Who You Wit'?

by Paula Chase

  “What?” Raheem looked in his rearview mirror. He wheeled the Benz to the stop sign at the entrance to Pirates Cove.

  Jacinta turned in the seat. Angel’s face was contorted in an angry scowl.

  “Kelly just texted that she can’t go,” Angel said, his thumb madly scrambling over the phone to respond.

  Jacinta’s already nauseous stomach flipped. She felt the immediate anger and tension seeping from Raheem and wasn’t surprised when he snapped, “What’s up with your girl, Cinny?” As if she was to blame.

  Jacinta rolled her eyes. “How would I know? She didn’t even tell me she was going until yesterday.”

  Her short conversation with Kelly ran through her head like a movie trailer.

  Kelly had been timid, almost embarrassed for accepting Angel’s prom invitation, and that was a red flag to Jacinta. But she hadn’t had the energy to question. She’d said only one thing to Kelly, “Don’t play with Angel, Kelly. It could get ugly.” The warning had sent Kelly sputtering into explanations about how she was going only as Angel’s friend, feeling sorry for him, blah, blah. Jacinta hadn’t bothered to inform Kelly that Angel was completely open over her, that he took any sign Kelly gave as hope they’d be more than friends. She hadn’t bothered because it was becoming the same old, same old with those two, and Jacinta was sick of being in the middle. Yet here she was.

  Raheem’s angry voice reminded her of that. “I always knew she was a no-good trick. Just ’cause she boogee don’t mean she ain’t a trick.”

  Jacinta automatically defended her friend, realizing it was fuel to a growing fire the second she spoke. “She’s not a trick, Heem.”

  Raheem fixed his mouth to argue, but was interrupted by Angel’s surprised exclamation. “Ain’t this a bitch? She not texting me back. Man, drive me over there.”

  “No!” Jacinta yelled so loud both boys stared at her, wide-eyed. “Look, Angel, I’m not trying to rub it in. But how many times have I told you to let that go? Kelly moved on. You need to.”

  “Then why she say she’d go?” Angel’s voice brimmed with controlled fury. A small vein rose on his left temple, the only flaw on his smooth caramel-complexion face.

  What he kept in check, Raheem let go with flourish. “’Cause she a dicktease.” He continued to rail against Kelly as he pulled the car over to the side, to let other cars pass. “Angel, man, forget her. Taquila going to prom stag with Jolene. She be glad to see you solo.” His chuckle had a nasty edge to it, making Jacinta’s stomach knot. “And besides, she probably give a little brain. You know Kelly ain’t.”

  Jacinta tried to hide her disgust at Raheem’s snide comment. She reasoned once more, “Angel, I think she only said yes because she felt…pressured.”

  Angel and Raheem jumped all over that notion, talking at once.

  “How she pressured just from a call?” Raheem rolled his eyes.

  “She could have said no. It would have been swazy,” Angel protested.

  This time, Jacinta’s eyes widened with skepticism. “Real talk, y’all.” She looked between the two of them, then stared Angel in the eye. “How many times did you ask her before she finally said yes?”

  “Once,” Angel said, furrowing his brows in a challenge.

  Jacinta’s eyebrows rose. “Angel, okay, you’re lying. Are you saying that last week when you made me tell you where the girl was on a date, you didn’t mention prom?”

  “He ain’t force her,” Raheem insisted.

  “Heem, having your ex show up while you on a date to ask you to his prom might as well be force,” Jacinta said. “And obviously, he called her after that, too.”

  “Whatever. She could have said no,” Raheem said.

  Angel’s silence was enough for Jacinta. She knew Angel, and she knew he hadn’t just simply asked and taken no for an answer. If he had, Kelly probably would have never said yes. Still, she clammed up. She wasn’t going to win this in Raheem’s eyes.

  “Call her,” Angel said quietly.

  “Huh? Why?” Jacinta asked exasperated.

  “Call her.” Angel sat back calmly as if he were a celeb directing one of his personal assistants to pick all the green M&M’s out of the packet. “Look, she’s not answering my calls. She’ll answer if you call from your phone.”

  “Angel,” Jacinta pleaded.

  “Cinny, just call her,” Raheem pressed firmly but softly. “Just do Angel a solid, and ask Kelly why she flaking?”

