Seeds of Tomorrow

41

Mark's birthday party happened to fall on the same day as Gabriel's which meant Rocco had to suck it up and participate in his little brother's 14th birthday party for going to Mark's new pad. Gabe, being kind of a dork, just wanted pizza, cake, and video games and had invited two of his equally smelly friends from school and Nando.

Rocco had bought him an Axe body spray gift set that included deodorant and then a $20 gift card for Xbox because their mom had told him the gift was mean otherwise even though his dad said maybe Gabe ought to take a hint.

As soon as the cake and gifts were over, Rocco rushed out the door to head over to Mark's apartment. His dad told him to stay put since he knew there would be drinking and told him, like always, "Better not doing nothing fucking stupid". Rocco told him he only planned on the finest of cocaine and whores so he would be fine.

Rocco had been the first guest to arrive, Mark was sitting on the couch playing his girlfriend's kids' PlayStation with a blunt over his ear.

"What up!" Rocco said, snatching the blunt.

"Don't be smoking it in my place!" Mark told him, "We got to go outside."

"Your place?" The girlfriend asked, stepping into the living room.

Rocco remembered Mark making some dumb ass comment about how if Rocco saw his girlfriend, he'd understand why she was with his young ass. He'd been unsure if it meant she was hot or fugly but...goddamn, she was hella ugly.

"You must be Joanna?" Rocco asked, hoping Mark would smack him and tell him to quit making dumb ass jokes. When he didn't, Rocco actually felt kind of bad for him. Fucking that ugly bitch for a place to live.

"That's me," she smiled, "And you're Rocco. Can't believe I haven't met you yet!"

"Yo, you still needing that money to get your ID card?" Rocco asked.

"Naw, my girl took me to get it earlier so if your work still hiring, I'm down," Mark replied.

"Shit, we are. Kevin said they can try to get you on no problem."

"Aye let's go smoke this blunt and look at that new whip you got."

Mark wasn't even gonna hide the fact he was jealous of Rocco's car, telling him he wished his dad had found a wife with Richie ass parents so they could have hooked him up fat too.

After inspecting the WRX inside and out, Mark looked at Rocco with a hint of sadness on his face, "You see Bryn at all? She got all my shit blocked."

Rocco blew a small cloud of smoke into the air, coughing lightly, he nodded. "Yeah, she actually asked how you were and I said I ain't really been seeing you but you seem good. Her and her new dude already broke up I guess."

"So why she still got me blocked on everything?"

"Fuck if I know," Rocco told him, "I think she misses you though."

Mark stared off at something in the distance, "Fuck it, it's all good."

"Olivia keeps asking about her deadbeat baby daddy by the way," Rocco said with a smirk.

"The fuck out of here."

"Serio. Now if I see her coming, I head the other way, she fucking drama bro."

"Bro, and you know damn well that kid ain't even mine," Mark told him sounding as if he were trying to convince himself of it and not Rocco.

"You'll find out once the kid pops out, I guess."

"You sure she even pregnant because bitches be faking that shit all the time."

"Yeah, she's definitely pregnant. She getting hella big, always pulling her belly out and stuff Evie said."

Mark furrowed his eyebrows and looked away, pausing
for a moment.

"How's shit with you and Evie?"

Rocco shrugged, "Alright..." he said, "Well...I mean nothings wrong, I just...I feel like shit is running its course and I don't know how to break up with her."

"Fuck one of her friends, that's usually what ends my relationships," Mark laughed, "Naw, but for real just tell her. You ain't got to give her a speech, just say shit any working and yall need to break up."

"I just don't want her to get hurt or nothing," Rocco admitted, "I would feel hella bad if she started crying or something."

"You got to do it or you gonna wind up stuck in a relationship where you ain't even happy with her forever," Mark replied.

Rocco nodded because Mark was right. Maybe he just had to pull the Bandaid off and break up with her.

A few hours had passed, a handful of people showed up for Mark's birthday-Liam, a couple dudes they knew from school and a few Rocco didn't. Rocco was taking shots of vodka with him and hella faded.

They'd all gone out to smoke blunts and cigarettes when a blond girl caught Rocco's attention. He was full of liquid confidence which was a lot more blunt than the normal Rocco confidence.

He whistled at her to get her attention, the same way his tio did and when he did that, a few of the guys laughed, telling him to go for that shit. Mark who had been tweaking already, wasn't drunk like them and knew a bad situation when he saw one.

"Bro, don't be fucking with that bitch, she a straight bag bitch," he whispered in the ear of his nephew who barely younger than himself.

Rocco clicked at him, "Fuckin' hatin' ass foo," he laughed, giving the girl a grin and a nod.

She smiled back, sauntering over, "You live in the apartments? I never seen you before," she told him.

Rocco shook his head, not hiding the fact that was staring at her tits. They were literally right there on display, he couldn't help it and he didn't want to help it.

"Naw, my...cousin is having a party," he said before adding, "I live in Kelso though."

She put a hand on her hip in a way that pushed her chest out more, "Ah, good to know, good to know."

"What's your name by the way?"

"Candace but you can call me Candy," she replied.

Rocco licked his lips, "I like Candy," he told her causing the other guys to howl with laughter, "I'm Rocco."

"Rocco," Candy repeated with a smirk.

"You should come kick it, we got hella bottles and weed."

Mark shot him a look but he wasn't a cockblocker even if he thought this situation was fucking stupid and going to wind up bad. If Rocco wanted to fuck her, that was on him but mark wasn't gonna be cool with his lil nephew kicking it and getting high with her or some shit. Hell naw.