“Always. When you’re one of six kids, you learn real quick to hold on to the shit you care about real tight before somebody else gets to it.”
“So you care about me?”
“I mean, there’s gotta be some shit there if you’re the only nigga who can…” I shrugged but didn’t finish the thought. “What time is your date with Jiselle?”
“I’m picking her up at eight.”
“You nervous?”
“As fuck,” Kiano admitted.
I chuckled. “She already likes you. If she didn’t, she wouldn’t be going anywhere with you and we both know it ain’t because of the car maintenance. Jiselle’s got more money than me in the bank. She could have gotten her own shit and paid for it cash if she wanted.”
“Then why’d you offer?”
“Because if she can rationalize it, she doesn’t have to deal with her feelings.”
“And that’s something you can relate to, huh?”
“What? I’m not an open book?”
“No,” Kiano deadpanned.
“And what’s your weakness?” I looked beneath Selle’s hood.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Well you know me and Selle have our shit with vulnerability and communication and shit. What’s yours?”
“I don’t have any issues committing or telling people what my feelings are. I wear that shit on my chest.”
“Is that because of how your parents operate?”
“Probably,” Kiano said and shifted the light when I nudged my head to the right again. “They’ve been married over thirty years. I’m their only kid. They built their company together from scratch and never let me know if they’ve regretted a second of their time together.”
“So, picture perfect then?”
“Something like that.”
“Is that what you want?”
“I at least want something close to it, the vulnerability, commitment, and longevity mostly.”
“That’s real,” I acknowledged.
“Yeah and I think that’s what my weakness is. I, uh, I can’t imagine disappointing my parents. I refuse to disappoint them and not fight for what I deserve, whether that’s my place in our family’s company or with you and Jiselle.” He didn’t wait for me to respond. “What’s the deal with your family?”
“There’s not really a deal. I love all my brothers. The older one, Elijah, is in jail. The younger two, Joss and Xy, are little angels. The brother right beneath me, Morocco, is one hell of a hard worker and has a baby, and the one beneath him, Drake, is my little twin but also a pain in my ass.”
“But you’re close to them?”
“Extremely.”
“And what about your parents?”
“My mom died a while ago and pops is in prison over some stupid shit.” I glanced at Kiano. “I’ll tell you what though. Theygave me a great representation of what I don’t want out of a relationship.”
“Which is?”