I grab it and check, and it’s ticket sales from the show tonight. We’ve already sold ten percent of the venue and it’s been less than five minutes.
“Damn, you were right.”
“Duh,” she sings. “Just know I take fifteen off the top as your new manager.”
“How you gone be my manager and be a queenpin? Or Reem finally pushed you out of that?”
She sighs wistfully and flutters her lashes so much, I’m scared we’re gonna crash this boat. I’ve lowkey been scared since we’ve been on the freeway; it’s obviously not the original engine, but still. Her ass is zooming.
“Kareem will accept that I’m Big YT, not the little one… we’re in my mustang because he somehow got Angel’s shit into my range’s gas tank and ran me into a coffee shop. But that’s only after I had YP hack into his phone and switch up the meet times. He barely escaped the Triad meeting in one piece.”
I shake my head at her and silence her phone before it freezes. “When are y’all gonna stop trying to kill each other?”
She just shrugs. “When he dies. He called himself turning Deezy against me, so it’s forever beef.” She glances at me as we enter the city limits. “You going to Turk’s in your jailhouse grays?”
My heart jumps. I haven’t talked to anyone but YT in three months. She’s the one who told everyone I’m alive, but that’s it. I know that’s part of the reason she and Mace are on the outs, but as much as I watch over my people, I needed to do this for myself. I didn’t need the pressure of them knowing, of me feeling like Ihadto succeed. I’m glad I did, don’t get me wrong; but my blue pill really started working foreal two weeks ago from being built up in my system. And even then, those first few weeks… let’s just say it was hit or miss.
I didn’t need their well wishes or good vibes. I needed to do this on my own, while also being able to think through this shit and end all this once and for all. We all growing, thriving and finding love and shit. These ghosts and past beefs need to be deaded.
“Nah. Let’s go to the mall first.”
YT hands me my wallet when we get to the Galleria, and a few hundred dollars later YT called herself styling me in a blue Essentials short set and some snakeskin 4s. She was realadamant on this color, but shit, it kept my mind from thinking about seeing everyone. I have another prescription, one for when I feel too overwhelmed, that would mellow my mood out immediately, but I didn’t wanna get on those. I ain’t wanna be on nothing addicting, shit I barely wanted to be on what I was on now.
I counted to a hundred while we were in the car, and that was cool, until we pulled up to Turk’s, and I saw all the cars.
Dal’s gonna be so mad her and Denver’s birthday will be about me.
“Ready? It’s all gas no breaks once you officially back.” Something like concern colors YT’s face as she rubs her arm.
We never ventured too far off our plots, but every morning she did ask me if I felt better than the day before, followed by a graphic gif of a sassy black woman wishing me a good day that she had to have gotten from a text chain. And the first time I told her I did, she hearted the instant message, and started the tradition of sending me animated scripture gifs when I didn’t reply that I did. From my own files on YT, I know she doesn’t have any friends that aren’t related to her outside of Mace. And not because she was unpopular in school or anything–no, YT was a cheerleader, always had a heavy social media presence when she was free, all that. From an old video online, she thought anyone that wasn’t a Young or Davenport wasn’t worth listening to.
And yeah, I’ve claimed Mace and we got our lil shorty, but it’s not lost on me that when I was ready to give up, YT threw the line in the sea just in case I needed it. She thought I was worth it when I didn’t even think so.
For that, like all the other people in my life I’ve collected that are purehearted, she’s forever in my favor.
“I’m ready.”
Macy
WhydidIevenbring this nigga?
Dating never used to be this hard. I did literally whatever I wanted, and if the nigga wanted to stay around, he’d let a bad bitch be.
But I’m not a bad bitch first. Not anymore.
No, I’m a muva. Bad bitch immediately after, but first, a muva.
And that means, if a nigga gone be around, eventually, he will see Sadé.
Which means I can’t have your average fine ass fuck nigga beating my walls down and taking me to the mall to spend a bag.
I mean, I can, but I’m trying to be a better role model. Because lawd, I would probably fall out if Sadé comes in the crib with lil Tiny Mac with the tattoos on his face telling me she in love.
I mean, right after I ask if Tiny Mac’s daddy is single.
So I’ve traded in the ne’er-do-wells with corporate daddies. And of course, the afternoon after I decided on that, I met Brandon at the deli Dal likes to get her lunch at.
Tall? Check.
