by Nique Luarks
“A’ight.” I snapped, cutting him off. “So, this is how we gon’ do this, Jose? Don’t even come, homie.”
“True!” Chance screeched.
Hanging up the phone I stood up. “Come on so we can get something to eat.”
2
Friends keep secrets
Chance
“Hey, Chance, girl.” Jaliyah leaned in my window.
“Hey.” I faced Chase when he slammed the passenger’s door with an attitude. “What’s your problem?”
Chase ignored me. He continued facing forward with his arms crossed and a mean look on his face.
Well excuse me...
“He’s got an attitude ‘cause I told his daddy on him.”
Jaliyah shook her head and her honey-blond, faux-lock bob bounced.
“Now, I can’t go to my cousin’s house,” Chase huffed.
I frowned. “So, that’s why True asked me to get him at the last minute? Because he didn’t want him leaving the house?”
Jaliyah shrugged. “Yeah, he left this morning trippin’. He was supposed to take Chase, but Drake called.”
So, True spent the night with Jaliyah.
Let True tell it, he wasn’t screwing Jaliyah or Quindelle. Jaliyah is a whole lot easier to tolerate than Quindelle is, though.
My eyes shifted back to my god son. “What did you do now? And put your seatbelt on.”
“Fighting again,” Jaliyah blurted out. “I told True I wanna send him down south for the summer with my grandpa. Ass whoopings don’t work. Punishments neither. Did True tell you he took his game systems, phone, and iPad?”
“No.” I stared at Chase as he buckled his seatbelt. But that did explain why I hadn’t heard from Chase in the last couple of days. He and Chasity called me sometimes twice a day just to talk about their day. “True didn’t tell me that.”
“Mmhm...” Jaliyah hummed. “Let me go in this house so I can finish packing.” She stood up straight. “I told my cousin I would be ready before six. Did True tell you I might need you to cater my mama’s wedding reception? She loved the cake from Chasity’s party.”
My bakers were some of the best in the city. So, it was no surprise when people came to my shop and asked if I catered as well. At the time, I didn’t, but that was the day I started. “Yeah, he told me.”
Jaliyah backed away from my car. “Cool. I’ll just hit you up about it. Thanks again for picking him up, Chance.”
Nodding, I watched her walk back towards her house.
“I’m hungry.” Chase sighed.
“Me too. Let’s stop and get a burger.”
After getting Chik-Fil-A, Chase and I ended up at my shop. It was closed because the paint was still drying, but since I was in the area, I figured I had time to stop and get some paperwork I’d left behind.
“Why you changing the color?” Chase asked before taking a bite of his frozen yogurt.
Okay... So, we’d stopped by Yogurtini too. I only wanted to put a smile on Chase’s face. There he told me about this group of boys at school that he and his friends were constantly having altercations with. I asked him if he’d told a teacher and he told me no because then he would be a “snitch.” Can you believe that? A six-year-old couldn’t ask for help from an adult because of some street-code nonsense.
“I’m changing the whole shop.” Once I was sure I had everything, I motioned for him to come on.
“Why? I like the old shop.” His slow steps made me roll my eyes, but since he was moving, I let him live.
“Well, you’ll love this one.” My phone started ringing and Chase sucked his teeth. He knew True’s ringtone.
I snatched my keys off the counter and answered. “Yes, True?”
“Where you at?”
“Leaving the shop, I—"
“Why didn’t you drop Chase off?”
“We went to get something to eat.” Chase held the door open for me. “Thank you, champ,” I acknowledged his kind gesture as I locked up.
“Just bring him to the crib.”
“Why, True? I’m not doing anything. You’re probably just going to drop him off with Love.” True’s sister was the only other person he trusted enough, besides Roman, to look after his kids.
“Aye, Chance, just do what I said, a’ight? That lil’ nigga in trouble.”
“Why are you snapping on me?” I hit the lock button on my key fob. “I did a favor for you.”
“Bet. You ain’t gotta do a nigga no more favors.”