  Jacinta’s fingers trembled from anger as she dialed. It always amazed her that Raheem could get mad at her about things that went down between Kelly and Angel. She felt bad for Angel, but he was the one refusing to let the girl go. He…

  “Hello,” Kelly’s voice said.

  “Kelly, hey. It’s Cinny.” Jacinta hunched her shoulders at Angel as if to ask, now what?

  “Ask her what’s up,” Angel said, sitting up expectantly.

  “Look, Angel wanna know why you flaking.” Jacinta sighed, eyes rolling.

  Kelly’s voice lowered. “Can you hold on for a second?”

  There was silence for a few seconds. Jacinta wondered if Kelly were by her grandmother or maybe someone else she didn’t want hearing.

  “What she say?” Angel barked.

  Jacinta sucked her teeth, shushing him. She put her finger over the phone’s tiny speaker. “Hold on.”

  When Kelly came back on, she spoke in her normal tone. Her words gushed out as if she didn’t have a lot of time to go into details. “Cinny, I shouldn’t have told him I’d go. I feel bad, but I feel worse because I was wrong for accepting anyway. I was hurt that Greg stood me up the other day. And when Angel called, I…I let him saying how much he wanted me to go to prom with him stroke me too much.”

  “What she saying?” Angel barked again.

  “That she should have never said yes,” Jacinta said, a clear “I told you” in her voice. She smashed the phone up to her ear to hear Kelly over Angel’s mutterings.

  “Tell her we coming over,” Angel said, determined. He nodded at Raheem, and Raheem pulled the car into traffic.

  “Kelly, look, Angel wants to come see you. Please talk to him and set things right,” Jacinta said. Without waiting for an answer, she passed Angel the phone.

  “Why you playing games?” Angel blared into the phone.

  The car was silent as he listened to Kelly’s response.

  “Heem,” Jacinta whispered. “Don’t drive all the way over there. She said no; Angel needs to respect that.”

  “Cinny, don’t sit here and talk about respect. What Kelly did is straight disrespectful.” Raheem’s nose flared. He kept the car heading toward the ’burbs of Del Rio Bay.

  “What is going to her house gonna change?” Jacinta’s voice calmly pleaded. “What if her grandmother’s home? What? Are y’all gonna force the girl into the car and take her to prom?”

  On her last sentence, Jacinta’s voice rose, near hysterics.

  Raheem glanced over at her, alarm on his face. For the first time, he seemed to process the begging in Cinny’s eyes. He pulled the car into a grocery store parking lot, the last retail stop before going over the DRB Bridge.

  Jacinta’s heart slowed, grateful for the relief.

  “Kelly, you act like I asked you run off cross-country with me,” Angel was saying, his tone softened but still angry. “It’s one night. Why you change your mind? Or did somebody change it for you?” Angel pulled the phone away from his ear. “Man, what you doing?” He put the phone back up to his head. “Naw, I’m talking to Raheem.”

  “Man, go ’head and handle your business,” Raheem said. He turned the car off. “Me and Cinny wait outside.”

  Once they got out, Raheem leaned against the door, then remembering he was dressed to the nines, stood back up. Jacinta stood beside him, her dress blowing in the light breeze, tickling her thighs.

  “Thank you,” she said.

  Raheem snorted, but his voice had lost a lot of its venom. “Like you said, it’s not li
ke Angel can make her go.” He admired the car, his eyes soaking up the rims and high dollar paint job. “Man, this the kind of whip we gon’ push when I go pro.”

  At the word we, Jacinta’s relief morphed into dread. A boa constrictor squeezing her heart in its coils.

  Raheem reached out and pulled her into an embrace. “You take the pregnancy test yet?”

  She shook her head no against his chest.

  “Why not?”

  “I’m taking it tomorrow,” Jacinta said.

  “Well, we already know what we gonna name it if it’s a boy. But what kind of girl names you like?” He chuckled. “We could mix our names together and call her Rahcinta.”

  Jacinta’s heart galloped so fast she was surprised Raheem couldn’t feel it. But he was lost in his name game.

  “’Cause Jaheim is a boy’s name…like the singer.”

