Thinking About You

Chapter 1

Chum by Earl Sweatshirt can be heard blasting down the street that I was dribbling a ball on. I make a fake left then go up for a 3 pointer when a car beeps its horn.

"Fuck you seeing ghosts now, nigga?" I chuckle and go over to the car to dap the man up.

"Fuck you man, I'm about to head over to the court and meet up with Cruz, Lincoln and Damantaé."
"Where's my invite, nigga?"
"Ha! Come down if you want, it's right on Gaines Street."
"Aiight then, ya niggas better D up then."
"Go on, man." I back away from the car and keep heading east.

By the time I make it to the park every nigga was there.

"Jac! About time ya ass got here!" Cruz screams with his arms wide open. I give him dap.
"I ran into Dellonté and Brian, they might hop through."
"Nobody invited them niggas," Lincoln comments. He had his hands on his knees, body bent, sounding as if he was out of breath. I surrender my hands.
"It's a free court," I say. Cruz shrugs.
"Alright, niggas," Cruz says. "¡Vamos!"
Lincoln was still bent over, hands on knees when he said, "Don't tell us what to do, Cruz." This was Lincoln's catch phrase. I see Damantaé arguing on the phone, that nigga got a lot of anger issues.
"Are you done?" I yell out to him. He scrunches his face up at me in disgust and irritation.
"Y'all niggas still got daylight, I'm on the fucking phone!" Cruz and I just laugh. Lincoln rolls his eyes.

We started a game of two on two, me and Cruz against Lincoln and Damantaé. Damantaé was on me. I did a fake left on him then pass the ball to Cruz as he came around Lincoln. He goes up for a lay up making the score 30 to 16.

"Y'all niggas still ain't catch up?" Cruz asks.
"I'mma stick my dick down ya throat in a minute, bitch," Damantaé fires back. Cruz simply finds this amusing.
"Damn Dam, I didn't know you was on the team," Cruz smirks. Damantaé sneers in return.
"You fucking wish."

We got back into the game and groups of females started to show up. Most of the ladies typically flock to Cruz since he has the suave look. He was Puerto Rican. His hair was jet black and only fell in waves, but he usually had light skin if he hadn't got any sun all season. Myself, Lincoln and Damantaé were far from bad looking. I was the tallest, Lincoln coming close in second, he was also the darkest out of all of us. Damantaé was the shortest with his small curly 'fro, edges lined up. Females stayed on us, it's been like this since middle school and we've been kicking it for that long.

"Y'all fouling like a mothafucka," Lincoln says.
"Non facts," Cruz responds. "Y'all niggas just tired." Damantaé steals the ball from Cruz and shoots a 3 pointer which he was really good at. Some of the ladies cheer when he makes the shot.
"Tired where, nigga?" Damantaé always gave this impression that he was constantly wired up, ready to go in on a nigga. We were used to it though to others he just came off as rude.

The day was starting to whine down. Dellonté and Brian never showed up but nobody was pressed or even thinking about that. Damantaé and I wait for Lincoln and Cruz to gather up their gear bags and then we slowly walk away from the court as the sun was setting on another summer day.

"Classes start back up next week, man," Cruz mentions.

He was in his last semester, graduating late in the winter due to the way his school credits were set up. He was the only one out of all of us in school. He went back after dropping out and now he's about to graduate. I'm proud of him.

Lincoln has manager duties between Don's Bakery and Jon's Pizzeria! If you live in Section 1 that shit is kind of impressive. He was always working. We didn't know how he did it.

And Damantaé had just got out of jail over a domestic violence situation with his ex girl. I'm supposed to help him with job search tomorrow morning.

And I work at a car dealership. Didn't need any schooling for it, my dad ran the place and employed me about a year ago. I love my job, my family and friends and my city.

My friends and I live on the east side of Section 1, which seems like a whole 'nother world compared to the rest of Section 1. It isn't a dangerous part of town. I live in a two bedroom, split house and wasn't trying to rent a room out to Damantaé. He my friend and all but I couldn't live with the nigga.
Lincoln and Damantaé went their separate ways and then it was just me and Cruz. We go way back. There was a time when we didn't like each other, back when we first met.

"Where you and Damantaé looking at first?" I watch as he tosses the basketball into the night air.
"Psssshhhtt, Shoe Game." Cruz chuckles then laughs out.
"Easy, he'll fit in."
"No he won't but it'll be easy."
"He gotta make an effort when it comes to working." Cruz was looking down at the sidewalk.
"He barely graduated high school."
"He just need to learn how to talk to people."
"Easier said than done." I glimpse again at Cruz and my eyes land on the mole on the right side of his neck. Looking at it took me back to a moment when I used to touch a similar mole, only somewhere else.

"Stop poking me there."

I look away to the houses down the street but the memory doesn't fade.

"But you know you like it."
He had smiled.

"¿Usted escucha?" His hand was waving in my face.
"What?" I was back and my eyes lay on Cruz's questioning ones. "You speaking tongues again?" Cruz grins.
"It's called Spanish, you took it in high school."
"I don't recall."
"I was your tutor."
"Doesn't ring a bell." Cruz laughs.
"¡Dios mío!"
"Okay! So what did you say?"
"I asked if you were taking him to Lincoln's spots."
"I don't think he'll go for that. That's like... asking Damantaé if he wants to move in with me. We don't want that headache."
"You right," he says with a shrug.
Cruz's place comes up first and I stay on his bottom step while he walks to the door.
"Well, good game," he says. "I hope everything goes smoothly tomorrow." I roll my eyes and look up at the sky.
"Why did I have to be the chosen one?" Cruz snorts.
"Aiight." He turns to the door. "Buenas noches."
"Buenas noches. Te veo mañana."

I start to walk away when I notice him cheesing over his shoulder at me.