So High

22. Kaleb

*This is really just a filler chapter y'all. Nothing significant. However next chapter and on, chileeeee
*not edited
————

"I'm open!"

One of the guys playing basketball yelled. Vaughn and I had just arrived to the court and wanted to get a little hoop session in. We dapped a few dudes up that we knew from around the neighborhood as we made our way to find a spot on a nearby bench.

Memaw was supposed to be coming home from her trip later tonight. She said she would pick J up on her way back home.

I however, was in the midst of a spiritual and physical cleanse. Ever since I cut things off with Jamie, I decided I was in need of a full detox to get rid of any other dead weight in my life.

My idea of detoxing included clean eating for the next week and exercising mostly. Basketball always helped get my mind off anything going on in my life and reenergize.

So much had gone on the last weeks from Jamie to me seeing my Dad that I felt like I needed to reevaluate any type of negative energy in my life.

I threw my bag on the bench and look my shoes out. Vaughn hadn't really said much he had picked me up. I assessed his facial expression as he laced up his own sneakers to see if I could get a read, but in return I got nothing. He was very good at masking how he really felt so I decided to ask instead.

"You good?"
"Yeah, why?" He looked up from trying to make the perfect knot.

"You haven't said anything. I usually can't get you to shut up. What's on your mind?" I sat down next to him.

He sighed, rubbing his sweaty palms on his shorts. Oh how the tables have turned. I was usually the one getting myself  into tricky situations and then asking for advice. Now Vaughn was the one who needed help and it kind of felt strange.

"Bro, Rickie and I had sex last night."
"...Okay, what's the problem."

"Raw." He emphasized. I knew that scared look in his eyes all too well.

"Ah shit. Please don't tell me what I think you're about to tell me."

He nodded, almost too afraid to say it out loud.
"I forgot to pull out."

"Vaughn, what the fuck."

"I know. It's just that it had been so long since her and I you know, and we had got so caught up in the moment."

"Does she know you forgot to pull out?"

"I don't even think she realized. She was on top like real into it and I was tryna tell her to get off, but it was too late by then. She kissed me and turned over like nothing happened after that."

"You ain't want to at least tell her so y'all could go the morning after pill?"

"She's on birth control that's why at first I wasn't really tripping, but then I started googling shit about how sometimes it doesn't always work and now, I'm paranoid."

"Nigga, the last thing you want to do is google shit. Do you know if she got the shot, the pill, or the shit they put in the arm?"

"Pill. She definitely takes the pill."

"Well the good thing is that if she takes her pills like she's supposed to, the chances of this one slip up getting her pregnant is slim."

He seemed slightly more relieved than before.

"I hope so cause I can't take care of no baby right now."

"Worse case scenario, y'all gone have to ctrl+atl+delete it."

He shook his head, chuckling.
"You're going straight to hell for that."

I shrugged. "Look, it's team pro-choice over here."

"Imma just try not to think about it."

"You gon be straight bro. Just make sure next time you either wearing a condom or that pull out game strong, otherwise I'm not gone know what to tell you."

"Preciate it," He reached his hand out so we could do our hand shake. "Now let's talk about you."

"I've actually been doing good." I got up to pull my white-tee off, leaving me in a wife beater.

The guys were about to be done playing there first
game and me and Vaughn was gone have next.

"I'm assuming you didn't see that shit on Twitter with Atiyya and Jamie from last night then."

I quickly snapped my head up after stuffing my shirt in my bag. "I haven't even been on social media. What happened?"

He pulled out his phone, showing me tweets of Tiyya and Jamie going back and forth on twitter last night.

This had gone way farther than what it needed to.

" 'Tiyya deleted some of the stuff she said, but they was going in with the subtweets. So what happened?" Vaughn clasped his hands together, facial expression just waiting for bull shit.

"Ain't nothing happened. I simply told Jamie I ain't want to mess with her no more. She's too much, she gets to mess around with other niggas—which I didn't care anyway because she wasn't my girl—-but the moment I even look at Atiyya or another girl some kind of way, it's an issue."

"How you know she was messing around?"
I paused.
"Tiyya told me."

I was waiting on the I told you so to flow effortlessly from his smart mouth, but it never did.
"Well, what are you gonna do?"

I closed my eyes, tilting my head up at the sky. "I am so tired of niggas messing up my zen. It's always something."

"Your what nigga?" Vaughn chuckled.

"My zen, my peace. My aura is being invaded."

"You acting like this ain't start with you in the first place. The only reason they are arguing is because if you."

"They're arguing because Jamie is nuts."

"Nah, I had it right the first time. You have to do something, you can't let this go on."

"I mean, I'll talk to 'Tiyya, but I ain't too much worried about Jamie. She just mad and wants to blame everybody, but herself for her actions. She'll be aight."

"See, If you would have just went and got with Atiyya from the jump, you wouldn't be going through any of this."

"It's not that easy."

"It would have been if you tightened up. Now look you, hooping fives days out of the week so you don't die of boredom instead of being laid up with ya boo."

"Better then having sex and forgetting to pull out."
I laughed. "And let's not act like yo trash ass don't be right here with me all five of them days of the week too."

"I ain't trash." He got up, tryna slap box. I weaved one of his hits and quickly used my opposite hand to slap him back.

"Y'all keep playing around like some sissy's or y'all gone get on the court so I show y'all how we did it back in my day." Mr. Watson, an old head in the neighborhood, yelled at us.

Vaughn and I's mini squabble stopped. We laughed at his ashy knees and shirt that looked like it was supposed to fit a size small instead of XL.

"You need some lotion for them knee caps." I said.
"And a new bra." Vaughn chimed in.

We walked out onto court and dapped each other up once again, cackling. Mr. Watson roughly chest-checked with the ball. I coughed at little.

Every time we played this man, he wore Vaughn and I out. We D'd up.

"Uh huh, y'all got a lot of mouth today. Now, let's see if y'all brought y'all A-game."

————

I appreciate ya'll feed back in the check in. We are also pass 10ok y'all! Thank you so much for the endless support, it means the world.