Chapter 1 Amethyst #2
“Yale, slide that shit here and stop playing,” I said, shaking my head.
There was no way in hell she was going to carry shit around me.
Hell, I was trying to be nice and let her walk instead of telling her to climb on my back like I usually did.
She acted like she was going to put it on, and I shook my head. “Yale Forrester.”
“Okay, okay,” she laughed and handed me the bag.
“Thank you,” I said, taking it from her and putting my empty hand out for her to take.
Without hesitation, she took it, and we walked up the stairs and exited the room.
Unlike when I arrived, the hallways were damn near empty, which gave us time to take our time.
I knew her schedule better than I knew my own at times and was aware that she didn’t have any more classes for the day.
Typically, when she didn’t have class, she would come to my house, crash, study, or bother me.
“Where’s your car?” she asked once we were outside.
“By the library,” I said as I directed us that way.
As crazy as it sounded, Yale didn’t drive any other time but when she was racing.
She said she loved the rush of racing too much to ever feel like she could safely be behind the wheel without speeding.
I knew she wasn’t lying because I’d seen her when she raced; baby lived for the thrill.
“Can we stop and get something to eat?” she asked once we were in the car and on our way to my house.
I lived close enough to campus that I didn’t trip off being late, but far enough in the cuts that niggas only came over if I trusted them enough to know where I lived.
The only people who knew where I lay my head was Yale and one other friend of ours.
“Alright.” I nodded. We stopped at a hole-in-the-wall taco spot, grabbed some food, and then went to my house. I threw our backpacks in my room, then got comfortable on the couch next to Yale.
“Alright, spit it out,” she said, then took a bite of her taco.
“Because whatever is on your mind has you quiet, and that’s not normally like you.
” She playfully bumped me with her shoulder, and I grunted.
Only Yale saw my playful side; everyone else swore I was serious as fuck, and shit, with them I was.
Yale was the only one around with whom I let my guard down. “Talk, Amethyst.”
“I talked to Grant earlier,” I said, and she nodded as she took another bite of her food. “He asked me to race for him.”
“No, he didn’t,” she said, shaking her head. “He asked you to steal the car so that I could race.”
“I’ll race,” I corrected her. I don’t know why, but something was telling me not to let her race. “You can be the look-out.”
“Nope,” she denied. “You do your job, I’ll do mine. We will win, make this money, and I can walk away from all this shit.”
“You’re walking away no matter what,” I informed her.
A few weeks ago, Yale came to me and said she needed to get away from racing altogether.
She was about to graduate and wanted to make a clean break from her past. I was all for her doing it, too.
If I had to steal to take care of both of us, then I would do that.
Her being in a relationship with Grant didn’t mean shit until he put a ring on her finger.
I was going to take care of her. Hell, even if he did that, I didn’t see myself stopping.
She’d never want for shit, no matter what.
“Am?” Yale called out, and I turned my attention to her. “You don’t race.” She shook her head, and I smirked. “I got this. This is my last race; after this, we are done. I talked to Grant about it this morning before class; he already knows.”
“You’re good, Sunshine,” I chuckled. “You will be good after this, but not me. I got med school to pay for.”
“I can't have you out there stealing,” she said, shaking her head. “If you’re going to be a doctor, I need your focus on that. Talk to your brothers or daddy about you needing money. I don’t doubt that Citrine or Pyrite will gladly pay your bills until you’re done.
They want you out of this shit just as bad as I do. ”
“I’m good,” I replied with a smirk. “You’re getting out, stay out.”
“Am--”
“Sunshine,” I interrupted her. “This shit ain’t up for discussion. Grant already knows I’ll be on his payroll for a while. I ain’t stuck, but I’m locked in for a minute.”
“I want more for you,” Yale said, shaking her head. “I want you to want more for yourself.”
“I want a lot of shit I’ll never get,” I said, looking at her. Yale was focused on her food, not me, which I appreciated. “Just chill, don’t trip off it.”
“Am--”
“Sunshine,” I cut Yale off before she started with her shit about me needing to want more out of my life, and ended up crying.
Yale wasn’t a crybaby, but she did understand her emotions.
You always knew how she felt because she wore her emotions like a badge of honor.
Happy, sad, or indifferent, it was always there, on display.
Most people saw it as a weakness, but I didn’t.
It was one of her strengths, and I respected the shit out of her for it.
“This ain’t up for discussion. I’m racing, then you’re out.
No strings attached. I got it from here. ”
“Fine,” Yale sighed. She wasn’t upset, but I could tell from the way that her brows damn near touched each other that she was annoyed. She stood, grabbed her bag from the table, and went back to the kitchen. I watched her leave the room, head up, shoulder back, and a sexy ass sway of her hips.
“What are you mad about, Sunshine?” I called out. Yale came from the kitchen with a napkin in her hand and a mug on her face.
“Because I want you to want more,” she replied, then crossed her arms. “You think I don’t hear you when you talk about your future? You love the thought of being a doctor, but it scares you to allow yourself even to think you’ll succeed.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, shaking my head. A nigga like me wasn’t supposed to get out of the hood, go to college, shit, graduate, and be in med school. I was supposed to be in jail or dead.
“Amethyst,” she called out, and I looked up at her.
Her eyes softened, and I knew that whatever she was about to say was going to have my ass standing in the shower later, thinking over my life decisions and asking God what I did for him to ever think I deserved someone so pure in my life. “What scares you?”
