I stood in front of the mirror, slid my Cuban link back on after lotionin’ up, brushed my waves real quick, then grabbed my drawers and cargo pants off the bed. Tossed on a crisp black tee and my all-black Nike Tech fleece over it, then stepped into my sneakers.
I was keepin’ shit chill tonight. Wasn’t doin’ no bachelor party or strip club. I was gon’ link wit’ Carl. He said he wanted to fall through and politic before the weddin’ type shit. Smoke, drink, and talk. I respected it.
The doorbell rang, and I glanced at the time, laughin’ a lil’ bit. Keema’s ass was right on time. I jogged down the stairs to let her in, and she barged in smellin’ like perfume and weed.
“Damn, aggy. What, you just burn in the whip? Don’t let me come home to my son high off contact, or I’m on your ass.” I told her, and she rolled her eyes.
“Nigga, whatever. Monae bouta come in, too. You lucky I even said I’d watch his ass when I had plans tonight.”
“Fuck your plans. Family is more important.”
“Unc!” Monae yelled, comin’ in behind me and slammin’ the door. She had a big ass overnight bag in one hand and a bag of Hot Cheetos in the other. “Where’s my baby?!”
I shot her a look. “Sleepin’. But you wake him up wit’ all that hollerin’, you rockin’ him back to sleep.”
“I don’t care,” she said, already kickin’ her shoes off and headin’ down the hall. “He loves me.”
Keema plopped on the couch, feet up, phone out. “You know we got him. Go do your old man kickback. Just don’t come back drunk, tryna make another one.”
“Shit, I try to make another one every night.” I laughed low, grabbed my keys and my wallet, then looked around one last time. By the time I hit the main street, I had one hand on the wheel and the other thumbin’ through my texts. I sent Nyomi a quick one.
The three dots popped up fast, then her response came through.
I laughed under my breath, that low-ass chuckle that only came out when she got slick. I stared at the message a second longer than I should’ve at a red light, smirked, and shook my head.Damn. I’m really a crash out behind her ass.
A half hour later, I was pullin’ up to the Airbnb. Shit was nice too—clean white stucco, wrap-around porch, soft-ass lightin’ out front. Carl had good ass taste, I’ll give the nigga that. He came out the side door already holdin’ a drink, sweater, and slacks on like an old head for real.
“What took you so long?” he asked.
“I had to make sure my babysitters wasn’t tryna throw a party,” I said, dappin’ him up as I stepped inside. “This the spot y’all rented?”
“Yeah. Debra wanted quiet. She’s out pampering herself for the wedding. Just us tonight.”
“Bet.” The inside was slick. I took in the neutral tones, the big open floor plan, and candles lit. I glanced at Carl and looked at him sideways. “Bruh… you got the ambiance and everything?”
He sipped his drink, shrugged. “Can’t smoke good and talk real if the vibe ain’t right.”
“I feel that.” We made our way to the kitchen, where he poured me a cup of Don Julio. I slid onto the barstool and asked if he minded if I smoked.
“No, do your thing,” he smirked, then pulled out a gummy from his pocket and chewed it slowly. “I’m not a smoker like you, but I’ll meet you halfway.”
“Halfway’s better than most.” I reached into my cargo pockets, pulled out a few blunts I’d rolled, and sparked one up.
We sat there for a second, some old school music playin’ low in the background. Carl took a sip of his drink and leaned forward. “You ready for this?”
I looked at him. “Marriage?”
“Yeah.”
I didn’t answer right away. I took another pull, exhalin’ the smoke. Noddin’ my head, I answered, “Yeah, I been ready for her since day one.”
Carl nodded like he knew that was comin’. “She can be stubborn as hell sometimes, so that might make it hard.”
“She’s easy to me.”
He smiled, then pointed wit’ his glass. “That right there? That’s why I rock with you.” We clinked drinks, sipped. Heleaned back, the edible clearly startin’ to creep up on him. “She’s smart and independent. Don’t let nobody in. I was scared she’d end up alone or worse… settling. But then you came along with your gangsta ass ways and took her off the market.”
I laughed. “Man, I had to. Ain’t nobody else for me and I damn sure ain’t makin’ room for nobody else for her.”