The Ex Project by Nia Arthurs

Chapter Eighteen

“I camefor Yenta and the expensive wine.” Zaka shyly entered Giselle’s apartment, her hand raised in submission.

“Then you’ve come to the right place. There is plenty of both.” Giselle stepped back and admitted them. She wore a fluttering pink dress with buttons down the front. The pink made her brown skin look sun-kissed. Her curls were tight ringlets, each one moisturized and glistening.

Zaka stared at her in awe before looking away. “Sorry to barge in.”

Giselle shot them both a pleased grin. “Oh, Yolanda told us you were coming.”

“Did she?” Zaka arched a delicate eyebrow.

“Is something wrong?”

“I agreed to come about thirty minutes ago.”

Giselle’s jaw dropped. “You told me hours ago.”

“Because I knew she would jump at this chance.” Yolanda jutted her chin down confidently. “Who would turn down a perfect stranger offering K-pop and alcohol?”

“Clearly not me.” Zaka laughed self-consciously.

Yolanda studied the young woman beside her. Small and innocent-looking, Zaka had the kind of body that a stiff breeze would blow away.

On top of her small stature, her high cheekbones, sharp eyes, and thin brown lips formed an exquisite face. It was an evocative beauty. Almost hauntingly so. Just one look at her and a strange, protective instinct jumped out of a person.

“Hey.” Latoya rose from the couch and bustled to the three of them. She clutched a full glass of wine in one hand and her cell phone in the other.

“Hey, girl.” Yolanda accepted Latoya’s hug.

Her friend wore a crop top over a pair of jeans shorts. Yolanda smiled at the outfit. Ever since Latoya got with Cole, she embraced her body like never before.

“Hi.” Zaka waved nervously.

Latoya shoved the wine glass into Zaka’s hand. “Welcome to K-pop Sundays. They’re like football Sundays but ten times better.”

Zaka laughed. “It’s good to be here.”

“Take a look around,” Giselle offered. “We have more wine, chocolate and brownies than we know what to do with.”

“Wow. What don’t you have?”

“Basically anything that’s good for you.”

Yolanda snorted.

“May I?” Zaka gestured to the living room.

“Of course.”

Zaka stepped past them to observe Giselle’s K-pop paraphernalia.

With the newcomer out of earshot, Latoya leaned in and whispered, “Where did you find her?”

“She was a rec.”

“By whom?”

“Duane. She’s the sister of one of his football players. He mentioned she liked K-pop and I knew I had to drag her here.”

“Duane, huh?” Latoya wiggled her eyebrows.

“Are things with you and Coach Marden going well?”

“You can say that.”

“It sounds like we need an update.” Latoya bumped Giselle with her elbow. “Because that grin of hers is saying a whole lot.”

Yolanda snickered. They knew her too well.

“Excuse me.” Zaka’s voice cut their conversation short.

Yolanda whirled around.

Zaka pointed to a picture on the wall. “Is that a poster of Yenta in his Super-Rock era?”

“You know your JEN-TEN history?” Giselle looked impressed.

“Leave It Up To You was a highly underrated b-side. In fact, that entire album had too many good tracks. I couldn’t choose one.”

Giselle clasped her hands under her chin and swooned. “I think I love her.”

“Wait.” Zaka shot across the room and hovered her finger over the red speedo in Giselle’s K-pop cabinet. “Is that…”

“Yes.”

“Youwon the international auction?”

“Yes.” Giselle folded her arms proudly over her chest.

Zaka sighed. “I love it here.”

“Smart, pretty and knows her K-pop stats? Can we adopt her?” Latoya asked.

“Too late. She’s my inductee.”

“I didn’t know we could bring pledges!”

“You brought Malika,” Giselle pointed out.

“My sister-in-law only attends when she’s free. And lately, she’s been busy with school.” Latoya raised her arm and caused her bangles to dance down it. “I want another pledge pick.”

“I’m a pledge?” Zaka stepped back. “You’re not going to dare me to do anything crazy, right?”

“By crazy, do you mean playing doorbell dash or running through the cemetery naked?” Latoya rubbed her hands together and cackled evilly. “Because I have ideas.”

Zaka shrank back.

Giselle nudged her friend away. “Don’t worry. We’re not going to ask you to do any of that.”

“Cool.” Zaka breathed out in relief.

“Ignore them. I invited you purely to share the love of K-pop.”

Zaka followed her around the couch. “I didn’t know people who loved K-pop lived in Belize.”

“We’re a small but rabid fanbase.” Yolanda set her purse in the chair.

“How long have you been listening to JEN-TEN, Zaka?” Latoya asked.

“Just a few weeks.”

Giselle’s popcorn went flying. “A few weeks? And you know about JEN-TEN’s Super-Rock era?”

“Once I got started, it sucked me in.”

“I knew there was a reason I wanted to meet you. Our souls are made of the same thing.” Yolanda patted Zaka’s hand.

“How did you fall in love with K-pop?” Giselle asked, picking up her fallen popcorn.

“I was in the hospital recently.” Zaka pointed to her scrawny ankle that was wrapped in gauze.

Yolanda had noticed her limping to the car and up the stairs earlier, but she thought it was too rude to ask. Now seemed like the perfect time. “What happened?”

“I got into an accident while riding my scooter.”

“Oh no.” Giselle covered her mouth.

“It was a really dark time for me. I was worried about losing my job, paying the medical fees and dealing with the headache of figuring everything out.”

Yolanda bobbed her head in understanding.

“Then I saw this colorful video trending online. I thought it looked a little ridiculous, but I got into the beat and the dance moves. When I looked up the English translation of the lyrics, they were so positive.” Zaka shrugged shyly. “The singers were cute too.”

