“I need to go get some more since I’m out. That is if you’re okay riding there with me.”
“Hell, yeah.” Barbara felt so excited to be out with Tenikka. She was about to be exposed to the world. The real world that had been hidden from Barbara her entire life. At least that’s how she saw it.
“As I was saying earlier, this is the time to have fun but when you are back in school, get to those books?”
“I will.”
Once they got to the dope spot, Tenikka and Barbara went inside the house. There were a group of guys in the smoke-filled living room; all wearing dark, baggy clothing.
“What up, Butta?”
“What’s up, Trig?”
“Who’s your friend?”
“That’s my sister,” Tenikka said, and Barbara noticed that he stopped looking in her direction.
While Tenikka made the transaction, Barbara took a seat on one of the worn-down couches and checked out the variety of cute guys, but one stood out to her. He was taller than the others and much more handsome. He had smooth brown skin and nice eyes that seemed to soften his rugged look. There was something about him that made Barbara think he was a bad boy with good guy qualities. She wasn’t sure why she thought that, but she attributed it to what Bobby had taught her about people.
So, she watched him while he talked to Tenikka. Then her sister came and sat next to her. “Can you roll?”
Barbara nodded her head. “Yes,” she said, and Tenikka tossed her the weed and a blunt.
“So, what’s been up, Butta?” Nice eyes asked as Barbara proceeded to split the blunt.
“I’ve been good,” Tenikka said, watching out the corner of her eyes as her sister removed the tobacco.
“I ain’t seen you at Shooters in more than a minute,” Trig said. He ran the spot, along with Azibo, Wolf and Dequain.
“That’s because I don’t dance anymore.”
“Where you dance at now?” Dequain asked.
“Didn’t you hear what she said, dumbass? She said she don’t dance no more,” Nice eyes said, but he was watching Barbara as she sealed the blunt with her tongue.
“You’re not bad.” Tenikka sat down and started to roll one for them to ride with.
“We gonna call you blunt roller,” Nice eyes said.
He’d been looking Barbara over since she came in and now he was moving closer to her. Barbara fired up the blunt, hoping that she wouldn’t choke on it, especially since nice eyes came and sat down next to her. She passed him the blunt.
He hit it. “You seem a little out of place here.”
“Why is that?” Barbara asked him.
“Hard to explain, but that’s not a bad thing.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah,” he said and passed the blunt to Tenikka. “The same people roll up in here all the time, and I’m just sayin’ you ain’t like them.”
“And I’m sayin’, how so?”
“To be honest with you, you’re prettier than any of them.”
Barbara had to work hard to contain her grin. She may have been young, but she knew enough about boys to know that pumping girls’ heads up was what they do, and taking it too seriously was a mistake.
“That’s nice of you to say. I’m sure you say that to every girl that comes in here.”