“Yeah, I am. We gotta spread out. Do some different shit.”
Emotion climbed up Slick’s throat unexpectedly. Nobody had ever given him permission to become something else. The streets only knew how to keep people trapped in one version of themselves forever.
Jio looked over casually. “I just need you to stay clean.”
Slick exhaled. “I’m going to try my hardest.”
“Nah,” Jio corrected calmly. “Do it. No excuses.”
The firmness in his tone made Slick nod.
“You not dying on me. We all we got.” The latter was a saying that his mama drilled in their heads as little boys.
Salim leaned forward to tell his brothers, “I love y’all ugly ass niggas.”
η
“Take it again please. Why does my head look so big?” Nina shook her head as she passed her phone back to Ephrem.
“Uh, because it is.” He hoped that she was joking because her head was big as fuck and she had to know that prior to asking him that question.
“You think so?” She turned her head to the side and observed it in the mirror in her living room.
“I gotta find you some female friends.” Ephrem was mainly interested in going to art exhibits, Broadway plays, and book signings. Accompanying Nina to a football game wasn’t his thing, but he was going because he was a good best friend.
“Oh please then you’ll be missing me more than ever.”
He didn’t protest.
“Yeah, whatever. I’m not taking another pic, so come on, this is the last one.”
She rolled her eyes before turning to the side and flashing a smile.
“Jio is going to get you,” he warned.
Nina was getting too comfortable playing with that man, but shit, he made her behave this way.
“I don’t care.”
She was proudly wearing Kobie’s jersey to the game tonight.
“Just don’t say that I didn’t tell you this wasn’t a good idea.”
“Come on, Roberto is waiting on us.”
“Oh my God, you got the man’s driver taking us to his game? NINAAAAA!” Ephrem was worried for real.
“How else are we supposed to get there?”
“The subway like every other fan? Or perhaps, we take the car that’s conveniently parked downstairs? I mean, we have a few options.”
“Well, you must want to walk far and be all sweaty. Having a driver makes my life easier. That’s why Jio got me one. Let’s go.” She had a good week at work and was looking forward to cheering Kobie on at his game today. They’d kicked it a time or two since she attended his party. He was a real cool dude but she wasn’t leading him on. As foolish as it may sound, she still longed for Jio.
In the meantime, Kobie proved to be a welcome distraction. There was something effortless about being around him. His conversation flowed naturally, and he had a way of making her laugh when she least expected it. The heaviness she’d been carrying lately seemed a little lighter whenever his name flashed across her phone.
His thoughtfulness didn't stop there. Every morning that week, Nina arrived at her office to find a fresh bouquet of flowers waiting on her desk. No grand gestures or over-the-top declarations, but beautiful flowers paired with handwritten notes wishing her a productive day. The consistency of it all wasenough to make her smile. For the first time in a long time, she felt seen.
He was a busy athlete, but he still made her feel like she was on his mind, and that’s all she’d been wanting from Jio. Women needed to feel the desire oozing out of a man’s pores. Attraction was one thing and intention was another.
