Rain “Rebel” Crawford
My motorcycle rumbled beneath me as I pulled into the parking lot, the familiar vibration traveling through my body.
I killed the engine and sat there for a second, staring at the massive building in front of me.
Luxury cars filled the parking lot. People dressed in expensive suits and designer dresses moved in and out of the entrance like they belonged there.
Truthfully, being surrounded by smiling faces and happy couples was the last place I wanted to be.
But I was a woman of my word, and the only reason I’d dragged my ass out of bed was because Crow asked me to.
I stepped into the ceremony wearing the dress Mama Joyce had bought me.
Yeah, a fucking dress. Even I couldn’t believe that shit.
The black fabric hugged my body, showing off curves I usually kept hidden underneath baggy jeans and oversized hoodies.
My locs fell over my shoulders, and instead of my usual Timbs or sneakers, I had on the heels Mama Joyce picked out to go with the dress.
I felt completely out of my element, but I couldn’t lie. I looked good as fuck.
Looking up, I spotted Crow wearing a custom suit.
The nigga looked clean as hell, like always.
The second he saw me, though, his whole expression changed.
He froze, his eyes dropping from my face to the dress before slowly traveling back up.
A grin tugged at the corner of his mouth as he leaned back in his chair and continued staring at me.
I frowned as I made my way over to him. “What?”
“Shit, Rain.” His eyes dropped again. “You been hiding all that under them big-ass clothes?”
“Don’t start.”
“I’m serious.” He stood as I reached him, taking his sweet-ass time looking me over. “Turn around.”
“Nigga, I’m not turning around for you.”
“Come on, Rain. Let me see the whole situation.”
“The whole situation?” I repeated, trying not to laugh.
“Yeah. I’m trying to figure out when the hell you got all this.”
“I’ve always had it.”
“Could’ve fooled the fuck outta me with them big-ass hoodies you stay wearing.”
I rolled my eyes. “And this is exactly why I don’t wear dresses.”
“Nah, don’t blame me.” He stepped a little closer, lowering his voice. “Matter of fact, I think you should start wearing them more often.”
“Not happening.”
“That’s fucked up.”
“How?”
“Because now that I know what you look like in one, I’m gonna be thinking about this shit every time you come around me dressed like somebody’s little brother.”
I smacked his arm. “Fuck you.”
Crow cracked up. “I’m playing, Rain.” His gaze dropped over me again before meeting mine. “Mostly.”
“Boy, bye.”
I went to walk past him, but he caught my hand.
“Nah, hold up.”
“What now?”
The joking expression on his face softened as he looked at me. “You really do look beautiful, Rain.”
That caught me off guard. For a second, all I could do was stare at him before pulling my hand away so he wouldn’t notice his words had actually gotten to me.
“You clean up pretty good yourself,” I admitted.
“Pretty good?” He placed a hand over his chest. “That’s all I get?”
I looked him over like I was seriously considering giving him another compliment, but my eyes stopped on his hair. His curls were extra defined, sitting perfectly on top of his head like he’d spent more time getting ready than I had.
Crow was African American on his mother’s side and Dominican on his father’s. I’d known that nigga damn near my whole life, so I knew exactly where those curls came from. Unfortunately, so did he, and he loved reminding everybody about his Dominican side whenever somebody mentioned his hair.
I sucked my teeth. “Your hair too damn curly, though.”
Crow’s smile disappeared. “What the fuck that mean?”
“You heard me.” I reached up and tugged one of his curls. “Looking all pretty and shit. You sure you ain’t supposed to be standing with the bridesmaids?”
“See, now you hating.”
I laughed. “I’m just saying. Them curls looking real feminine today.”
“Why you gotta hate on my Dominican genes?”
I gave him a look. “Boy, please. You wasn’t loving them Dominican genes that much when you got rid of Dominguez.”
His eyes narrowed. “Don’t start, Rain.”
That made me laugh because I remembered that shit like it was yesterday. Crow’s father had walked out on him and his mother when we were kids, and Crow never forgave him for it. Years later, when he was old enough to do something about it, he dropped Dominguez and became Domingo.
And the reason behind the name was the most Crow shit ever.
“Your petty ass still kills me with Domingo.”
“Ain’t shit funny.”
“Yes, it is.” I was already laughing. “Of all the last names you could’ve picked, you picked Domingo because that motherfucker left on a Sunday.”
Crow shrugged. “And?”
“Domingo means Sunday,” I said, shaking my head. “You really based your whole last name around the day that nigga left.”
“Damn right. If he could walk out on us, I could walk away from his last name.”
I stared at him for a second. “Petty.”
“Extremely.”
“But you kept his curls.”
