Chapter 1 #2
“Hey. Where is your head?”
“I’m right here. What do you mean?”
“I mean you’re literally everywhere else but here. What’s on your mind, cousin?”
“I don’t know. I guess I’ve just been doing a lot of thinking and dwelling on the same things.
” I couldn’t really put into words how I’d been feeling lately because I didn’t even know how I was feeling.
The only thing I was sure about is that life was somehow passing me by.
I always felt like something in my life was horribly misplaced.
North
Two Days Later
Three years ago today I stepped out of the streets and gave everything to my brother.
I believed I’d regret that decision and or miss the streets, but I didn’t.
The only reason I didn’t was because I stepped directly into another illegal direction.
I left drugs and went for the next best thing.
Throughout the city of Chicago, I owned and ran six illegal gambling joints that not only supplemented my income but doubled that shit.
It required me to take a lot less risk. Three of the fronts were bars while the others were mattress stores.
The only problem I had was the fact that niggas came into my joints knowing they didn’t have the capital and always ended up on payment plans.
It was the stupidest cycle that niggas could step into, but that was on them as long as I got my money.
“Yo, that’s shorty from the candle shop from the other day.” Namari broke my thoughts.
I blinked a few times looking around before my eyes immediately went to the screen that he was pointing at. “What?” I was confused as to what he was talking about.
“Goes to show how much you listen to Ema. Shorty owns the candle spot on Lake. She went in there and asked if they were hiring. Remember you told her you’d drop her off on Friday?” By now my brother and my cousin Gunz were staring at me to see if I recollected the moment.
“Nah I don’t, but good looking. Why the fuck is she even trying to get a job again after that sh—”
“She wants her own independence, and I told her that I’d go half on her car with her.”
I shook my head. “Why the fuck did you make that promise to her sh—”
My brother laughed. “I didn’t expect her spoiled ass to go find a fucking job, Nor. Shit if anything I expected her to come to you for the money.”
I shook my head. I had enough to worry about and Niema being behind the wheel wasn’t something I wanted to add to my worries.
“Fuck that, I’m about to go down there and tell shorty not to hire her.”
Now that was funny as fuck, and his stupid ass really got up and went down there.
By the time I looked back at the computer he was easing into the booth by shorty with the braids.
He must’ve said something funny because the female across from him busted up laughing.
Yeah, she was pretty as fuck and I could tell that much from the camera.
Anybody who could make laughing seem sexy was a blessed motherfucker.
Before I knew it my phone was vibrating against my desk. When I looked down I saw that it was my brother calling me. I was so focused on lil’ mama that I hadn’t even realized that my brother had his phone to his ear and had stepped away from the table.
“Hell nah,” I answered already knowing what he was about to ask.
“Don’t be a bitch. I know you see the situation through the camera.”
I laughed. “I’ll send Gunz.”
“No, you. I mean unless you settle down. You finally made that shit exclusive with Toy’s hammer nose ass.” He didn’t even give me the time to respond to him because he hung up. Then on the screen I watched him walk back over to the table.
Before I knew it, I was standing to my feet on my way down to the table.
Namari knew what to say to get under my fucking skin at all times.
He knew I wasn’t on that settling down shit because I enjoyed my freedom.
He also knew that Toy’s slick ass had been trying her hardest to get a nigga to wife her.
When I rounded the corner, I held up two fingers toward the bartender so that she could bring me my usual.
“Boss lady here said she’s going to hire Niema regardless of the fact that I asked her nicely not to,” my brother started as soon as I approached the table.
I chuckled and took shorty in. The camera did her no justice, she was fucking gorgeous.
“That’s yo’ word, Ms...”
I started right before she scooted over for me to take a seat and said her name. “Omyia, but everyone calls me Ommy.”
I nodded. I wasn’t everybody, but I had a feeling she’d see that in due time.
“Ommy and Surah, this is my grouch ass older brother North,” Namari introduced me.
I nodded in both of their directions, before my brother started back up. “But it’s my sister. Don’t I have some type of right or something to tell you not to hire her?”
She laughed. “You came over here and told me not to hire her because you didn’t want to keep your promise to her.”
Namari laughed. “I swear it ain’t that simple.”
