by A'zayler
“Excuse me,” he said to the girl leaning over the counter with her head down reading receipts. Her head came up, and a smile came to her face.
“Heyy Jacky boy.”
“Man I ain’t know that was you pretty Lee,” he dapped over to the counter. He had never seen her in here before. She explained to him they’d switched her stores a few days ago before leaning down to talk to the baby. She knew that had to be his niece; she looked exactly like him.
“This my girl right here, say hey to Miss Lee Izzy,” he said, pushing her towards Taryn.
“Hi, I’m Isabelle.”
“Well hi Isabelle, that’s such a pretty name, I love it. My name is Taryn Lee, but you can call me Lee,” she said as she shook the little girl’s small hand.
“I like your name too. It’s pretty. My uncle Jack-Jack told me I can get the Dora shoes.” Smiling, Taryn stood from the floor and looked at Jacko.
“Why are you trying to fool this baby? This is not a Dora shoe.”
“Them the ones she picked out; she said they pink and purple like Dora, so whatever,” he laughed. Taryn got her size from Jacko before coming back with two boxes. She’d bought the same show in different colors so he could pick. Jacko loved Izzy, so he bought her both pair without even trying them on. It was always like that when she accompanied him at the mall. While she Taryn was gone, Isabelle expressed her like for her. She told Jacko she was pretty with long hair, like her Barbie doll. He laughed at Isabelle; she was truly his pride and joy.
Once she finished talking, she grabbed one of his dreads and rubbed it. Ever since she had been born, whenever she was around him she would play in his hair. She lay her head on his chest and continued to play in his hair. He put her over his shoulder and met Taryn at the counter. Just as he was pulling his money from his pocket, his phone rang. Taryn watched Jacko as he talked on the phone; she had to admit he was a real cutie. He wasn’t her type, but he was definitely a ten; his dreads and tats along with that cool demeanor that oozed from him was everything. His voice and smile was immaculate; she could tell he probably had women everywhere. Fine as he was, there was something that just screamed the word brother. From the moment they had met, she had gotten that brotherly vibe from him.
“Yeah bruh, I stopped by the mall for a minute. I’m in here with your girl now,” he said as he turned his attention to Taryn. She gave him a quizzical look. “Here Pretty Lee, my boy want to holla at you real quick,” he grinned, showing his mouth full of gold.
“Umm who is that?”
“Answer and see.” Grabbing his phone, she answered.
“Who is this?” she didn’t even bother with the pleasantries
“Damn baby, hey to you too,” Jeremiah said. Hearing his voice instantly made her face light up.
“Hey Jeremiah.”
“Can I see you when you get off?” he asked, making her smile again. The thought of seeing him had her stomach in knots. She agreed before handing Jacko his phone back. They talked for a few more seconds before he hung up.
“Man Jacky, you could have told me who that was.”
“Who else was it supposed to be Lee? Demoto?” When he said that, it felt like she had lost all the air in her lungs. She tried to play clueless, but Jacko was far from dumb. He wouldn’t be where he was now if he didn’t pay attention. That day at the shop, he could tell Demoto felt a certain type of way when Taryn and Jeremiah were talking, but he didn’t say anything. Both men were his friends, and Taryn didn’t belong to anybody so she was free to do what she wanted. He had acted like he wasn’t paying attention, but he had saw them outside talking after he and Jeremiah had gone in.
“Don’t worry about it Lee, your secret is safe with me,” he pinched her cheek and turned to leave. “Oh yeah, Izzy said she likes you and you’re pretty with hair like her Barbie,” he winked and left. She shook her head and smiled as she watched him walk out of the store. She liked Jacko; he was a true sweetheart. She didn’t know him well, but she could tell he was as real as they came. If there was one thing she could respect, it was being in the presence of a real nigga. You could just look at him and tell he wasn’t anything to play with. Along with his genuine sweet spirit, you had to love him. She didn’t get that vibe from everyone, so she knew without even asking him not to that he wasn’t going to tell Jeremiah or Demoto anything.