I frowned. “Why are you being so hostile?” I watched Chase get in the car and shut the door.
True didn’t answer right away.
“True, why are you mad at me?” Leaning against the driver’s door, I waited on him to reply. “Cause I haven’t done anything to you. I picked Chase up like you asked me to. I was going to have Love call Quindelle, so I could get Chasity.” I knew Quindelle would start an argument with me if I called.
When True didn’t respond, I sighed. “I’m sorry if you had a bad day, True, but I was only trying to help.” I looked around the shopping center. “Don’t be mad at me, okay?”
A few seconds passed before he said, “I ain’t mad at you, Jelly.”
I smiled.
“Where y’all at now?”
I opened the door and got in. “Leaving the shop. You hungry?”
“Yeah. Bring me something from Panda Express.”
I nodded. “Okay, we’ll see you soon.”
“A’ight.”
I backed out of the parking spot. Chase picked up my phone and busied himself with it.
“Chance, who is Rel?”
“Hmmm?” I asked, trying to maneuver through traffic. I couldn’t wait to open my second shop. It would be in the inner city in a less congested area.
“Rel...” Chase said with an attitude: “Who’s that? Your boyfriend?”
I pulled up to a stop sign and faced him. “He’s a friend. Why?”
He frowned. “Cause he keep texting you.”
“Let me see.” I held my hand out for my phone.
“Does my daddy know him?” The bass in Chase’s tone made me look over at him again. “Cause I ain’t ever met him.”
Rel: Hey beautiful
Rel: Hope you’re having a good day.
Rel: Dinner?
Me: Hey Rel. Dinner sounds great.
I handed my phone back to Chase. “He’s a friend. And your dad wouldn’t like him.” I pulled away from the stop sign. “So, no, he hasn’t ever met him.”
And he won’t.
At least not any time soon.
True
When Chance pulled up I was already outside talking to Roman and Ava. Well, Ro and I were kickin’ shit while Ava sat in the car on her phone. I watched Chase hop out with his Gucci bookbag. He walked in my direction with his head down and Roman chuckled. Shit, it wasn’t no secret my son was bad.
“Sup, nephew?” Roman dapped him up.
Chase glanced at me. “Sup, Dad?” He took a step back and then put his bag on.
“Wassup, son?” I gave him a pound. “Go in the house.”
Chase sucked his teeth and took off, talking shit under his breath.
“That lil’ nigga, man...” Ro shook his head.
“Man…” I licked my lips as Chance leaned into the window to talk to Ava. Chance had one of phattest asses I had ever seen. It was round, soft, and all hers. I grabbed my manhood and shook my head.
Lately, I had been looking at my best friend in a different light. I’d known Chance almost my whole life, but we’d never taken it there. The most we’d ever done was kiss, and that was either on the cheek or forehead. Don’t get me wrong, Chance was bad, but she was just too green for a nigga like me. And she was too much of a pushover. I couldn’t even do her like that.
“Nigga, wipe the drool off ya chin.” Ro took off. “Sprung ass...” He made his way to the driver’s side. “Wassup, Jelly?” He tossed his head up to Chance and then looked in my direction, smirking.
“Hey, Roman.” Chance giggled. “I see you trying to be funny.” She leaned in further into the car to give Ava a hug. “Av, you got my lightweight?”
“I got you.” Ava chuckled. “Later, True!” she called out as Chance stepped back.
I tossed my chin up.
“I can’t stay.” Chance made her way to me when Ro backed out of the driveway. She approached me with a Panda Express bag and a green Brisk.
I frowned, taking the items from her. “Why not?”
She slipped her hands inside of the pockets of her PINK windbreaker jacket. “I have to do laundry.”
“Do it here.”
She shook her head no. “I’m going to my parents’ house.” When her cheeks slightly flushed red and she looked off, I knew her ass was lying.
“Ah, yeah?” I looked her over.
“Mmhm...” Her head bounced up and down quickly. Chance took a step back and then sighed. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
I stared down at her. “No reason.”
