Loving You Through Our Differences

by Tucora Monique

  “What the hell are you doing here? I know the city isn’t paying you overtime to deliver parking tickets to folk’s doors now. Hell, I don’t even live here.”

  Instantly, she went about things the wrong way, but even with her barking, I was happy to see her.

  “Don’t flatter yourself, Sparx.”

  “Sparxxxx?” Jupiter cooed, sipping from her a unique looking cup with a smile decorating her face.

  “Umm, I think she needs a new nickname. Sparx ain’t it,” a woman who I’d met before named Eleven, chimed in.

  “You know my cousin, Leiland?”

  I stood tall, looking across the room at the beautiful bombshell with the red and white flower in her hair that I had never seen before but flattered her. For a second, I envisioned how we would complement one another. I couldn’t evade the thoughts of how my light skin would look pressed against her dark coating. The contrast would create something beautiful and without permission, I smiled at the visual in my head.

  “You know he fine, Billie, stop frontin’,” I heard one of the women say aloud, but I never removed my eyes from Billie’s.

  “Shut up, El!” she barked, a little more territorial than even she probably noticed, but I definitely picked up on it.

  “Latif!” Billie yelled toward the stairs he’d gone up.

  “Don’t scream at my man, BG.” Jupiter interceded with a smile.

  “You shut up too. You and your man think you are sooo slick. I swear you two get on my damn nerves. Latif!”

  With her back turned to me, I noticed her butt was devouring those silk shorts. I bit into my bottom lip to keep from voicing my pleasure at the sight. I thought of reaching over and removing the material from between her ass cheeks, but I knew that probably wouldn’t have gone over well, and she was already making more than enough noise.

  “All the yelling is uncalled for. Obviously, he knows me. Use your brain. Why else would I be standing in his house? If I didn’t know any better—”

  “Obviously, you don’t know any better because you’re speaking to me in the first fucking place. Talking about use my brain. Yeah, OK. Latif, I know you hear me, fool. Come get your boy before he starts to annoy me.” Her eyes were squinted, and her small nose was flaring at the nostrils like a bull.

  “Anything that annoys you should be teaching patience. So in that case you should be thanking me, lady.” I probed with a smile.

  Jupiter joined us, speaking with a bright look in her eyes.

  “Welll, it looks like you do know him, BG. Care to share with the rest of us?”

  “Yes, please share, Billie.” Jupiter’s sister, the one that kept asking for attention, followed up before taking the corner of her lip and nibbling. I wasn’t feeling it.

  “Bitch, you have one more time to say anything, and you and I will have a problem. You barely know this man, if at all, and you’re already halfway off the couch and into his pants. Acting like you’re in heat or something. Goodness, puppy puss, chill out.”

  With her hands up in the air in a surrendering fashion, puppy puss grabbed her cup from the table and headed in the direction of the kitchen. Judging by the light chuckles that filled the room, this was not uncommon; it seemed normal for those two to bump heads.

  “BG, why are you hollering my name like you crazy, woman? Why are you acting like you never seen a white man before?” Latif joked, coming down from their bedroom.

  “This has nothing to do with him being white. I wouldn’t give a damn if he was as green as his eyes.”

  She noticed my eyes?

  “This fool gave me a parking ticket this morning, even though I made it to the car before he finished writing the damn thing out.”

  “You’re lying. And instead of flexing, you need to do better,” I said, gripping the brim of my fitted Los Angeles Dodgers hat. No extra noise and without yelling. There was no need, my voice was deep, and my mannerism was stern. Raising my voice was unnecessary, besides, she was doing enough of that for the both of us. Hell, I forgot I even had to fucking pee.

  She smacked her glossed lips. “Excuse you?”

  “No, excuse you. I issued you a ticket because if I once again let you off the hook for your negligence, you’d never learn. I don’t know what you thought, but you better check your tone, Sparx. Give the respect that you should demand. Latif, you ready bro? I don’t even gotta piss no more.”

