by Nyomi Scott
“You don’t like to drink?”
Hell nah, I didn’t. It made folks act hella stupid even though there was something a little fun about the goofy feelin’ a few drinks created.
Chill, girl, this little inner voice murmured. I was away from home. Slantin’ my gaze from Kayla to Maurice, I hexa knew I just wanted this to be a good time, forget about consequences.
“I just don’t like the way beer tastes.”
“So you want something else?”
“Sure.” I shrugged. Just for a moment I wondered if this was ’bout tryin’ to fit in. Takin’ a deep breath, then exhaling all slow-like, I let go of it…let it slide away. Nothin’ wrong with having a little fun.
The song changed, the chant makin’ me want to move my feet, to shake-shake my thang. Unlacing my fingers from Maurice’s, I stepped away from him, joining the folks bumpin’ the floor.
By the time song ended, my heart rate had stepped it up and my body was warm. When I looked back to where I’d left them standing, I realized James had returned and was holding a small glass filled with something blue.
And Maurice was still standin’ there, too, the smile in his eyes shimmering as he watched me. I smiled back, then moved in their direction, acceptin’ the drink from James as I approached.
“What is it?”
“Good.” He grinned wide, his now free hand reaching for Kayla’s.
“Oh…” I took a sip. Good was right. The cool blue fluid was sweet and slightly fruity. Though I could still taste the nasty of alcohol, it was faint compared to anything else I’d tasted.
“You like it?” Kayla asked.
“Yup.” I drank deeper, the swallow feelin’ hella good on my throat after dancing.
She turned toward James. “Can you get me one?”
“Me, too.” I handed him back my empty cup, then grinned all sassy-like at Maurice, who chuckled low in this throat beside me. Liftin’ on my tippy-toes, I whispered in his ear, “It’s good.” As I moved away, I intentionally brushed my lips across his skin, just enough to hear him catch his breath right quick.
And then I was struttin’ away from him, smilin’ as I shimmied back toward the edge of the dance floor, where I was welcomed into the mix of bumpers ’n grinders. Girls were laughin’ around me, their arms in the air, their hips swivelin’. And there were fellas there, too, movin’ in time with the thump-thump-thump of the beat.
By the time the song—or two, I’m not sure, ’cause I lost track—ended I was feelin’ as warm inside as I was dampened by sweat formin’ on my skin. I wasn’t faded, but fa sheezy, I could feel the effects of the booze.
Cool fingers linked with mine, drawin’ my attention as I danced, too small and delicate to be Maurice’s. Lookin’ back, all I saw was long strands of blond hair bouncin’ over Kayla’s face.
She angled toward me, lifting her voice to be heard, “Oh, my gawd, girl. This is hella tight.”
I nodded. The club was off the chain.
I’m not sure when it happened. I was havin’ a hexa hard time keepin’ track of time, keepin’ track of which song blended into the next, shit, thinkin’ clear at all. Things moved fast around me, bodies shifting, arms, people seeping like water. But things were moving slow, too. Colors blurred, patterns stopped makin’ sense.
I was just groovin’, the rhythm taking up residence in my body. Just dancing, and then he was there. Maurice was behind me, his hand on my waist, his hips grindin’ into me. Laughin’, I turned in his arms, grabbin’ hold of his shirt, drawing him closer.
He laughed, too, his body tremblin’ beneath my touch as my hands found their way beneath his shirt to smooth across soft skin and hard muscle. It’s not easy to remember, but I think we were in the middle of the floor, bass blaring heavy around us, bodies brushin’ against us, dancin’ like everyone else was.
But it felt like we were alone. Just Maurice and me. Just his large frame. Just his hands. Just his lips. As the club faded away, the crowds, the noise, all I could see or feel was him. And I wanted to kiss him. I wanted to be with him. Really be with him.
I wanted, now more than ever—almost desperately—to be his girl.
“Kiss me.”
Had I said that aloud? I wasn’t sure, but before the thought, or the words, were clear his mouth was on mine. It was sweet at first, just a brushin’ of lips, just a slow glide of tongue. Then the kiss deepened. And we stopped dancin’ and just stood there makin’ out.
