Chapter 6
Jahreiah
“Hold your head still,” I instructed, while braiding my six-year-old little cousin’s hair.
“Okay. I’m just trying to make sure that she doesn’t have my iPad. You know they steal,” Serenity claimed, causing me to snicker. She was supreme messy.
I had been cracking up the entire time I had been there. My big cousin Trinity had called me over to braid her girls’ hair, so I’d pulled up. Everybody in the family wanted me braiding their hair, after realizing that I had a real knack for it.
With Raven as a parent, any potential she saw in her kids, she went out of her way to water that.
So, she’d found a program that went towards my high school credits, while also giving me the trade of cosmetology.
So, I’d have my license by the time I graduated, and Raven had already promised me my own shop.
I doubted that doing hair would be my only calling, but it was definitely a trade that was guaranteed to bring in money.
I could see myself having a shop, but mostly just renting out the suites, and doing hair seminars and shit.
Basically, I wanted to do my thing on a large scale and that went far beyond working in a salon.
Either way, I had no plans for college, and my parents were fine with it, as long as I was doing something productive with myself. That’s what I really loved about my parents. Unlike my peers, my parents didn’t have unrealistic expectations, because they were realists.
We were trust fund babies, and our parents didn’t have the mentality that we needed to get it out of the mud, just because they’d had to.
So, they were perfectly fine with us benefiting from the fruits of their labor, and only wanted us to have some direction in life.
They weren’t stuck on formal education, if that wasn’t something we wanted naturally, and would instead teach us about entrepreneurship.
They always swore that they weren’t raising anybody’s workers, and we had the financial freedom to make pretty much whatever happen.
So, me doing my little cousins’ hair was more about doing my people a favor versus making the money. Because my hefty allowance was more than enough, which was why side hustling was absolutely unnecessary.
Sometimes I’d avoid certain family members who wanted their hair done when I wasn’t in the mood…but of course, I stopped whatever I was doing when Trinity called.
Naturally, I wanted to see my bae. It was a school night, and the only reason my parents had allowed me to come over was because Trinity was family.
High-key, I was a little irritated with the way things were, right then.
Sin J was getting deep into boxing, which was cutting into our quality time.
We could hardly even sneak in time, which was why we still hadn’t told our parents about us.
Because whenever we did tell them, then the little time we had to ourselves would become pretty nonexistent.
It had been a few weeks since Sin had been able to spend a night over, and I was now raising a brow, as I’d come to realize that Trinity’s cousins on her daddy’s side had been staying with them.
Tangy and her three girls were Trinity’s cousins from Atlanta. Not mine. They had just relocated to Houston and were temporarily staying with Trinity while they supposedly got a home built from the ground up.
Tangy’s oldest daughter, Yatti, was eighteen and was giving freak hoe vibes. Every chance she got, she was propping her phone up to dance on social media, pussy popping for views.
Yatti was a high yellow girl, with a thick, shapely frame. She loved wearing too small clothes, and kept a 32’ wig swinging across her ass.
No lie, her personality was kinda lit, as she seemed very playful. The issue was that the hoe was sharing a space with my nigga, and they were no kin to each other. Just like we weren’t.
It also bothered me that Sin never mentioned that all these extra people were living with them. I knew that there was a lot going on, plus Sunny had recently moved down here, but still. How doesn’t he acknowledge that they’re sharing space with all these people?
Then I didn’t miss how comfortable Yatti was with Sin J.
She had no qualms about invading his personal space to show him a funny video or whatever.
Their rapport seemed quite comfortable, which was why I’d fought Trinity on the suggestion of doing hair in the beauty room.
Sure that room was equipped with everything I needed, but I couldn’t watch what the hell was going on while cooped in that room.
So, as a compromise I was doing hair in the kitchen nook area, which gave me a clear view of the living room. Sin J, Sunny, Yatti, and Yatti’s fourteen-year-old sister, Yani, were chilling in there, mingling amongst each other, while taking turns on the PlayStation.
“Damn, you work fast,” Trinity mentioned, as she moved around the kitchen.
“I know,” I smirked, knowing that I’d already finished her last baby’s hair within an hour’s time.
“Yeah, you’ll probably be completely done by the time I come back from HEB. I need to make groceries,” she revealed, before briefly glancing back at the living room. “I was trying to wait until Tangy gets back, but she’s taking too long,” she whispered.
I lightly laughed, before whispering back. “Why did you wanna wait on her?”
“To watch those muthafuckas.” She cut her eyes at the living room.
“Sunny and Yani be a little too touchy feely for my comfort. And then Yatti’s hot ass goes on and on about Sin J and his eyes.
