THE SONG LYRICS USED BELOW ARE IN NO WAY AN ATTEMPT AT COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT. THESE ARE JUST REALLY GREAT SONGS! **ORIGINAL COPYRIGHT OF THIS BOOK DID NOT INCLUDE ANY OF THE SONG LYRICS USED IN THIS CHAPTER OR IN ANY SUBSEQUENT CHAPTER.**

CHAPTER 13

Great. It took thirty minutes just to do my hair. As it was, I had it pulled into a long, tight braid. It would take ten minutes just to unbraid it. I shoved the phone off the bed. Collin's dumbass wasting my damn time, always calling about nothing. Just one more reason why I couldn't stand his ass.

I ran down the hall to the community bathroom and called to Shayna that the boys were picking us up in an hour. Then I hurried back to the room and gathered up my things before sprinting back to the bathroom and jumping in one of the showers.

About an hour and five minutes later, we were late. My fault. Shayna went downstairs to tell the boys that we were on the way, but came right back up and reported that they weren't even there yet. Five minutes after that, we descended the stairs to find Kenney and Rob, aka Mo'Betta and Drama waiting outside on the steps. Drama looked very cool leaned up against the rail, one foot up, looking out over the campus reflectively.

I had started liking his style more and more. He was tall, a perfect shade of mahogany brown and way better looking than Kenney. He actually probably could have been a model himself if he had played his cards right. Instead he was a rebel in its truest form, always ready to say the opposite of what anyone else said just because. With his hair now in short, even locks, pulled neatly back into a rubber band and...with his fresh to def, button down black...silk....shirt tucked into pressed khakis, I made the silent decision that the boy was trying too hard. Not only that, but he couldn't dress worth a crap. The funny thing was, he still looked good anyway.

I looked over at Shayna, who was also tall, dark and beautiful and decided that they made a perfect match. They were complete opposites, but also exact compliments of one another. He was outspoken, but never too loud. She was quiet and refined unless there was something that she really needed to get off her chest, in which case she was louder than anyone I knew. He was energetic and embraced every moment as it came. She was laid back and took in every last detail of all that was going on around her, yet she always appeared to be not too impressed with any one thing in particular.

Most people never really realized how observant Shayna was, since she opted to keep most of her opinions to herself, but I knew when I took one look at Rob that she was only thinking one thing.

"He. Is. So fine!" she leaned over and whispered to me. "But the boy can't dress for 'ish. I wonder where he's from?"

I tried not to laugh. "I knew that's what you were thinking!" I pinched her arm playfully. "Maybe you can help him out sometime."'

"Definitely."

"You know he's only dressed like that for you. I've never seen him in anything but Phat Farm and Tims."

She chuckled. "Ya boy looks all shined up, though...as usual."

I looked over at Kenney. Now this one, he could dress his butt off. If I hadn't already known better, I would have taken that as suspect. But I guess with four sisters, a brother can't help but pick up a few things. He was always very clean and neat for days, with short hair and a clean-shaven face, a direct contrast to his best friend's wild style and perfectly manicured goatee.

Tonight, for some reason, Kenney was wearing his "smart" glasses and khakis, like Drama. What was it with these southern dudes and their khakis? At least Kenney had on a crisp navy blue 100% cotton (yes I could tell) button down shirt that actually went with the khakis, and also matched the not exactly warm fall air. And his shirt was untucked, which made him automatically way less Poindexter than his unexpectedly Jafaican-looking counterpart. Kenney did look kind of "spiffed up," though, as my girl Shayna put it. As a matter of fact, I almost missed a step looking at him so hard. Shayna was the only one who caught it.

Drama's face lit up when he saw my roommate, but Kenney wasn't as forgiving. He sighed loudly and looked at his watch. "Females, mayne! Always late."

"Don't even try it," I snapped. "Shayna just came out here five minutes ago and didn't see naire an one a you. So don't even go there."

Kenney chuckled and looked over at Drama, who was still looking at Shayna.

"You look beautiful." Who knew a guy named Drama could fall so quickly for a woman who lived in such a drama-free zone?