His hands roamed all free-like across my back, skimmed lightly over my waist, arced over my butt until he gripped the backs of my thighs and pulled me closer. I think I made some little moanie noise because he found a way to angle his head and stroke his tongue between my teeth.
And I gripped his shirt at his sides, holding on tight so the world wouldn’t spin away from me. So I wouldn’t fall into a puddle of goo at his feet. So my bones wouldn’t melt leavin’ me unable to stand without his help.
I was standin’ in a club in Arizona with Maurice makin’ out. I laughed against his mouth. I couldn’t help it, it just seemed so hella silly to me.
The kiss ended. Maurice chuckled, too, and let me loose a little. But before I stepped too far back, he was draggin’ me back into his embrace and huggin’ me hella tight.
Things were a little hazy now, but it didn’t seem like he hugged me long before he was whisperin’ in my ear, “Walk it out, girl,” and movin’ back to do the moves of the song. I laughed and joined him, shufflin’ my feet, pumpin’ my arms in rhythm with the rhymes.
It was all gravity, baby, as I danced a few steps away from Maurice and turned, tryin’ hecka hard to focus on finding where Kayla and James where dancing.
I could see them a few couples over bumpin’ and grindin’ and doing their thang. Kayla looked over just then, and I returned her wide smile as she ground into her man.
A large hand settled on my upper arm, givin’ me a little tug. Thinkin’ it was Maurice, I turned into him ready for more of those yum-yum kisses and gentle caresses. Only it wasn’t Maurice, but some other dude.
“Hey, tender, lemme get atcha.”
I pulled my arm away. Or tried to. His hold was firm. “Let me go.”
“Come on. You’re bangin’, girl. Holla atcha ya boy, I know you been lookin’ for me.”
It was hard to focus. I squeezed my lids closed, then opened them again but it did little good. He wasn’t going to let my arm go, so I scanned behind him lookin’ for Maurice.
I have a man, I wanted to shout at him, but with my mind buzzin’ hard I was hella worried he’d know I was lying. “You’re trippin’. I’m not lookin’ for you or any guy.” Maurice was the only one I wanted.
“Yeah, right.”
“Lemme go! I’m not lookin’ for anyone.” I was shoutin’ now, because my heart was pounding against my ribs and it was gettin’ hard to breathe, or because the music was so loud it was the only way to be heard.
“I saw your profile. I know you need what I got for ya.” He grabbed his crotch with his free hand.
“You’re talkin’ ’bout my shortie.” It was Maurice’s voice, coming from directly behind me. Lawdy, just in time.
“This beezy ain’t yours.” The dude’s fingers were tightening painfully on my upper arm.
Maurice shoved the dude hella hard in the chest. “Call her a bitch again.” It was a taunt, a dare.
Because the guy was grippin’ me, I stumbled back as he did, but was kept from fallin’ as Maurice stepped in my direction and put his arm around my waist. Maybe ’cause he was off balance, or maybe ’cause he knew he was no match for Maurice, the guy’s hand slipped from my arm.
Immediately Maurice was steppin’ forward, puttin’ himself between me ’n the other boy. His hands were fisted by his sides, his chest forward, chin high.
“Why ya blockin’, brah?”
“Step off, punk, she got a man.”
I did? “No, I don’t.” Snap, did I say that aloud, too? Both of their gazes shifted to me.
The
other guy scoffed. Maurice’s dark gaze locked on mine for a sec, and I swear, there was somethin’ jealous and possessive there.
The other dude laughed. “See, she jeepin’ you.” He grabbed his crotch again. “Maybe you not puttin’ on your twirk good ’nuff.”
And with one thump, the dude hit the floor, Maurice lettin’ his fist rain.
I narrowed my eyes, tryin’ to get rid of the blur, tryin’ hella hard to get rid of the feelin’ of being a little unsteady.
My heart was poundin’, my pulse racing. I couldn’t think straight. Biting my lips so I wouldn’t scream, I watched the scene unravel.
The guy had called me a slut and Maurice was fightin’ him. Beatin’ the shit out of him.
And then other fellas poured into the mix, some fists flyin’ but most tryin’ to pull Maurice off and hold him back. A couple other guys were fighting now, their hands flyin’ up.
