Chapter 20
Greystone City
I had just clocked out and was makin’ my way through the parkin’ lot, diggin’ in my bag for my keys while my body reminded me real quick that I had been sittin’ and dealin’ with people all day.
The call center wasn’t hard work, but it was the type of job that drained you in a different way. It was a whole lot of talkin’, a whole lot of fake patience and a whole lot of people callin’ in already mad like you personally did somethin’ to them.
My shift was always the same, which was from eight in the mornin’ to three-thirty, and by the time I clock out, I be ready to not hear nobody voice but mine.
Some days be chill, some days be full of folks complainin’ about bills and actin’ like I could magically fix their life over the phone. I learned how to keep my tone sweet and my attitude in check, but that ain’t mean it didn’t take somethin’ outta me.
Still, I couldn’t even complain too much, ’cause that job was the reason I was finally in my own place. And that alone made everything worth it.
I smiled to myself as I hit the unlock button and heard my car chirp, thinkin’ about my apartment.
My apartment…
That still felt new rollin’ around in my head like that.
I had gone ahead and got a two-bedroom instead of a one, and everybody kept askin’ me why, but it made sense to me.
If Kay’Lo and Toni ever pulled up with the baby, I wanted them to have space.
I wanted it to feel like somewhere they could actually kick it, especially ’cause they had been so good to me. Plus, I liked space.
I also liked walkin’ in my own shit and not hearin’ nobody else movin’ around. I liked bein’ able to come home, take my clothes off, throw on somethin’ comfortable and just exist without nobody in my ear.
As much as I loved Grandma Glo, and I did; it wasn’t nothin’ like havin’ your own shit.
I still made it my business to go check on her though.
I wasn’t about to just leave her over there and act like she ain’t need lookin’ after.
I popped up on her randomly just to make sure everything was straight, and make sure nobody wasn’t comin’ through playin’ with her or messin’ up her house.
That was still my home too in a way, but it felt different now that I had somewhere else to go.
I slid into the driver’s seat and shut the door, lettin’ out a breath before startin’ the car.
I sat for a second with my hands on the wheel, thinkin’ about how I was about to go home, shower, roll up and mind my business for the rest of the night.
That sounded real good to me. But first, I needed gas.
I pulled out the lot and headed down the street to this gas station I always went to.
It wasn’t too far, and it had everything right there in one strip.
There was a barbershop on the end, an ice cream spot next to it, the gas station sittin’ in the middle and a couple other lil’ stores that stayed busy throughout the day.
By the time I pulled in, it was still a few people out there. Some niggas was sittin’ outside the barbershop, talkin’ loud like they always did. A couple kids was walkin’ out the ice cream place with cones in they hand, and the pumps had cars scattered around them.
I eased into a spot and parked, cut my engine off, and got out the car. I reached over to pop the gas latch, and that’s when I noticed a black Range Rover sittin’ at the pump next to mine.
It was blacked out, and clean from top to bottom. The music was bumpin’ loud enough for me to feel that shit in my chest.
Then the door opened.
And when I tell you the nigga stepped out lookin’ like he had no business lookin’ in the middle of a regular ass afternoon, I mean exactly that.
He was tall, dark and built in a way that made you look twice without even meanin’ to. His skin was smooth and rich, and his beard was full and neat with his waves brushed clean like he took his time with himself.
He had on a white V-neck that sat right on him, showin’ off his chest and arms, and the way it fit let you know exactly what he was workin’ with.
His sweatpants hung low on his waist just enough, and his tattoos ran down both arms. His watch caught my eye next, ’cause it was noticeably clean and looked expensive.
The chain around his neck sat right against his chest. Everything about him looked put together without feelin’ forced, like he ain’t have to try hard to look that good.
Our eyes met, and I ain’t even realize I had been lookin’ until he spoke.
“Hey, how you doin’?”
His voice was calm and low, like he was only talkin’ to me and didn’t care who else was around.
I blinked once, then gave him a light smile. “I’m good. How you doin’?”
“I’m better now,” he said, noddin’ once.
I didn’t stop though. I turned and kept it movin’ toward my pump. I wasn’t about to stand here starin’ at no man, no matter how fine he was.
I didn’t say nothin’ when I glanced back up at him as he got closer. Still, I let my eyes take him in up close this time, and yeah… he looked just as good standin’ in front of me as he did from a distance.
“You mind if I pump that for you?” he asked.
I couldn’t help but let out a laugh, shakin’ my head just a lil’. “You gon’ pump my gas?”