  For the second time in one day, she and I had seen one another but also bumped heads. Things weren’t getting off on the right foot, but I refused to let Billie think she could play me; that shit wasn’t happening. I had long ago stopped looking at a person’s potential and paid a keen eye to their patterns, and right now, she wasn’t doing so well.

  Billie

  The entire room was silent as Leiland turned away from me and left. I knew I looked like an idiot, but I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction and apologize for my outburst.

  I wasn’t that sorry.

  I watched Ju slide her feet into a pair of house slippers that sat near the couch. She stood and followed Latif as he headed to the door behind his friend. I wanted to question her, but I couldn’t speak. I was already chewing enough crow.

  The door hadn’t been closed for more than a second before Eleven started firing off questions.

  “Sooo, are we going to sit here, and pretend Billie didn’t just get chewed out by Vanilla Chocolate?” Before Josephine, Jamie or I could respond, Jupiter busted through the door smiling from ear to ear.

  “Billie, Billie, Billie…” she taunted, wagging her finger getting closer.

  “I need another drink,” I yelped, grabbing my mug from the table and going to the kitchen for ice.

  “Hold up, tramp. Don’t run now! You’ve been holding out on us? I have a question, when were you going to tell us that Anderson Cooper likes to frequent your neighborhood?” I heard El’s loud mouth shout into the kitchen behind me. She could wait, and their ridicule had no choice but to be placed on hold.

  With the freezer door open, I stared aimlessly at the space in front of me. In the midst of all the conflict, I hadn’t taken a second to absorb that I saw Leiland today, again. The same man I had purposely violated the law for, just to be in his company, was here, and it wasn’t at the dead of morning.

  I wanted to suck his bones dry in his khaki shorts, white polo shirt, and black work boots, so seeing him in regular clothes had me ready to devour his gristle. I inhaled the cool air radiating from the freezer. Leiland dressed in all black from head to toe with the exception of the royal-blue Nikes he wore and royal-blue cap popped into the forefront of my mind. The fitted hat covered his sun-kissed colored low cut, but I liked it. The black, distressed jean jacket was tailored to his broad shoulders, and his matching jeans sagged perfectly.

  “Girl, you can’t stay in that kitchen forever. Bring your ass, Billie Grace, “Jupiter hollered loud enough for me to hear throughout the house.

  “I’m coming, damn. I’m not scared of not one of you chicken heads, so stop all the clucking!”

  I went back into the living room and flopped down on the sofa next to our old classmate Josephine and buried my face into her shoulder, attempting to hide my smile. I knew it was coming, so I didn’t utter a word and let them have the floor with their badgering, but they all remained quiet.

  “Look, Leiland works for the parking enforcement of Long Beach, and my street is included in his route. We’ve spoken a few times, and I made him breakfast once for cutting me some slack. That’s it,” I said and shrugged though it was definitely a big deal. Especially for me, and I knew that they knew this.

  Jupiter jumped in first, “No, that’s not it. From the way you two interact, there’s more to this than you’re telling. Or maybe, this could be the beginning of something different. Whatever it is, I’m here for it. I think you should give him a shot. Regardless of the conversation we had earlier, you’re human, and I can tell you like him. And you can’t lie and say he isn’t gorgeous, girl. He has t
hat whole Travis Kelce thing going on.”

  My cousin’s mentee, Jamie asked with her eyebrows scrunched together, “Who is Travis Kelce?”

  “This fine ass football player that plays for the Chiefs. Hair dirty red, and his eyes look like they glow in the dark. Just know he’s is everything,” Josephine told her. Just as it was when we were in high school, Jo-Jo stayed up on the team.

  Jupiter quickly recovered. “And let me add, I’m not encouraging your ass to sleep with this man then ditch him. I’ve been around Leiland plenty of times, and he’s a cool dude. He isn’t married and is kid-free. I’ve seen him with two different women at their work events, but I doubt it’s anything deep.”

  “Then there must be something wrong with him if he’s not already snatched up. What single man you know, white, black, or purple, with a job, no babies, and a 401k that’s still not locked down? And if he’s all that, why you never hooked us up?” Eleven said, saying what I was already thinking.

