Page 29 of My Brother's Keeper
We all laughed as we watched the game. I wanted to give the guys a heads up about me seeing one of the NTR niggas, but inthe words of my nigga Chev, it wasn’t the time or place. Instead, I focused my attention on Alyse. When she finally spotted me, she smiled, and so did I.
You look good.I mouthed.
SYMPHONY
When the doorbell rang for the second time, I had become curious. Just as I did the first time when Braylon showed up, Mison’s thinking he had one up on me bothered me. I crept out of the room and down the hall until I reached the top of the steps. When I saw the girl standing there, my first thought was that he had a girl on the side. However, the way he acted toward her said otherwise. Then I heard my name and what he told her, which made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. What did he need to tell me? Then I heard him say fuck Kareem. Was he taking up for me?
When he closed the door, I rushed back to the room and got dressed. I liked Mison, I did, but to know he was hiding something from me was like a slap to my face. As soon as he came into the room, he glared at me like my being fully dressed was a problem. “I thought you were going to stay a little longer?” he asked as he moved closer to me.
I cleared my throat as I moved around him. “I-I got work to do. I will call you later,” I lied.
I didn’t know if Mison was the guy for me because if you couldn’t be honest, what was the point?
“Symphony!” one of my workers called out, snapping me out of my thoughts.
Iglancedat her with a weak smile. “Yes?”
“Girl, are you ok? I’ve been calling your name for the last five minutes.”
I placed an item on the rack. “I’m sorry, just a little tired. What’s up?”
She pointed toward the front of the store, “You have a visitor.”
I peeked over the clothes to see Mison standing there, holding flowers. I let out a sigh as I walked over to him. It had been a few days since I’ve seen or talked to him. When he saw me, he smiled. “Sup, baby? I missed you.”
I felt uneasy. I opened my legs to this man, only to find that behind that smile, he held secrets, one of which included me. “What are you doing here?”
He held the flowers out for me to grab, and I snatched them and rolled my eyes.
“Damn, what’s your problem?” he snapped.
“Nothing, thank you,” I muttered.
He grabbed me by my waist and pulled me closer. “I want to take you out tonight if that’s cool.”
I didn’t know what to say because I liked him, and the dick was everything, but I couldn’t get past the fact that he was hiding something from me. “I have to spend time with Daddy tonight, so maybe another time,” I told him.
I could see the disappointment in his eyes, but I was disappointed too. I wanted him to own up to whatever it was he needed to tell me. I know most girls would be screamingGirl, tell that man,but why? He was grown, and I shouldn’t have to coddle a grown ass nigga.
Mison said nothing as he walked out of my store. If lying, hiding, and betrayal were a part of being with the infamous Zoo crew, I didn’t want any part of it.
FLEX
Being back in Covana had my anxiety at an all-time high. To come back to a place you were shunned from was nasty work. When I got to the game, I wasn’t surprised by the number of people who were there. It was a college town, so expecting anything less would have been foolish. However, this wasn’t about me but about Alyse, who I know needed the support. The girls in the class didn’t take her seriously, and I’m sure those little bitches on her dance team didn’t either.
“I hear the band come on, Flex!” Morgan yelled as she rushed toward the entrance.
I moved my feet quickly to reach the entrance when someone called my name, “Porsha, girl, is that you?”
I turned to see one of my old dancing buddies standing there, wrapped up in TSU apparel. She had gone from one of the best strippers in town to looking modest as hell. “Hey,” I smiled.
She walked over and hugged me. “I’m surprised to see you know where home is.”
My brows raised. “Ain’t no place like home.”
I knew that if she was here, others were too, and I was already dreading it. The wives of the professors, the daughters of the doctors, and the sons of stay-at-home wives were all here, and Iknew it. The men I danced for whose families hated me. We said a few more words before I walked off to catch up with Morgan.
As we came around to the rowdy crowd, they were live along with the band. “Aye! All I know is she’d better fuck it up,” she laughed as she snapped her fingers.
