You Ain't My Type

by Nicole Jackson

  Rye unconsciously grinned liking the energy at the table…besides Tori’s, of course. Everybody seemed talkative and laid-back, making her wish that she could somehow hang out with them for the rest of the visit. Being around them just reminded her of how stuffy Tori usually was. Meanwhile, Tori sat back thinking about how he needed to put a muzzle on her ass.

  Chapter 3

  “Huh, what you say?”

  Rye gazed out of the window, as she and Tori cruised through Beverly Hills. They’d been in town for two days now, and had linked up with Jeremy and the crew twice for dinner. Each time they’d depart, before Jeremy and his people would go off to party like rock stars at the club. Rye knew this because she was now following them all on Instagram, including rude ass Jaylen. Truthfully, she was itching to let her hair down, but Tori was dead-set against them clubbing with Jeremy, because he feared that Rye would say the wrong thing or over talk. Therefore, they’d been relegated to exploring the city during the day, and the only highlight of the day would be the dinner shared with others.

  “I don’t know. Maybe next Tuesday,” Tori spoke into his cell with a hint of laughter in his voice.

  Rye turned to watch him. His friendly ass wasn’t taking that tone with a family member or friend. “Uh, who are you talking to?”

  “What?” he frowned, calling himself discreetly muting his call.

  “Nah, nigga, don’t mute it. Let that hoe on the phone hear me,” she fumed.

  “What hoe?” he played dumb.

  She curled her lips. “Who the fuck is that on the phone? Are you really sitting here disrespecting me?”

  He sucked his teeth. “Girl, you tripping. She’s a friend from the business.”

  “Okay, then, put the call on Bluetooth, like you do with everybody else.”

  He furrowed a brow. “For what? I don’t have to allow you to hear my conversation. I’m a grown man.”

  “You’re grown? Oh, okay.” She slid her tongue across her teeth. “Just keep that same energy when I got my friends on the phone.”

  “I will,” he claimed. “Just make sure that them friends got the energy to pay that rent of yours.” He unmuted his call. “Hello? Oh, my bad. I didn’t mean to have you on hold like that.”

  Rye felt like Tori had literally slapped her in the face. No amount of money was worth her dignity. “You know what? Pull this muthafucka over!” she lashed.

  He sucked his teeth. “Look, Kree, let me call you back.” He ended the call, and glared at Rye. “Would you stop being ridiculous?”

  “Ridiculous? Nah, ridiculous is your trifling ass. I don’t know what makes you think that I’m about to sit here while you talk to another bitch in my face! So, pull over!”

  He shook his head. “Calm down and get real, man. You’re way out here in Cali. This is a long way from home, and you know no one here. So, where are you gonna go, if I let you out? What are you gonna do?”

  She pursed her lips. “Just pull this bitch over, and I’ma show you what I’m finna do.”

  “Alright.” He nodded, pulling over to the nearest curb. “You wanna get out, well, get your ass out.”

  “No problem,” she chided, before quickly hopping out of the Rover.

  Furiously, Tori skirted off, before her feet could connect with the sidewalk’s pavement. Stomping down the sidewalk, she mumbled. “Fuck him. I don’t care if I gotta walk back to Houston. I aint fucking with his lame ass no more.”

  ***

  “Hey, ma, are you busy?”

  “No, not really. What’s going on with you? Where are you, right now?”

  “I’m sitting outside at some bistro on Rodeo Drive.”

  “Oh, okay. Are you and Tori having lunch?”

  “Nope. We got into an argument, and I hopped out of the car.”

  “Oh, boy. What happened now? What did you do, Rye?”

  Briefly, Rye was taken aback. “Excuse me. How are you gonna just assume that it was something that I did?”

  “Girl, don’t get your panties in a bunch, okay? And tell me what happened.”

  “He disrespected me for the last time. That’s what happened.”

  “Disrespected you how, Rye? Cause I know how you can be.”

  Rye sucked her teeth and rolled her eyes. “He was talking to some girl on the phone. I could tell by his tone that she wasn’t some colleague or something.”

  “But do you know that for sure? Or is this just your insecurities shining through?” Konya inquired.

