"a girl doesn't need anyone
who doesn't need her"
~ M. Monroe
✶
*Outfit Above*
After a couple of hours of being bored in my room for the night, I decided to take a walk. To get my thoughts together. Most of my thoughts were filled with Derek and Alex. I don't even know why I'm so jealous. I'm the reason why we broke up. Well, not necessarily but I'm the reason why Demarcus tried to kill Derek.
Demarcus was some nigga I fucked with in High school. He was the one person in school everybody was scared of, not me though. Being who my mother is, I felt untouchable. Me not being scared of him attracted him he claims.
I and Demarcus were on and off my whole junior and half of senior year. Demarcus was there when my mother lied about who my birth father was when she admitted she didn't even want to have me, and when I ran away to live with my Auntie.
I meet Derek in my 2nd semester at a party. I fell hard and he did as well. Me falling for Derek was the best mistake I ever made.
Derek was older than me, considering I was a 16 year old senior and that boy was grown.
Demarcus was nothing to play with. This dude literally breathed the streets. That's all he knew growing up because he ain't have nobody to teach him from right or wrong. I was trying to be that person.
When he got locked up before graduation, broke my heart and everything I had for him was gone.
He promised me he'd stay out the streets but he ended up in fucking jail fighting a murder case. It didn't make it any better when he surprisingly made bail and saw me and Derek together and shot at us. This boy was crazy over me and I didn't even give him the pussy.!
Then he snuck up in my Auntie house and tried to kidnap me until I maced his ass. That attracted attention and my auntie got me up out of there and called the police. He got sentenced to a couple years, not enough cause he put now. I don't if he even still in Atlanta, all I know is he better leave me the hell alone.
I was too distracted by my thoughts to not notice somebody running toward me. The person then snatched me to an alley and pushed me up against the wall.
I was about to scream but he quickly covers my mouth. "Shh." He says eyes widen. "Just go along with it, please." I gave it a thought and nodded my head.
He then leans forward and kisses my neck. My jaw dropped as he tightens his grip on my waist. I saw two police officers run past us.
"They're gone," I whisper to him which made him move from the crook of my neck. He lifts his head up and peaks around the corner. He turns around and looks at me with a smile.
"Look I-" The mysterious man was cut off by me smacking him. He head snaps back with his jaw dropped and his hand massaging his cheek.
"Boy, who the fuck are you? And why the fuck you just snatch me in this motherfucking alley like some creepy." I crossed my arm angrily. The man looked pretty good, brown skinned, freckles, nice teeth.
That's not the point Winter damn.
"Girl now I'll be wrong if I smack you back right." He said trying to look mad but he couldn't even do it cause he had such a baby face. "My name Emmanuel. What's yo name pretty girl." He says still flirting with me even after I just smacked the shit out of him.
"Boy bye." I roll my eyes and step passed him. He quickly grabbed my arm. I looked at him and then looked at his arm and but at him.
He quickly let go, "Oh um, I just want to get to know you."
I sighed, "Winter," He looked at me confused.
"Is you okay, cause I'm not cold and it's not Winter?" He says dumbly, then a lightning bulb went off in his head. "Ohhhh, that's your name." Emmanuel then smiled. "It suits you."
This made me laugh. He chuckled along with me. "You have a pretty laugh, I'd love to hear it more." He says leaning against the wall. "You smoke?"
I nod my head raising an eyebrow at him. "Yeah, I hope you know I'm not gonna fuck you." This made Emmanuel crack up laughing, I raised an eyebrow at him.
"Is you cool? What's funny?" He shakes his head still laughing. He smirks at me and licks his lips.
"I'm a virgin." He places his hands in his pockets. My jaw drops.
"You're lying." I shake my head. "I don't judge as long as you don't have over 5 bodies."
"I'm not lying. I just haven't found the right girl." He looks at me. "I don't like those females who just throw themselves at men. I respect women and I like it when women respect themselves."
I smile at him, "So we about to go smoke or what?" Emmanuel smirks and pulls up an already rolled up blunt.
✶
I walked into the salon and the door slams catching everybody attention. In the room was Simone, Bruce, and Cotton. "Girl where you go off to last night." Cotton looks at me suspiciously. I opened my mouth to say something but then I noticed her black eye.
"Unuh now why," I cut myself and cross my arms. I tilt my head to the side and look at Cotton. "We'll talk about." She said waving her hand at me. "Now where you was at?"
I opened my mouth to finish speaking only to be interrupted by the door opening again to reveal Emmanuel. "You forgot this." He says holding up my wallet. Cotton smirks at me while Bruce and Simone's jaw are dropped.
I smiled at him and kissed his cheek. "Thank you, I'll call you later." He nods and waves bye to everybody.
"That's where you were last night." Cotton bites her lips. "That boy is so damn fine. Where you find him at?"
I laugh and shake my head and walked passed her to the back to finish the wigs. Then Carlotta started to come downstairs and she grabs Cotton's face. "What happened to your eye?" Cotton quickly snatched away.
"Nothing Mamma, we was just at the club dancing." Cotton lies and I continue to apply the glue to the wigs.
"You better not be doing what I think you doing," Carlotta says sternly and walks away.
Cotton turns in her chair to face her. "Mamma we was just at the club."
"Stop lying boy." Carlotta turns around making me go 'oop'.
"Girl, mamma." Cotton says with hurt in her eyes.
"Wait Cotton's a boy?" Simone asks the question and looks at me and I nod with a sigh.
"It ain't hard to tell," Bruce says and that made me say something.
"Girl stop being a hater." I roll my eyes.
"I ain't hating nothing. Now mind yo business." She tries to check me.
"Girl I ain't gotta mind shit," I said sitting my half finished wig down. "What you not finna do is continue to fuck my people in this shop."
"You not even on my level shut up and get back to do them wigs." Bruce rolls her eyes. I walked over to her. I put my finger in her face. "If I don't fuck you gonna do baby, cause I promise you I will drag you up and down this motherfucking-" Carlotta cut our arguing off with a yell.
"Stop that cussing in my house." I looked Bruce up and down one last time before going upstairs.
✶
I sat on my bed with my phone in my hand. My finger was hovering over Emmanuel name, debating on rather or not I should call him.
I quickly hit his name and watch the phone ring a couple of time before his voice rings out "Hello?"
"Yeah, this winter," I said awkwardly. I heard him chuckle on the other end.
"Wow, you actually called me. I thought you just were gonna smoke and spend the night and we'll never speak again." I roll my eyes at him.
"What you doing today?" I ask him. I heard him smack his lips before answering.
"Damn Girl, you miss me already." Which made us both laugh. "Nah, seriously I ain't doing nothing. You want me to pick you up?"
"Only if you take me out to eat too." I grinned excitedly.