*****
Kia (bestie): We going to the block party tonight right?
Taryn: You know it!
Kia (bestie): Let’s get dressed at my house
Taryn: K! I’ll be there after work
Tonight was the annual Stop the Violence Block Party, and Taryn and Kia were past excited. Kia told her that this function brought the city out every year. It would be Taryn’s first time going, but she was ready. After looking at the clock, she noticed she had fifteen minutes until closing time so she started straightening the shoes along the wall. Once she finished and had started folding the shirts, she heard somebody come in.
“Welcome to Kid’s Foot Locker,” she said without even turning around. If they needed something, they would ask. She was almost done fixing all the shirts when she smelled cologne. Whoever was behind her smelled good as hell but more importantly, they were very close to her. If she could smell his cologne, he was in her personal space. When she turned around, she almost ran right into him. Demoto was standing there looking so beautiful that the only thing Taryn could think about was sex. Lord help me! She backed up some, putting some space between them.
“What are you doing here?”
“I came to see you. I’ve been thinking about our bathroom rendezvous all day.”
“Bathroom rendezvous? Cute,” she smiled as she walked back to the register. Demoto followed her and leaned against the counter.
“You coming to the block party tonight?”
“Yeah, me and Kia.” She was nervous and could barely hide it. Demoto watched as her hands shook nervously while she counted the receipts. He could tell she was out of her element at the moment, so he decided to leave her alone. It was obvious she was still on her bullshit, so he would let her have it. If she wanted to act like a scared child, then he would let her.
“Well alright T, I guess I’ll see you later then.” She looked up with wild eyes.
“Why? You might as well wait and walk me to my car.” He checked his watch; he had a few minutes to spare, so he stayed. He sat on the bench while her and the other boy that worked there handled everything for closing. When she’d clocked out, she grabbed her backpack and headed to the front to get Demoto. When she got out there, he was texting on his phone. She tried to peep the name as she sat down next to him, but he moved it.
“Fall back T,” he said with a hint of an attitude. His reaction caught her by surprise. After rolling her eyes, she stood up and waited by the gate until he was ready. He followed her immediately as they exited the back of the store. The walk down the hallway was a quiet one; she on one side of the hallway, and he was on the other. It was almost dark when they reached the door. Demoto hadn’t parked back here, so she would have to drop him off to his car in the front. Mr. Buck had given her his truck to drive today, and she was glad. She would have hated for him to take her home. Her and Kia had stopped by one of his traps on her way to work earlier, and he’d given her his keys. Taryn tried sneaking glances at him, but every time she did he wasn’t paying her any attention.
“Demoto, what is your problem?”
“I ain’t the one with the problem.”
“Please just say what’s on your mind. I don’t have time to play these little kid games.”
“Obviously you do, that’s all you play!” He didn’t mean to snap, but he was irritated. He had been texting Jeremiah and found out he and Taryn were supposed to be hooking up later that night, and it made him mad. He thought he and her were on the same page. Here she was playing simple games with him, but making plans with the next nigga. If she wanted to do it like that, he would stick with Alicia. He looked at her a
nd turned his head. He didn’t even want to look at her. Jeremiah had made it seem as if they would be sleeping together tonight, and that’s what made him the angriest. If anybody was getting it, it should have been him. He was seated in the front seat of her car, and she still hadn’t said anything else to him.
“So you supposed to be meeting up with Miah tonight?”
“No, I told you I’m going to the block party with Kia.”
“That ain’t what I heard.”
“Fuck what you heard, Moto. I just told you what I’m doing!” Demoto looked at her as she wrapped her hair into a ball on the top of her head before pulling off. He hated that her beauty was distracting him. Her smooth chocolate skin was so beautiful. He’d always had a thing for darker skinned women, and looking at her he could see why. When she pulled next to his car, she killed the engine and just sat there. She turned in her seat to face him.
“If I see Alicia tonight, I might slap her.”
“You better not!”
“Watch and see,” she said with finality. If he wanted to act sour about Jeremiah, then she would be the same way with Alicia.