James was there then, both his hands on Maurice’s shoulders as he shoved him back. “Take Imani outside,” he ordered, tryin’ to get a handle on what was goin’ down. “I’ve got this.” He angled his heard toward the door. “Bounce, dawg.”
Maurice nodded, turnin’ toward me, but I was already moving away, trying to shove past people to get to the exit. I stumbled a couple times, my entire body tremblin’, my knees feelin’ like they were about to give way.
I could feel Maurice on my heels, feel the heat of him as his palm settled on the small of my back and urged me along.
We were through the doors now, and being splashed with the cool night air. It felt good rushin’ across my cheeks, across my body that was mostly exposed. My skin bare.
My step faltered, but Maurice didn’t slow. “Over there.” And he angled us so that we entered the shadows around the corner of the buildin’, hidden from the glow of the streetlights.
“Why’d you say that?”
Huh? I closed my eyes, tryin’ hexa hard to recall what I’d said that he could question, but my mind couldn’t wrap around the memory, shiftin’ from one event to the next. Circling back again.
“What?”
“That you don’t have a man.” There was emotion in his low, rough tone that I couldn’t read, anger or pain, I wasn’t sure.
I swallowed. “I don’t,” I whispered, my cheeks going all warm. I slanted my gaze away.
His fingertips touched my cheek, slowly brushin’ back my wild curls. The slight caress was so tender it kinda shocked me that it was by the same hand that had just put the busta on the floor.
“Imani.” His voice was soft, just above a whisper as he turned my face back to his. “What am I to you, then?”
I shrugged. We’d been hangin’ out for weeks and yet I’d never told him how I felt. Never told him what I wanted from him. I’d had plenty of opportunities. But I hadn’t.
I hadn’t been halfway to faded before, either. Now the words just spilled out. “I want you to be, Maurice, but you never asked. Never said a word about being my boo.”
“Shortie, I’m your boo.” He smiled. I wanted to see his dimples, but I could only tell he was grinning by the brightness of his teeth in the dim evening light.
“You are?”
“Yeah, ’n’ I know I never asked you, but I’m askin’ you now. Will you be my girl?”
I held my breath right quick, too afraid that if I breathed wrong maybe I’d wake up in my bed in The Bay. Plus, my head was a little fuzzed and I didn’t want to ever forget this.
He was askin’ me. This thang happened inside me. Just a few little words and I belonged. Warmth traveled along my skin and I hella wanted to giggle.
Instead I grabbed his shirt, tightenin’ my hands around the material and dragged him closer. “I’m your girl.” And then I kissed him, liftin’ on my toes again. Kissed him firm, pressing my lips to his.
But I kept it short, broken up by the bubblin’ up of my laughter. Using my hands still curled around his clothes, I thrust him away from me. “Now, go get my cousin out of there so we can pixx out.”
He was chucklin’ as he turned away. “Anythang for my girl.”
CHAPTER 21
Pacin’ the sidewalk a little, I waited for Maurice to come back, bringing Kayla and James with him. People mingled around me, some comin’, some goin’, but most were laughing and having a good time.
And no one really noticed me as I moved back and forth, tryin’ to find my balance as the drinks and recent events swayed through me.
I straight up admit it: I’d been a little more than buzzed off two small drinks. I still have no idea what they were, except hella yummy-tastin’. But I’ve only had drinks a few times before, so I guess I wasn’t really a heavy.
Still, as the cool night air washed across my skin, things were shapin’ up in my brain, clearin’ out. Or maybe the fuzz-a-fuzz started walkin’ when Maurice turned my crush into a couple. Us.
I turned on my heel, spinnin’ back toward the club, the music pulsin’ into the darkness. Deep breaths, deep breaths are what I needed so things would stop spinnin’. So things would be steady and I could think clearly.
In through my nose, I exhaled past parted lips. I couldn’t quit trippin’ on the irony of how thangs had played out. Yet there was so much to still patch up.
Mostly facin’ up to the dangers of GettinHooked.com. Time to figure out a way to convince Kayla what a bad idea it was without gettin’ into another argument. Without makin’ myself stand out like a spoiled brat, since I already had exactly what I wanted.
