Passion of the Streets

by A'zayler

  When he got there it was already packed with people, all trying to escape the gunplay that had just erupted. Jamil searched the crowd for his li’l chocolate baby. So many people were calling his name or pulling on his arms that it took him forever to make it through the crowd, but once he had, he still didn’t see her.

  After not finding her in the parking lot, he ran toward the entrance of the gas station. He caught hell trying to get inside, but once he did, he located her instantly. She was standing near the back by the coolers that held the beer. She was standing alone with her arms folded over her chest. When she saw him, it was as if they’d known each other forever, the way she ran to him.

  He opened his arms and allowed her to slam into his chest as soon as she was close enough to him. She held him around his waist as he draped one arm around the top of her shoulders.

  “Come on.” Jamil was pulling her from the store, but she too was pulling, only in the opposite direction.

  “My cousin is meeting me here. I talked to her.”

  “Bet.” Jamil released her and got ready to walk away. “Stay in here, and when she gets here, y’all go home.”

  Alarm spread across her face. “Don’t leave me,” she yelped, and then covered her mouth. “Please.” Her voice was a little lower with that part of the request.

  Jamil liked the need that she held in her voice for him, but he wasn’t about to stay in that gas station when he’d just had some niggas trying to run up on him. He wasn’t really feeling leaving her there either, but if she wanted to stay, he wasn’t going to make her go.

  “I don’t want to leave you, but I’m not staying in here.”

  “Why?”

  “Niggas gunning for me. I have to dip.”

  Gia’s eyes watered as she looked down at the floor and let his hand drop from hers. She nodded and took a few steps back. Jamil watched her and momentarily debated whether or not he wanted to stay, but the more he thought about it, the more he knew he had to go. He couldn’t risk his life for a girl he didn’t even know.

  Jamil looked at her long and hard before walking to the door. His hand was on the handle when he heard her talking.

  “Hurry up. I’m scared.”

  Even though he knew she had to be talking to her cousin, he couldn’t leave her like that, scared and alone. He remembered hearing her say something about going home the day before, so clearly she wasn’t from there. Jamil battled with himself until he was turning around and reaching for her hand again. Reluctantly, she took it and allowed him to usher her toward the door.

  “I’m not gon’ let nothing happen to you, okay?”

  She nodded.

  “You ain’t got to be scared. Tell your cousin you with me and she can come get you from my spot.”

  Gia looked skeptical as she held her phone to her ear. She relayed his message before asking where his spot was.

  “Across the street. The first building facing the library. Apartment C.”

  Gia told her cousin what he’d just said as they pushed their way through the crowd and across the street to BTW. He held her hand, pulling her behind him. Along the way he thought about Lauren and pulled Gia up to where he was at. He tucked her securely beneath his arm and walked with her close to his body.

  He felt better with her being close to him. Her constant shivering and shaking was slowly simmering away, so apparently being close to him relaxed her as well. Jamil felt safer once he was back in his hood, but he was still watching his back. When they finally got to his doorstep, he pulled his key out and sent up a quick prayer asking God to let his parents be asleep or at least in their room.

  He didn’t really want to take Gia inside, but the block was still too hot to be out, so he had no other choice. There was no noise or weird mumbling when he pushed the door open so that was a good sign. With Gia still tucked close to him, he pushed the door closed behind him and locked it.

  No words were spoken as he led her down the hall to his room. Not that he could have said anything anyway, he was so busy holding his breath hoping neither Owen nor Zanetta would show their face. Once his door swung closed, he locked it and released Gia from his grasp. He flicked the light on, and she walked over to his bed and took a seat.

  Like always, his room was clean. He didn’t have much in there, but it was decent. Black bedroom set with matching dressers he’d purchased for himself last Christmas, a black and gray comforter, and a black bean bag chair and a dirty clothes hamper in the corner. No pictures, no posters, nothing personal, and most definitely nothing of value. He didn’t trust his parents.