“She seems like a good kid. Is she a good kid?” she asked, but this time she was looking in my direction.
“She’s a teenage girl with teenager thoughts,” I responded.
“And what are teenage girl thoughts?” Surah asked. She tilted her head to the side looking from me to my brother with a smirk.
“I don’t know, I’m a nigga. But I’m sure y’all females had young girl thoughts about independence tha—”
“No, I was a good girl. Matter of fact I was a daddy’s girl.” Ommy shook her head with a chuckle.
“Well, I wasn’t. As a matter of fact, I was sneaky as fuck, so I see the point,” Surah admitted.
The entire table broke out into a fit of laughter.
“Exactly, so hell nah. I am not about to break my promise, but I bet you I’ll make it hard for her to come up with her half,” Mari boasted.
“Well, I’m going to hire her. Not every teenage girl is Surah.” Omyia crossed her arms and sat back against the booth.
My brother shook his head. “That’s messed up.”
A little later on the group part of the conversation died down and my focus found its way onto Omyia. Like an introvert out of her element she gravitated toward the corner of the booth, and she was staring at her phone.
“Are you bored or something?” I asked.
She looked up and we locked eyes before a polite smile covered her lips. “No, not that at all. I’m just not used to the scene. I’m one of those people who could spend the entire day in my house if I didn’t have to leave it for work and food.”
I nodded my head because I understood that shit more than she knew. “Believe it or not, I get you. Mama gave all that social shit to his ass. I’on even like people like that.”
She laughed. “Neither do I. I’ve never met anyone who understood that. People are flawed and we expect too much from them knowing they’re flawed.”
“Never thought of it like that.”
She threw her head forward, before reaching for her drink. “I’ve been told I overthink, and I look below the surface of things that don’t even have a surface.”
“I’on think that at all. If anything, you think about the things that other motherfuckers don’t.”
“Enough about my tortured soul and unorthodox thought process.” She sat up and turned her body in my direction.
“What made you get into making and selling your' own candles?”
“Umm. I was twenty-one with a one-year-old and I didn’t want to work for anyone. I had to make it work.” She shrugged awkwardly.
I nodded my head looking at her in a whole different light.
She differed tremendously from the females that a nigga was used to.
She didn’t throw herself at me or any of that shit that females did.
Instead, she was reserved and borderline uninterested.
Something about that intrigued me but I had yet to put my finger on it.
Shit, to keep it a buck her mindset and laid back demeanor had me wanting to get to know her. I wasn't used to being curious about a female. I left that to my brother, but then again, he was never curious about their minds. All he cared about was what was between their legs.
“What about you? What do you do?”
“I own a few things to keep busy. I’on really do many other scenes.”
She nodded her head. “Understood.”
We made small talk for the next few hours before she and her girl had to go.
Lowkey, I felt odd as fuck asking for her number, because I usually never had to ask.
With her it was different though, she didn’t offer it out or write it on a napkin like most would’ve.
Instead, she was about to keep it moving, until I asked her for it.
“I hope you intend to use it.” She smiled up at me while she put her seatbelt on getting ready to pull off. Her girl had parked on the other side of the lot, so Mari walked her to her car while I walked Omyia to hers.
“I wouldn’t have asked you for it if I didn’t. That was just me who called you. Hit me up and let me know you made it safe.” I looked up from her just in time to see my brother walking up to me with the biggest smile on his fucking face.
After she pulled off, I walked over to him. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”
“Shit, I did good.” He winked.
“Fuck that sup—You planned that shit.”
“Not initially, but she gave off that you vibe.” He shrugged his shoulders as we walked back in the direction of the front door.
“Me vibe? What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
“You know free but chained the fuck up. Not old but damn sure not young? Shorty gave me that old soul vibe in the gate even when I was thinking about trying it. Her cousin is my speed though. You know I like ‘em throwing that back in the streets not listening to Anthony Hamilton,” he reasoned.
I couldn’t help but laugh because he was honest and gave one hell of a comparison.
I did like them laid back and collected more than the life of the party.
Not to say there was anything wrong with that type, but those types just weren’t for me.
He was right about one thing though, despite her age Omyia was definitely my speed.