Roderick rinsed off the soap from a customer's car and then began drying it by hand with a large microfiber drying towel. When he finished drying the car, he unrolled the hose that was connected to a machine that contained various scented vapors inside of it. The customer had requested the new car scent, so Roderick turned the dial to new car and began letting out some of the scented vapor from the hose into the car. After a few seconds, he turned the machine off and rolled the hose back around its holster. He then climbed into the car and drove it back around to the front of the shop.
"Your car is ready, sir," he said to the customer as he entered the shop. "I can ring you up now." He went behind the service desk and brought up the customer's service worksheet on the computer, saying to the customer, "Okay, you had an oil change, a battery test, tire rotation, and our silver detail package. That will be $189.44, sir."
The customer pulled out his debit card and inserted it into the card chip reader next to the cash register. He put in his four-digit pin number and when the confirmation came up on the computer screen, Roderick tapped confirm and the man's receipt began to print. Roderick then printed the service worksheet out and stapled the receipt to it. He handed it and the customer's car keys to the customer.
"Have a nice day and thank you for choosing Ali & Payne Auto," Roderick said to him. "Have a nice day, sir."
"You, too, young man," said the customer before leaving.
Roderick quickly pulled out his phone from under the service desk to text Jacory but Deven walked in from the back and said, "Boy, you got a few more cars to work on. Get off that phone."
"Dang, Dev, I just spent the last half hour cleaning that old man's Buick inside and out. You always got me out in the sun smellin' like the onions in spaghetti workin' full-time on Saturdays. I can't take a minute to text my boo on the day of our senior prom?"
Deven rolled his eyes and said, "Make it quick, man. You don't see these customers up in here waiting on their cars? I'm already letting you leave an hour early so you can get ready for your prom. But you need to take care of those four customers."
"Two of them are here for alignments and I'm not a mechanic. They didn't request car detailing either."
"Then get to the other two. You got your paycheck for last week's work yesterday. Time to put in the work for next week's check."
Roderick sucked his teeth and said under his breath, "Better hope I don't really start workin' at Burger King this summer."
"Say what?"
"I said, boy I'm sure gonna miss workin' here with you after the summer."
Deven smiled and patted him hard on the back while saying, "Don't play with me, bro. Get to work."
Roderick waited until Deven was back out in the garage before finally texting Jacory to know if he, Demetrius and Montrell were still at the school putting up all of the decorations for prom. When Jacory texted him back saying they'd finished and were on their way to pick up their tuxedos from the mall, he smiled and sent Jacory kissing emojis. After Jacory texted him back with kissing emojis, he laughed to himself and put his phone back under the desk so that he could go back outside to finish working.
Life had changed significantly for Roderick and everyone around him over the course of a few months. Three weeks before the prom, he'd learned that both he and Jacory had gotten into Howard University. While he was beyond excited, he couldn't help but feel a little overwhelmed by it all. In the span of a year, he'd gone from being arrested with drug possession and being incarcerated at a juvenile detention center to working with his brother and getting into college. Although he was heading into a different world than what he was used to, he was prepared for it. It also helped that Jacory would be there with him.
"Thank you for choosing Ali & Payne Auto," he said to his final customer of the day. "Have a nice day." After the woman left, Roderick went out the back door that led into the large multi-port garage where Deven, his business partner Raheem, and other mechanics worked on cars. He made his way to Deven and told him, "A'ight, bruh, I'm gonna clock out. I gotta walk home and shower and then get a Lyft to the mall to get my tuxedo."
"Will you be able to do all of that in time?" Deven asked him.
"If I run home instead of walk. We don't live that far from this part of downtown."
Deven gave him a look and then pulled his car keys out of his back pocket. He handed them to Roderick and said, "You can take my car to do what you need to do."
"For real?"
"Yeah, but don't be having people all up in my Camaro, bruh. Just do what you need to do and park it in my usual space on the street."
"But how are you gonna get home?"
"Raheem will drop me off."
"I will?" asked Raheem, causing them both to look at him. He smiled and said to Deven, "Yeah, I got you, bro."
Roderick hugged his brother and said, "Thanks, Dev."
"Have fun at your prom, man. I love you."
"Love you, too, man." He pulled back from their hug and then headed back into the front of the shop to clock out for the day.
Deven smiled as he resumed working on a customer's car and said to Raheem, "That boy is about to graduate magna cum laude in the top fifteen percent of his class, and he got into all of the colleges he applied to. He ain't in the streets anymore. He helps us out around here every day." He fought back emotions as he continued, "That's my little brother, man. I'm so damn proud of him."
