That was all I needed.
From that point on, this wasn’t about waitin’, and it damn sure wasn’t about hopin’ the court figured it out. Kelli worked his magic, tracked that nigga movements, and dropped his location in our lap like it was light work.
So now we was here, and I was about to hawk his ass down.
Nigga thought he was gon’ be out enjoyin’ himself, laughin’ with his people and movin’ through the crowd like he ain’t just shoot my damn uncle two weeks ago.
Every time I looked over at him, all I could see was Uncle Kwame laid out in the middle of the courthouse with blood allover his shirt, and Kay’Lo lookin’ like he was ready to tear the whole courthouse down.
That shit ain’t leave me, and it damn sure wasn’t gon’ get left alone. Every laugh that came out that nigga mouth made that image hit harder, like he was really comfortable after doin’ what he did.
I leaned back in the booth with one arm stretched across the top while I watched him take another drink, actin’ like life was still sweet for him. The glass hit his lips slow, like he ain’t have a care in the world, and that shit almost made me laugh.
Kelli sat beside me calm as ever with a drink in his hand, playin’ shit cool like he always do. His eyes was movin’ just enough to keep track of everything without lookin’ like he was watchin’ anything at all. The nigga had a way of sittin’ in plain sight and you would still feel like he wasn’t even there, like he blended into whatever space he stepped into without tryin’, and I respected it the more I was around him. Even when the lights hit him, even when people looked his way, he still felt lowkey.
A couple bad bitches slid up into our section, lookin’ like they had already picked who they wanted before they even got close. They was dressed right, movin’ right and sayin’ just enough to get attention without doin’ too much.
One of ‘em even rested her hand on the edge of the table like she was tryna ease into the space without bein’ told she could stay, but Kelli ain’t give not a single one of them a reason to stay. He ain’t lean in or smile too hard. He ain’t even entertain it past a glance.
I watched that shit happen twice before I finally looked over at him.
“Say dawg,” I said, smirkin’ a lil’ while I took a sip of my drink, “you passin’ up way too much ass tonight. You good?”
He glanced at me, then at the women, then back at me like I had asked him somethin’ obvious.
“I’m straight,” he said, like it wasn’t even a question.
I shook my head, laughin’ low. “Nah, I’m serious. You ain’t even lookin’ at ‘em. You must got a type or somethin’? Like… you only fuck with white girls or some shit?”
He smirked at that, not even bothered by it. “I like beautiful women,” he said, simple as hell. “That’s it.”
I let out a short laugh and leaned forward, restin’ my elbows on my knees while I glanced back toward the floor. “Don’t seem like it, ’cause you keep curvin’ everything walkin’ up in here.”
He shook his head, finally lettin’ a laugh slip out. “We ain’t here for that, man,” he said, noddin’ toward the floor. “You know that.”
I looked back over at Kush, watchin’ him laugh with one of his boys like life wasn’t about to change for him and he ain’t even know it yet. I took a sip from my cup as I watched his head fall back while he laughed like the night belonged to him.
“Yeah,” I muttered, settin’ my glass down. “I heard that, nigga.”
The music kept goin’, people kept movin’, and time kept passin’, but me and Kelli stayed locked in. Every now and then we would say somethin’, crack a quick joke, or comment on whatever was goin’ on around us, but for the most part, we let the night play out while we watched our target. Even when people brushed past our section, even when bottles came and went and even when the DJ switched songs, our focus ain’t shift.
That’s what I liked about Kelli, though. He wasn’t loud, and he ain’t need to be. Everything about him said he knew exactly what he was doin’, and he wasn’t in a rush to prove it to nobody.
By the time the lights came on and the DJ started windin’ shit down, Kush and his people was movin’ toward the exit, still talkin’, laughin’ and thinkin’ they was leavin’ the night behind them. One of ‘em threw his arm around him before they broke off, like it was just another regular night.
They ain’t even know we was comin’ with it.
Me and Kelli got up like we was doin’ the same shit as everybody else without rushin’ or drawin’ attention. We just moved with the crowd until we was outside.
The air hit different once we stepped out. It was cooler, quieter, and it gave everything a sharper edge. The noise dropped down to voices, engines, and heels hittin’ the pavement.
We hung back just enough to not be obvious, watchin’ Kush split off from his people like he was ready to call it a night on his own, his steps a lil’ looser now that he wasn’t performin’ for nobody.
“That’s him,” I said under my breath.
Kelli nodded once. “I see him.”
We made our way to the car without sayin’ too much, slidin’ in like it was routine, and once Kelli pulled off, we kept a clean distance behind Kush as he drove. He ain’t suspect shit. He hit a couple turns, ran a light, and drove like a nigga who thought he was just headin’ home after a good night.
