Chapter 1 #2
“I’m always down for steak and I’m always down for seafood.”
“Alright.” I paused and thought carefully about the choices between the airport and D-Ville. “I know a good steakhouse near your brother’s spot if you’re up for it.”
“Sounds good. Let’s do it.”
“Alright. Let’s do it.” I yawned as I switched lanes again and got ready to merge.
“Thanks again for picking me up,” Dyani said quietly.
“Yeah, man, no problem.”
“So,” she shifted in her seat, “How do you know Darryl?”
“We uh…” I licked my lips and looked briefly from the road to Dyani and back. “We live in the same apartment complex,” I finished lamely.
Dyani snickered.
“So you’re in the same gang?” she guessed and didn’t wait for me to respond. “Good to know.”
I didn’t confirm or deny that. I didn’t know what Darryl had or had not told her and I wasn’t getting in the middle of his family’s business.
“So, what are you doing out here? Just visiting for a few days?”
“I’m actually planning on hanging out for a few months, at least two,” she clarified. “I’ve been thinking about relocating for a while now and Darryl thinks here may be a good fit. So I’m going to hang out, get a vibe for the city, and look at apartments.”
“Oh shit. That’s what’s up. Well, I hope you fuck with the city.”
“Thank you. Thank you.”
“So, can I ask what you do?”
“Yeah, sure. I work in art.”
“The fuck does that mean, Dyani?” I glanced at her as I stopped at a red light.
She snickered.
“Right now I work at an art museum, but if I move here I think I’m going to go into art dealing since there are way better ways to source good art in this area.”
“An art dealer,” I repeated. “I can’t say I’ve ever met one of those.”
“I’m happy to be the first.” She winked at me and I shook my head. “So, what about you? What do you do? Work with my brother?” she teased.
“Nah.” I looked forward and pulled off when the light turned green. “I work at a tattoo shop.”
“So, you work in art too?”
“If that’s how you want to take it.”
“What’s your specialty?”
“I like new school and black and gray but I dabble a little bit in color. Drawing wise, I feel like I do a lot of portraits and anime and shit. Shading comes second nature to me so I get a lot of referrals for it.”
“That’s really cool. I look at art most of the day but I have literally no creative bone in my body.”
“None?”
“I can’t draw or paint.”
“You can’t write nothing?”
“Nothing good.”
“No musical talent?”
“Nope.”
“Damn.”
“Don’t say it like that.” Dyani giggled. “You’re making me feel worse.”
“My bad.” I chuckled. “I didn’t mean it like that for real.”
“Yeah, okay, Arris.”
I smirked at the way she sang my name at the end of her sentence and flipped my blinker on to exit next to the restaurant.
I parked in the back and we got a table in less than ten minutes. We threw our orders in for steaks then sat across from each other. Dyani looked around the establishment. I looked at her.
“So you’re the baby sister, right?”
“I’m Darryl’s younger sister, yes, but I’m hardly a baby.”
“Right,” I scoffed. “You’re like what? Twenty-two?”
“Twenty-five.”
“For real?”
“Yeah, for real.” Dyani laughed. “Why do you sound so shocked by that?”
“I don’t even know,” I admitted. I shook my head and took a drink from my glass. “The way Darryl talks about you made it seem like you were much younger than him.”
“Yeah. He does that. I think it’s part of his overprotective brother thing he has going on.”
“That sounds about right.” I leaned back in my seat. Dyani sat up in hers.
She leaned forward and propped her face up on her hands. Her eyes traveled up my chest to my eyes and back down in a quick flick. I smirked because I knew that look. I licked my lips and shook my head.
Dyani was a beautiful woman but ultimately that didn’t mean shit. She was Darryl’s sister and that was all she was going to be when it came to me.
“So, how do you decide how much art is worth?” I asked in an attempt to navigate shit into safer territory.
“What do you mean?”
“Art is subjective, right? So how do you determine what art is worth the big bucks in your line of work?”
“A lot of it is definitely preference but a few different factors go into pricing. You have to look at what’s trending right now and what’s classic, how well known the artist is and their reputation, if the piece is a one of one or if there are prints available, how often the artist releases new work, materials used and the time spent creating the work.
Some people value art more the older it is too, so if it’s dated that can help or hinder the process.
” She clasped her hands in front of her and tilted her head slightly as she regarded me.
“Why? Are you thinking about buying some art?”
“Nah. Just curious.” I shrugged.
“Okay. So how do you price your tattoos?”
“It’s based on size, complexity, and labor hours. That’s it. Why? Are you thinking about getting something done?” I asked.
“Maybe.” Dyani lifted an eyebrow. “Is that an offer?”
“It can be. Just let me know.”
“Yeah, okay.”
We both looked at the waiter as he walked over with our food, placing it on the table between us.
We ate in silence. Dyani messed around on her phone so I did the same, checking in on Blake and smiling as pictures of him from his day poured in.
The steak was amazing and the sides were just as good. I paid for both of us and tipped well.
Dyani fell asleep during the car ride to D-Ville. I didn’t blame her considering she’d spent most of her day traveling.
I parked in my usual spot and sat in the car for another thirty minutes, just letting Dyani sleep while I listened to music and chilled for a little bit. When I felt like I couldn’t just sit around anymore, I reached over and lightly tapped her out of her sleep.
“Ay. Come on. Get up.” I tapped her again and watched her slowly blink herself awake.
She yawned and stretched before looking at me. She stared at me, obviously only half awake.
“Hm?”
“Let’s get you inside. I’ve got a key to Darryl’s spot and can get you in.”
“Okay.” Dyani nodded but it was obvious that she was only partially aware of what was going on.
We grabbed her bags and I took her up to Darryl’s apartment. We were both quiet while she tried to come out of her sleep induced haze. I got her bags just within the door frame and glanced around out of habit.
“Thanks again for the ride,” Dyani offered.
“Yeah. No problem.” I reached in my pocket for my wallet, pulled it out, and grabbed an old school business card.
“If you decide you’re serious about that ink, let me know.” I offered it to her.
She took it and her eyes slowly went over each word before she gazed up at me.
“If I decide I’m serious, I’ll let you know,” she said with a little smile. “I promise.”
I nodded once and took a step back out of the doorway. I pivoted and headed toward the elevator.
I froze halfway there when I heard whistling and looked back at Dyani who was hanging out of the door.
“Goodnight, Arris.” She waved at me and I gave her a nod.
“Goodnight, Dyani.”