CHAPTER 10
A few weeks into summer, Harlem had become a hot town. A drug dealer had been murdered, found shot to death on 139th Street and Lenox, and the hood was buzzing with police activity. Word on the streets was, it was a rival of Cross, a man named Donny B. He was found sprawled out on the hard concrete with two shots to his head at two o’clock in the morning. Donny B had been hanging out with some friends near the bodega when a dark Chevy crept up while they were drinking and mingling. A hooded shooter leaped from the car and fired at him at point-blank range, dropping him where he stood as his friends ran off.
The crime scene had been taped off, and bystanders hung around talking about the cold-blooded shooting. Police were trying to take statements from them, but nobody wanted to get involved, fearing retaliation for snitching.
The body had been transported to the morgue, while the half-dozen cops still canvassed the neighborhood, trying to collect evidence and statements. Hours had passed since the killing, but the police still didn’t have any clues. Morning soon became afternoon, and gradually, the block was littered with foot traffic and nosy neighbors still inquiring about the shooting.
*****
Nichols walked down Lenox Avenue with her friend Dina. It was a beautiful afternoon, and the two young girls wanted to enjoy the summer day by looking at boys, window-shopping, and maybe, from the right store, shoplift a few items.
Nichols was clad in a short skirt, exposing her young, meaty thighs, and a loose T-shirt that hid her developing b-reasts.
Dina teased her, saying, “Yo, you gonna mess around and get us raped out here, looking like that. I wish I had your legs.”
“Please. Niggas is lookin’, but they know not to touch.” Nichols chuckled. “Besides, if he’s cute enough, maybe I’ll let him touch.”
Dina laughed. “Uh-huh, look at you. You talkin’ like Kola now.”
“Kola be doin’ her thang. She be gettin’ money and running these dudes out here,” Nichols said, glorifying her sister’s ways.
“And you wanna be next in line, right?” Dina asked.
“Maybe,” Nichols replied slowly.
“Now, you know you’re too much of a square to be like your sister, Nichols. That ain’t you. You’re too smart for that.”
Nichols changed her expression. She hated when her sisters and friends treated her like a bookworm who didn’t know any better. Though she was ignorant of the street life, she wanted to have her fun too. She wanted to be noticed and gawked at by the fellows and treated like she was a top model. Nichols knew she was pretty; in fact, it was the one good thing her mother had passed down to her and her sisters.
The summer was young and hot, and both girls just wanted to meet cute boys and run through Harlem like it was their personal playground. Nichols also wanted to party and experience the things she’d heard her sisters talk about. She wanted to lose her virginity, and she wanted to get out of her mother’s home and experience new things. She felt trapped in that filthy apartment.
Always stuck in Harlem, all Nichols knew was her projects and 125th Street. She was always cleaning and cooking, while her sisters ran the streets and their mother was getting fucked by every Tom, Dick, and Harry. Taking the A train to Queens or riding the No. 6 train into the Bronx was something foreign to her.
Nichols and Dina slowly made their way toward the scene of the crime that took place early that morning. They were both stunned by the tangled yellow tape and bloodstained ground.
Walking up to a stranger, Nichols asked, “Yo, what happened?”
A thin, frail-looking man with rotten teeth turned to look at the young girls, a bagged bottle of whisky clutched in his fist. “Some nigga got shot.”
“Wow! Who?” Nichols asked with wide eyes.
“Don’t know. He dead, though,” the stranger stated.
Nichols looked around. Even though death had occurred in her neighborhood before, and she would always hear gunshots outside her bedroom window, she was still astounded that a murder had happened not too far from her home.
“That’s crazy,” Dina said.
The two looked at the scene for a short moment and then moved on. They wished they had seen the body, but with summer just starting, there was going to be more shootings and more killings.
The afternoon sun was beating down on them like it was hitched to them personally. Nichols wanted to hit up 125th Street and linger about, hoping to see something she liked and get a friend to steal it for her when the chance came. It was such a nice day, she didn’t want to see her home for hours. She planned on hanging out with Dina all day and probably even into the night.
Evening came fast for Nichols, though. She and Dina were in Hue-Man Bookstore on Eighth Avenue looking at books and magazines. They sipped on cold milkshakes and sat in the lounging area of the café inside the bookstore talking about the articles they were reading, admiring the cute guys entering and exiting the store.
“Ooh, he’s cute. I like that chocolate. He got that Tyrese thing goin’ on,” Nichols said with a smile.
Dina quickly agreed.
Nichols was having a great time with her friend at the Hue-Man Bookstore, where she was able to escape the harshness of her home and free her mind from any trouble. Not only did she not have to worry about her mother going upside her head, or her two sisters arguing over nonsense, but she had books to read and a place to chill.
