super supportive of it from the beginning. I'll give him that."

"What was his initial reaction when you first told him you wanted to open up a strip club?"

"He was real chill about it. He just told me how much work it would be, which I already knew. But I had a lot of help getting started. You know Chantal, the club manager?"

"Yeah," Monie nodded her head. "What about her?"

"We went to college together, she was a business major too so we clicked almost immediately. And I'm not even joking when I say Ethereal Miami or the Euphoria Hookah Lounge wouldn't have been possible without her. She's really my backbone in all of this."

"I see that, and I really like Chantal. She actually texted me earlier asking if I was okay because house mom Darci told her I went home sick."

"Yeah, she's like that. She's amazing really. I love her."

Monie thought it was adorable how highly Kiara speaks about Chantal. Kiara has a genuine love for the people who work for/with her, and it shows. She might be very strict, but she has a very loving and caring aura that balances it out.

"You're not like any club owner I've ever met before, you know that?"

"I'll take that as a compliment," Kiara laughed.

"It's definitely a compliment. But there is something I been wondering though."

"And what's that?"

"I know I've already asked why you chose to open a strip club of all things, but were you ever a dancer?"

"No, I was never a dancer."

"But I know you've gotten up on that pole at least once or twice before."

"Way more than just once or twice," Kiara smirked.

"King?" Monie gasped. "You ain't never told me that you know your way around a pole."

"You never asked," she shrugged.

"You be dancing for people?"

"Fuck no," Kiara laughed. "And no one is ever gonna see it either."

"Nah, I gotta see this for myself. I have to."

"So you can laugh at me? Nah, I'm good."

"Now King, you know I'm not like that. You know I won't laugh."

"Maybe I'll show you one day. That day ain't gonna be today though."

"Fine. And when you do, you gotta keep the glasses on when you dance for me," Monie teased. "And you can wear a sexy lil school girl-"

"Shut up," Kiara playfully rolled her eyes. "I already hate wearing these shits, so you keep pointing them out is just gonna make me wanna wear 'em less than I already do."

"I'm just playing," Monie placed her hands on Kiara's cheeks and looked down into her eyes. "But I really do love how they look on you, for real. And I'm being a thousand percent serious."

"You really do have such a beautiful soul, Monie. You're not at all the person I was expecting you to be when I first saw you."

"And neither are you. You've done more for me in the week we've known each other than most people have my entire life. You have such a pure heart, King. And you should know that you're absolutely beautiful too," Monie said as she gently swiped her thumb across Kiara's cheek. "On both the inside and out."

That made Kiara smile. She couldn't hide it even if she wanted to. And seeing her smile made Monie smile too. She wanted to kiss her again. She wanted to lean over and kiss Kiara's lips. She decided on a cheek kiss instead though. Monie kissed Kiara on the highest point of her cheek, right near the edge of her glasses.

Kiara didn't think that kiss on the cheek was enough because she reached her arm up to the back of Monie's neck, and pulled her down onto her lips. The kiss was short. Nothing more than a quick peck. But even the two second kiss was enough to have Monie smiling from ear to ear.

Monie felt a very weird sensation in her chest. It was warm, and fuzzy, and made her feel like a teenager with a crush. Except it was a little more intense than a regular crush. Monie wanted Kiara. She wanted her in every single way possible.

She wanted to kiss Kiara again, this time with more intent and passion behind it. She wanted to lay back on the blanket and pull Kiara on top of her. She wanted to touch on her body and taste different parts of her skin. She wanted Kiara to spend the night again. And the next night. And then the next. She wanted to wake up with Kiara laying in her arms every single morning for the rest of her life.

'Maybe us agreeing to move slow is a good thing,' Monie told herself.

She was getting ahead of herself. It had only been a week. One week. And already Monie was having thoughts about spending the rest of her life with this woman.

"Look at Ava," Kiara said aloud, causing Monie to come back to her current reality.

Ava had left Marco and Cameron and was searching the sand for seashells to decorate their sandcastle with. She had a bucket in her left hand and her head down as she walked slowly, shuffling her feet in the sand every so often to make sure she didn't miss anything.

"Don't get too far from Marco!" Monie yelled loud enough that Ava would hear when she started to feel uncomfortable about how far she was going. Ava looked back at Monie, waved, and then turned around to walk back towards Marco with the bucket of shells she'd already collected.

They'd taken lots of pictures and videos that day too. But even if they hadn't, there isn't a chance in the world Monie would have forgotten that day. Her kids were happy, she was happy, and they were spending the entire day with someone who had quickly become her favorite person to be around. That day was perfect.

Well, it was almost perfect.

Aiden had called Monie later that day, and for some reason, she decided to answer the phone.

"Hello?" Monie held the phone between her shoulder and ear because she was using both of her hands to put her sneakers on. Everyone else had already left the condo, but she hoped they'd at least wait at the elevators for her.

Monie said she would cook dinner, but they were all hungry after leaving the beach. They hadn't eaten since Kiara cooked breakfast earlier that morning, so they decided to go out for lunch just to get out of the house. It was a beautiful day outside, and even though Monie still wasn't feeling the best, she didn't want to spend it inside moping around the condo.

"Monique."

"Yes, I said hello."

Aiden did not greet her back though, not that she wasn't expecting him to in the first place.

"So you still ain't gone tell me where y'all is at?"

"I told you I'll tell you when I'm comfortable. And I'm still not comfortable yet."

Especially not after the huge fight she had with Aiden the night before she booked three one-way tickets to Miami.

"So when you gon get comfortable?"

"Why do you need to know where I am in the first place? You gonna pop up if I tell you?"

