Page 29 of Falling Into Gravity

Aku leaned back on her palms, stealing another glance at him. “You gon’ show me how to play dominoes for real or you just tryna charm me to death?”

Malik chuckled, getting off the hood of his car to grab the box of dominoes he always kept with him. Reaching into thebackseat, he pulled out a worn black case and cracked it open on the hood.

“Nah,” he said, pulling out the bones with a grin. “But Iamtryna keep you here longer.”

She shook her head, fighting a smile. “Boy, you dangerous.”

“I believe you like that dangerous shit.”

“What if I do? But not for the reasons you think…I ain’t no pampered princess tryna get my parents’ attention.”

Malik turned his head so fast, his braids moved with him. “What’s your reason then?”

“I don’t know yet, Malik.” She rolled her eyes playfully. “I’m just tryna learn dominoes right now.”

Malik stared at her before his smiled widened. “You something else. You know that?”

“Is something else a good thing?”

“I don’t know yet,” he tossed her words back at her. “You ready to learn?”

“We still talking about dominoes or something else?”

He tapped the side of her head. “Save the slick talk for this ass whooping I’m ‘bout to put on you.”

Her head fell back with laughter. “My daddy ain’t never whooped me, so I know you can’t.”

His dick stirred. “Oh, trust I can…watch and learn youngin’.”

Before they got into the game good, Malik decided to grab an old beach towel for her to sit on so she wouldn’t scuff her little fancy-ass shorts. She was posted up all cute with designer bracelets stacked on one wrist. Looking like money and smelling even better. Her nails sparkled every time she picked up a domino, squinting hard like they were about to whisper the right move to her.

“Okay, okay,” Aku muttered, chewing the inside of her cheek. “I got a four…and a six. That means I can go right here, right?”

Malik smirked without lookin’ up. “That’s a six and a blank,Dorothy. You tryna cheat me already?”

Aku gasped, snatching the piece back. “I thought that was a four!”

“You don’t know what a four look like?” he teased, stretching his long legs out and letting his head lean back. “Goddamn. All that private school money and they ain’t teach you dominoes?”

“I went to a performing arts school, boy,” she protested, lightly smacking his arm. “And for the record, I was raised in a house that played Uno and Spades, okay? Not this penitentiary shit.”

Malik barked out a real laugh that reached his eyes. “Aight, Miss performing arts. First rule—respect the board. Dominoes is chess for hood niggas. You don’t just play what’s in your hand… you play what youthinkI got in mine.”

She looked at him sideways. “You ain’t tryna teach me strategy already, are you? I just learned what a damn blank was.”

“Nah, see dominoes teach you life,” he said, ready to spit some real shit. “Sometimes you stuck with a hand that ain’t hittin’, right? Nothin’ but blanks. But you still gotta play that shit smart…make the best outta what you got.”

Aku stared at him, the teasing smile on her lips slowly giving way to something softer. “Damn…that’s deep.”

“I’m deep,” Malik said with a grin, but it was mellow now, like he knew she saw past the surface and he wasn’t tryna hide it. “You ain’t the only one that read books and watch TED Talks.”

“I don’t watch TED Talks,” she laughed.

“Oh my bad. You look like the type that do. All that lip gloss and ambition but no TED Talks.”

She bumped his shoulder, her nails clinking against the dominoes as she shuffled them again, this time with more confidence. “So…what happens if I put this six down right here?”

Malik leaned over, their arms brushing as he looked at her play. “Now you forcing me to play off your energy. Smart. That’s a block move. You gon’ trap me?”

---