Passion of the Streets Page 19

  “That’s just Shock’s ass.” He unlocked the door. “Come on.”

  “You go first.” Gia stepped behind him and waited for the door to open.

  Jamil stepped out first and Gia decided to wait a second. She needed to check her face in the mirror to make sure she was still good. When she was sure she was fine, she went ahead and pulled off the rest of her clothes.

  “Nigga, leave my homegirl alone. I brought her in here to change,” Gia heard Jamil say to the man.

  There was some laughter between the two of them before Gia heard the man talking again.

  “I should have known your ass was the only one that would be up in here after I clearly stated my bedroom was off-limits . . . my fault, li’l mama. You should have told me you were with this nigga.”

  “I told you my cousin was in the bathroom,” Oni said.

  “Milli Rock your cousin?”

  Gia stepped out of the bathroom in her sandals and bikini. “No, I’m her cousin.”

  Shock and Jamil turned their attention to Gia. She stood near the door with a nervous look on her face. She was surprised to see Shock was the same dude Oni had turned down earlier. His eyes trailed up her body before stopping at her face. He looked from her to Jamil before smiling.

  “I know this ain’t Gee? I mean, it better be since you got her all up in my shit.” He laughed and looked at Gia. “Your name Gee?”

  A gorgeous smile crossed Jamil’s face as he nodded and answered for Gia. “Yeah.” He winked at her. “That’s my Gee.”

  “Well, ain’t this some shit? I peeped her and her cousin over here when they first came in. I tried to push up on this one back here”—he nodded toward Oni—“but she shot my ass down quick.”

  Gia and Oni both laughed.

  “Oni, I know you ain’t doing my man like that,” Jamil said playfully.

  “Oni?” Shock repeated.

  “Yeah. That’s me. I wasn’t doing you like anything. I was just chilling.” She smiled at him.

  Gia watched the way Shock made Oni blush and only hoped he wouldn’t do her dirty and she wouldn’t play herself short by falling all over him too fast. He was indeed a sexy-ass nigga, which meant he was Oni’s type. But Gia hoped she practiced some self-control.

  “So, Miss Gee, tell me how you got my little brother ready to give you everything he’s got so fast,” Shock said.

  Gia smiled at Jamil because Shock kept calling her Gee, which meant Jamil had been talking about her. He was the only person who called her that.

  “Everything you’ve got, Milli?” Gia looked at Jamil with a smile tugging at her lips.

  When his face began to turn red, Jamil held his head down, trying to hide the fact that Gia was making him blush.

  “Nigga, I know your grown ass ain’t blushing?” Shock leaned over dramatically in front of Jamil, trying to see his face.

  “Man, go ’head.” Jamil pushed him away and held his head back up.

  Gia smiled brightly as she walked over to Jamil. She wrapped her arms around his waist and held on to him. Like it was the most natural thing in the world, Jamil’s arm circled around her, holding her body against his. He then placed a quick peck on her forehead before looking back at Shock and Oni. The two of them were staring at Jamil and Gia in awe.

  “Bruh, I like this shit right here.” Shock pointed between Gia and Jamil. “It’s real fucking cute.”

  All four of them laughed before Shock touched Gia’s cheek. “With a smile like this, I see why my little brother’s head in the clouds.”

  “Thank you,” Gia told him as he turned around to face Oni.

  “Y’all ready to hit the pool or what?”

  “I am.” Oni tossed her clothes into the small bag she’d brought with her and sat it on the floor near Shock’s bed.

  He watched her with a smirk on his face. “I see you like to be hardheaded. If I just said my room was off-limits, why you trying to leave your stuff in here like you’re coming back?”

  Oni walked directly to him and looked into his eyes. “Because I am.”

  A smile spread across Shock’s handsome face as he looked her up and down. “Well, all right then, baby. Tell me what to do,” he said in a hyper tone. “Show me who’s in charge.”

  Oni and Jamil both laughed at Shock as Gia watched in silence. She really hoped Oni didn’t dig herself too deep into this one.

