Deal With It (7 page)

Vance

I
popped into Foot Locker, checked out the new Jordans. They were on sale, but not quite my price yet. I told the salesman to bring me a size eleven anyway. I slipped them onto my feet. Perfect fit. As I checked them out in the mirror, I decided that they were a must-have, regardless of the price.

“I’ll take these, my man,” I said.

As I approached the counter, I pulled my wallet out and checked my cash. I had about forty dollars. Not quite enough to cover the $149 price tag that the Jordans had on them. I pulled my credit card out of its little slot—the credit card that my parents had given me for emergencies.

This is strictly for emergencies, Vance.
I could hear my dad’s voice in my head.
This is not to be used on foolishness.

I hesitated for a moment. I knew that the card was only to be used in case I ran out of gas and was stranded on the side of the road, or if my tire had a blowout. I knew what my father meant by
emergency.
But in my opinion, this
was
an emergency, in every sense of the word. The price on these Jordans wouldn’t
last forever. Not to mention, nobody—and I mean nobody—had a pair of shoes like this at my school.

The price, including tax, flashed across the screen on the cash register in bright green digital numbers. I handed the salesman my Visa. He swiped it and handed it back. It was a done deal when he handed over my receipt. The transaction had been made, and the Jordans were mine, regardless of the consequences. There was a chance that my dad would just pay the bill and not even look at the charges. It would be all right.

“What you get?” Jaylen asked as I stepped out of the store.

“Got the new Jordans.” I grinned, proud of my purchase. “Ain’t nobody got these.”

“Let me see,” he insisted.

“Naw, man, you’ll see when I bust out in them on Monday morning,” I said. “You’ll see ’em then.”

“There’s some hotties hanging out over there by the movie theater. Let’s go holler at a few of them.” Jaylen changed the subject.

“Man, I don’t feel like being bothered with chicken heads today,” I said. “Let’s go over to Dave & Buster’s and shoot some pool.”

“You gotta pay at Dave and Buster’s and I only got, like, five bucks.”

“Man, you always broke.” I laughed. “How you expect to holler at some hotties?”

“Shut up, man.”

We strolled through the mall, stopping to grab a burger at Wendy’s. While standing in the long line, I felt a light tap on my arm and turned to find the most beautiful pair of brown eyes looking at me.

“Hey, Vance,” Darla purred.

Two girls that I didn’t recognize stood beside her. One looked like she could’ve been her twin sister; she had the same
sexy body and cute smile. The other one looked like she’d eaten one pork chop too many. The three of them stood there, with their hands on their hips.

“What’s up?” I asked Darla.

“What you doing here?” she asked.

What did most people do at the mall? Shop!

“Just hanging out,” I said.

“You going to see that new Tyler Perry movie? It’s playing now.” She smiled. “That’s where we’re going.”

“You should come,” Darla’s look-alike said.

“Um…” Jaylen cleared his throat and reached his hand out to Darla’s look-alike. “I’m Jaylen. My boy here is rude.”

“My bad,” I said. “Darla, this is Jaylen. Jaylen, Darla.”

“This is my cousin, Alexis,” Darla said, introducing her look-alike.

“What’s up?” I said to Alexis.

“And this is my friend Nita.” Darla introduced the heavy girl, who was licking her lips at Jaylen.

“You going to the movies?” Nita asked Jaylen. “I’ll buy you some popcorn.”

Popcorn was the last thing she needed, I thought as I checked her out. She had a cute face, but her body didn’t seem to match.

“I’m good. Thanks, though.” Jaylen smiled and then focused all of his attention on Alexis. Even with Jaylen’s six-foot frame and perfect haircut, Alexis seemed uninterested in him. But that didn’t stop him from trying to get her attention.

Regardless of the fact that we both had girlfriends, we still found ourselves standing in the long, endless line at the movie theater. It wasn’t a date. That was what I told myself as we got closer to the box office to purchase tickets. It was just a group of friends checking out a movie together. That was it. A date was more a one-on-one thing. If I was on a date with Darla,
I’d have my arm around her neck, and I would plant kisses on her forehead. If this were a date, I’d be buying her ticket to the movie. But I’d already decided that I was only buying mine. And maybe Jaylen’s, because he was broke as a joke.

I slipped Jaylen one of the twenties from my wallet, just so he wouldn’t be embarrassed in front of the girls. There was nothing worse than standing in a long line at the movies and getting to the box office and not being able to pay for your own ticket. As Jaylen approached the ticket counter, he turned and smiled at Alexis.

“Two student tickets,” he said to the pimple-faced girl behind the counter. “I got you, Lex.”

I got you, Lex? What was he doing? Did he forget that he was spending my twenty?

“Thank you,” Alexis said and smiled.

Her whole attitude toward Jaylen changed after he spent some money on her. Girls.

