Reckless

Chris 68

I'll be the first to admit that I wasn't a big fan of house parties... too much shyt could happen and there wasn't nearly enough security; one second you could be vibing and the next someone could be shooting. Hezekiah ensured me that there wasn't going to be any drama, according to him this place was 'off the grid', and considering the nature of this place, the last thing they wanted was to draw attention to themselves by causing drama. The house was definitely isolated, it was a little farmhouse not too far from the city though there were about twenty cars parked outside. Hezekiah led me into the party by hand and the first thing I noticed was there was nothing but dudes here, a few dudes I recognized mainly because since moving to Columbus I've learned that Ohio State Football was a religion and the players were gods so I knew them by face, if not by name... a couple of dudes I knew through Legend because he made it a point that we knew everyone under Epic's command by face, some of the dudes I had seen with Renee... some were just random face but they all seemed to be chillin; listening to music, passing blunts, drinking, and in some cases..... well I won't judge a dude for taking two dicks at once considering what happened between me, Dhamir, and Kemoni. Hezekiah led me into a massive kitchen and moved to the bar where there were at least thirty different bottles scattered across the table.

"Pick your poison...." Hezekiah said waving his hand across the bottles. I stood there staring for a minute before deciding that vodka was the safest choice for me. Hezekiah smiled as he poured me and drink and guided me to the back porch where two dudes were kissing. Hezekiah tapped one of the dudes on the shoulder and motioned for him to go inside, he looked like one of Renee's men so it didn't surprise me that he listened to Hezekiah.

"What is this place?" I asked as we sat down, from the back porch there was a beautiful view of the city and it seemed so peaceful.

"Switzerland.... just a place that dudes can come and blow off some steam. Being involved in a war... you're constantly on edge, here... dudes can relax, no drama... they don't have to worry about outside influences." Hezekiah said smiling.

"So you've been here before... I mean obviously, you have, how else would you know about this place?" I asked rhetorically. "Let me find out you're coming here to get your rocks off." I said laughing.

"I've only been here twice before... and I didn't do anything with anyone either time. I did get a couple of numbers but I never called them... I guess I'm still waiting on someone else to give the kid a chance." Hezekiah said. "I'm not sure how much longer I can hold out though... I'm a fuckin catch and I feel like I deserve love." Hezekiah said joking though I could tell he was also very serious.

"Hezekiah... I'm not trying to lead you on or play with your heart. I enjoy the time we spend together; you're smart, funny, smooth with your words, and you can hold an intellectual conversation for more than ten minutes...." I said trailing off.

"But you don't wanna get caught up in that shyt between Renee and Epic.... you think by dating me you'll become a target." Hezekiah said and while that was part of the issue, it wasn't the only thing.... Hezekiah was a good dude but I just had this feeling that our connection was built more on friendship and I enjoyed the friendship that we were building and didn't want to ruin that, the quickest way to end a friendship was to involve feelings. "Ayy I get it... not everyone is built to deal with a nigga like me." Hezekiah said smiling.

"And what is THAT supposed to mean? I've seen real war... not this petty beef between two old friends... I've been in the thick of battle with bullets flying past my head, wearing 70lbs of gear, and going off 30 minutes of sleep... This water balloon fight between Epic and Renee is nothing compared to what I've seen." I said jokingly, though every word I said was true.

"You've never told me about your time in the Marines... I mean you've never gone into detail about the other shyt, you've told me about the bad but there had to have been some good times as well... What were those times like?" Hezekiah asked and I figured it wouldn't hurt... I talked for almost two hours about some of the craziest shyt I've been through (mostly because of Legend and Preston) but looking back, those were some of the best times of my life.