“Yeah ok. Find you something safe to do, Duke.”
“I am. Diamond. I heard you was crushing on her.”
Cam chuckled and shook his head, “I don’t have crushes, nigga, whoever I want, I get.”
“Well, may the best nigga win.”
Duke laughed and walked off with his guys.
“What’s up? They pressin’ you?” Ryan and Chris ran around the corner out of breath.
“Hell naw, fuck that nigga,” Cam replied as they turned the corner and walked into Diamond and her sisters.
He felt like he could never catch her alone, her sisters were always with her.
“What’s up, ladies?” Chris spoke first as Kayla looked dead at Ryan and smiled, but he looked away.
“Hey, y’all,” Kayla and Mia spoke while Diamond gave her normal head nod and tried to keep it moving.
Cam wasn’t letting her walk away that time, so he grabbed her arm, causing her to size him up with a slight frown.
“Damn, can I have a minute?”
“Now you want a minute with me because Farrah left.”
Cam frowned his face because she was coming at him sideways, and he didn’t understand why.
“What you mean? I always fuck with you, even when she was around, so what you talking about?”
“Nothing. What’s up, Cam?”
She had thrown him off with that shit, he honestly didn’t even want to talk to her ass anymore.
“Shit. Come on y’all, let’s slide,” he called out to his friends as she caught up to her sisters.
He watched her walk to the other end of the alley, Duke met her there and threw his arm over her shoulder as she smiled. Duke looked over his shoulder and laughed. Cam couldn’t lie, he felt played like a muthafucka.
11
“Girl, the whole hood think you go with Duke!” Kayla said to Diamond as she came in out the heat.
“The hood thinks a lot of shit, so what.”
Kayla stood there looking at Diamond as if she was waiting on conformation like the rest of the world. Diamond had always been private, she liked keeping shit to herself, but some things, a girl just had to talk about, and Duke was one. She got up and closed the door because she didn’t need their father hearing their conversation.
Truth was over the last couple of weeks, she had been texting him, she finally gave in and gave him her number. The crush that she thought had phased out came right back and she was loving it. Life was good for the time being, money was rolling in left and right, their father was smiling again, their stomachs were full on the regular, and Duke had her time when she wasn’t handling business.
“I like himmmmm!” Diamond blushed while Kayla smiled the biggest smile.
“I knew it! That’s who you be up all-night texting!”
“Yup, that’s my lil boo.”
Kayla jumped on the bed and folded her legs Indian style, “Y’all did it?”
“Did what?”
Kayla rolled her eyes into her head; Diamond knew exactly what she was asking and the answer was no. They hadn’t even kissed, he was the total opposite of the rude, crazy nigga that he was in the streets.
