13. Harli
Harli
I sat off to the side of the road on my bike as I waited for Trench.
He’d told me twelve, but somehow he was almost thirty minutes late.
A part of me was thinking that he’d lied just to get me out of his face.
I had to admit he’d gotten his lick back for me walking out on him at dinner.
Just as I was about to crank my bike, I saw a headlight coming over the hill.
When I realized it was him, I couldn’t do nothing but smile.
“Look, we doin’ one race, and that’s it,” he commanded, causing the smile that once graced my face to disappear. Clearly he was here to handle business, and that actually hurt me.
“Yeah, ok,” I agreed as I moved my bike over to him. “You doing the countdown?”
“Bet.”
When I looked over at Trench, I noticed how focused he was.
I didn’t expect it to get all the way to the race because I just knew he’d missed me as much as I missed him.
Clearly that wasn’t the case, and this nigga was overly done with my ass.
Since it was my fault that we’d ended on the terms that we did, it was only right I did everything I could to try and fix it.
As he counted down, I rubbed my lucky pendant before gripping my handlebars.
He yelled out, “Go!” and we both took off like bats out of hell.
I wanted him to let me win so we could rekindle a flame that was put out too early.
However, Trench had other plans and meant business as he began to pull away from me.
When I saw his taillights, sadness washed over my body as realization sank in that he wanted nothing else to do with me.
He crossed the designated finish line before I did, and I couldn’t wrap my brain around it.
Soon as I crossed over, I snatched my helmet off to catch my breath.
Out the corner of my eye I noticed him leaning on his bike, watching me.
“Another race,” I demanded as I stormed over towards him.
“I told you one race only,” he reiterated as I stood in front of him.
“Nawl. Double or nothing.”
“Double or nothing?”
“Yeah!”
“And what exactly are we racin’ for now?”
“Race me for yo’ heart.”
“You can’t be serious right now.”
“Dead serious. Race me for yo’ heart. Right now, come on.”
“Man, I ain’t racin’ you for my heart.”
“Why not? You really don’t give a fuck about me anymore?”
“Man, I ain’t racin’ you for some shit you already got.”
“What you sc… wait, I already got it?”
“Yeah, even though you two stepped on my shit, but yeah you still got it.”
“Then why you beat me in that race like that?”
“Because then I would get what I wanted, and I don’t want to date you, Harli.”
“You don’t?”
“No, I don’t. I want to be with you.”
I couldn’t even say anything else to that as the tears started to drop at a rapid pace.
He got off his bike and wrapped those big arms around me.
That didn’t do nothing but make my ass cry even harder.
Here I was thinking that was really the end of us, and he wanted to make it official with a bitch.
His hands fell under my chin to bring my eyes to his eyes.
I didn’t even care I was crying in front of him because these were tears of joy.
“You’re mine, ya hear me?” he expressed as he looked into my eyes.
“Yes, bae, I hear you,” I happily agreed before he brought his lips to mine and kissed me tenderly.
“Let’s get out of here because we got some catchin’ up to do. And I wanna start by breakin’ in my bed at my new condo.”
“Oh my gosh! You finally got your place! I’m so proud of you.”
“Yep, let’s go see if the neighbors gonna know my name when I’m done with you.”
The light from my phone grabbed my attention as I laid on Trench’s bare chest watching the sky brighten up.
As I reached for my phone, the soreness between my legs reminded me of my night.
The neighbors, in fact, did know his name once he was done with me, and I had no shame about it.
My phone had stopped ringing when I finally reached it.
When I saw that it was a missed call from Dice, I quickly sat up in bed and called her back.
“Hello, I’m so sorry I missed yo’ call,” I apologized as soon as the call connected.
“I hope y’all ready to make some big money with the big dawgs,” Dice declared. “We looked at the drive. Gang of Roses has to agreed to make you guys our protégé. We out the game, but we are always here for backup if needed.”
“Wait, we’re in?”
“Yep. Y’all just gotta come up with a name where the Rose legacy lives on.”
“That’s no problem. We can do that!”
“Good, I’ll get up with you soon, rookie.”
When the call ended, I wanted to scream so bad but decided against it because Trench was still asleep.
After I sent a meet-up text to our group chat, I hopped out of the bed and into the shower.
Trench’s condo was beautiful, and with us getting on with Gang of Roses.
I couldn’t wait to eventually move into one of these condos with Ryda.
When I got out of the shower, Trench was still asleep, so I left him a handwritten note.
It felt good waking up wrapped up with him , and I couldn’t wait to do it again, but right now the money was calling.
As I was riding down the canopy road, I couldn’t wait to share the good news with my girls. When I arrived, it wasn’t long before they were pulling up behind me. I was surprised Ryda was on time because she hated waking up early.
“Good morning, ladies,” I beamed as we walked into the clubhouse.
“Look, Harli, just get to it,” Ryda rolled her eyes. “Not all of us got cracked like an egg this mornin’. I am ready to get back in my bed, and if this a meetin’ we could’ve had on email, don’t be surprised when I pull a Viola Davis and walk the fuck out. Now what is it?”
“Ok, cranky pants. I just wanted to tell y’all to y’all faces that we are takin’ over for Gang of Roses.”
“They wanna bring us into their fold?” Kruz gasped.
“Yep, they just want us to come up with a name that keeps the rose legacy alive,” I explained. “Y’all got any ideas?”
“It gotta be something good because we the new wave and we bringin’ the fuckin’ heat,” Kruz suggested.
“It gotta suit us because we are some young turnt bitches with fiery personalities, so it can’t be weak,” Ryda added as she paced the floor. “What about Fire and Roses? We’re bringin’ the heat like Kruz said, and it keeps the rose legacy alive.”
“I can’t even lie, I’m fuckin’ with it,” I smiled.
“Me too,” Kruz agreed.
“Look out, Gang of Roses because Fire and Roses are comin’ to motherfuckin’ take over,” Ryda celebrated. “I guess this a good reason to call a early morning meetin’. Just let this be the last damn time you do that, Harli. Or you will be down a gang member.”
“And yo’ ass will be out of a fuckin’ job.”
“Aht, aht, I’m just playin’. ‘Cause I ain’t tryin’ to fuck up my paper.”
“Exactly. With us comin’ under their wings, we got to be prepared for any and everything. I know what you ladies are capable of and I couldn’t be prouder. But we gotta make sure that we show them that the risk they are takin’ is worth it.”
We all stood there with smiles on our faces as we looked at one another.
Life didn’t deal either of us a fair hand, but the fact that we never gave up shows that we’re as tough as roses.
The fire inside of us fuels us each in different ways.
My girls were my family, and family looked out for each other, and I knew they had my back even when I didn’t have my own.
Our sisterhood was forged in fire, but we bloomed like roses.
This is only the beginning for the Fire and Roses gang.
The End…
But these ladies are not done…
Up Next:
Fire & Roses: Ryda by Ronnie G.