Her phone rang and when she pulled it out of her pocket and saw who was calling, she looked up at me. “I’ll call you later.” She slipped her phone back into her pocket and spun around. “Chase should be full, but knowing him, he’ll be hungry later. So, he has food in the bag too,” Chance called over her shoulder.
I nodded. “Aye, Chance...”
She stopped in her tracks and faced me.” Yeah?”
“I appreciate you. Thank you for looking out.”
She smiled and her dimples sunk into her cheeks. “No problem. See you later.”
“What you fighting for this time?” I sat at my dining room table, eating. “You just got off punishment, dude.”
Chase shrugged. “He said he was gon’ punch me in my face.”
“Did he?”
“Nope.”
I nodded. “So, what you hit him for?”
He looked confused. “He said he was about to punch me,” Chase said it again like I was slow. “He wasn’t ‘bout to hit me. So, I punched him and then we started fighting. His friends kept talkin’ stuff to me like I wouldn’t.”
I ate my food quietly as I tried to access the situation from his point of view. It was some shit Chance had told me to do whenever I wasn’t sure how to handle my kids. She was way more patient than me, though. Chase was just a bad, spoiled lil’ nigga who liked picking fights ‘cause he knew he would win them. But he was my son, and most would consider me a bully.
My seed had uncles who stayed on some straight gangster shit. His mama was a fuckin’ booster. Chance was probably the only person he knew besides my granny who didn’t cuss in front of him. He stayed geared so he had a certain swag about him that could make lil’ niggas envy him. My young life was just a product of his environment.
After taking a drink of my Brisk, I wiped my mouth down with a napkin. “A’ight, so check it.” I stared at him. “If them lil’ nigga’s don’t touch you, then you shouldn’t be fightin’. This is your fifth time this year getting suspended. You wanna stay in the first grade another year?”
He shook his head no.
“Cause that’s what gon’ happen if you get suspended again.” I closed the food container.
Chase looked down at the table in deep thought.
“The honeys don’t like dumb niggas, my guy.” I leaned forward. “I know you got a little shorty in your class feeling you. Ya moms already told me she wrote you a note.”
He cheesed. “She’s cute too.”
I chuckled. “You gotta stay outta trouble, man. Smart girls don’t like dumb boys.”
Chase nodded. “Chance must have a smart boyfriend.” He shrugged. “‘Cause she’s smart.”
The fuck?
Chance didn’t have no fuckin’ boyfriend.
“Ah, yeah? She told you that?”
He shook his head no. “But Rel said she was beautiful and said they were going out to dinner. So, he must be her boyfriend.”
I leaned back into my chair.
“They were texting and I was picking a song so I read it.” He stood up. “Dad, can you call Chasity? I think she was in my room.” He slid across the marble floors in his socks. He didn’t even wait for me to say yeah before he snatched one of my phones off the table.
3
Sometimes it’s better to lie
Chance
“Chance!”
Shit!
I wrapped the robe tighter around my body. “Up here!”
Sitting down on my bed, I grabbed the baby oil. After squirting some into my palm, I began rubbing my arms down. Technically, I was supposed to be at my parents’ house. The fact that True was here meant either he’d called my mom or Chase had told him about Rel. He entered my bedroom with his signature scowl, so I assumed the latter.
“Hey, True.” Avoiding eye contact, I continued putting on baby oil. “What are you doing here?”
True trekked toward my bed. “Where you goin’?”
“Huh?”
“Huh?” he mimicked. “Where you goin’?” True asked again, except this time his tone hardened.
Looking up at him, I shrugged nonchalantly. “Out for drinks.”
“With who?” He licked his lips. True’s eyes were low and red as usual. Between all the marijuana he smoked and lean he drank, I wasn’t sure how he functioned most of the time.
Sighing, I started on my legs. “A friend...”
“Erin? Ava? Morgan?” He stepped closer. “Which friend?”
“True, really?” I stopped. “Do I ever ask you what friend you’re going out with?”
He frowned. “I don’t go out.”
