KINGSTON
I stood over my client and sprayed his hair before brushing it out and removing his cape so that my next one could take his spot. I hadn't been in my chair long, but already had clientele building by the day. The shop was loud with conversation about James Harden coming to the Sixers and how happy we were that Ben Simmons was gone.
"Preciate you," he told me as he handed me two twenty dollar bills and dapped me up, then my uncle, who wasn't even cutting hair. Just overseeing shit with a blunt between his lips. He was proud of his black owned business that started in my nana's kitchen before I was even born. I'd be proud myself if I was labeled a felon and unable to get hired anywhere just to make more than the scraps they were going to give me anyway.
My phone vibrated against my station and I picked it up on the second ring, tucking it between my ear and shoulder after perfecting the line across his head."Yerp," I greeted as I sprayed my clippers and listened to her suck her teeth on the other end.
"Yerp? Nigga that's how you greet me now?" She asked and I chuckled.
"Hey baby," I corrected, shaking my head and turning the volume down at the same time out of habit even though nobody would be able to hear my conversations over the two TV's and grown man conversation. For some reason my uncle thought me being in what he considered to be 'a relationship that I actually cared about', was comical and made sure to irritate me any chance he could about it. He was definitely the inappropriate uncle who acted like he wanted your girl and it wasn't as funny to me as it was to Siena. But I loved him. He was the dad I never had. Wouldn't have been a good one, but a dad nonetheless. She was a hit with my cousin too who wanted her to hook him up with Nikki bad as hell for double dates since we were always together. And my mom loved her of course. I wasn't sure what my nana's feelings were as of late and I didn't give a fuck, honestly. She still wasn't my favorite person anymore and it was getting easier for me to accept that.
I didn't talk to her much because I didn't want to address the elephant in the room and she stopped trying to make me. Siena felt bad because she thought she was the reason I stopped talking to what she knew to be my heart, and while she played a part, it was deeper than that. So I came in late and left early until I was able to find my own spot. My mom didn't stay there much anymore. She didn't know I knew she had been staying between her new one bedroom apartment and Trey's brother's house. Tristan made me promise not to mention what he told me in private and I didn't. But I sure was pissed about it. I wanted my mom happy, for sure. But she was supposed to be getting herself together, not fucking my girlfriend's uncle.
"What you doing?" She laughed and I licked my lips as I switched the clippers back on, halfway talking to her and halfway talking to the shop's crowd.
"I hope those niggas pussy tastes as good as mine since they have all your attention," she tried to mumble and I roared with laughter.
"Now what if I had you on speaker?" I mumbled back as I turned my back to everyone to retrieve a brush and spray.
"Good, maybe they'll be interested since you're not,"
"Maybe you want me to fuck you up,"
"Maybe I do," she said softly but unapologetically. She was coming out of her shy shell with me and it made our relationship so much more interesting. The best kind of interesting.
The noise around me began to quiet slightly as half the shop emptied out once they were done, leaving only a few clients left and none for me. I sat in the spinning chair and stretched one leg out.
