Chapter 6
Verse Six
“That’s cheating!” Kaleela tittered as Scooter tossed up both hands and groaned. “Again,” he demanded, swiping his game card.
“Awww, you’re not used to losing. Poor baby.” She pushed out her lips, taunting him. “Rell and Trav don’t whine as much as you do.”
“They ain’t betting no money either. All I heard was them trading off snacks whenever they get home. Got me for five hundred.”
“Hey, we can stop anytime, and don’t downplay the snacks at my crib. You want me to toss in a few, too?”
He ignored her, tightening the grip on the steering wheel when the start clock counted down.
When he was younger, he used to want to race for a living.
NASCAR was a young, Black boy’s dream in their neighborhood.
He’d go with his uncles to car races where plenty of money was made.
Too bad most of the cars that they sped away from were stolen cars, as they were running from the police.
His uncle Elroy had him and Donovan with him the day he went on a high-speed chase down I-95.
They were neighborhood stars on television when his uncle was arrested.
They even sat in the back of the police car until their mothers, June and Geeny, arrived.
They barely made it out of the car before they tore into their asses.
“Let’s go!” Rell roared.
“I got you this time!” Trav hooted. “Watch how many I take down!’
He and Rell were playing Break the Plate. Scooter was against it at first, but Kaleela made sure to let them know that under no circumstances were they ever allowed to touch a real gun.
“Shit,” Scooter muttered when his car hit the curb and spun off.
Kaleela squealed, catching his attention.
He wasn’t sure she realized she did. He caught himself stealing glances as she pumped her fist and laughed as her car zipped past his.
She couldn’t believe how much she pouted when they first pulled up.
Not only had she never been to Dave and Busters, but it made her feel like a kid.
With lots of urging from the boys, she’d allowed them to talk her into trying out a few of them, from City Car Driving to Dirt Rally.
He saw her hesitancy as the boys took off, looking like a fish out of water.
Since it was his idea to come, he took the lead, coaching the boys from mini basketball to duck pins until they wanted to tackle the video games.
Sweat peppered her face as she watched with fret until he bent down and whispered against her ear.
“What will it take for me to get you on one of these?”
He whipped out a knot of money, waving it in her face. She’d been counting money with her hands since she was fifteen, before Chico dropped off money-counting machines to each trap house.
“Oh, I want all that shit.” She tooted her lips, and he grinned.
“You sure?”
“Nigga, don’t get scared now.”
He wasted no time slipping his arms underneath her legs. She was terrified, but as the boys cheered her on, she wrapped her arms around his neck until she was safely lowered down in front of the steering wheel. Once seated, her confidence had returned.
“Miss Kaleela’s gone kick your butt!” Travis roared.
“We’ll see.” Travis’s prediction proved to be true because after her nerves settled, she won the first round. Five rounds later, and she was leading four to one.
“Don’t get quiet on me.” Her eyes slid toward his, watching as he tightly clenched the steering wheel. What she lacked in her legs, she made up for in her hands. Before she could challenge him for a sixth game, Rell came over, panting.
“Miss Kaleela, I’m thirsty.” Trav was on his heels, who put in his request for food. And just like that, their time alone was up.
“Hmph. Guess you’re paying since you robbed my ass,” he jested.
“Yeah, yeah. Whatever.”
She looked over at her wheelchair. She figured she could pull it over and hoist herself in it before he whispered, “You ready for me?”
While she knew what he meant, she couldn’t help but wonder if he meant more when he flashed a broad, mischievous smile.
“Yes.” She gulped. That time, her arms were more relaxed as he handled her with such great care as the boys danced excitedly, shouting out what they wanted from the snack bar.
“I got it from here,” she spoke, avoiding his eyes. Still, he didn’t move.
“Hey?” She looked up, and he lifted her chin. “Everyone needs help. Remember that.”
After they ordered and ate two pizzas, chicken wings, and Cinnabon’s, along with huge slushies, both boys sat and yawned.
Kaleela was worn out too, but admittedly, she hadn’t had this much fun ever, even if she compared it to strip clubs, block parties, and dice games where she cleaned out everyone’s pockets.
Since they’d eaten, they gathered the prizes they’d won and headed to Scooter’s truck. In no time after he pulled off, snores were heard from the back seat, especially from Rell.
“Little mans don’t play, huh?”
