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RECAP:

"You can sweet talk me all you want, suga, but I see what I see and I know what I know. With me you'll always feel important. With him you'll always feel like a second stringer."

Who did this kid think he was? He just met Collin and knew absolutely nothing about what Collin and I had...before I ever even knew Kenney existed.

"What a hater!" I laughed and gave him a friendly nudge.

Kenney laughed, too. "I'm just sayin'." He shrugged. "Mark my words. You'll end up with him first." Then he gave me a devilish grin. "But I'll be your forever and last, Tashi. Bet."

"Anyway..." I copped a fake attitude and started walking towards the door.

He followed me. "Bet. Word is bond, son. Na-mean ked?"

I turned around and scrunched up my nose at him. "Uh-uh! That's New York. People do not talk like that in Baltimore."

"Yes y'all do talk like that up top...son" he chuckled, knowing that I hated when he tried to sound like he was from up north. "I been to Baltimore, son. And that's how you's guys talk, son."

"Shut up," I laughed. "You always think you know everything!"

"I do know...more than you think, darlin'." He looked over at me. "You'll learn." He gave my shoulders a squeeze. "Stick wit' me kid. One day, you'll learn..."

CHAPTER 10

I was sitting by the waterfront a few weeks later when I saw Collin walking towards me in the distance.

Here we go, I thought. Maybe if I sit really still he won't see me and will keep right on stepping.

Of course, that didn't work. I should have known that he would walk right up on me. That's just the kind of guy he was.

"Hey."

"Hey." I looked up at him and squinted at the sunlight bouncing off of the water behind him. What did he want? This was the one place in all of Hampton where I could be submerged in total peace and here comes this fool messing it up for everyone.

"It's nice out here." He looked over the water reflectively and sat down beside me. "So..."

"So..." Did I ask you to sit down?

I wanted to say that so bad but didn't. Instead I looked back out over the water, wishing that I could make a swim for it.

"Well," he turned to me and put his hand lightly on my wrist. When I looked over at him, he quickly pulled it back. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry."

A faint smile flickered over my lips, but I still didn't change my expression. "Sorry for what?"

"You know, that whole bracelet thing."

"That whole bracelet thing?" I asked, like that was the dumbest thing I'd ever heard. "Collin..." I turned to him with a chuckle. "I've moved on."

But when I went to look him in the eye, I realized that nothing could have been further from the truth. There he was, the love of my life...well, not so much anymore, but my first love at least, sitting only inches from my grasp. His eyes met mine and for some reason, I found it impossible to look away.

"Moved on?" He actually looked a little hurt. "Moved on from me or..."

"I..." I didn't know what to say. "I'm about to be late." I fumbled with my jacket and tried to stand up. He grabbed my hand and pulled me back to him.

"Wait."

"No." I snatched my hand away. "I have to get to practice."

"Just..." he patted his pockets. "Just a second. I have something for you."

Curiosity got the best of me and I sat back down beside him. He appeared to pull something out with two hands and made two fists.

"Pick one."

I rolled my eyes. I didn't have time for this. "Look Collin..."

"Ok, ok! Here," he opened his right hand.

"What the hell..." I fell out laughing. Some little cheap fake gold heart/Cupid looking thing was not what I expected to see.

"It's a charm." When I didn't stop laughing, he went on hurriedly. "Like for the bracelet I bought you."

Slowly, it dawned on me what he was talking about.

"Are you serious?" I didn't know how to respond. Who did this kid think he was? And how romantic did he really think it was to buy me some little cheap piece of fourth grade crap for a bracelet that he bought me and some other trick almost four years ago? Screw that! This fool wasn't getting off that easy. I shook my head at him in disbelief.

"Thanks," I managed.

He handed me the charm, face fallen, obviously finally coming to his senses and realizing that this was a very bad idea.

"So anyway..." he sounded like he didn't really even know what to say after that. "...sorry about that other girl and... everything... I never meant...to treat you like that. So...that's it. And, and happy birthday."

I gave him a real smile then. "Thanks," then I stood up and walked off.

