33. Rico #2
It don’t matter that I wear this damn cock lock, that she has the passwords to all my shit, or that I answer my phone at the most random times whenever she feels like checking in with me.
No. My Snow was serious about depriving me of my pussy. She calls me petty, but she can tell I’m fiending, and instead of dropping her pants and giving me what I need, she just pushes that fucking gum to the side of her mouth and laughs.
So I stopped asking. That was a week ago.
This morning, she calls me, telling me she has a free day, so instead of manipulating my way into us spending the day in her crib, I tell her to get dressed.
We can’t really be seen in the city, but Hudsonville is a little ways away, so if she keeps that blonde wig in the closet, she’ll be straight.
I’m more surprised than anything that she’s wearing her natural hair in two braids. Her tank top stops above her belly ring, and with her ripped pants and chucks, she doesn’t look anything like the rap star she is.
Her floral perfume makes my mouth water when she slides into my front seat. “No Monte Carlo today?”
“Nah,” I smirk, pulling off once she buckles her seatbelt.
“Am I dressed okay?”
“Yup. You look good, baby.”
She lights up, blush filling her cheeks. “Thank you.”
I stop at a red light and lightly trace the freckles dotting her face. “Your freckles are my favorite constellation, Snow. I love when you don’t cover them.”
She shies away from my hand, and I know she’s overwhelmed with my praise.
“You still not seeing Miss Snowflake.”
“And I’d still feel the same way regardless.” I grab her hand and interlock our fingers as I start driving again. “But I have a feeling you’re gonna fold before me.”
“Fat chance,” she cackles, popping a piece of gum in her mouth.
“We gotta figure out something else for you, Snow. Yo jaw finna be hella square chewing gum all day.”
She freezes, rolling her eyes before blowing an obscene bubble. “I switch to tic tacs sometimes. I’m trying not to be like Dori with cigarettes. Plus… someone could reap the benefits of my extra strong jaws if they weren’t floosies.”
“Snow, we having a good day today. Don’t start.”
She tries to snatch her hand away from me, but I tighten my grip, and call on my brother, mother, and every angel in heaven to grant me the patience to truly see this good ass day I planned through to the end.
When I pull into this old diner deep in East Kenton, Snow can barely contain herself in her seat. It’s one of the few spots over here in neutral territory and that stays open twenty-four hours. A few times we’d come here to stay up all night and talk over slices of cake and shit like an old couple.
She’s out of the car before I can even turn it off properly. Strolling up to the door, I catch myself smiling as I watch her be led to our old booth. The menu is in her hands by the time I sit down, and I’m curious as to what she’s gonna order.
“Cheeseburgers, no onions. You wanna share chili cheese fries? Oh wait, no chili for me. I don’t know what else you got planned.” Her teeth comb her lip as her eyes dance between me and the menu, before she places it down on the table.
“You can get whatever you want. You wanna be gassy all day, then I guess I’m smelling farts.”
The waitress comes and I let Snow order for us. With a little encouragement from me, she gets exactly what she wants. When our sodas come, her foot finds mine underneath the table.
“You always wanna play footsies with a nigga,” I chuckle.
I move my shit out the way and laugh louder when she tries to step on my shoe. “Gotta be quicker than that, my baby.”
“You said we were gonna have a good day. That means no teasing.”
“But that’s what we do, Snow. You just mad ‘cause when you can’t think of shit, you resort to violence. My throat still hurts from your fucking nail.”
“Good.” She takes a sip of her soda. “I heard there was a fight the other night, and you were nowhere to be found.”
“Ain’t that–”
“Because you were all up in that big booty girl’s section being a thot!”
Our food is brought to us, and as soon as the waitress leaves, I place my hand on top of Snow’s.
“You want Daddy to buy you a new ass? Is that what this is?”
I snatch my hand back before she can stab me with a fork, covering my humor with a bite from my cheeseburger.
Shit is fire. Just like it was all those years ago.
She takes a bite of her cheeseburger as well, but that don’t stop my Snow from talking shit. She just moves her food to the side of her mouth where her teeth are still real. “Nope. I already had someone give me the parts I wanted.”
“See, Snow. You be aiming for the gut. Straight violence. Now what if I make you run up in that nigga house with me? It’s nothing to do it while Brina and the kids gone.”
