Chapter 6
Slim sat straight up in the passenger seat. She’d sat the ball I’d bought and dropped off to her before the last bell rung at her school on the floor of the car. Her arms were crossed over her chest. She looked awkward and nervous. I snickered as I jumped onto the freeway.
“What’s funny?” Slim quizzed, her brows furrowing.
“You. Why you sitting straight up like that?”
Slim shrugged. “I don’t know. This car is so nice.”
“Appreciate it, but you can sit back. You won’t hurt it,” I teased, hitting the exit toward my side of Love Grove.
Hesitantly, Slim sat back.
“Where are we going?” she asked, staring out of the window.
“To a court on my side of town. You coo’ with that?”
“I guess,” Slim muttered.
“I’m a knock that chip off your shoulder,” I jested.
“And I’m a knock you in the teeth,” she countered, causing us both to chortle.
“Damn you’re mean.”
She shrugged again and said, “Focus on the road. My mama doesn’t even know I left the apartment. I’d hate to have to end up at the hospital she’s working at.”
I laughed. “I got you.”
Ten minutes later, I pulled into the parking lot of the community center. It was a world away from the cracked asphalt and rusted rims of the courts in her neighborhood. The nets here were pristine with freshly painted lines, and the lights were already on.
I killed the engine. “C’mon,” I said, pushing my door open. “Let’s see what you got when it’s just me and you.”
Slim grabbed the ball and followed, her sneakers scuffing on the smooth pavement.
She still needed new shoes. I didn’t want to overstep my boundaries and creep her out by buying her shit, but Slim’s shoes were about to start talking.
The material was falling apart. I know her toes had to be hurting in those shoes when she played ball.
“This place is nice,” she uttered.
“Show me your J,” I said, gesturing to the hoop.
Slim didn’t hesitate. She took the shot smoothly. The ball swished through the net without even kissing the rim. She peered at me, a flicker of pride in her eyes, but it was gone as fast as it came, replaced by that hard mask she wore.
“Nice,” I admitted.
“Thanks. Let’s go one-on-one to fifteen. Ball’s yours.”
I grunted and snubbed my nose. This girl. I could tell she thought she could beat me one-on-one.
The game started. Slim was quick with a nice crossover that almost left me stumbling a couple of times. She was sloppy, though. She kept forcing shots and letting her frustration get the best of her. I played how I normally played, and didn’t take it easy on her.
Slim scored first and taunted, “One-nothing.” There was a triumphant smirk on her face.
I just smiled, letting her have a moment.
She stole the ball from me and scored another point, and then another after that. Slim was now up by three. The next time I had the ball, I scored from behind the arc. We were still counting it as one point, but this shit was too easy for me.
When Slim had the ball, I stripped it from her and took off down the court and hit a layup.
“Three-two,” I commented, leaning over with my hands on my knees to catch my breath.
Slim was getting cocky, and her movements were reckless and predictable. I whooped her ass by three points.
“You cheated,” she huffed as we sat down on the cement.
I snorted. “You tried it. I won fair and square.”
She waved me off with a flick of her wrist. “Whatever.”
“Maaan, don’t tell me you’re a sore loser. Do you act like this after you lose a game? Do you go stomping your feet to the locker room?” I joked, but seriously wanted to know.
“Yes, and I scream all the way until I’m hoarse,” Slim replied in a dry tone.
I burst out laughing, a loud laugh that echoed across the empty court. Slim peered at me sideways, a small, almost reluctant smile playing on her lips. I pushed myself off the ground and offered her my hand.
“C’mon, I’m starving. Let me feed you before I get you back home.”
Slim hesitated for a second before taking my hand. I pulled her up, her grip surprisingly strong.
“Where are you taking me? Some place with valet parking and a dress code?” she asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she dusted off her shorts.
“Nah, I don’t even like that type of shit,” I admitted. “My parents make me go, though, but I was thinking more of a taco truck with no dress code.”
I led Slim back to my car. The drive was a little different this time.
The tension was gone, replaced by comfortable, easy silence.
