Hood Life and Love: It Is What It Is (Sample)

Chapter 3 (E and P)

A couple of days later, I was sitting on my stoop all alone. I hadn't been anywhere since the incident and I was kind of hibernating. I forgave Ciara after her hundredth time apologizing, but truth be told, I wasn't feeling her. What bothered me most was that since that day I had yet to hear from Christian, I kept replaying how I looked in my mind the last time I saw him. He probably thought I was crazy. I was crazed with my anger. I just really kind of missed him.

Like my thoughts come to life. He rounded the corner. He had on a pair of baggy shorts and a yellow t-shirt and on his feet were some blue chucks, with the fat yellow shoe strings. He had his hair fro-ed out and a yellow sun visor on his head. He had such a cool OG slow gait to his walk, it just added to his appeal. Just as I thought he was walking past me without even a wave, he stopped.

He leaned over my gate and smiled, those jacked-up teeth showing. They were growing on me and they didn't seem as bad as when I first saw them.

"What's up?" he said.

"Nothing, why you ain't called me?"

"I did a few times you were asleep, or that's what your mama said, anyway. I figured you just needed a lil space after kicking them chick's asses."

"How do you know what happened?"

"It's all over the hood, how you took on two chicks at once and your people left you. She has been getting drove if it makes you feel better." he was laughing now and it was amazing how it made my heart melt.

"For real?"

"For real, she violated big time. The nobody left behind code, real talk." He was stating facts. There were things you just didn't do. Like leaving your people on stuck. It wasn't respected.

I shrugged my shoulders and looked away. "It's cool. I should have known, it's not like it's the first time she done got little on me."

"Well, I think you were hella gangster for standing your ground. That's something I would have done."

"Oh yeah"

"Yeah."

Then we were quiet, and I was amazed at how many unspoken messages were floating around in our silence. What would he do now...?

"You want to hang out for a while at my place? I mean we could watch a movie or something."

"Well, I probably shouldn't be all up in your house. My lady would kill me if she looks down there and don't see me outside."

"Well, can you just come to see my room? I just got through fixing it up." He asked. I knew he was up to no good.

"What the hell, sure. But just for a minute okay,"

"Come on," he held his hand out to me and I hesitated for a minute. It seemed like I would be sealing some kind of deal if I took his hand and the last thing, I wanted was confusion. But in the end, I took it and let him lead me towards his apartment. You only live once.

It was made just like ours, but whoever lived here was apparently a freaky-ass person. It looked like a prostitute's house. Leopard print everywhere, red light special going on, and red carpet. This place was screaming, come fuck me.

"Wow," I said, as my eyes landed on a contraption hanging from the ceiling.

"Yeah, I know. My aunt is kind of wild. She likes men and sex and she makes it no secret. Wait till you meet her, she off the chain." He laughed.

"I can tell," I said, looking at the chains on the opposite wall. Kind of wild was an understatement. I pictured a plus-sized woman in leather, beating the hell out of a guy, also dressed in leather. A shiver of grossness ran down my spine. That was so nasty.