  Jupiter came to his rescue quickly, “Don’t even. You’ve made it clear more than once that you will not date outside of your race.”

  Don’t forget her gender, I thought to myself.

  “Also, you don’t know that man’s life to try and distinguish why he’s single. BG if you ask, I’m sure he will tell you. From the way he stood at the door staring at you, I think he got it bad for Sparx already.”

  Eleven chimed in, “Considering what you’ve experienced, you have the right to feel that slated. But damn, Billie. Don’t you want something different. How do you know it won’t work if you don’t try? It’s been almost four years since you’ve walked while asleep, and you’ve done countless sleep studies in the last two years. You are not your father BG, and when see that, you’ll be freeing yourself.”

  I knew if this was coming from Eleven, it may be worth taking heed to. Her ass usually only had negative shit to say. I guess everyone was surprised at her sense, because we remained quiet to the point of things getting uncomfortable.

  “Okay, well with all that being said, did I forget to point out he is foine? Billie, like real life fire, and if you don’t want him, then pass him to your girl! I don’t give a damn about that bullshit Ju making up about me not dating outside of the chocolate. Do you know what I would do to a man that carries himself like that, plus he works for the city? Yeah, you have definitely lost it, chilllle.”

  Rotating her hips, El did a little dance as she spoke of Leiland, and my body filled with a sensation I wasn’t comfortable with. Jealousy? Her flirtation bothered me, and that was something I didn’t recognize. I had never done a good job of fooling my emotions out of making a home on my face.

  “BG, are you getting mad that Eleven’s speaking on your man? You cut her any closer with your eyes, she’ll start bleeding.” Jamie instigated.

  I didn’t know Leiland well enough to feel anyway about him other than knowing I wanted him sexually. I had spent years of my adult life making it a known fact that a committed relationship was not something I wanted. Even after spending four years locked away, I was content with being alone when I came home. Outside of my family, who else did I really need? And too many times I had compromised myself for a man only to get caught up at the end. Now, don’t get it twisted, I take responsibility for my actions. On the flip, Jackson should have cared enough to not allow me to even be in that type of predicament. While away, I realized he pretended to care only to manipulate me enough to use my eidetic memory, just as my dad had done when I was a little girl.

  But even with all that, I felt the flame boiling over inside my stomach and not just my panties, and I wasn’t too immature to admit that Leiland was something different.

  “Look, I’m over this conversation and over you whores in my business. The Pleasure Party lady should be here soon, and we’re supposed to be turning up for Jupiter’s birthday. Please shift the vibe, and let’s get drunk!”

  2 hours later…

  Leiland“Come on, man. You’re always too drunk to drive, and I look out. Nigga, you better take care of me!” Latif yelled at his brother as we carried him out the pool hall and back to his truck. After five shots of Hennessey, Latif was good as gone. I knew my limit; four shots, and I was good. And knowing I had to take my medicine later on in the night caused me to watch my intake.

  “How the hell are you the designated driver and you’re drunk? You wrong for this, bro.” Once I unlocked the doors, J pushed his brother to the back seat before getting in on the passenger side.

  “I’m happy I kept the partying to a minimum. Or we would’ve been taking an Uber home.”

  “Don’t front, Lei. Your ass was throwing them back too. You better take the back streets before we run into a checkpoint. You know the folks stay hot over here,” Jordan advised.

  “On second thought, you may be just fine, Leonardo DiCaprio. The police not gone fuck with us if you the driver.” He laughed. It was obvious he was tipsy, but hell, I was too.

  If I got caught driving under the influence, I’d lose my job, and I damn sure couldn’t afford for that to happen right now.

  Latif grabbed my attention. “Man, hurry up, and get me home to my wife. Y’all know she got the butter pecan between her legs, and I don’t want it to melt,” he said to himself, but we for damn sure heard.