“What?” I chuckled, not understanding where this conversation was going.
“What scares you?” she repeated, and I shrugged.
A bunch of shit scared me, but I’d never admit it out loud.
“I’m scared of thunderstorms.” She dropped her arms and patted her thick ass thighs.
I knew she was scared of them; she’d spent plenty of nights in my bed over the years that I’d known her because she was afraid.
I loved them, though, because I knew that when she came over those nights, I got to hold her in my arms, and even though she was scared, she trusted me to protect her.
“I’m scared of spiders and walking sticks.
” Her face twisted, and I smirked. “And I’m scared I’ll lose you.
” Again, her eyes softened, but this time they filled with tears.
“That you’ll go steal a car from the wrong person and will get arrested or worse, shot and killed.
That I’ll be alone in this world without my best friend because you were too stubborn to realize — or admit, I’m not sure which yet —that this life isn’t for us anymore.
That our late nights of stealing and racing are coming to an end.
” She shrugged. “I’m afraid that I won’t see you walk into your first day as a doctor.
That I won’t be able to make you take that embarrassing ass first day of work picture that I need. ”
“Yale--”
“That’s what I’m afraid of, Amethyst,” she cut me off and shook her head. “That I won't design the engagement ring for your future wife or get to see my future God kids because you won’t be around to do those things.”
“Damn, you marrying a nigga off already?” I chuckled and tried to break the tension in the room.
“No, Amethyst,” she laughed. “I’m saying I won’t get those things because you won’t let the street life go.”
I pushed off the couch and approached her. “You’re making it seem like I’m in the streets selling drugs. I’m just stealing cars. What’s the worst that could happen?” I wrapped my arms around her and stared down at her.
“You’d lose everything, Amethyst, that’s the worst thing that could happen,” she answered, then rested her chin on my chest and looked up at me. “Then I’ll be alone, sad, heartbroken, and I’d never forgive you.”
“Alright, man,” I said, nodding. “This is my last race, after this. I’m out.” Yale smiled up at me, and I knew that my ass was gonna try my hardest to keep my word to her. I needed to talk to my brothers about getting a loan.
***
“That girl got you wrapped around her finger,” my brother, Pyrite, laughed as he watched his team practice.
He was getting the NBA's first expansion team in almost 10 years. Everybody was watching him, waiting for his young black ass to fuck up so they could clown. What they didn’t know was that shit was fuel for Pyrite.
He thrived on proving niggas wrong. The pressure wasn’t going to break him; no, it was going to make him stronger, which I knew those niggas were going to hate.
“I already know,” I said, shaking my head. “Shit is crazy.” I rubbed my hand over my face and sighed. “I can't tell her no, though; I’m stuck. If I do this race, I’m going to need help, and the only person I trust is Yale.”
“Then that’s your answer,” he chuckled and sat back.
His attention was on his star player, Givens Robbins, a special kind of nigga on the court.
There was no denying it either. He had a rep as a bad boy, but truthfully, he only fucked with people who fucked with him.
His focus was on his daughter, not his baby mama.
“You steal the car, let her drive, then when y’all win, step the fuck off. ”
“Pyrite-”
“No, lil bro, listen to me,” he said, cutting me off.
He turned from watching the court to give me his full attention.
“You want out, shit, you want her out more than anything, but that means you gotta be smart with it. This is the last run, make that shit count. Utilize your skills and the people you surround yourself with. Yale is the best at what y’all do.
Shit, she’s better than you, to be honest.”
“No lies told,” our oldest brother, Citrine, interjected, and I cut my eyes at his big ass. He smirked, then took a bite of his nachos. “I ain’t goin’ to lie to you lil bro. She is better than you are, which says a lot. Trust her like she trusts you.”
“Man, I don’t know.” I shook my head and wiped my hand down my mouth. “This shit doesn’t feel right.”
“It doesn’t feel right, or you just don’t like that nigga, Grant?” Pyrite questioned, and I grunted. “You think Grant is on some fuck shit?”
“The Kilmores are always on some fuck shit.” I chuckled, and they nodded in agreement. “But I don’t know, something doesn’t feel right, which is why I don’t want her to be a part of it. I want her out. Like, I’d do all the roles and still give her the money.”
“You said Grant said it was all or none,” Citrine said, and I nodded.
He’d texted me the full details when I was on my way here.
There had to be two players plus a spotter.
Grant was going to spot while I stole the car, and Yale drove it.
“Then it’s all or nothing. I may not like that nigga, but I respect the rules. ”
“You’d do it?” I questioned him, and he shrugged. “Nigga, you’re not helping.”
“I can’t make that decision for you,” he chuckled.
“I’d do it,” Pyrite said as he continued to watch his team.
He glanced over at me and smirked. “I’d kill that nigga afterwards, but I’d do it.
” He shrugged, then turned back to the team.
“You’re in love with Yale. That means you’ll do whatever it takes to protect her.
Race, win, then put a bullet in Grant. If that means we go to war with the Kilmores, then so be it. I like killing niggas.”
I sat back and watched the Kings practice, thinking about what my brothers had said.
Citrine was big on letting us make our own decisions and respected our choices.
Pyrite was more vocal; he’d respect your decision, but he was going to tell you what he thought.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I pulled it out to see Grant’s directions.
I blew out a breath, nodded, and then replied, letting him know I was in.
“This is the last fucking job,” I said to my brothers. “After this, Yale is out.”