  Jacinta kept her voice as neutral and soft as possible. “Can we talk about it later?” Feeling Raheem’s body tense, she added quickly, “I haven’t felt well all day. And this whole Kelly thing gave me a headache. I don’t feel like thinking about anything, especially not baby names.”

  Raheem’s eyes narrowed in that half closed way, but he nodded okay.

  There was a knock on the window as Angel beckoned them back in.

  When they were inside, he handed Jacinta her phone.

  “So, what’s up?” Raheem asked.

  Jacinta put the passenger side mirror down to put on more lip gloss. She slyly watched Angel in the back. His shoulders hitched as he sat back, melting into the seat. He cocked one arm up over the empty seat beside him and put on what Jacinta knew was his hard face.

  “Ay, I ain’t chasing her,” Angel said. “I already texted Taquila and told her keep that phat ass hot for me.”

  Raheem put his fist out for a pound. “I know that’s right.”

  Even as Angel gave Raheem’s fist a tap, Jacinta saw that his eyes were sad. Obviously, he’d had high expectations for tonight. Maybe some of them Taquila Gordon could satisfy, but not all of them. She felt bad for Angel. But mostly, she felt envy.

  Kelly had cut Angel loose, and even though she’d almost gotten caught up in his web again, almost didn’t count.

  Tears stung Jacinta’s eyes. She batted her eyelashes, fighting the flow furiously until they retreated.

  The L Word

  “Just let me set the mood right.

  Let me make you feel alright.”

  —Justin Timberlake,

  “Set the Mood Prelude/Until the End of Time”

  “So is the surprise—that this cul-de-sac is hella scary when yours and JZ’s houses are dark?” Mina said. “Because I already knew that.” She hid her disappointment behind the joke.

  Brian pulled her along by the hand. “Yeah, that’s it.”

  Mina tipped slowly, her feet still sore. She looked wistfully down the dark road, wondering if the limo was too far gone to catch.

  All the plucking and fluffing she’d endured was for what? For them to stay at prom for two hours and then come here?

  She felt like crying.

  What about all the afterparties they’d talked about in the weeks leading up to prom? Brian knew how badly she’d wanted to head to Kim’s lakehouse luau.

  They stepped into the empty house, and Brian keyed in the code to cut off the alarm. He walked back to Mina and wrapped his arms around her. She involuntarily sniffed in the last remnants of his cologne, a light nutty scent, as her head lay on his chest. Usually, she loved being so near him. But she was too irritated to feel soothed by his embrace.

  Seething, Mina blurted, “This is the surprise? For real?” She stepped out of his hug, glaring. “We could chill here anytime, Brian. I wanted to roll through Kim’s party.”

  The smile winked out of Brian’s eyes like someone had snuffed out a candle.

  “Hey, Mina, do you ever think sometimes you talk too much?” he asked, his voice flat.

  “I’m just saying. It’s prom night, and you know my parents are never gonna extend my curfew again.” She rolled her eyes. “Not ’til my own prom, probably. I thought we were gonna flow all night?”

  “You want me to call the limo back?” He pouted.

  “If this is the surprise”—Mina’s eyebrows arched—“yeah, call him back.”

  “Cool, then you ride back to the hotel and hang out with Wade and Stefan.” He snorted. “I’m sure they hurling by now.”

  “Eww, you didn’t have to say all that. And why would I go by myself?” Mina gestured to her dress, the hemline swaying with the movement. “I didn’t go through all this to sit at your house. Or to go stag to the afterparties.”

  “Yup, you’re right. I’ll call him back.” Brian slipped his cell out of his pocket and cruised through his numbers. He sounded like he did on the nights Mina only went ninety-nine percent of the way—pissed but trying to act like he wasn’t. “Oh, go up to my room. You left your little white sweater here. You gon’ need it if you chilling at Kim’s.”

  “Well, are you coming with me?” Mina peered at him.

  “Why would I? It’s right on the door,” Brian said. He turned his back and talked to the limo driver. “Ay, man, sorry ’bout this. But can you roll back over to the 371 Dogwood address?”

  Mina stomped upstairs. Brian knew good and well what she’d meant when she’d asked was he going with her. This was stupid.

