by Sephiri J
Getting to my car, I drove off then reached for my phone. Just as I picked it up, it started to ring.
It was City.
“Hey, you,” I said picking it up with a smile on my lips. I really couldn’t help it.
“What up?” he asked me, and I could hear that he was smiling too.
“Nothing much. Was at my folks’ house, and they left me in a bad mood, but I’m good now,” I said.
“Who got you good now, shorty?” he asked me, and I blushed as he chuckled. “You know you smile whenever you see me callin’ you, Bo.”
“Okay, cocky,” I teased him. “What you up to?”
“I was at the shop, but I’m ’bout to go. I texted you earlier. You ain’t get it?” he asked.
I looked down at my phone and frowned. I hadn’t even checked. “No, sorry. What’s up?”
“I’m tryna see you. Where you going now?” he asked.
“I was going home,” I said hesitantly.
“Okay, I’m coming over. We can figure out where we going when I get there,” he said.
I couldn’t help but laugh. “So, you just inviting yourself to my place and stuff now?” I asked.
“The fuck wouldn’t I? You know you want me there,” he said.
“How about you invite me to your place instead?” I said.
He didn’t respond, and I looked at the phone to see if the call dropped, but it was still on.
“You ain’t ready for all that, Bo,” was all he said.
I shrugged.
“I’ll be home in about twenty minutes,” I said.
“I’ll be over there when you get there,” he said and hung up.
I smiled to myself because I knew whatever happened tonight, I was going to have fun. When I was with City, I couldn’t stop smiling. It was a feeling I hadn’t felt before.
18
City
Bo pulled up in her car about ten minutes after I parked in front of her house. I saw the little ass Fiat from the other night parked a few cars down, but the motherfucker who drove it wasn’t anywhere to be seen. I’d been posting on social media like crazy about the party next weekend to celebrate the shops third anniversary. And I was getting a lot of people talking. All the blogs had mentioned the party at some point, and a bunch of writers and bloggers hit me up saying they would be coming through to see what was up. It was gonna be a party nobody was going to forget for a minute.
We’d rented out this Club on the beach called Club Sky Level, and I had a couple celebs I was cool with and did work for in the past say they would come through. Guwop had gotten this new hot DJ to play at the party, and I was feeling the vibe. We were gonna make some money off this party. Plus, from the publicity, the shop was gonna stay booked into next year.
I saw Bo pull up, and I hopped out the car. She got out and walked up to me. Even in a simple pair of cut off shorts and a white t shirt she looked bad as fuck. She had these cute pink Nikes on her feet, and when she saw me staring at her, I could tell she started blushing. I could see in her eyes, though, that she was upset about something.
“You look cute,” I said when she got up to me.
I pulled her to me and tilted her head up so I could plant a kiss on her mouth.
“Thanks,” she said and looked down at the ground.
“Your folks were actin’ crazy when you went to see ’em?” I asked as we walked toward the house.
She sighed. “More than. Really, just my mom and my sister. They always have something to say about my life.”
“You gotta take that shit with a grain of salt. People always got something to say. You can’t let their opinion fuck up your mood. When you gonna introduce me?” I asked, and she turned to look at me.
She shrugged and turned away. “How’s the shop?” she asked, changing the subject.
What Monica said played back in my mind, and I frowned. Following her into the house, I sat down on the couch and watched her walk into the kitchen.
“You want something to drink?” she asked.
“Yeah, whatever you got,” I answered.
She came back out with two Heinekens and handed me one.
“So, you ain’t answer my question ’bout your folks,” I circled back and stared into her face as she sat beside me. She looked away from me, though, and put the bottle to her mouth.
“I don’t know, City. We’re just friends right now, there’s nothing to tell them,” she said.
I raised an eyebrow but nodded. “Aight. Cool. Since we just friends, it’s cool if I bring some other bitches with me to the anniversary party then?”
She looked over at me quickly with fire in her eyes. Then, she looked away. “You can do what you want,” she mumbled.
I pulled her chin toward me to force her to look in my face. “You tellin’ me you would be cool if I brought Gisselle or the next bitch to this party with me while you were there?”
She rolled her eyes then hit me on the arm. “Of course, I wouldn’t be cool with that, City. What the fuck?”
“So, don’t tell me no shit ’bout we just friends right now. We might be, but you know it’s more than that too. You ’bout to be my bitch,” I said.
She looked at me and frowned.
“My bad. I mean you ’bout to be my lady. Better?” I asked, grinning at her.
She smacked me on the arm again, but I pulled her into me and kissed her forehead. She laughed.
“I’m don’t want to be just dick to you, you heard? I know you ain’t got it yet, but eventually, I’m not tryna play that position,” I said.
I needed her to hear what I was saying. I liked how I felt when I was with her, so I needed her to feel me.
She nodded as she looked back at me. “I know. And you’re not.”
“Whichever other niggas you was talkin to or who was in your face, tell ’em it’s a wrap. You found your nigga now,” I said, and she cocked her head to the side.
“You so sure about us. Why?” she asked me.