  “Insecurities? Ma, stop it. I’m very secure in myself, and I know when somebody is trying to play with me. Tori was definitely showing his as…his butt. He was definitely showing his butt, and that’s probably because yall have put out the notion that we need him and his family, but I digress. My point is that I’m done, and I need another hotel room, until my flight leaves. My credit card limit is too low, so can you please book it for me?”

  “At the Ritz Carlton? Girl, you must’ve slipped and bumped your head. I know what one night costs at that hotel. Especially in Cali. I googled it, and there’s no way that I’m shelling out that kind of cash. If anything, you better see what can be done about switching flights, and coming home earlier. But I think that it’s your anger talking. You and Tori will be making up before the sun is down. And if for whatever reason your stubborn ass just has to come home, then your only option is trading in your flight. I’m tapped out for the rest of the month.”

  Rye shook her head, feeling like her mother wasn’t being truthful. A one-way ticket back to Houston wouldn’t break the bank. If anything, her mama was low-key on the same trip as her daddy. She wasn’t comfortable with leaving a bad taste in Tori’s mouth, therefore, she’d remove her support to keep Rye in California. Her being stuck there would at least force her to go back and deal with Tori for the moment.

  “Alright, ma. I guess I’ll talk to you later,” she breathed into the phone.

  “Umm, where are you going now, since you hopped out of the car? Are you headed back to the hotel?”

  “No, not just yet. I just finished eating a sandwich from this place. So, now, I’m going to walk it off, as I window shop. You know that I can’t resist stopping by Gucci. Even if I am broke.”

  “Well, I’m sure that if you stop being a brat, and call your boyfriend back I’m sure that he wouldn’t mind grabbing you a trinket or two from Gucci.”

  “And on that note…good-bye, ma. I’ll call you once I make it back to the hotel.”

  “Okay, be careful, and don’t forget to call me.”

  “I won’t.”

  “Kay. Love you, baby.”

  Rye twisted her lips. “Love you too, ma.”

  ***

  Walking down the sidewalk on Rodeo Drive, Rye moved with confidence, while only having two hundred dollars to her name. She was experiencing retail withdrawals, as all the pedestrians dallied around with bags from her favorite stores on their arms. She was thankful that she’d worn Chanel gladiator flats for comfort. Her denim cut-off ripped shorts and belly shirt, along with a long-sleeved shirt wrapped around her waist was cute and sassy. In her hand she carried a small Louis Vuitton clutch that her mama had bought for her birthday. Her huge wild curly virgin sew-in was to die for, as she blended in with the haves of Beverly Hills. Gazing around, she noticed that everyone around seemed attractive; artificially, of course.

  “They need to give me some of that damn money,” she mumbled, as she witnessed a couple stroll past her with multiple bags from Louie, Chanel, and Gucci. “Make a bitch wanna hit somebody over the head,” she laughed to herself. “Un-ass all of that.” She pretended that her hand was a gun, and pointed it in the air. “No, let me stop, before these people think I’m crazy.”

  “See, I told yall that broad was crazy. Look at her talking to herself.”

  Rye’s head whipped around, realizing that Jeremy, Josairah, Lil’ Jahrein, Jhyrah, Jalero, and Lil’ Jaylen were standing a few feet away, right in front of Gucci. Her face flushed with embarras
sment, realizing that they’d caught her thinking aloud.

  “Jaylen, why are you giving her a hard time?” Jhyrah lightly elbowed her cousin.

  Jaylen studied Rye, boldly looking her up and down. “You aint got a taste of that smart-ass mouth of hers, lil’ cuz. She tried to play our people.”

  “What?” Jhyrah grimaced. “I don’t even wanna know the petty details. Anyway, what’s up, girl? Where’s your boo?”

  Rye shrugged. “I don’t know where he is. I was just about to head into Gucci.”

  “Oh, yeah? We are too. So, let’s go.” Jhyrah waved her over.

  Rye nodded, as she filed in line, and they all entered the store.

  “I like those scandals, girl,” Josairah complimented as she eyed Rye’s shoes.

  “Oh, thank you,” Rye smiled, causing her dimples to indent her cheeks.

  Jaylen found himself cutting his eyes her way. He’d always had a weakness for chicks with dimples. It was just too bad that they were attached to her snobby ass.

  “Jahrein,” Josairah sang. “Umm, I just wanted to tell you that I really, really love you. And uh, that red bag would be so cute with the shoes I’m wearing tonight.”

