Chapter 6: My Low Key Favorite Spot

[Him] I chirped Nico to come and pick up Jade and I across the street. When he pulled up, he had a puzzled look on his face, but then he shrugged and unlocked the door.

Meet me in the trap

It's going down

Meet me in the mall

It's going down

Meet me in the club

It's going down

Anywhere we meet its guaranteed

To go down

Nico was blasting Yung Joc's new banger through the speakers. Jade and I hopped in the back seat. I introduced Jade to my cousin and then we vibed to some tunes for a while as we rode to our destination. It was so funny watching Jade bob her big ass head to the beat. I had asked Nico to drop us off at my favorite spot. Soon after, I noticed that his girl wasn't with him. "Yo, where's Brittney?"

"She said she got a call from her goofy ass home girl saying she got jumped at McDonald's, so she's up there with her now." I turned and I saw Jade holding in what looked like a laugh and then, I finally understood why she was in such a hurry down the street. "Man, what's the deal with you and her?" I asked Jade. She turned to me and said...

[Her] Back in elementary school at Starr King, Brittney, Anisa, and I were the best of friends. We hung out after school together and even stayed over each other's houses. That ended quickly though, once we got to middle school at Hamilton and met Kyra. She came to our school in the 8th grade from Bancroft, a middle school in Lakewood. Kyra didn't have any friends so we welcomed her into our little circle. Little did I know how quickly she would turn things around. She would always make sarcastic remarks about how ugly I was compared to the rest of them.

She talked about the way I dressed, my skin, my hair, my weight and even about the fact that my dad wasn't around. Luckily for me, Anisa was a true ride or die friend. So, she stood up for me when I was too weak to stand up for myself. I could tell that Brittney felt bad about the way Kyra talked about me, but I could also see that she let what Kyra said get to her. She didn't want to hang around "ugly" girls. Our friendship soon faded and now we don't even speak.

"I don't even know the girl," I lied. I wasn't about to open up to Cori about anything. I barely knew him. I could tell, however, that he didn't believe what I said. He shook his head and asked Nico to let us out of the car. By now, we had pulled up to this place called Norm's in Lakewood. How did he know that Norm’s was my kind of get down?

[Her] "I hope you don't mind coming here. This is my favorite spot."

"No, I don't mind at all."

I turned and thanked Nico for the ride and got out of the car and headed to the entrance of the diner. I waited as Cori was getting out of the car. Once he was out, he leaned into the drivers window to Nico and whispered something to him. Nico handed him a thick white envelope that looked to me like a wad of money, and then Cori quickly put it in his back pocket and headed over my way. "Let's eat," he said as he placed his hand gently on my lower back and led me inside. That's when I thought, this was my first date.

[Him] Look at this girl, man. She's acting like she's scared to eat in front of me or something. Jade and I were sitting at a corner table at Norm's. We both ordered the Lumberjack breakfast with pancakes, eggs, bacon, and hash browns and water to drink. "What's wrong, you don't like the food or something?" I asked.

"No, I do. This is actually my favorite place. You just make me a little nervous to be honest."

"Well you didn't seem nervous the other night when I was workin' you on the dance floor."

"Nigga, please. You lucky your girl stepped in and stopped my flow because you weren't a match for me boo boo," she laughed. I liked hearing her laugh and seeing her smile. So real. Then, it disappeared.

"What's up with you and Kyra anyway? Ain't she your girl? Because when I saw her at McDonald's...never mind."

"Look. Let me be clear about something. Kyra is NOT and will NEVER be my girl. I was doing a favor for my cousin and his chick and I do not give a damn about what she was doing at Mc Donald's or what she does at all! So let's get off the subject. How's your bacon?"

[Her] I stared at him for a few seconds...and then I cracked up. He was trying so hard to keep that mean ass look on his face, but once he saw me laughing, he couldn't help but to laugh too. I wasn't too sure if I believed there wasn't anything going on between him and Kyra though. She's always tripping over niggas that don't belong to her, but this one, was taking her to a whole different level.

Once we got past that awkward subject, we had small talk and laughed some more. He was hilarious. I loved his sense of humor. I learned a few things about him. I found out that we were both eighteen, that he went to continuation school, and that he and his cousin Nico were in business together.

"So exactly what type of business are ya'll into?"

[Him] "Music. Nico is a producer and I help him scout new talent to work with."

Although, I did tell her the truth about the music, what I didn't tell her was that we flock cribs to get our money. I was pretty much like Robin Hood. My cousin, his homeboy DaJuan and I made our dough robbing houses and selling the goods at Swap Meets, and any money we find, we spend. Simple and fast.

"Really? That's tight. I sing a lot at school and at church so if you ever need a singer, I got you."

"Oh you got me, huh?" I smiled at her and said. I saw her shift in her seat. I got her just how I want her.

"Sing a little something for me right now then."

"Right now? I...uh....I'm shy. I can't do it on the spot like that."

"Come on, if you're going to be a real artist, then you gotta get over that. I tell you what, I'm about to call Nico now to come pick us up, but maybe this Friday we can head to the studio and you can let me here you then, cool?"

"Alright, bet." I called Nico to come and pick us up from Norm's.

We chilled and talked some more while we waited for him. Once he chirped and said he was outside, I paid for our food and left a generous tip. I saw Jade smile when I did that. She could see that I wasn't no cheap ass nigga. Her smile faded fast though and turned into a worry when her phone started going off.

[Her] "Jade! Where are you? Get home right now!"

Shit. It was my mom. I was so gone with this dude Cori that I didn't even realize that it was going on 7 o'clock and I hadn't called to check in with her. I had over ten missed calls from my mother.

"I'm sorry ma. I'm out with a friend in Lakewood and I just lost track of time."

"I didn't buy you a cell phone to lose track of time and not call me Jade. You had me going crazy not knowing where you were! Hurry up and get home!"

"Okay ma. I'm sorry. I love you." Click.

Man, she was mad.

When we hopped in the car, I asked if Nico could drop me off at home. On the way there, Cori told him I was interested in singing and asked him if I could come to the studio Friday to record something. "Yeah, her ass can come, but can she sing though?"

"Shit, I don't know, but we're gonna find out soon, huh Jade?" he joked.

I smiled, but all I could think about was the lecture I was in for once I got in the house.

[Him] I'm feeling Jade. She's so chill unlike other girls that I'm use to. When my cousin and I dropped her off in front of her apartment building, I wanted to kiss her, but I knew she was probably the type that would slap me if I did. Instead, I gave her a nice hug. When I pulled her in close, she smelled so damn good! She gave me her chirp number and I told her I'd hit her up later.

After that, I hopped in the car and Nico took me home. I was so hype. In just a couple of days, I would be getting my own whip! We hit more than enough houses in the last couple of months so I was planning to lay low for a while. Now all I needed was a bad chick riding passenger with me. Jade is cool, shit. She's got it all. But I know that niggas I run with expect more outta me. I mean, I always had the baddest bitches. But this time it was different. There was something about this girl and I was determined to find out what that was. As I laid on my bed staring at the ceiling, my phone started chirping. Damn, it was Kyra. What the hell does she want?