“Taryn, don’t make me fuck you up. Don’t open your mouth to Alicia, that’s not your place.” His words cut deeply. She thought they had a better connection than that. He was sitting in her car taking up for another woman; she couldn’t tolerate the disrespect. She wanted to punch him in the side of his head, but instead she cranked her car up.
“Get out!” He looked at her before moving. She looked straight ahead as he got out. She didn’t even wait until he was all the way out of the car before she pulled off. She wasn’t even paying attention that she’d almost run over his foot.
The whole ride to Kia’s house, she fumed. She couldn’t believe the nerve of him. She walked into Kia’s house and right to her room. She was in her mirror wrapped in a towel. Her hair was freshly done, and she was putting on her makeup. She looked up when she heard her door open. She knew it had to be Taryn, because no one was allowed in her room without knocking. Buck would kill anybody that invaded her privacy. Taryn was the only one allowed to just bust in like that.
“Damn, who pissed in your cereal?”
“Demoto Youngblood! Pissed all in my fucking corn flakes! I want to break his neck, he so stupid! Uggh I hate him.” Kia laughed at her as she walked around the room ranting.
“What he do girl?” Taryn went on to tell Kia the whole story, from Jeremiah calling Jacko’s phone to Demoto checking her about Alicia. Kia was listening and could understand why her friend was mad. Instead of pumping her up and adding fuel to the fire, she decided to change the subject all together.
“Why you ain’t tell me Jacko was up there? You know that’s my husband!”
“Bitch Jacko is not your damn husband! He’s my brother, get your life,” Taryn laughed as Kia threw her lotion at her. Taryn knew Kia had a crush on Jacko, so they joked about it on the regular. She had been meaning to try and hook them up for a while, but she kept forgetting. She would do it tonight at the block party. If anybody was going to be there, it would be Jacko.
The girls sat and talked for another two hours before they were completely dressed and ready to go. They still had Buck’s truck, so that’s what they drove. The ride was smooth; they got there about fifteen minutes later. It was packed already, and had only started an hour ago. Kia wanted to stunt, so she drove through the crowd behind the other cars before parking. Men were whistling and yelling at them through the window as they cruised down the street. Her and Taryn had the music up so loud that people turned their heads before they even got close to them. Once they got to the end of the line, Kia parked in the lot and they got out. They checked their outfits to make sure they looked good before walking back down the hill. Her and Taryn both decided to dress simple in shorts, fitted shirts, and sneakers. Taryn had her big wavy hair pulled up into a ponytail with a gold watch and 14kt gold bangles. Her necklace was a simple gold cross. Kia’s hair was spiked in the top, with her sides laying down. They were both looking pretty without being overdressed. Taryn topped her attire with her black rimless shield chained Chanel shades. It was dark, but she didn’t care.
“Taryn, take them damn shades off, it ain’t even no sun out.”
“Nope! I don’t want nobody looking all in my face.”
“Correction, you don’t want Demoto looking all in your face! You ain’t fooling me!” Taryn laughed and wrapped her arm through Kia’s. She was her best friend for a reason. Once they got down the hill, the music was blaring and you could smell the food a mile away. There were people everywhere. The atmosphere was live! There were people playing basketball, cooking, playing dice, cards, and some just standing around. The further down they got, they saw people dancing and rapping. The whole scene was relaxed and safe. Taryn wasn’t big on crowds, but this was cool. Kia had told her to stop being so scary, but she still didn’t trust too many people in one place at once. Her and Kia had just passed a group of men rapping when two of them started following her. He was still rapping, but he was now free styling about Taryn. He talked about everything from her hair to her long legs. She turned around and smiled at him once she realized what he was doing. Her and Kia stood still and listened as the two boys rapped. The other friend had begun to drop lyrics about Kia. They stood smiling and blushing like crazy. When the boys had finished, they leaned in to get hugs from both girls.
“What’s your name baby?” rapper number one asked Taryn. She answered and they conversed for a while as Kia talked to his friend. She was so caught up in conversation she didn’t even feel eyes on her.