Maurice. And there he was walkin’ toward me, just to the left of Kayla and James. But she did have James.
My cousin broke away from the guys and ran my way, huggin’ me close when she got here. “Oh, my gawd, Imani, wasn’t that off the hook?”
I laughed. “Fa shizzle. Everythang except for the fight.” I glanced at Maurice, but they were still a few yards away.
Kayla wrapped her hand around mine. “Come on.” She skipped in her heels, tugging me along with her, tipsy, laughin’ and swingin’ our arms between us like we had when we were little.
The few yards got a little deeper, but I could tell the boys were still trailin’ after us. And talkin’.
Here we were, on the streets of ’Zona, and finally alone. Finally able to talk for a sec. As our spirited feet began to slow, and our pace chilled out, I glanced at Kayla, her eyes dancin’ in the darkness, her pale hair glittering under the street lighting.
“Why’d he knock that dude?”
Huh? My thoughts wondered, and I hadn’t realized we were talkin’ about what had happened in the club. “Oh, he called me a bitch.”
“For realz?” My cousin paused, turnin’ toward me. “So Maurice did the pow-wow.” She demonstrated with a punch in the air.
I giggled, only halfway sobered up. “Yup. He couldn’t just let the scrub talk ’bout his girl.”
“His girl?” She squealed, clappin’ her hands together all cheerleader-like. “I knew. Snap, you shoulda told me.”
I shrugged. “I guess.” Yeah, I shoulda told her, because then we wouldn’t be this far from home. We wouldn’t be facin’ all our friends bein’ hella pissed when we closed down the site they were all crazy-diggin’.
I inhaled sharply, then let the air whistle through my teeth, gettin’ set for the next part. “K, Maurice hit that guy ’cause of Gettin’ Hooked.”
“Whattayamean?”
“He saw me online. Saw my profile, and knew I was lookin’ to be hooked with a guy. He thought it should be him.”
“Maurice had other ideas.” She glanced over her shoulder back at the fellas, who seemed to have slowed. Maybe to give us a few moments of privacy. “You two are so, so cute together.”
Yeah, like there was any way I coulda not grin. I felt the smile spread like sunshine through me. I lifted a shoulder and slanted my head, that goofy love-struck look I’d seen on others was now fo’ sho’ plastered on my face. “I guess.”
She laughed.
“Kayla.”
“Yeah, girl.”
“We gotta shut it down.”
There was silence for a sec. We strolled on, our hands still entwined like kindergarteners, like the friends we’d been all of our lives. Like the bond of blood we shared could ever be weakened.
“How come?” she finally said, but her tone held very little conviction.
“It’s dangerous.”
“It’s not. James is cool, ya know that.”
I nodded. “You got lucky. He coulda been a rapist or killer.”
Again the silence seeped through the night around us, just the click-click of our heels poppin’ off on the pavement and a few distant chuckles from the guys strollin’ yards behind us.
“It’s dangerous, Kayla. We’re in Arizona. No tellin’ what happens to the next girl who finds a non-local boy and goes after him like you did. One of our friends.”
Her shoulders heaved and I heard the whisper of her sighin’ breath.
I tightened my fingers around her hand, offerin’ the same sort of reassurance Maurice had served me up with the last couple of days. “You understand, right? We gotta shut it down.”
“Aiight, I guess we need to.” My cousin looked back again, the winked at me. “Besides, did you peep what I’ve got?”
Laughter eased the hella coiled tension. “Yup, yup. He’s cute.”
Quiet again, but I knew my cousin well and she was thinkin’, tryin’ to decide how much to tell me before I even asked her ’bout what had gone down between the two of ’em.
“We went all the way.” Her voice was low and sweet, and so purely innocent it was whack mixed with what she was tellin’ me.
“I know.”
“You do?”
I bit my lip and nodded. “You okay?”
Kayla laughed. “Yeah, it was hexa niiice.”
Hexa niiice…and I knew that’s all she was gonna say ’bout it tonight. So though I wanted to know more, I let it go. Let the questions slide away. For now.
We’d strolled to the end of the block where we’d have to head over the bridge back onto campus, so we paused to wait for our boys. The building was wrapped in black plate-glass windows that were actin’ like mirrors in the dark.