Crow immediately ran a hand over his hair. “Hell yeah. I wasn’t throwing away perfectly good genetics just because the nigga attached to ‘em ain’t shit.”
I grabbed one of my locs and held it up. “Ain’t nobody worried about them little Shirley Temple curls.”
Crow’s mouth dropped open. “Shirley Temple is crazy, Rain.”
I cracked the fuck up.
“Keep laughing,” he warned. “You walked in here wearing one little dress and forgot how to act.”
“One little dress?”
“Yeah.” His eyes traveled down my body again. “A dangerous-ass little dress, but still.”
I shook my head. “You’re annoying.”
“And you beautiful.”
That shut me up as Crow’s grin widened when he realized he’d caught me off guard.
“Yeah,” he said, leaning closer. “Got your ass.”
“Fuck you.”
“Later, if you keep walking around looking like that.”
My mouth dropped open. “Crow!”
He laughed when I smacked his arm.
“I’m playing, Rain.”
“You better be.”
His eyes dropped to my dress one more time before coming back to mine.
“Mostly.”
I rolled my eyes and started walking away from him.
“Where you going?” he called after me.
“Away from your pretty ass.”
“You can run, Rain, but that dress already did the damage.”
I lifted my middle finger without turning around. Crow’s laugh followed me, and even with my back to him, I could feel that nigga still staring. And for some strange-ass reason, I didn’t mind.
After we finished clowning around, Crow and I went to find his mother. Mama Joyce wasn’t my biological mother, but I’d been calling her that since I was a kid. Crow and I had been best friends for so long that somewhere along the way, his mama had become mine too.
“There go my baby!” Mama Joyce yelled the second she spotted me.
I laughed as she rushed over and pulled me into a tight hug.
“Hey, Mama Joyce.”
She pulled back, and the second she got a good look at me in the dress, her eyes widened.
“Oh, my God! Look at you!”
“Please don’t start.”
“Don’t start?” She grabbed both of my hands and stretched my arms out so she could get a better look at me. “Girl, I’ve been waiting damn near your whole life for this moment.”
Crow laughed beside me. “That’s what I said.”
I cut my eyes at him. “Nobody asked you.”
Mama Joyce ignored us as she continued looking me over. “You actually wore the dress I bought you.”
“I said I would.”
“No, you said you’d think about it.”
“Same thing.”
“The hell it is.”
Crow cracked up.
I pointed at him. “You laughing too damn hard for somebody walking around with Shirley Temple curls.”
“Leave my hair out of this, Rain.”
Mama Joyce looked between us and shook her head. “Y’all been getting on each other’s nerves since you were little. Some things never change.”
“That’s because your son is irritating.”
“And yet you keep coming around,” Crow shot back.
“Because I love your mama.”
Mama Joyce smiled and wrapped an arm around me. “And I love you too, baby.”
Crow placed a hand over his chest. “Damn. What about me?”
Mama Joyce looked at him. “I gave birth to you. That’s enough.”
I busted out laughing.
“See?” Crow shook his head. “This why I got issues. My daddy left, and my mama replaced me with Rain.”
“Sounds personal,” I said.
“Fuck both of y’all.”
Mama Joyce and I laughed even harder. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, before it slowly opened.
A few seconds later, Sebastian walked inside.
He was Crow’s son, but that little dude had a special place in my heart.
I loved him like he was my own blood. The moment he spotted me, a grin spread across his face.
“Raindrop!”
“What’s up, little man?” I asked.
“Nothing. Nice Timbs.”
A grin spread across my face. “Glad you like my style.”
Sebastian smirked before holding out his fist. We dapped each other up, and I ruffled the top of his head before we went to the seating area.
As people continued filing into the venue, we found our spots and settled in to wait for the ceremony to begin.
A few rows ahead, couples were taking pictures while family members laughed and mingled.
While I was chilling, Crow glanced over at me.
You ever think about getting married?”
“Nope.” I frowned. “Why? You finally gonna marry your baby mama?”
Crow barked out a laugh. “The hell?”
I shrugged. “Ain’t that what people usually do when they got a kid together?”
“Not happening.”
“Damn,” I smirked. “That’s cold.”
“It’s reality.”
“Whatever helps you sleep at night.”
Crow shook his head before looking at me.
“Shit, I’d marry your ass before I married her.”
I nearly dropped my phone. “What?”
“You heard me.”
“Crow, have you been drinking already?”
He laughed. “Nah.”
“Then you need your head checked.”
“Why?”
I stared at him for a second. “Because that might be the dumbest thing you’ve said all day.”
“All day?” He grinned. “It’s still early.”
I rolled my eyes. “Exactly. Plenty of time for you to say something even dumber.”