  “Man, y’all wilding. Let’s hit this pool,” Jamil told them all.

  “Y’all can go ahead. We’re coming. I need to put my clothes down,” Gia told them while walking to Oni’s bag.

  Jamil and Shock left the room, leaving the girls alone. As soon as the door closed, Oni was in Gia’s face.

  “I heard slurping noises. You nasty.”

  Gia showed all of her teeth as she smiled. “I sure am, and I’ll suck him up again if it makes him moan like he was doing.”

  “Bitch, yes! That nigga was so loud. I was like what the hell Gia in there doing to him.”

  “I told you, Oni. That nigga is addicting.”

  Gia rose from the floor and headed for the door with Oni behind her. With them in their swimsuits and back in the mix of people, every man they passed was either trying to touch them or yelling slick stuff. Gia was a professional at ignoring thirsty dudes. The way Oni handled it, apparently so was she.

  The sun blazed against Gia’s and Oni’s skin as they exited the house and headed for the beach chairs where Jamil and Shock were standing. Just like in the house, all eyes were on the two of them. Although their swimsuits were a bit revealing and they both had bodies to die for, they didn’t expect as much attention as they were getting.

  “You an athlete?” a guy standing next to Jamil asked Gia as soon as they walked up.

  “Yeah. Why you ask?” Gia asked.

  “Your legs. They’re big as hell and muscular. Tight like a runner or something.”

  One of Jamil’s long arms was around her before she even had the chance to answer the man. Once her back was to his front, he kissed the side of her face.

  “My baby is a runner. The second fastest in the nation. Even though she’s going to be the first after she beats that white girl’s ass.” He kissed her again. “And she in the Olympics this year.”

  “Damn, Sports Illustrated.” Oni joked with Jamil for knowing all Gia’s stats.

  “That’s what up, baby girl. Congratulations.” The guy winked. “Keep that body tight.”

  Gia frowned slightly because that last comment seemed a bit disrespectful when Jamil had just made it more than clear that she was with him.

  “Marco, you must want your ass beat out here?” Jamil tried to step around Gia to get to the man, but she sidestepped and turned around to face him.

  “Let’s go swim, Milli.” She held on to him, kissing his chin and then his chest.

  Jamil was breathing so hard that his chest nearly touched her face every time he exhaled, not to mention the way his breath blew against her forehead as it released from his nose rapidly. She could feel the veins in his arms moving as she tried her best to hold him still without causing too much of a scene.

  Her kisses continued until she could feel his body relaxing.

  “Yeah. Let’s do that.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the pool with Oni right behind them. Being that everyone was basically trying to be seen, no one was really swimming and the pool was fairly empty.

  “You want to jump first or me?” Gia looked at Jamil.

  “You go ahead. I’ll come in after you.”

  Gia looked at him suspiciously before shaking her head. “Nah, I don’t believe you. Jump with me.”

  Jamil smiled and shook his head. “To be for real, I really ain’t trying to get my hair wet. That shit be making my head feel like it weighs a thousand pounds.”

  Gia burst out laughing at him as soon as he said it, because he was right. Hers did the same thing. Water and dreadlocks did not mix.

  “I feel you. We don’t have to swim.”
r />   “Thank you,” Jamil said dramatically.

  Oni, on the other hand, wasn’t feeling their decision. She loved to swim. “So y’all not getting in?”

  Jamil shook his head at the same time as Gia shook hers.

  “Y’all make me sick.” She pouted behind them as they walked back over to where Shock and a few more of their friends were standing.

  “What happened? I thought y’all was getting in the pool?” Shock asked.

  Oni stepped in front of them. “No. Neither of them want to get their hair wet.”

  Shock looked from Oni to Gia and Jamil. He raised his eyebrows at them. When Gia and Jamil looked away like they didn’t care if he knew the truth, Shock just shook his head.

  “Ain’t nobody told them to grow those damn locks if they knew they weren’t going to be able to do everything with them,” Oni sassed with attitude.

  Jamil laughed at her. “You mad, ain’t you?”

