Joshua woke up alone.

And he didn't like how odd and conflicted it made him feel.

Downstairs, he could hear a song by The Spinners playing, the melody slower than he was used to and Ayoluwa was singing along.

Joshua continued to lay there, staring at the ceiling fan while the music continued to pump throughout the house.

Cuddling with Ayoluwa last night had been simultaneously the weirdest and the most comforting thing to happen to him lately.

Comforting because she was warm and soft and her hair was soft and her skin smelled deeply of flowers and cinnamon.

But weird because it was Ayoluwa.

Joshua could've sworn that he hated this girl but now his feelings were slowly becoming complicated.

He needed to smoke.

Joshua sprung up from the bed and after thoroughly brushing his teeth, he headed down the stairs.

The song had changed and Ayoluwa had dropped her voice an octave to match the notes, "One look at you, and my heart knew you were the one for me. All pain has gone, new love was born when you walked in my life,"

Joshua had left his duffel bag downstairs and along the side was a couple of already rolled blunts.

He had smoked the first one that first day here and hadn't felt the need to spark up.

Until now.

Joshua placed the blunt in his mouth then headed to the kitchen where Ayoluwa was still singing and lightly two stepping as she put cut up pieces of fruit in a blender.

He pilfered through kitchen drawers until he found a green Bic lighter.

Joshua flicked the light and was about to press the flame against the tip of the blunt when Ayoluwa turned to face him, "Morning."

The blender stopped, the liquid inside a purplish blue and Ayoluwa poured it into a glass, "Good morning. Do you want...?"

"No thanks, Palmer," Joshua paused again, the flame only an inch or two away from the blunt, "Do you want a puff?"

Ayoluwa quickly shook her head, "It fucks up your voice. Would it... Would you mind smoking that outside? Just so the house doesn't smell like weed all day?"

Normally, Joshua would tell whoever had the nerve to ask him that to fuck completely off.

But Ayoluwa was looking up at him with those slightly annoying doe eyes of hers and her skin was turning a deeper brown from the constant sun and they had slept in the same bed for two nights and he couldn't be rude to her now.

"Yeah, sure." Joshua heard himself say.

It was hot despite it being mid morning and the sun reflected off the lake.

Joshua sat on the deck steps, the now fully lit blunt between his lips.

In one hand was his phone and in the other hand was the Bic lighter.

Joshua took a slow inhale, held it in as long as he could then blew out the smoke.

His mind instantly started to lift and declutter just enough for Joshua to decide that he wanted- no, needed some advice.

Preferably from someone who wasn't aware that Joshua was currently stuck in a house alone with someone he was supposed to strongly dislike.

Unlocking his phone, Joshua scrolled through the phone app until he found the contact that he wanted.

Sharife picked up at the last possible minute.

"Hey, Gup." Sharife's tone was careful and his facial expression was extremely apprehensive.

Joshua sighed then took a puff of the blunt, "Jalen talked to you, didn't he?"

"He mentioned that y'all got into it over Noel but ion know all of the details." Sharife's background showed a red and pink bedroom.

"It's a long story. I got a question."

"What's up?"

Joshua sighed, "You knew Kylah for awhile before you got with her right?"

"Yeah, a couple years." Sharife gave him a confused expression, "Why?"

"I heard my name!" Kylah's voice sounded in the room that Sharife was in.

"It's Josh, give me a second!" Sharife replied.

"I'll be in the living room," Kylah replied then the sound of kissing and a door closing came from his end.

"When you started liking her... Did it make you feel weird?" Joshua asked, his eyes on the blunt in his hand.

"I mean at first, a little, yeah. But then... Then it felt like me and her should've been doing this all along." Sharife replied, "Like why wasn't I with her sooner, you know what I mean? Or maybe not 'cause I know how you are."

Oh my fucking God.

That was not the answer that Joshua was looking for.

At all.

Not in the slightest.

"So there wasn't any problems?" Joshua pressed.

"I didn't say that," Sharife chuckled, "We've been through some shit. But we got through it. Made us stronger."

"BJ wasn't pissed at you getting with his cousin?"

Sharife grew quiet at the question.

"Exactly," Joshua put the phone on the deck next to him so he could relight the blunt.

"Him getting pissed at me didn't stop what I was feeling. Why? I mean, like why are you asking?"

Joshua glanced through the glass back door to where he could see Ayoluwa was dancing fluidly and singing along to a song he couldn't hear.

Her locs were moving with her as she spun around and around and around in a circle.

A small smile passed through his lips watching Ayoluwa act her age for once and not having to step into the under appreciated mother role her sister had forced her into.

"Gup? Gup? What are you looking at," Sharife laughed with a shake of his head.

"Um..." Joshua glanced at the phone then back to the kitchen where Ayoluwa was dancing.

"Nothing. Just forget I asked."

the song Ayo sings is above

vote & comment, porfa!