The Storm between Us

Chapter 11

Amber opened the passenger door and slid into KJ's car, immediately taken back by the inside. The first thing she noticed was the blue glow coming from the interior lights. It wasn't overly bright, just enough to wash the dashboard and center console in a soft electric blue. The second thing was the air conditioning.

She almost sighed.

The cold air hit her the second she closed the door, a welcome relief. She adjusted herself in the seat and glanced around, taking in the clean interior. Everything looked put together without looking like he was trying too hard.

Then there was the smell. Weed mixed with his cologne. It was a strange combination, but somehow it worked. The scent of the cologne was warm and clean underneath the unmistakable smell of the blunt he was in the middle of rolling.

KJ glanced over at her while he finished twisting the end.

"Don't mind me," he said. "I was just rolling up before I pulled off."

Amber raised an eyebrow.

"Oh."

He chuckled when he caught her expression. "But it's a good thing I didn't light it before you got in. I would've had you smelling like weed by the time we got wherever you going."

She laughed softly. "I appreciate that."

"See? I got manners."

Amber smiled and shook her head. He put the blunt down in the center console before starting the car.

"Where you heading?"

Amber pulled out her phone and gave him her address. KJ handed her his phone so she could put it into the GPS herself. She typed in the address, checked it twice, and handed it back.

"Got it."

KJ glanced at the screen.

"Alright."

The car pulled away from the curb. For the first few minutes, neither of them said much. Amber looked out the window as familiar streets passed by, occasionally checking the GPS on the dashboard.

Traffic was still there.

Of course.

KJ tapped his fingers against the steering wheel as they slowed to a crawl.

"So," he said, glancing over at her, "you from around here?"

"Not really."

He looked at her briefly.

"What you mean?"

"I just moved here."

"From where?"

"California."

His eyebrows lifted.

"California?"

"Yeah."

"That's a long way from Georgia."

Amber smiled. "Tell me about it."

"How long you been here?"

"Not that long. I'm still getting used to everything."

"What you think so far?"

She looked out the window, thinking.

"It's different."

"Good different or bad different?"

"A little bit of both."

KJ laughed.

"That's fair."

"I mean, I like it," she continued. "It's just...everything feels slower here. And the cold is ridiculous."

"The cold?"

"Absolutely ridiculous. I thought I was prepared."

"It's not even winter yet, what about Cali?is it hot there?"

"California heat is different."

"How?"

"I don't know." She laughed. "It just is."

"So you already making excuses."

"I'm not making excuses."

He grinned. Amber found herself smiling too.

The traffic barely moved. KJ glanced at her again.

"So what brought you out here?"

"I needed a change."

"That's it?"

"That's it."

He nodded slowly, like he understood without needing to ask more.

"Sometimes you need that."

"Exactly."

"What you doing out here?"

"Working. Getting settled. Trying to figure everything out."

"You got family here?"

"A little."

He nodded.

"What about friends?"

Amber shrugged. "I'm working on that part."

"So you don't know nobody?"

"Not really."

KJ looked at her for a second before turning his attention back to the road.

"Well, now you know me."

Amber looked at him. She couldn't tell if he was joking.

He was smiling, though.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

"It should."

"Why?"

"Because I'm cool."

She laughed.

"You just met me."

"And you already know I'm cool."

"You're very confident."

"I gotta be."

Amber shook her head, smiling as she looked back out the window.

The conversation continued as they sat in traffic. They talked about work, food, music, places they liked to go, and how different Georgia was from California. KJ asked her what kind of music she listened to, and she gave him a few artists before turning the question around on him.

He had a surprisingly wide range.

One minute he was talking about hip-hop, the next he was talking about old-school R&B. They argued playfully over which artists were better, with KJ insisting Amber had questionable taste.

"My taste is fine," she said.

"Nah."

"You don't even know what I listen to."

"I know enough."

"You're annoying."

"And you still talking to me."

Amber rolled her eyes.

He laughed. She was beginning to realize that talking to KJ was easy. There weren't long awkward pauses. He didn't interrogate her or make her feel like she had to tell him everything. He just asked questions and actually listened to the answers.

At one point, he glanced at the dashboard clock.

"You been in Georgia long enough to have a favorite food spot yet?"

"Not really."

"That's a problem."