  Oni folded her arms across her chest. “Hell yeah, I’m mad. I want to get in the pool.”

  Shock pulled his shirt over his head. “Come on, li’l bit. I’ll swim with you.”

  Oni perked up. “For real?”

  Shock grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the pool. With no warning, he picked her up and jumped directly into the deep end. Oni’s scream was drowned out as soon as they were submerged.

  Gia stood wrapped in Jamil’s arms smiling at them. When they came up, Oni was wiping water from her face when Shock pulled her right back under with him. Gia laughed because she could only imagine the type of cursing out Oni was going to give him when he finally gave her the chance to catch her breath.

  “What kind of person is he?” Gia hadn’t wanted to ask, but she needed to look out for Oni.

  “Shock’s cool people. If he fuck with her, then she’s good. That’s if he fucks with her, though. That nigga worse than females when it comes to dating.”

  “He ain’t cool people like Iverson, is he?”

  Jamil frowned and shook his head. “Hell, nah. Two totally different breeds of niggas. Iverson shouldn’t even be associated with a nigga as real as Shock.”

  The disdain in his voice could be heard loud and clear, but Gia didn’t bother to speak on it right then. It wasn’t the time or the place. Especially with the way Jamil sounded. That was definitely a conversation that was going to need to be held in private.

  “Just checking, because Oni can be a little gullible when it comes to men. I don’t want her to get run over.”

  “She’s good with him, just like you’re good with me.”

  Gia looked up at him over her shoulder. “You told him about me.” It was more of a statement than a question.

  Jamil nodded.

  “You said I could have anything you have?”

  Again, Jamil nodded.

  “What all does that entail?”

  “Anything, Gee. Whatever I have or don’t have, and you want it, it’s yours.”

  In that moment Gia’s heart melted, and if she hadn’t known before, she knew then. The love she felt for Jamil was real, just as the love he so effortlessly proclaimed for her was real. All she hoped was that they could have it forever, long after that moment, and long after she’d left for the summer and they were back to their everyday lives. Outside their summer bubble and outside their imagination of real love.

  Chapter Twelve

  “How am I supposed to help Gia deal with her problems when I don’t even know how to deal with mine? She’s my best friend, and to see her hurting behind something I can’t change only makes me feel even worse. Hopefully we’ll get through this the same as we always do, but only time will tell.”

  —Oni

  It had been almost three hours and the party was starting to wind down. It had been a nice relaxing day full of fun, food, and laughter until some of the men started getting too drunk. Just like any other social gathering with too many people, trouble broke out.

  There was a fight between two niggas who had apparently been sharing the same girl for a while. She showed up with one not knowing the other one was going to be there, and all hell broke loose.

  It took damn near three people to hold each one of them back as the stupid female stood there screaming. After that, everything pretty much went downhill. Shock had been throwing people out left and right since then.

  Oni and Gia were among the only people still there, and the only women. While Jamil helped Shock clear the stragglers out of his apartment and from around the pool area, Oni and Gia took it upon themselves to begin cleaning up.

  They grabbed two large black trash bags and got to work. With the music still playing, it was easy for them to get everything done.

  “Aye best friend, work it, bitch,” Oni yelled to Gia with her arms in the air.

  The beat to Future’s “Real Sisters” had just dropped and blasted through the speakers. Like the rest of the songs on that album, they loved that song.

  Not even giving it a second thought, Gia dropped the liquor bottle she’d just picked up from the ground into the trash bag and bent over. With her hands on her knees, she started dancing and popping her butt. Head down with her ass up, Gia was twerking like a stripper in her bikini.

  “Aye. Get it, Gee. Get it. Work it, best friend. Work it.” Oni stood across the way on the other side of the pool hyping her up.

  “Go, Oni. Get it. Aye. Aye.” Gia stood up and started bouncing her butt while pointing at Oni. “That’s my sister. That’s my sister,” she yelled, encouraging Oni to keep dancing as well.

  “I don’t care if they was real sisters.” Oni sang along with Future as she stood on the stone entrance to the diving board.