"To see my kid, yeah. Probably."

"And I told you I'm not comfortable with that either."

Monie left the apartment and the four of them were in fact waiting for her by the elevator doors when she got there.

"You can't make that decision," he was getting a bit louder now. "You don't decide when I can see my daughter."

"I'm her mother. I'm the one who takes care of her. I can decide whatever the hell I want."

Kiara raised her eyebrow upon hearing that, but it immediately clicked that she must be talking to Ava's father.

"Monie, I ain't call to argue with you."

"Good, because I never want to argue with you."

"It's been over a whole fucking week. Put my daughter on the phone right the fuck now or I'ma be forced to get some legal action involved."

That last part made her laugh. She knows for a fact there's no way the court would grant Aiden any type of custody, but that was not a process she wanted to go through whatsoever, which is why she never filed for child support or anything like that.

Aiden likes to talk. He says a lot of things that simply aren't true, and claiming to be there for his daughter is just one of the many things he lies about. He wasn't even there when Ava was born, and to this day Monie doesn't know what was more important than the birth of his firstborn child. He was there to sign the birth certificate though. And that's about all he was there for.

He showed up to claim his child and make sure she got his last name. Everything other than that he's fallen short of the last five years of her life.

"Ava," Monie said when they were all on the elevator headed down to the lobby entrance.

"Yes, mommy?"

"Your dad is on the phone."

Ava's excitement physically disappeared at the mention of her father. She's very smart for a five year old. A lot smarter than people give her credit for. She may not know the full extent of it, but she knows that her father is not a great person. She knows that he makes promises he almost never keeps. And she knows how terribly he treats her mother, even once witnessing him putting his hands on her.

"Do I have to talk to him?" Ava mouthed.

"Aiden, she-" Monie started, but Ava tugged at her arm and held her hand out for the phone before finishing her statement.

Monie handed Ava the phone but made sure to have it on speaker phone so she could monitor what they talk about.

"Hi daddy," Ava said into the phone with a very monotone voice.

"Hi princess. How you been?"

"I'm good. How are you?"

"Good, I'm doing good. I miss you though."

"Okay."

"You don't miss me?"

"Daddy, it's only been a week," Ava answered instead of telling him no.

"What y'all been doing this week anyway?"

"We were at the beach today. Now we're going to get lunch."

"Oh, word? You had fun at the beach?"

"Yeah, we made a sand castle."

"We? You and mommy?"

"No. Me and my brother."

"How is Marco doing by the way?" And he only asked because Marco hasn't really spoken to Aiden's cousin since they left, meaning he wasn't getting any information out of him.

Marco huffed and rolled his eyes at the mention of his name because he knows Aiden doesn't actually give a shit about how he's been.

"He's good. He's been teaching me how to swim too."

"At the beach?"

"No. At the pool."

"That's nice. And uh... what beach y'all was at when you made that sandcastle-"

"Alright," Monie quickly took the phone from Ava because she knows her daughter is very intelligent and knows exactly where they were. And Monie was scared that Aiden would search all of Miami until he found them had she told him where they are.

They were getting off of the elevator and headed outside, so Monie took the phone off of speaker and held it back up to her ear.

"Aiden, we gotta go."

"Why you cut our conversation short?"

"Because we gotta go," she repeated. "I just said that."

"But I ain't finished talking. First, you disappear to God knows where and now I can't even finish one lil conversation with my daughter?"

"Mommy, are we taking King's car-?" Aiden heard Ava ask in the background.

"King?" Aiden's voice immediately changed from slightly annoyed to livid in less than two seconds. "What niggas you got around my kid?"

"I don't have no niggas around her."

"Then who the fuck is King? And Monique, I swear to God if you lie to me."

"I don't have to lie cause ain't no nigga here. Do you hear a nigga's voice?"

"I don't want none of them ratchet ass bitches you be around near my kid either."

"I'm so glad you think you have a say in who I hang around. Your daughter is healthy and safe, that's all that should concern you."

Aiden did not like that response whatsoever because he immediately started yelling into the phone, so loud that they could all hear his voice. Monie just let him yell because she wasn't about to go back and forth with him.

"Aiden, bruh chill the fuck out talking to Monie like that," Marco took the phone from his sister when he got close enough to actually hear the awful things Aiden was saying to her.

"This don't concern you lil bro. Stay the fuck out grown folk's business."

"It don't concern me, but I'm 15 and taking care of your kid more than you?"

"Watch your fucking mouth if you know what's good for you-"

"Don't talk to him like that!" Monie snatched the phone back from Marco and yelled directly into the speaker.

Aiden yelling at her is one thing. She might let him talk to her and treat her any kind of way, but she has a very low tolerance for bullshit when it comes to her kids.

"Just hang up on his ass," Marco took the phone back and pressed the red button, ending the call.

Kiara was awkwardly leaning against the trunk of her car that was parked right next to Monie's. Cameron was standing right next to her.

"I'm sorry," Monie felt the need to apologize.

"You don't have to apologize for nothing," Kiara stood up straight.

She wanted to say more but figured she'd wait until the kids weren't with them.

"We should go," she said instead. "And I'll drive. Marco, can you please put Ava's seat in my car? I'd do it but I don't wanna break a nail."

"Yeah, I got you," he went over to Monie's car to do exactly what it is Kiara had asked him.

*

*

*

Author's Note:

Quick question lol. Somebody commented "it's giving P-Valley" on one of the first chapters. I found that hilarious cause I don't watch tv and ain't seen a single episode of that show. Please, what does that meannn loll.

Until the next update,

JD <3