While Roderick was heading home to shower, Jacory pulled up to the mall so that he, Montrell, and Demetrius could get their tuxedos. Jacory and Roderick had ordered matching tuxedos. Jacory's was dark red with black lapels on the jacket, a single black stripe going down the sides of his dark red pants, a black dress shirt, and a dark red bow tie with black designs on it. Roderick's was black with dark red lapels on the jacket, a single dark red stripe going down the sides of his black pants, a dark red dress shirt, and a black bow tie with dark red designs on it. Their loafers were also the same matching colors with the designs from their bow ties also on the loafers.
"They got the fit perfect on my pants," Demetrius called out from his dressing room stall. "They're so comfortable."
"Mine are, too," called out Jacory while looking at himself in the stall's mirror.
"Ugh, mine are a little tight around my ass area," complained Montrell. "Thank goodness I won't need to use the back pockets."
"Tight in the ass area?" asked Demetrius. "Um, what have you been doing, Trell? I have noticed you walk and sit like us experienced ladies now. Whose dick been up in you, boo-boo?"
"None," Montrell lied before stepping out of his stall. "I am still a virgin. Aren't I, J?"
Jacory stepped out of his stall and lied, "Yep, and there is nothing wrong with that."
"Well, you are going to prom with Rod's homeboy," said Demetrius while stepping out of his stall. "Tonight might be that night to get your black cherry popped."
"Kelvin is straight," said Montrell.
Demetrius gave him a look and said, "Yeah, but he asked you."
"Because Jacory made a big deal about me going alone so he told Rod and Rod told Kelvin, who also didn't have a date. I was all set to go alone."
Jacory looked at him and asked, "And how would that have been fair? Other people have dates. And some have dates coming from other schools."
Montrell rolled his eyes and said, "Anyway, we all look cute. Tonight is gonna be our night."
They posed together in front of the big mirror outside of all the dressing room stalls and played around while laughing. After going back into their individual stalls to change back into their clothes, they stepped back out with their tuxedos packed away in full-sized garment bags. As they were leaving the tuxedo store, they ran into Nate and Tayvon, who were also there to pick up tuxedos for prom.
"Graduation can't get here soon enough," said Jacory as he rolled his eyes. "Come on, y'all."
"Jacory, wait," said Nate while stepping away from Tayvon.
Jacory folded his arms and quipped, "Careful, Mr. Fourth Place in the 200-meter dash. You don't know if I'm armed this time or not. I wouldn't want to shoot your balls off this time."
"Why you always gotta be so petty?" Tayvon asked Jacory.
Nate looked at him and said, "Tay, it's cool."
"No, it ain't. He had no reason to bring up you comin' in fourth place at your final track meet."
"I really need to say what I need to say to him, Tay." He turned his attention back to Jacory and explained, "I know it won't mean much but as a part of my therapy, I'm supposed to make amends to people I hurt and explain to them that I understand how I hurt them. Jacory, I have bipolar disorder. When I got put on medication back in February, I realized just how much I hurt you and I am so sorry. That wasn't me. You have to know that that wasn't me."
Jacory stared into his eyes and shrugged his shoulders before saying, "I wasn't myself while we were together either, Nate. When I aimed that gun at your head, that was the real me. See, I suppressed myself and ignored my own needs for you and I became lost. When I pistol-whipped you that first time in the back of your head, it was like I woke up from a deep sleep. I was me again. I honestly don't care about you making amends to me. It would be best for you to never speak to me again. I mean, I could always do more than just fracture your rib and puncture a lung. Hmm, I wonder just how much did that punctured lung factor into your poor track performances?" He smiled and walked away with Montrell and Demetrius.
"Such a bitch," said Tayvon while watching them walk away. "He didn't even have to say that shit to you, man."
"Yeah, he did," said Nate. "I hurt him emotionally and physically. I would've never done that to him had I been on the meds I'm on now. But my bipolar disorder is not an excuse."
"Nate, he—"
"It's not an excuse, Tay. I knew something was wrong with me and I didn't want to get help. I take full responsibility. I'm okay with him never forgiving me because that's his right. He's moved on and I've moved on, too. So, let's get our tuxes and go back to my house so we can chill and wait until it's time for prom."
"Wait, I gotta know. Are we still good?"
Nate smiled and replied, "We're better than good. I can't wait until we're in Atlanta for college. It's gonna be good letting go of the past and being away from all of these constant reminders of everything that went wrong."
"True."
While Nate and Tayvon were getting their tuxedos, Jacory headed to the food court with Montrell and Demetrius to get non-dairy smoothies. After getting their smoothies, Demetrius had to go to the restroom so Jacory and Montrell headed to one of the high tables and sat down on the stools.