Dina was getting tired, and she needed to head back home to help her mother with some cleaning. She stood up. “You coming? It’s getting late.”
Nichols looked at the time and realized it was almost eight. She sighed. “Nah, I’m going to chill. You go ahead. I’ll call you later.” She was reading an article about Trey Songz and admiring his physique with a pleased smile. She wanted to stay until the place closed.
“You sure, girl? That’s a long walk home by yourself.”
“Dina, I’m gonna be all right. Shit, I grew up out here. They know me.”
Dina was skeptical about leaving Nichols by herself, but she had promised her mother that she would be home before nine o’clock. She gathered up her things and left Nichols seated at the table, her face buried in the latest issue of Vibe magazine.
Nichols lost track of the time, until informed by one of the workers that the place was closing. After gathering her things, she walked out of the store and into the evening, where the city was still bustling and loud. The weather remained hot as the night took over the day.
Nichols began her walk on 125th Street, not rushing to get home. When she reached the corner of Seventh Avenue and 125th Street, she noticed a cute, young thug seated in the passenger seat of a dark blue Tahoe with spinning, chrome wheels and rap music blaring. The truck had stopped at a red light. She locked eyes with the young man, who had smooth brown skin and stylish long braids. He smiled at Nichols as he nodded to the music, and Nichols couldn’t help but smile back. The thug’s pearly white teeth glistened, his eyes penetrating Nichols’ like he was a hypnotist.
She thought he was the finest thing she had laid eyes on. The two had this unspoken attraction between them, and she wanted to know his name. But the light suddenly changed to green, and the Tahoe made its way down 125th, the rap music slowly fading out. She sighed, wishing they had time to introduce themselves. Nichols hated that they’d met so briefly, but she realized there wasn’t anything she could have done about it.
She continued her walk toward home, hoping her apartment would be free from drama. As she made her way down the street, she was hounded with looks and catcalls from a variety of men, some of which made her extremely uncomfortable. They looked at her as if she was a sheep trapped in a lion’s den.
When Nichols made it to Lenox Avenue, she noticed the same truck parked in front of Sylvia’s Restaurant. A whirl of excitement hit her like a rapid storm. She smiled while walking closer to the truck. She was hoping her cutie from the intersection was still seated in the passenger seat. She didn’t want to be too obvious by staring at the truck, so she kept her eyes straight ahead and slowly walked by the vehicle, pretending it didn’t exist. Out of her peripheral vision, she noticed a figure seated in the passenger seat, and a slow smile formed on her face.
As Nichols walked by, she heard someone say, “Ay, shawty, I know you, right?”
She turned to see who called out to her and was flattered that it was the same cutie in the front passenger seat. “Say what?” she replied, trying to look unconcerned.
“I saw you watching me at that light.”
Nichols sucked her teeth. “Please. You know you was watching me.”
He laughed. “A’ight, yeah, I was, but you fine, shawty. You Kola’s sister, right?” he asked with the warmest smile.
“Yeah. And?”
“Nah, I’m cool wit’ ya sister. She my peoples, but damn, her sister is so much finer. What’s your name, beautiful?” he asked with politeness.
As Nichols approached the truck, she was unable to contain her smile any longer. She fixed her eyes on the young thug with the Colgate smile and Jim Jones swag. “Nichols.”
“Yeah, I like that name,” he said. “I could get used to saying that.”
“And what’s your name?”
“Delray.”
“It’s cute.”
“Thanks. So where you on ya way to?”
“Home.”
“Damn! So early? Shit, the sun ain’t even set fully yet. What? Ya moms got you on curfew this summer?”
“No. Ain’t nothing to do right now,” Nichols snapped back, offended by his remark.
“So we can find somethin’ to do. Yo, my man in there gettin’ us somethin’ to eat right now. You hungry? I can hit him on the jack and tell him to get you a plate too. It ain’t no thang.”
“Nah, I’m good.”
“You sure? ’Cause I swear I just heard your stomach growling like a muthafucka. It sounded like you got a grizzly bear or somethin’ in there,” Delray joked.
Nichols laughed. “No. Why you tryin’ to play me?”
“It’s all love. But you’re so pretty. I like you.” Delray reached out to grab Nichols by her hand gently and pulled her closer to the truck. He looked her in the face. “So what’s up? Let’s chill for the night. Let me take you out somewhere. It’s a nice night, and I ain’t got nothin’ to do right now. We can get to know each other better, you feel me?”
“What about your boy?” she asked.
“He good. I’ll drop him off, take the keys to the truck, and we can roll out.”
