44. Clarissa

I stuffa few more shirts in my bag. Rissa isn’t here, and this is the first time I’ve been back to her place in a few weeks. As I’m zipping the bag, the front door closes.

I run to the front, and Rissa is kicking off her shoes and taking off her shirt.

“Uh, hello to you too. Are we changing in a communal area? Do I need to complain?” I ask with a laugh.

“Shit, I didn’t know you were here. This is the first time I’ve seen you in two or three weeks.” She shuffles past but doesn’t bother to put her shirt back on, heading to the kitchen in her bra and jeans to open the fridge.

“I need to eat something quick. I have”—she pauses to look at her watch—“forty-five minutes to be ready.”

“Ooh, ready for what?” I ask, leaning against the kitchen counter.

“Right, we haven’t talked! Derrek is picking me up, and he’s going to meet my parents for the first time.”

“Whoa, that’s major. Why didn’t you tell me?”

She looks up from her bowl of fruit with a frown.

“I love you, Lis, but girl, when would I have told you? You come in to get clothes or something you left, and then you’re gone for weeks at a time. And I get it; you and Tyson have crazy chemistry. You want to be up on each other all the time. When I say it’s fine, I mean it. Plus, when I have nightcaps, I’m not disturbing anyone.”

She smooths her eyebrows with a creepy laugh.

“My bad, Rissa. I need to do better.”

“You do. There’s more to life than Tyson.”

She pierces a cantaloupe and takes a bite.

“Wait, why did I get a link to one of your videos today?” she asks with a smile.

I frown and stand up straight.

“My video?” I say, placing my hand over my chest.

“Yep. You know things have been busy at the shop, and honestly, I was messing with you about not being around because I’ve barely been here either, but anyway, everybody was tired. So, Jonathan pulled up this video for everybody. Imagine my surprise at seeing my bestie with her boo thang. I would never have believed Brussels sprouts could be sexy, but baby, I was like, are they about to do it on camera?”

I push Rissa’s shoulder, and she falls over in an exaggeration.

“Tell me you didn’t watch that. I hate that video. I wanted to delete it, but the numbers are too high on it. Tyson said I was overreacting.”

“No, Lis, y’all need to do more videos. Seriously, y’all are so cute. I think that’s why it was so great. You clearly tried to reel him back, and he was just oozing sex appeal. And again, how in the world were those Brussels sprouts sexy?” she says, fanning her face, and I groan.

Our notifications went wild after that video. I even had a few restaurants reach out to me directly, along with some brand deal offers, which was a surprise. I didn’t think I was big enough for that kind of response.

“No, for real, I know working at my shop isn’t really what you want to do. I think you should get serious about being a creator. I know it’s hard work, but I really think you have something. Plus, you’re never at work,” she says with her lips poked to the side.

I clutch my chest and back up. “What?”

If I’m honest, shop work isn’t a passion of mine. Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful to Rissa for offering to help me out, but the food videos are really something I enjoy. On top of that, although things at the shop can get hectic, it’s not with work I can help with. They’re busy with technical stuff, and I find myself standing around more often than not with nothing to do.

“I love you, Rissa, but be honest. You were paying me to do nothing. I should have said it sooner, but I knew if I wasn’t there, it was the only way you wouldn’t pay me.” I shrug.

She takes a bite of pineapple and narrows her eyes.

“True, but I was worried. Don’t you need money?”

I lean back again and smile. “I still have my savings, and Tyson doesn’t let me pay for anything.”

The ad revenue isn’t huge since I’m still growing, but it’s enough so I don’t feel like a leech. He likes to pay, and I let him, but if I had to, I could manage my expenses.

“Well, I love that.” She finishes the last bite of pineapple and tosses the container in the trash. “Come and help me get ready.”

I nod, and we walk to her room. She has a section with pillows on the floor, so I sit there while she goes to her closet.

“Are you nervous?” I ask, lying on the floor with my hands under my head.

“Honestly, not as much as I thought. Derrek is so cool, and I think my parents will like him.”

Rissa’s parents are a lot like her in their creativity. They’re bold and passionate, so I think they’ll all get along.

“How are your parents? And what’s up with Mr. Camp?”

I smile as I speak. “Rissa, he’s doing so good. It seems like the heart attack was the best wake-up call. He was never overweight, but he’s dropped fifteen pounds. He and my mom are doing daily walks or bike rides in the evenings. Like it’s really been positive.”