"I'm really nervous about the prom," said Montrell. "Saquan won't tell me anything about the bitch he's bringing."
"Damn," said Jacory after taking a sip from his banana and salted caramel smoothie. "Why the ho gotta be a bitch?"
"I know he's not out and I know what I signed up for but he could've at least told me who she is and what school she goes to. Why couldn't he just ask a girl from our school? And why couldn't I just take a girl instead of going with Kelvin?"
"You said Saquan was cool with you going with Kelvin. Kelvin is straight."
"I know when Saquan is lying. He is not cool with it. He starts scratching the back of his head and repeating shit when he's lying and he did that several times when I told him I was going to prom with Kelvin."
"Trell, your boyfriend is DL and it can get messy if you're not careful. Just be glad that only me, your momma and my momma know about you and him."
"Your momma? Who told Aunt Evelyn?"
"I did. You know I don't keep anything away from my momma."
"Well, she is family. Thank you for not telling Demetrius for all this time. I know he's our friend but with all of us going to Howard and Saquan going to Georgetown, I can't risk people finding out. You know Saquan wants to go pro one day."
"I know I always say DL men suck but I like how Saquan treats you. Well, I like how you tell me he treats you." He laughed and added, "Whether he comes out or not, I think you two are gonna be together for a long time."
"Aw, thanks, cuz."
Jacory noticed Demetrius coming back and said, "D is coming back. No more talk about Scooby."
Montrell laughed and joked, "Bitch, I'ma kick you under this table."
"What are y'all over here kee-keein' about?" Demetrius asked as he sat down on a stool with them.
"Nothing," Jacory answered before drinking from his smoothie.
Meanwhile, Roderick finished getting dressed after his shower and was in the middle of putting on his shoes when there was a ring at the doorbell downstairs. He quickly grabbed his wallet and Deven's car keys before hurrying out of his bedroom and running downstairs to the door.
"Kel, what are you doin' here this early?" he asked after exiting the townhouse.
"You know I'm always fuckin' up and bein' late," said Kelvin. "I wanted to get here early so I wouldn't fuck everything up."
"Bruh, I gotta go out to the mall and get my tux."
Kelvin held up his garment bag and said, "I already got mine, as you can see. You got some dress shoes I can borrow?"
Roderick sighed loudly and reopened the door, telling Kelvin, "Take your tux up to the living room and come back down. I gotta get to the mall to get my tux, check out the Airbnb spot that me and Jacory are gonna be staying in tonight and tomorrow with Zay and Demetrius, and get back here to get ready for prom."
He waited for Kelvin to put his tuxedo upstairs. When Kelvin came back down, he closed the door and used the key to lock the door. They climbed into Deven's Camaro and Roderick started it up and pulled away from the curb. He noticed that Kelvin wasn't acting like himself and occasionally looked over at him.
"What's goin' on with you?" he asked as they approached a red light. "You're bein' way too quiet right now."
"I'm just thinkin' about tonight," Kelvin replied while looking out the passenger side window.
"I think you're great for agreeing to take Montrell to prom. I know I never say it but thanks for bein' you, Kel. You've always been supportive and never tripped about me bein' gay. The fact that you're cool with taking another guy to the prom is amazing, to be honest."
"That's the thing; bro, my mind has been on some confused shit ever since you asked me to be Montrell's date."
"What do you mean?"
"Man, I don't know. When I approached Montrell at his locker last week and asked him, he started blushing and shit and...I thought he looked cute."
"Whoa, what are you sayin' to me right now, dawg?"
"Nigga, I ain't comin' out to you right now. I just...thought he looked cute. He's cute for a guy. He got them pretty eyes and lips and he would be a ten as a female, for real. I guess that's what's fuckin' with my head. There's somethin' about him that I do find attractive but I'm not gay. Shit, I ain't even bi. I've never thought about no shit like this before."
"Bro, fuck the labels. If you're feeling him then you're feeling him. You know I ain't gonna judge you."
"I think it's just the fact that I've been single for so long. These females around here ain't tryin' to hear shit I got to say half the time. And when they do, it's only for some dick. I want a girlfriend. I want a girl to take to prom and do all kinds of other stuff with. I tried to talk to a girl yesterday at work and she put her hand in my face and told me not to talk to her because I work at Burger King. And I'm like bitch, you're eating at Burger King. The fuck?"
Roderick laughed and said, "Kel, your problem is you keep tryin' to get these girls who want too much but also don't hold themselves to the highest standards. There are plenty of girls at our school and other schools around here that would go out with you but you don't want them."