Tangy mentioned that Yatti got a little crush on him, and I just don’t want nobody getting pregnant under this roof. ”
I raised a brow. “You think that Sin J would mess with her?”
Trinity smirked. “Is water wet? He’s a boy, Riah. They’ll stick their…” Her eyes traveled down to a listening Serenity. “Things in anything.”
“Right, but Sin J just doesn’t give me those vibes. I think that he’s selective.”
“Yeah, he might have bougie peen, but Yatti aint just thrown together now. She’s cute with a nice body. I could definitely see him entertaining her. Hell, they’ve been getting pretty cozy from what I can see, anyway. So, I can only imagine what will happen when we aint looking.”
Hearing that, my stomach twisted in knots.
“Trinity, you cooking tonight?” Yatti questioned, as she sauntered into the kitchen.
“Girl, its already nine o’clock…but yeah, I’ma throw something on, after I come from the store,” Trinity sighed. “You just behave yourself while I’m gone.”
Yatti blushed, as she stroked her hair. I looked her up and down, peeping her SpongeBob short pajamas set, and the way the shorts were displaying her camel toe. Just nasty. “What you mean by that, cousin?”
Trinity leaned in. “I’m talking about you and Sin J.”
Yatti busted out laughing. “We can’t be cousins and in-laws, huh?”
“Hell, no. At least not while y’all are under this roof.”
“What about outside?” Yatti sneakily snickered.
“Girl,” Trinity gasped, probably blown away by her freaked-out cousin’s blatant honesty.
“What?” Yatti opened her arms. “I’m legal, Trinity. And things happen.”
Biting the interior of my jaw, I felt like exploding, as my hands were literally shaking.
“Lil’ girl, are you trying to tell me something?” Trinity quizzed.
“Nah. There’s nothing to tell. Yet. Sunny said that Sin J got a girlfriend or whatever. But that aint stopping nothing. I’m tryna size her up. You know what’s her Insta?”
“Nah.” Trinity shook her head. “I figured that he had a lil’ girlfriend with the way he likes to stay cooped up in that room, talking on the phone. But she’s never been here for whatever reason. I guess that he probably goes over to her house.”
“What about you, Riah?” Yatti’s eyes traveled to me. “You know who his girlfriend is?”
Twisting my lips, I thought about my response for a second. “Yeah. I know her.”
Trinity’s eyes brightened in surprise. “Oh, really?”
“Yeah.” I nodded, while parting Serenity’s hair. “She’s crazy. Be beating girls up. Getting active or whatever. So, I wouldn’t go there, if I was you. She might pop out, and go upside your head.”
“Say what?” Yatti sassily twisted her neck. “I wish a trick would. I’ll A-Town stomp a bish.” She danced for demonstration.
Trinity snickered. “Girl, you are so damn silly. Sin J, come here.” She waved him over.
Hopping off the couch, he sauntered over to us, clad in a muscle shirt and basketball shorts that was doing very little to conceal that massive print. “Hmm?” His grey orbs brightened.
“Who is this girlfriend Riah just told us about?”
His eyes traveled to mine. “What did you tell them?”
“That your girlfriend was crazy and be punching on somethin’.”
Shaking his head, he chuckled. “Yo, you funny. But how did this conversation come about, anyway?”
“Because Yatti likes you,” I blurted, before anybody else could respond.
“Huh?” Sin uncomfortably scratched the back of his ear.
“Nigga, you heard her,” Trinity quipped.
“Oh, well.” He turned to look at Yatti, as she was already gazing up at him with eager eyes. “We can’t be liking each other. We family.”
“But we aint blood,” Yatti pouted.
Sighing, he shook his head. “Yo, you buggin, shorty.”
Trinity cut her eyes at him. “Nigga, don’t try to be slick. Acting like there’s no way that you’d entertain her, so that I can walk away thinking that nothing is gonna happen.”
“Nah. There’s no reverse psychology here. We cousins, Yatti.” He insisted.
“Okay.” Trinity nodded, as she grabbed her Louie wallet off the island. “Keep it that way. I’m ‘bout to run to HEB. Keep an eye on your sisters and brothers, Sin J.”
He nodded. “I gotchu.”
Trinity switched off to the garage.
As soon as we could hear the sound of the garage opening, Yatti shoved Sin J.
He lifted his hands in surrender. “Yo, chill.”
“No, cause you’re playing with me,” she gritted, while gripping his shirt.
“Yoooo,” Sin chuckled, as he backed up. “You wildin’ right now.”
“Yeah, you’re tripping,” I spoke up.