"Someone you shouldn't have fucked with."
Tears start to swell in the woman's eyes, and I'm starting to feel a bit embarrassed for her. What's worse is she looks over at me and catches me seeing her tear up, which is probably making everything a hundred times worse for her.
"YOU ARE A FUCKING WASTE OF MY BREATH ROMAN MASTERSON!"
I was right.
The woman begins crying hysterically and literally foaming at the mouth. She's totally irate and out of control. Not like her heart has been broken, but more like she's had it up to here with men doing her dirty. Of course if she hadn't tossed a bottle of water in my face, I might have more sympathy for her.
If Roman has this effect on a woman after one night, I think I should be relieved that I totally dodged a bullet. I most certainly would rather be his cousin. Okay, maybe not, but you know what I mean.
He walks away and doesn't say anything else to the woman, which is a relief, because in another minute I think she would have pulled a gun on him or something. After jumping back in the car and nodding a good bye to Tyson, he turns to me as we pull off, his body shaking with laughter.
"You're wet."
"You think this is funny?!" I screech.
Then I break into laughter too, and now we are both in hysterics. I couldn't help it. My shirt was sopping wet, because he wouldn't give that poor woman seconds. This day was turning out to be a super funny adventure.
"I'm sorry about that. Her bank is literally two blocks away."
"Her bank?"
"She manages the federal credit union down the block."
"That crazy woman is a bank manager?"
"I only deal with classy women baby." He jokes.
"Obviously."
He laughs again, and I have to admit that I'm starting to love watching Roman laugh. He doesn't do it a lot, but when he does it's completely addicting. His eyes crinkle at the corners, his mouth turns up on one side, and I get to see that amazing dimple again.
"So you don't do seconds?" I ask with curiosity.
"Not really."
"What does that mean exactly?"
"It means that I don't like to sleep with a woman more than once. They get too attached. You just saw it with your own eyes."
"You slept with her once? Really?" I ask incredulously.
"Yep. Imagine how'd she stalk my ass if I gave it to her again."
I roll my eyes.
"You're such a pig Masterson."
He laughs heartily.
***
WE HAD A LITTLE TIME TO KILL BEFORE we needed to change clothes for the club, so Roman made the decision to drive me around parts of the city that I'd never seen. During college I'd spent most of my time in my one little corner of the world. On campus and very close by. I hadn't ventured out to other parts of the city. There was no need to in my opinion.
We drove by what he explained was his former elementary school in a run down part of town that looked like it was probably a nice neighborhood once upon a time. You could tell there were a few families on various blocks still trying to maintain their homes but with limited funds. Roof shingles were askew, paint was peeling, and the concrete steps needed a redo, but the grass was also freshly cut and fresh red geraniums were planted in pots in the front of many of the houses.
When Roman points to the building where he learned the alphabet and his times tables, I'm shocked. There isn't enough landscaping in the world to make his elementary school look inviting. It looks like a massive stone and brick prison. I can't imagine any child entering that building everyday and feeling optimistic about life. I feel like seeing it explains his rough edges and quick temper.
"That's big." I comment not wanting to say what I really feel.
"Too big. There were a lot of kids that didn't get along, because this wasn't really their neighborhood. They were being bused in from other parts of the city. I only lived two blocks from here."
"What was wrong with that?"
"Big class sizes. No individual attention. Lots of fighting."
"So where'd your mom meet Joseph?" I ask curiously.
"Joseph's from the neighborhood too. In fact he went to this same school when he was a kid."
Really? I'm surprised and now I'm wondering where on earth my uncles met Joseph.
"Oh."
"My parents knew each other from the neighborhood when they hooked up. It wasn't a romance. It was him getting his shit off a couple of times, and for my mom it was about having a baby before her biological clock blew up. She knew him, she trusted him, and for the most part she was right to trust him. He did more than most of the babies’ daddies from the neighborhood. He always sent money every month and a gift at Christmas."
Roman says the last part with some bite to his voice. I guess that must have been all Joseph managed to do for most of his life. Send money.