I thought about her question for a minute. “You and me vibe. I like how you feelin’ me for more than just who I am and what I can give you. You smart and fine as fuck. You got a good head on your shoulders and don’t take no shit. I see that in how you handled that fuck nigga at your wedding and how you don’t give in to your folks. Plus, I liked how you didn’t back down from Giselle the other night.” I chuckled.
She blushed, and I reached over to pull her chin up, so she could look at me. “I like you, Bo. I haven’t said that to a girl in a while.”
“I like you too,” she said. “I just don’t want to rush anything. I was just about to get married, so I’m not trying to jump into anything too quickly.”
“I get that. And I’m not tryna rush you. You was just in something your heart was connected to. We kickin’ it for now, but I don’t need you fuckin’ with no other niggas. You hear me, Bo? Don’t disrespect me, cuz I will embarrass you,” I warned her.
She turned and looked at me then cocked her head to the side. “Excuse you?” she said.
“You heard what I said. I like you, and I told you that. But I’m not a pussy ass nigga, so don’t play me either,” I said and shrugged.
She didn’t say anything, so I stood up.
“Let’s go,” I said, looking down at her. She didn’t move, though. “You comin or nah?” I asked, getting impatient.
“Sometimes you say some shit that just comes across so rude, City, seriously. You gonna embarrass me?” she asked, looking up at me.
“Only if you try to have me out here looking stupid, Bo. Just don’t make that shit happen, and you won’t have nothin’ to worry about. Now, you coming or nah?” I asked.
She sighed all exaggeratedly. “Where we going?”
I sucked my teeth and walked out the door. She was acting dumb, and I didn’t have the patience. I already told her I was coming over, so we could go out, but she was trying to control the situation instead of just ridin’. As I walked down the driveway, I heard her behind me
.
“Damn nigga, wait! What the fuck?” she said as I heard the door close.
I stopped walking and turned to look at her. She locked the door and turned to look at me while crossing her hands over her chest. “You was gonna for real just leave me?”
I walked back to her and pushed her against the door. Reaching my hand up, I grabbed her throat firmly but gently. Her breathing started to speed up, and she bit her bottom lip. I felt my dick brick up.
“I want you to trust me, Bo,” I said, coming down real close to her face. “It’s gonna be me and you. You heard me?”
She nodded.
“I know you got questions, and you hurt, but fuck that other nigga. I wouldn’t do you like that. If you my woman, you my whole ass world. So, you ridin’ with me tonight or nah?”
“I’m coming,” she said breathlessly.
I leaned down and pressed my lips against hers. I felt her body shudder slightly when I did that, and for a second, all I wanted to do was pull her back into the house and bless her with this dick. But I pulled away and grinned at her.
“Aight, lets ride,” I said.
19
Bo
City had my legs weak as he pulled away from me and walked back toward his car. I walked right behind him and jumped into the passenger seat. He wasn’t like any other man I’d ever known. He said shit that made me want to throat punch him in one minute and then fall into his chest the next minute. It was maddening and crazy. But I liked how I felt when I was with him.
He started the car and drove down the street. When we got to the main road, he looked over at me and grinned.
“You good?” he asked.
I nodded. “Yeah. But you gonna tell me where we going yet?”
“You gon’ see,” he said and looked back in front of him. “It’s one of my favorite spots. I go here when I need a minute to just breathe and think shit through. I figure with the shit you going through with your folks, you might need this.”
I raised an eyebrow. I had no idea what he had in mind, but I sat back in my seat as he played the album H.E.R. I closed my eyes and focused on the words.
“Come mess with a real one, you’re one in a million, don’t let a lot of people in, but you get admission. And I don’t let my walls down, but I see us building. You ain’t a feeling, cause that’s how I’m feelin,” the song “Facts” played, and I couldn’t help but smile. This song fit me and City so perfect that it was scary.
I felt something on my leg, and I looked down to see his hand on my knee. He was staring out at the road as he had his fingers gripped around my lower thigh. I leaned back and stared out the window at the cars going by. We were heading north on I-95, and I had no idea what he had in mind. Twenty minutes later, he pulled up to Fort Lauderdale International Airport.
I sat up in my chair wondering where he was taking me.
“What…” I started, but he cut me off.
“Don’t worry, we’re not getting on a plane,” he said and chuckled.
I sat back a little relieved. The only thing I had was these clothes I was wearing, and although getting up and going somewhere sounded exciting, it wasn’t what I was trying to do tonight.
“What are we doing at the airport?” I asked curiously.
“I’m ’bout to show you,” he said and turned into the garage.
We drove all the way to the roof of the garage where the parking was open to the sky. As we got up to the garage that overlooked one of the runways, I watched as he went to the very edge and parked on the far end.
“Come on,” he said and got out of the car.
I hopped out and followed him as he went to sit on the hood of his car. I climbed up right beside him, and we reclined with our backs on the windshield. The sound of airplanes coming in and taking off was loud but not so loud that we couldn’t hear each other. It was a beautiful night. The moon was full, and I could make out some of the stars in the sky. The warm, Miami breeze blew my hair, and I tucked the stray pieces behind my ears.
