"Yeah, I'm sure." I replied. On the other hand I knew I had hella pride and wished I could just be honest for once in my life and confess that I needed a ride but I felt like expressing the fact that I needed a ride made me appear weak and I definitely wasn't no weak ass female by any means. Why did I have to have so much pride though? It was just a ride but somehow my complicated ass refused the simple gesture. Instead of walking away, he reached in his pocket and handed me a piece of paper.
"Here's my number. If you need me for anything please don't hesitate to hit me up. No matter what time of the day or night I got you." He explained and then started to walk away from me.
"Thanks." I managed to say before he completely walked off leaving me standing there alone. I looked down at my cheap ass watch my mother had purchased for me last Christmas and realized it was time to get down to the bus stop so I could make my bus on time. I made a personal reminder to steal myself a better watch soon. My mother knew good and damn well that watches that she brought me and my brother were super ugly but I think she felt guilty that another Christmas had come and she hadn't managed to buy us any gifts at all. She had been too busy getting high off of the money she had previously set aside to go Christmas shopping and by the time she looked up she had smoked and snorted up all the damn money. Usually, my older brother had the ability to cover over the foul shit that she did to us but since he had been locked up there wasn't no camouflaging anything anymore. Since bumming money off of my brother at the last minute was no longer an option, she rushed out to the nearest drug store and brought us these cheap ass watches. I would rather she not buy us anything but she felt like at least if we received one gift it would make our Christmas seem somewhat normal. Those things were so damn cheap that mine was already starting to fall apart but it was still decent enough to wear when I stole shit so I could keep track of the time.
I tried to make sure I didn't stay in a store no longer than twenty minutes. That was my personal limit. It was enough time to grab what I needed and more than enough time to get the hell out of the store so I wouldn't get caught and messing around with Kwame I had been way behind my personal schedule. Thank God I didn't get caught or anything.
By the time the bus came, I was ready to get on and sit down because my feet were hurting. I had stood on them all day at school and then at the mall. I was ready to get home and chill. I ended up running into my best friend named Tameeka. She walked on the bus carrying more shopping bags than I could count.
"What's up bitch?" Tameeka said as she walked down the aisle and sat right across from me.
"Same shit just a different day. What you doing out here Meeka? I didn't see you in school today where was you at?"
"Girl, I took today as my personal day off. Besides that shit be super boring and I just got finished spending the day with my man Ahmad. He ended up having to handle some business so he gave me a stack and told me to do whatever I wanted. I would've caught a cab or something but I didn't want to wait for them to come."
"So wait a minute. Your man gave you a whole stack?"
"Yes. He stay giving me money sweetie. It's nothing like a street nigga. They keep you right in all areas."
"I guess Meeka." I said with my lip and my nose turned all the way up.
"Girl, don't knock it till you try it. There's nothing like messing with a real nigga. They make sure they take care of you."
My girl Meeka kept her a street dude and always stayed laced with nothing but the finest. It became sort of her hustle. Me myself I didn't follow in her footsteps. I didn't choose to deal with any dudes on that level. Nothing against it but I preferred to take care of myself. Besides, from all of the talks me and my brother had while he was locked up I knew that it wasn't good to depend on a man for anything because when you did you set yourself up for failure and I definitely wasn't about to fail. I knew that I probably made things hard for myself but I didn't care. I would rather steal what I needed than be depending on some nigga to finance my whole entire life. That way I didn't owe a mothafucka anything because I got it for myself. Some chicks had it backwards. They depended on a nigga for everything and that same nigga acted like you owed them your next breath. Shit, I wasn't trying to owe a nigga anything.
What was cool and worked for Meeka just didn't work for me but I guess opposites attract and my girl and I had been tight since we were in preschool.
"Must be nice to be taken care of but you know I don't get down with dudes all like that. Most of them are grimy anyway."
"Not all of them are grimy. I'll admit some of them are but you'll find the right one and when you do he gon' have you twerkin' right out your panties."
"I swear you are so crazy girl."
Yes, it was true. I was almost sixteen and still a virgin but I considered that to be a special situation that you enjoyed with someone you loved but my life was so fucked up that I didn't have time to even think about losing my virginity to anyone especially a sorry ass nigga that didn't appreciate shit. As far as I was concerned those dudes could miss me with all the bullshit. I wasn't down for it by any means and if that meant I had to be a virgin until the right dude came along then I was willing to wait. Besides, I seen how having babies by no good niggas did you and I wasn't trying to be anything like my mother. My brothers and I never met any of our fathers and my mother didn't have two sticks to rub together. I simply wasn't trying to be her.
"Girl, you know I'm telling the truth. All it's gonna take is for the right nigga to come along and he gon' have yo' pussy open as wide as the state of Texas and your nose too."
"Girl, whatever ain't nobody thinking about none of that. Anyways, guess who I just ran into?"
"Bitch, you know I'm horrible at guessing shit so just tell me."
"Kwame. Remember him?" I asked her as she appeared to be in deep thought until a lightbulb must've went off in her head.
"Man, how can I forget fine ass Kwame that used to run with your brother. He got them fine ass brothers too. I haven't seen him in forever. He still look the same?"
"Yeah he do. He remembered me. I didn't even remember him at first."
"How can you forget his fine chocolate self? Shit, if I wasn't with Ahmad my ass would've pushed up on Kwame a long time ago. Did you give him your number?"
"Naw, but I got his." I pulled his number out of my jean pocket and my best friend's eyes lit up.
"But why you ain't give him yo' number though?"
"Meeka I don't have to give this man my number ‘cuz I have his."
"Come on. We both know your ass ain't gon' call him at all. At least if he had your number I would know he'd probably call you. You're not gonna call him. You must not know who Kwame is. He's that nigga out here. They call him the problem solver."
"Well first of all why would I call him? Second of all I know who Kwame is ‘cuz he used to run with my older brother. And what's a problem solver?"
"Oh my god. You cannot be serious right now. You can call him and talk to him and get to know him or hell if it were me I would call him and tell him I wanted to fuck. It's just that simple. And you never heard of Kwame laying dudes permanently flat out here?"
"No I don't know what you're talking about and you're definitely right. I'm not you at all."
"See that's what I'm talking about. You letting a good nigga get away. You better push up on him before the next chick come along and take your place. Kwame is the type of nigga that makes other niggas vanish into thin air. Poof. He definitely be puttin' in work for his brothers."
"You're saying take my place like this nigga is feeling me or something. He just gave me his number damn. You act like he flat out told me that he was feelin me or somethin'. Are you saying Kwame is a killer or something?"
"He didn't have to. Kwame gave you his number. He didn't have to give you shit. He could've just said hello and went on his merry way but he didn't. Now it's up to you to see what's up."
"We'll see Tameeka." I said and I looked at his number before stuffing it back in my pocket.
"Everybody know that Kwame is the muscle behind Khyree and Khamani's business. He simply ain't the one to fuck with. Regardless of what he does you would be a fool to pass a thorough nigga like that up. So please think about it before you blow Kwame off."