  “You straight?” he asked Gia as she sat with her hands in her lap.

  He leaned against the wall and watched her nod. Her locs were hanging down and around her shoulders, the red and purple parts grazing against her soft, dark skin.

  Entertaining himself more with her beauty, his eyes roamed down over her perfectly round breasts tucked away in the plain white shirt. The thick but sexily toned thighs spread across his bed as she sat with her hands tucked between them.

  The loose strings from the ripped blue jean shorts she was wearing lay across her legs, teasing him.

  “Where your cousin was at?” Jamil asked, breaking the silence.

  “She said she was walking to her truck and she was coming.”

  “Cool.” Jamil walked to his closet and kicked his shoes off before pulling his gun from his back and sticking it in the shoe box at the top of his closet.

  “Did you shoot them?” She cleared her throat. “The boys from the fair?”

  “Nah.”

  Jamil could tell she was uncomfortable. She was sitting on the edge of the bed and hadn’t moved an inch since they’d come in.

  “You fast as hell, you know that?”

  A small smile tugged at her lips, letting him know that running was an open subject. “Yeah, I know. The second fastest in the nation, actually.”

  “You for real or you playing?”

  Gia finally looked up at him. She was wearing the prettiest smile he’d ever had the privilege of seeing.

  “I’m serious.”

  “I don’t know if I believe you.” Jamil pretended not to believe her so that she would keep talking.

  Gia quickly pulled her phone from her pocket. She tapped it a few times before typing something.

  “Come here real quick. Let me show you something.”

  Jamil walked over to her and sat down. He leaned over her shoulder and looked at the writing on the screen that she’d pulled up with her picture on it. Whatever it was, it was long as hell and the writing was too small. He couldn’t really make sense of it, but he wouldn’t tell her that.

  “What’s this?” he asked.

  “It’s an article Sports Illustrated did on me and the number one runner in the nation,” she stated proudly.

  “Damn. That’s what’s up. For real. That’s some dope shit.”

  Gia nudged him with her shoulder. “Shut up.”

  “For real. That’s dope, li’l baby.”

  Gia blushed and held her head down. Her locs fell over the side of her face so that he could no longer see her.

  “I like your hair. That shit dope too.”

  “Thank you. I like yours too. I’ve never seen orange dreads before.”

  Jamil turned his nose up. “Orange?”

  Gia nodded, still wearing her smile.

  “It ain’t orange like that. It’s kind of burnt orange, almost brown.” Jamil picked up one of his locs and looked at it.

  “Whatever it is, I’ve never seen it before. What’s your name?” Gia asked with an eagerness like she’d been waiting to ask.

  “Jamil, but the streets call me Milli Rock.”

  “Like the dance?” Gia giggled.

  “Man, you wild.” He pushed some of her hair out of her face. “Kind of. It’s short for Jamil Rock, but you know black people like you have to assume it’s because of the dance.”

  “What you mean black people like me? Don’t
be trying to be funny because I’m dark with your extra-light-skinned ass.”

  Her tone was accusing, and he hated the fact that she’d taken his comment the wrong way. “I wasn’t saying that because of your color, because I think that shit is sexy as fuck. I love dark-skinned women. I was saying black people as in African Americans as a whole. Chill.”

  Gia looked away as her phone began ringing. Instead of saying anything, she answered her phone. She said a few things before hanging up.

  “My cousin is outside.”

  Jamil stood and walked toward the door with her behind him. He opened the door and looked down the hallway before telling her to come on. The coast appeared to be clear as they made their way to the front door. His hand was on the doorknob when he heard Zanetta call his name. It sounded like she was in the kitchen, so he hurried to push Gia out of the door.

  Once they were outside on the porch, he saw the little black truck that Gia and her cousin had been in the day before. Talkative brown skin was sitting in the front seat, hanging out the window. When she saw them walking toward her, she smiled.

  “Look at this shit here.”

