“I heard. Congratulations, my guy.”
“‘Preciate it.” I finished chopping it up with Obbie before heading toward the back where the deli was. At the counter was Diamond and her sister Amina.
It’d been a while since I saw Amina. Last I heard, she had moved to Houston a while back. Diamond ain’t speak on her much because she respected that Amina and I went our separate ways. When I pulled up, Diamond was putting in an order for her and Amina.
“Di, you don’t need all that damn grease. Extra, extra bacon is dragging in,” Amina chastised her sister. “Just give her one extra order of bacon,” she then directed the cook.
Some things never changed. Amina was still bossing people around.
“Health is wealth, nigga. Thought I told you that.” I squeezed Diamond’s shoulders, catching her attention.
She laughed as she rubbed her stomach. “I ain’t got the six pack no more, but I think I’m still doing good.”
“We gone get you back in the gym. Me and my lady be putting in that work.”
Diamond smacked her lips. “I be seeing what the fuck y’all be doing on her Instagram. I’m not flipping that big-ass tire.”
“We gone start you off light. Don’t worry.”
I could feel Amina’s eyes burning a hole into the side of my face. Last time we saw each other was before I met Jazzlyn. I was still moving guns and debating on tapping into moving weight. We left off on amicable terms, but it had been a while, so a lot of shit had changed. The time did her well. She was thicker than the last time I saw her. I ain’t mean to stare, but it was evident that she went and got some work done, but it looked nice and proportioned. She had a few more tattoos that inked her chocolate skin and had her hair styled in those braids with the extra curly pieces that I remembered my wife getting before we went on our trip to Jamaica.
“What’s good, Amina? How you been?”
She cleared her throat lightly, causing Diamond to snicker. “I been good. You?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “I can’t complain.”
The cook came over and took my order before handing me a ticket so I could go cash out.
“That’s nice. You look good, Ahk. I see you cut the dreads.”
I reached up and ran my hand over my low cut. Amina and I were fucking around when I had my freeform dreads. I was young and still figuring life out. When we ended things and she dipped out to Houston, I felt like I needed a change, so I chopped my fucking hair off. My homies thought I was having a mid-life crisis or some shit, but really, I just knew I was about to step into a different phase of life. A year later, I met my wife, then got plugged in with Priest. Shit went up from there.
“Yeah, I grew out of ‘em. I’m on my grown man shit now.” I chuckled. “How was Houston?”
“Houston is great. My podcast is doing good. I’m actually in town for a show. I thought I might as well look at a few spots while I’m here since I’m considering moving back.” She smiled while looking up at me.
“Word? That’s what’s up. I’m proud of you, ‘Mina.”
“Thank you. That means a lot coming from you. I heard you the king of the city now.” Her smile had faltered into a smirk as her eyes pierced into mine.
A smooth chuckle escaped me as I shook my head. “I ain’t with all the king shit. I’m just pulling my weight and stacking my bread.”
“Well, I’m proud of you too, Ahkeem, for real.”
“‘Preciate it.”
Her and Diamond’s order came out, and Diamond grabbed the ticket from her so she could go pay. “I’ll catch you later, Ahk. Hit me if you need me.” Diamond dapped me up.
“No doubt.”
Amina was on the verge of following Diamond to the front counter but stopped. Turning back around to face me, she toyed with her hands as a nervous look etched her face. “I don’t know what you have planned tomorrow night, but I have a live show at the Central Theater. I would love for you to come out.”
I knew it took a lot for her to build up the courage to ask just by the uneasy look that settled in her eyes. I bit down on my bottom lip, momentarily thinking of the best response I could give her. “’Preciate the invite, but I got some shit planned with my wife and son.”
“Oh, you’re married?”
I could hear the shock in her tone. I was always a nigga who got in and out of relationships, so it wasn’t unusual for me to be dealing with someone. Marriage, however? That shit was a shock. I always thought marriage wasn’t in the cards for me, but truthfully, I just hadn’t met the right person. Jazzlyn changed all that shit.
