What we gon’ do right here is go back. Way back, . . . back into time.
Summer2003
The crowd was hyped.
The music was bumping, and the artists were ripping the stage at one of the hottest concerts Detroit had ever seen. Nas, Lil’ Kim, DMX, Outkast, The Fugees, Ginuwine, and Jay-Z performed at Chene Park for the Summer Jamz: A Taste of the 90’s concert, and it was only right that my sisters, my girls, and I attended. I was a Lil’ Kim and Ginuwine fan. She was currentlyon stage, performing her last song my sisters, Junie and Jessie, and my best friends, Aniya and Lauren, and I rapped every lyric to “Crush On You”. Since the tragic ending of Tupac (another fav of mine) and Notorious B.I.G., the rap game had been pure pandemonium. But tonight—tonight made me feel good, being amongst the crowd and witnessing dope music and an era we would never forget.
“Thank you, Detroiiit!” Lil’ Kim yelled over the crowd. We all screamed and clapped our hands, hating for it to be over.
“Yooo, this concert was all that!” Aniya yelled.
I nodded with a huge smile on my face. “It sure was.”
“You have to thank Zion for us for getting us the tickets. I had been trying to win them off the radio all week!” my sister, Junipher—or Junie—said to me as we maneuvered through the crowd.
At the very mention of his name, my smile broadened, my heart fluttered, and butterflies swarmed in my belly.
Zion Sullivan.
The hood-rich, fine-ass, get-money nigga that stole my heart in high school was now all I could think about when he wasn’t around me. I may have been in love with him since high school, but we didn’t start dating until my third year at Wayne State University.
I tried to convince him to go to college with me, but due to his rough circumstances, the streets claimed him, and his dreams of playing ball differed. I didn’t approve of his lifestyle, but I couldn’t tell a grown man what to do. The only thing I could do was continue to love and support him the way that he loved and supported me.
“Tell him yourself,” I replied, eyes going to the chocolate adonis in the parking lot, who leaned on the hood of his cream 1986 Monte Carlo with the gold-spoked rims, hanging with his crew.
Zion didn’t do concerts or big crowds, but because he knew I was there, he stayed in the parking lot to make sure my friends and I were safe. The second reason was that he was making money, serving the partygoers with whatever they needed to make their night even more hype.
The smoke from his blunt curled around his face as we locked eyes. From that point, everything seemed to disappear around us, and we were the only people out there. That gorgeous smile lifted on his face as soon as I got close enough to see it fully.
Gosh, this man was fine.
And he was all mine.
Once I made it to him, he took my hand and made me do a 360 turn, checking out my outfit.
“You trying to get a nigga hurt tonight, huh, Dinny?” he asked in that cool, deep tenor, calling me by the nickname he gave me.
I blushed because that voice always did things to me.
The gray Guess jumper short set hugged my curves like latex. My sisters and I were naturally thick, so the shorts were shorter than I thought. My hair was in braided plaits that Jessie put in this morning, and I rocked a white Guess cut-off shirt underneath my jumper, with my breasts sitting up just right. A gold herringbone necklace—courtesy of my man—bracelet, and gold rings complemented my look, along with my slouch socks and all-white Jordan Ones on my feet.
I looked every bit of the nineties theme.
Zion nodded his head in approval, then his arm came around my waist, and he bent to press those thick lips to mine. We engaged in a heated kiss, and my body relaxed into him when he grabbed two handfuls of my ass.
“Awww!” I could hear my girls cooing behind me.
I pulled away and smiled at him. “Hi,” I greeted.
“What’s up, baby. Y’all have fun?”
I nodded. “We did.”
“Yeah, thank you for the tickets, brother. I got to see my boo Ginuwine up close and personal,” Junie said, geeked.
“It’s all good, sis. Glad y’all enjoyed yourselves.”
“It’s an after-party at Rouge Park. Y’all trying to go?” Trouble, one of Zion’s best friends, asked.