“Okay baby girl… make sure you text me or Tammy when you make it home.”
Nodding my head, I headed out the door looking down at my phone for clarity. After five minutes of me calling and texting Glen, I shook my head and tucked my phone in my pocket, disappointed. He never could come through for me when I really needed him. Three minutes into me walking up the road, I started to feel light drizzles of rain. I silently thanked God that I had individual braids instead of having my real hair out. My hair was thick and coarse and would matt up by the slightest touch of water.
Picking up my swollen feet and ankles, I tried to walk as fast as I could. The rain started coming down harder than I expected, making it hard to see which way I was walking. Feeling frustrated and defeated, I took a seat on the wet bench and cried. I had to force my own chin up; it was getting later in the evening, and I needed to make it home.
Standing to my feet, I kept my pace up. Humming a tune and counting my steps, it felt like I was on a marathon. An hour into me walking, I approached a liquor store. A tall gentleman with a hoodie walked out with his head down, avoiding the rain that was coming down hard. I was drenched, so wet it felt like my whole body was numb. When he looked up at me, I recognized him. He was the mean bastard that caught me daydreaming behind the register. Shrugging his appearance off, I picked up my pace and continued my walk until he pulled up alongside of me five to eight minutes later.
“Get in, I’ll take you home.” His face maintained a stone expression. The way he stared at me was very demanding. My stomach fluttered and I became nervous. I wanted to run and jump inside of his car. He was a stranger though, no matter howbad I wished to have a ride. I shook my head no and thanked him for the offer. He stepped out of his all-black Navigator truck, running his hands down his slick waves. Standing by the passenger door, he opened it up and looked up at me, ignoring my refusal.
“Get in the car Layloni… I don’t have all damn day.”
“I said no thank you, sir.” I pondered on how the hell this strange man even knew my name.
“We can stand here like idiots; I refuse to see a lady who just got off work walk home in the pouring rain. You know how shit goes down here.”
Knowing exactly what he meant, I nodded my head in agreement. Women were raped, beaten and robbed at night if caught in a vulnerable state. The very thought made me shiver.
“How you know my name sir?”
“From the name tag.” He looked at me comically, as if I was way past dumb.
“Well, what’s your name?” I asked.
“King, now come on.”
Saying nothing else, I said a silent prayer and got inside his truck. A part of me felt bad that I would be ruining his seats and floor. My clothes dripped and it felt like I was stuck to his leather seats once I adjusted myself and put my seat belt on. The seats were heated, as well as the inside of his truck. Once he got in, he handed me his phone, which was on maps for me to put my address in his GPS. He took off driving with no words leaving his lips. He must have been the type of individual to only talk when it was necessary. I was not going to push him to do anything but take my ass home.
My phone started ringing. I watched King take his eyes off the road momentarily, to glance at my phone then he focused back on the road. He was so damn handsome; his whole aurascreamed power and dominance. A girl like me usually couldn’t get a man like him.
One look at him, and you could tell he sought after the model type chicks. I wasn’t sloppy fat, but I knew I was far from skinny. I stood at a solid 5’5, and I wore a size 16. My body was well proportioned but, hell, this man was too damn perfect looking to be entertained by me. Snapping out of my thoughts, I finally answered my phone, realizing it was Glen’s ass.
“Baby, I got caught up in the streets, ya heard… I’m at the house now. You still need me to pick ya up?”
His voice was so loud, I was pretty sure King heard him. Checking out his side profile his facial expression remained the same.
“It’s okay Glen, I understand… I’ll be there in a second.”
I quickly hung up and enjoyed the rest of my ride. Even though I liked to talk and make conversation, I respected this man’s choice of not talking to me, being that he didn’t know me. Arriving to my house in record time, I reached for the door handle, but King shook his head no. He unbuckled his seat belt, as I swallowed down hard thinking what he was going to say now. Instead, he hopped out and opened my door and held his hand out for me to grab and hop out. Looking me deep in the eyes with a serious face, he stroked his chin hairs and tilted his head.
“You are a beautiful woman Layloni… if you were mine, I wouldn’t give a fuck how important the streets were. You wouldn’t be standing here drenched like this.”
He tugged at the bottom of my wet shirt for emphasis, causing me to hold my breath and shiver. He smirked at me when he seen the effects he had on me. “Breathe Layloni…”
I released the breath I was holding feeling foolish.
“The nigga you got is a clown. Let him go and do better for yourself.”
Kissing me on my forehead, he turned to walk away. I mumbled a thank you and walked away from him. When I reached my door and opened it, he drove away, leaving me standing there pondering on his words. It surprised me that he found me attractive. Men tried to talk to me all the time, but they sure did not look like him. I never was moved by a man like he moved me. Never thought of another man but Glen in a sexual way. I stood there wishing I could know more about King. That was wishful thinking because I would never see him again.
“Damn Bitch, close the got damn door! You fucking up my groove.”
I cringed at the foul words my mom used but complied, nevertheless. When I entered our small ass house, I was smacked with reality of what my life was really like. Clouds of smoke clouded the living room as I watched my mom perform for Glen and his friends.I Need Some Moneyby Barret Strong was blasting, as she moved her feet like James Brown. She wore a bra with some torn, gray dirty sweats with a cigarette dangling from her lips. Glen laughed so hard his huge beer belly jumped up and down. The whole scene disgusted me. While I was out working and walking, catching rides by strangers, they were inside enjoying and having the time of their lives.
Shaking my head, I didn’t bother speaking. I made a beeline to my room to undress and shower, so I could lie down for the night. I would have to wake right back up in the morning to cook, clean, then go to work. Looking down at my bed, I saw the wallet that I left wide open. My social security card was still inside thank God but, as I predicted, the money was gone.
I stomped back into the living room, and placed my hands on my wide hips, trying to get them to notice me. Instead, Glen and his two friends continued to watch my mom make a fool of herself. She started to moonwalk to the music, then did the robot. The scene was pathetic. Grabbing the remote to the tv, Iturned it off, as they all complained and looked up at me with annoyance.
“I just walked halfway home, received a ride from a total stranger… I get home to my wallet being empty and y’all in here partying like it’s somebody fucking birthday,” I spoke low; I was shaking in anger. I couldn’t check myself nor calm myself down. “That money in my wallet was for the fucking lights mom!”
