by Blue Saffire
“Hey, Vicky, so you gangster now? What’s Venny teaching you over there?” Smitty called out.
Everyone laughed again. I just shrugged. My eyes were back on Lorenzo. I wanted to kiss him so badly. I wasn’t sure how my uncle would react so I hesitated.
Lorenzo stared back at me, with a smile on his lips. He wrapped his good arm around me to pull me closer to him. I was going to caution him not to, but he kissed me before I could.
“Ill …you must love her man, cause I know she got morning breath,” my cousin, Curt laughed out.
“Word, Vicky ain’t that cute, Lorenzo. Let her go get some Scope,” Smitty teased.
“Shut up, you two,” I growled as I pulled away from Lorenzo. “Smitty you want to find out how gangster I am?”
“Vicky, I ain’t messing with you. I still owe you for that tooth you chipped. You were already dangerous. I don’t know whose bright idea it was to give you a gun. There goes the neighborhood,” Smitty returned.
I turned to him and grinned. The two of us used to get into fights all the time. We were either fighting each other or fighting a group of kids together.
Smitty was a troublemaker. He would start it, and of course, me, with my hot temper, would finish it. Lorenzo laughed at our little exchange, which made me smile more. I got up from by Lorenzo’s side to stretch. I needed to use the bathroom.
“Hey, do you have my phone?” Lorenzo asked.
“Yes,” I said, as I pulled it out handing it to him.
I headed to my cousin, Bianca’s room, to use her bathroom. My cousins were a little right. I wasn’t as fresh as I would’ve liked to have been and I was covered in blood from head to toe.
I washed as much as I could off my face and hands. The clock in Bianca’s room said nine o’clock and it was light outside. I’d slept for a pretty long time. I was so hungry.
My hair was clumped together on one side, full of blood. I wanted to take a shower, but I didn’t have anything to put on. I sighed at the sorry sight I made.
Once I finished in the bathroom, I made my way back to the living room. I could hear more voices and more laughter, as I walked up the hall. I saw Angie and Chris hugging by the stairs first.
I turned the corner to see my mom, sitting next to Lorenzo with a hand on his face, while he spoke to her. I was so excited to see her. I ran to her side to hug her, but remember what I looked like.
I quickly shrugged the holster off my shoulders, dropping it to the floor and kicked it under the lounge Lorenzo was on. I pulled off the vest and tossed it aside. My mother just grinned at me and stood to give me a hug.
“Venny always did treat you like one of the boys. He can’t make up his mind…princess or mini Venncesso,” she said. “I like the princess better.”
“That makes two of us,” Lorenzo threw in and laughed.
“I know you’re not just going to act like I’m not in the room, big head,” My cousin Bianca sassed.
“How could I, big mouth,” I teased back. “What’s up, girl?”
“Wow, I have to shoot somebody to get you here, nowadays?” Bianca teased, as she came to give me a hug. “Girl, you look a mess. Bry took us to your place to get you and your friend some clothes. We need to talk about some shoes I seen in your closet. You gonna need to come up off those.”
“Whatever, Bianca, you trippin’. If you supposed to be getting me something to wear, how you shopping in my closet?” I laughed.
“I’m sayin’, they were in my sightline,” she giggled.
“What’s poppin’, Bry you know I really don’t appreciate the fact that you been up in my crib twice now,” I threw at my cousin, Bryce Jr.
“Sorry about that, ma. Just looking out,” he said as he came across the room to hug me. “So, I’m really coming to your wedding next week? Ain’t you still in high school? Yo, how old are you, playa?” Bryce Jr. said, looking at Lorenzo with the last question.
“I’ll be Twenty-one on the day of the wedding,” Lorenzo answered.
“Vicky, ain’t you like seventeen. I know I got you by two years,” Bryce Jr. quizzed.
“Okay…and what’s your point, Bry. Cuz you’re really all up in my business right now,” I fired. “I don’t ask you about the crud you date.”
“Alright, little mama. I’m just looking out,” he said as he raised his hands. “If homie is willing to take a bullet for you, he cool with me.”
“Sorry, but I wasn’t waiting for your stamp of approval, anyway,” I rolled my eyes and looked at Lorenzo.
