TROY
“Nigga you cheatin like a mothafucka. Hell nah, we ain't doin that,” Nino my cousin shouted. I was back in my neck of the woods where I grew up, Godby Road, right in College Park, Ga. My aunt threw a cookout just because that’s what she did when her stamps came in every month. She invited her nearby relatives and though I wasn’t there frequently, I made sure to show my face a few times out the year. According to my family, it isn’t a real cookout without a game of spades going. Looking around there was four games of Spades moving along and the other people in the neighborhood were in the driveway shooting dice, betting money.
Nino, leaned over the square table, searching a deck of cards, “Yeah, nigga, this right here. You reneged. Ain’t nobody stupid.” Everyone at the table started fussing and I shifted gear towards my homeboy Nathan who was counting money, hundred dollar bills to be exact. “Twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine, three thousand.”
“Damn Nate, you counting money out loud in these streets. I see you big shmoney,” I teased dapping him up.
“Nah, dats you playa. Got the hair game on lock. You done went from moving dope to owning your own business and selling legit products. No more cooking up shit in the kitchen but cooking up natural things to make you look better. That’s some real boss shit.”
“Can’t sell drugs forever man. That fast money cool but I had to clean it up and hell we only getting older.”
Nate’s top lip raised as if he was confused, “Older? Nigga, you quit by the time you were, what about 20, give or take?”
“Yeah, but now I’m 30. I started when I was 16 and lasted four years. That’s all it took for me to rack up and realize I needed to change. Mr. Champ really taught me a lot and if it weren’t for him, I might still be in the streets like you. But I hope our weekly talks are helping you change that?”
Nate wasn’t about my spiel. He was caught up in the game hard and no one at this moment could persuade him to get out. As he always said several thousand a week is better than a few hundred. And I felt that completely back then, but having the police watching and constantly looking over your shoulder wasn’t worth it either.
Our conversation was deaded when curly haired Damon came walking up with his homeboys. I was cool with him but his persona was always about who had the most money, bitches and whatever else was cool at the time.
We all spoke and acknowledged one another and our talk surrounded all the local drama that was floating around but Damon had another message for the crew. Standing in a perfect circular formation he jumped in the center, literally and clapped as he laughed about a situation that happened in an auction he attended. “You shoulda seen the look on lil mama’s face. She was vexed, yo. But I have mad respect for shorty and I had to help her out. So I calmed the fellas down and got them to chill out on the bidding.” I listened to Damon explain how he helped Zafirah win her bid for the boutique she was set to open near the barbershop. I was cool with him looking out for her but then he went on and on about how fine she was and the rest of the guys agreed. Nate nudged me and raised a brow. That was his way of asking, ain't that the girl you talk about sometimes? He ain't say it but I knew since he always assumed that Zee and I may have been crushing on each other. I never denied my attraction to her but it wasn’t serious, she was attractive but also Mr. Champ’s daughter.
“So, you never boned shorty?” Damon openly asked me with a big ass grin on his face.
“Hell nah, she’s like family. I mean she cute... but.”
“But what? You have full access to her. The family trust you but you never dealt with her like that?”
I waved him off dismissing his comment. He stood there and all the guys laughed.
“Alright, I’ll leave it alone. But since you don’t care, then I’ll shoot my shot and ask her on a date. I already told her she owes me one, so don’t act like I haven’t said anything.”
“Damon, I ain't hatin or nuthin, but you ain't her type. I wouldn’t even waste my time.”
All the fellas hurled over into laughter and I caught myself chuckling too. Damon wasn’t happy with it and commented that he never liked me anyway.
“Damn, Mon that’s how you feel? You coulda been one hunnid from the jump. All because I said she wouldn’t be into you.”
“Anyway back to real news, what y’all think about Mr. Champ selling his barbershop?”
The knots forming in my stomach had me nauseous. I was close as hell to Mr. Champ and the family. If this was a thought, I would have known before the streets. As a matter of fact, we have been implementing changes in the shop for future plans.
“You look lost Troy. Don’t act like you surprised. I know you knew first,” Damon shouted.
The other guys commented saying there’s no way he would sell the shop and how they couldn’t see anyone else running it like him.
My phone vibrated and chimed but I missed the call. I checked and noticed two missed calls from Mr. Champ but a text came in within seconds.
Mr. Champ: Son, you not going to leave me by myself tomorrow are you? Tomorrow is Sunday and you know what time it is? Los Angeles and Atlanta playing, so I expect you here. 4pm don’t be late.
The message calmed and stressed me all at the same time. Here he was calling me son but yet I’m hearing gossip in the streets. Maybe I’d hint it out but then again not.
Rico, a childhood friend of mine pulled a post up from Instagram of Zafirah. He didn’t know much about my relationship with the Champion’s so I knew there was nothing malicious there. But looking at the post with the rest of the guys bothered me because here they were practically drooling. Zee flaunted an all black long sleeve top that only covered her boobs, showcasing her sleek abs. Then her bottom was no more than an underwear garment that hugged her perfectly leaving the back trapped in the middle of her ass crack. And her dark chocolate legs shined with what I assume to be something of baby oil. Her feet consisted of long black socks that stopped a little underneath her knees. Her face didn’t seem to have any makeup and her hair looked to be blown out and thrown into a messy bun. Shit, she was fine as fuck but that word wasn’t enough to describe how she looked or better yet what I felt. My dick had a problem with staying in place and the other fellas didn’t shy away from expressing that they too had sexual thoughts of her. But I kept mine to myself.
Rico read her post out loud like we were illiterate or some shit, “YOLO, New collection dropping soon.”
All the fellas clapped except for Nate and I.
Rico shouted, “Damn, Damon you couldn’t wait to comment, huh?”
Like some dummies, all of us closed the circle getting a glance of the phone. There Damon put, YOLO baby girl, let me welcome you into my world. Call me when you ready.
The fuck was this nigga on? I ain't even know he had her number, hell I never knew them to be cool except occasional hey and byes.
“Damon, how well do you know this chick anyway?”
He smirked lifting his big ass pupils to the air as if he was in deep thought, “Eehh, we’ve known each other for a few years because her dad would cut me up and that’s the first and only barbershop I’ve been to since moving out of Jersey. I ain’t never kicked it with her alone before but I’ve hung with her and other friends.”
He rolled his neck my way showing his gold grill in his mouth before yapping away, “Troy you got all the hoes,” his high but yet throaty voice rattled. And all the guys nodded their head. I knew where this was going because true enough I never had problems with getting girls and usually they made passes first but no one really held my attention. Plus, my grind was different and on other things.
“So, I know you ain’t trippin bout lil Firah,” Damon finished.
I had several jabs to shoot at him but my mind was still in limbo with the Champion’s and I felt like I was trippin. Is it possible he would keep the shop a secret and did Zee know? I mean, we just had dinner, we were talking on the phone a few times a week. I been super open about my personal life with her so there’s no way she wouldn’t run it by me. Either way, people were talking and my mind was racing.
*END OF EXCERPT*
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