  Jamil was about to frown but stopped himself and just nodded.

  “Thank you for helping her,” Oni said.

  “It was nothing.” Jamil walked Gia to her door and opened it.

  Before getting in she turned and wrapped her arms around his waist. “Thank you.”

  “No problem. Just get home safe.”

  “You want me to text you when I get there?” Gia’s voice sounded a little unsure.

  “Nah. Call me.”

  Jamil handed her his phone so that she could put her number in. When she handed it to him, he called her so that she could save his number. Once they finished exchanging numbers, he pulled her back before she got into the car.

  “What you save your name as?”

  “Gia.”

  Jamil squinted his eyes at her playfully. “Spell it.”

  Gia giggled at his silliness. “G . . . I . . . A.”

  Jamil smiled before shoving his phone toward her. “Show me.”

  Gia was still giggling as she scrolled through his phone and went to her name. “See, it’s right there.”

  Jamil looked at it for a good minute before pulling her in for another hug and letting her get into the car. He closed the door behind her and waited to go into the house until they pulled off. Zanetta was still in the kitchen, but he bypassed her and headed straight for his room. He grabbed him some boxers and a pair of pajama bottoms and went to the bathroom.

  He flipped the water on, stripped down, and hopped in. He allowed the water to run down over him as he thought about Gia. She was so pretty and meek, not to mention how good she smelled. Her perfume had him wanting to push her back on his bed and lick every inch of her skin. Sexy as she was, she probably tasted like chocolate too.

  He showered and got out quickly. He threw his pants on before returning to his room. He looked at the clock and made up his mind that he wasn’t hitting the block. He was too tired. He’d handle that shit tomorrow. Before getting into his bed to finally get some rest, he made sure his money was still in the safe beneath his bed.

  Finally comfortable, Jamil closed his eyes. He was damn near dreaming when he heard his phone ringing. At first he thought about letting it ring, thinking it might be a quick play, until he remembered he’d told Gia to call him. He snatched his phone from beside him on the bed and answered it.

  “Yeah.”

  “You know it’s not polite to answer the phone like that.” Her soft voice relaxed him even more.

  “Well, I’m a rude-ass nigga.”

  “You shouldn’t be.”

  Jamil scooted lower in the bed and closed his eyes, picturing her face as she spoke. “That’s just who I am.”

  “I’ll change you.”

  “I doubt it.”

  “Why?”

  “Ain’t nobody did it yet.”

  Her soft titter made Jamil smile subconsciously. “I’m different.”

  Her statement was simple but held a lot of meaning. Even before she’d told him that, he’d already known. From the moment he’d seen her in the gas station, he could tell she wasn’t like what he was used to.

  To be honest, she didn’t look like she was much like any girl. Gia was in a league of her own. There was something different and unique that set her apart from everyone else. He wasn’t sure what it was yet. He didn’t know whether he was going to keep her around long enough to find out, but for now she was good. He would take it one day at a time. After all, it had really only been one day anyway.

  “You ain’t fell asleep on me, have you?” She brought him back to her.

  “Nah, I was just thinking about how different you really are.”

  “I’ll show you soon. Get some rest, light skin. I’ll talk to you later.”

  Jamil opened his eyes when he realized their conversation was about to be over. “Where you at?”

  “In the bed at my cousin’s house.”

  “She in there with you?”

  “No. I’m in the guest room.”

  Jamil didn’t know where his next statement came from, but it was the first thing that had popped into his head. “Well, don’t hang up. Stay on the phone with me and go to sleep.”

  “’Kay. We can do that, but put your phone on speaker. It’s not safe to go to sleep with your phone on your face.”

  “Different, huh?”

  Her soft giggle serenaded him again. “Very. Good night, Milli.”

  Jamil liked the way she called him Milli without the Rock on the end. It sounded nicer, more endearing. It was hers. Dope shit he could rock with.

