Huey Freeman's Guide to Dating

Chapter Four: Boomerangin'

Step Four:

When your ex tries to come back, set the tone.
Let them know you're done with their ass.
For good.

Kicking Huey's ass was her new favorite hobby.

"Riley wasn't lying when he said you were bad at video games." Jazmine gloated as she claimed her prize.

She proudly lifted her bear up near his head, tickling his chin with its snout. "It should not have been that easy to beat you."

Huey didn't bother arguing with her.

Instead, he took the bear and held it over her head, laughing at the fact she couldn't reach it. "Not so cocky now, are we?" He returned it. "You hungry?"

Jazmine nodded. "I'm starving."

"Bet." He pulled out his phone. "Caesar asked if we wanted to come with him and Cindy to grab a bite to eat. I think they're going to Kristy's House of Soul. It's the one decent black restaurant in town that doesn't oversaturate their cooking with salt, sugar, and -"

"Unhealthy junk, I get it." Jazmine playfully collapsed on him, leaning against his right side. "I'd probably eat clay if someone plated it well enough. I'm starving."

"I heard you the first time." He told her. "I'm assuming you're riding with me, since Cindy put all your crap in my car."

"Yes, please." Jazmine placed her bear back into the bag they'd given her at the arcade. "My mom is back in town for a few days, so she has her car back. She was actually supposed to shop with me today, but she's been super busy with work stuff."

"Becoming a judge has taken up a lot of her time." Huey remarked, noting how dejected Jazmine looked. "It's still no excuse for her blowing you off. I'm sorry. I'm sure you were excited to hang out with her today, get some one-on-one time with someone who gets it."

Jazmine nodded. "It's messed up, but what can I do? Tell her that her new job sucks, and she should focus on parenting me? I'm almost grown!"

"Actually, you should." Huey held the door so they could leave the mall. "It's hard to tell someone you love that the things they're doing make you feel like shit, but she's the parent, not you. You shouldn't have to put on a brave face whenever she neglects you for months at a time."

"I'm amazed you're not going into psychology or something." Jazmine hopped into the passenger's seat of his car. "You're good at this stuff."

"Flattery will get you nowhere." He started up the car, covering her with his coat while the vehicle warmed up.

Huey pushed her hands away before she could react, as if he'd known she was about to hand it back over to him.

"When do you plan on talking to her?"

"When I can catch her in person." Jazmine realized her tone wasn't exactly nonchalant and tried again. "We can sit face to face and talk."

"And what if she never comes back home for long enough to talk?" Huey gave her a knowing look. "Then what are you gonna do? Wait until you're forty, depressed, and in denial to tell your parents how they've affected you?"

"Huey, think about it. If I speak up, it'll just make things worst." She sighed. "My dad is taking things hard, and-"

"Your dad is taking things just fine." Huey decided to leave out the fact that he'd actually seen the man out with a woman his age, at the Public Enemy concert, no less. "You're the one who's taking things hard. I'm think it would help if you talked to them."

"And I think it would help if you minded your own business!" She snapped. "I don't want to talk about it anymore. Next topic, please."

Huey turned up the music a little, like he normally did whenever she was really upset.

It was an instrumental he and Riley made once. Because he and Huey still kept in touch with Quincy Jones, the man had been gracious enough to make some final touches to the things they'd produced.

Ever since she'd heard it in his car freshman year, she'd fallen in love with it.

It was so beautiful that she never got bored of hearing it. She always sung along to the intricate melody, using whatever she felt that day as inspiration to pull from while Huey just sat back and let her.
" I ain't blind, but still ain't see......
Just how much you mean to me."

Her voice was powerful when she started singing, so striking she began to pour her every emotion into her freestyle.

Huey noticed it. His head whipped towards her, but he didn't break the spell, instead he encouraged her to enchant him more. "Keep going, Jazmine. It's raw."

"And now, you're gone,
So far away......."

She could tell he wanted her to keep going, but the lyrics she'd envisioned had disappeared. For a moment, she glanced up at him, and something shifted for a second.

She didn't shy away from it, and neither did he.

"My heart is yours,
So please, just stay...."

They let the music swirl around them until the moment passed, and she'd belted out the final words with a scratchy tone, her soulful vibrato ringing out as the instrumental faded into silence.

"Say it calls your name."

Huey broke the tension first, dapping her up like he did whenever he was in an extremely good mood.

"I won't lie." He bobbed his head to a rap song she didn't know the name of. "I'm impressed." He gripped the steering wheel with a faraway look in his eyes. "Where'd you get all that soul from? I've never heard you sound like that before."

Jazmine couldn't lie. She wasn't sure herself.

"I don't know." She answered honestly. "Something just came over me, I guess."

Huey continued to bop his head before reversing out of the parking lot. "Well, it sounded good." He shrugged. "I should've recorded it. I think that security guard's ears are still bleeding from your previous performance."

"Shut up, Huey!" She laughed, realizing that Vince hadn't lingered in her mind since he'd shown up.

Maybe she'd keep him around.
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