She rolls her eyes and swallows her food. “Okay, fine. That was low. In my defense, he never paid for my teeth, he just was moral support. And the tits were from a bet. Don’t go overreacting like you always do.”
I grin, since she’s not telling me shit I don’t know, and inhale the rest of my food.
After I pay, we’re safely in the car and headed to Hudsonville.
The sun is high in the sky, though it’s a mild enough day for there to still be a breeze.
The city always reminds me of Belize. Regardless of humidity, most of the days are perfect and peaceful.
I probably would never wanna live no where else.
“Set’s still mad at me.”
I glance at Snow. She’s picking at her cuticles again, but I refrain from comforting her, because I know she’s not done.
For her to bring that nigga up to me, I know it’s bothering her. And while I’m conflicted on talking about another nigga, I’m also conflicted about being her only safe space, especially when she has a sister.
“I really… okay,” she exhales. “So, I was being petty. Not telling him about us. I was hurt that he didn’t know.
I thought Fredo would say something, but then he just didn’t.
And then… I thought I imagined it. How much I meant to you.
I thought maybe… it wasn’t what I thought it was.
It wasn’t that serious. So I thought it didn’t matter.
But now that we… I know how it looks, and I don’t know how to make it right. ”
I’m quiet for a long moment, well after we leave city limits.
“You miss him?” the words feel disgusting on my tongue. So much so that I finish the water bottle I grabbed that morning.
“I do,” she whispers sadly. “After the accident, all I had was him and Cochise. And I feel like, since I… had sex with both of them, I ruined the friendships in different ways. Coach is off being trained to be a modern day king, and I’m sure his new wife doesn’t want me anywhere near him.
And Set… I don’t see him getting over this.
And if he does, it’ll never be the same. You know how he is.”
I grab her hand now, and kiss all her fingers around the skin she’s messed with. When I hear a small sniffle, followed by hard chewing, I curse myself for the thousandth time for being so hardbody.
It was easy to act like I hated Snow because I did. I hated her for having an abortion. I hated her for breaking up with me. I hated her for going to the Birch, for when I thought she left Haze for dead. For when I found out she started fucking with Set.
The depth of my hate was only possible, however, because I loved her so much.
Yeah, she was petty as fuck, but it was on me.
I should have let my niggas know she was off limits, whether we ever rekindled our shit or not.
It would have been no skin off my back to put Set on game, to let Fredo tell him all the times he wanted to, because of course, my brother could see into the future, and knew me better than I knew myself.
He always thought we’d find our way to each other, and knew the path to that would be a storm of my own doing.
“I’ve gotta stop fucking my friends,” Snow whimpers.
“Nieve,” I tsk, “you fucked me, and that turned out okay.” I squeeze her hand to show her I’m being serious.
“I’on know about Cochise and his fiancée, but Set will get over this shit.
It ain’t been no time foreal. Yeah, we was both on bullshit, but we was both on bullshit with each other.
On Baby, if Haze woulda put you in rehab instead of begging me to bring you to Belize, it would have never been no reason for us to bring up our past. You woulda been on bullshit for the rest of your life. ”
“Rico.” Snow shifts so that she’s facing me in the car. I grin, kissing her fingers again as I cruise toward Hudson Lake.
“Let’s not rewrite history. I wasn’t on bullshit.
Set’s so mad because he knows how much I loved you and how much you hurt me.
I just never said a name. You were the one faking like you hated me.
Faked it real good. I should have known though.
How you hate someone but want them in your skin every hour of every day.
Then… we starting fucking and it was a wrap. ”
She laughs it off, but I can tell from the vacant look in her eyes, she’s trying to remember specifics she can’t recall.
“Ty-Ty told me to stop playing up,” I say, throwing her a bone.
“I ended up telling him everything in Colombia, and he lit fire under my ass. I mean, I figured I was bullshitting when you sliced my face open and I ain’t kill you on the spot, so I guess I was already warming up to locking yo ass down again. ”
“You ain’t lock shit down, and I owe you way more than my favorite feature on that pretty face of yours.” She brings my hand to her mouth, but she bites my fingers instead of kissing them. It goes straight to my dick, and this goddamn cock lock rubs against my hardening erection.
“You can cut me anywhere you like, Snow. Just as long as you stitch me back together.”
“You’re so gross,” she snorts, looking away from me as I pull into a park. I chose the lot by the swan rides so that it would be obvious what we’re doing out here, and once again she squeals and hops out the car before me.