"Raven! Bring ya ass!" I yell across the field. I've been standing in this same position for the last 5 minutes. My legs hurt! Ray comes running over to me but gets frozen like 2 feet away from me. "Bullshit!" We yell. Soon, hands clap me on my back and then does the same to Raven. I look over and see Kyrie. Let me tell y'all something. That girl has only been froze twice. I don't know if it's her technique or speed but Dante has been tracking her down! Everybody's running and now it's 2 freeze masters. I don't know what the fuck to call them so I'll stick with that. Dante and Loc are freezing niggahs left and right. Again, I'm back in a stalemate position but at least I'm standing straight up. Kyrie, Tray and Jasmine are the only ones still running around, dodging those niggahs. Tackle! Tray is outta there. Ass slap! Jasmine is done. My girlfriend is the last one standing. Dante and Loc are standing a few feet away from her. All 3 of them are leaning down. "Bend that ahh over, baby!" I yell and the field erupts into laughter. "What's the objective at this point?" Kyrie asks. "Make it back to those bleachers without being tagged." Loc says. From where we were to the bleachers is a far ass run. Kyrie can do it but still. Without being tagged just adds on to the challenge. Both boys walk closer to her and she backs up. She looks my way and then runs towards me. She slaps my back and then runs around me. She tags Raven, Tray, Troy, Jasmine and Azendra. We act as a distraction and she takes off! I guess playing basketball sorta helps but not really cause Dante and Loc have the same blocking skills as me. But since the game started, I've managed to not get tagged. So now I'm running behind Kyrie. She stops running and I get a chance to catch up with her. "We ... still ... got like two ... blocks left. Long ass field." Kyrie says, breathlessly and I laugh. "Spread out!" Santos yells as everyone comes running over to us. Kyrie dashes for the bleachers again. We all watch as Dante hunts her down. He tags her a second after her hands touch the metal seats. "AYE! TURN UP!" She yells and we cheer. "Come out ya pocket, motherfucker!" Kyrie says and Dante pulls out a crisp $50 bill. "What was that for?" Jasmine asks. "In eighth grade, Kush and I made a bet. I told her that she couldn't outrun me since I was on the track team. She said she could since she did hurdles and the 400 dash from 5th to 8th grade. I said bet money, she said $50. And we really don't know why we picked her 16th birthday." Dante says and we laugh. "I hope this doesn't sound rude but you got speed." Loc says. "Nah. I've spent my whole life shocking people." Kyrie says and we all head back to our cars. "So, don't forget. Party on the South Side on Saturday." Kyrie says as she climbs into her car. "Aight. Make sure your mom comes too." Troy says and winks. "Niggah! Don't be talking about my aunt like that." Tray says and slaps him in the back of the head. "That's from me and him!" Novia says. I climb into the passenger's seat and Jasmine gets in the back. "Fooley, where you staying?" Kyrie asks. "At your uncle's." Jasmine responds and we pull off.
*3 hours later*
"Why Jasmine didn't spend the night here?" Tray asks as he and Santos block the door while Kyrie cuts my hair. "Uhh ... Cole!" She responds and they laugh. "I knew that. I was just testing you. You smart." Tray says I laugh. He has issues. Riddle me this? Is it fair that your girlfriend can look absolutely irresistible while she's doing something as simple as cutting your hair but you can't do anything but watch her longingly? No? Didn't think so. Kyrie is an asshole! Looking all purty and things. "I'm an asshole, Cole? I'll live up to that and give yo ass a LeBron James." She says. Trayvon and Chresanto are in the background, rolling. "Shit! I meant to think that. But I didn't mean it in a bad way. I meant it in a frustrated ... way ... I think." I say. She cuts off the clippers and laughs. "I know how you meant it. Cause I be saying that shit too." Novia says and I smile. "So ... guess who's coming to the party Saturday." Tray says. "Who?" We all ask. "Faith, Davantae and Mike." "Oh shit! For real?" Kyrie asks. "Yea. They called me earlier today." "Who is that?" I ask. "Childhood friends. From what 2nd grade?" Tray responds and my girlfriend nods. "Well, we finna go to bed. Night, people of color who are my friends and I really want to call them the 'N' word but I can't cause I love life." Santos says and pulls Tray down the hall. "You know ... I'm gonna leave that alone." I say and we laugh. Kyrie takes her ponytail out and runs her fingers through her hair. "Bro! My waves are getting so deep." She says and grabs my hand. I rub her scalp and feel all the waves. "They are. That's bullshit." "Aww, you know have waves too." "Not as deep as yours." "True but let's not dwell on that." She says and walks away. "Way to make feel better about myself." I call after her. I flop onto Kyrie's bed and look around her room. I smiled as I thought of her birthday present. It really suits her. "Grape or orange?" I hear and look towards the door. My beautiful Novia stood there with 2 cups in her hands. "Orange." I say and she hands me a cup. She then sits in the computer chair and moves side to side. "Stallion?" "Talk to me." "What was the first thing you noticed about me at Footlocker?" I ask and she tilts her head up in thought. "On the real, your shoes. I was like 'Oh snap! He got on the J's. I feel it!'" She says and I start rolling. "I expected something like my hair or my eyes or my arms. Anything but the shoes." I say and she shakes her head while saying, "I've never looked at anything before the shoes on a guy. Their shoe choice somewhat tells me what to expect. I was wrong about you, though. Your shoe said cocky ... which kinda are but you're actually really sweet." She says and looks at me. 'How did I get so lucky?' I think to myself. "So what did you first notice?" "Your hair and face." I respond. "Continue ..." She says, intrigued. "Well, I saw you like 30 minutes earlier at Starbucks. You didn't notice cause you were on your phone. Anyway, when I walked in, the color of your hair captivated me. It was a lot darker than it is now but I could see the brownish-auburn colored highlights in it. Then you looked up and I felt like all the wind was knocked out of me. Your glasses sat perfectly on your nose, your lips had a glimmering shine to them and they were full. Them cheeks, though! I was low key fan-boying in my head. And I knew that I was staring too hard when I started to notice that little scar on your left cheek. So ... yea." I say and she looks at me. After a few minutes, she puts her head down and I can hear her choke back a sob. "Aww, baby girl. I didn't mean to make you cry." I say and pull her into a hug. "No, it's fine. I just ... you ... that statement ... aww, fuck this! You're perfect and I'm so shocked that you noticed so much about me and you remember things that I do or say." She says and buries her face in my neck. "Hahaha. Of course I do! Just like you remember things about me. It's what we do." I say and pull her back so that I can kiss her forehead. "I love you, Cole." "I love you too, Kyrie." I say and she hugs me again before pulling me downstairs. "Pepperoni or combination?" She asks. "We got pizza rolls?" "Yea." "Cook those too and pepperoni." I respond then I realize something. It's like 11. Kyrie rarely eats this late. Fuck! "Baby?" "Hmm?" "T. O. M?" I ask and she laughs. "Honey, you know me so well."
