I felt my jaw clench. See, this was exactly why I ain't like coming over here. My mama always had something slick to say, always judging me, always making me feel like I wasn't doing nothing right.
Before I could respond, I felt someone walk up behind me. I turned around and saw Yatta, looking fine as hell in black jeans, a cream sweater, and cream timbs on his feet. His eyes was on me, intense, like he was trying to read me.
"What's good, Zu," he spoke.
"Hey." I smiled at him, feeling some of that tension leave my body just from seeing him.
"You good?"
"Yeah, I'm straight."
He looked at me for a long second, then nodded toward the hallway.
"Come here for a minute."
I followed him down the hall, away from everybody else. He stopped in front of the bathroom and turned to face me, his arms crossed.
"Where you been at?" he asked, his tone serious now.
"I told you, I had to drop JJ off—"
"Ok and what else happened? You was supposed to be here over an hour ago.”
I looked down, not wanting to tell him. But Yatta had a way of getting shit out of me. "Jamie was on some bullshit. He tried to... he grabbed me when I was leaving."
Yatta face changed real quick, his whole body tensing up. "He put his hands on you?"
"It wasn't like that. He just grabbed my arm, I handled it—"
"Zurie, where that nigga stay at? I’m sick of his hoe ass,"
"Yatta, no. it’s not a big deal, I’m fine."
"You ain't fine. That nigga grabbing on you and shit ain’t cool." His voice was hard now. "Give me his address."
"Yatta, please. JJ is over there. I don't want no drama, especially not on Thanksgiving. I just... I just wanna have a good day, okay?"
He stared at me for a minute, his jaw clenched tight. Then he pulled me into a hug, his arms wrapping around me, holding me close. I felt myself relax against him, my face pressed into his chest.
"I don't like that shit," he said quietly. "I don't like him putting his hands on you."
"I know. But I'm okay. I promise."
He pulled back a little, looking down at me. "We gon' talk about this later. A'ight?"
"Okay."
He kissed my forehead, and I felt my heart flutter. We haven't cross that line yet, but moments like this made me want to. It made me feel safe, like maybe I could let my guard down with him.
"Come on," he said, taking my hand. "Let's go eat before your mama come looking for us."
We walked back into the living room where everybody was at. Sosa was sitting on the couch next to Yah-Yah, his arm around her, both of them looking all lovey dovey up. Trigg was in the kitchen fixing his plate, and Tasha, who just got out of prison a few weeks ago, was sitting at the table talking to my mama, while holding Nova.
"There she go," Sosa said when he saw me, standing up to give me a hug. "What's good, sis."
"Hey, lil’ bro." I hugged him back.
"Alright, y'all, food is ready," my mama announced. "Come fix y'all plates before it get cold."