He smiled at me, with a curious expression on his face. I tilted my head, trying to understand it. I went over to him and he pulled me to his lap. I scanned the room for Uncle Bryce. He was talking to Matt and Marcus about something on the TV.
“Guess she shut you down,” Bianca laughed.
“Bry got a lot of nerve. He ain’t holla at me in a month of Sundays. Now he wants to be all in my business,” I laughed. I watched Lorenzo’s face as the curious look just increased. “Che cosa?” I asked him.
“Te. Questo è ciò che,” he answered.
“Oh, no you two don’t. Vicky, you know better than that, English,” Bianca hissed.
“Sorry,” Lorenzo said. “You, that’s what, you manage to fit in everywhere.”
I laughed so hard. I forgot Lorenzo has never seen me with my other family. To him, I’m the black girl that speaks Italian. When I do speak English, I still don’t sound like my father, but it’s not the same as when I’m with my cousins. I must of sound weird to him.
“Does that bother you?” I asked curiously.
“No, I like it,” he answered.
“Since I must speak English, I’m not even going to ask you what that means,” I said, causing us both to laugh.
“Owww…Vicky, when you get so rude?” Bianca asked, while rolling her eyes. “You could at least introduce us to the dude, if he’s going to bleed all over the future.”
I had to laugh. Bianca is so comical. I looked at Lorenzo and noticed that he was no longer hooked up to the fluids. I wasn’t sure if he should get up yet. I decided if they wanted to be close they, would have to come to us.
“Lorenzo, this one here with all the mouth is, Bianca,” I started.
“Nice to meet you, Bianca,” he said and smiled.
“Nice to meet you too. He’s cute, Vicky, he have a brother?” she returned.
“No, sorry, just me and my sister,” Lorenzo laughed, then added with a frown. “That I know of.”
I laughed and Bianca frowned. She looked over to Matt on the couch. “Hey, Matt, you still seeing what’s her face? Tina right,” she called over.
“Yeah, Bianca, you didn’t want me when I tried to wife you,” Matt winked and chuckled.
“I was playing hard to get, Matt. You gave up too soon,” Bianca threw back at him.
“Oh, please,” I huffed rolling my eyes. “Lo, that’s Bryce Jr. and next to him is the other big mouth, troublemaker, Smitty,” I pointed in their direction. Bryce Jr. came back over and gave Lorenzo five.
“What’s up, cuz?” Smitty nodded with a grin.
“What’s up?” Lorenzo smiled back.
Marcus, Curt, Byron, Ryan, and Justin came over and hugged me, while waiting to be introduced. They each gave Lorenzo five one at a time. I got up to move out of the way.
“This is Marcus, Curt, Byron, Ryan…Yes, they’re twins, and Justin,” I introduced my cousins.
“Nice to meet you all,” Lorenzo said.
“Man, you haven’t seen nothing yet,” Curt told him. “Your boys said today was your bachelor party, but they had to change things around.
“We thought it would be cool to throw ya’ll a party and let you meet the family. We don’t see Vicky as much as we’d like to, but she means a lot to us, man. What you did was big. We not gonna to forget that.”
Lorenzo looked at me and smiled. “She means a lot to me too. I love her. I’d do it again if I had to.”
“That’s what’s up, my dude.
Judging by the size of that rock on her finger that ghetto booty got you twisted, playa,” Justin teased.
My mouth fell open, as I reached out to mush Justin in the head. Laughter filled the room. I caught Lorenzo looking behind me. I wrinkled my nose at him.
He just smiled and winked at me. He bit his lip as a look filled his eyes. Lorenzo reached for me, but I walked away.
“No… that’s not why I love her. I’m not complaining about it. It’s just not what makes me love her,” he chuckled.
“Well, why do you love her?” my mother asked.
“Ms. James, Victoria has changed my whole world into hers. When I’m not with her, my head hurts and I feel like someone is trying to steal my air.
“She’s my best friend and girlfriend, all at the same time. Yes, I find her very, very attractive. She’s the most beautiful woman I know, but she’s also smart, thoughtful, half crazy, willing to put up with and take care of me.
“I want to give her everything she wants and needs and make sure it’s always in her best interest. I’ve never met anyone else I can say that about,” he answered.