*****
Demoto stood there watching Taryn laugh and talk with some dude as he held her hand. He, Jacko, and Jeremiah were all standing next to the basketball court when he’d spotted them coming down the hill. He had made sure to stand where he could see the entire park. He needed to watch his back at all times. He’d watched the boys follow them and it pissed him off. He knew he shouldn’t be mad because of the way he’d treated her earlier. He hadn’t wanted to be mean; he was just angry. Making her mad was the only way he could get her to feel how he felt about her and Jeremiah. He knew she wouldn’t understand his logic any other way.
“There go your girl,” Jacko whispered to him. When he looked at Jacko, he had a large smile plastered across his face.
“Bruh chill with that shit, you know that’s Miah.”
“From the way you standing there watching her, it looks more like she’s you.” Demoto shook his head. He should have known Jacko hadn’t missed him and Taryn’s little exchanges. Jacko nudged his shoulder before walking over to the girls. He hadn’t even waited on Demoto or Jeremiah to come with him. Demoto watched as the men walked away, and Taryn and Kia started talking to Jacko. Jeremiah walked closer to him and noticed the girls. His face lit up upon spotting Taryn. She, Jack, and Kia were walking towards them. He wrapped her in his arms the moment she was close enough. He squeezed her tight and left his arms around her waist.
“You looking really pretty.”
“Thank you Miah. How long you been here?” she asked.
“Not long. I’m glad you’re finally here though.”
“Why is that?”
“Because I’ve missed you.” She smiled as she took in his beautiful features. She continued talking to him for a while before stepping out of his embrace. She walked over and nodded her head what’s up to Demoto. He grabbed her arm before she could walk past.
“You ain’t speaking today T?” No he didn’t, she thought.
“I said what’s up Moto.”
“Nah lil girl, you nodded your head. Give me a hug,” he said, pulling her into him. She gave him a quick hug before pulling away. He looked like he wanted to object, but didn’t. He didn’t want to be too obvious in front of Jeremiah. He was glad he’d too worn his shades, because he would have hated for Jeremiah to see the way he watched her as she walked away. Just as they’d walked off, Jacko ran up and whispered in her ear about
her and Demoto’s awkward exchange before laughing and walking away.
The rest of the block party went by pretty cool. She’d caught Demoto’s eye on her a few times, but she never maintained eye contact. She picked with him on purpose. She knew he was watching her, so she would stop and converse with men along the way. She’d even gone as far as to stop and talk to Alicia. She didn’t really care for her, but she knew it would make him mad. The next time he thought about checking her, he would think twice about it. When they’d walked around and ate enough, her and Kia headed back towards the truck. They had just stopped at a gas station when Taryn’s phone beeped with a text. It beeped twice, one from Moto, one from Miah.
Demoto: I need to talk to you
Sure you do
Miah: Can I still see you tonight?
She told Kia about their messages, and all she did was laugh.
“Go ahead then with your hot ass. You just got all the men!”
“Shut up Kia. I ain’t stun neither one of them.”
“Dang, what Miah do?”
“Moto had an attitude for something, Kia. Jeremiah probably said some slick shit about me or something. It ain’t no telling what he told that darn boy.” She had been thinking about it since earlier, and there was no reason for Demoto to be mad unless Jeremiah had told him something wrong. She knew how boys could be, so she wouldn’t have been surprised if that was the case. She closed her phone and decided not to respond to either one of them.
*****
Demoto sat in his car with his boys, waiting for Taryn to text him back. He figured she probably was mad and that’s why she hadn’t responded. He knew she had to have gotten his message and was just ignoring him. He couldn’t let her do that; they needed to see where they stood. He was confused and he hated it. He decided to call, but she let it ring to the voicemail. She could ignore a call, but she would read a text so he sent her a message.
Demoto: I’m sorry for talking to you like that today. U forgive me? I’m just confused T, I don’t know what to do. I like you but so does one of my best friends. I have a girl, and shit is just all fucked up. You don’t have to talk to me, but at least let me know how you’re feeling.