Darla’s beautiful brown eyes were staring straight at me. She didn’t say it, but I knew she expected me to spring for her ticket. Jaylen had me in a bind, and I would let him know it as soon as we were alone. I wanted to pop him upside his head, but instead, I gave Darla a smile and handed the cashier my last twenty-dollar bill.

“Two students, please,” I told Pimple Face.

I wasn’t paying for her fat friend, I thought as I handed over the twenty. She must’ve figured that out, because she pulled her wallet out of her purse and paid for her own ticket.

As the five of us headed toward the concession stand, I spotted Tameka’s friend Indigo Summer. She was with Jade Morgan and two other girls from the dance team, Tymia and Asia. All I needed was for them to spot me. One of them would be on the phone with Tameka quicker than I could explain why I was standing next to a beautiful girl in the concession-stand
line at the movie theater. Not to mention, a girl that Tameka had already had words with. I didn’t need that kind of drama.

“Hey, I’m going to the bathroom,” I told them. I needed an exit strategy.

As I headed toward the men’s room, Indigo spotted me.

“Hey, Vance. Who you here with?” she asked. “Tameka with you?”

“Nah, I’m here with that knuckleheaded Jaylen,” I explained. It wasn’t totally a lie. I
was
with Jaylen. “We’re going to see that action-packed, um, movie.”

“Which one?” Jade asked, all up in a conversation that didn’t involve her.

“Did y’all see Tyler Perry’s movie?” I asked, avoiding Jade’s question.

“Yes, and it was so good,” Indigo said. “You’ll have to bring Tameka to see it. We invited her to come along, but she had to go get her hair done today. She will love this movie! It’s my second time seeing it. Marcus brought me the first time.”

“Who’re those girls over there with Jaylen?” Jade interrupted again.

“Pssst.” I blew air from my lips. “You know how Jaylen is. He’s a girl magnet. I can’t take him nowhere. I don’t even know who he’s over there talking to.”

“Isn’t he dating Kendra Thompson?” Asia asked.

“I’m not sure anymore,” I lied. “Last I heard, they were on the rocks.”

“For real?” Tymia asked, her hands on her small hips. “Because she was just bragging about him, like, two days ago. Talking about how they were all in love. She would die if she saw him now, cheesing all up in that girl’s face like that.”

“That looks like Darla Union over there,” Jade added. “She’s the new girl in my algebra class. I loaned her a pencil the other day.”

“She’s also the one that Tameka almost beat down after practice the other day,” Asia said. “She got a smart mouth. That’s all I can say.”

“Yeah, they got into it over something silly,” Indigo said. “She seems like a nice person, though. I think it was just a misunderstanding on Tameka’s part.”

“She told me she was a cheerleader at her other school,” Tymia said.

The conversation was becoming way too uncomfortable. Too much talk about this girl—Darla Union. It was making me nervous, and I needed to escape.

“Hey, I gotta go to the restroom. I’ma holler at y’all.” I started dancing around like I really had to go.

“Okay, Vance. We’ll talk to you later,” Indigo said.

“We’ll tell Tameka that we saw you,” Jade added, with that look on her face. A look that said, I know what you’re up to.

Before they could say another word, I disappeared into the restroom. It felt safe there. I wasn’t really cheating on Tameka, although it felt like I was. I just needed to make it through this movie, and the rest would be history.

Tameka

I
filled my black shopping basket with three bottles of shower gel and three bottles of lotion. I grabbed four pairs of sexy underwear and a pair of sleep pants. I smelled the new fragrances as I waited for Indigo and the other girls to meet me at Victoria’s Secret. Indigo had finally replied to my text message and had said that they were just leaving the movie theater. I was glad they were still at the mall when my mom dropped me off, because I’d needed to get out of the house something terrible.

“Ooh, your hair is cute!” Indigo said as she stepped into Victoria’s Secret, wearing the leather jacket that her parents had bought her for Christmas.

“What’s up, Tameka?” Tymia said.

“You got all kinds of stuff in this bag. You look like you’re shopping for groceries.” Jade laughed.

“It’s just a few things.” I smiled.

“You missed the movie. It was so good.” Asia touched my hair and got a closer look at it. “Your hair looks so silky and shiny. What kinda relaxer does your stylist use?”

“I’m not sure. I just sit in her chair and let her do her thing,” I said.

“We saw Vance,” Jade announced. “He was at the movies.”

“With who?” I asked, with attitude, my hands on my hips. I remembered I hadn’t heard from him all day.

“With his bigheaded friend Jaylen,” Indigo said.

“And some girls,” Jade added.

“Those girls weren’t with them. Why you tryin’ to start something?” Indigo asked. “Jaylen was just standing in the concession-stand line, talking to some girls from school.”

“What girls?” I asked. My heart was beating fast. I was afraid of what I might hear next, but I wanted all the details.