  “Get on the table, Gia.” Oni’s face was bright with a smile as she watched Gia hop onto the table that was next to her.

  Just as they’d done at home on many occasions before, the girls danced without a care in the world. From the way they danced it could easily be assumed that they danced professionally in videos or one of the top strip clubs in the world, but they were just two young, carefree girls living life and loving it.

  “Shake that shit, Gee.” Oni had her hands behind her head while moving her butt in a circle.

  Gia had just bent over and placed her hands on the ground in front of her while her butt moved to its own beat when she heard Jamil’s voice behind her.

  “The fuck y’all think y’all out here doing?”

  Gia and Oni both jumped up like they’d been caught by their father.

  “Nah, don’t stop all that shit now. Keep on shaking your ass like you’re at King of Diamonds some damn where. The hell y’all think y’all at?” Shock followed Jamil up with his own attempt at fussing.

  Gia and Oni both stood with their mouths balled up trying their hardest not to burst out laughing. Jamil, Shock, and two other guys that they didn’t know but had seen at the party were all standing there watching them.

  “Gee, I should beat your ass out here shaking in that little-ass bathing suit for all these fucking niggas to see,” Jamil told her in a stern yet playful tone.

  Gia looked across the pool at Oni and smiled. When Oni rolled her eyes at the men, Gia couldn’t hold it any longer and burst out laughing. Oni was right behind her. The girls were cracking up as the men continued to fire off one threat after the other.

  “Out here looking like the girls in that damn ‘Tip Drill’ video,” Shock mumbled as he turned his attention to Oni.

  “Y’all niggas ain’t our damn daddies. We can dance if we want to. Hell, we’re grown,” Oni sassed as she hopped down off the diving board.

  “Yeah, your li’l ass had better get off that diving board talking all that shit.”

  Oni looked at Shock and rolled her neck. “Why? You weren’t going to do anything.”

  Shock looked at her and turned his nose up. “If I had run over there and body-slammed your ass into that water, you wouldn’t be doing all that talking.”

  Oni frowned her whole face up at Shock before
she burst out laughing. She didn’t even bother to argue with him anymore. She simply walked back to where she’d left her trash bag and began throwing the rest of the empty cups and plates into it.

  She looked over her shoulder when she heard Jamil talking to Gee. He had walked to where she was standing and was directly in front of her with one of his hands in his pocket while the other was holding on to the side of her neck.

  It was more than obvious by the way she was looking that he was fussing at her. Oni was about to say something on her behalf but stopped when she saw Gia smiling. A few seconds later Jamil’s head was nuzzled into her neck as she held on to his waist.

  Oni smiled at the couple as she watched Jamil’s hand slide down the side of Gia’s leg until he was gripping the back of her thigh. A few giggles escaped Gia’s mouth as her head fell to the side of Jamil’s arm.

  “Now, don’t do that shit no more,” Jamil yelled dramatically, causing Gia to fall over in laughter.

  “Why you looking at them like that?”

  Oni turned around to find Shock standing there watching her. “They’re cute. He makes her happy.” Oni looked back at Gia and Jamil for a few more seconds before she went back to cleaning the table she was next to.

  “That’s how it’s supposed to be. Your man should always make you happy.”

  “Well, it’s too bad that it’s not always like that.”

  “Why it ain’t? Your nigga don’t make you happy?”

  Oni looked at him and shook her head. “I don’t have a man. Well, not one like that, anyway.”

  Shock took the empty chair at the table so that he could see her face. “Why not?”

  Oni shrugged but didn’t say anything. Not because she didn’t want to, but because she really didn’t know why she didn’t have a man. Sure she had Isaac, but she couldn’t really count him. She needed someone younger or at least in her age bracket. She was probably one of the most social women in her graduating class, but she was always the only one who had never had a boyfriend.

  She’d been on plenty of dates and hung out with plenty of men, but she’d never really been in a real relationship. Sure she had guys who had tried to be with her, but after the sex, they would go right back to doing the friend thing.