“If you let me,” he said, like it was the most normal thing in the world.
I looked at him for a second, tryna read him, but he wasn’t comin’ off weird or pushy. He was just… there… calm and easy.
So I stepped back…
“Go ‘head,” I said, tiltin’ my head toward the pump.
He nodded once like that was all he needed, then moved around me and opened the latch. He pulled his debit card out, tapped through the screen, and slid it in without askin’ me nothin’ else.
I stood there watchin’ him with my arms crossed, lettin’ him handle it without sayin’ nothin’. He moved calm and sure of himself, takin’ his time while he pumped my gas, and I just stayed right here, watchin’ it fill all the way up until it clicked.
And I ain’t gon’ lie… I liked that shit.
When he pulled the nozzle out and put it back, he closed the latch and turned back toward me.
“You welcome,” he said, but he ain’t move out my way.
He stayed in front of me, and the way he was lookin’ at me made me hold his gaze a lil’ longer than I meant to. I could tell he liked what he saw in me and wasn’t second guessin’ it.
“You single?” he asked.
I let out a light breath through my nose, smilin’ as I shifted my weight to one hip. “Yeah… I’m single.”
“That’s good to know,” he said, and there was a lil’ somethin’ behind it this time, like he already knew what he was about to do next.
He stuck his hand out. “My name, Couture.”
I placed my hand in his, and he held it just long enough for me to notice before lettin’ go, his thumb brushin’ lightly against mine like it wasn’t nothin’, but I felt it anyway.
“Sha’Nelle,” I said.
“Sha’Nelle,” he repeated, slower, like he was lockin’ it in, and I ain’t even know why that made me smile again, but it did.
“Nice to meet you, Sha’Nelle,” he added.
“You too.”
He looked at me for another second, not sayin’ nothin’, but it didn’t feel empty. It felt like he was givin’ me time to either shut it down or let it keep goin’.
“You mind if I call you sometime, Sha’Nelle?” he asked.
I smiled at that, tiltin’ my head while I looked at him. “Yeah… you can.”
He smiled back, softer this time, like he already knew I wasn’t gon’ turn him down, and then he pulled his phone out his pocket and unlocked it.
“What’s your number?” he asked, his voice low, and easy.
I stepped a lil’ closer, leanin’ in just enough to see his screen while I started callin’ my number out. He put it in, glancin’ up every now and then like he ain’t mind lookin’ at me either.
“Make sure you got it right,” I said, smilin’ as I looked up at him.
He read it back to me, word for word, then tapped his screen and nodded once. “I got you.”
I smiled again, and I could feel that lil’ somethin’ sittin’ between us now.
“What time work for you?” he asked.
“Anytime after six,” I said. “That’s when I be windin’ down.”
“A’ight,” he replied, lookin’ at me. “I’m gon’ call you, fasho after six.”
“Okay,” I said, tryna stop my damn self from smilin’ too hard.
He reached for my hand again, givin’ it another slow shake. “It was nice meetin’ you.”
“It was nice meetin’ you too,” I said, smilin’ up at him.
I turned and got into my car, takin’ a minute to get my thoughts together before I pulled off.
And I ain’t even gon’ lie…
As I drove off the lot, all I could think about was how fine that nigga was.
I was on the phone with Toni and had been talkin’ to her since I got home.
By the time I finally sat down, I had already took me a long bubble bath, smoked just enough to take the edge off my day, and fixed me a plate, ready to eat good.
I was curled up on my couch with a blanket pulled over my legs, my hair wrapped up and my feet tucked under me, feelin’ real comfortable in my own space.
“Ain’t no way you missed nothin’,” Toni was sayin’, her voice loud through the phone. “If you would’ve been out there, you would’ve beat Reni ass and threw her off that damn boat.”
I shook my head, smilin’ to myself while I picked at my food. “You already know I would’ve, ’cause what she not finna do is be stressin’ Pluto out like that, especially not right now. That’s my baby too.”
“And that’s what I’m sayin’,” Toni snapped right back. “She know Pluto pregnant, she know what’s goin’ on and she still chose to act like that. I ain’t like that shit at all.”
“I don’t either,” I said, settin’ my fork down for a second. “That girl be doin’ too much, and it be for no reason.”
Toni let out a breath like she was still irritated just thinkin’ about it. “I really think she insecure. I’m tellin’ you, I think the bitch jealous of Pluto ’cause of how close her and Renza is.”