I looked over at her, too. She did look nice, opting for a trendy look with her usually curly/ this time straight hair out and flowing, black boot cut pants and complimentary low cut black top. She also had on low heeled boots with a gold chain around one of the ankles, a perfect compliment to the pants. She really didn't need any heels at all, already reaching the five foot ten arena.

Unlike Drama, Shayna didn't just look like a model, she actually was one.

I, myself, was more New York that Paris. With my black miniskirt and calf high "ho boots" as Shayna liked to call them, I just knew I was fly. My four inch heels almost put me at the same height as a barefoot Shayna.

Almost.

I could tell by Kenney's expression that he liked what he saw. I grinned slyly at him and switched out towards the parking lot. I glanced back at Kenney just in time to see him flick a quick peek down my backside. That's all that boy ever thought about back then.

"You both look very nice tonight," Drama, who was much more tactful than his no-sense having counterpart, said as he unlocked the doors for all of us. He made a special effort, though, to run back around to the passenger side and personally open the door for Shayna. Kenney opened the door for me.

"I like your locks," Shayna said as she ran her hand softly over the back of Drama's head.

He kind of leaned in towards her and smiled. "Thanks. I decided to try something different and see where it takes me." Then his eyes lingered with hers and he flashed a few extra teeth.

As we drove over the bridge that linked Hampton to Norfolk, a nearby Navy town, I looked out over the water and marveled at how beautiful the moon was as it reflected against the black waves, and how big the ships appeared to be with their shadows looming over us in the dark. For no reason at all, I thought about Collin at that stupid creek and my whole demeanor changed.

"What are you thinking about?" Kenney asked, his glasses now tucked into his shirt pocket. I realized that he must have been watching me the whole time.

"Oh...nothing."

"You alright?"

I gave him a fake smile. "Yeah."

He leaned over close enough for me to get a whiff of his Polo scented skin. He always smelled like Polo soap and Tide laundry detergent. I fought the urge to lean in closer to get a better whiff. "You know that smile never works on me, right?"

I looked back out of the window. "I know."

"Is it 'Lemons and Sugar'? He still phone stalking you?"

I had played Collin's pitiful messages for Kenney and Shayna and made fun of them so many times over the past couple of weeks that, by now, Kenney couldn't help but laugh at the poor guy, too. The thing was, that night I felt kind of bad for being so mean to Collin. He had, after all, at one time been the love of my life. And really, if you thought about it, he had never done anything to me that was so bad that I should never speak to him again. In fact, most of the drama that existed between us at that point, I had conjured up in my own mind over the years.

"He's not so bad," I said empathetically.

"Oh really?" Kenney sat back in his seat and I caught a glimpse of Shayna looking at me in the rearview mirror.

I chose silence after that and watched as the harmonious black abyss transformed itself into an unforgiving slab of concrete, which suddenly appeared to be encasing us from every direction. As we entered a tunnel that was way too small to have the people in it driving as fast as they were, I grabbed onto the door handle and discreetly held my breath. I told myself not to panic as we zoomed between the narrow yellow lines, having never been one for tight spaces, and silently promised myself that I would never go to Norfolk again.

Actually, at the time I was an all-out claustrophobic, but had a strict policy against letting other people know any of my fears. And there were many...and they all got worse over time. When I closed my eyes tight and tried to suck it up, Kenney took my hand and gave it a light squeeze. I smiled at him appreciatively.

Like I said, the boy could read me like a book.

When we pulled into the parking lot, Kenney suggested that we park in the back and then we followed him to a door that must have led to the kitchen. Shayna looked at me quizzically. I had already given her the rundown of where we were going and that Kenney's aunt owned the place, but this was going just a little too far to avoid showing the fake ID's that I knew we all had. I felt like I was in the middle of a bad gambling movie.

She leaned over to me and whispered, "Think we need a password?"

I shook my head. "Probably just a secret knock."

We both laughed out loud, then quickly quieted down when an older, tall, elegant and beautiful woman opened the door and grinned at us kindly. I liked the way her crow's feet crinkled around her eyes when she smiled. We all knew immediately that this must be Kenney's aunt.

