Page 83 of When I Thug You Like That

“Man, please.” He laughed. “I’ll see you next week.”

“Aight. Don’t think you can do what this nigga just did today either,” she said, fastening the cape around my neck. “Call me if you need to change your appointment.”

“Heard you.”

After the cut from last week, I wasn’t worried about her fucking me up, so I just told her what I wanted and sat back to let her do her thing.

“So, where you gotta be that got you popping up and throwing around extra money?”

“You in my business already, and I ain’t known you a week.”

“You popping up expecting me to cut ya hair like we done established a relationship already, nigga. Least you can do is tell me what’s the rush.”

“I got a date.”

She picked up her clippers and turned them on. “A date made you come here four hours earlier than your scheduled appointment? Shit, I know she bad.”

“Badder than some of them kids she teach.”

Morgan paused, turning her clippers off. “You got a teacher?”

I smiled. “Yo’ ass is nosey.”

“Man, what grade she teach?”

“The grade my kid in. Now cut my hair, studdy.”

“Nigga, I got yo’ studdy.” She laughed, tilting my head slightly to the right before cutting on that side.

For the next twenty-five minutes, we traded jokes and insults back and forth. Even Duke and Dre joined in. She didn’t ask anything else about my date, and that was fine with me because I wasn’t divulging any further details. When she finally spun my chair around, I checked myself in the mirror, nodding to show my satisfaction.

“Aight, cool. ‘Preciate you.”

“Here you go with this aight shit.”

I chuckled. “What you want a nigga to do? Backflip? Hit the Dougie or somethin’? Aight means you did ya thang.”

“Oh, I know that.”

I grabbed her brush and got my own hairs off my neck.

“You ain’t got a humble bone in ya body, do you?”

“Nope. Gimme my shit.” She snatched the brush and tossed it back on her station.

Pulling out my money clip, I handed her the money for the cut plus the extra 50 I’d offered.

“Nice doing business witchu again.”

“I’m sure. Same time next week?”

“Yeah. Six o’clock. Have fun on ya little teacher date.”

I held up my middle finger as I bopped out, leaving the shop. I could hear her laughing behind me.

Hopping in my car, I headed to the school to pick up Baby Jay a little earlier. Today would be his first time being picked up in the building versus outside on the playground. Although the change was small to me, I knew it’d be big for him. I stressed to India earlier this morning that she needed to remind him of the plan to make for an easy transition. It was clear that my message had gone over her head because when I arrived, my kid was trying to tussle with Ms. K.

No Jai’ana.