The Homeboy and The Virgin

07/Junior

   I turned off the mixer and set it down, banishing the thoughts from my head. I was good at a lot of things, but not great at any. “Yo, Duke,” I said, starting a conversation as I poured my cake batter into the pan, “what’s it like to be great at football?”

   I half-expected him to brush off the comment, but he shrugged. “It’s okay, I guess. I like the attention sometimes. But, other times, I hate it. Like when a girl only wants me because I’m great at football. I want people to like me for my personality, like you do.”

    “Where’d you get that idea from? I like you because of your good looks, Duke, not your personality.” I smiled at him to take the sting from my words.

   He rolled his eyes. “I can always count on you to keep me grounded and humble, O Rude One.”

   “Just doin’ my job.” I patted him on the back, turning to the stove to slide my cakes in. His family had three stoves. In my opinion, for a family that hired a chef and didn’t do much of their own cooking, that was about two too many. I closed the door and went back to my other cakes. “Where’s your family? They weren’t here yesterday either.”

    “Away.” He turned the mixer on, effectively cutting off conversation.

    O…. kay. For a brief moment, I wondered if he had went psycho and killed them or something, but then I realized it was Duke. He doted on his little sister, loved his mom, and took after his dad. He had no reason to kill them. I was just being Junior, all paranoid and whatnot.

    I took my dirty bowl to the kitchen sink and turned on the water. I started scrubbing it out, losing myself to the methodical movements.

   Duke wasn’t actually that bad, I realized as I glanced over at him carefully pouring out vegetable oil for the white cake mix. I mean, I could’ve been friends with someone a lot worse. I could’ve chosen to make a bet with somebody a lot worse. Like Chris. He was nice to Rena, but, to me? He would’ve chewed me up and spit me out. He was the asshole every girl secretly crushed on. Kyle was the sweetheart that girls didn’t mean to fall for but did (a dangerous kind, oh Lord, that kind was dangerous). Dante was a butt. Sexy, always with girls, but a butt nonetheless. And then Duke, the funny, smooth one. I liked funny. I could do funny. Butts, assholes, and sweethearts weren’t the kind of guys I wanted to be associated with or close to.

    Ugh.

    I was close to crushing on Duke. I couldn’t help it. Friendly banter, nice kissing…. Man. I wanted to crush on him so badly, and I had to keep reminding myself that I had to win. My competitive nature demanded it. Actually, I just wanted to see a Homeboy lose something for once. Even if they weren’t as bad as I had previously thought them to be.

     “Scuse me, Junior,” Duke said, pushing me out of the way with his hips as he went by on the way to the other stove. “Did you buy cream cheese icing?”

     I nodded. “I bought the stuff to make cream cheese icing. Honestly, it’s much better than store bought.” My mama had instilled in me from a young age to never buy something for somebody else that I wouldn’t buy for myself. And I always made my own cream cheese icing. More so for the fact that I could lick the leftovers when I was done.

    He wrinkled his nose. “Do you know how to—“

    “Duh.”

     He looked doubtful, though. “Whatever you say.”

     I washed out my bowl to get ready for the next cake mix. “So how was practice?” I couldn’t just cook. I loved to talk while I cooked.