“Me and my pops would come out here when I was younger and just watch the planes land and take off,” City explained. “I used to want to be a pilot but that shit never worked out. We used to chill up here for hours just talking about life and watching the planes. Something about these big ass metal birds fascinated my dad and me too. This was like our escape back then. And when I’m going through shit, I still come up here to clear my head.”
He was staring out at the planes below us, and I felt chills at the thought that he felt so comfortable with me to share something so personal.
“I figured since you going through it with your folks, you might appreciate this,” he said.
“I do,” I said as I looked back out. “I used to be scared of planes when I was younger. I guess because when you’re in one, you can’t control shit. I always wanted to be in control of everything, but when you’re up there, it’s you, the pilot, and God. That’s about it.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, you right. But everybody gotta die someday.”
“Yeah, well hopefully not any time soon,” I said, shaking my head.
“Yeah. That’s facts,” he said.
We wre laying back on the car real close to each other, and I could smell the spicy, oaky smell in his cologne. I wasn’t even really sure what it was.
“You and your dad are real close?” I asked, trying to hear more about him.
“That’s my nigga,” he said and chuckled. I smiled. “From the minute I was born, he stepped up. So many men don’t do that shit, so I respect him a lot. Yeah, he might’ve been wrong for stepping out on his marriage and getting with my mom, but at the end of the day, I wasn’t involved in none of that. From what I could see, my mom stayed in her lane. She wasn’t the jealous type or none of that. She might’ve been wrong or whatever, but she wasn’t trying to break up that man’s home. Matter fact, I know for a fact she would tell him he needed to chill off her and go be with his family, cuz sometimes he would show up at the house talkin’ ’bout he wants to stay the night.”
“How do you know that?” I asked, intrigued by this story.
“I would sneak out the bed and listen to them arguing when I was younger. Of course, I wanted my pops with me all the time, but from way back then, I knew something was different about our relationship. My mom wasn’t trying to be in that drama, so she fell back from him heavy and started living her own life. Rigs’ mom is a bitch, though. Real talk. She would call the house threatening my mom, she’d pop up at my mom’s job, she would tell people that me and my mom were trying to ruin her life and get my dad to be with us. She was a crazy ass bitch, and her son is just like her,” he said.
I listened in silence as he told me about his family and the crazy drama they’d been going through all these years.
“Where’s your mom now?” I asked.
“She chillin’. She stays in Aventura. I bought her a condo a couple years back, and she takes trips now and then to see her family wherever they stay.” He chuckled.
I laughed too. This felt comfortable, and I loved our conversation.
“How ’bout you?” he asked, looking over at me.
“What about me?” I asked playing innocent.
“I know you got a story. Why you stay with that nigga for so long when he was cheating on you the whole time?” he asked me.
I felt my face fall as I thought about Dontrell. He wasn’t really who I wanted to talk about out tonight. City saw the look on my face and reached over to pull my chin toward him.
“Don’t get in your feelings. It’s a legit question. We just havin’ conversation now, right? I’m tryna get to know you and see how you think,” he said.
I looked back out and focused on one plane that was coming down and about to land on the runway.
“He was just comfortable, I guess,” I said and shrugged.
“How you mean?” City asked.
“I’d known him since I was a teenager when his family moved down to Miami. We saw each
other every weekend, our families were close as fuck, and it was all my mother talked about when I was growing up. I just had it in my head that he was who I would end up with. I never really thought about whether the love I had for him was manufactured or really real. Or whether I really wanted to be with him because that’s where I thought I was supposed to be. I guess he had the same thoughts in his head. Only difference was he didn’t decide to just ride with it. He found a whole new bitch and knocked her up,” I explained.
“You still love the nigga?” he asked me, and I looked over at him. He was staring at me like he was waiting patiently for the answer to that question.
I shook my head slowly. “I don’t. When I found out about Nichole… I don’t know, it’s weird. I felt a little relieved. Like I had an out. My mother is overbearing as fuck. All she talked about for years was how much money this nigga had and how good he would be for me. And he was a nice guy. He treated me nice, he bought stuff for me, he wanted to take care of home while I started a family, it just felt like, why would I leave this? But I never felt like a deep connection with him. He was cute, and he was my first everything, but it felt real clinical. Like there was no passion with the two of us. When I found out he disrespected me and even had a baby on the way, I knew I wanted to use that as my out.”
“You stay thinkin’ about what people gonna think about,” City stated in a matter of fact tone. “If you didn’t want to be with him, you should’ve just left instead of looking for a reason you thought people would accept.”
“I don’t give a fuck what people think about me,” I retorted.
“Yeah, you do. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t have stayed with the fuck nigga. You wouldn’t have put on that show at the wedding. You would have left his ass in private. You wanted everyone to see how fucked up he is, so no one would blame you for leaving his ass,” City said.
I didn’t say anything because although I hated to admit it, he was right.
“Now look at you. Niggas still mad at you anyway, and you went through all that shit. It’s better you just do whatever the fuck you want to do. Somebody is gonna be mad about some shit but fuck them. You gotta live your life for you,” he said.