It was too obvious that they were related when we saw the Creole-esque features - even though Kenney swore up and down that they were all 100% Afro-Amerikahn, as he put it - and the point blank no holds barred face, masked with a gentle southern hospitality grin that she and her nephew both wore at all times. Really, she looked so much like Kenney that she could have been his mother. I immediately began to picture the rest of Kenney's family and knew right then that he was every bit the multifaceted, good natured and quick tempered man that he showed and hid himself to be.

"Well hey there, my favorite nephew." She gave him a big hug and stood back to give us all a once over. "You must be Natasha." I looked back at her and smiled in surprise. She shook my hand, then my roommate's and hugged Drama. I didn't know how to feel about the fact that she knew us all by name, not just me.

Aunt Jasmine sat us in a dark booth in the corner, and then took our drink orders. When Kenney tried to order a Long Island Iced Tea, she just looked at him. She didn't even have to say anything. He quickly changed his order to a regular iced tea and tried to play it off by saying "Nothing carbonated. Gotta keep the skin right," and ran a hand smoothly over one side of his baby soft face. Then, realizing what he had forgotten, he reached into his front pocket and pulled out his "smart glasses," putting them on as if he were having trouble reading the menu. I guess he thought they would make him look more sophisticated or something, being in a jazz club and all.

His aunt fell out. "Kenney! You still doin' that? Y'all, he's been wearin' fake glasses his whole life. Used to walk around wearin' his sister's Mr. Potato Head glasses when he was about this high." She put her hand roughly to the height of a three year old and pinched his cheek. "So cute." Then she walked off, still shaking her head and grinning.

After we finished laughing at him, Shayna turned to Drama and asked, "So Rob, can I call you Rob?" She looked over at me and gave a devilish grin. He just smiled and gave her his undivided attention. I think he would have let her call him "donkey butt" if she wanted to. The boy was already in love. He didn't care what she called him, as long as she called him. "Where you from?"

"Richmond."

"Really?" I couldn't help but blurt out, "No wonder!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" he now turned to face me.

"Well, I was getting a weird northern/southern vibe from you." I involuntarily eyed his khaki/silk combo, "So that makes perfect sense that you'd be from there. You know this is the only southern state that got niggas swearin' they from up north."

Drama bypassed my comment altogether and went deep without warning. "You know what I don't get, sistah, is why we insist on callin' each other 'nigga.'."

I looked over at Shayna, who gazed back at me in agreement. "Yeah, Natasha, why is that?" She had gotten on me several times for doing that very thing.

"C-o-n-spiracy," I gave her my usual response and rolled my eyes.

"Little do you know, young sis, it is." Drama accepted his Sprite and cranberry juice from the waiter, while Kenney handed his tea back, and continued. Shayna sipped on her Club Soda and looked like she was hanging on to Drama's every word. Finally, somebody that was on the same bull she was always on. "We Black folk have a secret conspiracy against each other. Like crabs in a barrel. Always thinking of new and innovative ways to keep each other down. Calling each other the 'n' word is just one of many."

"Aw damn!" I threw my hands up and pushed my virgin daiquiri to the side. "The part that pisses me off the most is that I can't even argue." I shook my head at Drama. "I thought you were about to come at me with some old bull. Now I just feel bad, kid..."

He smiled. "My job is not to make you feel bad, young. My job is to inform...and move on." He nodded wisely at me, and then looked over at Shayna. "Wanna dance?"

She looked doubtful. "But nobody else is dancing."

"They're not...yet."

"I don't know..." she looked over at Kenney, who nodded and waved them away.

"Go ahead. That's really the only reason my aunt lets us in here all the time. We get the party started."

"Ok..." Shayna stood up and followed Drama out to the dance floor.

Kenney and I watched them for a while. They were really cute together. It seemed as though they'd known each other much longer than a few days. When a slow song came on and Drama pulled Shayna to him, the gleam from her smile made its way through the darkness and all the way over to where we were sitting.

"They must really like each other," Kenney said with an odd look on his face.

