"I'ma hook you up with that subscription too." Jionni smiled, talking at the call center. "Ahah. Yeah....yeah it's only a' extra $30 but you good. You got bread, y'ont need it. Alright. Take care."
Nearby in the busy office, were Jionni's managers. Working at a cable call center, his accent seemed to bother one of them.
"How'd he even get this job?" The Male manager asked.
"The customers that call love him, John." The female manager responded.
"As nice as that is, that accent isn't professional for a work place. Tell him to fix it or I will." The male manager ordered, walking away.
Once Jionni arrived home, he rummaged through his closet for an outfit. He continued to go out with Chevy and the boys on a regular basis. Chevy and Ross were in school while Djuan and Jionni did you know what. Book falling off of his shelf, it was the Baton Rouge High School book.
Memories.
Looking throughout the book, he eventually came across a photo of he and Melissa. The couple were voted 2014 Couple of the year. Arm around her as she smiled, he thought about the time he saw her at Fridays. A week had passed and the two hadn't spoken since. Not a Instagram fan, he went back on his deserted page to see how she was doing. The two still followed one another.
Covered with photos of she and Ray, the other photos were selfies. She presented her new makeup skills and gogo girl personality. She had many friends back in her home country. Another photo was of her, Maria and Rodrigo. Captioned
"Best parents I could ever ask for."
Chuckling under his breath, he scrolled up to the last photo she uploaded. It was of she and Trina.
"Byke in Lousiana with my old bitch!" The photo captioned. "We at the Hookah Lounge tonight!"
Location attached to the photo, Jionni didn't want to pop up and scare her.
But as usual, Jionni was the same. He didn't care.
Before going out with the boys, Jionni showered and dressed in one of his Nike Shirts, shorts, and Shoes and headed to the lounge. At 8pm, he walked into the same lounge the two spent their high school moments at. Walking through the smoke, he saw Melissa sitting alone. Dressed in light blue jeans and a skin tight top, Jionni was still marveled by her outfit change.
"Oh my gosh!" Jionni squealed, approaching her. "What are da' odds of us bumping into each other again?"
Melissa turned his way, giving him a blank stare.
"What?"
"Do you think i'm stupid, Jionni?" She laughed. "How'd you find me here?"
"Girl please aint nobody checkin' fo' yo ass. I'm here to smoke."
"You found me like you used to every time I got away from your ass in high school." Melissa laughed. "Seriously, how'd you find me? Instagram?"
"I cant come to a Hookah bar?" He smirked.
Melissa smiled, shaking her head.
"You haven't changed a bit, I see."
"Nah but real shit, I got somethin' for you."
Digging in his pocket, Jionni held up her gift. The golden chain he'd given her.
"You still got that???" Melissa laughed. "I thought you might've gotten rid of it!"
"Nah. Give it to Ray."
"Oh?"
"You know why you gave it t'me." Jionni nodded. "Give it to him fo' that reason."
Melissa glanced at the chain, cracking a small smile.
"I gave it to you for a reason. Keep it. It's still yours."
"Jionni?" Trina laughed, hugging him. "Its nice to see y'all lil lovebirds back together!"
"Oh no, he just popped up to smoke." Melissa laughed, placing her hand out. "Don't play!"
"Hey Trina. I see yo' ass all the time so you aint special." Jionni smiled, stepping off of the booth. "Anyway, I'ma bail. See y'all."
Face resting against her hands, Melissa chuckled and took a puff of her smoke.
He was still the same.
After a long night of partying and casual drinking, Jionni showered once more and prepared for bed. That's when he received a call.
"Aye Ji, you got a baggie for me?" One of his buyers asked.
"Really nigga? Its midnight?" Jionni asked. "You couldn'a asked me earlier?"
"Its gone be quick."
"Hurry yo' ass up."
Resting on the couch, Jionni thought about Melissa once more. Seeing if she had her same number, he decided to send her a text.
"Ayo Lissa, fuck them 5 years. Quit playing and get back with your first. Your old thang. Lets go eat and get fat on a beach or some shit. Lets go check into a hotel and not no shitty ass motel. Some 5 star hotel. Lets go get naked, have some unprotected sex and worry about that baby once we get married. You look fine as hell and you know you was diggin my ass too. Lets quit fucking around."
Checking her instagram page, the last video uploaded was of her and Ray. Both took a puff of smoke, blowing it out in front of the camera. Jionni laughed, deleting the message.
"The fuck am I doing?" Jionni mumbled to himself, shutting his phone off.