Kelvin sighed and asked, "Why can't Montrell have a twin sister that looks just like him but with big titties and a phat ass?"
Roderick laughed again and said, "Dawg, you're a trip."
"I know I'm gonna do everything I can to make sure Montrell has a good time and I'm gonna have fun, too. But I just don't want to get caught up in my own head."
"Just know that if you do find yourself attracted to him, make sure he's on the same page. And don't be so hard on yourself. Remember, fuck the labels, bro. Do what makes you happy and brings you peace of mind."
"Thanks, man. I'm still nervous as fuck though. I know I don't know Montrell like that but I wanna show him a good time. Him and Jacory have always been nice to me."
"Yeah, they come from a good family. And don't worry, I know you'll do fine, bro."
Roderick and Kelvin laughed as they checked out all of the features of the Ford Excursion limousine they were riding in and drank some of the chilled sparkling white grape juice out of the champagne glasses that were offered. Minutes later, they were picking up Zayvon and ten more minutes later, they picked up Demetrius. When they made it to Jacory's house where both Jacory and Montrell were, everyone climbed out because Jacory and Montrell's mothers wanted to take pictures of everybody in the front yard.
"Mookie, smile for the camera and stop looking like you're frustrated," said Evelyn.
"Pressed on your prom night?" asked Eileen. "Get it together, Mookie."
"I'm not pressed," Jacory said with a smile. "Y'all getting on my nerves with all these pictures. Dang!" He smiled and held hands with Roderick as his mother and Eileen took pictures of them.
Kelvin surprised Montrell by wrapping his arms around him from behind so that they could pose for Eileen's camera. Eileen snapped a few photos and then happily said, "Aw, y'all look so cute and hydrated and moisturized. Lookin' like two cute sweet potato pies with whipped cream on the top."
Kelvin laughed and told Montrell, "Your moms is a trip, yo."
"Tell me about it," said Montrell, while laughing and turning around to face him. "Kelvin, thank you for agreeing to this. I know it's probably uncomfortable for you to do this. Just know I won't put a lot of pressure on you."
"It's all good, Trell. I wanted to do this because we both deserve to have a fun night with our friends. I could've gone to prom alone and so could you, but it's better like this. Seein' that smile on your face makes me feel good."
Montrell's smile got bigger as he turned back around to pose for more pictures.
"Look how happy Jacory is," Reginald said to Marcus as they watched from the porch. "I gotta admit, I wasn't too happy when he told us he was back with Rod but look at them."
"Rod's an alright dude," said Marcus. "He's better than that fuck boy, Nate. I still have the urge to beat that nigga's ass but I know that would upset Mookie. He's moved on. Shit, I've been movin' on, too."
"Angelique, huh?"
When Reginald mentioned Angelique, Marcus looked at him and said, "We're just friends. We kick it sometimes. That's all."
"Yeah, right. It didn't seem that way the other week at Easter dinner. That's the first time I've ever seen you wear a suit, son."
Marcus laughed and shook his head, saying, "Angelique has taught me a lot about myself. But for real, we're just good friends. I've actually never had a friend that's a woman before her. She just...gets me through and through, man. We talk about a lot and she gets me to open up in a way nobody has before."
"Oh, I believe you. You haven't started an argument with me ever since you and her met at this house last Christmas." He laughed and added, "I need to thank her for that."
"Yo, I'm sorry about all the negative shit I've ever said to you, Reginald. In every way that counts, you have been a father to me and Mookie and I can't even be mad at that. I wish I could've realized that when I was younger when you first married my momma."
"I'm willing to put all of that behind us if you'll help me with one thing."
"Man, I am not helpin' you renovate this house."
"Come on, son. It's not that hard. You've done construction before. All we have to do is go room by room and—"
"Nah, I can't help you with that."
"Alright, I think that's enough pictures," said Evelyn. "I hope y'all have a fun night. Enjoy every single second of it."
"That's right," added Eileen. "Y'all have fun and me and Ev are gonna email and text these pictures to all of your mothers. That's why we asked for phone numbers and email addresses yesterday."
As the teens began heading to the limousine, Evelyn called out, "Don't forget to pose for the professional photographers at the prom, too!"
"Okay, momma," Jacory called back before climbing into the limousine with Roderick. "Dang, that was super embarrassing."
"Your momma is cool though," said Roderick. "Her and your Aunt Eileen be crackin' me up."
"After you," Kelvin said to Montrell as he stood by the limousine door. He watched as Montrell climbed in and noticed the way Montrell's pants were riding up in his ass. After taking a deep breath, Kelvin said to himself, "Whatever you do, don't grab the booty, Kel."
