After Class (Janet and Aaliyah)

Chapter 23

Acacia

So now we were sitting out on my screen porch in only underwear, sharing the blanket from my bed and making our way though a packed bowl of weed. It was unusually warm and clear for mid-October, but I wasn't complaining. Everything was just how I imagined it.

  "What are you thinking about?" I asked her as she took the first hit. I watched the smoke ooze slowly from between her lips, dissipating into the cool midnight atmosphere.

  "You," Aaliyah responded, leaning back onto the chair. She passed me the bowl and I took the next hit, remembering how long it had been since I smoked. It made me feel 19 again, and I was ready for the vibe we would share. 

  "Me?"

  "Yeah."

  "Like what?" I let the smoke out through my nose and closed my eyes, waiting for the sensation of the high to take me over.

  "I just can't believe it." Aaliyah slowly shook her head. I took her legs and draped them on top of mine.

  "Explain."

  "I don't know, just being here with you... it's crazy."

   "I was kind of thinking the same thing."

  "Oh, yeah?" She glanced at me, her hand out for the bowl. She lit it up again and took a large inhale, holding it in for what seemed like hours before it seeped from her mouth again. Watching her smoke turned me on more than anything.

  "Mhm."

  "Tell me about college," Aaliyah proposed.

  "Like what?"

  "I don't know, what's it like? Did you like it?"

  "College is like all the stuff you like about high school, without the bullshit. There's no time for bullshit. That's the best way I can describe it."

  "Were you in a relationship? I hear College is supposed to hook you up in some serious ass relationships with people." 

  "Who told you that?" I asked. She wasn't wrong.

  "My cousin. He with a girl right now that he swear he finna marry. He only 20."

  "Dang."

  "Yeah."

  "I was in a relationship, yeah, I'm not sure I was tryna get married, but we were together for a while."

  "Then what happened?"

I paused in hesitation. "Well, she just... she cheated on me."

  "What? For real?"

I felt myself spacing out in thought and looking past Aaliyah. It was either the drugs or the subject matter, or maybe both.

  "Mhm."

  "Damn, I'm sorry."

  "It's over now." I said curtly.

  "Yeah. It is."

I appreciated her not pushing it, but in some odd way, it made me want to share absolutely everything with her.

  "Her name is Khori," I blurted out.

  "Huh?" She said, smoke dripping from between her lips as she talked. She was so sexy.

  "My girlfriend, in college."

  "Oh."

  "Yeah. She was my first girlfriend. And everybody thought it was a phase, but..." I chuckled and shook my head. "Some shit other people just can't decide for you. They didn't know her like I did."