“Tell me about it. I thought it was because they weren’t used to getting a good night’s sleep, but a month later, and he still snores.” She smiled as his lips quivered as he pushed air out of his mouth.
“A month?”
“Yeah.” Her smile fell as she grew quiet. “I’m helping someone out,” she quietly offered.
She still hadn’t gotten around to sharing much about them, but he could tell she cared a great deal for them.
He could relate, though, since that was all he saw growing up.
On any given day, his grandmother would open her doors to a long-lost cousin, an uncle they’d never met, or a young girl from their home church.
They’d come home, and someone would be wearing their shoes or eating their Fruit Loops, and there was nothing they could do about it.
“I bet they appreciate it.”
“I guess.” She kissed her teeth. Instantly, her mood soured. “Fucking Shona.” She huffed, tapping her cellphone.
“Your sister?”
“Yeah. Talking about the parking lot is secured, that I should have come back on time. Since when did she start closing at eleven? It’s Friday.”
“That’s my bad,” he apologized. “I switched up your plans. I can take you home… I mean, if you trust me to know where you lay your head.”
Her other option was for him to take her to Reagan’s, but she wasn’t sure she’d want a stranger knowing where she lived. With her brother being a lawyer, their family had their fair share of enemies.
“Long as you don’t become a stalker.”
“Girl, please.” He flicked her off, a smile creeping on his face as the faint grin appeared on hers.
“I’m saying, you did mysteriously show up to my sister’s salon.”
“By accident,” he tossed out, perhaps a little too quickly.
“Oh, so what you’re saying is, I’m not worth the chase?”
It was quite the opposite. She was worth that and more. He just wasn’t sure if she knew that. That, and his cousin was still his cousin. He appreciated she hadn’t mentioned that, but it didn’t mean it wasn’t in the back of her mind.
“Maybe.” He blew her a kiss, and she lifted her middle finger. “Damn, you’re breaking my heart, but on the real, you are. Kinda fucked me up when you ignored me.”
She sat up and looked straight ahead. She could tell him the truth, that she was in her feelings about her last meeting with her sponsor, then hearing Donovan’s song, or she could let them both sit in their thoughts. She chose the latter until it was clear he was waiting for a response.
“It wasn’t about you, the reason I ignored you.” She lifted her eyes, giving them to him before she swiftly looked his way. “If it counts, I’m glad you showed up”—she lifted both fingers, forming quotation marks—“accidentally.”
“So that’s the version you plan to tell our future children?” he jested, tugging on her chin.
“Whoa, slow down, nigga.” She smiled. He did too, and it felt new, exciting even. It was also the first time she’d actually looked at a man in a romantic gesture and not cringe.
Most of her memories with men were wrapped in the shape of lollipops and ice cream cones she licked as she was coached to sit on their laps.
That soon morphed to the tickling of her belly or the slithering of their fingers between her legs.
She’d suppressed those painful memories, never telling a soul, not even Shonasia.
She hid in plain sight, wearing baggy clothes, then ultimately, any kind of gear the guys she hung out with wore.
“Hey?” he called as she grew silent. “Where’d you go?”
“Nowhere. Just tired,” she lied. She never wanted him to see her as damaged goods as she tucked those dark secrets away. “I did have a great time today, though.”
“Enough to do it again?”
She smiled, wondering what the chances were of the two of them being friends or more without friction or tension. She was scared, but not of his cousin. No, she was deathly afraid of him, liking him, wanting him.
“What do you plan to tell your people?” She had to ask because, at some point, it would have to be explained if whatever they were doing evolved into more.
“Get out your head, Kaleela. I can see that negative shit swirling around in your head. Whatever we’re doing, we define that shit. A motherfucker can’t dictate how we move. My cousin for sure can’t.”
“You say that now.”
“Fuck all that. Did today make you happy?” He lifted both brows, waiting before she nodded her head up and down.
“Then fuck them. My job was done.”
“True. Still, this is new.” There was that word again. She wasn’t so sure before, after the number Chaney ran on her, but she did like the way he made her feel.
“New is good.” He winked. “Now, buckle up and put in your address.” He tossed her his cell and grinned.
“Your sister was right. You do think you’re everyone’s daddy.”
“Good morning,” Scooter whispered, his lips in her hair. She stretched, then rolled over with closed eyes, her chin resting on his chest.