Page 4 of Devanté
“You can’t say that, Devanté!”
“What? It’s true. Plus, I hear my dad say it all the time when he’s driving. Someone does something mean or stupid then they’re an asshole.”
“It’s a bad word,” she said, swallowing her laughter.
“Just because it’s a bad word doesn’t mean it’s not true. Maggie is an asshole and she shouldn’t have said that to you.”
The laughter died down and Blake’s face turned solemn. Her chubby cheeks dropped along with the once bright smile. “What if she’s right though? What if nobody marries me because I’m ugly and fat?” She ground the toe of her shoe into the grass. “What if all I ever have is school work and my project that I got an A on?”
There was the hot spiky feeling again. I wanted to say so many things that I didn’t have the words to say. Things I didn’t know how to express. I wet my lips and fished around in my jacket pocket before pulling out an unopened Ring Pop. I tore open the wrapper and stuck it in my pocket then knelt on the ground.
“What are you doing?” Blake let a little laughter slip out with her question.
“I’m asking you to marry me, Blake. When we get older if we’re not married to other people, we’ll marry each other. So…will you marry me?” I thrust the glossy candy ring at her and she stared at it in awe for a few moments that seemed to stretch out forever.
“Yes,” she finally said hopping off the swing. She took the Ring Pop from my hand gently and put it on her finger because this was Blake. She wasn’t going to wait for me to put it on for her.
When I stood up, I rubbed my hands on my jeans and said, “So uh…we kiss now, right?” She’d just popped the candy ring between her lips when I said it and her eyes got wide as saucers.
“Kiss?” She said around the ring. “You want to kissme?”
“Yeah. Just to seal the deal.” I tried to play it off nonchalantly but my heart was about to break through the wall of my chest. Before that moment, I’d never thought about kissing Blake. I always thought she was pretty. Ever since the first day of school when she came in with her long dark hair in pigtails and colorful hair baubles. The thought of kissing her had my temperature skyrocketing and my palms slick.
“What if we get in trouble?” She whispered, looking around.
“It’ll be quick.” I took a step forward and she nodded her permission, letting her hand drop to her side. I’ll never forget the cherry red way her lips glistened under the afternoon sun.
Even back then, I was taller than her. I leaned down like I’d seen on all the TV shows and closed my eyes. I opened them right away though because I didn’t want to miss my first kiss.
I pressed my lips to Blake’s. They were slippery and sweet like candy. Neither of us had any idea what we were doing. We kind of stood there, glued together by that awkward wet kiss. Neither of us moved our lips or hands. We were stone pillars touching lips under the sun.
She pulled back first. It took a minute for the world to spin again for me. I blinked a couple of times then stood up straight. “So…it’s a deal then?” She asked, blinking at me.
“It’s a deal. I take you, Blake Remington to be my wife.”
After a few soft giggles, she said, “And I take you Devanté Morgan to be my husband.” She paused the aimed a finger at me. “I’m not your girlfriend though. This is just for when we get older.”
“I know. We’re always gonna be best friends though…right?”
“Yes, Devanté. Always.” After a meaningful look, she frowned then asked, “Why’d your mom name you Devanté? I mean, I like it but I’ve never heard it before.”
“My mom loves this old group…Jodeci. Her favorite member is Devanté so…now that’s my name. My sister’s name is Janet,” I laughed.
“After Janet Jackson?” Blake quizzed. I nodded in response. “I like your name. It’s different.” She had so much sincerity in her eyes it made an involuntary smile inch across my face.
That was the moment that sealed it for me forever. Blake always had a soft spot in my heart even if I could never get my stupid brain and mouth to cooperate long enough to tell her that I liked her as more than a friend. One day it would happen even if it was only to get it off my chest.
Right then, sitting in her living room still wasn’t the right time though. Plus, she was still busy laughing at the memory of my Ring Pop proposal from third grade. “You know what?” She rested her cheek on her fist and stared at me, a smile lingering on her plump lips. “Thinking back, that was the sweetest thing in the world. We were so innocent and you were so kind. I don’t even know how you had the capacity to be like that at eight years old.”
“I saw you get hurt and bullied for no reason. I feel like whenever something fucked up happens, there has to be a balancing force. Whenever I can, I try to be that force. There’s not enough good in the world.” It was a simple philosophy of kindness that I applied to everything I did…or at least I tried to.
Blake looked at me, not with a smile in her eyes but with wonder. My heart squeezed. “See, that’s why I love you. I don’t think I’m that good of a person because when someone hurts me, I go for the jugular. Well, at least that’s what Maggie Barnes taught me in the third grade. You know how many comebacks I had lined up in my head after what happened that day?”
“Yeah. You’ve shared them with me too many times to keep track of,” I chuckled. After getting bullied by Maggie in third grade, Blake made sure to stand her ground every other time and there were always times. There were always bullies. They always had slick shit to say about Blake’s weight but she was quick with her comebacks and it made her a badass in my eyes.
“People are assholes,” I told her.
“I know. That’s why I’m an asshole right back but only when it’s deserved.”