When I got to the gym, Kenney was standing out front kissing some big-booty, Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition chick with a jacked up face. Well, maybe her face wasn't that jacked up, but you know the type. The girl had a bangin' body but was not cute when you walked up on her. I knew she was going to have a bad attitude just by looking at her. Girls like that always did. Low self-esteem, I guess.

Kenney must have felt somebody watching them, and I must have been looking harder than I thought because he suddenly pulled away and looked over in my direction. I quickly averted my eyes and pretended not to see them. My face was burning with embarrassment and...jealousy? Who knew? Maybe that's why I had been hating so hard on the girl.

"I'll hollatchu later," I heard Kenney call to the girl as he ran to catch up to me. I sped up to bypass the awkward situation. "I know you see me, gul!" he laughed and jogged up beside me. "What's with the duck and dodge? And more importantly," he continued with a grin, "what was up with that look you just gave me?"

I stopped and turned to him. "What look?"

"You know the one," he teased. Then, more seriously he asked, "What's on your mind?"

I blushed and looked away. I hated the way he could read me every single time.

"Nothing...nothing. I guess," it was my turn to grin, "I guess I was just thinking how long it's been since anybody kissed me like that."

Kenney had an unreadable look on his face. It was quickly replaced with a flirtatious smile. "C'mon girl... All you gotta do is ask."

I can't tell you why my heart fluttered the way it did right then, or why at that moment that's exactly what I wanted to do...ask. I passed the feeling off as just the length of time between when my last kiss had been, not counting Kenney, and when my next kiss was going to be...if ever.

Then again, there was also this crappy little charm that kept poking at me through my back pocket. I pulled it out and looked at it, smiling involuntarily. Maybe Collin wasn't so bad. He did remember my birthday, after all. That was about a hundred points in my book.

"What's that?" Kenney's fingers brushed against mine as he held my hand to get a better look. A spark jumped between us.

"Oh nothing. Just this little piece of crap Collin gave me."

"Collin?"

"Yeah. I saw him at the waterfront right before I came over here."

"Hmm." Kenney nodded thoughtfully.

I liked when he did that. Like somebody's disapproving father, but at the same time, he knew better than to say anything that he was thinking out loud.

"What, Kenney?"

"Nothin'."

And that is what I liked about him the most. He always knew exactly when to keep his mouth shut.

"Hey..."

"Yes?" I looked up at him and was drawn to the concern in his eyes.

"You ok?"

"Oh, yeah..." I actually hadn't realized that anything was bothering me until he asked. "He just asked if I was still mad at him."

"Mad about what?"

"That's what I said! Can you believe that fool was asking about some nonsense that happened fifty years ago?"

"Dag gul. You that old? I thought you was still a youngster." Kenney was constantly finding new ways to revisit my little ID incident at Shipwreck. I didn't think he'd ever let me live that one down. He suddenly swooped me up in his arms. "By the way...happy birthday, legal girl."

"Aw!" I was thoroughly impressed, having only told him when my birthday was once when we first met, and hugged him back. "Thanks Bud. You remembered!" Then I pushed him away. "Chump!"

"Hell's wrong witchyou?" he moved away from me.

"How come you didn't say anything earlier? I thought you forgot."

"Ah," he nodded and placed a hand to his heart. "I apologize. Alright..." he nodded again. "From now on I'm calling you at midnight on every birthday for the rest of your life."

"Oh...so...now I'm gonna know you for the rest of my life?"

"Yeah darlin', I told you. Me and you, ride or die to the end...we was meant to be."

I smiled and looked away. For some reason I brought Collin up again.

"Collin gave me this for my birthday."

"Hmm..."

"He bought me this butt ugly bracelet back in high school. But then I saw this other bitch wearing the same p.o.s. charmless bracelet one day and, well, you know the rest."

He chuckled humorlessly and went along with the subject change. "So he never bought you any charms for it?"

"Well..." I held out the Cupid/heart.

We both laughed.

"So what did you say when he apologized?"

"That I'm over it." We both chuckled again and then he was serious.

"Want to get together later on? I'm having a little set in my room tonight. Well, me and my roommate. You should come and bring your roommate."

"Ok, Bud...but if we get there and it's just us, we're outta there."

He chuckled again and kissed me on the cheek. I wished he would kiss me on the lips. "Happy birthday, baby. See you later."