“Because you’re mean.” I shook my head. True had a lot of women, a lot, but he never took them on dates. What he had with Nisha was probably the closest thing he’d ever had to a relationship. And that included his relationships with Jaliyah and Quindelle.
True sat down on my bed and took my baby oil from me. “You goin’ with a nigga?”
I shrugged, turning sideways. I then watched him pour oil into his hands before he grabbed my foot.
“Who is Rel?” he asked, looking down at my foot. “I like this color.” True examined my toes.
“Thank you.” I smiled. “And he’s a guy a met at the grocery store.”
“I ain’t ever heard you mention this nigga.” Again, his tone hardened as he looked over at me.
“Just like I didn’t know you were still sleeping with Jaliyah,” I shot back. True usually told me everything when it came down to the mothers of his children. Hell, he told me about any woman he dealt with. Suddenly, fear of us drifting apart changed my mood.
True smacked his lips, but he didn’t deny what I already knew.
“Rel is a cool dude, True.” I stared at the side of his face as he started on my other foot. “He’s a complete gentleman.”
Again, he smacked his lips.
“He buys me flowers and brings me lunch every now and then,” I confessed. I hated keeping secrets from my best friend, but sometimes, he tripped about me having other male acquaintances. Even if my relationship with Rel didn’t go far, I at least wanted to enjoy his company before True ran him away.
True shook his head as he massaged oil into my toes. “You fuckin’ him?”
Huh?
Confused, I tilted my head. “Why does it matter?”
“Are you?”
I nodded. “Twice.”
True sucked his teeth and tossed my leg off of his lap. “What the fuck, Jelly?”
“What?” I stood up. “I like him, True.” Making my way to my dresser for underwear, I shrugged. “And he likes me too.”
“If you liked that nigga so much, why I ain’t ever met him?”
“Because you’re a bully.” Once I found a matching underwear set, I faced him. “I at least wanna see where this can go before you scare him off.” I rolled my eyes.
“The fuck you putting on a thong for?” He got up from my bed and snatched my panties out
of my hand.
“True!” I looked at him in disbelief. “What is wrong with you?”
True ripped my thong and threw it into my bed.
“Really, True?” I went back to the drawer and removed a pair of navy blue, lace boy shorts. I’d never seen True act like this over me going out. This wasn’t the first and it definitely wouldn’t be the last time I dated.
“Is he coming here?”
“Probably not.” I shrugged with my back to him. Bending over, I slid my underwear up my legs and made sure they weren’t in my ass. “He’s only been over here once.” Chase and Chasity were at my house too much for me to have random men just coming to my home.
“So, where y’all be fuckin’?”
I fastened my bra and adjusted my boobs. “His house.” Turning around, I removed my towel. Since I didn’t like for my robe to get soaked, I normally dried off first. “He’s really nice, True.” Rel always went out of his way to make me smile.
True didn’t say a word as I went back into the bathroom to hang the towel up. After brushing my teeth, I walked back out to him lying across my bed on his back. His eyes were closed and when his phone went off, he didn’t even bother checking it. Ignoring his attitude, I went into my closet. Deciding on a red body suit, black ripped jeans, and red sandal with heels, I exited the closet.
“Where y’all going?” True was sitting up now.
“He didn’t say.” I dropped my shoes on the floor and tossed my jeans onto the bed. After removing my robe, I began putting my body suit on. “I told him I feel like dancing, so hopefully, we’ll go somewhere I can have a drink and unwind.”
True kissed his teeth. “You might as well ride out wit’ me then.”
Snapping the buttons on my suit, I shook my head no. “Negative. Don’t get me wrong, I have fun with Ro, Ava, E, and Tone, but Rel isn’t used to that type of crowd.” Not that I was trying to throw shade on my crew, but they were a rowdy bunch.
“So, he a square?” True stood up.
Shaking my head, I slipped my jeans over my ass and buttoned them. “No, he’s not a square.” I headed for my dresser again to pick out accessories. “You think I should wear my gold herringbone choker and bamboo earrings?”