The smug little smile on his face let me know he knew I didn’t have one. But no way would I admit that to him. I dropped my arms.
“Don’t worry about it, as long as it isn’t you.”
Oh, God, I take back my earlier observation. What I just said was the lamest answer ever.I hated Mekhi for the way he made me sound tongue-tied and stupid. His smirk was now a full grin as he all but laughed at me and my dumb-as-hell responses. He stepped closer to me and surprised me by trailing a finger from the crazily beating pulse in my neck down into my cleavage. I sucked in a deep breath, my body warming to his touch.
“I know it’s not me. If I were your man, you wouldn’t be out here, showing what’s mine. But I don’t have to worry about that, do I, Farrah?”
I swallowed hard. “Worry about… worry about what?” I whispered as his fingertip lazily drew circles between my breasts.
He leaned forward until his lips brushed my ear. “Being your man.”
I closed my eyes, unsure of how to respond. It almost seemed like he was flirting with me. But then my senses returned. Mekhi Venzant didn’t flirt with me. He laughed at me, if anything. My mouth tightened and I glared up at him.
“No. That’s something you never have to worry about. Now, move out of my way!”
Shockingly, he did just as I asked. I almost ran in my hurry to get away from him. One step away from the doors, I turned to look at him. He stood there, looking at me, his eyes piercing.
“Never,” I repeated, just to make sure he understood…
…just to make sure I believed it.
(The Present)
“I don’t understand you,nigga. You act like I’m asking you to give a kidney or some shit. I’m just asking you to come through, bless us with your presence,” Seth said, shaking his head at me.
“I’m not for you to understand. You know shit like that ain’t my scene.”
I looked down at the Vacheron Constantin on my wrist. This conversation had already wasted too much of my time. Seth was my nigga, but I had zero interest in showing my face at some little party. I had too much more important shit I could be doing, mainly making this money. I was a born hustler, and my grindnever stopped. Right now, I needed to be in Shreveport. I lived between there and Emancipation.
“Did you need anything else?” I asked.
He shook his head. “Nah. Shit is straight around here.”
I nodded. That was what I liked to hear. Seth kept his ear to the ground. If he said things were cool, then things were cool. We were moving differently, slowly trying to shake off the chains of the past, almost there to legitimacy. But extracting ourselves wasn’t that easy—we still had some very lucrative, if questionable, endeavors. Still, I wasn’t trying to get fucked over on my way out the streets. We shook hands and I started to step off the porch. Suddenly, the screen door opened behind us. By now, it was just instinct to check my back. I turned around, only to come face-to-face with Kera.
She was smiling at me as she stood there in a bikini top and some little ass shorts. I shook my head, already knowing what her fast ass was up to. I didn’t even have to look at Seth to know he was frowning.
“Hey, Mekhi,” she cooed before sucking on the lollipop she had in her right hand.
“Sup, Kera,” I said, my voice cool.
“Take yo’ ol’ hot ass back in the house and put some clothes on!” Seth snapped.
“Seth, you not my daddy. I ain’t changing shit!”
She did the whole neck and eye roll drill, like she didn’t know Seth would shut her shit down. His eyes narrowed on her, and he walked up in her personal space.
“Fuck you say?” he asked.
She swallowed and took a step back. “I said I ain’t changing shit. But, Seth, we just going to Farrah’s house. Stop tripping!”
He mugged her for another few seconds before mushing her head. She swung and popped him in the shoulder. I half-listened to her squeal and him talk shit as he put her in a headlock, butmy mind was on what she said.We just going to Farrah’s house. Why somebody as cool as Kera still hung out with that stuck-up girl, I didn’t know. Farrah walked around with her nose in the air, like she was above and beyond all of us. And speak of the devil. The screen door opened again, and Farrah strolled out, a couple of books in her hands.
My eyes were drawn to her for a minute. She was pretty as ever, if you were into extra-thick chicks. Personally, it wasn’t my thing. She looked at me and then looked away quickly. I smirked. All these years later and her ass still refused to speak to me. That was cool—I didn’t have time for that fake shit.
“You ready?” she asked Kera.
“So, it’s like that? A nigga can’t even get a ‘hey’ out of you?” Seth teased her.
