Chapter 11
DREAM COME TRUE: THE FOLLOWING DAY
Pretti woke up to the sound of someone knocking on her door.
All she had been doing for the past twenty-four hours was eating and sleeping.
It had been snowing, and she didn’t have any transportation, so she used DoorDash until Lunden decided to come back.
She slipped out of bed and made her way to the living room, wearing a gray sports bra and a pair of spandex shorts.
Her house was so warm, she didn’t slip on her robe.
“Yo, that shit is fucking amazing how beautiful you are,” Lunden said as he stood in the living room, gazing over her tight, petite body.
“How the hell did you get in here? Weren’t you just knocking?” she asked, sounding slightly grouchy.
“You didn’t ask for your key when I left, so I still had it.” He tossed her the single key, and she caught it.
“Oh... I thought you were coming back yesterday because I was bored.” She sat on the floor Indian style.
“Don’t sit down, get dressed. I’m going to take you to go look at a few shops so you can make a deal fast. You gon’ need a job to pay these bills, ma.” He grabbed her arm and made her stand up.
“You ain’t never lied. Okay, I’ll be ready shortly.”
Thirty minutes later, they were driving the cold streets of New York.
She still wasn’t used to the weather, but she made sure she bundled up before leaving.
By five in the evening, she was tired. They had seen six shops, and she didn’t like any of them.
She was getting discouraged until Lunden finally took her to a vacant shop in his neighborhood that he knew about.
“Alright, this is the last one, Pretti. We been gone all fuckin’ day, and you ain’t like shit I showed you. This one is in the hood, so if you don’t like it here, you’re on your own. I missed a lot of money fuckin’ with your picky ass today.”
She tuned Lunden’s complaining out as she gazed out the window at the small corner shop. Just from the outside, it was perfect. Lunden had taken her to spots that were not her style. They were too high fashion and out of her budget.
“I like this one already. Why didn’t you take me here in the first place?” she asked as she opened the door.
“Because I didn’t want you in the hood, but whatever. Let’s get out and go talk to this nigga.” Lunden got out, and so did Pretti. She wasn’t feeling his attitude, so she was ready to make a deal and get out of his way.
When they walked in, Pretti fell in love with the medium-sized shop. It needed a lot of remodeling, but she was willing to put in the work.
“The rent is only five grand a month,” the owner said as he watched them walk around the shop.
“I’ll take it. I have the money right now,” Pretti said as she reached into her purse.
“Okay, I’ll take cash this time, but moving forward, I need a check or money order,” the owner said as he took the cash.
“Good looking out, Mr. Kro. It’s sad what happened to the last owners, but she will get this place up and running again. She has a dope idea for the shop,” Lunden said to the owner.
Mr. Kro had known Lunden since he was little; the shop had been there for years. Lunden knew the last owners went out of business because they didn’t have what it took to run the shop in an urban neighborhood. They were doing bad haircuts, and nobody went there.
She gave Mr. Kro the money, and he gave her the key to her new shop. She and Lunden sat at one of the stations, talking over her plans. As they were talking, she couldn’t stop looking at his lineup. It was okay, but she knew she could do better.
“I’m not trying to be rude, but your lineup needs to be touched up.” She giggled as she watched shock rush across his face. He had the same barber for years and thought his cuts were always crispy. He stood up and looked in the mirror.
“My shit cool, you trippin’,” he stated as he rubbed his hand across his waves.
“Sit down; I’m about to fix you. There’s a set of clippers here, and they look new.”
“Wow, I been driving you around all day and now you want to talk about a nigga lineup? A’ight, first you gotta kiss me.” He smirked.
“Kiss you?” She put her hands on her hips. “You must want–”
Before she could speak any further, his lips were pressed against hers, pulling her close by the waist. She was shocked, but she didn’t push him away. He played with her tongue, and she liked the feeling. Pretti could feel his manhood rising. That’s when she backed away.
“I’ma virgin, Lunden, and I’ve never had a boyfriend,” she blurted out before things went further.
“Word? But you’re almost twenty. Are you for real?” He had never met a grown virgin in his life. He was almost twenty-two and highly sexually active with girls her age, so he was shocked. However, her innocence made him want her more. He knew he had to move in fast on her before another guy did.
“Yes, I’m for real. I’ve always focused on getting money, going to school, and being Dexz’s best friend. I’ve never dated anyone in my life. I’ve always thought I would be alone until somebody swept me off my feet.”
“Damn, so that nigga never really fucked you?”
“Nope, I kissed him when we were fifteen, and that was it.”
“Damn… well, consider yourself taken. You’re my girl now.” He grabbed her hand and cuffed it into his.
“I can’t have sex with you. I’m not ready, and I just met you.”
“You can trust me, ma. We don’t have to have sex, but I want you to be my girl. You’re safe with me like you were with Dexz. That’s why he sent you here. We can start as friends from here and move up at your pace. Okay?” He smiled and gazed into her eyes, hoping she would say yes.
“I think you’re cute, but having a boyfriend is a big step. We can date, but I don’t know about a boyfriend just yet.” She gazed at him with puppy dog eyes, hoping he understood.
Lunden was beaming. “I can work with that because I’ma claim you anyway. I’m about to take you on your first date right now. I’m sorry for yelling at you earlier; I just get impatient. Let’s go celebrate your win.”
“This won’t be my first date, but I’m not tripping about you being irritated because I know I am picky. It used to get on Dexz’s nerves too. Speaking of him, you think he gon’ be mad that you’re trying to date me?” She gazed at him innocently, remembering what Dexz had told her in the letter.
When he got out, he wanted to finish where they left off, but she wasn’t even sure if that meant anything.
“That nigga gon’ get out and find him a hoodrat. He ain’t gon’ trip off us. If anything, he gon’ be happy. My nigga ain’t no hater,” Lunden tried to assure her.
She sighed. “Well, let me fix that line. Oh yeah, tell your cousin she’s hired if she brings me some clients so I can make some money before I open.”
“A’ight, say less…”
Lunden sat down and let Pretti fix his hair. Impressed, he made sure that from that day forward, she would be his barber.