“Yo, I get it, but you know what it is. This shit that we do, it's who you are. You don't know how to be anything else but a man about his business. Look how these niggas in here showing love, watching, waiting for you to take your throne again. You’re a fucking king to them. That ain't gon’ change, ’cause you ain't gon’ change. You might find some legit shit to make you look good on paper, but you gon’ always have your hands in the streets, Miego. It's in your blood. So when you ready to take back what's rightfully yours, come see me, and I got you on the come up so we can go back to doing shit the way it's supposed to be done out here.”
Miego looked at Train and chuckled. He knew he was right, but for now, he was taking a minute. “I hear ya, fam.”
Train glanced at the floor as Miego’s brother caught a pass from a teammate and slammed the ball. Again, the crowd went wild chanting his name.
“He don't fuck around, does he? I still remember Tron’s little ass crying and shit because Rich took his damn basketball from him and we had to chase that nigga down. We beat the hell out of Rich. He still got a limp when he walks from that shit. Look at Tron’s ass now. A fucking beast on the courts, yo. I heard he got a shitload of scholarship offers already.”
“Yeah, I’m proud of him.”
“Shit, me too. He’s just as much my peoples as he is yours. Hell, we raised him so the streets wouldn't,” Train said, remembering all the times that he and Miego had spent making sure Tron stayed out the of streets and in the gym.
Miego chuckled. “Yeah, you right. Tron’s little cry baby ass. I guess he grew up, though.”
“Looks that way. But I’ll get up with you, bruh. Come through and check me out. You might be trying to go legit and shit now, but you can still burn one with me for old times’ sake. You feel me?”
“Yeah, I can do that.” Miego chuckled.
They dapped each other, and just as Miego was about to go find his sister, he ran right into a shorty. The gym was so packed that it couldn't be avoided, and the fact that she was focused on her phone instead of where she was going didn't help. Miego looked into her eyes as he caught her by the arms to steady her after their collision. He couldn't help but notice how fly she was. Soft vanilla skin, diamond shaped medium brown eyes surrounded by long curly lashes that looked natural and not purchased. Dark brown hair that swept her back and shoulders, with the ends dyed Auburn. The cutest thing was the divot centered in her chin that sat right below her full kissable lips.
“My bad, Ma. You good?” Miego looked down at the shorty he ran into, and she looked up at him and rolled her eyes.
She was short as hell. He didn't even think she was five feet, so his 6’4” frame towered over hers as he held her in place. She was no longer at risk of falling, but he didn't let her go until she snatched away.
“I’m good,” was all she said as she tried to step around him.
He laughed at her cold demeanor but kept it moving. She seemed annoyed with him, but it was her damn fault for having her face in her phone.
Shorty walked to the visitor’s side of the gym, so he assumed that she was with the opposing team. Miego sat down with his sister to watch his brother play. He was checking for shorty, but he wasn't the type to chase anyone, especially someone who didn't want to join the race.
For the most part, things were going smoothly, although the game was wild and out of control. Shit changed drastically when Miego heard yelling coming from the court.
“Put your hands on me again and Imma fuck you up.”
Miego's eyes went straight to the center of the court where one of the kids on the rival team was yelling at his brother. He stood in anticipation of the situation getting bad. Game or no game, Miego wasn't about to let anybody put their hands on his little brother. That shit wasn't happening. He knew that Tron was more that capable of defending himself, but as his big brother, anytime shit popped off and he was around, Miego was going to handle it.
The game had been intense and it was the last few seconds, with Tron’s team up by six points and the other team was pissed off. In the hood, taking an L like that from a rival team translated into putting your hands on somebody.
“Yo, if you can't take that shit, get off the court,” Tron yelled, holding his hands in the air to make sure the refs could see that he wasn’t making contact.
“Nigga, fuck you,” dude yelled and shoved Tron in the chest.
Miego damn near leaped out the stands to get to his brother, but before he could reach him, Tron nailed the guy right in his jaw. The refs were pulling the two apart, but Miego hit the court, grabbed his brother around the chest from behind and dragged him to the sideline. Tron continued to yell across the court the entire time. Miego could see Train out the corner of his eye making his way toward them with his hand under his shirt where Miego knew he was holding.