Page 3 of Verse Two
Shaking my head, I deleted the message. The only thing keeping me from blocking LaShontae was the fact that she had no one else. Both her parents had passed away, and she was the only child.
Her last parent died when I first started making money from songwriting. LaShontae was my girl at the time, but I couldn’tsay I was in love with her. To be honest, I kind of felt obligated to take care of her since she had no one. When I moved my pops and me from our hood to Jai City, I took her too, and that was about four years ago.
Our relationship was cool, but she just didn’tdoitfor me. She had held me down through a lot, though, so I was rocking with her. That was until I got word that she was smashing some no-name rapper from the city whenever I wasn’t in town. When I asked her about it, she couldn’t even lie. She just cried and begged me to forgive her, but there was no coming back from that.
Because I had a heart, I bought her an apartment and hired some movers to get her shit out of my house. That had been three months ago, but she was still trying to make her way back to me. It wasn’t happening.
She started calling again, but I ignored it and checked the time. This flight back to Jai City was supposed to board in about an hour, but the people sitting across from me seemed to think our flight was about to be cancelled due to the weather. I hoped that wasn’t true because I was ready to be in my own crib. New York was cool, but it was a littletoobusy for me.
Jai was a big city, but it still had a down-south vibe. It was the perfect home for a nigga like me.
LaShontae called yet again, and I was about to power my phone off, but the sweet sound coming from behind me made me freeze.
It had been over a decade since I’d heard it, and it was a little more mature now, but there was no mistaking that laugh.Dylan.
“You think you know me. Maria called and threw my mood way off. I hate my life,” she said, giving me further confirmation that it was her. Dy’s silky voice was one of a kind. I had missed hearing it and couldn’t believe that out of all the airports in theworld, we ended up in the same one, sitting at the same gate with our backs pressed against each other.
“I’m ready to quit, too, but . . .then what? You know me, Wilde. I need a backup plan secured before I tell Maria to kiss my ass.”
I chuckled as I shamelessly eavesdropped on her conversation. Just that quickly, I was ready to tell whoever Maria was to kiss Dy’s ass myself. I wasn’t feeling the strain in her voice as she spoke about this person.
Damn.
Dylan Ivie.
She was my first girlfriend and the only one I ever wanted, to be honest. I had been in love with her since we met in third grade, and if the funny shit going on in my chest was any indication, that hadn’t changed at all.
From elementary to middle school, we had been in the same class every single year. We had always been friends, but when we got to eighth grade, everybody’s hormones started running wild.
Niggas wanted girlfriends, and Dylan was the prettiest girl inFox Hill, so naturally, everybody was trying to lock her down. Luckily, she only had eyes for me, and the feeling was mutual. The bond we’d always had only strengthened that year, and my young ass really felt like she was my one.
That was until her momma got married to a doctor from Jai City and moved my girl an hour away from home. Dylan’s mother was strict, so she wasn’t allowed to have any social media. Her stepfather bought her a cell phone, and I had a landline, so for a minute, we were able to stay in touch.
When my mother traded the house phone for a cell phone, though, that was it for Dy and me. We lost touch, but I never forgot about her. As I listened to her talk to her friend, memories from back when flooded my mind along with hella questions.
Who took her on her first real date?
What nigga in Jai City took my girl’s virginity?
Fuck . . . was she married?
“Girl, I know. Maybe it’s time for you to stop turning every man you meet down and go on a date. My busy ass can’t even afford to date right now, but that doesn’t mean you have to spend the holiday alone.”
Those words had a nigga smiling. I didn’t know about her friend, but Dylan already had a Valentine. She just didn’t know it yet.
“We regret to inform you that your flight has been delayed for the next two days due to the impending snowstorm.”
The gate agent announced the cancellation, and I smiled. Minutes ago, I was anxious to get home, but now, I was glad to have more time in this airport. I was glad to have more time with Dylan.
“Exactly. Anyway, I guess I’m coming back home. Let me get out of here before the storm comes and they lock down the airport,” she said.
There was movement behind me, so I stood and made my way around the long row of seats. When I laid eyes on her, I couldn’t help but smile.
She was bending forward, trying to pull up the handle of her suitcase. I had yet to glimpse her full face, but what I could see was even more beautiful than I remembered.
Her full lips were turned upward in a pout, and her thick lashes hid her pretty eyes.
As she struggled with her suitcase, I allowed my eyes to trail her entire body and felt a mixture of anger and desire as I admired her. She was still petite, but her body had matured in the best way. I couldn’t help but wonder who helped her fill out like that. She looked even better than I remembered, and that was really saying something.