  Jahrein towered above her, before lightly tapping her ass. “Well, get it.”

  Jaylen shook his head. “Ole trick ass nigga. Just like his daddy.”

  “Jaylen, find you somebody to trick on,” Jhyrah offered. “That’s what you do.”

  “Shiiiit,” Jaylen stressed. “It aint happenin’. I’d buy a bitch something from Macy’s or something. Shit, even True Religion. But Gucci? And five-grand at that? Nah, man. She gotta be the freakiest broad alive. Nah, matter of fact, she gotta be my wife.”

  “What you say? I drop this puss on him, make him wanna marry me,” Jhyrah stuck out her tongue, and twerked in the middle of the store.

  Jahrein sucked his teeth, but didn’t get a chance to do anything else, as Jeremy popped her butt. “Man, chill out with that.”

  “Yeah,” Jahrein co-signed. “I don’t know what’s wrong with all the girls in my family. They’re all some ratchets.”

  “Our mama too, huh?” Jhyrah glanced at her brother. “Say it right now, so I can call Raven and tell her.”

  Jah waved her off.

  Rye giggled. “Yall are funny.”

  Jeremy nodded, before narrowing his eyes. “Where did you say Tori was?”

  “I didn’t. I don’t know where he is.”

  Jhyrah frowned. “Well, how did you get here?”

  Rye cleared her throat. “Well, I had lunch in the area, and walked over here. He had some business to handle, so I caught an Uber here.”

  “Oh, okay.” Jhyrah nodded. “You needed a break from his stiff ass, huh?”

  Jeremy lightly pushed her shoulder. “Girl…”

  “What?” she opened her arms. “I’m just saying. Yall know that man walks like he got a stick up his ass.”

  Rye tittered. “He does.”

  Jeremy gradually grinned. “Yall out of line.”

  “Boy, bye. You the main one who be saying it.”

  He unconsciously stroked Jhyrah’s ponytail. “Why you dry snitching?”

  Rye grinned. “It’s cool. You don’t have to worry about me telling his ass. Trust me.”

  Jalero chuckled. “Sounds like ole boy done fucked up.”

  Jaylen sighed. “What, did he fuck around and grab one of them cheap ass Lexus coupes?”

  Rye gulped, cutting her eyes at him. “Really?”

  “I’m just saying. You was talking cash shit outside of the club that night.”

  “Okay, and?” she lifted a brow. “I didn’t know yall, and wasn’t trying to engage at two in the morning. My friend was talking, and you called me a bitch. Or did you forget that part?”

  Josairah and Jhyrah looked at Jaylen.

  “Since when do you go around disrespecting girls, Jaylen?” Jhyrah interrogated. “Yall would be ready to knock a nigga’s head off for talking to me like that.”

  “Exactly,” Josairah co-signed.

  Jaylen pursed his lips, as they called themselves checking him. “Anyway.” He waved them off. “Maybe I was out of line for what I said. I can admit that.”

  Josairah arched a brow. “Is that an apology?”

  He shrugged, before moseying over to the belts. “Something like it.”

  “Really, Jaylen,” Jhyrah voiced.

  Rye shook her head. “It’s cool, really.”

  “Girl, I just can’t believe him. He’s usually a people’s person. Gets along with everybody.”

  “I mean, I was talking shit too. So, it’s all good,” Rye insisted.

  Josairah twisted her lips. “I don’t know. He’s moving kind of funny. Jaylen usually don’t care about much of anything. So, he would usually just apologize and move along. I think he likes you or something.”

  Rye frowned. “How did you get him refusing to apologize to him liking me?”

  “Cause we caught him scrolling through your Instagram,” Jhyrah blurted.

  Jeremy snickered. “There you go with that dry snitching shit again.”

  Rye was tickled, as she knew that she was guilty of the same thing.

  “Uh huh,” Jalero spoke up. “Look at her. She like that shit. Now we know that ole boy aint hitting it right.”

  Rye stopped laughing, remembering that she was dealing with someone who Tori was trying to sign. Regardless of anything, she didn’t want to ruin his chances of getting to a bag. “He’s alright. Well…he’s a great sports’ agent if nothing else. He definitely knows how to get those endorsements. You’ll go from spending money on high-end clothes to them paying you to wear their brand.”