"How?"

"You can't live somewhere and not know where the good food is."

"Well, maybe you can show me."

The words came out before Amber could think about them. KJ looked over at her. A small smile pulled at the corner of his mouth.

"Maybe I will."

"What?"

"You could've said something."

"You could've too."

"Fair."

They both laughed. And somehow, what was supposed to be a simple ride home suddenly felt like something neither of them wanted to end too quickly. Before Amber could respond, KJ's phone started ringing.

He glanced at the screen, then picked it up.

"Hold on."

He answered casually.

"Active?"

Amber's head turned so fast her neck started to hurt.

She stared at him. She recognized the slang from her culture.Furthermore, That was not the same voice she'd been listening to for the past twenty minutes.

The relaxed Southern-American cadence he'd been using with her disappeared almost completely. His voice became deeper, quicker, and thicker, the words rolling together with a Jamaican rhythm she hadn't heard from him once since she got into the car.

"Yeah, mi deh yah. Weh yuh deh?"

Amber's eyebrows slowly rose. KJ continued talking, completely unaware that she was watching him like he'd suddenly revealed a secret identity.

"No sah,Mi just a drop somebody off. Yeah. Alright."

He hung up and tossed the phone back onto the console.

The second he looked over, he caught Amber staring.

"What?"

She blinked.

"Wait."

KJ frowned slightly.

"What?"

"You're Jamaican?"

He paused.

Then a slow grin spread across his face.

"Yeah."

Amber let out a short laugh, shaking her head.

"Excuse me?"

"What?"

"You're Jamaican?"

"I just said yeah."

"No, because—" She pointed at him. "Where did that come from?"

KJ laughed.

"What you mean?"

"You've been talking to me this whole time sounding like—" She stopped, trying to find the right words. "Like a regular American."

"A regular American?"

"You know what I mean."

He laughed harder.

"Nah, I don't."

Amber shook her head.

"I would've never guessed."

"Why not?"

"Because your accent is completely different right now."

KJ glanced at her, amused.

"You ain't hear me talk to nobody from back home before."

"No! That's what I'm saying. That just came out of nowhere."

"It didn't come out of nowhere."

"It did to me."

He smiled and shook his head.

"Most people don't catch it unless I'm talking to somebody Jamaican."

Amber studied him for a second.

"So you're actually Jamaican?"

KJ gave her a look.

"Actually?"

"You know what I mean."

"I know exactly what you mean."

She laughed.

"Okay, okay. But seriously. You were born there?"

"Yeah."

Amber's expression shifted.

"Really?"

"Yeah. I came over here when I was young."

"How young?"

"Preteen."

"Oh."

That suddenly made everything click.

"Half and half."

"Pretty much."

"That's why."

"That's why what?"

"That's why you sound American."

KJ nodded.

"Yeah. When I came here, everybody sounded different. After a while, you pick things up."

"So you just lost your accent?"

He shrugged.

"Not really."

He tapped his fingers against the steering wheel.

"It's still there. I just don't always use it. Depends who I'm talking to."

Amber looked at him curiously.

"So when you talk to Jamaicans, you automatically sound like that?"

"Most of the time."

"That's crazy."

KJ smiled.

"You should've heard me when I first came here."

"I bet."

"Nah, for real. I sounded way different."

Amber laughed.

"I wish I could've heard that."

"You would've been laughing at me."

"Probably."

He glanced over at her.

"Probably?"

"Definitely."

KJ shook his head, smiling.

Amber looked out the window for a second, still processing it.

She had spent the entire ride assuming she had KJ figured out.

Apparently, she didn't know him nearly as well as she thought.

"So where in Jamaica are you from?"

KJ told her.

Amber's eyes immediately widened.

"No way."

He looked over.

"What?"

"I've been there before."

That caught his attention.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah."

"Then how you never ask me if I'm Jamaican?"

"Because I didn't know!"

He laughed.

"Fair enough."

The conversation immediately shifted.

They started talking about Jamaica, the food, the music, different places, family, childhood memories, and the little things only someone familiar with the culture would understand. Amber noticed how animated KJ became when he talked about home. His hands moved more when he spoke, his accent slipping in and out depending on the story.

And every time it slipped back in, Amber caught herself smiling. She hadn't expected that side of him at all.