I parked in front of the store, took off my helmet, and climbed off my bike. Ruger and Kenzi did the same, and before I could get to Kenzi’s ass, Ruger pulled her to him.
“Don’t have me behind bars because you want to act the fuck out, Mona.”
“Oh my God, babe. I was just having a little fun. You know I love me some 2 Chainz.” She tossed her arms in the air and did a little hip roll. “Stop being dramatic.”
“Nah, dramatic would be me locking your ass up in the house and not letting you outside. Do we need to revisit how the fuck we met?”
I smirked and shook my head.
She giggled. “Mekai, please,” she said, calling him by his real name. Then she waved him off and turned to me. “This is it, huh?”
“Yeah.” Abara’s Bookstore was how I kept calm and didn't run my ass back to the city that raised me. When I first came out here, I was homesick like a motherfucka, but after killing those Blaze Burner bitches, I knew I had to lay low. I didn’t expect to stay, but it only made sense since Nich was pregnant, and I needed to reset. Since I had to stay here, I figured I’d build something for myself.
“It was an empty space for a while. I rode through, just peeping the scene and shit for a couple of weeks, and saw the ‘for sale’ sign on this place. At first, I ain’t know what I wanted to do with it, but I thought of something that made me feel at home—at peace. So, since this area is busy, and there are no bookstores within a ten-mile radius from here, I took the necessary steps and opened Abara’s Bookstore. Got a couple of contracts with a few online libraries and a few authors that send me books.”
“That’s dope, Grue,” Ruger said, calling me my club’s name and nodding his head in approval.
“It is. Don’t keep us waiting! I want to see the inside!” Kenzi said in excitement.
I chuckled lightly and led them inside the building. Kaylani, my manager and Nich’s cousin, stood behind the counter with a book in her hand. Kaylani was the only one in her family I half-liked because she and Nichelle were close. She didn’t look at me with those judging-ass eyes like the rest of Nichelle’s family, and she was cool.
Her ass was so engrossed in the book that she didn’t even hear us come in.
“What’s up, Kay?”
Her head snapped up, and she instantly closed the book. “Oh, hey, Mr. Ghana.”
“It’s just Ghana, Kay,” I corrected her for the tenth time. “Reading again, huh?”
She chuckled. “In my defense, we are a little slow today. Figure I’d get a few chapters in before we shut down for the day, which is in the next ten minutes. What are you doing here anyway, sir?”
“Came to show my people around. This is my sister, Kenzi, and her fiancé, Ruger. Y’all, this is Nich's little cousin, Kaylani.”
Ruger gave her a head nod. “What up, doe?”
“Hiii,” Kenzi spoke.
“Hey, beautiful. I didn’t know you had a sister! It’s so nice to meet you.” Kaylani extended her hand.
“Same to you.” Kenzi smiled and accepted her hand. “It’s beautiful and cozy in here, Ghana. I love it.” There was a lounging area, a coffee/cappuccino station, and a listening station where they could pay at the kiosk to read along to audiobooks. Bookshelves lined the walls, with a variety of books for customers to choose from.
“Thanks, Sis.” I walked over to the computer in the corner and took a seat while Kenzi went exploring with Kaylani, and Ruger sat in the chair adjacent to me.
“Clearly, you and your sister have a love for reading.”
I smirked. “Came from our grandmother, Zuri. Ashanti’s mother. She used to read us bedtime stories and used to make a show of it. Kinda stuck with me, not so much as Kenz.”
“Is she still around? Your grandmother?”
“Nah, . . . cancer took her. That’s when shit started to go downhill.”
“Inez is still with us. I wouldn’t know what I would do without her.”
“Your matriarch will always be your first love.”
Ruger nodded. “Indeed.”
“What was that book called again?”