"Why do you say it like that?" I turned to him and took a sip of my daiquiri. I almost choked on it when his aunt suddenly reappeared to personally deliver him his iced tea.

I don't know why he even thought that handing it back to the waiter and saying, "Hey my man, I ordered a Long Island Iced Tea," was going to work.

"Son," she said, giving him a hard look. "You know I love you to pieces." She put a gentle hand on his shoulder and slammed his drink down in front of him. "But if you ever try to pull that again in my place of business, I will personally kick your scrawny little butt all the way back to your mama's house, you hear me?"

Kenney threw his head back and laughed. "Aw auntie! Why you tryna embarrass me in front of the ladies?"

"Aw nephew," she countered. "Why you tryna get my liquor license revoked just so you can show off for your girlfriend?"

With that she marched off. I didn't know whether to laugh or pretend like I hadn't heard any of that. In the end, I laughed.

Kenney looked over at me and chuckled too. "We go through this every time I come in here."

"Oh yeah?" I asked. "I don't know why she keeps letting you come back, then."

"What?"

"Seriously. You could get her license taken away."

"Naw, naw," he sat up straighter and tried to explain. "I would never do that. She's my favorite aunt. I just like giving her a hard time. Believe me, she always knows what I'm about to do before I do it. She's the oldest of five, pulled every trick in the book, and got away with it. All of it. And then, on top of everything else, she still came out looking like the good one." He grinned like he was star struck. "It still pisses moms off to this day how people were always asking why she couldn't be more like her sneaky, angel faced, no-good sister."

"So if you know you won't get away with it, then why do you keep trying? You just like her to embarrass you in front of your women like that?"

He paused and looked at me oddly. "My women?"

I flushed. "No. Not talking about me. I mean the other girls that you bring in here."

"Well..." he slowly began to smile. "I'm a hustler, baby. You can't play me in front of the lay-dies. My little pranks and childlike innocence only turns 'em on more."

"Childlike innocence? Kenney..." I giggled and shook my head. "You and your aunt sound like you might be two peas in a pod."

"More than you'll ever know." He chuckled and opened a folded up napkin that the waiter had delivered with his drink the first time. I know that the note scribbled on it wasn't intended for my eyes, but I couldn't help but lean over to see what it said.

The first question was, "Hey Dr. Mackenstein, wassup wit THIS one? You tryna holla?" I chuckled at the fact that she wrote just like she talked, and then looked away quickly, like I was laughing at something else. It also said, "I like her." The second question was, "Are you coming to church with me on Sunday?"

Under the first question he wrote, "No. I was, but she shut that down real quick," and under the second he wrote, "Depends. Are you cooking afterwards?" Then smiling, he handed the note to the waiter, who just happened to be hovering around for no reason, and asked him to give it to Jasmine.

"I think he likes you."

"Who?" I looked around.

"The waiter."

"Kenney you are such a blocker! You think everybody likes me."

"Well..." he looked down at my boobs like obviously, then looked away quickly.

When he didn't say anything else, I decided to get nosy. "So...why do you keep looking at Drama and Shayna like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like you're jealous or something."

"No I don't."

"Yes you do."

He looked over at me. "I'm not jealous."

"So...do you have a crush on Shayna or what?" Then I looked away. For some reason I didn't want him to answer.

"No. I have crush on you." He gave me that slick, Cheshire Cat grin. The one that somehow managed to make him look more good than bad.

I smiled and scanned the room. "Such a player."

"I told you, I'm a hustler baby. I just want you to know..." he started singing. "It ain't where I been, but where I'm 'bout ta go..."

"Oh goodness!" I scooted away from him. "I didn't know I was sitting next to Ricky Bell over here. You, my friend, are no Pharrell."

"Oh! So you got jokes now!" he laughed.

"Just your singing." I leaned my shoulder into him and laughed, too.

He started singing again. "Lay dooown...and tell me what's on. your. mind... What exactly did, he, do...to make you cryyyy this time..."

Now that one I wasn't expecting. I looked over at him sharply. "What?"

"What's on your mind, kid?"

"What do you mean?" I leaned back and tried to get a better look at his face in the candlelight.