Page 15 of Truce Of The Matter

“Still early. Six-forty. Do you need to go? I don’t want to get you into any trouble with your girl.”

“The only girl in my life is Aryel and she’s with my family until nine-thirty.”

“Then why did you tell me no last night?” she asks, surprising me. I honestly didn’t think she remembered that shit because she was gone.

“Because you were lit. I wasn’t going to do anything with you when you were like that. I need to know you are one hundred percent when I bless your body.”

“I was tipsy, maybe even a little drunk, but I knew exactly what I was offering.”

“You sure about that? Because we ain’t gon’ do no one-night stand.”

“So, you never had a one-night stand?” she asks skeptically, with raised eyebrows.

“Yes, but we won’t be a one-time thing,” I state more clearly this time. Then I pinch her chin between my thumb and pointer finger. “You don’t remember me, do you?”

My question really throws her off because her eyebrows damn near touch this time. “What do you mean?” she asks, puzzled.

“When we first met.”

“Your first time in the restaurant?”

“No. You really don’t know,” I state, although I’ve always suspected she didn’t. The day was so significant for me, but for her it was probably just another Thursday, many years ago.

“I don’t and I’m starting to feel bad.”

“Don’t do that. It was a long time ago.” Her pretty eyes peer into mine for answers so I don’t keep her waiting. “Junior high. You were in eighth grade and I was in sixth.”

“You went to Ridge Pointe with me? I remember Dax but not you. Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I’m sure. I was just about six inches shorter and a hundred pounds lighter.” I chuckle, remembering how little I was.

My brother, Dax, is only two years older than me but that nigga was almost twice my size then. I tried everything but nothing worked. It didn’t help that my mom would say I inherited her build, not my pops’. That shit crushed me. I wasscrawny and awkward then. Most people didn’t even know I was his younger brother.

After squinting as if trying to picture me, she asks, “Who was the principal then?”

“Dr. Marks. I was there. Trust me and you saved me,” I admit for the first time out loud. No one knows this story because I kept it to myself and just used it as motivation. “It was the end of the year pep rally. Everyone was supposed to be in the gym but I got held up, literally. Loc, the barber now, and his crew were at me again. This time they thought it would be funny to stuff me in the lockers. It was some real dumb shit. They were pushing me in when you cam?—”

“I was coming from Mrs. C’s office and I saw them,” she interrupts, lowly. Her words slow, processing. I think she remembers. “That was you?”

“Yeah, unfortunately, it was me. You stormed over to them, cursed them out, and helped me out of the locker.”

“And that was you,” she states again with incredulity. “I can’t believe this. That…was…you.”

“It was and I fell madly in love with the girl who saved me,” I say and she smiles. “I was embarrassed as fuck too though. I spent that whole summer drinking weight gain shakes, lifting weights, and going to the boxing gym. I was determined to get bigger and stronger so I could impress my crush. I gained twenty-two pounds that summer and you know what happened with boxing. It broke my heart when I found out you went to live with your cousins in Florida.” Her head drops and so does her smile. “Your cousin was sick or something, right? At least that’s what I heard.”

“Yeah, she was but she got better and I came back home,” she says then sighs.

“I didn’t see you when you returned. Maybe because we were at different schools. I was at Manor Crossing High and you at CFAcademy. Plus, I was already competing and focused on boxing. We went our separate ways, but know this, I never forgot the girl who saved me and jump started my boxing career.”

Her pretty smile returns then she laughs. “So I was your crush? I love that. If only I could go back then and know what I know now. My life would be different for sure.”

“Yeah, mine too. I would have manned up and kissed you. Then we would have been going together. We would have spent that summer together and still be together now.”

“Dang! You must be a good ass kisser then if one kiss would have done all of that.”

“Nah. I’mma great kisser and I take my time with both lips.” When my tongue runs across my lips and I pull my bottom lip between my teeth, her eyes practically trace the steps.

“Those are some serious words,” she utters, eyes still on my mouth.

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