  An argument on prom night. All because she wanted to hang out more. What was wrong with…

  Her mouth fell open when she opened the door to Brian’s room, which was aglow in shiny, bright glitter. At least it looked like glitter. But it was really reflections from the sparkly lamp, a squat, spaceship lamp with soft, white, iridescent plastic strawlike tentacles. It made shapes and soft colors on the walls like a disco ball, only less cheesy.

  On a table set up in front of the window that overlooked the backyard, was a big bouquet of silver and sapphire balloons. A panda bear with I Love You in red letters sat up against the base of the balloons.

  Mina walked to the table, mouth still gaping. A bowl of blue and silver M&M’s were next to the bear. She peered closer. She’d never seen M&M’s that color. She grinned at the writing. They said Mina and Brian on one side.

  She jumped as Brian said, “So, do you ever get tired of being wrong?”

  There was a smile in his voice.

  “When did you do all this?” she asked, her eyes glued to the table of goodies. The lights swirled around them, giving the room a life of its own.

  “It wasn’t easy. My parents kept wanting to get a picture of me getting into the limo. I had to damn near beg them to meet me at your house so I could set this up.” Brian laughed softly at the memory. “You should have seen me trying to hide those balloons in my closet. I got it done right before the limo came and got me.”

  “I love the M&M’s,” Mina gushed.

  Brian plugged in his iPod, and soft music came from several speakers throughout the room.

  “So you still wanna party hop?” Brian was behind her, his hands on her waist.

  “Is the limo guy going to kill you for calling again?” Mina asked sheepishly.

  “Nope. ’Cause I never called him.” Brian dodged Mina’s elbow aiming for his stomach. “But I will if you want. I just thought it would be nice to chillax alone. Not like we’re really going to get that chance in O.C.”

  Mina nodded as she turned around and threw her arms around his neck.

  “So, do you mean it?” she asked.

  “That I’d call the limo guy if you wanna roll? Yeah.”

  Mina giggled. “No. This.” She leaned over and picked up the panda, waving it in his face.

  A tiny smiled played at the corner of Brian’s mouth. “Well, he means it.” He tapped the bear’s tummy. “He loves you.”

  Mina elbowed Brian again, this time connecting, as she laid the bear gently back down on the table.

  “Ow, those bony things hurt.” Brian grabbed her elbow, slid
his hand down her arm, and wrapped her arms around his waist. “Yeah, I mean it. I love you, toughie.” He grinned down at her upturned face, then frowned. “What? A brotha gotta ask if you love him back?”

  “No. I do love you,” Mina said, her voice strong and certain. Liking the way the words rolled off her tongue, she said them again. “I love you.”

  Their lips met, parted, then met again over and over. Each time, the kiss was more drawn out, the pauses short and urgent as if they breathed better with their lips locked. Mina clung to Brian. Thanks to the heels, she didn’t have to tiptoe to hug him around his neck. Her mind whispered that this time next year, he’d be at school, and she clung harder.

  The Aftermath

  “You got your eyes on me, I feel you watchin’ me.”

  —Jay-Z, “The Watcher 2”

  Later, she and Brian sat outside her house in his truck, talking, letting the minutes to her curfew tick slowly toward them.

  He lifted her left hand and wiggled her pinky. “You flossin your ring?”

  “Now, you know I’m not flashy.” Mina grinned devilishly.

  “Yeah, true. That’s why I saw on your Facebook three different pictures of you posing so that it was dead in the camera. One of ’em had ‘I’m so icy’ as the caption.”

  They shared a laugh over that as Mina glanced at the clock.

  She cracked her door open. “Alright. I’ll see you in the morning.” She leaned over, kissed Brian primly on the lips, and dashed.

  When she opened the door and stepped inside the house, the shadow of Brian’s headlights backing away sliced into the house’s darkness. Minus a small light on in the kitchen, the house was in sleep mode.

  Mina slipped her shoes off. She tiptoed lightly across the hardwood floors in her bare feet, marveling at how odd it was to walk into the house with her parents deep in slumber. At her normal curfew of 11:45, her parents were either still out themselves or up watching TV and talking. She’d usually spend a few minutes giving them a vague update—“we had fun tonight”—or sharing the less incriminating bits and pieces of some of the more outrageous stories.