  “So, he’s the truth, business wise?” Jeremy questioned, peeping how although Rye was at odds with Tori, she was speaking highly of him.

  “Yeah, he is,” she insisted.

  “Okay, okay. I hear you.” He glanced around. “But, yeah, I think I want those shoes.”

  Everyone began selecting things to purchase, while Rye pretended not to see anything she liked. Watching the group grab uber expensive items was brow raising to say the least. All of them had expressed the fact that they’d started off in the hood, but eventually moved to the burbs. Yet, no one had elaborated on how any of it was possible. And although, she knew that her mother came from the hood, she knew that her father’s growing business changed things for her family. However, in comparison to the type of cash these folks were throwing around, her father had to be making peanuts. Therefore, curiously, she wanted to know about their families’ businesses, but was hesitant to push, unless they were willingly offering up information.

  After everyone was done paying for their merchandise they headed to the door, before realizing that it was pouring down raining. Rye stood with her mouth wide open, thinking that she had the worst luck. There she was on foot, and it was raining cats and dogs.

  “I’m glad you decided to get a driver today, Jeremy,” Jalero offered. “Nigga is parked right out-front waiting on us.” He rubbed his hands together, as he spotted the Escalade, waiting curbside.

  Jhyrah glanced at Rye. “How are you getting back to your hotel?”

  “I’ma take a Uber,” she quickly replied, not wanting to seem like a charity case.

  “A Uber? Girl, bye. Come on, and ride with us. We’ll drop you off.”

  “I don’t know. I don’t want yall to go out of your way.”

  “It’s no big deal. We’re not driving, anyway. Jeremy got a driver to chauffeur us around. So, it’s no sweat off our backs,” Jhyrah claimed.

  “A driver? Damn, it’s like that?”

  Jeremy smirked. “Don’t get any wild ideas about me. I did it because our people are in town. It’s just usually me, my brother, and Jhyrah here in L.A.”

  “Ooh, okay,” Rye commented, as if the reason made any difference. These young cats were making boss moves, making her want to step her game up.

  “Man, let’s roll,” Jahrein urged, b
efore grabbing his and Josairah’s bags, and dashing out the door.

  “Come on, Rye,” Jhyrah persisted, sounding like she’d known her their entire lives.

  Following her lead, Rye raced outside. One by one, they climbed into the SUV, before realizing that the seats weren’t folded to accommodate everybody, leaving Jaylen standing out in the rain.

  “Man, yall, scoot over,” he groaned, as he was getting soaked.

  “We did,” Jalero retorted. “It aint enough room. We gotta lap up like back in the day. So, lil’ mama, get out. Let him get in, and you sit on his lap.” He glanced over at Rye.

  With no time to debate, Rye reluctantly hopped out, allowing Jaylen to take her seat. She then climbed back in, and scooted onto his lap. As she closed the door, the driver pulled away from the curb.

  Jhyrah tittered to herself, knowing that Jalero’s suggestion was calculated. She was there with her boyfriend, as well as Josairah. It would’ve made perfect sense for either of them to sit on their boyfriends’ laps, yet he’d pushed for Rye to sit on Jaylen’s long ass.

  “Oouu, it’s cold,” Rye trembled, as her teeth chattered.

  The driver immediately lowered the AC. Everyone else began chatting amongst themselves.

  “My bad, I’m getting you wet, huh?” Jaylen whispered, as he leaned his head up against the door, which meant that she was blocking his view of everyone else.

  She shook her head, gazing down at him. “It’s okay. You can’t help that.”

  He nodded, before grinning. “At least you smell good.”

  “Really? I figured that I was smelling like a wet dog, right about now.”

  “Nah.” He waved his head. “You smell like Chanel.”

  She smirked. “That’s exactly what I’m wearing. How do you know?”

  “I got a mama and a sister.”

  “Oh, okay. You call them bitches too?” she posed.

  He lightly chuckled. “There you go. I already said that I was wrong.”

  She arched a brow. “And what is that supposed to mean to me?”

  He tucked his lips into his mouth, and her clit unintentionally thumped. “Look, I apologize for calling you out of your name. That’s not how I usually get down. I’m just overprotective of my little cousin, but I handled that completely wrong.”