Bloom

11 | smoother than silk

Giselle "G" Rowe
Wednesday, October 19 | 1:29 a.m.
Downtown

-

"Hell nah, ion applaud nobody for doin' the bare minimum." June huffs, putting on his left signal.

"I mean, the way I see it, you can show people appreciation for doing kind or responsible things even if it's expected of them. Take Mother's Day for example. Yo' mama is supposed to take care of you and allat shit, but some folks' mamas don't do that plus, being a parent in general is hard so when you see somebody doin' they thing, saluting 'em won't hurt. Might be the very thing that keeps them on this Earth." I stare out of the window, watching the distorted city lights fade in the distance through the massive raindrops sliding down the glass.

"That's also like if somebody get a brand new apartment at 30 years old and because they're proud of themselves, they show it off. Imagine if somebody else was like 'you grown as fuck, you should be moving out! That's the bare minimum.' instead of just congratulating them. Don't that sound crazy? Love make the world go around."

The car is silent for a while, just the pitter patter of water droplets hitting the windshield and the roof of the vehicle until June blows air through his nose, a small smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth. "You know what I like about you, Giselle?"

I side eye him, tucking my top lip between my teeth, silently beckoning him to continue.

"You see the beauty in everything. Always lookin' on the bright side of shit and leading with good intentions. Even when you anxious, I can hear you mumbling under yo' breath that everything's gone be aight."

Butterflies.

"Shit, you seem good with kids too. That's always a plus."

"Wow." I breathe. I love Jamari with everything in me so when people complement me on how I handle him, I can't lie, I truly take it to heart.

I really gotta stop talkin' to myself in front of people though.

"Thank you, Rashad."

"You like callin' me by my name, huh?"

I keep my mouth closed, running my tongue over my teeth, exhaling a chuckle as I shift in my seat. I still feel all warm inside from the hot apple cider that we stopped by to get after he picked me up from work. His gaze is only adding fueling the fire. The way his round eyes look under the blanket of his thick eyelashes always gets me.

"It's coo. I like how it sounds comin' out yo mouth too." June shrugs, twisting a nob that increases the volume. Brent Faiyaz's voice comes flooding through the speakers immediately.

"Baby, let's keep it real. We both still young so what's the rush? The night is young and we not drunk enough."

Our late night joy riding has come to an end as we pull into my parents' neighborhood and I'm already dreading hearing my mama's mouth about the time. I guess it's worth it though.

I wish that I could stay the night elsewhere.

My eyes find the side of June's head, traveling from his defined jawline down to the simple jewelry sparkling around his neck under the passing streetlights.