  Shaking my head, I glanced at him through the rearview mirror and grinned. My friend was in love, and I couldn’t rain on his parade. Honestly, I’d hoped for the experience. Preferably with Sparx, but considering her attitude and the different dudes I’ve seen her walk out at the crack of dawn, I could bet Sparx wasn’t ready for a man like me.

  I halfway agreed.

  “Come on, man. I have to pee, and this fool is heavy.”

  He did all this complaining, but I was basically carrying the both of them on my shoulder. Just as I got the door open, Jupiter came straight to it. Her rapid movement caught me off guard, causing me to loosen the grip I had on Latif, he didn’t even try and save himself from hitting their lawn.

  “Oh shit!”

  “Yo, you dropped my brother?!”

  Running outside, Jupiter and the other girls followed close behind to see what was going on.

  “Boy, get your ass up. Out here lying in this wet grass embarrassing me. Are you crazy, Tifah?” Jupiter fussed, slapping him around a little as he laid on his back staring at the dark sky.

  “Oh no, remember he’s made for you. You love him,” Billie teased.

  “And you,” she said, redirecting her fury to Jordan. “I should’ve known when he said your name this is how the night would end.”

  “Look, sis, I know you’re upset, but you either gone let me get to the bathroom to pee or I will leak the sunshine syrup on your nice, green grass,” he slurred before taking off to the front door.

  “You guys are going to wake the neighbors!” Eleven cosigned.

  I saw Latif reaching for Jupiter’s ankle, preparing to plant kisses on her feet, but she kicked him away.

  “Boy, move!”

  “Boy?” he questioned with his voice in a heavy slur. My boy was feeling good, and with all the extra hours he had been putting in to give her the world, he deserved to let loose sometimes.

  “I’m not a boy, woman! I told you that. I’ll take you in that house and show you. Better remember who your damn man is.” Groping himself, he did an awful job at trying to lift himself from the ground.

  “This is not funny, you guys. You are just making it worse,” Jupiter said, trying to be serious, but her facial expression failed her.

  “Now that the lady that sells the dicks and oils is gone, you wanna worry about me?” Latif yelled at Jupiter.

  “These white people are going to call the police on you two.” Billie joked.

  “No offense.” She followed quickly.

  “Why would that offend me? I am white. Now that smart ass mouth you have, now that is offensive.”

  Before she could say anything back, we heard Ju scream, “BG, stop recording him”


  “Yeah, gone somewhere else with that camera, girl,” Latif told her, finally conjuring enough energy to stand without help from any of us.

  The gentleman in me wanted to make her walk ahead as we all went in the house, but she had a lot to learn before we started anything, and first she needed to understand you get what you give.

  “Damn, Jordan. Don’t come in here drinking all our shit.” Eleven fussed with her hands on her hips mugging. Instead of speaking, he removed a bag of marijuana from his pocket and hung it in front of her face like she was a dog. Her big, circle eyes followed the bag just as a poodle’s would.

  Billie clapped her hands in front of Eleven’s face. “Snap out of it.”

  “Where did Ju and Latif go?” Jamie asked.

  “Think about it,” Jordan replied smartly.

  “No, thank you.”

  “Let’s play a game.” Eleven jumped up and gestured to the bones sitting on the table.

  “Let’s get it. You already know I’m down as long as Billie don’t start using her superpower memory and shit.” Jordan cautioned, rubbing his hands together greedily like there was real money on the table.

  I looked at her wondering what he meant.

  “Great! You want to be my partner, Paul Walker?” Eleven asked, biting her bottom lip and lifting an eyebrow. Now, don’t get me wrong the woman was beautiful, just not what I was looking for and not what I wanted to find me.

  “Why would you refer to this man as someone who is dead?” Jordan asked, sipping a drink that he had put together. I knew overindulging could cost me my comfort tomorrow, but the cautious shit was starting to drain me, and the Remy Martin they’d cracked open smelled too good to pass up.

  I never got the opportunity to answer Eleven before she and Jordan started one of their bickering matches. Yes, Eleven asked me the question, but my eyes found Billie’s looking over the rim of her cup at me.

  “Nope, he’s taken, baby girl.”