Over my shoulder, I spot him. Short, chubby. “Come on in,” I say, waving him over.
Is that even allowed without a parent around? It makes me nervous. The world’s gotten too damn complicated.
I motion to the security guard to let the kid in. The crime rate in this neighborhood is so high we had to hire one or have equipment and building material stolen overnight.
Once the rec center is finished, the cameras and floodlights we’re installing should serve as a beacon of safety. For the kids that can’t find any at home, and for the ones that shouldn’t be on the streets. That’s the goal at least.
The kid climbs up the bleachers we installed this morning, hands shoved into the pockets of his basketball shorts, the ones hanging below his knees, he sits next to me.
“Dane Wylder.” I hold up a fist and he bumps me.
“Angel Castro.”
“That’s a lot of pressure,” I mumble.
“Whatdya say?”
“I said are you an angel?”
“My mom says so. She calls me a miracle.”
Two seconds into this conversation and it’s already gotten heavy. I don’t pursue that line of questioning.
“Do you know who I am?”
Angel squints at me. “Should I?”
“No. What is it you wanna know, Angel?”
“Is this your place? I’ve seen you here a lot.”
“No, it’s not mine. It belongs to the city, to the people that live in this neighborhood.”
“I live here.” Angel points to the building on the corner. “Right over there.”
Probably not a good idea, telling strangers where you live, but I’ll let his parents handle the life lessons.
“I guess it belongs to you too then.”
“That’s cool,” he says flatly. He doesn’t sound too impressed, which pulls a reluctant smile outta me.
“But I get to make some of the decisions.”
Eyes downcast, his expression turns thoughtful, sorting out this new information. “Can you decide to get a ping-pong table?
“You want a ping-pong table?”
Angel’s eyes move off to the construction crew. He scratches his elbow, his knee, messes with his hair. He’s clearly uncomfortable.
“Not all kids are athletic,” he mutters quietly.
It sounds like something he heard from an adult, one that loves him. He seems to get over this discomfort pretty quickly though. When he looks up again, his expression is stoic, chin held high.
Atta boy, Angel. This kid makes me smile. Even in a crap mood.
“I think I can arrange for that. Anything else?”
“Video games!” he says, shinning a big bright smile.
Head shaking, I chuckle. Gotta hand it to the kid––he’s got moxie. “No video games. How about a foosball table?”
“Okay.”
“Ping-pong and foosball coming right up.” I glance briefly at the darkened screen of my cell. No new messages.
“You waiting for a phone call?”
Angel misses nothing. He may have a career as an investigative journalist in his future.
“Yep.”
“From a girlfriend?”
I chuckle. That’s twice today. I’ve got Angel to thank for it. “How old are you?”
“I’ll be twelve in three months.”
Eleven and asking me about a girlfriend. Shoving down the urge to laugh, I say, “No. She’s a friend, but I think she’s mad at me.”
“Just say you’re sorry,” Angel, the lady whisperer, counsels.
I snort, side-eyeing him. “What do you know about girls?”
“I know that if they’re mad you should say they look pretty and say you’re sorry.”
My smile drops. Angel may be right.
Stella
I’ve managed to successfully avoid all of Dane’s phone calls and most of his texts for ten whole days. Which is easier said than done.
What happened at Camilla’s still irks me. Not because my feelings are hurt, and they are, it’s because of the fragile trust he violated. You don’t go around shouting that someone isn’t your type––translation: not hot enough to bang––if you value someone’s friendship. And, yes, I know nothing can happen between us. It goes without saying that it would have disaster written all over it. But still, I’m a woman. I want to believe men find me bangable even when they don’t.
Feeling on edge and confused about why I’m feeling on edge, I decide to go for a run. As luck would have it, I exit my building at the same time that Dane’s silver Escalade pulls up.
Our eyes meet. His face has all the telltale signs of a man looking for an argument, and the last thing I want is a big scene on a busy sidewalk in front of my building.
He double-parks and jumps out.
Time for a swift getaway. I start jogging down my street. Not a minute later, Dane is jogging beside me. When it becomes abundantly clear I won’t be getting away, I stop and face him, resigned to my fate.
He looks like he came straight from a workout, dressed in track pants and a black t-shirt. Sweat-soaked, it looks painted on his chest.
I stare. It’s impossible not to when his nipple is staring right back at me.
“Are you avoiding me?”
“Why would I be avoiding you?”
His hazel eyes flicker with annoyance and narrow. “Are you mad at me?”
“Why would I be mad at you?”
He plants his hands on his hips and levels me with an indignant scowl. “Can you not answer every question with a question?”
“Of course I can, Dane. I do it all the time. But right now I’m going for a run. I’ll call you later.”
He steps in my way. Now it’s my turn to put my hands on my hips.
“Stella––” Amazing how much meaning he can cram into my name.
“Dane,” I echo back with a snarky edge.
He rakes his sweaty hair back off his forehead, his expression tortured. Good.
“This is about what I said at the barbecue. Isn’t it?”
“Why, what did you say?” He wants a confrontation, he gets one.
“You know what I said.”
“No, I don’t, Dane. Enlighten me.”
“You’re gonna make me say it?”
“Say what?”
He sighs loudly and scrapes his hair back again, his broad shoulders slumping. “I didn’t mean it!” Realizing his mistake, his face freezes. “I mean––not in the way I said it. Calvin was pushing and…he wouldn’t stop.”
“Didn’t mean what?”
Squinting at a faraway point, jaw locked, he mutters, “That you’re not my type.”
“Oh, that,” I say feigning casual indifference. His attention quickly slides back to me. “Dane, we’re raising a child together. Nothing more.” I shrug. “Why would I care whether I’m your type when you’re not mine. That’s why I picked you. No chance of me ever developing an attraction.”
His face goes uncommonly blank. He’s usually so animated it’s strange to see his features at rest. With that parting shot, I step around him.
“I have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow. Let me know if you change your mind about doing this.”
I jog away, and when I do, I don’t look back. Unfortunately, I also don’t feel any better.
Dane
What a disaster. Not only did I not make anything better, I may have made it worse. As soon as I climb back in the car, I call the one man that knows more about women than I do.
“J––”
“Mmm.”
“’Sup, man.”
“Mmm.”
“The hell––you sleepin’?”
“Yeah. Wassup?”
“It’s six thirty.”
“You get five kids and a restaurant and then tell me what the appropriate time to sleep is.”
Solid point. “I’m in trouble.”
“A woman?”
“Ain’t it always?” Except never like this. I’v
e never had to get back into the good graces of a woman. I never had to get a woman––period. I’m usually trying to get rid of ’em.
“Hold up––” he tells me. “Nyla––we got a problem,” I hear him call out to his wife.
I love Nyla, but now is not the time. She’s been married to Jermaine since we were all in our early twenties. Nyla’s been there through it all, knows more about me than the US government and my family combined. And the woman likes nothing better than to laugh at my expense.
“Jesus H. Christ, don’t tell Nyla.”
“Why not?”