Page 21 of Arris, Jayme & Dyani
As soon as I sat in his car, I felt my entire body relax and a yawn pushed its way out of my mouth.
“You good?” Arris asked.
“Yeah.” I looked over at him and another yawn slipped out. “Arris?” I said quietly.
“Hm?” He cast a quick look at me.
“How bad did your brand hurt?” I reached over and touched it without even thinking about it.
He looked at where my hand was and back at the road.
“I mean, I guess a little bit less than it hurt for Darryl considering where that nigga’s pain tolerance is.”
“Which is where when comparing it to a tattoo?”
“A tattoo is an annoying consistent scratching over your skin. It’s more irritating than anything else.” He switched lanes. “You ever touch a too hot stove, jerk back, then feel the pain?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
“Branding is a burn. It feels like that but hotter and you have to hold it for a while for it to stick.” He licked his lips. “It fucking sucked.”
“I bet it did.” I let my hand fall from his skin. “Was it worth it?”
“What?”
“The brand. Was getting branded to be in DP worth it?”
“Well, you don’t get branded to be in DP. You join DP then you get branded as a sign of respect and dedication. It wasn’t some shit that was forced on me, Dyani. It was more like an honor I was excited for.” He stopped at a red light and looked at me. “It was worth it though,” he added.
I nodded.
“Darryl doesn’t talk about it much.”
“He doesn’t want you being a part of that life and I don’t blame him.”
“Even though you’re a part of it?”
"It's complicated." He looked back at the road. “Darryl has his reasons.”
“Of course you’d say that.”
“And what’s that mean?”
“That’s where your loyalty lies so of course you’re going to side with him.”
“There ain’t no sides, sweetheart. There's just what is and what ain’t and you ain’t meant to be too deep in this shit. Nothing is wrong with that.”
“Please don’t piss me off, Arris.”
He laughed immediately, almost choking in the process.
“Well, damn. Fuck me then, huh?”
This time it was my turn to laugh.
“I didn’t say all that,” I clarified. “I’m just saying maybe your loyalty should lie with me.”
“Oh. Word?”
