Calm Before the Storm (Urban)

Doing My Own Thing

*Jackson family in the MM*

Reagan

"Rae-Rae can I go with you to dance practice?" Skylar asked me for the fifth time this morning.
"Not today, Poppa." I told him softly. He instantly looked like he wanted to cry. I picked him up and sat him on my lap.
"What am I supposed to do while you're gone?" He asked.
"You can play with Sunni while I'm gone. Then when I get back, I'll take you to the park to play." I told him.
"You promise?" He asked me, looking me straight in the eyes.
"I promise, Poppa. But you gotta be good. If Ma tells me that you was acting up, I'm not gonna take you." I warned him.
"I promise I'm going to be good. " he said with a smile.
"Alright, Poppa. Get up so that I can go." I instructed him. He missed me on the cheek before climbing off of my lap.

"Ma, I'm ready to go!!!" I yelled out as I walked down the stairs toward the front door.
"Girl, quit all that yelling up in here!" My dad yelled from the kitchen. "Daddy, where's mom?" I asked him, stealing a sausage link off of his plate.
"She's in the bathroom she'll be out in a minute." He answered me.
"Oh, daddy can I go to the mall with Terrell after we get out of dance class?" I asked him.
"How y'all getting there?" He asked me.
"Uncle Drew is dropping us off and Auntie Mo' is picking us up." I explained to him.
"Check with your momma. Don't be acting up at the mall. It won't take nothing for me to embarrass you Rae-Rae." He said truthfully. I fully believed him because he's done it before.
"I know, I know..." I mumbled as he walked out of the kitchen.
"You got your stuff, Rae? Let's go." My mom said, peeking her head into the kitchen.
----------
    The ride over to the dance studio was pretty quiet. I had a lot of things running through my mind that I didn't feel like sharing. I loved my mom because she never pressured me into spilling my guts to her. When we finally pulled up to the studio I was relieved.
"Dad said its okay if I got to the mall with Terrell after we get out of dance practice. Is that okay with you, ma?" I asked her as I gathered my stuff and opened the car door.
"Of course hun. I've already talked to your Uncle Drew. Just text or call me when you're switching locations " she instructed me.
"Sure thing, ma." I told her. I leaned over and kissed her on the cheek before exiting the car.
"I love you Rae-Rae." She called out to me.
"I love you too, ma." I said, waving to her as she drove off.

  I walked into the studio and as usual, I was the first to arrive. I took the extra thirty minutes of solace to practice my own personal routines. My dance instructor was usually tucked away in her office somewhere.
  I sat my bag in the far corner of the room, turned on the stereo,sat in the middle of the floor and proceed to do my stretches. When I first started dancing, I hated stretching but, in the long run it's paid off. After stretching to the proper degree I was prepared to do the routine I came up with. I plugged my phone into the auxiliary cord connected to the radio. I pressed play and "Body Party" by Ciara blared through the speakers.
    The dance moves in the routine were pretty sensual which is why I kept the dance to myself. Overall, I loved it and was confident in my body movements. After a minute I started doing the dance fullout. I was rolling my body and rotating my hips to the max. (Routine in MM) I was so into it that I didn't notice Terrell's best friend Sammie standing there watching me. I locked eyes with him and continued to dance. I noticed him licking his lips as he watched me dance.
   When the song finally ended, I grabbed my water out of my bag and attempted to catch my breath. I noticed that Sammie was still staring at me.

