Barbara handed the bag to Jolina to roll as she and Ram sat down on the couch where they met the first time and started to talk.
“Don’t bother with that, sexy,” Dequain said to Jolina and sat down at the table with her and Kayla. “I got one already rolled.” He handed it to her, and she fired it up.
While Trece and Wolf took care of the steady flow of customers, Destiny was talking to Trig, Kayla and Jolina were playing spades with Dequain and Azibo. They were drinking, smoking, and having a good time until Barbara said she was done. She was floating on air and needed to be clearheaded enough to talk to Ram.
“I wanted to get your number before you rolled out of here with your sister,” he said.
“And I would have given it to you but—”
“I know. So how about now? Since I definitely want to see you again.”
“I’d like that.”
There was something about him. He was different from the other guys in the house, different than she had experienced with other guys that approached her. That made Barbara feel something, and she wondered if this was just another crush, because Ram was older than her and the way he looked at her, made Barbara want to kiss him … and maybe do more.
But since she was a virgin, she knew she had to be sure that Ram was real and not just playing around and it was too soon to know any of that yet.
“Where do you go to school?” He asked her.
“Forten,” she said.
“So, you are smart or rich?” he asked, even though he knew that if Bobby Ray was her father, she came from money.
“No comment,” Barbara laughed, and he smiled.
“You should choose to be smart if you’re not already, that is. You don’t want to be hanging around a bunch of niggas like us every day.”
This was the second time she’d been lectured on staying straight in school and the irony of it happening in the streets was somewhat surreal.
“My sister says the same thing.”
“Well, Butta’s a good sister.”
Barbara thought about that and thought about how they were just getting to know each other, but Tenikka was cool and hopefully, they would become good sisters. But after the time they spent together, Barbara thought that they were off to a good start. She and Ram exchanged numbers.
“It’s getting late,” she said after looking at her phone, “we shoul
d be getting ready to go,” Barbara may have said, but she made no move to get up and the conversation continued. After a while, Jolina got up from the table.
“I’m done,” she said and went to fix herself a drink.
“Destiny, I need a partner,” Kayla said, and Destiny got up. Dequain and Azibo got up from the table and went in the kitchen where Jolina was twerking while she drank.
It was an hour later when Barbara glanced at her phone again. By that time, Destiny and Kayla both were blasted, and Barbara was feeling lovely as she talked, laughed and stared into Ram’s peaceful eyes. It was then that the game broke up and Destiny and Kayla came and sat down next to Barbara.
“I need to go, Barbie,” Kayla said.
“It’s getting late and I’m fucked up,” Destiny said.
“We should be getting ready to go,” Barbara said to Ram.
“Alright, but call me soon, a’ight?”
“I will,” Barbara said and called for an Uber. Then she looked around the spot. “Where’s Jolina?”
“She a’ight,” Wolf said.
“She in the back,” Trece said and Ram gave them a look that screamed, fuck is y’all niggas doin’?