Nichols quickly mulled over the idea of spending time with Delray, and it sounded so sweet to her. It was her opportunity to stay out longer. She knew her mother was probably too busy shacked up with some man to even care what time she came home, and her twin sisters were always out doing their own thing. Nichols felt this was her chance to stray away from the nest and do her. She had a fine young man willing to spend time with her, and maybe he was a potential boyfriend, because she liked everything about him from head to toe.
Delray’s True Religion designer jeans hung low off his ass, and his wife-beater hugged his chiseled frame, with his defined muscular arms and strapping chest. She loved a man with braids, and the bling around his neck and wrist told her he was balling.
Nichols batted her eyes, trying to look sexy and flirty. “Where are we going to go?” she asked.
“I know a place you’ll like.”
“Really?”
“It ain’t far from here.”
The two talked for about ten minutes, and the more time Nichols spent with Delray, the more she was ready to leave with him. She loved the way he touched her lightly, making her feel wanted. He made her laugh and smile a lot and she’d only just met him. His confidence was appealing.
Delray’s friend came walking out of Sylvia’s holding two plastic bags of food. He was tall and lean, older in the face, and his eyes showed a lot of experience. He looked aloof to Nichols.
He walked up to Delray, noticing Nichols, and asked, “Who this?”
“My new shawty,” Delray joked.
He passed Delray the bags of food and walked around to the driver’s side.
“Jah, she comin’ wit’ us,” Delray said.
Jah just looked at him then looked at her. “Well, she better hurry up then. I got some place to be.” He got into the truck and started the ignition.
“You comin’, right, baby?”
Nichols was a little hesitant, but Delray sealed the deal by saying, “It’ll be fun. I got you, Nichols. My treat. You never know, maybe sparks might fly between us.”
He smiled, causing Nichols to smile after him, and she jumped into the backseat and tried to relax as they pulled off.
*****
An hour later, the two were parked on Riverside Drive, where they’d shared a plate of hot soul food from Sylvia’s and enjoyed an illuminated view of the George Washington Bridge in the distance.
Delray held Nichols in his arms like they were a loving couple. He felt her soft, round bottom rub against him like a cushion, and he loved the way his arms slipped into her womanly curves. Though she was only sixteen, her body was built like a mature woman’s, and he loved the feel of her every inch.
“This is nice,” Nichols said, her eyes wide open with joy.
“It is, right?” Delray replied with ease.
The two acted like they had known each other for years. Nichols felt as if she had found the man who’d make her world right. She didn’t want to leave his hold; time seemed to have slowed down when she was with him. He had shared his meal with her, they had wonderful conversation, and even though Delray was nineteen, Nichols felt he understood her. She talked, and he would listen. Nichols easily opened up to him about her problems at home, and Delray listened like he was a paid therapist.
He agreed with what Nichols said. She should be treated more like an adult. Her family did take her for granted. He nodded and put in his two cents when Nichols complained about her two sisters arguing, and he consoled her when she beefed about not being loved or wanted.
Delray kissed Nichols on her neck tenderly, holding her tighter. “I got your back, baby. You wit’ me now, so you ain’t got to worry.”
Nichols smiled at his words. Her heart had found comfort; she had found love so quickly, right around the corner. She was happy she just didn’t walk on by. They had known each other only for a couple hours, but she felt like Delray understood her completely. He was easy to talk to, he made her laugh, and he made her feel so secure, she wanted to stay forever in his arms. Nichols didn’t believe she was na?ve. She was sixteen, smart, and knew about boys.
Delray continued planting sweet, pleasing kisses against her neck, squeezing her waist tighter, and Nichols savored the moment. His touch was so inviting, the inside of her thighs felt like cream. She closed her eyes, relishing his strength and alluring scent. And though it was getting late, she wasn’t in any rush.
Delray slowly turned in her direction, and his eyes met hers. He smiled. “You’re beautiful. You know that, right?”
Nichols smiled and replied with a meek, “Thank you.”
Soon their lips touched, and their tongues became entwined. The taste of his fresh breath and the way his hands touched her skin made her purr with stimulation.
After they kissed for a moment, Delray slowly pulled himself away from her, eyes locked with the young teen. He smiled proudly and said, “Come back to my place and chill. I’m not too far from here.”
Nichols didn’t answer him. Instead, she stared into his tempting brown eyes, her eyes smiling back. She was hot and bothered, and was itching to feel the touch of a man inside her. She had witnessed her sisters’ promiscuous actions many times and had heard them and their friends boast about how great it was being in love, and being dicked down so good that their legs quivered when they came and their bodies felt stuck to wherever they lay after making love. Nichols was yearning for that feeling. She wanted to feel what her sisters and friends felt. She assumed she had found love with Delray, though she’d only been with him for a few hours, since her pu-ssy was throbbing uncontrollably.
“You down, baby?” Delray asked.
“Yeah, I’m down.”