Her arms weren’t crossed this time, and she wasn’t sitting stiff as a board anymore.
Slim watched the city lights blur past the window.
I found myself stealing glances at her. She was rough around the edges, but I could still see her beauty.
The taco truck was parked under a flickering fluorescent light in a gas station parking lot.
The air smelled of grilled onions and beef.
When we parked, we sauntered over to the truck.
I went ahead and ordered for both of us—beef tacos on corn tortillas, cooked all the way through with onions and cilantro.
While waiting for the food, I leaned against the hood of my car as Slim looked everywhere but me, kicking a rock with her foot.
“What size shoe you wear?” I asked even though Vani had already told me. I need to be sure.
Slim glanced down at her feet. “Umm…a size eight, why?”
I pointed down at her shoes. “You need some new shoes. Those are about start talking any day now.”
“Wow,” she mumbled. “Just because you have money doesn’t mean you can go around and put people down for having less than you.”
My heart dropped down to my ass, and I bet all the color drained from my face. “That’s not what I was trying to do, Slim. For real. My fault. I was just tryin to look out.”
“I don’t need you to look out, Kane,” she shot out. “Especially not from you.”
I was about to respond because it was obvious I’d hurt her feelings, but the lady from the taco truck walked over with our food and horchatas. There were three benches, one already occupied. The sun was going down, but I really wanted to sit, eat, and get to know Slim.
“You want to sit and eat?” I asked.
“Sure,” she shrugged. “I don’t want that nice car smelling like onions.”
She followed me to the bench. As we sat and I started pulling the tacos wrapped in foil out of the bag, I said, “Look, if we’re gonna be best friends…”
“Excuse me?” she squeaked out. “Don’t let Vani hear you say that.”
I guffawed with my head thrown back. “Maaan say, so you can’t have more than one best friend?”
Slim shook her head. “I don’t know you. We’re two different people from two different sides of the track. You won’t get me like Vani does.”
I poured green sauce on all four of my tacos. “How do you know? I might get you more than Vani does.”
“I doubt it,” she replied before biting a taco. Slim’s eyes lit up. She covered her mouth. “These are really good.”
“You’ve never had street tacos?” I quizzed.
“No.”
I nodded. “So you wear size eight in shoes, and you like these tacos. Noted.”
Her eyes narrowed into slits. “Don’t buy me shoes, Kane.” Slim took a sip of her horchata, her eyes scanning the area.
I wanted to tell her that she was safe here, but I didn’t want to offend her again. I can tell Slim was rough, but she had a sensitive side to her as well.
“What else do you like to do besides ball?” I asked, changing the subject because I planned on buying her shoes anyway. I had access to plenty of money, and I had some saved from an allowance I get a week…a very generous allowance…where I wouldn’t even miss the money.
Slim shrugged, picking up her second taco. “That’s really it.”
“Aight. Then what’s your favorite color?”
“Blue. Yours?”
“Green,” I answered. “What college do you plan on attending?”
“To be honest, any college that will give me a basketball scholarship with a full ride. I can’t afford college without it, and I want to go to the WNBA. I want to be as good as Aja Wilson.”
I nodded. “You will be. Maybe better.”
That had Slim cracking a shy smile.
“Hey Stone!”
I looked up to see a few guys from my basketball team over at the taco truck. Conley, a white boy that was also known as a class clown, approached the table with a slick smirk.
“Well who do we have here?” He poked, grilling Slim. “Ain’t this the girl from Love Heights High? The one from the dirty side of town?”
“Back the fuck off,” I warned Conley.
He looked back at his boys that were with him and laughed. “Oh,” he started again, throwing both hands up. “Is this a date?”
Conley was being bold right now. He never tried playing with me like this in school. It was then when I realized the taunting wasn’t for me. It was for Slim. She hadn’t paid Conley no mind. Slim continued to eat her last two tacos.
“Damn, she can’t talk?”
“I don’t do too much talking where I’m from,” Slim warned him, still not looking up.
“Ghetto ass,” Conley mumbled.