  “Good night, Gee. Sweet dreams, beautiful.”

  Chapter Five

  “How in the hell did I ever feel unsafe with Milli? I still have the hardest time trying to figure that out. He was then, and always has been the one person that’s given me this inexplicable feeling of contentment. Giving me every reason to have butterflies, and have my heart beating faster than normal, but not because of fear. But Love . . . damn . . . I love me some Milli Rock.”

  —Gee

  Gia tossed and turned until she woke up. Lying still on her back, she looked up at the ceiling and yawned. She’d gotten some much-needed rest and was ready to start her day, but she had one thing she needed to do first. Gia moved the pillows and cover until she located her phone. When she picked it up, she noticed the call was still running with Jamil.

  “Good morning, Jamil.” She wasn’t sure whether he was still sleeping or had awakened already.

  “Morning, Gee. How’d you sleep?” His voice sounded lazy, but he most definitely sounded wide awake.

  “Dang, you’re up? I just knew you were about to still be sleep.”

  “To be honest, Gee, I don’t sleep much at night.”

  Gia pulled her locs stocking from her head and tossed it on the dresser with a smile on her face. She was in love with the way he’d given her his very own nickname. Gee. She liked the sound of that, and it sounded even better coming from him.

  “Well, when do you rest?”

  “During the day, mostly.”

  “That’s not good.”

  Jamil yawned. “I know, but what you getting into today?”

  Sitting up on the side of the bed, Gia looked at herself in the mirror. “I don’t know. Probably nothing too major, but then again I haven’t talked to Oni yet. She always has something planned.”

  “That’s your cousin, right?”

  “Yep.”

  “Well, once you talk to her, if you find out you have some free time today you should let me come pick you up for a while.”

  Gia smiled at the thought of spending more time with Jamil. “How about we just do that anyway? I’m about to go for a run. I’m positive I’ll be hungry afterward.” Gia waited for him to respond. “I love Waffle House, by the way.”

  When she heard groggy chuckles coming from Jamil, she coul
d already tell she was about to get her way.

  “What time should I come?”

  “Give me two hours. I need to run, shower, and change.”

  “FaceTime me when you get in the shower.”

  Gia’s mouth fell open as she tried to muffle her laugh. “I’ll think about it.”

  “Nah, I’m fucking with you. Just go do your thing and hit me up when you’re ready.”

  Gia told him she would, and they ended their call. The first thing she did after setting her phone down was sprint to her cousin’s room, which was right across the hall. Oni’s hot pink and black room was still dark when Gia entered, so she flipped the light on.

  “Get up, Oni.”

  Oni pulled the covers over her head and didn’t move. “Get out, Gia.”

  “Let’s go running.”

  “Hell no.” Oni was so grumpy in the morning it was ridiculous.

  It didn’t matter what time she went to bed or how much rest she’d gotten, she was still grumpy and the worst person to ever come in contact with early in the morning.

  “Well, what are we about to do today, then, because I have plans.”

  Oni lay still for a minute digesting what Gia had just said before shifting some and pushing the covers from her head. With her red satin scarf still tied around her head, she looked at Gia with squinted eyes.

  “What kind of plans you think you got, Ms. Fast Behind?”

  Gia smiled goofily and plopped on the bed beside her. She snuggled beneath the covers and faced her.

  “Well, Jamil asked could he see me again today and I said yeah. We’re going to Waffle House after I get done running.”

  Oni sucked her teeth. “See, you ain’t shit. Why you ain’t see if he had a homeboy for me?”

  “Ain’t you fresh off old-man dick?”

  Oni pushed Gia’s forehead until she fell back onto the bed. “Shut up, bitch. I can’t hang out nowhere in public like that with Isaac.”

  That hadn’t even crossed Gia’s mind. “I guess so, honey, but my fault. Hold on, I’ll text him.” Gia hopped from the bed, ran back to the guest room, and grabbed her phone before joining Oni back in bed.