Iwalked through the door laughing at my big brother like he'd lost his damn mind.
Mane was out here picking out rings like he was about to propose to the president's daughter or some shit. And not just doing what needed to be done. He was all in, talking about three carats and custom cuts and all this romantic bullshit.
He was the same nigga who used to tell me that love was a weakness. The same nigga who wouldn't let a bitch stay in his bed for more than two hours without forcing her to leave.
And now look at him.
Now he was planning a whole proposal dinner and all that extra shit. Had our chef preparing special meals and all that. I wasn’tmad at the fool. He was growing up, and I guess that was all part of being in position.
Every time I thought about the look on his face when he was talking about the ring, I'd shake my head. My big brother had fallen hard and he didn't even want to admit it out loud yet, but everybody could see it, even my mom saw it, and that’s why she was going so hard on the damn girl.
The way he looked at Tattiana. The way he moved different when she was around. The way he'd go out in the field, handle business, and then rush home just to be near her.
That nigga was in love and ain’t even know. The kind that made you do crazy things and not give a fuck who knew about it.
I got to my room and had to let out a long sigh after the day that I’d had. My phone was already buzzing on my nightstand but I didn't check it right away. I was too busy replaying the look on those niggas faces today when he popped up and popped they asses.
About three hours later, after I'd showered and was laying in bed just chilling, my phone buzzed again. This time it was a text from Kaseem with a phone number and a message: "Nyla number. Don’t do nothing stupid nigga.”
I looked at that number for a hot minute, thinking about what had happened at the compound when Nyla and River showed up. That moment when our eyes locked and everything else went quiet. That handshake that lasted too long. That feeling I couldn't shake.
I knew what my brother was doing. He was giving me a chance. And I wasn't about to waste it. That nigga made it clear that Iain’t need to bother Nyla if I wasn’t ready because that would only cause problems in his household.
I called her number straight up, no hesitation.
"Hello?" she answered on the second ring, and I could already tell she was curious about who it was.
"Aye, it's Namier," I said, keeping my voice smooth but real. "Kaseem's brother. The one from the other night."
There was a pause. Then I heard a smile in her voice.
"Oh," she said, and that one word told me she'd been thinking about me just like I'd been thinking about her. "Hey. How did you get my number?"
"My brother sent it to me cause I damn near begged for it.”
“Okay. I like persistence. But don’t introduce me to a vibe that you don’t intend to keep up.” she joked.
We ended up talking for over an hour. Not the kind of surface-level conversation where you ask fake questions and give fake answers. Real conversation. I told her about growing up in Dallas, about what it was like being part of this family, about the weight of responsibility that came with being a Carter. She told me about her job, about her friends, about what she wanted out of life. And the whole time I was on that phone, I was smiling like a fool, doing exactly what my brother had been doing with Tattiana.
Selling dreams. Making plans. Painting pictures of what could be.
At one point, she asked me what I was looking for, and I laughed because I knew what she was really asking.
"What do you mean, what am I looking for?" I asked back. "The question is, what do you got to give?"
"Well, what do you have to offer?" she said, playing right back with me.
"I ain't gonna lie to you," I said, getting real with her. "I don't got a lot of time for all the relationship stuff. Work got me busy most days. But I can try and make time for the right person, and I definitely got some dick to give.” I said, being straight forward.
She laughed.
"Well," she said, her voice dropping a little, getting flirty, "if you give me the dick, then you gonna wanna make time. Trust me on that."
I felt that comment hit different. Like, she wasn't playing games. She was being real right back.
"Let me come find out and see if that's true," I said.
"Not tonight," she said. "I got a long day ahead of me tomorrow morning. But tomorrow night, we should go out for drinks. Get to know each other a little better without all the family around."