“That’s how they nab you.” Latoya gestured to her face. “The visuals.”

“Preach, sister.”

Giselle just pursed her lips.

“So I started listening to more and more of JEN-TEN’s music, their practice sessions and their variety show appearances. I also watched their documentary—”

“So inspiring.” Latoya pressed a hand to her generous chest.

Yolanda made a sound of agreement in her throat.

“In the documentary, I saw how hard they worked, and I don’t know—I felt inspired. It made me think I could make it too if I could just work hard enough.”

“Hear, hear!” Giselle wrapped her arms around Zaka.

“JEN-TEN is my go-to playlist when the world feels like crap. I remember one of my earliest cases as a social worker. What that stepfather did to that little girl…” Latoya’s fingers clamped into fists. “I needed a reminder that the world deserves to keep turning.”

Yolanda smiled. “For me, it was right when I found out I was pregnant with Tay-Tay. It wasn’t planned and my ex wasn’t being supportive. I was really scared and uncertain if I’d be able to be a good mother.”

Zaka gave her a sympathetic look.

“As you can see,” Giselle spread her hands, “we all have a ‘come to K-pop’ story.”

“I still can’t believe I found people who are as obsessed as I am.”

“We’re a special breed,” Latoya said primly.

“She means we’re not normal.”

Giselle shot Latoya a dark look. “Don’t scare the girl.”

“Why am I scaring her?”

“That would mean she’s not normal either.”

“Oh, but she’s not. Don’t you know that, sweetie?”

Zaka laughed and Yolanda knew they’d officially found the fourth member of their K-pop fan group.

* * *

“Thank you for inviting me,”Zaka said as Yolanda drove her home. “I had so much fun.”

“You’re welcome back any time. I discussed it with both Latoya and Giselle. It’s time we opened this group up.”

“You mean that?”

She bobbed her head.

“Seriously? Can I come every week?”

Yolanda laughed at Zaka’s enthusiasm. Mostly because it was a sign of how tipsy she was.

Zaka had gotten carried away with the wine and, towards the end of the night, she loudly sang to JEN-TEN’s latest title track. To everyone’s surprise, Zaka didn’t butcher the Korean but seemed to be singing all the words correctly. That had earned Yolanda’s respect.

“We meet every Sunday.”

“Wow.” Zaka flopped into her seat. “It feels like I’m a part of a super cool secret society.”

Yolanda smirked at that. “I can’t promise I can pick you up every time though. I have my son that I have to drop off first. Sometimes, my mom wants to talk to me before I leave. Those days, I arrive late.”

“I can catch a bus, so it’s fine.” She hiccupped. “Wait, did you just say you have a son?”

“Yes, but you knew that already.”

“Oh, yeah. I did.”

Yolanda chuckled. “Are you drunk?”

“You don’t look old enough to have children. That’s why I keep forgetting.”

“If you’re trying to flatter me, it’s working.”

“Your son attends Coach Marden’s football camp, right?”

“Yup.”

“You know, I thought you and Coach Marden were dating.”

“Really?” Her heart rate spiked. “Did he say that?”

“Coach Marden is a really good guy,” Zaka whispered. With a stubby finger, she traced a circle on the window. “He’s… amazing.”

Yolanda glanced away from the road to look at her.

Zaka pulled her lips in. “You’re really lucky to have him.”

Yolanda began to feel a stirring of jealousy. Did Zaka have a crush on Duane? Had he ever felt the same way? She was a beautiful girl. Young. Pretty. Childless.

Don’t think like that, Yolanda.

“He helped us out when we were at our lowest,” Zaka whispered. “I owe him a lot.”

Yolanda froze, her fingers tightening on the wheel. She felt ashamed of herself. Zaka was not competition. And even if she was, fighting over a man was beneath her. Zaka seemed to be handling the weight of the world. Rather than jealousy, now was the time for solidarity.

“I knew he was kind, but the way he handled my hospital bills after the accident…” She blew out a breath. “He saved us.”

“Are your parents unable to help?” Yolanda asked gently.

“My parents died when I was sixteen.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“I’ve been taking care of my brother since then, trying to do everything I could so he didn’t get taken away from me.”

Yolanda slowed the car down, not wanting to get to Zaka’s house too quickly in case she stopped sharing.

“We went to live with my grandmother who was in poor health. We couldn’t live off her social security benefits, so I found a job and worked as many hours as I could. I failed so many of my classes that I had to repeat my senior year.”

“What about your brother? How did he handle everything?”

“Not well. He started hanging out with these guys in the neighborhood. They were into drugs and gangs.”

Yolanda gritted her teeth at the very thought of Tay-Tay getting mixed up in such a volatile and highly dangerous lifestyle.

“As soon as I found out about it, I got scared and started looking for someone to mentor him.”

“Is that when Duane showed up?”

“Kind of. Coach Marden saw my brother playing football in the field near our house and personally recruited him. Since Coach Marden entered our lives, my brother completely changed. He stopped dealing with those thugs, focused on school and even came in top of his class last year.”

“I can tell you’re proud of him.”

Zaka’s chest rose in a deep sigh. “It’s all over now.”

“Why is that?”

Before she could pry more information out of her, Zaka perked up. “Oh, that’s my house.” She unbuckled her seatbelt and bounced forward. Wrapping thin arms around Yolanda’s neck, she cooed, “I had a great time. Thanks for reaching out to me.”

“Thanks for agreeing to come.”

Zaka pulled back and wiggled a finger. “Make sure you take care of coach. He’s got a lot of people who love him and will fight on his behalf. Don’t hurt him.”

“I won’t,” Yolanda said hoarsely.

But as she drove off to pick up Tay-Tay, she wondered if that was a promise she could keep.