“Okay, Lorenzo, at least you can give me an honest answer. I know why the two of you are getting married so soon. I just want to make sure you want this as much as she does.
“Victoria loves very hard. I see how much she loves you. I wouldn’t toy with that if I were you. You have a point…she is half crazy,” my mother said, teasing Lorenzo with her last sentence.
“Somebody, please, tell them I’m still in the room,” I said. “The two of you have nerve. You and Venny raised me, so what does that say about you? And you Lo are in love with crazy, so you sure aren’t far from it.”
“Baby, I think I’m the only man in the world that can handle loving you,” Lorenzo teased.
“Okay, well, I have a question of my own,” Uncle Bryce said, as he approached us. “Where do you sleep in that apartment, nephew? I only saw one bed.”
Okay, now I was ready to go. Uncle Bryce was almost as bad as my father. I wanted to stay away from this subject. I inched back over to Lorenzo’s side and watched my uncle’s face as Lo answered.
“I sleep with her in our bed,” Lorenzo said confidently.
Uncle Bryce raised his eyebrow. “And this is something her father knows?” he asked, disbelievingly.
“Yes,” Lorenzo answered. “But before you jump to conclusions. Victoria and I have never had sex. I’m a man, I know how to wait.”
“I like this kid, Keisha. He cracks me up,” Uncle Bryce snorted. “You expect me to believe that you have been living with my niece, that one. The one that has looked twenty-five, since she was like fifteen. And the two of you sleep in the same bed, but you have never—.”
“Yes, Sir,” Lorenzo answered. “She doesn’t want to. I love and respect her for that and I will wait. If she’s still not ready when we get married, I’ll understand. She is younger than I am, so I am willing to wait as long as she needs.”
“Yeah, right,” Uncle Bryce twisted his lips and looked to me. “Victoria, I know when you’re lying. You’ve been living with him and nothing has been going on?” Uncle Bryce asked.
“Yes, Uncle Bryce. Lo is very patient with me,” I shrugged.
“You know what nephew, I really do like you. That bum, Venny could learn a lot from you,” Uncle Bryce laughed. “Vicky, honey, you seriously look scary and your grandfather is on the way. I think you and my nephew here need to get cleaned up. But I don’t play that here. Lorenzo, you can use Bry’s room. Victoria, you know the drill.”
I was glad for the fresh clothes and a shower. I wasn’t going to argue with Uncle Bryce at all. I watched Lorenzo get up for the first time. When he looked stable, I was willing to go and shower. I took the bag of clothes Bianca had for me and headed back to her room.
The hot shower was nice. I washed my hair until I stopped seeing blood in the shampoo. As I stood in the shower, I thought about how nice my family was to Lorenzo.
I loved that and he seemed so comfortable around them. I also thought about how that cow Angie was so wrapped up in Chris, she didn’t even speak.
I towel dried my hair and used some of Bianca’s gel and a brush to brush the front of my hair, pulling my curls into a large bun. The outfit in the bag said Bianca all day. I laughed to find my dark blue skinny low rise stretch jeans, a purple pullover v-neck top, and a pair of suede purple platform pumps.
The pumps told me that Bianca was all in my closet. I had these shoes way in the back, for a special occasion. I dressed quickly because I wanted to get back to Lorenzo.
I could hear music playing as I walked through the hallway. When I got back to the front of the condo Lorenzo was standing with a group of my cousins, laughing and joking. He looked so relaxed and happy. He fit right in, like he’d known them for years.
Chris and Angie were with them. Angie was tied to Chris like a wet shirt. I realized then that Chris and Matt had on fresh clothes as well.
Lorenzo had on a t-shirt I had bought him a few weeks back and a pair of jeans. When I looked down at his sneakers, I knew Bianca had been in his closet as well. Bryce Jr. would have gotten closer to something Lorenzo would put together.
Lorenzo turned towards me, as Smitty said something and nodded my way. Lorenzo’s whole face lit up when he saw me. I watched his eyes trail my whole body.
The intense look filled his eyes once again. It was like I could feel the heat coming off of him. His face said I was walking too slow. I picked up the pace a little. When I was close enough for him to reach, he put his hand on the back of my neck, closing the gap between us as he captured my lips.