"Baby, what's wrong?" Demetrius asked Zayvon as they were climbing into the limousine after Kelvin climbed in. "You look like you're worried."
"I was just thinkin' about what happens after this summer," said Zayvon. "I'm goin' all the way down to Atlanta and you're gonna be in D.C. After these next few months, we're not gonna see each other in person for a while. This year, I got you, I'm back on good terms with my twin, and I've gotten comfortable sharing my poetry with other people. I finally get everything I want, but it's temporary."
"Aw, baby, it's going to be okay. We have time to figure it all out before we leave for college."
"I just wish I could've talked Tay out of wanting to go to Atlanta to be with Nate. There was just no gettin' through to him. And I can't enter such a major part of my future without my twin. I feel guilty for choosing to go to Atlanta instead of D.C. with you."
"Zay, I told you I'm okay with the decision you made. Baby, I would never come between your bond with Tay. Never. It would be unfair and outside of my character. I support your choice and I support you. Now, come on. We're holding everybody up, baby."
"Wait."
Demetrius laughed a little and asked, "Zay, what?"
"I love you."
"Boy, stop. You just love this ass and dick." He laughed again and then seriously replied, "I love you, too." They shared a kiss and then finally climbed into the limousine.
As the limousine began driving away from Jacory's house, Roderick put his arm around Jacory and told him, "The Airbnb we reserved is fly. I stopped by there earlier."
"I can't wait to spend the night with you there," said Jacory. "I know we won't have the whole house to ourselves but we will have the master bedroom."
"Shit, I can't wait to swim in the pool," said Zayvon. "We should all get in there naked. Just let it all hang out."
"I am so glad I won't be going," said Montrell with a laugh. "I can't get naked in front of anybody except my"—he quickly caught himself—"my Lord."
"Me neither," agreed Kelvin. "I either sleep in my draws or butt ass naked. It's really the only way to sleep."
"Way too much info, Kel," Jacory said while laughing. He turned his attention back to Roderick and leaned in close so that he could whisper in Roderick's ear, "If you sleep naked with me then I will wake you up by deep throating your dick."
Roderick adjusted the erection that was forming in his pants as he leaned in towards Jacory's ear and whispered back, "Yeah, and I'ma deep throat yours before makin' you sit on my face."
"What y'all over there whispering about?" Demetrius asked.
"Nothing," Jacory and Roderick answered in unison before looking at each other and laughing.
Their limousine pulled up to the side of the school's gym where the prom was being held. There was an awning that ran along the side entrance of the gym that Jacory and the other students on the senior executive committee decorated with lights and a red carpet on the sidewalk underneath the awning. When walking into the gym, students were greeted with a beautiful well-lit sign that had Bienvenue: A Night in Paris written on it. Roderick, Jacory, Demetrius, Zayvon, Montrell, and Kelvin climbed out of the Ford Excursion limousine together and began walking down the red carpet while photographers snapped photos of them. Demetrius and Zayvon entered the gym as Roderick and Jacory were following behind them.
"Rod," called out a familiar voice just as Roderick and Jacory were in the entranceway. "Rod, over here, dawg."
Roderick looked in the direction he'd heard the voice call out from and saw JD and Nard. He broke away from Jacory and made his way over to them, asking, "What are y'all doin' here?"
"We need you," said Nard. "Man, some shit went down last night and...bruh, Trek got killed."
"What?" Roderick asked as he became visibly upset. "What the fuck happened?"
"Escobar been beefin' with some westside niggas for a minute," JD explained. "They've been dealin' on our territory so Escobar told us to scare them off. Well, some of them niggas were waiting on us because we rolled up on a gang of them on MLK Boulevard and they had their heat ready. We had a shootout with them and Trek caught one in the back of the head, bruh."
Roderick shook his head as Jacory, Kelvin, and Montrell approached him. Jacory touched his arm and asked, "Rod, what's going on?"
"Are you comin' with us or not, bro?" Nard asked Roderick.
"Them westside niggas went straight pussy and ran home," said JD. "You know a lot of the spots over that way. We need you. Are you with us or not, my nigga?"
"Rod, let's go inside, man," said Kelvin. "This ain't you no more, remember?"
"Yeah, baby," said Jacory. "Come on, let's go inside. This is our senior prom." He made Roderick look at him and reminded him, "Don't forget your promises to me, baby."
Roderick stood there frozen, not knowing whether to go with his former homeboys to help them avenge Trek's death or go inside the school to enjoy his senior prom with Jacory and his friends. For the first time in a long time, he didn't know what to do.