"What are you looking at?" I asked with a laugh.
"I'm looking at you. Is that a problem?" He asked raising his eyebrow.
"It is when you're burning a hole into the side of my face." I said, rolling my eyes. He moved closer to where I was standing.
"Why you gotta be so stank when you talking to me?" He asked with a smirk.
"Because...I don't like you like that." I told him, pushing him out of my personal space. Before I could fully walk away, he grabbed my arm and pulled me in towards him.
"You want me though." He said moving his hands down to my waist. We stood there for a minute, staring into each others eyes. All you could hear was our unsteady breathing patterns.
    A year ago, I would have snatched out of his grasp but, today I was reveling in it. He was right. I did want him but, my dad don't play that and Sammie knows that. I directed my eyes toward the floor, only to have Sammie raise my chin so that I was looking into his eyes once again.
"When you gon' be my girl?? I've been waiting for a while now." He said to me. I let out a long sigh.
"Sammie you know how my daddy is..." I stated simply.
"Who cares about yo daddy!" He said raising his voice a little. I could tell that he was getting frustrated. "I don't mean it like that, Rae. But, its not like he cares about what you do anyway. All he focuses on is yo momma and the twins. You're always left out. And if it wasn't getting to you then you wouldn't complain to me about it every night. He spoke truthfully.
   Tears burned my eyes because he was right. I was feeling some type of way about my dad.
"Don't cry, Rae. You know I can't stand it when you cry." He said, pulling me in for a hug. I'm basically already his girl, I don't know why he tripping. I rested my head on his chest as he rubbed my back.
"Are you coming to the mall with us after practice?" I asked him, pulling away from our embrace.
"I can't because I have some chores that I didn't do this morning because I wanted to get here early with you." He explained. I smiled because it was evident that he cared about me.
"Well I'm taking Poppa to the park later. Can you meet me then?" I asked.
"Its a date. Just let me know the time." He smirked.
"Cool." I said with a smile. He leaned down and pecked me on the forehead before the rest of the class started to walk in.
----------
"What's going on with you and Sammie?" Terrell asked me as we walked into FootLocker.
"Nothing. Why you ask that?" I asked, tryna play dumb.
"Don't play stupid with me, Rae-Rae. I walj end in on y'all before practice started. I saw him kiss you on the forehead." He said to me.
I let out a long sigh before responding
"Its nothing serious, Tee-Tee. Well I mean...we got a little something going on but I told him that we can't officially be together because my daddy will trip out." I explained. He stared at me for a moment, like he was thinking, then he spoke.
"Don't do nothing stupid, Rae. You know Uncle Storm wont hesitate to put somebody in they place. He don't play around when it comes to you, Rae." He told me.
"Dang, are you finished with your lecture now?" I asked with an attitude.
"I'm sorry, Rae. I just don't wanna see you get in trouble. You're my cousin and my best friend. Well both you and Sammie are my best friends. I wanna see y'all be together. I just don't want you guys to feel Uncle Storm's wrath. Do it the right way, Rae. That's all I'm saying." He expressed.
"I hear you Tee-Tee." I responded. All I did was hear him. I'm doing this my way. My daddy gets on my nerves sometimes. He's just gon have to deal with it.
---------
"Run Poppa, run!!!" I yelled through my laughs. Poppa had just threw the football at Sammie's head on accident. Poppa's little legs couldn't move fast enough because Sammie scooped him up in no time. Poppa was holding his own and managed to tackle Sammie. As soon as I saw Sammie trying to get up, I jumped in and helped Poppa.
"Oh so you want some of me too?" He asked. I got up and tried to run but he caught me by my waist. He picked me up and twirled me around.
"Put me down Sammie.!!!" I whined. He walked to a nearby bench and sat down with me on his lap.
"I only put you down because you're my boo." He whispered in my ear.
"Since when have I been yo boo?" I asked him, getting comfortable in his lap. I like the feeling of having his arms wrapped around my waist.
"Since forever." He said sweetly.
        All I could do is smile in response.
"I'm ready to be your girl, officially." I told him straight up.
"Are you sure, Rae?" He asked me.
"I'm completely sure. I need someone in my corner and I'm confident that you have my back." I told him confidently.
"Dang...you forreal huh?" He asked, in disbelief.
"Yes, boo." I answered him.
"Well then, can I do this?" He asked.
"Do what?" I asked. He answered by leaning in and kissing me on the lips. His lips were so soft.
"Of course." I said with a smile.
"Rae-Rae can we go get ice cream?" Poppa asked me, riding up on his bike.
I looked up at Sammie and he nodded his head.
"Sure Poppa. Let's go." I told him with a smile.
        There was a Cold Stones nearby so Sammie and I walked hand in hand as Poppa rode his bike in front of us.
          I was nervous about how my dad would react when he finally finds out but, but he wasn't gonna kill my vibe in the meantime.
***************
What y'all think about Rae-Rae's actions? Let me know!!!

Thanks in advance.