Slim hopped up and stole off on Conley. She punched him in his nose and it immediately started to leak. When he reached up to grab it, she clocked him in his eye. I leaped up, and grabbed Slim when the rest of the guys jogged over.
“This bitch hit me!” He squawked, dazed.
“You deserved it. You came over here fucking with her,” I said, eyeing the guys behind him, making sure they wasn’t on that.
A few of them were holding their breaths, trying not to laugh at Conley. None of them attempted to come to his rescue. I wish they would try.
“I’m ready to go,” Slim smacked. “This was a bad idea.”
“I should press charges!” Conley hollered.
“Okay police ass bitch,” Slim spat, causing the other guys to fall out laughing.
She gathered her trash, drank the rest of her horchata and took off to the nearest trash can,
“You messed with the wrong one this time, Conley,” I told him, pointing a finger at him.
“Come on, Conley. We came for tacos, not to watch a girl beat you up,” Maxx, a guy with them, joked. That made everyone else start back laughing. I picked my last taco up, stuffed it in my mouth and ran to throw it into the trash can. Slim was already stomping to my car.
I hit the unlock button on my key fob, and she opened the door and instead of getting inside, she grabbed her basketball, shut my door and started walking to the road.’’
“Aye, Slim! Where… Wait up!” I called out to her.
Slim was taking long strides. I jogged to reach her.
“Leave me alone, Kane,” she muttered angrily.
“No. I picked you up, and I’m gonna make sure I get you back home,” I let her know.
“I’m good! I’ll call Vani to scoop me.”
“Maaan, come on. That nigga might shoot me thinking I set you up over here.”
“He might,” she said.
“Do you want my death on your conscience?” I asked, playing right along with her ass.
Slim hiked her shoulders and quickly dropped them. “I’ma still sleep good at night.”
“Damn, that’s cold, Slim. I really thought we were getting somewhere in this…friendship.”
“Friends?” She scoffed.
“Man, can you stop walking for a minute. Those tacos sitting on my stomach.”
“Get in shape,” she shot back, but she stopped.
“I am in shape,” I said, squinting at her. “Let me take you back home before your mama kill the both of us.”
A flicker of worry shown in her eyes.
“Fine,” Slim huffed out. “No stops. No talking.”
“How you gon’ tell me not to talk in my own car?” I said under my breath, following her back to where my car was parked.
I was still going against my pops’ demands about me going to Love Heights.
I turned my location off when I went to pick up Slim, and turned it back on when we pulled up at the taco stand.
I tried to be quick with my movements. Pops was a busy man, but just in case he found time to check my location, it’d look like I was where I should be in his eyes.
I wouldn’t even put it past him to have a tracker on my car.
We rode in silence for a moment. It was just the sound of the wind whipping by. I turned my location off as soon as I exited Heart Heights.
“You didn’t answer my question earlier,” I said after too long of quietness.
Slim let out a dramatic breath of air as if I was annoying her. “What question?”
“What college?”
“I did! I said anywhere far away from Love Grove with a full ride. I don’t care where.
As long as the scouts can find me and know my name.
I still have one more year of high school so…
” I nodded. “What about you? Your parents probably want you to attend a prestigious college. They can probably pay your college off in one semester. You won’t even need to worry about financial aid. You have it made.”
“You don’t know all the pressure they put on me, though,” I said with a snort.
“To be perfect?” Slim quizzed. She turned her head to look at me at the same time I glanced at her. We stared at one another for a couple of seconds before she turned her head, and I focused back on the road.
“Yeah…to be perfect. But I’m not, Slim. I’m not perfect, and I don’t want to be,” I admitted. I bit down on my lip.
“Then don’t. Make mistakes.”
I chuckled. “That’s your advice? Make mistakes?”
Slim nodded with a serious expression. “Yeah.”
“What kind of mistakes do you recommend?” I questioned with a hint of curiosity.
She shrugged for the millionth time she’d been with me. “I don’t know. Whatever you want to do. Go spray paint a building.”
My eyes ballooned. “Oh, you want me in jail.”
Slim laughed, and for the first time tonight, I felt her walls crumbling down.