“Darla Union,” Jade said. “You know, the one you were about to beat down the other day? She was with a few other girls. I don’t know if they were all together, though. But it looked like it.”

“Personally, I don’t think they were together,” Indigo said.

“Maybe you should just call and ask him,” Tymia suggested. “Or better yet, let’s just go see if the movie let out yet.”

“Yeah, let’s do that,” I said.

After paying for my loot, I followed as Jade led the way to the movie theater. Was Vance with another girl, or was I just feeling insecure all of a sudden? I pulled my cell phone out of my purse, dialed Vance’s phone number. It didn’t even ring before I heard his deep voice saying, “Sorry I can’t answer my phone right now, but leave me a message, and I’ll hit you back.” Lil Wayne’s voice sang in the background before I heard the beep. I didn’t leave a message but, instead, sent a text message.

Where R U?

No reply.

I stepped up to the box office at the movie theater.

“Which movie did they see?” I asked the girls.

“Some action-packed flick,” Jade said. “I don’t know the name of it.”

I searched the movie board, looking for an action-packed movie that might have interested Vance. There weren’t any, except for some Bruce Willis film, and the last showtime was at noon. Everybody who was anybody was seeing Tyler Perry’s new movie, and according to the girl behind the counter, the previous showing had already ended.

“It was over twenty minutes ago,” she said. “You wanna buy tickets for the next one?”

“No, thank you,” I said and then joined my friends as they relaxed on a wooden bench outside of the theater.

“What you wanna do?” Indigo asked. “We were thinking about going over to Applebee’s for some hot wings.”

“That sounds good to me. Let’s go.” I tried to put a little enthusiasm in my voice. I didn’t need to be stressing over Vance. Instead, I was going to enjoy my Saturday, with or without him.

At Applebee’s we took the large corner booth, and each of us ordered iced teas with wedges of lemon in them. After our server placed our drinks on the table, we ordered three sampler platters filled with potato skins, quesadillas and hot wings.

The restaurant was full. Loud conversations and laughter filled the air. Our server was full of energy as she bounced from table to table, taking and filling orders. She wiped sweat from her forehead as she placed another glass of iced tea in front of me.

“Thanks,” I said, and then she disappeared somewhere.

“Guess who tried to talk to me after the game on Friday night.” Jade giggled.

“Who?” Tymia asked, crunching on the ice left over in her glass.

“Chocolate Boy?” Indigo asked teasingly, referring to Jade’s ex-boyfriend, Terrence Hill.

“No! He’s history.” Jade frowned.

“Y’all didn’t look like history at the party the other night,” Indigo said.

“Whatever, Indi. I’m talking about Kendall Keller,” Jade said.

“Kendall Keller, with the thick, pop-bottle glasses?” I had to ask.

“They’re not that thick,” Jade announced.

“What about the corny clothes and the ugly haircut?” Asia asked.

Jade was silent for a moment, and then stated, “He plays varsity,” as if none of those other things mattered because of it. As long as he played varsity, it didn’t matter if he looked like the bottom of my shoe.

“He plays varsity, but he rides the bench.” Indigo dipped her quesadilla into a small dish of guacamole and stuffed it into her mouth.

“So what? I think he’s nice.” Jade smiled. “He has potential.”

“He has a car,” Tymia stated matter-of-factly. “That’s a plus. And he’s a senior.”

“And he just walked in,” Asia announced, and we all looked toward the door.

“Ooh!” Jade hid behind a menu.

“Why’re you hiding?” Indigo asked. “I thought he was
nice.
”

“Don’t look now, but he’s coming this way,” I said.

As Kendall moved our way, he was followed by two other boys from the basketball team—both of whom were professional bench riders. They were on the basketball team, but never got any playing time. They weren’t officially a part of the uncool crowd, but they weren’t anything worth looking at a second time.

“Hey, Jade. How you doing?” Kendall asked as he stood next to our table. “You mind if we join you and your friends?”

Jade looked at our faces, her eyebrows raised and with a look on her face that said, Is it okay?

Before we could respond, the boys were pulling up chairs. Kendall squeezed in next to Jade. Lawrence Bell scooted way too close to me—I could actually smell his breath. Xavier Thomas wormed his way in between Indigo and Tymia.

“I couldn’t remember if you said Applebee’s or TGI Friday’s,” Kendall said and grinned at Jade.

It was obvious that the two of them had been talking. I’d never noticed, but Kendall had a nice smile, and his haircut wasn’t really that bad. It actually looked freshly cut. And he wore jeans that sagged, with a colorful Sean John shirt. The glasses were pretty thick, though.

“Did y’all see Tyler Perry’s movie yet?” Xavier asked.

“Saw it today,” Tymia responded. “What about y’all?”

“I saw it on opening night,” Lawrence said. “It was good.”

“It is my favorite Tyler Perry movie yet,” Xavier announced.