I kissed him back as his hand went from my neck, slowly moving down to my shoulder, my arm, to around my waist. I wrapped my arms around his neck and stood on my toes to close the gap in our height, as much as I could.
My cousins giggled and snickers, as a couple of people cleared their throats. When Lorenzo went to pull away, I grabbed the back his hair and held him to me. I’d gone days without this. They would give me a minute to enjoy it.
I felt Lorenzo’s sexy smile, just before he pulled my lower lip between his teeth. I just barely stifled the moan that wanted to draw from my lips moan. I wasn’t letting him. I knew he was trying to shock me into doing so. Instead, I grabbed his face with one hand and gently grazed his bottom lip in response. He let out a little chuckle of his own, and pulled his face away.
“I love you too,” he whispered.
“I know,” I told him. “How are you feeling?”
“Very happy.”
“No, not that silly, are you in pain?”
“Nope, the doc gave me some pain killers. I should be good for a few hours.”
“Oh, okay. You don’t need to sit?”
“I’ve been sitting for days. I’m okay.”
“Yo, Vicky, we were telling your boy about granddad and giving him pointers on getting on his good side,” Curt busted.
“I hope you started with looking him in the eyes,” I giggled.
“You know it. Remember Farrah brought home that dude that wouldn’t look him in the eyes,” Curt said, as all my cousins and I started to laugh.
“‘Farrah get this snake out my house. His eyes wouldn’t know the truth if they seen it,’” Bryce Jr. mocked and everyone roared with laughter.
“Remember the time granddaddy gave Vicky a hundred dollars for slapping the neighbor?” Bianca asked, over the laughter.
“Oh, I remember that, that was the year we came over for Christmas,” Angie chimed in.
“Oh, look who decided they want to speak,” I shot at her.
“Sorry, Vic,” she said, giving me a shy look, as she came to hug me. “You looked a little scary before. I wanted to give you your space.”
“Ha, ha,” I replied.
“You guys have to let me tell this one,” Bryce Jr. laughs out.
“Please don’t,” I pleaded.
“I want to hear it,” Lorenzo laughed.
/> “So, it’s Christmas Eve, right,” Bryce Jr. begins, walking over to Lorenzo and placing an arm on his shoulder. The two of them looked like old friends. “Now, granddaddy’s neighbor’s kid had a crush on Vicky. What’s his name, Eric or something like that? Well, Vicky, Angie, and Bianca are running through the house making a bunch of noise.
“All you see is a bush of curls flying, by followed by sticks, and big mouth,” he points to Angie then Bianca and Lorenzo laughed at the references he made. “Vicky makes it to the stairs of the family room, under the mistletoe, and this kid runs by and kisses Vicky on the cheek.” Bryce is laughing now so hard he can hardly finish the story.
“Oh, Bry, if you’re going to tell the story hurry up and finish,” I grumble. Lorenzo looked me and winked, but I rolled my eyes and fold my arms across my chest. This was so embarrassing.
“Okay, Okay,” he finally gained control. “Vicky snatches the kid by the back of the collar before he can get away. She snatched him back to her like he stole something. Then, she hauls off and slaps him across the face.
“Vicky is just standing there now staring at him with her little fists balled up and you could see her curls shaking, she was so mad. Now, granddaddy watched the whole thing. He calls Vicky over and pulls out a hundred-dollar bill and says. ‘Very good, Victoria and that’s what you do from now on when someone tries that.’ It was classic,” Bryce laughed.
Everyone, including Lorenzo doubled over in laughter. I wanted to kick Bryce Jr. right in his big mouth. Lorenzo had enough images of me and my temper of his own.
I turned to walk away out of embarrassment, but Lorenzo wrapped his arm around me to place his hand on my stomach, as he pulled me to him. He laughed in my ear as he kissed my neck.
“I’m glad you didn’t slap me,” he whispered and chuckled.
“I just might if you’re not careful,” I teased.
There was so much laughter, no one noticed the elevator open as the laughter continued. Uncle Bryce called out for Lorenzo and me, we both turned at the mention of our names. I saw Uncle Bryce motion for us to come over. When I saw my grandfather, I reached for Lorenzo’s hand and dragged him across the room with me.