Page 25 of Arris, Jayme & Dyani
“And she’s still my baby sister.”
“True.” I shrugged. “I feel you.”
“Ay!” one of the DP members yelled. “We’re about to make a food run. Y’all coming?”
“I’m down for it.” Darryl took another hit and put his joint out. He climbed up and dusted himself off. “You coming?”
“Nah. I’ve got an appointment in about two hours and y’all like to fuck around for hours.”
“Yeah, alright.” Darryl dapped me up. “I’ll hit you up later.”
“I’ve got you.”
“From the cradle to the casket.”
“From the cradle to the casket.”
I hopped up while the guys slowly made their way out of my spot. I locked the door behind them and walked over to my couch to collapse. I cracked open a bottle of water and found something to watch.
I checked my phone again a few minutes in, then dialed Dyani. She let it ring four times before she picked up, sounding confused.
“Hello?”
“You alive over there?” I asked.
“Yes.” Dyani giggled. “What’s up?”
I skipped the pleasantries.
“You ducking me, Dyani?”
“Would I ever do such a thing?”
“Shit. You tell me.”
“Okay.” She paused and I waited. We sat in silence for a moment, then another one. “A little bit,” she confessed.
“I’m not in the business of chasing women who don’t want to be caught, sweetheart. So let me know how you’re feeling and I can move accordingly.”
She exhaled. “I think you’re attractive,” she said carefully. “And I think you’re nice and respectful and it would be cool to get to know you but?—”
I cut her off. “If the rest of that statement is about Darryl or Jayme, I’m good on it.”
Dyani scoffed. “Seriously?” She paused. “You’re serious?”
“Yeah. I know Jayme and we’re good and I ain’t scared of Darryl.”
“I never said you were scared of Darryl but?—”
I cut her off again. “Imagine me, a grown ass man, letting another grown ass man’s feelings stop me from doing what I want to do.” I forced a little laugh. “Yeah. That’s dead. You said you weren’t against us getting to know each other. I have two appointments today but I should be done by seven or eight at the latest. Jayme has Blake. What’s your availability?”
“I don’t have anything planned for tonight.”
“Cool. I’ll see you later tonight. I’ll pick you up at your spot. If you have something you want to do, let me know and I’ll make a reservation. If you don’t, I’ll just surprise you.”
“Okay, Arris.”
“Alright, Dyani. Have a good rest of your day, love.”