“Mine is
Why Did I Get Married?
That one has lots of drama,” Asia said.

“No, the best one is
Daddy’s Little Girls.
I wanted to kill those girls’ mama and their drug-dealing stepdaddy!” Indigo said.

“Yep, that is my favorite, too,” I said, agreeing with Indigo. I owned all of Tyler Perry’s movies and plays and had seen
Daddy’s Little Girls
at least five times.

“What is your favorite part?” Lawrence asked, his bright eyes looking right at me.

I’d never noticed Lawrence before—never even looked at him for any length of time. We’d had freshman literature together, but he never said anything in class. He would just make his way to the back of the classroom, place the hood of his jacket over his head and fall asleep every single day. I wondered if he’d even completed enough class work to make a passing grade. Here he was, asking me a question, when I’d never even heard his voice before.

“My favorite part is when Idris Elba takes Gabrielle Union to that club on Auburn Avenue….”

“And she gets so drunk,” Lawrence added. “That was funny.”

“Idris Elba is so fine!” Tymia exclaimed. “He could take me out any day of the week.”

“What’s so special about him?” Xavier asked.

“First of all,” I began, “he’s fine, tall, dark and handsome. And he has this sexy British accent…”

“All you looking for is a British accent?” Lawrence laughed and then changed his voice to sound British. “I got a British accent!”

We all laughed. Long and hard. As strange as it was for Kendall and his boys to join our table, we all had a good time. After they ordered another round of quesadillas and hot wings, we sat there for at least another hour, talking about school, movies and everything else that came to mind. We were so wrapped up in the conversation, I didn’t even see Vance and Jaylen walk into the restaurant.

Vance looked good in his jeans and Grambling sweatshirt. His hair was perfectly trimmed, as usual. The way he licked his lips always reminded me of the way LL Cool J licked his. Vance’s eyes met mine, and I gave him a half smile. He didn’t smile back. Instead, he gave me a strange look. I waved, and he nodded his head.

“Isn’t that Vance?” Asia asked.

“Yep, and Jaylen,” Jade said.

Vance and Jaylen followed their hostess to a table on the other side of the restaurant. Vance didn’t even come my way.

“I’ll be right back,” I said and stood. Made my way over to Vance’s table.

“What’s up?” he asked when I approached.

“What’s up with you?” I asked, my hands on my hips. “Weren’t you even gonna say something?”

“You looked busy,” he said and picked up a menu.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“You with Lawrence Bell now?” he replied.

“Excuse me?” I leaned back. “No, I’m here with my girls. They just made themselves at home at our table. Nobody invited them.”

“Looks like they were invited,” said Vance.

I decided to change the subject. Switch the conversation to him. “So what movie did you see today?”

“Tyler Perry’s new movie. Why?” he said.

“Just you and Jaylen?” I asked.

“Hey, I’m going to the restroom,” Jaylen announced and then got up from his chair. “Can you order me a Coke?”

“Yeah, man,” Vance said.

“Just you and Jaylen?” I asked again.

“Just me and Jaylen what?” Vance asked as if he’d forgotten what we were talking about.

“The movies. You and Jaylen went to see Tyler Perry’s new movie together.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

I shrugged. I couldn’t find a thing wrong with that. And suddenly, I couldn’t understand why I was standing at his table, questioning him, questioning us.

“I sent you text messages. And I’ve been calling you all day.”

“My battery went dead, and I haven’t been able to charge my phone.”

“Somebody said they saw you and Jaylen at the movies with some other girls,” I told him.

“Who said that?” he asked. “Jade, with her no-boyfriend-having self?”

“How did you know it was Jade?”

“Because I saw your posse over there at the movies earlier today, and Jade saw Jaylen talking to some girls from school,” Vance said. “Jade should mind her own business.”

I sighed with relief. Jade had misjudged what she thought she’d seen, after all.

“Did something change between us the other night?” I had to ask.

Friday night had weighed heavily on my mind since the
moment Vance had dropped me off in front of my house. Everything seemed different now. Our relationship, our conversation. I needed to know that sex, or the lack of sex, hadn’t driven a wedge between us.

“Can I get you guys something to drink?” the server asked as she approached the table, the name Jennifer plastered across her name tag.

“Two Cokes,” Vance answered.

“Make mine a Sprite,” Jaylen said as he came back from the restroom, smiled at Jennifer. “Trying to watch my caffeine intake.”

“I’ll talk to you about it later,” Vance said to me. “I’ll call you when I get home.”

“Okay,” I said reluctantly.

I wanted to finish our conversation, but it wasn’t the right place or the right time. Not to mention, as I glanced out the window, I saw my mom’s car pull up. I’d forgotten that I’d sent her a text and asked her to pick me and my friends up at Applebee’s.

There was no doubt that Vance and I would resume this conversation later. I wouldn’t be able to sleep until we did.