She gave me a knowing look, letting me know she understood where I was coming from. While the cashier rang up our items, I heard the bell ding, signaling that someone had entered the store. The nosy side of me glanced over to see who was coming inside. My eyes landed on Logic first, who was entertaining some birdbrained bitch, and then they fell on East. He was texting on his phone, but he must have sensed someone was looking at him because he lifted his head, and our eyes locked. His eyes scanned over me for a moment, but his stone-faced expression never changed.
As he made his way over to me, the palms of my hands began to sweat. Instead of speaking to me, he stepped in front of us and handed some money to the cashier, whom he called Ahmar.
“You can add their stuff to my tab. I need to grab some backwoods too,” East expressed coolly.
“Anything for you, brotha. You know we look out for each other,” the cashier replied.
“Thank you. You didn—”
Shaylyn stepped on my foot to keep me from finishing my sentence. She gave me a look that told me to shut the hell up.
“What are you doing over here, and why don’t you have any clothes on?” East asked. His tone was calm, but I could tell by the way his eyebrows were bunched that he was annoyed. I glanced down at my clothes and back up at him.
“I don’t see anything wrong with my clothes. Girls my age wear stuff like this all the time.” I stood there feeling a little self-conscious because of his disapproving glances. I wore a baby tee and some biker shorts, which were common for teen girls. My belly was exposed, but it wasn’t anything too major. Besides, it was hot as hell outside; jeans were simply out of the question.
“So if all the girls your age decide to be prostitutes, you’re gonna sell your pussy too?” he asked with sarcasm dripping from his tongue.
I assumed his question was rhetorical, but I felt like getting under his skin because he had gotten under mine.
“I mean, I might. Hell, I’ve been trying to find a job for months and haven’t had much luck. Maybe I should look into it. I might as well get—” Before I could finish my statement, East was dragging me out of the store by my wrist.
“What the hell is your problem?” I screeched as he dragged me like a rag doll. Once we made it toward his car, he finally let go of my hand.
“No, the better question is, what the hell is your problem? You’re out here half-naked without a bra on, and you think that shit is cute. It’s too many perverts and fraud ass niggas walkingaround for you to be exposing yourself like this. Ain’t shit cute about it.” He huffed.
East rarely got loud, so it caught me off guard. There was no denying how fine he was, even with a permanent scowl etched across his face. His deep brown eyes were alluring, accompanied by long, wispy lashes that most women would go to the shop for. He was a beautiful man. Mean as a rattlesnake, but beautiful, nonetheless.
“I didn’t think to put on a bra because I barely have any boobs as it is. Plus, I don’t have very many of them, so I was saving them for school.”
East stared at me for a moment longer, standing there with his hands tucked into his pockets. When I got a full look at him, I couldn’t stop myself from drooling. He was wearing a black graphic tee that said “Hood Disciple” with prayer hands and a gun on the front. His black Amiri jeans hung low on his waist, and I could tell he carried something heavy inside of them.
“What chu mean, you don’t have very many? You can’t wash the ones you have?” East inquired.
“We don’t have a washer and dryer at the house. My aunt Trina usually takes her family’s clothes to the laundromat down on Miller Rd. on Sundays.”
“You said she takes her and her kids’ clothes. She doesn’t wash your shit with theirs?”
His eyes bore into mine, and I felt like I was in trouble even though I hadn’t done anything wrong. I balanced my weight from one foot to the other, embarrassed to even tell him the truth.
“No, she doesn’t. She said she isn’t gonna be washing my dirty ass panties and shit. I usually wash my clothes in the bathtub, but she hid the washing powder because she said it was too expensive for me to waste,” I replied with a shrug.
“I’m confused. Logic and I bring money to the house every other week to make sure you have what you need. What the fuck does she mean it’s too expensive? Ain’t that what the money is for?” East vented.
I could tell he was getting upset by his tone, and it scared me. I always deemed East the quiet one in my brother’s friend group because he kept to himself. Even when Logic and Keynauri would flirt with a group of girls, East would rarely show much attention to them. I often wondered if it was because he had a girl ducked off somewhere, or if he just wasn’t into dating.
“I don’t know what you want me to say, East. I’m just trying to keep the peace for as long as I can.”
His eyes were filled with fire while his face remained unchanged. I watched as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a knot of cash. My eyes bulged because it was a lot of money for one person to carry around. East peeled back a few bills then handed them to me. I wanted to tell him that he didn’t have to help me, but the truth was I was in desperate need.
“Thank you,” I whispered, tucking the money into my pocket. My cheeks were red from embarrassment. I hated looking weak and desperate in his eyes.
“You don’t need to thank me. It’s my job to look out for you. If you need something, don’t keep that shit from me,” he urged.
“Hey, we should be heading home soon. You know how my momma is, and we were supposed to be back by now.” Shaylyn interrupted us, her face full of concern. She glanced between the two of us, and I could tell she wanted to ask if I was okay. I nodded to let her know I was.
“Umm, yeah. We have to get going. I’ll talk to you some other time, East. Thanks for the snacks.” I rushed out before grabbing Shaylyn’s hand and running off. We were out of breath by the time we made it back to the house. We ended up sitting on the porch and eating our snacks, while we people-watched. Therewas always something going on in her neighborhood, and we loved having front row seats to the drama.
“What was that about at Richie’s? Ol’ boy looked like he was ready to take your head off or something. I didn’t realize you two were an item.”