Or the one where Kareem falls in love with a dangerous man, Erik Stevens.
Falling in love with Erik Stevens might just be the easiest but hardest thing that Kareem Jacobs has ever done. To love such a brash, harsh, stubborn, and manipulative man is something that Kareem thought would've been impossible, but yet, there he was, so deeply in love with someone that was so deeply scarred by the world.
Kareem and Erik met when they were just seven years old. Kareem and his family moving to Oakland from a small town in Georgia to live closer to Kareem's grandmother. They played basketball together on the streets, and that Erik was much different from the Erik that Kareem knows today. He was just like all of the other kids on their block, until that one night in '92.
1992
"Yo, pass me the ball, fool. I'm open!" Kareem shouts to Erik, who was always a ball hog, always wanting to prove that he could do any and everything by himself. It got on Kareem's nerves to say the least. "Erik!"
"I got it!" Erik says, though there are two people holding him and they aren't letting up anytime soon.
"Erik! I said I got it, nigga! Pass it to me!" Kareem shouts again, waving his arms frantically in Erik's direction.
Erik spins on his heel, dribbling the ball as he does, crossing Theo up and bouncing the ball skillfully though Andre's legs and rushing towards the makeshift basketball hoop, a milk crate with the bottom busted out bolted to a plank of wood, and shooting the ball.
"Yeah, get some, lil' niggas." Erik says, hitting himself in his puffed out chest with a fist. "Y'all don't want none. Y'all don't want it."
Stomping over to Erik, Kareem pushes him hard. "I told you I was open."
Erik stumbles back but quickly regains his balance, shooting Kareem a glare. "And I told you I had it." Erik shoves Kareem back, harder, sending Kareem back and landing on his butt.
"Man, fuck you!" Kareem says, looking at his scraped palms and standing up, wiping the blood on his pants. "We supposed to be a team, Erik."
"You ain't much help." Erik says. "I'm better than you at basketball anyway."
"I hate you." Kareem says.
Erik laughs. "I'm supposed to care?"
"Is y'all gone talk or y'all gone fight or we gone keep playing?" Theo asks, tucking the ball under his arm.
"Yeah, 'cause right now y'all being a couple of little bitches." Andre adds.
Kareem opens his mouth to say something but there's a loud noise that draws all of their attention. Looking up into the sky, the kids see a strange light rising in the darkness from behind Erik's apartment building, a spaceship-looking thing that fades away before the very eye.
"What the fuck?" Theo says.
"Aye, Erik, you got some aliens or some shit in your crib, bro." Andre says, dropping the basketball. "I'm going back home. Theo, you coming?"
"Right behind you bro." Theo says, and he and Andre hurry off down the street.
Kareem turns to look at Erik, picking up the basketball. Erik's eyes are still turned to the sky, a seemingly knowing look in his eye, mixed with confusion at the same time.
"Erik?" Kareem asks, looking up at the empty sky then back to Erik. "W-what was that?"
"I don't know." Erik says, turning his face down to Kareem and then grabbing the ball from him. "I'll see you later, bro."
YOU ARE READING
AFTER DARK «one shots»
Romance"In a whip so low, no one's gotta know. Knocking at your door I don't gotta work anymore. You can put your phone down you're gonna need two hands. You can't get enough. Boy you know I set it up, for after dark." This is a book of boyxboy one shots...
