Chapter 3 #2
“Got damn, lil’ mama, what’s yo name?” Kezzy spoke up, as he openly looked Summer up and down.
As usual, she was doing the most. She was wearing her long burgundy hair in its curly state, right then.
Had the baby hairs swooping around the edges of her forehead.
Was rocking a Burberry headband. Burberry black cropped hoodie, biker shorts, and rain boots.
The shorts exposed most of her thighs, coming across provocative.
And sadly for her, it wasn’t because she was trying too hard.
Most girls our ages wore those type of shorts, but they didn’t have a body like hers.
So, she was standing there, giving video vixen vibes, as those shorts was cuffing that fat monkey.
“I’m Summer,” she smiled at Kezzy…seeming way too friendly, if you asked me.
“Well, damn, Summer. Will you marry me?”
She snickered.
“Man, hell, nawl. Chill out, Kezzy,” I snapped. Shit, if I couldn’t have none, then he damn sure couldn’t.
Summer rolled her eyes. “Anyways. Y’all got something to smoke? Because my plug is out of pocket, right now.”
“Yeah, I definitely got a blunt for you, baby,” Kezzy flirted.
“Anyway.” I waved him off. “Let’s take this shit to the backyard.”
“Yeah,” Summer agreed. “Let’s.”
Together, all three of us traveled to the backyard, before getting situated on the new deck that my ole man had just built for Array.
“Damn, this is nice out here,” Kezzy commented.
Nodding my head, I couldn’t agree more. Pops had outdone himself with the yard.
The whole deck was encased in retractable glass.
There was a 65’ TV mounted on the wall. An electric fireplace was right underneath.
A hot tub in the corner. A built-in outdoor kitchen, equipped with a fridge.
Led string lights illuminated the space, while Array had topnotch patio furniture to comfortably lounge on.
The sliding glass doors were wide open, leading out to a perfectly manicured lawn and a pathway that led to a second sitting area, where there was a custom fire pit, and even a hammock.
And that was all facing a whole fucking lake, with a boating dock that my pops’ newly purchased speed boat was anchored to.
Needless to say, sitting out back was a whole vibe, and I found myself chilling back there for hours, before it was time to lay it down at night.
Even when Summer would be lounging in that hammock, tapping away on either her MacBook or iPad. I would chill out there. We’d mostly just ignore each other, and steal a few glances, here and there. But neither of us would let the other have the yard completely alone.
“Okay, let’s fire up,” I spoke up, while sitting up on the comfortable patio sofa.
Summer now had one leg tucked underneath her, while she sat in a circular wicker swivel chair, tapping away on her iPad.
Looking at her, she appeared zoned out, while her eyes were trained on the screen of the device.
“Summer, the fuck are you doing?” I abruptly questioned, causing her to jump a tad.
“Huh?” Her head snapped up.
I chuckled. “Look at you. Must’ve been over there telling your lil’ friends what they can wear to school tomorrow. With ya bossy ass.”
“Boy, fuck you.” She gave me the finger. “I’m just going over the reviews I have on . And was taking notes.”
I frowned in confusion. “Your reviews? For what?”
Her lashes fluttered. “For my book.”
“Your book?”
“Yep.”
Kezzy chuckled. “Girl, you bullshitting. You aint wrote no damn book.”
“Yeah, you’re right. I didn’t write a book. I’ve written and published five now.”
I shook my head. “Nah. Ion believe you.”
She rolled her eyes. “Nigga, I aint gotta lie.” She eased off the chair and ambled over to me. “Look for yourself.” She handed her iPad over to me.
I scrolled through the page that she had pulled up, until I came across her name. Then I read her biography, and it definitely sounded like it was referencing her.
“Damn, this is fye. You literally have thousands of reviews on each book. But I don’t get it,” I mumbled, as I kept scrolling. “Why don’t you go around screaming that shit to the mountain top? Shit, I know I would.”
“Well, its mostly because I first started writing these books when I was underage. I’m self-published and my mama literally had to oversee my account because I wasn’t old enough.
We just switched it over to my name once I turned 18.
Anyway…with the content I was writing about, I didn’t go around announcing to everybody that I was writing about grown folks fucking and killing.
Because I didn’t want people unfairly judging me or my mama.
It wasn’t her fault that I would use her iPad, and sneakily read her urban fiction books.
I was just grateful that she allowed me to freely express myself in such a way.
And now…I just really haven’t started talking about it yet. ”
“Damn. I’m saying. You be making real money off the books?” Kezzy questioned, as he leaned over to peer at the tablet.
“Yeah. The sales are up and down, honestly. But this month, I think that royalty direct deposit was like ten racks.”
My jaw dropped. “No bullshit? You serious?”
She nodded.
“So, what do you do with all that money? Do your mama keep most of it?”
“No. I keep every penny. She’s never touched my money. She has a certain amount going into an IRA, but that’s about it. In fact, she’s determined to hand over a savings she has for me, once I graduate. Even though, I probably won’t even need that money, for real.”
“Damn. So, if you already making that type of money, then I know that you aint really worried about college.” I handed her iPad back to her.
“Oh, I’ma still go. For the experience, if nothing else. Try out a semester or two.”
I smirked. “So, is that how you be getting most of that designer shit?”
She sat back down. “Pretty much. I mean, my mama introduced me to it, but I’ve been maintaining my own shopping budget for the last two years.
But honestly, I’ve shopped so much that I’ve cooled off on buying designer.
I keep it simple with Shein and stuff. The designer I have is just so plentiful that it probably seems like I’m always buying stuff.
Now, I just buy maybe a bag a month. Spending no more than a grand or two. ”
I shook my head. “You said that like it’s nothing.”
She nonchalantly shrugged.
Gazing at her, I was seeing her in an entirely different light. Realizing that I’d placed her in a box, thinking that she was just a spoiled brat. Meanwhile, she was a go getter and was quite humble about it, at that.
“So, does Harlem know about your books?” I wanted to know.
She nodded. “He knows. That’s why he’s so adamant about giving me things. He says that he wants me to know that no matter how far I reach, that he can keep up.”
Hearing that, I nodded, thinking that niggas really had to have their weight up to fuck with Summer. And I took that as a personal challenge.