“That’s great, Lis. Low-key, I felt bad because I can’t imagine all the stress of the medical bills and travel expenses they had from the ruined trip.”

I sit up slowly and adjust my shirt. “Well, wait, what do you mean? You helped arrange their travel. Got them upgraded and everything.”

Rissa turns away from shuffling hangers in the closet and looks at me.

“I did?” She points to herself.

“Yeah.” I crease my forehead and pause.

“Lis, I wish I had thought of that, but at the time, it didn’t cross my mind. I didn’t pay for their travel or upgrade anything.”

I’m shaking my head, and now I’m really confused. I remember my mom being so excited that the travel was taken care of on their way back from Paris.

“Rissa.”

“Lis, I’m serious. It wasn’t me.”

“So, what, I have a secret admirer?”

“Well, maybe not secret. I’m guessing it’s that Brussels sprout-feeding Adonis you call your man.”

I gasp and clutch my chest.

“No. We weren’t even together then.”

Rissa shrugs and pulls a long silk button-up dress down from the closet. It’s white with yellow and blue swirls along the hem.

“It ain’t tricking if you got it,” she says with a wink.

I laugh but am still in shock.

“Actually, it is tricking. I hate when they say that shit.” She laughs. “I’m going to hop in the shower.”

Just like that, she disappears into the bathroom, and I’m left to sit with this news. It must have been him—unless it was Tyree. The thought brings a grimace to my face. I pull up my call log and dial his number.

“Hey, baby,” he says in that smooth voice.

“Tyson, I have a question.”

“And I have answers, shoot.”

I shake my head and lie back on the pillows.

“Did—when—well, before we started dating, when my parents were overseas. Did you handle their travel?”

He clears his throat. “I did.”

“Tyson, you didn’t even know me.”

He blows out a breath.

“I did know you. Where is this coming from?”

“I was talking to Rissa, and I thought it was her that pulled strings this whole time. Tyson, that was too much.”

“Issa, why are you playing on my phone?”

“What?”

“Last time I checked, I don’t have a time machine. It’s paid for and finalized. I didn’t do it to get anything in return. I saw a need, and I have enough connections to fill it, so I did. And when I do this next thing for their anniversary, don’t say it’s too much and make it a thing.”

I laugh and shake my head.

“Tyson,” I whine, and now he laughs.

“I’m for real, Issa.”

“Wait. You did something else?”

“Hmmm?”

I pause, waiting, but he doesn’t speak.

“What is it?”

“Since their last trip was ruined after unforeseen circumstances, I wanted to replace it.”

“Tyson!!!”

“What? It’s not anything serious, just an all-expenses-paid trip to Mexico for nine days.”

I groan with one hand on my face.

“You said you wouldn’t make it a thing.”

“I never agreed to that.”

He laughs his thick, smooth laugh, and I melt into the pillows.

“Now, Issa, be reasonable.”

I hate the way I react to his voice sometimes. I’m smiling with all my teeth, and his chuckle comes through the receiver. I’m not sure why I’m fighting it. Like he mentioned, it’s already done.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

“Ooop,” I say, and he laughs again.

“When are you coming back home? It’s quiet,” he says.

“Technically, I am home, but Rissa needs my help for her date, so I’m hanging out.”

I play with the hem of my shirt while I wait.

“You know I have so much more room. You could just keep all your stuff here for the storage.”

“All my stuff. You’re asking me to move all my stuff—to your house?”

“It just makes the most sense for the reason of storage. Seems like the right move.”

I laugh, and he joins in.

“Tyson.”

“Come on, Issa, you know how I feel about you. I want to wake up every morning like it’s London without you running back to Marissa’s place.”

I sink deeper into the pillows and say, “Okay.” I refrain from making a joke or some goofy observation.

“Okay?”

“Yeah, okay.”

He hollers in joy, and I laugh.

“Perfect. So fucking perfect.”

We talk for a few more minutes as I wait for Rissa to finish in the shower. Once she’s out, I rush off the phone and help her get ready. Seeing her so happy to introduce her parents to Derrek brings me joy. We haven’t had an afternoon like this in a while, so we laugh and gossip through hair and makeup until it’s time for him to arrive.