Chapter 9 Polo #2
Every time she seh dat, mi get vex. Cause mi woulda never try get pregnant fi trap no man. If him waan lef, him lef. Mi nuh affi tie down nobody.
“Yow Juaqína, move up,” Junior snaps, fed up.
She glares at him, then shifts her eyes to my ring… then to my belly. She shakes her head and storms off.
Gutta hisses under his breath. “Look how long the man lef yuh.”
Oh… so she and Nickoi did deh?
Now mi know why she a gwan so. When Nickoi comes back, he daps up his friends, then reaches for my hand and leads us outside. We get into the car, and I click my seatbelt.
“Yuh good, Mami?” he asks, glancing over at me.
“I’m okay, babe,” I reply, though my mind drifts back to Juaqína and the venom in her voice.
Her words echo in my head: ‘Mi a seh you breed so you can wul him.’
I chuckle to myself. Nickoi glances at me. “Wah happen?”
I shake my head, brushing it off. “Just memba something funny,” I say, and he returns his eyes to the road.
When we reach in Kingston, he pulls up outside a store and turns to me with a smile. “Come,” he says. I unbuckle slowly and step out of the car. He takes my hand, and we walk inside together. The second the workers spot Nickoi, the whole place lights up.
“The Don in the building,” I hear one of them say, grinning.
Nickoi smiles. “Wah gwan?”
“You and wifey today?” a woman asks. He nods, strolling casually through the aisle with me.
As we pass through, there’s a girl helping a customer, but the moment she sees Nickoi, her face lights up like Christmas.
“Watch Nickoi!” she exclaims, clearly too happy fi see him. That mi a seh too.
He chuckles. “Yuh Gov?” he greets, and she nods eagerly.
She’s so caught up in him, mi nuh even think she remember the man she was assisting. And mi nuh think she even notice me either.
“Mi good. Wah you want more polo shirt?” she asks sweetly.
“No sah… mi come fi get mi woman some gears,” he replies, glancing at me.
Her smile freezes. She finally looks at me, a little too long then shifts her eyes back to him. “Oh,” she says flatly.
‘Another one…’ DJ Khaled’s voice.
“Yah,” Nickoi says, stepping past her and I follow him.
We browse through a few suits for a while. They’re all cute. Real quality. But then I glance at one of the price tags.
A wah—?
Almost $18,000 fi a blouse?! A blouse?!
Mi nuhh care how rich mi be, mi nah use mi money buy dat. Yuh mad?! Babe not even seem fazed by the prices. Him just a stroll through, casually picking out clothes like it’s nothing.
Look how much polo inna him closet already, Zara… yuh really think $18,000 a go shake him?
I spot a polo hoodie two-piece and gasp when mi see the price. $105,000?!
He takes it down and I stare at him, wide-eyed. “Babe, a mistake this?” I ask, stunned.
He starts chuckling. “No,” he says, grabbing another one, this time for himself. Welp…
Mi like nice things enuh. Mi nuh like cheap tings. But Jesus Christ, $105,000 just fi one two-piece? That unacceptable.
Just shut up, Zara, and mek di man spoil yuh, cause yuh clearly see say him nuh give a damn ‘bout the price.
“Keira?” he calls, and the chocolate skinned girl from earlier steps out.
“The multicolored hoodie done?” he asks her.
She shakes her head no, disappears for a second, then comes back with one from the storeroom. I take it from her and glance at the tag. $35,000 fi a hoodie?! No sah. I quietly stand behind him while he pays, watching how everybody in the store a look pan him like him a celebrity.
He grabs the bags with ease, then looks over at Keira. “Keira,” he says with a cool nod and just like that, walks out. I follow him out.
“Who she be?” I ask as we step outside.
“One a mi fren,” he replies, and I nod even though mi already deep inna mi thoughts. All now mi deh yah a process the amount a money him just drop like nothing.
“Jesus… how you do it?” I ask, sliding into the car, still stunned. Nickoi just smiles at me as he holds my door. He chuckles softly, and I continue.
“You just spent over three hundred thousand dollars on clothes,” I say, blinking at him. “How do you even do that?”
“It’s quality Mami,” he replies smoothly.
I sigh. “You can still get quality without spending that much,” I reason.
He looks at me like I’ve grown two heads. “A Polo.”
“You still didn’t have to go so hard. And don’t get me wrong… I’m grateful, it’s just a lot.”
He smirks. “What did I tell you? Get used to being spoiled.” I smile despite myself.
A few seconds pass before I buckle my seatbelt. “And I can’t even give you anything back.”
“You make me happy,” he says, without missing a beat. That pulls a smile out of me instantly. Then he gets in.
I glance at the bags in the back. “I get you,” I murmur. “But I couldn’t do it. Spend all that on clothes?”
Neither could I. But he’s the one buying it, so…
“Zara, I just dropped nearly a mil in that store because I see how you tatami bad beats dem. And I love you. The money? It doesn’t matter if I’m using it to make you smile. I swear, I’d go back in and spend it all again if it means seeing you happy.”
I melt.
This man is surreal.
“Jesus… what did I do to deserve this?” I whisper, not even meaning to say it out loud.
Woiii… it already come out, my subconscious mutters.
“I should be the one asking that,” he says, glancing over at me. “’Cause ever since I’ve had you, I feel different. Swear, you make me feel alive again.”
Damn. I know exactly what he means. I smile warmly. Words fail me. Quietly, I unclip my seatbelt and shift over to him, hugging him before I press my lips to his. My fingers slip into his hair as I kiss him deeper. His arms wrap around me, pulling me close, like he never wants to let go.
When we finally break apart, we’re both breathless, just staring at each other.
I slide back into my seat, heart still racing, and buckle up again.
He starts the car. As we drive, I can’t stop thinking about that kiss.
Every time we touch, the feeling gets more intense, like something brand new all over again.
Girl… that’s what you’re thinking about right now?
I chuckle to myself.
Mi cyaa believe Nickoi have yuh in Polo fi days. I mean, polo fi years.