Cap shoots her a glare before passing the bong to Chase. “You can’t even go an hour without smoking.”
“So how did you meet Shad?” Wayne asks me.
“Nutty’s girl Dal is her best friend,” he answers for me.
“That’s wassup.”
“How did y’all meet Shaddy?” I ask him, settling into Shad’s side.
Jonesy grins, leaning his head back. “We had class together. Nigga thought he was a prodigy or something.” The others chuckle while Shad flips him off.
“He came back to my dorm to study, imprinted himself on my friends and we’ve been boys ever since.”
“Hmm, sounds just like him.” I cut my eyes to Shaddy, who just smirks at me.
“We all co-own the studio together,” he reveals.
“Me and Cap produce. Wayne’s an engineer, and Chase is a videographer. Nat’s a noom.”
“Noom?”
“Non-musical. Some lame shit they made up,” Nat rolls her eyes. “I’m a pastry chef. What do you do?”
I rub my palms on my thighs and try to swallow the lump in my throat every time I try to tell someone I’m an artist.
Sensing my hesitation, Shad steps in. “She’s an artist. I’ll send you the invite to her show next year.”
“That’s amazing! Cap did all the murals in our living room.”
I lean over Shaddy to see the guy brooding on the other side of the couch. “They look really good.”
He turns his head toward me and narrows his eyes. “You like that show,Side Pieces of Kenton?”
I snort trying to hold in my giggle as the rest of them snicker. “Nah. I don’t like the show, or the bitches on it.”
Cap’s mug transforms into a Kool-Aid smile, showing off his gap. He nods a couple times, holding out his hand for me to slap and shake.
“Ah shit, she got Cap to smile. It’s a done deal now,” Chase cackles.
As soon as the pizza gets here, Nat puts on the movie;Paranormal Activity. Just like I have book club, once a month, they all gather at Chase and Nat’s house and watch a scary movie, then get high as fuck and discuss it. Watching Shaddy interact with his college friends is interesting to say the least. He laughs more than I’ve ever thought possible, smiling bashfully when they tell me embarrassing stories of their time at KSU, and the early years of them establishing themselves in the industry.
You’d never know they were well-known. They don’t dress it or act it. They just seem like friends who love pizza, scary movies, weed, and music.
And knowing Shaddy feels more at home here than with his family makes me feel a way.
“Aight, Mace. What’s your favorite song? All-time favorite.” Jonesy smirks. He’s the most talkative, right after Nat, and almost as mischievous as Cap.
“That’s hard as fuck,” I complain.
“Don’t think, just say… 3, 2, 1!”
“So Elasticby Dom Kennedy,” I blurt.
“A classic,” Cap mumbles.
“Yellow Albumwas that shit. I’m fucking with it,” Chase agrees.
“Yeah, she’s a keeper, Shad. Don’t fuck it up.” Nat points at him, trying and failing to be serious.
